There's a First Time for Everything - A September 2016 PTR

[steviethegreat]

There's a First Time for Everything - A September 2016 Pre-Trip Report

Hi guys! This is my second PTR, but the first didn't go over so well. I was planning on writing a trip report about my trip in 2014, but I was SO DEPRESSED upon coming home that I wouldn't talk to ANYONE about Disney for months. When I finally started talking about my trip, it was a little too late to write a trip report. I didn't take notes or anything. (But I will admit to listening to the soundtrack from Space Mountain on Youtube.) Soooo.... In the span of time since I LAST went to Disney and now, a lot has changed!

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This is me! My name is Stevie. I'm 28 and I live near Pittsburgh, PA. I work for a background screening agency. I spend all day confirming employments and taking references. (Spoiler alert: it gets pretty monotonous.) I started in March of 2015, but I had to wait a whole year to accrue any vacation time. So when I earned those days, I put in my request to take off right away!

When I came back from Disney, I was so depressed. But I still had something to look forward to!!

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I got a dog, Riley, who is now two years old. He's still in training, but he's basically my life. Leaving him for ten days is going to be really, really, really hard. In fact, I'm not 100% certain how I'll manage without him. This is a picture of Riley wearing the leis I got from O'hana!

When I last went to Disney, I had just graduated from college, so the hardest part of my day was figuring out what I was going to do all summer last time I went. This time, I'm counting down to Disney, not only because I'm obsessed, but because I NEED A VACATION. Adulting is just not for me, guys. Let's run away to Neverland, okay? I think we can hold off Captain Hook?

[This is a picture of me on a Monday shouldering the week's work of responsibility.]
​

BUT NEVER FEAR. As of June 1st, 2015, I have been counting down the days until I would be going back to Walt Disney World. (Another spoiler alert: we're just about there.) I have followed friends through their journeys to the world. I have savored other trip reports. I have poured over the boards to make this the BEST trip ever.

And I'll tell you why.

LAST time, I went on a trip to Disney World because I was invited to a very good friend's wedding. I had a camping trip planned for the same week, so I had no idea how I would go to both. But I ended up working things out so I would basically fly down the day before, hit Universal to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, crash on the floor of the friend's hotel room, (classy, amirite?), and then fly back that night post-wedding in enough time to make it for camping.

[This is a picture of my dad gnawing on the bone from a pork shank at Gaston's Tavern. I will miss those so much on this trip!!]​

What actually happened was that I tried to find a friend to go with me, since I had a plus one and I didn't want to fly alone. Which developed into my mom telling me that I should take my dad so that he would shoulder some of the financial responsibility of the trip. So instead of going down for two days, we went down for nine! We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter from Wednesday, June 18th, 2014 to Sunday, June 22nd, 2014. Then we transferred to Old Key West from Sunday, June 22nd, 2014 to Wednesday, June 25th, 2014. We flew back early Thursday morning and drove up to the camp site where I was dropped off to go from the luxury of DISNEY to port-a-potties and a lack of A/C at a Christian camp festival. Don't get me wrong: we had fun, but that year was just...not the best.

​

Flash forward to June 1st, 2015. I'm getting my car inspected on the way to see Tomorrowland (was I the only one that liked it?) and my mom suggests that she and I should go to Disney the following year for a girls' only trip since my dad went last time. I spent the rest of the day floating. And then I started planning. I did research on all of the prices for EVERYTHING in September 2015 so that I would have a plan for September of 2016.

That means that I have been counting off the days (479) on calendars that I printed from the internet. I color coordinated them, counting not only the days, but the weeks. I have been writing post-it notes with the days and weeks and pinning them to my cubicle. And therefore, work has been counting down with me. And as my co-workers got to know me a little better, my Disney obsession has made itself known.

Before this snowballs into the longest first post ever... until next time. (Okay, okay, like...20 minutes.)

 

[KnK]

Counting down with you.

 

[Raeven]

We're also going in September and I have been counting down almost a year. It took me a couple months after we went to write a TR as well, but soon after that we decided to go back!

Adulting is awful. Last year when we went I was just out of college and only working part time and we went for 12 days. This year we have to make separate trips because I can only go a week at a time (and I have only 2 days vacation the rest is unpaid). My job is pretty repititious too, I don't have a lot of work to get done so I just plan for Disney

 

[disnyfan4ever]

Joining in and counting down with you as well! Looks like I will get there a few days before you! Waiting to hear the details of your PTR!

 

[steviethegreat]

KnK: It looks like you're going about two weeks or so before I am! Are you super excited?!

Raeven: It's always the 'coming back' that is the hardest for me. It took us over a year to plan another trip, so my 'Disney' depression lasted a long time. But I'm glad you planned a trip soon after you went back home! I think the planning is half of the fun. As for work: ouch! That doesn't sound like fun at all! But I guess if you think about it, two trips is better than one really long trip because you get to plan twice as much! Are you going at different times of the year?

Disnyfan4ever: I'm glad to have you! And it definitely doesn't look like we're going too far apart, either! So I'm counting down with YOU, too!

 

[steviethegreat]

PLANNING THE TRIP

[We will start our trip here and end at Disney!]​

Despite making plans a year and a half in advance, we didn't officially commit financially to this trip until the end of March 2016, so I actually started making payments in April. I originally had a really reasonable payment plan in place (basically $300 per paycheck or something financially responsible). But once it hit April, I realized I had NO time left. So now the payments are a lot more than I'd originally intended. I wanted to splurge on this trip, so let's get into the actual details!!

We're going down in LATE September to early October. We have a three night reservation at the Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Studios Orlando. We are flying in around 7pm on a Thursday and picking up the rental car. We were going to do the shuttle so we didn't have to pay for parking, but the rental makes more sense. I decided last minute (basically a day ago) to add an extra day to our Universal stay. I figured it made more sense than dragging my 56 year old mother through the park for only one day. It's hard to fit EVERYTHING into one day. That way we can enjoy the resort, since I opted for a 'deluxe' resort instead of staying off-site or for a 'value' resort.

On Sunday, we're checking out to move over to Disney. (YAAAY!!) We're checking into the Animal Kingdom Lodge!! Originally, I wanted to stay at the Wilderness Lodge. I was waiting for the free dining to drop, but I didn't get the offer I wanted. So after, you know, days of panicking, I decided maybe we would rent DVC points and just stay at Old Key West. For the days I was going to stay, it was like $800 altogether for six nights. (Which is a steal for a deluxe, IMO.) But I really like mousekeeping and the little Disney soaps (that I collect, but rarely use.) So I flip-flopped into a Port Orleans French Quarter reservation.

AND THEN. I was double-checking on the Wilderness Lodge again? And I saw an offer for free dining with the Animal Kingdom Lodge!! I actually did the math, crunched those numbers, and it made more sense to do free dining than a room discount with the AKL. For only $200 more, from POFQ, we could stay at a Disney Deluxe hotel. Yes, please!

So now we're staying from Sunday to Saturday at the AKL, standard view (though I'm hoping to upgrade when we get there depending on how funds go), with park hoppers and passes to MNSSHP for Thursday night.

Right now, I'm deciding where we're going to eat when we're over at Universal, since that's three nights of food to figure out, but I think the choices are harder over there than with Disney. I'm a devout follower of DisneyFoodBlog, so I feel like I know what I'm getting with Disney.

 

[Raeven]

Yes! We're going in September and December so Halloween and Christmas. When we got back I had no idea when we would be going back, but by Jan I knew. But going twice is nice too!

Universal has some good places too, let me know what kind of food you're looking for and I'll try to offer some suggestions!

 

[steviethegreat]

I was going to ask if you were going to the Halloween and Christmas parties, but then I noticed your trip details in your signature. Did you like MNSSHP last year? We've never been, but I'm a little obsessed with Space Mountain, so I figured if there was a chance to ride that as often as possible, I'd take it. (And Candy Corn Cotton Candy might be a thing? Yes, please!)

Have you done Food & Wine before as well? Or is that a first for you? And I do have questions about Universal. When I post my next update, I'll stick my 'plans' in there. I might be tweaking things since I have a car for all 10 days instead of just during Disney, like we'd originally planned.

 

[steviethegreat]

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

I am the nerd of the family. It comes from the nurturing culture that comes with being obsessed with things like Harry Potter, Disney movies, and superheroes. I have only recently been introduced to Jurassic Park and Star Wars. So I definitely was NOT going to miss seeing Hogsmeade in Universal last time I went to Orlando, FL. If I saw ANYTHING, it was going to be Hogsmeade.

The bittersweet part of seeing Hogsmeade in 2014 is that I missed the grand opening of Diagon Alley by ONE DAY. I was SO CLOSE. We kept hoping for a soft opening, but they were filming with NBC or whatever, so there were zero opportunities to get inside. We did just about everything else in the park (JK, we did basically nothing). So THIS time, I'm planning to ride just about everything.

Here's the breakdown.

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THURSDAY

Fly down to Orlando on the 5:10pm flight from Pittsburgh International. Pick up the rental car from Alamo. They were running a deal where you get a free upgrade if you choose within certain categories. My only problem with the rental car is that I want the points for my Southwest account, but I have no desire to drive the car. (That's where my mom comes in.) But since it's my name, my credit card, I'm not sure if we can have mom be the person that drives unless it's in her name. If it's in her name, can I still get the Southwest points?

These are the hard hitting questions, you know.

I anticipate touching down around 7:30pm and getting to the rental car kiosk by 8:30pm. We'll drive to the hotel, get checked in, and probably crash. I mean, we'll probably either pick some kind of food up on the way to the hotel or we'll buy something from a quick-service (if applicable) at the Royal Pacific Resort.

Then we'll 'unpack' and sleep.

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FRIDAY

Since we have early morning entry and unlimited express passes, the plan was to get up early to beat the heat and go to whichever Harry Potter park is open first. Since Universal Studios closes at 5:00pm for the Haunted Horror Nights or whatever it's called, the plan is to do the majority of our time there (to make sure we've ridden everything) and then switch over to Islands of Adventure.

Since we'll be staying on property, we can definitely take a break if the sun is too much. I anticipate Mom will want time at the pool and out of the sun. That's why we have two day passes instead of one day passes. We don't have to try to fit EVERYTHING into one day anymore.

I'll most likely buy my interactive wand on Friday to maximize the amount of time I have to use it. It would be cool to get picked at Ollivander's, but I also have social anxiety, so having that kind of attention would stress me out, too. That's a double-edged sword.

Here's where I'm stuck. I would REALLY like to eat at Mythos, because it looks like SUCH a neat restaurant. But I was looking at the menu and it just didn't look appealing at ALL. I mean, it really seemed overpriced for what I would pick. And I would hate to spend money just to see what the restaurant looks like on the inside. So we're probably going to pass on Mythos.

I was also really torn on eating at the Leaky Cauldron or the Three Broomsticks, because I heard that the food just isn't good. So we were contemplating getting a snack or fish and chips or something to actually check out the restaurants, but not waste a bunch of money on sub-par food. (Food is kind of the objective this trip. I love to eat, as evidenced by my waistline, but I hate to spend money on food that just isn't good.)

I was thinking, originally, about doing Jake's or Mama Della's for dinner. BUT. If we have the rental car, I'm now thinking that we'll go to Disney Springs, since the parks shut down early, and do dinner at Raglan Road (or one of the other restaurants). If we eat at Raglan Road, which I loved, then I can add another Disney restaurant to my list later in our trip.

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SATURDAY

Since we will have done just about everything the day before, I'm contemplating having Mom and I go over to Kona Cafe for breakfast instead of going early for the park opening. I really wanted to eat at Kona, because I heard the reviews are amazing, but there's nowhere to fit it later in the trip. If we go to Kona on Saturday morning, we can go super early and still make it back for regular park opening. Those express passes will save us from waiting in long lines, with the exception of the Harry Potter rides.

(I have no interest in Kong. So that's not an issue either.)

I figure we'll end up re-riding things and hitting whatever we missed the day before. This is an opportunity to hit whichever other Harry Potter restaurant we didn't visit the day before. And then I figured we'd take advantage of a restaurant on property for dinner, since again, the parks close early.

We'll most likely play mini golf Saturday night. The parks close at 7PM that night, I believe, so unless we're dog tired (and I doubt that we will be), we'll eat and then golf. I heard that the mini golf is just a fantastic amount of fun. And I think it would be a nice way to end our trip!

For those of you counting down with me, do you have recommendations concerning the food portion of our trip? Do you have favorite rides that we shouldn't miss? Do you have tips concerning Universal? I went once when I was a little kid (before Islands of Adventure was even there, apparently, and my mom hasn't been back). I went most recently with my dad, but we skipped all of the roller coasters except for the Dueling Dragons. We somehow still got 25,000 steps!

I stopped at the one bakery, Croissant Moon Bakery, but the napoleon I had there was very meh. It definitely wasn't worth the price we paid for it. We also went to Antojito's, which was pretty good, for lunch. But I think since we're eating Mexican food later in the trip, it might be good to eat something we're not going to be eating later.

I looked into Cowfish, but my mom won't eat fish, so that just seems like a miss for us.

Other than than that, that's my plan for Universal!

 

[Raeven]

Yes! MNSSHP was awesome, although we did the dessert party last year so that did occupy a lot of our time. This our first year for Food & Wine we missed it by a couple days last year.

Mama Dellas was amazing! We also did the dinner and mini golf deal which I thought was a good value. We ate at Margaritaville which was pretty good, but the deal does offer a limited version of the menu to pick from. Mythos was amazing too and I'm a pretty picky eater. I was hesitant because I didn't really like the menu either but it was one of our best meals. They do have regular burgers on the menu so that's what I picked for the main course. The food at the HP places doesn't really interest me (aside from dessert) so I don't really have advice there.

If you want to go to DS or somewhere in Disney for food, it's actually a lot closer of a drive than I thought it would be looking at maps, but I did plan to eat breakfast there on days we were in Universal, and once we were there I felt like that would be too ambitious and ended up canceling them to do other things. Universal doesn't have as many breakfast choices, but the hotels should each have breakfast there. Plus when I sleep in I tend to miss breakfast completely

I had a cold when we went to Universal so I missed quite a few rides and we didn't get to all of IOA. I'm not a coaster person so my favorite rides are probably pretty lame haha I liked Gringotts and Men in Black best at Universal, the Hogwarts Express was pretty cool, and I honestly don't think I rode anything at all in IOA. So I'll have to make up for it this year!

 

[KnK]

KnK: It looks like you're going about two weeks or so before I am! Are you super excited?!

Looks like it.....9/10-9/20.....today was FastPass Day!

 

[steviethegreat]

Looks like it.....9/10-9/20.....today was FastPass Day!

That's SO exciting!!! My FP day is on July 27th! It's so hard to wait, but I know it'll be worth it. I just can't decide if I want to do only fastpasses for Soarin', since it's my mom's favorite, or do one day with a FP for Frozen Ever After. But I mean, I saw the walkthrough online and it didn't seem like anything I'd wait HOURS in line for, so I'm not sure what we'll do. I'm hoping that the lines are dramatically smaller in September, but... with the Food & Wine festival, I'm just not sure.

 

[steviethegreat]

IN OTHER NEWS

I'll probably just stick to my PTR from now on. :/ I wrote a post, asking for opinions on a restaurant for my final night in Disney, in the restaurant board. And people and their completely valid opinions were not as helpful as I'd hoped. While I appreciated the opinions on how I might just want to eat around the world, I was ALSO told that nights are basically the worst night to eat at the F&W because they're swarmed with people. So I anticipated eating at a sit-down restaurant each night. (Especially the last night.)

I was going to do Le Cellier, but since we'll be tasting the filet at the F&W, I figured we'd just save like $200 instead. We're already doing Jiko, Sanaa, and Boma, so there's no need to go somewhere else at our hotel.

We have Raglan for the first night in our trip, while we're over at Universal. And 'Ohana. San Angel Inn. 50's Prime Time. But even though we have a bunch of breakfasts booked, we'll most likely end up cancelling our reservations for most of them. My mom's not a big eater and we're both going to want to be getting in lines for rides.

There was a suggestion for the Japanese/Moroccan restaurants in the other board, but I feel like some of these things are available up here in Pittsburgh, especially the restaurant where they cook in front of you? We go to those for just about every birthday. :/ And the portions up here are way bigger.

So now I'm stumped with this last reservation. Do I do like..Shula's or Bluezoo? Do I do Les Chefs? Do I pick an Italian restaurant, even though we're well-covered with those up here in Pittsburgh? It's the last piece to the puzzle of my sanity, this reservation! But at least we're ALMOST to 10 weeks! TOMORROW.

So, guys! Any suggestions? Any place I DEFINITELY should not miss (for any of my meals)? We're on the DDP, but I have like..$1,300 saved for JUST food.

 

[disnyfan4ever]

While I don't know how good the food is, I know I am excited to hopefully try Homecoming Florida Kitchen that just opened yesterday at Disney Springs! Reservations are supposed to open up for booking on-line on Friday and I'm hoping to be able to get one. I did read that this restaurant will be on the DDP as 1 credit so that could be an option for you.

 

[steviethegreat]

While I don't know how good the food is, I know I am excited to hopefully try Homecoming Florida Kitchen that just opened yesterday at Disney Springs! Reservations are supposed to open up for booking on-line on Friday and I'm hoping to be able to get one. I did read that this restaurant will be on the DDP as 1 credit so that could be an option for you.

I took another look at the menu the other day and agree! I might switch out Boatwright's for this restaurant. (Assuming reservations aren't all taken.)

 

[ariane37]

Joining! I love your excitement about your upcoming trip Also very jealous that you're 1. staying at AKL and 2. doing MNSSHP, my absolute favorite thing to do at Disney. I'd bet all my $$ you'll love it! I see you're wanting to ride Space with low lines and yes, most often lots of rides have low lines. But PLEASE don't miss the Boo To You parade, it's the best parade Disney does!!

I wouldn't be concerned about having booked standard view at AKL. We stayed there in January for the first time (rented points) and had standard view. We had the most beautiful, relaxing pool view, we loved it. Even though we couldn't see animals from our room, there are so many spots around the resort such as the hallways to view animals. The entire resort and everything about it is so relaxing and beautiful...... We tried renting points again for our Nov. trip but were too late, and our Aug. trip was very last minute and we just happened to find a great deal on WL which is a resort I've been wanting to try. But I swear our next trip will be back at AKL!
Okay, I wanted to say hi, now it's back to read your daily plans

 

[ariane37]

OK back already Suggestions for your last night dinner. As far as the Japanese/Moroccan/Italian and the fact that you have really good restaurants of those types by you: I'm in NY so we do, too. That being said we love Via Napoli and also Restaurant Marrakesh in Morocco. It's kind of toned down Moroccan food but still very good plus the inside of the restaurant is beautiful with all the hand-laid tilework. They have a belly dancer during dinner which, while probably more interesting to men, is fun to watch.
We'd never been to either Japanese restaurant until January when we "accidentally" went to Tokyo Dining, and it's now one of our favorites! The food was great and a bonus is, if you're there during Illuminations you can watch from their outside deck. The view is fabulous.
Otherwise I'd probably go with Chefs or even Rose and Crown. Garden Grill is fun although a character meal, so depends how you feel about that. But you know what might be fun? Going over to the Beach Club and eating at Beaches and Cream! The menu isn't big but the food is good and of course, ice cream There's also Yachtsman Steakhouse if you're up to a signature. You'd use up an extra credit there but since you have money saved it might work. The steak there is phenomenal
I probably didn't help giving ALL these suggestions, sorry!

 

[steviethegreat]

Joining! I love your excitement about your upcoming trip Also very jealous that you're 1. staying at AKL and 2. doing MNSSHP, my absolute favorite thing to do at Disney. I'd bet all my $$ you'll love it! I see you're wanting to ride Space with low lines and yes, most often lots of rides have low lines. But PLEASE don't miss the Boo To You parade, it's the best parade Disney does!!

Welcome!! And I'm still stunned we managed to pull off AKL. We were originally at Wilderness Lodge, then I went for POFQ (my mom is obsessed with beignets) and then I was looking into Old Key West, because staying there with DVC points was so much cheaper. But my mom REALLY wanted to stay at AKL and I got approved for my southwest credit card (free flights), so I saved some money.

I've seen pictures of MNSSHP, but I've never been. We're DEFINITELY dressing up. (I wanted to be Rey, but my plan to lose a large amount of weight before going didn't quite work out as expected. So I'm going to pick something more size friendly.) We definitely won't miss Boo to You parade, though we'll get the second one, since people have said it's less crowded.

I wouldn't be concerned about having booked standard view at AKL. We stayed there in January for the first time (rented points) and had standard view. We had the most beautiful, relaxing pool view, we loved it. Even though we couldn't see animals from our room, there are so many spots around the resort such as the hallways to view animals. The entire resort and everything about it is so relaxing and beautiful...... We tried renting points again for our Nov. trip but were too late, and our Aug. trip was very last minute and we just happened to find a great deal on WL which is a resort I've been wanting to try. But I swear our next trip will be back at AKL!
Okay, I wanted to say hi, now it's back to read your daily plans

I was going to look into upgrading when we got there, though I also looked at in-room celebrations for mom, but I'm not sure how much of a price jump it would be and if it would be worth it. So we'll probably just stay with what we have and enjoy the standard, like you said. I'm sure EVERY room is just as beautiful as the next.

OK back already Suggestions for your last night dinner. As far as the Japanese/Moroccan/Italian and the fact that you have really good restaurants of those types by you: I'm in NY so we do, too. That being said we love Via Napoli and also Restaurant Marrakesh in Morocco. It's kind of toned down Moroccan food but still very good plus the inside of the restaurant is beautiful with all the hand-laid tilework. They have a belly dancer during dinner which, while probably more interesting to men, is fun to watch.

We'd never been to either Japanese restaurant until January when we "accidentally" went to Tokyo Dining, and it's now one of our favorites! The food was great and a bonus is, if you're there during Illuminations you can watch from their outside deck. The view is fabulous.
Otherwise I'd probably go with Chefs or even Rose and Crown. Garden Grill is fun although a character meal, so depends how you feel about that. But you know what might be fun? Going over to the Beach Club and eating at Beaches and Cream! The menu isn't big but the food is good and of course, ice cream There's also Yachtsman Steakhouse if you're up to a signature. You'd use up an extra credit there but since you have money saved it might work. The steak there is phenomenal
I probably didn't help giving ALL these suggestions, sorry!

All of your suggestions were really helpful!! I'm still trying to figure out where I can fit in Yachtsman. It was so good last time! I actually managed to convince myself to buy the Deluxe DDP, so we have 3 credits per day now. I made my mom pick her last night dinner, so she picked Bongo's Cuban Cafe? It looks really good!! We're switching out Boatwright's for Chef Art's Homecoming, if I can EVER get a reservation.

I'll be back with an update tonight. I've been just driving myself crazy! (Aaaand maybe catching Pokemon...) Thank you again for your wonderful suggestions! I'm sorry I've been so lazy about replying to you! I just keep meaning to do so and getting distracted.

 

[steviethegreat]

WALT DISNEY WORLD

Sunday:
Park: Magic Kingdom
Breakfast: Port Orleans - Beignets
Lunch: Be Our Guest - 2PM QS
Dinner: 'Ohana - 9PM TS
Favorite Ride: SPACE MOUNTAIN!!!!

Finally! We leave Universal to go to...DISNEY AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!
We're church folk, so we're going to be going from Universal to a church service. We have a reservation for Be our Guest at 2pm, so we'll probably go and grab a thing of beignets for 'breakfast' and then hit the park. We'll obviously be doing Magic Kingdom first, since that's where lunch is. Mom's favorite ride is Soarin', but it made the most sense to spend the WHOLE day in the park, rather than park hop. I imagine our room won't be ready, but we can drop our stuff off, get our lunch, go back, put stuff away, and then go back to the park. I THINK that night might be MNSSHP? So we'd have to be out by 7pm anyway! Which means we can be 'on time' for 'Ohana!

Now, 'Ohana is one of my favorite meals of last year. But since we're on the deluxe dining plan (it made more sense financially), I'm rethinking it? I mean, the food is GOOD. But I didn't like the shrimp. They were so much work! But that bread pudding...and the pork dumplings!! I just hope it's as good as I remember.

Monday:
Park: EPCOT
Breakfast: Whispering Canyon Cafe - 7:45AM TS [MIGHT CHANGE]
Lunch: None.
Dinner: Garden Grill - 5:50PM TS [MIGHT CHANGE]
Favorite Ride: Soarin'!

So, I am soooo torn on our first EPCOT day. I've heard that WCC is good, but inconsistent. I've heard that people have fun, but that breakfast is pretty low key. Since the shenanigans were why we were going, I'm thinking of ditching this breakfast in favor of another breakfast or lunch. (I could stick Kona Cafe in here, since I really want to try Tonga Toast. Realistically, I want to eat everything at Kona.) I'm ALSO considering ditching the Garden Grill if I can get a reservation at the Yachtsman. I know it's a little stuffy there. But it's supposed to have the BEST steak on property. And since we get appetizers, meals, desserts, etc, I'm really thinking it'd be smart to eat a meal where we're PAYING for that, since we're paying for that $60 upcharge with the DDP.

As for the Deluxe Dining Plan idea, I figured we were spending more money by adding appetizers than if we didn't upgrade.

I'll be back with the next part later!

 

[ariane37]

WALT DISNEY WORLD

Sunday:
Park: Magic Kingdom
Breakfast: Port Orleans - Beignets
Lunch: Be Our Guest - 2PM QS
Dinner: 'Ohana - 9PM TS
Favorite Ride: SPACE MOUNTAIN!!!!

Finally! We leave Universal to go to...DISNEY AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!
We're church folk, so we're going to be going from Universal to a church service. We have a reservation for Be our Guest at 2pm, so we'll probably go and grab a thing of beignets for 'breakfast' and then hit the park. We'll obviously be doing Magic Kingdom first, since that's where lunch is. Mom's favorite ride is Soarin', but it made the most sense to spend the WHOLE day in the park, rather than park hop. I imagine our room won't be ready, but we can drop our stuff off, get our lunch, go back, put stuff away, and then go back to the park. I THINK that night might be MNSSHP? So we'd have to be out by 7pm anyway! Which means we can be 'on time' for 'Ohana!

Now, 'Ohana is one of my favorite meals of last year. But since we're on the deluxe dining plan (it made more sense financially), I'm rethinking it? I mean, the food is GOOD. But I didn't like the shrimp. They were so much work! But that bread pudding...and the pork dumplings!! I just hope it's as good as I remember.

Monday:
Park: EPCOT
Breakfast: Whispering Canyon Cafe - 7:45AM TS [MIGHT CHANGE]
Lunch: None.
Dinner: Garden Grill - 5:50PM TS [MIGHT CHANGE]
Favorite Ride: Soarin'!

So, I am soooo torn on our first EPCOT day. I've heard that WCC is good, but inconsistent. I've heard that people have fun, but that breakfast is pretty low key. Since the shenanigans were why we were going, I'm thinking of ditching this breakfast in favor of another breakfast or lunch. (I could stick Kona Cafe in here, since I really want to try Tonga Toast. Realistically, I want to eat everything at Kona.) I'm ALSO considering ditching the Garden Grill if I can get a reservation at the Yachtsman. I know it's a little stuffy there. But it's supposed to have the BEST steak on property. And since we get appetizers, meals, desserts, etc, I'm really thinking it'd be smart to eat a meal where we're PAYING for that, since we're paying for that $60 upcharge with the DDP.

As for the Deluxe Dining Plan idea, I figured we were spending more money by adding appetizers than if we didn't upgrade.

I'll be back with the next part later!

I like the idea of doing Yachtsman instead of GG dinner - is there nothing available that night for Yachtsman or have you not tried yet? I recently read a review of WCC breakfast. They enjoyed the food although I don't think it was anything out of this world, and I believe the shenanigans were present but not that much. Maybe ask over on the restaurant forum? If you do end up deciding not to do breakfast there, Kona is definitely another option. However if you do decide to switch out GG dinner with Yachtsman you could try doing GG for breakfast......we did it last Nov. and LOVED it! We're doing it again this November