"We cannot go back in 2015." Good thing my nose doesn't grow! September PTR

[piratehookspixiedust]

Hello all!

My name is Nicole and I am a mommy and wife in our little family of five. I have two boys and a baby girl ages 13, 7, and 3.

I have been a Disney fanatic for my entire life. The very first movie I ever saw in theaters was The Little Mermaid. Hooked ever since. Cannot get enough of anything and everything Disney related. I know I drive my friends and family insane.

My parents took me when I was 3 to WDW for the first time. I do not remember much from that trip. I do have pictures though... When my sister was 3 and I was 7 they took us back. I always knew that as soon as I could I wanted to take my family.

We first took our family to Disney in September of 2012. My husband honestly was not excited at all as he had never been. I am pretty sure he only agreed to go because he thought we would go once and it would shut me up. Yeah, he's got it bad now. He loves it! We snagged free dining and decided to do whatever it took to go. Fall is my very favorite time of year and we love Halloween. MNSSHP was an absolute blast! We instantly fell in love. We were at AOA for that trip in a Little Mermaid room. We have since outgrown value resorts. That brings us to February 2014. After being lucky enough to receive a free dining code in the mail, we quickly booked a trip and were able to stay at POR. I am absolutely in LOVE with this resort. We stayed for a week in February and had another magical trip! We were so hooked that we absolutely could not resist a weekend trip this past December. So we bought tickets to MVMCP and loaded the car! Seeing the MK at Christmas has been a dream of mine for my entire life. Check that one off the bucket list and I can assure you that we WILL be back! It is amazing how they can make the most magical place on earth even more magical....

We have said that we "for sure" will not be going back to WDW until 2016. BUT- I cannot stay away. My husband has given me free reign to plan a surprise vacation for a week in September. He says he does not care where we go as long as I can pay for it. Therefore, I am HOPING & PRAYING for free dining!

I hate to be that person that counts on it, but with my large family, the savings are SO great. It saves up $1,700.00 so here is to wishing...

My dates are: Sunday 9/20- Sunday 9/27. I wish I could add in Saturday 9/21 but my son plays football and he would have to miss two games. Missing one is bad enough in his (coach) daddy's eyes.

I plan on booking our room within the next two weeks. I would love to stay at Port Orleans Riverside again, but I know that they are typically excluded from free dining promotions. So our new plan is to book at Caribbean Beach Resort. I am a little skeptical because I keep hearing about how HUGE the place is, but my family loves the beach and I am in love with the photos so we will be giving it a try. If for any reason I receive a special code again I may switch back to POR... Only time will tell, but this is the plan as of now.

If we make it to WDW, the kids will be 14, 8, and 4. This is the first time my daughter will be old enough for the BBB so I know that is an absolute must! The Pirates League is always a hit so I know we will do that again. I also cannot wait to attend MNSSHP again. The Boo to You parade is my favorite ever.

I already know that I want a princess meal, but I am so up in the air about my other dining choices. I have debated if we should do Royal Round Table or not. I am not sure about using two meal credits. We did love Akershus... but I also would like to try 1900 Park Fare at night with Cinderella. We loved their breakfast. I have always wanted to do Ohana, Prime Time Cafe.... I know we will wind up at Teppan Edo on an EPCOT day... The Crystal Palace is an absolute favorite of mine as I have a huge soft spot for Winnie the Pooh and like to get in the park ahead of the crown for photos (I am a photographer). I am trying to decide if we will do Chef Mickeys or Tusker House. We did breakfast at both and loved them...

This is my family this past Christmas...



Thanks for listening to my rambling. I look forward to using this as an outlet as I know you guys understand! I think I get on a lot of peoples nerves when I can't shut up about it.

CONTENTS

ADR Selections
We are BOOKED!!!​

 

[piratehookspixiedust]

ADR Selections​

Small update already. Nothing too huge. I have picked out some ADR!

We will be staying Sunday-Sunday. I know that the Sunday we arrive (first thing that morning) is the day I would like to do MNSSHP.

Sunday 9/20- Ohana breakfast (later breakfast right after arrival) and Pirates League early afternoon before MNSSHP.
Monday 9/21- Prime Time Cafe
Tuesday 9/22- Trying to decide between Teppan Edo or San Angel Inn
Wednesday 9/23- BBB before dinner at 1900 Park Fare
Thursday 9/24- Would love to do Crystal Palace before park opening. It was my favorite. Then maybe hit HS or Epcot that afternoon...
Friday 9/25- Tusker House breakfast
Saturday 9/26- Be Our Guest Dinner (hate to do MK on a busy Saturday, but I think we may do rope drop, try to meet Elsa and Anna that day, do a few rides and then hang out at the resort pool until dinner). I have heard BOG is much easier to get a reservation for if you book it for your last day...
Sunday 9/27- GO HOME

I cannot book anything listed until March 24th. Have you guys had better luck calling in or on My Disney Experience? Would you do any tweaking? I know I will between now and March...

 

[piratehookspixiedust]

We booked! We officially have reservations for 9/20-9/27 at....











































I was skeptical, but after browsing photos and youtube videos of this absolutely gorgeous resort, I am not so sure I would even change it at this point. I am thrilled! We will be walking a lot anyway right??





We will be in a standard room. I tried really hard to add a preferred room but I think our party exceeds capacity. So standard it is! Guess we will save a few bucks!


My boys would flip over a pirate room. I don't think that is an option for us either (exceeding capacity and all). Only time will tell as we wait for discounts to be announced!

 

[princessbelle2015]

Joining in. The CB looks nice. I look forward to reading more of your plans.

 

[Tracy161]

Joining in! You have a beautiful family

The room picture looks gorgeous - yay for that!!!

 

[ursalita]

Hi! Love the picture of your family at Christmas in front of the castle.

You have some great ADR ideas. I have changed mine around countless times and I still may make more changes if I keep reading DRs.

I think MDE is pretty good with ADRs. I think if you go on at midnight or 1 am on the day your window opens up it's the best bet for getting BOG reservations. I didn't book BOG dinner so I don't have first hand experience but that's what I heard. I've never had problems with MDE and I've used it a lot.

Looking forward to hearing more of your plans.

 

[piratehookspixiedust]

Joining in. The CB looks nice. I look forward to reading more of your plans.

Joining in! You have a beautiful family

The room picture looks gorgeous - yay for that!!!

Welcome and thanks so much! I am excited about the rooms. The resort photos period have me so excited!

Hi! Love the picture of your family at Christmas in front of the castle.

You have some great ADR ideas. I have changed mine around countless times and I still may make more changes if I keep reading DRs.

I think MDE is pretty good with ADRs. I think if you go on at midnight or 1 am on the day your window opens up it's the best bet for getting BOG reservations. I didn't book BOG dinner so I don't have first hand experience but that's what I heard. I've never had problems with MDE and I've used it a lot.

Looking forward to hearing more of your plans.

Thank you so much! That was this past December. Christmas is gorgeous but I am looking forward to another MNSSHP myself!

I am going to be up all night long the night I can start making ADR, I just know it. I am probably going to cut back one or two of the ones I have listed sue to the fact that we got SO worn out twice on our last trip and wound up at Boatwrights since it was at our resort. CBR has Shutters so I would like to try it out as well...

 

[marabusybee]

Joining in! Looks like fun so far