We're flying from Never Land to see Mickey! A June 2011 PTR Update 6/3 Leaving Today!

[ZFamily5]

Welcome to our June 2011 PTR! No one in our family is new to Disney, even the youngest has gone 3 times, but everyone is anxiously awaiting another fun-filled trip. We all share a love of Mickey and the gang! First up, some info about the trip:

When: June 2-13, 2011
Where: Port Orleans Riverside
Cast of Characters:
Dad- Best daddy ever! He enjoys football, spending time with family and friends, board/card games and traveling. Dad loves Disney World has been to the World numerous times as a kid and as an adult.
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride: Splash Mountain
Favorite Character: Mickey

Mom- Our mom is awesome! She likes scrapbooking (especially Disney trips), drinking coffee, traveling and of course, Disney World. Mom is usually my partner in crime when I'm planning a trip to Disney!
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride: Peter Pan
Favorite Character: Minnie Mouse

Thing2 (hereby referred to as Tink)- Tink is my 10 year old sister. She is a very talented piano player and she participates in choir and dance. Tink loves the World as much as the rest of us, but isn't into the planning as much as I am. She has been to Disney multiple times and even celebrated her 8th birthday at Disneyland. We will be celebrating her 11th birthday while we're there, even though we won't be there on her actual birthday.
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride: Dumbo
Favorite Character: Genie

Thing3 (hereby referred to as Pocahontas)- Pocahontas is my 5 year old sister. She loves her dance classes and her gymnastics class. This will be Pocahontas's 3rd trip to Disney World and she's been to Disneyland. She is a girly-girl and loves the princesses!
Favorite Park: EPCOT
Favorite Ride: Journey Into Imagination w/ Figment
Favorite Character: Pocahontas and Figment

Thing1 (Me!)- I am 14 years old. I enjoy dance classes, track, reading and planning trips to Disney World. This will be my 6th or 7th trip to the World. I love to make all the schedules and plan what we will do each day!
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride: Splash Mountain
Favorite Character: Winnie the Pooh

(Pictures of us to come in a later post)

Next up: Tentative Itinerary and more planning!

 

[ZFamily5]

I'm back again! It's almost time to make our ADRs and I wanted to share what we were thinking with you. Hopefully the park hours will be out in time for us to flop park days for EMHs. Here's a list of restaraunts we are hoping to try:
-Possibly Hoop De Doo Revue
-Hollywood and Vine (lunch)
-Crystal Palace (a favorite of ours)
-Via Napoli
-Yak and Yeti (another favorite, especially of Mom)
-Boma
-Rose and Crown
-Either Mama Melrose or 50's Primetime
-Liberty Tree Tavern

We need 2 more TS meals. Any suggestions and comments on what I have so far would be much appreciated.

On the next episode of "Teenager Planning a Trip to Disney", more dining discussion and park hours.

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Hey there! Great PTR so far! I love planning trips too and so far yours sound great! I sometimes wish people in my family were young enough just so I could do Play & Dine at H&V again....how I miss it... haha. POR is such a great resort! If you haven't stayed there, you will LOVE it. If you have, then you know what I mean!

I have been to all the restaurants on your current ADR list, except for Yak & Yeti and Via Napoli, which we will be trying on our family trip in August. Also, in your debate about 50's or Mama Melrose, I'd like to recommend 50's. It's a lot of fun, especially since you have younger siblings.

Also, since you are looking for 2 more TS restaurants, I thought I would mention a couple. Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge for one. That place is soo fun and lively and your younger siblings and yourself, even your parents are sure to have a blast! The food there is DEEEELISHHH. and you can explore the beautiful hotel while you're there. The prices are economical too, because the food is served family- style, basically meaning that you get more than one helping, in case you're not on the DDP. If you are, it's only 1 TS credit!

Another restaurant you should look into is Boatwright's Dining Hall, which is right at POR!! It's a TS, and the food is absolutely YUM. There are many manyyy options for kids and adults, and the filet is soo good. The restaurant is kind of a hidden gem in WDW, so if you haven't tried it yet, you're sure to love it. The atmosphere is really cool too, and you can explore your resort on your way over. Plus, it's relaxing after a crazy day at the parks.

Happy planning! If you have any questions, just post us all a thread!

 

[ZFamily5]

Hey there! Great PTR so far! I love planning trips too and so far yours sound great! I sometimes wish people in my family were young enough just so I could do Play & Dine at H&V again....how I miss it... haha. POR is such a great resort! If you haven't stayed there, you will LOVE it. If you have, then you know what I mean!

I have been to all the restaurants on your current ADR list, except for Yak & Yeti and Via Napoli, which we will be trying on our family trip in August. Also, in your debate about 50's or Mama Melrose, I'd like to recommend 50's. It's a lot of fun, especially since you have younger siblings.

Also, since you are looking for 2 more TS restaurants, I thought I would mention a couple. Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge for one. That place is soo fun and lively and your younger siblings and yourself, even your parents are sure to have a blast! The food there is DEEEELISHHH. and you can explore the beautiful hotel while you're there. The prices are economical too, because the food is served family- style, basically meaning that you get more than one helping, in case you're not on the DDP. If you are, it's only 1 TS credit!

Another restaurant you should look into is Boatwright's Dining Hall, which is right at POR!! It's a TS, and the food is absolutely YUM. There are many manyyy options for kids and adults, and the filet is soo good. The restaurant is kind of a hidden gem in WDW, so if you haven't tried it yet, you're sure to love it. The atmosphere is really cool too, and you can explore your resort on your way over. Plus, it's relaxing after a crazy day at the parks.

Happy planning! If you have any questions, just post us all a thread!

Thank you so much for all the info Disneyfreak616! I really appreciate it. I'm thinking Whispering Canyon Cafe might be a good choice but we'll have to see. Also, what would you recommend getting at 50's? We are not picky eaters by any means, I just was curious what others recommended...

 

[ZFamily5]

The park hours for the beginning of our trip just came out so the real planning can begin (can you tell I'm a little excited?). We have to begin booking ADRs tomorrow morning, so I've been rushing to look up all the EMHs and flop days around to get the most park time. As of now here's what our trip will look like:

6/2- Arrive, walk around resort, go look at other resorts
Breakfast: Airport
Lunch: Riverside Mill Food Court
Dinner: Hoop De Doo Revue

6/3- Hollywood Studios (for SWWs) in the morning, Magic Kingdom in the evening (EMH 'til 1! )
Breakfast: Snack credits for something...(what can you get for breakfast with snack credits?)
Lunch: Hollywood and Vine
Dinner: One of the CS at MK

6/4- Epcot all day!
Breakfast: Snack credits
Lunch: Tangerine Cafe
Dinner: Via Napoli

6/5- Magic Kingdom all day (Evening EMH 'til 2)
Breakfast- Crystal Palace
Lunch: Snacks mid-afternoon
Dinner: MK counter-service

6/6- Animal Kingdom
Breakfast- Snack credits
Lunch: Yak and Yeti
Dinner: Riverside Mill Food Court

6/7- Break Day
Breakfast- Snack credits or just wait for early lunch
Lunch: Earl of Sandwich
Dinner: Boma


Here's where things get a little confusing because of trying to sort out EMH times, parks, etc, so I'll leave you with the first half of our trip plans.
Thanks for reading!

 

[ZFamily5]

What's up guys?
Today was our first day to make ADRs! Since last night, we have decided we are skipping Hoop De Doo (again) in favor of 1900 Park Fare the first night. How is the food there? We were debating Chef Mickey's too, but that was voted as a better place for breakfast in our family. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

 

[ZFamily5]

It's been a while since I've been here, but alas, no new readers yet... We are almost half way through making ADRs and it has been both stressful and very fun. I love the planning stages, so this is very fun for me! Last night all 5 of us sat down to discuss what I've done so far (because up until then, I alone had been planning our meals and what parks we would go to) and what to book for the upcoming days. It was nice to get my parent's opinions to see what they want to do on this trip. Here's a quick recap of what we have booked dining wise...

6/2- 1900 Park Fare @ 6:10
6/3- We canceled both reservations and are just doing CS all day
6/4- Via Napoli @ 7
6/6- Boma @ 7:30

You may have noticed I skipped 6/5. Last night after Thing2 and Thing3 went to bed, we were discussing that Thing3 should get to eat at Cinderella's Royal Table while she's still at the right age for that (and Thing2 for that matter). We decided we were going to try to get it for later in the week on one of our MK days. We moved onto to talking about other days, but while they were talking, I went on the Disney website. I was just messing around and went to the page to book Cinderella's Royal Table and searched 6/5 (the day we had Crystal Palace previously booked for that morning). To my major surprise and amazement a 8:15 AM reservation was available (this was at 9 PM last night!). I immediately showed Mom and Dad and they jumped right on and booked it. So the big news of the day...we are having breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table!!!!! I am stoked for this reservation! We are trying to keep it a secret from the girls until the trip and boy, is it hard keeping quiet!

In other news, Thing2 and I went in on gifts together this year! All of the gifts we have picked (so far) are a Disney theme. I'll post after Christmas what we got them because I don't know if Mom will read this...

Thanks for reading!

 

[ZFamily5]

Sorry I haven't posted in a while...it's a busy time of the year! It's kind of sad to say that tomorrow's our last day of making dining reservations! Here's a quick rundown of what we ultimately ended up making reservations for:

6/2- 1900 Park Fare (dinner)
6/3- None
6/4- Via Napoli (dinner)
6/5- Cinderella's Royal Table (breakfast)
6/6- Boma (dinner)
6/7- Rose and Crown (dinner)
6/8- Chef Mickey's (breakfast)
6/9- Yak and Yeti (lunch)
6/10- Biergarten (dinner)
6/11- Liberty Tree Tavern (dinner)

We are trying to pick somewhere in Epcot for our last sit-down...possibly Coral Reef...What do you guys think? Any comments/suggestions on what we have already would be appreciated.

In "real life" news, we only have 28 hours left of school until winter break! As much as I love school, it's going to be nice to have a little break. Does anyone have big plans for their time off?

Well...that's all I have for now...Thanks for reading!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Thank you so much for all the info Disneyfreak616! I really appreciate it. I'm thinking Whispering Canyon Cafe might be a good choice but we'll have to see. Also, what would you recommend getting at 50's? We are not picky eaters by any means, I just was curious what others recommended...

I would recommend the fried chicken to be honest! It's delishh!

Also, with snack credits you can get bakery items like muffins and danishes, boxed cereal, and smoothies!

I LOVE 1900 Park Fare! It's great and the breakfast is a lot of fun because they aren't the usual characters that you always see at character meals. Also, the food selection is amazingg!!!

Congrats on getting Cinderella's Royal Table!!! You will love it and it will be SUCH a fun surprise for "Thing 3"

I love your final ADR list! That's a really nice balance of fun character meals and cool signature dining!

Another place in Epcot to consider could be Coral Reef! We love it there! The atmosphere is sooo cool and the food is awesome! Also there is Les Chefs de France! That place is fun for the whole family and the food is wonderful! Those French reallyyy got it right with that one!

No big plans for Christmas break...some caroling and parties and spending time with my family '

Thanks for the updates!

 

[ZFamily5]

I would recommend the fried chicken to be honest! It's delishh!

Also, with snack credits you can get bakery items like muffins and danishes, boxed cereal, and smoothies!

I LOVE 1900 Park Fare! It's great and the breakfast is a lot of fun because they aren't the usual characters that you always see at character meals. Also, the food selection is amazingg!!!

Congrats on getting Cinderella's Royal Table!!! You will love it and it will be SUCH a fun surprise for "Thing 3"

I love your final ADR list! That's a really nice balance of fun character meals and cool signature dining!

Another place in Epcot to consider could be Coral Reef! We love it there! The atmosphere is sooo cool and the food is awesome! Also there is Les Chefs de France! That place is fun for the whole family and the food is wonderful! Those French reallyyy got it right with that one!

No big plans for Christmas break...some caroling and parties and spending time with my family '

Thanks for the updates!

Thanks for all the info! It seems like we will have a good selection of breakfast items we can get for snack credits. I'm really happy that all of our ADRs seem to have good food and have gotten at least decent reviews! We took your advice and we ended up booking Coral Reef and Les Chefs de France for lunch...We just have to figure out which one to cancel...

Sometimes it's best not to do anything major. Have a great Christmas break (if you're off yet).

 

[ZFamily5]

Since there's really nothing to do for a while (we finished ADRs) I decided I would make a list of my (and some of my family's) must dos for this trip. I put the things we've never done before (there won't be many) in red, so any advice, comments, whatever on those would be appreciated!

Magic Kingdom Must Dos:
-Pretty much all the rides (except Stitch's Great Escape...not one of our favorites...Also, does anyone know if Dumbo will be open?)
-Pecos Bill's
-Cosmic Ray's
-Columbia Harbor House
-See both parades and the fireworks
-Browse through shops on Main Street
-Have a cookie from the Main Street Bakery!

Epcot Must Dos:
-Spaceship Earth
-Mission: Space
-Test Track
-Soarin'
-Journey into Imagination with Figment (Thing3's absolute favorite)
-Living with the Land
-Club Cool (is that what it's called?)
-Explore the countries
-Kim Possible Mission
Just a random note about this: Thing2 LOVES Kim Possible! We have the movies, she had a Kim Possible themed birthday party and this year the three of us and four of our friends dressed up like the Kim Possible characters for Halloween. We had Kim, Ron, Wade, Shego, Rufus, Bonnie and Dr. Draken (sp?)
-Illuminations

Hollywood Studios Must Dos:
-TSM
-ToT
-RnRC
-Beauty and the Beast
-Voyage of the Little Mermaid
-Animation building
-Great Movie Ride
-Muppets movie
-Whatever that backstage tour is called...(Backlot Tour?)
-Star Tours
It seems like I'm forgetting a lot, so feel free to comment on what I missed...I guess my brain is on vacation...

Animal Kingdom Must Dos:
-Kilimanjaro Safari
-Expedition Everest
-Kali River Rapids
-Primeval Whirl
-Dinosaur Dumbo (what is it really called?)
-Festival of the Lion King
-Nemo show
-Thing3 REALLY wants to find Pocahontas and get her autograph/picture, so we will have to try and find her...

Downtown Disney Must Dos:
-Definitely browse through lots of the shops
-I want to try to fill a box of Mr. Potato Head parts
-Thing2 will probably want to make a light saber

Sorry this was so long...I didn't realize how long it had gotten...Thanks for reading!

 

[jessidoll]

Heyy,I'm hopping aboard you're PTR and hopefully you're TR!!!!

 

[ZFamily5]

Heyy,I'm hopping aboard you're PTR and hopefully you're TR!!!!

Thanks for joining in! Not many people have responded...do you think it's because we are younger than the usual TR writers? Us "younger" people have to stick together!

 

[ZFamily5]

We had a fabulous Christmas yesterday, how about the rest of you?

To avoid typing endlessly about our day, here are a few highlights (mostly Disney related, but a few otherwise):
-Mom made "monkey bread"
-Thing3 got an American Girl doll (Josefina)
-I got a Mickey Mouse Crimson Tide shirt (Roll tide!)
-All 3 of us girls got a Vinylmation in our stockings and Thing2 and I each got one more
-And, probably my most favorite gift:
The Dooney and Bourke Disney Sketch Tassel Tote! I love it so much!

I hope all of you had a very Disney holiday season and I will be sure to update again soon! Please don't be afraid to post, I would love some more readers!

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

Hi Thing1, it sounds like you are going to have a great trip, you are so lucky going so many times to Disney in your life, I am double your age and have never been (does Disneyland and Paris Disney count?).

We have the same tastes for Dining, I want to go to all of the places you are going to except 1900 park fare and Via Napoli. I know it is a bit strange a couple in their 20s going to Cinderellas Royal Table and Chef Mickeys, but I figure if there is anywhere in the world I can pretend to be a kid again it is Disney

I hope that you make it through all of your must do's, I must admit that the Kim Possible missions do look fun. You will have to let me know how they go and if Thing2 loves it.

I am glad that you had a great Christmas and got such great Disney gifts. I got all the things I wanted too (Perfume and DVD's, I am easy to keep happy).

Thanks for posting on my PTR you are the only one who has . Where is everybody? Hope you get more followers soon, you are such a good writer I am sure you will . Can't wait for your next update.

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Thanks for all the info! It seems like we will have a good selection of breakfast items we can get for snack credits. I'm really happy that all of our ADRs seem to have good food and have gotten at least decent reviews! We took your advice and we ended up booking Coral Reef and Les Chefs de France for lunch...We just have to figure out which one to cancel...

Sometimes it's best not to do anything major. Have a great Christmas break (if you're off yet).

Hey ZFamily5, sorry I haven't been around in a while, I've been having a busier break than I expected. I'm so glad you booked those, but that's a really hard decision on which one to cancel...but I'm sure you can take a vote and decide!

The KP Missions are so much fun! I like the Japan and UK ones the best!

Happy planning!

 

[ZFamily5]

Hi Thing1, it sounds like you are going to have a great trip, you are so lucky going so many times to Disney in your life, I am double your age and have never been (does Disneyland and Paris Disney count?).

We have the same tastes for Dining, I want to go to all of the places you are going to except 1900 park fare and Via Napoli. I know it is a bit strange a couple in their 20s going to Cinderellas Royal Table and Chef Mickeys, but I figure if there is anywhere in the world I can pretend to be a kid again it is Disney

I hope that you make it through all of your must do's, I must admit that the Kim Possible missions do look fun. You will have to let me know how they go and if Thing2 loves it.

I am glad that you had a great Christmas and got such great Disney gifts. I got all the things I wanted too (Perfume and DVD's, I am easy to keep happy).

Thanks for posting on my PTR you are the only one who has . Where is everybody? Hope you get more followers soon, you are such a good writer I am sure you will . Can't wait for your next update.

Thank you so much for jumping over here! It made my day that you would take the time to respond to a PTR by a teenager like me!

I know I am a very lucky kid to have been so many times! I think Disneyland and Paris Disney count. I would love to go there (Paris Disney)...maybe when Thing3 is a little older...

Our taste in dining sounds very similar...I don't see any issues with you guys going to Cinderella's Royal Table and Chef Mickey's...you have to "live it up" while you're at Disney!

I hope we make it through our must dos too! The Kim Possible missions do sound fun, I just hope that my sisters think the same thing!

We did have a very good Christmas, again, we are lucky kids! Any Disney related DVDs or just "regular" movies?

I am equally confused by nobody really posting...how is it some people have 100s of people and we have next to none? I really appreciate your compliment on my writing...same to yours! Jumping over to your PTR to comment again!

 

[ZFamily5]

Hey ZFamily5, sorry I haven't been around in a while, I've been having a busier break than I expected. I'm so glad you booked those, but that's a really hard decision on which one to cancel...but I'm sure you can take a vote and decide!

The KP Missions are so much fun! I like the Japan and UK ones the best!

Happy planning!

I'm glad your break turned out to have more excitement than you thought (as long as it's good excitement!). We still haven't canceled either...both are getting average reviews...what to do, what to do? We'll figure it out eventually!

 

[ZFamily5]

We have more dining "problems"! Since Coral Reef and Les Chefs de France weren't having amazing reviews, we decided to book Garden Grill too...now we have to decide which 2 to cancel...Why is going to Disney such hard work?

Since we are done making ADRs, I'm at a loss of what to do until our trip...any ideas of ways to pass the time or more planning I can be doing?

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Hey! My advice about your dining problem would be: go with your gut. If you're feeling a little "ehh" about Coral Reef and Les Chefs, I would go with Garden Grill then. I have an ADR to go there on my trip in 2 weeks and I am veryyy excited! The food is great there and the characters are so much fun!

As for passing the time, you could plan what EMHs you're going to do and some things you want to get accomplished! You could also design T shirts for your whole family to wear! That's what my family does every trip! I'm so excited to make some soon!