"We're going wild - Disney style" - A Oct 15-25th Pre-TR (10/12...for the ladies!)

[skier_pete]

As for dinner at Jiko....it is so good. It is one of my DH and my favorite restaurants. I am sure DD will have fun at the Club Kidani...I read about others who send their kids to the clubs when they go on dates nights and the kids all seem to really enjoy it.

I think Jiko has to be one of the top-reviewed restaurants at WDW...I can't remember reading anything bad about it. I can't wait to try it.

Wow, small world, I work in Irondequoit at the hospital!

Rochester General on Portland? DMIL lives about 2 blocks from there - near the intersection of Goodman and Norton.

 

[Overexcited]

Rochester General on Portland? DMIL lives about 2 blocks from there - near the intersection of Goodman and Norton.[/QUOTE]

It's a small world after all.....ahem... I work at the outpatient PT for Rochester General on East Ridge Rd

 

[skier_pete]

Last night we went and saw Toy Story 3. By "we" I mean DW and I, not DD. She is 7, but does not like going to movies...she very easily gets scared...DW had to take her out of the theater during "Up" when Kevin got captured - and though she sat through Princess and Frog, she was ready to leave during the scenes with the characters from the "other side".

Well, Toy Story 3 would've had her run screaming from the theater. I don't want to spoil the movie, which was fantastic, but some of the stuff in the daycare would've creeped her out, but there's a sequence near the end where it appears all the characters are going to be killed that she NEVER would have made it through. However, the movie had some absolutely hilarious stuff in it, real amazing action, and the ending was perfect and couldn't help but leave you crying.

But still, I am not sure how I feel about it compared to the high Pixar standard...in truth, it is a fitting return for this group of characters, but I had two problems with it...one, the story was good, but their was no real character arc for any of the characters...they just "were"...in the first one, both Woody and Buzz grew as characters by the end of the movie...in the second it was Woody and Jessie that had a real arc...this movie...no-one really. The characters are the same at the end as they are at the beginning. Partly is there are so many characters, with the 9 returning characters + half a dozen new ones.

It's a small criticism after all, they're TOYS, right...how much growth can they have, especially in a third movie, but it still diminished the film for me.

The other issue I have, and this is possibly unfair, is the film just felt very slight to me. Actually no different than the previous Toy Story movies, and even in fact a little bigger with the sequence near the end...but again I find myself comparing this to the current Pixar standard. When you look at the scope and scale of the recent Pixar outings (WALL-E, Up, even Ratatouille) it just made me wish for a bigger canvas.

OK, those niggling complaints aside, it is still probably the best movie to come out this year, and possibly the best 3rd movie in a series ever (not starring James Bond), and I would highly, highly recommend it...but it your child is easily frightened, because these toys are in more peril than they've ever been...you may want to wait for a rental. Overall 9 out of 10.

And while I'm reviewing things - holy cow does the new trailer for Entangled (formerly Rapunzle) make it look terrible. I know that Princess and the Frog was a fantastic movie that totally dissappointed at the box office, but this marketing tact has disaster written all over it.

Have a good weekend everyone!

 

[Overexcited]

We saw Toy Story 3 and really liked it, although I was glad to see the 3 d version so no one knew I was crying behind those glasses!

 

[skier_pete]

We saw Toy Story 3 and really liked it, although I was glad to see the 3 d version so no one knew I was crying behind those glasses!

I didn't mention it, but we went for the 2-D version. I am not a huge fan of 3-D. I recently read an article where Chrisopher Nolan (director The Dark Knight & Inception) commented that 2-D is really a misnomer...95% of our visual depth clues are the same in 2-D and 3-D...that is lighting, shading scale all provide depth of field....the only thing 3-D does is add the depth perception. Most of the movies I've seen in 3-D, I've stopped really noticing the 3-D after about 15 minutes....

As far as crying goes - I admit I teared up at Toy Story 3, i just figure no-one sees me in the dark...but Pixar gets me good. I always cry at the Jessie flashback in TS2, and I cried a couple times during Up, and even during WALL-E...in fact I remember being irritated at myself "I can't believe I'm crying over an animated robot! Damn you Pixar!" Another super-Disney tear-jerker... though I mostly hate the rest of the movie...the scene in Dumbo where he goes to visit his mother in chains and she can't reach him but for her trunk...ugh...gets me every time.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Hi Skier_Pete.

Subbing in.

I figured that as I might (not) be going to WDW in October (23 - 27) that I should (not) start counting down with other October Dis-ers. Can't wait to find out about your last 3 days at WDW!

 

[skier_pete]

Hi Skier_Pete.

Subbing in.

I figured that as I might (not) be going to WDW in October (23 - 27) that I should (not) start counting down with other October Dis-ers. Can't wait to find out about your last 3 days at WDW!

Hi PrincessinOz and ! I checked out your PTR just briefly- that's a heck of a long trip for 3 days - I am not sure I would do it unless DH's company sprang for your ticket...but if you ARE there, we'll be sure to say "hi". If you are flying all that way, can you extend the stay a day or two so you and DH can have some parktime together? (My brother-in-law had to fly to Russia like 18 hours for a 1-day meeting once -.)

Actually, we are planning a trip to Australia in 2012...DW's BFF from childhood met a Aussie and move there many years ago. DW has been a few times, but not since 1996, shortly after we met. I've been promising her for a few years when DD was old enough we would go. We were originally planning 2011...but it's bad timing for my work. (People in the US just don't normally take off 4 weeks of vacation.) But I recently told my boss the 2012 plan.

Anyways, I only mention this because when I start planning the trip, I am hoping to get advice from Aussies here on the DIS before as we start planning, so you might be hearing from me in a year or so. We will definitely be coming to Melbourne, as BFF lives there with her family, probably stay a week with her. We have to come in August because of DD being off from school, I know this is winter, but can't control that.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Hi PrincessinOz and ! I checked out your PTR just briefly- that's a heck of a long trip for 3 days - I am not sure I would do it unless DH's company sprang for your ticket...but if you ARE there, we'll be sure to say "hi". If you are flying all that way, can you extend the stay a day or two so you and DH can have some parktime together? (My brother-in-law had to fly to Russia like 18 hours for a 1-day meeting once -.)

Thanks for checking out my PTR. I'm still scheming on this one. We may not be able to extend time at the World; but I think there might be a reasonable chance for DH to drop in at the home office in Silicon Valley. We might be able to fly in on Saturday night and have Sunday together. If we are there, we'll be sure to say "hi" back.

Actually, we are planning a trip to Australia in 2012...DW's BFF from childhood met a Aussie and move there many years ago. DW has been a few times, but not since 1996, shortly after we met. I've been promising her for a few years when DD was old enough we would go. We were originally planning 2011...but it's bad timing for my work. (People in the US just don't normally take off 4 weeks of vacation.) But I recently told my boss the 2012 plan.

Yes. I'm amazed at the amount of vacation time that you get. We get 4 weeks as standard and get 13 weeks long service leave after 10 years of continuous service with the same company.

Anyways, I only mention this because when I start planning the trip, I am hoping to get advice from Aussies here on the DIS before as we start planning, so you might be hearing from me in a year or so. We will definitely be coming to Melbourne, as BFF lives there with her family, probably stay a week with her. We have to come in August because of DD being off from school, I know this is winter, but can't control that.

Excellent! Someone who is heading downunder! Well, when you're ready, pop in to the other lands section and ask away. We don't bite (much). Maybe if I'm still lurking the DisBoard that we could organise a DisMeet in Melbourne.

 

[If U Had Wings]

I meant to go and see TS3 this weekend, but was enjoying being lazy way too much. My parents took the nieces on Friday and they both really liked it. Everyone came out weeping.

 

[skier_pete]

Excellent! Someone who is heading downunder! Well, when you're ready, pop in to the other lands section and ask away. We don't bite (much). Maybe if I'm still lurking the DisBoard that we could organise a DisMeet in Melbourne.

I didn't even realize there was a place of DISers from Oz to hang out. I will be sure when we start our planning to post over there. I always value opinions of locals when traveling than what the tourist/travel agents say.

While we travel quite a bit, we haven't left North America in a long, long time (never together actually). It's mostly about affordability, as we can't really regularly afford the expensive airline tix.

Anyways, I appreciate the advice and hope the trip works out.

 

[skier_pete]

We are up to Tuesday, October 19th - and we are finally - FINALLY - heading to Magic Kingdom. It's funny, many people feel that "you have to go to MK first" but I feel just the opposite. I want to savor the moment where I'm going to go to my favorite park. Also, this is one of the parks I most like to avoid crowds as it's the only park we really hit most of the headliners, so I always try and hit MK on a Tuesday or Friday, especially during "hard-ticket" season. I expect this park to be pretty slow today.

We will undoubtably hit Dumbo and Fantasyland first, DD and DW will be disappointed the IaSW will be closed until Saturday...but we can still hit a couple other favorites here. Then, we'll probably drop by Toontown if it hasn't been closed by then...and then around the train loop to Frontierland.

After that, we will probably wing the rest of the day, but we will be leaving the park around 4 PM because we are heading for....Hoop-Dee-Doo review. DW and I have talked of doing this for a while. I originally had a 7:15 PM ADR so we could spend more time in the park, but after our last trip, and the obvious need for more rest, I moved it up to 5 PM...we can get an awful lot done in MK by 4 PM, and it won't be our only time there.

I think the family will really like HDDR - I have seen reviews all over the map for this show, but the thing is - it really reminds me of something that Disney USED to have. Does anyone reading this remember the show at the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon in Frontierland? DW and I ate there and enjoyed the show back in 1997 or 2000 (not sure which), it was a CS restaurant where you got your food and sat at tables, and on stage they did a sort of variety act that sounds a lot like HDDR. Anyways, since Monday night we will pay OOP for Jiko, we have 2 TS for this experience! Hopefully we'll enjoy it.

After that, we have to get back to AKL somehow...not sure if we just go back to MK to catch a bus, or maybe we'll just break down and take a taxi. (This was in my original plans to co-incide with our stay at WL, even though we are not staying there - I decided to keep in on the schedule, as it is definitely a bit of a splurge!)

 

[skier_pete]

Wednesday (the 20th) we are going to head to DHS. This is by consensus our least favorite park, and we usually spend very little time here, sometimes as little as 1/2 a day. Of the group, I probably like it the best, but we all like different things, with the exception of a family favorite TSMM.

In this case, we are going to try and catch up on a few of the shows we've missed in the past, and DW enjoyed the Animation Academy so much, she wanted to do it a couple of times. I definitely want to catch ToT and RnRC, two of my favorites that the others can't really stand.

We STILL won't spend the whole day here. If we can wrap it up by 2 or 3 PM, we would head back to the hotel for a bit. If we stay later, we will head directly over to Epcot for Dinner, where we have a ADR for 6:15 PM at Le Cellier. We tried it for the first time and December and while I still don't quite get the insanity for getting an ADR there, we really did enjoy our meal and decided to go back if we could. After that, I don't think we'll hang out in Epcot for long, preferring an early night - as Thursday we have late night plans --- you can probably guess what they are!

Today we are also "changing" reservations - as we actually have two separate DVC points reservations at the same resort. Hopefully, we won't have to move rooms - but I have broken up our ADRs properly just in case we can't carry our DDP credits over!

 

[If U Had Wings]

You guys should have a great time at the Hoop Dee Doo Review. I've seen it several times over the years, and the show never fails to disappoint. When I was there in December we had tickets to the 7:15 show. At the end of the show they had bus service going directly back to the resorts. I don't know if that is how they usually do it, but they did that night. We wanted to take the boat, so we headed back over to the MK and headed home from there.

 

[Disneychix]

My vote is to take the boat to the WL and have a look around there for a bit after HDDR. If you're going to the early show it should still be quite early in the evening. Then you can either grab a taxi or take the boat to MK to get on a bus back.

All your ADRs look so yummy! I haven't made very many yet. I think we're going to try to eat more off-site and in the room this year. We will still go to CP for breakfast (my DS even asked for this!) and Ohana on our anny night (same as our wedding night 5yrs ago!). Maybe I'll make one or two more.

 

[skier_pete]

You guys should have a great time at the Hoop Dee Doo Review. I've seen it several times over the years, and the show never fails to disappoint. When I was there in December we had tickets to the 7:15 show. At the end of the show they had bus service going directly back to the resorts. I don't know if that is how they usually do it, but they did that night. We wanted to take the boat, so we headed back over to the MK and headed home from there.

Thanks, your review is part of why I want to see this. We seem to have pretty similar "disney-taste". That would be really awesome if they had resort buses. WE should be done plenty early enough if we don't, but this is about the point in the trip when DD starts to drag, and this is one of the few days it would be really inconvenient to go back to the hotel during the day - so the fastest route back to AKL is really the best. Honestly, though I did want to stay at WL some-day...my biggest dissapointment at not staying there is the potential travel times from AKL to MK and back.

My vote is to take the boat to the WL and have a look around there for a bit after HDDR. If you're going to the early show it should still be quite early in the evening. Then you can either grab a taxi or take the boat to MK to get on a bus back.

All your ADRs look so yummy! I haven't made very many yet. I think we're going to try to eat more off-site and in the room this year. We will still go to CP for breakfast (my DS even asked for this!) and Ohana on our anny night (same as our wedding night 5yrs ago!). Maybe I'll make one or two more.

We toured WL in December - and since we would STILL need two forms of transportation from there - that is unlikely. It is a beautiful hotel, though.

Thanks on the ADRs...I am very excited about all the new restaurants we are going to be trying - we really only have two repeats this trip, one being CP! DW and I are very much foodies - and would prefer to spend our money on food than on lodging....that's why even on our "budget" trip in December at POP, we upgraded our free QSDP to DDP -> we just love eating at Disney. It will be tough to know what to do when DD reaches 10, and our eating habits jump by $30 per day...especially since I don't really think she'll be eating adult meals by then.

I HAVE wanted to try Ohana - but I am a little scared - while there are many people that love it, there are also some flat-out *horror* stories of people dining there. And even the good reviews seem tempered by bad things - rushed service in particular jumps out - so I keep shying away from it. Maybe next year...

 

[If U Had Wings]

Thanks, your review is part of why I want to see this. We seem to have pretty similar "disney-taste". That would be really awesome if they had resort buses. WE should be done plenty early enough if we don't, but this is about the point in the trip when DD starts to drag, and this is one of the few days it would be really inconvenient to go back to the hotel during the day - so the fastest route back to AKL is really the best. Honestly, though I did want to stay at WL some-day...my biggest dissapointment at not staying there is the potential travel times from AKL to MK and back.

The show actually moves along very quickly. They come out singing for a bit, then dinner is served. Then the bulk of the show goes on, and they have a whole number involving desert. I think your DD should be okay through it. (Of course she might just crash on the bus afterwards).

What level of seating did you get? I had level 3 this trip and wasn't particularly happy with them. The seats in that section have you sitting in one row on medium height stools. It might not be the best option for your DD. The other seating levels are at regular tables.

I HAVE wanted to try Ohana - but I am a little scared - while there are many people that love it, there are also some flat-out *horror* stories of people dining there. And even the good reviews seem tempered by bad things - rushed service in particular jumps out - so I keep shying away from it. Maybe next year...

I've been there 3 times now, and two times everything was great. The othe time the service was horrid, but as it was the first day of free dining I guess I'll have to catch them a break for that. The two times I ate there later the service was better, when there were less families and activitiy going on.

 

[skier_pete]

The show actually moves along very quickly. They come out singing for a bit, then dinner is served. Then the bulk of the show goes on, and they have a whole number involving desert. I think your DD should be okay through it. (Of course she might just crash on the bus afterwards).

What level of seating did you get? I had level 3 this trip and wasn't particularly happy with them. The seats in that section have you sitting in one row on medium height stools. It might not be the best option for your DD. The other seating levels are at regular tables..

We got Level 2 - I don't think you can get Level 1 with the DDP credits. I do think DD will like it. She really enjoyed Dixie Stampede in Myrtle Beach, which is far from the same (there are a lot of horses in that show) it is of a similar lineage in my view. I don't think she will crash during the show, but I was just worried that the 7:15 PM start would go until 8:45 or so, and then in could be 9:30 or 10 PM by the time we are getting back to the room - and I am really trying to limit the # of days that that happens. She's better as she gets older, but really it's best to get her to sleep (not to bed but to sleep) by 9 PM most nights.

I've been there 3 times now, and two times everything was great. The othe time the service was horrid, but as it was the first day of free dining I guess I'll have to catch them a break for that. The two times I ate there later the service was better, when there were less families and activitiy going on
.

See, that's what I meant by all reviews seem to have a catch..."Well, we normally love it there - but this one time..." The pictures in your TR looked so good though - so I DO want to try it. It just needs to make sense for us...

 

[Overexcited]

We loved Hoop de doo, had the same reservations about going because of the reviews. Our whole family loved it, we sat upstairs and even requested the same for this trip. There truly is no bad seat. My son was almost 5 last time and had no problem with his seat. We sang "hoop de doo" for days!

 

[skier_pete]

We loved Hoop de doo, had the same reservations about going because of the reviews. Our whole family loved it, we sat upstairs and even requested the same for this trip. There truly is no bad seat. My son was almost 5 last time and had no problem with his seat. We sang "hoop de doo" for days!

I hope we have that much fun!

 

[skier_pete]

In honor of 100 days from our trip, I present NUMBERS!

10 = Number of nights staying on-property – the most ever for a single trip (for us)

9 = Number of ADRs we have booked

6 = Number of “new” TS restaurants we are trying this trip

2 = Number of different on-site resorts we will have stayed before this trip. (Only POFQ & POP)

8 = Number if trips this makes for DW and myself together since 1997

3 = Number of times we have been this same week of the year. (In 2000, 2006, and 2010.)

82 = Historical average high temperature (in degrees F) during this week.

0 = Number of days above 90 this week between 1995 and 2004

10 = Number of days above 90 this week between 2005 and 2009

5 = Number of days above 90 the week we were there in 2006 (Orlando broke record highs 4 consecutive days that trip!)

66 = High temperature (in F) on October 18, 2009

21 = % Chance of a having 1 rainy day on our trip

0 = Number of rainy days during our trips in 2000 and 2006

13 = Number of years since we have visited Blizzard Beach (last time we were there – I could see the AK construction from the top of summit plummet)

22 = Number of days we will have used our annual passes

6 = Total # of “hopping” days we will have used (with 2 planned this trip)

22.7 = Cost (in dollars) of a single-day adult admission based on the usage of our AP.

41 = Cost (in dollars) of a single-day adult admission to our local amusement park - Darien Lake.

47 = DD current height in inches - just not tall enough to ride all the rides (not that she would try them anyways)

3,828 = Number of dollars the current trip is expected to cost – not including park tickets which were paid for last year.

1 = Number of vacations we have been on in our adult lives that have cost more money than this one (our Honeymoon 11 years ago)

Thanks to weatherunderground.com for the weather stats!