YAY!! I always love this day, despite walking at 5:40 am to get the laptop booted up and ready to log in at 6 am on the dot to start my reservation process! :)
I have my brand spanking new laptop this time, so that helped. I brought it in the bedroom last night and set it on my night stand, so all I had to do was grab it, prop myself up in bed, and go at it. Worked well until I got in and my first ressie, Chef Mickey's, required a credit card # to book. I thought I was safe....didn't think I had any restaurants that needed one. But nope, both Chef Mickey's and Ohana needed it.
But anyway, I made sure I had my list of restaurants in order of priority beforehand. Chef Mickey's was first, then I moved on to Whispering Canyon Cafe. This one I was nervous about because I needed a table for 7 and it's a MVMCP night. Then I did Ohana and 50's Primetime. Next was Coral Reef...nothing. I tried my other Epcot day...booked solid. Moved on and booked Liberty Tree Tavern and Biergarten.
Coral Reef was the only restaurant hubby requested. So I had to check with him before booking a substitute. Garden Grill would have been mine next choice, but that was booked solid too. I find that to be kinda weird. I looked at the menus for Epcot, trying to find what would be good for us and also for the kids. I try to pick places that are somewhat entertaining for the kids...not just a restaurant. I would love to try Chef de France, but I'm not sure if my 4 year old would sit there nicely. So I suggested Teppan Edo to hubby and he said "yes". We've been wanting to do it...just waiting for the youngest to be old enough to be interested in watching the show.
I'm hoping and praying the Be Our Guest restaurant will be open for our trip, and I can get my hands on a reservation!! Ideally, that would be the day I made the reservations or Liberty Tree Tavern. I chose that restaurant for that day, hoping I'd be canceling it for Be Our Guest. I do love LTT, but since they took the characters away, it's not the same :(
I'm excited, as usual, for all the great food we'll eat!! My only hope is that Disney offers free dining for the late fall, like they have the last few years. It would slice $700 off our bill. Not sure what we'll do if they don't. :(
Friday, June 1, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Different ways for different Disney Fans
I think all Disney World fans have their priorities. It's fun to try new things and do each trip a little different, but there's some things we won't budge on. And sometimes it's kinda hard to understand why people do what they do. In the end, everyone is happy in the happiest place on earth, so it really doesn't matter! :)
I know out in cyberland there can be some major snobbery when it comes to resorts. I myself stay away from those communities and only visit those who refuse to put up with that kind of rude behavior. It makes me super sad. I like value resorts and I have my reasons, just as those who like deluxes have their reasons, so if everyone's happy, why does it matter?
Would I like to stay in a deluxe resort, all out with deluxe dining plan? Sure! If I had a never ending supply of money!! LOL! But like most people, we live on a budget. I know there are some who would rather only go to Disney every 2,3,5 years, but go all out. I prefer to go more often and keep to a budget.
And there are others who like to stay deluxe, but bring all their own food and save money that way. Seems like a another good plan. It's something we have thought of before. But in the end, we spend very little time at the resort. We've done upgraded trips before and stayed at a moderate with the plan to spend more time there and take more advantage of the resort's amenities...but no. We still spent the same amount of time in the parks! LOL!
And honestly, I love food. I lot eating!! I don't think I could give up Disney food in order to stay deluxe!!
But that's me. I know everyone has their priorities. Some couldn't care less about food and are all about the ambiance of where they stay.
Disney has so much to offer every person with every size budget and taste. That is the great thing about Disney.
I know out in cyberland there can be some major snobbery when it comes to resorts. I myself stay away from those communities and only visit those who refuse to put up with that kind of rude behavior. It makes me super sad. I like value resorts and I have my reasons, just as those who like deluxes have their reasons, so if everyone's happy, why does it matter?
Would I like to stay in a deluxe resort, all out with deluxe dining plan? Sure! If I had a never ending supply of money!! LOL! But like most people, we live on a budget. I know there are some who would rather only go to Disney every 2,3,5 years, but go all out. I prefer to go more often and keep to a budget.
And there are others who like to stay deluxe, but bring all their own food and save money that way. Seems like a another good plan. It's something we have thought of before. But in the end, we spend very little time at the resort. We've done upgraded trips before and stayed at a moderate with the plan to spend more time there and take more advantage of the resort's amenities...but no. We still spent the same amount of time in the parks! LOL!
And honestly, I love food. I lot eating!! I don't think I could give up Disney food in order to stay deluxe!!
But that's me. I know everyone has their priorities. Some couldn't care less about food and are all about the ambiance of where they stay.
Disney has so much to offer every person with every size budget and taste. That is the great thing about Disney.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Almost ADR day!
As any Disney planner extraordinaire, I have been thinking of my dining reservations almost as long as I have been planning this trip! Dining is a HUGE deal for us. Part of the Disney experience is splurging on the fabulous food. For us, the restaurants are an attraction! So many fun character meals and awesome experiences!
My 180 day marker is next Friday. I had a huge list of possibilities. But when it came down to choosing which park for which day, and therefore, which restaurant for each day, I had some trouble. Problem is, we arrive November 28th and stay til December 5th. Disney has only released the calendar for November. December's calendar won't be available until a few days into June. Which doesn't help me right now. My ADR day is June 1st!
I did manage to find a website listing December's hours, and usually these sites are pretty accurate. Either way, I tend to follow Touringplans.com's advice anyway.
My other snag...I am REALLY hoping the new Beauty and the Beast Be Our Guest restaurant will be open for our trip. Disney is saying "holidays" for an opening date. Fingers are crossed. But in the meantime, I have to make my ADRs. If it's announced that the new restaurant will be open, I hope to be one of the lucky ones to secure an ADR for one of our Magic Kingdom days. I have one day planned that I hope will work. I chose a restaurant we like, but are okay with canceling if the new restaurant opens.
We debated on a dinner show too. But ultimately decided to skip it. We will be on the dining plan and having to use two credits for the show didn't seem like a good plan for this trip.
So here are our plans:
Chef Mickey's, Whispering Canyon Cafe, Liberty Tree Tavern (to Be Our Guest if it's open), Coral Reef, Beirgarten, 50's Primetime, and Ohana.
Yum yum yum! Can't wait!
My 180 day marker is next Friday. I had a huge list of possibilities. But when it came down to choosing which park for which day, and therefore, which restaurant for each day, I had some trouble. Problem is, we arrive November 28th and stay til December 5th. Disney has only released the calendar for November. December's calendar won't be available until a few days into June. Which doesn't help me right now. My ADR day is June 1st!
I did manage to find a website listing December's hours, and usually these sites are pretty accurate. Either way, I tend to follow Touringplans.com's advice anyway.
My other snag...I am REALLY hoping the new Beauty and the Beast Be Our Guest restaurant will be open for our trip. Disney is saying "holidays" for an opening date. Fingers are crossed. But in the meantime, I have to make my ADRs. If it's announced that the new restaurant will be open, I hope to be one of the lucky ones to secure an ADR for one of our Magic Kingdom days. I have one day planned that I hope will work. I chose a restaurant we like, but are okay with canceling if the new restaurant opens.
We debated on a dinner show too. But ultimately decided to skip it. We will be on the dining plan and having to use two credits for the show didn't seem like a good plan for this trip.
So here are our plans:
Chef Mickey's, Whispering Canyon Cafe, Liberty Tree Tavern (to Be Our Guest if it's open), Coral Reef, Beirgarten, 50's Primetime, and Ohana.
Yum yum yum! Can't wait!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Baby and Toddler Tips!!
I've traveled to Walt Disney World many times with babies and toddlers. My oldest, now 9, we took as a toddler twice- when she was 2-1/2 and 4. My youngest, now 4, has gone at 9 months, 20 months, and 2 months shy of 3. And honestly, it really wasn't that big of a deal! But as I've always done with any trip we take, I plan ahead and plan smart. Go with flexibility and common sense.
First of all, taking a child under 3 is great because they are FREE! Who doesn't like free??? If you do the dining plan, children can eat from your plate or if it is a buffet, they eat off the buffet for free. We always brought food for the kids- things like fruit cups, pb crackers, dried fruit, trail mix, breakfast bars, etc.. Things that had nutritional value and they could eat as meals. That way we weren't limited on what we could order. This upcoming trip will be our first paying for our son, which stinks on some levels. (Yuck...over $200 for his park pass!) But it will be nice to not have to bring tons of food with us and he gets all his own counter meals like his sister.
WDW is THE MOST kid-friendly place on the planet. We've taken other vacations with the kids and it's not as easy. In Disney, there are kid care centers in each park. A place for parents to feed, change, play with the little ones if they need a break and some quiet time. A large percentage of attractions in the parks are suitable for kids of all ages. Try going to a Six Flags or other amusement park...there's very little for parents to do with small children. And most of it the parents cannot also ride with the children. The cast members who work at WDW know how to deal with children. They aren't uncomfortable around little ones. They know how to speak to them to make them smile.
I know many people use the argument of "the kids will never remember." Yeah, probably not. But the kids sure have a blast while they're there. The parents have fun and have memories of the fun had. Family time is very important for our family, and vacations are too. It's very hard to completely relax and forget about bills and responsibilities while at home. So for us, leaving home is a big part of complete rest and relaxation. We enjoy doing fun things with our kids and so what if they don't remember. We do. And I have the photos to prove it.
I know for some families, a Disney trip is a once in a lifetime event, so yes, it is smarter to wait until the children are old enough to fully take advantage of everything the parks have to offer and be old enough to remember it. If that is the case, I think 5-7 is a great age. They are still young enough to "get" the magic and still believe, but should be tall enough to ride most rides. They'd still have to skip some though. Our daughter has always been a peanut, so at 9, she is finally tall enough for Rock n Roller Coaster (minimum height requirement is 48"). And if we'd waited til she was this age to take her for the first time, we would have missed out on all the memories she's made, playing with the characters, still believing that she was meeting the REAL Mickey and Cinderella. She's past that now...she knows there's someone inside the costume. She knows they're actors. I wouldn't have wanted to give up the memories of her smiles and the excitement in her eyes meeting them when she was 2-1/2 and 4.
First of all, taking a child under 3 is great because they are FREE! Who doesn't like free??? If you do the dining plan, children can eat from your plate or if it is a buffet, they eat off the buffet for free. We always brought food for the kids- things like fruit cups, pb crackers, dried fruit, trail mix, breakfast bars, etc.. Things that had nutritional value and they could eat as meals. That way we weren't limited on what we could order. This upcoming trip will be our first paying for our son, which stinks on some levels. (Yuck...over $200 for his park pass!) But it will be nice to not have to bring tons of food with us and he gets all his own counter meals like his sister.
WDW is THE MOST kid-friendly place on the planet. We've taken other vacations with the kids and it's not as easy. In Disney, there are kid care centers in each park. A place for parents to feed, change, play with the little ones if they need a break and some quiet time. A large percentage of attractions in the parks are suitable for kids of all ages. Try going to a Six Flags or other amusement park...there's very little for parents to do with small children. And most of it the parents cannot also ride with the children. The cast members who work at WDW know how to deal with children. They aren't uncomfortable around little ones. They know how to speak to them to make them smile.
I know many people use the argument of "the kids will never remember." Yeah, probably not. But the kids sure have a blast while they're there. The parents have fun and have memories of the fun had. Family time is very important for our family, and vacations are too. It's very hard to completely relax and forget about bills and responsibilities while at home. So for us, leaving home is a big part of complete rest and relaxation. We enjoy doing fun things with our kids and so what if they don't remember. We do. And I have the photos to prove it.
I know for some families, a Disney trip is a once in a lifetime event, so yes, it is smarter to wait until the children are old enough to fully take advantage of everything the parks have to offer and be old enough to remember it. If that is the case, I think 5-7 is a great age. They are still young enough to "get" the magic and still believe, but should be tall enough to ride most rides. They'd still have to skip some though. Our daughter has always been a peanut, so at 9, she is finally tall enough for Rock n Roller Coaster (minimum height requirement is 48"). And if we'd waited til she was this age to take her for the first time, we would have missed out on all the memories she's made, playing with the characters, still believing that she was meeting the REAL Mickey and Cinderella. She's past that now...she knows there's someone inside the costume. She knows they're actors. I wouldn't have wanted to give up the memories of her smiles and the excitement in her eyes meeting them when she was 2-1/2 and 4.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Updated Scrapbooking Page!!!!
I've FINALLY finished my Disney Scrapbook from our big 10th Anniversary trip in 2008. Yeah...only took me 3-1/2 years. but it's done and I uploaded a bunch more pics today. I have a bunch more but for some odd reason I'm having trouble uploading the pics to my computer from my phone. New computer...still figuring it out! :)
Check out the new pics here!
Check out the new pics here!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Officially changed our reservation today.
I'm sad my parents are not going (well...they still haven't given a 100% no..but 99.9%) but it sure was exciting talking with the Disney reservations lady on the phone to change our reservation today!!
So what I did was this: I took my parents off the reservation and switched it to a standard room at Art of Animation...since The Little Mermaid section is opening earlier than planned! Yippee!! If my parents decide they are in, all we gotta do it make a new reservation just for them in a standard room. It is cheaper for us to stay in standard rooms anyway, even with us splitting the suite (Those things are awesome, but way pricey! Two standard rooms is cheaper...but a good amount.)
But I did change the dates too. Unfortunately, my parents places of employment make it kinda difficult. My dad can only take M-F...so that means we had to go Sat-Sat...and flights will be more $$. And my mom can't take any vacation in December. But she wanted to go at Christmas time. So we were going Nov 10-17th. Parks are all decked out by then, so it was good. Hubby did not have that vacation though. He can probably get it. At his job, vacation is assigned...you get it when they give it to you...and his vacation is actually the last week of Nov and first of Dec. So since it's just us, we switched it to then..and a Wed-Wed to save on airfare. If my parents can go..we'll just switch the dates back. No biggie. (Hopefully)
So anyway, if you made it through all that babbling, thanks! We're pretty excited. I am in total Disney World withdrawal here. Our last family vacation was Nov/Dec 2010, and then me and DD took a short trip in March 2011. It's been a LOOOOOONG time since I've gone a year without a trip, let alone a year and 8 months.
And we already have our 2013 trip semi-worked out! We're heading West!!!! Yep! DISNEYLAND!!!! And most importantly, the new Carsland!! I was at Disneyland when I was a kid when my mom and step dad lived in San Fransisco. I am so eager to get back..and see the place as an adult and appreciate the park Walt created and was there to see finished. The plan is 5 days at Disneyland and then another 5 touring So Cal! :) Doing it in August, so I hope that will be a good time to visit! :) It will be way pricier than we're used to paying for...but hopefully we can swing it!
So what I did was this: I took my parents off the reservation and switched it to a standard room at Art of Animation...since The Little Mermaid section is opening earlier than planned! Yippee!! If my parents decide they are in, all we gotta do it make a new reservation just for them in a standard room. It is cheaper for us to stay in standard rooms anyway, even with us splitting the suite (Those things are awesome, but way pricey! Two standard rooms is cheaper...but a good amount.)
But I did change the dates too. Unfortunately, my parents places of employment make it kinda difficult. My dad can only take M-F...so that means we had to go Sat-Sat...and flights will be more $$. And my mom can't take any vacation in December. But she wanted to go at Christmas time. So we were going Nov 10-17th. Parks are all decked out by then, so it was good. Hubby did not have that vacation though. He can probably get it. At his job, vacation is assigned...you get it when they give it to you...and his vacation is actually the last week of Nov and first of Dec. So since it's just us, we switched it to then..and a Wed-Wed to save on airfare. If my parents can go..we'll just switch the dates back. No biggie. (Hopefully)
So anyway, if you made it through all that babbling, thanks! We're pretty excited. I am in total Disney World withdrawal here. Our last family vacation was Nov/Dec 2010, and then me and DD took a short trip in March 2011. It's been a LOOOOOONG time since I've gone a year without a trip, let alone a year and 8 months.
And we already have our 2013 trip semi-worked out! We're heading West!!!! Yep! DISNEYLAND!!!! And most importantly, the new Carsland!! I was at Disneyland when I was a kid when my mom and step dad lived in San Fransisco. I am so eager to get back..and see the place as an adult and appreciate the park Walt created and was there to see finished. The plan is 5 days at Disneyland and then another 5 touring So Cal! :) Doing it in August, so I hope that will be a good time to visit! :) It will be way pricier than we're used to paying for...but hopefully we can swing it!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Tried not to act disappointed, but I am.
Talked with my mom yesterday. I am trying real hard not to talk about anything Disney World, but as you all understand, it is damn hard! I don't want to talk cause I don't want to push. I've known since June that them talking this trip with us was iffy. But I'd been hopeful the last couple months. Well...not anymore.
My mom pretty much told me they are definitely out. There is a minuscule chance, but it's not looking good. My dad is too afraid he will have an episode and doesn't want to chance it.
I get it. I understand. But the rest of me is wondering, "So you're just gonna sit home and do nothing...not live your life...be careful because of what might happen?" "You want to miss out on something special with your grand kids because of your fear?" But I don't say any of those things. My new life mantra: It is what it is. I can't force people to do anything and putting them on a guilt trip won't help either.
So...now I sit back and wait and make plans for a trip without them, just in case.
My mom pretty much told me they are definitely out. There is a minuscule chance, but it's not looking good. My dad is too afraid he will have an episode and doesn't want to chance it.
I get it. I understand. But the rest of me is wondering, "So you're just gonna sit home and do nothing...not live your life...be careful because of what might happen?" "You want to miss out on something special with your grand kids because of your fear?" But I don't say any of those things. My new life mantra: It is what it is. I can't force people to do anything and putting them on a guilt trip won't help either.
So...now I sit back and wait and make plans for a trip without them, just in case.
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