Trip Report englanddg's Real Life or is this just Fantasy?

englanddg · Jun 11, 2015

I made two videos for 2012.

One fun

One that meant more, one a bit more personal.

englanddg · Jun 11, 2015

The Wolf's didn't come back, but jeezus, the video community at large missed them.

englanddg · Jun 11, 2015

I actually had custom music written for our next trip.

LieutLaww · Jun 11, 2015

Going all out for your vids then

englanddg · Jun 11, 2015

LieutLaww said:
Going all out for your vids then

Back then, yes.

I really just wanted them for memories though.

LieutLaww · Jun 11, 2015

That's why I will get Memory Maker for this holiday as last time I went I had 1 picture of me and that was taken at Kennedy, so this time I would like some more of me from around the parks.

englanddg · Jun 11, 2015

THe songs...

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englanddg · Jun 11, 2015

That's Ben Fold's brother, Chuck. And if you know the Disney Community, you know there's a greater link than that.

englanddg · Jun 11, 2015

LieutLaww said:
That's why I will get Memory Maker for this holiday as last time I went I had 1 picture of me and that was taken at Kennedy, so this time I would like some more of me from around the parks.

If you don't have signature meals, or you aren't willing to snag the ride photos, I think it's a silly investment.

englanddg · Jun 11, 2015

Ah, edited video...

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englanddg · Jun 11, 2015

@Voxel - This was a Season 1 entry. I owned the song. We won that challenge. That shows you how far the comp with SA has come.

englanddg · Jun 11, 2015

@Voxel (wink)

My friend...are you in? I'm in. So in...

englanddg · Jun 11, 2015

@Voxel -

Tomorrowland?

englanddg · Jun 11, 2015

For those following along, those sites still work.

Voxel · Jun 11, 2015

englanddg said:
@Voxel (wink)

My friend...are you in? I'm in. So in...

I'm in

englanddg · Jun 12, 2015

So, two minor updates. One now, one in about an hour (when my FP+ windows open up at midnight).

Update #1

So, I've decided instead of trying to do a half or so day at Universal on Weds, instead, we are going to head on over to AKL early, and then check in (or check our bags with Bell Services if the room isn't ready), then hop a bus through Magic Kingdom, then a Boat or Bus to Wilderness Lodge / Fort Wilderness (depending on what the boats look like from there).

That day I have booked:

1:00p Horseback Riding

This is a 45 minute horseback excursion through the trails of Ft. Wilderness. This is to make up for a failed "Pony Ride" experience on our last trip that had my daughter near tears and shattered her mood for most of the day due to...insurance reasons

. You can read about that experience here.

2:45p Archery Lessons

After Archery, we'll go fishing (catch and release, it's at the same place...the Bike Barn and Trading Shop).

So, around 5p, our day at Ft. Wilderness will be over, so from there, I am still trying to decide if I want to cancel our Jikos reservation, or change it to a later time, or what...maybe we'll go hit up mini golf at Fantasia Golf and grab dinner at Yachtsman instead? Or...we could do the Mickey's BBQ.

Just not sure.

Oh, and what to do with that third day Uni ticket? Well, we are coming in early enough, that I think we'll just use it on Sunday instead.

englanddg · Jun 13, 2015

Ok, MDE has improved FP+ from the last time I used it. I like parts of the UI better.

But...I'm still not thrilled.

I'll type up something more detailed in a little bit, but it just took me 35 minutes just to reserve 6 FP+'s cause I had to figure out parts of the interface, and I need a snack break before I type it all out in full!

englanddg · Jun 14, 2015

Schedule Update

After making several modifications to FP+ and ADRs, my schedule has changed a bit.

So, here's how the final itinerary looks as of today.

Aug 7

Fly from ATL to DCA on Delta (it's cheapest for me to fly them because they are based and major hubbed out of the ATL airport)
Check into the Embassy Suites and meet up with the kiddo. It will be late, as my flight doesn't even land until 9:20, so I won't get to the hotel until nearly 10p, so we'll just sleep through the night for an early start the next morning (with a free cooked to order breakfast from the hotel, I may add!)

Aug 8

Breakfast at the hotel
Smithsonian and National Mall
Lunch?
Washington Monument at 7:30p
Dinner?

Aug 9

9:25 flight with Jetblue from Reagan to Orlando. We'll arrive around 11:30. This should put us at Portofino Bay, with a taxi ride from MCO, around noon.
Go to the parks
Try to have lunch at Leaky Cauldron, at least that's what I want...we'll see what the kiddo's moods are. That said, I really wanted a Dagwood from Blondie's, but after reading several reviews about it being pre-made, I've opted against that.
Blue Man Group center front row seats at 7p

Aug 10

Breakfast at Three Broomsticks at 10a
Lunch at Mythos at 2p
Dinner at Lombard's at 7p, with a Dessert Party / Special Viewing Area for the Cinematic Spectacular. I found this offering just yesterday when I was reviewing restaurants at Universal (Lombard's was one I wanted to do last trip to Universal, but wasn't able to) and saw they do have a special event offering. It's not a bad deal, at $45 per adult ($13 for kids under 10). That includes a pretty decent Prix fixe menu, where you can choose from an appetizer and entree, as well as a non-alcoholic beverage. After your meal, you are issued a ticket (think...Fantasmic Package at Hollywood Studios) that gets you access to a special dessert party and viewing area at Lombard's. I booked dinner late, at 7p, because the party starts seating at 8p, and the Cinematic Spectacular starts at 9p.

Aug 11

I think we will try to make it over to Cabana Bay and have breakfast at Bayliner. Also, depending on the weather and my kid's mood, we may go swimming while there.
Something from the Crusty Burger area at Uni for Lunch
Not sure what to do for dinner. I think we'll just wing it.

Aug 12

Trattoria del Porto at Portofino Bay for breakfast at 8a
Taxi over to AKL after breakfast (I have not reserved this yet, debating if I'll pay a bit extra and get a towncar or limo...just for fun...but I need to check the prices on that)
Check in or drop off our luggage, then hop a bus over to Magic Kingdom, and from there a bus / boat to Ft. Wilderness. Take the Ft. Wilderness Resort shuttle to the Parking Lots for...
12:30p Horseback Riding at Ft. Wilderness
Take the Resort Shuttle to the Bike Barn and Trading Post for...
Fishing
2:45p Archery Lessons
Head back to AKL and hang out around the pool, get settled in the room, whatever
7:15p Dinner at Sanaa. That's right, I cancelled Jikos. There are a few reasons for this. First, I wasn't exactly thrilled my last trip there (though it was good, it wasn't as good as 2012), second, I have other things I want to spend the extra dining credits on during this portion of the stay, and third, I'm trying to book mostly restaurants we have NOT eaten at, or have not eaten at recently (as in the past few trips) during this trip, simply to branch out from our traditional favorites. So...Sanaa it is!
Spend the rest of the evening setting up the webcam that I'm going to run from our balcony while the kiddo plays with the day/night monocular I bought and takes pictures, video, etc. of the animals as we gorge ourselves on complimentary club level goodies.

Aug 13

Magic Kingdom!
Breakfast at Cindy's Royal Table at 8:05...making sure to take pictures / video of the empty park!
2:10 lunch at Be Our Guest
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at 3:05p - 4:05p
Peter Pan's Flight at 4:20p - 5:20p
Anna and Elsa Meet and Greet at 5:40p - 6:50p (sigh, it came up in another thread, and it reminded me, if I didn't book this one, my daughter would kill me)
6:45 dinner at Tony's Town Square
We are gonna do MSEP and Wishes the old fashioned way, staking out a spot at the base of the Castle about an hour before the show and camping out.

Aug 14

EPCOT!
8:45a Breakfast at Cape May. I'm still not sure about this one.
Spaceship Earth 10a - 11a
12:30 Lunch at Via Napoli (Yeah, I cancelled our Teppan Edo...I actually just wanted to move Teppan Edo to dinner, but there were no slots, so...)
Figment 2:05p - 3:05p (yeah, this ride needs an FP...right? Riiiiiight....)
Sourin 3:20p - 4:20p
Nine Dragons at 6p. Another new restaurant for us. Though, I'd prefer Teppan Edo, I think this will be an interesting thing to try. We both like Chinese food, but for some reason we always skip the dining options (even the QS stuff) at EPCOT. This replaced Le Cellier, but again, it's for the same reason why I cancelled Jikos. I want to try new stuff, or stuff we don't do often. Plus, my dinner experience at Le Cellier wasn't very good last trip. At least not 2 dining credit "signature" good.
Ok, this is a new one for us. 8p we have the "Illuminations Sparkling Dessert Party". Traditionally I've been against these sorts of "experiences"...but after doing the Club Level "dessert party" at Contemporary last trip, I sortof like the concept, so I thought we'd give this a shot. Plus, we don't have to jockey for a viewing spot.

Aug 15

Breakfast at Boma at 8:55a
DCL Transit will pick us up, I suspect sometime around 10a - 11a, and we'll head off to Port Canaveral and the Fantasy!

Aug 16

At Sea - No plans yet

Aug 17

At Sea - No plans yet

Aug 18

St. Maarten
Nothing planned yet, but I'm considering the Create Your Own Perfume
PIRATE NIGHT!
I will order our costumes next week. So, LAST CHANCE TO VOTE HERE!

Aug 19

St. Thomas / St. John
The kiddo has family here who have said they'll plan our day for us. So, not sure what we are going to do, but...
If we do an excursion I'm debating are the Tree Limin' Ziplines, the Sea Trek Helmet Dive and the Screamin' Eagle high speed boat ride

Aug 20

At Sea - No plans yet

Aug 21

Castaway Cay
Castaway Cay Getaway Package which includes bike rental for an hour (the kiddo loves to ride her bike), snorkel rental and tube rental for the day.

Aug 22

DCL should have us to Art of Animation around noon.
Hollywood Studios!
2:00p Lunch at Sci Fi Dine In
7:45 Dinner at 50's Prime Time
Fantasmic

Aug 23

Animal Kingdom (I have no idea why AK ends up being a Sunday thing for us every year, but it does!
8:20 breakfast at Tusker House
1:30 lunch at Yak and Yeti
Dinner / Snacks at Harambe
7:15p dinner at San Angel Inn
Watch Illuminations again

Aug 24

Ohana for Breakfast at 7:55a.
Typhoon Lagoon in the Morning
1p lunch at T-Rex (though, I've never had trouble walking up to T-Rex, so I'll probably cancel this).
Blizzard Beach in the Afternoon
Tentative 7p Dinner at Raglan Rd. I may swap this out for Jikos or Yachtsman.

Aug 25

Last day..so sad.
Breakfast at Landscape of Flavors
11:45 Lunch at Cindy's Royal Table
After the 3p parade, we'll head back to the resort.
7:35p flight on Delta back to Washington Reagan. Arrive very late (11:45p)
Check into Residence Inn Arlington to crash for the evening.
Meet up with the kiddo's Mom to return her back to everyday life...

Aug 26

10:45 return flight on Delta back to ATL.

OSUgirl77 · Jun 14, 2015

englanddg said:
Schedule Update

After making several modifications to FP+ and ADRs, my schedule has changed a bit.

So, here's how the final itinerary looks as of today.

Aug 7

Fly from ATL to DCA on Delta (it's cheapest for me to fly them because they are based and major hubbed out of the ATL airport)

Check into the Embassy Suites and meet up with the kiddo. It will be late, as my flight doesn't even land until 9:20, so I won't get to the hotel until nearly 10p, so we'll just sleep through the night for an early start the next morning (with a free cooked to order breakfast from the hotel, I may add!)

Aug 8

Breakfast at the hotel

Smithsonian and National Mall

Lunch?

Washington Monument at 7:30p

Dinner?

Aug 9

9:25 flight with Jetblue from Reagan to Orlando. We'll arrive around 11:30. This should put us at Portofino Bay, with a taxi ride from MCO, around noon.

Go to the parks

Try to have lunch at Leaky Cauldron, at least that's what I want...we'll see what the kiddo's moods are. That said, I really wanted a Dagwood from Blondie's, but after reading several reviews about it being pre-made, I've opted against that.

Blue Man Group center front row seats at 7p

Aug 10

Breakfast at Three Broomsticks at 10a

Lunch at Mythos at 2p

Dinner at Lombard's at 7p, with a Dessert Party / Special Viewing Area for the Cinematic Spectacular. I found this offering just yesterday when I was reviewing restaurants at Universal (Lombard's was one I wanted to do last trip to Universal, but wasn't able to) and saw they do have a special event offering. It's not a bad deal, at $45 per adult ($13 for kids under 10). That includes a pretty decent Prix fixe menu, where you can choose from an appetizer and entree, as well as a non-alcoholic beverage. After your meal, you are issued a ticket (think...Fantasmic Package at Hollywood Studios) that gets you access to a special dessert party and viewing area at Lombard's. I booked dinner late, at 7p, because the party starts seating at 8p, and the Cinematic Spectacular starts at 9p.

Aug 11

I think we will try to make it over to Cabana Bay and have breakfast at Bayliner. Also, depending on the weather and my kid's mood, we may go swimming while there.

Something from the Crusty Burger area at Uni for Lunch

Not sure what to do for dinner. I think we'll just wing it.

Aug 12

Trattoria del Porto at Portofino Bay for breakfast at 8a

Taxi over to AKL after breakfast (I have not reserved this yet, debating if I'll pay a bit extra and get a towncar or limo...just for fun...but I need to check the prices on that)

Check in or drop off our luggage, then hop a bus over to Magic Kingdom, and from there a bus / boat to Ft. Wilderness. Take the Ft. Wilderness Resort shuttle to the Parking Lots for...

12:30p Horseback Riding at Ft. Wilderness

Take the Resort Shuttle to the Bike Barn and Trading Post for...

Fishing

2:45p Archery Lessons

Head back to AKL and hang out around the pool, get settled in the room, whatever

7:15p Dinner at Sanaa. That's right, I cancelled Jikos. There are a few reasons for this. First, I wasn't exactly thrilled my last trip there (though it was good, it wasn't as good as 2012), second, I have other things I want to spend the extra dining credits on during this portion of the stay, and third, I'm trying to book mostly restaurants we have NOT eaten at, or have not eaten at recently (as in the past few trips) during this trip, simply to branch out from our traditional favorites. So...Sanaa it is!

Spend the rest of the evening setting up the webcam that I'm going to run from our balcony while the kiddo plays with the day/night monocular I bought and takes pictures, video, etc. of the animals as we gorge ourselves on complimentary club level goodies.

Aug 13

Magic Kingdom!

Breakfast at Cindy's Royal Table at 8:05...making sure to take pictures / video of the empty park!

2:10 lunch at Be Our Guest

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at 3:05p - 4:05p

Peter Pan's Flight at 4:20p - 5:20p

Anna and Elsa Meet and Greet at 5:40p - 6:50p (sigh, it came up in another thread, and it reminded me, if I didn't book this one, my daughter would kill me)

6:45 dinner at Tony's Town Square

We are gonna do MSEP and Wishes the old fashioned way, staking out a spot at the base of the Castle about an hour before the show and camping out.

Aug 14

EPCOT!

8:45a Breakfast at Cape May. I'm still not sure about this one.

Spaceship Earth 10a - 11a

12:30 Lunch at Via Napoli (Yeah, I cancelled our Teppan Edo...I actually just wanted to move Teppan Edo to dinner, but there were no slots, so...)

Figment 2:05p - 3:05p (yeah, this ride needs an FP...right? Riiiiiight....)

Sourin 3:20p - 4:20p

Nine Dragons at 6p. Another new restaurant for us. Though, I'd prefer Teppan Edo, I think this will be an interesting thing to try. We both like Chinese food, but for some reason we always skip the dining options (even the QS stuff) at EPCOT. This replaced Le Cellier, but again, it's for the same reason why I cancelled Jikos. I want to try new stuff, or stuff we don't do often. Plus, my dinner experience at Le Cellier wasn't very good last trip. At least not 2 dining credit "signature" good.

Ok, this is a new one for us. 8p we have the "Illuminations Sparkling Dessert Party". Traditionally I've been against these sorts of "experiences"...but after doing the Club Level "dessert party" at Contemporary last trip, I sortof like the concept, so I thought we'd give this a shot. Plus, we don't have to jockey for a viewing spot.

Aug 15

Breakfast at Boma at 8:55a

DCL Transit will pick us up, I suspect sometime around 10a - 11a, and we'll head off to Port Canaveral and the Fantasy!

Aug 16

At Sea - No plans yet

Aug 17

At Sea - No plans yet

Aug 18

St. Maarten

Nothing planned yet, but I'm considering the Create Your Own Perfume

PIRATE NIGHT!

I will order our costumes next week. So, LAST CHANCE TO VOTE HERE!

Aug 19

St. Thomas / St. John

The kiddo has family here who have said they'll plan our day for us. So, not sure what we are going to do, but...

If we do an excursion I'm debating are the Tree Limin' Ziplines, the Sea Trek Helmet Dive and the Screamin' Eagle high speed boat ride

Aug 20

At Sea - No plans yet

Aug 21

Castaway Cay

Castaway Cay Getaway Package which includes bike rental for an hour (the kiddo loves to ride her bike), snorkel rental and tube rental for the day.

Aug 22

DCL should have us to Art of Animation around noon.

Hollywood Studios!

2:00p Lunch at Sci Fi Dine In

7:45 Dinner at 50's Prime Time

Fantasmic

Aug 23

Animal Kingdom (I have no idea why AK ends up being a Sunday thing for us every year, but it does!

8:20 breakfast at Tusker House

1:30 lunch at Yak and Yeti

Dinner / Snacks at Harambe

Evening after close at the resort or DTD or whatever we choose. Maybe bowling?

Aug 24

Ohana for Breakfast at 7:55a.

Typhoon Lagoon in the Morning

1p lunch at T-Rex (though, I've never had trouble walking up to T-Rex, so I'll probably cancel this).

Blizzard Beach in the Afternoon

Tentative 7p Dinner at Raglan Rd.

Aug 25

Last day..so sad.

11:45 Lunch at Cindy's Royal Table

After the 3p parade, we'll head back to the resort.

7:35p flight on Delta back to Washington Reagan. Arrive very late (11:45p)

Check into Residence Inn Arlington to crash for the evening.

Meet up with the kiddo's Mom to return her back to everyday life...

Aug 26

10:45 return flight on Delta back to ATL.

I highly recommend one of the cafés at the National Gallery of Art for lunch while you are on the Mall, even if you don't plan on touring it. I believe the Cascade Café is the largest and has the best selection. It's a little pricey, but the food is very good. They also have gelato, and you can never go wrong with gelato...

englanddg · Jun 14, 2015

OSUgirl77 said:
I highly recommend one of the cafés at the National Gallery of Art for lunch while you are on the Mall, even if you don't plan on touring it. I believe the Cascade Café is the largest and has the best selection. It's a little pricey, but the food is very good. They also have gelato, and you can never go wrong with gelato...

Cool! Any other suggestions in that general area? I don't mind a short hop on the Metro if we have to...

I'd like to find a really nice place for dinner...just so we don't get stuck doing something I "know" like the food court at Pentagon City.

Trip Report englanddg's Real Life or is this just Fantasy?

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