Pre-Trip The ever changing Sept. B-day trip

I've so enjoyed reading the various trip reports as I, not so patiently, count down the days to my own Disney adventure, that I decided to try my hand at writing a pre-trip report. Hopefully in the days leading up to my vacation I will also get some great tips and make a few disney friends along the way.

First let me introduce myself. My name is Bobbi and I have been a disney fan for as long as I can remember. I managed to turn my 2 daughters (and an ex-husband) into disney fans as well. None quite as excitable as me....but then who is? Brytney is my oldest DD23 and Allexis is my youngest DD19. I'm a school psychologist for a non-traditional high school and we are year round so I can plan my trips whenever. Very different from when the kids were younger and I worked in a traditional school setting. Back then it was summer only and we usually went in August. Over the years we lived in Florida, New York, Maryland, and Massachusetts. While in FL we were passholders. For the last 5 years I've been living in CA with my younger DD. And we've been passholders here for 3 years and we love it!

So the planning for this trip started in October of 2016. A mere 11 months before I was looking to go. Why a September trip you ask? Well, it all started in California Adventure when our visit coincided with the DCA F+WF. It's pretty small but as lovers of food, my DD and I were hooked! As my birthday came and went with zero fanfare it became clear that my next birthday needed a celebration (40 came right after my move) and what better way to celebrate 45 than Disney Style? With our new found love for the F+WF, the opportunity to attend MHHP, and a (kind-of) milestone birthday to celebrate - September seemed perfect! Add in the special MK 45th celebration perks and it's a no-brainer.

So, now that I knew when, the next question was where. We've stayed at: GF, Poly, CS, CB, POR, POF, ASMo, and ASMu. I decided if my purpose is F+W then an Epcot resort hotel was required. So my obvious choice was Yacht Club. With SAB it really was either YC or BC. I decide on the former because I thought the rooms were so cute. But then.....dun-dun-dun.......refurb started.....but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The next question....who am I bringing? I decided an all girls trip would be amazing and thus invited my sister and DD23 who both live in NY, and then my younger DD19 who still lives with me. Everyone was super excited! My DD23 loves Halloween and so MHHP along with Club Villain were a must. That lead to costume planning as well! I printed menus for them, ride lists,etc so I would be sure everyone would have fun. Time marched on and plans began to come together. And then........in January everything changed!!!! Now what?

 

[BDL]

By the way, that is me and my DD19 in my profile pic. We were at DCA and as you can tell it was cold enough for coats, scarves, and gloves. It was also December hence the holiday lights in my scarf.

Anyway, back to trip planning. By January I had already completed a rough itinerary. This is a running joke in my family, anytime there is a trip regardless of where, I make an itinerary. So, obviously there would be one for WDW. It included everyone's arrival dates, likely parks to visit, and ideas for meals. While myself and DD19 would be staying for 8 days because our schedules allowed it, my sister and DD23 would be there for 5 because of work and school schedules.

Not long after the rough itinerary went out I get a call from my sister who is super excited about finding a backer for her business. She'd been planning for years and it was finally going to come to fruition. Her estimated opening would be August/September......Thus, no Disney Trip for her. My sister was ditching on my birthday party! No! What kind of sister are you? Seriously though I was so happy for her. She's going to do great and while the last few months have been so stressful, she is now all set to open in August. And given the nature of the business, taking time off right at the start won't work that soon after opening. We'll send her pictures!

So that change in attendees did not make a huge difference in overall plans except DD23 wasn't thrilled about flying alone. I adjusted our reservation and edited the itinerary. Now that it was February, I really needed to nail down dining plans as my 180 window was quickly approaching. I made a call to my DD23 to get her final input. She sounds very somber on the phone and I ask her what's up? She says she has some news that I might not like.......uh, ok???? I have no idea where this is going so I'm a little nervous.......

DD23 "Mom, I'm pregnant." I'm speechless for a moment because I thought it was going to be something terrible. Now I'm not over the moon about this, she's 23 and still in college, but it was going to happen eventually. She and her fiance both love kids so I wasn't too surprised, just disappointed that they didn't wait until after they were both college graduates. With that being said, they've already secured childcare at the university (DD23 also works there) and there is plenty of family nearby to help. So congratulations! Wait, that means I'm going to be a grandmother. No way, never mind, take it back....I'm not ready!

Now that the shock is over, what does this mean for my birthday celebration? Well, she is due July 11th. Our trip is planned for September 20-28. I guess DD23 is now off the guest list as well. Several times since the announcement she has indicated she is still coming. Her fiance can take care of the baby she says. I just keep laughing at her as I know she will not want to leave that sweet little bundle of joy when she is only 2 months old.

So, revision of the plans again.......should I just cancel? This started out as a fun birthday celebration with my favorite 3 girls and now I'm down to just 1. (insert sad face). Ho-Hum.

 

[amjt660]

Great story so far
Following along to see how it turns out

Max

 

[12in12]

Following along, congrats on becoming a grandma. Just think of all the cute Disney baby outfits you can buy!

 

[BDL]

Great story so far
Following along to see how it turns out


Thanks for the follow.



Max

Following along, congrats on becoming a grandma. Just think of all the cute Disney baby outfits you can buy!

Thanks for the follow. And after I got over the initial shock, I immediately starting buying the cutest Disney outfits. And...since I know it's a girl I am already secretly saving for Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique! My girls were too old by the time this experience became available.

 

[BDL]

PTR Con't (#3):

So for most of February I was a little bummed out and trying to decide if I should cancel the Disney trip and do something else all together. I decided to look to the various forums for information, pictures, and to get my WDW fix. It was then that I noticed all the discussions about the referb happening at the Yacht Club. I chose that hotel mostly for the location and the pool but I thought the old rooms were so cute with their nautical theme and the rumor mill indicated that they would be changing them over to something similar to the new beach club rooms which were more "classy" and less Disney. At this point I really was felling pretty dejected and had decided to cancel the trip all together. But, because I never make impulsive decisions I chose to "sit" on that thought for at least 2 weeks before making a final move.

In the meantime we went to AP days at Disneyland for the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade in February and then March came around which meant the Disney's California Adventure park F&WF was on my radar. After 4 different DL visits I was back on the WDW bandwagon and we decided that this was a great year to return! So, I decided NOT to cancel my trip but I did change it to a room only reservation as with only the two of us, there was no way that free dining was going to be good deal for us. I booked our flights and that is when the planning got into full swing. Well, the first day anyway.

We are taking the red eye into Orlando with an arrival time of 6:30 AM. On a previous trip a few year ago in January we did something similar and got to POR at 7:00 AM, expecting our room to be ready fairly early (estimated 10:00 AM) because it was a non busy time of year. It did not end up being ready until 1:00 PM and we were cranky and tired. I think it was because we had booked a royal room for my DD 16th birthday. So this time, I decided we would do it right! I am guessing we will arrive at YC by 8:00 AM and that our room will NOT be ready. So we have an ADR for Kona for breakfast followed by massages & pedicures at Ship Shape Spa after which we will nap by the pool until our room is ready. The plan for that evening will be to head over to Epcot to start our exploration of the F&WF. It will be a relaxing first day.

The rest of the schedule was just a rough outline at this point. We were patiently awaiting the announcements for MHHP dates and I really wanted to do a dessert party. So back to the boards I went to read reviews and determine which one would it be......

 

[BDL]

PTR #4:

Ok. So airline tickets are bought and we have a pretty good plan for day #1. Reservations are already made for our massages and pedicures. Now to figure out where we want to eat so I can prepare for that 180 day ADR window. March 24 was right around the corner and after our recent visits to DCA’s version of F&W we knew we would want at least 4 visits to Epcot WS specifically for exploring food. Also, the last time we were at Disney, either BOG wasn’t yet open or we were clueless because that restaurant was not even on our radar. I’m thinking the latter is probably the case, LOL.

When the kids were little we always did Chef Mickey’s on our first day for dinner & 1900 Park Fare on our last day for breakfast. It became a tradition. The last time we were at Chef Mickey’s it didn’t seem as good. Maybe because we were all adult eaters by this point? Anyway, since it was just DD19 and I and neither of us are picky eaters we decided we wanted to try a few new things.

When we travel we do need to be careful about what we eat as we have both been known to end up with stomach issues. Our last trip was ruined for both of us after dinner at Cape May Café. We both ended up not being able to keep any real food down for the two days following. We felt fine as long as we didn’t eat….that’s hard to do with all the yummy foods calling out your name at Disney.

So, we were thinking……BOG since it’s the “must do” reservation, and then some others we’ve been considering are: Whispering Canyon, Kona, Rose & Crown, Yak & Yeti, Sci-Fi, California Grill, Cinderella’s Royal Table, and Yachtsman.

I remember Whispering Canyon being great and I think we only ate there once and DD19 was too young to remember. I think we did Kona once several years ago as well but I can’t even remember. DD is excited about the press pot and I’m excited for Tonga Toast. DD was also wondering about their Sushi….is it any good? Maybe lunch or dinner there, or Kona Island….any feedback? Yak & Yeti is a place I have never been and I know there is a QS version but I think we want to have greater menu options. Sci-Fi will be for appetizers and a late lunch since we will be doing the SW Galactic Dessert Party – that’s the one I decided I want to do – for dinner (yes, I can have dessert for dinner for my birthday)! California Grill for brunch is our goal since this is a place we have never been. My research indicates that Sunday will be our Halloween Party date and thus brunch to start that day will be fabulous. Plus bottomless mimosa’s? It’s kind of a no-brainer. We have also never been to Yachtsman and we are specifically wanting to go there for some red meat! We tried Le Cellier several years ago and while it was good, I did not think it was worth the price. We did CRT when the girls were little (for breakfast) and we were NOT impressed. The food was cold and pretty average but the girls loved the princess interactions. I see the menu has changed and it appears to be getting better reviews..so maybe? And of course, BOG just because. Their dinner menu looks better than their lunch menu to me, but I think we will take what we can get just for the experience. Worst case we order 1 meal and share right?

We ruled out buffet’s given our last trip, plus if one of us isn’t feeling great we can always share a meal. Soooooo many decisions…….thus, any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[12in12]

I would certainly share meals, saves money and calories.If possible I would do BOG for dinner so you can meet the Beast. Dessert for dinner is always a good idea especially at Disney on your birthday! I know people love Tonga Toast and the French press coffee but I wasn't impressed with either same with dinner at CRT. I love CG but was a bit shocked at the price of the brunch but maybe some day...
Have fun planning

 

[BDL]

PTR #5:

Sorry for being away so long......but I now have a sweet, tiny, perfect little grandbaby! 6.3 lbs; 19 inches. Cute as a button, of course!

Ok - back to the PTR....

ADR day came and went….and was mostly a success. Looking back I realize my strategy was off. I made the rookie mistake of making the reservations in order from start of trip to end, rather than starting with the hardest to get reservations and then returning to my day by day strategy.

After mapping out our park days I then planned our meals thus organizing our ADR’s based on the park plans. A few of the days were pretty flexible and thus I could easily reorganize our park plans if needed, plus some days we have plans to visit more than 1 park. However, a few were set in stone due to planned events (i.e., Halloween Party, Dessert Party).

With that being said, I did not get the BOG dinner reservation I wanted on the day I wanted but was able to get a lunch reservation for that day and a dinner reservation for later in the week. I really don’t need two but I am thinking the lunch ADR will get us out of the heat for a bit. Everything else worked perfectly including being able to get CRT for breakfast which we decided not to do at the very last minute.

We ended up with:

Day 1 - Arrival: Kona for Breakfast

Day 2 – MK: BOG for Lunch

Day 3 – AK: Yak & Yeti for Dinner

Day 4 – HS: Sci-Fi for Lunch; SW Galactic DP for Dinner (LOL)

Day 5 – MHHP: California Grill for Brunch

Day 6 – Epcot: Yachtsman for Dinner

Day 7 - ??: Flex Day

Day 8 - ??: BOG for Dinner

Day 9 – Depart:

As you can see we left plenty of room for visits to Epcot for F&W. I do wonder if I have left enough visits so I figure once the menus are released DD and I can go through and highlight all the things we want to try. If it doesn’t appear that we can do that in 4-days-worth of visits, then I can always cancel an ADR.

Next up is to start planning what FP we want…….and the countdown continues…….

 

[BDL]

PTR #6:

As I am slowly counting down the days to our trip I had a little dance party when we passed the 100 day mark and found ourselves down to double digits. WOOHOO! I was also super excited that we had managed to get the Enchanted Escape offer applied to our room only reservation. Who doesn’t love saving money?

So now I really need to be thinking about our tickets. I found that Undercover Tourist has some decent savings on multi-day PH tickets. But I have also been contemplating an annual pass. As a DL AP holder I can upgrade my current pass to a Premiere and since it includes photopass/memory maker I will break even. Not to mention all the extra discounts at WDW through September 30, 2017. And of course the chance to make a return trip!

I thought most of my research was done after I nailed down our ADR’s; however, the ticket decision process has taken me more than 30 days…..I started writing this specific installment of the PTR around the 98 days left mark – I am now at 63 days and I think I have made a decision BUT it’s wreaking havoc on my Disney stress levels, LOL.

So….here is the dilemma. My current DL AP expires on 9/11/17 and my trip starts on the 20th of September. The earliest I can renew is August 2nd. Once that has been processed I can physically visit the DL resort and upgrade that DL AP to the premier AP and just pay the difference. [Which, by the way, is about the same cost as purchasing 8 day PH tickets.] However, given my work schedule I won’t be able to get to the park until the 4th. That is going to put me at making my FP+ at 48 days rather than 60. I am wondering how badly this is going to impact us?

In reality we can’t do most of the super popular E-ticket rides as both DD19 and I get severe motion sickness. At Epcot we’d like to do Frozen since we have not done that one. At MK we would have chosen SM but that will be closed while we are there. We probably want 7DMT but everything else is pretty flexible. At HS I want to see Beauty & the Beast, and probably Toy Story so we can compare to DL version. I know they are both “A” group attractions but looking at Touring Plans it seems like I could even get these on the day of. Does that sound right? And at AK we definitely want to do Na’vi River Journey but I know we would NOT be able to handle FoP. Our “B” group interests are KS and Lion King. I am not too concerned about those 2 but I have a feeling being only 50 days out on our planned AK day we aren’t likely to get any Pandora rides…. With that being said, our last 2 days are pretty flexible so we could head over just for missed attractions?

Advice – Thoughts – Suggestions – Experience…..are all welcome!

 

[bee]

I had a similar dilemma when I moved up my next WDW trip. I was planning to buy APs and make FPs online right at 60 days, but the new trip is sooner so I made FPs at about 48 days. I got Frozen (on multiple days), Soarin', Navi, and Rivers of Light. I didn't try to make MK FPs so I can't comment on that. The only thing I wanted but couldn't get was FOP, and I'll try again at 30 days. Obviously my experience doesn't guarantee you'll get everything at 48 days but you might be okay.

 

[BDL]

I had a similar dilemma when I moved up my next WDW trip. I was planning to buy APs and make FPs online right at 60 days, but the new trip is sooner so I made FPs at about 48 days. I got Frozen (on multiple days), Soarin', Navi, and Rivers of Light. I didn't try to make MK FPs so I can't comment on that. The only thing I wanted but couldn't get was FOP, and I'll try again at 30 days. Obviously my experience doesn't guarantee you'll get everything at 48 days but you might be okay.

Thanks for the information! While your experience doesn't mean I will have the same good luck it at least gives me hope, LOL! I will stop stressing and just enjoy the last of my planning.

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

Since you're not planning on getting a FP for FoP, I think you'll be ok to wait until 48 days. I can't guarantee you'll get everything, but I think you probably should. And in case you didn't know, the menus are out for F&W.

 

[kaitertot5249]

I'm so happy that you decided to keep your trip planned despite the changes to other people's schedules! It's such a great place for a mother daughter trip and I wish that my mom would want to do a WDW mother daughter trip someday but she is not a theme park person And you're celebrating your birthday!

Your plans sound great so far! Looking forward to following along!

 

[*Flynnderella*]

Sounds like a fun trip just the two of you!!

We had dinner at CG in May. It was amazing & I'd love to try the brunch next time, so I can't wait for your review on that!

 

[Trisha Lynn]

Following along! I'm also very excited about the F&W festival and after I sent the list of scheduled things to eat, my Hobbit is now getting more excited as well.

And congrats to your daughter. Hope the birth goes well.

Also, you're arriving on my actual birthday. Happy birthday for both of us?

 

[BDL]

Since you're not planning on getting a FP for FoP, I think you'll be ok to wait until 48 days. I can't guarantee you'll get everything, but I think you probably should. And in case you didn't know, the menus are out for F&W.

Fingers crossed! And thanks for the menu tip. I have been impatiently waiting for F&W info....

 

[BDL]

I'm so happy that you decided to keep your trip planned despite the changes to other people's schedules! It's such a great place for a mother daughter trip and I wish that my mom would want to do a WDW mother daughter trip someday but she is not a theme park person And you're celebrating your birthday!

Your plans sound great so far! Looking forward to following along!

Thanks for following along. My younger DD and I are a lot alike so I think we are going to have a great time. I have learned sometimes you just have to do things to celebrate you! It's always a bonus when someone wants to come along for the celebration.

And if you want to "adopt-a-mom" for a Disney trip I am guessing there are quite a few of us who would volunteer, LOL!

 

[BDL]

Sounds like a fun trip just the two of you!!

We had dinner at CG in May. It was amazing & I'd love to try the brunch next time, so I can't wait for your review on that!

I am SO excited to try CG and I think there is nothing better than brunch. Since that is also the day we are doing the Halloween Party I have a feeling it will be one of my favorites!

 

[BDL]

Following along! I'm also very excited about the F&W festival and after I sent the list of scheduled things to eat, my Hobbit is now getting more excited as well.

And congrats to your daughter. Hope the birth goes well.

Also, you're arriving on my actual birthday. Happy birthday for both of us?

Thanks for the follow and the congrats. Mom and baby are doing great! Happy (early) Birthday to you. My DD and I are combing through the menus to decide what we want to try....and possibly cancel an ADR (or 2) to make room in our tummys, LOL.