This trip started out with us going Feb. 6-13 2014, but the lure of FREE FOOD always appeals to us. Given that all of the trips we’ve taken to the world since 2009 have included “free food”, we were a lil nervous that it wasn’t going to be offered come February. I know, I know…many people say it truly isn’t “free”, but for our family it is a better value as we typically stay in the values and like to do character meals. We’ve done the math, and for us, it is our best option.
We had no intention of going back to the world in ‘13 since we were there in September ’12. Our daughter will be starting in a new school building in the Fall ’14 and we didn’t want to pull her from that school transition to go to WDW, hence the Feb. ’14 trip.
Then Disney released the late fall free dining last Thursday and I get this hair-brained idea. “What about going late October this so that we get free dining?? Heck, it’s only 3 months earlier than February”. Soooo, after waiting on hold for 1 hour and 15 minutes to change the reservations, we go from a 189 day wait to an 85 day waiting until check in. 85 DAYS!!!! OMG!!! What did we just do? Our first thought after the change…We’re never going to get any ADR’s, especially our beloved 'Ohana.
After making our change from Feb ’14 to Oct ’13, the very nice cast member offered to hand us over to dining reservations. We went into that conversation with very little hope. There’s no way we’re we going to get what we want. Our top picks are 'Ohana, Chef Mickeys, and Crystal Palace…along with the other ½ million people who were up at the butt crack of dawn on their 180 day mark many months ago to hold their spots. After explaining our wishes (and lack of confidence) to the very bubbly cast member, she said “we’ll let’s see if we can get you in 'Ohana” . After a very long and dramatic pause…”We have a 6:45 pm available on Monday Oct 28th”..cue the angels…YES!!!! We can’t believe it, we got a reservation to O’Hana and we are only 85 days away from checking in. Read on to see if we were able to snag our other top favorites. (Hint…a very peppy happy dance ensued at the end of that 2 hour phone call!)
Cast:
Me…Dennis (43) aka “Mousefreak”
DW…LeAnn (42) aka “SweetEvangeline”. She started TR for our trip last year, but life got in the way and didn’t finish it. Give her an “A” for effort.
DD…Grace (11)
Aunt Sally (?)...reveal that age and I’ll get my butt kicked
Uncle Walt (?)…yes…this makes 2 “Uncle Walts”
…same as above about the butt kicking
(Walt and Sally '11)
A quick story about Uncle Walt and Aunt Sally. They first started coming to WDW back in 1974 and have made 20 trips to the World. This will be their 21st trip. They have stayed in all of the deluxe resorts and most all of the Values. Their favorite is Poly. They said they used to pay UNDER $100 a night for Poly wwaaayyy back in the day. Can you imagine…UNDER $100 for Poly?!?! They introduced us to WDW in 2009 and we’ve been hooked ever since.
When:
October , 25-31 2013
Where:-
Pop Century
We plan to hit the road at 4am Oct 24th, driving from our home in Columbus, Ohio (a 1020 mile drive). We’ll drive all the way down I75 and get to our hotel in Valdosta, GA around 4pm…get a swim in to relax the aching body…get some dinner hopefully at Sonny’s BBQ and get to bed early as another 4am wake up is upon us. The sooner we get our butts outta bed and moving…the sooner we can get to the parks!
This will be the first time with Park Hopper tickets. On our first few trips to Disney, we decided to maximize our time by staying in 1 park per day…but now that we’ve become seasoned Disney vacationers, we want to park hop. On our trip in Sept ’12, we spent our first day at Animal Kingdom. We had an evening ADR at Wilderness Lodge, so when we arrive at the MK to catch the boat over to WLR, I was nearly kicking and screaming because I wanted to go into the MK after dinner. Seriously!! Picture this…a 42 yr old guy kicking & screaming because he can’t go into the Magic Kingdom because we didn’t have park hopper tickets.
Not any more…park hoppers for ever more .
Day 1: Fri Oct 25
Check in at Pop and head over to Epcot. Lunch ADR at Via Napoli. This will be our first time at Via Napoli, too. We’ve read lots of good reports so I’m sure it won’t disappoint. Hop on over to Hollywood Studios for the evening.
Day 2: Sat Oct 26
Magic Kingdom…This will be a full day at our favorite park. It’s a must do that we see the MK welcome show at least once on a trip. So it will either be Tues or Wed or both. Lunch at Peco’s Bills.Dinner is at Whispering Canyon which we enjoyed last year. Protein-lovers paradise!
Day 3: Sun Oct 27
There’s nothing like a Sunday afternoon ride through the Safari, right? We will spend most of the day at Animal Kingdom and end the evening with a 5:50 reservation at Rose and Crown. This will be a first for us, but we are confident it will be an excellent choice. There might just be a Grand Marnier slush to end the evening before we watch Illuminations.
Day 4: Mon Oct 28
This will be a no park day…unless we can’t stand it and buy a 7th day. Pool time…DTD…resort hopping. Dinner at…cue the angels singing and trumpets playing…'Ohana!!! Sweet Baby Jesus…only you could create something as delicious as O’Hana. BTW…THANK YOU 'Ohana for the MK view last year! End the day with Wishes. Be still my heart…bananas foster bread pudding is within my grasp!
Day 5: Tue Oct 29
Hollywood Studios…Backlot Express for lunch (here we come veggie sandwich) and 50’s Prime Time for dinner (another new one we haven’t tried before). OOHHH…I can’t forget a stop at Starring Rolls for a lil sumpin’ sumpin’!
Day 6: Wed Oct 30
This day will probably be mostly spent at Magic Kingdom since the reservation Gods were smiling down upon us once more and we landed an 8:15 AM breakfast at Crystal Palace before the park opens!!! Unbelievable! The sweet, perky lady at Disney Dining asked us how she could “take us to infinity and beyond” and by golly…she did it!
Day 7: Thur Oct 31
Epcot…I loves me some Epcot!!! Most likely spend the whole day at Epcot with lunch at Cantina de San Angel (OMG…the chicken nachos and churros w/warm caramel sauce is calling my name.) Dinner will be another first for us….Garden Grill. Uncle Walt and Aunt Sally used to eat here every trip, but it has been years since they have been back. Sally is very excited about this one!
That’s all folks. I’m sure there be some random park hoping that will happen that’s not planned. I hope you join us for the trip report.
We had no intention of going back to the world in ‘13 since we were there in September ’12. Our daughter will be starting in a new school building in the Fall ’14 and we didn’t want to pull her from that school transition to go to WDW, hence the Feb. ’14 trip.
Then Disney released the late fall free dining last Thursday and I get this hair-brained idea. “What about going late October this so that we get free dining?? Heck, it’s only 3 months earlier than February”. Soooo, after waiting on hold for 1 hour and 15 minutes to change the reservations, we go from a 189 day wait to an 85 day waiting until check in. 85 DAYS!!!! OMG!!! What did we just do? Our first thought after the change…We’re never going to get any ADR’s, especially our beloved 'Ohana.
After making our change from Feb ’14 to Oct ’13, the very nice cast member offered to hand us over to dining reservations. We went into that conversation with very little hope. There’s no way we’re we going to get what we want. Our top picks are 'Ohana, Chef Mickeys, and Crystal Palace…along with the other ½ million people who were up at the butt crack of dawn on their 180 day mark many months ago to hold their spots. After explaining our wishes (and lack of confidence) to the very bubbly cast member, she said “we’ll let’s see if we can get you in 'Ohana” . After a very long and dramatic pause…”We have a 6:45 pm available on Monday Oct 28th”..cue the angels…YES!!!! We can’t believe it, we got a reservation to O’Hana and we are only 85 days away from checking in. Read on to see if we were able to snag our other top favorites. (Hint…a very peppy happy dance ensued at the end of that 2 hour phone call!)
Cast:
Me…Dennis (43) aka “Mousefreak”
DW…LeAnn (42) aka “SweetEvangeline”. She started TR for our trip last year, but life got in the way and didn’t finish it. Give her an “A” for effort.
DD…Grace (11)
Aunt Sally (?)...reveal that age and I’ll get my butt kicked
Uncle Walt (?)…yes…this makes 2 “Uncle Walts”
…same as above about the butt kickingA quick story about Uncle Walt and Aunt Sally. They first started coming to WDW back in 1974 and have made 20 trips to the World. This will be their 21st trip. They have stayed in all of the deluxe resorts and most all of the Values. Their favorite is Poly. They said they used to pay UNDER $100 a night for Poly wwaaayyy back in the day. Can you imagine…UNDER $100 for Poly?!?! They introduced us to WDW in 2009 and we’ve been hooked ever since.
When:
October , 25-31 2013
Where:-
Pop Century
We plan to hit the road at 4am Oct 24th, driving from our home in Columbus, Ohio (a 1020 mile drive). We’ll drive all the way down I75 and get to our hotel in Valdosta, GA around 4pm…get a swim in to relax the aching body…get some dinner hopefully at Sonny’s BBQ and get to bed early as another 4am wake up is upon us. The sooner we get our butts outta bed and moving…the sooner we can get to the parks!
This will be the first time with Park Hopper tickets. On our first few trips to Disney, we decided to maximize our time by staying in 1 park per day…but now that we’ve become seasoned Disney vacationers, we want to park hop. On our trip in Sept ’12, we spent our first day at Animal Kingdom. We had an evening ADR at Wilderness Lodge, so when we arrive at the MK to catch the boat over to WLR, I was nearly kicking and screaming because I wanted to go into the MK after dinner. Seriously!! Picture this…a 42 yr old guy kicking & screaming because he can’t go into the Magic Kingdom because we didn’t have park hopper tickets.
Not any more…park hoppers for ever more .Day 1: Fri Oct 25
Check in at Pop and head over to Epcot. Lunch ADR at Via Napoli. This will be our first time at Via Napoli, too. We’ve read lots of good reports so I’m sure it won’t disappoint. Hop on over to Hollywood Studios for the evening.
Day 2: Sat Oct 26
Magic Kingdom…This will be a full day at our favorite park. It’s a must do that we see the MK welcome show at least once on a trip. So it will either be Tues or Wed or both. Lunch at Peco’s Bills.Dinner is at Whispering Canyon which we enjoyed last year. Protein-lovers paradise!
Day 3: Sun Oct 27
There’s nothing like a Sunday afternoon ride through the Safari, right? We will spend most of the day at Animal Kingdom and end the evening with a 5:50 reservation at Rose and Crown. This will be a first for us, but we are confident it will be an excellent choice. There might just be a Grand Marnier slush to end the evening before we watch Illuminations.
Day 4: Mon Oct 28
This will be a no park day…unless we can’t stand it and buy a 7th day. Pool time…DTD…resort hopping. Dinner at…cue the angels singing and trumpets playing…'Ohana!!! Sweet Baby Jesus…only you could create something as delicious as O’Hana. BTW…THANK YOU 'Ohana for the MK view last year! End the day with Wishes. Be still my heart…bananas foster bread pudding is within my grasp!
Day 5: Tue Oct 29
Hollywood Studios…Backlot Express for lunch (here we come veggie sandwich) and 50’s Prime Time for dinner (another new one we haven’t tried before). OOHHH…I can’t forget a stop at Starring Rolls for a lil sumpin’ sumpin’!
Day 6: Wed Oct 30
This day will probably be mostly spent at Magic Kingdom since the reservation Gods were smiling down upon us once more and we landed an 8:15 AM breakfast at Crystal Palace before the park opens!!! Unbelievable! The sweet, perky lady at Disney Dining asked us how she could “take us to infinity and beyond” and by golly…she did it!
Day 7: Thur Oct 31
Epcot…I loves me some Epcot!!! Most likely spend the whole day at Epcot with lunch at Cantina de San Angel (OMG…the chicken nachos and churros w/warm caramel sauce is calling my name.) Dinner will be another first for us….Garden Grill. Uncle Walt and Aunt Sally used to eat here every trip, but it has been years since they have been back. Sally is very excited about this one!
That’s all folks. I’m sure there be some random park hoping that will happen that’s not planned. I hope you join us for the trip report.
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