Pre-Trip I'm Back!! Short December 2021 Trip

LeighM · Oct 15, 2021

Zipitidoda said:
Wow, Good luck with Boma!!! My son and I caught a bug in 2013 and we had a Boma reservation then next day. We still went but I hardly ate anything and we haven't been back. Maybe someday....

I jinxed it by talking about it

I cancelled Boma when I was able to get an Ohana reservation. The husband was very upset at the idea of not having Ohana since it's become our Disney tradition. I was unaware that it had reached tradition status

Songbird76 · Oct 16, 2021

LeighM said:
I stress. It's what I do best. I come from a long line of women who stress LOL. When I don't have plans, is when crap really hits the fan During my 2019 trip, we were able to get a table at the Brown Derby Lounge with very little wait. The salad on that menu was a much smaller portion. And it was delicious!!! It made me crave more and I've been salivating over it for years I have a Boma reservation for this trip and I really hope I'm able to go. I've had dinner reservations for it in 2016, 2018, and 2019 and each one got cancelled for some reason. I think in 2016 it was bc of Hurricane Matthew. In 2018, my husband caught a stomach bug while at Disney and we had to cancel. I really thought 2019 was going to be my year but R was still too full from his lunch and didn't want to pay buffet prices if he wasn't hungry enough to eat. So, I made reservations for Boma (again!!!) for my April 2020 trip, which was cancelled by the pandemic LOL. Boma is definitely my Achilles heel! Will this be the year? Who knows

What a bummer about Boma! We LOVED our breakfast there. I want to try a dinner there next time we go as well as doing breakfast there again. I'd say if your husband gets sick or doesn't want to go, just go by yourself. It's so good! I ended up doing a LOT of meals sans husband in 2019. A couple of days he said he didn't feel well, one day he just decided he didn't want to go into the parks, another day he decided he wanted to split off from us and do his own thing...you don't get charged for the people who don't come as long as SOMEONE shows up to the ADR. My husband skipped out on Homecomin', Liberty Tree Tavern, Via Napoli, he left early from Akershus, he almost skipped Beaches and Cream, but then it was pouring rain and he couldn't do what he wanted to do so he decided to meet us there anyway. I don't want to miss things I've been looking forward to just because DH doesn't feel like it, so I just go without him. Is that mean?

LeighM · Oct 17, 2021

Songbird76 said:
What a bummer about Boma! We LOVED our breakfast there. I want to try a dinner there next time we go as well as doing breakfast there again. I'd say if your husband gets sick or doesn't want to go, just go by yourself. It's so good! I ended up doing a LOT of meals sans husband in 2019. A couple of days he said he didn't feel well, one day he just decided he didn't want to go into the parks, another day he decided he wanted to split off from us and do his own thing...you don't get charged for the people who don't come as long as SOMEONE shows up to the ADR. My husband skipped out on Homecomin', Liberty Tree Tavern, Via Napoli, he left early from Akershus, he almost skipped Beaches and Cream, but then it was pouring rain and he couldn't do what he wanted to do so he decided to meet us there anyway. I don't want to miss things I've been looking forward to just because DH doesn't feel like it, so I just go without him. Is that mean?

Oh my gosh!! That's not mean at all. I probably would've made my husband sit back down and ripped him a new one later if he tried to get up and leave me to eat dinner alone LOL. Especially if it was during our honeymoon or anniversary trips

That would've caused a HUGE problem! When he got sick for a couple of days back in 2018 and had to take naps during the day during our midday break, he kicked me out of the room so I just hung out by the pool. I was fine with that. And when he wanted to ride Test Track and I didn't, I left him in line and went to do my own thing until I received his come pick him up text. He still gets lost within the parks lol. One trip, he wanted to wait in line to meet Anna and Elsa but I wanted to shop. So I told him how to get there. Probably 10 minutes later he called and said the line was too long and he was rejoining me. I had one of the CMs in stitches because I was on the phone with him telling him exactly where I was but he just could not see me (seriously, he will legit walk right by me in the grocery store looking for me and not even see me there!) Finally I stepped away from the register and started doing jumping jacks in the walkway. I asked him if he saw the jacka$$ doing jumping jacks and he said yes. I was like well I'm that jacka$$ so come this way. In 2014 or so, he did the Exotic Driving Experience while I stayed at the hotel relaxing and waiting for his cousin to join us for the evening. We both enjoy some time separate at Disney but both of us would have an issue spending big chunks of the vacation alone.

Songbird76 · Oct 18, 2021

LeighM said:
Oh my gosh!! That's not mean at all. I probably would've made my husband sit back down and ripped him a new one later if he tried to get up and leave me to eat dinner alone LOL. Especially if it was during our honeymoon or anniversary trips That would've caused a HUGE problem! When he got sick for a couple of days back in 2018 and had to take naps during the day during our midday break, he kicked me out of the room so I just hung out by the pool. I was fine with that. And when he wanted to ride Test Track and I didn't, I left him in line and went to do my own thing until I received his come pick him up text. He still gets lost within the parks lol. One trip, he wanted to wait in line to meet Anna and Elsa but I wanted to shop. So I told him how to get there. Probably 10 minutes later he called and said the line was too long and he was rejoining me. I had one of the CMs in stitches because I was on the phone with him telling him exactly where I was but he just could not see me (seriously, he will legit walk right by me in the grocery store looking for me and not even see me there!) Finally I stepped away from the register and started doing jumping jacks in the walkway. I asked him if he saw the jacka$$ doing jumping jacks and he said yes. I was like well I'm that jacka$$ so come this way. In 2014 or so, he did the Exotic Driving Experience while I stayed at the hotel relaxing and waiting for his cousin to join us for the evening. We both enjoy some time separate at Disney but both of us would have an issue spending big chunks of the vacation alone.

My husband is....not a Disney fan. He doesn't HATE it, but he'd rather be somewhere else. He goes because I love it and he wants to spend time with the family. My daughter is just as crazy about Disney as I am, and my son likes it, but gets easily overwhelmed and needs to take frequent breaks from the parks. Before our son was diagnosed with Autism, my husband would get really frustrated when my son would have a meltdown, because he felt like our son was just being a brat and wouldn't let us have fun. Now he understands the need for down time, but it's still not fun having to leave the parks to take him back to the resort, or to skip things because he doesn't want to do them. So I have to have patience with my husband as much as I have patience with my son....Disney is just not his thing and I'm grateful that he's supportive of ME coming. After our 2019 trip he finally sheepishly asked me how I'd feel about doing a mother/daughter trip next time and he would stay home with our son and they'd spend the money they WOULD have spent on their tickets to do something else, like get a gaming computer, etc.

The reason he left Akershus early was he said he wasn't feeling well and he wanted to go back to the resort to rest. It was kind of sudden, and weird timing....we were there for 2 weeks, and my brother's family had come for the first week, and it was their last day and they had to leave in the afternoon. We had made reservations at Akershus so that my niece could meet the princesses, but then my brother's family ended up not coming to that ADR because they had used their dining credits the night before when they went to Tusker House and we had gone to HoopDeeDoo. (We didn't do everything together) Without dining credits, they didn't want to do a TS restaurant, so we said we'd meet up with them after lunch. My husband went back to the resort before lunch was over, so he never even said goodbye to my brother's family, which felt odd....I don't know if that had something to do with him leaving early or if he really just didn't feel well. But since he really doesn't enjoy Disney much, I try to make sure I build in time for him to do the thrill rides the rest of us don't do. He loves the coasters and such, and we don't. So I plan for him to have an afternoon to himself, or I make FP reservations for him while we do other stuff. It's kind of a compromise so that everyone gets to have fun. Next time it won't be an issue, because we'll do mother/daughter trips now...maybe there will be another family trip in the future if my son really wants to go, too, but he'll be old enough by then to be by himself in the parks or to get back to the resort himself if he needs a break. But for the most part, family vacations won't be at Disney and Disney vacations will just be our daughter and me.

Your story about doing jumping jacks is hilarious!! I have a notoriously bad sense of direction. I manage in Disney with the map because I can see other things in the area and rely on those to figure out where I am. My husband actually got really angry when we were at Universal Studios because he was in the car and I couldn't find my way to the parking lot at our resort in the dark and it took FOREVER for me to find him. He was fuming because we were almost too late....we were heading to Olive Garden to eat and they closed at like 10pm and we got there at like 9:30 or something. He knows I am terrible with direction, and it was dark, in a rental car we had only had for a couple of days, so it wasn't familiar and I had no way to tell which car was ours in the dark in the massive parking lot. I knew there was a little pathway between some trees, but I couldn't find it. He sat there in the car watching me walk back and forth by bell services looking for that path and didn't bother to flash the lights or honk the horn or give me any hint of where to go. If he'd have gotten out and done some jumping jacks, maybe I'd have found him a whole lot faster!! How did your husband miss that?

Zipadeelady · Oct 18, 2021

LeighM said:
I jinxed it by talking about it I cancelled Boma when I was able to get an Ohana reservation. The husband was very upset at the idea of not having Ohana since it's become our Disney tradition. I was unaware that it had reached tradition status

OH no. Well I hate to say it but I think I would side with your husband on this one.

I also have to say that one day I will retry Boma but I will definitely be trying Jiko first. I've heard it is fantastic.

LeighM · Oct 18, 2021

Songbird76 said:
My husband is....not a Disney fan. He doesn't HATE it, but he'd rather be somewhere else. He goes because I love it and he wants to spend time with the family. My daughter is just as crazy about Disney as I am, and my son likes it, but gets easily overwhelmed and needs to take frequent breaks from the parks. Before our son was diagnosed with Autism, my husband would get really frustrated when my son would have a meltdown, because he felt like our son was just being a brat and wouldn't let us have fun. Now he understands the need for down time, but it's still not fun having to leave the parks to take him back to the resort, or to skip things because he doesn't want to do them. So I have to have patience with my husband as much as I have patience with my son....Disney is just not his thing and I'm grateful that he's supportive of ME coming. After our 2019 trip he finally sheepishly asked me how I'd feel about doing a mother/daughter trip next time and he would stay home with our son and they'd spend the money they WOULD have spent on their tickets to do something else, like get a gaming computer, etc.

The reason he left Akershus early was he said he wasn't feeling well and he wanted to go back to the resort to rest. It was kind of sudden, and weird timing....we were there for 2 weeks, and my brother's family had come for the first week, and it was their last day and they had to leave in the afternoon. We had made reservations at Akershus so that my niece could meet the princesses, but then my brother's family ended up not coming to that ADR because they had used their dining credits the night before when they went to Tusker House and we had gone to HoopDeeDoo. (We didn't do everything together) Without dining credits, they didn't want to do a TS restaurant, so we said we'd meet up with them after lunch. My husband went back to the resort before lunch was over, so he never even said goodbye to my brother's family, which felt odd....I don't know if that had something to do with him leaving early or if he really just didn't feel well. But since he really doesn't enjoy Disney much, I try to make sure I build in time for him to do the thrill rides the rest of us don't do. He loves the coasters and such, and we don't. So I plan for him to have an afternoon to himself, or I make FP reservations for him while we do other stuff. It's kind of a compromise so that everyone gets to have fun. Next time it won't be an issue, because we'll do mother/daughter trips now...maybe there will be another family trip in the future if my son really wants to go, too, but he'll be old enough by then to be by himself in the parks or to get back to the resort himself if he needs a break. But for the most part, family vacations won't be at Disney and Disney vacations will just be our daughter and me.

Your story about doing jumping jacks is hilarious!! I have a notoriously bad sense of direction. I manage in Disney with the map because I can see other things in the area and rely on those to figure out where I am. My husband actually got really angry when we were at Universal Studios because he was in the car and I couldn't find my way to the parking lot at our resort in the dark and it took FOREVER for me to find him. He was fuming because we were almost too late....we were heading to Olive Garden to eat and they closed at like 10pm and we got there at like 9:30 or something. He knows I am terrible with direction, and it was dark, in a rental car we had only had for a couple of days, so it wasn't familiar and I had no way to tell which car was ours in the dark in the massive parking lot. I knew there was a little pathway between some trees, but I couldn't find it. He sat there in the car watching me walk back and forth by bell services looking for that path and didn't bother to flash the lights or honk the horn or give me any hint of where to go. If he'd have gotten out and done some jumping jacks, maybe I'd have found him a whole lot faster!! How did your husband miss that?

My husband and I don't have children so it's just us. If it's a trip with my in laws then I struggle. Growing up, Mom and I took vacations with her parents, an older brother and his wife, and their granddaughter. We used to have breakfast together then Mom and my aunt would take us kids to do something while my uncle went with my grandparents. Then meet up for dinner and spend the evening together. I had my alone kid time in the pool LOL. Mom and my uncle couldn't spend all day together. And that much togetherness was just too much so the pool was my oasis

When I've done trips with my in laws there's an expectation that everyone stays together all the time. I can only do it a couple days before I need a break. I'm an introvert - I physically can't do that much togetherness

The good thing about Disney though is that the transportation allows people to leave and go back to the resort, or vice versa, if it gets to be too much. I think Disney is the only place I'll willingly go for another family reunion. Because I won't feel so trapped!

My husband has the worst sense of direction!! Not sure if you ever read any of my previous trip reports, but back in 2016 I think it was, my husband decided to do a contest to see which shortcut to our room at Riverside Alligator Bayou section was quicker. The dude that gets lost tried to mansplain directions to me

Well it was at night. I got back to the room and he wasn't there within the next minute or so. I started to get worried but couldn't call him bc he left his cell in the room. He zigged when he should've zagged. I didn't want to go looking for him in case he forgot our room number. I think it was about 20 minutes later he showed up. It truly was hilarious. Lost in the dark in Alligator Bayou LOL.

LeighM · Oct 18, 2021

Zipitidoda said:
OH no. Well I hate to say it but I think I would side with your husband on this one. I also have to say that one day I will retry Boma but I will definitely be trying Jiko first. I've heard it is fantastic.

Boma would be better for me because I don't eat much meat except shrimp, I'm now celiac (luckily nothing life threatening), and I love soups. Ohana, while fantastic, tempts me with the noodles and bread pudding. Too much gluten causes severe bone pain and hair loss. So dinner at Ohana can cause me days of pain if I don't moderate myself. And I don't have the strength to not eat Ohana noodles. It's just impossible. I seriously don't think it can be done lol.

Songbird76 · Oct 19, 2021

LeighM said:
My husband and I don't have children so it's just us. If it's a trip with my in laws then I struggle. Growing up, Mom and I took vacations with her parents, an older brother and his wife, and their granddaughter. We used to have breakfast together then Mom and my aunt would take us kids to do something while my uncle went with my grandparents. Then meet up for dinner and spend the evening together. I had my alone kid time in the pool LOL. Mom and my uncle couldn't spend all day together. And that much togetherness was just too much so the pool was my oasis When I've done trips with my in laws there's an expectation that everyone stays together all the time. I can only do it a couple days before I need a break. I'm an introvert - I physically can't do that much togetherness The good thing about Disney though is that the transportation allows people to leave and go back to the resort, or vice versa, if it gets to be too much. I think Disney is the only place I'll willingly go for another family reunion. Because I won't feel so trapped!

My husband has the worst sense of direction!! Not sure if you ever read any of my previous trip reports, but back in 2016 I think it was, my husband decided to do a contest to see which shortcut to our room at Riverside Alligator Bayou section was quicker. The dude that gets lost tried to mansplain directions to me Well it was at night. I got back to the room and he wasn't there within the next minute or so. I started to get worried but couldn't call him bc he left his cell in the room. He zigged when he should've zagged. I didn't want to go looking for him in case he forgot our room number. I think it was about 20 minutes later he showed up. It truly was hilarious. Lost in the dark in Alligator Bayou LOL.

I think it's the expectation that lets people down...one person expects everyone to stay together, another expects to all go separate ways, and another expects a mix....then you have one person who is a park commando and another who likes to just go with the flow, one who is a by the minute planner and another who doesn't plan a thing...everyone vacations differently, so you can't force everyone into one way. My husband used to have that expectation that it's a family vacation, we're doing everything together...no one has fun in that scenario, because everyone likes different things. If you can only do things that everyone wants to do, you're going to be severely limited. Not to mention siblings sometimes sabbatage each other..."No, I don't want to do that." just so the other doesn't get to. My husband is a thrill ride person, so I'd say "Why don't you go do Rock N' Roller coaster and I'll take the kids to the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular." and he'd say "No, I'm not going on stuff that you guys don't want to do....we're not splitting up." But that meant that I couldn't go to the American Adventure, etc. And I'm a planner, and he is not, so I had planned for rests every afternoon, and he'd be like "Well, why, though? Why not just go get this ride out of the way now?" and then everyone was too tired to stay for evening shows. He's a bit better about that now, but the biggest problem is just that he's not a Disney fan, so really, he's counting down the time until we can go back to the resort and he can get on the computer. We split up a LOT on our last vacation because I finally got him convinced that that was the only way for all of us to get to do what we wanted to do. And we also took rests during the afternoon for swimming or naps. But he'd really rather just not be at Disney, so if something doesn't go his way, his immediate response is "Let's just leave and go back to the resort." Our last trip is the first one where I finally got him to agree that not ALL of us had to go back to the resort just because one person wanted to. He'd always been stuck on "I'm not having any fun, and we are doing things as a FAMILY, so we all stay or we all leave." Our son was having a meltdown and my husband said "That's it. We're going back to the resort. Grab your stuff." and I just point blank told him I wasn't leaving. I wasn't making my daughter miss out on fun because her brother was having a bad day. But in the end, it's the expectation that was the problem...we all wanted different things. Once I persuaded my husband to allow some flexibility for that, we had a much better time. It's still not his favorite place, but it went more smoothly on our last trip.

Zipadeelady · Oct 19, 2021

LeighM said:
Boma would be better for me because I don't eat much meat except shrimp, I'm now celiac (luckily nothing life threatening), and I love soups. Ohana, while fantastic, tempts me with the noodles and bread pudding. Too much gluten causes severe bone pain and hair loss. So dinner at Ohana can cause me days of pain if I don't moderate myself. And I don't have the strength to not eat Ohana noodles. It's just impossible. I seriously don't think it can be done lol.

For me it's the potstickers at Ohana. I could eat a plate of them myself and still want seconds. I'm sorry you have to deal with celiac. My doctor put me on a low FODMAP diet for 6 weeks and I couldn't eat wheat and many fruits and vegetables. It was hard. Good luck, be strong, don't let the noodles win.

LeighM · Oct 19, 2021

Songbird76 said:
I think it's the expectation that lets people down...one person expects everyone to stay together, another expects to all go separate ways, and another expects a mix....then you have one person who is a park commando and another who likes to just go with the flow, one who is a by the minute planner and another who doesn't plan a thing...everyone vacations differently, so you can't force everyone into one way. My husband used to have that expectation that it's a family vacation, we're doing everything together...no one has fun in that scenario, because everyone likes different things. If you can only do things that everyone wants to do, you're going to be severely limited. Not to mention siblings sometimes sabbatage each other..."No, I don't want to do that." just so the other doesn't get to. My husband is a thrill ride person, so I'd say "Why don't you go do Rock N' Roller coaster and I'll take the kids to the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular." and he'd say "No, I'm not going on stuff that you guys don't want to do....we're not splitting up." But that meant that I couldn't go to the American Adventure, etc. And I'm a planner, and he is not, so I had planned for rests every afternoon, and he'd be like "Well, why, though? Why not just go get this ride out of the way now?" and then everyone was too tired to stay for evening shows. He's a bit better about that now, but the biggest problem is just that he's not a Disney fan, so really, he's counting down the time until we can go back to the resort and he can get on the computer. We split up a LOT on our last vacation because I finally got him convinced that that was the only way for all of us to get to do what we wanted to do. And we also took rests during the afternoon for swimming or naps. But he'd really rather just not be at Disney, so if something doesn't go his way, his immediate response is "Let's just leave and go back to the resort." Our last trip is the first one where I finally got him to agree that not ALL of us had to go back to the resort just because one person wanted to. He'd always been stuck on "I'm not having any fun, and we are doing things as a FAMILY, so we all stay or we all leave." Our son was having a meltdown and my husband said "That's it. We're going back to the resort. Grab your stuff." and I just point blank told him I wasn't leaving. I wasn't making my daughter miss out on fun because her brother was having a bad day. But in the end, it's the expectation that was the problem...we all wanted different things. Once I persuaded my husband to allow some flexibility for that, we had a much better time. It's still not his favorite place, but it went more smoothly on our last trip.

I definitely learned after the in law 2018 trip to set clear expectations. I just did not enjoy that trip all that much. From being the only one making FP and dining reservations (luckily it was just his brother and SIL) but it was still stressful for me trying to get the dining and attractions everyone wanted. The BIL had to go back to the room to rest every day but I wanted to stay in the parks but there was the expectation we all go together. I didn't get to do any EMH at night in the parks, which is my favorite, bc they were tired and wanted to go back to the resort. I missed out on my favorite rides at Epcot when we had FP bc my BIL wanted Starbucks (and is there ever a time there isn't a long line in Starbucks? lol). Then it seemed like my BIL was trying to dominate my husband's attention. It went from being 2 couples on an anniversary trip to me spending most of my time with my SIL. After the horrible nightmarish Epcot day full of pain, I ended up just walking back to my room alone bc I didn't trust my mouth. I think I may have even given my husband the finger when he asked why I wasn't walking with the group. It's been almost 4 years since that trip and I'm still not ready to repeat it LOL. After a few out of state trips with various members of my in laws, it has become clear that our vacation styles do not align

And, I've been accused of "trying to separate R from his family" when I speak up for my expectations, needs, wants, etc. if they do not match what my in laws want. I think it's just unreasonable to stay with other people 100% of the time, except for when you're sleeping, and then follow the expectation that you have to sleep in the same hotel even if you don't like it, can't afford it, or have hotel perks at another establishment. Why some people even cared where we slept, I don't know but they did LOL. It's definitely good to set expectations, boundaries, and put agreements in place BEFORE you go on vacation!

LeighM · Oct 19, 2021

Zipitidoda said:
For me it's the potstickers at Ohana. I could eat a plate of them myself and still want seconds. I'm sorry you have to deal with celiac. My doctor put me on a low FODMAP diet for 6 weeks and I couldn't eat wheat and many fruits and vegetables. It was hard. Good luck, be strong, don't let the noodles win.

The noodles always in. Always

Songbird76 · Oct 21, 2021

LeighM said:
I definitely learned after the in law 2018 trip to set clear expectations. I just did not enjoy that trip all that much. From being the only one making FP and dining reservations (luckily it was just his brother and SIL) but it was still stressful for me trying to get the dining and attractions everyone wanted. The BIL had to go back to the room to rest every day but I wanted to stay in the parks but there was the expectation we all go together. I didn't get to do any EMH at night in the parks, which is my favorite, bc they were tired and wanted to go back to the resort. I missed out on my favorite rides at Epcot when we had FP bc my BIL wanted Starbucks (and is there ever a time there isn't a long line in Starbucks? lol). Then it seemed like my BIL was trying to dominate my husband's attention. It went from being 2 couples on an anniversary trip to me spending most of my time with my SIL. After the horrible nightmarish Epcot day full of pain, I ended up just walking back to my room alone bc I didn't trust my mouth. I think I may have even given my husband the finger when he asked why I wasn't walking with the group. It's been almost 4 years since that trip and I'm still not ready to repeat it LOL. After a few out of state trips with various members of my in laws, it has become clear that our vacation styles do not align And, I've been accused of "trying to separate R from his family" when I speak up for my expectations, needs, wants, etc. if they do not match what my in laws want. I think it's just unreasonable to stay with other people 100% of the time, except for when you're sleeping, and then follow the expectation that you have to sleep in the same hotel even if you don't like it, can't afford it, or have hotel perks at another establishment. Why some people even cared where we slept, I don't know but they did LOL. It's definitely good to set expectations, boundaries, and put agreements in place BEFORE you go on vacation!

Yikes.....they sound really controlling. You're all adults. If they want to go back to their resort, that's fine, but why do you all have to go with them? It's like they think you are a little kid who needs supervision. I can see why you didn't trust your mouth.

LeighM · Oct 21, 2021

Songbird76 said:
Yikes.....they sound really controlling. You're all adults. If they want to go back to their resort, that's fine, but why do you all have to go with them? It's like they think you are a little kid who needs supervision. I can see why you didn't trust your mouth.

Mostly because my husband is the youngest and hasn't gotten comfortable breaking away from childhood roles. He's more comfortable staying silent. And for 20 years he hasn't wanted me to speak up bc I don't know how to sugarcoat anything and I might insult someone or come across rude LOL. I recently told him that I just can't stay silent anymore. It's not who I am - so if they're going to dislike me at least I'll give them all a reason to actually dislike the real me

My family has been amazed that I've bitten my tongue for this long LOL.

LeighM · Oct 24, 2021

So I think I may have figured out this Boma situation LOL. I currently have 2 dinner reservations on my Sunday arrival day and I need to cancel one bc I did a thing to get Boma. We have to be at MK for the After Hours even at 7pm. We are schedule to arrive at MCO around 10am. The plan is to check into the resort, hopefully room is ready, and then go to Disney Springs with a 4pm dinner at The Boathouse as I've been wanting to go there for a while and the weather would be better to sit outside in Dec vs a trip in July. After dinner, we would hop on a bus to the GF to see the gingerbread house until we needed to go to MK. Buuuuutttt. I played with the numbers and there was a 4 top available at 5:20PM for Boma (all of the 2 person tables were taken). I booked the reservation and I'm hoping they won't charge for the 2 no show people when its just me and the husband. Everything I read, said that Disney only charges no shows when the entire party doesn't show. So I may be able to have Boma AND Ohana!!! I'm waiting to chance Boathouse though until I'm sure of plans. After Boma, which would also allow us to see AKL's Christmas tree, we would go direct to MK for the party and go to GF for their decor after dinner at the 7:30PM Ohana dinner. Then hopefully go to DS and see their Christmas Tree Trail at night. It's a lot though packed into a few short days. It's making me question whether paying more for POFQ is worth it over staying at a value like All Stars. We're not going to be in the rooms all that much. Husband no help bc he says he'll be happy staying anywhere that's not our house :joyfull:

Much like that one travel commercial lol. Any suggestions or tips? Are the buses back to normal or still running reduced capacity with longer waits?

Songbird76 · Oct 24, 2021

LeighM said:
So I think I may have figured out this Boma situation LOL. I currently have 2 dinner reservations on my Sunday arrival day and I need to cancel one bc I did a thing to get Boma. We have to be at MK for the After Hours even at 7pm. We are schedule to arrive at MCO around 10am. The plan is to check into the resort, hopefully room is ready, and then go to Disney Springs with a 4pm dinner at The Boathouse as I've been wanting to go there for a while and the weather would be better to sit outside in Dec vs a trip in July. After dinner, we would hop on a bus to the GF to see the gingerbread house until we needed to go to MK. Buuuuutttt. I played with the numbers and there was a 4 top available at 5:20PM for Boma (all of the 2 person tables were taken). I booked the reservation and I'm hoping they won't charge for the 2 no show people when its just me and the husband. Everything I read, said that Disney only charges no shows when the entire party doesn't show. So I may be able to have Boma AND Ohana!!! I'm waiting to chance Boathouse though until I'm sure of plans. After Boma, which would also allow us to see AKL's Christmas tree, we would go direct to MK for the party and go to GF for their decor after dinner at the 7:30PM Ohana dinner. Then hopefully go to DS and see their Christmas Tree Trail at night. It's a lot though packed into a few short days. It's making me question whether paying more for POFQ is worth it over staying at a value like All Stars. We're not going to be in the rooms all that much. Husband no help bc he says he'll be happy staying anywhere that's not our house Much like that one travel commercial lol. Any suggestions or tips? Are the buses back to normal or still running reduced capacity with longer waits?

They don't charge you at the restaurants unless no one shows up. I've never been charged and I've almost always had more people included in the ADR than arrived. I have friends in Kissimmee, and I wasn't sure which dining they'd meet up with us for, so I went ahead and made all the ADRs for 6 people and they only came to 2 of those, but I was never charged for them. Then on our last trip, It was supposed to be my 4, my brother's 3, and his inlaws (3), so I made ADRs for 10. Then his in-laws ended up not being able to come, but I kept the extra 3 because I also had some cousins there and thought some might want to join us...they only joined in once, and I was never charged for the people who didn't show up. And my husband skipped out on a few meals, too. When you get there, just tell them part of your party can't make it. IF they have a smaller table available, you may get placed there so they have the 4 top for walk-ups. But it shouldn't affect the cost.

LeighM · Oct 24, 2021

Songbird76 said:
They don't charge you at the restaurants unless no one shows up. I've never been charged and I've almost always had more people included in the ADR than arrived. I have friends in Kissimmee, and I wasn't sure which dining they'd meet up with us for, so I went ahead and made all the ADRs for 6 people and they only came to 2 of those, but I was never charged for them. Then on our last trip, It was supposed to be my 4, my brother's 3, and his inlaws (3), so I made ADRs for 10. Then his in-laws ended up not being able to come, but I kept the extra 3 because I also had some cousins there and thought some might want to join us...they only joined in once, and I was never charged for the people who didn't show up. And my husband skipped out on a few meals, too. When you get there, just tell them part of your party can't make it. IF they have a smaller table available, you may get placed there so they have the 4 top for walk-ups. But it shouldn't affect the cost.

Thanks. I'll keep checking occasionally to see if any open for parties of 2 so that I don't take a table for 4 that might want it.

LeighM · Oct 27, 2021

So that Candlelight Processional dining package release was a huge cluster! I was up at 6am to make reservations and it wasn't working. No problem, I thought, I'll try again at 7am in case they changed the times. When 7am rolls around, tried to find times and I kept getting an error message about having to log in despite all ready being logged into my account. Tried multiple times between 7-7:30 and got the same error. When I tried again later in the morning, every single frickin time and place was sold out. WTH man?! Decided if it's going to be that in demand and busy, then we'll just save the Processional for another year, enjoy the rest of the Festival and then leave for a 7:30pm dinner at Disney Springs at CityWorks. It's our first time there and the menu looks good.

ajrwdwgirl · Oct 27, 2021

LeighM said:
So that Candlelight Processional dining package release was a huge cluster! I was up at 6am to make reservations and it wasn't working. No problem, I thought, I'll try again at 7am in case they changed the times. When 7am rolls around, tried to find times and I kept getting an error message about having to log in despite all ready being logged into my account. Tried multiple times between 7-7:30 and got the same error. When I tried again later in the morning, every single frickin time and place was sold out. WTH man?! Decided if it's going to be that in demand and busy, then we'll just save the Processional for another year, enjoy the rest of the Festival and then leave for a 7:30pm dinner at Disney Springs at CityWorks. It's our first time there and the menu looks good.

I was so disappointed, disgusted, and frustrated in the whole Candlelight Processional dining package thing yesterday. We got up at 4:45am central time to be ready for the the "release" of ADR's. But nope we kept getting error, after error, one time my husband was able to click on something for Garden Grill (not what we wanted) but it kept spinning and spinning. Then it was "sold out". I did see today that there was a drop of more packages so I texted my husband quick and he was able to snag one for the Biergarten, but not on the day we wanted (we will make it work) and not the restaurant we wanted either (we wanted Rose and Crown). Just thankful to have one but I'm still so irked about the roll out. I even wrote Disney an email about how frustrating it was, it wasn't the first frustrating roll out I've had with them. I don't expect any response over my email, but it made me feel a little better to let them know of my frustration.

LeighM · Oct 28, 2021

ajrwdwgirl said:
I was so disappointed, disgusted, and frustrated in the whole Candlelight Processional dining package thing yesterday. We got up at 4:45am central time to be ready for the the "release" of ADR's. But nope we kept getting error, after error, one time my husband was able to click on something for Garden Grill (not what we wanted) but it kept spinning and spinning. Then it was "sold out". I did see today that there was a drop of more packages so I texted my husband quick and he was able to snag one for the Biergarten, but not on the day we wanted (we will make it work) and not the restaurant we wanted either (we wanted Rose and Crown). Just thankful to have one but I'm still so irked about the roll out. I even wrote Disney an email about how frustrating it was, it wasn't the first frustrating roll out I've had with them. I don't expect any response over my email, but it made me feel a little better to let them know of my frustration.

I saw last night that they opened up a lot more reservation times so I'm assuming they are increasing capacity at restaurants. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many Ohana reservations that dropped at once. I did change some things around bc of that. Ohana is now Sunday before the Christmas After Hours and Boma moved to Monday instead of the CP dining package. I have a second Ohana on Tuesday, which I'm not cancelling in case a flight delay messes up all my carefully laid plans LOL. Later, I'll switch it to CityWorks at DS, which I'm excited to try or attempt Sebastian's Bistro if good times open up. So far, times aren't aligning for me. I saw that there was some openings for the CP dining on my Epcot day but I didn't want Coral Reef or anything early in the day. I'm trying to keep that time frame open bc I don't know if I'll be able to get a virtual queue for Remy's and, if so, what time I'll receive. If I'm in the area of the CP during any of the showings, then I might just loiter at the back and watch part of it bc I do like Lisa Ling (used to watch her on Channel One News in high school home room) :joyfull:

But the whole experience was a huge turn off and I lost excitement at seeing it.

Songbird76 · Oct 28, 2021

ajrwdwgirl said:
I was so disappointed, disgusted, and frustrated in the whole Candlelight Processional dining package thing yesterday. We got up at 4:45am central time to be ready for the the "release" of ADR's. But nope we kept getting error, after error, one time my husband was able to click on something for Garden Grill (not what we wanted) but it kept spinning and spinning. Then it was "sold out". I did see today that there was a drop of more packages so I texted my husband quick and he was able to snag one for the Biergarten, but not on the day we wanted (we will make it work) and not the restaurant we wanted either (we wanted Rose and Crown). Just thankful to have one but I'm still so irked about the roll out. I even wrote Disney an email about how frustrating it was, it wasn't the first frustrating roll out I've had with them. I don't expect any response over my email, but it made me feel a little better to let them know of my frustration.

Can you not book the processional by phone like you can with most dining? I had issues with my last trip with the site being finicky and I just called the dining line and they made all my ADRs for me. You might call and see if you can switch to Rose and Crown for the day you want? Or do you have to pay in advance like hoopdeedoo? If you do, is it refundable or can you change it without a fee?

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