Pre-Trip March 2016 - A 30th Birthday Extravaganza

Hello everyone! I'm finally sitting down to write out this PTR for our upcoming trip after putting it off for a few weeks. I've slowly been trying to ease my way back onto the boards so that I don't drop a splash of fun out of nowhere since I was absent for so long.

I also wanted to get this PTR written before the start of the NHL season, because if that didn't happen, it never would get written. I figure that I can at least write through a few preseason games, but once it gets real, good luck to me trying to write this thing.

Before I get officially started I'd like to thank the people that helped me with my Via Napoli query, something I'm sure that I will cover plenty between the this PTR and, once the real fun is over, on the TR.

Here's a bit of a refresher for all of you fun folks out there in WDW Magicland.

I'm AJ:

And this is Alex (@Lexi thoroughly enjoying the 3D Dessert Party on our last trip):

The last time we were in WDW was back in October 2013 (coming up on a full two years!), and for you WDW loons out there like us - you know that amount of time feels like an eternity - but hey, things happen, we decided we needed an island getaway last year, so in place of WDW we ended up in Jamaica (which is a wonderful place for relaxing). Also, time off from work doesn't just grow on trees - well, I suppose you could say it does for us, but we have to accumulate and hold onto it, and that takes time. Not to mention, we got engaged last October (2014) and have been planing a wedding that's, oh, exactly eight weeks from today. What! Yep (sorry ladies)! It finally got to the point that I realized if Alex was going to put up with my crap any longer, I should probably pop the question. Luckily, she said yes, and months of planning have lead us to this, a WDW in March 2016 and a wedding in November 2015.

There was short (like two minutes) debate about going to the World for our honeymoon but we decided for a more tropical location (Costa Rica), however after much planning of wedding and honeymoon we decided that we should think about doing something awesome for my 30th birthday (March 2016). I could think of plenty of things, maybe that lifelong trip to Ireland I've wanted to take, or maybe a week in Bavaria like I've been wanting to do for the past ten or so years. Maybe even something within the USA, I hear New Orleans is always a great time. It turns out whenever Alex and I plan any trip that requires us to travel within the eastern USA and that takes us south of the Mason-Dixon line, WDW is going to be the trip. So here we are, ready to go to WDW in March 2016, and here I am, writing the PTR for that very trip.

So, here we are together from our last trip:

I could tell you that this is how Alex and I normally dress when we visit Magic Kingdom, but I have a feeling you would all see through that one. We were attending the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party on our last trip and we had a great time.

I think this is a good time for a break .You're now caught up on the fact that Alex and I are going back to WDW, and on the important parts of our lives. In my next post, I will review the meat of our trip. Don't miss it!

 

[ArtieJim]

As for this trip, here are some details:


Dates: March 5 - 10, 2016


Resort: Pop Century, we really enjoyed this Value resort on our last trip and since we had decided that we were sticking with the Value level for this quick trip, we decided to stick with the same resort. Having stayed in AS Sports our first trip, and having stayed in AS Music when I was there about eleven years ago, we've settled on Pop as our Value resort of choice.


Now for the fun part - ADRs.


Before I get fully into that, I should say that Alex and I typically take the earliest flight available on the day we head down to WDW. We've been lucky in the two times that we've done this in that our rooms have been ready to be occupied (by us, duh) when we arrive at whichever hotel at around 9:30 AM. So, onto the fun:


Day 1: Since we'll be up very early this morning, on a plane for a few hours, travelling, and then finally enjoying ourselves at the park of our choice (MK, because, come on, is it really a WDW trip if you don't get to MK first), we should make a lunch ADR for this day. But where could that possible be. We've eaten at Tony's and didn't enjoy it much, but buffets really aren't our thing. I love hot dogs, but Casey's is a (not so) simple QS spot. It dawned on us, we had to go for it. The Be Our Guest ADR - make it or bust. Luckily, we made it! (That may have something to do with Alex waking up as soon as the ADR period opened and making these reservations.) Not only were we so lucky to get this ADR, we got it for (what we see as) prime lunch time - 12:30 PM. I could be mistaken about that, so correct me if I'm wrong. Because of our elation of being able to eat lunch at BOG on the first day of our trip, we're abstaining from a dinner ADR. (Read: I'm going to Casey's and Alex is on her own).


Day 2: Knowing what park we'd be in on our second day (Animal Kingdom), we knew there was only one place that we'd be eating. Yak & Yeti Restaurant. Having had a very nice, very delicious lunch here on our previous trip, we decided to go for the repeat. Alex is a huge fan of Asian (specifically, Chinese) food, so last trip we decided to give this place a shot and were very happy that we did. I'm not going to say that the amount of leftover rice we had in our room wasn't a lifesaver after one long night at the F&W Fest, but it was. Also, our typical day at AK consists of a only a few things - Safari, Dawa Bar, Everest, Dawa Bar, maybe Tree of Life, Dawa Bar - so we need something to break up all that excitement.

Not to rest on our laurels because of a delicious meal we know we'll be having at Yak & Yeti, we are doubling up on ADRs our second day. Our one "nice meal" is going to be had on this night. Alex loves herself a good steakhouse, and having had meals at Le Cellier (nothing special), Yachtsman (wonderful) and Shula's (underwhelming), we decided that it was time to head back to Yachtsman Steakhouse. We both loved our meals when we ate here back on Alex's birthday in 2012, and decided we weren't fooling around any more when it comes to steak joints in WDW. From here on out, Yachtsman all the way. We were extremely disappointed in Shula's and aren't up for going nuts trying to get an ADR at Le Cellier for something run of the mill.

Day 3 - The big day! We're doing what AJ (I) wants to do because it's AJ's (my) birthday on day 3! And AJ (I) wants to ride Toy Story Midway Mania, Tower of Terror (as many times as possible) and Star Tours (even more times than possible). AJ (I) also wants to walk over to Epcot and have a good time eating dinner at Via Napoli! Now, if any one was into the last thread I had started about Via Napoli than you have some idea of the trouble and stress we had in trying to book this ADR. Every day we would try (starting at our 180 day mark) until early last week we would get a message saying there is no availability. Even calling the Dining # for WDW, they were unable to get us anything. Finally, I'd given up and booked us a "back-up" ADR at Biergarten, because I'm into that stuff, unfortunately Alex is not. Luckily, less than 24 hours later, Alex was able to finally get that ADR at Via Napoli. Needless to say, I'm thrilled.

Day 4 - No ADR. We wanted to keep this day open because our plan is to check out the multitude of new restaurants and bars that have opened in Downtown Disney (or is it/will it be Disney Springs by then). We also want to get back to T-Rex, because that place is awesome and how could we not make our usual stop at Raglan Road? Since we will also be down during the Flower & Garden Festival (what can we say? We love us some good Epcot festivals), we're going to take our time that evening going around and enjoying the offerings at the booths, since it seems that F&G Festival is turning into the Food & Wine Festival with topiaries.

Day 5 - This is, unfortunately, our last full day in the World. We usually like to go out with a bang when it comes to our last ADR, but at the same time we try to determine many things; can we hit all the parks? which fireworks show do we want to see? what QS spots must we hit one last time? Most important - where should our last sit down meal be? We decided on a place we went to way back on our first trip in October 2010. A place to get great fried chicken, great ribs and all you can drink beer. A place with great fun and a great musical revue. That's right folks, our final ADR for this quick birthday trip is going to be at Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue. We're super excited for this one. We loved the time we had here five years ago, but unfortunately it turned into the type of place that was always high on our list of places to eat but would get pushed to the side in favor of somewhere we hadn't eaten before, or for more time at the F&W booths. Not this time, and we can not wait.

Day 6 - This is our last day, and we tend not to make an ADR for our final day. We always have this mindset that we're going to get as much done at MK & Epcot as we can and just eat where/when we can.

So there it is folks. The PTR for Alex and my birthday trip in March 2016. Feel free to chime in with any thoughts, critiques or suggestions. We'll need something to help us pass the time once December rolls around, so give us a shout!

 

[FlaggNL]

Sounds more than OK, although it's quite a while before you are there Enjoy the pre feelings!

 

[ArtieJim]

Well this certainly needs an update! Here we are, a mere 14 days away from our triumphant return to WDW.

For starters, we are no longer staying at Pop - Alex found a great deal through Disney that allowed us to upgrade to Port Orleans Riverside. We're super excited to be staying here (me especially, since I can now take the short walk over to PO French Quarter to get myself beignets on a daily basis.)

We've also added the DDP, because why not? We haven't had the DDP since our first trip (back in 2010, when we got it for free.)

There are also some changes made to our ADR lineup, not much, but here they are.

Day 3 - The great birthday dinner at Via Napoli has been replaced by Trattoria Il Mulino at the Swan & Dolphin. This isn't a DDP available restaurant but Alex has been to the il Mulino in NYC and in Atlantic City and has loved them both, so I was up for giving it a try. I'm always up for great Italian and we are happy to be away from the hustle and bustle of the parks for a quiet dinner.

Day 4 - This was previously a non-ADR day but after much arm twisting Alex finally talked me into going back to Ohana. (Not much arm twisting needing for that one.) We both love Ohana, I think the only reason I was hesitant not to go on this trip (after it being a must on our last two) was more a result of the service as opposed to the food. I mean, I could sit there and eat that bread and bread pudding all night long (I like bread, so what.) We decided on an oddly timed 6:30 p.m. ADR on a night when MK closes at 11, hopefully we'll be able to catch a viewing of Wishes during our meal, but I doubt it since they're at 10 p.m. that night and there's no way we'll be at Ohana for over three hours.

Day 5 - With the dropping of Via Napoli we opened up a DDP table credit, and with Hoop Dee Doo already paid for (since that's how they do things) we decided to book ourselves a nice lunch. For the better part of the last five years Alex has been telling me she wants to try Nine Dragons. Meh. We live in the NY metro area, we have great Chinese restaurants all over the place around here, why should I waste a credit and time at Nine Dragons? Well, the fine folks at http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/ come into play on that one. It turns out that Nine Dragons now has steamed buns. Sold. So now we're having lunch at Nine Dragons. Every one is happy.

That's all for now. Thanks for catching up!

 

[ArtieJim]

So here we are. The final week of waiting.

Unfortunately, we are actually waiting for something. That something would be our DME luggage tags! You see, as I mentioned in my last post, Alex and I decided to upgrade to POR - however, we didn't upgrade until about three weeks ago. Can you see where this is going?

We have two beautiful, yellow DME luggage tags that we got in the mail sometime early last week but that say "AK" in the green Mickey and it also says "Pop Century" on the tag, which could be an issue if we actually want our luggage! Alex took care of the issue by contacting a few folks at WDW (although not the number you'd expect right off the bat, which was odd) and they said that we'd be getting new DME luggage tags within ten business of the call (which was placed early last week as well).

There's another brief update for you folks, and for any one thinking of switching resorts less than a month before your trip, remember, your DME luggage tags are already on their way!