Pre-Trip WDW Trip #2

Howdy! As requested by my apparent fan-base, I'm detailing this PTR for everyone. If you don't know me, here's my 'conversion' story for you to enjoy.

Rick - 32 - Fairly recent Disney convert; didn't want to go in Sept. '11 and now I CANNOT WAIT to return. I've been bugging my DW with tons of Disney links almost daily ever since we started planning this trip last September ('12).

Katrina - 26 - Longtime Disney fan, and the one who put up with all my bickering about the trip back in '11. She's the one who introduced me to the Magic and I'll be forever grateful that she just put up with my complaining and got me in the park so Mickey & crew could win me over!

We're staying at Art of Animation - Little Mermaid this time around, for 8 days/7 nights (1 day more than last time! Woohoo!), September 12-19. We had originally planned to visit back in April '13. However, in November '12, I was laid off from BlackBerry (I'm sure you remember seeing something in the news... they laid off around 5,000 employees) and once I got a new job in January '13, we had to reschedule. We didn't want to go in the middle of busy season, so after much deliberating, we decided on another September trip.

We're flying in as early as possible on the 12th, and heading to Animal Kingdom for a few hours. For lunch we decided on Flame Tree BBQ after seeing RAVE reviews on pretty much every single Disney site I frequent. After we take in a couple of rides/shows we're planning on keeping tradition by ending the first night at Epcot. For dinner, we are heading back to Via. freakin'. Napoli. If you've never eaten here, I strongly recommend you correct your mistake ASAP. Their pizza is literally the best I've ever had. ("My hometown of ___________ has even better pizza!" There I said it for you. ) We're skipping Illuminations this night and will see it later on in the trip. We want to try to fit in as much Soarin' as we can on day 1! I'm pretty sure I will get some Caramel Corn at Karamel Kuche and the DW has been looking forward to a Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel since last time.

On Day 2, we're heading to Hollywood Studios to take part in Unleash the Villains. We'll dart straight for Toy Story to get fast passes as soon as we step into the park, I'm sure, and go snag some monster cupcakes at Starring Rolls (Butterfinger for me please!) and then bounce from ride to ride until lunchtime, where we'll enjoy Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. For dinner, I'm thinkin' Turkey Leg (they look SO good... ) and the DW said she'd decide when we get there. We'll certainly take in Fantasmic! as well as the Villains in the Sky fireworks show. We'll try to get some great pics of VitS for everyone since I'm pretty sure it's a one-time thing! Looking very much forward to these shows as well as being in the park til the thirteenth hour!

On Day 3, we're starting out at DHS for a while, probably have some 'dogs at FairFax Fare, and sometime in the afternoon zip over to the Magic Kingdom and re-visit our favorite, Splash Mountain, and hit a few more rides before heading to dinner at the always excellent Liberty Tree Tavern. We'll enjoy Wishes! and the new Villains edition of Celebrate the Magic. Looking forward to both of those very very much. I'm torn between having a 2nd Butterfinger Cupcake or enjoying my 1st Dole Whip later that day... hmmm....

On Day 4, we're sticking with tradition again and heading to the Magic Kingdom early to enjoy a character breakfast at Crystal Palace. I promise I won't make Piglet cry this time! (I'll explain later if you want...) We'll bounce from land-to-land for a few hours, figure out some place to enjoy lunch (I heard Casey's Corner was the way to go from some people on here!) and continue ride-hopping. Then for dinner, since we planned so far in advance, we were lucky enough to nail down a dinner at Be... Our... Guest (be our guest, put our service to the test...). MK is open late on this day, so we will let everyone enjoy Wishes! while we go take advantage of short lines and ride rides!

All this talk of food is making me hungry! More to come after lunch...

 

[Mr Anderson]

Ok I'm back.

Day 5, we're heading to AK from open to close, and taking in lunch at Rainforest Cafe. We had it for lunch last year while there and we wanna keep the tradition going. For some reason, Rainforest Cafe at Disney is SO much better than the one here in town. We're going to try to try to catch the animals out and about in the morning on Kilimanjaro, and then take in all the shows, and enjoy rides as much as we can. Afterwards we're heading to DHS and try to jam in a few rides before closing time. We'll probably head over to DisneyQuest afterwards.

Day 6: Starting the day in Epcot to get our last rides on Soarin' and Mission: Space, and to revisit Germany for more Caramel. From the rave reviews I've seen, it sounds like Sunshine Seasons Grill is the place to go for quick service lunch. Then we'll head to MK for the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and we'll hit Liberty Tree Tavern (yes, again! We love it!) before the party starts. We don't really plan on doing MUCH trick-or-treating and mostly enjoy the rides. We'll take in the Boo to You parade and Hallowishes and cram as much into the evening as possible.

Day 7: Epcot ALLLLL day. I'm quite excited about this since we did not get very much time in at Epcot last time, so having two half days and one full day at Epcot is great! We'll probably tour the entire World Showcase on this day (I'm thinkin' we'll get Disney passports and make it even more fun!) and have a couple snacks sometime after lunch at Via Napoli (yes, again! We love it!!!). Not sure what we'll land on for dinner, but I'm sure it will be awesome no matter what. We'll end the night with Illuminations and a couple more rides (love EMH!)

Day 8: Our flight is fairly late (7:20pm) so we will have most of the day to enjoy the parks. We're planning on a little Magic Kingdom and some Downtown Disney. I'm leaning towards Wolfgang Puck Express for lunch. We'll get lots of shopping in as quickly as possible before heading the to airport

I will make sure to take lots (and lots!) of pictures overall, at the Unleash the Villains & MNSSHP events, as well as food pics and any merch we pick up. I will try to write a lenghty trip report upon our return, and post a link here for anyone who's curious about it.

I am so excited you might just call it giddy!
I'm pretty certain I'm going to get NOTHING DONE these last 2 hours of my day at work. Lumbergh will just have to wait on his TPS reports

So how'd I do on my first PTR, guys?

 

[taz0162]

Howdy! As requested by my apparent fan-base, I'm detailing this PTR for everyone. If you don't know me, here's my 'conversion' story for you to enjoy.

We're flying in as early as possible on the 12th, and heading to Animal Kingdom for a few hours. For lunch we decided on Flame Tree BBQ after seeing RAVE reviews on pretty much every single Disney site I frequent.

Then for dinner, since we planned so far in advance, we were lucky enough to nail down a dinner at Be... Our... Guest (be our guest, put our service to the test...). MK is open late on this day, so we will let everyone enjoy Wishes! while we go take advantage of short lines and ride rides!

All this talk of food is making me hungry! More to come after lunch...

Few tips: love your plan so far
Flametree BBQ get a table behind the restaurant by the water overlooking Everest. Less people and beautiful seating area.
Be our guest ask for the "Grey Stuff" - not on desert menu but is a dollop of chocolate mousse that was brought to us free after we asked about it with our regular desert order. The Steak was excellent and the beer selection though limited complimented it very well.

 

[Mr Anderson]

Few tips: love your plan so far
Flametree BBQ get a table behind the restaurant by the water overlooking Everest. Less people and beautiful seating area.
Be our guest ask for the "Grey Stuff" - not on desert menu but is a dollop of chocolate mousse that was brought to us free after we asked about it with our regular desert order. The Steak was excellent and the beer selection though limited complimented it very well.

Thanks for the tips! We will make sure to sit by the water. I heard about the Grey Stuff a while back and they said they'll bring you some if you have a celebration, but I didn't know you could just ask! Awesome! VERY VERY glad to hear the steak is excellent; that is what I was planning on getting. Nothing better than a well-prepared medium rare steak!

 

[ToyStoryMiss]

*clap* *clap* *clapclapclap*
You have done very well, young Padiwan.
But, for a couple of tips, here it goes:
If you're spending a day at MK, do the Dream along with Mickey show. It's a good show!
Second, don't forget the ice cream bar and Sandwichs! You and your DW can eat the ears together!
If you're the parade-type person, make sure you see the Jammin' Jungle Parade in AK, and the Celebrate a Dream Come True parade in MK, and the Main Street Electracal Parade at nighttime in MK. Even though MSEP is a bit burnt out ~pun intended~ it's still good.

Hope you have a Magical trip!

Mmmm..Dole Whip..

 

[taz0162]

oh and don't be scared to visit other resorts. Wilderness Lodge has - Wispering Canyon Cafe that is great (get the skillet) Animal Kingdom lodge has Boma (explore the grounds and see the safari overlook of the animals while toasting marshmallows supplied by cast members) , Polynesian has Ohana (Go for dinner you will not leave hungry and add a Lapu Lapu served in a pineapple for me), Contemporary has Chef Mickeys. There are so many more I could go on all day. Also The Campground has Hoop-Dee-Doo Review and Mickeys Backyard BBQ which are great dinner shows with excellent food.

Hollywood Studios - 50's Primetime Cafe is a lot of fun (don't let mama catch you with your elbows on the table)

Animal Kingdom - Yack & Yeti is a great choice as well.

Epcot - all good except Coral Reef

 

[Mr Anderson]

oh and don't be scared to visit other resorts. Wilderness Lodge has - Wispering Canyon Cafe that is great (get the skillet) Animal Kingdom lodge has Boma (explore the grounds and see the safari overlook of the animals while toasting marshmallows supplied by cast members) , Polynesian has Ohana (Go for dinner you will not leave hungry and add a Lapu Lapu served in a pineapple for me), Contemporary has Chef Mickeys. There are so many more I could go on all day. Also The Campground has Hoop-Dee-Doo Review and Mickeys Backyard BBQ which are great dinner shows with excellent food.

Hollywood Studios - 50's Primetime Cafe is a lot of fun (don't let mama catch you with your elbows on the table)

Animal Kingdom - Yack & Yeti is a great choice as well.

Epcot - all good except Coral Reef

I wanted to try Ohana and Boma but the DW wanted to spend as much time in the parks as possible and I agreed. Next trip I think we'll venture outside the parks to eat at least a couple of times.

And wait, what?? Coral Reef isn't good? I heard the swordfish is amazing! Was I misinformed?

 

[LuLaSue]

YAY!!! Awesome PTR! You are fully converted now! It all looks splendid! Your going to have an awesome time!

 

[taz0162]

I wanted to try Ohana and Boma but the DW wanted to spend as much time in the parks as possible and I agreed. Next trip I think we'll venture outside the parks to eat at least a couple of times.

And wait, what?? Coral Reef isn't good? I heard the swordfish is amazing! Was I misinformed?

Did not have a good experience at Coral reef, Service or food quality.

They are so easy to get to.
Boma is a good end to a day at Animal Kingdom just ride the bus over to it from AK.
Ohana is a monorail ride from Magic Kingdom. Seriously there is so much food there that is all good you will not leave hungry. The servers relentlessly keep coming with more skewers of food for you. then just monorail back to MK for the nightly fireworks or to stay late for extra magic hours (when applicable)

 

[Mainahman]

I second the 50s prime time cafe!! Mama was real hard on me! I almost got a timeout..

 

[LuvtheGoof]

I would also highly recommend 50's Prime Time Cafe for lunch. The food is always excellent, and we love horsing around with the cousins, even when it's just my DW and I. If you walk up to the front right when they open; ask "Does Mom have any room at the table?". We have always gotten a smile from the CMs, and a table, even on a busy day with no ADR. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

Great Pre-Trip Report!! Soooo you guys are there NOW!!! Can't wait to read your TR when you get back!!! Hope you are enjoying yourself