Pre-Trip We go to Disney for the FOOD!

Hi Everyone!
I just joined these boards today, and I'm really excited to spend some more time on the site! I also love love trip reports - I'm part of a cruise forum (not Disney specific) and I enjoy reading about others' experiences and posting my own. I can't believe it's taken me this long to find Disney related forums in all of my research over the years.

We just decided a week ago that we wanted our next trip to be to Disney World. We had been looking at cruises originally (which we also love as a vacation) but had a hard time making the dates fit with work and life schedules. We had originally decided that we'd wait until 2021 to go back to Disney since we had just been in 2016. However, we've been having serious Disney withdrawals, so we scrapped the cruise idea and started planning out a long weekend at Disney World.

Who's travelling: Myself and my wife, we're both in our early 30's. We love Disney and this will be our 5th trip there!

When: January 23rd-28th, 2019. We live in Massachusetts so it will be nice to get away from the freezing cold temps.

Where: Port Orleans - French Quarter. We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside in 2016 and it was amazing. We're looking forward to checking out this smaller resort.

I've done a ton of planning in the last week since we're right around the 180 day mark for ADR's. One of the things that we love about Disney World is the food. Yes, I'm totally serious and we've spent most our planning time trying to decided which restaurants we want to go to After narrowing down our favorites and adding in a new one, I started making ADR's this weekend!

 

[LisaBelle]

This was our first year doing the subscription, basically because of the Aladdin and Hamilton shows this season. But we ended up really enjoying all of the ones that we saw - Waitress, On Your Feet and Love Never Dies. We decided not to do the subscriber package again this year but it's been such a fun experience seeing all of these shows!

We had Finding Neverland, Waitress, School of Rock, King & I and Aladdin this year. We bought the season tickets this year so we’d be guaranteed tickets for Hamilton next season by renewing our subscription. Not sure we’ll renew beyond that because it is pricey. Definitely worth it to see Aladdin and Hamilton, though!

 

[tatibus0913]

We had Finding Neverland, Waitress, School of Rock, King & I and Aladdin this year. We bought the season tickets this year so we’d be guaranteed tickets for Hamilton next season by renewing our subscription. Not sure we’ll renew beyond that because it is pricey. Definitely worth it to see Aladdin and Hamilton, though!

It is pricey, but it's nearly impossible to get Hamilton tickets. Hamilton tickets for September are being sold for more than we paid for the season subscription! School of Rock is coming to Boston in February, so we're planning to buy tickets to see that, but that was the only show we were really interested in.

 

[tatibus0913]

So I just discovered that the International Festival of the Arts may be happening while we're there in January, based on the dates for the past two years!! Has anyone experienced this?!

We've never been able to go during an Epcot festival, so I'm really excited! And you know I found the 2018 menus online and am drooling at all of the new options!

 

[fizzieee]

So I just discovered that the International Festival of the Arts may be happening while we're there in January, based on the dates for the past two years!! Has anyone experienced this?!

We've never been able to go during an Epcot festival, so I'm really excited! And you know I found the 2018 menus online and am drooling at all of the new options!

I was able to experience Festival of the Arts during my trip in early February 2018 and it was awesome! Also my first festival. They had a TON of food kiosk options and little photo opportunities with great works of art. It is very cool and super fun if you're into the arts. They had some really cool vintage artwork/attraction posters in an exhibit to browse through and options for screen printing your own Festival of the Arts T-shirts. They also had a cool paint by numbers type of mural guests could participate in as well.

 

[tatibus0913]

I was able to experience Festival of the Arts during my trip in early February 2018 and it was awesome! Also my first festival. They had a TON of food kiosk options and little photo opportunities with great works of art. It is very cool and super fun if you're into the arts. They had some really cool vintage artwork/attraction posters in an exhibit to browse through and options for screen printing your own Festival of the Arts T-shirts. They also had a cool paint by numbers type of mural guests could participate in as well.

That sounds awesome!!

 

[tatibus0913]

Happy Wednesday everyone! So first things first, I received my amazing rose gold ears! They’re beautiful and I love them!

Why isn’t it acceptable to wear them ALL THE TIME?!?

Secondly, it seems like we’re going to have to delay our trip a little We visted my dad this weekend, who owns two restaurants on Cape Cod so he’s always crazy busy. He told us that he’s closing for a few weeks in January and wants us all to go visit my grandfather in Texas. So, we’ve decided that we will go to Texas in January and then do Disney at the end of March. Am I sad that we’re going to have to push back Disney? Of course. But family is more important and we haven’t been to Texas to visit my grandfather in 6 years since he usually comes to us.

On the bright side, this gives us a bit more time to save and hopefully convince my wife that we should stay in a deluxe resort And, we’ll be there for the Flower and Garden festival! Apparently, we were there during it in 2014 but I don’t think I fully realized what it was. We saw the tropiaries but that was about it. I guess I wasn’t very thorough in my research at that point haha.

As my Tigger (my absolute favorite) would say, TTFN, ta-ta for now!

 

[tatibus0913]

Happy September! Work has been absolutely crazy the last month - I work in student services at a college, so the beginning of the school year is always super busy. I've made it through orientation and the semester kickoff events though, and I'll be able to get some rest this weekend!

Disney update: The trip has been moved to June. This is KILLING me. I now have 270 days until we're in the happiest place on earth. There is, however, a silver lining to all of this. We're going for 10 days!!!! We usually do a big vacation every summer, typically in June, and then do a couple of smaller trips during the year. With the holidays fast approaching (they will be here before we all know it) and this tentative trip to Texas in January, trying to squeeze in a trip to Disney in March just seemed like too much. Plus, my job gets a little crazy during the spring semester, since my office plans Commencement.

The plan is to still stay at Port Orleans - French Quarter and add in a day at Universal. I love Harry Potter! I'm also researching the dining plan, which may work for us since it now includes an alcoholic beverage with meals. I hate coming home with a huge credit card bill after vacation so this may help. I'd love to hear any experiences on the dining plan! I'm also really intrigued by this new Snow White dining experience at Wilderness Lodge. Grumpy is my favorite and I'd love to be able to meet him. Does anyone knows where I can get a women's Grumpy shirt?! Hopefully I'm not the only one that thinks about their Disney outfits 9 months in advance!

So that's where I'm at! I'll definitely post once I have our plans firmed up. More days = more food!

 

[tatibus0913]

This is the best page to see!! We have booked the hotel, park tickets and dining package! Still working on the itinerary but am so excited that we've booked it! 82 more days until we can make dining reservations!

 

[tatibus0913]

Wow, it's been a crazy month since I last posted! Work has been insane and I've been working a lot of weekends. Fortunately, once we hit November, things will slow down! We've also been dealing with a sick kitty After a couple of visits to the vet, blood tests and an ultrasound, she was diagnosed with IBD. We've been working with the vet to try to manage it so hopefully we will see some improvement!

With all of this going on, planning our Disney trip has been an excellent stress reliever, although we've been joking that we'll have to downgrade our hotel to pay these vets bills (she's our baby though, so it's all worth it!!). Even so, I've been looking into Pop Century as another option. The upgraded rooms look lovely, but I am a little worried about how large of a resort it is. As of now, we're booked at Port Orleans French Quarter but depending on what special offers come out in the next few months, we may switch. It seems like the Port Orleans resorts don't get as good of a discount as other resorts. We are also still doing the dining plan - I even made a spreadsheet to see if it was a good value for us, and it definitely is. My wife works in accounting so I always have to have the numbers ready It will be really nice not to worry about the cost of each meal during our trip!

I have a pretty solid itinerary worked out, and I'll post that in a separately. Of course, I have about 6 weeks until I can make dining reservations, so this could all change!

For now, I'll just go back to living vicariously though everyone else's trip reports

 

[tatibus0913]

Saturday, June 8th: Arrive in Orlando
Early morning flight and Magical Express to resort
Quick service lunch and pool
Shopping in Disney Springs and dinner at Raglan Road

Sunday, June 9th: Magic Kingdom
Breakfast at Be Our Guest
Dinner at Crystal Palace

Monday, June 10th: Hollywood Studios
Lunch at Woody's Lunch Box
Baseline Tap House
Hop to Epcot for dinner at Teppan Edo

Tuesday, June 11th: Universal and Islands of Adventure
Breakfast at resort
Harry Potter!

Wednesday, June 12th: Pool Day
Breakfast at Ohana
Pool time and relax
Early Dinner at 1900 Park Fare
Magic Kingdom Extra Magic Hours?

Thursday, June 13th: Epcot
Lunch at La Cantina de San Angel
Dinner at Le Cellier

Friday, June 14th: Animal Kingdom
Lunch at Flame Tree BBQ
Dinner at Ohana

Saturday, June 15th: Park hopping to all 4 parks!
Lunch at Satu'li Canteen
Dinner at Tangierine Cafe

Sunday, June 16th: Relax day
Lunch at Sanaa
Dinner at Artist Point

Monday, June 17th: Fly home
Breakfast at resort
Magical Express and afternoon flight home

 

[tatibus0913]

We are officially 179 days out!! I made all of my dining reservations yesterday at 6:00am and was able to reserve everything at the times that we wanted. We also booked our flights using points - free flights are the best flights! There have been a few things moved around on our itinerary but the general plans are the same. I feel like nothing is set in stone until we book our fast passes in April - I will post the "official" itinerary then!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season

 

[aliceismad]

Glad your planning is going well! Is the cruise board you're on start with cruise and end with -ritic? I love reading the trip reports there. We've been on five (so far...) and they're my absolute favorite way to relax. Mostly because we get a balcony and I can just stare at the sea for days.

For Disney, have you looked into renting DVC points? We've rented points twice and it's been only a little more than a moderate. I only ask because you mentioned convincing the wife to upgrade to a deluxe. We stayed at Kidani Village in a standard studio a few years ago and managed to get a partial savannah view just by requesting that room. It was priceless to see the okapi eating breakfast in the morning.

My hubby is also excited for the food options at WDW. Particularly a couple of places at Disney Springs. I'm going to have to balance my want to stay in the Parks!

 

[tatibus0913]

Glad your planning is going well! Is the cruise board you're on start with cruise and end with -ritic? I love reading the trip reports there. We've been on five (so far...) and they're my absolute favorite way to relax. Mostly because we get a balcony and I can just stare at the sea for days.

For Disney, have you looked into renting DVC points? We've rented points twice and it's been only a little more than a moderate. I only ask because you mentioned convincing the wife to upgrade to a deluxe. We stayed at Kidani Village in a standard studio a few years ago and managed to get a partial savannah view just by requesting that room. It was priceless to see the okapi eating breakfast in the morning.

My hubby is also excited for the food options at WDW. Particularly a couple of places at Disney Springs. I'm going to have to balance my want to stay in the Parks!

Yes!! I love those forums haha! Having a balcony completely changes your cruise experience. It's so nice to have your own space to enjoy the views without a thousand other people around you! I've only sailed on Norwegian but it's a great vacation!

I've looked into renting DVC points through one of the companies out there, and every time, only Old Key West is available. I like the idea of it, but I didn't look into it much further since we didn't want to stay there. We do love Port Orleans and are excited to be staying there again! Staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge is definitely a Disney bucket list item though!

There are so many food options that it's always a challenge! Some people probably think we're crazy for caring so much about where we eat, but food is always a huge part of our vacations, and Disney does have some incredible options. We try to incorporate new restaurants each time, but we also have our favorites that we keep going back to. We usually only spend a few hours in Disney Springs and Raglan Road is a must for us! I think I would need at least a month to get through all of the places that I want to try!

 

[aliceismad]

Yes!! I love those forums haha! Having a balcony completely changes your cruise experience. It's so nice to have your own space to enjoy the views without a thousand other people around you! I've only sailed on Norwegian but it's a great vacation!

I've looked into renting DVC points through one of the companies out there, and every time, only Old Key West is available. I like the idea of it, but I didn't look into it much further since we didn't want to stay there. We do love Port Orleans and are excited to be staying there again! Staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge is definitely a Disney bucket list item though!

There are so many food options that it's always a challenge! Some people probably think we're crazy for caring so much about where we eat, but food is always a huge part of our vacations, and Disney does have some incredible options. We try to incorporate new restaurants each time, but we also have our favorites that we keep going back to. We usually only spend a few hours in Disney Springs and Raglan Road is a must for us! I think I would need at least a month to get through all of the places that I want to try!

Raglan Road is high on his list! Needless to say, I have too many reservations booked right now for our May trip and am trying to pare it down.

The CC forums are great. We've only been on Carnival and Royal Caribbean on larger boats, and we probably won't sail on Carnival again. We were blown away by the Oasis-class ships. I'd love to try Disney (but the $$$) and Norwegian. Booked Norwegian once but had to cancel.

 

[tatibus0913]

Raglan Road is high on his list! Needless to say, I have too many reservations booked right now for our May trip and am trying to pare it down.

The CC forums are great. We've only been on Carnival and Royal Caribbean on larger boats, and we probably won't sail on Carnival again. We were blown away by the Oasis-class ships. I'd love to try Disney (but the $$$) and Norwegian. Booked Norwegian once but had to cancel.

Raglan Road is just so good. The atmosphere, the drinks, the food - we've never had a bad experience there!

I'd love to do DCL as well but I have a hard time justifying cost. We sail Norwegian because the drink package is usually included, which is a huge draw for us. If you do decide to sail on Norwegian, I'd recommend the Escape. We sailed on it this summer, and it was amazing - the entertainment was great and there's just so much to do. I've also checked out the Oasis class ships on RCI, and I'd love to sail on the new Symphony of the Seas. It's amazing what they can put on a cruise ship now!

 

[tatibus0913]

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays, and Happy New Year!! We spent tons of time with our families and had a really nice Christmas. I also had the bonus of having the week off between Christmas and New Year's Day, which was the fist time the college had ever completely closed. The extra time off was great, but it's been a challenge to be back at work these past few days. Fortunately, we're going to Texas at the end of the month to visit my grandfather (over our original Disney dates) so I only have to make it through a few weeks of work until we're away!

On the Disney planning front, we've made a couple changes. One day, I'll plan a vacation and then leave it alone The first is that we booked a tour!! There's a new "Taste of Magic Kingdom" food tour, which gives a behind the scenes tour of the kitchens and provides tastings. The second that I saw it, I sent it to my wife and she was all in! It's about three hours long in the morning, which is perfect for our park hop day.

The second change was that we switched hotels. The new specials offers were released for the summer, and with the hotel discounts, we saved nearly $1,000 switching from Port Orleans to Pop Century. We loved staying at Port Orleans a few years ago, but the price difference was enough to make us switch. The new rooms at Pop Century look adorable and we're not actually in the room that much. Plus, we can certainly use that money elsewhere - I'm thinking massages . Or, you know, be responsible adults and just save it (but that's so boring!!).

That's where we're at! I'm sure there will be a few more tweaks, since I have three months until FastPass day, but at least we're in the same year as our trip now

 

[NessNewt]

at least we're in the same year as our trip now

This statement makes me so happy - we are planning an August 2019 trip and this point of view makes it feel so much closer! Ha!

 

[tatibus0913]

This statement makes me so happy - we are planning an August 2019 trip and this point of view makes it feel so much closer! Ha!

Me too! I love vacation - I mean, who doesn’t - and the waiting is hard!! Especially for Disney, since you have to be ready to make dining reservations six months in advance and all of the planning has to be done early.

 

[tatibus0913]

We are officially 100 days out!!!

I keep tweaking the plans, and we decided to drop Universal. We started looking at it more closely, and it didn't seem like it was worth the money for one day. Maybe next time, we'll spend a night or two over there. So we added an extra park day, and moved the food tour. We now have three free afternoons to just hang out at the pool if we want. This may be the most "relaxed" Disney trip yet! We also decided not to go to Teppan Edo, and changed that to Homecomin'. I'm really excited to try it there! Does everyone else revise their Disney trips multiple times?! I feel like I should've kept track!!

 

[ELeigh]

Does everyone else revise their Disney trips multiple times?! I feel like I should've kept track!!

Guilty! Planning is half the fun for me-especially thinking about food so I make lots of ADR changes as my trips approach based on what I see on the boards