Pre-Trip We've Fall-in In Love...

We're heading back to Walt Disney World in 99 days ya'll!

I cannot wait to come home.

If you've read my other trip reports, you might know me as the fountain-obsessed, value resort-hugger, and Be Our Guest-regular. Well...just letting you know that none of that has changed. In fact, it's probably intensified. So with that in mind, let us go onwards.

The Cast
The husband "J" and I. Newlyweds for almost one year! Here is a picture of us below:

Juuust kidding. But Disney really is one of the reasons why we love each other.

Rounding out our party are these babes.

The Plan
September 3rd - September 11th, 2016. 9 days of Disney fun and sun, and for the first time in forever, some water! Yup, we are heading back to the water parks for the first time since 2011.

Along the way, we'll be incorporating a non-park day, a visit to the new Disney Springs, and a bunch of new dining experiences (Free Dining + bounceback offer, you just get me every time).

The resort of choice this year? All Star Music. Cheap, convenient, has fountain.

When I tell people that I go on a Disney forum site to chat about favorite Disney smells or queues, they look at me weirdly and just shake their head. My brother captured the essence quite nicely when he called it my 'Disney Support Group'. So thank you, my fellow Disney friends, for giving me an outlet to express the love and joy I have for this magical place called Walt Disney World. I hope you'll follow along on our adventure. Thanks for reading!

 

[belledream]

Loving this TR. The snack pictures are also incredibly helpful. I'm doing the Dining Plan for the first time, so I'm very excited to try some of these options They look scrumptious!

Glad to hear it! Food is so very much part of the fun when we go to WDW.

 

[Doc Disney]

Should I go for the Oak-fired Filet of Beef? It seems to be the most popular pick and that risotto looks really good...

The Oak-fired filet of beef is amazing! Unfortunately there is no more risotto, though. It now comes with mashed potatoes, but they are still good! Even though they change their menu a lot the potatoes are here to stay it seems based on what the waiters said

 

[belledream]

The Oak-fired filet of beef is amazing! Unfortunately there is no more risotto, though. It now comes with mashed potatoes, but they are still good! Even though they change their menu a lot the potatoes are here to stay it seems based on what the waiters said

Ooh thanks for the heads up and the recommendation! I'm still undecided but I figured I shouldn't ponder away at it too hard and just see what the heart wants when we get there.

 

[laben594]

Your trip looks awesome!!!

We are trying Blizzard Beach this September too! Hopefully the rain holds off

Your meals look great! Do you like Sci Fi dining? Do you have to sit right next to each other in a booth??

Can't wait for your trip report

 

[belledream]

Your trip looks awesome!!!

We are trying Blizzard Beach this September too! Hopefully the rain holds off

Your meals look great! Do you like Sci Fi dining? Do you have to sit right next to each other in a booth??

Can't wait for your trip report

You will love BB! And yeah, can't count rain out as a factor, but hopefully showers are swift and refreshing.

Sci-Fi is a great dining experience in terms of atmosphere, and the food plays the part. There are cars that seat four and six and being a party of 2, we sat in a row together with strangers in the same car behind us. We didn't find it weird though. It's dark, the movie is playing, and most people are too busy eating to be conversing anyways.

 

[MinnieM123]

You will love BB! And yeah, can't count rain out as a factor, but hopefully showers are swift and refreshing.

Sci-Fi is a great dining experience in terms of atmosphere, and the food plays the part. There are cars that seat four and six and being a party of 2, we sat in a row together with strangers in the same car behind us. We didn't find it weird though. It's dark, the movie is playing, and most people are too busy eating to be conversing anyways.

I went to Sci-Fi a few years ago for lunch. (I didn't have a reservation, I just walked in around 11 AM.) I was seated in the back of a "car" with my own table. The waitress announced to the family in the front of the car, that they had just picked up a hitchhiker! HA! We all laughed.

It was a relaxed and fun atmosphere in there with the cheezy movies on the screen. So even if you're sharing a car with others, it's almost like you have your own space just like regular tables in a restaurant. But at Sci Fi, all the cars (and tables inside them) are facing forward so people can look directly at the screen--so no awkward moments of looking at strangers across a table from you. I'd recommend trying Sci Fi at least once--it is an experience!

 

[belledream]

I went to Sci-Fi a few years ago for lunch. (I didn't have a reservation, I just walked in around 11 AM.) I was seated in the back of a "car" with my own table. The waitress announced to the family in the front of the car, that they had just picked up a hitchhiker! HA! We all laughed.

It was a relazed and fun atmosphere in there with the cheezy movies on the screen. So even if you're sharing a car with others, it's almost like you have your own space just like regular tables in a restaurant. But at Sci Fi, all the cars (and tables inside them) are facing forward at the screen, so no awkward moments of looking at strangers across a table from you. I'd recommend trying Sci Fi at least once--it is an experience!

Haha, that's fun! And yes, good point on facing forward. It does make a difference. When we were at Biergarten, we weren't sure if we were supposed to sit next to each other and face strangers or face each other and sit next to strangers!

 

[bee]

Haha, that's fun! And yes, good point on facing forward. It does make a difference. When we were at Biergarten, we weren't sure if we were supposed to sit next to each other and face strangers or face each other and sit next to strangers!

Ha! Once at Biergarten it was just me and DW. We had the last lunch seating at 3:00 and were seated with one other couple. We started to spread out but the host CM made us sit all together because other guests were coming to sit in the last four seats. No one else came and we sat there super awkwardly all together the entire meal.

 

[belledream]

Ha! Once at Biergarten it was just me and DW. We had the last lunch seating at 3:00 and were seated with one other couple. We started to spread out but the host CM made us sit all together because other guests were coming to sit in the last four seats. No one else came and we sat there super awkwardly all together the entire meal.

Haha yeah...if you don't strike a chord with your neighbors, it could definitely be a little awkward. Luckily we were able to chat with another couple but I wanted to focus on the show and daydream without looking like a antisocial loser...

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

We love the Biergarten. It can be awkward sitting with "strangers", especially because we have 4 kids, and when adults are put in a table with lots of kids they assume the kids will be awful. Luckily for us our kids are well behaved and people often comment on that. A couple sat next to us when we celebrated my youngest daughter's 1st birthday 4 years ago, and they were so nice that we shared her birthday cake with them.

 

[belledream]

We love the Biergarten. It can be awkward sitting with "strangers", especially because we have 4 kids, and when adults are put in a table with lots of kids they assume the kids will be awful. Luckily for us our kids are well behaved and people often comment on that. A couple sat next to us when we celebrated my youngest daughter's 1st birthday 4 years ago, and they were so nice that we shared her birthday cake with them.

Haha, I love kids, I certainly wouldn't mind. And that's such a cute story about the birthday cake!

 

[Ciara]

LOVE your TR's and excited your going back! Your plans sound awesome!

 

[belledream]

LOVE your TR's and excited your going back! Your plans sound awesome!

Yay! Thanks for reading. I'm excited hehe. This countdown has really flown by for a change...can't believe we're only 79 days away!

 

[belledream]

FP+ selection day is always a high-stress, yelling-at-computer, multiple-mini-panic-attack experience for me. I think part of it is because it seems like the process is always changing, and is never the same as last year. I find myself thinking, how did I do it last year? and am unable to comprehend what the interface actually even looks like.

I'm pleased with our selections, though the process left much to be desired. Why is there so much clicking...Go Back vs. Start Over...which do I choose? The words 'Start Over' scare me...am I going to lose my selection? Yes, I want to book FPs for my humungous party of me + the other person, why must I keep telling you this!

Yet, everything ended well, and the chosen ones are...drumroll please!

MK: For all three days, we chose 7DMT, Space Mountain, and have a variation of Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and Peter Pan as the third choices. Last year, there were initially no FPs available for 7DMT FP on our first day. This year, lots! The hype must be dying down. Space Mountain is our absolute favorite and we will be riding that thing many times a day. The others are a tossup for things that we enjoy, but don't like to wait for. MK is really the bread and butter of the 4th FP game, so it doesn't truly matter to us.

EPCOT: Frozen, The Seas, Turtle Talk. It felt so weird to not choose Soarin' for the FP, but it really did seem like it was in our best interest to grab a FP for Frozen instead. I hear the new Soarin' queue is somewhat of an experience in itself, and I don't know if I can say the same about Frozen (nor would I find waiting a long period of time for it nearly as fulfilling as a wait for Soarin'). Alas, we simply cannot miss it! As for the other two, we obviously don't need a FP for The Seas with Nemo and Friends, but Seabase Alpha (or as we now call it, "the Pavilion") is really one of our favorite things to do at EPCOT, so we'll be there anyways. At the same time, it occurred to us that we never really gave Turtle Talk with Crush a second thought, and we'll check it out while we're there. 2nd EPCOT day: Frozen, Character Spot, and Mission SPACE. What the heck, right?

HS: Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, Star Tours - the usual. We're hoping the crowds will be light due to the general "HS has nothing" mentality, and that walk-ons will be plentiful. We don't FP shows, and our afternoon may be spent outside the park. We might check out that Sandtastic Weekend thing going on at Swan & Dolphin, and visit Boardwalk after.

AK: Safari, Everest, and Primeval Whirl. These were very easy to pick, with my beloved DINOSAUR being down for refurbishment. On the flip side, Primeval Whirl was down on our trip last year, so they flipflopped, and we'll be able to revisit that. Not that they are equal in any regards, but hey, we enjoy it!

Pencil me in for all that Disney fun, and now the countdown feels amp up even more. Queue the "at this time in 2 months, we will be riding ____/watching ____/eating dinner at ____" references, finalize color & park-coordinated outfits, obsessively check for Disney mail, MagicBands, and the like. I sure know how to keep myself occupied.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

I have to agree about picking FP's! For our 2015 trip, my mom picked everything, but for our 16' trip, I stayed up until midnight to get A&E meet and greet, and I had NO IDEA what I was doing. I had never done it before. I ended up getting a time I DID NOT want for A&E because I didn't know what I was doing and had to call my mom to get me walked through it. By the time I went back all other times were gone, so we had to stick with that. It's so confusing!!!!

 

[belledream]

I have to agree about picking FP's! For our 2015 trip, my mom picked everything, but for our 16' trip, I stayed up until midnight to get A&E meet and greet, and I had NO IDEA what I was doing. I had never done it before. I ended up getting a time I DID NOT want for A&E because I didn't know what I was doing and had to call my mom to get me walked through it. By the time I went back all other times were gone, so we had to stick with that. It's so confusing!!!!

Yeah, it's stressful to see times disappear before your eyes! Sometimes they show up again, sometimes they don't! I didn't get my ideal time for Frozen, but it could've definitely been worse...so I'll count myself lucky!

As for process, I'll remember it for the next time...that's for sure! *Pending interface changes of course.

 

[belledream]

I saw this picture from the Disney Parks Twitter this morning, and it just breathed life into me:

Annnd now I'm listening to the Oasis Area Loop.

We spent the weekend fantasizing about our trip (even more than usual anyway). Went through all my plans in My Disney Experience, checking to make sure our MagicBand color selection was right, to reading over all our dining choices' menus to see if anything had changed. We aren't the only ones who do this, right?

We did decide to make some changes to our itinerary. For our first EPCOT day, our Frozen FP time kinda-sorta interfered with our lunch reservation at Via Napoli...so we decided to axe it and move it to our second EPCOT day, for dinner. That means La Hacienda is off the table. (It was more of J's pick than mine, but I could tell her really wanted to try some of that pizza, so he was okay with it). I'm thrilled, because I would love to just hang around Norway that morning and perhaps check out the Royal Sommerhus. (I really like themes, if you couldn't tell!) Also, instead of trying to make it to a lunch reservation, while also attempting to ride the mystery box that is Frozen Ever After, we can try some of the awesome QS places around World Showcase.Our frontrunners are...

Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe:

Salmon and Egg Sandwich! I can pretty much taste it now...and it is delicious. Also, desserts from this place! Troll Horn? Viking Chocolate Mousse? Berry Cream Puff?

Suggestions welcomed! (We've had Schoolbread - good but not great).

In a similar vein...another option is Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie:

Jambon Beurre! Looks so simple, right? But I feel like there is magic in this sandwich, and I want it.

Don't even get me started on desserts...

We might end up doing one QS meal at Norway, and one at France because we truly can't decide.

In more food news, we are becoming very iffy on Morimoto. One, because we are literally only going for ramen, which we have plenty of here, and two, because there is SO MUCH to see and eat at Disney Springs. So instead of spending a hour or two eating something that we may or may not find up to our standards, what we really want to do is just wander Disney Springs at night and try some of the new snack offerings there and soak in the atmosphere. Yup, I think we're gonna do it.

I feel like all I ever talk about is food. Eat to live, or live to eat?

I'll be back with my I'M EXCITED post!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

mmmmmm all the food. Sounds like a great plan!

 

[LisaBelle]

Have you ever tried the Norwegian Club sandwich at Kringla Bakeri og Cafe? My teenagers love them. It is one of the foods they most look forward to on every trip. My son, who at the time was a moderately picky eater (if it wasn't a cheeseburger he didn't want it), discovered it and we make several visits there every trip.

 

[belledream]

Have you ever tried the Norwegian Club sandwich at Kringla Bakeri og Cafe? My teenagers love them. It is one of the foods they most look forward to on every trip. My son, who at the time was a moderately picky eater (if it wasn't a cheeseburger he didn't want it), discovered it and we make several visits there every trip.

I have not tried any of the savory offerings at Kringla, and that one definitely caught our eye. It looks so simple yet filled with who-knows-what-goodness!