NEWS FLASH: You must be 4YO to go to Disney! Oct '11 PTR, 10/24 WE'RE BACK! p 18

[Parla]

Originally Posted by Pixiedust530

I think a BIG part of the reason I am so excited about this trip (besides my love for Disney of course) is that I can't wait to see the excitement on Caden's face & in his eyes! This trip is all about him. I want it to be a trip he will remember! I hope there are many more to come in the future, but you never know! This could be the Once in a Lifetime trip!

My best memory of our first trip with the kids was watching my daughter's face while she watched the Beauty and the Beast stage show. I sat there and cried because she was just so happy and into it. Never thought I would get that emotional over it. Now she's getting to where she doesn't remember a lot of parts of that trip and I can't wait to get her back there and refresh her memory.

[3princesses+aprince]

Originally Posted by Pixiedust530

Thanks for coming over to hang out. I was just over on your PTR. You should definitely run over here to the October side!

I think a BIG part of the reason I am so excited about this trip (besides my love for Disney of course) is that I can't wait to see the excitement on Caden's face & in his eyes! This trip is all about him. I want it to be a trip he will remember! I hope there are many more to come in the future, but you never know! This could be the Once in a Lifetime trip!

We've been to Florida before when my kids were younger, but our first onsite trip was in 09. My youngest had just turned 5 and she was just so amazed at everything. Even my 7 and 9 yr olds were. Since it was our first time everything was just so awesome!

And yes, it's looking more promising that we'll be there late October. Over Halloween actually!

[LJD2143]

Hi Stephanie - Just followed you from the Official October thread!

Now where are those ADR plans you were talking about?

And as for turning your lil' boy into a certified Disney fanatic - I can totally relate! I have 3 boys (12, 9 & 9) and they are ALL Disney FREAKS!!!! Not a single day goes by in our household without some discussion or reference to a past or future Disney trip! Hmmmmm.....I wonder why that is?

[Pixiedust530]

Originally Posted by LJD2143

Hi Stephanie - Just followed you from the Official October thread!

Now where are those ADR plans you were talking about?

And as for turning your lil' boy into a certified Disney fanatic - I can totally relate! I have 3 boys (12, 9 & 9) and they are ALL Disney FREAKS!!!! Not a single day goes by in our household without some discussion or reference to a past or future Disney trip! Hmmmmm.....I wonder why that is?

Thanks for following me over from the October thread. I promise you were not lured here under false pretenses! I don't have ADR details on my PTR just yet. I said that would be my next update. I will try to get them up in the next couple days.

I love being a Disney freak and love that I've turned my little boy into one too!

[stephielela]

Joining in!! I can't wait to hear about all your plans! It sounds like you guys will have an awesome time!!

[Pixiedust530]

As promised, it’s time to detail my ADR’s for the trip. These are by no means final and in fact I would love suggestions. Our family will be on the Regular Dining Plan so we’ll each have 7 TS meals, 7 QS meals and 7 snacks to use for the duration of the trip.

On our arrival day we are not going to a park…we will all be WAY TOO TIRED after driving all night for 14+ hours. I know Caden will be eager to “GO” to Disney World and I wanted to do something special for him on the first night since we won’t be visiting a park. I decided that Character Dining was the way to go… at Chef Mickey’s in the Contemporary! Caden is not at all afraid of characters & I know he will LOVE getting to meet Mickey & the gang right off the bat!

Beginning the day after our arrival and check-in, we will be doing 1 day in each park, an off day at the resort/DTD, a 2nd day at EPCOT for Food & Wine Festival & that same evening at MK for the MNSSHP (I think. MNSSHP is still up in the air and open for debate.)

So here is how our dining choices break down for the rest of our trip:
Magic Kingdom Day
Lunch at Crystal Palace (Character dining with Pooh & Friends)
Dinner at a QS location

EPCOT Day
Lunch at Akershus (Character dining with Princesses )
Dinner at Teppan Edo

Hollywood Studios Day
QS meal for lunch or dinner
F! Dining Package at Mama Melrose’s or Hollywood & Vine
**I would prefer to do the F! Pkg for an early dinner (4:45ish) but will take whatever I can get even if it is lunch. I have never eaten at HW&V or MM so I would love some feedback, suggestions, reviews, etc. Our family loves Italian, but I like the choices that a buffet offers as well. I may not “get” a choice anyway depending on what is available on my 180 mark.**

Animal Kingdom Day
Breakfast at Tusker House (Character dining Donald’s Safari Breakfast)
Lunch at QS location (Probably Flame Tree BBQ)
Dinner at T-Rex in Downtown Disney

Off Day from Parks/Resort Day
QS breakfast at All-Star Movies Food Court
QS lunch at DTD (Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express)
Dinner at O’hana in the Polynesian

EPCOT Day 2(F&W Festival)/MNSSHP Night
Lunch using snack credits at Food & Wine Festival
Dinner at QS location in MK during MNSSHP

If you’ve done the math , you’ll notice that I have 8 TS meals planned and still have 1 QS meal to use. We will pay for one TS meal Out of Pocket (T-Rex since it's not on the DDP). The main reason we added T-Rex in the first place is because Caden really likes dinosaurs. The other QS credit we will most likely use on the day we checkout to eat breakfast in the hotel food court before hitting the road.

So…there you have it…details of our ADR’s. I would LOVE feedback on any and all choices. If you have suggestion for good QS locations within MK, DHS and AK I am All Ears ! We do have 4 character meals scheduled and even if the food is just okay it really doesn’t matter….they are for Caden!

[MadilynnsMomma]

ADR's look great! Caden is going to LOVE all the character dining!!! I am tossing around the idea of F! dining as well... what is your ADR day?!

[Pixiedust530]

Originally Posted by stephielela

Joining in!! I can't wait to hear about all your plans! It sounds like you guys will have an awesome time!!

Glad to have you along for the ride! I am having so much fun planning and even more fun writing this PTR! I can't wait for October to get here!

Originally Posted by MadilynnsMomma

ADR's look great! Caden is going to LOVE all the character dining!!! I am tossing around the idea of F! dining as well... what is your ADR day?!

Thanks! I am really hoping that he loves all the Character dining...I think he will! I can book my ADR's on April 18...it can't get here soon enough.

[MadilynnsMomma]

Originally Posted by Pixiedust530

Thanks! I am really hoping that he loves all the Character dining...I think he will! I can book my ADR's on April 18...it can't get here soon enough.

UGH - I have to wait til the 25th

[LJD2143]

Yay - ADR time!

I totally love your idea of Chef Mickey's on your arrival day.
In fact, that has been our exact tradition for the last couple of years now - it's such a "Disneyfied" experience!


You mentioned that you may pay OOP for T-Rex.....and actually you will HAVE to - TRex does not take the Dining Plan.


The F&WF is a GREAT use of Dining Plan snack credits. Some of the items that count as snacks can cost as much as $7-8!

[Pixiedust530]

Originally Posted by LJD2143

Yay - ADR time!

I totally love your idea of Chef Mickey's on your arrival day.
In fact, that has been our exact tradition for the last couple of years now - it's such a "Disneyfied" experience!


You mentioned that you may pay OOP for T-Rex.....and actually you will HAVE to - TRex does not take the Dining Plan.


The F&WF is a GREAT use of Dining Plan snack credits. Some of the items that count as snacks can cost as much as $7-8!

I have heard so many great things about Chef Mickey's! I *think* I ate there when I was a kid the year we stayed at the Contemporary.

LOL....I totally knew that T-Rex wasn't on the Dining Plan....must've been a blonde moment! So yes....we WILL pay OOp for T-Rex!

I had NO idea you could use your snack credits for the F&WF until I read it here on the DIS! Once I found that out I totally reworked our schedule to add an extra day JUST for F&WF and I also changed our ADRs around.

[Pixiedust530]

Originally Posted by MadilynnsMomma

UGH - I have to wait til the 25th

It will be here before you know it. I can't believe that it is almost April already!

[exwdwcm]

Great ADRS!

We used to always start off our trip with Chef Mickey's. It is a great way to kick off the trip.

I haven't eaten at MM or H&V. Well I lie, i have eaten at H&V, but it was when I worked there, 15 years ago and it was a cafeteria, not a character meal. The food was okay back then (I mean, i ate it because it was free!). I hear it is okay, but nothing to write home about these days. Standard buffet dinner fare. Unlike other buffets around property, they don't have a special item that stands out or gets rave reviews (like zebra domes at Boma or the cream cheese mashed potatoes at CM they used to have). We have booked MM for the first time, the chicken parm looks yummy to me. we are going to give that a shot.

For QS- we love Cosmic Ray's for the selection at MK. But it can be really crowded finding a seat. The lines move fast at least. The chicken/rib plate is a great value. We also like Pecos Bill's. I am not a seafood eater, but I know everyone loves Columbia Harbor house.

at AK, we used to always eat at Flame Tree. Love it and eating out on the deck on the water- we even saw the boat come by with the characters on it once. We tried Yak and Yeti QS and enjoyed that as well.

At DHS.....well as you probably know, they are lacking in QS. We usually just grab pizza at the Toy Story pizza planet to keep it simple.

[3princesses+aprince]

Great looking ADRs. I was excited to find out as well that you can use snack credits at the F+WF!!! Can't wait, I know my dh is going to love that.

[Pixiedust530]

Originally Posted by exwdwcm

Great ADRS!

We used to always start off our trip with Chef Mickey's. It is a great way to kick off the trip.

I haven't eaten at MM or H&V. Well I lie, i have eaten at H&V, but it was when I worked there, 15 years ago and it was a cafeteria, not a character meal. The food was okay back then (I mean, i ate it because it was free!). I hear it is okay, but nothing to write home about these days. Standard buffet dinner fare. Unlike other buffets around property, they don't have a special item that stands out or gets rave reviews (like zebra domes at Boma or the cream cheese mashed potatoes at CM they used to have). We have booked MM for the first time, the chicken parm looks yummy to me. we are going to give that a shot.

For QS- we love Cosmic Ray's for the selection at MK. But it can be really crowded finding a seat. The lines move fast at least. The chicken/rib plate is a great value. We also like Pecos Bill's. I am not a seafood eater, but I know everyone loves Columbia Harbor house.

at AK, we used to always eat at Flame Tree. Love it and eating out on the deck on the water- we even saw the boat come by with the characters on it once. We tried Yak and Yeti QS and enjoyed that as well.

At DHS.....well as you probably know, they are lacking in QS. We usually just grab pizza at the Toy Story pizza planet to keep it simple.

I'm feeling really good about our choices so far. Chef Mickey's was the FIRST thing I decided on and I think it will be perfect to get Caden in the Disney spirit for the rest of the trip.

I've heard the same things about H&V...just so so! I am thinking that since I am trying to get the F! package that I will take whatever is available!

Thank you for the QS suggestions! I have spent most of my time choosing TS so I haven't given as much thought to the QS yet. Of course...I don't have to make ADR's on April 18 for those so I guess that's why I've put it on the back burner.

Originally Posted by 3princesses+aprince

Great looking ADRs. I was excited to find out as well that you can use snack credits at the F+WF!!! Can't wait, I know my dh is going to love that.

Thanks! I was super excited when I found out as well. I really wasn't planning a separate time for the F&WF (was just going to do a quick walk through while there) until I found out about the snack credits. I am ALL OVER that food now! I am super excited! WoooHoooo! I think my grandparents will really love the F&WF also....EPCOT is already their favorite park!