The year of living Disney - Autumn and deluxe dining TR**NEW TR LINK UP 1/16**

[Terra Nova guy]

Hello Kelly, I hope you enjoyed the holidays. I had a great time at home with my family, but it was a busy time. I'm just catching up on the DIS now.

If you've ever looked into doing a tour at Disney World you know how hard it is to choose, there are so many of them that look amazing. I had a really hard time choosing between the Keys to the Kingdom tour and the Marceline to Magic Mingdom tour, but we ultimately decided on the MtMK tour and I'm so glad we did!

I've thought about doing a tour, but I will have to wait until the girls are grown up more and/or I eventually do an adults only trip. I had always assumed my first tour would be Keys to the Kingdom, since I think that's the one where they take you down to the utilidors, but your tour sounds great too. I've always loved the ballroom scene in HM so seeing the magic behind that would be awesome.

Too bad you missed out on a day because of the hurricane, but I think I would have done the same. And it is nice to have one day off at home to decompress. I normally plan that in to my trips.

 

[pkondz]

Bob, to my surprise, was getting into this ADR thing and had been searching on his phone for a breakfast place since we still had an abundance of credits to use.

Define.... abundance.

you could tell something was in the air

That's hurricane winds, folks.

we were able to snag a last minute ADR at Boma for breakfast.

Nice! I'd like to try it. Did the dinner once.

in about 5 minutes the bus showed up and the bus director told our driver where we were going and to take us directly there.

Nice of him, but...

Our driver was an elderly guy and must have forgotten because he promptly took us to Kidani Village first, well more like Kidani Village adjacent, as we had to wait about 10 minutes for traffic to clear so that he could even park.

....ooops.

Love the Boma ceiling!

As you can imagine it was HOT HOT HOT.

In AK? Really? Probably the first time ever.

on our way over to EE Bob was starting to fade fast. He had gotten overheated and was not feeling well at all.

Oh, no. Sorry to hear that.

I did not need a man with heat stroke on my hands!

No kidding!
Good move getting the cold wet towel on him.

Bob's feelin' better!

Yay!

We finally got him feeling better and made our way over to our lunch ADR at Yak & Yeti. This had been my favorite lunch on my previous trip with my son so I was really interested to see how Bob liked it.

I'd like to try that next time I go. Now that I've done Flame Tree and Harambe, that's next on my list, except...

I was pretty disappointed right off the bat because they took the dish off the menu that I had previously that was so good, the Mahi-Mahi with mango chutney.

... for that. Shoot.

Unfortunately the rest of our lunch was just ok.

Darn. Well, I guess I'll probably still give it a shot.

We timed it perfectly because it had nearly stopped raining by the time we left Y&Y.

My only food pic of Y&Y , mango pie

Yumm!

Do you guys have a favorite resort gift shop?

I dunno. I've never seen a gift shop in WDW.

And so the last minute scramble to leave the next morning began. We decided to go ahead and leave a day early because we had full schedules at work the next few days and had been gone long enough that we couldn't take the chance of getting stranded a couple more days.

Huh. I'd be the opposite.
"Yeah, I still can't get out of Florida because of the hurricane"
"But pkondz, wasn't that hurricane three weeks ago?"
"Yeah, but flights are still backed up. Maybe next week. Or the week after."

I was busy on Southwest's website getting new flights booked, luckily they were allowing anyone with reservations those next couple of days to re-book without having to pay a price difference,

Nice. I guess it makes sense, though.

call Magical Express so that we could get on that morning ( at 5:00 am ),

Nice! You get to sleep in!
(Aren't you glad you don't live in Canada?)

"Why are you leaving, this hurricane is going to be no big deal!"

He's dead now. Hurricane got him.

" you have 8 dining credits left, we can convert those into snack credits so you can grab some snacks to take home".

No idea they could do that. Nice!

We cleaned BVG out of snacks and came home with 10 Mickey rice crispy treats, 6 bags of goofy's candy, 5 packages for Oreos and Chips Ahoy cookies and 3 bags of Cheese It's. We still have some stashed away in the kitchen somewhere to this day.

Send some of those rice crispy treats up here!

Would we ever go to Disney for this long again? Would we ever do the DxDP again? What did we think of the Poly? How many total miles did we walk????

Yes. No, too many credits. Too many to count.

 

[Steppesister]

Hi Kelly! I think, THINK, I'm back now that the Holidays are over. What a whirlwind of activity and people. OY!

Finally finding a day all to myself to get caught back up around here and comment on everyone's threads. (Probably should get to my own today too. ) I've really missed everyone!

We finally got him feeling better and made our way over to our lunch ADR at Yak & Yeti. This had been my favorite lunch on my previous trip with my son so I was really interested to see how Bob liked it. I was pretty disappointed right off the bat because they took the dish off the menu that I had previously that was so good, the Mahi-Mahi with mango chutney. It looked like they had really paired down the menu from when were there just 3 months before. Bummer. We got the dragon roll to start with which was really good. Unfortunately the rest of our lunch was just ok. I honestly don't even remember what else we ordered except for dessert. We shared a piece of the mango pie, which was good, but the rest of lunch was lackluster except for the entertainment....

Well, poop! We really enjoyed it this time around, but sadly didn't get the upstairs. I was hoping Bob would like it. And I hate when they take stuff you've enjoyed in the past off the menu. There's certainly something to be said for consistency. If you can't even remember what you ordered.... hmmm... yeah probably not worth going back.

We timed it perfectly because it had nearly stopped raining by the time we left Y&Y.

Score!! Love when that happens.

And so the last minute scramble to leave the next morning began. We decided to go ahead and leave a day early because we had full schedules at work the next few days and had been gone long enough that we couldn't take the chance of getting stranded a couple more days.

I'm really glad it all worked out for you. As we were preparing to leave, we were in the EXACT opposite boat. I was biting my nails in a BIG way. Haha, y'all were trying to get out; I was trying to get in.

Well, 8 meal credits converts into 24 snack credits! so we grabbed our dinner to go at Contempo Cafe and talked about it and decided to go for it. We cleaned BVG out of snacks and came home with 10 Mickey rice crispy treats, 6 bags of goofy's candy, 5 packages for Oreos and Chips Ahoy cookies and 3 bags of Cheese It's. We still have some stashed away in the kitchen somewhere to this day.

WHOA!!! I'm REALLY glad they did this for you. I had no idea they could be converted like that. Not a bad haul to take home.

things got messy at DW and at the airport with the arrival of Matthew and I was glad we were able to avoid it.

Me too! I think you made the right choice and am so glad all the planning worked out for you to have that day to kinda just rest.

Looking forward to your final thoughts!

 

[cinderkelly]

So now while I would make a special trip to AKL just for that meal, him not so much.......

I think I would make a special trip to AK also, but I think I'd have a hard time convincing him to go back. He was pretty meh about it

And we like having a "buffer" day before everyone has to return to work/school too

It actually turned out to be a really nice thing, we usually come home and it's straight back to work the next day and we are pretty much zombies until the weekend rolls back around

I might also have some Goofy Gummies somewhere in my pantry...
Glad you got Bob cooled off and feeling good again. Looking forward to your final thoughts!

The Goofy gummies are ok in a pinch but I've developed a serious Haribo gummy bear addiction, so sadly the Goofy ones still sit in my pantry too. Feeling overheated and sick is no Bueno while you're on vacation!

aren't last minute reservations just the best). We're staying at AKL next trip so I'm sure we'll be there at some time. But sorry Yak n Yeti was a bust. It's usually so good. At least you got to sit out the rain though ; )

I was really surprised at how different Y&Y was this time around because it was so awesome the first time. I'd still give it another shot tho... maybe they were just having an off day. OOH! AKL is still on my list of places I want to stay but I might have to do a solo trip to stay there. Every time I bring it up as a suggestion the fam they always whine about how far it is from everything. I don't mind that at all, it's so beautiful!

Hello Kelly, I hope you enjoyed the holidays. I had a great time at home with my family, but it was a busy time. I'm just catching up on the DIS now.

Hi Jeff! We had great Holidays, how about you? I'm pretty glad they are over though, back to regularly scheduled programming. I'm trying to catch up on the DIS myself and unfortunately making very slow progress

I had always assumed my first tour would be Keys to the Kingdom, since I think that's the one where they take you down to the utilidors, but your tour sounds great too. I've always loved the ballroom scene in HM so seeing the magic behind that would be awesome.

We thought a lot about Keys to the Kingdom tour also but ultimately decided on MtMK just because it was shorter. I'm really glad we did because it was awesome, but I have also always wanted to see the utilidors, so I would love to catch that tour someday.

Too bad you missed out on a day because of the hurricane, but I think I would have done the same

At the time I wasn't so happy about missing a whole day, but in hindsight it turned out to be fine.

Define.... abundance.

a.bun.dance
noun
a very large quantity of something
"the Disney Deluxe dining plan provides you with an abundance of face stuffing options"

That's hurricane winds, folks.

I swear it wasn't me! Now Bob on the other hand.........

In AK? Really? Probably the first time ever.

I know, right? Animal Kingdom, hot?? who woulda thunk it

I'd like to try that next time I go. Now that I've done Flame Tree and Harambe, that's next on my list, except...

I'd still give it a try if I were you, and I'd go again. Perhaps it was just an off day.

I dunno. I've never seen a gift shop in WDW.

I think they have one or two

(Aren't you glad you don't live in Canada?)

Sometimes, sometimes not

Well, poop! We really enjoyed it this time around, but sadly didn't get the upstairs. I was hoping Bob would like it. And I hate when they take stuff you've enjoyed in the past off the menu. There's certainly something to be said for consistency. If you can't even remember what you ordered.... hmmm... yeah probably not worth going back.

I was really hoping he'd like it too. Fortunately there are loads of other choices at DW to keep him happy! I hate it when they change up the menu too, it seems like lots of restaurants are doing that, and not only at Disney. Cost of doing business perhaps?

'm really glad it all worked out for you. As we were preparing to leave, we were in the EXACT opposite boat. I was biting my nails in a BIG way. Haha, y'all were trying to get out; I was trying to get in.

I think I'd much rather have been in my situation than in yours. I'd rather be there and get stuck than not able to get there at all, I've been in that boat and didn't like it one bit!

WHOA!!! I'm REALLY glad they did this for you. I had no idea they could be converted like that. Not a bad haul to take home.

I really didn't know they would convert unused meal credits into snacks either, we were just going to take the loss and go home, but she pretty much insisted that we get something to show for it, very awesome CM.

 

[cinderkelly]

Our Autumn trip final thoughts and observations
​

All in all it was a fantastic trip. I was so glad to be able to spend time alone with my best friend, and we had many more "ups" than "downs" on this trip, which is always a good thing! I had dreamed of going to Disney World for a whole week since I was a kid and was really fortunate to tick that box on my bucket list. We did some awesome things, like the Marceline to Magic Kingdom tour, ate ourselves silly at some fantastic restaurants and got to stay at one of the resorts I have always wanted to try. This vacation taught me a ton about myself and that I don't need to plan every second of the day, that it's ok to wing it sometimes and that it's actually fun to make ADR's on the fly! I think it has changed my touring style quite a bit and I'm 100% ok with that.

So with all that being said...

Our favorite meal of the whole trip...Flying Fish. Everything about it was on point and perfect. There service, the absolutely beautiful ( and tasty) food, (because what good is pretty food if it tastes horrible?) and the atmosphere was just lovely.

The Resort ..... We decided we both have a love, it's ok, relationship with the Polynesian. Our studio villa was really spacious, and we all know my infatuation with that shower . But the decor just isn't our style and I didn't care for the perfumey smell in the lobby. I know, I'm weird. I am so happy that we stayed there but it isn't high on our list to go back anytime soon. Lots more resorts to check out!

The DxDP.....would we do it again? At the time we came home our answer would have been no. It was really fun but it was honestly a lot of pressure to use all of those dining credits! I think because the trip was so long it got to be a chore to always have to stop what we were doing and eat. Now I am a huge fan of the dining plan, I just like to have everything "prepaid" and go, and I like not having to worry about how much things cost on the menu, I have a bad habit of looking at menu prices and . But as time passes sometimes we forget things and think " We should try that again....." yes folks, foreshadowing in action....

The length of our trip, we were scheduled to stay for 8 nights, which to me was heaven, to Bob it was torture. He doesn't like to be away from the business for more than 5 days, so he was happy as a clam to have to come home a day early. So he has decided a 5 night trip is perfect for him, and honestly I think it's perfect for me too. I don't ever want to get tired of going to Disney, so leaving wanting more is ok by me. So unless I do a few days solo first, I think my week long Disney vaca days are over. For Now

Getting the annual pass, was it worth it? You bet your sweet bippy it was!!! We thought we were going to use it for just two trips, but that kinda doubled and I am getting 4 trips out of that sucker!!! We weren't going to renew for next year but...........Ill save that info for another day

ok stats time!

up until this trip my favorite resort so far... The Contemporary ( which still surprises me, I did not expect that) Bob's, Art of Animation. He's all about the theming

Miles walked total - 51.4

List of dining establishments we visited - Raglan Road, Grand Floridian Cafe, Cape May Cafe, The Boathouse, Hoop De Do Revue, Be Our Guest, 50's Prime Time Cafe, Captain Cooks, The Wave X2, Ohana, Casey's Corner, Flying Fish, Boma, Yak & Yeti and Contempo Cafe which once again left us with 8 credits unused until we converted them into snacks.......whew. That doesn't even take into account the multitude of times we visited Starbucks to use snack credits!



Thank you all so much for coming along on this journey with me, it's been so much fun to re-live. Now I need to get crack-a lackin' on the next chapter, Winter! Our Winter trip we just completed the first part of December has been our favorite one yet, and I can't wait to tell you all about it! My very first DISmeet, a triple split stay, MVMCP and I get to tick another 3 boxes off on my Disney bucket list!

I need to get going on that puppy since I am heading back "home" in about 7 weeks!!!

TTFN my friends!!!​

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Hi Jeff! We had great Holidays, how about you? I'm pretty glad they are over though, back to regularly scheduled programming. I'm trying to catch up on the DIS myself and unfortunately making very slow progress

I had a very nice, but also busy, time at home, didn't do anything particularly special, just spending time with family and friends. We had a little too much snow for my liking (too much shoveling) but when you live up north, what can you do. (Yes, I know the rhetorical answer to that is go to Florida!). I've been slowing chipping away at all the watched TRs in my list.

This vacation taught me a ton about myself and that I don't need to plan every second of the day, that it's ok to wing it sometimes and that it's actually fun to make ADR's on the fly! I think it has changed my touring style quite a bit and I'm 100% ok with that.

I tried to relax a little more on my last trip and I enjoyed it more. It really is worth it to change the "commando" touring style a little.

Now I need to get crack-a lackin' on the next chapter, Winter!

Looking forward to it!

 

[ariane37]

Very nice wrap up! We went for 10 days once and while it was a great trip, other than myself it was too long for everyone. A week is good for us as a family and 4-5 nights is nice when we do no kids.
I may have said this earlier in your report but I agree with you on the Poly! I'd wanted to stay there for so long and I'm glad we did, but........didn't love it. Loved the space but not the decor. I don't think it helped that it was unseasonably cold when we were there so the walk to the GCH seemed like torture lol.
AP's are awesome! Then everything becomes a reason to go to Disney
Can't wait to hear about your Dec. trip

 

[Steppesister]

I was really hoping he'd like it too. Fortunately there are loads of other choices at DW to keep him happy! I hate it when they change up the menu too, it seems like lots of restaurants are doing that, and not only at Disney. Cost of doing business perhaps?

I'm sure that has something to do with it. Although, I have a sneaking suspicion is has a whole lot more to do with boosting profits. Just sayin'.

I think I'd much rather have been in my situation than in yours. I'd rather be there and get stuck than not able to get there at all, I've been in that boat and didn't like it one bit!

WOWZA that was a major nail biter! I remember being on my thread having a near meltdown over it and refreshing the SW website about every 10 minutes.

I really didn't know they would convert unused meal credits into snacks either, we were just going to take the loss and go home, but she pretty much insisted that we get something to show for it, very awesome CM.

3 Cheers for VERY Awesome CMs!

We should try that again....." yes folks, foreshadowing in action....

Uh oh! More Disney Binge Eating Imminent!

I don't ever want to get tired of going to Disney, so leaving wanting more is ok by me.

I really love this philosophy. Really.

Thank you all so much for coming along on this journey with me,

It's been my pleasure!

December has been our favorite one yet,

Ohhh more foreshadowing. YAY!

 

[pkondz]

a.bun.dance
noun
a very large quantity of something
"the Disney Deluxe dining plan provides you with an abundance of face stuffing options"

a.bun.dance.

A rhythmic movement to music, typically following a set sequence of steps, accompanied by bread or bread products.

I swear it wasn't me! Now Bob on the other hand.........

I'd still give it a try if I were you, and I'd go again. Perhaps it was just an off day.

Okay. I'll keep it on the list.

we had many more "ups" than "downs" on this trip,

And that's all anyone ever really wants, isn't it?

I had dreamed of going to Disney World for a whole week since I was a kid and was really fortunate to tick that box on my bucket list.

This vacation taught me a ton about myself and that I don't need to plan every second of the day, that it's ok to wing it sometimes and that it's actually fun to make ADR's on the fly! I think it has changed my touring style quite a bit and I'm 100% ok with that.

I learned that too. And it's pretty freeing.

The DxDP.....would we do it again? At the time we came home our answer would have been no. It was really fun but it was honestly a lot of pressure to use all of those dining credits! I think because the trip was so long it got to be a chore to always have to stop what we were doing and eat. Now I am a huge fan of the dining plan, I just like to have everything "prepaid" and go, and I like not having to worry about how much things cost on the menu, I have a bad habit of looking at menu prices and . But as time passes sometimes we forget things and think " We should try that again....." yes folks, foreshadowing in action....

Huh! Didn't see that one coming.

The length of our trip, we were scheduled to stay for 8 nights, which to me was heaven, to Bob it was torture. He doesn't like to be away from the business for more than 5 days, so he was happy as a clam to have to come home a day early. So he has decided a 5 night trip is perfect for him, and honestly I think it's perfect for me too. I don't ever want to get tired of going to Disney, so leaving wanting more is ok by me. So unless I do a few days solo first, I think my week long Disney vaca days are over. For Now

Nice that you've found that happy medium.

Getting the annual pass, was it worth it? You bet your sweet bippy it was!!! We thought we were going to use it for just two trips, but that kinda doubled and I am getting 4 trips out of that sucker!!!

4! Nice!

Miles walked total - 51.4

Thank you all so much for coming along on this journey with me

Well, thanks for telling us about it!

Such a cute shot!

 

[cinderkelly]

I tried to relax a little more on my last trip and I enjoyed it more. It really is worth it to change the "commando" touring style a little.

I don't know if it's more of the fact that we have been a few times now so I don't feel the pressure of having to do everything on each trip, or age settling in, but either way I'm liking the more relaxed style of touring every now and then

We went for 10 days once and while it was a great trip, other than myself it was too long for everyone.

wow 10 days! of course that sounds ideal to me as well, but I'm afraid it would kill my DH

I may have said this earlier in your report but I agree with you on the Poly! I'd wanted to stay there for so long and I'm glad we did, but........didn't love it. Loved the space but not the decor.

I really wanted to love it there, and although it was nice it just wasn't "home" for me. I love trying out new resorts though and seeing which one fits us best. I think we may be getting close to finding "our" place

WOWZA that was a major nail biter! I remember being on my thread having a near meltdown over it and refreshing the SW website about every 10 minutes.

It sure was! Hopefully that is a once in a lifetime thing for both of us!

Uh oh! More Disney Binge Eating Imminent!

I think we may have figured to how to work the DxDP best for us, the only problem is that it's spoiling us!

A rhythmic movement to music, typically following a set sequence of steps, accompanied by bread or bread products.

good one

Okay. I'll keep it on the list.

I think every place can have an off day, and of course everyones outlook on what's awesome and what's just ok is so different. I've been learning myself that even if someone says a place was awful I should at least give it a chance to be good in my opinion.

Huh! Didn't see that one coming.

neither did we!

Such a cute shot!

Thanks! since I am the photo taker in my family I am always taking backside shots of everyone because I'm always lagging behind taking pics. So I have a lot of butt shots. We thought it would be fun to have the photo pass CM take a couple of butt shots for us while we were there on our own. the only park we didn't get one this trip was at AK

 

[pkondz]

I think every place can have an off day, and of course everyones outlook on what's awesome and what's just ok is so different.

Agree. If I listened to everyone, I never would've gone to Tony's.... twice.
Is the food great? Well... no, but it's fine and the ambience make up for a lot.

I've been learning myself

That's good! Introspection is always a good thing!

that even if someone says a place was awful I should at least give it a chance to be good in my opinion.

See above.

since I am the photo taker in my family I am always taking backside shots of everyone because I'm always lagging behind taking pics.

And I'm sure they appreciate it.

So I have a lot of butt shots.

Post 'em all! We'll have a "best tucus contest"!

We thought it would be fun to have the photo pass CM take a couple of butt shots for us while we were there on our own.

Great idea!

the only park we didn't get one this trip was at AK

So what I'm hearing is, you need another Disney trip.

 

[cinderkelly]

Hi guys! new trip report has been started, the link is below, it works but I don't know why it looks so weird. I'm going to try to fix it though. I know @pkondz has told me how to do the TR link in my signature before but I have CRS ( can't remember S*%$) and it was so long ago that I did a TR link @ariane37 you totally know what I'm talkin' about!!

meanwhile, until I get it looking so pretty and try to figure out how to change it's color, here it is!

EDIT- cool I got it looking right !!! yea me!

 

[ariane37]

Hi guys! new trip report has been started, the link is below, it works but I don't know why it looks so weird. I'm going to try to fix it though. I know @pkondz has told me how to do the TR link in my signature before but I have CRS ( can't remember S*%$) and it was so long ago that I did a TR link @ariane37 you totally know what I'm talkin' about!!

meanwhile, until I get it looking so pretty and try to figure out how to change it's color, here it is!

EDIT- cool I got it looking right !!! yea me!

Congratulations lol Now you need to tell me how to do it!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Such a sweet ending to a sweet trip! On my way over to your next one!