It's My Birthday & I'll Disney if I Wanna! ~ A Dec 2015 PTR - COMPLETE!

[SarahDisney]

I can't believe that waitress ... you definitely did the right thing talking to the manager. It's unacceptable and something needs to be done.

I may be crazy (or half-asleep), but ... I don't see The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh on your MK plans. Are you skipping it? Or did it just get left off somehow?

Our two BoG dinners took about 1.5 hours each. We tend to take it slow just because it's the end of the day, but I do think you will have a hard time making it to a 9pm MSEP. Is it possible that they'll add a second parade that you can then catch? (I can't remember if they had 2 MSEP in early December last year).

Also... I know you like the Carlton dance (who doesn't?), so I feel like I should tell you ... today is the 25th anniversary of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The Carlton dance has added so much joy to the last 25 years...

 

[Ladyfish77]

Sorry about the service issue. It's not fun to deal with and I'm not a complainer either, but I married one . He won't complain unless it's really bad, though--not like he does it all the time (but I'm glad he does it so I don't have to).

My DS would love those Lays potato chips. If you still have the bag, would you see if it has any MSG in the ingredients. He gets migraines from MSG and other preservatives. So I won't go hunting for them if he can't eat them.

Nice spreadsheet. I've done one for our trip, and I really like it!

Considering this is my first time ever doing TS dining, I would probably be at about 5% on the golden spoon challenge, so I won't even bother to look! I have free dining this time, though so we will finally be doing the TS meals!

Saw on another thread that you work at an ITT. We are retired military so we've used the ITT on many occasions. We appreciate you!

 

[Dentam]

We had dinner at 7pm at BOG tonight and didn't get out until 8:50pm. It was our first time there though so we spent the last 10 minutes or so taking photos in all the different rooms. It sounds like you might be cutting it close unless you plan to view the MSEP from a spot further down the parade route like someone else suggested.

 

[Elevationist]

I can't believe that waitress ... you definitely did the right thing talking to the manager. It's unacceptable and something needs to be done.

Yeah. I mean, I hope she didn't get fired or anything. (And I doubt she would be, unless this is a reoccurring problem with her, I'm sure.) But somebody needed to know the way she's blowing customers off!

I may be crazy (or half-asleep), but ... I don't see The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh on your MK plans. Are you skipping it? Or did it just get left off somehow?

Such a good eye you have, Sarah! That's one of the tweaks that was made and referred to in the update! I was debating it to begin with due it's twisty-turny nature in spots (as we all know, it was once called "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride," after all!) and how that would go over with my aunt's motion sickness. It's not a "must-do every trip" thing for me. Granted, she loves Pooh and Friends, but that's why I booked Crystal Palace for us later in the week. And then once I started rearranging things a bit, it just didn't fit anymore. So rather than stressing about it, I just CUT it.

Our two BoG dinners took about 1.5 hours each. We tend to take it slow just because it's the end of the day, but I do think you will have a hard time making it to a 9pm MSEP. Is it possible that they'll add a second parade that you can then catch? (I can't remember if they had 2 MSEP in early December last year).

Yeah, I think I made a big error in my planning judgement. If they added a 2nd MSEP, that would be ideal and solve this problem I've created for myself, but I'm not holding my breath. But the downside to that is that they're only going to add a second one if the parks seem like they are going to be crowded enough to justify it. And. Well. I like low crowds!

Also... I know you like the Carlton dance (who doesn't?), so I feel like I should tell you ... today is the 25th anniversary of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The Carlton dance has added so much joy to the last 25 years...

YAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

Sorry about the service issue. It's not fun to deal with and I'm not a complainer either, but I married one . He won't complain unless it's really bad, though--not like he does it all the time (but I'm glad he does it so I don't have to).

I'm like your husband. I'll complain, but it's gotta be pretty much deplorable before I'll do so.

My DS would love those Lays potato chips. If you still have the bag, would you see if it has any MSG in the ingredients. He gets migraines from MSG and other preservatives. So I won't go hunting for them if he can't eat them.

Ooooh, I'll try to remember to check when I get home! I still have half a bag left. (I rarely finish a full-size bag of chips by myself, I get bored with them before they're all gone.) I also struggle to finish a loaf of bread of a gallon of milk before they start to turn. #singlepeopleproblems

Nice spreadsheet. I've done one for our trip, and I really like it!

Excel is a Disney planner's best friend!

Considering this is my first time ever doing TS dining, I would probably be at about 5% on the golden spoon challenge, so I won't even bother to look! I have free dining this time, though so we will finally be doing the TS meals!

I really hope you LOVE each and every one of your TS meals! Me, I go to Disney to EAT!

Saw on another thread that you work at an ITT. We are retired military so we've used the ITT on many occasions. We appreciate you!

Awww! Thank you SO MUCH for this! But really, we appreciate you and your family's service even more!

We had dinner at 7pm at BOG tonight and didn't get out until 8:50pm. It was our first time there though so we spent the last 10 minutes or so taking photos in all the different rooms. It sounds like you might be cutting it close unless you plan to view the MSEP from a spot further down the parade route like someone else suggested.

Thank you for the feedback! I don't really care where we view the parade from, long as we see it and then can still maneuver into a spot somewhere on Main Street for Celebrate the Magic and Wishes. Which makes me wonder if I should re-think our FP plan for that day, and maybe cut something in favor of getting one for Wishes instead. That was we could bolt after dinner, grab the first spot we can for MSEP, then book it over to the Wishes FP area. I wonder if this would solve my problem? But what would I cut to make room? GAH!

 

[Steppesister]

The spreadsheets look fabulous- very much like mine, so naturally, I'd think and say that. No, really, they look thorough and in good order. Yeah, I think it might be pushing it for both BOG and MSEP. Dinner will take minimum and hour, but you want to get onto the parade route at least 1/2 hour before. I think it'll only be barely do-able.

Cracker Barrel has always given us mediocre service at best. I'm glad you said something! I think what happened was you got caught in the crossfire of her break. Bummer!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Went to dinner last night with my parents and grandparents at Cracker Barrel. The food was delicious, as usual, but the service was TERRIBLE. We only ever saw our waitress when she came to take our orders, and then once more when she came back with our food. My sweet tea glass sat empty for most of the meal, and the one time she did refill it (when she brought our food), she refilled it with the wrong kind. She never once came back to check on us. She even dropped the check off when she brought our food. Didn't wait, or ask if we wanted coffee or dessert, or anything. And the thing was, we DID want dessert!!! My mom and I wanted to split one of their seasonal fall desserts, this yummy-looking pumpkin custard with ginger snaps. So we waited... and waited... and waited...

It's funny we went to Cracker Barrel too this weekend! The nearest one is about 1.5 hours away so we only go when we're on road trips. I've taken 3 road trips this summer so I got to go many times. I was in heaven. This past labor day weekend we went to connecticut for some seafood and outlet shopping. It was fun! Oh and my sister was dying to try that pumpkin custard! The first time we stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way up, she ate too many biscuits and was too full to eat it. She vowed to get it on the way back. But the second time we went there, they ran out of it! Sucks.

I'm not normally a complainer... I've worked in customer & client service for close to 20 years. And trust me, I get that sometimes you have an off day, and it's a real struggle. I get it. I do. I'm the opposite of most people... I'm quick to compliment for good service, and less likely to complain... Unless it's REALLY bad. And lord knows I could never wait tables, I totally get what hard work it is. But this was ridiculous. So I found another server and explained what happened, and asked her to please find me a manager. She was so sweet and apologetic, even though it wasn't even her fault. Then she got the manager for me, and I very politely let him know what had happened. He apologized profusely and offered to comp us some desserts to go, but I declined, I told him I wasn't looking to get anything out of it, I just wanted him to know he had an employee that could use some refresher training. Because really. Just bad. Bad bad bad bad bad!

Sucks you had a bad server. Luckily Cracker Barrel seems to regularly have good service so hopefully this is the exception and not the norm.

In other news, I've been tinkering with my spreadsheets for this trip again. Who's surprised? Show of hands? Anybody? Anybody at all? Beuller? Beuller? They're small changes, but I thought I'd post them up. I trust ya'lls eyeballs more than my own, and maybe you'll see something that I've missed!

WEEK OVERVIEW

TOURING PLAN

Love the spreadsheets...mine looks almost exactly like it!

Also, am I being too ambitious by having a 7:30pm BoG dinner ADR, and still intending to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade at 9pm? Because both are MUST-DOs for my aunt.

It should be ok as long as you dont' mind having a view of the parade that is not smack in front. Also, you may have to wait for a picture with Beast - there was a short line when we had dinner there last year. Added maybe 15 minutes to our meal.

One last thing... I've been seeing people talking about these all over social media. I figured since all the cool kids are doing it, I'd give them a try...

...and much to my surprise, they're DELICIOUS.

I was the first one in my family to try all the new flavors! I'm a chip purist by nature so I tend to not eat so many flavored chips but I liked the Reuben one out of all of them.
Biscuits n Gravy were not bad either.

 

[Elevationist]

The spreadsheets look fabulous- very much like mine, so naturally, I'd think and say that. No, really, they look thorough and in good order.

Why thank you kindly! After I do my FP+, I'll debut the DAILY spreadsheets.

Yeah, I think it might be pushing it for both BOG and MSEP. Dinner will take minimum and hour, but you want to get onto the parade route at least 1/2 hour before. I think it'll only be barely do-able.

Yiiiiikes. Ugh, I fail!!! Okay, I gotta come up with a new plan, man.

Cracker Barrel has always given us mediocre service at best. I'm glad you said something! I think what happened was you got caught in the crossfire of her break. Bummer!

I think that's exactly what happened, too. I can honestly say though that is the first time I've ever had bad service at any Cracker Barrel anywhere. And my family loves Cracker Barrel, we go a lot.

It's funny we went to Cracker Barrel too this weekend! The nearest one is about 1.5 hours away so we only go when we're on road trips. I've taken 3 road trips this summer so I got to go many times. I was in heaven. This past labor day weekend we went to connecticut for some seafood and outlet shopping. It was fun! Oh and my sister was dying to try that pumpkin custard! The first time we stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way up, she ate too many biscuits and was too full to eat it. She vowed to get it on the way back. But the second time we went there, they ran out of it! Sucks.

Oh man. If they ran out of it, that means it was DELICIOUS. Dangit! Now I'm mad again!

Sucks you had a bad server. Luckily Cracker Barrel seems to regularly have good service so hopefully this is the exception and not the norm.

Yeah, in all the years I've been eating there, this is the first and only time we've had bad service there. I've lived relatively close to one for most of my life. But it was reeeeal bad.

Love the spreadsheets...mine looks almost exactly like it!

Then your spreadsheets must be AWESOME.

It should be ok as long as you dont' mind having a view of the parade that is not smack in front. Also, you may have to wait for a picture with Beast - there was a short line when we had dinner there last year. Added maybe 15 minutes to our meal.

Yeah, we definitely have to get a picture with Beast, my aunt is looking forward to that. And I want a good spot for MSEP and also for Wishes. Man, I really messed this one up! Time to make some tough decisions...

I was the first one in my family to try all the new flavors! I'm a chip purist by nature so I tend to not eat so many flavored chips but I liked the Reuben one out of all of them.
Biscuits n Gravy were not bad either.

I really want to try the Reuben one!!! Which is weird... because I don't even like reuben sandwiches.

 

[Wood Nymph]

December babies are the BEST!!!!

My birthday is in December, too.

If they added a 2nd MSEP, that would be ideal and solve this problem I've created for myself, but I'm not holding my breath.

MK gets pretty crowded on nights during December that don't have a Christmas party. People want to see the parade and Wishes and only have a few nights to do it. So it is likely that they will add a second MSEP but they might not add it until you are really close to your trip date. I would probably keep my 7:30pm BOG ADR, show up a little early and then tell the server that you would like to finish in time for the parade. That might help to get you out early.

Which makes me wonder if I should re-think our FP plan for that day, and maybe cut something in favor of getting one for Wishes instead.

We did the Wishes fp and I loved it. I looked at your fp plan and you could change Splash Mountain to Wishes. If the weather is chilly then your aunt and uncle might not want to get wet on Splash Mountain.

ETA: You could do Winnie the Pooh during the Christmas party. We found the kiddie rides to be something of a walk on during the Halloween party. Hopefully that would be the same during the Christmas party.

 

[Elevationist]

My DS would love those Lays potato chips. If you still have the bag, would you see if it has any MSG in the ingredients. He gets migraines from MSG and other preservatives. So I won't go hunting for them if he can't eat them.

So I checked when I got home last night, I didn't see MSG in the ingredients list!

My birthday is in December, too.

Hooray for December babies!

MK gets pretty crowded on nights during December that don't have a Christmas party. People want to see the parade and Wishes and only have a few nights to do it. So it is likely that they will add a second MSEP but they might not add it until you are really close to your trip date

Hmm. That might be okay, then. I normally prefer to watch the second presentation of any night time show, anyhow. So much easier to get a good spot. Definitely something to think about!

I would probably keep my 7:30pm BOG ADR, show up a little early and then tell the server that you would like to finish in time for the parade. That might help to get you out early.

I think this is my plan. I might even try to nab an ADR that's closer to 7pm. It'll mean cutting our mid-day break from 3 hours down to 2.5, but I think we can make it work. If my aunt & uncle want more rest time than that, they're welcome to head back to the resort ahead of me, and I'll stay and watched FoF solo, then head back myself. Yes. Okay. Breathing easier now.

We did the Wishes fp and I loved it. I looked at your fp plan and you could change Splash Mountain to Wishes. If the weather is chilly then your aunt and uncle might not want to get wet on Splash Mountain.

Yes, but BILLIE needs to do Splash Mountain. It's my favorite ride in the whole park! And when I agreed to let them come with me on this trip, I made a promise to myself to tailor some things around them as needed, but without giving up the things that are Must-Do's for me. It's MY birthday trip, after all!

ETA: You could do Winnie the Pooh during the Christmas party. We found the kiddie rides to be something of a walk on during the Halloween party. Hopefully that would be the same during the Christmas party.

Possibly! I really do think it's too twisty for my aunt, though. So it's just been downgraded to a "If we have time and if she think she can handle it" sort of thing.

 

[ariane37]

So after you mentioned only being at 25% for the "Golden Spoon", I went and looked for myself. We've eaten at 84 places listed so I thought we'd be at a fairly high percentage - we're only at 30% I guess we better get to eatin' lol!!!!

 

[ICanDis]

I'm a little late....but I'm following

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

I think you may be cutting it close on your BOG ressie IF you want the photo with the Beast. We missed the Halloween parade because of it last fall and we gave ourselves 1.5 hours for dinner.

 

[Elevationist]

So after you mentioned only being at 25% for the "Golden Spoon", I went and looked for myself. We've eaten at 84 places listed so I thought we'd be at a fairly high percentage - we're only at 30% I guess we better get to eatin' lol!!!!

You're still doing better than me at my sad little 25%!

I'm a little late....but I'm following

Hooray! Glad to have you here!

I think you may be cutting it close on your BOG ressie IF you want the photo with the Beast. We missed the Halloween parade because of it last fall and we gave ourselves 1.5 hours for dinner.

You're so right. I'm stalking the Disney website now in an effort to move our ADR back 30 minutes, around 7pm. Crossing my fingers that I can make it happen between now and the trip!

 

[Elevationist]

21 days until FP+!
81 days until WDW!
**************************************************

Hey, ya'll!

I hope everybody had a great weekend! Mine was short, because work's been crazy. I've been having to hold down the fort by myself a lot, and there's no reprieve for a couple more weeks yet. Gettin' some Overtime out of it though, so WOOOOOOO Disney money! And I have a nice little staycation planned for Oct. 7-13 (assuming it doesn't get cancelled like so many of my leave requests do), so I'm keepin' my eye on the prize, ya'll!

I just have a few little Disney trip updates to blather about this afternoon:

Universal Tickets
That's right, I have them in my hot little hands, ya'll! Well... Sorta. I have the email confirmation for picking them up at Will Call. So pretty much the same thing!

I can't remember how recently I've mentioned my Universal hook-up. I have a friend from elsewheres on the internets who happens to work for Universal Orlando's offices. When I was planning my Sept 2014 trip, he generously extended one of his Team Member comp passes to me, which was AWESOME of him to do! A couple weeks after I got home, I was talking with him about how my trip went, and telling the story of how my aunt and uncle had decided to join me on this year's adventure. And then I was completely shocked when he offered up comps for all three of us! At that point it was waaaaay too early for him to request them for December 2015, though. Well, the request window (3 months) opened this week, and he remembered, and kept his promise. Yesterday when I woke up, in my email inbox was the confirmation for three TM Complimentary 1-Day Park-to-Park passes, held at Will Call under my name, to be picked up on Dec. 5th, 2015. So between the three of us, he just saved us $450 bucks! Since I already have our WDW Park Hoppers and our MVMCP tickets, that was the last piece of park admission I've been waiting for! I have everything now!

Shopping
Soooooo I did some more trip shopping. Nothing crazy, I swear! A week or so ago, I ordered two pairs of capris, like I've been talking about. I love cooler weather! But as you all well know, yours truly, Princess No-Pants, absolutely hates... well... pants. So I figured capris would be a good compromise just in case the temps drop a little too cool even for me. So I ordered some soft cotton comfy ones, a pair in black and a pair khaki. I'm always nervous buying stuff online because you never know how they're going to fit... But these came in and I tried them on and they are PERFECT! So that was exciting! Crossed those off my list!

Encouraged by my successful purchase, I went back on Amazon last night, and bought more stuff. A pair of denim capris, 3 new bras, a pink t-shirt that was on sale, and a strap for my eyeglasses (normally I take them off for thrill rides, but I'm tired of seeing everything being blurry when I do, so I got a sport strap to keep them secured to my head).

Oh! And I bought myself this, should we have time to do Pick-A-Pearl in the Japan Pavilion...

The Be Our Guest and MSEP Conflict
Okay, so ya'll already know all about the dumb-dumb pickle I've gotten myself into regarding our dinner ADR at Be Our Guest, and not giving us enough time to get a good spot for MSEP.

Well, after reading all of ya'lls great feedback, I realized it's unavoidable... I'm going to have to get an earlier time for Be Our Guest. Which will mean having to leave the park for our afternoon break earlier. Which will mean missing the Festival of Fantasy parade. At least for my aunt and uncle, that's what it means. I may just forgo the break that day, and tough it out. Stay for FoF, have a little solo time, and tell them what time to be back at the bus stop at AoA in order to get back to MK in time for our earlier dinner ADR. (I'll decide how I'm feeling on the day of, and see how much sleep I was able to manage the night before, to determine if I stay for FoF or take the the resort break with them.)

But wait! I'm sure at this point you're probably thinking, "Billie, how on earth are you going to get an earlier BoG reservation this late in the game?" Well... I did just that this morning. I spent the weekend looking for one around 6:30pm (THAT should be enough time to get a good spot for MSEP, right?), and managed to snag up a 5:55pm for us. So a little earlier than I was looking for, but at this point, earlier is better than later. The good thing about the time is that it didn't force me to cancel my original 7:30pm ADR. So yes, I'm holding both at the moment. Don't judge me.

And don't worry, I'm going to release one or the other ASAP. But I need to wait and see how two things play out: (1) I'll continue searching, and see if I can get the 6:30-ish time slot that I really want, and also (2) See what happens with the MSEP schedule, and if they end up deciding to add a second showing after Wishes (which would totally solve all my problems). But it's a load of stress off my mind now, knowing that I at least have a Plan B in place!


Okay, that's all I have for now, ya'll! Just 3 more weeks until FastPass+ time, woo!

 

[deedee2177]

Yay for your friend coming through with Universal tickets...AWESOME!!!!

I'm glad the capris worked for you! I was able to pick up a couple pairs the other day..so yay!

Glad you were able to snag an earlier dinner at BOG...don't know how you did it, but good for you. I'm still trying to snag a lunch there on 11/16 (I've pretty much given up getting a dinner one there)

 

[cinderkelly]

Yea for Universal tickets!!!!! How awesome of your friend to do that for you! I'm totes jelly !

Very cool that you were able to snag an earlier BOG ADR! That should take some stress off! Even at the earlier time you can just enjoy a leisurely dinner and stake out the perfect spot for MSEP.

Love the Cinderella necklace! Beautiful! And I love it when clothes you order fit perfectly! Especially the dreaded pants!

Wow only 3 weeks until FP+ time!!! .

In other news I was bummed to read today the Osborne lights is going away after this year. I was hoping I'd get down there someday to see them in person. But with all the changes in store for DHS it's not a surprise. any news on your CP narrator yet???

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Yesterday when I woke up, in my email inbox was the confirmation for three TM Complimentary 1-Day Park-to-Park passes, held at Will Call under my name, to be picked up on Dec. 5th, 2015. So between the three of us, he just saved us $450 bucks!

Awesome!! What a good friend!

Oh! And I bought myself this, should we have time to do Pick-A-Pearl in the Japan Pavilion...

So pretty!! I think I was looking at the same one on Etsy. I want to get matching ones for me and my daughter!

Don't judge me.

No judgement here! I may or may not be holding 2 Ohana breakfast ADRs...

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

So between the three of us, he just saved us $450 bucks!

That's an awesome savings!

 

[DisneyJo]

Wow that's amazing about your Universal tickets, what a lovely thing for him to do

Yay on the capris fitting, I never buy online because of the fit so that's awesome.

Well done on getting an earlier BOG, I hope you get to know the party parade details soon!

 

[Wood Nymph]

That was really great of your friend to get you free tickets to Universal. You are lucky to have those kinds of connections.