Mickey'sGirl
06-30-2011, 09:59 AM
Awesome cast of characters:
Me (Jennifer )
Brian (My partner in crime for 38 of my 42 years – CanadianWDWFan)
Harry (Just turned 13, is growing like a weed and is ALWAYS hungry)
Euan (7 years old and loves all things Disney, especially Mickey)
So, we weren’t going to go to Disneyworld this year. I was exhausted after our trip last May, a bit put off by the cost of EVERYTHING, and the lackluster food. I thought “Let’s rent a house on the beach and do NOTHING for 2 weeks”. It was a good plan, but knowing my family, that would be great for the first 8 hours, and then we would be chomping at the bit for something to see. So my dear husband said “What the hey? Let’s just go to Disneyworld”. I agreed. The boys need to top up their :bar: :bar:quotient anyhow. ;)
We originally booked ourselves into the All Star Sports (we really really like All Star Sports), but our DS13 has grown so much this year (He is over 6’2” going into this trip, and who knows where he’ll be by the time we come home?), we figure we need bigger beds. So an e-mail to Magical Journeys secured us a room with an Annual Pass Discount for 10 nights at Port Orleans French Quarter, where Queen sized beds are now the norm (Thanks Terrisue!). The other great thing about the French Quarter is that we can use our Tables in Wonderland card at the Food Court there!
We own points with Disney Vacation Club, so we are able to purchase Annual Passes at a discount, and when the price increases were announced at the beginning of June, I was all over that, and quickly called DVC to purchase our Annual Passes before the prices went up on the Sunday. We figure the savings on purchasing them before the price increase will cover the cost of our Tables in Wonderland Card. Fabulous! And since we are planning next year’s holiday to occur in July, our APs and the TinW card will still be active … even more savings!
Initially, we got out our schedule and made daily dining choices for our 11 days at the parks. We all put in our opinions, and at 180 days out, Brian called and arranged everything. No problem. Then we got to thinking … We don’t want to eat at all these overpriced, not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be restaurants. So at 90 days, we went back and cancelled all but a few. We kept Kouzzina (My DS13s favourite restaurant), Brown Derby (as part of the Fantasmic! Package. We all love the Brown Derby.), Biergarten (It’s fun, and DH is a German), The Grand Floridian (for the burger Harry and I have dreamt about for years) and Chef Mickey’s (DS7’s favourite place to see Mickey). We decided we will not pay inflated prices for mediocrity again this year. We figure we will visit some of our favourite Counter Service locations such as the Tangierine Café and Puck’s Express, as well as trying new places such as Bongo’s Cuban Café, where there is a take away window that serves empanadas for under $2 …. Perfect for the always hungry 13 year old! And if the mood strikes, we can try and make reservations when and if we care to when we are down there.
Then, at just 44 days away from our adventure, I asked Brian to find out how much it would cost us to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I figure if we aren’t spending as much in the restaurants as I have budgeted, then just maybe, we might be able to make a switch. As usual, Terrisue got us the best deal possible, and combining that with the money we will NOT be spending in Table Service eateries this year, my dear Brian changed our reservation, and WE WILL BE STAYING AT THE ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE! Yay! We were to have stayed there last year, but when Brian changed jobs, we had to change our holiday around, and we didn’t do it. So here we go!!
We will leave Toronto after dinner on the Friday, cross the border through Buffalo and hit Pittsburg before calling it a night, then get up and on the road early, and decide en route whether to go all the way, or stop again a couple of hours out from Disney. I think this is what we might do, because we all love stopping at the Visitor’s Center at the Florida border, and we will miss it if we travel through at night. The boys stock up on maps, and I stock up on free juice! So in all likelihood we will make a second stop on our way down (we usually only do one overnight, but what the hey? We’re on holiday!) and arrive at the Animal Kingdom Lodge around lunchtime on Sunday.
Our only real plans while we are down are to see Fantasmic! :smickey:(Which we haven’t seen since we were at Disneyland in 2008!), the boys want to ride the new Star Tours :trooper:(I don’t think my head or tummy will let me ride it), and to visit with friends of ours who live in the area, and others who will be visiting the parks at the same time we are. We are get up and go in the morning types who go back to the hotel during the day to swim and hang out. We then go back to a park at nighttime when it is cooler. The boys have spent over 100 days at the parks so far, so they are not hyper about getting to do this or running to see that. They understand that there will be another visit if we don’t get around to something this time. It’s a fabulous way to visit Disneyworld, and one of the reasons why we keep coming back!
So there you have it. We’re excited. Both Brian and I have countdown widgets on our phones, and Euan (who has MAD computing skills) keeps track in his head. Harry is simply thinking about dinner at Kouzzina’s. Just a few more weeks!!
Me (Jennifer )
Brian (My partner in crime for 38 of my 42 years – CanadianWDWFan)
Harry (Just turned 13, is growing like a weed and is ALWAYS hungry)
Euan (7 years old and loves all things Disney, especially Mickey)
So, we weren’t going to go to Disneyworld this year. I was exhausted after our trip last May, a bit put off by the cost of EVERYTHING, and the lackluster food. I thought “Let’s rent a house on the beach and do NOTHING for 2 weeks”. It was a good plan, but knowing my family, that would be great for the first 8 hours, and then we would be chomping at the bit for something to see. So my dear husband said “What the hey? Let’s just go to Disneyworld”. I agreed. The boys need to top up their :bar: :bar:quotient anyhow. ;)
We originally booked ourselves into the All Star Sports (we really really like All Star Sports), but our DS13 has grown so much this year (He is over 6’2” going into this trip, and who knows where he’ll be by the time we come home?), we figure we need bigger beds. So an e-mail to Magical Journeys secured us a room with an Annual Pass Discount for 10 nights at Port Orleans French Quarter, where Queen sized beds are now the norm (Thanks Terrisue!). The other great thing about the French Quarter is that we can use our Tables in Wonderland card at the Food Court there!
We own points with Disney Vacation Club, so we are able to purchase Annual Passes at a discount, and when the price increases were announced at the beginning of June, I was all over that, and quickly called DVC to purchase our Annual Passes before the prices went up on the Sunday. We figure the savings on purchasing them before the price increase will cover the cost of our Tables in Wonderland Card. Fabulous! And since we are planning next year’s holiday to occur in July, our APs and the TinW card will still be active … even more savings!
Initially, we got out our schedule and made daily dining choices for our 11 days at the parks. We all put in our opinions, and at 180 days out, Brian called and arranged everything. No problem. Then we got to thinking … We don’t want to eat at all these overpriced, not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be restaurants. So at 90 days, we went back and cancelled all but a few. We kept Kouzzina (My DS13s favourite restaurant), Brown Derby (as part of the Fantasmic! Package. We all love the Brown Derby.), Biergarten (It’s fun, and DH is a German), The Grand Floridian (for the burger Harry and I have dreamt about for years) and Chef Mickey’s (DS7’s favourite place to see Mickey). We decided we will not pay inflated prices for mediocrity again this year. We figure we will visit some of our favourite Counter Service locations such as the Tangierine Café and Puck’s Express, as well as trying new places such as Bongo’s Cuban Café, where there is a take away window that serves empanadas for under $2 …. Perfect for the always hungry 13 year old! And if the mood strikes, we can try and make reservations when and if we care to when we are down there.
Then, at just 44 days away from our adventure, I asked Brian to find out how much it would cost us to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I figure if we aren’t spending as much in the restaurants as I have budgeted, then just maybe, we might be able to make a switch. As usual, Terrisue got us the best deal possible, and combining that with the money we will NOT be spending in Table Service eateries this year, my dear Brian changed our reservation, and WE WILL BE STAYING AT THE ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE! Yay! We were to have stayed there last year, but when Brian changed jobs, we had to change our holiday around, and we didn’t do it. So here we go!!
We will leave Toronto after dinner on the Friday, cross the border through Buffalo and hit Pittsburg before calling it a night, then get up and on the road early, and decide en route whether to go all the way, or stop again a couple of hours out from Disney. I think this is what we might do, because we all love stopping at the Visitor’s Center at the Florida border, and we will miss it if we travel through at night. The boys stock up on maps, and I stock up on free juice! So in all likelihood we will make a second stop on our way down (we usually only do one overnight, but what the hey? We’re on holiday!) and arrive at the Animal Kingdom Lodge around lunchtime on Sunday.
Our only real plans while we are down are to see Fantasmic! :smickey:(Which we haven’t seen since we were at Disneyland in 2008!), the boys want to ride the new Star Tours :trooper:(I don’t think my head or tummy will let me ride it), and to visit with friends of ours who live in the area, and others who will be visiting the parks at the same time we are. We are get up and go in the morning types who go back to the hotel during the day to swim and hang out. We then go back to a park at nighttime when it is cooler. The boys have spent over 100 days at the parks so far, so they are not hyper about getting to do this or running to see that. They understand that there will be another visit if we don’t get around to something this time. It’s a fabulous way to visit Disneyworld, and one of the reasons why we keep coming back!
So there you have it. We’re excited. Both Brian and I have countdown widgets on our phones, and Euan (who has MAD computing skills) keeps track in his head. Harry is simply thinking about dinner at Kouzzina’s. Just a few more weeks!!