*****OFFICIAL July 2012 Thread! Feelin' HOT HOT HOT!

[bangzoom6877]

Hi everyone! I haven't been on the DIS much recently, but wanted to stop in for a hello! I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays, our week has been very nice at home with the boys, and our trip is just over 3 months away! Getting very excited!

I changed a couple of our ADRs. I cancelled the extra Sci-Fi lunch at DHS on July 28th, and I also cancelled Rose & Crown dinner on July 27th. We now have the following ADRs:

7/27/12: Via Napoli 5:45pm
7/28/12: Hollywood & Vine 11am

Recently the boys started watching the Disney Junior channel on TV, and they love Handy Manny, and Jake. My little guy also adores the Little Einsteins, and both occasioanlly watch Oso. I left it up to them. I told them about the character lunch at H&V and they were thrilled! I would rather have gone for the breakfast, but we are going to DHS on an EMH morning, and so we will have breakfast in the villa and go for an early lunch. They will be hungry by 11am for sure, after 3 hours of touring.

For Epcot on the 27th, I was having some reservations about Rose & Crown from the beginning. I am into fish & chips (ate it 6 times in 7 days spent in London when I was in college!), but DH is not and there is not much else on the menu that I think would really wow him. I spoke with a colleague who went to WDW over Thanksgiving weekend 2011, and ate at both Tutto Italia and Via Napoli. She is Italian, she has lived in Italy, her dad was born in Italy (he was at WDW with her), and I know that they have fantastic taste in food. She said that Tutto Italia was excellent, but that she would recommend Via Napoli slightly more because she thought it was slightly better than Tutto. She said the pizza was fantastic (and she is as picky about pizza as I am...Brooklyn girls! ), the kids would love it, and the service was wonderful. I always say that we don't usually do Italian on vacation because we have great restaurants at home and I cook it a lot, but this sounds like the right time and place to "take the plunge" and enjoy! Plus, I can speak Italian with the server which will be a great experience for the kids!

So, I am hoping that this is it as far as changing ADRs...but with me you never know! Thank goodness DH leaves it up to me...it makes his life less frustrating, and he always enjoys himself anyway!

 

[Marshay]

I saw those on Amazon, but there were no reviews and I was hesitant to buy it. Thats looks like it would work the best. I want to be able to pack light for the parks, so this might work good.

I saw those too, but thought it might be a little too much. Looks neat too.

Hey, I actually gave some of those to my grandmother a few years ago. I wonder if she still has them....hmmmm. I'll have to ask her because those would be a nice happy medium. Thanks for that!

I think if you like mist on your face/arms, then you'll find those personal misters to be good. Combine with the neck wrap and you are set. Of course, having a good hat and/or sunglasses will help, too.

I love the Frogg Toggs! They are great for the summer months. Everyone in our family has a different color. The kids especially love them.

I would have my youngest sit on a Frogg Togg while in the stroller to help keep her from overheating. Those strollers can get hot!

They would also put one over their entire head if they forget their hat that day.

I also have a cloth hat that I use and will dunk the whole hat in water and then wear it. That helps a lot too!

Another question from this little PIA:

How are the bugs in July? Like mosquitos etc? Should I bring bug spray?

Depends where you are staying. Ft. Wilderness? You might want to bring a small can along.

Otherwise, I say you probably don't really need it.

Hi everyone! I haven't been on the DIS much recently, but wanted to stop in for a hello! I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays, our week has been very nice at home with the boys, and our trip is just over 3 months away! Getting very excited!

I changed a couple of our ADRs. I cancelled the extra Sci-Fi lunch at DHS on July 28th, and I also cancelled Rose & Crown dinner on July 27th. We now have the following ADRs:

7/27/12: Via Napoli 5:45pm
7/28/12: Hollywood & Vine 11am

Recently the boys started watching the Disney Junior channel on TV, and they love Handy Manny, and Jake. My little guy also adores the Little Einsteins, and both occasioanlly watch Oso. I left it up to them. I told them about the character lunch at H&V and they were thrilled! I would rather have gone for the breakfast, but we are going to DHS on an EMH morning, and so we will have breakfast in the villa and go for an early lunch. They will be hungry by 11am for sure, after 3 hours of touring.

For Epcot on the 27th, I was having some reservations about Rose & Crown from the beginning. I am into fish & chips (ate it 6 times in 7 days spent in London when I was in college!), but DH is not and there is not much else on the menu that I think would really wow him. I spoke with a colleague who went to WDW over Thanksgiving weekend 2011, and ate at both Tutto Italia and Via Napoli. She is Italian, she has lived in Italy, her dad was born in Italy (he was at WDW with her), and I know that they have fantastic taste in food. She said that Tutto Italia was excellent, but that she would recommend Via Napoli slightly more because she thought it was slightly better than Tutto. She said the pizza was fantastic (and she is as picky about pizza as I am...Brooklyn girls! ), the kids would love it, and the service was wonderful. I always say that we don't usually do Italian on vacation because we have great restaurants at home and I cook it a lot, but this sounds like the right time and place to "take the plunge" and enjoy! Plus, I can speak Italian with the server which will be a great experience for the kids!

So, I am hoping that this is it as far as changing ADRs...but with me you never know! Thank goodness DH leaves it up to me...it makes his life less frustrating, and he always enjoys himself anyway!

Can't wait to hear how you like Via Napoli. We haven't done either Italian restaurant yet, b/c like you, I figure we can get that anytime. The pizza and pasta have to be something exceptional.

My family loves H&V. I know it gets a bad reputation ... but the enjoyment for us is that we think it's the best Character Interaction. We've done lunch twice and breakfast once in our last 3 trips.

We enjoyed all of our meals .. however, we liked our Breakfast a bit more and here is why:

H&V is a very active, get up every 15 minutes and dance and move around and conga and dance some more. They play all the theme music songs and other songs from the shows and your kids (and you) will find yourself singing and bouncing along.

I consider this meal an "interactive meal". It's not like Chef Mickey's, where they just come to your table and it's much more than O'hana/Whispering Canyon/Crystal Palace where they have coconut or pony races or just a conga line.

If your kids are tired out from 3 hours of rides, they may not be in the best of moods for H&V, just b/c they are tired. And after eating here, they WILL be tired -- mentally and physically.

It can be very loud in there due to the acoustics and if you all are tired out from the parks, it can be annoyingly loud.

In January we did HS EMH and got FP for TSMM, rode standby TSMM, rode RNR 2x, ToT, walked around checking out statues and got FP for ST, and then went to our 9:35am ADR. The restaurant was empty (now it was January, but also, it's not a time that most people want to eat) and all the characters came to our table at least 3 times...some more!! Plus all the dancing and dancing and dancing.

We had so much fun we just stayed -- left over 1.5 hours later. We NEVER take that long to eat but the girls were having a blast, and so were we, so we said, why not just enjoy it!

My girls aren't that into Handy Manny or Special Agent Oso, but at the park it was like they were best friends! (My girls were nearly 3 adn 6.5 yo).

Also, breakfast is cheaper than lunch and it's hard to go wrong with waffles, bacon, eggs, fruit, etc.

Afterwards, we used our ST FP and did the Great Movie Ride and were back to the room for naps by noon ... but my girls thought it was the best morning ever!

Lunch is good too. Just basic food but we've always found plenty to eat and they have the make your own ice cream sundaes for dessert which my girls and I love. Also, they have really good chocolate mousse.

Either way, have fun! The food is basic but the characters are outstanding!

 

[pumpkinfish]

I would love to do a Solo trip, but my son would "kill" me!

Lol well my DH is slightly jealous, but the only reason I'm going is I can't make the California trip he is taking to visit his family. So instead I get away for the weekend without being too sad I can't make the Cali. trip.

 

[Angies1274]

Hi Everyone!! Joining in!! We're going July 10-July 16 and staying at Pop Century. We're so happy to be going back!! This will be our first time going in July so I'm a little nervous but still very excited! Can't wait!

 

[RHMH]

Hi Everyone!! Joining in!! We're going July 10-July 16 and staying at Pop Century. We're so happy to be going back!! This will be our first time going in July so I'm a little nervous but still very excited! Can't wait!

Welcome July Diser. We go every July, it's a lttle crowded by very managable. Have a great WDW vacation. We will be there July 14th through July 21st.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Can't wait to hear how you like Via Napoli. We haven't done either Italian restaurant yet, b/c like you, I figure we can get that anytime. The pizza and pasta have to be something exceptional.

My family loves H&V. I know it gets a bad reputation ... but the enjoyment for us is that we think it's the best Character Interaction. We've done lunch twice and breakfast once in our last 3 trips.

We enjoyed all of our meals .. however, we liked our Breakfast a bit more and here is why:

H&V is a very active, get up every 15 minutes and dance and move around and conga and dance some more. They play all the theme music songs and other songs from the shows and your kids (and you) will find yourself singing and bouncing along.

I consider this meal an "interactive meal". It's not like Chef Mickey's, where they just come to your table and it's much more than O'hana/Whispering Canyon/Crystal Palace where they have coconut or pony races or just a conga line.

If your kids are tired out from 3 hours of rides, they may not be in the best of moods for H&V, just b/c they are tired. And after eating here, they WILL be tired -- mentally and physically.

It can be very loud in there due to the acoustics and if you all are tired out from the parks, it can be annoyingly loud.

In January we did HS EMH and got FP for TSMM, rode standby TSMM, rode RNR 2x, ToT, walked around checking out statues and got FP for ST, and then went to our 9:35am ADR. The restaurant was empty (now it was January, but also, it's not a time that most people want to eat) and all the characters came to our table at least 3 times...some more!! Plus all the dancing and dancing and dancing.

We had so much fun we just stayed -- left over 1.5 hours later. We NEVER take that long to eat but the girls were having a blast, and so were we, so we said, why not just enjoy it!

My girls aren't that into Handy Manny or Special Agent Oso, but at the park it was like they were best friends! (My girls were nearly 3 adn 6.5 yo).

Also, breakfast is cheaper than lunch and it's hard to go wrong with waffles, bacon, eggs, fruit, etc.

Afterwards, we used our ST FP and did the Great Movie Ride and were back to the room for naps by noon ... but my girls thought it was the best morning ever!

Lunch is good too. Just basic food but we've always found plenty to eat and they have the make your own ice cream sundaes for dessert which my girls and I love. Also, they have really good chocolate mousse.

Either way, have fun! The food is basic but the characters are outstanding!

Thanks for the info! I remember how interactive and fun H&V is, from our 2008 trip. Back then, DHS didn't have an EMH morning during our trip (it was only 5 nights), so we did the H&V breakfast at 8am before the park opened. It was Little Einsteins and Jojo & Goliath. My boys were 14 months old, and 3 and a half years old at the time. It was our first WDW trip as a family. My little guy was not walking on his own yet, but he enjoyed when the characters came to the table. My big one LOVED it! He was dancing every time they played a song and I was right up there with him. It was a great time! I thought he would be too tired to tour the park for too long, but he was just fine! We spent 2 and a half hours touring, then stopped for a bite to eat. Then, DH's fastpass time was up for ToT, and so I took the boys (in the double stroller) and sat in a nice shaded spot to wait for DH. I saw a dark cloud and heard some thunder...uh-oh! I quickly walked over to some of the shops, and went into one of them. Shortly after I got there, it started coming down. The store got more and more crowded. I was looking around, showing the boys various things in the store. Then, both of them fell asleep. We were stuck inside there for about 45 minutes, so it was good they fell asleep!

DH and I kept texting each other, because a few minutes after the rain started, he was already finished riding ToT! When it was finally just lightly raining, DH made a run for it and met us at the store. We waited about 10 more minutes because it started coming down harder again. Then, it was much better so we decided to make a run for it and head out of the park. We went back to the resort. The kids were fine because they slept through a lot of it! It actually kept raining that evening too. I remember leaving a couple of hours later to go to dinner at 1900 Park Fare at the GF, and it was raining pretty hard again. We still had fun!

Anyway, we loved the breakfast at H&V. I'm sure the lunch food is just fine. If I can put together some salads and have some ice cream, I'm a happy camper! The kids will be fine too, they always cater to kids at character meals! And DH is not that picky and I'm sure he will like it.

As for Via Napoli, I figured we will take the plunge and try it...it is one meal of many on a 10-night trip, and if we do enjoy it, then we will have found another great place to return to! If we aren't into it, we just won't go back on future trips. I have a good feeling about it though!

 

[nancy155]

We haven't stayed there before so I'm hoping we like it. We've stayed off-site at Vacation Village at Parkway, Celebration World, and Wyndham Cyrpess Palms. Vacation Village was nice but not at all exciting Celebration World needed renovation. Wyndham Cypress Palms was the nicest but the pool was boring too (according to my kids )

Oh yeah, we also stayed at Orange Lake with my mom. It was nice but huge. If you don't mind driving to the pool/lazy river it's not bad. The room was nice (actually a 2 bedroom, sleeps 8 I think).

Good luck!

I agree with Orange lake, we stayed there once and it is TOO big for us. We have also stayed at Vacation Village at Parkway and nice but not much to write home about.. We are staying at Wynhdam Bonnett Creek in July and wanted to go back in November, but they have no availiability so looking at Silver Lake. Thanks! I will keep searching for some reviews.
Have a GREAT trip!

 

[anjalee6]

I changed a couple of our ADRs. I cancelled the extra Sci-Fi lunch at DHS on July 28th, and I also cancelled Rose & Crown dinner on July 27th. We now have the following ADRs:

7/27/12: Via Napoli 5:45pm
7/28/12: Hollywood & Vine 11am

I changed your ADRs on the list. It was easy. The lists are now located here. Makes updating them so much easier. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2906818

I would have my youngest sit on a Frogg Togg while in the stroller to help keep her from overheating. Those strollers can get hot!

They would also put one over their entire head if they forget their hat that day.

Yeah! We do that too, but I usually put it against the back of the sheet and then the kids lift up their shirts in the back and it makes them nice and cool.

Hi Everyone!! Joining in!! We're going July 10-July 16 and staying at Pop Century. We're so happy to be going back!! This will be our first time going in July so I'm a little nervous but still very excited! Can't wait!

:Welcome: I added you to the resort list on the thread listed below. All the lists are updated there, but we chat here.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2906818

Welcome July Diser. We go every July, it's a lttle crowded by very managable. Have a great WDW vacation. We will be there July 14th through July 21st.

Just wanted you to know about the resort list and adr list thread since it was getting buried here. We are still talking here but listing things there and there is some talking there also.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2906818

 

[RHMH]

Just wanted you to know about the resort list and adr list thread since it was getting buried here. We are still talking here but listing things there and there is some talking there also.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2906818[/quote]

Thanks for taking the time to create the new thread. Looks great !!

 

[anjalee6]

Thanks for taking the time to create the new thread. Looks great !!

Thanks! . Have a good weekend!

 

[miami305]

Hello all!

DH earned a surprise trip through his employer. I've always laughed at people crazy enough to go to WDW in July and now I will be one of them.
Can't wait to join the Summer Sizzle crowd!

 

[anjalee6]

Hello all!

DH earned a surprise trip through his employer. I've always laughed at people crazy enough to go to WDW in July and now I will be one of them.
Can't wait to join the Summer Sizzle crowd!

we have a thread for posting our ADRs and resorts with dates if you are interested. We love summer time. Here is the resort thread link.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2906818

 

[pumpkinfish]

Are there any July/summer months vets who can give tips to having the ideal touring game plan? I was thinking of doing late EMH @ MK on July 27, early DH'S and then lunch at Epcot on July 28, and then MK first thing on July 29 before I fly home that evening. I can handle heat and I can handle crowds...I just need to know what to expect. 101 days I think

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Are there any July/summer months vets who can give tips to having the ideal touring game plan? I was thinking of doing late EMH @ MK on July 27, early DH'S and then lunch at Epcot on July 28, and then MK first thing on July 29 before I fly home that evening. I can handle heat and I can handle crowds...I just need to know what to expect. 101 days I think

It's been our experience for late nights in mid/late July that you can pretty much walk on everything. One of the last attractions we did one summer around 2:50am was Mickey's Philharmagic. It was a theater of ten or so and four of them were us.

So crowds are minimal.

 

[MVC1225]

Just decided to go for an impromptu trip from July 25-July 29. I am born and raised in Miami but it has been YEARS since I have gone in the summer. We just upgraded from a seasonal annual pass to the regular annual pass so decided to take advantage and go in the summer.

Since we are going "on a budget" and we are splurging with Deluxe Dining for our May and September trips, we are staying offsite and only have one ADR at Via Napoli which we have never tried before.

 

[java]

Yippee! Add me to the list! We are going to AoA July1-7! *First time value stayers. Hoping we like it! Nemo room here we come.

I have not made a single dining reservation yet. I can't get it together since we just decided to go. I better get on it!

 

[newtexan]

Those are our dates also, July 1-7.
Going to be crazy and hot. We have three families going, impossible to make adrs that please everyone. So i just made them and if they dont want to eat there, they can have good luck finding a place to get into!

 

[rz54k0]

Hi all. I am new posting to this site but have be looking for years. I am going WDW with my DH and DD from July 3 to July 10. We will be staying off site at Hilton Bonnett Creek. Have a few adrs. 7/3 dinner at Ohana, 7/7 dinner at 1900 Park and 7/9 dinner at LeCellier.

 

[pumpkinfish]

It's been our experience for late nights in mid/late July that you can pretty much walk on everything. One of the last attractions we did one summer around 2:50am was Mickey's Philharmagic. It was a theater of ten or so and four of them were us.

So crowds are minimal.

Thank you so much for that. I think I'll abandon my Vegas style touring and head out early both mornings, come back to the resort at 11/12 and swim, then go back out at night.

 

[Princess Row]

Hello!!

We just booked July 3-6th at AKL with Safari view!
Doing three days in the parks and then boarding the Disney Fantasy on the seventh!!
My boyfriend is coming along with my family.
It will be our second trip to WDW, we are Disneyland go'ers all the time, and DBF's first trip EVER to WDW!