Flowers, gardens, Monkees, food, wine, MNSSHP and tae kwon do

[kangaand2roos]

Back when I had only one kid, I was really good at writing (and actually finishing) trip reports. Now that I have two, and a puppy, not so much! I have started and then not finished several. I am always mad at myself for not finishing, as I love to have a chronical of our trips to look back and remember. This time (actually these times) I look to all of you to keep me going.

A bit of history...my first WDW trip was in early 1972. I was 5. I have only a few specific memories from that trip. I loved the Jungle Cruise! I thought it was beyond cool to have a ghost ride with us on the Haunted Mansion! My dad told me I couldn't get a driver's license until I was 40 when I drove us into a train on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Eeyore was very nice and he's my favorite to this day. Pinocchio blew me off and I still don't really the little puppet.

We went several more times when we were kids, mostly accompanying my dad to Orlando on business. Usually we stayed at the 8 Days Lodge. I have very fond memories of those trips as we were accompanied by friends of the family, the Fergusons. (You hockey fans may know of the Fergusons. John sr. Played for the Montreal Canadiens and John jr. Is still in hockey management now) we loved the Fergusons! They lived in Canada and we were in Pennsylvania, so rarely saw them, so Fergusons+WDW=FUN!!

Once, we stayed at the Contemporary. That was awso
e, especially since Mom and Dad let us use the room cards to charge stuff! Awesome! We used them to watch Candleshoe at the movie theatre in the Comtemporary.

I went to WDW for my senior class trip. This was my first time at Epcot. I went once right out of college. This was my first time at the MGM Studios. In 1997 I won a contest at work and used the cash to take my little sister to WDW for a last hurrah before she started law school.

All in all, I estimate about 10 trips PK (pre kids.)

Up next: WDW, the WK (with kids) years.

 

[kangaand2roos]

In early 2003, when my daughter, Annika, was 10 weeks old we accompanied my DH, John, on a business trip to Orlando. This was followed by another a year later and several more that year. I thought that would be the end of frequent Disney trips as I was pregnant with my son, Charlie, and because John doesn't love Disney, I had been going to the parks alone with Annika, I figured it would be too hard with an infant and a toddler by myself. Then, days after my son was born, my mother passed away after a short struggle with lung cancer. The day after her funeral, my sister (6 months pregnant herself) found out that her house in LA had been red tagged because of landslides and she and her family had no home to return to. (this was eventually resolved, but understandably stressed all of us.) A week after that, I had to put my dog to sleep. In addition, my father wanted to trade homes with us and I had to pack up not one, but two homes. I was post surigal (c section,) post partum, worried about my sister and in mourning. John suggested that I take the kids and join him on his business trip to Orlando. Crazy or not, I jumped at the chance. If ever there was a time in my life that I need some Pixie Dust it was then. So with my four week old and two year old in tow I set off to the World.

It turned out to not be too hard to do WDW alone with two young kids, so more trips ensued. In 2008, we became DVC owners (Kidani) and I am currently planning trips in May an October. These will be my 7yo's 20th and 21st to WDW! (Charlie's 12th and 13th!)

I invite you to join us on our trips to the Flower and Garden Festival in May, and then to the Food and Wine Festival and Mnsshp in October!

Up next: meet the cast and learn a little bit more about our upcoming trips!

 

[TokyoDina]

Wow! That's a lot! I can't wait to find out your dates! We are going in the same month! I'm going from the 16th -- 21st of May staying at SoG. I can't wait! It'll be my 4th trip there and my DH's second.

 

[kangaand2roos]

Wow! That's a lot! I can't wait to find out your dates! We are going in the same month! I'm going from the 16th -- 21st of May staying at SoG. I can't wait! It'll be my 4th trip there and my DH's second.

Yea!! I have a subscriber!!


Welcome aboard!

 

[kangaand2roos]

So, I guess I should introduce the cast:

HI! I'm Stacey- I am a 43 YO SAHM and a self proclaimed Disney NUT! I've lost count, but I think I'm at around 33 or 34 trips to WDW. (4 to DLR) I love all things Disney and have thrust that love upon my children! As I said earlier, my favorite character is Eeyore, but I also love the Nemo Seagulls, the Toy Story Little Green Men, Chicken Little, Marie and many,many more!

John (DH-45)- John is the Yin to my Yang. His love for Disney...well...let's just say "not so much." He doesn't hat it, but he also doesn't GET it. He'' go to the parks once in a blue moon, but only really enjoys them because we do. The good thing is that he doesn't let his lack of love for the mouse deprive us! John will not be joining us in May, but in October he may come along and use Orlando as a home base to see other things in Florida while we whoop it up in the parks! I imagine he'll come into the parks once or twice, but not likely more than that. John likes Mickey and Donald the best.

Annika (DD-7)- Annika is my first born. She is a spitfire. Annika is one of the most single minded, strong willed kids I've ever met, but in a good way. I don't worry about her caving in to peer pressure because she lives as an individual, never mind what people think. Annika's first favorite Disney character was not a princess, or a cute, cuddly humanized animal, but Cruella De Vil! After the Cruella in the Stars and Motor Cars parade started to recognize and fuss over her each time we saw the parade (How many 3YO girls love Cruella?!) Annika said to me "Mommy, Cawewwa Da Vil isn't very nice.......But SHE'S NICE TO ME!!!" Currently her favorites are Stitch, Kim Possible and she finally found a princess she can respect...Tiana. Annika is very smart and loves art and science. She would like to be an Imangineer when she grows up!

Charlie (DS-5)- Charlie is my baby. He's my cuddly little man and quite a mama's boy. Charlie is a sweet, (mostly) well behaved little guy. His teachers love him and tell me that every teacher should have a Charlie in their class. He is also very smart, but because he is much quieter than his sister it is not as readily apparant. Charlie loves his big sister (though they fight like cats and dogs sometimes) and tends to like whoever she likes. His favorite characters are also Stitch and KP, but he also likes Star Wars and Pirates.

Stitch (DFB-that's Dear French Bulldog)- Stitch is almost 5 months old and he looks JUST LIKE STITCH (though he is brindle, not blue!) When we had had him for a few days, Annika said "Mommy, he IS kind of like an evil genetic experiment!) Stitch is a typical puppy...cute, sweet and BAD!!! He won't be joining us, but I am sure to refer to him throughout this PTR.

Also in our family are Honey, Miss Purr and Mr. Fur (our 3 cats); Liz and Spike (our 2 Leapard Geckos); and Moxie (my dad's black lab who we have when he travels which is more than half of the time!) They also won't be joining us.

I'm sure to mention other extended family members as we go along and I will introduce them as their names come up.

That's the cast...

Next up: How these trips came to be...

 

[kangaand2roos]

2009 was a Very Disney Year for our family. As I said earlier, we bought into DVC in August of 2008. When we bought in, we were given an extra set of "developer" points. We could use them only a SSR or Disneyland. My brother and sister live in LA and I try to visit once a year, so I used some of the points to book us at the Disneyland hotel for 3 nights in June. I planned to use the rest in august at SSR. Then the dates were announced for the annual pin trading event at Epcot and it was the weekend immediately following our California trip. Did I mention that the kids and I are huge Disney pin fans? We have over 3000 pins in our collections. Yes ... We love pins! So, I quickly adjusted and planned to fly from home to LA to Orlando to home. I also booked a trip over Thanksgiving at AKV, using our regular points. Then, in Jan I decided to take a short solo trip.
( it was great!) and I couldn't wait until June, so I took the kids for a week in March. I also threw in a solo trip in October to check out MNSSHP for future reference.

I will continue soon. I hVe to pick my dad up at the train station.

 

[kangaand2roos]

At some point we decided to tack on a 4 night cruise on the wonder following our Thanksgiving stay. So, in 2009 I had 2 WDW solo trips (both at Pop), a trip with the kidsin March (ASMo), a DLR trip, A stay at SSR in June, a stay at AKV over Thanksgiving, and a four night cruise.

John said "enough is enough already!" Next year, just use our points. You don't need to go 5 times! The crowds at WDW over Thanksgiving were atrocious. I vowed to never go at that time again! The long weekend I had taken over Halloween was great, with reasonable crowds, so as soon as my 11 month window opened, I booked 9 nights at AKV CONCIERGE!! I am so excited as I have never stayed Club Level at any WDW resort. We will be arriving at night on Oct 22 and staying until the 31st.

I was very happy with my plan until I started reading TR's again and then I got the itch! A couple of weeks ago I started looking into a spring trip for the kids and I. I researched which weeks looked to have the lowest crowds and I searched for good AP rates. I was able to get Pop Century for 8 nights at 40% off with my AP. I then asked DH, who took some convincing, but ultimately relented. I was going to drive, but John said he had 3 free flights that we could use, so here we are. May 1-9 at Pop Century and October 22-31 at AKV Club Level!

Up next: The planning

 

[kangaand2roos]

So, for now, I'll focus on the May trip as it is almost six months sooner than the October trip.

We will be flying to Orlando from Baltimore and arriving at MCO at 10:30ish in the morning on Saturday, May 1st. We will take Disney's Magical Express to Pop Century. Our return trip is at 6:30ish in the evening on Sunday the 9th.

I assured John that we would take it easy on the cost, so I am going to try using Garden Grocer for the first time. I am going to order some water, caffeine free diet Pepsi, some breakfast foods and some snacks. I can't completely deprive the kids of their favorite Disney food, Mickey waffles, so one or two mornings we will eat in the Pop food court, but otherwise we will eat cereal, poptarts, etc. for breakfast. I'm not going to go crazy. We're going to have our favorite Disney snacks and I might make an ADR or two, but we're going to mostly eat at counter service restaurants and have breakfast in the room. We're going to moderate our purchasing also. The kids are going to have their own money for souvenirs and I'm not going to buy a million pins.

As far as ADRs go, I'm not really sure yet. I was thinking about the Cape May Cafe for the clam bake because I have never done it before. I'm also considering Sci Fi Dine in (if we even go to DHS) because the kids love it and I love the Black and Blue salad (I think that's what it is called). The Plaza is another possibility because it is also a new one for us. Kona Cafe, Restaurant Marrakesh, Teppan Edo and Wolfgang Puck are other contenders.

Up next: What are our favorite counter service locations?

 

[TokyoDina]

Thanks! That's cool! I liked PetSmart okay. But it just got old after awhile.

Wow! You are going about two weeks before me! I can't wait to read the rest of the report!

I hope this year it's not a rainy week like it was last year!

 

[kangaand2roos]

I have some friends that were that rainy week last year. It sounded dreadful! Here's hoping to sunny and eighties!

 

[AuroraRose]

I'm in! My fiance (his favorite character us Eeyore too!) and I also bought into Kidani in '08, and us, plus the other 9 people we're dragging along with us, will be there from May 1-8! And I'm also hoping to go back Oct. 6-10 for part of our honeymoon! (First 3 days will be at DL)

We're going to be using Garden Grocer for this trip as well! I've already started putting stuff in my cart!

So, yes! Definitely in and waiting to hear more!

 

[kangaand2roos]

I'm in! My fiance (his favorite character us Eeyore too!) and I also bought into Kidani in '08, and us, plus the other 9 people we're dragging along with us, will be there from May 1-8! And I'm also hoping to go back Oct. 6-10 for part of our honeymoon! (First 3 days will be at DL)

We're going to be using Garden Grocer for this trip as well! I've already started putting stuff in my cart!

So, yes! Definitely in and waiting to hear more!

Welcome aboard!!

Congrats on your upcoming marriage! We're going on nine years and I've told John that I'm willing to renew for another ten, as long as he's nice.

Who are the other nine in your party? Family? Friends? Random people you met on Disney forums?

I to have already started filling my shopping cart. Even thought the prices are higher than I'd pay at home, I'm figuring that for what I'd likely spend on water for a week, I can cover most breakfasts, some snacks, water, soda, sunscreen, and a cooler! It seems to be a no brained. They don't seem to carry my favorite flavor of Pop Tarts though (chocolate fudge if anyone cares.) I wonder if you can make special requests? Anyone know?

Have you stayed a Kidani yet? We loved it. Because the parks were SO crowded over thanksgiving, we spent a lot more time at the resort than we usually do. It was great to just sit on the balcony an watch the animals walk by! Loved it! We'll be at Jambo House in October and I am interested to compare.

Going right from DLR to WDW is interesting. Comparing the rides that both resorts have is a lot of fun! WDW wins some. DLR wins some.

 

[kangaand2roos]

So, before I talk about where we'll likely eat CS meals, I thought I'd throw in a rough schedule (subject to change!) I tend to spend a lot of time planning to optimize our time, but we are very flexible when we are there, going with the flow when circumstances demand. It helps that the kids aren't so much into thrill rides yet (Annika likes them. Charlie doesn't) because it takes a lot of the more crowded rides off the table. So, for example, when we go to AK, instead of pushing to the front to be the first on Everest, the kids spend time with the CMs at the front of the parks with the creepy crawlies in the boxes. The kids love that and it makes for less hectic days. I use touringplans.com and tourguidemike.com to help plan our attack. That said, here is a rough outline of our intended plans:

Day one-Saturday, May 1:
Land at MCO at 10:30. DME to Pop. Check in, drop bags in the room if it is ready and head to Epcot. It is "I Dig Bugs" weekend, and...well...my kids dig bugs. If there are Soarin FPs left well grab some. I figure we'll hit Spaceship Earth (SSE) and some of the Future World East Attractions: Living With The Land, Nemo and our dear friend Figment, seeing the F&G Festival offerings I. That area before hitting World Showcase. The kids love Kim Possible, so I am sure missions will be completed as we explore the gardens of the world. I have lots of Epcot time scheduled, so I'll let the kids enjoy the special kids areas throughout the festival. I'm guessing we'll grab lunch at Sunshine Seasons and if we stay for dinner, well grab whatever is nearby in World Showcase. Maybe Yakitori or Lotus Blossom. I'm sure we won't make it to Illuminations. We have to leave home at 5:30 to get to the airport, so we'll head back to the resort, unpack, and get some sleep!

I'm going to break up this post because I'm using the iPhone and I'm afraid of losing the info before I get to post it.

 

[kangaand2roos]

Day 2- Sunday May 2:
We'll got to Epcot for rope-drop. Get FPs for Soarin' and then ride Ellen's Energy Adventure. Then we'll check out the festival center and see whatever Future World F&G exhibits we missed. We'll spend the remainder of the day in WS (with a hotel break if necessary.) Assuming we didn't make it to Illuminations the night before, we'll hit it this night. We'll pick a couple of World Showcase CS places for our meals.

Day 3-Monday May 3:
A full day at MK. We should be able to hit Fantasyland, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Tiki Room and Aladdin (if lines aren't too bad) in a reasonable amount of time. Then, we'll probably head to Pop for swim and rest and head back to MK for Spectromagic and Wishes (if we can stay up late enough!)

Day 4-Tuesday, May 4:
Today will be our first ever (for the kids, that is) visit to Typhoon Lagoon. If we're tired from the evening before, we'll sleep in. If we're up early, we might hop over to the Magic Kingdom and just enjoy the morning on Main Street USA for a little while and then head to TL. We usually don't make it more than a few hours at water parks, so we'll leave when we're ready and spend the remainder of the evening at Pop Century. Lunch will be at TL (any recommendations?) and dinner at Everything Pop.

 

[kangaand2roos]

Day 5-Wednesday May 5:
Blizzard Beach today! We have done this park and the kids live it! We'll be there at rope drop and head right for Teamboat Springs and do it a few times. Then we'll head to Runoff Rapids. I'm sure we'll spend some time at the Ski Patrol, Tykes Peak and Cross Country Creek. We'll have lunch here and head over to AK in time for the Jammin' Jungle Parade. Hopefully we'll be able to do the Safari too before it closes fo evening EMH. As I said, we don't really do thrill rides so during EMH we'll try to hit Festival of the Lion King, it's Tough To Be A Bug and Triceratops Spin. We'll probably eat at Flame Tree. Afterwards, back to Pop for swim and sleep.

Day 6-Thursday, May 6:
Animal Kingdom today. We'll do Kilimanjaro Safaris ( and get a Fastpass to ride again later.) Then, Pangani, Flughts of Fancy, Majarajah, (pick up FP for Kali here,) and Finding Nemo. Ride The safari again and ride Kali right before we leave. Lunch will likely be at Yak & Yeti CS or Pizzafari. We'll then return to the hotel for swim and rest and then spend the evening at DTD. I may try to get an ADR for Wolfgang Puck or T-Rex for this night.

 

[kangaand2roos]

Day 7-Friday, May 7:
Another Magic Kingdom day. Today we'll hit Tomorrowland, Goofy's Barnstormer and whatever we might have missed or want to repeat. I have no major agenda this day. This might be the day for an ADR at the Plaza or at Kona. Otherwise, Columbia Harbor House or Pecos Bill's.

Day 8-Saturday, May 8
Back to Epcot today. This is where the Monkee in the title comes into play as Davy Jones is performing in the Flower Power concert this night. My plans for the morning are Soarin' again and some time in Innoventions. We'll hit some World Showcase (and KP missions I imagine) before a hotel break (including the sad job of packing!) Then we'll head back to see Davy Jones and Illuminations.

Day 9-Sunday, May 9:
When I originally made my schedule, I thought we were flying home at 11:10, so I figured, breakfast and them DME. But, we had to change our flights and now probably won't have to meet DME until 3:30, so more park time!! You might have noticed that there was no DHS in the schedule. That is because our only must-do at this park is Toy Story Mania, and because TSM has become such a zoo, it doesn't seem worthwhile to blow a park morning here when there is so much we want to do more. So, now that we have this extra morning, it may be a DHS morning. OR, we might go to DHS the morning before for EMH, ride TSM and a couple of others and leave to Epcot. I'm kind of leaving this plan open.

So-that's my plan as it stands now. Any thoughts or comments?

 

[AuroraRose]

Welcome aboard!!

Congrats on your upcoming marriage! We're going on nine years and I've told John that I'm willing to renew for another ten, as long as he's nice.

Who are the other nine in your party? Family? Friends? Random people you met on Disney forums?

I to have already started filling my shopping cart. Even thought the prices are higher than I'd pay at home, I'm figuring that for what I'd likely spend on water for a week, I can cover most breakfasts, some snacks, water, soda, sunscreen, and a cooler! It seems to be a no brained. They don't seem to carry my favorite flavor of Pop Tarts though (chocolate fudge if anyone cares.) I wonder if you can make special requests? Anyone know?

Have you stayed a Kidani yet? We loved it. Because the parks were SO crowded over thanksgiving, we spent a lot more time at the resort than we usually do. It was great to just sit on the balcony an watch the animals walk by! Loved it! We'll be at Jambo House in October and I am interested to compare.

Going right from DLR to WDW is interesting. Comparing the rides that both resorts have is a lot of fun! WDW wins some. DLR wins some.

Haha, I tell Bill the same thing- he better be nice!

The other 9 in the party include his dad and his dad's girlfriend, my parents, my sister, her boyfriend, and their baby, and my best friend and her husband, who has become one of my fiance's best friends, so it worked out well! We've been going on Disney trips every year with them, for the past 3 years, and this will be our 4th! First two we went to DL, last year and this year it's WDW!

We figured it would be good, especially with the baby as we can have things like diapers and food sent to our room rather than having to worry about lugging it on the plane, especially with the baggage fees lately! That's how we saw it too, though, even though it's more than we'd normally pay, it's less than buying at the park, so it evens things out.

We haven't stayed at Kidani yet, last year we booked too late, so we were in SSR instead, which was very nice! I am really excited to stay at Kidani, though!

I love both parks, though DL is my home park. The only thing that stuck out for me so far was that I like POTC at DL better, but WDW has a lot of ground to cover and we mostly went on rides that DL doesn't have last year! What are some of your comparisons?

Enjoying your posts, though!

 

[TokyoDina]

Wow busy busy! I prefer the Lotus Blossom to eat at. I think the food is better.

You guys are way more organized than us. We just wing it when we get to the parks...but always take a leaisrue stroll. No need to rush anywhere. We try to hit all the "adult" rides we can but don't get too upset unless it's Indiana Jones' @ DL that we can't ride.

I can't wait to hear about your ADR~~!!!

 

[kangaand2roos]

Haha, I tell Bill the same thing- he better be nice!

The other 9 in the party include his dad and his dad's girlfriend, my parents, my sister, her boyfriend, and their baby, and my best friend and her husband, who has become one of my fiance's best friends, so it worked out well! We've been going on Disney trips every year with them, for the past 3 years, and this will be our 4th! First two we went to DL, last year and this year it's WDW!

We figured it would be good, especially with the baby as we can have things like diapers and food sent to our room rather than having to worry about lugging it on the plane, especially with the baggage fees lately! That's how we saw it too, though, even though it's more than we'd normally pay, it's less than buying at the park, so it evens things out.

We haven't stayed at Kidani yet, last year we booked too late, so we were in SSR instead, which was very nice! I am really excited to stay at Kidani, though!

I love both parks, though DL is my home park. The only thing that stuck out for me so far was that I like POTC at DL better, but WDW has a lot of ground to cover and we mostly went on rides that DL doesn't have last year! What are some of your comparisons?

Enjoying your posts, though!

You will LOVE Kidani! AKL&V is an amazing resort! Our only 2 complaints is that is kind of out of the way (not a really big deal, except that going to DTD feels like a cross country journey!) and The resort itself is sprawling! You might want to request a room near the lobby with the baby. We were in the second to furthest room and it was a LONG hike! The good part is that we were at the end near Jambo House and it was not a dreadful walk to get over there to The Mara, so we didnn't have to bus there, but it was a LONG walk anywhere!

The most notable difference between the rides at the two resorts is definitely between the two Pirates rides. Yours is MUCH better than ours! The themeing in the queue for our Toy Story Mania is way better, and since you stand in line A LOT for that ride, that's pretty important! I like our Splash and Peter Pan better, your Buzz is better and you Small World is a lot better with the new additions! The kids weren't big enough to ride Grizzely River Run, but it looks better than Kali River Rapids.

Have you done Disney with a baby before? I logged many "baby at Disney" days when the kids were young and if this is new to you (them) I can offer some tips.

Wow busy busy! I prefer the Lotus Blossom to eat at. I think the food is better.

You guys are way more organized than us. We just wing it when we get to the parks...but always take a leaisrue stroll. No need to rush anywhere. We try to hit all the "adult" rides we can but don't get too upset unless it's Indiana Jones' @ DL that we can't ride.

I can't wait to hear about your ADR~~!!!

For me, planning is half of the fun. I plan for months before the trip and write a TR when I get home. It makes the trip seem much longer! The problem is that I'm getting too good at it. What used to take days now takes hours, so I have to invent things to plan!

But, as I said, I have a plan in place, but will wing it when necessary or even preferable. I've got two little kids, so having a plan is useful to keep things moving and avoid fights. By the same token, it is important with kids to have some flexibility. WHen they se something they REALLY want to do, sometimes "That is scheduled for Wednesday" just doesn't work!

I'm still not sure about ADR's. I've eaten in most of the TS restaurants, and most of the ones I haven't tried are Signiture dining, and those really aren't the places I want to go with the kids!

I'm going to upload some photos to photobucket later and try to post some photos of the clan!

 

[kangaand2roos]

Here are the promised photos of our clan. I'll start with some from our most recent Disney trip in November.

Since John is in hardly any of them I'll start with one including him...

This is us on the bridge between the UK and France the day after Thanksgiving:

Our only character photo from MVMCP because we were too busy doing other things. This is a cool one though as it is only the second time we have seen her:

The kids and their favorite guy:

A new career for Charlie?

I'm going to post now and put some more in a new post so I can see if I'm posting photos correctly.