So, we are going on a magical, 9-day Walt Disney World vacation. This will be Little Man's fifth "real" trip there. I don't even know how many times Big Daddy and I have been...between travelling there, living there and working there. We are "seasoned" pros. We have done it before, and we will do it again.
This time, I'm stressing out.
You see, I am not a planner. Big Daddy and I go to Walt Disney World in a "Cast Member" frame of mind. We take things leisurely. We don't stress out over FastPasses, we don't worry about getting the best seat for Fantasmic! (or the Main Street Electrical Parade or Illuminations: Reflections of Earth...you get the picture). We sleep in until we wake up...if a line is a little too long, we come back during a parade or show and hope it is shorter.
We have a "if we don't see it this time, there is always next time" attitude.
This time is a little different. I can't put my finger on it. I think it stems from dining reservations.
Yes. Dining reservations are stressing me out.
We are going when {it is rumored} that the "Free Dining" promotion will be ending. No, Disney has not officially released the dates...it is said that some Guests have been mailed those magical PIN Codes for free dining during the dates of our stay. I *think* I have also heard that the dates have been released for Disney Visa cardholders {I could be confused, all of the rumors and whatnot spread like wildfire on the Internet}. Whatever. That being said, Disney Dining fills up, and fills up fast...especially if the word "free" is involved.
I knew our 180-day window for making our dining reservations was approaching. I consulted
disneyworld.com for park hours and special events during out 8-night stay. I also had to take into considertaion that we have family and friends that we will want to see when we are there. The whole point of booking this trip at the time we did {at Christmas} was for a Family Reunion with Big Daddy's family. We have a 6-Day Park Hopper ticket to work with {I am secretly going to add a day to make it a 7-Day} so we can fit in friends and family on our "extra" days. We are also going to attend
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom. That is only running on certain nights of our stay, so I wanted to make sure no dining reservations conflicted with that.
I have never, ever "mapped out" our trip. Yes, I have made dining reservations. Yes, we have attended seperate, hard-ticket events such as MVMCP and Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Heck, I have even had to work around a Disney Fairy Tale Wedding and all that entailed. We are "go with the flow" kind of people, yet this trip I find myself working with park hours, shows and travel time {relying SOLEY on Disney Transportation}. I have not gotten to the point where I make a spreadsheet on Excel, but I have a legal pad and clipboard dedicated entirely to this trip. We are staying at the new
Art of Animation resort, in a Little Mermaid Standard room. I have no idea how we will make it from there, to say the Polynesian Resort for breakfast with Mickey and friends. It is not a straight shot.
{this is also the longest stay we have ever booked at a "Value" resort...we will see how that goes}
I set my alarm for 4:45 the morning that I could begin making our reservations. My body woke me up at 4:00. I fired up the laptop and began tapping away. Staying at a Walt Disney World resort, I was able to book 180+10 days in advance {180 days from our check-in date, and up to 10 days after that for our length-of-stay} Of course, so many choices were already booked...I didn't even
try Le Cellier Steakhouse in Epcot. Even
Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort was tough to get a decent time. What??? This was my 180th day, and things were being booked up
waaayyy past that. I was getting frustrated.
What is so magical about having to micro-manage my trip??? What is so magical about not getting a chance to eat someplace new??? I mean, we are a party of three, not twelve...we will even take a table in the corner, by the kitchen door, in the dark if we have to...just to experience something new.
I was able to get everything that I had "mapped out", but I went in knowing that places like Le Cellier and Chef Mickey's would be "bonus" if I could get in. Pretty much, everything will work with our "schedule". I was able to get some places we haven't been to, or haven't been to in a long time. I was able to come up with two options on most days, figuring we have a little while to make our decision...and will definitely cancel in plenty of time, given Disney's
Credit Card Guarantee policy.
Here is a quick rundown of the options we have for our trip...
Day 1 ~ (arrival time, unknown...no park that day)
T-Rex at 9:30 pm (
great time...and this is what I get booking on day 180?!?!?) or
Rainforest Cafe' in Downtown Disney at 5:00 or 7:00. We are leaning toward Rainforest Cafe', as that is what Little Man asked for. I am not sure what time to keep, since we don't know what time we will be arriving.
Day 2 ~ this one is up-in-the-air...we have breakfast reservations at
Tusker House at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The last couple of times we have been to WDW, we haven't even
set foot in DAK. I haven't been to Tusker House in years. I don't even know if Big Daddy has ever been. Little Man has never been. This would be good, since it is a character dining experience AND a buffet. We could finish breakfast then bang out the few things we would want to see at DAK then have the rest of the day to do whatever. We also have 5:40 dinner reservations to Chef Mickey's. The dinner there is tried-and-true for us. We are usually pleased with the offerings {I am a HUGE fan of the chicken tenders and Mickey-Roni-and-Cheese...on the kid's buffet} and we get to see the Fab 5. No brainer, it is popular. The advantage to this reservation is that Epcot is open until 12:30 am...after dinner, we could just hop the Monorail over and spend time over there. {did I mention, we are night owls and love, love, LOVE the late-night
Extra Magic Hours}
Day 3 ~ I made a 8:00 breakfast reservation to
1900 Park Fare at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. This is one for
me. Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland. Sign me up. I haven't been there for this breakfast in years. Years. {probably 15-ish years} I have had dinner there a few times since, but not breakfast. This is one of my favorites. We also have ressies at
Mama Melrose's at Disney-
MGM 's Hollywood Studios. This was an "add-on" in the event that the boys put their foot down to having breakfast with Mary and Alice.
Not gonna happen.
Day 4 ~ I pretty much decided {in my head} that this was going to be our Disney-
MGM 's Hollywood Studios Day. With my luck, everyone else in Central Florida will probably decide that as well. DHS is open until 11pm {again, LOVE those late-night EMH} so that means time for
Fantasmic! {which I can still recite from my Cast Member days} AND the
Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. I have made dinner reservations at both
50's Prime Time Cafe' (5:45) and
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater (7:05). Little Man is leaning toward Sci-Fi. He heard "movies" and "eat in a car" and was pretty much sold. We have to check the times for Fantasmic! and see what will work best.
Day 5 ~ Apparently I decided this would be a good day for Epcot, because I made reservations for
Via Napoli for both lunch (2pm) and dinner (4:30pm). I *think* my reasoning was that the Magic Kingdom would be open until 1am. We could play in Epcot, eat, then head over to MK for some EMH magic.
Day 6 ~ This is the evening we are going to MVMCP at the MK...so I made just one reservation to
Liberty Tree Tavern. I loved this restaurant when it was Character Dining. I understand the menu is pretty much the same, just sans characters.
Day 7 ~ I was kind of stumped on this one. I booked
'Ohana Best Friends Character Breakfast for 7:30 and the buffet in Germany at the Biergarten at 5:50 that evening. We have been to 'Ohana for breakfast {and dinner} and we really, REALLY liked it. As far as the Biergarten goes, Big Daddy has never been, I haven't been in YEARS, but Little Man went when my parents took him to WDW when he was five. It was apparently his favorite meal the whole time.
Day 8 ~ I actually have
three reservations this day.
Crystal Palace for breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and his friends. I actually loathe Pooh. The food is supposed to be some of the best breakfast food on property. This
is a buffet, so Big Daddy will be happy. Little Man loved dinner here when my parents took him. This is one that I could give or take. I have also made a reservation to
La Hacienda de San Angel for dinner at 4:15. I really just want a margarita. I love Mexican, and want to try this sit-down option {last time, we breezed through the pick-up window...and I got a margarita}. I have also made a dinner reservation to
Whispering Canyon Cafe' at the Wilderness Lodge resort. I think Big Daddy will like this one.
Day 9 ~ this is kind of our "bonus" day...if we have any sit-down credits left, we can use them at either
Whispering Canyon Cafe' for breakfast {provided we don't have dinner there the night before} or lunch at
Olivia's at Old Key West, which is our family favorite. I think it would be a nice way to "wind down" before we go home.
See what I mean about stressing out?!?!? I haven't even BOOKED our
Candlelight Dinner Package yet.
I am just going to let it roll...whatever happens will happen, and this is going to be a wonderful trip.
I hope.
Love to All.
