The Pick up the Kid and see summer out with a bang trip - Pre trip report
About This Page: This is a discussion on The Pick up the Kid and see summer out with a bang trip - Pre trip report within the Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports, part of the PassPorter Community - Message Boards and Forums; The Cast: TheGoof – 17th trip Disneyphile’s Wife – 12th trip MaxGoof (11) – 13th trip Grandpa – 4th trip Grandma – 4th trip ...

TheGoof · 08-17-2006, 05:01 PM

The Cast:
TheGoof – 17th trip
Disneyphile’s Wife – 12th trip
MaxGoof (11) – 13th trip
Grandpa – 4th trip
Grandma – 4th trip

Planning for this trip began sometime in early 2006. We had planned on using frequent flyer miles and taking a two week vacation this summer to the west coast. Our intention had been to start in San Diego, spend a day or two and then start heading up the coast, to various locations (of course Anaheim would have been one of them.)

This plan had to be put on hold, as we instead had the opportunity to buy a home. Since we had been renting the house we lived in for the past 6 years, this was a far more important expenditure then our West Coast trip and that dream has been put away to be revisited for next summer.

With that determined and the successful conclusion of our home purchase in March we had resigned ourselves to a year without a major vacation. Since last year we had a glut of vacations including two full weeks at Disney and a non-Disney cruise, we were quite content.

While all of this was going on, my parents had put their house on the market. Dad had been out of work for a while and had finally decided to just retire. Mom had to have knee replacement surgery in April, so once that was done they would be in a position for Mom to retire as well, and they wanted to move to Fort Myers, Florida to be near Mom’s twin sister and her husband.

They finally sold their house, closing on May 24th. Now MaxGoof spends his summers at a YMCA day camp. Two week sessions at the Y camp, when you added in before and after care came to about $900. Mom and Dad wanted Max to come spend some time with them, but they were not sure exactly when they would have their own home, since they had not yet purchased one in Florida.

So we made some tentative plans, and I only signed Max up for camp through August 4th, deciding we should wait and see what happened with Mom and Dad finding a home.

Right before Father’s day, Mom was cleared for travel, having successfully completed her rehab sessions from her knee replacement surgery. So after having a great sendoff picnic at our new home on Father’s day, with family and friends, Mom and Dad hopped in their car the next day, Monday. Tuesday, they arrived in Fort Myers, at my Aunt’s home, where they would stay while searching for their new home. Wednesday they went house hunting. Thursday they made an offer on a brand new vacant home 14 houses down from my Aunt’s house, Friday they had a signed contract. Two weeks later on July 7th, they were the proud owners of their new home!
It was settled; Max could come and spend August with his Grandparents. This would save us about $1800 on camp, but netting airfare at $99 each way per person, I had to make the trip twice, it really saved about $1200.

Max and I had made a number of Father / Son trips, so I started thinking that I would take Max for a couple of days on one side of the time or the other. We could certainly do so with the savings, and Disneyphile’s Wife has never begrudged Max and I going, and would definitely not since we were so close.

Then Disney came out with Free Dining. We looked and originally I booked 5 nights/6 days for the three of us at one of the All Stars. Disneyphile’s Wife, although she is “Disney’ed out” decided that she would like to come see Mom and Dad’s new house, and since her son was going to be away for 3 weeks, she would want to spend some time doing something fun with him, so she signed on to go. (Add two more one way air tickets please…. )

So I went ahead and booked 8 one way tickets. On 8/5, Max and I flew to Fort Myers. On 8/7 I returned home. On 8/25, Disneyphile’s Wife and I fly to Fort Myers. On 9/3 we all fly home.

With Disneyphile’s Wife coming, we decided to revisit the hotel choice. We really don’t like All Stars. I will stay in them if budget requires, but in order to make this a more pleasurable trip I upgraded our hotel to Port Orleans. We decided that the additional $250 was well worth the advantages of POR. I.e. better parking, beautiful grounds, a slide at the pool, and a sit down restaurant for breakfast.

I next set out to make our ADR’s. I had no problem securing most of them. We got Tony’s Town Square, 50’s Prime Time Café, Hollywood and Vine Fantasmic package, without any difficulty. Then I came to Le Cellier. Le Cellier is our absolute favorite restaurant at Disney, and it was booked solid for dinner. I could get lunch, but not dinner. The problem is that they do not serve their mushroom filet at lunch, and that is Disneyphile’s Wife’s favorite. To eat at Le Cellier and not get the mushroom filet would be too much to ask of her. So we looked at alternatives, and we ended up chosing Narcossee’s. Since that counted as two TS meals we were done at that point.

I called back every day though to see if there was an opening for Le Cellier, and a week later I was able to snag a ressie for 5:40 on Thursday night, our last night full day. Since we only had 5 table service meals we were going to have to pay for Le Cellier (or one of the other meals that would be less expensive) so we decided to see what the difference for one more night would be, which would give us an additional credit. As it turned out it was about what the extra meal would cost, so since I in particular was already bemoaning that we only had 5 nights, we decided to add on an additional night. So that brings our trip to 8/27 – 9/2, yes!

Since we had already paid for our trip by this point, it was just a matter of paying for that one more night. Done, and paid for.

July went by, and on August 5th, Max and I flew down to Fort Myers. Mom and Dad’s new home is perfect. I spent a nice weekend with them. While there Dad decides that they will join us for a few days at the start of our trip to Disney.

This was by no means a given as Mom and Dad are not at all interested in Disney on their own. They have both been 3 times before, when my brother and I were kids, back in 1974 and 1976. The final time was on a business convention that Dad attended, back in the late 90’s. But they are already planning on going with my brother over Thanksgiving, and looking at the admission plans, the Florida Resident Seasonal Pass is perfect for them. Both trips are outside of the blackout dates, and it is actually cheaper for them to buy them then the MYW passes. So the only additional expense for them is the hotel and food.

So I get on-line with him and we book another room in his name with the Florida Resident Rates at POR for 8/27 – 8/30. Of course that means I now have to get back on the horn with Disney Dining, because my party of 3 just became a party of 5. Thank Goodness Le Cellier was for Thursday which is after they head back home! Disneyphile’s Wife told me that one was sacrosanct; she would kill me if I dropped it.

Of course, our ressies were for 3, and the tables could have held 4, but not 5, so we had to redo all of the ressies for the start of the week. Fortunately we were able to get each of the restaurants we had wanted, but I had to move Narcosee’s because it was too expensive for Mom and Dad, since they are not on the plan. We had one night that we had not planned on eating at a Table Service, because of course with Narcosee’s we had used up an extra Table Service. But with Mom’s knee, relaxing at Dinner is really a must, so we added on the Concourse Steak House. We are going to have to look to see which meal it makes sense for us to pay for. Dad is considering getting the Disney Dining Experience card, as it can probably be justified with his two trips. It would save us a few dollars on that meal, plus breakfasts while he is there, as well as the meals that my Brother eats with him.

So Narcosee’s moved to Friday, our last night. We had to take an earlier seating for the rest of our meals then I would have liked, but at least we got them.

So here is the line up:

Sunday: Tony’s Town Square 4:25
Monday: Concourse Steak House 4:30
Tuesday: 50’s Prime Time Café 4:30
Wednesday: H & V Fantasmic! 5:15
Thursday: Le Cellier 5:40
Friday: Narcosse’s 5:30

I had made some tentative park plans, but they are all up in the air at this point. We have to decide which day I am taking Max to Typhoon Lagoon, and then that will dictate some of the other options. We will hit all 4 parks during Mom and Dad’s stay, and I will try to get them to view each of the 3 night time shows.

The only given is that we will definitely be going to Magic Kingdom on Sunday for EMH night and Splash Mountain. Of course the restaurant choices will have a say in where we go in the evenings, but we tend to park hop, so we will most likely be spending the mornings elsewhere.

So we are doing the single digit dance, at 9 days and counting!

**DrDolphin** · 08-17-2006, 06:04 PM

Looks like a great start!!!

**RobDVC** · 08-17-2006, 06:56 PM

Awesome plans! You'll be there the same time I am. We're planning on spending 8/31 in Epcot, too.... Maybe we'll cross paths!

TheGoof · 08-17-2006, 07:05 PM

That would be great. MaxGoof would love to meet your boys.

**Nala** · 08-17-2006, 07:53 PM

Nine days!!!! Have a great trip Goof. I will be waiting to hear all about it when you get back. I hope you all enjoy the Concourse Steakhouse

Meggera · 08-17-2006, 11:03 PM

[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/fairy2.gif[/img] Have a fabulous time in WDW!!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/fairy2.gif[/img]

Laura

disneyxscollectr · 08-17-2006, 11:16 PM

Have a wonderful time! Your pre-trip report looks great so ENJOY!

**mattnkatsmum** · 08-18-2006, 12:43 AM

Great start. You never know, our paths might cross!

**chezp** · 08-18-2006, 01:31 AM

How great how this vacation has turned out, with your parents joining you as well. And I'm glad to hear that your dinner at Le Cellier is safe, despite all the changes. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I can't wait to read how it all goes. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]

disneydani · 08-18-2006, 06:41 AM

What a great way to usher out your summer! Looks like it will be a great trip. Looking forward to hearing all about it on the flip side! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

**DawnDenise** · 08-18-2006, 07:08 AM

Awesome plans!! Can't wait to read all about it!!!

**CarolinesMom** · 08-18-2006, 07:57 AM

Have a fantastic trip!!!

**WDWfan** · 08-18-2006, 10:13 AM

Your plans sound great! I'm with your wife - Le Cellier is sacrosanct! It's so hard to get a reservation there and I [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/love.gif[/img] the food. I would have a hard time giving it up! Hope you have a magical time. I'll be looking forward to hearing all about it when you return.

**PrincessSharon** · 08-18-2006, 10:32 AM

Great start! Your plans sound great! Have a wonderful time!

**magic mickey** · 08-18-2006, 10:54 AM

Have a great trip. You plans sound great and glad you were able to switch your ADR's.

08-17-2006, 05:01 PM	#1 (permalink)
TheGoof Community Rank: Adventurer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: NJ Posts: 686	The Pick up the Kid and see summer out with a bang trip - Pre trip report The Cast: TheGoof – 17th trip Disneyphile’s Wife – 12th trip MaxGoof (11) – 13th trip Grandpa – 4th trip Grandma – 4th trip Planning for this trip began sometime in early 2006. We had planned on using frequent flyer miles and taking a two week vacation this summer to the west coast. Our intention had been to start in San Diego, spend a day or two and then start heading up the coast, to various locations (of course Anaheim would have been one of them.) This plan had to be put on hold, as we instead had the opportunity to buy a home. Since we had been renting the house we lived in for the past 6 years, this was a far more important expenditure then our West Coast trip and that dream has been put away to be revisited for next summer. With that determined and the successful conclusion of our home purchase in March we had resigned ourselves to a year without a major vacation. Since last year we had a glut of vacations including two full weeks at Disney and a non-Disney cruise, we were quite content. While all of this was going on, my parents had put their house on the market. Dad had been out of work for a while and had finally decided to just retire. Mom had to have knee replacement surgery in April, so once that was done they would be in a position for Mom to retire as well, and they wanted to move to Fort Myers, Florida to be near Mom’s twin sister and her husband. They finally sold their house, closing on May 24th. Now MaxGoof spends his summers at a YMCA day camp. Two week sessions at the Y camp, when you added in before and after care came to about $900. Mom and Dad wanted Max to come spend some time with them, but they were not sure exactly when they would have their own home, since they had not yet purchased one in Florida. So we made some tentative plans, and I only signed Max up for camp through August 4th, deciding we should wait and see what happened with Mom and Dad finding a home. Right before Father’s day, Mom was cleared for travel, having successfully completed her rehab sessions from her knee replacement surgery. So after having a great sendoff picnic at our new home on Father’s day, with family and friends, Mom and Dad hopped in their car the next day, Monday. Tuesday, they arrived in Fort Myers, at my Aunt’s home, where they would stay while searching for their new home. Wednesday they went house hunting. Thursday they made an offer on a brand new vacant home 14 houses down from my Aunt’s house, Friday they had a signed contract. Two weeks later on July 7th, they were the proud owners of their new home! It was settled; Max could come and spend August with his Grandparents. This would save us about $1800 on camp, but netting airfare at $99 each way per person, I had to make the trip twice, it really saved about $1200. Max and I had made a number of Father / Son trips, so I started thinking that I would take Max for a couple of days on one side of the time or the other. We could certainly do so with the savings, and Disneyphile’s Wife has never begrudged Max and I going, and would definitely not since we were so close. Then Disney came out with Free Dining. We looked and originally I booked 5 nights/6 days for the three of us at one of the All Stars. Disneyphile’s Wife, although she is “Disney’ed out” decided that she would like to come see Mom and Dad’s new house, and since her son was going to be away for 3 weeks, she would want to spend some time doing something fun with him, so she signed on to go. (Add two more one way air tickets please…. ) So I went ahead and booked 8 one way tickets. On 8/5, Max and I flew to Fort Myers. On 8/7 I returned home. On 8/25, Disneyphile’s Wife and I fly to Fort Myers. On 9/3 we all fly home. With Disneyphile’s Wife coming, we decided to revisit the hotel choice. We really don’t like All Stars. I will stay in them if budget requires, but in order to make this a more pleasurable trip I upgraded our hotel to Port Orleans. We decided that the additional $250 was well worth the advantages of POR. I.e. better parking, beautiful grounds, a slide at the pool, and a sit down restaurant for breakfast. I next set out to make our ADR’s. I had no problem securing most of them. We got Tony’s Town Square, 50’s Prime Time Café, Hollywood and Vine Fantasmic package, without any difficulty. Then I came to Le Cellier. Le Cellier is our absolute favorite restaurant at Disney, and it was booked solid for dinner. I could get lunch, but not dinner. The problem is that they do not serve their mushroom filet at lunch, and that is Disneyphile’s Wife’s favorite. To eat at Le Cellier and not get the mushroom filet would be too much to ask of her. So we looked at alternatives, and we ended up chosing Narcossee’s. Since that counted as two TS meals we were done at that point. I called back every day though to see if there was an opening for Le Cellier, and a week later I was able to snag a ressie for 5:40 on Thursday night, our last night full day. Since we only had 5 table service meals we were going to have to pay for Le Cellier (or one of the other meals that would be less expensive) so we decided to see what the difference for one more night would be, which would give us an additional credit. As it turned out it was about what the extra meal would cost, so since I in particular was already bemoaning that we only had 5 nights, we decided to add on an additional night. So that brings our trip to 8/27 – 9/2, yes! Since we had already paid for our trip by this point, it was just a matter of paying for that one more night. Done, and paid for. July went by, and on August 5th, Max and I flew down to Fort Myers. Mom and Dad’s new home is perfect. I spent a nice weekend with them. While there Dad decides that they will join us for a few days at the start of our trip to Disney. This was by no means a given as Mom and Dad are not at all interested in Disney on their own. They have both been 3 times before, when my brother and I were kids, back in 1974 and 1976. The final time was on a business convention that Dad attended, back in the late 90’s. But they are already planning on going with my brother over Thanksgiving, and looking at the admission plans, the Florida Resident Seasonal Pass is perfect for them. Both trips are outside of the blackout dates, and it is actually cheaper for them to buy them then the MYW passes. So the only additional expense for them is the hotel and food. So I get on-line with him and we book another room in his name with the Florida Resident Rates at POR for 8/27 – 8/30. Of course that means I now have to get back on the horn with Disney Dining, because my party of 3 just became a party of 5. Thank Goodness Le Cellier was for Thursday which is after they head back home! Disneyphile’s Wife told me that one was sacrosanct; she would kill me if I dropped it. Of course, our ressies were for 3, and the tables could have held 4, but not 5, so we had to redo all of the ressies for the start of the week. Fortunately we were able to get each of the restaurants we had wanted, but I had to move Narcosee’s because it was too expensive for Mom and Dad, since they are not on the plan. We had one night that we had not planned on eating at a Table Service, because of course with Narcosee’s we had used up an extra Table Service. But with Mom’s knee, relaxing at Dinner is really a must, so we added on the Concourse Steak House. We are going to have to look to see which meal it makes sense for us to pay for. Dad is considering getting the Disney Dining Experience card, as it can probably be justified with his two trips. It would save us a few dollars on that meal, plus breakfasts while he is there, as well as the meals that my Brother eats with him. So Narcosee’s moved to Friday, our last night. We had to take an earlier seating for the rest of our meals then I would have liked, but at least we got them. So here is the line up: Sunday: Tony’s Town Square 4:25 Monday: Concourse Steak House 4:30 Tuesday: 50’s Prime Time Café 4:30 Wednesday: H & V Fantasmic! 5:15 Thursday: Le Cellier 5:40 Friday: Narcosse’s 5:30 I had made some tentative park plans, but they are all up in the air at this point. We have to decide which day I am taking Max to Typhoon Lagoon, and then that will dictate some of the other options. We will hit all 4 parks during Mom and Dad’s stay, and I will try to get them to view each of the 3 night time shows. The only given is that we will definitely be going to Magic Kingdom on Sunday for EMH night and Splash Mountain. Of course the restaurant choices will have a say in where we go in the evenings, but we tend to park hop, so we will most likely be spending the mornings elsewhere. So we are doing the single digit dance, at 9 days and counting!

08-17-2006, 07:05 PM	#4 (permalink)
TheGoof Community Rank: Adventurer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: NJ Posts: 686	Re: The Pick up the Kid and see summer out with a bang trip - Pre trip report That would be great. MaxGoof would love to meet your boys.

08-17-2006, 11:03 PM	#6 (permalink)
Meggera Community Rank: Globetrotter Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Harker Heights, TX Posts: 3,144	Re: The Pick up the Kid and see summer out with a bang trip - Pre trip report [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/fairy2.gif[/img] Have a fabulous time in WDW!!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/fairy2.gif[/img] Laura

08-17-2006, 11:16 PM	#7 (permalink)
disneyxscollectr Community Rank: Adventurer Join Date: May 2005 Location: Northeast, USA Posts: 681	Re: The Pick up the Kid and see summer out with a bang trip - Pre trip report Have a wonderful time! Your pre-trip report looks great so ENJOY!

08-18-2006, 06:41 AM	#10 (permalink)
disneydani Community Rank: Trailblazer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 5,461	Re: The Pick up the Kid and see summer out with a bang trip - Pre trip report What a great way to usher out your summer! Looks like it will be a great trip. Looking forward to hearing all about it on the flip side! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

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