Good Things Come to Those That Wait...Pre-Trip Report - Updated 11/29 The Ever Changing ADR's About This Page:

[mcc0313]

Ok...before you all say it I know that I have 5 months to go but after all the planning and rearranging I have nothing to so and now the time is going slow...so I thought I would do a slow Pre-Trip Report to help me get excited as we wait...

Hope you all don't mind sharing it with me

A Little Back Story:

I love everything Disney, it was not becuase I spent so much time there during my youth. My trips included one trip when I was 11 and two almost non-existent day trips that were not enjoyable...

Yet there was something so magical about the Mouse so I did whatever I could do to keep the magic alive....I collected the movies , ordered trip planning videos, visited the website....anything that would give me that feeling that while there was no trip insight there would be one somewhere in the future...

Fast forward two children later and still no trip and now my need to share my Disney love was ready to burst as I watched my little Princesses grow up loving everything Disney. So I planned and planned yet there was just no financial way to get there...

Then about three years ago my grandfather died...funny thing was he was grumpy and always arguing yet my kids adored him...and I must admit that so did I. He had lived a long life and was never the same since my grandmother died to early I would have to say and he missed her.

Whatever he had he gave my mother and her sister and my mom wanted to share a little bit with each of her kids, however knowing that a check would only end up in our bank accounts and paying bills she decided she wanted us to all have something special that we would always remember....so a Disney Trip it was.

The initial plan was for all of us to go together but she soon realized that with three kids, five grandchildren and two very busy grandparents getting us all to find a time we could all go toghether was not going to happen so she told us each to plan a trip.

My the woman with Disney vacations planned for years was ready....I talked my sister into taking off time so we could share this trip together and the kids could have fun together and we did have fun. It was an amazing vacation that we will never forget.

It also made my need for Disney even more apparent now that I had the chance to be there with the girls....I decided that even if it was a small trip every year we were going...(you have to understand that trip was the first real vacation I have ever taken my kids on except for the family wedding in Miami....)

But it was not to happen ....my inital plan was to take some of the tax return and do a return trip the following year but it finally hit me that my job was never going to allow me such luxury. I worked my behind off and never got paid what I should have but my boss knew that I was raising the girls alone and that security was so important to me so he fed me all those lines about the big bad world and how being a "single mother" was not easy in corporate America...." so I stayed and stayed.

So Spring Break came and went and all I had to look forward to was work, and a few weekend trips in the city or the beach....I wanted to give my kids more and I guess I have to thank Disney becuase I finally got over my fear and sent out my resumes...

And guess what....I got like a ton of calls the first week. So we five interviews the following week I lied my behind off, made up excuses but I got to each one and what would you know....got three offers.

I was on my way....

So I took one that just gave me a good feeling when I had walked in and they offered me more money (not an exxcessive amoount but enough to finally allow me to pay my bills without having to borrow off of Tom, Dick and Mickey ), better benefits and real time off....YEAH!!!

So I knew it would be hard but I could pay off my debt, pay off my bills and still have enough (with a little help from the IRS) to pay for a week long trip at Disney....we were finally going back (ok it will only be two years when we go but that was too long for me) and the best part was that I was doing this for my girls....it felt so good.

So I bought my first Passporter, joined the boards and started to plan...but there was something missing.

As excited as I was I wanted to share this with my sister and my nephew again....like a little tradition....so I made the call.

Up next: Did I convince her to come with us?

[Colexis Mom]

Great start More please

[MickeyMAC]

Don't leave us hanging too long. More please.

[DyanKJ130]

Great start!! Can't wait to hear more!!

[bsblady01]

I hope that you and your family have a magical time at the world

[Jookiba]

Oh girl you're so CRUEL leaving me hanging like this!

I'm living vicariously thru you......cuz I'd like to stay at the Poly sometime soon. Plus I hope we get to meet in December 08!!

Hurry back with more girl!

[mcc0313]

Funny thing I knew that I had started a pre-pre-trip report a while back and knew that I was repeating some of the stuff I wrote in that one but for the life of me could not find it so I started a new one....(liked this title better anyway). Wouldn't you know it that after I wrote and posted this I found the other one. So as to not confuse myself I deleted that one and for those that read it and are hearing the same stuff over again I apologize....but I promise the new stuff will be coming soon...lol

So I left off with my decission that this trip was missing something. My sister and nephew so I called and mentioned to her that I was planning a trip would she be interested in going...

Well of course she was interested in going , but that is where the happiness ended. My sister inherited my mother's worrisome nature. Don't misunderstand me...I worry however my sister worries about things that have not even happened yet. So I could hear the excitement die in her voice....

First she was worried about her job...not that she should be becuase they have already offered her a position when the merge goes through but she is worried anyway. Then she worried about money....heh we always worry about money so why should this time be any different. Then there was the issue of vacations, and also that she babysits her nephew for her MIL who has custody....

So I told her I would send her some numbers but that I wanted her to think about it.

So I did...sent her prices for a value (2 rooms), a family suite, and the POR (since it is where we stayed the last time and we loved it).

So I waited, called her a couple of times, gave her the speech....

"Look we are never going to be loaded but if you are waiting until you have tons in the bank then your grandchildren will be driving and you will ahve wasted all this perfect time vacationing with your son".

"It's not like you are going to buy a house so you should enjoy traveling..."

"Just switch holidays with your MIL...she asked you to do it last year when she went on vacation"

She was still unsure but at least she seemed a little more excited...told me she would look over the numbers and get back to me.

So I started planning anyway....I knew that she would change her mind. So I called AAA, got some discounts....wrote her an e-mail and told her I would put down the deposit for us and that she could just pay at the 45 day mark.....

And then she said ok "BOOK IT".....yeah we were going to Disney. I hung up the phone and realized wait...where were we staying?????

Called her back and she said that we should stay at the value so a value it is. Called back this wonderful woman at AAA who helped me book my bosses WDW trip and but a hold on two rooms at the POP. That night I am playing with numbers again and realize that if we stay together in a room at POR it will be actually cheaper. So once again call the Dsis...

"So how much cheaper?" she asks. I tell her like $200 each of us cheaper....

"Oh then book us at POR...." she tells me. So I call my AAA lady back and change my hold to one room in the Alligator Bayou section of the POR. I also get excited becuase we can stay for 7 nights and 8 days......YEAH (this is getting better and better).

A few days pass and I get a call from Dsis....(now remember that this is the woman who did not want to go becuase of finances and not having a million dollars saved in the bank)...

"Hey did you put a deposit down yet?" she asks.

"No....don't tell me you are cancelling?" I ask her.

"Nah...I just figured, well this will probably be my last trip for awhile and I want it to be different then our last trip so why don't you call the AAA lady back and see how much a room at the WL or AKL would be?

Ok...this is the woman who was worried about money and now she wants to go Deluxe....but who am I to complain but I tell her that AKL and WL the max is 4 in a room so she says price the other ones and let her know.

SO I call AAA back and get prices on the Boardwalk, Beach Club and the Poly....they were high even with the discount but then I start thinking...the last trip we stayed for 5 nights / 6 days....we got to do a lot but had wished for an extra day which is why we were doing a 7 night / 8 day....so maybe I can lose a day and go deluxe. So I get the prices for a 6 night / 7 day and after doing some math it is doable.....

So after calling my sister back and asking her if a "new adventure" by going Deluxe was worth losing one of our extra two days she jumps at it so there you have it...

From two rooms at the POP to a room at POR we are staying at the POLY...

This has been my dream since I first started dreaming of WDW.....

So I book it, paid the deposit and we are set in a room with a garden view at the Polynesian Resort....

But now I have to wait till October to book our ADR's (I never booked that early that I had to wait.... ) But I figure it will give me time (since once i say we are booked Dsis has done her part of the vacation...she is not the planning type...lol) to really play around and get some great ideas of where we want to eat...

So I ask Dsis and the kids any place special you want to eat?

And they give me the list of places we ate the last time....Ok this was not going to happen.

So being that I am the planner of the vacation I decide since Dsis wanted to go Deluxe to make this a "new adventure" then we were going to go all out....we would not eat at any place we ate the last time....

Which left me with a whole lot of research on Allears to figure out which ones we were going to try this time.....

Up Next: The Changes after Changes until 180 Days Finally Hit...

[Colexis Mom]

Wow, what an upgrade on the room Can't wait to hear about the ADRs

[DyanKJ130]

What a twist and turn of events!! Can't wait to hear more of your plans!

[Lemap760]

Great start. That's wonderful that you upgraded from POP to the Poly. This sounds like it's turning out to be a fabulous trip.

[mcc0313]

So with booking in August that left me two full months to plan the ADR's. As I told you in my previous post I had decided that since my Dsis made the choice to go Deluxe to make our trip a "new expereince" instead of doing our beloved POR, it was my decision that we eat at all new restaurants to make it a full "new expereince"...

So what to eat....

Well I knew that I wanted to do CRT (with a BBB appt. beforehand for my little princess) since our last trip we did character meals that were "universal" for both the girls and the boys...

I also knew I wanted to hit Le Cellier since on our last trip we had an ADR and my Dsis wanted to change it to H&V and MGM (since she did not want to Park Hop)...

I also wanted to do the O'hana Breakfast since we were staying at the Poly.

There was also the Luau that we all wanted to do and the California Grill but those were all 2 TS and I did not want to use all our TS's up so I knew choices had to be made.

After talking to my Dsis she said her only requests were the O'hana Breakfast and the Sci-Fi diner which her day care lady just loves

I am more of a 50's Prime Time person but she was not requesting much so I figured I would fit it in and save the 50's Prime Time for another trip.

DD14 wanted to see Pooh and DD7 just wanted Princesses and I wanted some real meals without characters so I knew I had my work cut out for me.

I decided that I would do CRT OOP (paid for and I could just forget it). Sounded good to me and it freed up the TS's...

We were all set to do the Luau but after playing with the schedule I did not want to use 2 TS's and I did not want to do another OOP so I needed to find something at the Poly for our 1st day (which is our relaxing get to know our resort since we are paying top $ to stay there day...lol)

I asked all the fellow PP's and read review after review....O'hana or Kona.... Kona or O'hana - I felt like one of those coo coo birds whose head flopped back and forth with each tick of the clock.....

Finally I decided on the Kona Cafe...the menu looked delicious and after reading so many wonderful reviews I knew we had to go there...also if planned right we could then take a nice stroll to the beach to watch the EWP after our meal....YEAH

Day 1 down.....6 more to go

Our HS day I knew would be the Sci'Fi but after changing around our schedule I realized that having dinner there would limit our day since we are going to do Fantasmic on another night....we are not huge HS people so this is usually not a full day for us....so Sci-Fi became a lunch. This way we could enjoy our day and leave when we were ready without being tied down for a dinner ADR.....

Wow this was not as hard as I thought.....

Ok this was not going to be easy becuase we were only going to be there for 7 days and I wanted to try everything

I wanted to go to Boma's, and like every WS pavilion there was....I also knew that I wanted to do an extra princess meal for the girls....

So since I knew that two Princess Meals were a bit much I was going to make my Dsis and DN an ADR at Chef Mickey's for dinner and we would do 1900 Park Fare....

I was still undecided about our AK day, I knew that Yak & Yeti would be open and so would the new Tusker House...and then I thought we could go to the AKL for Boma's....

So you ask waht did we end up with...CP at MK. DD14 wanted Pooh and they have EMH that night and this way we could go eat (it is also a nice place to celebrate DN's B-day) and then we could enjoy Spectro Magic....we missed it in its entirety the last time and this time I wanted to stake out a spot and enjoy ti from start to finish...

So no AK themed meals this time but we will enjoy Flame Tree for lunch (I love that place and no rule said we could not enjoy repeat CS's.....lol
(I love making the rules )

Then came the task of figuring out where to put the O'hana breakfast.....I like to get up and out and we are not big breakfast people so after looking at our schedule I found the perfect spot....since our last day we do DTD (we take a late flight home) what a great way to end a wonderful vacation...we would do O'hana and eat with Lilo and Stitch on our last morning.....

So I had just enough TS's but something was missing....

I know what it is....I want my signature dinner....I want the California Grill....

So unbeknown to Dsis or DD14 I will make an ADR for "firwork" time, we will enjoy a "big girl" meal and the little ones can feel special and enjoy a night out on their own at the "Neverland Club"....

As the time progressed closer to that 180 day I started to question my own choices...it wasn't that I did not liek what I chose but I still wanted to try others...

Should I change? Switch one for another? I mean I know the fun is knowing that there will be another trip to try something but I wanted them now (I know I am acting like a big baby)

So I decided to change CP for Boma but then DD14 gave me that look and I realized that seeing her smile was way more important then me eating at Boma's this trip.... (It will give me reason to start planning another trip)....

So the day finally came....October 29th 2007 I was up and dressed for work and waiting by the phone so I could make my ADR's and head out...

And I got them all...everything I had planned so diligently.....

The Kona Cafe for dinner
The Crystal Palace for dinner
Le Cellier for dinner
CRT for lunch
Sci-Fi Diner for lunch
California Grill for dinner
Chef Mickey's for dinner (for Dsis and DN)
1900 Park Fare for dinner (for me and the girls)
O'hana with Lilo & Stitch for breakfast

So did we change anything? Can you guess?

Of course I did....

After a few weeks went by DD14 tells me "Mom, they changed the menu at the California Grill."...

Well after looking at it nothing was really calling my name but I still wanted to do a dinner....

So I called Disney Dining and spoke to a great CM and cancelled our California Grill Dinner....(I know shocking right???)

We got Narcossee's......I have heard great things from all you PP's and the menu looks absoulutely delicious so we now had a new plan...the three of us will be there for our "big girl" night out....

So there you have it....no more changes.... it is set in stone. (I have even stopped myself from looking at the menu's becuase if not I will try to find a place for another meal.....)

Up Next: The Plans (which of course will probably be totally different by the time I come back to write my TR)

[DyanKJ130]

WOW!! What a ride! Glad you were able to sort everything out! Your ADRs look great!

[Colexis Mom]

Great ADR choices

[x2qwk2cx]

Great start Meg! I've been waiting for you to start your report.... Does this mean I should start my Pre-Pre Trip Report? Can't wait to hear more!!!

[Jookiba]

Originally Posted by mcc0313

So there you have it....no more changes.... it is set in stone. (I have even stopped myself from looking at the menu's becuase if not I will try to find a place for another meal.....)

GUILTY AS CHARGED!! You sound exactly like I did! While we love 50's PTC normally, last time we ate there the server kinda went overboard and it went from fun and entertaining to grating on my last nerve. So I changed 50's to Raglan Road. I also remembered we get the Planet Hollywood voucher (which always got thrown away on prior trips) so I then added a lunch there for our DTD day.

It always gets to the point where you say "enough!" and don't even bother gazing at the menu lists on Allears. You know if you do, you'll find something else to change!

We're also disappointed with the menu changes @ California Grill and don't know if we will dine there in the future or not. That gives me an idea-if we meet next December, maybe just you and I can eat there and leave the kids by themselves!!

Can't wait to hear the rest of your plans-hurry back!