A Lot Has Changed Since 2003...

Our one and only trip to Disney World was in January 2003. This past weekend as we were looking through the guide books and talking about our trip I got to thinking about all of the new movies Disney and Pixar have produced since then. There should really be a lot of new characters and things for us to see at Disney. First, you have to look at the Pixar movies, the best I can remember Toy Story was the only one that had come out at the time of our visit. We did get to see Buzz Lightyear, Dakota was a huge fan at the time, he was thrilled - but you never saw Woody.  I believe we get to see him around Magic Kingdom now with Jessie. I remember riding the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin where you get to shoot the lazer gun at the targets and save the world from Zurg. This time we get to check out Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios!  I understand it's really popular and a FastPass is a must!! Then there's Cars and Finding Nemo. We will have to go see "Finding Nemo-The Musical", and The Seas with Nemo and Friends, then Turtle Talk with Crush. Who doesn't love Crush?  Monster's Inc. is another family favorite, we will have to visit the Laugh Floor. Then there are the new Princesses, Tiana and Rapunzel. And my favorite of all Captain Jack Sparrow-Pirates of the Carribean. Too bad it's not really Johnny Depp!  We didn't ride the attraction in 2003. We just ran out of time, and now I'm kind of glad. We love the movies and Captain Jack. It's definitely on our "Must Do" list for this time around. I hear he may be making an appearance at the park again with the new movie coming out, maybe he will be there while we are there. It is rumored that he will be at the parks with Black Beard's Daughter from the new movie. Then you have the attractions not associated with a move like Soarin', Expedition Everest, American Idol Experience. Something tells me we aren't going to have enough time to do it all again this time. Looks like I will just have to start planning another Disney Vacation, but there won't be 8 years in between visits again.   

A Note To All Of You Disney Upgrade Whiners

Disclaimer: Our vacation is during peak season, we are paying rack rate for our room which is at the Yacht Club Resort, Ragatta Club Level, Lagoon View. We are staying on the Magic Your Way Premium Plan. That being said...
I check out a lot of forums and blogs, pretty much on a daily basis. I see a lot of people saying "I'm going to book a cheap room and hope for an upgrade."  Here is my question to you:  Why not book the type of room you want to stay in, with the view you want, in the type of resort you want to begin with???  Aren't you just setting yourself up for disappointment? I'm not talking about getting upgraded from a standard parking lot view to a garden view, some people actually expect to get upgraded from POP or an All Star Resort to a Deluxe Resort!  I would never dream of expecting such a thing, it's crazy!!  Next, it's the people who think they should get bumped up to conceirge level.  I paid good money for for a club level room. I'm not crazy about Disney upgrading someone who isn't willing to pay for it. On the boards you read about people coming to the lounge and taking large amounts of food to their room and not leaving any for other guests.  I would never allow my son to do this, my husband and I would never do this. I am just wondering if the people taking advantage of the offerings at the lounge are people who didn't have to pay for them in the first place.
Another group of people who really gripe me are the ones who have one night on the Premium or Platimum Plan during their stay. The first thing they would tell me is that Disney doesn't stop them. While this is true, I don't think this was Disney's intention when creating the package either. This is evident in the fact the if you use the Platinum or Premium Plan for one night only you have to check out and check back in and get new Key To The World cards.  Then they use the benefits of this over the course of two days. There are actually threads out there telling people how to do this and take advantage of Disney for as much as they can. Again, I am staying for 5 days and 4 nights.  All of my stay is on the Premium Plan.
My last gripe for today is Disney offering FREE DINING!!!!  The best way to get people to complain about something is to give it to them for free. There are people who complain that they don't get an appetizer just dessert, really poor thing!  Pay for the dang appetizer out of your pocket. Then there are the ones who upgrade to the Deluxe Dining Plan and complain "It's too much food!"  And the ones who say they can't find anywhere to eat, there are 139 restaurants to choose from and you can't find somewhere to eat at Disney World??? In my opinion Disney has totally devalued their restaurants at this point. All over the boards it's "Does anyone know when Free Dining is going to be?" No one expects to have to pay to eat at the Disney restaurants anymore. Disney, wake up and realize people are coming to visit and they are are going to eat while they are there. NO MORE FREE DINING!!! Then we paying customers will be able to get a table at a restaurant again without having to get up at 12:01 on the morning of the 180th day before we arrive at our resort. Nice thing is the very people who can't afford to pay for dining are staying at Disney for 10 days to 2 weeks. Makes my 4 night stay seem like nothing. And they go back at least once a year sometimes 2 & 3 times a year. Honey, cut back on the number of trips and you can afford dining. Just sayin...

Must See's & Must Do's

I have a red folder I put all of our Disney info in to keep it organized. You know the kind of folder you buy for the kids when schools starts, plastic with the metal tabs that fold out to hold papers. I have put in dividers and have our resort reservations for the Yacht Club under one tab and ADR's under another. I have included a tab for each persons must do list. It's interesting to see how different everyone views a Disney vacation. Mike's list includes floating down the lazy river at our resort, relaxing on the balcony and watching the Illimunations fireworks, having room service one night, buying a cigar from Sosa's, riding the Peter Pan Ride at Magic Kingdom. If you knew my husband you would go Huh??? Mike's idea of vacation is to just relax, it doesn't matter where he is; he just wants to relax. Dakota's list includes having calamari (doesn't matter what restaurant it's from), eating at Coral Reef (because he thinks watching the fish will be really cool) and riding Soarin', he & I are even going to get over our fears and ride Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror.  He says he won't mind getting autographs as long as no cute girls are close by to catch him doing it, but that remains to be seen...  Me, at Disney I'm going to be a kid, I want to meet Mickey & Minnie and all the princesses and get autographs, ride everything, eat lots of chocolate and watch the parades!!  I almost forgot SHOP!!! I guess what I have learned from all of this is to be sure you have everyone in your family be involved in your vacation planning (Disney or otherwise). I think this weekend Dakota & I will sit down with one of our planning books and choose his favorite attractions and order a customized map from Disney, I hear they are pretty cool.  Somehow I don't think Mike's going to have a hard time finding the lazy river at Storm Along Bay...    

ADR's Made!!

Well it's done!! ADR's (advance dining reservations) are made, the majority of them anyway. Friday was 180 days from check in day, just 6 months until our Disney World Vacation!!! Bright and early I was online at disneyworld.com making dining reservations. Somehow getting those dining confirmations makes our vacation seem more REAL. I know that sounds a little crazy, sending the money should have made it seem real, right??? I guess ADR's forced me to plan where we would spend each day. So check in day will be Epcot, ending with Illimuniations. Thursday will be Magic Kingdom, but I left dinner reservations open but I am thinking we may just do room service. Friday, breakfast at Cape May and dinner at RainForest Cafe in Downtown Disney-possibly a water park and shopping day. Saturday, Tusker House for breakfast so obviously an Animal Kingdom day, planning to get to Hollywood Studios later in the day. I know you are probably wondering why a day at waterparks and shopping and only a half day at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Down time at the water parks and just relaxing is going to be very important to us, we are on vacation and relaxing is a part of that. During vacation is one of the few times I can get Mike to truly relax and enjoy himself. Now, Dakota and I have to work on our "Must See" list...

Yacht Club Concierge Itinerary Planning Worksheet!!

Today is 184 days and counting! Dakota and I were talking Disney all weekend. I have been pouring over books trying to decide where we should eat for weeks. You know it is really hard to decide 6 months out what you might want to eat. We are not gourmet dining people, we enjoy a good meal (Mike is especially looking forward to eating some Mahi Mahi and Dakota some calamari). We are pretty laid back while we are on vacation, having something planned for every minute is just not us. So I am going to worry about ADR's (advance dining reservations) for the restaurants that I know are always hard to get into, and some of our meals we are going to play by ear. Mike wants to have "in room dining"one night and watch Illimunations from our balcony and just relax, I have seen the menu and that works for me. Coral Reef is the one request from Dakota, he mainly wants to watch the sealife in the aquariums while we eat. We have a family photo session included with our Premium Package, and this time I am planning on actually attending the LaNouba, we also want to do the dinner package for Fantasmic. Ok, I need to go and write all this down so someone can make sense out of it. I love that I just have to fill out the worksheet and send it over to the Yacht Club concierge itinerary planning staff and they will handle everything for me. Now to finish up my "must do" list so that I can finish the worksheet and send it over.

Disney Acronyms

If you are anything like me when you visit the websites to plan your Disney World Vacation you scratch your head when you see MVMMCP or POFQ or DDP. I have put together a list of the acronyms I have found on the DisBoards and Zannaland and Mom's Panel on the Disney website that I hope are helpful to you when trying to decifer what all those letters mean. If you have any to add send them to me and I will update the list.

By the way I have 195 days until my magical Disney vacation begins! I can start making dining reservations in 15 days! I've got to do some serious restaurant research...

• ADR - Advance Dining Reservation
• AK - Animal Kingdom
• AKL - Animal Kingdom Lodge
• AKV - Animal Kingdom Villas
• AP - Annual Pass
• AS Mo - All Star Movies Resort
• AS Sp - All Star Sports Resort
• ASM - All Star Music Resort
• B&C - Beaches & Cream
• BB - Blizzard Beach
• BBB - Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
• BC - Beach Club Resort
• BCV - Beach Club Villas
• BTMRR - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• BW - Boardwalk
• BWI - Boardwalk Inn
• BWV - Boardwalk Villas
• CBV - Caribbean Beach Villas
• CBJ - Country Bear Jamboree
• CG - California Grill
• CL - Conceirge Level
• CM - Cast Member
• CM's - Chef Mickey's
• CoP - Carousel of Progress
• CP - Crystal Palace
• CR - Contemporary Resort
• CRO - Central Reservations Office
• CRT - Cinderella's Royal Table
• CS - Counter Service
• CSR - Coronodo Springs Resort
• CW - City Walk
• DC - Disney Club
• DCA - Disney's California Adventure
• DCL - Disney's Cruise Line
• DDE - Disney Dining Experience
• DDM - Downtown Disney Marketplace
• DDP - Disney Dining Plan
• DHS - Disney Hollywood Studios
• DQ - Disney Quest
• DTD - Downtown Disney
• DVC - Disney Vacation Club
• DXDDP - Deluxe Disney Dining Plan
• EE - Expedition Everest
• EMH - Extra Magic Hours
• EWP - Electric Water Pageant
• FDP - Fantasmic Dinner Package
• FFC - Flying Fish Cafe
• FP - Fast Pass
• FTLK - Festival of the Lion King
• FW - Fort Wilderness
• GF - Grand Floridian
• GG - Garden Grill
• GMR - Great Movie Ride
• H&V - Hollywood & Vine
• HDDR - Hoop Dee Doo Review
• HM - Haunted Mansion
• HoB - House of Blues
• HoND - Hunchback of Notre Dame
• HoP - Hall of Presidents
• IASW - It's a Small World
• IG - International Gateway
• ITTBAB - It's Tough to be a Bug
• JC - Jungle Cruise
• JIYA - Journey Into Your Imagination
• KRR - Kali River Rapids
• KTTW - Key to the World Card
• LC - Le Cellier
• LTT - Liberty Tree Tavern
• MK - Magic Kingdom
• MNNSHP - Mickey's Not So Scarry Halloween Party
• MSEP - Main Street Electrical Parade
• MVMCP - Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
• MYW - Magic Your Way
• OKW - Old Key West
• PC - Pop Century
• PH - Park Hopper
• PO - Port Orleans
• PoC - Pirates of the Caribbean
• POFQ - Port Orleans French Quarter
• Poly - Polynesian Resort
• POR - Port Orleans Riverside
• PS - Priority Seating
• PTC - Prime Time Cafe
• QSDP - Quick Service Dining Plan
• R&C - Rose & Crown Pub
• RFC - Rain Forest Cafe
• RnR - Rockin' Roller Coaster
• SAB - Storm Along Bay
• SE - Spaceship Earth
• SM - Space Mountain
• SM - Splash Mountain
• TIW - Tables In Wonderland
• TL - Typhoon Lagoon
• ToT - Tower of Terror
• TT - Test Track
• TTA - Tomorrowland Transit Authority
• TTC - Transportation & Ticket Center
• V&A - Victoria & Albert's
• VWL - Villas @ Wilderness Lodge
• WC - Whispering Canyon
• WDW - Walt Disney World
• WL - Wilderness Lodge
• WS - World Showcase
• YC - Yacht Club Resort

My Research for Fun Has Begun!!

So Ashley & I went to do a little shopping for winter clothes for Lexi (it gets cold in Korea) and while we were there I had to buy Disney Vacation books. I picked up "The Complete Disney World 2010" by Julie & Mike Neal which I LOVE. Here's a link from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Walt-Disney-World-2010/dp/0970959672) and a pic of the book I love it, it has tons of pictures (500+) and info on EVERYTHING there is to do at Disney including helpful tips and cost of a lot of the attractions. By far the most pictures of the resorts of any book I found. The authors have written several books about Disney World and this is the first one I have bought. It is so well thought out, they go over each attraction and rate it and put a check mark by their favorite. They do the same with each level of resort. I find myself looking at this book all the time. It's a favorite of Dakota's too.

I also got "Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2011." It has lots of good information as well. Here is the link (http://www.amazon.com/Birnbaums-Walt-Disney-World-2011/dp/1423123786/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291831087&sr=1-1)

and a pic.

Birnbaum was the one book I knew I was going to get because it helped me make so many of my decisions from my 2003 trip and it is the "Official Guide." There are also coupons included in the back of this book which you may find useful. But I have to admit if I were going to recommend a book it would be "The Complete Disney World 2010."

My other research has lead me to the pages and pages of information on the internet. I am addicted to the Disboards!! I am now reading Trip Reports and Pre Trip Reports and reviews of restaurants and checking out menus so I can make my advance dinner reservations and OMG don't get me started on all of the acronyms that Disney people use (ADR, BCR, TOT, MK, AKL)!!! That will be a post all by itself!!

By the way, did I mention I called to pay for half of our vacation and found out that Whisper had not included Park Tickets for the Sunday we check out. Johnson was a sweetheart and took care of everything right away and I think it cost us and additional $15.