Mice, Magic & A Maiden Voyage Pre-Trippie: July/August 2015

[iheartwdw]

Originally Posted by Cherrie163

Amazing! I think we're on the same cruise as you (Disney Dream 21/8) xx

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Wow! That's 4 Dibb families so far!

We might have to organise a mini meet?!

Laura Xx

[iheartwdw]

Originally Posted by sheluk

Fab pre trippie! Everything sounds amazing. Particularly your cruise 😄 we have booked the same as you so will be looking forward to reading ALL about it.

More details please...xx

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Thank you. I can see that you go before us, so I hope that you do a trip report so I can read all about your cruising adventures too!

Laura Xx

[iheartwdw]

Finally in the 100s! Whoop!

Laura Xx

[iheartwdw]

Christmas Holiday Haul & The Left Out Family Member

I forgot to add in our Christmas haul to my initial update, so I thought that I would add it now, as well as introducing you to the final family member.

As both of our families know that we are booking a big thirtieth Disney holiday, we were spoilt with lots of holiday treats and Disney themed pressies.

My parents treated me to a new camera, as ever since we viewed the rope drop fireworks at MK on our honeymoon my camera vibrates in a weird way occasionally?! I think the vibrations from the fireworks might have impacted the ‘steadier’ (sorry, no idea of the technical terms) somehow! I also wanted a better zoom to get close ups of the parades and safari animals. Nathan’s parents treated him to a video camera, again to record the shows and our adventures. He is planning on making a video diary to share on the DIBB, so we will see how that goes.



My lovely students must also realise how Disney obsessed I am, as I also received a few little Christmas treats from them that were Disney related including some Mickey pens, Minnie marshmallows and Frozen shampoo! It was really sweet and considerate of them and I will be using the pens to make all of my trip report notes, so they have safely been stored away with the rest of the holiday goodies.



The rest of the pile is bits and bobs from friends, family and each other. We did VERY well and have a nice ‘stock pile’ of holiday delights that we can squirrel away until July.

I also wanted to mention the member of our little family that will not be coming with us to celebrate, our cat Franklin. Franklin is nearly five and as cute as a button. He must be the only cat that likes going to the vet, as he loves to be told how handsome he is by all of the staff that work there – he proudly struts up and down the examination table for them, whilst they all compliment him.



This was Franklin ready for our New Year’s Eve party in his fetching bow tie get-up. I will miss him when we are away, but he will be getting spoilt by Nathan’s parents. They give him lots of his favourite treats and ensure that he keeps up with our holiday weight gain – I think he may have gained more weight than us last summer, when we went to Scotland. There was a slight confusion about how many of his treats he should be having a day, so he ended up tripling his normal amount, not that Franklin complained!



When we have been on previous holidays he has always had a bit of a sulk with us when we return, so I am expecting the same this time as well. He is extremely affectionate when we first go to fetch him, but by the time we are home he has remembered that we deserted him and has a few hours grumping round and ignoring us! Leaving him is the only downside of going on holiday.

We had a lovely Christmas and all of the treats and presents we received have upped the excitement levels even more – I didn’t think that this was possible. We are hoping to watch a Disney movie every week now, to help countdown the days and maintain the anticipation, so I’m off to watch The Incredibles once I have updated.

Thanks again for all of your comments, I was really anxious to start a pre-trippie, but all of the lovely people on here have been really welcoming and it’s lovely to hear about other Dibbers that will be out there at the same time.

It is also wonderful to have people to share my Disney ‘geekiness’ with. I was speaking with some colleagues this week about future holidays and WDW was brought up, with one of them thinking about booking a last minute holiday this summer – they must have seen the sheer horror in my eyes at the lateness for booking such a big holiday that I normally start to plan well over a year in advance, as they then started to ask me if this was feasible and a barrage of other questions. I was soon explaining the popularity of restaurants and 180, plus FP+ and how big the parks are… they then had a look of sheer terror in their eyes about how crazy I probably sounded and how nerdy I came across. It is such a relief to know that I will not be the only one ready and waiting by my computer to book reservations for six months in advance and that I don’t come across as such a lune on here!

I’m hoping to update soon with our ADR Wishlist, as our ADR day is quickly sneaking up on us.

[lovedisney89]

Fab little update, I love all your disney bits an pieces.
Franklin looks adorable

[iheartwdw]

Originally Posted by lovedisney89

Fab little update, I love all your disney bits an pieces.
Franklin looks adorable

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Thanks, we have a fab 'stock pile' of holiday stuff.

I think he's adorable too, but I'm probably a little bias!

Laura Xx

[iheartwdw]

ADR Wishlist

This will be the first time that we will experience the DDP and there is sooo much food included on it! I am worried that we will not use up all of our credits, especially the counter service ones, so I am hoping that my OCD / military style planning will benefit us here. I shouldn’t worry too much, as we managed to get the DDP for free – but there is still a little voice in my head saying “waste not, want not! ”

As soon as we booked way back in April I started to peruse menus and decide on what I would be eating 15 months in advance and I think that it has finally been narrowed down to a good mixture of table service choices. We have gone for a mix of cuisine styles and character meals, alongside a variety of old favourites and new places that seem to be highly recommended by Dibbers.

Breakfast

Tusker House: We visited here on our honeymoon and were amazed by all the food choices that you can get for breakfast – doughnuts, carved meats, tater tots, as well as all of the regular bacon, sausage, egg… We booked for quite late on in the holiday and were feeling the early mornings at this point, so I don’t think we fully appreciated all of the goodies that were there. So, it really had to make this year’s list in order for Nathan to do full justice to the ginormous buffet!



Akershus: This was a place that I was really looking forward to visiting on our last trip, as I love all of the princesses. I was a true Disney child and was brought up on the classic movies, especially the fairy tale princess ones. However, the day before our ADR we were out all day in the sun and I had barely anything to drink and gave myself heatstroke. This meant that I spent that night and the morning of our ADR poorly and being sick (TMI?). We had to cancel the reservation and I spent most of the day sleeping. I was completely gutted and felt awful for Nathan, as he ended up on the balcony most of the day reading whilst I was sleeping. Hopefully we will make it for all of the pastries and family style goodness this time.



The Crystal Palace: We really want to get an early slot for the coveted empty Main Street pictures. I’m not a massive fan of Winnie the Pooh (please don’t banish me from the Dibb! ) and I have visited here quite a few times as a child (my mum is a massive Tigger fan). However, I love buffet breakfasts and I REALLY want an ‘emptyish’ picture of the two of us in front of the castle. So at the moment, it is on the Wishlist.



Lunch

Yak & Yeti: After trying the counter service option this is a new must. I think it will be nice to have something different from all of the burgers and steaks that we will be consuming and Chinese is one of my favourite things to munch. The theming inside looks brilliant and I’ve heard lots of good reviews about the deep fried green beans and dessert wontons – yummy!



Chefs De France: I love cheese! Nathan often refers to me as a mouse. When I saw the pictures of the French onion soup with a mountain of melted cheese on top and the gooeyness that is the macaroni and cheese, this immediately made the list. Even better, at the moment the set lunch menu of three courses is included as one credit on the DDP, so really good value as well. I’m a little disappointed that Remy no-longer resides at the restaurant, but I’m sure that once I am in my cheese coma I will cope!



Beaches & Cream: Have you seen the sundaes at this place? And this is somewhere that we have never been…this must be some sort of crime?!. We are hoping to share the Mickey’s Pants Sundae, as apparently you get more toppings and better ice-cream than at MK. As it is only the two of us, we wouldn’t be able to cope with the full kitchen sink; even if there were four people I still don’t think that we would finish it all. To make sure that we have room, I’m thinking that we will probably share some fries and onion rings before the sundae, instead of having a full meal. This will also help to prepare and warm-up our tummies for the sugar onslaught afterwards. We will be paying out of pocket for this one, as it doesn’t seem the best use of a TS credit when are main aim is a ice-cream!



Teppen Edo: Another firm favourite, what’s not to love about a steam train made out of onions and shrimp Nemos? I don’t know what they do to the rice here? But that alone was super tasty. Our chef last time was really funny and made the whole evening really fun and enjoyable. The service is also superb (when we were last here our glasses never even got down to half empty before they were whisked away to be refilled) and they couldn’t do enough to make sure we were having a brilliant time. We were given a dessert as a honeymoon present last time from the restaurant, which was really sweet and another example of how brilliant the service was we received last time. I am sooo looking forward to a repeat visit!



Dinner

Le Cellier: If you read the introduction to the pre-trippie you will know how much Nathan loved their poutine fries. He didn’t fancy another steak restaurant last time we planned in reservations at 180 days out, but with a free evening whilst there on our very last night we bagged a cancelled ADR. The lovely waitress recommended the side of poutine fries, as they had just changed the recipe and they were her new favourite. Nathan had one singular chip and fell in love. I just about got a taste! We are hoping to book again, just so Nathan can get his fix. I really like the fillet steak they serve, but Nathan only has eyes for one thing on the menu– he has asked if it is just possible to book a table for a side dish! He is obsessed!



Raglan Road: The atmosphere and Irish dancing that they host at Raglan Road looks really appealing, as well as the food. It will be nice to have some mash and vegetables to break up all of the fast food. My parents visited here on their last visit and rated it as one of their favourites, so I’m hoping that we feel the same way. There are so many things on the menu that I’d like to try – pie, risotto, stew… good job I still have over five months to make my decisions.



House Of Blues: A new one for both of us. I asked Nathan to choose a couple of restaurants that he would like to go too and this was one of his options. He really enjoys spicy dishes and Mexican food and House of Blues has many of these flavours on the menu. I can’t stand peppers (the vegetable, not the seasoning!) and I normally struggle to find something to eat at these types of restaurants as they seem to put it in everything! However, there are quite a few things that I would like to try on the current menu. It will also be really convenient for us to get to in the evening, as we will be able to take a stroll over from SSR (humidity allowing!).



Be Our Guest: This was not even built when we went in 2012 and Beauty and the Beast is one of my all time favourite films. As we will be celebrating our birthdays and anniversary whilst we are out there I am hoping that we will get to sample the ‘grey stuff’! I might add the celebrations to the ADR booking of you still can do this? And also wear are pins very prominently on this evening! The décor inside looks fabulous, I have seen so many fantastic photos. I really hope we can get an ADR here as I know that they go really quickly and with it being peak season I am not sure how we will do. I want to be greedy and go to the Beast’s castle twice, for lunch and dinner, so fingers and toes crossed!



Tony’s: One of my fave places to eat at WDW. I know that Tony’s can get hit and miss reviews, but I have always loved the place and have continually had wonderful service. It would be great to get outside seating on the porch again, so we can actually see the parade whilst eating our dinner this time after the previous washout (see introduction). I was defeated by the massive portion of Chicken Parmigiana last time and I am determined to be a victor on this trip.


Ohana: Having tried breakfast at Ohanas we are eager to go back to try dinner. Barbequed meat, dumplings, wings and noodles – yum yum. I was a little disappointed to hear that the chicken skewers are no-longer served, but we both eat beef, pork and shrimp so we should still be able to stuff our bellies! I might be tempted to have a Lapu Lapu and we will need to try and save some room for the divine looking bread pudding.



The Brown Derby: This is one of my parent’s favourites that I think I must have been to on every visit, so who am I to break tradition? We previously booked the Fantasmic Dining Package and enjoyed the food, but the show got abruptly cancelled after the first act – The CMs seemed to think there was an accident, as there were no weather warnings. We never made it back to see the show, so Nathan has still never seen it! We will probably book this as a dining package again to make sure that we get to see my second favourite night time show this time (favourite has to be Wishes!).



California Grill: I want to book here for the desserts alone, the pictures look amazing and there are quite a few I want to taste. I will have to try and persuade Nathan to order something different to me, so that we can swap over if he has something better! I would like to get a time that means we will be there to view the fireworks from the balcony, although I have read recently that you can pop back up if you eat earlier to go the viewing area – does anyone know if this is correct? This will be another new one for us.



Hoop De Doo: This show looks really fun and alcohol is included in the price! Food is unlimited ribs, fried chicken, corn, salad etc. and audience participation is encouraged, which means that it should be an exciting evening. It will be good to go and see Wilderness Lodge again, as this was the first of our honeymoon hotels. If we have built up some stamina by this point in the holiday, it would be great to go over to MK afterwards and ride Big Thunder in the dark. Really looking forward to this ADR and it is another new place for us.



Citricos: Another one of Nathan’s choices. He wanted to go to somewhere that neither of us has tried and we are thinking of booking this one as our anniversary day meal, as it looks very fancy! It will be nice to have a look around some of the other signature restaurants that we have not visited and also have a nosey around the Grand Flo before din dins! Hopefully, one day we will get to stay here.



Sanaa: It will be nice to go back and visit the second of our honeymoon hotels before eating and seeing all of the animals that were outside of our bedroom window for two weeks. Despite being based at Kidani for all of this time, we never managed to eat at Sanaa. We are both big Indian food fans, so if the current menu stays the same, there looks like there will be lots of choices for us. Nathan also wants to sample some of the food from the DTD foodtruck that is linked to Sanaa, after reading about it on the Disney Food Blog, so we will need to hunt this down during a jaunt to DTD.



These total 20 DDP credits, if we pay OOP for Beaches and Cream and if I have counted all of the 2 credit places correctly! I know that I will need a lot of luck on my side in order to book all of them, as quite a few of them are popular places that book up pretty quickly – especially BOG. As we are onsite guests we are entitled to the 180+10 bookings, so we do have a better chance compared to any offsiters.

What do you guys think? Any recommendations or things that you would change? It has taken months to narrow all of the restaurants down that we wanted to visit, so I would love some feedback from you experts. Our ADR day is January 31st, so wish me luck!

[MissVincent]

great pretrippie

[hawki]

This sounds like a fab holiday! Where did you get the Toy Story T shirt from, I love it!
Julie

[juliab]

You've got some nice choices there, quite a few of our favourites We went to Citricos on our wedding night and it was amazing, highly recommend it. We also ate at California Grill, we had an early dinner there and the food was fantastic too. We came back later to watch the fireworks x