June, CSR, GAD, and GLAD about it!

[Planning fanatic mom]

Hello All

I've been going back and forth about whether or not to do a trip report. I woke up this morning and made the decision to do it. I have done one or two in the past, and all went well. So, here we go again!

CAST:
DH and I: This is his 8th trip and my 7th.

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Here we are at the POLY! Didn't stay there but did eat at O'Hana's. Loved it.

DD 17 and 14: This is their 5th trip.

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They love the characters!

OK, Let's get started.

When to go?
That's easy. We go in June because both DH and I are teachers and the girls are in high school. So missing school is not really an option for us. We like to go as soon as school is out. However, if we get much more snow this year, we could be missing the last few days of school. I'll keep you updated about that.

Where do we stay?
DH has decided that a deal breaker is QUEEN SIZED BEDS. We are not small people and have found double beds difficult to sleep on over the past few years. Well, we do have to watch the budget, so that leaves us with CSR. I checked out pics and reviews. Although I know there are some mixed reviews, the people who love it, really love it. So, I took the plunge and booked it. I am a little nervous about the size of the resort. I have requested Casitas 4 or 5 to be near the second bus stop (which actually picks up first ) My girls are fine with a quiet pool and will probably only eat at El Centro for breakfast. I don't see us going there too often.

That's all for now. Coming up! How do we get there? and "Should we do the Dining Plan?"

 

[All7OfUs]

You look like such a sweet family! I have daughters 14 and (almost) 17 also. Well, I have a whole bunch more kids too, but at least we have that in common.

Anyway, I'd love to follow you along in your planning.

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

Glad to have my first reader. Aren't teenage girls wonderful? I wouldn't have it any other way. They are getting ready for a semi-formal dance tonight at the school. The first one for my 14 year old. Maybe I'll post some pics.

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

How are we going to get there??

In 2006 we flew to WDW with a lay over in Atlanta. All was fine until we were on our way back, and our flight from Atlanta to Baltimore was canceled. Yep, just up and canceled. They didn't care one little bit. So, we had to take a flight to my SIL in VA and the next day she drove us to our car in Baltimore. Of course, I hadn't flown in a long time, so packing a bag with clothes and such just didn't occur to me.

In 2007 and 2009 we drove. Horrible yes, but I had all of luggage with me and no one telling me that I couldn't get home.

Well, the family outvoted me this year, and we are flying again. Resigning myself to this fact, I put my foot down and said, "It must be a non-stop flight." So we will fly out of Reagan National with a direct flight. More on that in a later post.

I have not flown since they have instituted all of the restrictions for what you can carry on the plane. So, if you are reading this and fly often, could you please subscribe? I know that when we get closer, I will have a ton of questions. Also, what is up with paying for luggage? That is new for me too.

OK The Dining Plan:
Should we or shouldn't we??

Of course, we did!! We love to eat out, and with all of the neat themes at many WDW restaurants, we enjoy this down time. We did it for the first time last June. It was a huge success for us. We ate at places we never would have gone to. Because of the age of our kids, I know we saved money. No Question!!

Coming UP: Park Days and ADRs!!!

 

[Charlefours]

Hello! I am new to your PTR tonight. Looking forward to reading along

As far as flight restrictions, here is a link to the rule regarding liquids. As far as the luggage fees go, that is specific to each airline as far as I am aware. Does SouthWest fly out near you? They are still not charging for luggage.

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

Thanks for joining in and thanks for the link. I will check that out.

We have already booked the flight. DH did that without my knowledge. He wanted the cheapest flight and didn't take into consideration paying for the bags. Of course, the flight is nonrefundable. So, I will have to make the best of it. I guess I have to decide whether or not to pack less, pay less and therefore, do laundry. OR Pack more, pay more, and then no laundry!! I have a while before I have to decide. With the luggage, do we pay for that when we get to the airport??

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give me.

 

[reyasmommy]

This will also be my first time flying since they started charging for luggage. I think it's insane, and makes me so mad! I have a 4 year old and a baby, so you KNOW I'm NOT going to be able to pack light.

I'm glad you like having teenage girls. I'm terrifed for the day my DD turns into one.

Look forward to reading more.

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

This will also be my first time flying since they started charging for luggage. I think it's insane, and makes me so mad! I have a 4 year old and a baby, so you KNOW I'm NOT going to be able to pack light.

I'm glad you like having teenage girls. I'm terrifed for the day my DD turns into one.

Look forward to reading more.

Packing light would be impossible in your case. I see you are leaving soon. Have a great time!!

So far the teenage years have been great. They still need my just in a very different way.

Tell "Snow Wipe" I said Hi!

 

[DisneyMomma09]

When are you going in June? We will be there from the 17th-25th. We also have several teachers in our family, myself included, so we also do most of our traveling in the summer.

I am with you on the nonstop flights! We drive to a bigger airport further away so we can take a nonstop flight! As for the luggage fees, once you find out how much it is per piece of luggage, you could look into shipping a box down to your hotel. Find out what is cheeper and do that! I was worried about this because we have a baby this trip and I know we will have lots of stuff to take! Fortunatly my in-laws decided they would like to take the auto-train down and we can send lots of things with them in their car!

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

I can't believe I forgot to tell everyone the dates. June 17-22!!

That is a good idea about shipping stuff down. I guess I could just ship stuff back home then too. Thanks for the advice!

I've looked into the auto train, but thought it was too expensive for the amount of time. Also, there is no way I could sleep on the train. I would be exhausted and would not be pleasant to be around.

Lots of teachers in our family too. It is amazing how it can run in the family. I also see that we are both from PA.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Charlefours]

Thanks for joining in and thanks for the link. I will check that out.

We have already booked the flight. DH did that without my knowledge. He wanted the cheapest flight and didn't take into consideration paying for the bags. Of course, the flight is nonrefundable. So, I will have to make the best of it. I guess I have to decide whether or not to pack less, pay less and therefore, do laundry. OR Pack more, pay more, and then no laundry!! I have a while before I have to decide. With the luggage, do we pay for that when we get to the airport??

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give me.

Depending on the airline you can prepay when you do your check in via the airline's website. Some offer discounts if you do it this way too.

Shipping packages done: you are staying CSR so be prepared to pay a package handling fee. Since it is one of the "conference resorts" I have read they (and SSR) charge when guests mail packages down.

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

Next it was time to think about ADRs.

I checked the Crowd Calendar at touring plans.com and chose which day to go to which park. To save money, we also chose not to get park hoppers this year. We have always had them, but didn't really use them a lot. I hope we don't regret this decision. I did read somewhere that you can add this once you are there if you need it.

Here is where we are going each day.

Thursday June 17: Epcot: World Showcase
Friday June 18: DHS
Sat. June 19: MK
Sun. June 20: AK: Father's Day
Mon. June 21: Epcot: Future World
Tues. June 22: Make-up day (Probably MK)

As of right now, there is no Fantasmic on the 18th. I learned last year to not go to DHS on a day they are showing Fantasmic. I hope this doesn't change.

The reason we are going to WS on arrival day is because last year, by the time we got there, we were so tired we couldn't enjoy it. I thought maybe this year if we go first, we'll be more energetic. This is my DDs least favorite place in WDW. They do enjoy The Kim Possible Adventure. I'm sure they will do that again this year.

So, not I had to think about the TS meals. We are there 5 nights which gives us 5 TS meals. Each person got to pick one place and then DH and I picked the 5th one.

Thurs: Chefs de France: This one is DH
Fri.: Mama Melrose: This one is mine
Sat. O'Hana's: We went here last year and we loved it. DD 17 picked this one
Sun. Boma: DH and I picked this one. I had heard so many wonderful things.
Mon. Le Cellier: This one is DD14. She loves steak!
Tues: Breakfast with Stitch at Poly.

Now I know if you counted, that is 6. I really want my DDs to eat a meal with Stitch, so we will pay OOP for the breakfast.

I went on line on the 180 day and had no problem getting what we wanted at the exact time we wanted. I can't say enough about how wonderful the on-line system is. It was so easy.

Please give me your thoughts on our plan and meals. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

UP NEXT! Give a Day!

 

[Charlefours]

What time is your flight? Are you using ME? I just hope you have time to enjoy WS--definitely one of my favorite parts of Disney. Your plans look great to me!!

We are going to DHS on a Fantasmic day...I hope the crowds are not horrible in September. If they are, than we will just not do that much there. We are hoping to get a F! dinner package so as soon as we are able to eat, we will hopefully leave and get out of the crowds. That's the plan anyways.

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

We land around 12:00. We have a 6:00 ressie at Chefs de France. It is also an EMH hours that evening. I think that is all of the time we will need. We are not big shoppers, so although we do look around the shops, we don't spend a lot of time in them. We will be back to Epcot on another day and can pick up anything we don't get to.

I'm sure the crowds in September will be fine. June can be very busy especially when they only run it once or twice in the week.

We have seen Fantasmic already with the dinner package. That was when it was every night. This year I am hoping to see Illuminations for the first time.

 

[reyasmommy]

I can't believe that I've never seen Fantasmic. I've been to WDW 8 times in my life and have never made it to one show. We're going to Hollywood Studios on Friday, but I'm not sure if it's playing or not?

Your plans look great.

 

[Pyrate_Pryncess]

We saw Fantasmic the first and only time Ive been! It was amazing. It is in my top 3 things to do at WDW. This time around we will be doing the Fantasmic dinner package and we are trying to decide which to eat at.....We have to book ADR's on June 1st. Do they have the Fantasmic schedule out that far in advance? We arent going until Nov/Dec.

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

I can't believe that I've never seen Fantasmic. I've been to WDW 8 times in my life and have never made it to one show. We're going to Hollywood Studios on Friday, but I'm not sure if it's playing or not?

Your plans look great.

Thanks and have a great time. If Fantasmic is showing and you have the energy, see it. It is really amazing. The special effects are incredible. The crowd is tough, but this time of the year should be fine.

I wish I were going in one day!!!

We saw Fantasmic the first and only time Ive been! It was amazing. It is in my top 3 things to do at WDW. This time around we will be doing the Fantasmic dinner package and we are trying to decide which to eat at.....We have to book ADR's on June 1st. Do they have the Fantasmic schedule out that far in advance? We arent going until Nov/Dec.

We ate in Hollywood in Vine in 06, and it was good. This was before it was a character meal. My friend ate at Mama Melrose's for her dinner package. She liked it so much, we are eating there this June. Yes, the fantasmic schedule comes out with the park schedules. I think there are times when they add shows due to crowds. I have never heard that they ever canceled shows except for weather.

Good luck!

 

[Pyrate_Pryncess]

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We ate in Hollywood in Vine in 06, and it was good. This was before it was a character meal. My friend ate at Mama Melrose's for her dinner package. She liked it so much, we are eating there this June. Yes, the fantasmic schedule comes out with the park schedules. I think there are times when they add shows due to crowds. I have never heard that they ever canceled shows except for weather.

Good luck![/QUOTE]

Thanks for the info, we are gonna check out Mama Melrose. When do the schedules come out?

 

[All7OfUs]

Your ADR's look perfect. Each one paired up with a close park and I love that you are each getting at least one that you are really looking forward to. We're eating at 'Ohana this Sept. too. And Boma.

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

Thanks for the info, we are gonna check out Mama Melrose. When do the schedules come out?

6 months ahead. If you are going at the end of one month and the beginning of another, you may need to make your ADRs without knowing for sure about the new month. Does this make sense?

Your ADR's look perfect. Each one paired up with a close park and I love that you are each getting at least one that you are really looking forward to. We're eating at 'Ohana this Sept. too. And Boma.

Thanks. DH says he goes for the food. We really like our dinners. The theming of the restaurants is so unique for us.