Our "Back So Soon" Trip!

JustMeFran

Mouseketeer
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
Our “Back So Soon?” Pre-Trip Report

Really? 3 years in a row? Craziness!

January 2016

January 2017


and soon-ish November 2018

OK...so not QUITE year, but close enough!

The Basics

Who

Me → Fran
My full time job is managing a horse farm. Logging in 14,000 steps everyday. On the side I work a part time job at another farm and I dream about Disney...more than many would even realize or believe possible!



Hubby → John

College professor, reader, tolerate-er of my Disney addiction.



Daughter → Rebekah

10 (to be 11 at time of next trip). Animal lover, major TsumTsum collector, all around amazing kid and a super Disney freak like me.



When
24 November to 2 December 2018

Where

POP Century, always will be POP!

2017 - 2016 - 2014


SO...here I how my Pre-Trip Report will go:


 
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Cast of Characters


This is me, Fran!

Times at WDW
8
1976, 1978, 1982, 1986, 2000, 2013, 2016, 2017


Here are some of my favorites

Favorite Park
EPCOT

Favorite Ride
I cannot choose just 1!
EPCOT- Tie: Spaceship Earth and Soarin'
MK- Tie: Haunted Mansion and Pirates
HS- Star Tours
AK- Expedition Everest

Favorite Character
Snow White


Favorite Resort
POP, but I dream of staying at the Contemporary

Favorite WDW Food
I dream of the Meatballs at Akershus!


Favorite Disney Movie
Meet the Robinsons and Bolt are SO underrated!!

Favorite Disney Memory
First time taking our daughter, crying when we watched the opening show at MK train station.


Also the first time I watched Wishes was SO moving!


This is John (Hubby)!

Times at WDW
3
2000, 2013, 2016

Here are some of his favorites
Favorite Park
EPCOT

Favorite Ride
Spaceship Earth

Favorite Character
Maleficent

Favorite Resort
POP!

Favorite WDW Food
Make-Your-Own Rice Krispy Treat


Favorite Disney Movie
Incredibles

Favorite Disney Memory
Toss up between...
First time we went for our Honeymoon.


Doing Rockin' Roller Coaster 3x in a row through the side door because we had celebration buttons on.


This is Rebekah (DD10/11)

Times at WDW
3
2013, 2016, 2017

Here are some of her favorites
Favorite Park
All, she cannot choose!

Favorite Ride
Figment!

Favorite Character
Figment, Pluto, Chip & Dale...or Talking Mickey...or Goofy...or Stitch...it was hard for her to choose just one.


Favorite Resort
POP!
Though she loves visiting Grand Floridian.

Favorite WDW Food
Mickey Pop

Favorite Disney Movie
Dr Strange

Favorite Disney Memory
ALL of her last times there!​

Next up
The When and Why and The Where and Why
 
I'm Robyn and I came over from facebook. We were there in Jan. 2017 but aren't going this year. We usually stay offsite and already have our house booked for 2019. Looking forward to following along.
 


Yay!!!

2 things:
1. You totally rock the red/orange hair. I am totally jealous:)
2. Can I come with?

Carrie from fb ;)
 
The When and Why and The Where and Why



Our last 3 trips have been in January. I consider us “January Goers”, and January to be our month.
I even run a Facebook Group for WDW January Travelers.
January is mine.



Being from New Hampshire, I need it to be cool. As much as I love Disney, you could NEVER get me there between April and September, too HOT!!

Also, historically, January had low crowds, and I really cannot stand too many people!


(so cold in 2017 we New Englanders were wearing mittens!)

So, this trip...24 November – 2 December.

Yup, not January.

Why, you ask?

Well, this trip was a gift to us from my dad for Christmas this last year. January 2018 was WAY too soon and we wanted to take this Christmas gift trip BEFORE next Christmas!
So I did a little of research to find the best time where it is cooler and low crowds.

So week after Thanksgiving is it!



I am excited for the holiday stuff to be in full swing and not just winding down. We cannot wait to see the gingerbread houses and the Candlelight Processional.

We will be taking our daughter out of school. We completely believe that you can make up school time, but you cannot make up family time! She will be just starting middle school, so I am interested to see how she will do with week off of school now.


(homework poolside!)

So, where will we stay?

POP.

Always POP.



We love it there. We do the parks all day and just use the room to sleep.
We love the Standard Lake Facing rooms. So quiet, nice view, close to the pool, dining and transportation.


(2016 - room 5118 view from our door)

(2017 - room 5335 view from our door)

We have only stayed at Value resorts. I would rather spend money on more days at this point. Maybe when we are all older we will move up to a Mod or rent DVC points (or join!). I would love to stay at Beach Club, not for the theming, but the location to EPCOT (which we usually do 3 day at).
Rebekah also has mentioned a few times that she would love to stay at the Grand Floridian (of course..) and I would love to stay at a Theme Park View room in the Contemporary.


So, I think that is it for When and Where!

Next up:

Dining!!​
 


Dining Time!

I always consider doing the Deluxe plan! We have a set of “Must-Do” that make it hard to find credits to try even more places (to put on our “Must-Do” list)! Someday I will splurge and do it (and they can roll me home in a food coma), but this trip Disney Dining it is.

So, I mentioned our “Must-Dos”...
1-

Our first ADR/supper is always Akershus. EPCOT is our fave park, meeting that many characters and getting their autographs all at one place, and those meatballs(!) all factor in to why. It is just a tradition we started for Daughter's first trip, and we love it!





2-

Our first breakfast ADR (first MK morning) is Chef Mickey. Again, another tradition we started during Daughter's first trip. The amount of characters you can meet in one place is great! We are breakfast people, fill up to last the day! Also taking a trip on the Monorail to get even more excited for the day is perfect.

To be completely honest, I did try to drop this one this next trip. As great as it is I really want to try new places...however Daughter was NOT having it, so it will stay.



3-

Tusker House breakfast for AK pre-park opening. Best breakfast buffet on property, hands down. We try to get a pre-park opening ADR, but the last time they changed park ours so that did not happen. HUGE selection, good quality, good characters. Then we head right over to the Safari to get on without a line. Not sure yet how Pandora will change this yet...







4-

Last supper, Liberty Tree Tavern. LOVE the food here. It is like getting back to normal food after being adventurous the rest of the meals.





SO, that does not leave that many credits on the table to use!

So, since we added that one night, we will have 9 table credits.
Here is what we decided on to try:

1-

Sanaa
Bread service.

Do I need to say more?

We like food with spice and are one the adventurous side for flavors.

2-

Spice Road Table

See above about our palettes...

Also, I am doing a 4-Parks-1-Day day (maybe just me, maybe Daughter, too, NOT hubby). I plan on doing EPCOT last, since that is where Hubby will be. We I thought I will try to get a dining with views of Illuminations AND somewhere new.

3-

Spirit of Aloha

We have wanted to do this for awhile. Since part of this trip is just taking if slower and enjoying more stuff outside of the park, I thought this would fit great.



Quick service-

I NEED to try Tonga Toast and since we have, at this point, used all our table service, we will be going to Captain Cooks to try the Tonga there (I know that the toppings are different between Kona and Cooks).

We will also do BoG at lunch. I think it is worth the quick service for the atmosphere, and sit down meal. On Hubby's last trip we did lunch, and when Daughter and I went last year we did supper, but without extra dining credits (2 credits when we go) lunch it is!





Other meals and snacks-

Daughter and I did the Afternoon Tea during our last trip and we LOVED it! So, we will be doing that again.





We plan on doing Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, so FOOD there!
For snacks, I want to get the Cheshire's Tail at Cheshire Cafe'. That just looks so yummy! We will stop and get a school bread, and a Croque Glacé at L'Artisan des Glaces. We plan on taking a walk over to Boardwalk, so maybe Ample Hills, or the Bakery or even a Mickey's Pants sundae!

Lastly, back in MK, I want to have a fruit and Nutella waffle from Sleepy Hollow.





Well, I think that is it for dining!

Next up...daily plans!

 
You have some good meals planned. We usually just do one breakfast at Crystal Palace. It's really our only must do. We usually eat breakfast before we go to the parks. We really loved Biergarten and I hope to do that again next trip. We also tried Liberty Tree Tavern and liked it but thought it a little high priced. We try to do at least one new restaurant each trip but I haven't figured out what that will be yet.
 
You have some good meals planned. We usually just do one breakfast at Crystal Palace. It's really our only must do. We usually eat breakfast before we go to the parks. We really loved Biergarten ...

We tried Biergarten, and as much as we tried to love it, and want to love it, we did not like the food. We loved the atmosphere and the seating and the entertainment, just too much meat for me!
 
Hiii! I’m happily following along as I’m going same week as you! I’m actually splurging for second time for TPV room at contemporary! Let’s be friends! :figment:
 
POP! is my favorite resort as well! Sounds like you all have a fun filled trip ahead of you!

3-

Spirit of Aloha

We have wanted to do this for awhile. Since part of this trip is just taking if slower and enjoying more stuff outside of the park, I thought this would fit great.

Quick Note: The Spirit of Aloha Luau is 2 dining credits and the food is basically the same as Ohana, minus the skewers of meat that come around. To my family, it wasn't really worth it. Your mileage may vary. The 'unlimited' wine, beer, and sangria was nice though.

Daughter and I did the Afternoon Tea during our last trip and we LOVED it! So, we will be doing that again.

How is this? I'm trying it for the first time on my trip in May and it looks awesome, but the menu is a bit confusing on the various sites...

Hope all of your planning goes smoothly!
 
POP! is my favorite resort as well! Sounds like you all have a fun filled trip ahead of you!
Quick Note: The Spirit of Aloha Luau is 2 dining credits and the food is basically the same as Ohana, minus the skewers of meat that come around. To my family, it wasn't really worth it. Your mileage may vary. The 'unlimited' wine, beer, and sangria was nice though.
How is this? I'm trying it for the first time on my trip in May and it looks awesome, but the menu is a bit confusing on the various sites...
Hope all of your planning goes smoothly!

We have done Ohana and were not happy with the service and wait. We are excited about the show and being at the Poly. We have other evening plans at the Poly that night, too (as you will see when I get to the day plans!).

We loved the tea! The menu online at AllEars is easier to understand. What makes it easier for us is that we don't drink alcohol, so that did not leave may options! LOL! The finger sandwiches were all really good, the tea was great and our server was really good at helping us decide what one to choose from. Which was:

The Bedfordshire Tea
-
First Course
Medley of Finger Sandwiches accompanied with Berries, Cheese and Lavosh
-
Second Course
Buttery Scone and Jam Tart
-
Finale
Choice of delicate House-Made Pastries, Strawberries and Creme, or English Trifle
-
Accompanied by your choice of tea
$35
 
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Whooohoo! Aw man, you're ptr is all pretty and organized like mine USED TO be. :rotfl2:

First and foremost, I have forgotten how to change the wording on a link, can you remind me??? I swear it used to have you insert the link and then asked what you wanted that link titled but it doesn't now?

Also, we must be Pop loving twins! We adore Pop, and my favorite is non preferred lake view!!!

Your daughter is beautiful! :lovestruc

Sana is hands down one of the best restaurants in wdw! Love the bread service!

I know I will think of 20 more responses, so I'll be back with those in a bit. :rotfl:
 
Whooohoo! Aw man, you're ptr is all pretty and organized like mine USED TO be. :rotfl2:

First and foremost, I have forgotten how to change the wording on a link, can you remind me??? I swear it used to have you insert the link and then asked what you wanted that link titled but it doesn't now?

Also, we must be Pop loving twins! We adore Pop, and my favorite is non preferred lake view!!!

Your daughter is beautiful! :lovestruc

Sana is hands down one of the best restaurants in wdw! Love the bread service!

I know I will think of 20 more responses, so I'll be back with those in a bit. :rotfl:

All I did was choose the words i wanted linked, highlighted them then clicked on the little chain pic up by the font info. It then will pull up a URL box, toss the URL in there and there ya go!

POP is the one and only for me now! I cannot imagine paying to stay anywhere else! LOL!

I need to do a bit of an update to this, our dining has changed a bit. I am still finalizing our where we will be when, so I was waiting to have that tied down a bit more until I updated again!

Thanks!
 
I am loving your PTR and I love your picture from when you were little! I have to dig out the picture of when my mom and grandmother took me. My parents took me a few times when we lived in GA when I was little. They stayed at the Poly since the only place to stay was there or Contemporary. Just like you, DH and I did our honeymoon there and from then on, we were Disney lovers (although it took us about 11 years to get back).

I second Karen's comment about Sanaa. We went in November and the bread service was still amazing, but they changed the entrees and they were only ok. The Spirit of Aloha is so much fun! We have done it a couple of times and loved it! We went to a Luau when we went to Aulani and I was pleased to see that Disney's Luau at the Poly is authentic! We are vegetarians so found out that we could request fish for our meal prior to coming. Our server was a bit grumpy about that, but she came around.

I love that you have a resort that you love! You DD and I are similar, GF is my favorite! We are DVC members and when the VGF were built, I couldn't resist! It is just so me in terms of resorts. We also have AKL as a resort and we love it for just being so different and peaceful. DD loves the Poly and I really enjoy it there as well.

Oh and by the way, you are totally not crazy for going 3 years in a row. One time we went 3 times between Dec and June, it was a crazy year. We tend to go a couple of times of year, we just can't get enough and we are finding different things to do and ways to go go go and ways to just relax and take it easy!

Ok, enough from me, I can't way to read more of your report!
 
I am loving your PTR and I love your picture from when you were little! I have to dig out the picture of when my mom and grandmother took me. My parents took me a few times when we lived in GA when I was little. They stayed at the Poly since the only place to stay was there or Contemporary. Just like you, DH and I did our honeymoon there and from then on, we were Disney lovers (although it took us about 11 years to get back).

I second Karen's comment about Sanaa. We went in November and the bread service was still amazing, but they changed the entrees and they were only ok. The Spirit of Aloha is so much fun! We have done it a couple of times and loved it! We went to a Luau when we went to Aulani and I was pleased to see that Disney's Luau at the Poly is authentic! We are vegetarians so found out that we could request fish for our meal prior to coming. Our server was a bit grumpy about that, but she came around.

I love that you have a resort that you love! You DD and I are similar, GF is my favorite! We are DVC members and when the VGF were built, I couldn't resist! It is just so me in terms of resorts. We also have AKL as a resort and we love it for just being so different and peaceful. DD loves the Poly and I really enjoy it there as well.

Oh and by the way, you are totally not crazy for going 3 years in a row. One time we went 3 times between Dec and June, it was a crazy year. We tend to go a couple of times of year, we just can't get enough and we are finding different things to do and ways to go go go and ways to just relax and take it easy!

Ok, enough from me, I can't way to read more of your report!
Uh oh. Do you know if they changed the butter chicken? I'm a vegetarian, but Rey LOVED the butter chicken, I'll have to prepare him for next trip if they took it away!!
 
I'm not sure about the butter chicken, we are also vegetarian so we weren't paying attention. The old menu use to have this way of getting a sample of a bunch of stews with rice, but that went away.
 

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