Schedule Revision

I forgot to take into account something very important when I came up with my last schedule... Extra Magic Hours! Normally, I don't plan my days around where I end up at night so I basically ignore the Evening Extra Magic Hours all together. The schedule for October hasn't been released yet but i'm basing my schedule for October after September's Extra Magic Hours that have been released. If it is all different then i'll just have to suck it up and deal because once I book my ADRs i'm not going to flip them all around.

What's Extra Magic Hours (EMH for short) you ask? Basically, any guest staying at a WDW resort on property has the ability to get into a WDW theme park 1 hour early or stay in the park up to 3 hours past park closing. The smart people know that the evening EMHs aren't really worth it as you don't get much accomplished because more people are there. Why are more people there? Easy! More people would much rather stay out late than wake up early. Well, i'm a freak of nature and like getting up early at WDW so the morning EMH really works out for me well.

Right now, my revised schedule looks like this.

September 29 - AK ('till close) - Tusker House dinner
September 30 - EP - Le Cellier
October 1 - MK - Kona Cafe
October 2 - AK - Cape May Cafe
October 3 - DHS - Mama Melrose
October 4 - EP - Coral Reef
October 5 - MK - 'Ohana

Happenings Around WDW

I just wanted to talk about a few things that are going on in the parks right now down in Orlando. Lots of new technology... even if it is a little behind the times.

WDW just started a Mobile Room Ready Notification Service for guests staying at a WDW resort on property. Basically, when you check-in and if your room isn't ready, you give them your cell phone number and they will send you a text message or give you a call to let you know when your room is ready. That way you can feel free to mess around at your resort or head to the parks and start having fun. I'm surprised that WDW hasn't implemented this service yet but i'm very glad now that they have. There has only been on instance where my room hasn't been ready upon arrival (and we always arrive quite a bit before 3:00 p.m.) but still I think that it'd be nice to know when your room is ready so you can head back and freshen up or whatever. They will still give you your Key To The World card and your room will be attached but they won't tell you what room until it's ready. That way you don't try and get in early when the room isn't prepared for you yet.

Next up in WDW technology...the ability to book your ADRs online! This excites me as I hate having to use the telephone anymore than I have to. The only thing is... it sounds like there are still a few glitches in the system that they are going to have to figure out. If you call to try and book your ADRs like we've always had to before, you can book 90 days out from your arrival day plus 10 more days after that. Implementing the well known 90 plus 10 rule. It sounds like people are having issues using the 90+10 rule when booking ADRs online. The website says something about 5 days which i've heard means you can book in 5 day increments. So, if your vacation is 7 days, you will need to book your first 5 days ADRs and then go back in and do your last 2. Someone is thinking that if you put in your resort reservation number you should be able to book for your entire vacation but this hasn't been confirmed yet. I book my ADRs July 1st so if the kinks aren't worked out by then I will just call and book all 7 days.

Lastly, on May 8th a new stage show opened at the Magic Kingdom in Tomorrowland. It's Stitch based of course (what isn't these days), and includes go-go girls and break dancers to boot. Funnily enough, the show is closing at the end of the month already. Why? Well, it sucks. haha. Honestly, if you find it on YouTube and watch it you'll see how horrific it is. There is a rumor that the show isn't closing for good. Just for a while so they can tweek it (a lot hopefully) and then reopen when it's actually a decent show. Right now it kinda reminds me of an episode of Pee Wee's Playhouse... set in the future... with Stitch. Now, I love Pee Wee's Playhouse... don't get me wrong... but I don't wanna see something that bizarre at WDW. Some people are saying that they saw the show but couldn't stand there through the whole thing because of the heat. The guest area is not shaded at all and the sun just beats down heavily on patrons. I can understand that the heat could get unbearable but I don't think that it's a sole reason to close the show. The show is just bad and needs to be fixed ASAP. They've already wasted that space enough over the years by not utilizing it... you'd think they'd actually put a good attraction there. hehe. Guess not! :)

Next time... i'll probably post about dining... got food on my mind. :)

Update!

It's been a month since i've last updated my Disney blog. Clearly, this is the time when planning gets slow because not much new information is out for me to plan around.



Today, we confirmed our dining choices. We are going to pay OOP for Kona Cafe breakfast. We pay OOP (out of pocket) because it's not worth a dining credit. The price of the meal itself isn't at the higher end of the restaurant options so we'd be wasting a credit on a $12.00 meal per person when we could be spending it at a restaurant like Coral Reef which is about $30+ per person. For the other restaurants we will be using our DDP credits. I can't actually book our ADRs until July 1st but at least we know we've got what we wanted figured out. I took the time today to get onto touringplans.com to look at the crowd calendar for when we go. All 4's and 5's! Woo! I matched up our restaurants to the best park to go to on each day. All while thinking about other things we might like to do and when we'd like to do them.

September 29 - AK ('till close) then probably EP ADR: Tusker House
September 30 - EP ADR: Le Cellier
October 1 - DS ADR: Mama Melrose
October 2 - MK ADR: Kona Cafe breakfast
October 3 - EP ADR: Coral Reef lunch & Raglan Road late dinner
October 4 - DS ADR: Cape May Cafe
October 5 - MK ADR: 'Ohana

Raglan Road could get moved around. I'm still not sure where to put it. I really don't want to have to put Coral Reef as a lunch but, nothing else works as a lunch. I COULD put Raglan Road on the 2nd but I don't wanna rush anything at MK since we'll be getting a late start anyways because of having breakfast at Kona. I'm also hesitant to put Raglan Road on a Studios day since i'm not sure what day i'm going to audition for American Idol Experience. Right now, i'm thinking October 1st because the crowds will be lower...therefore my competition will be less stiff. And because my friend Ed will still be in WDW with his family and i'd like for them to be able to come and see me if I get a showtime.

I think I will have to sit on that one and think about it. Tough tough stuff. I may end up switching around a bunch of days to cater to this whole ordeal anyways.

Oh, so anyone out there see "Up" yet? I've now seen it 3 times and I am totally obsessed. I got an "Up" shirt at the Disney Store Tuesday. Wanna see?? http://twitpic.com/706cz
I wore it last night when we went to see the movie again. Matt also got one that is pretty awesome. I'm shocked that a medium fit him. And i'm even more shocked that a child's large fit me. Thanks Disney for making me feel tiny again.

How I Plan...

Some WDW vacationers fly by the seat of their pants. They make no real reservations, have no idea where they are going on what day, and certainly have no touring plans set. These people are the complete opposite of me. I'm not saying i'm a planning Nazi. I don't have every day planned out perfectly. I don't like to do that! I like SOME spontaneity.

What I normally do is figure out first what park I plan to START the day at. Not saying we will stay there the whole day because normally we don't stay at one park the whole day. I use Touringplans.com for crowd calendars and tips on what parks to avoid each day. The people that do the statistics for the website also write The Unofficial Guide. Without a doubt, that is the best WDW guidebook and I use that in my planning as well.

I then decide what restaurants my family and I would like to eat at. I always pick two back-ups just in case something is totally booked up when I make my Advanced Dining Reservations. I then take a look at what park i'm going to on each day and match up the ADRs by location as best as I can. Finally, I call the ADR number and set up all of my dining. Sometimes I have to adjust my daily schedule if I have to book a dining reservation on a different day than I had planned. No biggie. It all evens out in the end.

It's time to whip out the planning binder now! I LOVE my binder. I organize it the same way each and every time I go. That thing never leaves my side until we get to WDW. Then it stays safely in the room and I only take one page with me to the parks which is in a plastic page protector. Yes, nerdy... I KNOW! But, it works! The page I take with me has our starting park for each day and the times and confirmation numbers to each ADR. This is what that page looks like...

After that I then make my own "park guides" with the dates, opening times, and any special happenings like parades and fireworks going on. I sometimes also make note of what parks to avoid each day. This stays in my binder so I can easily look at it before heading out to the parks. I know you can retrieve time and event guides at the parks but this is idiot proof to me.

I wish I had a picture of my binder all finished to show you but.. I don't. These photos were actually from our honeymoon when I did a trip report for Intercot. Doing this sort of this is truly where I shine. I'm good at this. I love the research end of it all. FUN FUN!

I Like Food

Last night, as Matt and I were falling asleep, he randomly blurts out "when do you think we'll start booking stuff?" I said, "what stuff?" And he said, "dining reservations" as if that were the only answer.

I decided to pick his brain as to what restaurants he would like to go back to and ones he wouldn't mind staying away from in September. He said he loves Mama Melrose at the Studios and Cape May Cafe clambake at the Beach Club Resort. Matt's only breakfast request was Kona Cafe. He wants to stay away from Boma. New restaurants don't really interest him I don't think. I think he's afraid to try something new. I'll have to show him some menus to try and change his mind. haha!

My mom only requested two things out of the entire trip and one of them was that we eat at 'Ohana at the Polynesian Resort. At 'Ohana, they serve you family style. It is a meat lovers paradise. But, since it's family style, Matt and I always have found more than enough to eat with all the pastas and veggies available. We also eat fish and they have great peel and eat shrimp. The only, and I mean ONLY, downside to 'Ohana is the annoying and very loud singer/child wrangler. Only, she doesn't wrangle the kids so much as she gets them all fired up and running around. I could do without her. haha.

I could do without Matt's choice of Mama Melrose. I've down it twice and the first time was great but the second time was not so great. My pizza tasted like feet. I'd like to pass that restaurant up and try something new.

At Animal Kingdom Lodge, they just opened a new restaurant called "Sanaa." The menu looks pretty awesome and the place is just gorgeous. For a while now i've also thrown around the idea of checking out Le Chefs de France. That's another one I think my mom and Matt might gripe about. haha. Can you tell they like burgers and fries and a good steak (mom)? Tusker House at Animal Kingdom also seriously interests me after I read a great pescetarian review on it. It's a buffet with all types of indian and african flare. Give me spiced tofu!

I do have some restaurants that I would like to go back to for one reason or another. Le Cellier (yeah, it's a steakhouse) is one i've been itching to get back to. I had the best salmon in the world there on our honeymoon. The service was also outstanding. Everyone was ridiculously sweet. Also, I always request that we go back to Coral Reef which is where Danny Tanner and Vicky dined on an episode of Full House. And because of this, I always have to request a table next to the tank. Oh, yeah... I also SWAM in the tank! : ) haha! Anyways...I'd like to take Matt to Teppan Edo because he has never been there and my mom and I really liked it in September. You sit around a giant grill and the chef cooks all of your food in front of you. Onion volcano anyone?

The amazing Chocolate Wave at Coral Reef

The dining area at Teppan Edo in Epcot

And, finally, the buffet area at Tusker House.

Hungry yet?!?!

Pop Century Resort

Pop Century Resort at WDW is a value resort. The only value outside of the All-Star clan. It is also the newest of all of the value resorts. I have stayed at Pop in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. When I walk into the lobby I always say "i'm home." It just feels very Disney. The theme is "decades" and each section of the resort has it's own icons to let you know what decade you are in.

That is the main entrance sign. Below is an overhead view of the entire resort.

The lobby is awesome! Along the right wall when you walk in there are shadow boxes with memorobilia from all of the decades. Really interesting and you could spend a half hour just checking out all of the cool stuff. Check in always is really speedy because they have so many people working. Straight ahead of check in is Everything Pop. In there is the gift shop and the food complex. The gift shop is quite large and has lots of Disney garb as well as essentials like toothpaste and condoms (yes, condoms are available... not that I would know from personal experience).

Like I said, each section is pretty defined. Unless you are a moron of course. The 50's section is my personal favorite. I love the music and the icons. There is a giant jukebox and a bowling pin pool. Pretty freakin' awesome if you ask me. The 60's and 70's share a flower pool. Everything has a "hippy" vibe to it. The 80's and 90's have a "computer" pool. I always thought it looked dumb until I stayed there myself. I actually enjoyed the 80's quite a bit!

The rooms at Pop are very basic. Not Best Western basic but Disney basic. Which means, it's not as plain as a regular chain hotel. But, it's no deluxe resort. I've never walked into my room dirty. Mousekeeping has always been great. I'm picky about bathrooms and how clean they are. I've always felt comfortable in Disney hotel rooms.

I could go on talking about the bus stop but that is pretty average. The busses get filled up quickly so be out early and be prepared to stand a while at times. Also, if you wanna go to Downtown Disney... take a cab.

Last thing before I go.... the best part about Pop Century..... cheesecake!!!

Price Breakdown

The cost of our Fall 2009 trip is probably going to be one of the most inexpensive WDW trips we've ever taken. Thank the Lord because we aren't made of money here. I consider myself an expert at saving money on a WDW vacation. And in these tough economic times, you sort of have to be if you want to feed your WDW addiction regularly. So, let's take a look at how much this amazing vacation is going to cost us.

For my birthday, my family pitched in some money for me to get an Annual Pass to WDW. I have to put a lot of my own money towards it but that's okay. An AP gains you access to all of the four major WDW parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom) for 365 days from the day you activate your AP. Disney also releases room only discounts different times of the year. You can also get many discounts on dining and merchandise, as well as free parking. I wanted an AP so I could take friends more easily. I could get money off the hotel room and my park tickets will already be paid for. Really, I am just looking for a way to make it to WDW as often as I can. :)

For an Annual Pass in 2009, the cost is $499.00. The average 7 day park hopper ticket is just over $300. Or... somewhere around there. If I plan on going to the parks for more than 10 days within one year, I am saving money.

By me having an AP, it threw a bit of confusion into the booking process. We ended up having to book everyone with a one day base ticket. Once we get to the parks on our first day, we'll just upgrade Matt and Mom to a 7 day park hopper. I won't need to upgrade my base ticket because i'll have my AP. The upgrade will cost them $216.00 each.

The cost of 3 adults, with 1 day base tickets, staying at Pop Century from September 29-October 6 is $1022.85. That is $340.95 per person. Then add in the cost of the ticket upgrade for mom and Matt... $557.96.

Remember, we won't be paying for food this entire trip unless we chose to eat something off of the dining plan. The DDP is very flexible and always works very well for us. On the DDP, you get 1 snack, 1 Quick Service Meal, and 1 Table Service meal for each night of your stay. I can't even explain how much food this includes. Often times we don't even use all of our snack credits up. It's just so much food to consume in one day!

I looked yesterday morning at flights and found some really great prices that I just didn't want to wait on. With my luck, they would go up as soon as I decide to wait. Well, what I found was round trip flights out of Detroit International to Orlando International for just $139.19 per person! That's great! I am happy to report that I booked 3 people today for just $417.00 round trip! Paying for things makes it feel so official... :)

The breakdown looks like this for mom and Matt...

Upfront part of package = $340.95
Ticket upgrade = $217.00
Flights = $139.19
__________________________
Grand Total = $697.14

The breakdown for me looks like this...

Upfront part of the package = $340.95
Annual Pass = $500.00
Flight = 139.19
__________________________
Grand Total = $980.14

It's a small price to pay for one heck of a vacation.