Florida Trip

[wtwo3]

You nincompoops got my Disney World thread shut down, so I'm creating a new one hopefully this time with more of a focus on things like rides/parks/restaurants. It's not that the discussion offended me... I couldn't give a rats ass - but the BP overlords don't appreciate that type of talk.

Anywho... I'm now 2 months out, and the vacation planner told me to submit restaurant requests because it's a madhouse of places getting booked up.... 2 months in advance! It's nuts.

Here's my current itinerary in Jan/Feb:

Saturday: Check-in to Animal Kingdom Resort; Dinner at Boma, Flavors of Africa

Sunday: Animal Kingdom Park; Dinner at either Tusker House or Tiffins (have reservations at both, will cancel one)

Monday: Epcot; Lunch at Space 220 OR Dinner at Teppan Edo (will likely cancel Teppan Edo)

Tuesday: Rest/Check out Disney Springs; Lunch at Sanaa, Dinner at Boathouse OR T-Rex (Will likely go with T-Rex since the kiddos love dinosaurs)

Wednesday: Magic Kingdom; Lunch at Cindarella's Royal Table and Dinner at Be my Guest

Thursday: Hollywood Studios; Dinner at Sci-fi Dine in Theater

Friday: Relax at the resort/ pack up to go home; Dinner at Chef Mickey's

Saturday: Check-out and fly back home

What do you guys think? Any must-do things/places to eat instead of the ones we selected? I had to pre-pay for Cindarella's Royal Table and goddamn you'd think we were dining at a Michelin star restaurant with the price they're charging.

[celsdogg]

looking forward to hearing about this. My son and his band are playing there next month and I am heading down for the weekend to see them. Never been there before.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by celsdogg

looking forward to hearing about this. My son and his band are playing there next month and I am heading down for the weekend to see them. Never been there before.

Nice! where exactly are they playing? I've been to Disney before as a kid, but it was a very budget experience... stayed off property in a crappy motel, ate McDonald's the entire trip, and did the bare minimum. So this time my wife and I decided to give our spoiled ass kids the "true Disney experience" we never had growing up.

[celsdogg]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Nice! where exactly are they playing? I've been to Disney before as a kid, but it was a very budget experience... stayed off property in a crappy motel, ate McDonald's the entire trip, and did the bare minimum. So this time my wife and I decided to give our spoiled ass kids the "true Disney experience" we never had growing up.

That will be great for them!

My son's band has a stage performance, not exactly sure where that is yet. Then the next day he is doing a parade with the marching band down in the Magic Kingdom.

Just understanding all the parks and where different things are is definitely a challenge for me, lol.

[Esteban]

Who would identify wtwo3 as spam? That is just wrong. Mods, please fix this.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Esteban

Who would identify wtwo3 as spam? That is just wrong. Mods, please fix this.

someone got mad that i called them a nincompoop perhaps

[Tommy-G]

This is the $30k trip finally coming to fruition. I was just there last weekend but as stated in the past my wife and I have a totally different agenda that someone with kids.

Friday we got in at noon, room wasnt ready at the Dolphin until 4pm. We headed over to Hollywood (always be MGM to me) and had lunch at the Brown Derby. Made fun of some of the adults going bonkers over Chip & Dale. The oddity here was they didnt have kids. Shockingly the park was not crowded at all. We were even able to get on the new Star Wars ride. Very anti climatic but whatever. Made our way back to check in and shower.
Had dinner res at Shula's Steakhouse for 8pm. Was a little early so we headed down for a drink. Got there and realized the clock in the room was not changed for daylight avings so we were REALLY early. 630 vs 8pm. Dinner was excellent as usual then headed to the lobby bar and chatted it up with some other couples.

Sat got up and into Epcot by about 11am. Humidity was almost unbearable. It wasnt hot per se but dripping with sweat. Hit up everything we wanted but wife was sad b/c the Tequila Cave line was insane. We usually wait about 15-30 minutes but this was likely 60+ so we bailed out and had some Italian wine instead. Did some shopping, had lunch in France and then headed back towards the room. Stopped on the Boardwalk at Abra Cadabra for a drink and back to the room. Exahusted we took a quick shower and ate downstairs at Todd English Blue Zoo. Passed out by 10pm

Sun packed up and hit the road for Disney Spring to do some shopping. Again, horrible humidity. Had brunch at the Boathouse. Never again. Eaten here for apps many times but 2 hours to get food and then it was cold and bland really killed our time. Did some shopping, wife got Christmas presents out of the way for her family and we headed home. Rained all the way but luckily no real traffic. Got home at 7pm and reheated some pizza.

Overall good trip but def very low activity this time. Likely b/c of the humidity. We did annual passes again and it priced out 4 days or more and you ave money. So we have 2 down and 11 months left.

Enjoy yourself wtwo3 I'm sure you're in for a whole different experience. If you need to run away and need a place to stay I am 2 hours South West...just hit me up! Hope you have a great time. Post pics when you get home.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Tommy-G

This is the $30k trip finally coming to fruition. I was just there last weekend but as stated in the past my wife and I have a totally different agenda that someone with kids.

Friday we got in at noon, room wasnt ready at the Dolphin until 4pm. We headed over to Hollywood (always be MGM to me) and had lunch at the Brown Derby. Made fun of some of the adults going bonkers over Chip & Dale. The oddity here was they didnt have kids. Shockingly the park was not crowded at all. We were even able to get on the new Star Wars ride. Very anti climatic but whatever. Made our way back to check in and shower.
Had dinner res at Shula's Steakhouse for 8pm. Was a little early so we headed down for a drink. Got there and realized the clock in the room was not changed for daylight avings so we were REALLY early. 630 vs 8pm. Dinner was excellent as usual then headed to the lobby bar and chatted it up with some other couples.

Sat got up and into Epcot by about 11am. Humidity was almost unbearable. It wasnt hot per se but dripping with sweat. Hit up everything we wanted but wife was sad b/c the Tequila Cave line was insane. We usually wait about 15-30 minutes but this was likely 60+ so we bailed out and had some Italian wine instead. Did some shopping, had lunch in France and then headed back towards the room. Stopped on the Boardwalk at Abra Cadabra for a drink and back to the room. Exahusted we took a quick shower and ate downstairs at Todd English Blue Zoo. Passed out by 10pm

Sun packed up and hit the road for Disney Spring to do some shopping. Again, horrible humidity. Had brunch at the Boathouse. Never again. Eaten here for apps many times but 2 hours to get food and then it was cold and bland really killed our time. Did some shopping, wife got Christmas presents out of the way for her family and we headed home. Rained all the way but luckily no real traffic. Got home at 7pm and reheated some pizza.

Overall good trip but def very low activity this time. Likely b/c of the humidity. We did annual passes again and it priced out 4 days or more and you ave money. So we have 2 down and 11 months left.

Enjoy yourself wtwo3 I'm sure you're in for a whole different experience. If you need to run away and need a place to stay I am 2 hours South West...just hit me up! Hope you have a great time. Post pics when you get home.

wow surprised about the humidity... is that normal in December? I'm really hoping the weather is nice when we're there end of January. I don't like humidity at all.

[bucketfoot]

We are there basically there the same time as you, we're just staying longer. (AKV for 5 nights then we move to the Grand Floridian). This will be the first of two trips there in 2024 as our older daughter is having her wedding at Animal Kingdom later in the year.

My first comment is that you are very smart to have a rest day in there. For food that day, just be aware that T-Rex is pretty much only good for entertaining kids. I've had better food at McDonalds. That said, it is probably a good choice

For your Animal Kingdom day, definitely go with Tusker House. It is a much better option than Tiffins with kids.

You are definitely spending a ton of money for food on your Magic Kingdom day, but quite frankly other than these two there aren't a lot of good food options in that park. Plus they are both meet & greets, so good for kids!

My personal favorite places to eat are probably Le Cellier (EPCOT) and Flying Fish (Boardwalk Resort). I would also recommend dropping into Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie in EPCOT for some treats.

Overall though it looks like you have a pretty good plan

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by bucketfoot

We are there basically there the same time as you, we're just staying longer. (AKV for 5 nights then we move to the Grand Floridian).

My first comment is that you are very smart to have a rest day in there. For food that day, just be aware that T-Rex is pretty much only good for entertaining kids. I've had better food at McDonalds. That said, it is probably a good choice

For your Animal Kingdom day, definitely go with Tusker House. It is a much better option than Tiffins with kids.

You are definitely spending a ton of money for food on your Magic Kingdom day, but quite frankly other than these two there aren't a lot of good food options in that park. Plus they are both meet & greets, so good for kids!

My personal favorite places to eat are probably Le Cellier (EPCOT) and Flying Fish (Boardwalk Resort). I would also recommend dropping into Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie in EPCOT for some treats.

Overall though it looks like you have a pretty good plan

Awesome! Yes many of the decisions were made with kids in mind Good call on Tusker house. Will also add Les Halles Boulangerie-patisserie to the list! Thanks for the suggestions.

[Tommy-G]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

wow surprised about the humidity... is that normal in December? I'm really hoping the weather is nice when we're there end of January. I don't like humidity at all.

No, not at all.....we go to Disney mostly between Nov-March and avoid the rest of the year. It was a fluke....Jan should be perfect.

[CamasM3e93]

We did Cindarella’ whatever Table in 2019, my daughter was 9 at the time. Somehow got a table in the center of the room. I don’t know if she remembers it, but to me that was the highlight of the whole week, watching the wonder in her eyes as all these classic characters floated about. You are wise to reserve ahead, 2 months almost too late by my memory. Enjoy the trip!

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by CamasM3e93

We did Cindarella’ whatever Table in 2019, my daughter was 9 at the time. Somehow got a table in the center of the room. I don’t know if she remembers it, but to me that was the highlight of the whole week, watching the wonder in her eyes as all these classic characters floated about. You are wise to reserve ahead, 2 months almost too late by my memory. Enjoy the trip!

That's what we're aiming for! That true Disney experience that my wife and I never got.

Funny thing is 2 months in advance is the earliest you can book.... but seems lots of other people know that as well. We hired a Disney vacation planner who apparently was up at 6am the day we were eligible to book reservations to try and get us our preferred reservations, and even then we had to shuffle some around and be flexible with some of the timings to get everything we wanted.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

I'm really hoping the weather is nice when we're there end of January. I don't like humidity at all.

Say what? Florida sounds like a plan then. Jokes aside I went there in October and the humidity was absolutely insane.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Say what? Florida sounds like a plan then. Jokes aside I went there in October and the humidity was absolutely insane.

October I can believe it. But was hoping late January/early February would be tolerable. I THINK it should be fine but I haven't been to Florida around that timeframe in a very long time so I don't recall what it's like.

[bucketfoot]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

October I can believe it. But was hoping late January/early February would be tolerable. I THINK it should be fine but I haven't been to Florida around that timeframe in a very long time so I don't recall what it's like.

I'm hoping for the same. We were there in Sept of last year and it was intense (a lot of 90F+/90%+ humidity days).

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

October I can believe it. But was hoping late January/early February would be tolerable. I THINK it should be fine but I haven't been to Florida around that timeframe in a very long time so I don't recall what it's like.

You should be good. Be easier to walk with such a light wallet anyways.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

You should be good. Be easier to walk with such a light wallet anyways.

[floridaorange]

FWIW - As the trip gets closer and you start to wonder how much you may or may not enjoy the experience - I think a good reminder is to try to always view what you are doing THROUGH the eyes of your children. That approach really helped me relax and be present on my trip to the grand canyon. Disney won't always be fun for you, but for your kids it will be like an unbelievable experience - plus you will enjoy it alot more if you choose to see everything through their vantage point, does that make sense? Have fun! When that perspective started to click in my brain leading up to the trip, it took a ton of pressure off of me to go try and enjoy everything as if the trip was somehow about me, it wasn't. And I ended up enjoying the trip alot more I believe because I got to share in their excitement. All of it was new for them and an exciting adventure for them.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by Esteban

Who would identify wtwo3 as spam? That is just wrong. Mods, please fix this.

hmmm…I missed that.

Originally Posted by wtwo3

someone got mad i called them a nincompoop perhaps

They were nincompoops!!

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by floridaorange

FWIS - As the trip gets closer and you start to wonder how much you may or may enjoy the experience - I think a good reminder is to try to always view what you are doing THROUGH the eyes of your children. That approach really helped me relax and be present on my trip to the grand canyon. Disney won't always be fun for you, but for your kids it will be like an unbelievable experience - plus you will enjoy it alot more if you choose to see everything through their vantage point, does that make sense? Have fun! When that perspective started to click in brain leading up to the trip, it took a ton of pressure off my me to go try and enjoy everything as if the trip was somehow about me, it wasn't. And I ended up enjoying the trip alot more I believe because I got to share in their excitement. All of it was new for them and an exciting adventure for them.

I did this a lot when my kids were young. A whole different perspective and a way to appreciate the little things in life.

[floridaorange]

^Right! It was like discovering where the pressure release valve was for my brain.

cattywampus "nincompoops"