I'm going to Disney World - oh wait, no I'm not...

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crazycatperson's picture
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I'm going to Disney World - oh wait, no I'm not...

Hubby got us a timeshare exchange into Saratoga Springs from Saturday, November 16 to Saturday, November 23!

So being the obsessive WDW planner most of us are, I've already sketched out a tentative schedule and made a couple of ADRs.

Saturday - arrive via Magical Express, maybe dinner at Saratoga Springs, maybe MK for the evening if we get in early enough
Sunday - Epcot daytime, DHS evening for EMH
Monday - Epcot daytime, MK evening for EMH
Tuesday - AK morning/early afternoon, MK late afternoon/early evening, dinner at Ohana at 8:10, maybe stop at Downtown Disney after dinner
Wednesday - DHS daytime, Epcot evening
Thursday - MK all day and MVMCP
Friday - AK all day, dinner at Boma at 5:55, either Epcot EMH or Downtown Disney after dinner, then back to Saratoga Springs to pack
Saturday - check out, daytime at Epcot until we need to get back to Saratoga Springs and catch the Magical Express

I'll almost certainly tweak these plans as schedules and crowd estimates are revised. The only things set in stone are the Ohana ADR and MVMCP. (You can almost always get into Boma, so that one can be changed if necessary.)

Any of these days could involve a stop for me at a different park. Hubby likes to sleep in, but at WDW I tend to get up early and want to hit the parks ASAP. So on any given day I could be at DHS before rope drop just to ride Toy Story Mania, or at MK to get to new Fantasyland as early as possible.

The two ADRs above might be all of them. We ate way too much on our last couple of trips and might prefer to do mostly counter service this time around. We'd also like to try as many of the Epcot World Showcase counter service restaurants as we can; there are several we've never been to.

We might try getting to BOG before they open for dinner one day to see if we can get in, but it's already too late for an ADR and I'm not standing in line two hours for lunch.

So OMG I get to plan a trip again!

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AWESOME!! yay

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JoAnn C's picture
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Yay! We'll be there at the same time along with a few other folks. We'll have to plan a meet up.

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yay yay clapping clapping awesome awesome clapping clapping yay yay

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yay clapping Woo Hoo love that Disney planning. mickey

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mrhub wrote:
No , actually it was a young women named Amelia something, but we had to land and get directions, scrappy told her how to get to Florida, but she left without us and we haven't heard from her since! She still has our luggage!

Mrhub you are so sly. I had to read this twice to figure out you meant. Duh. eek

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Yay!!!!!!!!! yay

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JoAnn C wrote:
Yay! We'll be there at the same time along with a few other folks. We'll have to plan a meet up.

Yes!

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yay Thats awesome!

Allie's picture
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Wohoo for a surprise Disney trip! Can't wait to hear more as the plans unfold! yay

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Not exactly a surprise; we had it in mind to go sometime this fall or winter and just needed to work out when the timing was right and when we could get a timeshare exchange. But getting it nailed down and KNOWING when we're going, making the ADRs, getting the airline tickets, etc. makes it all seem MUCH more real than just "well, sometime...."

Of course, I've already tweaked the tentative schedule a bit. I'm sure by November it will barely resemble the one I posted above. But that's okay; with just one ADR that can't easily be rescheduled and the MVMCP tickets not purchased yet, we're quite flexible.

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WHoo hooo Hoorah for a new Disney Trip!

disneydoc's picture
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How wonderful! I had a blast on my November trip, and already have the next one on the books at Jambo. It is such a great time to be there....but when is it not, really?

Hey....I am going to WDW next Saturday! Happy dance! yeah

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disneydoc wrote:
How wonderful! I had a blast on my November trip, and already have the next one on the books at Jambo. It is such a great time to be there....but when is it not, really?

Hey....I am going to WDW next Saturday! Happy dance! yeah

Wohoo! banana banana banana

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I know, Allie! I wish you guys were coming too. I have actually been to the World when pregnant - my kid's dad and I went when 5 months along with #1 (of 4!!!). I don't remember having any issues at all - but I was a lot younger then too. wheelchair And I don't think I rode Space Mtn. Smile

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Reading Kristen's excellent trip report got me wondering...

What counter-service options would you recommend around Epcot's World Showcase? The only requirement is that there be no CHEESE involved. (Cheese, ick.)

Kristen, you mentioned tacos. Which tacos, and did they have cheese on them?

Anything else? Anybody?

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crazycatperson wrote:
Kristen, you mentioned tacos. Which tacos, and did they have cheese on them?

Hrmmm... I don't remember if they had cheese on them or not I don't think so. I just remember flavored beef (slightly spicy) on a white corn soft tortilla shell. I squeezed a lime over them and they were amazing! Or I was cranky and hungry and just needed a happy point in the day. Maybe some of both!! mickey

They were from La Cantina de San Angel in Mexico Here's what AllEars.net says about them:

Tacos de Carne - smoked beef brisket tacos served on fresh handmade corn tortillas with Pico de Gallo, lime and corn tortilla chips $11.99 http://allears.net/menu/men_cant.htm

Here's La Cantina's review from DFB!
http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2012/03/18/review-la-cantina-de-san-angel/

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Thanks much, Kristen. La Cantina de San Angel is on our list of places to try. We've never eaten there (or at most of the other World Showcase counter-service restaurants) since we usually go during F&W Fest and just graze our way through the festival booths.

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Still more than four months to go and I've already revised the plans.

Saturday - arrive via Magical Express, Downtown Disney and Earl of Sandwich
Sunday - Epcot daytime, Cape May Cafe dinner ADR, DHS evening for EMH
Monday - DHS daytime, MK evening for EMH
Tuesday - MK all day, Ohana dinner ADR
Wednesday - AK all day, Boma dinner ADR, either Downtown Disney or Epcot after dinner
Thursday - DHS morning, Epcot afternoon, MVMCP evening
Friday - DHS morning, MK afternoon and maybe Liberty Tree Tavern lunch ADR, Epcot evening for EMH
Saturday - check out, daytime at Epcot until we need to get back to Saratoga Springs and catch the Magical Express

I rearranged the park plans to get more variety from day to day. Added Cape May Cafe to Sunday's plans because I wanted to go there last trip and didn't. And added the Liberty Tree Tavern lunch Friday as a "contingency" ADR in case we've already hit all the counter-service places at MK. If we haven't, we'll cancel the ADR. All meals that aren't specifically listed as ADRs above will be counter service, especially at Epcot, where we plan on hitting pretty much every country around the World Showcase.

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Love it! I like to hit 2 or 3 parks a day too. mickey

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We've got a bit more than two months to go. At the moment our daily schedule looks something like this:

Saturday - arrive via Magical Express, Downtown Disney and Earl of Sandwich
Sunday - Epcot daytime, Cape May Cafe dinner ADR, DHS evening for EMH
Monday - DHS daytime, Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater lunch ADR, MK evening for EMH
Tuesday - MK all day, Ohana dinner ADR
Wednesday - AK all day, Boma dinner ADR, either Downtown Disney or Epcot after dinner
Thursday - Cape May Cafe breakfast ADR, Epcot afternoon, MVMCP evening
Friday - DHS morning, MK afternoon and Liberty Tree Tavern lunch ADR, Epcot evening for EMH
Saturday - check out, daytime at Epcot until we need to get back to Saratoga Springs and catch the Magical Express

BUT...we may need to make some changes to our plans.

After 22 years with my current employer and 7 years on my current contract, the U.S. government has decided not to extend the contract at the end of the fiscal year September 30. (Big surprise, I know, what with all the sequestration and furloughs and government cutbacks. But I was hoping for the best.) And the gargantuan corporation I work for does not let employees hang around charging overhead if they don't have an active contract to work on. So if they don't find me an open position by the end of the month, I'll be unemployed on October 1. Fortunately, after 22 years at that company, I have over 10 weeks of unused vacation time accrued, giving me till nearly the end of the year before we start to feel a serious financial pinch.

The Disney trip isn't in jeopardy since it's already largely paid for - we've got the airline tickets and the Saratoga Springs unit taken care of, just need our park tickets and meals. But if I'm unemployed, most or all of those wonderful ADRs will have to go, replaced by more affordable counter-service meals and breakfast items we'll bring from home. (We won't have a car, so eating off property won't be an option.) MVMCP will also be out of the question at over $60 per ticket - we can spend that evening at Epcot instead.

We had planned on getting an annual pass for this trip and returning sometime next spring and again next October, but if I'm unemployed that will change to a length-of-stay park-hopper pass (gotta have that park-hopper). Next fall, if I've got a good job by then, we'll revisit the annual pass idea.

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Oh no!!! I'm glad that most of the trip is paid for already only leaving minor details to get taken care of. I'm sure you'll have a job by Oct 1.

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I guess with the time share exchange you cant get the free dining? Sad

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I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you. crossfingers

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Oh no! I'm glad that your trip isn't going to get canceled, but the prospect of unemployment is never good. Here's hoping that they find you a new position! crossfingers

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TroyW wrote:
I guess with the time share exchange you cant get the free dining? Sad

No, unfortunately, no free dining for us. But the money we saved doing the timeshare exchange is much better than paying regular room rates and getting free dining.

And thanks for the good words, everyone.

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I'm glad your Disney trip is still safe, but sorry to hear about the job stress! Hoping everything works out for you!

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On the FUN side, I just called and made our reservations for the Magical Express! So in about a month we'll be getting MICKEY MAIL!

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Love Mickey mail! clapping mickey

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MICKEY MAIL!!!!

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crazycatperson's picture
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And I'm wondering about my ticker - it used to be accurate, but right now it says we have 1 month and 11 days when in reality we'll be departing exactly one month from today.