Let's 'Bounceback' to WDW! September 2-9, 2017 POR Pre-Trip Report

[VACamm]

This Pre Trip Report begins with my family sitting on the Magical Express in front of the Caribbean Beach Resort on September 10, 2016. We had just finished an 8 day Disney World Vacation, and were getting ready to leave the resort to head back to the airport to catch our flight home.



While sitting on the bus, I turned to my husband and said "Are we coming back next year?"

He said... "We definitely need to come back next year to see Pandora when it opens at Animal Kingdom!"

I got all... "Ok, well if we're going to book the Bounceback (Free Disney Dining), we need to do it before the end of our vacation... which is in about 1 minute when our bus drives away!"

I will never forget his response..... "Do It!"

So, while sitting on the Magical Express, in front of the Caribbean Beach Resort entrance, I frantically dialed Disney Reservations and booked our 2017 Disney World Vacation with Free Disney Dining! Woooo Hooooo!

I'm Aimee, and this will be my 17th vacation to Disney. I work full time as a Grants Manager for a University. In my SPARE time I am a full time wife and mom to 21 year old and 14 year old sons.

Favorite Disney Park: EPCOT
Favorite Disney Character: Pluto, Pocahontas, Mickey
Favorite WDW Restaurant: Ohana, Via Napoli, Chef de France
Favorite WDW Snack: Popcorn!!
Favorite Disney Movie: Pocahontas
Favorite Disney Ride: Spaceship Earth, Space Mountain






My husband Kevin is the Extension Agent, Agricultural Agent, and 4H Agent for our city. We have been married for 6 years, and he also inherited 2 stepsons and 2 cats! He grew up never going to Disney, but after we took him with us 5 years ago, we have gone back every single year!
Favorite Disney Park: EPCOT
Favorite Disney Character: Carl Fredrickson, Mickey Mouse
Favorite WDW Restaurant: Mama Melrose, Le Cellier
Favorite WDW Snack: Giant Cookies from all of the bakeries in the parks
Favorite Disney Movie: Up
Favorite Disney Ride: Living with the Land, Test Track, Soarin'





Ethan is our 14 year old son who is obsessed with becoming a Pixar storyboard director or creative director.
Favorite Disney Park: EPCOT
Favorite Disney Character: Simba
Favorite WDW Restaurant: Sci Fi, Ohana, 1900 Park Fare
Favorite WDW Snack: All WDW Cupcakes
Favorite Disney Movie: Lion King
Favorite Disney Ride: Rock N Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest, Test Track







The details... so far there aren't many details because its so early:

When: September 2nd - September 9th, 2017
Where: Port Orleans Riverside - Preferred Room
Who: Myself, my husband Kevin, and our 14 year old son Ethan
Dining Plan: Free Dining... 6th year in a row!
Tickets: 6 Day Park Hoppers

I look forward to being able to update my PTR as the time gets closer with dining reservations and our daily plans.

If you would like to read about the trip that sparked this Pre-Trip Report, please follow along with our current Trip Report in my signature line.

We love to talk Disney, so please let us know if you have any questions about any of our vacations!

Thank you for following along!

 

[VACamm]

Hello and Happy New Year! I unfortunately havn't updated my PTR in a really long time, since November 3rd actually. A LOT has happened in the past few months since I've posted.

* We went on vacation in November to Newport, Rhode Island
* We went on vacation in November to Boston, Massachusetts
* We went on vacation in December to New York City
* We booked a condo in the Gulf of Mexico (Madeira Beach) for June
* We booked our very first Cruise for this Christmas!! Christmas in the islands anyone???
* We also made a HUGE decision and added my father to our September Disney vacation!

My father battled cancer all last year, and had surgery as well as cancer treatments. He normally travels with us every year to WDW, and after him asking several times when we were going next, we decided to add him to our reservation.

So we are now once again a Party Of 4 that will be staying at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort - September 2nd thru September 9th, 2017. We have booked a Preferred room and will be staying in the Alligator Bayou section so that Ethan can sleep on the pull down bed. Last year, Ethan slept on the pull down bed at CBR and he really loved it and said it was very comfortable!

Its still too early to book ADR's and FP's... but we recently started those conversations which lead to....

I think that this trip we will be trying a new tactic for ADR's. We are thinking that maybe we can choose ALL NEW RESTAURANTS with no repeats of past vacations! We would have to make a list of EVERY restaurant on WDW property that we havn't tried, and only pick ADRs from that list. Still thinking about it though...

Is anyone else going to be at WDW during the same week? If so, how do you choose your ADR's?

 

[VACamm]

Happy Thursday! I don't have any REAL updates for our September WDW vacation,

However, I'm definitely in full blown planning stage!

According to the trip countdown on my phone, we have 226 Days until our trip. It makes me happy every time I think about it!!

The 4th of July is our Disney Fast Pass + day... which is going to be such a bummer! I will have the day off from work since its a National Holiday, but I will still need to wake up at 6:00am to be sitting at my laptop to make my FP's. Too early on my day off.... but of course I do what I gotta do!

March 6th is our Disney ADR Day which is only 48 days away! We really need to make a plan, and then a back up plan for our dining options. Kevin literally always gets up with me and makes me coffee on ADR day... he is my cheerleader while I am trying to get what we want and the times we want!

Kevin and I have continued our Disney ADR conversation, and we are in agreement that we are going to try our very best to ONLY eat at new restaurants that we haven't eaten at before. There are a couple of restaurants that I've eaten at years ago before I met my husband, so I'm including them to be in the running.

After going through every single WDW park and resort restaurant and removing every restaurant that we have eaten at, here is the final list that we have to choose from:

Magic Kingdom:
Conderella's Royal Table
Skipper Canteen
Tony's Town Square
EPCOT:
Biergarten
Marrakesh
Nine Dragons
Spice Road Table
Teppan Edo
Tutto Italia
Coral Reef
Garden Grill
Hollywood Studios:
50's Prime Time
Hollywood and Vine
Hollywood Brown Derby
Animal Kingdom: Tiffins
Animal Kingdom Lodge:
Jiko
Sanaa
Beach Club:
Cape May Cafe
Boardwalk:
Flying Fish
Trattoria al Forno
Caribbean Beach Resort
Shutters
Contemporary:
California Grill
The Wave
Coronado Springs: Maya Grill
Dolphin:
Shula's Steak House
Todd English Bluezoo
Fort Wilderness Resort:
Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue
Mickey's Backyard BBQ
Trail's End Restaurant
Grand Floridian:
Citricos
Narcoosee's
Victoria and Albert's
Grand Floridian Cafe
Old Key West:
Olivia's Cafe
Polynesian:
Ohana (we have eaten breakfast here, but not dinner)
Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show
Port Orleans Riverside: Shutters
Saratoga Springs:
Il Mulano
Wilderness Lodge:
Artist Point
Yacht Club:
Beaches and Cream
Yachtsman Steakhouse
Disney Springs:
Bongo's Cuban Cafe
Homecoming
House of Blues
Paradiso 37
Portobello Country Italian Trattoria

We have the Disney Dining Plan, so we will have 7 Table Service Credits to make ADR's with. I know that a lot of the restaurants listed use 2 table service restaurants and we are ok with that!

Over the next couple of days, we are going to sit down with this list and look at menus to see which ones look delicious!

I would LOVE some suggestions from anyone who is reading this PTR! Are any of the restaurants on this list YOUR favorites? Or are any of the restaurants on this list your least favorites? I would love some recommendations!

 

[VACamm]

Happy Saturday! Its rainy and yucky here, so we are staying in. I just watched Beaches, and I of course cried at the end. Its one of my favorite movies of all time.

I remembered a few minutes ago that we recently added my dad to the vacation reservation, but I forgot to introduce him here on my Pre Trip Report. Ooops. So without further delay...

My father, otherwise known as Rob, or Papa (by his grandchildren) has been on ALMOST every one of my Walt Disney World vacations. I have been to WDW 16 times, and I am fairly certain that my father has been with me for 12 of those vacations. He is the person who instilled such a love of Disney in my life. We would read Disney books in the 1970s, watch Disney specials whenever they would come on tv in the 70s and 80s, and watch Disney movies on VHS tapes in the 1980s. Our first trip to WDW was in 1984 when I was 10 years old, and when it was only Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. It was amazing and we were HOOKED.

Favorite Disney Park: EPCOT
Favorite Disney Character: Jiminy Cricket
Favorite WDW Restaurant: Boma
Favorite WDW Snack: Dole Whips
Favorite Disney Movie: Pinocchio
Favorite Disney Ride: Splash Mountain







Only 224 Days to go!!!

 

[VACamm]

Our 2016 WDW vacation was at the Caribbean Beach Resort. We did NOT enjoy our stay at the CBR partly because our room was SO FAR AWAY from the main building. Our vacation style is one that we refill our mugs several times a day, and we use the main pool every single afternoon. We really prefer to be close to the main building and main pool area especially in the mornings for our daily 7:00am coffee run! Unfortunately at the CBR we did not pay for a preferred room, and for that I blame myself. I honestly feel that if we had a better room location, we may have liked the resort a bit more.

You can read about our September 2016 trip here in our trip report: We're Basically Here For The Food! Sept 2016 CBR Trip Report!

For our 2017 WDW vacation, we will be staying at the Port Orleans Riverside resort in a Preferred room.

As you can see in this map, the 4 blue buildings that are closest to the main building and also to the main pool are are the Preferred room locations.

The last time that we stayed at the Port Orleans Riverside was in 2005. We stayed in Magnolia building in the Mansion Section. It was beautiful and very fancy feeling!

For this vacation, we booked a preferred room and the only preferred room location is in the Alligator Bayou section. I really am not a huge fan of the rustic swamp look, but I do like the convenient location and we also need the pull down bed that is only offered there.

Ethan stayed on the pull down bed at Caribbean Beach Resort, and he fit perfectly. He also said it was very comfy! We are huge fans of The Princess and The Frog, and I think that Louis is a cute addition to the extra bed in the Alligator Bayou.

I am actually really looking forward to staying in a different section of the resort to experience the POR in a different way. I ALSO am really looking forward to being so close to the food court for convenience purposes.

Have you stayed at both the Alligator Bayou AND the Mansion section? If so, which section did you prefer the most?

 

[Raeven]

So we'll actually be there at the same time (ish) now! We'll be getting there on the 8th! And we're looking at staying at PORS too. I'm considering the royal rooms.

 

[VACamm]

So we'll actually be there at the same time (ish) now! We'll be getting there on the 8th! And we're looking at staying at PORS too. I'm considering the royal rooms.

Say whaaaaat? That's amazing! If it works out well will definitely have to meet up! Last year i think that we missed each other by 1 week!

I've only heard wonderful things about the Royal Rooms. It must be wonderful falling asleep to the Fireworks every night!

 

[Raeven]

Say whaaaaat? That's amazing! If it works out well will definitely have to meet up! Last year i think that we missed each other by 1 week!

I've only heard wonderful things about the Royal Rooms. It must be wonderful falling asleep to the Fireworks every night!

Yes! We were originally going back the same week as this year but F&W starts earlier and MNSSHP has been happening earlier too so we moved it! And I agree we'll have to meet!

Once the discounts come out I have to see how much it'll be but it'll either be those or a regular room at PORS.

 

[VACamm]

Yes! We were originally going back the same week as this year but F&W starts earlier and MNSSHP has been happening earlier too so we moved it! And I agree we'll have to meet!

Once the discounts come out I have to see how much it'll be but it'll either be those or a regular room at PORS.

Yay! I hope that the discounts are amazing, and that you get to stay at the Royal Room!

 

[VACamm]

It’s dreary outside and rain is in the forecast again for this Sunday afternoon. I’m snuggled up on the sofa looking at Disney Vacation information online.... of course.




Since we are going to WDW the same week in that we went last year, I think that we are going to use the same park plan because it worked out perfectly for us.


Disney hasn't posted the park hours yet for September, so I’m going to use the same spreadsheet that I worked off of in 2016. Once Disney actually posts park and event hours for our vacation dates, I will be able to re-evaluate and change things around if I need to.


So for right now, at 223 days away, our park plans are:


Saturday 9/2:
Travel day
Check In at POR
Magic Kingdom for Wishes


Sunday 9/3:
Rope drop Animal Kingdom
Afternoon pool /nap break
Animal Kingdom in evening
NOTE: Hopefully Pandora will be open!!


Monday 9/4:
Rope drop Hollywood Studios
Afternoon pool /nap break
Hollywood Studios in evening for Star Wars Fireworks


Tuesday 9/5:
Rope Drop Magic Kingdom
Afternoon pool and nap break
EPCOT in evening for Illuminations


Wednesday 9/6:
No Park Day: Sleep in, Pool day, and Disney Springs in evening.


Thursday 9/7:
Rope drop EPCOT
Afternoon pool /nap break
EPCOT in evening.


Friday 9/8:
Rope drop EPCOT
Afternoon pool /nap break
Magic Kingdom in evening for Wishes.


Saturday 9/9:
Travel Day Home

Everything may end up be switched around once Disney releases park and event hours, but for right now it makes sense for us to follow the same plan as last year.

This afternoon Kevin and I are going to sit down and narrow down our potential restaurant list for ADR's! This could get ugly, because we each want to try different ones. I think that there is might be a lot of Rock Paper Scissors happening in my living room very shortly. Stay tuned......

 

[VACamm]

It was REALLY hard, but this afternoon Kevin and I have narrowed down our ADR choices to 14 restaurants.


1. Magic Kingdom:
Cinderella’s Royal Table (2 table service credits)

2. Magic Kingdom:
Skipper Canteen



3. EPCOT:
Biergarten - Germany (I have not eaten here since 2005)

4. EPCOT:
Teppan Edo - Japan (I have not eaten here since 2005)

5. EPCOT:
Tutto Italia - Italy

6. Hollywood Studios:
Hollywood and Vine (Character meal)

7. Animal Kingdom:
Tiffins - 2 table service credits

8. Animal Kingdom Lodge:
Sanaa

9. Boardwalk:
Trattoria al Forno

10. Contemporary:
The Wave

11. Fort Wilderness Resort:
Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue (2 table service credits)

12. Grand Floridian:
Grand Floridian Cafe

13. Polynesian:
Ohana Dinner

14. Port Orleans Riverside:
Boatwrights

We still have work to do, because we only have 7 nights that we need to make dinner ADR’s for. That literally means that we have to cut the list in half. We only so much room in our schedule, so this is really hard!


HELP!


Have you eaten at any of the above Disney restaurants? Which ones are your favorites? Which ones do you not like? What are your favorite dishes and least favorite dishes?


I love trying new restaurants at Disney, and I am so excited at this preliminary list!

 

[Raeven]

We did Ohana dinner, Sanaa, and Hoop De Doo which should all be in my dining reviews. Sanaa was so good and Hoop De Doo was really fun, I wasn't a huge fan of Ohana's put I'm a picky eater.

We may try Boatwrights in Sep and we plan to do GFC in May.

 

[VACamm]

We did Ohana dinner, Sanaa, and Hoop De Doo which should all be in my dining reviews. Sanaa was so good and Hoop De Doo was really fun, I wasn't a huge fan of Ohana's put I'm a picky eater.

We may try Boatwrights in Sep and we plan to do GFC in May.

Thanks girl! I'm going to go read your Dining Report right now. Its also helpful that your bf is also Gluten Free!

 

[Raeven]

Thanks girl! I'm going to go read your Dining Report right now. Its also helpful that your bf is also Gluten Free!

Ok! I think we did Hoop De Doo in the 2015 one, Ohana in the sep 2016 one and sanaa in the dec 2016 one if that helps!

 

[VACamm]

Ok! I think we did Hoop De Doo in the 2015 one, Ohana in the sep 2016 one and sanaa in the dec 2016 one if that helps!

Yep, I just read all 3 of your Dining Trip Reports! Your reviews of Hoop de Doo, Ohana dinner, and Sanaa have helped TONS! Your boyfriend and his Gluten Free adventures really helps me out a lot.

 

[Christi0909]

Following along, my family will be there Sept. 3-9! We're not 100% settled on our resort yet, but thinking Coronado Springs!

 

[VACamm]

Following along, my family will be there Sept. 3-9! We're not 100% settled on our resort yet, but thinking Coronado Springs!

Welcome, and thank you for reading along!! Have you ever been to WDW during September before?

Coronado Springs Resort is my FAVORITE WDW resort! The rooms are amazing, the pool is spectacular, the food court is fabulous, and the bus service has always been amazing for us! We have stayed at Cabanas and Casitas... but never Ranchos. If you like a gorgeous and quiet resort, CSR will be perfect for you!

 

[Christi0909]

Welcome, and thank you for reading along!! Have you ever been to WDW during September before?

Coronado Springs Resort is my FAVORITE WDW resort! The rooms are amazing, the pool is spectacular, the food court is fabulous, and the bus service has always been amazing for us! We have stayed at Cabanas and Casitas... but never Ranchos. If you like a gorgeous and quiet resort, CSR will be perfect for you!

No, we have not been in September, but my sister and I went early Nov last year and were so happy with the lower crowd levels, so we were looking to hopefully get that again! This time it will be me, my husband, my 4 and almost 2 year old daughters, plus my sister, her husband and their 7 and 2 year olds.

We were actually debating between CS and CBR (and really hoping to snag free dining!), but your last TR has kind of scared me off CBR!

 

[VACamm]

No, we have not been in September, but my sister and I went early Nov last year and were so happy with the lower crowd levels, so we were looking to hopefully get that again! This time it will be me, my husband, my 4 and almost 2 year old daughters, plus my sister, her husband and their 7 and 2 year olds.

We were actually debating between CS and CBR (and really hoping to snag free dining!), but your last TR has kind of scared me off CBR!

You're going to be really happy with the low crowd levels after Labor Day. It's wonderful!

CBR.... *sigh*. I stayed there many many there years ago in Martinique next to the main building and loved it! Fast forward to last September when I requested Martinique but didn't reserve a Preferred room. Our room was literally so so so far away from eveeeerything.... it was definitely not my favorite WDW vacation and put a bad taste in my mouth about CBR. I think that if I was in a Preferred room that our experience would maybe have been different. I still will say that the main pool was waaaaaay too crowded though.

We have stayed at CSR twice and everyone in my family absolutely agrees that it's our favorite! It's so nice that it's like a Deluxe resort at a Moderate price. The pool and pool bar are fabulous!

Whichever reaort that you decide will be an amazing vacation though... because.... DISNEY!!!

 

[Christi0909]

We have stayed at CSR twice and everyone in my family absolutely agrees that it's our favorite! It's so nice that it's like a Deluxe resort at a Moderate price. The pool and pool bar are fabulous!

Whichever reaort that you decide will be an amazing vacation though... because.... DISNEY!!!

Exactly! I think you've sold me on CSR--you had me at pool bar