Childfree (by choice) Disney Lovers!

[danijake]

Hello Everyone! We just got back today from vacation - we were gone a total of 14 nights (2 on the road there, 9 at WDW, 2 at US/IOA, and 1 on the road back) and boy did we miss our furbabies!

We had a great trip and I will be posting my thoughts on some of the highlights

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

 

[mrsclark]

Today I thought I would share the dining details of our recent trip with you.

As promised, I will post photos of the custom cakes I had made for us, I just have to figure out how to the get the photos from the camera to someplace where I can get to them (DH is an IT manager AND computers are also a hobby of his - so let's just say he has set up some sort of sophisticated IT infrastructure in our house that I am still figuring out how to use)!

We are now getting back into everyday life, where, as DH puts it, when you get hungry, you can't just go find a themed snack cart five feet away with delicious food on it to satisfy any craving you might have. So instead, I will recap the trip.

Details of our Trip:

Left our home in St. Louis on Saturday 8/31 and took two days to drive to WDW. We checked in to the Beach Club Villas on Monday 9/2 and stayed for 9 nights. We then did 2 nights at Loews Royal Pacific at Universal and one night on the road on the way back home.

Food Highlights:

Garden Grill (Day 1): This is our go-to dinner spot for our first night at WDW and has become a tradition for us. The food once again was great and our server was awesome. She was quickly able to tell I am a picky eater. She offered to bring me anything on the kids menu in addition to the adult plates, so in addition to eating a lot of turkey and mashed potatoes, I also got mac and cheese with goldfish crackers on top, which while strange, tasted good. Next up for me (while DH ate the "grown up" dessert) which was cupcake in a cone - very sweet and a nice portion size. We also had great character interaction - we ate early since that was our first and only big meal for the day - so some of the characters came around twice.

Tusker House (Breakfast) - (Days 2 and 6): Did this on our second morning. Tater tots. I love tater tots. After this trip, Tusker House has now become our number 1 favorite place for breakfast at WDW. I wore a Three Caballeros t-shirt and Donald noticed right away - we got great pictures with him. They had great crumb cake too (not as good as my homemade crumb cake, but still very good). We liked breakfast so much that we booked it again for later on in the stay.

QS Meals Part 1 (Day 4): Really liked the QS in the back of France at Epcot. We had never been there before. I got the Quiche Lorraine and DH got a ham and cheese. Everything tasted freshly prepared and was very rich.

QS Meals Part 2: Perhaps it is the kid in me, perhaps it is the picky eater, but I like a hot dog and fries at Restaurantasaurus at AK (Day 8) and at Cosmic Rays at MK (Day 9) - I guess I don't need to apologize for liking them, I just do!

The Mid-Lights (Not sure if that is really an expression):

Raglan Road (Day 2): Got the nom nom wings to start - great combination of spice/heat and sweet in the sauce. The wings were also well-cooked. We both got hamburgers. I got french fries which were wonderful and DH got onion rings which were also very good. I called this a mid-light because while the bread pudding was good it wasn't as good as our visit last year. DH and I both agreed that the sauces that came with it seemed "off." I use the word off to mean just didn't taste the same as we remember, not that they were spoiled or anything.

Kouzzina - Breakfast (Day 3): Probably built this up in my mind too much after reading so many raves. We started off with the fresh fruit bowl which had apples, strawberries, pineapple, blueberries, and melon. It was a very big portion size so it was more than enough for the two us. DH was more impressed with the main courses we ordered - eggs, turkey sausage (me), bacon (him) and breakfast potatoes - than I was.

Argh, I haven't even mentioned cupcakes or snacks yet! Still to come: my thoughts on Sci-Fi, The Wave, Private Dining at BC, Captain's Grille, The Plaza and our giant disappointment in Le Cellier (I suppose giant is an exaggeration, but a disappointment).

 

[BudgieMama]

Another child-free (for now, anyway) couple, planning our first ever WDW visiting for next August. I'm so glad we're doing this now (before any small people become part of our lives). I've wanted to visit WDW as long as I can remember, so I'm over the moon we're making a trip for just me and my DH Looking forward to hearing any tips you all have!

 

[tinkrbell1437]

Childfree and headed to WDW in December Super excited! Glad to see so many other CF couples and families (our kitties are all the children we ever want or need!!) - I actually feel better knowing that we aren't the only ones

I booked us for Tusker House on our last breakfast so I am super excited to hear they have tater tots!!!! Om nom nom nom nom!

 

[tinkrbell1437]

I am probably the only person who does not care to use it and I hope they do not have it for my December trip.

I am completely the opposite I'm sorry that you aren't excited about it, but the good news is, ou can still use a KTTW card if you want

I have a friend who works for Disney and is at WDW right now for a conference... I am having her pick up a bunch of Magic Band accessories We will have awesomely customized bands when we start our trip!! We are getting sliders and bandits and covers (oh my!!)

 

[mrsclark]

Amazing how much we miss them, isn't it?

I usually need the first 2 or 3 days of vacation to get over worring that they are okay w/out us (despite the fact we have a fantastic cat sitter who I think they like more than they like us).

Yes - when we were at Loews RP, which is pet friendly, I saw a lady with her dog and all I could think about is how much i missed our furbabies!

Our dog Dobby is what I term a special needs dogs. He has moderate separation anxiety when we are NOT on vacation (moderate only because he is on medication), but when his routine is messed up he can really flip out. We adopted him from a shelter when he was 2 years old. He had been surrendered there by his previous owners who obviously did not socialize him when he was a puppy. He has a lot of quirks - for example, he does not know how to be polite to other dogs - just doesn't have a good grasp of doggy communication. Our amazing Princess Tonks totally accepts and tolerates his quirks - she is that amazing of a dog! It was a little rough when we first got her with them getting along, but now when its cold outside, they curl up and sleep together! Anyway, my stepmom attempted to watch him for our 2011 trip and called me about 1/2 through the vacation, "help he is stressing me out and freaking me out!" So, and I know a lot of pet lovers on this thread might not agree with this choice, we board him. We use the same kennel each time and the staff knows about him and his quirks. He is about 65lbs and a Doberman mix with the issues I just mentioned so neither my mom nor my mother in law feel comfortable taking care of him while we are gone (not to mention my stepmom). I have thought about getting a pet sitter but that is complicated because I would not feel comfortable leaving him at a pet sitter's house if they had any pets at all - he is only good with things that are familiar to him. And I am not sure about having a pet sitter come to our house because he is special needs.

Tonks on the other hand is a complete angel. My mom stayed at our house and watched her while we were gone. I think Tonks misses her and she misses Tonks! Mom shares some of her dinner with Tonks and let's Tonks sleep in bed with her ( we allow our dogs on our couch and comfy chairs, but not in our bed), so Tonks was living in the lap of luxury while we were gone.

 

[BudgieMama]

We have four budgies, known as our fids (feathered kids). We love them to pieces, and miss them like crazy. Whenever we're away we check up on them via webcam, even though our budge sitter is lovely and leaves us with no worries about them. We went to NYC in the summer and the time difference made the checking up hard. Sometimes I think it'd be easier just to holiday in the UK and always take them with us!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who misses their furry/feathery/scaly family when they're away!

 

[zima-cheryl]

Yes - when we were at Loews RP, which is pet friendly, I saw a lady with her dog and all I could think about is how much i missed our furbabies!

Our dog Dobby is what I term a special needs dogs. He has moderate separation anxiety when we are NOT on vacation (moderate only because he is on medication), but when his routine is messed up he can really flip out. We adopted him from a shelter when he was 2 years old. He had been surrendered there by his previous owners who obviously did not socialize him when he was a puppy. He has a lot of quirks - for example, he does not know how to be polite to other dogs - just doesn't have a good grasp of doggy communication. Our amazing Princess Tonks totally accepts and tolerates his quirks - she is that amazing of a dog! It was a little rough when we first got her with them getting along, but now when its cold outside, they curl up and sleep together! Anyway, my stepmom attempted to watch him for our 2011 trip and called me about 1/2 through the vacation, "help he is stressing me out and freaking me out!" So, and I know a lot of pet lovers on this thread might not agree with this choice, we board him. We use the same kennel each time and the staff knows about him and his quirks. He is about 65lbs and a Doberman mix with the issues I just mentioned so neither my mom nor my mother in law feel comfortable taking care of him while we are gone (not to mention my stepmom). I have thought about getting a pet sitter but that is complicated because I would not feel comfortable leaving him at a pet sitter's house if they had any pets at all - he is only good with things that are familiar to him. And I am not sure about having a pet sitter come to our house because he is special needs.

Tonks on the other hand is a complete angel. My mom stayed at our house and watched her while we were gone. I think Tonks misses her and she misses Tonks! Mom shares some of her dinner with Tonks and let's Tonks sleep in bed with her ( we allow our dogs on our couch and comfy chairs, but not in our bed), so Tonks was living in the lap of luxury while we were gone.

If you have found a good place that he likes & is comfortable with then I don't see any issue w/kenneling. You have to do what is best for them.

 

[mrsclark]

If you have found a good place that he likes & is comfortable with then I don't see any issue w/kenneling. You have to do what is best for them.

I wouldn't go so far as to say he likes it - his ideal world is one where I would never be out of his sight and/or hearing range. He loves me husband (when we first got him, he would whine and stare out the window if I left, but my husband was still home) and my mom but I am his person. My husband and I decided to adopt him on a Friday night, but the shelter was closing and we didn't have the necessary supplies (food and water bowls, collar, leash, etc.) because he was our first dog as married couple or even as adults, I guess. So I went back and got him by myself the next morning because at the time I was volunteering for that shelter, so I picked him up after my volunteer shift. From the moment I put him in the backseat of the car, I think he decided that I am his human. So while I don't think I would go so far as to say he likes being boarded, I know the staff understand his quirks and can safely and comfortably handle him while we are away.

 

[CynBeth]

Childfree and headed to WDW in December Super excited! Glad to see so many other CF couples and families (our kitties are all the children we ever want or need!!) - I actually feel better knowing that we aren't the only ones

I booked us for Tusker House on our last breakfast so I am super excited to hear they have tater tots!!!! Om nom nom nom nom!

Our trip is in Dec as well. When are you going? We will be there 12/7-12/15.

 

[ActThePart]

Childfree by choice, and headed to WDW in 28 days!

My sister wants to raise a family, so I told her that her kiddos are going to have the coolest auntie EVER! AND I'm already planning trips to Disney World with her someday kids!! Gotta earn that coolest auntie title!

 

[mrsclark]

Everyone who has trips planned in the next few months - would love to hear the details! Where will you be staying and do you have anything special like an exciting ADR or a tour booked?

 

[mrsclark]

Biggest dining disappointment of the trip!


Tonight I thought I would share our biggest dining disappointment of the trip - lunch at Le Cellier. This was our first visit there since they changed to a signature restaurant all day with the same menu all day too.

In the past, I would pass on ordering a steak because I tend not to eat large cuts of meat often. Instead, I would order a bowl of the beer cheese soup with a side of cream cheese mashed potatoes (one of my favorite dishes in all of WDW). Imagine my disappointment when I found out you can't order those, I know it was partially my fault for not doing research beforehand, but I was still let down. In the past, I would also split a side of Mac and cheese with my husband and that is no longer offered either. So I just ordered a bowl of the soup while my husband ordered a steak. The waitress even later made a backhanded comment - oh did just the soup fill you up? I guess with all that bread we bring you could get full from that - obviously implying that she thought I was being cheap! My husband said the steak was NOT worth the high end restaurant price, a similar quality steak could be had at any national chain. We wouldn't mind paying if the steak was really good, but it wasn't. DH also mentioned that they seemed to be trying too hard to make everything fancy - his side was something along the lines of roasted Yukon gold potato wedges and they tasted awful. They took a restaurant with really great comfort food and turned it into a snobby restaurant with subpar food. Another example, even the poutine (which we didn't order) has been made fancy with seafood on it or on the plain version a red wine reduction - I am not from Canada but that sounds like a creative chef dish rather than authentic Canadian poutine. if they could pull it off and everything on the menu tasted great amd really high quality, then good for them, but really what they did was just ruin a really good thing. So unless they make major changes we won't be going back. We also noticed how empty the restaurant was - it used to be impossible to get a reservation... I am sure part of it is people on the dining plan no longer get to use one meal at lunch instead of two credits, but maybe others (especially those that pay OOP which we always do with the exception of our 2009 trip) have voted with their money and stopped going?

 

[zanzibar138]

Everyone who has trips planned in the next few months - would love to hear the details! Where will you be staying and do you have anything special like an exciting ADR or a tour booked?

My next Disney trip is not until September 2014. But in the next few months, we're heading to Singapore for a long weekend. Then we'll have a trip to SE Asia for our anniversary (Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, finishing up at the same hotel we stayed at on our honeymoon)

 

[franandaj]

In about a week, I leave on a really cool trip to WDW with a bunch of other DISers. We've been planning this trip for a couple years and it should be a lot of fun.

The next week after one day at home we fly back to Atlanta for another fun trip.

 

[zima-cheryl]

Biggest dining disappointment of the trip!


Tonight I thought I would share our biggest dining disappointment of the trip - lunch at Le Cellier. This was our first visit there since they changed to a signature restaurant all day with the same menu all day too.

In the past, I would pass on ordering a steak because I tend not to eat large cuts of meat often. Instead, I would order a bowl of the beer cheese soup with a side of cream cheese mashed potatoes (one of my favorite dishes in all of WDW). Imagine my disappointment when I found out you can't order those, I know it was partially my fault for not doing research beforehand, but I was still let down. In the past, I would also split a side of Mac and cheese with my husband and that is no longer offered either. So I just ordered a bowl of the soup while my husband ordered a steak. The waitress even later made a backhanded comment - oh did just the soup fill you up? I guess with all that bread we bring you could get full from that - obviously implying that she thought I was being cheap! My husband said the steak was NOT worth the high end restaurant price, a similar quality steak could be had at any national chain. We wouldn't mind paying if the steak was really good, but it wasn't. DH also mentioned that they seemed to be trying too hard to make everything fancy - his side was something along the lines of roasted Yukon gold potato wedges and they tasted awful. They took a restaurant with really great comfort food and turned it into a snobby restaurant with subpar food. Another example, even the poutine (which we didn't order) has been made fancy with seafood on it or on the plain version a red wine reduction - I am not from Canada but that sounds like a creative chef dish rather than authentic Canadian poutine. if they could pull it off and everything on the menu tasted great amd really high quality, then good for them, but really what they did was just ruin a really good thing. So unless they make major changes we won't be going back. We also noticed how empty the restaurant was - it used to be impossible to get a reservation... I am sure part of it is people on the dining plan no longer get to use one meal at lunch instead of two credits, but maybe others (especially those that pay OOP which we always do with the exception of our 2009 trip) have voted with their money and stopped going?

WDW really messed up Le Cellier unfortunately.

It really did used to be a gem! Good food, great staff. Once management figured out how popular it was they kept tweaking & changing stuff until they messed it all up. It certainly isn't worth the price (OOP or Dining Plan) any more.

As for the rude staff, I notice that more at a lot of restaurants since the Dining Plan dropped the included tip. I think the staff is getting stiffed a lot more because of it & it shows in their attitude. We always make it clear when we sit down we are not on the dining plan & that tends to help. If we do have dining plan before they even ask we let them know we are on it, we intend to order extras & know tip is not included. Too bad you have to do that, but we find letting the staff know we have them covered if the service is good improves the quality of the service we get.

 

[gcarney]

Our next trip us January 2014. We can't wait. Saving my Christmas bonus for a week of fun.

 

[tinkrbell1437]

Our trip is in Dec as well. When are you going? We will be there 12/7-12/15.

Killing 2 birds with 1 stone! Here's our dates and plans coming up in 68 days!

The trip is my brother and his partner and my husband and me, heading to WDW to celebrate birthdays (mine and my bro's partner)

We arrive on 11/30 and depart 12/7 (So, we'll just miss you CynBeth!) and are staying at CSR in Business Class rooms.

We are on the regular dining plan and have all of our ADRs made already and are just waiting for FP+ to hit the 60 day mark to start booking those My friend is bringing us Magic Band Swag so we can decorate our bands before we arrive! I am super excited about that!

The crowd calendars are looking busier than normal, but as long as it is not peak season crowded, I think I will be happy. The last time we went was over MLK weekend in 2013 and that was busy, but not crazy horrible. Hopefully this trip will be like that or even less crowded (knock on wood!)

Looking forward to hearing about other people's rips!

 

[glaserjm]

We leave for WDW in 38 days, 1 hour, 15 minutes and 16 seconds. Yes I have a crazy countdown app that is constantly running...but that's how excited I am!

We leave on November 1 at 12 PM and are starting the drive down. We plan on getting the bulk of the driving done that day and have a hotel booked just south of Atlanta in McDonough, GA. We'll likely be getting there around 10:30 PM. We'll get on the road early the next day and will hopefully be pulling into Old Key West around 3 PM (of course we have a lunch stop planned at some BBQ restaurant in Valdosta that Joe found!)

We will be at OKW for 8 nights and really have a lot of "firsts" on this trip that I'm looking forward to. We will be dining at 50's PrimeTime, Kona and Boma each for the first time. We are attending our first MVMCP and Osborne Lights and I'm doing my first RunDisney (Jammin' Jungle 5k).

We are also attending our 2nd Food & Wine festival and while it's not a "first"...I'm just as excited about it as I was the first time since I already know that I absolutely LOVE it!

Oh only 38 days to go!

 

[mrsclark]

We leave for WDW in 38 days, 1 hour, 15 minutes and 16 seconds. Yes I have a crazy countdown app that is constantly running...but that's how excited I am!

We leave on November 1 at 12 PM and are starting the drive down. We plan on getting the bulk of the driving done that day and have a hotel booked just south of Atlanta in McDonough, GA. We'll likely be getting there around 10:30 PM. We'll get on the road early the next day and will hopefully be pulling into Old Key West around 3 PM (of course we have a lunch stop planned at some BBQ restaurant in Valdosta that Joe found!)

We will be at OKW for 8 nights and really have a lot of "firsts" on this trip that I'm looking forward to. We will be dining at 50's PrimeTime, Kona and Boma each for the first time. We are attending our first MVMCP and Osborne Lights and I'm doing my first RunDisney (Jammin' Jungle 5k).

We are also attending our 2nd Food & Wine festival and while it's not a "first"...I'm just as excited about it as I was the first time since I already know that I absolutely LOVE it!

Oh only 38 days to go!

Can't wait to hear all about MVMCP - I have always wanted to go, so I would love to hear your review!

Also would love to hear your thought on 50's PT and Kona.

Also if you like BBQ, there is a highly rated BBQ place in Clermont, FL a little NW of WDW called Uncle Kenny's - the owner/head pit master is originally from St. Louis!