Planning

Dates: We planned on visiting Disney 1/13/15 - 1/16/15. We also planned to take a cruise out of Port Canaveral 1/16/15 - 1/19/15. We picked these dates because it worked well with my work schedule since I was off Monday, 1/19. We originally planned to visit Disney for just one day, but because of the deal we found, we decided to add one more day to the mix. We wanted to do Disney first because MLK weekend is always super crowded at Disney, so it was best to go to Disney during the week.

Resort: We knew right away we wanted to stay at the All-Star Sports Resort. This is where we usually always like to stay. We waited until discounts were released before booking our trip. The discounts for our trip dates were released in October. I did not rush to book our trip. However, I analyzed the offers available to see what would be our best option. There were two discounts: Room Only or Play, Stay, and Dine (PSD). The room discount only saved us 20% off the room since we were staying at a value resort. The PSD package basically gave us the Dining Plan for adults at children prices. Mom and I had already decided we wanted to eat at two table service restaurants. When I did the price comparison of the room discount + our food costs vs. the PSD package, the PSD package came out to be the better option. We got a 2 Day Parkhopper ticket as well.

Dining Reservations: I really wanted to eat at The Garden Grill and Teppan Edo. Mom and I did some research, and we decided to eat at Tony's Town Square as well. We had three table service credits a piece, so we needed three restaurants. It was important to know this information before making our plans. Since we are only there for two days, we had to make sure we were at the right parks at the right time for meals. The only one that was tricky was The Garden Grill. They are only open for dinner. Once we decided what parks we would go to each day and in which order, we made our dinner reservations. I will say, I made our dining reservations before booking our trip. I made the dining reservations on October 11. I wanted to be certain we would get the times when we wanted. So here were the final picks:

January 14: The Garden Grill, 6:00 pm
January 15: Tony's Town Square, 12:00 pm
January 15: Teppan Edo, 6:50 pm

*Side note: Don't panic if you are making dining reservations late year for early the next year and you get an email stating the dining plan isn't accepted at that restaurant. That probably just means everything hasn't been negotiated. This happened to us with Teppan Edo. By the time I confirmed early January, the website had been updated to state it did accept the 2015 Dining Plan. The rule of thumb is use the restaurants listed in the current year Dining Plan. More than likely those same restaurants will be included on the next year's Dining Plan.

Plans: I made our plans using Touring Plans. This helped me officially decide the Fastpasses as well. We first decided what day and order we would do the parks (Wednesday: Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot. Thursday: Magic Kingdom and Epcot). Next, mom and I went through and made a list of every ride we wanted to do at each park. I then used the touring plans website and started with park 1 (Animal Kingdom), and entered the rides, then optimize. If I liked it, I saved it. Otherwise, I might re-arrange things and hit evaluate until I got the results I wanted. I did this for each park. I decided to get Fastpasses at Hollywood Studios for Day 1 and Magic Kingdom for Day 2. I worked this into the plans. When 60 days arrived, I booked our Fastpasses. I have the touring plans app so that I can keep track of my plans anytime I want. I also took screenshots of the Fastpasses to have on hand in case the internet is wacky at Disney.

Hollywood Studios plans via Touring Plans

View of Personalized Plans via Touring Plans App

Sample screenshot of plans via Touring Plans App

Trip Report

Room Details: Below are the details of the room we were given at the All Star Sports Resort. This is pretty standard, and you can probably find a lot of this information on their website, but I also wanted to include it here.

Two Full Size Beds
Large TV Stand with three drawers, 8 total shelves on the sides, and a refrigerator
Nightstand with alarm clock, phone, and one drawer
Small table with two chairs
Overhead Light above each bed and a light above table with chairs
Luggage Rack
Max low setting for air is 68
Small Coat Rack
One Sink with facial soap, two wash clothes and two hand towels
Iron and Iron Board
Safe
Some hangers with a shelf
In actual bathroom you had a bar of soap, one bottle of combined shampoo/conditioner, and two bath towels
All towels and soap products were replaced daily as needed

Travel Day: We arrived at the All Star Sports Resort around 6:30 pm and checked in. We were in and out in about 5 minutes max. Since we did online check in before arriving, they already had all of our information ready for us, including my Birthday Button that I wore the entire trip. There is also a special line for those that do online check in. After check in, we drove around to our building, took up our luggage, and freshened up. Because of construction and parking issues at Downtown Disney, we decided to take the buses.

We got in line for the buses around 7. We finally arrived at Downtown Disney about 7:45. Looking back, we probably should have driven ourselves, but parking is such a mess, I am not sure it is really worth it. We had dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express using our Disney Dining Plan. Mom and I each got one thing and split it. She picked out the BBQ Chicken Salad with cheesecake, and I got the Pepperoni Pizza with creme brûlée. All of the food was amazing as usual.

After dinner we walked around Downtown Disney and did some shopping. We went to the Market Co-op, World of Disney, and the Lego Store to name a few. Of course we made a few purchase before heading back to the room. We got back around 10:30 and showered before going to bed around midnight. Our alarms were set for 5:30 am!

Pandora Charms from our Downtown Disney Shopping

Full Day One: Again, we had the alarm set for 5:30 am. We got up and ready and were at the food court around 7. Using our Disney Dining Plan, we split the bounty platter and also got a bottle of water although we used our Rapid Refill Mugs during breakfast. We put the water in our backpack to use later in the day. We went to the bus stop around 7:30. Animal Kingdom was supposed to open at 8 for Extra Magic Hours. We arrived at about 7:55 and walked right in! Below you will find the Animal Kingdom rides we rode in the order we rode them along with their wait times:

Dinosaur - 5 minute posted; walked on
Expedition Everest - 5 minutes posted; walked on
Kilimanjaro Safari - 10 minutes posted; walked on
It's Tough to be a Bug - 10 minutes posted; walked on

We did contemplate riding Expedition Everest one more time, but after riding it the first time, we were a little uneasy about doing it again immediately. After It's Tough to be a Bug, we made the decision to press on since we were ahead of schedule and try and accomplish more things. We left Animal Kingdom at 9:30 to head for Hollywood Studios. Yes, you read that correctly. We did Animal Kingdom in an hour and a half. We did not feel rushed or let down at what we accomplished. We literally did everything we wanted to. On our trip in September, the only additional activities we did were the Finding Nemo and The Lion King shows. We also rode Expedition Everest probably six times and It's Tough to be a Bug was being refurbished so we did not do that. There are other rides and lots of exhibits, but they did not appeal to mom and me. So unless your family loves animals and wants to do all the exhibits, Animal Kingdom is definitely a half day park at best.

We arrived at Hollywood Studios at 10:15. Below you will find the Hollywood Studios rides we rode in the order we rode them along with their wait times and any breaks we had:

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster - 30 minute posted; 20 minute waited
Lunch at Catalina Eddie's
Toy Story Mania - Fastpass
Muppet Vision - 5 minutes posted; walked on
The Great Movie Ride - 10 minutes posted; 10 minutes waited
Tower of Terror - Fastpass
Shopped as we walked
Break at Oasis Canteen for a funnel cake (snack credit) and coke
Star Tours - Fastpass

The Christmas tree was still up at Hollywood Studios.

We decided to eat lunch at Catalina Eddie's because it was right outside of the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster area. They did not open until 11, so we did have to wait a few minutes. We used our Disney Dining Plan. I had the pepperoni pizza with caesar salad and banana parfait while my mom had the Italian sandwich with chips and the banana parfait. The food was really good. This was my first time to eat here, and I would definitely go back! It is right next to Rosie’s All-American Cafe, so it gives your family a wide range of options. The only potential problem is that all the seating is outside, but it is shaded. It was in the 60s that day, so this didn’t bother us. Since we were moving so fast after watching Muppet Vision, we decided to see if we could move our Tower of Terror and Star Tours fast pass time. We were able to move them about 30 minutes earlier. We left around 2:30 to head to Epcot.

We arrived at Epcot at 3. Below you will find the Epcot rides we rode in the order we rode them along with their wait times and any breaks we had:

Spaceship Earth - 10 minutes posted; 10 minutes waited
Shopping at MouseGear
Test Track - 30 minutes posted; 30 minutes waited
Cool Zone
The Seas with Nemo and Friends - 10 minutes posted; walked on
Living with the Land - 0 minutes posted; walked on
Break at Sunshine Seasons - 30 minutes
Dinner at The Garden Grill - 6 pm

A few notes as well about our time at Epcot. If you love the music to Illuminations, like Brad does, you will have a hard time locating the CD. MouseGear has it however, but the stock is limited. When we went in September, we could not find it to save our lives. On this trip I found it with ease, but the castmember who checked me out did say they just got a stock in and it doesn't last long.

Cool Zone is a really neat stop that you should make if you haven't before. You get the opportunity to try different sodas from around the world. The Beverly is a must!

As far as rides go, one of the best at Epcot is Soarin', but the wait time was 45 minutes and when we finished Living with the Land we had exactly 45 minutes until our dinner reservations. We did not want to risk being late for dinner, so we opted not to do Soarin'. Brad and my favorite ride at Epcot is Living with the Land. I really have no idea why I love it so much, but I do! I made mom ride this because she never had before.

Dinner at The Garden Grill was amazing as usual. I love the bread and the salad. The meats and dessert are just ok, but the bread and salad are what I go for! The characters were fun too. We took pictures of them, but the table situation made it difficult to take pictures with them. When dessert arrived, they also brought out a piece of chocolate cake with a candle and sung Happy Birthday to me.

Price for two adults without tip if you didn't have the Disney Dining Plan.

After dinner, mom wasn't feeling well, so we decided to call it a night. The only ride we did not get to do was Soarin', but we knew we would be returning the next evening and we could ride it then. We left Epcot around 7:15. So we did almost everything we wanted at Epcot in 4 hours, and that included a 30 minute break, shopping, and an hour dinner. When we got back to our hotel, we browsed our hotel gift shop some and then headed to Target to get some items we forgot that the gift shop did not have. When we got back, we showered and were in bed by 11 pm. Alarms were set for 5:30 am again!

Full Day Two: Again, we had the alarm set for 5:30 am. We got up and ready but neither of us were really hungry, so we skipped breakfast and went straight for the bus lines to the Magic Kingdom. It was Early Morning Magic hours again starting at 8 am. We were at the bus at 7:45 and we were at the Magic Kingdom by 8:15. Below you will find the Magic Kingdom rides we rode in the order we rode them along with their wait times and any breaks we had:

Space Mountain - 5 minutes posted; walked on
Space Mountain again - 5 minutes posted; walked on
Buzz Lightyear - 5 minutes posted; walked on
Voyage of the Little Mermaid - 10 minutes posted; walked on
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - 5 minutes posted; walked on
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - 5 minutes posted; walked on
At 9:45 am, we took a coke break in Adventureland
Jungle Cruise - 30 minutes posted; 25 minute wait
Pirates of the Caribbean - 10 minutes posted; 10 minutes wait
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train - Fastpass
Tony's Town Square lunch reservations at 11:45 am - 30 minutes total
Shopped down Main Street
People Mover - walked on
Carousel of Progress - walked on
Space Mountain - Fastpass
PhilharMagic - walk on
Shopped at Memento Mori
Popcorn (snack credit) at Liberty Square while waiting on Fastpass at around 2:30
Haunted Mansion - Fastpass
Mom's first Dole Whip (two snack credits) 3:30
Shopping down Main Street

When we rode Space Mountain the first time, we were given buttons to celebrate their 40th anniversary. It is something neat to have in the future as a small keepsake of the celebration. This is just an example of something magical that happens while in the park. Sometimes it takes just being at the right place at the right time to be part of things that you did not even know were going on.

As you can tell, we were able to ride all of the rides we wanted to and still had time to shop and relax. Our longest wait was 25 minutes at the Jungle Cruise. I will tell you, based on experience, that the Jungle Cruise is much much better if you ride it when dark. Unfortunately this wasn't possible for us, but it is just a recommendation if you have the opportunity. The Mine Train was actually much better than I remember it to be. I am not sure why my first experience was so negative (we had a Fastpass then too), but this time seemed much more thrilling for sure. Lunch was pretty good at Tony's. It isn't a must do for me, but if you like the Lady and The Tramp, you will probably love the theme of this restaurant. The problem here is the food is just so heavy that it makes riding rides afterwards difficult. That is why we shopped and did tame rides before using our Fastpass at Space Mountain.

Also, mom loved her Dole Whip. My first time having one was back in September, and it was so good.

They have the crane up at the Castle removing the Christmas lights.

We arrived at Epcot around 4:30 and headed straight to Soarin'. This was the only ride we had to do, so no matter the wait we were going to stand in line. Our dinner reservations were not until 6:50, so we had plenty of time. The wait time posted was 50 minutes, but we only waited 20. Now, this isn't always the case. Within about 10 minutes of our wait, the line got really, really long, but for whatever reason, it moved quickly for us! After our ride, we slowly walked The World Showcase starting at Canada and ending in Japan. Mom had never really walked through all the shops before, so we took our time and did that.

We went to Teppan Edo to check in around 6:30 and we were seated at 6:40. I loved Teppan Edo. The only 'problem' is that you have to sit with other people if you don't have 8 people in your group. Mom and I like to socialize with each other on our getaways, so this setting isn't ideal, but the food made up for it, and the people we sat with were really nice. The yum yum sauce is to die for. I always get the chicken and shrimp, so mom opted for that as well. For dessert I had just vanilla ice cream and mom had the green tea cheesecake which was actually really good. When they brought out dessert, they also celebrated the birthdays at the table, including mine. Our desserts had a candle in it, and we were given paper chef's hats. It was cute and fun.

After dinner, we continued our walk of The World Showcase through Mexico. We stopped in Germany to get a caramel apple and finish up our snack credits from our Disney Dining Plan. Just to note, we did not use any of our snack credits for beverages, only food. We got a chocolate covered strawberry and some fudge as our snack items. We headed back to the hotel at 8:45 and arrived at 9. We ate our snacks and showered and had our alarm set for 8:30 am for our departure day.

Departure Day: We woke up around 8:15 am, got ready, and finished packing. We still had one quick service credit remaining on our Disney Dining Plan so we went to the food court for breakfast around 10. It was a madhouse. Starting this day, there were College Cheerleading Nationals, and all the cheerleaders were staying there. It was pure chaos to say the least. We split another bounty platter and headed back to our room to load our car. We packed up and left around 11. Since we had a credit card on file, there was no need to go to the front desk to formally check out. Since we were not in a super rush to board the boat, we decided to go to the outlet mall. I wanted an iPad Mini sleeve or case, and this was the perfect place to find one. We shopped and had lunch and headed to Cape Canaveral around 12:45. We arrived at the terminal at 1:45 pm. To read more about our time on our cruise, look for a new blog post coming later next week.

The only negative on this day was the rain. It wasn't heavy, but it was just enough to be irritating. If we had more time, we would have definitely done a few more things, but we were able to accomplish everything we wanted with the exception of Peter Pan's Flight. The wait was almost an hour and it is just not worth it! We headed to Epcot via the monorail at 4.