Confessions of an obsessive planner - First time Deluxe - Travelling solo - November

rubysparkles

Mouseketeer
Joined
Sep 23, 2010
Hi, I'm Caroline, I'm 32 and from London. This is me last time I was in WDW back in October 2016 (WOW HAS IT BEEN THAT LONG!!!) with my brother. I really, really, really, really love BB-8 and my hair looks really, really, really, REALLY different (thank god, I was growing out an attempt at bleaching my hair blonde).

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Me now...
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I've never done a PTR before but I thought with my FP+ selections ready to go on Tuesday, I'd give this a go. This trip has already changed a lot since I booked it in March. I secured a booking for DVC through points for Kidani Village from the 16th of November for 8 days. My first time trying it and although it was stressful waiting to see if I was going to be able to get a place in any of my chosen resorts, I'd still recommend it. I really wanted to stay near Epcot with Food and Wine, but I'm guessing so does everyone else coming to Florida, but after BC, CC and BLT all got filled I got my fourth choice of AKL. Now I've started looking at it, I'm really glad this is going to be where I'm staying. It's quiet and calm and two of my favourite restaurants I've had the pleasure to try are at the hotel (Sanaa which is always a must do, whoever I'm with and Jiko). I haven't tried Boma yet but the rave reviews have me excited to try it.



Why did I decide to go to Disney then? And by myself? Well, I hate my birthday, I never enjoy it but I always love going to Disney World. I've been to all the parks in the world bar one (Shanghai Disney) and I get to WDW about every two/three years. With the announcement of the Galaxy's Edge opening date and Food & Wine finishing just after my birthday, I decided I wanted to 1. Go away somewhere for my birthday and 2. Go somewhere I knew I loved but had plenty of new stuff to get excited about. Last time I went Pandora was being built, so there's a lot of new big stuff to see.


I've changed my dining reservations around A LOT. But the biggest change I've made so far was rebooking my flight home to a week later as my Godmother kindly offered me to stay at her beach house near Daytona with her extended family over Thanksgiving. I've never experienced Thanksgiving before in the US and it gives me time to go back to WDW after staying with her for a night at AOA. With that extension I get to do something that's always been top of my list at WDW but I've never been there at the right time... Candlelight Processional (and Festival of the Holidays). I love a lot of things, but my love for Christmas even surpasses the fact I work in the retail sector. I even get to use that fancy new Skyliner to get to Epcot.


My mission this trip is to lounge it up as much as possible. I'm keeping my dining reservations a lot lighter than usual, but want to eat some great food without too much of a fancy atmosphere. I did the Deluxe Dining Plan once, and although I loved so much about it, the amount of food and the eating alone at fancy restaurants got a bit boring. To be able to use all my credits I had to eat at a 2 credit almost every night and only had enough room for dessert ONE night out of nine. AND I EAT A LOT OF FOOD. Lounges seem like a great inbetween option that also offers me a lot more flexibility. Between that and F&W festival, I've not got that much time for reservations but I have a plan for pretty much every place I'm eating and even snacks built in to the plan. I'll post that all in a separate post here.


Outside of Disney, I live to travel, especially to theme parks. I've done 37 out of the 50 states and want to finish up the 50 by the time I'm 40. I lived in Hong Kong for nearly 4 years where I taught English and Drama, so while I was there I got to see some of Asia. I work in a supermarket where I recently got promoted to my first management position, which was another reason for this trip. To congratulate myself for that and get some rest before the very hectic weeks leading up to Christmas. I say rest but a trip to Disney isn't exactly everyone's idea of it, but for me it's going to be that perfect inbetween where I should get to relax a bit but there's sooooo much to do, I could never be bored. Especially now I've got a few days by the beach where I can really chill out. None of the food I eat will have nuts in, not that I'm allergic, I just hate them with a passion. I'm solo, because I'm single and I really enjoy taking time out of my life to travel alone. It really feels so much less stressful for me personally, I feel pressure when I'm traveling with others, even my own family to make sure everyone is happy and catered for. More than they even know. So getting time to just do what I want, when I want is freeing for me. It's a bit selfish, but I plan to be selfish once a year for a short period for the rest of my life. I can't see a time when I won't want a week or two away, no matter what my situation. I know that sounds strange to some! I don't mean to sound like such a weirdo, but different strokes for different folks.


I'd love to have some people following along on the journey. I'd definitely love to hear opinions on my itinerary or dining options or anything.
 
Food Plans!

My trusty OneNote Florida planner tells me I've got the following places penciled in:

16th November
If I land early enough - Snacks at Sanaa Lounge
Dinner - 20:00 - The Boathouse

17th November
Breakfast - Woody's Lunchbox
Possible snacks - HBD lounge/BTH lounge/F&W festival
18:30 - Tailgate Tasting
Afterwards eat and drink in the lounges at the Swan and Dolphin

18th November
Sanaa breakfast
Drinks - 13:15 - Oga's Cantina
Happy hour food at Disney Springs (Morimoto and Jaleo)
Jiko Lounge supper

19th November
(I'm planning on doing 4 parks in one day, never done that before.)
Breakfast - 7:40 - Boma
Lunch- Geyser Point, if time, if not maybe Casey's Corner (a classic I've never tried)
Drinks - 14:00 - Oga's Cantina
Dinner - Food and Wine festival booths

20th November
Breakfast - Pick up some pastries or something at AK
Snack/Lunch - Nomad Lounge
Drinks - 15:00 - Wine tasting at AKL
Dinner - 17:15 - Boma
Snacks at MK Evening EMH

21st November
Brunch - 11:15 - Grand Floridian Cafe
Linner - Food and Wine booths

22nd November
Breakfast - Kringla Bakery
Snacks/Lunch - Food and Wine booths
Dinner - 18:50 - Jungle Skipper Canteen
Drinks - Polynesian (Trader Sam's and Tiki Terrace to watch the fireworks) then The Edison

23rd November
Brunch - 11:00 - Homecomin'
See what I want to do based on what looks good or what I've missed out on

24th November
Brunch - 10:10 - California Grill (What I'm most excited about!!! Food wise.)

Break at the beach for Thanksgiving!

29th November
Lunch - 3:15 - Biergarten
Snacks - Festival of the Holidays

30th November
Breakfast - AoA if RotR doesn't look like it will soft open or at DHS if it does
Drinks - 10:10 - Oga's Cantina
 
FastPass+ Plans

What I'm hoping to score on Tuesday:

17th November: DHS 1. TSM, 2. Star Tours, 3. Voyage of the Little Mermaid (4)
18th: DHS 1. TOT, 2. Star Tours, 3. Muppets (5)
19th: MK 1. BTM, Splash, Space (6)
20th: AK 1. FOP, 2. Killamajiro, 3. Kali (1)
21st: MK 1. SDMT, 2. PPF, 3. Haunted Mansion (2)
22nd: E 1. Soarin', 2. LWTL, 3. SE (7)
23rd: DHS 1. SDD, 2. Star Tours, 3. Fantasmic! (3)
24th: MK 1. Jungle Cruise, 2. Buzz, 3. PotC (8)
29th: E 1. Frozen, 2. MS, 3. JITI (9)
30th: DHS 1. RnRC, 2. Star Tours, 3. Indiana Jones (10)
 
Following along! Sanaa is one of my favorite restaurants on property!! DH and I are going for 8 days, 7 nights in December, and we're also going to be trying out the lounges more rather than traditional TS meals.
 


Thinking on the 21st, my birthday, I might do the Frozen Ever After Dessert Party... I've also been looking at the Tequila Pairing (but no idea if there's any availability). That extra fastpass and the free-flowing alcohol plus a viewing spot for a show I've not seen. Hmmmm. I'm not usually a dessert person, but I love the idea of definitely getting dessert, whereas I usually skip it in favour of eating more savory stuff... Plus I saw you get FONDUE and there's a warm S'MORE dessert... And nitro popcorn, whatever that is... Really considering it as I was going to be in Epcot that evening anyway. I think I'll enjoy the show a lot more at a party rather than just waiting somewhere around the lake for a good spot.
 


You got really great fastpasses!
I think it was just because it's so long, so managed to schedule FOP and SDD for later dates. I did it in a weird order too. Took FOREVER. I really didn't think I was going to get much as the system was so slow, I ended up almost being late for work because it took so long. But all worth it in the end!
 
Right, now for the most important part!
FOOD AND WINE!!!!
So I've made a plan for the four days I will being going over to Epcot to sample the festival and tried to fit everything in. I like too many things, so listening to what everyone else is raving about and adding in the things I love the most I've come up with this plan:

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I like how you organized the must trys for Food and Wine! I never thought to do something like that. I might borrow that if I ever get a chance to go.
 
Joining in! I love solo travel as well....my husband and I plan at least a week each year for ourselves. I think it's so important to take time for you to do exactly what you want without worrying about anyone else. Your plans sound great!
 
It's only 6 days until I go. Wish me luck with whoever is assigning my room! Close to the bus and the walkway with Jambo House would be perfecto.
 
No longer a PTR, but LIVE!

Day One

Rating system: I’m going to rate the food and drink out of 5, then the entire restaurant or lounge.



So it has began, I woke up at 5am in the UK today and here I find myself waiting for dinner at Sanaa at 8:45pm Florida time. It’s been a long day, but for the first time ever I managed to sleep for a while on the plane. I flew with Virgin Atlantic from Gatwick and was lucky enough to have a free seat next to me, so no jostling for elbow space, but unfortunate enough that the person in front of me had his seat back even while food was served. I saw the Galaxy’s Edge plane but was not flying on The Falcon. Got through MCO security in under an hour, which is probably my best time ever. It’s still so silly to me that they put so many international flights through in such a short time and all from the UK, but I’m sure they don’t care you can queue 2+ hours after a 9 hour flight.



My flight was fine, I personally think Virgin’s service has gone down a lot in the last ten years. However it’s still better than a lot of the competition, so I keep going back. As we were taxi-ing I checked my phone to see a reservation finder for California Grill brunch tomorrow. And it was still there when I checked. So I got it. Day one and the plans are ever-changing.

I tried to get that date at 180 days +1 but that’s pretty much impossible and settled for the next Sunday because it was my number one reservation to get. Can’t believe I got the actual day I wanted THIS CLOSE. Now my day at DHS will be shorter than I expected tomorrow but I wanted to cut down my time in that park so it works really well.



When we landed, magical express was waiting for me. I was glad when they said we’d be the last stop as we got to drive around a bit more of the resort. I saw the new Gran Destino Tower and part of me wanted to jump off there and try some of the new food Coronado Springs is offering. Hopefully I’ll get to those lounges, but I’m not sure I will this trip. I had a text in the queue with my room number and it was exactly where I wanted it to be. Close to the buses and the path to Jambo house.

I can’t believe how cold it is at the moment in Florida, I’m sure it will warm up but I’m so used to being blasted by central heating everywhere I go, I think I made a mistake with my packing. At least I bought a hoodie and cardigans otherwise I’d have frozen. 12 degrees. I stayed in my room and unpacked and freshened up a little. Then decided to break in my new sandals by having a walk around the resort. The pool was kind of hard to find and when I got there the pool bar was open but no-one was there. It stated open until 9 and there were no shutters down but not even a bartender was there. Some people were swimming even though it was cold but it was a quiet time to use the heated pool. It looked nice and hopefully I’ll get to use it when the weather warms up.

Then I walked over to the lobby, the bus to Jambo was right there so I hopped on that over to Jambo. That lobby really does take your breath away and was buzzing with life. I went down to Victoria Falls which was packed but I found one empty seat behind a pillar. Had the Mt Kilamarita, which I really enjoyed. It didn’t taste too much of anything that was in it but was a great mix, like I usually wouldn’t go for something cranberry flavoured but if you’d asked me if that flavour was in there I wouldn’t have guessed.

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:flower1::flower1::flower1::flower1: 4 out of 5

I walked back to Kidani for my Sanaa reservation, went to the bar, which was completely packed and didn’t have enough time to order my drink before my pager buzzed. My server was polite but busy, I did not see the poor guy stop. I went through loads of choices but decided on two things I’d never had before and I hadn’t seen in many dining reviews; the scallops chana and the braaivleis. If you don’t want the bread app (it would be too much for just me) and you like seafood I would go for the scallops. At home they’re usually one of the priciest things to eat on a menu. For $12 I got three big and sweet scallops that without the accompaniments were worth the money to me. With that said I liked what it came with, I’ve never had a sauce like that and all the little extras gave it some much need crunch and green freshness. I’d order this again.
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:flower1::flower1::flower1::flower1::flower1: 5 out of 5
Then the braiivleis came out and I was starting to feel the jet lag. My reservation was for 8:45pm EST and I’d been up since 5am GMT. Loooooong day. It came up with some pork (fillet, I think), a little chop of lamb and a fatty sausage. If you don’t like your meat cooked rare, do not order this. I didn’t get asked, but luckily I always ask for meat rare. It was all good but but not all great. I liked the sausage, even though there’s a lot of it for such fatty meat and the sauce the lamb came with. I didn’t like the potatoes, they were kind of smashed (rather than completely mashed)but really plain and unseasoned. I probably wouldn’t get this again.
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:flower1::flower1::flower1: 3 out of five
Also got a glass of red wine, which was fine but I’d try some thing different next time, it was the Pinot noir from Stellenbosch, a bit too light for my taste. I asked for the bill and went straight to sleep.

Overall Victoria Falls lounge gets:
:flower1::flower1::flower1:
And Sanaa gets:
:flower1::flower1::flower1::flower1:

Next up: EMH rope drop at Galaxy’s Edge, first uses of Memory Maker, California Grill brunch and first time at Epcot for Food and Wine (with the Tailgate Tasting).
 

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