lhafer
12-05-2010, 08:05 PM
Well, just got back from a 10 day vacation at WDW - our first trip!!! I planned everything, my DH just showed up! We had a fantastic time, even though we had drama right before we left. I planned this vacation back in July. Had all my ADRs, MVMCP tickets purchased, itineraries planned, plane tickets purchased etc. I was DONE. I was taking my Baby Jogger City Classic stroller for my 9 month old, and my Maclaren Volo for my 4 year old and was going to attach it to my BJCC when she wasn't riding in it. We were scheduled to board our plane at 8:30am on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving).
Then my DH threw his back out on Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving). Like, rushing to the doctor for pain meds, he is crawling around on all fours because he can't stand up.
Then about 6pm on Wednesday night, I had a sudden realization that my stroller situation was NOT going to work!! I needed a double. PRONTO. Stores around me didn't carry any doubles I was willing to lug around. And I really didn't want to buy one. I am on Amazon trying to figure out if I can buy one and have it shipped to the resort. I call Magic strollers for ANY luck - but no, they were out. So was Orlando strollers. Who could I rent a double stroller from at that late hour???
The CS lady from Magic strollers suggested another company - theme park strollers (www.themeparkstrollers.com). I went to their website around 9pm Wednesday night, despirate for a miracle. And they HAD a double available!! And a Baby Jogger City Mini double no less!!! And it was cheaper than the other 2!! So I got a BJCM double with a rain cover and insurance. And it was waiting for me when I checked into our resort!! Ahhh, things are back on track!
We stayed at POR the first night because I added it on after making the initial reservation at CSR. Since the added on night was Black Friday, this could not be added to our dining plan, so it was a room only reservation. I chose to try a different resort to see the difference.
Magical Express was an easy way to start the trip. They pretty much take care of everything from the get go.
When I checked into POR, the line was LOOONNNGGG to check in. It took about an hour to get to a CM just to check in. I did not do online check in for either resort. The line moved evenly between those who did/didn't do online check in, so I didn't feel slighted. The stroller was waiting for me when we got there. Also, I had ordered baby supplies from diapers.com before leaving, and that box was waiting for me as well. I figured I could either buy the stuff I needed and pack it, paying for extra bags, or have it shipped with free shipping and have it waiting for me. Really a no brainer there! I ordered diapers, wipes, an inflatable bath tub, a bottle brush, formula, baby food, a sun hat, disposable sippy cups and spoons.
POR has very lush landscaping. We stayed in the Mansions. I found it okay. Kind of had an older feel to me. It was nice, but I have to say I preferred CSR. We did enjoy the boatride to Downtown the first night. That was nice little perk to POR. We had reservations at Fulton's Crab House that first night. Dinner was awesome - but expensive! Made me glad we were on the dining plan the rest of the trip! We had 8 day park passes, no extras. So we arrived on Friday and just checked out the resort and downtown disney. Then we checked out of POR on Saturday morning and checked in to Coronado Springs.
Due to a change in plans last minute, we had to take a taxi from POR to CSR in order to check in and get our KTTW cards. It was Saturday morning and I was worried about how long the line would be, especially after seeing POR's checkin line!! We got there and there was NO line!!! I got us checked in, got our cards, and our room was ready at 9AM!!! We went to check out our room and put some stuff down. We were able to get to check in, get our cards, and get to our room in about 15 minutes!! I had POR send our luggage over to the resort for us. We went to the park, and when we got back later that afternoon everything was in our room waiting for us.
We got the section I put in a request for - 8B I think, room 8627. Very close to bus stop 4. The room was nice - 2 queens (more comfortable than the POR beds). I needed a pack n play, and found that it fit nicely in the bathroom. We could close the bathrooms doors and the baby could fall asleep while we watched tv quietly. I brought 2 nightlights - 1 for the bathroom and one for the main room. That was very helpful. The room was clean, loved the doors to the bathroom area vs. a current like the POR had. Loved the nicer tv also .
It was about a 5 minute walk to the main building. We went to the Pepper Market several times, the food was decent to good depending on what I ordered. It does take some getting used to the first time you go, then you get the hang of it. Didn't do Maya Grill. It was about a 4 minute walk to the Dig Site. We stayed at the resort one day and did the pool. It was great. My 4 year old loved the slide and the playground area.
I found the buses to be fine. I am glad I wasn't at stop 1 because there were always lots of people there waiting for a bus. If you want a 99% sure bet that you get a seat - then stay around bus stop #2 or 3. We only had to stand once that I can remember the whole trip. Buses came about every 15-20 minutes (between buses going to the same location - not one bus every 20 mintues). There was once that we had to wait longer, but something must have held them up (like an accident) because one finally came, and then about 5 others were right behind it.
I found the grounds to be lovely. The decor was nice. I wanted to be able to relax after visiting the parks, and we found we could do so here. It was never loud. We never had issues with our room. Once the elevator wasn't working, but I called maintenance and it was fixed quickly.
I did laundry once during the trip. The washers are on the smaller side. I had to do 2 loads as to not overload the washer. It was $4 total for that ($2 for everything). I put all the clothes in the dryer, but they were still damp when I took them out. I didn't have another $2 on me, or I would have split it up. I just laid out the damp clothes in the room when we went to our dinner reservations.
We never made rope drop at any of the parks, but we did make use of the extended hours. We didn't find the parks to be overly crowded, but there were some wait times on the more popular rides. We were at the parks 8-10 hours every day, without breaks back to the room.
We went to Magic Kingdom Saturday and Sunday, had dinner at The Crystal Palace on Saturday and did the Very Merry Christmas party on Sunday evening. Saturday afternoon she got made up at the Bibbity Boppity Boutique in the Castle - that was a lot of fun for her. My 4 year old LOVED Peter Pan. She's just over 40" tall and we did all the rides we could. It took us all day to tour Fantasy land on Saturday, and we did all the other parts of MK on Sunday. My daughter enjoyed Splash Mountain and went on Big Thunder Mountain twice in a row.
The on Monday we went to Hollywood Studios. The highlight of this park for us was Toy Story Mania. We got to the park later than we wanted, and didn't find the fast pass for this ride in time. By 11:30am, all the fast passes were gone. It was 60 minute stand by wait time - so we waited. At least waiting in line for this ride is enjoyable! And very worth it. My daughter loved the Disney Playhouse show. The Osborne lights were amazing. We didn't get to Fantasmic this time around. My 4 year old did go on The Tower of Terror. And she was scared, but she said she would do it again. We ate at the Sci-Fi Dine In Theater and had their ribs. They were really good.
Tuesday we enjoyed our resort. Went to the pool, took naps, relaxed and rejuvinated. We had reservations at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian that evening, which was a good experience.
Wednesday was Animal Kingdom. We enjoyed this park. Loved all the animals - great photo opportunities. The safari was awesome. My 4 year old went on the Dinosaur ride twice! And she loved the roaring rapids ride. She wasn't big enough for the Mount Everest ride - perhaps next time. We ate lunch at the Tusker House which was good, and it got us reserve seats (in a great section) for the Nemo Show later that day. The Nemo show was fantastic, but we missed getting to see the Lion King show. :(
Thursday we did Epcot. It was a really light day, and we were able to ride everything with little wait time. DH and my daughter did the test track, and we rode Soarin' 3 times in the span of about 45 minutes. The first day we did all the rides and just quickly went through the worlds. Then we stayed to watch Illuminations fireworks, which were great. Then Friday the park was much fuller, and we just did the worlds at a much slower pace, enjoying the shops, etc. We had breakfast at Akershus, and it was really fantastic. The Princesses were great.
Saturday we went back to Downtown Disney to see the rest of what we missed the first time. And we went back to the toy store, and my daughter got a toy, we got some other souveniers, and had a good time. We went to the movie theater and watch Tangled, which was really cute. We originally had reservations at Ohana's but we overslept and I had to cancel it. We ate in DTD at Planet Hollywood and hot chocolate and a sundae at Ghirradelli (sp).
Today we came home.
Overall, it was an excellent trip. We had a great time, despite my DH throwing his back out 2 days before our trip, and doing it again 2 days before our trip was over. We were able to stick to my itinerary pretty much 100%, minus the one cancelled breakfast. We didn't have any kid meltdowns. We took our time and enjoyed ourselves for a much needed vacation!!
Then my DH threw his back out on Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving). Like, rushing to the doctor for pain meds, he is crawling around on all fours because he can't stand up.
Then about 6pm on Wednesday night, I had a sudden realization that my stroller situation was NOT going to work!! I needed a double. PRONTO. Stores around me didn't carry any doubles I was willing to lug around. And I really didn't want to buy one. I am on Amazon trying to figure out if I can buy one and have it shipped to the resort. I call Magic strollers for ANY luck - but no, they were out. So was Orlando strollers. Who could I rent a double stroller from at that late hour???
The CS lady from Magic strollers suggested another company - theme park strollers (www.themeparkstrollers.com). I went to their website around 9pm Wednesday night, despirate for a miracle. And they HAD a double available!! And a Baby Jogger City Mini double no less!!! And it was cheaper than the other 2!! So I got a BJCM double with a rain cover and insurance. And it was waiting for me when I checked into our resort!! Ahhh, things are back on track!
We stayed at POR the first night because I added it on after making the initial reservation at CSR. Since the added on night was Black Friday, this could not be added to our dining plan, so it was a room only reservation. I chose to try a different resort to see the difference.
Magical Express was an easy way to start the trip. They pretty much take care of everything from the get go.
When I checked into POR, the line was LOOONNNGGG to check in. It took about an hour to get to a CM just to check in. I did not do online check in for either resort. The line moved evenly between those who did/didn't do online check in, so I didn't feel slighted. The stroller was waiting for me when we got there. Also, I had ordered baby supplies from diapers.com before leaving, and that box was waiting for me as well. I figured I could either buy the stuff I needed and pack it, paying for extra bags, or have it shipped with free shipping and have it waiting for me. Really a no brainer there! I ordered diapers, wipes, an inflatable bath tub, a bottle brush, formula, baby food, a sun hat, disposable sippy cups and spoons.
POR has very lush landscaping. We stayed in the Mansions. I found it okay. Kind of had an older feel to me. It was nice, but I have to say I preferred CSR. We did enjoy the boatride to Downtown the first night. That was nice little perk to POR. We had reservations at Fulton's Crab House that first night. Dinner was awesome - but expensive! Made me glad we were on the dining plan the rest of the trip! We had 8 day park passes, no extras. So we arrived on Friday and just checked out the resort and downtown disney. Then we checked out of POR on Saturday morning and checked in to Coronado Springs.
Due to a change in plans last minute, we had to take a taxi from POR to CSR in order to check in and get our KTTW cards. It was Saturday morning and I was worried about how long the line would be, especially after seeing POR's checkin line!! We got there and there was NO line!!! I got us checked in, got our cards, and our room was ready at 9AM!!! We went to check out our room and put some stuff down. We were able to get to check in, get our cards, and get to our room in about 15 minutes!! I had POR send our luggage over to the resort for us. We went to the park, and when we got back later that afternoon everything was in our room waiting for us.
We got the section I put in a request for - 8B I think, room 8627. Very close to bus stop 4. The room was nice - 2 queens (more comfortable than the POR beds). I needed a pack n play, and found that it fit nicely in the bathroom. We could close the bathrooms doors and the baby could fall asleep while we watched tv quietly. I brought 2 nightlights - 1 for the bathroom and one for the main room. That was very helpful. The room was clean, loved the doors to the bathroom area vs. a current like the POR had. Loved the nicer tv also .
It was about a 5 minute walk to the main building. We went to the Pepper Market several times, the food was decent to good depending on what I ordered. It does take some getting used to the first time you go, then you get the hang of it. Didn't do Maya Grill. It was about a 4 minute walk to the Dig Site. We stayed at the resort one day and did the pool. It was great. My 4 year old loved the slide and the playground area.
I found the buses to be fine. I am glad I wasn't at stop 1 because there were always lots of people there waiting for a bus. If you want a 99% sure bet that you get a seat - then stay around bus stop #2 or 3. We only had to stand once that I can remember the whole trip. Buses came about every 15-20 minutes (between buses going to the same location - not one bus every 20 mintues). There was once that we had to wait longer, but something must have held them up (like an accident) because one finally came, and then about 5 others were right behind it.
I found the grounds to be lovely. The decor was nice. I wanted to be able to relax after visiting the parks, and we found we could do so here. It was never loud. We never had issues with our room. Once the elevator wasn't working, but I called maintenance and it was fixed quickly.
I did laundry once during the trip. The washers are on the smaller side. I had to do 2 loads as to not overload the washer. It was $4 total for that ($2 for everything). I put all the clothes in the dryer, but they were still damp when I took them out. I didn't have another $2 on me, or I would have split it up. I just laid out the damp clothes in the room when we went to our dinner reservations.
We never made rope drop at any of the parks, but we did make use of the extended hours. We didn't find the parks to be overly crowded, but there were some wait times on the more popular rides. We were at the parks 8-10 hours every day, without breaks back to the room.
We went to Magic Kingdom Saturday and Sunday, had dinner at The Crystal Palace on Saturday and did the Very Merry Christmas party on Sunday evening. Saturday afternoon she got made up at the Bibbity Boppity Boutique in the Castle - that was a lot of fun for her. My 4 year old LOVED Peter Pan. She's just over 40" tall and we did all the rides we could. It took us all day to tour Fantasy land on Saturday, and we did all the other parts of MK on Sunday. My daughter enjoyed Splash Mountain and went on Big Thunder Mountain twice in a row.
The on Monday we went to Hollywood Studios. The highlight of this park for us was Toy Story Mania. We got to the park later than we wanted, and didn't find the fast pass for this ride in time. By 11:30am, all the fast passes were gone. It was 60 minute stand by wait time - so we waited. At least waiting in line for this ride is enjoyable! And very worth it. My daughter loved the Disney Playhouse show. The Osborne lights were amazing. We didn't get to Fantasmic this time around. My 4 year old did go on The Tower of Terror. And she was scared, but she said she would do it again. We ate at the Sci-Fi Dine In Theater and had their ribs. They were really good.
Tuesday we enjoyed our resort. Went to the pool, took naps, relaxed and rejuvinated. We had reservations at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian that evening, which was a good experience.
Wednesday was Animal Kingdom. We enjoyed this park. Loved all the animals - great photo opportunities. The safari was awesome. My 4 year old went on the Dinosaur ride twice! And she loved the roaring rapids ride. She wasn't big enough for the Mount Everest ride - perhaps next time. We ate lunch at the Tusker House which was good, and it got us reserve seats (in a great section) for the Nemo Show later that day. The Nemo show was fantastic, but we missed getting to see the Lion King show. :(
Thursday we did Epcot. It was a really light day, and we were able to ride everything with little wait time. DH and my daughter did the test track, and we rode Soarin' 3 times in the span of about 45 minutes. The first day we did all the rides and just quickly went through the worlds. Then we stayed to watch Illuminations fireworks, which were great. Then Friday the park was much fuller, and we just did the worlds at a much slower pace, enjoying the shops, etc. We had breakfast at Akershus, and it was really fantastic. The Princesses were great.
Saturday we went back to Downtown Disney to see the rest of what we missed the first time. And we went back to the toy store, and my daughter got a toy, we got some other souveniers, and had a good time. We went to the movie theater and watch Tangled, which was really cute. We originally had reservations at Ohana's but we overslept and I had to cancel it. We ate in DTD at Planet Hollywood and hot chocolate and a sundae at Ghirradelli (sp).
Today we came home.
Overall, it was an excellent trip. We had a great time, despite my DH throwing his back out 2 days before our trip, and doing it again 2 days before our trip was over. We were able to stick to my itinerary pretty much 100%, minus the one cancelled breakfast. We didn't have any kid meltdowns. We took our time and enjoyed ourselves for a much needed vacation!!