WDW Report--Prego and Kidless! (Warning long!)

[bisous]

First off, we had a GREAT time! And we're exhausted. We had a somewhat unique experience as we weren't strictly touring as "adults" (since we couldn't ride the major roller coasters and other intense experiences!) but we also didn't have kids with us. It seems most guidebooks are geared to one of those two demographics!

Still, over all it was very fun!

I went at 17/18 weeks pregnant and I didn't feel too affected by my pregnancy. I think I got a little bit more tired than I otherwise would have but it for the most part extremely doable. I'd do it again for sure!

Here are my general/park impressions!

First, Florida is gorgeous! I still can't get over all the water everywhere! This CA girl is way impressed with all that liquid. I loved all the greenery and forests and can now see WHY everyone said it is HUGE!

LOVED Animal Kingdom. It was like a Disney version of the Wild Animal Kingdom. The emphasis on shows and exhibits also remind me of kind of a land version of Sea World. But we loved the safari (I missed the advisory for expecting women!! but it seemed okay, yikes!) Loved Lion King. Enjoyed just the ambiance in the various "areas". Thought that the walks with wild creatures, particularly in Asia was spectacular.

LOVED Magic Kingdom. Yes it was different than Disneyland (and in the case of Fantasyland inferior!) but it had its own charms as well. Our day there we spent enjoying a few attractions that DL no longer has like Swiss Family Robinson tree house, Country Bear Jamboree (DH is nostalgic!) and the Peoplemover. Liked the Hall of the Presidents. This is the one day we really truly got there at opening and it was definitely a great experience. We rode SO many rides before 11! We went home between and rested and came back in the late afternoon/early evening. We enjoyed the beauty of the park. Such a great setting!

LOVED LOVED EPCOT! It was my favorite park. Particularly the World Showcase. It was the one park where we spent some of our "Extra Magic Hours" in the evening and it was great to see all those beautiful locations in the moonlight over the lake. Only negative
experience was the "cast members" over in the France pavilion. I've LIVED in France for heaven's sake and didn't expect such rudeness.

DID NOT LOVE Disney's Hollywood Studios. It had a couple of strikes against it. First, we had neither small children nor could we ride roller coasters so that limited our list of attractions tremendously. Second, it was busier that day AND we missed opening (DH was a party pooper) so by the time we got there it was CROWDED. It didn't have as much shade or greenery and felt claustrophobic to me. We like the Great Movie Ride. We caught a few of the shows (Walt Disney, Little Mermaid, Animation) and they were only okay for us. Narnia was SUCH a bust. We had no wait but it was not worth it and I'm a HUGE Narnia geek! If anyone is wondering it is a glorified summary of the movie while standing in a room. That's it! We only spent 3 hours there which we felt were largely wasted. We didn't try to do Toy Story because we've done it dozens of times in DCA already.

[bisous]

Okay. Now for food.

LOVED our experience with the Disney Dining Plan. DH gets a great deal. We paid $27.99 per person per day. Our last day alone I tallied up our expenses and found that we would have spent $138 that day without the plan!! Of course, some of that comes from expensive desserts and drinks that we likely would not have purchased had they not been included. That said, because we really enjoyed our table service meals and each one exceeded our daily cost for the plan, it was totally worth it to us and it was DEFINITELY enough food!

Table service:
Ohana's: Great. We loved it. Ate there our first night at 9:30. Happened to have a view of Wishes and Ohana's played the soundtrack. So we got the fireworks without the wait! The food and service was great, too!
Boma: My favorite ever! Wow, the buffet was so expansive and I truly loved all of the unique African dishes. My only regret was that I could eat only so much. Many things were good enough to warrant a second helping but I was SO full! Loved the jungle juice too, BTW!
Crystal Palace: My kids would have loved this. DH really liked it too. I would have liked it better had I not JUST had Boma. There weren't nearly as many selections and the food was very "normal" (which is what DH liked!). The characters were cute. The view was nice. I wish I had asked for a "castle view" though which was even better!
Tutto Italia: I liked my food. The value wasn't as great as the buffets of course. The setting was lovely. The server was very much more like a waiter in a fine restaurant and not like a Disney super happy Cast Member. We felt like bumpkins on the dining plan not ordering alcohol!
Coral Reef: I actually REALLY loved my entree. The dessert/drink were average. DH ordered the strip steak and it was served cold! Yuck! HOwever, the meal was very enjoyable. Spectacular setting and good service.

[bisous]

Counter Service/Quick Service:
Pizzafari/Pizza Planet: Same exact food (different desserts offered however). The food was good enough. Pizzafari had quick, efficient service and a nice ambiance. Pizza Planet drove me nuts. Maybe it would be fun for kids?? I was on complete sensory overload and it was very crowded and we waited in line forever!
Cosmic Rays: Holy cow this was great! I really loved my Angus burger with guacamole. Yum!
Sunshine Seasons: I could eat here the whole trip. Lots of choices. My food was great and fresh. The bakery was yummy and thus the "desserts" were much superior! It was busy but we got through the lines quickly.
Yak and Yeti: DH loved his entree. I found the honey chicken to be WAY too sweet for my liking. The setting was okay.

Snacks: Loved the glazed almonds in the cart near the land at epcot. We ate a lot of ice cream treats. I like my pastry from Sunshine Seasons. Not very many "healthy" options but what can you do...

Bottom line: We ate great. I ate a breakfast of dried fruit and a protein bar every morning, usually ate lunch around noon, grabbed a snack between and had a late night dinner. Great for two adults who retired fairly early each night, lol. :)

[bisous]

Packing/Accommodation notes:

Pop century was fun enough. The Magic Express and the buses to the parks were invaluable perks for us. I really like how hassle free it all was!

The room was comfortable but very bare bones. I'd definitely say that there was room for a pack n play if I were going with kids. My only complaint is that it was SO bare bones. There was nothing on TV, no movie watching device and nights were a little boring for us. I should have realized that we would have like more down time and either brought a movie watching device or else more books/games something like that. The beds were comfortable, the bathrooms were clean.

I think as a 10th anniversary trip, I would have considered a more romantic way to vacation. The going day after day was fun but exhausting. The nights were kind of boring even though we tried our best to spice things up, lol! Now, if we had stayed at say, the Grand Floridian, I think I would have had more fun sticking around the hotel room, but Pop Century just didn't have the same romantic appeal, lol. Still, we will probably stick to budget hotels for the next decade or so and it was a great option in that case!

We ended up just checking our bags. Predictably, we brought way too much. Didn't wear jeans/athletic shoes at all. In fact, I really stuck with my Merrells! Only needed the hoodies for the bus (so cold, lol!!) It did rain one day but ponchos were major overkill. I wish I had brought more in the room entertainment and less clothing.

[clc053103]

Great trip report- I like how you divided it into sections! I have gone childless to disney several times and always loved it- not sure if I would have loved it pregnant, but you get star points for keeping a disney pace pregnant!

[bisous]

You are sweet to have read the whole thing! I'm hoping the lengthy review will help someone who is planning!

[DrSally]

Nice, detailed report. I'll have to revisit this when we go in the future. Glad you had so much fun! I remember loving Epcot when I went as a kid.

[JTsMom]

Great report! So glad you had fun! :)

[DebbieJ]

Thanks for sharing! Maybe someday I'll get to go without kids and enjoy some fine dining.

DHS was a bust for us, too. It is a horribly laid out park and full of concrete--very little green so the heat just radiates from the ground. And I agree with you about Narnia--totally lame! TSM and the Jedi Training Academy is all it has going for it and the day we went, JTA was totally filled up by the time we got there and the TSM wait was horrendous. :(

Epcot was our best park too.

Glad you had fun!

[blue]

Thanks for sharing and all the details (I appreciate it). Glad you had fun :)!

[andie16]

I'm so glad you had a great trip. I read a bunch of your threads when you were planning as I'm trying to plan our trip so it's fun to see how yours went.

[peanut520]

That was a great review and i'm glad you had a great time! Thank you for sharing all the info.