Arrived home tonight. We actually checked out on Friday but spent the weekend in NC to visit our "other son" (DS's "BFF") who is in the Marine Corps. Disney definitely spoiled us because once we got to Topsail, we were disappointed in our condo there and the "tackiness" of the resort and surrounding area. A big difference!
We LOVED HHI. We stayed on a cash reservation and DH is now insisting we buy points
The CMs were fantastic and our kids had a great time. They loved the pirate pool party and were amazed the lifeguards all remembered their names after day one. They went to Kids Night In one night and that was all they talked about for days. There is so much to do we ran out of time. They really enjoyed riding their bikes to main building to watch for the tic tac toe character of the day. They both got 2 trading pins for their tic tac toe wins during the week.
We ate at SkullCreek Boathouse one night (so good and so kid friendly - they had chalk, sand tables, crafts going on outside while we waited) and Salty Dog Cafe another night (it was okay...we weren't hugely impressed) DH and I went to WiseGuys for our anniversary dinner and I can't say enough good things about our meal or our waitress. A huge gluten free menu! We also went to Pino Gelato one night because I had a groupon and it was very good.
I requested a marsh view, top floor. We checked in very late (interstate closed for 2 hours then traffic was 5 mph for miles after!) and we got our marsh view in building 27 but bottom floor. It was fine the first few days as we had a family with teenagers above us, but after that, a family with very young kids moved in and we could hear the kids running back and forth above us.....very early in the morning. I had read reviews about it being loud and couldn't believe how much it sounded like elephants above us! We just laugh and say they were our alarm clock so we didn't oversleep and miss anything good.
The view was great and we were steps to the pool, mercantile, Tide Me Over etc. It was a quick walk or bike ride to the main building and we were very near the grill and hammocks. It was loud on the balcony when the pool music started playing though, so I think we might have preferred to be a building or so down farther.
My biggest disappointment was with the food options. I called well in advance to ask if they had any gluten free options and was told they had bagels for breakfast and bread for lunches. On our one long beach day we went up to eat and was told they had nothing gluten free there, only at Tide Me Over. I ended up only being able to get a turkey sandwich.....minus the bread. Then the one day we ate at Tide Me Over, they said they didn't have the bread, only bagels. I guess I expected a little better since Disney is usually so good with food allergies.