GEM
Mommy to Paul - 1lb 7oz wonder
- Joined
- Sep 23, 1999
Hi everyone. We just got in last night from a long Florida trip. I wanted to share some basic info and thoughts and see if anyone had any questions.
Me and my 12 year old son.
Left Tulsa on Dec. 26th and did a week of camping in Florida State Parks before hitting the Orlando area. We arrived in Orlando on January 1st, but didn't go into the parks until January 3rd (timed so we could ride Soarin' that day before it went down.) We had 10 day park hoppers with the water park and more option. Hit all the parks multiple times, many nights at Disney Quest for my 12 year old son who was crushed to hear it was closing, two visits to Blizzard Beach, mini golf, lots of resort hopping for dining and shopping. Our last Disney day was Saturday, January 16th (the last day to use our tickets due to the 14 day expiration). Left the area to drive home on Sunday, January 17th.
In addition to the camping before, we also enjoyed visits to Showcase of Citrus and Gatorland.
We usually do three trips a year, two short trips (usually early May and early October) and one long trip (January) each year. For the short trips we fly down and stay on Disney property. For our long trip in January, we usually drive and stay off-site. This time we stayed at the Howard Jonhnson Lakeside on 192. Less than $500 for all 16 nights. I was a bit worried, but we actually ended up being thrilled. The room was spotless, as was the rest of the property. It seemed to have just been re-done. Carpet appeared to be brand-new, or very close to it. The furnishing were nice. Beds were comfy. It was very quiet and my son and I felt very safe there. The landscaping and pool area were well maintained. The pool was heated and extremely clean and the hot tub was HOT. Very nice! Free wifi worked well. Everyone we encountered was very friendly and it seemed that someone was working very hard to make this little property into something they could be proud of. We wouldn't hesitate to stay again at that price.
The first week we were there crowds did seem to be up a bit from the same time last year. It didn't affect us through, because we are dedicated rope drop people and fastpass experts. Lol. The second week, however, was extremely uncrowded. We did four Magic Kingdom rope drop days and my son was the very first rider on Space Mountain all four days. He was very proud of his record.
We did lots of park hopping. Worked great for us.
No trouble at all with MDE or our Magic Bands. No fastpass + problems or complaints.
We did the "Marceline to the Magic Kingdom" tour. Highly recommended! We both loved it and going behind the scenes at the Haunted Mansion was absolutely the highlight of my son's 12 year old life.
We only did one real sit-down meal - Chef Mickey's (my son's favorite) for breakfast. Other than that we did lots of counter service and lots of just snacking for meals. Two of my favorite counter service meals were soup and Zebra Domes at Mara at AKL and the pulled porch nachos at Captain Cook's at the Poly. Yum!
Weather was cooler than last year, but, again, no real complaints. My ideal park touring temp is in the high sixties. I much prefer wearing jeans and a light jacket to dripping with sweat.
My son was lucky enough to have two truly remarkable and magical encounters with cast members. I won't post the details because I don't want to set anyone else up for disappointment if they don't have the same experience. I just wanted you all to know that unexpected magic truly does still happen.
If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to try and answer them.
Me and my 12 year old son.
Left Tulsa on Dec. 26th and did a week of camping in Florida State Parks before hitting the Orlando area. We arrived in Orlando on January 1st, but didn't go into the parks until January 3rd (timed so we could ride Soarin' that day before it went down.) We had 10 day park hoppers with the water park and more option. Hit all the parks multiple times, many nights at Disney Quest for my 12 year old son who was crushed to hear it was closing, two visits to Blizzard Beach, mini golf, lots of resort hopping for dining and shopping. Our last Disney day was Saturday, January 16th (the last day to use our tickets due to the 14 day expiration). Left the area to drive home on Sunday, January 17th.
In addition to the camping before, we also enjoyed visits to Showcase of Citrus and Gatorland.
We usually do three trips a year, two short trips (usually early May and early October) and one long trip (January) each year. For the short trips we fly down and stay on Disney property. For our long trip in January, we usually drive and stay off-site. This time we stayed at the Howard Jonhnson Lakeside on 192. Less than $500 for all 16 nights. I was a bit worried, but we actually ended up being thrilled. The room was spotless, as was the rest of the property. It seemed to have just been re-done. Carpet appeared to be brand-new, or very close to it. The furnishing were nice. Beds were comfy. It was very quiet and my son and I felt very safe there. The landscaping and pool area were well maintained. The pool was heated and extremely clean and the hot tub was HOT. Very nice! Free wifi worked well. Everyone we encountered was very friendly and it seemed that someone was working very hard to make this little property into something they could be proud of. We wouldn't hesitate to stay again at that price.
The first week we were there crowds did seem to be up a bit from the same time last year. It didn't affect us through, because we are dedicated rope drop people and fastpass experts. Lol. The second week, however, was extremely uncrowded. We did four Magic Kingdom rope drop days and my son was the very first rider on Space Mountain all four days. He was very proud of his record.
We did lots of park hopping. Worked great for us.
No trouble at all with MDE or our Magic Bands. No fastpass + problems or complaints.
We did the "Marceline to the Magic Kingdom" tour. Highly recommended! We both loved it and going behind the scenes at the Haunted Mansion was absolutely the highlight of my son's 12 year old life.
We only did one real sit-down meal - Chef Mickey's (my son's favorite) for breakfast. Other than that we did lots of counter service and lots of just snacking for meals. Two of my favorite counter service meals were soup and Zebra Domes at Mara at AKL and the pulled porch nachos at Captain Cook's at the Poly. Yum!
Weather was cooler than last year, but, again, no real complaints. My ideal park touring temp is in the high sixties. I much prefer wearing jeans and a light jacket to dripping with sweat.
My son was lucky enough to have two truly remarkable and magical encounters with cast members. I won't post the details because I don't want to set anyone else up for disappointment if they don't have the same experience. I just wanted you all to know that unexpected magic truly does still happen.
If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to try and answer them.
