ª"˜˜ª¤.¸Official Team August 2013 Thread!¸.¤ª˜˜"ª&#9733

[KSL]

I have a 5:20 dinner reservation for 'Ohana for my family and cannot decide whether to keep it. I know I'll need to make a decision, but thought I'd solicit any input from anyone who has a moment to reply.
Here are factors to consider:

• We do not have DDP but will have TiW
• Two of my girls are "adults" but are light eaters at 13 and 10. My 8 year old puts them both to shame!
• We are going for 12 nights so it's OK if it's a long meal; we won't feel like we need to rush to get back to the parks.
• We have never bee there, and I read so many good things about it, but my kids have no idea so it's not a "must do" by any means.

I'm kind of leaning towards skipping it and thinking maybe for a future visit, given that it is pricey and not sure we will eat that much or that my kids will necessarily even like all that meat!
Any other factors I should take into consideration when deciding?
TIA for any input!

 

[joshsmom]

What a great surprise! I'm trying to talk DH into it but not winning on the price tag lol!

Show him pics, and the recent reviews, of the Dessert Party!! The review itself made my mouth water!!!!

http://www.****************/tomorrowland-terrace-fireworks-dessert-party/

 

[Mrs. M. Mouse]

I have a 5:20 dinner reservation for 'Ohana for my family and cannot decide whether to keep it. I know I'll need to make a decision, but thought I'd solicit any input from anyone who has a moment to reply.
Here are factors to consider:

[*]We do not have DDP but will have TiW
[*]Two of my girls are "adults" but are light eaters at 13 and 10. My 8 year old puts them both to shame!
[*]We are going for 12 nights so it's OK if it's a long meal; we won't feel like we need to rush to get back to the parks.
[*]We have never bee there, and I read so many good things about it, but my kids have no idea so it's not a "must do" by any means.
I'm kind of leaning towards skipping it and thinking maybe for a future visit, given that it is pricey and not sure we will eat that much or that my kids will necessarily even like all that meat!
Any other factors I should take into consideration when deciding?
TIA for any input!

We did o'hana for dinner on our last trip with a then 7 and 10 year old girls who are normally good eaters. My 7 year old only ate the chicken wings and a ton of bread. Mt 10 year old had a small peice of the steak? And a couple bites of veggies. No worth it for us to try it again unless we're on free dining!

 

[Mrs. M. Mouse]

Show him pics, and the recent reviews, of the Dessert Party!! The review itself made my mouth water!!!!

http://www.****************/tomorrowland-terrace-fireworks-dessert-party/

Oh i tried that lol... Though i think he thought the terrace was in a different spot cause when i showed him on the map he went... Oh thats where... I'm still trying and might have to just reserve now lol

 

[KSL]

We did o'hana for dinner on our last trip with a then 7 and 10 year old girls who are normally good eaters. My 7 year old only ate the chicken wings and a ton of bread. Mt 10 year old had a small peice of the steak? And a couple bites of veggies. No worth it for us to try it again unless we're on free dining!

Ok, yep, that's exactly what I'm thinking would happen with us. My kids would just eat the bread! I'm also thinking there could be others out there who are really wanting this reservation and here I am holding it up. I'll ask DH again but he's pretty easy-going and probably will be in favor of saving the money.

 

[cinnderly]

Have any of you stayed at CBR? Thoughts?

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

It was the first place I stayed at, and I loved it! I've stayed at two other moderates since, and that one is still my favorite. I think we were in Aruba, not a far walk to the pool. I loved the island music that was piped in as you walk along. It really has the best atmosphere of the places I've stayed so far, IMO.

 

[cinnderly]

Yikes I was just reading a thread about how hot it is already and how terrible it is etc...
So I would love to hear from those of you who leave the park and those of you who don't leave the park in the afternoons....and really just how bad is the heat and if its so bad why is the summer one of the most popular time of the year...is everyone just mad?

We always take breaks, and find that those are key to enjoying ourselves. We get out early for rope drop, get everything done that we want, each lunch on the early side to avoid the rush, and leave when the sun is high. We go back to the resort, swim, nap if we can, and then head back out around dinner time. We usually go to a park that has evening EMH and leisurely go around to things we like after we eat. We do often leave before the park closes, and we avoid a rush to get out that way as well. The heat is intense, yes. But living where I do, the summer heat and humidity is also intense. By going back for a break at the hottest time of the day we maximize our enjoyment. Without that break we'd be grouchy and snippy with each other, and that does not make for a fun vacation. Just drink lots of water and rest when you need to, and you'll be fine.

We are paid in full as of today!!

Question, how many of you do the photo pass? As first time visitors, I would like to know what you like or don't like about it.

Congrats! We did photopass for our second trip, and + for our third. They were great, and the + was well worth it (we got the discount for buying early). We have it for this trip too. I love that we have all of the ride and dining photos, and it was so convenient not having to lug a camera around like I did for our first trip. The photopass people are everywhere!

 

[pigletto]

Funny to see all this CBR talk today. I've been wrestling with the idea of switching (Yeah yeah.. big surprise).

I want to stay at POFQ but there are two things holding me back. One, I looked online at the food court choices and POFQ is pretty lacking when it comes to what my vegetarian dd will eat. I think there is one thing she will eat. We do tend to use the foodcourt quite a bit. That is just one thing that we could work around but the other big issue for me is the pool situation. Ds 9 is ALL about the waterslides. He LOVES them. The waterslide at POFQ is not going to cut it for him. It's very small. We're going in August (obviously) and will use the pool every single day. I don't want to walk over to POR in the heat to go to the pool and the food court every day.
This leaves me 2 options. A Royal Room at POR, which wouldn't be bad but it's $300 more and we just stayed in one in February. We had a great time but we like to mix it up and would prefer to stay somewhere new.

Which leaves CBR. It's never interested me much because of all the complaints I've heard of the size. But that could be easily overlooked by getting a preferred room. Add in all of the pools and a much more varied food court menu and it's starting to look pretty attractive.

What would you do?

 

[Mrs. M. Mouse]

Funny to see all this CBR talk today. I've been wrestling with the idea of switching (Yeah yeah.. big surprise).

I want to stay at POFQ but there are two things holding me back. One, I looked online at the food court choices and POFQ is pretty lacking when it comes to what my vegetarian dd will eat. I think there is one thing she will eat. We do tend to use the foodcourt quite a bit. That is just one thing that we could work around but the other big issue for me is the pool situation. Ds 9 is ALL about the waterslides. He LOVES them. The waterslide at POFQ is not going to cut it for him. It's very small. We're going in August (obviously) and will use the pool every single day. I don't want to walk over to POR in the heat to go to the pool and the food court every day.
This leaves me 2 options. A Royal Room at POR, which wouldn't be bad but it's $300 more and we just stayed in one in February. We had a great time but we like to mix it up and would prefer to stay somewhere new.

Which leaves CBR. It's never interested me much because of all the complaints I've heard of the size. But that could be easily overlooked by getting a preferred room. Add in all of the pools and a much more varied food court menu and it's starting to look pretty attractive.

What would you do?

Funny you mention it! We were wrestling between POFQ and CBR and CBR ticked more boxes for us. This time around we're planning a slower pace and the quietness that CBR boasts is right up our alley. POFQ pool situation turned us off too with only having the one pool and having to go to POR for the larger one wasn't an interest to us!

 

[pigletto]

Funny you mention it! We were wrestling between POFQ and CBR and CBR ticked more boxes for us. This time around we're planning a slower pace and the quietness that CBR boasts is right up our alley. POFQ pool situation turned us off too with only having the one pool and having to go to POR for the larger one wasn't an interest to us!

Yep! After all these August trips I know one thing for sure. Slogging over to POR to go to the pool or the foodcourt won't happen. We typically use the pools on our afternoon breaks, and again before bed (usually the quiet pool then).
When we stayed at Fort Wilderness Cabins last summer we had a great time, but we only used the pool once because we didn't even want to get back on the bus to go use it. It then becomes a "trip" rather than "Let's go take a dip in the pool". Seems minor, but it does really effect the convenience factor to not be able to get there in just a few minutes.

I am almost 100% convinced we should switch. I will really miss the boat to DTD but I guess I have to get over that. If it was any other time of year we wouldn't mind walking to POR for stuff but we won't do it in August.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

I have a 5:20 dinner reservation for 'Ohana for my family and cannot decide whether to keep it. I know I'll need to make a decision, but thought I'd solicit any input from anyone who has a moment to reply.
Here are factors to consider:

• We do not have DDP but will have TiW
• Two of my girls are "adults" but are light eaters at 13 and 10. My 8 year old puts them both to shame!
• We are going for 12 nights so it's OK if it's a long meal; we won't feel like we need to rush to get back to the parks.
• We have never bee there, and I read so many good things about it, but my kids have no idea so it's not a "must do" by any means.

I'm kind of leaning towards skipping it and thinking maybe for a future visit, given that it is pricey and not sure we will eat that much or that my kids will necessarily even like all that meat!
Any other factors I should take into consideration when deciding?
TIA for any input!

If you don't think it will appeal to your family, then I don't think it would be a bad idea to skip it. Where else will you be eating on this trip? Is the ADR for one of the nights you will be at BLT? If that's the case, then it would be very easy to go and head on to the MK. Have you considered having breakfast there instead? It's less expensive and you'd still get a chance to experience it.

I am also going back and forth with so many of my ADRs, so I know how hard it is to make the decision! Maybe I'll post for some input as well!

 

[amomma23]

We just made a dessert party ressie for 9pm on August 20th! Meep! how exciting! My little brother (18 haha) and I are keeping it a secret from our mom who is taking us on this wonderful trip as a surprise thank you!

We surprised my Mom, Sister, and her family with the party in September. Mom surprised us by paying for the trip, too. It was fun to walk up to the entrance with no one knowing. Mom said " Oh, it looks like you need some kind of VIP pass." I told her we should just go check it out and see what it was. It was a lot of fun!

 

[amomma23]

Ok, yep, that's exactly what I'm thinking would happen with us. My kids would just eat the bread! I'm also thinking there could be others out there who are really wanting this reservation and here I am holding it up. I'll ask DH again but he's pretty easy-going and probably will be in favor of saving the money.

No pressure, but I might be interested if you decide to skip.

 

[cinnderly]

Funny to see all this CBR talk today. I've been wrestling with the idea of switching (Yeah yeah.. big surprise).

I want to stay at POFQ but there are two things holding me back. One, I looked online at the food court choices and POFQ is pretty lacking when it comes to what my vegetarian dd will eat. I think there is one thing she will eat. We do tend to use the foodcourt quite a bit. That is just one thing that we could work around but the other big issue for me is the pool situation. Ds 9 is ALL about the waterslides. He LOVES them. The waterslide at POFQ is not going to cut it for him. It's very small. We're going in August (obviously) and will use the pool every single day. I don't want to walk over to POR in the heat to go to the pool and the food court every day.
This leaves me 2 options. A Royal Room at POR, which wouldn't be bad but it's $300 more and we just stayed in one in February. We had a great time but we like to mix it up and would prefer to stay somewhere new.

Which leaves CBR. It's never interested me much because of all the complaints I've heard of the size. But that could be easily overlooked by getting a preferred room. Add in all of the pools and a much more varied food court menu and it's starting to look pretty attractive.

What would you do?

Is CBR really that much bigger than POR or CSR? I didn't see much of a difference in size from CSR to be honest, but I wont know about POR until our trip this year. We've stayed at POFQ, and I do admit the size was a plus. The pool didn't seem too small at all to me, but we stayed at CBR before they rehabbed the pool to what is it now, so maybe it's much different. I thought POFQ was ok, but being a girl who has visited New Orleans a lot, knows the Quarter well, and considers NOLA her real home, it was a little cheesy. Also, it seemed kind of empty and unkempt, but that could just be because of the time we were there.

I hear amazing things about POR, so maybe I'll change my mind, but CBR is definitely my favorite so far.

 

[pigletto]

Is CBR really that much bigger than POR or CSR? I didn't see much of a difference in size from CSR to be honest, but I wont know about POR until our trip this year. We've stayed at POFQ, and I do admit the size was a plus. The pool didn't seem too small at all to me, but we stayed at CBR before they rehabbed the pool to what is it now, so maybe it's much different. I thought POFQ was ok, but being a girl who has visited New Orleans a lot, knows the Quarter well, and considers NOLA her real home, it was a little cheesy. Also, it seemed kind of empty and unkempt, but that could just be because of the time we were there.

I hear amazing things about POR, so maybe I'll change my mind, but CBR is definitely my favorite so far.

You know, I really doubt that it's that much bigger than POR or CSR though it is bigger. I wouldn't want to be out at Ranchos or the far reaches of POR either but I'd manage. I like that I'll have so many choices of quiet pools and more choices in the food court. Because I'd never really considered it until now I am excited to try something completely new! I loved POR and CSR so I can't imagine disliking this one.
I think with the mods it often comes down to theming doesn't it? It's why we never considered CBR until now. Before our Disney trips we used to go to the Caribbean so I didn't want that type of feel at Disney. But it's been years now so it's not so fresh in my mind.
My only other (small) concern is the double beds. Usually I can get my son and daughter to share and put a line of pillows between them. I think with the doubles it will be dd and I in one and Dh and ds in the other. Oh well. It's vacation..who cares!

 

[CerysG]

Stop worrying! Like Pigletto, this will be our fourth August trip in a row. I hate the heat....I'm a fair redhead (or greyish redhead now ) but I love Disney in August! Sometimes we take a break and sometimes we don't. We have a 9 and 6 year old so we play it by ear. Always assume it will rain (even on the sunniest day) because the weather changes quickly. We never let the heat or rain slow us down! Maybe we are crazy, but we love it, and I bet you will love it too!

Yes I know I'm going to drive myself crazy about it all! There does seem to be lots of people who go every year at this time so how bad can it be. My thoughts were if we don't go back to the resort mid day then to do shows in the afternoon so we are out of the heat and any rain. I'm from Western Canada and we can get heat and when the wind goes (and it does) its like being in a blast furnace but the humidity is another thing all together as we don't get so much of that. Now having said that DH and I lived in Toronto for 5 years and the summers there are very humid... how Orlanod compares I don't know....we managed the humidity there so I expect we can do it in Orlando. My kids are 9, 12 and 16 so not little ones and I think for the most part they will want to stay at the parks or we can split up if DH and the younger two have had enough and want to go for a swim and meet up for dinner. Oldest DD will want to keep going and we can hang together. I think if we get to the parks for rope drop and do all the big rides in the morning then if anyone wants to head back to the resort can and then meet up later. I've used Touring Plans and Easy to pick the best parks so the line ups shouldn't be to bad, though we have hoppers so I expect we will be doing some extra evening hours as well. Sigh how am I going to make it another 75 days without driving myself crazy! We'll you guys help as it's always good to listen to people who've been there at this time of year.

 

[squirrel4569]

Yes I know I'm going to drive myself crazy about it all! There does seem to be lots of people who go every year at this time so how bad can it be. My thoughts were if we don't go back to the resort mid day then to do shows in the afternoon so we are out of the heat and any rain. I'm from Western Canada and we can get heat and when the wind goes (and it does) its like being in a blast furnace but the humidity is another thing all together as we don't get so much of that. Now having said that DH and I lived in Toronto for 5 years and the summers there are very humid... how Orlanod compares I don't know....we managed the humidity there so I expect we can do it in Orlando. My kids are 9, 12 and 16 so not little ones and I think for the most part they will want to stay at the parks or we can split up if DH and the younger two have had enough and want to go for a swim and meet up for dinner. Oldest DD will want to keep going and we can hang together. I think if we get to the parks for rope drop and do all the big rides in the morning then if anyone wants to head back to the resort can and then meet up later. I've used Touring Plans and Easy to pick the best parks so the line ups shouldn't be to bad, though we have hoppers so I expect we will be doing some extra evening hours as well. Sigh how am I going to make it another 75 days without driving myself crazy! We'll you guys help as it's always good to listen to people who've been there at this time of year.

When we went in 2010 it was the first week of September and the averages said they should've been around 80F/26C. It actually was between 90F/32C and 95F/35C the entire week, so more like August weather.

It rained a couple of times while we were there but only once did it rain for an extended period of time. Luckily for us we were heading to DTD at the time and had ponchos. We wore ponchos and put the entire poncho over the strollers to keep the kids dry.

We weren't RD to nightfall every day but we had a couple of pre-RD ADRs and stayed for fireworks and MSEP a couple of times. We broke up the day with TS meals throughout the parks (most had ADRs but a few did not) as well as shows in the A/C. We were on the DxDP and used a lot of snack credits on waters (now we know we can get water for free in our own containers) and we bought a misting fan to help keep cool too. The kids were too small for most of the water rides so we also hit a few of the clam shell rides that are indoors.

Our kids were 5 years and 20 months on that trip and we managed pretty well. We didn't take mid-day breaks becuase with a 20 month old they sleep 2 or 3 times a day and that would be rough to go back to the hotel each time. Our kids slept in the strollers or in our laps during shows and were pretty content most of the trip.

Regardless of what most people say here, the best advice is this. Go at the pace that you and your family can handle. You don't have to see everything (and really can't) on one trip and having cranky people makes for a not so fun trip. Take breaks when and where you want/need to and you'll be fine. Keep lots of water/gatorade handy and you'll handle the heat without a problem. Wear light clothing (both material and color) and comfortable, breathable footwear. Don't forget hats and sunscreen too!

 

[Whereisalyssa]

We surprised my Mom, Sister, and her family with the party in September. Mom surprised us by paying for the trip, too. It was fun to walk up to the entrance with no one knowing. Mom said " Oh, it looks like you need some kind of VIP pass." I told her we should just go check it out and see what it was. It was a lot of fun!

haha thats so exciting! I hope my mom reacts the same way - I'll be so upset if she catches on too early! haha

I have another question for everyone about the dessert party though.. I booked latish last night, does that mean that I will have a table in the back? (Not that it's that big of a deal anyways! just curious!)

 

[CerysG]

When we went in 2010 it was the first week of September and the averages said they should've been around 80F/26C. It actually was between 90F/32C and 95F/35C the entire week, so more like August weather.

It rained a couple of times while we were there but only once did it rain for an extended period of time. Luckily for us we were heading to DTD at the time and had ponchos. We wore ponchos and put the entire poncho over the strollers to keep the kids dry.

We weren't RD to nightfall every day but we had a couple of pre-RD ADRs and stayed for fireworks and MSEP a couple of times. We broke up the day with TS meals throughout the parks (most had ADRs but a few did not) as well as shows in the A/C. We were on the DxDP and used a lot of snack credits on waters (now we know we can get water for free in our own containers) and we bought a misting fan to help keep cool too. The kids were too small for most of the water rides so we also hit a few of the clam shell rides that are indoors.

Our kids were 5 years and 20 months on that trip and we managed pretty well. We didn't take mid-day breaks becuase with a 20 month old they sleep 2 or 3 times a day and that would be rough to go back to the hotel each time. Our kids slept in the strollers or in our laps during shows and were pretty content most of the trip.

Regardless of what most people say here, the best advice is this. Go at the pace that you and your family can handle. You don't have to see everything (and really can't) on one trip and having cranky people makes for a not so fun trip. Take breaks when and where you want/need to and you'll be fine. Keep lots of water/gatorade handy and you'll handle the heat without a problem. Wear light clothing (both material and color) and comfortable, breathable footwear. Don't forget hats and sunscreen too!

Thanks for the good advice! I was planning of getting water and refilling it at the parks but maybe taking a can of gatorade would be a good idea. I hate waring hats but I might have to have one as I don't want to get sun stroke as that wouldn't be good. I'm slowly putting together cloths and shoes for the trip thinking good walking sandles or mesh running shoes would be the best for everyone.
I'll try not to drive myself crazy before we get there.

 

[CerysG]

You know, I really doubt that it's that much bigger than POR or CSR though it is bigger. I wouldn't want to be out at Ranchos or the far reaches of POR either but I'd manage. I like that I'll have so many choices of quiet pools and more choices in the food court. Because I'd never really considered it until now I am excited to try something completely new! I loved POR and CSR so I can't imagine disliking this one.
I think with the mods it often comes down to theming doesn't it? It's why we never considered CBR until now. Before our Disney trips we used to go to the Caribbean so I didn't want that type of feel at Disney. But it's been years now so it's not so fresh in my mind.
My only other (small) concern is the double beds. Usually I can get my son and daughter to share and put a line of pillows between them. I think with the doubles it will be dd and I in one and Dh and ds in the other. Oh well. It's vacation..who cares!

We stayed at POR last time we went about 2 years ago and really like the resort. I think we were in Magnolia bend, the buildings looked like old south mansions? It took us about 5 min. or so to walk to the main building and less to the main pool. I have heard people complain about it being big and having to walk...have to say I didn't understand that one but I like a nice walk to have a look at stuff as you never know what you will see. The grounds are lovely and well kept. Our room was clean and was good enough for the amount of time we spent in it.
This time we are staying a CBR. I was drawn to the look of it right away but then saw it had double beds (POR had them when we stays, ok but on great) and so thought I'd try CSR instead because of the queen beds. Turned out there is a big convention there last week of August and I couldn't get a room, which might be just as well if there is going to be that many people there. DH said he wanted to stay at a new resort since he isn't planning to come back to Disney (he said that after our frist stay and look we are back again!LOL) and everyone liked the look of CBR better then POFQ so I think it was fated to be. Also my 9 year old daughter is big into waterslides (something about 9 year olds and waterslides?) so it seemed to be a good one. I think for the amount of time I'm actually in bed the doubles will be fine. I'm really looking forward to this resort and not worried about having to walk. Maybe a longer walk will mean drinking less pop which isn't that great for you anyhow and likely we'll be drinking to much of it as it is. Wonder if the drink stations offer any juice?
Oh well I think for most people they look at a place and it just feels right for them....I know a lot of people really like the values but they just didn't do if for me like the mods.