Just getting settled after our trip 4/11 to 4/14. Before I get to the details, just a quick list of the tips I learned here that really worked well for us:
1. Pack everything in plastic bags
2. Rent the refrigerator and bring your own breakfast food
3. Buy your milk & beer at resort store instead of the food court
4. Buy the $10.99 mug for coffee and soda
5. Ask CMs for anything you need in the way of directions
6. TIP everyone (Mousekeeping, Character Meal staff, etc.)
7. Use Mears Shuttle if you are not in a rush
8. Send a SIMPLE room request by fax 4 days prior to arrival
9. Be nice to everyone and they will be nice to you
So here are the details:
My DW and I took our 3 DSs (4, 2, and 4 mos.) for a four day trip. We flew on ATA from Chicago Midway to Orlando through Indianapolis on Friday morning. Everything went very smoothly, ATA is much better than my business airline United... Baggage arrived quickly at Orlando. Mears staff was very helpful and nice. We had to wait roughly 20 minutes for the bus, but the driver was friendly and put on videos for our kids right away while we were loading everyone up at various stops at the airport.
Everyone was correct about All Stars Movies being the last stop. It was. It took us roughly 1 hour and 20 minutes from the time we got on the bus to get to our resort.
Check in was quick and we were given our room request exactly as we had asked. We stayed in the fantasia building on the third floor facing the Love Bug building. We had asked for a quiet room on upper floor for our baby's nap schedule. We also asked for a refrigerator when we made our reservation. At the registration desk, when I inquired about the frig request, the CM waived the charge without my asking for it once she saw our baby. That saved us $30.
We immediately went to our room, changed and went swimming. The kiddie pool is great, but my older boys didn't really care for the whale. They did love the fantasia Mickey fountain though...
We had dinner at the food court. I had the penne with chicken and asiago cheese (very good), my DW had the pasta with shrimp and broccoli (mediocre), while the boys had chicken nuggets with fries.
We finished our day by walking around the resort. Andy's room was a huge hit as our boys are TS fans. They loved jumping on the checkerboard. My DW then took the baby and 2 yr old to the room to go to sleep. I took the 4 year old to the arcade where we played air hockey a couple of times.
We then went to the Disney store where I bought milk (1 qt $1.50) and two Doc's Hard Lemonades ($2 versus $4.25 at the pool bar).
My older boys shared a bed and didn't have any problems falling asleep. The baby fussed a little, but then slept through the night. DW and I moved the chairs out on the walkway and enjoyed a nightcap before turning in.
Overall, we were very happy with our boys behaviour on the plane and bus, the resort itself was great. Day one was a successful travel day.
1. Pack everything in plastic bags
2. Rent the refrigerator and bring your own breakfast food
3. Buy your milk & beer at resort store instead of the food court
4. Buy the $10.99 mug for coffee and soda
5. Ask CMs for anything you need in the way of directions
6. TIP everyone (Mousekeeping, Character Meal staff, etc.)
7. Use Mears Shuttle if you are not in a rush
8. Send a SIMPLE room request by fax 4 days prior to arrival
9. Be nice to everyone and they will be nice to you
So here are the details:
My DW and I took our 3 DSs (4, 2, and 4 mos.) for a four day trip. We flew on ATA from Chicago Midway to Orlando through Indianapolis on Friday morning. Everything went very smoothly, ATA is much better than my business airline United... Baggage arrived quickly at Orlando. Mears staff was very helpful and nice. We had to wait roughly 20 minutes for the bus, but the driver was friendly and put on videos for our kids right away while we were loading everyone up at various stops at the airport.
Everyone was correct about All Stars Movies being the last stop. It was. It took us roughly 1 hour and 20 minutes from the time we got on the bus to get to our resort.
Check in was quick and we were given our room request exactly as we had asked. We stayed in the fantasia building on the third floor facing the Love Bug building. We had asked for a quiet room on upper floor for our baby's nap schedule. We also asked for a refrigerator when we made our reservation. At the registration desk, when I inquired about the frig request, the CM waived the charge without my asking for it once she saw our baby. That saved us $30.
We immediately went to our room, changed and went swimming. The kiddie pool is great, but my older boys didn't really care for the whale. They did love the fantasia Mickey fountain though...
We had dinner at the food court. I had the penne with chicken and asiago cheese (very good), my DW had the pasta with shrimp and broccoli (mediocre), while the boys had chicken nuggets with fries.
We finished our day by walking around the resort. Andy's room was a huge hit as our boys are TS fans. They loved jumping on the checkerboard. My DW then took the baby and 2 yr old to the room to go to sleep. I took the 4 year old to the arcade where we played air hockey a couple of times.
We then went to the Disney store where I bought milk (1 qt $1.50) and two Doc's Hard Lemonades ($2 versus $4.25 at the pool bar).
My older boys shared a bed and didn't have any problems falling asleep. The baby fussed a little, but then slept through the night. DW and I moved the chairs out on the walkway and enjoyed a nightcap before turning in.
Overall, we were very happy with our boys behaviour on the plane and bus, the resort itself was great. Day one was a successful travel day.
