AllieV
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2007
- Messages
- 919
12/5-9. So we (me, dh, DS3.10) flew about 3 hours from the northeast, 6am flight. Got to Boardwalk villas around 10am and didn't expect room to be ready, had planned on lunch at epcot and some rides then an afternoon nap.
I was unexpectedly greeted in the lobby as soon as I walked in by someone saying my name, handing me keys and a folder and telling me the room was ready. Wow, big brother. I was equally impressed and scared
. The little one saw the pool and cried to go swim, but I thought we should keep our lunch rez. A 40 minute boat ride and walk later, we got to Italy and the little monster pitched a fit, so I chose to go back to the room instead of making everyone around us miserable. Another 40 minutes later, he was in bed and hubby hit the pub to get us burgers. So day 1 at Epcot was a bust. We swam later that afternoon then went back later that evening for fireworks at epcot. It was a great time to hit the kiddy rides (Nemo 4 times in a row, anyone?). The fireworks were a little bone rattling for the kiddo though he liked them till the end when it got quite percussive.
Animal kingdom day 2 was a bust, as well. Barely made it into the park. He had several fits that he couldn't be let on roller coasters (the CM was nice about helping to explain he was too little, but he kept screaming "I'm not too little!!!"). He did like the games in Dinoland, but I was thrown by having to spend another $20 for tickets to play the games. And for $4 a game, they made us wait a loooong time until ALL the seats were filled then my 3 yr old had to compete against the 10 yr olds to win a prize. Let the meltdowns begin . . . Went to Rain Forest for lunch, he liked it until the gorillas 'attacked' then freaked out. This is a kid who is scared of nothing, mind you. Overall, not a bad lunch. Back to hotel after that. Park hours that day, 2.
Nights 2 and 4 we brought him to Camp Dolphin, the best time he had the entire trip. I'd read people weren't impressed with it, but I thought it was wonderful. The woman in charge was truly "in charge" and I felt quite confident, despite her dressing us down over being a little late one evening in dropping him (they eat at 7 and dropping right before that creates havoc). It was 3 rooms with various things to do. We literally dragged him kicking and screaming there the first night but as soon as we opened the door and he saw the kids, all was forgotten and he ran in smiling. He had a great time, made friends, even ate. Let me note that I have a super hyper kid who is a houdini at escaping. I explained it all and there were zero issues. She simply said, "we have one of him every night". Night 4 we stayed out a little later and he was the only one left, snuggled into a blanket watching a movie and in a great mood. They were a great group of caretakers.
MK day 3 we were able to stay the longest of any park, but I gotta say that I hated the Disney we experienced that day. It was all Pooh rides and Snow White and stuff we can get by driving an hour to Sesame Place. I knew there were sacrefices we'd make taking our 3yr old, but I wasn't prepared for this. He had an ok time. He really liked the Crystal Palace character lunch, probably the best money we spent on eating. Buffet meant no waiting and the food offerings were decent. We saw all the characters inside 30 minutes and were out (they say it can take 90; we got lucky). Really sorely missed Tune Town. Took my nephew when he was the age my son is now and I think DS really would have liked it, especially that roller coaster.
MGM day 4 was a total bust. Little Monster doesn't have the attention span for shows, Toy Story was sold out of fast passes when we arrived and the wait was 50 minutes, so we hit up the Shrunken Kids playground (great one, by the way) for about an hour, got fries, then left. We went back to epcot to a few kids rides.
We had a babysitter one night from KNO and it was just as fine as reported by others. Older woman came with toys, but his bedtime was then, so she put him to bed soon. She did check on him in the bedroom (we had a 1-br place) and was able to tell me what time he got to sleep, which was nice.
I told a co-worker about the trip and he said, "why didn't you take a cruise, they have kids camp all day and all night", so we're looking at that as a next option.
Weather first week of December: unexpectedly hot. 80's day and 70s night. My dad (who lived in florida a few years) said, "don't listen to the weather, it will get cold and rain out of the blue." Well, I'll be damned but he was right. Despite the hot forecast, it got suddenly cold one day, rained all day, and stayed cold.
Best unexpected food: Kat Corra's Kuzzina on the Boardwalk. Dinner and breakfast, both really excellent.
Best surprise that saved the trip: Camp Dolphin. Excellent all around.
Worst park for my 3 yr old: MGM (sorry, hollywood studios).
Best time to do the park: evening. It got dark early, so the sun was no longer an issue for my eczema kid, fewer people, shorter lines.
Worst souvenir: a nasty rash on my legs and arms that I still have 16 days later. Suspicious cause: the laundry detergent in the villas. Strong steroids are tempering the beast.
Biggest disappointment and best souvenir: Photopass. We searched high and low for photographers and found just six our entire trip. But, all the cool stuff you can add to the pics made the $99 still worth it.
Best surprise: the "new" decor at the boardwalk villas. Gone is the cheesy picket fence wallpaper and in its place is a soothing yellow hallway. Really liked the whole look. It is less 90s and more true retro.
Best planning: night sitters and kids camp so DH and I could eat out in peace.
Worst planning: day 1. I should have adjusted plans when the room was available, hit the pool, let him nap, then maybe did something after. Wasted a lot of time dragging a screaming, tired child before I gave in and did what he wanted.
Also rented a harness for the airplane. First flight was questioned by one flight attendant, but another interrupted and said it was ok, she was familiar with it. No prob. Flight back was told it wasn't approved and had to pull out the FAA paperwork to show them. They were nice about it, glad I had that paperwork handy. Renting it was $13 from someone on ebay.
There was a code in the room (villas) for 35% off if you booked before you left. Didn't use it, but interesting.
Had free wifi in the room (boardwalk villas), though it was spotty as reported by others.
View from room: Back of the main pool, no scary clown in view. Was on the corner, though, so got some weird looks from others on their decks, many of whom went back inside when they realized they weren't alone out there. It was kinda odd but still peaceful.
So, to everyone who said, "don't waste your money, the 3-yr old is too young", they were right. We'll either wait about 18 months or hit a cruise.
I was unexpectedly greeted in the lobby as soon as I walked in by someone saying my name, handing me keys and a folder and telling me the room was ready. Wow, big brother. I was equally impressed and scared
. The little one saw the pool and cried to go swim, but I thought we should keep our lunch rez. A 40 minute boat ride and walk later, we got to Italy and the little monster pitched a fit, so I chose to go back to the room instead of making everyone around us miserable. Another 40 minutes later, he was in bed and hubby hit the pub to get us burgers. So day 1 at Epcot was a bust. We swam later that afternoon then went back later that evening for fireworks at epcot. It was a great time to hit the kiddy rides (Nemo 4 times in a row, anyone?). The fireworks were a little bone rattling for the kiddo though he liked them till the end when it got quite percussive. Animal kingdom day 2 was a bust, as well. Barely made it into the park. He had several fits that he couldn't be let on roller coasters (the CM was nice about helping to explain he was too little, but he kept screaming "I'm not too little!!!"). He did like the games in Dinoland, but I was thrown by having to spend another $20 for tickets to play the games. And for $4 a game, they made us wait a loooong time until ALL the seats were filled then my 3 yr old had to compete against the 10 yr olds to win a prize. Let the meltdowns begin . . . Went to Rain Forest for lunch, he liked it until the gorillas 'attacked' then freaked out. This is a kid who is scared of nothing, mind you. Overall, not a bad lunch. Back to hotel after that. Park hours that day, 2.
Nights 2 and 4 we brought him to Camp Dolphin, the best time he had the entire trip. I'd read people weren't impressed with it, but I thought it was wonderful. The woman in charge was truly "in charge" and I felt quite confident, despite her dressing us down over being a little late one evening in dropping him (they eat at 7 and dropping right before that creates havoc). It was 3 rooms with various things to do. We literally dragged him kicking and screaming there the first night but as soon as we opened the door and he saw the kids, all was forgotten and he ran in smiling. He had a great time, made friends, even ate. Let me note that I have a super hyper kid who is a houdini at escaping. I explained it all and there were zero issues. She simply said, "we have one of him every night". Night 4 we stayed out a little later and he was the only one left, snuggled into a blanket watching a movie and in a great mood. They were a great group of caretakers.
MK day 3 we were able to stay the longest of any park, but I gotta say that I hated the Disney we experienced that day. It was all Pooh rides and Snow White and stuff we can get by driving an hour to Sesame Place. I knew there were sacrefices we'd make taking our 3yr old, but I wasn't prepared for this. He had an ok time. He really liked the Crystal Palace character lunch, probably the best money we spent on eating. Buffet meant no waiting and the food offerings were decent. We saw all the characters inside 30 minutes and were out (they say it can take 90; we got lucky). Really sorely missed Tune Town. Took my nephew when he was the age my son is now and I think DS really would have liked it, especially that roller coaster.
MGM day 4 was a total bust. Little Monster doesn't have the attention span for shows, Toy Story was sold out of fast passes when we arrived and the wait was 50 minutes, so we hit up the Shrunken Kids playground (great one, by the way) for about an hour, got fries, then left. We went back to epcot to a few kids rides.
We had a babysitter one night from KNO and it was just as fine as reported by others. Older woman came with toys, but his bedtime was then, so she put him to bed soon. She did check on him in the bedroom (we had a 1-br place) and was able to tell me what time he got to sleep, which was nice.
I told a co-worker about the trip and he said, "why didn't you take a cruise, they have kids camp all day and all night", so we're looking at that as a next option.
Weather first week of December: unexpectedly hot. 80's day and 70s night. My dad (who lived in florida a few years) said, "don't listen to the weather, it will get cold and rain out of the blue." Well, I'll be damned but he was right. Despite the hot forecast, it got suddenly cold one day, rained all day, and stayed cold.
Best unexpected food: Kat Corra's Kuzzina on the Boardwalk. Dinner and breakfast, both really excellent.
Best surprise that saved the trip: Camp Dolphin. Excellent all around.
Worst park for my 3 yr old: MGM (sorry, hollywood studios).
Best time to do the park: evening. It got dark early, so the sun was no longer an issue for my eczema kid, fewer people, shorter lines.
Worst souvenir: a nasty rash on my legs and arms that I still have 16 days later. Suspicious cause: the laundry detergent in the villas. Strong steroids are tempering the beast.
Biggest disappointment and best souvenir: Photopass. We searched high and low for photographers and found just six our entire trip. But, all the cool stuff you can add to the pics made the $99 still worth it.
Best surprise: the "new" decor at the boardwalk villas. Gone is the cheesy picket fence wallpaper and in its place is a soothing yellow hallway. Really liked the whole look. It is less 90s and more true retro.
Best planning: night sitters and kids camp so DH and I could eat out in peace.
Worst planning: day 1. I should have adjusted plans when the room was available, hit the pool, let him nap, then maybe did something after. Wasted a lot of time dragging a screaming, tired child before I gave in and did what he wanted.
Also rented a harness for the airplane. First flight was questioned by one flight attendant, but another interrupted and said it was ok, she was familiar with it. No prob. Flight back was told it wasn't approved and had to pull out the FAA paperwork to show them. They were nice about it, glad I had that paperwork handy. Renting it was $13 from someone on ebay.
There was a code in the room (villas) for 35% off if you booked before you left. Didn't use it, but interesting.
Had free wifi in the room (boardwalk villas), though it was spotty as reported by others.
View from room: Back of the main pool, no scary clown in view. Was on the corner, though, so got some weird looks from others on their decks, many of whom went back inside when they realized they weren't alone out there. It was kinda odd but still peaceful.
So, to everyone who said, "don't waste your money, the 3-yr old is too young", they were right. We'll either wait about 18 months or hit a cruise.
