wishuponastarforever
<font color=deeppink>I just love coming here and v
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2004
- Messages
- 1,136
My DH and I just returned from our first "empty nest" trip.
We had a wonderful time - crowds were small. Now that school does not dictate time of year, we'll do early February again.
I just wanted to share a few things in the hopes it may help someone out there.
We stayed our first night at Pop Century - it was clean and fun.
We stayed the next three nights at the Wilderness Lodge. A first for us. We have stayed over the years at the Wilderness Cabins with our children.
Per recommendation from KCDISDAD, we requested Room 5032 (woods view). We were fortunate to have our request granted. It has to be one of the few rooms that has a perfect view of Cinderella's castle. The view was wonderful. We HAD to return to our room the night of Super Bowl. What a treat to see "Wishes" at the same time!!! This room is also close to the elevator that takes you to the Snack bar where you can have your refillable mugs refilled. It was an ideal location. Thank you to KCDISDAD. We loved the Lodge.
We found the food at Trails End Buffet at Fort Wilderness to be a great value and alot of very good food. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. We left the MK and took the boat over for lunch twice. It was a great way to have a larger meal in the middle of the day and snacking in the evening. My DH is a fried chicken expert. He loved the chicken here. There are alot of choices for food from a salad bar, fresh fruit, pizza, fried chicken, marcaroni and cheese, vegetables, chili, soup, homemade breads, one day there was a pulled pork BBQ (Carolina style), the next time there was a beef BBQ that was just like the BBQ we had when we lived in Texas. Great food - lunch was $9.99, adult $5.99 per child (includes soft drink, tea, etc)
For anyone traveling with someone elderly who can't stand for long periods of time or with someone in a wheelchair, we found the perfect spot for SpectroMagic and Wishes. It is at the end of Main Street upstairs in front of the train station. There were some chairs for people to sit and spaces for a wheelchair. I'm sure you have to be there early but the spot has a great view.
We traveled one year with my Mother in law - wish I had known about this spot then.
If fast pass is not working, the CM's have passes they can give you.
After riding the Tower of Terror, a CM was handing out papers with the car number in the event you wanted to purchase the picture that was taken. I'm glad I took it as it was fashioned after a "Do not Disturb" sign and makes a great souvenier.
Early to the parks is the single best tip in the world. This is especially true of the Animal Kingdom. We got there EE and rode one of the first cars. We saw practically all the animals - including the lioness and lion. The lion was even standing with meat in his mouth and shaking his head. 45 minutes later we rode again, and most animals were out of view. It makes a huge difference to get there early.
Also in Animal Kingdom, there are places to donate to the Conservation Fund - Disney matches every dollar. You also get a souvenier pin for each dollar you donate. A great way to bring home some inexpensive souveniers.
Mission to Mars has air sickness bags. We did not feel sick. We LOVED the ride. It was comforting some how to know they were there though.
We did the Illuminations Cruise - I was surprised the ramp is not marked. Just in case anyone else is confused by this - the boats show up at the same ramp as the hotel boats. There just aren't any signs for the Illumination Cruise.
I have learned so many things from so many of you. Hopefully some of these tips will help someone else.
We had a wonderful time - crowds were small. Now that school does not dictate time of year, we'll do early February again.
I just wanted to share a few things in the hopes it may help someone out there.
We stayed our first night at Pop Century - it was clean and fun.
We stayed the next three nights at the Wilderness Lodge. A first for us. We have stayed over the years at the Wilderness Cabins with our children.
Per recommendation from KCDISDAD, we requested Room 5032 (woods view). We were fortunate to have our request granted. It has to be one of the few rooms that has a perfect view of Cinderella's castle. The view was wonderful. We HAD to return to our room the night of Super Bowl. What a treat to see "Wishes" at the same time!!! This room is also close to the elevator that takes you to the Snack bar where you can have your refillable mugs refilled. It was an ideal location. Thank you to KCDISDAD. We loved the Lodge.
We found the food at Trails End Buffet at Fort Wilderness to be a great value and alot of very good food. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. We left the MK and took the boat over for lunch twice. It was a great way to have a larger meal in the middle of the day and snacking in the evening. My DH is a fried chicken expert. He loved the chicken here. There are alot of choices for food from a salad bar, fresh fruit, pizza, fried chicken, marcaroni and cheese, vegetables, chili, soup, homemade breads, one day there was a pulled pork BBQ (Carolina style), the next time there was a beef BBQ that was just like the BBQ we had when we lived in Texas. Great food - lunch was $9.99, adult $5.99 per child (includes soft drink, tea, etc)
For anyone traveling with someone elderly who can't stand for long periods of time or with someone in a wheelchair, we found the perfect spot for SpectroMagic and Wishes. It is at the end of Main Street upstairs in front of the train station. There were some chairs for people to sit and spaces for a wheelchair. I'm sure you have to be there early but the spot has a great view.
We traveled one year with my Mother in law - wish I had known about this spot then.
If fast pass is not working, the CM's have passes they can give you.
After riding the Tower of Terror, a CM was handing out papers with the car number in the event you wanted to purchase the picture that was taken. I'm glad I took it as it was fashioned after a "Do not Disturb" sign and makes a great souvenier.
Early to the parks is the single best tip in the world. This is especially true of the Animal Kingdom. We got there EE and rode one of the first cars. We saw practically all the animals - including the lioness and lion. The lion was even standing with meat in his mouth and shaking his head. 45 minutes later we rode again, and most animals were out of view. It makes a huge difference to get there early.
Also in Animal Kingdom, there are places to donate to the Conservation Fund - Disney matches every dollar. You also get a souvenier pin for each dollar you donate. A great way to bring home some inexpensive souveniers.
Mission to Mars has air sickness bags. We did not feel sick. We LOVED the ride. It was comforting some how to know they were there though.
We did the Illuminations Cruise - I was surprised the ramp is not marked. Just in case anyone else is confused by this - the boats show up at the same ramp as the hotel boats. There just aren't any signs for the Illumination Cruise.
I have learned so many things from so many of you. Hopefully some of these tips will help someone else.
