Wife and I took our 4 year old grandson to visit WDW arriving Sep 1 and departing Sep 4. Had great time over all, though he might have still been just a bit too young. We tried to only do the things that were of interest to him, since he was the reason we went. He seemed happy so the trip was a success.
We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside, in the Magnolia Terrace building. The very helpful young man at the front desk was good in selecting a room that he was sure we would like. He was right. It was only steps from the quiet pool, on the ground floor, just around the corner from the ice machine, and very close to the bus stop, and just across the bridge from the main pool. The location could not have been better. The room was in top notch shape, and the fridge worked very well and kept everything very cold. Our maid did a wonderful job and made a new towel animal each day. Grandson loved the towel art and she earned herself a very nice tip for her services. In case anyone else has had her as their maid, her name was Nelly. If you are lucky enough to get her when you do go expect superb service (and please remember to tip her).
We only ate at the food court once, taking our food back to the bar to listen to the piano player. We thought the food was good, if a bit over priced. We also ordered the pizza-drink room service deal one night and it was OK, but again a bit over-priced. No other food was purchased from the resort.
We used the bus transport for all excurions to the parks and found it to be efficient and easy to use. I was really impressed the night we left MK after the 10 pm fireworks, along with a few thousand other folks, and found the line at the POR bus stop to be very, very long. Even not starting to walk from the castle till after fireworks (10:15?) to the exit to the bus stand, waiting for three buses, loading, etc, we were still back at the hotel by 11pm. We thought that was very good.
We enjoyed the MK very much. Our grandson got to meet many characters, and even was selected to lead the Woody and Jesse parade from their outdoor autograph station into the dance hall to continue the signing session. That was very nice for him. We stuck to shows and rides that fit his age and he seemed to like it all. We also did a character breakfast at Chef Mickey's and he met lots of characters. We were suprised at the quality of the food for a mass produced buffet, expecting the food to be an afterthought. The food was very good and a nice selection. Again it was pretty overpriced, but hey to see our grandson enjoy the characters it was worth it.
We also did the Safari at Animal Kingdom and it was very good. We saw every animal up close. Highly recommend this to everyone. Grandson did not like It's Hard to be a Bug too much...lots of parts scared him. We did not have time to see Lion King which would have been better for him. Overall, we thought Animal Kingdom was better than its reputation.
We had a good trip even though it was rushed and short. One place that you would have to use wild horses to drag me into again is the whole area of Downtown Disney and in particular the Disney Store. What a zoo! I told my wife next time I would never step foot into that part of WDW again. I am sure you can spend all your money on souveniers at the hotel gift shops just as easy and have the same selections. To me the store at DTD was just more, much more, of the same, and packed to the gills with Disney nuts in a feeding frenzy. It was a nightmare. As an aside, we learned that the gift cards we have from the Disney Store are NOT usuable at the store in DTD nor at any shop in WDW. The Disney Stores that exist in the malls around the country are not even owned by Disney and not even related to WDW or Disney, but are a totally different operation, like a franchise I guess. They sell Disney goods but any gift cards are only good in their store. So do not take any of those cards with you and expect to use them (like we did). I thought that had a whiff of unethical to it myself. You are not told that when you buy the cards.
Anyway, a good trip and we will go back when our youngest grandson is old enough to enjoy it. We are not Disney fanatics, but it was fun. I know I could not go there every year for vacation...seems that when you have seen it once you have seen it all. We have been there before as a couple and had fun, and did not really see lots new this time. I would not choose to spend my vacation dollars there, except to make my grandchildren happy. As a couple we would prefer more adult vacations and resorts. Just my opinion and not trying to put anyone down that enjoys WDW enough to go back year after year or even multiple times a year. Different strokes you know......
Oh, and the lamest show and the greatest waste of space has to be the Stitch thing ... what were they thinking?
We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside, in the Magnolia Terrace building. The very helpful young man at the front desk was good in selecting a room that he was sure we would like. He was right. It was only steps from the quiet pool, on the ground floor, just around the corner from the ice machine, and very close to the bus stop, and just across the bridge from the main pool. The location could not have been better. The room was in top notch shape, and the fridge worked very well and kept everything very cold. Our maid did a wonderful job and made a new towel animal each day. Grandson loved the towel art and she earned herself a very nice tip for her services. In case anyone else has had her as their maid, her name was Nelly. If you are lucky enough to get her when you do go expect superb service (and please remember to tip her).
We only ate at the food court once, taking our food back to the bar to listen to the piano player. We thought the food was good, if a bit over priced. We also ordered the pizza-drink room service deal one night and it was OK, but again a bit over-priced. No other food was purchased from the resort.
We used the bus transport for all excurions to the parks and found it to be efficient and easy to use. I was really impressed the night we left MK after the 10 pm fireworks, along with a few thousand other folks, and found the line at the POR bus stop to be very, very long. Even not starting to walk from the castle till after fireworks (10:15?) to the exit to the bus stand, waiting for three buses, loading, etc, we were still back at the hotel by 11pm. We thought that was very good.
We enjoyed the MK very much. Our grandson got to meet many characters, and even was selected to lead the Woody and Jesse parade from their outdoor autograph station into the dance hall to continue the signing session. That was very nice for him. We stuck to shows and rides that fit his age and he seemed to like it all. We also did a character breakfast at Chef Mickey's and he met lots of characters. We were suprised at the quality of the food for a mass produced buffet, expecting the food to be an afterthought. The food was very good and a nice selection. Again it was pretty overpriced, but hey to see our grandson enjoy the characters it was worth it.
We also did the Safari at Animal Kingdom and it was very good. We saw every animal up close. Highly recommend this to everyone. Grandson did not like It's Hard to be a Bug too much...lots of parts scared him. We did not have time to see Lion King which would have been better for him. Overall, we thought Animal Kingdom was better than its reputation.
We had a good trip even though it was rushed and short. One place that you would have to use wild horses to drag me into again is the whole area of Downtown Disney and in particular the Disney Store. What a zoo! I told my wife next time I would never step foot into that part of WDW again. I am sure you can spend all your money on souveniers at the hotel gift shops just as easy and have the same selections. To me the store at DTD was just more, much more, of the same, and packed to the gills with Disney nuts in a feeding frenzy. It was a nightmare. As an aside, we learned that the gift cards we have from the Disney Store are NOT usuable at the store in DTD nor at any shop in WDW. The Disney Stores that exist in the malls around the country are not even owned by Disney and not even related to WDW or Disney, but are a totally different operation, like a franchise I guess. They sell Disney goods but any gift cards are only good in their store. So do not take any of those cards with you and expect to use them (like we did). I thought that had a whiff of unethical to it myself. You are not told that when you buy the cards.
Anyway, a good trip and we will go back when our youngest grandson is old enough to enjoy it. We are not Disney fanatics, but it was fun. I know I could not go there every year for vacation...seems that when you have seen it once you have seen it all. We have been there before as a couple and had fun, and did not really see lots new this time. I would not choose to spend my vacation dollars there, except to make my grandchildren happy. As a couple we would prefer more adult vacations and resorts. Just my opinion and not trying to put anyone down that enjoys WDW enough to go back year after year or even multiple times a year. Different strokes you know......
Oh, and the lamest show and the greatest waste of space has to be the Stitch thing ... what were they thinking?
