Group: me, DH, DS(7), DD(11), and DS(15)
We arrived May 5th at the airport at 10:30pm and were picked up by Berkley of Tiffany Towncar. Berkley was actually waiting at the terminal as we departed the plane. He was great to have as a driver; full of conversation, helped with the bags, very polite yet down-to-earth and his driving was very safe. We stayed at The Allstar Sports for the first night since we were a day early. The rooms were clean (we had to have two due to fire rules) and acceptable for economy accommodations. Please email me if you want more specifics on the Allstar.
We got up early and caught Disney Transportation to MK, then rode the monorail to the Polynesian to check in and get our passes. Our luggage was transferred by Allstar to the Poly while we went to AK for breakfast at Donalds Breakfasaurus (character) to which we were an hour late for our ps due to the long time it took for a Disney bus to arrive at the Allstar. I didnt see anything resembling bus-on-demand- just signs posted for every 15 min for arrival (that wasnt always true as you will read later). They honored it anyway and we were seated within 15 minutes. The buffet was good, we saw some characters as they passed our table (they are on a set schedule and will not come back if you missed them). The atmosphere was log cabinish. AK was nice (but on a smaller scale than San Diegos Wild Animal Park). We were early enough to see lions and cheetahs on the Safari, the Rapids were fun. The Dinosaur ride was fun, but scared my 7yo. LOVED the lion King show. The TREE OF LIFE in the center of the park is SPECTACULAR! We saw the entire park by 1:00 (started at 9:30 after eating) and almost missed Its tough to be a bug(3D show, dont miss) as we were leaving. We went back to Poly to get in our room, but no luggage had arrived yet. We then went to MK for the rest of the day. Since we live by Disneyland and it is nearly identical, we mostly went on attractions that were different (buzz lightyear, Alien encounter) and our favorites (Splash mtn, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mtn). If you have not been to Disneyland or MK often, you definitely would want to spend a whole day at MK. We had dinner at Cinderellas Castle- good steaks (but very pricey, so not a budget-minded place to eat) . We opted to have nice meals as opposed to fast food for most of the trip. After MK, we went back to Poly and had to have luggage delivered as they held it at baggage claim area. Went swimming in the Volcano pool (very neat!). The polys room was very nice (noticible difference from allstar). We were in the Fiji bldg with 2 queen and one single daybed and balcony overlooking the lake. More toiletries were provided here and more was delivered when requested. Floors/counters were marble, carpet seemed fairly new; nice accommodations. Email me if you want more info on the Poly.
Warning: make sure you and kids drink lots of water. My little one began throwing up after we returned to the room and after examination we concluded it was an effect of dehydration. We kept him well watered after that and he was fine.
Tips: Take advantage of the delivery to room of your souvenir purchases (takes 24 hours)and bring a small backpack to the parks to carry water, ids, money, breathmints, chapstick, camera,glasses,etc. I liked it better than a fannypack because of the rides with seatbelts and it carried more (but was still half the size as a regular backpack).
We arrived May 5th at the airport at 10:30pm and were picked up by Berkley of Tiffany Towncar. Berkley was actually waiting at the terminal as we departed the plane. He was great to have as a driver; full of conversation, helped with the bags, very polite yet down-to-earth and his driving was very safe. We stayed at The Allstar Sports for the first night since we were a day early. The rooms were clean (we had to have two due to fire rules) and acceptable for economy accommodations. Please email me if you want more specifics on the Allstar.
We got up early and caught Disney Transportation to MK, then rode the monorail to the Polynesian to check in and get our passes. Our luggage was transferred by Allstar to the Poly while we went to AK for breakfast at Donalds Breakfasaurus (character) to which we were an hour late for our ps due to the long time it took for a Disney bus to arrive at the Allstar. I didnt see anything resembling bus-on-demand- just signs posted for every 15 min for arrival (that wasnt always true as you will read later). They honored it anyway and we were seated within 15 minutes. The buffet was good, we saw some characters as they passed our table (they are on a set schedule and will not come back if you missed them). The atmosphere was log cabinish. AK was nice (but on a smaller scale than San Diegos Wild Animal Park). We were early enough to see lions and cheetahs on the Safari, the Rapids were fun. The Dinosaur ride was fun, but scared my 7yo. LOVED the lion King show. The TREE OF LIFE in the center of the park is SPECTACULAR! We saw the entire park by 1:00 (started at 9:30 after eating) and almost missed Its tough to be a bug(3D show, dont miss) as we were leaving. We went back to Poly to get in our room, but no luggage had arrived yet. We then went to MK for the rest of the day. Since we live by Disneyland and it is nearly identical, we mostly went on attractions that were different (buzz lightyear, Alien encounter) and our favorites (Splash mtn, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mtn). If you have not been to Disneyland or MK often, you definitely would want to spend a whole day at MK. We had dinner at Cinderellas Castle- good steaks (but very pricey, so not a budget-minded place to eat) . We opted to have nice meals as opposed to fast food for most of the trip. After MK, we went back to Poly and had to have luggage delivered as they held it at baggage claim area. Went swimming in the Volcano pool (very neat!). The polys room was very nice (noticible difference from allstar). We were in the Fiji bldg with 2 queen and one single daybed and balcony overlooking the lake. More toiletries were provided here and more was delivered when requested. Floors/counters were marble, carpet seemed fairly new; nice accommodations. Email me if you want more info on the Poly.
Warning: make sure you and kids drink lots of water. My little one began throwing up after we returned to the room and after examination we concluded it was an effect of dehydration. We kept him well watered after that and he was fine.
Tips: Take advantage of the delivery to room of your souvenir purchases (takes 24 hours)and bring a small backpack to the parks to carry water, ids, money, breathmints, chapstick, camera,glasses,etc. I liked it better than a fannypack because of the rides with seatbelts and it carried more (but was still half the size as a regular backpack).
