jenjersnap
yadda yadda yadda
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2004
- Messages
- 7,225
This was our first family trip to the world and my first as an adult. It won't be our last either. I have to admit to being somewhat of a cynic to the Disney magic before the last few months, but this was my 4-year-old DS's most fervent desire so plan, plan, plan I did (which is my favorite thing in the universe to do so it was much fun picking what we would do). It was pure magic for him and for us.
First of all, we planned our first two nights at AKL. I was unable to snag anything but rack rate through CRO, but found a terrific rate through Travelocity. Unfortunately, this was at the beginning of my research and I didn't understand that a standard room overlooked the parking lot. I thought, since 80% of the room face the savannahs that they comprise "standard rooms". I was unable to change them without paying rack rate and I knew that we were arriving very late so our chances of getting upgraded (TWO upgrades as someone pointed out here) were slim. I felt awful cos I had built up the view to my animal-obsessed DS. I hadn't decided if I would ask for an upgrade, I am not good doing that!
Well ... this story has a happy ending. It took us even longer to get there than we thought and we showed up 1:30 am on 12/12 with two small boys in tow. The cast member was so sweet, within 30 seconds of our arrival, she told me "you've been upgraded to a savannah room". I burst into tears (I cry thinking about it) and she looked so worried! LOL! I told her that she had made my entire trip right there and it was just starting, she beamed. We were on the 2nd floor of the Sunset savannah, my map is still packed sorry to get the exact location, it was in the main wing but sorta tucked into the corner on the other side of the side wing. I am sure there are better rooms but this was HEAVEN to us. It was a short walk to the lobby. The giraffes got so close to us and there was a chatty black bird (a hornbill?) who just hung out near our balcony. We spent hours on the balcony during the two days we were there and didn't want to leave. We really fell hard for AKL, DH and DS in particular.
We thought the room was small but beautiful. The bathroom was spotless - it was the only place I let the boys take baths for the whole trip and, since neither likes showers, they were pretty grungy by the end. Unfortunately, Mousekeeping was lax in the rest of the room. Immediately, I found a froot loop on the floor in the middle of the room. Remembering that someone had found a pill on the floor at AKL recently, I got on my hands and knees to look for anything suspicious. I found a total of 5 pieces of cereal. Clearly noone had vacuumed. Also, the sliding glass door was filthy with fingerprints. Oh well, a clean bathroom was our main priority and besides our Mousekeeper was clearly more interested in making our kids happy so it was okay! We came back the first day to find all my older DS's hand puppets set up on a towel "bench" watching the balcony and a Mickey washcloth. That tickled us so much since we didn't expect it.
After two nights, we moved to FW cabins. The location was so pretty and peaceful. We had a great location, #2241, last one on the inside of the loop, a short walk to the bus stop but still tucked inside so you couldn't see or hear the main drag where the bus runs. We liked having the extra space to roam, especially our 16-month-old who is quite the adventurer and, after a long day stuck in his stroller, needed some place to explore. The condition of the cabin was distressing for us. THe floor was black with dirt and sticky. There was no real mop, so I used paper towels and muscle power to get at it. The dishwasher leaked badly, we'd wake up in the morning and find a river running toward the door. The stream was constant so it's hard to believe no one had noticed it before we pointed it out, but it was fixed on our 3rd day within 24 hours of reporting it. We had a funny experience with the vaccum cleaners (yes, plural). The first one was in the bedroom, but while childproofing DH locked it in the bathroom. The next day we came back to find the first vaccum still in the bathroom and a 2nd one in the bathroom. The 3rd day we came back to find a vacuum cleaner parked out front of our cabin right next to the number sign (where it never moved during our remaining 3 days!) and two vaccums, one of which is not one of the first two. Anyone remember that old email about the soap "war" between a hotel guest and housekeeping? It started to seem like that! On a much more positive side, our Mousekeeper, Amparo, made some amazing towel animals for us - an alligator and bunny. plus a Christmas wreath. Many of the cabins in our loop proudly displayed their Christmas-themed towel creations and we were so honored to put that wreath in our window. Again, it seemed like a trade-off - time spent cleaning vs. the towel creations, kwim? It was so great coming home to freshly washed dishes each day, wouldn't trade that for the world!
All in all, we liked the cabins and would stay there again when the boys are older, but we will stay at a MK resort next time. Taking a bus to the boat was too time consuming and tiring for us. Coming home from MVMCP on 12/14 we had to sit outside on the boat and - I am not kidding - I was the coldest I have ever been in my life and I am originally from the upper Midwest and now live in Colorado! I know that night was somewhat of a fluke but we are planning to come again in December, '05. It was too cold to do the campfire any of the nights we were there which I regret missing.
We moved off-site to the Homewood Suites on Palm Parkway for our last two nights to go to SeaWorld. That bathroom - *shudder*. Our Disney experience was so magical that, even with the minor issues, off-site just couldn't compare. DH says we'll just go Value next time instead of moving off-site to see off-Disney attractions (we had a package, if that clarifies things) - he's got the bug even more than me!
Thanks for reading. I've written up dining reviews too and, as I said in them, I want to thank everyone for your insights, information and tips. You made our trip better than I ever dreamed.
I get to start planning our next trip now. Now which resorts to try this time? *giggle*
First of all, we planned our first two nights at AKL. I was unable to snag anything but rack rate through CRO, but found a terrific rate through Travelocity. Unfortunately, this was at the beginning of my research and I didn't understand that a standard room overlooked the parking lot. I thought, since 80% of the room face the savannahs that they comprise "standard rooms". I was unable to change them without paying rack rate and I knew that we were arriving very late so our chances of getting upgraded (TWO upgrades as someone pointed out here) were slim. I felt awful cos I had built up the view to my animal-obsessed DS. I hadn't decided if I would ask for an upgrade, I am not good doing that!
Well ... this story has a happy ending. It took us even longer to get there than we thought and we showed up 1:30 am on 12/12 with two small boys in tow. The cast member was so sweet, within 30 seconds of our arrival, she told me "you've been upgraded to a savannah room". I burst into tears (I cry thinking about it) and she looked so worried! LOL! I told her that she had made my entire trip right there and it was just starting, she beamed. We were on the 2nd floor of the Sunset savannah, my map is still packed sorry to get the exact location, it was in the main wing but sorta tucked into the corner on the other side of the side wing. I am sure there are better rooms but this was HEAVEN to us. It was a short walk to the lobby. The giraffes got so close to us and there was a chatty black bird (a hornbill?) who just hung out near our balcony. We spent hours on the balcony during the two days we were there and didn't want to leave. We really fell hard for AKL, DH and DS in particular.
We thought the room was small but beautiful. The bathroom was spotless - it was the only place I let the boys take baths for the whole trip and, since neither likes showers, they were pretty grungy by the end. Unfortunately, Mousekeeping was lax in the rest of the room. Immediately, I found a froot loop on the floor in the middle of the room. Remembering that someone had found a pill on the floor at AKL recently, I got on my hands and knees to look for anything suspicious. I found a total of 5 pieces of cereal. Clearly noone had vacuumed. Also, the sliding glass door was filthy with fingerprints. Oh well, a clean bathroom was our main priority and besides our Mousekeeper was clearly more interested in making our kids happy so it was okay! We came back the first day to find all my older DS's hand puppets set up on a towel "bench" watching the balcony and a Mickey washcloth. That tickled us so much since we didn't expect it.
After two nights, we moved to FW cabins. The location was so pretty and peaceful. We had a great location, #2241, last one on the inside of the loop, a short walk to the bus stop but still tucked inside so you couldn't see or hear the main drag where the bus runs. We liked having the extra space to roam, especially our 16-month-old who is quite the adventurer and, after a long day stuck in his stroller, needed some place to explore. The condition of the cabin was distressing for us. THe floor was black with dirt and sticky. There was no real mop, so I used paper towels and muscle power to get at it. The dishwasher leaked badly, we'd wake up in the morning and find a river running toward the door. The stream was constant so it's hard to believe no one had noticed it before we pointed it out, but it was fixed on our 3rd day within 24 hours of reporting it. We had a funny experience with the vaccum cleaners (yes, plural). The first one was in the bedroom, but while childproofing DH locked it in the bathroom. The next day we came back to find the first vaccum still in the bathroom and a 2nd one in the bathroom. The 3rd day we came back to find a vacuum cleaner parked out front of our cabin right next to the number sign (where it never moved during our remaining 3 days!) and two vaccums, one of which is not one of the first two. Anyone remember that old email about the soap "war" between a hotel guest and housekeeping? It started to seem like that! On a much more positive side, our Mousekeeper, Amparo, made some amazing towel animals for us - an alligator and bunny. plus a Christmas wreath. Many of the cabins in our loop proudly displayed their Christmas-themed towel creations and we were so honored to put that wreath in our window. Again, it seemed like a trade-off - time spent cleaning vs. the towel creations, kwim? It was so great coming home to freshly washed dishes each day, wouldn't trade that for the world!
All in all, we liked the cabins and would stay there again when the boys are older, but we will stay at a MK resort next time. Taking a bus to the boat was too time consuming and tiring for us. Coming home from MVMCP on 12/14 we had to sit outside on the boat and - I am not kidding - I was the coldest I have ever been in my life and I am originally from the upper Midwest and now live in Colorado! I know that night was somewhat of a fluke but we are planning to come again in December, '05. It was too cold to do the campfire any of the nights we were there which I regret missing.
We moved off-site to the Homewood Suites on Palm Parkway for our last two nights to go to SeaWorld. That bathroom - *shudder*. Our Disney experience was so magical that, even with the minor issues, off-site just couldn't compare. DH says we'll just go Value next time instead of moving off-site to see off-Disney attractions (we had a package, if that clarifies things) - he's got the bug even more than me!
Thanks for reading. I've written up dining reviews too and, as I said in them, I want to thank everyone for your insights, information and tips. You made our trip better than I ever dreamed.
I get to start planning our next trip now. Now which resorts to try this time? *giggle*
