New Jersey's Fab Four's First Trip to the World!
Participants: Myself (age 32)
DH (age 36)
DisTwins (age 5)
Week of Aug. 24th to 31st
I think one of the wonderful draws of Disney is its unique appeal to all people of all ages! I will do my best to offer my insight and advice where applicable, keeping in mind that it is unique to our experience (one that tailors to two 5 year olds!
).
For those travelling from central/south Jersey - we chose to fly out of Baltimore, saving over $200 versus flying from Newark or Philly! From Mercer County, it was only a 2.5 hour drive.
Flew Sat. evening into Jacksonville, rented a car, and stayed with a nearby relative that night. (For those renting cars. . . be sure to ask the rental company to quote insurance rates when inquiring about prices! We were shocked that we had to pay an extra $18/day over what they quoted us!) Up early Sun. a.m. and headed for the Lodge by 8:00. Took 2 hours and 45 min's to get there - smooth sailing on a Sun. morning!
Arrived by 11:00 to the Lodge and found the walk through the door to be as breathtaking (even more so, actually!) as we had heard! (FloridaCat - I loved the "tease" you gave in your report! You're right - it's not something you can put into words . . . something you have to experience firsthand!) Music was pure inspiration, too!
Checked in and was happy to hear we were upgraded from standard to woodsview! (Kids enjoyed the movie that was playing next to the front desk.) Room was not ready and we had a little while before lunch at Whispering Canyon at noon, so we went exploring! Kids were very excited to see there was an arcade (even though they don't know how to play video games yet! ) and a "kids' room" (a.k.a. The Cub's Den) and were enthralled with the pool!
Kids discovered the excitement of their first "Penny Press" while we waited for lunch! Then played with the Lincoln Logs - could have constructed towers all day!
(Sidebar: While waiting, I was a little more than dismayed to observe Mousekeeping come by, pick up DS's doll sitting right next to my husband in a chair, and put it in the garbage!
My DH immediately retrieved it and explained that our DS had just got up from his seat! Not a good first impression of Mousekeeping, which incidentally never really recuperated their image. More on that later!)
We thoroughly enjoyed lunch and DS especially liked getting a certificate for his participation in the Wooden Horse Races! (DD chose not to join in the fun! ) (If you can't tell ALREADY, yes, we are there simply to experience our kids' delight!)
Room was still not ready which was fine as we wanted to head to AK to see the last showing of Lion King (closing the next day for refurbishment). After a fast-paced trek to the theater and a long wait in the hot sun, we were immediately impressed as the show began and fully captivated our attention! It was so amazing and truly worth the "whining"
from the little ones beforehand! Then got a spot for the parade, which thoroughly excited the kids! They loved seeing the characters march right in front of them, many even shaking their hands or patting their heads! It was lots of fun guessing some of the animal structures, too!
Back to the Lodge to get our room and try to take a dip in that inspirational and inviting pool! Room assignment was on the South Wing, facing the villas. I was really disappointed that we weren't in the North Wing and kicked myself for not specifying this location on my request! (Note: If you want the North Wing, be sure to ask for it! ) However, the kids loved the bunk beds and it was a nice quiet location, at the end of the first hall, not too far from the elevators. After a day or so, it grew on me and I rather liked the location. After exploring the various room locations later in the week, though, I really have to say I found very little difference between standard views and woodsviews, UNLESS you were above the service area and didn't want the hustle and bustle of the trucks below you. I don't think I would pay the extra for woodsview, as you really don't get much for it.
While on the topic of rooms, just wanted to corroborate past reports from others that YES, you can definately hear the toilets flush, water run, and drawers roll in/out from other rooms. While it wasn't particularly bothersome, it was definately noticeable as I lay awake at night sometimes.
So we get our suits on and arrive at the pool just in time for a thunderstorm to roll in and the lifeguards to blow the whistle! Oh well, maybe later! We dressed and tried out Roaring Forks for dinner. This was VERY convenient throughout our stay and we found it quite satisfying. We definately found the refillable mugs to be a good value! We also ordered pizza from "Miss Jenny's" room service twice and found it to be delicious and very reasonable ($22).
Had hoped to go over to Ft. Wilderness for the campfire this first night, but the storm was still lingering. With a pause in the rain, though, we were able to go out and watch some ducks enjoying the pool and the geyser go off - COOL!
This was the only "washout" from the rain for the trip and was well-timed anyway as we needed to get some rest! A really cool feature was the bedtime stories on TV (read-along DVD's). The kids loved these! They play continuously in the evening hours and rotate different ones. (We saw Monsters, Inc. and Toy Story 2.) BTW - the light over the bunk beds served as a nice night light!
DH and I took turns visiting the Mercantile and he attempted to read in the lobby, but found it too noisy. Got to bed to prepare for our first full day - tomorrow is MGM Monday!
Participants: Myself (age 32)
DH (age 36)
DisTwins (age 5)
Week of Aug. 24th to 31st
I think one of the wonderful draws of Disney is its unique appeal to all people of all ages! I will do my best to offer my insight and advice where applicable, keeping in mind that it is unique to our experience (one that tailors to two 5 year olds!
). For those travelling from central/south Jersey - we chose to fly out of Baltimore, saving over $200 versus flying from Newark or Philly! From Mercer County, it was only a 2.5 hour drive.
Flew Sat. evening into Jacksonville, rented a car, and stayed with a nearby relative that night. (For those renting cars. . . be sure to ask the rental company to quote insurance rates when inquiring about prices! We were shocked that we had to pay an extra $18/day over what they quoted us!) Up early Sun. a.m. and headed for the Lodge by 8:00. Took 2 hours and 45 min's to get there - smooth sailing on a Sun. morning!
Arrived by 11:00 to the Lodge and found the walk through the door to be as breathtaking (even more so, actually!) as we had heard! (FloridaCat - I loved the "tease" you gave in your report! You're right - it's not something you can put into words . . . something you have to experience firsthand!) Music was pure inspiration, too!
Checked in and was happy to hear we were upgraded from standard to woodsview! (Kids enjoyed the movie that was playing next to the front desk.) Room was not ready and we had a little while before lunch at Whispering Canyon at noon, so we went exploring! Kids were very excited to see there was an arcade (even though they don't know how to play video games yet!
) and a "kids' room" (a.k.a. The Cub's Den) and were enthralled with the pool!Kids discovered the excitement of their first "Penny Press" while we waited for lunch! Then played with the Lincoln Logs - could have constructed towers all day!
(Sidebar: While waiting, I was a little more than dismayed to observe Mousekeeping come by, pick up DS's doll sitting right next to my husband in a chair, and put it in the garbage!
My DH immediately retrieved it and explained that our DS had just got up from his seat! Not a good first impression of Mousekeeping, which incidentally never really recuperated their image. More on that later!)We thoroughly enjoyed lunch and DS especially liked getting a certificate for his participation in the Wooden Horse Races! (DD chose not to join in the fun!
) (If you can't tell ALREADY, yes, we are there simply to experience our kids' delight!)Room was still not ready which was fine as we wanted to head to AK to see the last showing of Lion King (closing the next day for refurbishment). After a fast-paced trek to the theater and a long wait in the hot sun, we were immediately impressed as the show began and fully captivated our attention! It was so amazing and truly worth the "whining"
from the little ones beforehand! Then got a spot for the parade, which thoroughly excited the kids! They loved seeing the characters march right in front of them, many even shaking their hands or patting their heads! It was lots of fun guessing some of the animal structures, too! Back to the Lodge to get our room and try to take a dip in that inspirational and inviting pool! Room assignment was on the South Wing, facing the villas. I was really disappointed that we weren't in the North Wing and kicked myself for not specifying this location on my request! (Note: If you want the North Wing, be sure to ask for it!
) However, the kids loved the bunk beds and it was a nice quiet location, at the end of the first hall, not too far from the elevators. After a day or so, it grew on me and I rather liked the location. After exploring the various room locations later in the week, though, I really have to say I found very little difference between standard views and woodsviews, UNLESS you were above the service area and didn't want the hustle and bustle of the trucks below you. I don't think I would pay the extra for woodsview, as you really don't get much for it. While on the topic of rooms, just wanted to corroborate past reports from others that YES, you can definately hear the toilets flush, water run, and drawers roll in/out from other rooms. While it wasn't particularly bothersome, it was definately noticeable as I lay awake at night sometimes.
So we get our suits on and arrive at the pool just in time for a thunderstorm to roll in and the lifeguards to blow the whistle!
Oh well, maybe later! We dressed and tried out Roaring Forks for dinner. This was VERY convenient throughout our stay and we found it quite satisfying. We definately found the refillable mugs to be a good value! We also ordered pizza from "Miss Jenny's" room service twice and found it to be delicious and very reasonable ($22). Had hoped to go over to Ft. Wilderness for the campfire this first night, but the storm was still lingering. With a pause in the rain, though, we were able to go out and watch some ducks enjoying the pool and the geyser go off - COOL!
This was the only "washout" from the rain for the trip and was well-timed anyway as we needed to get some rest! A really cool feature was the bedtime stories on TV (read-along DVD's). The kids loved these! They play continuously in the evening hours and rotate different ones. (We saw Monsters, Inc. and Toy Story 2.) BTW - the light over the bunk beds served as a nice night light!
DH and I took turns visiting the Mercantile and he attempted to read in the lobby, but found it too noisy. Got to bed to prepare for our first full day - tomorrow is MGM Monday!
