First trip report as new DVC owners in 2025! Family of 5 with kids (7,5,1). Split stay, 4.5 park days & MVMCP
4 nights at AKL Jambo 1 BR resort view
4 nights at Boulder Ridge 1 BR
Parks: AK, HS, AK, Epcot, MK
Day 0 - (12/10) - Arrived at MCO early @ 9:30 am and used Away We Go to bring us to AKL. Was the first time doing private transportation and will never go back (car seats were easy to schedule ahead of time which was great). 10:30am arrival so we dropped stuff at bell services, had breakfast at Mara and explored resort. Couldn't tell us when room would be ready so about 12:30pm we decided to head to AK for dinner and because it had late evening hours. Was amazing few hours of rides and lines were reasonably short. Seeing pandora and tree at night were spectacular. Awesome dinner at yak and yeti. Still got back to AKL at a reasonable hour for checking in and bed for the littles after a long travel / park day.
Day 1 - (12/11) - Resort day just to settle in, sleep in and see AKL. The resort is stunning and our room being a resort view on the kuddo trail side could have been a savannah view room. You could see all the activity of the animals outside of kidani main area with just the emergency evacuation area directly below us. Sanna was amazing for their QS breakfast and we had a good dinner over there as well. Solid resort day overall.
Day 2 - (12/12) - HS: rope dropped slinky dog and bought a LL for rise. My 5 year old couldn't stop talking about how much he loved slinky dog while exiting and begging to do it again; an amazing cast member stopped us and asked if we wanted to ride it again and gave us LL for going again right then back to back. Was so awesome and great start to the day. Star wars area was amazing and we explored/did shows for the day. New villains show was really neat. Overall, pretty crowded so didnt do much else and pushed the kids later than we expected to before heading back for late afternoon naps. Boma was dinner choice and while the food was very good, it was extremely frustrating to wait in long buffet lines after literally spending all day waiting for rides. They absolutely should have more servers or stations for this given what they charge. Really annoying for a meal we were pretty excited for and probably wouldnt do it again for this reason alone. Skipped evening at the parks for earlier to bed for kids.
Day 3 - (12/13) - AK: Rope dropped Everest and rode it multiple times as walk ons, the kids were obsessed. Had LL for safari for 8:30am and was probably the best we have ever seen for animal activity. Did the shows and generally slowed down to see the animals for most of the day. I know its not a popular opinion on here but having AK for 2 park days was magical to just take our time and enjoy. Went back for naps in afternoon and then back for dinner in the park. We liked yak and yeti so much we did it again when a reservation popped up. Much more crowded evening as it was open late and not for just extended hours. Still really enjoyed the lit up tree projections and Pandora at night.
Day 4 - (12/14) - Transfer / MVMCP: Morning coffee and watched the animals from balcony. Packed up and gave stuff to bell services and headed to Disney springs for an hour or two mid-day to transfer. Honestly was a waste of time, Disney springs was so crowded and generally not that enjoyable. Wish we just went to Wilderness lodge and used the pool. Room was ready early so got to get over there and kids napping before the party. New boulder ridge rooms are fantastic for a 1 BR layout and that master closet is so amazing for a 1 year old pack & play. Quick dinner at Roaring fork was blah compared to food we got at Mara, maybe just a one off experience but it was bad enough we didn't bother going here again. Headed to MVMCP which was the absolute worst part of the trip for us
. The crowd levels were insane, anything holiday or character related was super long lines, parade was jam packed, and the fireworks were crowded and just blah compared to the regular ones. We even tried staying for the later parade and it was just as bad. The whole experience was so lame TBH and the biggest regret of the trip. If we were even interested in rides the posted wait times were still quite long, but we came to the parry in hopes to focus on non ride things and it was a complete fail. Honestly can't believe we paid for that...
Day 5 - (12/15) - Resort day: Slept in, whispering canyon breakfast was ok. Regret paying for the all you can eat as its the same food as quick service but we were hungry so it is what it is. Pools all day with the only unfortunate thing being it was one of the colder days, but it didnt seem to phase the kids much. Chef Mickeys that night was one of the best meals we had. Food was amazing, characters great and other than the cost being ridiculous it was a great night. Quickly resort hopped the monorail to see the other hotels for the holidays before heading back.
Day 6 - (12/16) - Epcot: Rope dropped Frozen and were planning on walking the showcase after to go a little slower but didnt realize most stuff is closed until 11. Pivoted to do the way of water area (which is very well done) & the aquarium. Did the showcase and then the thrill rides for the early afternoon. I much prefer Epcot during flower and garden time period, park just felt it was lacking something despite holiday decor. Called it early and everyone was so tired that we decided against going back in evening and opted to eat at the geyser point restaurant by the water at WL instead of our original Epcot dinner plan. This was an amazing basic meal and location by the water, highly recommend.
Day 7 - (12/17) - MK: Rope dropped Space mountain X2 and used LLs for other rides throughout the day to avoid waiting with impatient kids. Tron was unreal and we had most of the rides knocked out before 12. Crowds seemed super light all morning which was amazing and refreshing. Went back around 2pm for naps. Mobile ordered takeout from geyser point since we liked it so much and coffee from roaring fork. Legit took 20 mins additional time to get 2 coffees from roaring fork vs 5 entire meals from geyser point despite mobile ordering same time. Roaring fork just missed again... We did Storybook dining for dinner. Good meal and cute character interactions. I do not feel like I need to do it again given the price, but don't regret going. Back over to MK for starlight and fireworks. Unfortunately the lines to get into MK were insane we barley got in before parade started and it was soooooo jam packed it was uncomfortable. Barley found a spot to watch and then the fireworks were insanely packed to the point that it felt unsafe. Show was amazing though despite the crowds and was a relief given what I think was such a subpar fireworks experience for MVMCP. Ended the trip on a high note. Have never been as thankful for the WL dedicated boat as I was this night walking past people lined up for monorail/TTC ferry. Felt like a cheat code.
Day 8 - (12/18) Departure: Away we go again was awesome for a pickup, on time and ready to go. Nothing much eventful this day.
Thanks reading. Also, thanks for all the advice on this forum, couldn't have done it without you!
4 nights at AKL Jambo 1 BR resort view
4 nights at Boulder Ridge 1 BR
Parks: AK, HS, AK, Epcot, MK
Day 0 - (12/10) - Arrived at MCO early @ 9:30 am and used Away We Go to bring us to AKL. Was the first time doing private transportation and will never go back (car seats were easy to schedule ahead of time which was great). 10:30am arrival so we dropped stuff at bell services, had breakfast at Mara and explored resort. Couldn't tell us when room would be ready so about 12:30pm we decided to head to AK for dinner and because it had late evening hours. Was amazing few hours of rides and lines were reasonably short. Seeing pandora and tree at night were spectacular. Awesome dinner at yak and yeti. Still got back to AKL at a reasonable hour for checking in and bed for the littles after a long travel / park day.
Day 1 - (12/11) - Resort day just to settle in, sleep in and see AKL. The resort is stunning and our room being a resort view on the kuddo trail side could have been a savannah view room. You could see all the activity of the animals outside of kidani main area with just the emergency evacuation area directly below us. Sanna was amazing for their QS breakfast and we had a good dinner over there as well. Solid resort day overall.
Day 2 - (12/12) - HS: rope dropped slinky dog and bought a LL for rise. My 5 year old couldn't stop talking about how much he loved slinky dog while exiting and begging to do it again; an amazing cast member stopped us and asked if we wanted to ride it again and gave us LL for going again right then back to back. Was so awesome and great start to the day. Star wars area was amazing and we explored/did shows for the day. New villains show was really neat. Overall, pretty crowded so didnt do much else and pushed the kids later than we expected to before heading back for late afternoon naps. Boma was dinner choice and while the food was very good, it was extremely frustrating to wait in long buffet lines after literally spending all day waiting for rides. They absolutely should have more servers or stations for this given what they charge. Really annoying for a meal we were pretty excited for and probably wouldnt do it again for this reason alone. Skipped evening at the parks for earlier to bed for kids.
Day 3 - (12/13) - AK: Rope dropped Everest and rode it multiple times as walk ons, the kids were obsessed. Had LL for safari for 8:30am and was probably the best we have ever seen for animal activity. Did the shows and generally slowed down to see the animals for most of the day. I know its not a popular opinion on here but having AK for 2 park days was magical to just take our time and enjoy. Went back for naps in afternoon and then back for dinner in the park. We liked yak and yeti so much we did it again when a reservation popped up. Much more crowded evening as it was open late and not for just extended hours. Still really enjoyed the lit up tree projections and Pandora at night.
Day 4 - (12/14) - Transfer / MVMCP: Morning coffee and watched the animals from balcony. Packed up and gave stuff to bell services and headed to Disney springs for an hour or two mid-day to transfer. Honestly was a waste of time, Disney springs was so crowded and generally not that enjoyable. Wish we just went to Wilderness lodge and used the pool. Room was ready early so got to get over there and kids napping before the party. New boulder ridge rooms are fantastic for a 1 BR layout and that master closet is so amazing for a 1 year old pack & play. Quick dinner at Roaring fork was blah compared to food we got at Mara, maybe just a one off experience but it was bad enough we didn't bother going here again. Headed to MVMCP which was the absolute worst part of the trip for us
. The crowd levels were insane, anything holiday or character related was super long lines, parade was jam packed, and the fireworks were crowded and just blah compared to the regular ones. We even tried staying for the later parade and it was just as bad. The whole experience was so lame TBH and the biggest regret of the trip. If we were even interested in rides the posted wait times were still quite long, but we came to the parry in hopes to focus on non ride things and it was a complete fail. Honestly can't believe we paid for that...Day 5 - (12/15) - Resort day: Slept in, whispering canyon breakfast was ok. Regret paying for the all you can eat as its the same food as quick service but we were hungry so it is what it is. Pools all day with the only unfortunate thing being it was one of the colder days, but it didnt seem to phase the kids much. Chef Mickeys that night was one of the best meals we had. Food was amazing, characters great and other than the cost being ridiculous it was a great night. Quickly resort hopped the monorail to see the other hotels for the holidays before heading back.
Day 6 - (12/16) - Epcot: Rope dropped Frozen and were planning on walking the showcase after to go a little slower but didnt realize most stuff is closed until 11. Pivoted to do the way of water area (which is very well done) & the aquarium. Did the showcase and then the thrill rides for the early afternoon. I much prefer Epcot during flower and garden time period, park just felt it was lacking something despite holiday decor. Called it early and everyone was so tired that we decided against going back in evening and opted to eat at the geyser point restaurant by the water at WL instead of our original Epcot dinner plan. This was an amazing basic meal and location by the water, highly recommend.
Day 7 - (12/17) - MK: Rope dropped Space mountain X2 and used LLs for other rides throughout the day to avoid waiting with impatient kids. Tron was unreal and we had most of the rides knocked out before 12. Crowds seemed super light all morning which was amazing and refreshing. Went back around 2pm for naps. Mobile ordered takeout from geyser point since we liked it so much and coffee from roaring fork. Legit took 20 mins additional time to get 2 coffees from roaring fork vs 5 entire meals from geyser point despite mobile ordering same time. Roaring fork just missed again... We did Storybook dining for dinner. Good meal and cute character interactions. I do not feel like I need to do it again given the price, but don't regret going. Back over to MK for starlight and fireworks. Unfortunately the lines to get into MK were insane we barley got in before parade started and it was soooooo jam packed it was uncomfortable. Barley found a spot to watch and then the fireworks were insanely packed to the point that it felt unsafe. Show was amazing though despite the crowds and was a relief given what I think was such a subpar fireworks experience for MVMCP. Ended the trip on a high note. Have never been as thankful for the WL dedicated boat as I was this night walking past people lined up for monorail/TTC ferry. Felt like a cheat code.
Day 8 - (12/18) Departure: Away we go again was awesome for a pickup, on time and ready to go. Nothing much eventful this day.
Thanks reading. Also, thanks for all the advice on this forum, couldn't have done it without you!
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