CarolynK
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2000
- Messages
- 1,106
WE ARE:
My husband and I and our two kids - daughter, 9-1/2 and son, 7-1/2
THE DRIVE:
We left home (we're about 30 miles north of Chicago) on Thursday, March 24 at 3 pm. on our way to WDW. We could have waited until Friday, but we thought getting a half-day's jump would get us to WDW earlier on Saturday. It didn't. We ran into traffic through Chicago, and MANY spots along the way....We arrived in WDW Saturday at 4 pm.
We drove to WDW once before, Christmas/NY 2003-2004. We said we'd never drive again after that trip, but guess what? Airfare was $600 pp, so driving became somewhat more atractive an option....We arrived at WDW Saturday afternoon, had a really late lunch, and went to Downtown Disney.
OUR ARRIVAL:
On Saturday, we had a room at the Dolphin - 2 "oversized" doubles which they claim is merely an inch smaller than their queen bed - with an AP rate of 189.50 plus tax. We were checking into our 1 bedroom at BWV Sunday, and wanted to stay somewhere on-site around Epcot. Our rate was for a standard room, but we were upgraded to a balcony room. It was great - it had been raining for much of the afternoon but as soon as we got close to Orlando, it stopped. Sitting on the balcony, with blue skies and 75 degree weather, ahhhhhh. It was a great start to our vacation.
THE WEATHER:
Beautiful sunny skies, Sunday was 85 degrees, mid-week was 70s and then it warmed up again to mid-80s. Generally pretty high humidity.
THE PARKS:
We went to MK Sunday (Easter), and I thought it was very crowded. We have been to Disney three times for Christmas/New Year week and I think the Easter week crowds were probably worse than the Christmas crowds! That was my perception, anyway. We have been to Disney for the last 5 years for spring break, though our kids' break has never before coincided with Easter week.
As an example of the crowds, I have NEVER seen a line that stretched out the door for Figment, until this trip. That is a ride we only do because there's never a line...I asked a CM about Soaring -I know people have posted that they have done it- and he was pretty rude when I asked him about it. He just kept repeating "Soaring opens May 5th."
We did get to see the new MGM stunt show. It was entertaining, but I think I like Indiana Jones better. We were SO hot that evening, though, so that could explain my feelings toward this show...
THE DVC ACCOMMODATIONS:
We are DVC members, and stayed at BWV in a standard 1-bedroom, #4105. Not too far from the elevators, and high enough for a great view of fireworks. One balcony was enclosed, one wasn't. There were a couple of issues with the room that were taken care of fairly quickly with a phone call.
THE FOOD:
We ate all breakfasts in our room (shopped at Publix 5 minutes away), and 2 dinners also. We didn't make any PSs before we left home, and ate almost everywhere we wanted to, except CA Grill, which was booked. Oh, well, next trip. We had lunch at the Plaza; I had the turkey sandwich and my husband had a salad. Average food, but I like it for the atmosphere. We also had lunch at Kona Cafe. This was the first time we had ever visited the Poly!! We each had the drink served in the pineapple. We also swam there. We took a chance, brought our suits, and no one was checking IDs (as DVC, we are allowed to pool hop, though not during busy times). I figured IDs wouldn't be checked, as no one was checking at BoardWalk pools! The kids love Sci-Fi, so we ate lunch there as well. Barbecued chicken sandwich with onion crisps on top- yum. My husband had the reuben, also very good.
We ate dinner at Blue Zoo. Great service - our waiter was always around when we needed him - but I like the seafood better at Flying Fish. We also ate at FF, and asked for our usual waiter. We had a wonderful, fun meal. This is a must for us each trip. We tried Tempura Kiko for the first time, very good.
Another "must" for us has become Kimonos. No need for a PS. I love their Hawaiian rolls. I am not crazy about the seaweed part of sushi rolls, and these rolls have rice rolled around the seaweed. We also like the Karaoke. My husband and kids got up and did "YMCA" with everyone joining in. It was a lot of fun. I took video and pictures (my excuse for not getting up on stage
).
We stayed at the Swan our last night before we left (that extra inch on the queen beds somehow makes them feel bigger
), and had dinner again at Kimonos. This time, it was my turn to get up on stage. My daughter and son did, too. We sang "If I Had $1,000,000." I am a big chicken, but that was actually FUN! I was so busy paying attention to the words on the screen, I forgot that there was an "audience." Everyone is so supportive - they clap no matter how bad you are!
The Trip Home:
We left on Saturday after lunch at Big River Grille. We finally, reluctantly left at 2 pm. We were home by 8 pm Sunday.
We had a wonderful time, as usual, though it was more crowded than we expected. We are getting more convinced that taking the kids out of school to go during a less crowded time will be better for us. Thanks for reading!
My husband and I and our two kids - daughter, 9-1/2 and son, 7-1/2
THE DRIVE:
We left home (we're about 30 miles north of Chicago) on Thursday, March 24 at 3 pm. on our way to WDW. We could have waited until Friday, but we thought getting a half-day's jump would get us to WDW earlier on Saturday. It didn't. We ran into traffic through Chicago, and MANY spots along the way....We arrived in WDW Saturday at 4 pm.
We drove to WDW once before, Christmas/NY 2003-2004. We said we'd never drive again after that trip, but guess what? Airfare was $600 pp, so driving became somewhat more atractive an option....We arrived at WDW Saturday afternoon, had a really late lunch, and went to Downtown Disney.
OUR ARRIVAL:
On Saturday, we had a room at the Dolphin - 2 "oversized" doubles which they claim is merely an inch smaller than their queen bed - with an AP rate of 189.50 plus tax. We were checking into our 1 bedroom at BWV Sunday, and wanted to stay somewhere on-site around Epcot. Our rate was for a standard room, but we were upgraded to a balcony room. It was great - it had been raining for much of the afternoon but as soon as we got close to Orlando, it stopped. Sitting on the balcony, with blue skies and 75 degree weather, ahhhhhh. It was a great start to our vacation.
THE WEATHER:
Beautiful sunny skies, Sunday was 85 degrees, mid-week was 70s and then it warmed up again to mid-80s. Generally pretty high humidity.
THE PARKS:
We went to MK Sunday (Easter), and I thought it was very crowded. We have been to Disney three times for Christmas/New Year week and I think the Easter week crowds were probably worse than the Christmas crowds! That was my perception, anyway. We have been to Disney for the last 5 years for spring break, though our kids' break has never before coincided with Easter week.
As an example of the crowds, I have NEVER seen a line that stretched out the door for Figment, until this trip. That is a ride we only do because there's never a line...I asked a CM about Soaring -I know people have posted that they have done it- and he was pretty rude when I asked him about it. He just kept repeating "Soaring opens May 5th."
We did get to see the new MGM stunt show. It was entertaining, but I think I like Indiana Jones better. We were SO hot that evening, though, so that could explain my feelings toward this show...
THE DVC ACCOMMODATIONS:
We are DVC members, and stayed at BWV in a standard 1-bedroom, #4105. Not too far from the elevators, and high enough for a great view of fireworks. One balcony was enclosed, one wasn't. There were a couple of issues with the room that were taken care of fairly quickly with a phone call.
THE FOOD:
We ate all breakfasts in our room (shopped at Publix 5 minutes away), and 2 dinners also. We didn't make any PSs before we left home, and ate almost everywhere we wanted to, except CA Grill, which was booked. Oh, well, next trip. We had lunch at the Plaza; I had the turkey sandwich and my husband had a salad. Average food, but I like it for the atmosphere. We also had lunch at Kona Cafe. This was the first time we had ever visited the Poly!! We each had the drink served in the pineapple. We also swam there. We took a chance, brought our suits, and no one was checking IDs (as DVC, we are allowed to pool hop, though not during busy times). I figured IDs wouldn't be checked, as no one was checking at BoardWalk pools! The kids love Sci-Fi, so we ate lunch there as well. Barbecued chicken sandwich with onion crisps on top- yum. My husband had the reuben, also very good.
We ate dinner at Blue Zoo. Great service - our waiter was always around when we needed him - but I like the seafood better at Flying Fish. We also ate at FF, and asked for our usual waiter. We had a wonderful, fun meal. This is a must for us each trip. We tried Tempura Kiko for the first time, very good.
Another "must" for us has become Kimonos. No need for a PS. I love their Hawaiian rolls. I am not crazy about the seaweed part of sushi rolls, and these rolls have rice rolled around the seaweed. We also like the Karaoke. My husband and kids got up and did "YMCA" with everyone joining in. It was a lot of fun. I took video and pictures (my excuse for not getting up on stage
).We stayed at the Swan our last night before we left (that extra inch on the queen beds somehow makes them feel bigger
), and had dinner again at Kimonos. This time, it was my turn to get up on stage. My daughter and son did, too. We sang "If I Had $1,000,000." I am a big chicken, but that was actually FUN! I was so busy paying attention to the words on the screen, I forgot that there was an "audience." Everyone is so supportive - they clap no matter how bad you are!The Trip Home:
We left on Saturday after lunch at Big River Grille. We finally, reluctantly left at 2 pm. We were home by 8 pm Sunday.
We had a wonderful time, as usual, though it was more crowded than we expected. We are getting more convinced that taking the kids out of school to go during a less crowded time will be better for us. Thanks for reading!
We'll see! Do you have any tips for a family driving from Chicago with kids? Any pit stops we should look for or avoid? 
and best of all is the price for the ticket: last summer we paid $79 per person each way to Orlando/Sanford 
