elgerber
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2000
- Messages
- 24,404
Cast of Characters
Erika, me, 32, Disney fanatic for as long as I can remember. Would really love to live in WDW.
Steve, dh, 33, not as fanatic as I, but really enjoys WDW.
Matthew, ds, 8, also not as fanatic, but loves WDW
Alexa 5, huge fanatic, just like me. Also would like to live in WDW.
Day 9, Sunday September 2nd
The alarm goes off at 7 am, the day I have been dreading is finally here. I really have a hard time leaving this place. We shower and eat and frantically try to stuff everything into our suitcases. At this point, I'm still OK. We run to the gift shop for a couple of last items and then it's time to get our bags and leave. Dh says, "everyone ready?", I say "no" and behind my sunglasses, the tears start to flow. Then in the hallway, dd starts to cry just a little, because she wants to stay and ride more rides and stuff. Ugh, more tears from me. Last time when we left, I knew we were coming back 8 months later. This time, there is no trip in sight. And to compound my emotions, my baby is starting Kindergarten, full days, on Tuesday. The hardest is driving out of the world and looking back at the huge WDW sign that goes over the roadway and seeing other people going in as we are going out. On the return flight, dd and I have an empty seat in our row of 3, which is really nice and gives us more space to spread out. This flight turns out to be a little bumpy too, only no storms this time. We land at our airport, the trip is over. I would give anything to turn around and get right back on that plane.
Final thoughts
The Yacht Club. We love it here, it's a wonderful hotel. That said, I would stay at the All Stars (which I also love) if they would put it in this location. That is the main reason we chose to spend the extra money. The walk to Epcot can't be beat. I also love having the balcony, every morning we ate on the balcony, while two bunnies hopped around and ate their breakfast in the gardens below us. I also think the pool here is unbeatable for kids. There is so much area of the pool that they can stand in, so you don't have to constantly worry about them. And the entire area for digging in the sand is easily viewable from tons of chairs, so you can relax while they play. I know a lot of people don't like refillable mugs here, but we don't find it a problem. It's great to sit at the pool and run up to Hanna's for a free refill anytime your thirsty. We filled them 2-3 times each day at the pool, and whenever we ate at Hanna's or B&C. As wonderful as all that is, I would not have stayed here if I hadn't gotten such a great rate of $169 a night. I really loved the ASMo, and would gladly stay there again, if the rates were not right here.
The crowds. With the exception of Saturday night, which I expected, the crowds were very manageable. This is, IF, you know how to manage them. You really do need to know, how early to get there, and which rides to go on first, to get the most out of your day. I saw lot's of people entering the MK, as we were leaving, and thought they must be insane. As the week went on the crowds at MGM and Epcot, shrank to downright small. I was really surprised, and very pleased. Even with the small crowds though, I think the dinner package was a must for Fantasmic, and we decided we will never go again without it. It was standing room only, and full to capacity every night.
The heat. What can I say, I am from Minnesota LOL. Given that, we have had a very hot summer, with much of July being hotter here than in Orlando. At home though, we don't walk all day in it. And here, it is almost always breezy, or downright windy. We never had a breeze in Orlando. The mister fans are a must. Dh laughed at me for buying and bringing them, but they turned out to be a lifesaver, especially for the kids. They also used those gel filled bandana things that you wear around your neck.
Misc. It may not seem like we made the greatest use of our time at MGM and Epcot, but we got the things done that we wanted to, and everyone was happy. I have no idea what that darn rash was, but it was ugly. Luckily it was only mildly irritating. I also got about 10 bug bites on one ankle, that resulted in a very swollen ankle one night, and just all around ugly ankles for the remainder of the trip. They hardly itched at all, thank goodness. Those darn pins are so addicting, a person could go bankrupt collecting those things! Brilliant money scheme on Disney's part LOL. And best of all, my dd made it though her entire trip without getting so much as even a cold! For her, this is a miracle. She has gotten sick on every other trip we have ever been on.
Disney is still my favorite place on earth, and if I could swing it, I would go back several times every year. I have read others think they are slipping, but to me, and especially watching my kids, it is still truly magical!
Erika, me, 32, Disney fanatic for as long as I can remember. Would really love to live in WDW.
Steve, dh, 33, not as fanatic as I, but really enjoys WDW.
Matthew, ds, 8, also not as fanatic, but loves WDW
Alexa 5, huge fanatic, just like me. Also would like to live in WDW.
Day 9, Sunday September 2nd
The alarm goes off at 7 am, the day I have been dreading is finally here. I really have a hard time leaving this place. We shower and eat and frantically try to stuff everything into our suitcases. At this point, I'm still OK. We run to the gift shop for a couple of last items and then it's time to get our bags and leave. Dh says, "everyone ready?", I say "no" and behind my sunglasses, the tears start to flow. Then in the hallway, dd starts to cry just a little, because she wants to stay and ride more rides and stuff. Ugh, more tears from me. Last time when we left, I knew we were coming back 8 months later. This time, there is no trip in sight. And to compound my emotions, my baby is starting Kindergarten, full days, on Tuesday. The hardest is driving out of the world and looking back at the huge WDW sign that goes over the roadway and seeing other people going in as we are going out. On the return flight, dd and I have an empty seat in our row of 3, which is really nice and gives us more space to spread out. This flight turns out to be a little bumpy too, only no storms this time. We land at our airport, the trip is over. I would give anything to turn around and get right back on that plane.
Final thoughts
The Yacht Club. We love it here, it's a wonderful hotel. That said, I would stay at the All Stars (which I also love) if they would put it in this location. That is the main reason we chose to spend the extra money. The walk to Epcot can't be beat. I also love having the balcony, every morning we ate on the balcony, while two bunnies hopped around and ate their breakfast in the gardens below us. I also think the pool here is unbeatable for kids. There is so much area of the pool that they can stand in, so you don't have to constantly worry about them. And the entire area for digging in the sand is easily viewable from tons of chairs, so you can relax while they play. I know a lot of people don't like refillable mugs here, but we don't find it a problem. It's great to sit at the pool and run up to Hanna's for a free refill anytime your thirsty. We filled them 2-3 times each day at the pool, and whenever we ate at Hanna's or B&C. As wonderful as all that is, I would not have stayed here if I hadn't gotten such a great rate of $169 a night. I really loved the ASMo, and would gladly stay there again, if the rates were not right here.
The crowds. With the exception of Saturday night, which I expected, the crowds were very manageable. This is, IF, you know how to manage them. You really do need to know, how early to get there, and which rides to go on first, to get the most out of your day. I saw lot's of people entering the MK, as we were leaving, and thought they must be insane. As the week went on the crowds at MGM and Epcot, shrank to downright small. I was really surprised, and very pleased. Even with the small crowds though, I think the dinner package was a must for Fantasmic, and we decided we will never go again without it. It was standing room only, and full to capacity every night.
The heat. What can I say, I am from Minnesota LOL. Given that, we have had a very hot summer, with much of July being hotter here than in Orlando. At home though, we don't walk all day in it. And here, it is almost always breezy, or downright windy. We never had a breeze in Orlando. The mister fans are a must. Dh laughed at me for buying and bringing them, but they turned out to be a lifesaver, especially for the kids. They also used those gel filled bandana things that you wear around your neck.
Misc. It may not seem like we made the greatest use of our time at MGM and Epcot, but we got the things done that we wanted to, and everyone was happy. I have no idea what that darn rash was, but it was ugly. Luckily it was only mildly irritating. I also got about 10 bug bites on one ankle, that resulted in a very swollen ankle one night, and just all around ugly ankles for the remainder of the trip. They hardly itched at all, thank goodness. Those darn pins are so addicting, a person could go bankrupt collecting those things! Brilliant money scheme on Disney's part LOL. And best of all, my dd made it though her entire trip without getting so much as even a cold! For her, this is a miracle. She has gotten sick on every other trip we have ever been on.
Disney is still my favorite place on earth, and if I could swing it, I would go back several times every year. I have read others think they are slipping, but to me, and especially watching my kids, it is still truly magical!
