HHI Adoration & Information 2009

[Mattsmommy]

We also made vacation pillows, loved that, my boys all sleep with theirs now. I wish I had made one for myself! They chose baseball, football, and my younger two both made Mickey ones (with different backings so we know whose is whose!) What did your kids choose?

I made 2 vacation pillows when I was there in July. I made one for myself and one for my son. They are perfect for long drives in the car.

 

[dwelty]

OK, Need some advice. We will be at HHI Jan 10-17th. We know it will probably be cold, and now fouund out the pool is going to be closed that week. We come from So California, so I don't think we would have been in the pool anyway. We are looking for some stuff to do outside of the resort, as well as on resort property. I need some ideas!

We have 3 kids 19, 6, and 3. We are not park command type people when at WDW or DL and often spend a great deal of time at the resorts (if this is any help).

 

[CFedor1]

We are going during Easter break, 4/6-4/9/10. Will it be hard to get a bike rental for the length of our stay for 3 adult bikes and 1 child bike? I am worried because there weren't many options left for DVC reservations. Any other info such as crowds, weather, etc. would be appreciated.
Thanks!!
Cathy

 

[liznboys]

liznboys-

My son picked a ball/bat pattern. He talked about getting a paw print one all along because he was obsessed with Shadow's prints in the tile of our room. He does play t-ball though. My wife picked a Tinkerbell pattern for our daughter. She was napping at the time in the room.

Yeah, one of my boys wants to get that paw print one next time we go. A boy in another family made a paw print one while we were there. That Tinkerbell fabric was cute!

No sight whatsoever a sand city. Not sure what the beach might have looked like at high tide on Thursday, but at the resort itself the winds were very high. On open stretches (like the boardwalk between the check-in buildings towards the pool area) it was actually hard to walk. Friday morning at the beach around 8:45, not a bump on the beach to be seen except for occasional strange looking animal/fish/creature part.

Oh ok, I guess our sand city blew or was washed away. I don't think the tide came up as high as where my boys built it, so it was probably the wind. We found some interesting sea creature parts too. It was such fun there!

I made 2 vacation pillows when I was there in July. I made one for myself and one for my son. They are perfect for long drives in the car.

They are so soft! Great for car rides, ours loved them for the drive home.

 

[CruznLexi]

I am bringing my Mom to HH in May or July. I have confirmed dates for May but I am going to try and get July in a few weeks if I am lucky if not we will stay with May. I am the DVC owner and I saw some activites have a member fee and a non member fee. Since she is on my booking would she have the non memeber fee? Can adults do some of the activites like the Tye Dye Or pillow cases? How is the Dolphin Tour. Can my cousins come for the day? I know pool maybe off limits but what about the activites.
Lexi

 

[nursegirl]

Just made our first trip reservation as new HHI owners!
We've went last year on a cash reservation and loved it, found a great resale contract with TSS and here we go! July 25th - 29th, not sure yet who all will be going as far as extended family, but can't wait!

 

[dvcnewgirl]

Just made our first trip reservation as new HHI owners!
We've went last year on a cash reservation and loved it, found a great resale contract with TSS and here we go! July 25th - 29th, not sure yet who all will be going as far as extended family, but can't wait!

Welcome Home! I bought my HHI contract sight unseen to use at WDW. Now I can never get enough of HHI and never use the points anywhere else..

 

[Donnainnj]

We were in Big Murgies Den when you came in!!! We had just watched B'loue's magic show, and stayed playing pool. It was my 16 year old, 12 year old and I. We kind of played pool as we listened to you guys and B'loue. I think I could sit and listen to him for days. Small World.
Donna

While I'm name dropping Mike was great, we had a long chat with him down at the rec window and with Jerry driving the shuttle. Also spent some time with B'loue. He said we looked familiar when we walked into Big Murgies, we told him that he did a magic trick with our DD on our first HHI visit 4 1/2 years ago. He remembered immediately because he asks for a dollar and always gets it from a "dad" but our DD jumped up all excited because she had a dollar in her pocket. He couldn't say "no" to her, so he had to improvise the trick a little and he never forgot her He was stunned to learn she was back for her sweet 16! After catching up he then spent at least 20-30 minutes with DS12 teaching him some magic tricks - this was between his magic show &before the ghost stories. Great time for DS

I do hope Mgt is reading along, because these CM's all deserve a raise & big pat on the back!

 

[ChelleinNC]

We were in Big Murgies Den when you came in!!! We had just watched B'loue's magic show, and stayed playing pool. It was my 16 year old, 12 year old and I. We kind of played pool as we listened to you guys and B'loue. I think I could sit and listen to him for days. Small World.
Donna

That is funny! Nice to see ya again

 

[sabrecmc]

We leave HHI tomorrow to head home. Thought I'd post a quick report while it was fresh!

The GOOD: The resort is lovely. I'm actually thrilled it isn't on the beach. Its so private over here. Coming from the Florida Gulf coast, I have a beautiful beach at my fingertips, so I would never drive hours away for a beach. It is nice to see different scenery. Our villa is in great shape. We were initially in a second story villa, but they were very willing to move us to a first floor room when asked. The CMs have been so amazing. I am one that always defends the service at WDW, but they could truly learn something from the folks up here! The pool and hot tub were nice and warm, the activities were great, the food was surprisingly yummy at Tide Me Over...We had a bit of rain, but didn't let that stop us from enjoying ourselves courtesy of the free movie rentals. I appreciated the activities for the younger set. So often, stuff is really for 5+ and there isn't anything for the little ones. The activities my daughter participated in were age appropriate and educational. She really loved them all.

The BAD: Those parking spaces may be the smallest I've ever seen.

The UGLY: No Splenda???? OMG! How is that possible? I've had to steal it from restaurants all over the island!

Things I didn't know:
The Sandbox children's museum is awsome. We spent a rainy morning there and my daughter was totally entertained.
When in Savannah, a visit to the indoor bouncehouse place called Monkey Joes is completely worth the 10 minute drive from River Street.
The hot tub here is huge and plenty big for a child to swim in.
The Shelter Cove mall has a nice little indoor play area.
Gusieppi's pizza is yummy and they deliver very quickly. Even in the pouring rain.
They do rent bikes with toddler/child accessories. I didn't do it this trip, but saw several families with them.
The gift shop is small, but you can spend plenty of money there. Really.

 

[flechette]

We booked our first trip to HHI 6/6-6/10/2010. I called right at 7 months for a studio and got it with no problem.

Heya! we'll be there 6/07/10 to 6/11/10 in a studio. I called on 11/08 and had to waitlist, I called back 11/10 to change the wait list from Sun-Thur to Mon thru Fri cause hubby had his dates wrong and they couldn't find the waitlist - it had already been matched

Minor panic til MS thought to look and see if I had a reservation instead of a waitlist lol, we spent a minutes going back and forth, cause the lady was insisting I couldn't have called in

Does HHI do a chair swap? I think Vero does one, wasn't sure about HHI

 

[RIJim]

as new DVC owners, we are very excited about HHI as an option. We had originally planned to see if we could get a studio in late August once our 7mos window opens. However, we may be planning a trip south in late April.
Whats HHI like the 3rd week of April? The ocean seems to cold to swim in, but we love beachcombing and bike trails. I assume the pools will be warm.
Any thoughts? I wont be on Disney's system until next week, so I may not even be able to get a reservation in April, is that a busy time down there?

 

[capecoddisneyfamily]

as new DVC owners, we are very excited about HHI as an option. We had originally planned to see if we could get a studio in late August once our 7mos window opens. However, we may be planning a trip south in late April.
Whats HHI like the 3rd week of April? The ocean seems to cold to swim in, but we love beachcombing and bike trails. I assume the pools will be warm.
Any thoughts? I wont be on Disney's system until next week, so I may not even be able to get a reservation in April, is that a busy time down there?

WE live in Mass and are staying a few days during that time for school vaca. We called a few days ago and there still was 1bd and 2bd available.

 

[pnyltwk]

We were there in early April two years ago and will be there the last week of March/first week of April in 2010. The weather was fine. The pools should be warm enough to swim in. The ocean may still be a little cold. It is a good place to fly a kite and look for shells. The resort is very nice and there is plently to do at the resort. We are looking forward to our trip.

 

[sabrecmc]

Now that we're back, I thought I'd post some of the recent activities. That was something I was interested in before we left, so maybe it will help others:

Friday 11/20:
Lady Bugs (ages 3-6)
Nature Kayaking Trip ($30/adult, $25 child)
Dolphin Tours
Beautiful Butterflies (Ages 2-4)
Unbirthday Party
Meet the Naturalist -Shark's Teeth- (all ages)
Campfire

Saturday 11/21:
Toddler Sea Life (Ages 3-6)
Nature Kayaking Trip
Dolphin Tours
Nature Photography (all ages)
Meet the Naturalist -beach nature walk- (families)
Vacation Pillows (ages 5+)
Golf Lesson (ages 13+)
Mid Day Magic (all ages)
Goofy Bingo (all ages)
Ghosts and Legends of the Low Country (recommended for 10+)
Disney's Kids Night Out (ages 5-12)

Sunday 11/22
Pinckney Island Wildlife Adventure (families)
Shadow's Toy Box (Ages 1-5)
Nature Kayaking Trip
Dolphin Tours
Beautiful Butterflies (ages 2-4)
Gyotaku (Japanese"fish rubbing) (ages 5+)
Messy Science (ages 5-12)
Campfire

So, those were the weekend events. There were some special events on Mon-Wed. leading up to Thanksgiving:

Dinner Table Centerpieces and Placemats (families)
Team Turkey and Team Gravy T-Shirt decorating (families)

The Thanksgiving Day schedule looked like this:

14th Annual Turkey Bowl (face painting, football, beach fun at the Beach House)
Messy Science (ages 5-12)
Shadow's Tales (families)
Golden Turkey Hunt (puzzles and challenges to solve to find the Golden Turkey) (families)
Ghosts and legends of the Low Country
Frequent Fliers (bird watching) (families)
Thanksgiving Campfire

 

[mickeywho?]

We're all excited about our first trip! We're just a few weeks away!
We couldn't get our full week - ended up booking a hotel in Savannah for the first few days but will be at HHI Dec 30 - Jan 2.
Is there anything I should be booking/reserving before we go. If we want to do a Dolphin Tour can we just wait until we arrive to book - I'm thinking the weather may be a factor in what we get up to.
Any suggestions for a HHI newbie?

 

[Conan the Librarian]

There SHOULD (things could change) be Ice Skating in the Civic Center here in Savannah. No reservations needed. I don't know how much it cost anymore, but, I know my family finds it fun.

Try this link:

http://www.savannahcivic.com/citywe...8e64bcf712cd4d2285256f5d0077dab6?OpenDocument

 

[bcvdreamer]

This is a great thread...thanks for all the info.

We're looking forward to our 1st trip to HH right after Christmas.

 

[disneystick]

Thank you all who contributed to this site!!!
I'm really looking forward to HHI over spring break March 13-19, 2010. Going for the very first time.

 

[disneydaddvc]

My family and I will be driving to HH this summer. We stay in Lumberton NC on the way down. We are looking for ideas on where to stay on the way home. We stayed in Va last time. We want to drive a little longer this time. Any suggestions ?