micksn
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2010
- Messages
- 1,096
We got back on Friday from our 4 night stay at the Davy Crockett ranch and 1 night at Donnington Services Travel inn! Travelling with my DD (17), DSis, DBiL, and DN (16). My DBiL drove, which was very kind, from Northumberland. We shared a cabin on the 2 nights fee deal booking for one person (the rest of us got Francillian AP's through the post) and we bought one meal plan, which gave us 4 breakfasts, table service meals and afternoon teas.
The weather was cold (as expected) and mixed, Monday and Thursday were sunny and bright, Tuesday was drizzly in the morning and Wednesday foggy and cloudy. It was crowded, again as expected, I can't quite decide if it was as busy as October half term.
Highs
Davy Crockett Ranch - We got a great cabin near to the village and we were really impressed by the layout, facilities and how warm it was. The pool was lovely and the shop had a really good selection of Disney merchandise and groceries. We took food from home so we could self cater breakfasts and some meals, which helped to keep the cost down.
Chez Remy - We met up with my other DSis and her family and had a table for 9 for a 5.00 booking. The restaurant was brilliantly themed and the food delicious. We had a friendly and attentive waiter who made the experience even more enjoyable. We felt it wouldn't be out of place in WDW and was certainly on a par with the new Be Our Guest Restaurant over there.
Other meals - We had some lovely good quality meals this time. Plaza Gardens lunch buffet, Lucky Nugget Saloon, Cowboy Cookout and Colonal Hathis and we enjoyed coffee and cake in Cable Car bakery.
Ratatouille area -The ride was our favourite of the trip, the whole area is beautifully themed and it was nice to see inside the shop this time.
Character meets - With older girls we don't do so many of these anymore, but we had great interaction with Chip and Dale outside Cowboy Cookout and we made our first visit into Mickey Mouse's theatre which was also good fun.
Disneyland Park - We had brilliant sunshine on Monday and Thursday and it was lovely exploring the park and castle and enjoying the music. We enjoyed the parade and Disney Dreams, although we only saw them each once this trip.
Lows
Building work - On arrival at Davy Crockett there is lots of building work for the new resort, this wasn't very welcoming, but once inside the ranch we were unaware of it. Discovery land was pretty much a building site - I know it's good to see refurbishment happening, but we missed Space Mountain and the view on Orbitron wasn't great!
Studios in the rain - We had cold drizzle on Tuesday morning and lots of rides were down in the Studios. We managed to do Crush at rope drop and my DSis and DBil queued for Ratatouille FP's, but after that most other things were closed. We did the backlot tour which we haven't done for years, Art of Animation, ToT and ratatouille, but it was all a bit miserable in the rain.
We had a lovely relaxing break and lots of fun! Driving, sharing the cost of a cabin and some self catering made it good value for money for a long trip. We don't have any more trips planned, but my AP doesn't expire till September so you never know!
The weather was cold (as expected) and mixed, Monday and Thursday were sunny and bright, Tuesday was drizzly in the morning and Wednesday foggy and cloudy. It was crowded, again as expected, I can't quite decide if it was as busy as October half term.
Highs
Davy Crockett Ranch - We got a great cabin near to the village and we were really impressed by the layout, facilities and how warm it was. The pool was lovely and the shop had a really good selection of Disney merchandise and groceries. We took food from home so we could self cater breakfasts and some meals, which helped to keep the cost down.
Chez Remy - We met up with my other DSis and her family and had a table for 9 for a 5.00 booking. The restaurant was brilliantly themed and the food delicious. We had a friendly and attentive waiter who made the experience even more enjoyable. We felt it wouldn't be out of place in WDW and was certainly on a par with the new Be Our Guest Restaurant over there.
Other meals - We had some lovely good quality meals this time. Plaza Gardens lunch buffet, Lucky Nugget Saloon, Cowboy Cookout and Colonal Hathis and we enjoyed coffee and cake in Cable Car bakery.
Ratatouille area -The ride was our favourite of the trip, the whole area is beautifully themed and it was nice to see inside the shop this time.
Character meets - With older girls we don't do so many of these anymore, but we had great interaction with Chip and Dale outside Cowboy Cookout and we made our first visit into Mickey Mouse's theatre which was also good fun.
Disneyland Park - We had brilliant sunshine on Monday and Thursday and it was lovely exploring the park and castle and enjoying the music. We enjoyed the parade and Disney Dreams, although we only saw them each once this trip.
Lows
Building work - On arrival at Davy Crockett there is lots of building work for the new resort, this wasn't very welcoming, but once inside the ranch we were unaware of it. Discovery land was pretty much a building site - I know it's good to see refurbishment happening, but we missed Space Mountain and the view on Orbitron wasn't great!
Studios in the rain - We had cold drizzle on Tuesday morning and lots of rides were down in the Studios. We managed to do Crush at rope drop and my DSis and DBil queued for Ratatouille FP's, but after that most other things were closed. We did the backlot tour which we haven't done for years, Art of Animation, ToT and ratatouille, but it was all a bit miserable in the rain.
We had a lovely relaxing break and lots of fun! Driving, sharing the cost of a cabin and some self catering made it good value for money for a long trip. We don't have any more trips planned, but my AP doesn't expire till September so you never know!
....don't let that AP go to waste!
.
. I don't think DH would be going otherwise, he must whinge about the cost every week 
. 
