How was your March Break?

[grantclaire]

How about some mini trip reports?
We spent 6 nights in Orlando, weather just got better each day. Spent one day at Epcot, went to Typhoon Lagoon, went biking and fishing at Fort Wilderness, had a pool day at the resort (Vistana Villages) and did some outlet shopping. Had fun! Flights on Air Canada were delayed both ways. Came home to shovel snow again.

 

[jennstew]

I am just back from an amazing mother/daughter trip to the world celebrating my daughters 15th birthday. We had an amazing time and both witnessed and experienced so many magical moments. Our air canada flights there and back were great, no delays. We didn't enjoy coming home to the snow and cold though.

We arrived at Pop Monday morning by 11 and our room was ready with both my requests filled (I used online check in). I was lucky enough (thanks to the disboards) to change up my tiered fast passes the day of the glitch. Our fast passes were as follows, Monday evening at Epcot - Test Track, Soarin and Spaceship Earth. Tuesday at HS - RNR (1 at 10am), TSM, TOT in afternoon at 1 RNR at 7pm (dd rode by herself both times) Wed. at MK - Peter Pan, Pooh, and Space all in the afternoon. Thurs at MK - BTMRR, Pooh, Little Mermaid. We didn't wait more than 10 mins for a fast pass ride including BTMRR when it had cued up before the first scanner. All our standby waits were less than 20 min except for BTMRR on Thurs we wanted to ride it twice so waited 40 min standby then used our fp+ and we waited an hour for Tiana and Naveen Wed evening, we had fun in line and the interaction was worth it.

Overall our trip was amazing we arrived for rope drop at HS and MK both days. HS opened 15 min early. We rode TSM, TOT, Space, BTMRR and Peter Pan multiple times plus a bunch of other rides, we had great interactions with both CM's and characters. Merida and The Tremaines were amazing. Even though I only booked 3 months in advance I kept checking for reservations and was able to book a dinner at BOG and a breakfast at CRT. The dinner was amazing, the breakfast was good but you are definitely paying for the atmosphere, they don't give you much food.

I loved not having to run around and gather paper fast passes, we never had a problem with our magic bands and we used them for everything including memory maker. We were able to meet Rabbit with Pooh yesterday and also heard that Thumper was out at AK. Thanks to Kenny we enjoyed meeting some rare characters at Characterpalooza such as Bolt, The Queen, The Queen of Hearts, Jafar, Tweedledee and Tweedledum plus a bunch more.

The only things I would change would be to take away the tiering and give us a 4th fast pass with the ability to book them at more than one park. I was sorry I missed the Mine Train but loved the new parade. This was my 5th trip and I still can't wait to go back again, hopefully March 2015

 

[kitntrip]

Spring break doesn't start until the 31st here but we have a caribbean cruise planned for this week. We leave friday morning!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

How about some mini trip reports?
We spent 6 nights in Orlando, weather just got better each day. Spent one day at Epcot, went to Typhoon Lagoon, went biking and fishing at Fort Wilderness, had a pool day at the resort (Vistana Villages) and did some outlet shopping. Had fun! Flights on Air Canada were delayed both ways. Came home to shovel snow again.

grantclaire.......what did you think of the Vistana Villages?

 

[greenclan67]

We are still driving home. Out of 8 trips this was our best one yet. We had our 2nd stay at Orange Lake we had an amazing time. Girls went tubing, teen beach bash, mini golf. Did a few less days at the park. Weather was great. Hope everyone had safe flights and drives.

 

[grantclaire]

We love it there! Have also stayed where you are owners (Vistana Resort) both are great.

 

[busyshrew]

We had 8 days in Orlando from the 4th to the 12th. Only two cold days and the rest were beautiful!

Our DD10 is mad about Potter so this was a Universal year. We made the wonderful discovery that we can skip waking up early to get to the park for opening and instead can go for the last few hours of the day instead.

This wasn't an option before, because DD could NOT handle being up late until very recently. The later hours really suit us - we were able to sleep in every morning, have late breakfast, hang around the pool, go out for a tea and then hit the parks at about 3:30 - 4:00pm and be there until closing. Very very relaxing for all.

We loved the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - the castle is amazing, and yes, the walk up to the ride is well worth the time even if you skip the actual ride itself. We loved Hogsmeade! If you take the time to speak to the CM's, they will really respond "in character" and tell you all sorts of interesting tidbits. DD carried her wand and got into many discussions about what type, what the core was, etc. etc.
And - BUTTERBEER IS AMAZING. We tried all 3 drinks : pumpkin juice (meh, not for me), butterbeer (not bad), and frozen butterbeer (dingdingdingwehaveawinner!). Drank it every day we were at IOA.

Also had a lovely day at Cocoa Beach. It was so relaxing to have a day that didn't involve a theme park. An easy drive (lots of tolls, however).We rented an umbrella and flaked out on the sand while our DD played in the surf. I'd highly recommend the trip to anyone looking for a break day.

Unfortunately we got stuck in the huge blizzard that hit the mid-east on the 12th so our trip home was pretty rough. It couldn't have been that bad however, because all of us are already making plans for our next year's trip!

Glad that everyone had a great time - this was a wonderful year to escape from the weather we've been having up north and get some warmth and sun. I feel very grateful we managed a getaway this March break!

 

[LSmith]

We spend two weeks in Orlando. Took the teens out of school early. They missed 5 days.

Flew out of Buffalo with Southwest and had a wonderful flight there and back.

Bought a 10 day hopper with waterpark option. The fast pass system worked well for us. Dropped the kids at Disney Quest about 4 times at night. I think we only used 8 or 9 days of the pass. Went to Typhoon Lagoon twice and played mini golf once, early in the morning.

Shopped at the outlets but wasn’t impressed with the prices. The guys HATE shopping so did not join us, which was just as well.

Drove to Cocoa Beach twice and the kids claimed those days to be their favorite.

Husband met his friend one day and golfed. This was probably his favorite day.

Mostly ate at the villa and packed lunches for the parks. We eat a plant-based diet so it is much easier and healthier than trying to seek out options in the parks. We did go to Sci Fi Dine In restaurant once and had their black bean burgers that were better than we though would be. Also, we tried Sanaa restaurant one day for lunch since they have a vegan menu. Unfortunately we didn’t care for the food at all. While it wasn’t awful, we eat Indian food at home all the time since we are close to Little India but this food was just not special and like most of Disney food overly salted.

Rented a beautiful gated 4 bedroom, 3 full bathroom villa near Champions Gate. It took us 10 to 15 minutes to drive to the parks. We have rented homes approximately 8 times before but this was a new rental for us. It was impeccably clean and in tip top shape with top of the line furniture and linens. Also, a private pool and Jacuzzi, air hockey and pool table, board games and books, 5 tv’s. Pictures of the home didn’t do the place justice. The kitchen was well stocked with quality stuff. Our favorite rental villa so far. It also supplied beach towels, umbrellas and chairs. We paid a total with tax and pool heat for 14 days $1700.00.

This will likely be our last Disney World trip for a long while. The kids have outgrown it after so many trips. If we do come back to Florida in the next couple of years we will go back to Universal where (we've been 4 times) as there are more thrill rides. We have also been to Disneyland in California, Paris and Hong Kong.

Next big trip will hopefully be back to our favourite place on the planet, Maui, for Christmas.

 

[keaster]

We spent 9 nights at AKL Kidani! Was supposed to be 7 nights march 5-12 but we ended up coming home on the 14th because our flight to Buffalo was cancelled Wednesday due to storm. We were thankfully able to extend our stay but had to change rooms which was fine.

We are AP holders so we tour the parks very casually. We finally got to ride Test Track thanks to FP+ . Had dinner at Be Our Guest our first night it was very good!

We are DVC members so instead of wdw next march break we are going to Aulani in Hawaii with friends !

 

[CanadianPaco]

Great idea! We were supposed to be at POR March 5-10 but on check-in, we were up-graded to Wilderness Lodge! It was an amazing stay!! I was a wee bit freaked at first because I had thoroughly researched POR and knew very little about WL. Wifi was a godsend!
First day was wet and cool for HS! We did dinner at Boma and had a GREAT time at DTD that evening!
Second glorious day was at MK - sunny start to a then cloudy cool day! We rode BTRR four times before 9am plus again that night with FP+!!!We enjoyed a fabulous lunch in the Rose Room at BOG with our FP's! It was delicious! Afternoon break then evening in MK. We got to see the Electric Parade and Wishes with low crowds! A perfect day!
Third early day started at 8am at AK! We got "stuck" at the very top of EE - just over 2min waiting to go backwards! I watched my watch - 2 LONG minutes. DD and DH were in the very first car while me and the backpack were right behind them. EeeeeK!
Dinner that night was at the California Grill, celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary! It was a wonderful meal with the best view on property! We love that restaurant!!
Last day was at Epcot! Flower & Garden Festival was such a treat! We ate around the World!! We rode Soarin' twice, TT twice (plus 3x again that night
using single rider and our FP+) and watched Illuminations to cap off the night!! It was warm and sunny and simply glorious!
Checked out on the 10th and had breakfast at Boma!! Awesome! Then we spent a few hours at the Prime Outlets in Orlando before heading up to St Augustine for our beach days! Only one rainy morning there and we spent that touring the historic downtown!
We flew Southwest out of Flint for the first time and we were delayed 45 on departure and 20 min on out return. We have flown out of Buffalo and Detroit and loved the services at Flint! Plust they have directs to Orlando! Great stuff!!

 

[LSmith]

Great idea! We were supposed to be at POR March 5-10 but on check-in, we were up-graded to Wilderness Lodge! It was an amazing stay!! I was a wee bit freaked at first because I had thoroughly researched POR and knew very little about WL. Wifi was a godsend!
First day was wet and cool for HS! We did dinner at Boma and had a GREAT time at DTD that evening!
Second glorious day was at MK - sunny start to a then cloudy cool day! We rode BTRR four times before 9am plus again that night with FP+!!!We enjoyed a fabulous lunch in the Rose Room at BOG with our FP's! It was delicious! Afternoon break then evening in MK. We got to see the Electric Parade and Wishes with low crowds! A perfect day!
Third early day started at 8am at AK! We got "stuck" at the very top of EE - just over 2min waiting to go backwards! I watched my watch - 2 LONG minutes. DD and DH were in the very first car while me and the backpack were right behind them. EeeeeK!
Dinner that night was at the California Grill, celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary! It was a wonderful meal with the best view on property! We love that restaurant!!
Last day was at Epcot! Flower & Garden Festival was such a treat! We ate around the World!! We rode Soarin' twice, TT twice (plus 3x again that night
using single rider and our FP+) and watched Illuminations to cap off the night!! It was warm and sunny and simply glorious!
Checked out on the 10th and had breakfast at Boma!! Awesome! Then we spent a few hours at the Prime Outlets in Orlando before heading up to St Augustine for our beach days! Only one rainy morning there and we spent that touring the historic downtown!
We flew Southwest out of Flint for the first time and we were delayed 45 on departure and 20 min on out return. We have flown out of Buffalo and Detroit and loved the services at Flint! Plust they have directs to Orlando! Great stuff!!

Wow. You had a great trip but I can't believe you got stuck at the top of EE. My husband and two of my kids got stuck, hanging on top of the Superman ride this summer at Six Flags America for about 30 minutes. I don't ride on those things but I was having a heart attack on the ground. I said never, ever again will we visit a Six Flags.

 

[papertraveller]

Fabulous idea for a thread!

We were there for eight days, flew out through Buffalo on Southwest on March 7. We arrived at Old Key West at about 9 p.m. for a one-night stay -- originally this was just so we could try out the MagicBands. But in the interim, they opened everything up for annual pass holders so we were able to book a full week of rides.

The Saturday morning was glorious -- I am normally up by 6 and couldn't sleep in, so I went out for a walk to soak up the sun, listen to the birds and explore the resort. No snow!

We toured Magic Kingdom, catching Space Mountain, Buzz, Mike's Laugh Floor, Teacups and Tomorrowland Speedway before we used our FastPasses. Very cool that in the line for Buzz we ran into a fellow Canadian family we met on the cruise last year, and we got together with them after lunch so the girls could tour for an hour on their own. Had an early dinner at Be Our Guest, which was really excellent. The dining rooms are beautiful.

For the rest of the week we were at Marriott's Lakeshore Reserve -- such a beautiful location! We toured Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. We found that once we used our FP+s, we left the park. Weather was so good we wanted to go back and enjoy the resort. One great aspect: on Friday night we decided to try and catch a few hours at Epcot the next morning before heading to the airport. I was able to get a 9:30 a.m. spot for TestTrack, and then we did Sum of all Thrills and Spaceship Earth as standby.

We caught the Tigers and Blue Jays at a game in Lakeland, and the Braves and Nationals at Wide World of Sports. Great ballpark.

Did some shopping at the outlet mall (also found the deals weren't that great) and the Florida Mall. Our daughter loves the Polaroid store there, where you can take any of your digital photos and have them printed on card stock in the old Polaroid style with text underneath.

Flew home on Saturday, and on Sunday night our daughter was online trying to figure out how she could talk us into another trip, using her babysitting money to cover the hotel if we would spring for airfare!

 

[xipetotec]

How about some mini trip reports?
We spent 6 nights in Orlando, weather just got better each day. Spent one day at Epcot, went to Typhoon Lagoon, went biking and fishing at Fort Wilderness, had a pool day at the resort (Vistana Villages) and did some outlet shopping. Had fun! Flights on Air Canada were delayed both ways. Came home to shovel snow again.

We did March 2-11. Had mostly great weather. FastPass+ worked mostly great ( apart from too much time spent on the slow app ). MBs worked perfect, loved them actually... with a group of 19 people it was easier to keep track of fastpasses and park admission/room keys with everyone just having their own access band.

We did have that one Friday that was FREEZING and completely ruined our Epcot EMH, which is one of my favorite things to do in the world. But that's not Disney's fault

Aside from way too much construction in and around MK, we had a great time.

 

[petbren]

We spent 9 nights at AKL Kidani! Was supposed to be 7 nights march 5-12 but we ended up coming home on the 14th because our flight to Buffalo was cancelled Wednesday due to storm. We were thankfully able to extend our stay but had to change rooms which was fine.

We are AP holders so we tour the parks very casually. We finally got to ride Test Track thanks to FP+ . Had dinner at Be Our Guest our first night it was very good!

We are DVC members so instead of wdw next march break we are going to Aulani in Hawaii with friends !

WOW!! We were same place, same time (except for the extra 2 days you were lucky enough to arrange).
We did 2 nights/3 days at the Dark Side (Universal) first.
The weather was somewhat nasty for those days, freezing cold drinking frozen butterbeer, but, man, it was good stuff.
DH flew back on the Tuesday, as he has to work that night.
After a day at The Studios, we came back to the room for a nap before DD and I planned to go to Downtown Disney to do some shopping.
While she napped, I decided to check into our SW flight the next day at 2:20 to find out it was cancelled
Oh, well, I could rebook for "free". After finding nothing available, I called, and, yes, they could get me back home, NEXT TUESDAY.........what?????

While I would have loved to stay another week,this was not going to work for me on so many levels.
The health care company I work for was recently sold. The old company severanced us off, so all staff is starting for scratch--3 months probation, no vacation pay, etc. So, me arriving a week late for work, could have possibly meant my job.
The best I could do to get us home was an Air Canada flight into TO at 6am the next moring
Instead of the $126/pp home, AC cost us $338!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DH18, DD15 and I decided to pull an all-nighter, and leave the room at 2:30am. I had a rental car to return, and was now flying "internationally", something I had never done out of Orlando.
DH works nights at a hospital in downtown TO, so he was able to pick us up when the flight came in. Horrible drive home, but made it by 11am, and crashed for most of the day.
We did have a great time though.
We stayed at HRH at Universal, and did like it.
I am NOT a fan of the fastpass +, but looks like we are all going to have to suck it up.

We are DVC, also, and because of a 50th birthday trip with girlfriends for F&W this year, I bought an Annual Pass as well.

This will be my first trip without the kids, or DH since we bought at BWV in 2007.
I know I will miss them, but it's the start of a new era, of travelling without the children

 

[dis_guy]

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for sharing their March Break experiences. OK, I just wanted to post so I could see my counter in single digits, again, but I have very much enjoyed everyone's posts a lot since we are leaving for WDW On Friday night.

I'll post a mini-report when we get back but it's looking good. Rain when we arrive on Saturday but sunny and warm for the rest of the week!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Loved reading these Mini Reports, thanks for posting. If anyone has any more to share, I would love reading them.

We are planning on traveling down next March Break, so any info is helpful!!

Do you guys recall when you bought your flights? Specifically, the flights out of Buffalo?

 

[grantclaire]

Hi Air Canada has flights out for March 2015, WestJet should release flights soon. Flights out of Buffalo are around the 6 month mark, so you have to check the websites for updates for when they are opening up schedules. The flights will just go up in price if you are leaving during a school break. Have fun planning!

 

[bababear_50]

Hi Air Canada has flights out for March 2015, WestJet should release flights soon. Flights out of Buffalo are around the 6 month mark, so you have to check the websites for updates for when they are opening up schedules. The flights will just go up in price if you are leaving during a school break. Have fun planning!

Just Booked mine for next March Break(My Break is a Peel School Board one).
AC $460.00 including Tax.
Early flight out-6:30 am
Late flight back- 8:00pm
My problem is I live 15-20 minutes to Pearson so the drive to Buffalo never works for me.
I didn't wear half the stuff I packed this year.
Next year I am going to try carry-on and wash my stuff if needed at the resort.
I am staying at OKW--just have to wait for those dates to open up.
I also might try to venture out a bit to Universal.
I enjoyed DTD (St Patricks Day theme this year).

I enjoyed lunch FP+ at BOG but did not enjoy the Magic Bands.
Trouble getting into the room using Magic Bands and this is not fun when you step out to take the garbage out in a "Housecoat' and get locked out.I presented a "pretty" sight at the main desk.
Lost MB at MK --it just fell off somewhere and I was thankful i had a paper copy of my FP.
MB was replaced at MK guest relations.-no charge but huge wait line.
Currently MDE has the Wrong amount of days listed that are left on my Non expiry ticket and they want me to call
Disney IT--ah that's a tad bit expensive to do from Canada!

Have fun planning
Hugs Mel

 

[papertraveller]

We flew out of Buffalo this past March Break. I booked the outbound leg in July, and then the inbound in August (from Disney, as it happened)! This was because the July release didn't cover the whole vacation.

Just keep tabs on the Travel Tools feature at the bottom of the SWA page to see when the next batch of flights is released.

 

[irishdislovr]

We went to Aulani for 10 days, leaving just before March Break started for us. It was amazing. I can't wait to go back to Hawaii. DS12, DD10, DD7 and DH all really enjoyed the resort and Hawaii. We went snorkeling in the ocean with dolphins with Wild Side Specialty Tours and I can highly recommend them.