I love credit cards so much! v3.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[Haley R]

We’ve been twice and always with a free dining package, but it mathed out to around $300/night for room (cabin in this case) only.

Okay I’m seeing $294 with the AP discount so that’s not too bad. What do you like about staying there?

 

[IFlossU]

Okay I’m seeing $294 with the AP discount so that’s not too bad. What do you like about staying there?

The space. We like having the kitchen area even though with free dining we didn’t use it except to reheat food etc, and a nice little dining area. We would often bring food back to the cabin. The 4 of us go a little stir crazy for a week in a traditional 2 queen room. Being able to spread out is a must for us. Also the Fort is awesome. We always budget in a week long golf cart rental, and honestly some of our favorite vacation memories are our times spent at the Fort cruising around exploring. My kids can go outside at the cabin and run around etc. It’s a much different experience than a hotel stay at Disney. It’s almost like you have your own little home on Disney property with housekeeping However, the golf cart is a must for us. The Fort is huge and we don’t want to deal with the internal buses. So when we stay we have to budget for that.

 

[wendow]

Okay I’m seeing $294 with the AP discount so that’s not too bad. What do you like about staying there?

I think where the cabins really 'shine' is that they sleep 6. Since you guys only need a room for 2, why are you wanting to stay at the cabins? Is that where you want to do your pregnancy pics?

 

[Haley R]

I think where the cabins really 'shine' is that they sleep 6. Since you guys only need a room for 2, why are you wanting to stay at the cabins? Is that where you want to do your pregnancy pics?

I’m just not seeing a lot of options for the dates I want. My goal is to stay under $300. I see Caribbean beach and Coronado pop up a lot but I don’t really want to stay at those. Maybe the cabin wouldn’t be a good idea. The boat to MK would be a plus (pictures there) and we could get pictures in the sand at the fort instead of yc/bc.

 

[becauseimnew]

We were bonvoyed. We made a reservation back in August using our 35k certificate at Sea World Renaissance for this March. We got an email confirmation showing the certificate was attached to the reservation. I recently checked the reservation and the certificate is gone and they want to charge us 40k points even though we made no changes to the reservation. When we called they claimed the best they could do was give us the 5,000 point difference and the certificate back. They say there’s no way to use the certificate on this reservation anymore. The 40,000 points are more valuable to me than getting back a certificate that I’m finding difficult and frustrating to use. They claim they’re opening a case but I’m not holding my breath. It was one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had. The supervisor wouldn’t even listen while I was speaking. Anybody have experience with getting something like this resolved?

I’m so sorry, I can’t believe the shady practice that Marriott has instituted. This confirms that I need to just cancel all Marriott cards when annual fees post.

 

[wendow]

I’m just not seeing a lot of options for the dates I want. My goal is to stay under $300. I see Caribbean beach and Coronado pop up a lot but I don’t really want to stay at those. Maybe the cabin wouldn’t be a good idea. The boat to MK would be a plus (pictures there) and we could get pictures in the sand at the fort instead of yc/bc.

I was just curious what you were after for your pics. Room prices are so crazy right now. I was thrilled with our three nights at ASMo that averaged out to $99 night.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I’m just not seeing a lot of options for the dates I want. My goal is to stay under $300. I see Caribbean beach and Coronado pop up a lot but I don’t really want to stay at those. Maybe the cabin wouldn’t be a good idea. The boat to MK would be a plus (pictures there) and we could get pictures in the sand at the fort instead of yc/bc.

I wouldn't let where you're staying dictate where you get pictures. You can get a Lyft or drive to another resort for a very minimal cost and get pictures wherever you truly want You probably already realize this, just throwing it out there to not settle for something due to the small challenge of transportation.

 

[Haley R]

I was just curious what you were after for your pics. Room prices are so crazy right now. I was thrilled with our three nights at ASMo that averaged out to $99 night.

The only day in February with decent prices is Monday but Dh’s aunt and uncle are staying with us Tuesday so that won’t work. Plus he’d have to miss work. I’m not sure it would be worth it for the cabin since we might not be in it enough but I thought maybe since we’ve never stayed there.

These are the places I have picked out for pictures:
POFQ
YC/BC (for sand pictures so could do somewhere else)
MK (a lot of them will be done here)
HS (just by millennium falcon)

 

[Haley R]

I wouldn't let where you're staying dictate where you get pictures. You can get a Lyft or drive to another resort for a very minimal cost and get pictures wherever you truly want You probably already realize this, just throwing it out there to not settle for something due to the small challenge of transportation.

We’ll have our car and will most likely drive to most of the places but MK would be a lot nicer without having to drive. I hate driving there and taking the monorail or ferry. I’m basically looking at the whole month of February, preferably weekends so Dh doesn’t have to miss two days of work. I didn’t realize how busy February was.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

We haven’t been to USO for 4 years either and likely won’t go for awhile. There isn’t a lot NOTHING to do there for a little one. I’m excited to take him to Sesame Street in seaworld! We’ve been there and it’s super cute.

Universal is torture with small children! I still remember our first trip there when my younger daughter was 2... there was a day where the only thing she rode that moved was the Hogwart's Express. Seriously...the Cat in The Hat ride has a 36" height requirement (mind you this ride has about the same movement as the Pooh ride at MK). It almost poisoned my whole opinion of USO...luckily I gave it another shot down the line after my daughter grew but that first trip it seriously bugged me!

 

[Haley R]

Universal is torture with small children! I still remember our first trip there when my younger daughter was 2... there was a day where the only thing she rode that moved was the Hogwart's Express. Seriously...the Cat in The Hat ride has a 36" height requirement (mind you this ride has about the same movement as the Pooh ride at MK). It almost poisoned my whole opinion of USO...luckily I gave it another shot down the line after my daughter grew but that first trip it seriously bugged me!

Wow really? I had no idea the cat in the hat ride had a height requirement. I never would’ve guessed that. We probably won’t get to USO for at least 5 more years

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Wow really? I had no idea the cat in the hat ride had a height requirement. I never would’ve guessed that. We probably won’t get to USO for at least 5 more years

Other rides with height requirements that bugged me: Seuss Trolley was 36 I think and ET has a height requirement too (and while I understand it due to the seat setup, it still stinks since there is literally nothing for small kids to do at that park).

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Ok @Haley R - now you got me on the topic so I wanted to look it up, lol. Rides that a small child (under 34") can do at USO:

Islands of Adventure:
Storm Force Accelatron (Super Hero Teacups)
One Fish, Two Fish (Seuss Dumbo)
Caro-Seuss-el

Hogwart's Express (if you have a P2P ticket)

Universal Studios:
Twirl 'n' hurl (Simpson's Dumbo)

They can also watch Shrek 4-D...

It's pretty grim. At 34" you gain E.T.

36" gains you 2 more Seuss rides, Pteranodon Flyers (with a usually brutal line except for early AM), Skull Island Kong (if you want to terrify your little one), Woody Woodpecker's coaster, Flight of the Hippgriff.

You actually have to be 40" to do the Minion Mayhem movie "ride".

So until 36"...it's a tough proposition! Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy a trip to USO...but before that little one is 36" you either want to leave them behind, or make it a big family trip where you can pass the child around and give everybody an opportunity to ride...and have a plan on how to entertain them for hours on end while everybody else has fun!

Luckily the first time we went there were 7 of us so it worked out ok...but my daughter (at 2 years old) actually pointed out that there was nothing for her to do, lol.

 

[Alexle2007]

Ha! My DH is Grumpy too. So fun to plan a surprise trip! I’m really excited for our USO trip (so funny you are usually at USO and we’re at WDW). DS has finished 5 of the HP books in the past 2 weeks and is really into them now which makes a surprise trip to USO extra fun. Today I ordered him a USO gift card for him to spend as he likes (since I cannot buy the dang things anywhere local). I’m trying to figure out when to give it to him, when we board the plane or after we land.

And BTW, whenever we go to WDW in February or March, DS gets a Birthday button and gets comments from everyone which he really enjoys. I don’t recall any special pixie dust except people being super nice but it’s still fun.

We’ll be at USO next weekend for the 4th time in 4 months so DS will be glad for the break. He thinks we go too often

I am trying to figure out when I’ll tell DS. I am having family shirts made by a friend. We have actually never done that before.

I hope your DS has a fabulous time!

 

[Alexle2007]

Universal is torture with small children! I still remember our first trip there when my younger daughter was 2... there was a day where the only thing she rode that moved was the Hogwart's Express. Seriously...the Cat in The Hat ride has a 36" height requirement (mind you this ride has about the same movement as the Pooh ride at MK). It almost poisoned my whole opinion of USO...luckily I gave it another shot down the line after my daughter grew but that first trip it seriously bugged me!

Isn’t there a whole area near ET that is for younger children? Like a Barney area or something? And IoA has the Seuss play area That DS spent an hour or so playing in the water and other stuff. DS was 4 the first time we went and we found plenty for him to do.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Isn’t there a whole area near ET that is for younger children? Like a Barney area or something? And IoA has the Seuss play area That DS spent an hour or so playing in the water and other stuff. DS was 4 the first time we went and we found plenty for him to do.

When we returned in 2017 and my younger daughter was 4 years old, it was a huge difference (since she was now 36"). The contrast between having 5 moving attractions across 2 parks (including only ONE in Studios) and having 12 moving attractions across the 2 parks made a world of difference. We were able to find a much better balance between things she could ride and things she had to sit out. That 36" mark to me is so key when planning your first USO trip.

I mean this with no offense, but personally, I'm not looking to spend thousands of dollars on a trip to Orlando to watch my toddler play in play areas and splash pads. I subscribe big time to Walt's theory of wanting to ride and enjoy attractions with my kids! That's why I love MK with 20+ attractions for infants and toddlers to enjoy alongside their older (taller) family members. I think USO is great, I just wouldn't take my 35" child there

 

[Alexle2007]

When we returned in 2017 and my younger daughter was 4 years old, it was a huge difference (since she was now 36"). The contrast between having 5 moving attractions across 2 parks (including only ONE in Studios) and having 12 moving attractions across the 2 parks made a world of difference. We were able to find a much better balance between things she could ride and things she had to sit out. That 36" mark to me is so key when planning your first USO trip.

I mean this with no offense, but personally, I'm not looking to spend thousands of dollars on a trip to Orlando to watch my toddler play in play areas and splash pads. I subscribe big time to Walt's theory of wanting to ride and enjoy attractions with my kids! That's why I love MK with 20+ attractions for infants and toddlers to enjoy alongside their older (taller) family members. I think USO is great, I just wouldn't take my 35" child there

Totally agree for the most part. Although we are perfectly content if he wanted to spend 15 min or an hour or 2 hours playing in the splash pad or jungle gym as long as he was enjoying himself. With only having one, it makes much easier to time things.

That’s why we did Dutch Wonderland for his first 4 years and didn’t add Hersheypark until he was 4. DW was perfect for a 1, 2, 3 and 4 year old. But then it was nice to have the combo AP for DW/HP until he was 6. And after 6, HP became the better option..

 

[LB002]

So, I answered my own question about what's better - checking in online or in person at Hilton Hawaiian Village. I looked yesterday and if I had checked in online we'd have an ocean view 2 queens. By the time we got here today all that was left was partial ocean view and 2 doubles. (DH is NOT a fan of double beds, especially since our youngest still climbs in with us sometimes). I was kicking myself for not checking in yeaterday and nicely asked what else was available. The lady was very nice and looked for a king/sofa bed room but didn't have those either. Just when I was resigned to double beds she offered to upgrade us to a 1 bed suite! Hooray!

Although we did get a nicer upgrade, I think the moral of the story is I should have checked in online yesterday.

We are very excited to finally be here. The kids were great travelling, which was my biggest fear ahead of time. We got several compliments on their behavior. Being a Dollar Rental car member let us skip a ridiculously long line, which was a big plus! HHV is as large and busy as I expected, but staff have been great and seems well maintained (so far). We had a lovely, if overpriced, dinner on the beach at sunset and then headed to bed. 16+ hr of travel and we are beat! Hopefully the kids are tired enough to sleep through and we can really start our vacation tomorrow!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

So, I answered my own question about what's better - checking in online or in person at Hilton Hawaiian Village. I looked yesterday and if I had checked in online we'd have an ocean view 2 queens. By the time we got here today all that was left was partial ocean view and 2 doubles. (DH is NOT a fan of double beds, especially since our youngest still climbs in with us sometimes). I was kicking myself for not checking in yeaterday and nicely asked what else was available. The lady was very nice and looked for a king/sofa bed room but didn't have those either. Just when I was resigned to double beds she offered to upgrade us to a 1 bed suite! Hooray!

Although we did get a nicer upgrade, I think the moral of the story is I should have checked in online yesterday.

We are very excited to finally be here. The kids were great travelling, which was my biggest fear ahead of time. We got several compliments on their behavior. Being a Dollar Rental car member let us skip a ridiculously long line, which was a big plus! HHV is as large and busy as I expected, but staff have been great and seems well maintained (so far). We had a lovely, if overpriced, dinner on the beach at sunset and then headed to bed. 16+ hr of travel and we are beat! Hopefully the kids are tired enough to sleep through and we can really start our vacation tomorrow!

I can’t wait to hear more about HHV! And how old are your kids?

 

[palhockeymomof2]

We haven’t been to USO for 4 years either and likely won’t go for awhile. There isn’t a lot to do there for a little one. I’m excited to take him to Sesame Street in seaworld! We’ve been there and it’s super cute.

My sisters grandkids..ages 1-7 love Seaworld and Seasame Street...they always go there on arrival day...then to WDW