I thought I'd share a few of the things I either decided or learned this Disney trip.
1) Shades of Green is awesome. No it's not a deluxe anymore...but you can't beat the value there with room size and price. The staff is exceptional and there's nothing like opening your window in the morning and hearing the whistles from the ferries on the lagoon or the sound of cars on the race track. Being so close to the Monorail and the TTC? Are more awesome perks. If you have the ability to stay here you absolutely should do it.
Having said that...
2) Art of Animation is an amazing resort and we were so happy to be in the Cars suites even if we're not big on the movies. The layout and all the other little bits and pieces about staying there are just great. It's pricey but if you've got either small children that nap...or a few adults or even a big family that's the resort for you!
3) I've said it before, and I'll say it again. If you see something you want. BUY IT THEN. It doesn't matter if you know it's going to be sold in every single store the rest of your trip. I regret that I didn't buy this mug and now see everywhere and regret not getting:
the above picture is a result of an image searches
This also goes for Christmas ornaments. Especially the dated ones. However the selection of 2013 ones was really limited compared to what they had out for 2014 already so I think if you see one online BEFORE your trip that you like? Just buy it.
4) As it seems to be with anywhere...checking prices online can save you some money.
5) Renting a car at Disney can be a huge advantage, even if we only had it for half our stay I loved that it was there. So much easier to get around! Next time (even if we're not at Shades of Green) we're getting a car.
6) Tours are fantastic! Do them!
7) If you have a sweet tooth and love firework the Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Fireworks party was made for you! Book it! I'm so glad we did this!
8) There really is a special sort of magic in seeing your child meet their favorite character for the first time. I know she won't remember it, but seeing her look up at Woody and smile, or try to climb out of my husband's arms and into Pooh's are memories that I'll take to the grave.
9) Pack light-both for your trip and when headed to the parks. Bring the bare essentials. You're not going to the moon. You'e going to a major metropolitan city to visit a massive theme park. Even if you don't have a car, things like Amazon.com can help you!
10) Figure out a way to organize and store your photos before you go. The method I wanted to use didn't work out. I brought our Chromebook because it's light. Well I couldn't get the card reader to work and didn't have the camera cable (because there's a card reader built in!) so it was useless. Next time we go though I'm investing in a small number of small size memory cards for each day of the trip. I'd much rather label a card with the date and stuff it in the camera bag than spend 30 min fiddling with my computer.
Overall I had a fantastic vacation. I'm not surprised though. I was careful, did a ton of research but ultimately knew to read my family and decide how to continue with each day. There were things that didn't go right. Things we planned on doing and didn't get to. Things I wanted to do and didn't even get to plan to do them (ONE trip I'll check out the mini golf!!). But overall it was an amazing vacation and I'm blessed that my husband and I were able to go.
Disney vacations are always magical and we're grateful that Disney extended a great discount to service members right now.
And yes...I have written them to tell them that.
Finally thanks to everyone who subscribed to my little report. I know it's not as grand as some can be, or as long. But I had a fantastic time telling all of you about my trip. It's really a lot of fun to share this sort of thing with people who "get" Disney.
Thank you all so much for reading along!!
1) Shades of Green is awesome. No it's not a deluxe anymore...but you can't beat the value there with room size and price. The staff is exceptional and there's nothing like opening your window in the morning and hearing the whistles from the ferries on the lagoon or the sound of cars on the race track. Being so close to the Monorail and the TTC? Are more awesome perks. If you have the ability to stay here you absolutely should do it.
Having said that...
2) Art of Animation is an amazing resort and we were so happy to be in the Cars suites even if we're not big on the movies. The layout and all the other little bits and pieces about staying there are just great. It's pricey but if you've got either small children that nap...or a few adults or even a big family that's the resort for you!
3) I've said it before, and I'll say it again. If you see something you want. BUY IT THEN. It doesn't matter if you know it's going to be sold in every single store the rest of your trip. I regret that I didn't buy this mug and now see everywhere and regret not getting:
the above picture is a result of an image searches
This also goes for Christmas ornaments. Especially the dated ones. However the selection of 2013 ones was really limited compared to what they had out for 2014 already so I think if you see one online BEFORE your trip that you like? Just buy it.
4) As it seems to be with anywhere...checking prices online can save you some money.
5) Renting a car at Disney can be a huge advantage, even if we only had it for half our stay I loved that it was there. So much easier to get around! Next time (even if we're not at Shades of Green) we're getting a car.
6) Tours are fantastic! Do them!
7) If you have a sweet tooth and love firework the Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Fireworks party was made for you! Book it! I'm so glad we did this!
8) There really is a special sort of magic in seeing your child meet their favorite character for the first time. I know she won't remember it, but seeing her look up at Woody and smile, or try to climb out of my husband's arms and into Pooh's are memories that I'll take to the grave.
9) Pack light-both for your trip and when headed to the parks. Bring the bare essentials. You're not going to the moon. You'e going to a major metropolitan city to visit a massive theme park. Even if you don't have a car, things like Amazon.com can help you!
10) Figure out a way to organize and store your photos before you go. The method I wanted to use didn't work out. I brought our Chromebook because it's light. Well I couldn't get the card reader to work and didn't have the camera cable (because there's a card reader built in!) so it was useless. Next time we go though I'm investing in a small number of small size memory cards for each day of the trip. I'd much rather label a card with the date and stuff it in the camera bag than spend 30 min fiddling with my computer.
Overall I had a fantastic vacation. I'm not surprised though. I was careful, did a ton of research but ultimately knew to read my family and decide how to continue with each day. There were things that didn't go right. Things we planned on doing and didn't get to. Things I wanted to do and didn't even get to plan to do them (ONE trip I'll check out the mini golf!!). But overall it was an amazing vacation and I'm blessed that my husband and I were able to go.
Disney vacations are always magical and we're grateful that Disney extended a great discount to service members right now.
And yes...I have written them to tell them that.
Finally thanks to everyone who subscribed to my little report. I know it's not as grand as some can be, or as long. But I had a fantastic time telling all of you about my trip. It's really a lot of fun to share this sort of thing with people who "get" Disney.
Thank you all so much for reading along!!
