DebbieW
<font color=blue>Vincent D'Onofrio can investigate
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
- Messages
- 266
My family (husband, 21 year old daughter, and 16 year old daughter) and I just returned from a two week stay at OKW (December 10 - December 25). Our first night was spent in a studio and the remainder of our trip was in a one-bedroom unit, room number 1113. Aside from a couple of burned out lightbulbs, room 1113 was fine.
I have not had an opportunity to really read the boards since we returned, so hopefully I'm not repeating information about the new pool slide. I read one post that said the delayed opening is due to weather, and that's true. We also heard that the company that built the stairs/steps, built them backwards -- not once, but twice!! -- causing additional delay in opening the pool slide. I'm not a big fan of the pool slide, but it does look like it will provide hours of fun for those who are.
Despite the fact that we always talk about how we're going to share meals on our trip, we never do. We ate, and ate, and ate on this trip and we had lots and lots of good food. We ate at Olivia's, Big River Grill and Brewing Company, Whispering Canyon, the Rainforest Cafe (both at the Animal Kingdom and at Downtown Disney), 50's Prime Time Cafe, Japan's Teppanyaki, the Crystal Palace, the Main Street Bakery, the Liberty Tree, Pecos Bill, Beaches and Cream, Kona Cafe, and the Concourse Steakhouse. Honestly, the only meal we really did not enjoy was at the Concourse Steakhouse. We had dinner there on Christmas eve. My husband's steak was pretty fatty and I think we were just getting tired of eating. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either.
Crowds were very manageable, I would say until about December 21. It was pretty crowded at the Magic Kingdom on December 22 and 23. I managed to spend a couple of hours in that park on December 24 and was surprised that it wasn't all that bad. We did not do the dinner package for Fantasmic at the studios on December 19 and we had no trouble getting in to the show. I think we sat (waited) for about 45 minutes at the most.
We did the Segway tour at EPCOT. It came highly recommended on these boards and on other websites that I frequent and we were not disappointed. This tour is an absolute blast. I would recommend it to anyone and I would definitely do it again. It was one of the highlights of our trip.
For those who rent a car while visiting Walt Disney World, be forewarned -- U-turns are apparently legal in Florida and if you're not used to that, it is a little unnerving at first. I guess the worst was when I was in the left turn lane and the guy in the left turn lane to the right of me decided he wanted to do a U-turn. It was a close one, but I prevailed.
We were joined during part of our trip by my neighbor's son and his bride-to-be. She was suffering from a sinus infection, so I had my first experience with urgent care while on vacation. In case you're looking for urgent care, it's near the Crossroads Area (from Hotel Plaza Blvd., turn left at the Crossroads and it's just before the multi-colored Doubletree Hotel on the left -- sorry I'm street-name and north/south/east/west challenged). The urgent care is attached to Turner Drugs, which I believe will deliver prescriptions to area hotels, but don't quote me on that.
Random thoughts and tidbits --
We were at the Boardwalk one evening in line to buy a cup of coffee when the guy in front of us was overheard to say something about "Ohio" (which is where we're from). So, of course, we said hello and asked where in Ohio he lives. He lives in Dublin, which is one exit up the outerbelt from where we live (Hilliard), and just a few exits away from Westerville, which is where the woman in front of him in line was from. Small world.
Illuminations -- still brings tears to my eyes. Wishes was great. Tinkerbell flew one night we were there -- always fun to see. Mickey's Philharmagic is way up on our "must do" list. Stitch's Great Escape is not. Many, many, many people are using cell phones in the parks. I can see cell phone usage for connecting with others in the parks or at the hotels, but I surely would not spend precious time in the parks carrying on idle chit chat with friends and family back home. That's not my idea of enjoying and experiencing Disney World -- but that's just me. Patience is a virtue and you need to pack plenty of it when you go on a trip like this. You are exposed to so many people of different cultures, people who don't speak English, people who really don't pre-plan or learn about the magnitude of visiting Walt Disney World, and the unfortunate bunch who don't have any manners. Patience and tolerance will ensure an enjoyable trip.
The cast members all over the place, but especially at Old Key West, were wonderful. We received many hearty "welcome homes" as we drove in to the resort. Several of the cast members who work at Old Key West are like family to us, because we've been vacationing there since 1994. They're just good people! I hated like crazy to leave and come back to the frozen tundra of Columbus, Ohio. We were lucky -- but I hear that there are several neighborhoods in the Columbus area that have been without power since the ice storm hit last week. I swear I'm going to retire soon and move to Florida.
I could go on and on with details and minutia, but suffice it to say, we had a wonderful time. I want to thank everyone who contributes information on these boards on a regular basis. I'm pretty much a lurker when it comes to Internet bulletin boards and I really appreciate all the great information and tips I read here.
And finally -- I don't think my feet will ever be the same, and it's definitely time to diet.
Debbie Wroe
I have not had an opportunity to really read the boards since we returned, so hopefully I'm not repeating information about the new pool slide. I read one post that said the delayed opening is due to weather, and that's true. We also heard that the company that built the stairs/steps, built them backwards -- not once, but twice!! -- causing additional delay in opening the pool slide. I'm not a big fan of the pool slide, but it does look like it will provide hours of fun for those who are.
Despite the fact that we always talk about how we're going to share meals on our trip, we never do. We ate, and ate, and ate on this trip and we had lots and lots of good food. We ate at Olivia's, Big River Grill and Brewing Company, Whispering Canyon, the Rainforest Cafe (both at the Animal Kingdom and at Downtown Disney), 50's Prime Time Cafe, Japan's Teppanyaki, the Crystal Palace, the Main Street Bakery, the Liberty Tree, Pecos Bill, Beaches and Cream, Kona Cafe, and the Concourse Steakhouse. Honestly, the only meal we really did not enjoy was at the Concourse Steakhouse. We had dinner there on Christmas eve. My husband's steak was pretty fatty and I think we were just getting tired of eating. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either.
Crowds were very manageable, I would say until about December 21. It was pretty crowded at the Magic Kingdom on December 22 and 23. I managed to spend a couple of hours in that park on December 24 and was surprised that it wasn't all that bad. We did not do the dinner package for Fantasmic at the studios on December 19 and we had no trouble getting in to the show. I think we sat (waited) for about 45 minutes at the most.
We did the Segway tour at EPCOT. It came highly recommended on these boards and on other websites that I frequent and we were not disappointed. This tour is an absolute blast. I would recommend it to anyone and I would definitely do it again. It was one of the highlights of our trip.
For those who rent a car while visiting Walt Disney World, be forewarned -- U-turns are apparently legal in Florida and if you're not used to that, it is a little unnerving at first. I guess the worst was when I was in the left turn lane and the guy in the left turn lane to the right of me decided he wanted to do a U-turn. It was a close one, but I prevailed.
We were joined during part of our trip by my neighbor's son and his bride-to-be. She was suffering from a sinus infection, so I had my first experience with urgent care while on vacation. In case you're looking for urgent care, it's near the Crossroads Area (from Hotel Plaza Blvd., turn left at the Crossroads and it's just before the multi-colored Doubletree Hotel on the left -- sorry I'm street-name and north/south/east/west challenged). The urgent care is attached to Turner Drugs, which I believe will deliver prescriptions to area hotels, but don't quote me on that.
Random thoughts and tidbits --
We were at the Boardwalk one evening in line to buy a cup of coffee when the guy in front of us was overheard to say something about "Ohio" (which is where we're from). So, of course, we said hello and asked where in Ohio he lives. He lives in Dublin, which is one exit up the outerbelt from where we live (Hilliard), and just a few exits away from Westerville, which is where the woman in front of him in line was from. Small world.
Illuminations -- still brings tears to my eyes. Wishes was great. Tinkerbell flew one night we were there -- always fun to see. Mickey's Philharmagic is way up on our "must do" list. Stitch's Great Escape is not. Many, many, many people are using cell phones in the parks. I can see cell phone usage for connecting with others in the parks or at the hotels, but I surely would not spend precious time in the parks carrying on idle chit chat with friends and family back home. That's not my idea of enjoying and experiencing Disney World -- but that's just me. Patience is a virtue and you need to pack plenty of it when you go on a trip like this. You are exposed to so many people of different cultures, people who don't speak English, people who really don't pre-plan or learn about the magnitude of visiting Walt Disney World, and the unfortunate bunch who don't have any manners. Patience and tolerance will ensure an enjoyable trip.
The cast members all over the place, but especially at Old Key West, were wonderful. We received many hearty "welcome homes" as we drove in to the resort. Several of the cast members who work at Old Key West are like family to us, because we've been vacationing there since 1994. They're just good people! I hated like crazy to leave and come back to the frozen tundra of Columbus, Ohio. We were lucky -- but I hear that there are several neighborhoods in the Columbus area that have been without power since the ice storm hit last week. I swear I'm going to retire soon and move to Florida.
I could go on and on with details and minutia, but suffice it to say, we had a wonderful time. I want to thank everyone who contributes information on these boards on a regular basis. I'm pretty much a lurker when it comes to Internet bulletin boards and I really appreciate all the great information and tips I read here.
And finally -- I don't think my feet will ever be the same, and it's definitely time to diet.
Debbie Wroe
