Just Back from our First Trip Home to VWL - 02/14-02/21 -- Long Report

[SimplyMagical]

Just returned from our first trip home to VWL. Overall our trip was GREAT!! The VWL are beautiful, and relaxing. We were so pleased with the trip and the villas that we stopped to see our guide while there to talk about adding on. Although for new ownership the VWL are sold out, they still have points set aside for owners at the VWL who are interested in adding on. The weather was ok -- a little on the cool side a few days -- but warmed to 80 the day we were leaving -- of course! Due to it being President's Week, the parks were crowded -- my dh doesn't think it was as crowded as previous President's Weeks -- I did. You needed to get there early to obtain your fast passes for the main attractions. Security check points moved very quickly and were not an issue - also, they had uniformed security officers patroling the parks.

We ate at the following restaurants:

Cindy's for Valentines Dinner - excellent meal and service. We have been there three previous times for breakfast, but never dinner. We enjoyed this meal very much.

Cosmic Ray's for lunch at MK. Counter service with a nice fixings bar. We always try and eat lunch there at least once on our trips.

Garden Grille - We had dinner at the Garden Grille and were disappointed. We read many positive posts on these boards so we decided to try. We thought the food was just ok, service was poor, it was very cramped, and not the cleanest. We will not go back.

Sci-Fi for lunch. We enjoy the Sci-Fi very much -- it is one of our favorites. The food was good, the atomsphere and service was great. This is a must do on our trips to WDW.

Le Celliar for dinner. We had read many positive things regarding Le Celliar and decided to try on this trip. We were extremely pleased. The cheese soup and pretzel bread everyone talks about were out of this world. We had filets which were also very good. We will definitely try this one again.

Boma's for dinner. Another great restaurant. The buffet had a huge assortment of different and interesting foods. The zebra domes were excellent - everyone loved them. My dd's each ate three. We also try the pressed pot coffee- very good. My family could barely make it back to the bus stop after all we ate here. We would definitely go back.

Crystal Palace for dinner. The food and service were very good. The character interaction was also good. The buffet had a good variety and the dessert selection was excellent. My kid's really enjoyed this one. My youngest dd favorite character Piglet was there. Piglet is not one of the most seen characters.

Beaches & Cream for lunch. Altough it was very small and cramped -- the food and ice cream were excellent.

Pizzafari at Animal Kingdom for lunch. This was also good counter service. They have grilled cheese pretzels for the kids, pizza, and sandwiches and pasta for the adults.

Electric Umbrella at Epcot for lunch - although good, their topping bar is not as good as Peco Bill's or Cosmic Ray's.

Roaring Forks at WL for breakfast and snacks.

Main Street Ice Cream Shop -- we had ice cream there twice. They make the waffle cones fresh -- very good!!

This is the first time my family did not rent a vehicle and we relied on WDW transportation -- we were very satisfied and never had to wait long for a bus. It was also nice being able to take the boat from VWL to the MK.

Time to start planning our next trip -- we would be glad to answer any questions anyone may have.

 

[kda]

for all the info! I really appreciate hearing about the restaurants. Can't wait to come home to VWL in a few months.

 

[Granny]

Glad to hear that you had a great trip.

And nice input on the restaurants. Was Roaring Forks very crowded? There's another thread talking about long waits in the morning just to order (like 40 minutes!).

 

[bjsmythe]

We were there Feb 5-12 in a 1BR and I agree that it was great.

Our supper out was at Boma's - Wonderful.
I asked our server - Maureen - if there was no sugar dessert for my DH - he's diabetic. She brought hime a no-sugar cheesecake topped with fresh fruit. He was very happy- first cheesecake in years

 

[bjsmythe]

oh yea
Roaring Forks didn't seem busy at all.

I went there only to get drink refills (in my refillable mug - it's paid for itself) in the afternoon & a cheese danish one morning

 

[MickeyMagic]

I am a new DVC owner and bought VWL sight unseen. I love to read anything about my home! Please tell me more about the Villas. What type of accomodations did you have? Any insights you want to share about room requests, services, must-do's? Thanks!

 

[SimplyMagical]

First of all, the lines at Roaring Forks were long but seemed to move at a good pace. We never had to wait more than 5 or 10 minutes and the lines were out the door some of the times.
We stayed in a 1 bedroom Villa which we thought was very spacious and well equipped. We made breakfast two mornings and everything we needed was at our disposal. Having the washer and dryer was great, there is nothing like packing clean clothes going home.
The rooms were very clean and in excellent condition. The Villa lobby was very relaxing. It was nice to sit out in the chairs in the lobby and relax. We noticed that the lobby was exceptionally clean. As much as we loved the main lobby, it was very relaxing to go back to the Villa area which was much more quiet and relaxing, even the pool area was quieter.

 

[Erin12303]

Glad to hear you had a nice trip!

What view did you have from your room?

 

[SimplyMagical]

Our room overlooked the woods and behind that was the bus stop out front. It was still a beautiful view and quieter than overlooking the pool. When we booked, we didn't ask for anything specific.