Just back from WDW!

[CJK]

We just got back this past Thursday night. We were in Disney for one week. We had bought a 7-day parkhopper on a previous trip so we just used the last 4 days of our passes for this trip. We stayed off-site at the Ramada Plaza (got a great deal on it from priceline).

We had a good trip. However, this trip was very different for us because we went with another couple. I don't think we will ever do this again. Our friends weren't very thrilled with Disney which put a damper on our spirits. By the end of the trip, we did separate and do the parks separately which was a good thing.

Crowds really varied when we were there. On the first Friday we were there, the MK was so busy that even with Fast Pass, we had to wait. Space Mountain had a 60min. standby line wait and the Fast Pass line was 20 minutes approximately. MGM was similar on Sunday, but not quite so bad. However, on Wednesday, all 4 parks weren't too busy. We like to park hop ALL 4 parks on our final day just to hit our favourite attractions one last time so that's why we had some experience in each park that day. I know, we're Disney fanatics! hee hee

We flew down on Canada3000 which was fine. We had a very small plane though so there were no televisions or radios on it. The flight was almost packed both ways.

Please feel free to ask any questions. I could talk "Disney" forever!

 

[Baboo]

Glad to hear that you had a good trip! Welcome home!

 

[#1 Disney Fan]

Welcome back CJK! Nice that you had a good trip!

 

[SandraC]

We went to Universal Studios when it first opened 10 years+ ago with another couple from home. We didn't travel with them, we were doing Orlando/Daytona, they were doing St.Pete's. The guy is a childhood friend of dh and our best man at our wedding, just to paint the picture of our friendship. I am happy that we only did one day together. We love this other couple, but we are sooooo different. They are ALWAYS late, which everyone knows about so we built that into our plans to visit USF. The day went well enough, but they and we wanted to see completely different attractions. It was plain to see that we were all smiling and trying to accomodate each other at the sacrifice of our own fun. So I know

 

[sammi]

Welcome home! Gald to hear you had a great time. My cousin from the UK flew down this past Thursday and spoke with her Mom on the weekend and told her that Magic Kingdom was as crowded as ever but Animal Kingdom was very quiet!

 

[CindyAnn]

Glad to hear you're home safe and sound, CJK. I have to admit I hesitate to travel to Disney with anyone except my immediate family. I think they're the only people who can forgive me for being obsessed about doing everything! It sounds like it was a good idea for you to split up some of the time so that everyone was able to do what they wanted to do most.

Welcome back!

 

[SandraC]

Last WDW trip, I was actually looking forward to splitting up! We figured dd and dh would take off to the water parks while wee teeny weeny ds and I would stroll around MK just taking in the Disney magic. I really thought this sounded fun! But we had a great time together ~ but of course it dh and the kids (we are glued at the hip). I think with others (even family members) might test me. We thought about travelling to WDW with MIL and FIL ~ babysitting built in ~ but they like Epcot only! We are going away with another family just for the weekend soon, I'll keep you posted! LOL!

 

[CJK]

Thanks everyone for all the responses!! I'm feeling better about the fact that we didn't like traveling with another couple. I was worried that I was strange for not liking it! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and stories.

 

[Shelly (Canada)]

Question for you: How many hours before your flight on your way back home did you arrive at the Orlando airport?

We fly back home at 8:10 a.m. and are wondering what time to be picked up by Mears and how many hours we should be arriving at the Orlando Airport before our flight? We have e-tickets...does that make any difference? (we have never had e-tickets before).

 

[cotye]

Cool! Welcome back!

 

[CJK]

Our flight left for Toronto at 2:30pm in the afternoon. We got to the airport at 12:30pm. It took about an hour to get through security (they emptied our carry-ons, threw out our disposable razors/tweezers, etc...). Then, we waited for another 45min. until boarding. HTH!

 

[manny007]

I would like to hear more about your stay at the Ramada Plaza. My sister also bid on Priceline and received this hotel. Tinkerbarb was kind enough to send me the literature from the hotel. Could you tell me some more about your stay here. How is the service, cleanliness, etc. Did you stay in one of the Inn rooms or the Plaza rooms? Thanks
M

 

[CJK]

Hi! I'm not sure which part of the hotel is the Plaza and which is the Inn. We were in the low rise section (2 floors only) which are their cheaper rooms. The room was clean but old as the carpet was faded and such. Our room had a hair dryer, iron/ironing board, and fridge (all included in price). For the price, it was a fantastic deal. Tell your sister not to expect a high end hotel though. The service was fine. Our maid didn't clean our bathtub everyday, but it was clean the day we arrived. Feel free to ask anymore questions! HTH!

 

[manny007]

The plaza rooms are the ones in the "tower" and she was told that she could be assigned to one of the those for an extra $20 a night. They are supposed to be more deluxe. She is wondering if this amount will be worth it because she will be staying 6 nights. Did you have a room facing the courtyard or the parking lot? How was the soundproofing in the room where you stayed? Thanks a lot for answering all of these questions. Knowing my sister, I will probably be back asking more!
M

 

[CJK]

We never went into the Tower to see what that part was like, so I'm not entirely sure if it would be worth the $20 upgrade or not. For us, it wouldn't be worth it simply because we spend very little time in our room anyway. Our room overlooked the courtyard (miniature golf area). It was pretty nice, though a little overgrown. We had friends staying in the room next to us and we heard absolutely nothing from them in the way of noise (and I know they had their TV on a lot in the mornings and evenings). We did enjoy wandering around the hotel a little bit and seeing the two pools (we didn't swim in them though). The lobby is pretty nice. I can't say anything about the restaurants, however, since we never ate there either.

Okay, now you're "it"! hee hee

 

[manny007]

OK, I told my sister this is the last time that I am "playing" The FINAL questions: Did you use the bus that Ramada provides? If so, how was it? Were there any school groups there? Was the resort noisey? thanks for all of you insight!
M

 

[CJK]

Hi

Sorry, we never did use their shuttle bus so I can't say anything about it. For the most part, we didn't find the hotel noisy. The only time I heard people was when they were walking by in the morning. Otherwise is was pretty quiet. We didn't notice any school groups. There was some sort of convention though, as there were many tables set up just outside the lobby, but we heard nothing from them during our week long visit. Hope your sister has fun!