Hi,
Just returned from the World yesterday after a 5 day trip with my DS13. Overall, it was a wonderful trip and I look forward to going back not sure when I will get my son back as he is in puberty now and "growing out" of WDW. I hope that he will once again want to go back if not I would like to do either a solo trip or with other family/friends.
Day 1,
Started off rocky, scheduled an a 8am flight out of Philadelphia and planned to arrive in the World by noon or 1 with travel from the airport. Our flight was delayed 4 hours. By the time we got to the hotel which was the Contemporary it was close to 4pm and we had dinner reservations at Hoop Dee Doo. We had been up since 5am. Check in was easy and we stayed in a Garden View Standard Room, room was very nice a little smaller than expected but clean and nice. Very close to the pool and beach and on the first floor which I found nice and convenient. By the time we got ready it was
time to head to the Hoop Dee Doo, we took the boat over to Ft. Wildnerness weather was beautiful and met some nice families, I was pleasantly surprised to be seated close to the front of the stage. My DS was extremely tired due to the flight delay and was a bit unpleasant but mostly just very tired. Food was better than expected from our last experience, the salad was refreshing and delicious, the best we had all week, I fell in love with the corn, the chicken and mashed potatoes, I didn't care for the ribs. The show was hokey as usual but nice, one downside we were never shown our picture from them taking it in the beginning? I should have been more assertive and asked but my son was tired. Also, later in the week, I had to get them to take the 2 dining credits off my plan as they did not do that as well. When we went outside, it was downpouring heavy with heavy lightening the boats shut down and we had to take a bus back to the Contemporary, one low light was the bus service as it was shared with Grand Floridian and Polynesian. I have all stayed at All Star Sports where bus service was excellent and only rarely shared a bus so this was a low light throughout the trip. It was heavily raining and my son was very tired, so we did not go to MK, also received notification that the rides I had for Magic Band FP plus were all shut down and due to the heavy rains and the late start we lost a full day at the parks which was very upsetting as it was only a 5 day trip.
Day 2 was much better went to Epcot used Magic Bands and FP plus and was awesome. Got to most of the countries and the only low light was Liberty Tree Inn. I had the smokehouse burger and made feel very ill and nauseous the rest of the day. Soarin and TT were great as always. And our favorite countries Canada, China, Mexico and Norway. It was an enjoyable day but found my son is much like a toddler and he wanted to go back to bed early that night. Day 3 best day of the trip at Hollywood Studios and has become my new favorite park! Tried TOT for the first time and is now my new favorite ride and I am a ride chicken. FP worked great and rode TSM at noon instead of the dreaded rope drop and worked great! Went to American Idol finale loved it and drew Eeyore at the Animation Academy awesome and had a great time. Even loved Backlot Tour! We ate at Sci Fi diner and despite bad reviews. Loved it! Best steak I have eaten in years believe it or not! Better than LeCellier was deflinitely a great experience! Awesome day! Day 4 MK very hot my son was not feeling well with the heat and we got through 6 attractions low light was BTMRR was down most of the day our favorite. Little Mermaid was cute but just ok for us. Spent a relaxing evening watching fireworks from the Contemporary it was absolutely a hidden gem and just so quiet and peaceful did some swimming and wants the electric parade it was cute. Just a good evening. Day 5 this was the interesting one, opted to let my son sleep in. Was supposed to do AK but with us missing a day of our park hopper opted to do MK. Our housekeeper, knocked on our door at 10 am I told her we were headed to breakfast and she could come in. I gathered my son ate at the Contempo Café and we took our time, when we went back to the room the room was not cleaned so I said let's go to the pool. Went to the pool for 90 minutes when we came back the room was still not cleaned? So I called housekeeping and she said she would send someone up. To backtrack, every day I leave in an envelope a daily tip marked Mousekeeping and the day of the week in the bathroom. An hour went past, I went in the bathroom and I noticed the tip was missing without cleaning the room! I was so upset as it was the principle the maid or another maid came in took the tip and did not clean the room! Then I wondered were other thing taken? I called housekeeping and next thing the maid with another worker came. Turns out, our maid did not understand English so the other maid interpreted. I could see a white envelope in our maid's pocket but did not call her out. I explained what happened. I had asked for my tip back but never received it. The other worker was wonderful and got her manager she said there was nothing they could do. They cleaned the room. I tried to enjoy the rest of my day. The early afternoon arrived we headed to MK and had an awesome night and realized with a teenage it's a great time to tour. We got through 11 or so attractions, beautiful weather and the highlight was Be our Guest. Awesome food and service despite poor reviews and my son who is picky enjoyed his meal. Beautiful end to our vacation. I forgot to mention we did the dinner at 1900 Park Fare one evening. Enjoyable food but felt very rushed due to the characters. Overall, enjoyed it though. I loved the Magic Bands, FP is mostly great but sometimes we got caught with times and not being able to change things. We did use the paper FP a few times. It was a nice treat to stay at the Contemporary, but for two reasons the incident with the maid and the buses sharing with the other resorts, I will probably return to All Star Sports, for some reason we had a great experience, no issues with housekeeping and really liked their transportation system better. Plus for the expense of the trip it seems to save money. Further, I really may drop doing the DDP in the future. With my son he is very picky I feel it's better to plan a few nice meals, eat what you want to eat whether it be just an appetizer or appetizer and entrée or just a snack here and there and it may be more economical. However the Magic Bands made the DDP very easy as well as entrance to the parks.
Just returned from the World yesterday after a 5 day trip with my DS13. Overall, it was a wonderful trip and I look forward to going back not sure when I will get my son back as he is in puberty now and "growing out" of WDW. I hope that he will once again want to go back if not I would like to do either a solo trip or with other family/friends.
Day 1,
Started off rocky, scheduled an a 8am flight out of Philadelphia and planned to arrive in the World by noon or 1 with travel from the airport. Our flight was delayed 4 hours. By the time we got to the hotel which was the Contemporary it was close to 4pm and we had dinner reservations at Hoop Dee Doo. We had been up since 5am. Check in was easy and we stayed in a Garden View Standard Room, room was very nice a little smaller than expected but clean and nice. Very close to the pool and beach and on the first floor which I found nice and convenient. By the time we got ready it was
time to head to the Hoop Dee Doo, we took the boat over to Ft. Wildnerness weather was beautiful and met some nice families, I was pleasantly surprised to be seated close to the front of the stage. My DS was extremely tired due to the flight delay and was a bit unpleasant but mostly just very tired. Food was better than expected from our last experience, the salad was refreshing and delicious, the best we had all week, I fell in love with the corn, the chicken and mashed potatoes, I didn't care for the ribs. The show was hokey as usual but nice, one downside we were never shown our picture from them taking it in the beginning? I should have been more assertive and asked but my son was tired. Also, later in the week, I had to get them to take the 2 dining credits off my plan as they did not do that as well. When we went outside, it was downpouring heavy with heavy lightening the boats shut down and we had to take a bus back to the Contemporary, one low light was the bus service as it was shared with Grand Floridian and Polynesian. I have all stayed at All Star Sports where bus service was excellent and only rarely shared a bus so this was a low light throughout the trip. It was heavily raining and my son was very tired, so we did not go to MK, also received notification that the rides I had for Magic Band FP plus were all shut down and due to the heavy rains and the late start we lost a full day at the parks which was very upsetting as it was only a 5 day trip.
Day 2 was much better went to Epcot used Magic Bands and FP plus and was awesome. Got to most of the countries and the only low light was Liberty Tree Inn. I had the smokehouse burger and made feel very ill and nauseous the rest of the day. Soarin and TT were great as always. And our favorite countries Canada, China, Mexico and Norway. It was an enjoyable day but found my son is much like a toddler and he wanted to go back to bed early that night. Day 3 best day of the trip at Hollywood Studios and has become my new favorite park! Tried TOT for the first time and is now my new favorite ride and I am a ride chicken. FP worked great and rode TSM at noon instead of the dreaded rope drop and worked great! Went to American Idol finale loved it and drew Eeyore at the Animation Academy awesome and had a great time. Even loved Backlot Tour! We ate at Sci Fi diner and despite bad reviews. Loved it! Best steak I have eaten in years believe it or not! Better than LeCellier was deflinitely a great experience! Awesome day! Day 4 MK very hot my son was not feeling well with the heat and we got through 6 attractions low light was BTMRR was down most of the day our favorite. Little Mermaid was cute but just ok for us. Spent a relaxing evening watching fireworks from the Contemporary it was absolutely a hidden gem and just so quiet and peaceful did some swimming and wants the electric parade it was cute. Just a good evening. Day 5 this was the interesting one, opted to let my son sleep in. Was supposed to do AK but with us missing a day of our park hopper opted to do MK. Our housekeeper, knocked on our door at 10 am I told her we were headed to breakfast and she could come in. I gathered my son ate at the Contempo Café and we took our time, when we went back to the room the room was not cleaned so I said let's go to the pool. Went to the pool for 90 minutes when we came back the room was still not cleaned? So I called housekeeping and she said she would send someone up. To backtrack, every day I leave in an envelope a daily tip marked Mousekeeping and the day of the week in the bathroom. An hour went past, I went in the bathroom and I noticed the tip was missing without cleaning the room! I was so upset as it was the principle the maid or another maid came in took the tip and did not clean the room! Then I wondered were other thing taken? I called housekeeping and next thing the maid with another worker came. Turns out, our maid did not understand English so the other maid interpreted. I could see a white envelope in our maid's pocket but did not call her out. I explained what happened. I had asked for my tip back but never received it. The other worker was wonderful and got her manager she said there was nothing they could do. They cleaned the room. I tried to enjoy the rest of my day. The early afternoon arrived we headed to MK and had an awesome night and realized with a teenage it's a great time to tour. We got through 11 or so attractions, beautiful weather and the highlight was Be our Guest. Awesome food and service despite poor reviews and my son who is picky enjoyed his meal. Beautiful end to our vacation. I forgot to mention we did the dinner at 1900 Park Fare one evening. Enjoyable food but felt very rushed due to the characters. Overall, enjoyed it though. I loved the Magic Bands, FP is mostly great but sometimes we got caught with times and not being able to change things. We did use the paper FP a few times. It was a nice treat to stay at the Contemporary, but for two reasons the incident with the maid and the buses sharing with the other resorts, I will probably return to All Star Sports, for some reason we had a great experience, no issues with housekeeping and really liked their transportation system better. Plus for the expense of the trip it seems to save money. Further, I really may drop doing the DDP in the future. With my son he is very picky I feel it's better to plan a few nice meals, eat what you want to eat whether it be just an appetizer or appetizer and entrée or just a snack here and there and it may be more economical. However the Magic Bands made the DDP very easy as well as entrance to the parks.
