Just Back-Willing to answer ANY questions

[DisneyDad413]

Hello-
Just back from 4 days at Disney and Blizzard Beach. Took along DW DS1 DS4. Stayed at All-Star Movies. Went to MGM-MK-Epcot-BB-DTD. Celebrated DS 4th birthday. Got DS1 1st haircut-DS4 went on GF Pirate Cruise. Had a Character breakfast and used EE. Also used FL Tours for transport.

Everyone was so good before I left with advice-I will answer any questions-esp if they pertain to the above.
A GREAT time was had by all!!

 

[nyyankees5]

Hello DisneyDad413...glad to hear you had a great time. Our DisneyCrew(Myself, DH, DS(4), DD(2) will be leaving on 9/26. Also celebrating DS 4th birthday. Was wondering how BB was with the two little ones. Have one option left from last trip (9//01..Frist saddest trip to WDW ever) and was not sure if I would tackle BB or TL.

Any information would be greatly appreicated.


NYyankees5

 

[DisneyDad413]

Have fun!!
Thought BB might be a little $pricy-BUT EVERYONE had a blast. They have a great little area for kids-which includes small slides and pools. Also-my kids enjoyed floating on the Lazy River on tubes. My DS1 sat in DW lap and loved it.
My DS4 is like a fish and is a daredevil-so he had a blast in the ski area going down the medium slides and we all loved the wave pool beach.
We set aside 3.5-4 hrs and we were there 6 until it closed.

Also-make sure you tell everyone that it is your DS 4th BD when you make PS or go anywhere. My son got ALOT of perks.

 

[miche73ak]

How long did it take you for each of the parks with your kids? Is there a reason why you didn't go to the Animal Kingdom? We will be going with a 6,3 and 1 yr old so any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[MELSMICE]

How were the conditions of the parks from the maintenance standpoint? I was recently told that things look unkept, garbage was not picked up and that the service was not what it has been in the past.

Any feedback?

 

[Kimberle]

How was the Priate Cruise? Dd is scheduled to attend in a couple of weeks. Do they take the kids to the bathroom if needed?

 

[DisneyDad413]

Happy to answer-I learned SOOOO much by asking others that helped. MANY of the tips here are so useful.

Mich73ak-
Best advice at this time of year is to use EARLY ENTRY. We got 9 rides done on Thurs EE at MK before 9am and evereyone got in. We were the first on Pooh and Peter Pan-line for each was 1/2 hr the day before during the day.
MK-having 2 small DS-would spend 1 whole day.
Epcot-maybe 1/2 day
Disney MGM-1/2 to 3/4
AK?? Would have liked to have gone. But we went to the Toronto Zoo instead and LK was closed.
BBeach-5-6 hrs

Melsmice-MK was very clean. Service was very slow everywhere-especially Disney Buses. Not disappointed though. All-Star Movies was VERY clean and friendly.

Kimberle-was my DS 4-favorite thing. Questioned myself before we got there as to sending him alone-but he LOVED it. They pair up the kids and it is very professional. They went to diff islands-I am sure there are places for a BRoom break. Well worth the $$-if even to spend QT with my other DS alone.

Keep'em coming

 

[frannn]

When we go, it will be DD's first birthday, so we will get the birthday button, and will tell all PS for "birthday cupcake". What other special things happened due to your son's birthday?

How were the crowds? We were told that the AS are all booked solid for our trip in Oct!

What were the highlights of DS1's trip? Anything to watch out for? What did he eat, drink, not like, etc?

Thanks! Glad you had a wonderful trip!

 

[DisneyDad413]

Frann
We also got my DS haircut at the barber shop on Main St. He got it all jelled up and had "pixie dust" put in. He was the hit of the day was we walked around. My DS1 got his first haircut there at the same time. We videotaped it all-and they gave him his Mickey Ears-with my 1st Haircut on the back+ a certificate with a lock of his hair attached.
The button got him various free stickers and pins from the different CM's.
Crowds were VERY light. If you want AS-keep trying back-they get Cxls.
My DS1 LOVED the characters. He recognized Bear and his friends at MGM. MGM has great character interaction in the main square. MK seems to only be good in the AM. DS1 also LOVED LOVED LOVED the wave pool at BB. He loves to be in the water and also enjoyed their lazy River. We always get my DS4 a full meal and he splits it with DS1. Usually GCheese-MCheese or CFingers. Kept ALOT of Juice on hand. We took a small cooler EVERYWHERE-with no problems. We had bottles filled with water and juice and small snacks.
Have a magical time!!

 

[zillow]

Thanks for the great information! We're leaving on the 21st and also hope to do the first haircut thing for our son (16 months). What time did you arrive at the barber shop and did you have to wait long? Where exactly is it? I'm assuming they have straps for the seat? Thanks for any information!

 

[tootsiemolly]

Please tell me what a GF Pirate Cruise is.

Thanks

 

[toystorymom]

Hi, we're staying at Movies in November and are trying to decide whether to rent a car. I know you said the transportation was slow. Do you mean long waits for busses or were you on the busses for a long time? We will have 3 kids and a double stroller with us and are wondering if having our own car would make things much easier, if it's worth it, etc? (We wouldn't drive to the MK though) Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[DisneyDad413]

Zillow
Barber Shop is in the Left Corner by the Car Barn and City Hall as you enter.
We went in the park early-because we had breakfast reservations-I just didn't tell them it was until 10am. So we took pictures with no one there and then got in line. We sat in front of the barbershop at 8:50am. No one came until 9:05 when they opened the park. My suggestion is do it FIRST. They had two CM cutting hair. Plus after they are finished you are right on Main St where all the characters are.
My DS1 sat right on my wife's lap to make them BOTH :}-comfortable. They also have toys for the kids to play with.
For $12 it was GREAT!!! Go Early-no problems!!

 

[DisneyDad413]

TMolly-The pirate cruise is a "cruise" for kids that leaves from the Grand Floridian. About 20 kids from 3-9 go and they look for the pirate treasure. They read maps-sing songs-eat lunch and get "gifts". My son just turned 4 and we questioned whether to send him by himself-but he LOVED it. They match up partners and the 3 ladies that took him were great. Cost was $30(tax included). It was son's favorite thing-he loved his Pirate hat and wears it everyday. Goes for 2 hrs and you need PS

 

[DisneyDad413]

ToySMom-We struggled with this as well. However, I am glad we did not rent a car. We moved from park to park and went a s we pleased-but without having to move a car and pay to park. Sometimes the wait seemed long-but the longest we ever had to wait was 20 minutes and we never had to wait for more than 1 bus-everybody always was able to fit on. We carried 2 unbrella stollers everywhere and they were NEEDED!! Tough call-but I would not rent a car if I was on Disney property-unless I was doing other things in Orlando. We also had a van pick us up from FL tours at the airport for $90 round trip and they were AWESOME and they let us have a free grocery stop. Either way-Enjoy

 

[tootsiemolly]

Oh, I am a firm believer of the car. I love having a car. I hate to feel trapped somewhere. We used it all the time to go to McDonalds, to leave early. With children it is nice to have the flexability. It is also nice in case you forget something and need a trip to the store. I fell like the 30.00-40.00 more it costs than tranfers is worth it. We make it up in the food we buy off-site. Or at the outlet mall for souviners. It also usually gives my kids a much needed nap. They almost always fall asleep in the car between parks etc. So, my husband and I usually take a detour around looking at the scenery. My kids will not rest at the hotel. The car rides are often the only naps they get and at DW naps are usually always needed.

 

[Megan's Mom]

We are going down in a couple of weeks and was wondering if the characters are out in force like they were last year. Last year everywhere you turned there were characters and it was great since that is one of the things we like to do. Was Nemo still around? Glad you had a great trip and thanks for answering all our questions.

 

[MELSMICE]

ToyStoryMom - We find that a car makes the vacation much more pleasnt for us. Everyone is different, but the reasons we get a car are the flexibility.

Getting to MK or EPCOT if you are staying at a Monorail resort is not an issue, however, waiting for a bus back & forth to parks & other resorts can be a hassle depending on what time of year you go & also what time of day you are trying to get the busses. It's nice to be able to put tired children in a car & get back to your resort quickly instead of waiting for a bus with cranky children.

We enjoy being able to go offsite to eat or just run to the store if we need something. While we love Disney we enjoy eating other places.

Also, remember, if you are staying at a Disney resort there is no charge for parking at any of the parks. For us, by the time we figured in the cost of transfers for 5 people, it is not much more to rent the car.

You will find many different opinions on this, but we always rent a car & have never once said that we really didn't need it.

 

[Melissa R]

Just wanted to add my two cents....

We are also just back from the World, and stayed at ASMo. We never waited more than 5 minutes for a bus, and most of the time, we walked to the bus stop to find the bus waiting there for us. (We were really lucky I guess!!)

I just wanted to give some positive feedback to the bus system - we never had a problem, although I know it is a hassle when you have to wait a long time!

 

[toystorymom]

Thanks for the input everyone. I think we are leaning towards renting a car. It's just that with 3 small kids convenience goes a long way. I know that 2 of them are young enough that they will want to be carried when they get tired, plus we will have the double stroller which is kind of bulky. In the grand scheme of things, it is not that much more money than paying for a transfer for the five of us. And parking will be free...

Melissa R., thanks for the great report on the busses. We will most likely use them for the MK, avoiding the TTC. Also, there may be times when we decide to split up so I'm sure we will use the bus system occasionally.