aiwahiro67
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2005
- Messages
- 6
I am so thankful and grateful to the wealth of information that is provided on DISboards.com. I appreciate the sharing of valuable information that helped us prepare for our last 2 trips to WDW.
I normally dont post on boards, I just read but I felt compelled to give something back to the site and to those who read this. Please feel free to ask any questions and Id be glad to share what I know or experienced. We are a family of four, myself, my husband Mike and our two sons, Garrett (9) and Ryan (6). We live near Sacramento, California.
In August of 2007, we went on a 12 day WDW/Kennedy Space Center stay along with a 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise (in early September on the Magic). We just returned from a 5 day stay at the Boardwalk Villas and a 4 night cruise on the Wonder to Nassau and 2 stops at Castaway Cay. This time, we went with my entire family (16 of us in all) to celebrate my parent's 50th Anniversary. There were 10 adults and 6 boys (16 -6 years old). We all had a fantastic time.
Each day at WDW, there was thunder storms that arrived around dinner time. We visited (in order) MGM Studios, Epcot, Magic Kingdom, and Typhoon Lagoon. We also visited Downtown Disney and Disney Quest was a big hit! We did the dining plan for both trips and thought it was a great value. It allowed us to eat at Big River Grille, Le Cellier, Bier Garten, and Cape May's. Le Cellier and Cape May's were our favorite this time around!
Though it was crowded, we really didn't wait too long for rides (40 mins max)... We used fast passes and sometimes singles lines. The cast members told us it wasn't as crowded this time of year as it normally is. We also did the behind the seeds tour at Epcot. My husband really enjoyed that!
The best tips I learned on this site was having water shipped to the villas from Costco. I had a case shipped to each room and everyone in our party said that was wonderful! We filled our Nalgene bottles with ice and water in our backpacks and stayed hydrated and cool! I also used the grocery service to have a few things sent to our room. I thought the prices weren't too bad and it was very convenient! We brought our mist-ers and I bought one for each family who equally enjoyed the spritz when it was hot.
On the cruise I read someone's advice to go to the far end of the family beach... that was wonderful advice. We got a nice spot with ample shade and enjoyed the beach. The 2 stops at Castaway Cay was a treat! I just love that place! (One of these days I'll make it to the serenity side). My sister did and she said it was heavenly. Until my kids get older I'll savor playing with them in the water and snorkeling with them. My husband and older son went jet skiing this time and loved it! Be prepared to have salt water sprayed in your face! Because we had 2 days at Castaway Cay, we brought our own snorkel gear and felt it was worth it. (We bought sets at Costco).
We also started a pressed penny collection on this trip. Wow, it's fun to hunt for the machines and turn the crank on the manual ones. We put 2 quarters and a shiny penny in stacks in an M & M tube which made it easy each time we found a machine. We collected the most at Epcot at all the different countries.
At the Boardwalk Villas we stayed in room 4101 (standard view), and on the cruise we were in room 6070 (Wonder). If anyone has any questions about those rooms, please e-mail us. Ill share any information I have! I noticed there were two styles of one- bedrooms at the Boardwalk Villas. Our room had an enclosed or U shaped kitchen, and my sisters room had a wide open kitchen. We loved the dual bathroom and walk in closet! It was just the right amount of room for the four of us. Last year we stayed in the Wilderness lodge in a normal hotel room. It was cramped in comparison.
Ive always liked Disney, but was never a collector or HUGE fan. I grew up loving Hello Kitty! I must say, as a working mom who really values family vacation, I am the BIGGEST fan of the Disney difference. Disney is so customer service oriented and they run their operations so efficiently each time we visit we are so impressed with how clean the rooms/hotels are. We absolutely love vacationing with Disney!
In closing planning and preparation go a long way. This site is perfect for that! Id use the keyword search for whatever I was looking for and some kind person(s) had something to share right down to the type of coffee filter I needed in the villas! Id like to share and contribute since Ive received so much from many of you! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your posts!!!!
I normally dont post on boards, I just read but I felt compelled to give something back to the site and to those who read this. Please feel free to ask any questions and Id be glad to share what I know or experienced. We are a family of four, myself, my husband Mike and our two sons, Garrett (9) and Ryan (6). We live near Sacramento, California.
In August of 2007, we went on a 12 day WDW/Kennedy Space Center stay along with a 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise (in early September on the Magic). We just returned from a 5 day stay at the Boardwalk Villas and a 4 night cruise on the Wonder to Nassau and 2 stops at Castaway Cay. This time, we went with my entire family (16 of us in all) to celebrate my parent's 50th Anniversary. There were 10 adults and 6 boys (16 -6 years old). We all had a fantastic time.
Each day at WDW, there was thunder storms that arrived around dinner time. We visited (in order) MGM Studios, Epcot, Magic Kingdom, and Typhoon Lagoon. We also visited Downtown Disney and Disney Quest was a big hit! We did the dining plan for both trips and thought it was a great value. It allowed us to eat at Big River Grille, Le Cellier, Bier Garten, and Cape May's. Le Cellier and Cape May's were our favorite this time around!
Though it was crowded, we really didn't wait too long for rides (40 mins max)... We used fast passes and sometimes singles lines. The cast members told us it wasn't as crowded this time of year as it normally is. We also did the behind the seeds tour at Epcot. My husband really enjoyed that!
The best tips I learned on this site was having water shipped to the villas from Costco. I had a case shipped to each room and everyone in our party said that was wonderful! We filled our Nalgene bottles with ice and water in our backpacks and stayed hydrated and cool! I also used the grocery service to have a few things sent to our room. I thought the prices weren't too bad and it was very convenient! We brought our mist-ers and I bought one for each family who equally enjoyed the spritz when it was hot.
On the cruise I read someone's advice to go to the far end of the family beach... that was wonderful advice. We got a nice spot with ample shade and enjoyed the beach. The 2 stops at Castaway Cay was a treat! I just love that place! (One of these days I'll make it to the serenity side). My sister did and she said it was heavenly. Until my kids get older I'll savor playing with them in the water and snorkeling with them. My husband and older son went jet skiing this time and loved it! Be prepared to have salt water sprayed in your face! Because we had 2 days at Castaway Cay, we brought our own snorkel gear and felt it was worth it. (We bought sets at Costco).
We also started a pressed penny collection on this trip. Wow, it's fun to hunt for the machines and turn the crank on the manual ones. We put 2 quarters and a shiny penny in stacks in an M & M tube which made it easy each time we found a machine. We collected the most at Epcot at all the different countries.
At the Boardwalk Villas we stayed in room 4101 (standard view), and on the cruise we were in room 6070 (Wonder). If anyone has any questions about those rooms, please e-mail us. Ill share any information I have! I noticed there were two styles of one- bedrooms at the Boardwalk Villas. Our room had an enclosed or U shaped kitchen, and my sisters room had a wide open kitchen. We loved the dual bathroom and walk in closet! It was just the right amount of room for the four of us. Last year we stayed in the Wilderness lodge in a normal hotel room. It was cramped in comparison.
Ive always liked Disney, but was never a collector or HUGE fan. I grew up loving Hello Kitty! I must say, as a working mom who really values family vacation, I am the BIGGEST fan of the Disney difference. Disney is so customer service oriented and they run their operations so efficiently each time we visit we are so impressed with how clean the rooms/hotels are. We absolutely love vacationing with Disney!
In closing planning and preparation go a long way. This site is perfect for that! Id use the keyword search for whatever I was looking for and some kind person(s) had something to share right down to the type of coffee filter I needed in the villas! Id like to share and contribute since Ive received so much from many of you! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your posts!!!!
