After being back for a few weeks, I still can't believe we pulled off this trip and still have one so soon to look forward to.
Yes, there were many things we didn't do. We were fine with that and knew going into it, this was a quick trip.
We didn't have any major meltdowns. I saw plenty of those with others though. I wanted to yell at some parents .. "PLEASE TAKE A BREAK!!!!! The park isn't going anywhere." Poor kids were being dragged from point A to point B to have "fun". It didn't look so fun to me.
The heat was pretty intense. It was a prelude of what we can expect in June. Okay, what were we thinking?!?!?!?! Florida, June, heat, summer, crowds.
Ughhhhhhhh! At least we are now somewhat prepared. We'll definitely bring more water and take long breaks mid-day.
Port Orleans - Riverside
We stayed at Port Orleans - Riverside this past December and knew what to expect with this resort. However, a person new to this resort may feel it is pretty spread out. Being in the
Alligator Bayou section, we were pretty far from the main buildings and main pool. It was just too hot to make the long walk. So, we didn't make the walk there this time. I drove to get the pizza. We did make the walk back in December though. It was nice and relaxing. However, I always felt like a gator was going to jump out at us. Personally, I liked the location of our room. It was very quiet and peaceful. Also, we were right near a smaller pool. The kids had fun just the same.
We found Mousekeeping to be great. We didn't want service our second day and left the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door. They called to confirm we didn't need anything. Then the next day when we did want service, they left the kids a cute towel animal. It was
NOT expected and a nice surprise for the kids.
confused3 Sorry Disney. When I checked DD6's bag when we got home, "someone" made their way home with us. We may bring it back next time and leave in our room.) We had a trundle bed and they changed those sheets too. Also, we had plenty of toiletries. I have a huge bag at home with all our Disney toiletries. I just love the packaging. I don't want to use them. I guess eventually, I'll have to use them.
Food
We only did one sit-down restaurant (Nine Dragons). That was a
BIG money-saver on this trip. The Disney restaurants are very pricey. Sometimes stepping onto Disney property, we get caught up about being on vacation and not worrying about the wallet.
However, you can have major sticker shock when you pick-up your bill the night before your departure. (I highly recommend getting a copy of your bill the night before checking out, to make sure everything is in order for a seamless check-out the next morning.) The snacks and little souvenirs here and there can add up. We did really well this trip. I
DIDN'T step foot inside a store (DH is the one who bought me the Mickey gnome.
). That alone probably saved us a few hundred dollars. We stuck to a budget of $100 a day for food (family of five). Believe it or not, we did it!
We only ate one meal in the parks and even on our DHS and DAK, we ate at McDonald's and that was only $23.00 and the pizza later at the food court was $13.99. Total = $36.99
ALL mornings, we ate breakfast in the room and I brought snacks and water bottles into the parks. That was also a
BIG money saver. Buying drinks in the parks can add up. When we had lunch at Casey's Corner, that meal was around $60.00. (Yes, $60 for hot dogs, fries and sodas)
More than $15.00 was for drinks alone!
At home,
$211.00 buys
over a weeks worth of groceries. At WDW, it buys ...
Nine Dragons - $80.00
Sleepy Hollow (funnel cakes & ice cream) - $20.00
Casey's Corner - $60.00
McDonald's - $23.00
POR Food Court - $28.00
TOTAL = $211.00
Keeping food in our room helped from running to the Food Court and racking up our room charges. A big hit was Ritz crackers and peanut butter. Also, blueberry muffins were a big hit for breakfast. My DS3 likes milk. So, I bought some of the Horizon milk in the small individual cartons. They fit great into the small in-room fridge.
Little Extras for the Kids
I knew we would be in the parks at least one night. So, I bought the kids glow necklaces for $1 each at
Walmart. I got each kid a different color. Not only was I able to keep track of the kids, they didn't ask for the expensive light toys Disney peddles.
I made up each kid a "goody bag" for the parks with lollipops, stickers and other treats in them. That helped them from asking for pricey treats at the parks.
When I first posted this was our "Disney on a Dime" trip, I wasn't kidding. To make sure we didn't dip into the funds for our June trip, I had to make sure this trip was fun, but didn't break the bank. The Annual Passes came out of the June trip fund. They were over $1,000.
Doing the
FREE things in the parks helped too. The kids are always up for the
FREE Coke products at Club Cool. The Kim Possible Adventure was a bit hit with our children. They do miss the free cookies at the Nestle Jr. Chef in The Land. Just taking the raft over to Tom Sawyer Island at MK was a nice place where the kids could roam and "be kids". I made the mistake of telling DD6 about the paint brushes. So, she was anxiously looking everywhere.
We never did find one. There's always next time.
A thing we learned about visiting DLP's TSI, go before lunch so we can bribe the kids with lunch to get off the island. Otherwise, we would be there all day!
The Weather
Anyone that has been to Florida from May - September can tell you, it gets hot!!! I guess we lucked out and missed the monsoon that visited Orlando the two weeks following our trip. We made full use of the resort pool, at least once a day. That helped cool off and let the kids unwind and make some new friends. DS3 was always tired after a morning in the parks. But, DD6 and DS9 were ready to swim and explore the resort. The air was so warm, that when we left the bathing suits out to dry, they were completely dry within hours. Being out in the Florida sun, you
MUST apply some form of sunscreen. We've used various brands in the past with a pretty high SPF rating. Sometimes, it was as if I didn't put anything on the kids. They were burned by the end of the day. This trip, I found my new favorite sunscreen ...
Banana Boat Sport
SPF 85 (I didn't know they went up that high.)
This stuff really works!!!!!!
Welcome fellow Texan!
Jennifer
I really want to try the rollercoaster type slide that goes up and down. That looks really cool. I'll look up the new ride. 
He always starts whimpering when I bring out the suitcases. 
Dogs are pretty smart. We'd love to take him with us on our travels. But, Disney does not allow pets in the rooms. I was just saying to DH the other day, I wish our society were more dog-friendly. 
Doing a happy dance! 
That sounds totally awesome. I order the disney adventures packet and nearly passed out at the prices. - but everything is taken care of for you so I guess you are paying that extra money for special private experience most of us wouldn't have had. 
To me, a week without the kids in the warm Cali sun is priceless. 
)
Too bad, I have to wait almost a year though. 
We still have this upcoming trip to WDW next weekend, a trip to WDW in November, a Caribbean cruise embarking on Thanksgiving and then back to WDW for the first week of December. Notice a common theme here ... DISNEY! Yes, we are certified Disney nuts. What can I say? We're big kids that never went to WDW as children. I think we're making up for lost time. 
