Dimplenose
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- Apr 2, 2002
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Libbys Trip Epilogue Thoughts on our 2005 trip
Cast Me 43 in love with Mickey Mouse
DH (of 20 years) 43
DS 14 cynical teenager
DD 11 a stroppy little madam
Location 14 day holiday at Windsor Palms with 1 night trip to Royal Pacific Resort
Although Ive finished writing the trip report diary I thought Id finish off with a random collection of photos and thoughts.
1. Windsor Palms
We chose this resort as it seemed to be the closest resort to WDW with a manned security gate. I have never stayed in a villa before and found the whole experience a little disappointing. The villa itself was lovely although it felt as though we were staying in a film set as the villas looked like theyd been built out of plywood. The interior walls provided very little in the way of sound insulation.
We were surprised that we were never asked to provide a security deposit or credit card swipe.
The communal parts were well kept but there did seem to be some potential for building half a dozen villas near to the perimeter wall. The electricity cables were marked in some places with little flags. We certainly felt very secure here.
The road works outside the resort were a bit of a shock too. They didnt cause us any problems but they were only just outside the resort a few yards from the gatehouse. If it becomes a busy road I can see certain villas on the resort becoming less rentable because of it.
I cant really comment on the rest of the facilities as we didnt use them but, apart from the pool everything we saw was smaller than wed expected (especially the shop).
It took us 8 minutes to get to Animal Kingdom but we still felt as if we were a million miles away from WDW once we left the purple signs behind for some that may be an advantage, but for us it was quite sad.
This photo was taken from our car as we waited for the lorry to pull off the entrance road to Windsoe Palms. We were just yards from the gatehouse.
2. Formosa Gardens Area
It was very sad to see an abandoned Splendid China. There is a very large site here and I couldnt help wondering what it might be developed into.
The shopping centre nearby could also do with a bit of updating as the Chinese roofs look very sad without their Chinese neighbour. The supermarket itself was particularly shabby inside with water damaged ceilings (but then Winn Dixie are in financial trouble I believe). We didnt eat much in the villa and the supposedly high prices here were no enough to put us off stopping here for supplies. We did do one trip to a Publix but apart from the building being newer, we didnt see any advantages to going out of our way to get there.
There was plenty of choice of places to eat both in the shopping centre and the nearby strip of the 192.
Here's a picture of Nookie Bear's cousin from inside the supermarket.
3. Travelling with a teenager
We have been to WDW when our DS was 7 then 11 and now 14. The magic has really gone for him this time. We found he was too old to enjoy the Disney magic as a child and too young to appreciate Disney as an adult. All he wanted to do was eat and avoid anything remotely educational. He was the most upset that we didnt stay at All Star Sports for a third time, he particularly missed the food court! I dont know whether girls enjoy the atmosphere more than boys.
His favourite part of the holiday was our one night stay at Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Studios. He also preferred the Universal parks.
4. Johnny Depp everywhere.
Our DD has her first pre-teen crush on Johnny Depp (worryingly she prefers him as Jack Sparrow) and everywhere we turned references to him seemed to pop up.
At the Backlot tour we saw the figurehead from the ship in POtC. At Downtown Disney we saw a topiary from Edward Scissorhands. We saw signed (and very expensive) photos of him for sale at Downtown Disney and at MGM studios. She bought a T-shirt with his picture on at MGM studios. There were models of him that we had to talk her out of spending $60 on. There were also a lot of his movies on TV we let her watch some of Cry Baby and all of Gilbert Grape (the others were nowhere near suitable for an 11 year old). As Ive said before I thought we were going to see Mickey Mouse not Johnny Depp!
5. Universal Hotels
We decided to spend one night at Universal just to get the front of line pass. We didnt get a discount but it still worked out cheaper than buying two days of Express plus pass. The time of our visit probably meant that we could have manages without our passes but they made the whole theme park experience more pleasant and spontaneous. We were told we could use them at restaurants but I never worked out how (not that we needed to).
We stayed at the Royal Pacific Resort because it was the cheapest. Before booking we were a little concerned that the hotel allows dogs to stay, but we never saw any sign of them even on the dog walk path. I dont think Id want to stay there more than two nights but it is something I would definitely do again.
6. Going Back
This trip was hard in places. It was a shock to find that I didnt have two small children that were happy to go along with us without questioning anything. A combination of PMT, stroppy teenager and tired husband led to a rather tense start to the holiday but towards the end and now that were home Ive started to think about going back.
Its going to be at least 3 years, but more like 4 before we can justify the expense of a Florida holiday again. I work in a school so off-peak travel is not an option even if the kids term dates were not a consideration. If we wait 4 years DS will be 18 and DD 15 and Im not sure whether Disney will still appeal to them. Still theres work to be done on the house and a new car to buy and after that I hope well have a student to support so who knows?
7. Mini Quiz
Here's a photo a Hidden Mickey we found one day. Where was it? No prizes, just post an answer if you want to.
Thanks for reading all my ramblings Ive mostly enjoyed writing them. Its certainly nice to have a written record of our holiday.
Libby
Cast Me 43 in love with Mickey Mouse
DH (of 20 years) 43
DS 14 cynical teenager
DD 11 a stroppy little madam
Location 14 day holiday at Windsor Palms with 1 night trip to Royal Pacific Resort
Although Ive finished writing the trip report diary I thought Id finish off with a random collection of photos and thoughts.
1. Windsor Palms
We chose this resort as it seemed to be the closest resort to WDW with a manned security gate. I have never stayed in a villa before and found the whole experience a little disappointing. The villa itself was lovely although it felt as though we were staying in a film set as the villas looked like theyd been built out of plywood. The interior walls provided very little in the way of sound insulation.
We were surprised that we were never asked to provide a security deposit or credit card swipe.
The communal parts were well kept but there did seem to be some potential for building half a dozen villas near to the perimeter wall. The electricity cables were marked in some places with little flags. We certainly felt very secure here.
The road works outside the resort were a bit of a shock too. They didnt cause us any problems but they were only just outside the resort a few yards from the gatehouse. If it becomes a busy road I can see certain villas on the resort becoming less rentable because of it.
I cant really comment on the rest of the facilities as we didnt use them but, apart from the pool everything we saw was smaller than wed expected (especially the shop).
It took us 8 minutes to get to Animal Kingdom but we still felt as if we were a million miles away from WDW once we left the purple signs behind for some that may be an advantage, but for us it was quite sad.
This photo was taken from our car as we waited for the lorry to pull off the entrance road to Windsoe Palms. We were just yards from the gatehouse.
2. Formosa Gardens Area
It was very sad to see an abandoned Splendid China. There is a very large site here and I couldnt help wondering what it might be developed into.
The shopping centre nearby could also do with a bit of updating as the Chinese roofs look very sad without their Chinese neighbour. The supermarket itself was particularly shabby inside with water damaged ceilings (but then Winn Dixie are in financial trouble I believe). We didnt eat much in the villa and the supposedly high prices here were no enough to put us off stopping here for supplies. We did do one trip to a Publix but apart from the building being newer, we didnt see any advantages to going out of our way to get there.
There was plenty of choice of places to eat both in the shopping centre and the nearby strip of the 192.
Here's a picture of Nookie Bear's cousin from inside the supermarket.
3. Travelling with a teenager
We have been to WDW when our DS was 7 then 11 and now 14. The magic has really gone for him this time. We found he was too old to enjoy the Disney magic as a child and too young to appreciate Disney as an adult. All he wanted to do was eat and avoid anything remotely educational. He was the most upset that we didnt stay at All Star Sports for a third time, he particularly missed the food court! I dont know whether girls enjoy the atmosphere more than boys.
His favourite part of the holiday was our one night stay at Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Studios. He also preferred the Universal parks.
4. Johnny Depp everywhere.
Our DD has her first pre-teen crush on Johnny Depp (worryingly she prefers him as Jack Sparrow) and everywhere we turned references to him seemed to pop up.
At the Backlot tour we saw the figurehead from the ship in POtC. At Downtown Disney we saw a topiary from Edward Scissorhands. We saw signed (and very expensive) photos of him for sale at Downtown Disney and at MGM studios. She bought a T-shirt with his picture on at MGM studios. There were models of him that we had to talk her out of spending $60 on. There were also a lot of his movies on TV we let her watch some of Cry Baby and all of Gilbert Grape (the others were nowhere near suitable for an 11 year old). As Ive said before I thought we were going to see Mickey Mouse not Johnny Depp!
5. Universal Hotels
We decided to spend one night at Universal just to get the front of line pass. We didnt get a discount but it still worked out cheaper than buying two days of Express plus pass. The time of our visit probably meant that we could have manages without our passes but they made the whole theme park experience more pleasant and spontaneous. We were told we could use them at restaurants but I never worked out how (not that we needed to).
We stayed at the Royal Pacific Resort because it was the cheapest. Before booking we were a little concerned that the hotel allows dogs to stay, but we never saw any sign of them even on the dog walk path. I dont think Id want to stay there more than two nights but it is something I would definitely do again.
6. Going Back
This trip was hard in places. It was a shock to find that I didnt have two small children that were happy to go along with us without questioning anything. A combination of PMT, stroppy teenager and tired husband led to a rather tense start to the holiday but towards the end and now that were home Ive started to think about going back.
Its going to be at least 3 years, but more like 4 before we can justify the expense of a Florida holiday again. I work in a school so off-peak travel is not an option even if the kids term dates were not a consideration. If we wait 4 years DS will be 18 and DD 15 and Im not sure whether Disney will still appeal to them. Still theres work to be done on the house and a new car to buy and after that I hope well have a student to support so who knows?
7. Mini Quiz
Here's a photo a Hidden Mickey we found one day. Where was it? No prizes, just post an answer if you want to.
Thanks for reading all my ramblings Ive mostly enjoyed writing them. Its certainly nice to have a written record of our holiday.
Libby
My two sons were 16 and 14 in July and still enjoyed Disney though their favourite park was Universal. They definitely were not into the characters any more but did like the penguins from the Madagascar film that were at Universal. They are both looking forward to going next year, they will be nearly 18 and 16 when we return. I think no matter what the age Orlando is still magical, it is just the attractions change.
). DS(11) hasn't really said (practicing being a teenager - he's 12 on Wednesday so only a year to get the monsyllablism right!) DH says maybe for our Silver Wedding (10 yrs time - don't think so!) - he's moused out from 2 weeks onsite.
