Live from Hard Rock/Sheraton Vistana/Wilderness Lodge...crazy I know?!

[ansadler]

I've never done a live trip report, mainly b/c I'm scared I won't be able to follow through... I'll try my best..

Cast members: me, dh, ds9, ds7, ds5. (inlaws with us now but leave on Monday)

We just finished a one night/two day stay at Universal and Hard Rock Hotel. HRH was absolutely amazing.

Things I've learned so far:
ds9 hates 3D but loves rollercoasters.
ds7 loves 3D but too short for some coasters. (shouldn't be a prob. at WDW)
ds5 just wants to play at the pool with the hula hoops and get $10 lollipops!

We are staying at Sheraton Vistana Resort until Monday then move to Wilderness Lodge. The Sheraton is amazing. We have a refurbished 2 bedroom in the fountains section overlooking pool and food court! (Everything I requested) Check in was great. We have a rental car, and getting around so far has been super easy.

We head to DHS today, Epcot Sunday, MK Monday, and then decide from there. Hope to make rope drop this morning to hit TSM...Boys are super excited. Not doing a full day today though since boys are tired from two days at Universal. That's the PLAN atleast, we'll see when we get there. Will try to check in this evening with pictures!!!


Here we go!!!!

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

Woohoo~!~! I can't wait for all the updates. Have a super fun time!

 

[macmom3]

Enjoy your trip. I hope the kids have a great time. Did you get there for the rope drop this morning?

 

[jb01]

Look foward for your updates

 

[ansadler]

First day at DHS was great. We left the Sheraton Vistana at 8:05am and were at the turnstiles by 8:18am. No traffic and easy parking!

Dh, ds9, ds7 headed to RnR got 3 FPs then walked on. Me, mil, ds5 headed to TSMM got 3 FPs then rode standby with 8 minute wait!

Then we walked on Star Tours and played on Honey...Kids Playground. (ds5's favorite)

RnR fP return was 9:45am and TSM was 10:10am.

Split up again and did Playhouse Disney, Jedi Training, High School Musical then Indiana Jones. Everything easy to get to and great seats.

Then me, ds9, ds7 rode Rnr (around 12:20pm) and FP wait was 25 minutes. Longer than I've ever seen, but mid-day on Saturday so makes sense.

Did some pin trading and watched some funny street actors and took some pics. Then headed back to resort. Going back around 5pm possibly, to catch TofT (got FP's but were ready to head out, boys getting tired) and still have FPs for TSM.

Crowds never seemed bad at all. Here are some pics.

Here is parking lot around 8:30am.

Walking into DHS (8:40am)

Standing at turnstiles at Rope Drop.

12:30pm

TSM standby line forming at opening (@9:05am)

More to come!! Oh, and the weather was amazing. Sunny with a great breeze, not too hot (but we left by 1pm).

 

[ansadler]

Well, we didn't make it back to the parks as planned. The kids really wanted to just hang at the pool. We went across the street to Landry's for dinner then back to the resort for a poolside movie and s'mores. We're headed to Epcot in the morning. Will try to get some more crowd pics then!

 

[gipa40]

My family loved Universal and staying at Hard Rock...especially now that they are older..they only want to go to HR instead of WDW. Oh well, Im a DVC member now and my DGS loves Mickey.

Cant wait to see more

 

[ansadler]

My family loved Universal and staying at Hard Rock...especially now that they are older..they only want to go to HR instead of WDW. Oh well, Im a DVC member now and my DGS loves Mickey.

Cant wait to see more

This was our first trip to Universal. My older boys loved it but were still too short for some rides. In a few years it will be a blast. I think their favorite part was the Hard Rock Hotel. We'll definitely have to stay there again!! We LOVE Disney though, and doing both back to back makes me realize that there really is something to the magic at Disney!!

 

[chicagoshannon]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. I'll be tuned in until the end of the week (when I leave)

 

[jb01]

Sounds like your having a great time. Look foward to your updates.

 

[ansadler]

We arrived at Epcot by 8:30am. Crowds were not bad at all. We split up:

Dh, ds9, ds7:
Walk on Test Track
Walk on Mission Space


me, ds5, mil:
6 FPs for Soarin
10 minute standby for Soarin
Walk on Nemo


Met up for Spaceship Earth- 10 minute wait

Shopping, pin trading, then headed to World Showcase.

Walked on Maelstrom.

lunch at Mexico counter service- BIRD GOT ONE OF OUR QUESADILLAS. I wouldn't recommend sitting by the water. The birds are relentless. The CM gave me a new quesadilla.
Ran to get 3 FPs for Mission Space

Split up again:

dh, ds9, ds7:
Kim Possible (got FP earlier 11am for noon activation) 3 missions. LOVED IT.

me, ds5, mil:
Playground near Canada. (ds5 LOVED it) Didn't that used to be on other side by butterfly house??
me- ran to get 4 FPs for Test Track.


All back together:
Soarin with FPs (5 minute wait)
Innoventions West (so much fun, had no idea)
me-grabbed 2 FPs for Soarin

Grab a popsicle and headed out by 2:30pm.

Now have FPs for Soarin (3), Test Track (4), and Mission Space (3). Headed back tonight for rides and possibly fireworks. Just about 15 minutes from Sheraton Vistana to Epcot front entrance so not a problem!!

I'll try to get pics up soon, but crowds were minimal until about 1pm, then started getting a little crowded. UG says 7 I think, but I would give this day at Epcot no more than a 5.

 

[mcrabeck]

Have a great trip! Thanks for the live updates!

 

[HayGan]

Thanks for the great reports! We will be staying at the HRH in a few weeks for the first time and we can't wait to try it.

Hope the rest of your trip goes as well as it has so far

 

[chicagoshannon]

Thanks for keeping us updated!

 

[ansadler]

We went back to Epcot that evening around 6:30pm. This time we drove to Beach Club and parked and walked through the International Gateway Entrance. I wanted to take a look at Beach Club and thought this would help with exiting after Illuminations. We rode Soarin with FPs, Mission Space (walk on, even though we had FPs) and Test Track with FPs (50 minute standby). Then we rode Spaceship Earth (my first time since the refurb). It was MUCH better. My kids loved the interactive screen that takes your picture and then you see it later.....Great Job Epcot!

Then we walked around, did some shopping and then watched Illuminations. We picked a spot close to the International Gateway Entrance so we could get out quickly. My plan worked. After Illuminations, it took us about 12 minutes to get to our car at Beach Club and about 10 more minutes to get back to the Vistana. Yea!!

Yesterday morning we left Vistana and parked at Wilderness Lodge (checking in there later that day). Walked through the lobby and down to boat ramp to head to MK. First time we didn't make rope drop. Missed the first boat (got to Boat Ramp @8:45) .

Walked through turnstiles of MK at about 9:05am.
Me, ds5, and mil walked straight to Dumbo and it was a 40 minute wait! (This is a "5" and I'm at the least crowded park) No thank you. So we jumped on Tommorowland Speedway.
My dh, ds9, ds7, had gone straight to BTMRR for FPs then walked on.
Then also walked on Splash Mountain.
We met up at Small World and walked on. (OK, I get it, everyone is at Dumbo and the rest of the park is empty)
Then dh took the boys to Frontierland Shooting Arcade while mil and I rode Haunted Mansion (walked on).
Grabbed Dole Whip for everyone ,
grabbed FPs for Jungle Cruise (30 minute standby) and rode over to Tom Sawyer Island. (me and ds7 rode BTMRR first with FPs, standby was 25 I think).
Left Tom Sawyer Island (didn't find any brushes...bummer) and all rode Jungle Cruise. Ds9 got to drive (I think he just got lucky b/c we were the first ones in the boat).
By this time is was getting warm and crowded so we got some photopass pics, bought candy at the Confectionary, Grabbed FPs for Buzz and headed back to Wilderness Lodge. (1pm)
Our room was ready so we unloaded the car and unpacked. Love the 1BR villa. Quaint with great rustic theming. We then went back to Vistana to pick up some friends and grab lunch.
Brought our friends back and enjoyed the pool for several hours. Not super crowded. The little kids did the slide forever (you can get lifejackets for free at the marina by the water), the bigger boys enjoyed the hot tub, and the adults enjoyed the Trout Pass Bar. .
At 6pm we hit Whispering Canyon Cafe (first experience) and had a blast. We originally had reservations for 5 at 6:50pm. At around 4:45pm my dh went to concierge to see if we could change to 6pm with party of 7. It was NO PROBLEM. We arrived at the restaurant at 5:55pm and were sitted by 6pm. Service was excellent and hilarious. We all really got into the antics.

Dh, ds9, ds5 headed back to MK. Rode Buzz Lightyear twice with FPs (20 min standby), then BTMRR with FPs (but could have walked on). Then secured spot for Wishes at Rose Garden at bridge to tomorrowland.

Me and ds5 too our friends back to Vistana, then drove to MK b/c ds5 wanted to ride the monorail, and I was curious what the experience would be like. (what was I thinking??). Got a great parking space (around 8pm). Rode monorail to park, shopped a little then met the boys and dh for Wishes. It was great but no Tinkerbell, I guess b/c of the wind. Boys were super bummed. We sat under the zipline for that very reason.

Hung out after Wishes so not to get trampled. Around 9:45pm headed out and the line to the monorail for parking lot and buses was CRAZY. Dh took ds7, ds5 on the ferry back to Wilderness Lodge. Hardly any wait. Me and dh9 had some quality time in line for the Monorail. Only really waited about 20 minutes thankfully. Met a nice family in line and enjoyed their company.
Traffic was not bad leaving the parking lot (I was surprised) but the busses were packed and seemed a little crazy. Drove back to Wilderness Lodge and was back in the villa by 10:45pm. I had thought of leaving the car at MK overnight, even a CM said it would probably be OK, but I really didn't want to risk it with a rental car.

So, for MK, we want to go back and do Pirates, Goofy's Barnstormer, Spectromagic, Laugh Floor and a few others.

This morning we are taking it easy and having a rest day. I'm thinking of heading to DHS by myself for a couple of hours to grab FPs for later this afternoon. I think dh is going to take the boys to Disneyquest later.

So far, the trip has been amazing. I can tell a big difference in the kids (compared to our last trip when we did FULL DAYS at parks with no breaks). They are much happier and seem way more rested. I love going in the mornings, leaving at lunch and coming back at night. Thanks to dis, UG, and TGM for all your GREAT ADVICE.

The funny thing is, that I studied so much before hand (even got Ridemax) that I haven't had to follow a touringplan on paper. It's in my head and I've got the hang of it.

Go early, never let your FP window open up (get them everytime you can) and don't waste them on rides you can get on quickly...

I'll try to get pics up later today. Haven't taken anymore crowd pics b/c they have been so moderate.

Thanks for following me and sorry I went a while without posting!!

 

[chicagoshannon]

What time did you end up getting into MK? I was thinking we could stop for a photopass picture before we headed to Dumbo but if it was 40 minute wait like 5 minutes after rope drop I'll skip the photopass.

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Sounds awesome! How is the weather?

 

[PrincessTiffany]

subbing

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the Trip Reports board.

 

[ansadler]

What time did you end up getting into MK? I was thinking we could stop for a photopass picture before we headed to Dumbo but if it was 40 minute wait like 5 minutes after rope drop I'll skip the photopass.

We got to the turnstiles at 9:05am. I would recommend getting to the turnstiles atleast 30 minutes before opening. If I had been in the front of the crowds there would have be no problem. It's just a really slow-loading ride.