Live from Saratoga Springs - 9 days and 8 nights - 3/20 - 3/28/2011

[nzdisneymom]

Hiya DISers! We are embarking on our longest stay at the World ever - 8 nights and 9 days at the Saratoga Springs Resort for our Spring Break.

Cast:
Cindy D. (that's me)
DH Gary
DS14 - the N
DS13 - the Z
... the two of whom make me a DisneyMom.

We became DVCers during Spring Break 2006 when we spent five nights at Port Orleans French Quarter and decided that even then, our boys were getting too big for us to comfortably spend more than a night or two in a single hotel room. We own at SSR so as soon as our school board released the calendar, we made plans to make our reservations for spring break at 11 months out.

We are Florida residents so we often get here for a weekend, but as it turns out, we haven't been here since the end of October 2010 - six months - hard to believe. We have been keeping up with WDW news through the DIS and other podcasts. We picked up a Magic Kingdom map today and it looks so odd without ToonTown Fair on it any more.

So, we drove over this morning, arriving about 12:45. We did the online check-in late last week. Our 2BR villa was ready so we got moved in and unpacked quite a bit. I think we must've packed the entire kitchen... or at least most of the food we had! No one should be hungry, but with two teenage boys, well, enough said

We had originally planned to have dinner at Ohana but after looking over the menu, we knew DS14 wouldn't find much he would eat, so for the price we decided to forego it. DS14 had also asked if we could eat at the Don Pablo's on I-Drive but I hadn't figured out when that would make sense to hike all the way over there. But since we changed our minds about Ohana, and we knew we needed to get to Publix and wanted to go by the Character Premier outlet store, we decided to combine the three and make that our "errands run."

It's a beautiful day here and we have returned to the villa after a delicious dinner, a few goodies from the outlet store (found the last two pins they had for 99-cents so that will help us with a trading mission we have), and enough of the perishable groceries to feed these teens for a few days anyway. DH is enjoying having the living room to relax in while I'm finishing my unpacking and the boys are hanging out in their room. And soon we'll be heading over to the Magic Kingdom - our mission? Fantasyland!

So thanks for joining us! We'll be uploading pictures along the way. If you have any questions or want info about SSR (or anything else WDW related), we'll be happy to answer and/or find out for you. If you want a picture of anything particularly, we'd be glad to see if we can do that, too.

 

[Harlemgirl720]

Growing boys. Know what you mean. Will be there in 4 days. Can't wait.

 

[dbprimeaux]

Can't wait to read your TR.

 

[nolanboys]

Have 4 growing boys my own, so I know what you mean. I am packing a huge box of food for DH to ship down for us. We actually arrive at SSR on your check out date. Your weather looks like it's going to be great, and I only hope ours will be as well. We always go in the cooler months and are really hoping for some fun swim days. Can't wait to read more. It will really get me excited for mine!

 

[podsnel]

I'm really looking forward to your TR- I just booked a studio at SSR for 3 nights, beginning 2 weeks from tomorrow! I LOVE last minute trips to Disney!! Well...I love ANY trip to Disney, but, you know what I mean!! What a long trip for you- sounds great!

 

[MassMom94]

Love the report so far! We discovered Don Pablo's on our trip to PA last summer - don't have any up where we live. Maybe we will check it out next time we are in Orlando! We bailed on Ohana's for the same reason you did.

I started my TR from our February trip, but I am sure you will have yours done before mine is finished. Have a fabulous time! Can't wait to read all about it!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Harlem - the weather is awesome - well, at least today it was and it's predicted to hold through the weekend. It's comfortable - we were out tonight with no need for a jacket. DH had on shorts and was comfortable. The boys and I had on long pants and t-shirts.

Nolanboys - we'll be sad to leave but you all will be here at a great time, too.

Podsnel - I remember you from our spring break Hilton Head trips - the last two years we've done HHI because our spring breaks have been blacked out from using our Florida Resident Season passes at WDW. Our tix expired in December so we didn't renew since we weren't going to be able to get here til now.

MassMom - we were introduced to Don Pablo's at home - we had one for a couple of years. When it went away and we found one in Gainesville, we would eat there on the way home from WDW - but it also closed. We try to get to the one on I-Drive whenever we're down here for more than two nights.

So onto our evening! The boys are sleeping now and DH has been enjoying having the living room to read the newspaper and watch sports (Go 'Noles - Sweet 16!) while I finished unpacking and getting settled in. I also uploaded some pics from our venture over to the MK so I'll see if I can figure out how to post them here.

We headed out at 6:15 - had a 5 minute wait for the bus and then 15 minutes before we were out of SSR. We get the bus at Congress Park. Had a scooter-load at the Springs so that takes a while. Got to the MK, exchanged our ticket vouchers and headed straight to Fantasyland. At this point, the crowd level seemed low but it picked up later in the evening - it's EMH tonight til 2 a.m.

We were able to walk through Cinderella Castle - something we haven't done in ages. I could spend a while in there just looking at the murals, but the guys were not interested.



Because Snow White's Scary Adventures will be going away, one of the things DS14 wanted to do was ride this attraction as many times as possible while we're here - so we made this our first stop.



We then got fast passes for Peter Pan but the return time was 10:40 so we weren't sure we'd get to use them. We hopped in the Small World queue which was 15 minutes, and then took in the Mickey's Philharmagic. Our goal was to do everything in Fantasyland that we could do in the night. There is so much changing in Fantasyland!



We had a ride on Prince Charming's carousel which seems silly that it's not still Cinderella's.



Dumbo's queue was 25 minutes so we decided to go ahead and do it. We haven't ridden Dumbo in years, so it was fun to listen to the boys "reminisce" about their Dumbo memories. What was fun, too, was seeing them next to the things to do in the queue line - they seem to be such giants now!



We had another turn on Snow White's adventure before heading to the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. We had recently listened to WEDWay Radio's podcast about Queue lines and they had mentioned the new queue here - wow - it was something else! Definitely made the 20 minute wait go faster.



We made our way around to the Mad Tea Party and then noticed the Indy Speedway had only a 10-minute wait - something we don't expect to see again this trip. We thought about Buzz but it was 15 minutes by the posted time but looked longer to us, so we rode the People Mover (which is what I always called it, but for the boys, they will always call it the TTA).

The biggest adventure was getting through the crowd in front of the Plaza restaurant - everyone had stopped to watch the "maybe see yourself on the castle" show and weren't moving as fireworks were starting in five minutes after that. A cast member finally made their way through and separated the traffic that was mish-mashed.

We made it out safe and sound, got on the bus and were home before midnight We are looking forward to another magical day on Monday!

 

[MinnesotaMouse]

I'll be waiting for more...DH and I have a studio at SS this coming Friday and Saturday evenings, before we board the Dream for a 4-night cruise on Sunday. We have never stayed at SS so I look forward to lots of pictures (if you have time!). No plans to do parks, only want to hang out at the resort pools and probably DTD. What do you think the chances are of having dinner at Artist's Palette (sp?) on one of those evenings? I have to call tomorrow and find out.....

Have a great vacation!

 

[Doug7856]

Thanks for the report! Looking forward to future posts.

 

[nzdisneymom]

I'll be waiting for more...DH and I have a studio at SS this coming Friday and Saturday evenings, before we board the Dream for a 4-night cruise on Sunday. We have never stayed at SS so I look forward to lots of pictures (if you have time!). No plans to do parks, only want to hang out at the resort pools and probably DTD. What do you think the chances are of having dinner at Artist's Palette (sp?) on one of those evenings? I have to call tomorrow and find out.....

Have a great vacation!

You can make your dining reservations online - did you know? But for Artist Pointe, it's "food court"ish - so no reservations necessary. I got a couple of pics from inside that I'll post later today. We'll get some resort pictures and post them - I am posting pics through the photo gallery here at DIS so it translates them to thumbnails for the threads but you'll be able to click them for a larger view. We'll be doing some resort hanging out this afternoon.

 

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

Hi!
Thanks so much for posting about your trip Hope you're having a wonderful time!

Just a couple of questions when you have time - how do you find the condition of your villa? And how is progress on the Paddock pool going? We will be there checking in on June 20th, I so hope they'll open ahead of schedule!

Thanks again.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Just a couple of questions when you have time - how do you find the condition of your villa? And how is progress on the Paddock pool going? We will be there checking in on June 20th, I so hope they'll open ahead of schedule!

The Paddock pool area is blocked off but I got a peek today from the bus - looks like they are making progress. If we walk up that way later, I'll take a picture or two.

As for the villa, so far it seems in good condition. The hot water takes a while to get in the shower but once it's there, it's HOT and PLENTIFUL (see, I told you before we have two teenagers, right?) The one thing we've had a problem with is the refrigerator - it was set all the way past 9 but didn't seem cool when we got here, but we have had that before - by this morning, it was more than cold - we had tried to adjust the temp last night but couldn't turn the dial. Well, when we got back from the park this morning, one of our cans of Diet Coke had exploded. The boys had come back to the room while DH and I had gone up to Carriage House - they called to tell us. DS13 used his room key to get enough leverage to turn it from 9 down - or at least we thought down because there are no numbers on it. Anyway, it worked to keep it from being on super-freeze, so hopefully that will take care of it.

 

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

The hot water takes a while to get in the shower but once it's there, it's HOT and PLENTIFUL (see, I told you before we have two teenagers, right?)

Oh LOL, I've got one too - I know just what you mean!

Thanks so much for answering, would love to see a pic if you get a chance Have a great time!

 

[heathers4um]

Just got back ourselves from a last minute 6 day trip, as you can see from the sad ticker I dont have the heart to remove just yet.

Am loving your live TR and cant wait for pics! We loved the accomodations and had no issues - we had a DS for the 1st 3 nights and a 1 bdrm the last 2 nights. Since it was just the DBF and I we loved the DS as much as the 1 bdrm!

 

[JaneSparrow]

Hello! I hope you can help me. We are thinking of doing a split stay here in October between BLT but also considering a full stay.

I have a 2 yr old son and we would love to be near the new paddock pool and playground. What area of the resort would be closer to these amenities and would not be too far from the bus? We have a 5 day reservation at BLT but they didnt have a room for the last 2 days of our trip. So we are considering of splitting our stay or even staying at Saratoga instead for the full week. The only thing holding us back is being able to walk to/from MK for MNSSHP. He also take naps in the afternoon so it will be convenient to be near MK. We only want to do MK and the 2 water parks this time (maybe DHS if Disney Playhouse is open - closed when we went WDW and closed again at Disneyland).

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

I am enjoying your TR. Glad to hear about the great weather holding through the weekend. We arrive in less than 48 hours!!!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Hello! I hope you can help me. We are thinking of doing a split stay here in October between BLT but also considering a full stay.

I have a 2 yr old son and we would love to be near the new paddock pool and playground. What area of the resort would be closer to these amenities and would not be too far from the bus? We have a 5 day reservation at BLT but they didnt have a room for the last 2 days of our trip. So we are considering of splitting our stay or even staying at Saratoga instead for the full week. The only thing holding us back is being able to walk to/from MK for MNSSHP. He also take naps in the afternoon so it will be convenient to be near MK. We only want to do MK and the 2 water parks this time (maybe DHS if Disney Playhouse is open - closed when we went WDW and closed again at Disneyland).

Once the Paddock pool is open, then the Paddock would be the place to stay at SSR! It doesn't take too long to get to MK once you leave from the resort, but depending on where you get on the bus in the resort, it can take up to 15 minutes before you even leave the resort, plus travel time to MK. So BLT is definitely better if you're walking! We are in the Paddock this trip and it's a 5 minute walk (8 minute stroll) to the Carriage House. We stayed at BLT in January 2009 and loved the convenience of walking to and from the MK.

 

[nzdisneymom]

We didn't stay out as late tonight as last night, so I've had time to upload more pictures and hopefully get today's events posted.

We started the morning early. DS14 and DH have had a longstanding "you're going down!" trash-talking rivalry about Toy Story Mania - and this trip to WDW is no different than any other. Although we had a late night last night, DS14 asked if we could be at Hollywood Studios in time for the opening so we could go ahead and put DH out of his misery. So we were up earlier than we might've otherwise been. DH is a runner, so he went for his morning run while I put cinnamon rolls in the oven (also discovering we don't have a hot pad to get things out of the oven). Got the boys up - they were both just glad to have slept later than a typical school morning, as was I!

We got a bus about 8:25 so were in through the gates and onto Hollywood Boulevard before 9 a.m. The line for the FP's for TSM was longer than the line for the ride itself. We opted to just do stand-by and get a FP later if we wanted (FWIW, when we got done with the ride just over 1/2 hour later, the FP time had jumped from 9:55 to 1:45. And what's with the 50-minute windows? When did that change?). True to his word, DS14 handily beat DH with DS13 coming in 2nd, DH in 3rd, and me in last place as usual (but hey, I always have a higher accuracy rating).

With Star Tours closed, we didn't have much else we wanted to do at DHS, but the boys wanted to go on the Great Movie Ride, so DH and I went through the first part of One Man's Dream.



We will be back at DHS on Wednesday and will finish the exhibit portion and see the film. So much to see and read and just feel. Plus we had told the boys we would meet them when their ride was done. It's so nice to have teenagers that can go do stuff without having constant supervision. They know the parks like the back of their hands - and much better than I do!

We were walking up to our meeting place just as they were getting out of the attraction. The Disney Channel Rocks street show was beginning, so I wanted to see that. DS14 found a place in the shade, DH wandered around, and DS13 and I watched it - much like our experience always was from the time they started the High School Musical street show back in Tomorrowland even before they moved it to MGM / DHS.



I always get emotional when I see these shows thinking about how our children - while so very young when we first started going to WDW - have the opportunity to effect change - to do things with and for their generation to improve the communities they will grow up in. And the messages sent by Disney to this generation are pretty good ones. DS13 and I had a great conversation about it on the bus ride later.

Our lunch plans today were at Tony's Town Square at 1:45. With a late night and early morning, we left DHS before 11 a.m. to have a rest back at the resort. The boys went straight back to the room while DH and I went up to the Carriage House to get some pictures, check out the gym, etc. I'll post the resort pictures separately - probably tomorrow. This is when we got the phone call about the explosion of Diet Coke in the frig.

After everyone had a rest, we went to the MK for our lunch. When we arrived, there was NO ONE in the bag check line except three bag checkers. And we didn't have any wait at the turnstiles. And the front of the park in town square was virtually empty. But no worries - we found the crowd - many of them in Tony's. We had a nice lunch although we had a moment we weren't sure it was going to work out for DS13. The last time we had been there, they had let him get a double child's portion of cheese ravioli and just charge it as a spaghetti. So when I asked if he could get the cheese ravioli today, our server said they didn't have it. I mentioned that we had gotten it before but perhaps the menu offerings had changed and could we please see a child's menu so we could figure out what he might eat - she came back having checked that yes, we could get him the ravioli! DH and I had baked ziti while DS14 had spaghetti.

We exited Tony's around 2:45 so we took the train all the way around the park - we were interested in seeing how things had changed since the Toon Town Fair station was closed. They have signage up for Storybook Circus and we could see some construction through the trees. And Pocohantas didn't sing to us between Frontierland and the TTF station.

The train returned to Main Street just at 3 p.m. as the parade was beginning. We hadn't seen this parade and while we're not big parade watchers, if it's there, I'll watch it, so we did.



Then we scurried through the Emporium and over through Adventureland to be able to cross in Frontierland to get to the Haunted Mansion before the parade blocked us out (did you keep up? We didn't just lose you in the crowd, did we?). I didn't think we could do it, but remember that DS14 I told you about who knows the parks better than I do? He had the route figured out and we made it!

I had recently read on Disney Parks Blog about a new interactive queue they were testing out at the Haunted Mansion, so even though the line said 30 minutes and was wound pretty securely through the switchbacks, we opted to stay in line and see it through to the end. We were glad we did because the new portion really makes the wait more interesting. Here are some photos.




Once we were done with the Haunted Mansion, we headed back "home" for a rest. Our plan was go to go DHS tonight (open late - til 1 a.m.) to see Fantasmic at 8:30 and another go at Toy Story Mania. Did we make it? You'll have to wait to find out!

 

[BigEeyore]

Thanks for sharing your trip! Sounds like you are having a great time. I am looking forward to checking out that new HM queue - looks like fun!

 

[Harlemgirl720]

Glad you are having a great time. I see the weather will be beautiful for the next week. I am keeping my fingers crossed about the weather up here in NYC. Can you believe snow tommorrow into Thursday morning, which we have an 8am flight on Thursday? It shouldn't be much of a problem but stranger things have happened.