Now that we've recuperated from our trip, I thought I'd share our experience at OKW (our home). We (me, DW, DD 3 1/2, DS 22mos.) drove from Houston to Pensacola Beach and spent the night there on Dec. 12. Then drove to WDW on Saturday, Dec. 13. Here we go...
The Rooms: We booked a 2BR lock-off and were assigned 2413 (1BR) and 2414 (Studio). These rooms had just been refurbished, and it showed! They were in excellent condition (and smelled of fresh paint). All new appliances and DVD player! And very conveniently located to the Hospitality House.
Bus Service: We found the bus service to be excellent. Rarely did we wait more than 10 minutes for a bus. Our main bus stop was at Peninsular. Often times we would just miss our bus, but all we had to do was take a short walk to the HH and wait for the pick-up there.
Service: All the Cast Members we encountered were extremely friendly and helpful. Plenty of "Welcome Home"!
Saturday, Dec. 13 We arrived around 7pm, and met up with our friends (husband, wife and 3 yr old son) who had already checked in. This was their first trip to WDW and were in awe of OKW. My brother (U.S. Army Captain) also flew in from AZ and met us there. He was booked at Coronado Springs (he got a good deal through the Army). We went out and ate at Pizzeria Uno. Good stuff! We then went back to the resort. While I watched the kids, the wives went to Publix and picked up some groceries for the week. They were very impressed with Publix -- and I was too, when I went there later in the week.
Sunday, Dec. 14 Woke up to pouring rain. Major bummer. If it was just the adults, we would have braved the weather... but with little kids in strollers... we waited it out. We went and looked around WL, Poly and Contemp. Then back to OKW for kids naps.
The weather started to clear up! So we went to MK for a few hours. My brother got a 5-day Military Salute pass for free, and we were able to get the same for $99!! Sweet deal!! I guess this was like an UPH -- as it was good for DisneyQuest, and PI, too.
The crowds were minimal, so we walked on every ride in FantasyLand! Plus some others. After MK closed, we headed for Epcot to catch the Candlelight Processional (with narrator Steven Curtis Chapman -- one of our favorite performers!). WOW! What an awesome, moving and inspiring presentation! The only problem was that it was getting COLD! And WINDY!
The Rest of the Week: The weather was pretty good the rest of the week, clear and cool to cold. The crowds were really low until Thursday the 18th. Before that, we were able to walk on many attractions, or wait for just a few minutes.
"SpectroMagic Parade" we arrive at MK around 5:55 pm (parade started at 6pm) and parked ourselves in the "island" right at the beginning of Main Street. I couldn't believe how great a spot it was -- up close with lots of interaction from the parade characters.
"Wishes Fireworks" show was fantastic! We watched from the TomorrowLand Pavilion and had a great view.
"Crystal Palace" Character Meal. We celebrated our friends' son's 3rd birthday there as he loves Eeyore. The food was really good and the kids had great interaction with the characters. Though the highlight of the night was when our waitress caught her hair on fire with the candle on the birthday cupcake! (Yes, we caught it on video -- look for it on America's Funniest Home Videos). Actually, the waitress took it all in stride, and it only burned for about a second -- you couldn't even tell (except for the smell of burnt hair. Yuck.)
A couple of things I was able to do this trip that I had never done before (I've been 8 times, I think) were DisneyQuest and the Adventurer's Club!! One night, it was "guys night out". We went to DisneyQuest for a few hours and had a great time. We rode a #5 coaster at CyberSpace Mountain. I'm glad I hadn't eaten much before then!
After DQ closed, we went for a couple of drinks at AC. That was so much fun! We were inducted as honorary members, but didn't stay for any "shows".
Later that week, it was "date night" and my wife and I had dinner at Citrico's at GF. We were very disappointed in the service, very slow and inattentive. And the restaurant was basically empty. The food was OK, but I've had better at California Grille, Artist's Point, Flying Fish, and others. However, we did get a great view of "Wishes" Fireworks again! After dinner, we went the Adventurer's Club and caught Madame Vidalia's show -- very funny!! I can't wait to go back and have another Kungaloosh!!
Summary: We found this to be a great time to go to WDW. We are able to see all the great decorations and hit just about every attraction we wanted to see. If we hadn't "lost" most of the first day due to rain, it would have been just about perfect!!
Now... time to start planning our next trip...
The Rooms: We booked a 2BR lock-off and were assigned 2413 (1BR) and 2414 (Studio). These rooms had just been refurbished, and it showed! They were in excellent condition (and smelled of fresh paint). All new appliances and DVD player! And very conveniently located to the Hospitality House.
Bus Service: We found the bus service to be excellent. Rarely did we wait more than 10 minutes for a bus. Our main bus stop was at Peninsular. Often times we would just miss our bus, but all we had to do was take a short walk to the HH and wait for the pick-up there.
Service: All the Cast Members we encountered were extremely friendly and helpful. Plenty of "Welcome Home"!
Saturday, Dec. 13 We arrived around 7pm, and met up with our friends (husband, wife and 3 yr old son) who had already checked in. This was their first trip to WDW and were in awe of OKW. My brother (U.S. Army Captain) also flew in from AZ and met us there. He was booked at Coronado Springs (he got a good deal through the Army). We went out and ate at Pizzeria Uno. Good stuff! We then went back to the resort. While I watched the kids, the wives went to Publix and picked up some groceries for the week. They were very impressed with Publix -- and I was too, when I went there later in the week.
Sunday, Dec. 14 Woke up to pouring rain. Major bummer. If it was just the adults, we would have braved the weather... but with little kids in strollers... we waited it out. We went and looked around WL, Poly and Contemp. Then back to OKW for kids naps.
The weather started to clear up! So we went to MK for a few hours. My brother got a 5-day Military Salute pass for free, and we were able to get the same for $99!! Sweet deal!! I guess this was like an UPH -- as it was good for DisneyQuest, and PI, too.
The crowds were minimal, so we walked on every ride in FantasyLand! Plus some others. After MK closed, we headed for Epcot to catch the Candlelight Processional (with narrator Steven Curtis Chapman -- one of our favorite performers!). WOW! What an awesome, moving and inspiring presentation! The only problem was that it was getting COLD! And WINDY!
The Rest of the Week: The weather was pretty good the rest of the week, clear and cool to cold. The crowds were really low until Thursday the 18th. Before that, we were able to walk on many attractions, or wait for just a few minutes.
"SpectroMagic Parade" we arrive at MK around 5:55 pm (parade started at 6pm) and parked ourselves in the "island" right at the beginning of Main Street. I couldn't believe how great a spot it was -- up close with lots of interaction from the parade characters.
"Wishes Fireworks" show was fantastic! We watched from the TomorrowLand Pavilion and had a great view.
"Crystal Palace" Character Meal. We celebrated our friends' son's 3rd birthday there as he loves Eeyore. The food was really good and the kids had great interaction with the characters. Though the highlight of the night was when our waitress caught her hair on fire with the candle on the birthday cupcake! (Yes, we caught it on video -- look for it on America's Funniest Home Videos). Actually, the waitress took it all in stride, and it only burned for about a second -- you couldn't even tell (except for the smell of burnt hair. Yuck.)
A couple of things I was able to do this trip that I had never done before (I've been 8 times, I think) were DisneyQuest and the Adventurer's Club!! One night, it was "guys night out". We went to DisneyQuest for a few hours and had a great time. We rode a #5 coaster at CyberSpace Mountain. I'm glad I hadn't eaten much before then!
After DQ closed, we went for a couple of drinks at AC. That was so much fun! We were inducted as honorary members, but didn't stay for any "shows".
Later that week, it was "date night" and my wife and I had dinner at Citrico's at GF. We were very disappointed in the service, very slow and inattentive. And the restaurant was basically empty. The food was OK, but I've had better at California Grille, Artist's Point, Flying Fish, and others. However, we did get a great view of "Wishes" Fireworks again! After dinner, we went the Adventurer's Club and caught Madame Vidalia's show -- very funny!! I can't wait to go back and have another Kungaloosh!!
Summary: We found this to be a great time to go to WDW. We are able to see all the great decorations and hit just about every attraction we wanted to see. If we hadn't "lost" most of the first day due to rain, it would have been just about perfect!!
Now... time to start planning our next trip...
