Our August (3 week stay) High and Lows (long sorry!).

[DLPDreams]

Firstly I’d like to say thank you to those of you on here who helped me with any questions and who kindly share knowledge and tips. This undoubtedly helped make our holiday special and helped things run smoothly overall.

We had a an amazing time and have some very special memories to hold from our time.

I’ll start with the lows, which looking at them are mainly to do with the resort, sadly.

- Old Key West, while it is undoubtedly beautiful and a peaceful place to stay, it just didn’t do it for me. I chose it because of the space it gave the 6 of us and the value offered with the discount and free DDP and for that reason, for this trip it probably was the best for us. However, we just felt it lacked atmosphere in the main areas and after a trip or two, we found the pool a little boring (the lifeguards made for an uncomfortable stay – see later), and again felt it lacked atmosphere (sorry, to those die hard OKW fans), just our opinion.

- I had asked for a high floor on Peninsular Road (I know this isn’t a guarantee) but ended up with a ground floor on Millers Road next to the main road out the back. Straight away I said I wasn’t happy with that allocation due to road noise (and construction there atm) and it took almost 2 hours to find us something else - my poor family had to just wait around in the foyer. As a compromise, and to just get to a villa, I said we would take a top floor further out in the resort. We ended up in building 46 in South Point - not really where I’d wanted to be but was losing the will to live and it was top floor at least – but actually it wasn’t, we got there and within 5 mins of being in realised it was 2nd floor! The allocations manager had given us this villa which was a compromise of far out location over top floor so we weren’t very happy! Back on the telephone, the manager had left for the day, so his replacement had to take over sorting out another villa. We had to stay put for 4 days, and then moved nearer to HH and facilities (top floor!) after that. I am pleased to say we were really happy with the new villa and the housekeeper was amazing but it took a total of 4 hours that night to get the room we were happy with which wasn’t a good start at all. We effectively lost that whole evening. I think had we had a car (see next), building 46 probably wouldn’t have been an issue. But without a car, you spent at least 10 mins on the bus before even leaving the resort!

- The buses. We had a car for 4 days of our trip and had thought that we’d manage on the buses for the rest of our time. I felt like I spent half of my life on the bus and by the time it came to the end of the holiday, the novelty had definitely worn off. We had felt that using a car wouldn’t be necessary especially at the extra cost of 3 weeks for a 7 seater. But, if we were to return, it would definitely be a priority to have a car. I don’t know if we were just unlucky as I’ve read mostly good things about OKW buses, but we often seemed to wait a long while for buses. I recall one evening waiting at MK for a bus and having 3 Wilderness Lodge buses pull in, in the time we waited for 1 OKW bus! OKW always seemed to have the longest queues too – maybe because the buses weren’t that frequent?

- Linked to the above, the amount of time it took to get to places! I knew this would be the case, but in reality, it was harder than I thought. I guess I am just so used to walking in DLP or even in US when we stayed there – it was refreshing to do this. We had a car for most of our other resort meals but did do GF and AK meals by bus/monorail – never again! Twice out of 3 times that we used the monorail it broke down (!), once during a huge storm which meant we were over 40 minutes late for our ADR. It took us approx. 1.45 hrs to get home from AK after our meal.

- Main pool at OKW. As above, we felt it lacked atmosphere, perhaps down to people just ‘coming and going’. But also we felt the lifeguards were a little ‘over the top’ with their constant checking, shouting out and head lolling!? One morning we were there at opening, were the only people in the pool (3 of us) and still the head lolling and shouting between lifeguards continued. We did a Wishes Cruise and the topic came up in conversation with the boat driver, he said he’d previously been a lifeguard for WDW and agreed that the lifeguards at OKW in particular were ‘over zealous’ with their attitude. He said it wasn’t so bad in other resorts but did go on to say that lifeguards are constantly audited etc, so can come across as ‘over the top’. I appreciate we are talking safety here, and there is a fine line, so many people may not agree with me on this. But, it certainly made us feel a little edgy! One day, my youngest DD was floating on her front (for seconds) and she was literally in front of me and was kicking her legs, so wasn’t still, and the lifeguard called out that she shouldn’t lie on her front without swimming! In addition, my children wear pool socks (neoprene swim socks, not shoes), due to problems with verrucas in the past (they are both big swimmers back home with clubs/lessons etc). However, OKW was the only place where they were told they could not wear them on the slide! They were worn at the waterparks without any issues and also Discovery Cove.

- Again, others may not agree with me, but we found a fair few of the CMs at OKW to be unfriendly. We visited many other resorts during our time, and found CMs there to be so much more friendly. I mean, you’d walk past them on the path and smile and they’d look the other way and not even speak. Perhaps it’s a resort more for DVC members or repeat visitors, but you aren’t going to repeat if you aren’t happy there. At AKL the CMs came up and spoke to my DDs, told them things about the hotel etc, said hello as we past them. We also had the same at the Poly – CMs walked past and said hello etc.


So, onto the highs – of which there are many so I’m just going to choose a few!

- Universal Studios. We stayed here first and loved it. This really surprised me as I really felt WDW would be my thing. My DH preferred here. I am not sure what it was, mixture of the scale being smaller – loved being able to walk to the parks rather than transport, without exception we found the CMs all very friendly and just the pace seemed so much slower. We all loved WWOHP – it blew us away, but also we liked many of the 4D rides – my favourite was Transformers which was a total surprise for me as I don’t even really know about it back home!

- RPR hotel – a lovely hotel with friendly staff. We were lucky to get two refurbished rooms with a pretty view. I had emailed the hotel beforehand to ask for adjoining rooms and also away from the pet tower due to allergies. This was noted and replied to very quickly and the rooms reflected this. Big advantage was FOLP and being able to walk to and from the parks/Citywalk. Would definitely stay again.

- US meals – we really enjoyed Bubba Gumps at Citywalk – probably one of our favourite meals of the trip. We also did the Café La Bamba character breakfast and had a great time – we met about 10 characters. The food was OK, but for the price, we felt it was exceptional value for money. We used the VIP area for the afternoon parade given with this package and it was great as all the characters made a real effort with our area.

- WDW meals - We were on the DDP at WDW so had lots of TS meals. We had some amazing meals and found the quality of the food to be very good. Some of favourites were CRT (server was very attentive and food was delicious), Be Our Guest (did lunch & dinner) and Boma. We found it useful to do character meals, just so it meant we didn’t spend too much time queuing for the same characters in the parks. I am not sure I’d do DDP again as there is just sooo much food (we had 2 TS left (due to illness), 6 CS left and 9 snacks left pp!). I think I’d do QSDP and then just pay OOP for a few fave TS meals.

- Discovery Cove – well, what can I say, just an amazing day and probably one of the biggest highlights of the holiday. We all loved the dolphin swim and enjoyed feeding the birds and meeting a very cute sloth too. Just fabulous – highly recommended!

- BBB – the girls both enjoyed this. DD2 had a lovely fairy godmother in training who spent so much time with her. Unfortunately DD1 didn’t have this experience with hers and she was finished within 15 mins which seemed very quick. DD2’s experience took about 30 mins. Overall though the girls really loved it. It was too hot for them to wear their dresses though (one of our hottest days) so we had to change out of them, and then back into them for CRT later that day. If we were to go back at this time of year, I don’t think I’d bother with dresses for them – they really didn’t get that much wear from them as it was just too hot/humid.

- Wishes Cruise – we were really lucky with this. Booked 180 days out. Turned up during a small rumble of far off thunder and a drizzle of rain (taking almost 1.5 hrs to get there!) to be told it would probably be cancelled due to nearby storms. We had to go back in 15 mins to recheck. While waiting it started to clear a little, so, on return, we were told it was going ahead – yay! Our driver was very informative and it was a really special evening. I am glad I did it, but can tick it off my list, not sure I’d repeat due to cost, but great as a one off treat. We were particularly lucky as he told us that the cruises had been cancelled for the previous 5 nights in a row due to weather. In addition, after Wishes, he told us that the other boats had been crowding round us (we didn’t know any other, thought it was just how it was) as we were the only boat with sound! The others hadn’t been able to get it that evening. Tinkerbell was definitely sending us pixie dust that night!

- If I’m honest, Wishes wasn’t my favourite night time display at all (I personally think Dreams at DLP is better), I did like the ‘Celebrate the Magic’ bit on the castle as the preshow though. However, we loved Illuminations and the Frozen Fireworks at HS. We had the premium Frozen package and it was great – especially as you had a stage view as well as firework view which really did enhance the experience. Beautiful, magical firework display.

- Character meets - we met so many amazing characters - my DDs filled almost 2 autograph books! Had some amazing firsts like Tiana, Mulan, Beast, Alice and Mary Poppins. Lovely memories!


So, that’s it really. Like I say, there were more highs but I’ve already written far more than I intended. I had expected to come back pining to return asap, but funnily enough I don’t’ feel like that at all. We did do an awful lot, especially at WDW, so I feel we did everything we had hoped to and managed to repeat some favourites. We were especially blown away by Epcot, which became our favourite park and if we were to return, I think we’d try and stay somewhere nearer there like Boardwalk/Beach Club. We couldn’t help but compare MK at WDW to DLP and we all felt that the latter is better, while smaller, it just has more charm and the castle is stunning and some of the rides are better – BTM being a main one! (although DLP has issues with queuing and smoking but that’s another story!). HS will be great when finished, but at the moment, we felt something was missing. It is better than DLP studios, although with the opening of Ratatouille and expansion of the Toy Story area, it’s a close call. We also love Crush’s coaster at DLP and felt both the ToT and RnRC were better at DLP. We enjoyed AK, but again felt it lacked something, once extended it will be better – Everest was amazing, we enjoyed our first safari (the other times didn’t live up to it) and were absolutely blown away by the Festival of the Lion King – wow!

I think our next Disney park fix will be a return to DLP which we really feel is our ‘home’ - love staying at the DLH and walking into an empty park! But, probably not for some time as we want to travel to other places first. I think we will return to WDW but maybe not for 3-4 years, in anticipation of the expansion they are working on now. Ideally, we’d like to do a California trip too, but again, not sure when that would happen. Overall, we had a really great time at US and WDW and are grateful for the chance to visit for the amount of time we did.

 

[Kath2003]

An interesting read. For older children and adults, Universal wins hands down every time in my opinion. We haven't done WDW for years, other than visiting for a character meal or DTD, because Universal just has the bigger appeal. Glad that overall you enjoyed your trip.

 

[Sam1]

I think the resort you stay at can definitely make the difference with some people. Our first trip was off site at two different hotels and the first one really put a downer on things. It was the Hyatt, but it wasn't for us. The second time we stayed at the Beach Club because Epcot is also our favourite park and it was a totally different experience being able to walk to two different parks, so I don't think I could stay anywhere else now.

 

[chmurf]

sounds like an amazing trip

just to reflect on your lows

your experience with buses it the same as each other guest who have seen 3 buses to somewhere esle before the bus they needed to take.
Simple explanation is that WL is much closer to MK than OKW, therefore, they take less time to and from.
not as simple as that but the short version is that when the destination is closer, buses call more frequently

Disney advises to allow 1hr to 1h30 minutes for transfers using Disney transportation.

Re: Lifeguards
A 3yrs old drowned and lost his life in the main pool at Art Of Animation on July 14th this year.
I would have expected the lifeguards to be extra zealous less than one month after that.

 

[DLPDreams]

sounds like an amazing trip

just to reflect on your lows

your experience with buses it the same as each other guest who have seen 3 buses to somewhere esle before the bus they needed to take.
Simple explanation is that WL is much closer to MK than OKW, therefore, they take less time to and from.
not as simple as that but the short version is that when the destination is closer, buses call more frequently

Disney advises to allow 1hr to 1h30 minutes for transfers using Disney transportation.

Re: Lifeguards
A 3yrs old drowned and lost his life in the main pool at Art Of Animation on July 14th this year.
I would have expected the lifeguards to be extra zealous less than one month after that.

It wasn't just WL though - it was just because that bus stop was next to us that we noticed it - we had a similar experience at DTD for Carribean Beach too. If what you say is true, then shouldn't they put more buses on for those resorts that are further away and spread out those more to nearer resorts? As I said, it did put a dampner on things as it just took so long, but I think if we had a car, it would have been different. I wouldn't go again without a car. Having said all that, the bus drivers were all very nice without exception.

It is difficult for people to realise just how vast WDW is before you get there. But, I think with a little careful planning, you can get to parks easier - as Sam says, staying at a resort near Epcot would be better for us next time if we go again - I guess you learn by experience. I mean, we drove to GF one night, it took 15 mins tops, we bussed and monorailed and it took 1.45 mins! It was nice seeing the other resorts though.

As for the lifeguards - that may well explain it - I wasn't aware of the incident. What an awful thing to happen - poor child and family. But it still doesn't explain why my children couldn't wear their pool socks on the slide when they were allowed everywhere else - it did seem a bit OTT. We got talking to another UK family by the pool and even the DH said he wasn't keen on the main pool because of the lifeguards. His words were they are 'very overpowering'. But, clearly they have a job to do and that is the way they are shown to do it. I've never known lifeguards patrol such a small spot backwards and forwards (I'm talking 5-7 paces) and shout 'clear' across the pool every few seconds though. I can't compare it to any other resort pools at WDW obviously, just going off what our boat skipper said, and what I've experienced in non Disney resorts with pools and lifeguards. We ended up only using the pool 3-4 times as we were out and about so much and didn't enjoy it that much when there.

 

[micksn]

Great to read all your highs. As a fellow DLP fan it was interesting to read about your experience. I think the set up of Universal is similar to DLP which makes it feel more familiar somehow. We are going to have 2 nights there next year to start our holiday off.
It's a shame OKW didn't live up to expectations, I have to say we tend to use the quiet pools there and don't eat much at the resort, but then our DD was 17 last year so we didn't need child friendly. We find it very relaxing and I like having kitchen facilities and a balcony. Having stayed there twice we are going to try somewhere different next time, sadly our budget won't stretch to deluxe (we did love our stay at AKL, our first trip and our DD was then 11 so loved the pool and kids activities) we are hoping to enjoy CSR. I tend to group OKW with the moderates in that they all have lots of bus stops and rooms are accessible from the outside sometimes you just get lucky with buses!
Glad to here you enjoyed your WDW meals and experiences, I like the Epcot fireworks best too! We tend to have more nights there than anywhere else, much more relaxing than Magic Kingdom.

How was the Dreamliner? We've booked it from Newcastle next year we got a great price; it's now gone up another £200 pp. Really looking forward to the flight and being 20 mins away from airport - Much better than the 5 am 3 hour drive to Manchester. I know you did PE, but even if I wanted to it's not available on our flight - must be fully booked now.

Glad you had a good time overall with lots of happy memories

 

[DLPDreams]

An interesting read. For older children and adults, Universal wins hands down every time in my opinion. We haven't done WDW for years, other than visiting for a character meal or DTD, because Universal just has the bigger appeal. Glad that overall you enjoyed your trip.

I was really surprised that we enjoyed US so much. We loved the hotel which helped, and the walking distance etc. Having said that, we loved WDW too - it was magical, truly magical. I didn't feel like that in US but then I did enjoy a lot of the newer technology rides in US - which actually surprised me as I've always loved the old anamatronic type rides at DLP. I don't think I could do a week or two just at US, but I would definitely think about 4 nights or so again.

I think the resort you stay at can definitely make the difference with some people. Our first trip was off site at two different hotels and the first one really put a downer on things. It was the Hyatt, but it wasn't for us. The second time we stayed at the Beach Club because Epcot is also our favourite park and it was a totally different experience being able to walk to two different parks, so I don't think I could stay anywhere else now.

Yes, agreed. OKW seemed the best option for us due to space and the available deal this time. But, I'd think twice about staying there again. I loved the feel of AKL and had a quick look at the Villas too, also loved the Poly and the hustle of the communal areas (something that was missing at OKW which I hadn't really thought about!). But, I think Epcot area would suit us more - would just depend on budget, but I think I'd look at hiring DVC points to make it a bit more reasonable and we wouldn't go for 3 weeks if we return - it would be 2. Interesting what you say about the Beach Club - it's just it is expensive for 6 people to stay there. I doubt my parents would return though. It was a one off for them definitely - they had an amazing time too though.

 

[DLPDreams]

Great to read all your highs. As a fellow DLP fan it was interesting to read about your experience. I think the set up of Universal is similar to DLP which makes it feel more familiar somehow. We are going to have 2 nights there next year to start our holiday off.
It's a shame OKW didn't live up to expectations, I have to say we tend to use the quiet pools there and don't eat much at the resort, but then our DD was 17 last year so we didn't need child friendly. We find it very relaxing and I like having kitchen facilities and a balcony. Having stayed there twice we are going to try somewhere different next time, sadly our budget won't stretch to deluxe (we did love our stay at AKL, our first trip and our DD was then 11 so loved the pool and kids activities) we are hoping to enjoy CSR. I tend to group OKW with the moderates in that they all have lots of bus stops and rooms are accessible from the outside sometimes you just get lucky with buses!
Glad to here you enjoyed your WDW meals and experiences, I like the Epcot fireworks best too! We tend to have more nights there than anywhere else, much more relaxing than Magic Kingdom.

How was the Dreamliner? We've booked it from Newcastle next year we got a great price; it's now gone up another £200 pp. Really looking forward to the flight and being 20 mins away from airport - Much better than the 5 am 3 hour drive to Manchester. I know you did PE, but even if I wanted to it's not available on our flight - must be fully booked now.

Glad you had a good time overall with lots of happy memories

You are probably right about US being a similar set up to DLP. I think there are bits of DLP I prefer and bits of WDW I prefer. The thing is, they are different beasts so it is unfair to compare them really - it's like apples and pears. It was just the MK in particular that I was comparing as it is probably the most comparable of the parks.

We had 3 nights at RPR although we booked 4, and I wish we'd stayed the extra night now. DH wanted to see the Blue Man Group!

OKW is relaxing - it is beautiful but just lacked atmosphere for us. I get that hustle and bustle isn't what it is about, and with hindsight, I don't think the 'scene' was for us. It's not that we hated it - we had a great stay no matter, but I just wouldn't pick there again unless it was an amazing deal (and I had a car!). Also, if there were just the 4 of us, I think we could look more easily at other options.

Illuminations literally took my breath away - we had a great view as waited almost an hour (we were happy to as were tired and had grabbed drinks so were happy to just people watch while waiting). I didn't get that with Wishes which surprised me. Frozen fireworks also took my breath away as we were so close to them and the stage. I also really liked Fantasmic although sadly we only got to see it once.

The DL was lovely - mind you, they literally threw food at you in PE. I couldn't eat it all!! The legroom was fab and nothing was too much trouble. Have to say, I didn't sleep much on the return as the recline in PE isn't that great (not sure about ecy). I would definitely fly on it again and if budget was available would go PE. The biggest bonus was we were first off the plane at Sanford - literally first in the hall. We were through immigration and had our luggage, and out within 15-20 mins of landing. So early that we had to wait 5 mins for our driver as he didn't think we'd be through so quickly! We enjoyed the lounges both ways etc. It cost us £169 pp for PE (once you deducted ecy seat/baggage cost). Well worth it. And the IFE was superb too - I took all these things for my DDs to occupy them and other than making 'mousekeeping envelopes', and a few bits of drawing they were kept amused by the films and the games! I am sure you will enjoy it. I felt so ill coming off the flight on Friday morning, I looked at DH and said can you imagine getting in the car and driving for 2.5-3 hours now and he just looked and said 'no way'. It was lovely to be home within 20 minutes!

 

[BudgieMama]

I keep hearing good things about the Dream Liner. I wish BA would use it! Who did you fly with?

 

[1andrea]

We love Universal too!

We visited OKW with a car and found it fine but we did try to take a bus and it broke down before it left the resort. We waited on it for about 20 mins before we walked back to the car!!

 

[chmurf]

I wouldn't go again without a car.

that's us.
Even if we stay onsite, we always get a car. (anyway, USA is spelled C.A.R. in our dictionnary)
Only place we don't drive to is MK and back, unless we park hop from MK

Disney transportation is efficient. But if it comes free, it still has a price tag attached, and that price is time, not money.

After all, the resort is the size of the city of Paris, or San Fransisco. Disneyland Paris as a whole resort (both parks, village, hotels, and parking lot) fits in the footprint of Disney's Animal Kingdom.

you know it's big, but you don't realise how big until you get there

 

[DLPDreams]

I keep hearing good things about the Dream Liner. I wish BA would use it! Who did you fly with?

We flew with Thomson from Newcastle. They do seem to fly the DL from quite a few UK airports - I'm sure Birmingham as well as East Midlands etc too. Might be worth looking at. On the whole, they tend to be more expensive than the scheduled although this tends to be in school holidays, you can get a bargain if you are travelling outwith those times.

We love Universal too!

We visited OKW with a car and found it fine but we did try to take a bus and it broke down before it left the resort. We waited on it for about 20 mins before we walked back to the car!!

Oh dear - at least that never happened to us. And once we moved rooms we were last stop getting on and first stop getting off so didn't have to travel around the resort to get out. I think we had the luck you had with the monorail instead - ha ha! I mean breaking down twice out of 3 trips - yikes!

that's us.
Even if we stay onsite, we always get a car. (anyway, USA is spelled C.A.R. in our dictionnary)
Only place we don't drive to is MK and back, unless we park hop from MK

Disney transportation is efficient. But if it comes free, it still has a price tag attached, and that price is time, not money.

After all, the resort is the size of the city of Paris, or San Fransisco. Disneyland Paris as a whole resort (both parks, village, hotels, and parking lot) fits in the footprint of Disney's Animal Kingdom.

you know it's big, but you don't realise how big until you get there

I totally agree with you. To be fair, so many people said before we went (on here as well) about a car but I just didn't appreciate it. To be fair most journeys to Epcot and HS were only 10-15 mins once on the bus (unless it was a shared waterpark bus), but you have to factor in waiting for the bus at either end.

Agreed about MK and using WDW transport for that. But, I can't think of another reason, although we did find if we stayed later until fireworks, we got out of the bus station quicker than the cars bumper to bumper in the car park as they used a different route to get around the car park.

Yes, I am guilty of not realising the sheer scale involved - you can tell people, but I think until you experience it, you just can't believe it.

Alas, we had a great time but would probably do it differently if we were to return. I have just been sorting through our Photoconnect photos this afternoon and we have been laughing so much - can't wait to start on the MM ones!. Priceless memories .

 

[wayneg]

Very few people realise the size of the resorts or the size of WDW until they get there.
We just wouldn't holiday there without a car, the 4 times we have stayed at OKW we have had a car the whole time and just used the buses the odd time (MK, HS & Hoop Dee Doo usually) Doesn't really matter where you stay in the resort you have to spend more time on the bus when you leave or when you return, Millers Rd is the last collection point around the resort and you can get off and walk from the first drop when returning so probably about best location for buses but more often than not after a hot day in a park we would stay on the bus for the A/c than walk.
We never use the main pool, prefer the smaller pools around the resort, no life guards there.
DC is the most relaxing place out there, done it twice, amazing place.
Festival of the Lion King is one of our fave shows.
Sounds like a great trip.

 

[Tony Bush]

More highs than lows ! Always a good thing
Glad you had a great time - the first one is always a learning experience but it just gets better and better with every subsequent visit, believe me!
Are you going to put together a trip report ?

Tony

 

[joolz1910]

Sounds like you had a great trip, welcome back xx

 

[jothp]

Glad to hear you had a great trip and made lots of lasting memories.

 

[dixonsontour]

I like a nice detailed highs and lows

Glad you had a good trip after all your planning

We are Universal parks only again this year, MY DH and now DD prefer it.

We've stayed twice at OKW but turtle pond area. The pool there was lovely but no lifeguards. I wasn't keen on the main OKW pool. The lifeguards are very vigilant at Cabana bay too although I didn't here them shouting. I have heard they test them and if they don't react quickly then they get pulled off the job. I'd not heard a boy died this year but I know an older boy died at an all star resort last year.

 

[dixonsontour]

We also have a car if we are onsite. Have tried with a car just for the weekends once but definitely prefer with car.

 

[tinkerpea]

We actually never used to use a car, until the last two trips,
We always thought that the disney transport was amazing, we stayed at pop twice as our first on resort stays,and the bus system from there was fab.
Our next stay was 3wks at akl and it was further out,so took a little longer,but with the kids being 5-5-7 at the time we didn't mind it at all.

I know when we did our first stay at ssr (alot like okw) we was shocked at the size, and didn't think we would enjoy our stay, I even had back up plans to move if need be, but we fell in love with the place, the pools I feel are better than okw and the villas where great!
After that 3wk stay we decided the next stay at ssr ( after our amazing stay for 16nights at polynesian) would be dine with a car,
Once we stayed with the car even though we had never had issues with the buses etc we was like Wow!! Never realised how great it would be to have a car, and use the bus for MK only.
It made getting to dinner adrs at resorts so much easier! We also loved having water Park clothes and towels in the car,for afternoon breaks..
I have never experienced the life guards being as bad as what you experienced, they are vigilant,but nothing that I've ever actually noticed to be over the top, I feel the drowning may well have made them extra vigilant.

We also did Rpr for 5 nights, last trip, and really didn't think the resort was that amazing, I prefer onsite at Disney.
Although we enjoyed the activities more around the pool then disney! The prizes where far far better for adults!
Walking to the parks was a great perk though,and next year in September I have booked 4 nights at Hrh.

I would not do disney without a car now, even though I can cope perfectly well without one, life was far easier with it.
Also no taxi fee to think of if you want to shop,eat off site.
I would not hire it for universal part of the trip though, the parking fee is ridiculous.

We did a illuminations cruise,and found it amazing! Far more immersive then wishes, we've done the frozen package too. And while great I still prefer wishes funnily enough from the back of the castle.
Disney Paris has never appealed to me as much as DW which is strange as I did 8months working as a friend of Tinkerbell and Alice there, so thought it would.

Our next stay will be at beach club, and I am so looking forward to walking to the dining options.

 

[DLPDreams]

Very few people realise the size of the resorts or the size of WDW until they get there.
We just wouldn't holiday there without a car, the 4 times we have stayed at OKW we have had a car the whole time and just used the buses the odd time (MK, HS & Hoop Dee Doo usually) Doesn't really matter where you stay in the resort you have to spend more time on the bus when you leave or when you return, Millers Rd is the last collection point around the resort and you can get off and walk from the first drop when returning so probably about best location for buses but more often than not after a hot day in a park we would stay on the bus for the A/c than walk.
We never use the main pool, prefer the smaller pools around the resort, no life guards there.
DC is the most relaxing place out there, done it twice, amazing place.
Festival of the Lion King is one of our fave shows.
Sounds like a great trip.

Yes, car point definitely taken!

Didn't realise that about the small pools. They may have appealed more to us, although the girls like a slide!

I'd do DC again in a heartbeat. DD1 asked while we were there if there was any spare time, could we come back during the holiday. I politely coughed and told her it was quite a lot of money (cost over £900 for the 4 of us with the swim!). It was amazing though - she's hooked on snorkelling now.

More highs than lows ! Always a good thing
Glad you had a great time - the first one is always a learning experience but it just gets better and better with every subsequent visit, believe me!
Are you going to put together a trip report ?

Tony

Yes, I think you are right and learning. I am not sure my DH would agree about trying again though - ha ha.

I won't be doing a report as I didn't keep notes. I am kicking myself now after reading Portugal's report. I have done 7 Disney holidays and only done TRs for the first 2 and they are lovely to look back through. I really don't think I could remember much of what we did during the 3 weeks - not in order anyway. We did mostly stick to my park plan, but did switch the odd day.

We also have a car if we are onsite. Have tried with a car just for the weekends once but definitely prefer with car.

Yes, can see the appeal. Also, I believe OKW is one of the most convenient for parking too. The time we had the car, we had no issues with parking. DH wasn't keen to drive all the time (and I didn't fancy trying), but after half an hour, he was fine and actually said he would have been fine to drive most of the trip! If I'd known that before, it might have been different.

We actually never used to use a car, until the last two trips,
We always thought that the disney transport was amazing, we stayed at pop twice as our first on resort stays,and the bus system from there was fab.
Our next stay was 3wks at akl and it was further out,so took a little longer,but with the kids being 5-5-7 at the time we didn't mind it at all.

I know when we did our first stay at ssr (alot like okw) we was shocked at the size, and didn't think we would enjoy our stay, I even had back up plans to move if need be, but we fell in love with the place, the pools I feel are better than okw and the villas where great!
After that 3wk stay we decided the next stay at ssr ( after our amazing stay for 16nights at polynesian) would be dine with a car,
Once we stayed with the car even though we had never had issues with the buses etc we was like Wow!! Never realised how great it would be to have a car, and use the bus for MK only.
It made getting to dinner adrs at resorts so much easier! We also loved having water Park clothes and towels in the car,for afternoon breaks..
I have never experienced the life guards being as bad as what you experienced, they are vigilant,but nothing that I've ever actually noticed to be over the top, I feel the drowning may well have made them extra vigilant.

We also did Rpr for 5 nights, last trip, and really didn't think the resort was that amazing, I prefer onsite at Disney.
Although we enjoyed the activities more around the pool then disney! The prizes where far far better for adults!
Walking to the parks was a great perk though,and next year in September I have booked 4 nights at Hrh.

I would not do disney without a car now, even though I can cope perfectly well without one, life was far easier with it.
Also no taxi fee to think of if you want to shop,eat off site.
I would not hire it for universal part of the trip though, the parking fee is ridiculous.

We did a illuminations cruise,and found it amazing! Far more immersive then wishes, we've done the frozen package too. And while great I still prefer wishes funnily enough from the back of the castle.
Disney Paris has never appealed to me as much as DW which is strange as I did 8months working as a friend of Tinkerbell and Alice there, so thought it would.

Our next stay will be at beach club, and I am so looking forward to walking to the dining options.

Yes, for the resorts in particular it's just soooo long getting there. I couldn't believe 15 mins in car vs 1.45 mins on transport!

I did wonder about SSR mainly because you can walk easily to DTD. There was the odd night at OKW where I'd had vague plans to get the boat to DTD and get a QS there, but we were just too tired to get the boat (and found it was packed at night so you needed to be there a good 15 mins before to ensure you got on it as they are strict about numbers). We just couldn't be bothered to faff about. So ended up eating at GTG a bit more than I probably would have liked for QS, but as I said elsewhere, they were very accommodating with the menu and swaps etc. Still think it would be nice to walk to a park and Epcot was amazing, so that would be probably be my choice of location. I am sure you'll love walking to so many great food options - yum!

Just shows how everyone is different as we loved RPR. I love the theming but like the fact the lobby isn't too dark (unlike the Poly - which I do also love btw). We didn't visit the pool but it looked really nice. We found the staff very friendly there too and loved our refurbed room. I would have liked to have had a meal in the hotel, but there just wasn't time.

I know lots of people prefer WDW to DLP for many reasons. It is a bit unfair to compare them though as they are different resorts - one is a short break destination with a euro flavour, the other can be a 2-3 week holiday with a US spin! I only really compared MK and prefer DLP MK - it is just so pretty - love visiting the Dragon in the castle and can spend ages looking at the stained glass windows! Perhaps because you spent so much time at DLP for work, it doesn't appeal - it's not for everyone. I also like the fact the flight is 2 hours and it's not so hot lol! But, I wouldn't say I prefer DLP over WDW overall though - I think they both have their magic, but in different ways.