FootracerJ
Fire by Arthur
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2010
Overall this may have been the best trip out the 4 times we have been to Disney World. Granted, the special magic of our first visit it 2009 will never be the same, but now that our daughters are 16 and 12, there were some big advantages that offset that: No meltdowns, more things they are able to do, a deeper gratitude for the experience itself, and more stamina. And the character interactions; they cherish these more than they ever did. The characters were all good this time around and provided great and funny experiences. Gaston, Merida, and Alice were standouts, though I’m sure this varies from day to day.
Speaking of interactions, almost all of the cast members were great this time. Two years ago, we had experienced the common concern that the magic was fading and the cast members were losing their charm. Yes, on this latest trip, there were still a few workers that had that end-of-shift impatience and seemed to gloss over my older kids. But overall, most were passionate about their job and some of them went so far above and beyond that it made me feel like the golden days of Disney World were making a comeback.
This was our first time visiting during the Christmas season and we were blown away by the decorations. If you have never been to the castle when it is completely covered in shimmering twinkle lights (magically frozen by Elsa these days), I highly recommend doing it at least once in your lifetime. It is breathtaking.
The Yacht Club: It was fantastic. The feel of the lobby is cozy and classy, especially at Christmas. The Stormalong Bay pool is the most impressive in Disney World, in terms of size and variety. On our "resort day" I floated around the lazy river for a while and slid down the waterslide a handful of times (as all 40 year old Disney World-loving dads should do).
We also watched the Illuminations show several times from outside the Yacht Club resort, in addition to seeing it up close with a fastpass in Epcot. The holiday addition to Illuminations was wonderful and touching. Staying in either Yacht Club, Beach Club, or Boardwalk provides a great atmosphere for seeing the Epcot fireworks, as well as being within walking distance of two parks.
I think the only downside to The Yacht Club was that our room felt a bit old and worn out. Though, this is in comparison to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, which has the most amazing rooms I have ever seen. If it weren't for the distance away from the main parks, Animal Kingdom Lodge would be the hands-down place to stay in Disney World, always.
Animal Kingdom Lodge: As far as the resort by itself, it’s still our favorite. We have visited most of the other resorts, and none of them make you feel like you are in a whole different world like AKL. Even the pool area makes you believe you are exploring deep in the jungle as you seek out another hidden hot tub. The only drawback to Animal Kingdom Lodge is the travel times, which leads me to the most controversial Disney World problem: Scooter abuse.
The scooter abuse problem is getting worse. There has got to be a better solution! I have a caring heart for people with disabilities, but the use of them is growing like crazy. Many cast members have said, off-the-record, that this growth is from people who just don’t want to get too tired by walking in the park. Honestly, those folks are ruining it for the people with legitimate disabilities.
Based on my smartwatch we averaged 8 miles of walking per day in the parks (we were rather hardcore, morning ‘til close go getters—and we were SORE!). So yes, after spending all year in our deep rooted American culture of sedentary life and high sugar processed foods, suddenly walking 8 miles a day is not easy.
BUT, at 1AM, when a big group of people have been waiting for a bus for 25 minutes—and then that bus finally arrives and, at the last minute, here comes a person on a scooter and their entourage of 8 family members . . . . well, sympathy starts to wane. Yes, the entire crowd stands there and groans while watching as the person, who has obviously never operated a scooter before, tries to drive up the ramp and park their machine. Then after that twelve-minute fiasco, the person’s entourage boards. Finally, everyone who has been waiting can get on . . . . except the sorry few that have to stay and wait for the next bus because it’s now full. This happened more times than not as we rode the buses for 10 days. One of the times, the person on the scooter realized they were on the wrong bus and everyone seethed at the sight of them trying to maneuver back down the ramp.
Before I get off this topic, the strollers are also getting bigger and bigger—double and triple strollers have grown more popular. I find myself feeling sorry for the poor dads that have to fold those massive beasts up and carry them on the bus, clunking them against everyone’s knees as they walk down the aisle. I’m not trying to toot my own horn, but when my daughter was 5, she walked the parks—when she was tired, I carried her. I never bruised anyone’s knees on the bus or slammed into their ankles in the park (both of which happened to me on this trip). Granted, I also move out of the way of the people who charge right at you in the walkways without seeming to care. It may seem odd, but I feel compelled to be considerate of those around me, even if it takes some effort.
Anyhow, I don’t want to focus too much on the negative. The only other thing that can be tough is how often other people’s kids are throwing tantrums. You can just feel the frustration of the parents. Here they are giving their child the ultimate dream vacation, DISNEY WORLD! Yet, the kid is screaming because their little mind cannot process the fact that there are still limitations, even in the happiest place on earth. Throw in some heat, lack of sleep, and trying to do as much in the park as possible, and you’ve got a recipe for terrible meltdowns. I’ve always said I would love to live in Disney World . . . . but that is one thing that you can only be around for so long.
Getting back on track, the night shows were phenomenal and continue to make me emotional. The only one that felt lackluster to me was the Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM show in Hollywood Studios. It was fun, but not worth saving a spot for an hour to see it.
The crowd sizes didn’t really bother me this time. They were probably medium-to-high, relatively speaking, but seemed pretty spread out and manageable. There was one extra magic hours day in Magic Kingdom that got bad for a while, but that was it. It amazes me how long people are willing to wait for some things in the standby line. If you are good at using the Fastpass+ system, it doesn’t seem necessary to wait longer than a half hour for any attraction.
This was our first split-stay (Yacht Club, then Animal Kingdom Lodge) and it went smoother than I expected. If you do this, a helpful tip is to keep your clothes and stuff organized during your stay. We had a little bit of a fire drill getting packed up for our transfer that could have been avoided. Also, if we do a split stay in the future, we will try to split it evenly. With 7 nights in Yacht Club and 3 in AKL, we felt like we barely got to enjoy AKL.
Another first for us this trip was NOT having a dining plan. We did save money going that route, though we didn’t order the excessive desserts and snacks that we usually feel “forced” to get when we have a dining plan. When we had a dining plan in the past, it felt like we were always waddling around stuffed to the max with food and ice cream. If that is your thing, the dining plan is worth it, but keep in mind that you are still paying 20% tips with the dining plan—including on all that extra stuff that you may not have ordered out of pocket.
In the future, I will always try to find free-dining deals, because that saves more money than any room discounts will. If I can't get free-dining, I'll go out of pocket.
On a side note, when the servers asked if we were on the dining plan, it always seemed like a look of disappointment flashed across their face when we said “no.” I may have been misinterpreting that, however.
We also used Amazon Now to order snacks to our resort, which arrived within three hours after ordering. I highly recommend this if you have an Amazon prime account. In the future, we will use this service ahead of time and plan some actual meals with it, instead of just an afterthought hodge-podge of crackers and granola bars.
I could write pages about the hundreds of priceless moments we enjoyed—from visiting resorts and seeing the giant gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian, to Russell (from Up) saluting me when he found out I was an Eagle Scout—then making the “drop the mic” gesture when we compared merit badge counts and he had twice as many. Many of these are personal and would come across as rambling in this report.
In the end, it was heart wrenching to leave, as usual. I have to give a big kudos to the Magical Express driver, who softened the blow by asking Disney World Trivia questions on the trip to the airport—making it feel like we still had a cast member with us on that part of the journey.
And, as they say, the best way to get over the post Disney World blues is to start planning your next trip—no matter how far away that might be.
Speaking of interactions, almost all of the cast members were great this time. Two years ago, we had experienced the common concern that the magic was fading and the cast members were losing their charm. Yes, on this latest trip, there were still a few workers that had that end-of-shift impatience and seemed to gloss over my older kids. But overall, most were passionate about their job and some of them went so far above and beyond that it made me feel like the golden days of Disney World were making a comeback.
This was our first time visiting during the Christmas season and we were blown away by the decorations. If you have never been to the castle when it is completely covered in shimmering twinkle lights (magically frozen by Elsa these days), I highly recommend doing it at least once in your lifetime. It is breathtaking.
The Yacht Club: It was fantastic. The feel of the lobby is cozy and classy, especially at Christmas. The Stormalong Bay pool is the most impressive in Disney World, in terms of size and variety. On our "resort day" I floated around the lazy river for a while and slid down the waterslide a handful of times (as all 40 year old Disney World-loving dads should do).
We also watched the Illuminations show several times from outside the Yacht Club resort, in addition to seeing it up close with a fastpass in Epcot. The holiday addition to Illuminations was wonderful and touching. Staying in either Yacht Club, Beach Club, or Boardwalk provides a great atmosphere for seeing the Epcot fireworks, as well as being within walking distance of two parks.
I think the only downside to The Yacht Club was that our room felt a bit old and worn out. Though, this is in comparison to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, which has the most amazing rooms I have ever seen. If it weren't for the distance away from the main parks, Animal Kingdom Lodge would be the hands-down place to stay in Disney World, always.
Animal Kingdom Lodge: As far as the resort by itself, it’s still our favorite. We have visited most of the other resorts, and none of them make you feel like you are in a whole different world like AKL. Even the pool area makes you believe you are exploring deep in the jungle as you seek out another hidden hot tub. The only drawback to Animal Kingdom Lodge is the travel times, which leads me to the most controversial Disney World problem: Scooter abuse.
The scooter abuse problem is getting worse. There has got to be a better solution! I have a caring heart for people with disabilities, but the use of them is growing like crazy. Many cast members have said, off-the-record, that this growth is from people who just don’t want to get too tired by walking in the park. Honestly, those folks are ruining it for the people with legitimate disabilities.
Based on my smartwatch we averaged 8 miles of walking per day in the parks (we were rather hardcore, morning ‘til close go getters—and we were SORE!). So yes, after spending all year in our deep rooted American culture of sedentary life and high sugar processed foods, suddenly walking 8 miles a day is not easy.
BUT, at 1AM, when a big group of people have been waiting for a bus for 25 minutes—and then that bus finally arrives and, at the last minute, here comes a person on a scooter and their entourage of 8 family members . . . . well, sympathy starts to wane. Yes, the entire crowd stands there and groans while watching as the person, who has obviously never operated a scooter before, tries to drive up the ramp and park their machine. Then after that twelve-minute fiasco, the person’s entourage boards. Finally, everyone who has been waiting can get on . . . . except the sorry few that have to stay and wait for the next bus because it’s now full. This happened more times than not as we rode the buses for 10 days. One of the times, the person on the scooter realized they were on the wrong bus and everyone seethed at the sight of them trying to maneuver back down the ramp.
Before I get off this topic, the strollers are also getting bigger and bigger—double and triple strollers have grown more popular. I find myself feeling sorry for the poor dads that have to fold those massive beasts up and carry them on the bus, clunking them against everyone’s knees as they walk down the aisle. I’m not trying to toot my own horn, but when my daughter was 5, she walked the parks—when she was tired, I carried her. I never bruised anyone’s knees on the bus or slammed into their ankles in the park (both of which happened to me on this trip). Granted, I also move out of the way of the people who charge right at you in the walkways without seeming to care. It may seem odd, but I feel compelled to be considerate of those around me, even if it takes some effort.
Anyhow, I don’t want to focus too much on the negative. The only other thing that can be tough is how often other people’s kids are throwing tantrums. You can just feel the frustration of the parents. Here they are giving their child the ultimate dream vacation, DISNEY WORLD! Yet, the kid is screaming because their little mind cannot process the fact that there are still limitations, even in the happiest place on earth. Throw in some heat, lack of sleep, and trying to do as much in the park as possible, and you’ve got a recipe for terrible meltdowns. I’ve always said I would love to live in Disney World . . . . but that is one thing that you can only be around for so long.
Getting back on track, the night shows were phenomenal and continue to make me emotional. The only one that felt lackluster to me was the Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM show in Hollywood Studios. It was fun, but not worth saving a spot for an hour to see it.
The crowd sizes didn’t really bother me this time. They were probably medium-to-high, relatively speaking, but seemed pretty spread out and manageable. There was one extra magic hours day in Magic Kingdom that got bad for a while, but that was it. It amazes me how long people are willing to wait for some things in the standby line. If you are good at using the Fastpass+ system, it doesn’t seem necessary to wait longer than a half hour for any attraction.
This was our first split-stay (Yacht Club, then Animal Kingdom Lodge) and it went smoother than I expected. If you do this, a helpful tip is to keep your clothes and stuff organized during your stay. We had a little bit of a fire drill getting packed up for our transfer that could have been avoided. Also, if we do a split stay in the future, we will try to split it evenly. With 7 nights in Yacht Club and 3 in AKL, we felt like we barely got to enjoy AKL.
Another first for us this trip was NOT having a dining plan. We did save money going that route, though we didn’t order the excessive desserts and snacks that we usually feel “forced” to get when we have a dining plan. When we had a dining plan in the past, it felt like we were always waddling around stuffed to the max with food and ice cream. If that is your thing, the dining plan is worth it, but keep in mind that you are still paying 20% tips with the dining plan—including on all that extra stuff that you may not have ordered out of pocket.
In the future, I will always try to find free-dining deals, because that saves more money than any room discounts will. If I can't get free-dining, I'll go out of pocket.
On a side note, when the servers asked if we were on the dining plan, it always seemed like a look of disappointment flashed across their face when we said “no.” I may have been misinterpreting that, however.
We also used Amazon Now to order snacks to our resort, which arrived within three hours after ordering. I highly recommend this if you have an Amazon prime account. In the future, we will use this service ahead of time and plan some actual meals with it, instead of just an afterthought hodge-podge of crackers and granola bars.
I could write pages about the hundreds of priceless moments we enjoyed—from visiting resorts and seeing the giant gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian, to Russell (from Up) saluting me when he found out I was an Eagle Scout—then making the “drop the mic” gesture when we compared merit badge counts and he had twice as many. Many of these are personal and would come across as rambling in this report.
In the end, it was heart wrenching to leave, as usual. I have to give a big kudos to the Magical Express driver, who softened the blow by asking Disney World Trivia questions on the trip to the airport—making it feel like we still had a cast member with us on that part of the journey.
And, as they say, the best way to get over the post Disney World blues is to start planning your next trip—no matter how far away that might be.
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