Ramblings after a super long trip

[Klayfish]

We just finished up a really long trip. Drove down the evening of June 16th (the 17th was our first park day) and drove home on July 4th. That completed our annual pass, which has now expired. We did the classic bookend of two big trips, July 2015 and June 2016 and a bunch of small ones in between (holidays). Some thoughts after having just spent a few weeks there.

First, I'm so sad my annual pass is expired and we won't be going back for another year. I honestly had a hard time going to sleep on the 4th at home. Disney is my happy place. But we've already got our 2017 trip booked and will be buying a new AP then, so I've got that to look forward to.

I mentioned to my wife last night that there's a reason Disney is what it is. Sure, the attractions are all wonderful and there is so much to do. Heck, in the 17 days we were there we didn't get everything on our "wish list" done...just too much to see and do. But at least for me, the CMs are what make Disney the magic place it is. Funny that I say that because I'm not much of a social butterfly. Not a big making friends, hanging out, shooting the breeze, small talk kind of guy. It's just not me. But even I notice and appreciate the lengths the CMs go to make your experience magic. I can't tell you how many CMs waive at us, greet us with a smile, go out of their way to be helpful, have a magic touch with our kids, say hello as we walk by, or just do the right thing. No other place we go to does anything close to what Disney does. I won't say each and every last CM we encountered was Suzy Sunshine, but 98% of them were and the 2% that weren't probably won't be CMs for long (at least not ones interacting with the guests).

Really, that's my biggest take away from having been an AP holder and spending as much time at WDW in the past 12 months as we did (50 total days). I could talk about the rides, but that stuff is very well covered here on this board. So are FP+ and strategies, etc... That stuff was all great. Loved FEA and none of us are big Frozen people. Jungle Book was meh. Crowds were relatively light, which was great. This trip we didn't do a single rope drop, except for one at Blizzard Beach, and we still managed to get all the e-ticket rides, most of them multiple times. But my overwhelming thought was the things Disney and their CMs do to make it "magical". I've already started counting down...and saving up...for our next trip. June 2017 can't come soon enough.

 

[Aliceacc]

What an incredibly kind, upbeat post.

I'm glad you had such a wonderful trip!

 

[Parker Clan]

Great post! How wonderful you got to spend so much time in your happy place!

 

[scrhsa]

My incredibly-painfully shy then 19yr old was singing-loudly- as we walked down main street. Disney/cm's definitely have that affect on people!!!

 

[Raya]

I'm curious where you stayed for that long of a trip. The logistics of being there for that many days have my head spinning. (Our trips have never been longer than 4 days.)

 

[think-like-tink]

What a great post!!

 

[Aurora0427]

I'm curious where you stayed for that long of a trip. The logistics of being there for that many days have my head spinning. (Our trips have never been longer than 4 days.)

We've never done 17 days, but we've done 10 nights. We stayed at the Grand Floridian on a Bounce Back discount. We had groceries delivered and ate breakfast in the room every day. We had bottled water and snacks for the day and for when we were back in the room. Easily could've done another week, but there were only 3 of us- myself, DH, and DD 4.5. My mom was with us but she had her own room.

 

[Klayfish]

I'm curious where you stayed for that long of a trip. The logistics of being there for that many days have my head spinning. (Our trips have never been longer than 4 days.)

We stay off property. We live in Atlanta, so we're close enough to drive...it's about 7-8 hours depending on traffic. We could never stay in a hotel for that length of time. First, there are 5 of us and we wouldn't all fit in one room. Well, I guess we could but we'd go nuts after a few days. Staying that long, we like the ability to do laundry and also have a place to spread out and relax...watch TV, have our own bedroom, etc... Also, my wife and I are both very much into weightlifting and nutrition. We very rarely eat out. My wife is really hard core in nutrition, so we could never do a Disney dining plan. We love the ability to cook our own food and bring it into the parks. A lot of people get turned off by that and think it's "too much work". But honestly, it's not a big deal. The laundry is easy. Just dump it in the machine and wash. We don't cook every day...just like we do at home we cook once in bulk and that meat will last us many nights of dinners. We just throw it into a Thermos. The kids lunches are PB&J or something like that. Throw in some pieces of fruit and a few snacks for them and we're ready to rock and roll. Honestly, we spend less than 20-25 minutes per day prepping/washing/laundry. It's a worthwhile trade off to have a 3 bedroom/2 bath/2 story home to come back to. Specifically, this time we stayed in a place called The Villas at Seven Dwarfs Lane. It's right near the intersection of Rt 192 and Rt 535, which is roughly 5 or 6 miles from Disney entrance, so access is super easy. We paid under $700/week, and had all the amenities of home...plus it has a really nice clubhouse and pool. Target is 1 mile away, Publix is 1.5 miles, etc... We've stayed there several times before and really like the place.

 

[IrishNYC]

Great post!

It really is that Disney attitude, to me, that makes it a place you want to come back to. DH and I had both gone to Disney in 1981, we were both 10 years old then. Neither of us went back until last year when we took our 5 year old, and he only begrudgingly gave in to "doing the Disney thing" for the sake of our princess loving DD. We weren't even home a week before he was trying to figure out how to get just he and I back again less than 6 months later, both financially, and logistically with a) leaving the now 6 year old behind while mom and dad went to Disney, and b) overnight childcare for a long weekend. When it was clear that wasn't happening, we agreed to "someday" it would. Then right after Christmas I got a text, "We should go to Disney for the Halloween party." And the planning began again. He said while a Disney trip is exhausting, we were all so happy there, and it really is worth it. It will never be an every year destination for us as a family vacation, but once we move to Florida and are living 5 hours away, we will go as often as we can.

 

[Aurora0427]

We stay off property. We live in Atlanta, so we're close enough to drive...it's about 7-8 hours depending on traffic. We could never stay in a hotel for that length of time. First, there are 5 of us and we wouldn't all fit in one room. Well, I guess we could but we'd go nuts after a few days. Staying that long, we like the ability to do laundry and also have a place to spread out and relax...watch TV, have our own bedroom, etc... Also, my wife and I are both very much into weightlifting and nutrition. We very rarely eat out. My wife is really hard core in nutrition, so we could never do a Disney dining plan. We love the ability to cook our own food and bring it into the parks. A lot of people get turned off by that and think it's "too much work". But honestly, it's not a big deal. The laundry is easy. Just dump it in the machine and wash. We don't cook every day...just like we do at home we cook once in bulk and that meat will last us many nights of dinners. We just throw it into a Thermos. The kids lunches are PB&J or something like that. Throw in some pieces of fruit and a few snacks for them and we're ready to rock and roll. Honestly, we spend less than 20-25 minutes per day prepping/washing/laundry. It's a worthwhile trade off to have a 3 bedroom/2 bath/2 story home to come back to. Specifically, this time we stayed in a place called The Villas at Seven Dwarfs Lane. It's right near the intersection of Rt 192 and Rt 535, which is roughly 5 or 6 miles from Disney entrance, so access is super easy. We paid under $700/week, and had all the amenities of home...plus it has a really nice clubhouse and pool. Target is 1 mile away, Publix is 1.5 miles, etc... We've stayed there several times before and really like the place.

I looked at your profile pic and can see that your wife is definitely into fitness and nutrition. Her arms look incredible! Definitely hard to stay on a super clean diet at Disney. We do the best we can when we go, but I can definitely see where staying off property helps.

Glad you had such an awesome trip!

 

[NileNellie]

At first when I read your post I thought "goodness I can't imagine staying at WDW for 17 days", as I'd say 4 days would be my max. But then I read that you rent a house and it makes much more sense. You can have some downtime, cook meals, etc. Hard to believe that you still didn't get everything done, but I guess that makes you look forward to your next trip even more!

 

[Klayfish]

At first when I read your post I thought "goodness I can't imagine staying at WDW for 17 days", as I'd say 4 days would be my max. But then I read that you rent a house and it makes much more sense. You can have some downtime, cook meals, etc. Hard to believe that you still didn't get everything done, but I guess that makes you look forward to your next trip even more!

It really came down to a matter of both money and priorities. We've spent a lot of money over the 12 months, between APs, house rental, etc...so we try to limit the amount we spend in the parks. So that put the nix on things like special tours or renting a canoe. We decided to spend the money elsewhere, like going to a nice dinner off property and such. Also, we let the kids chose some of the things they wanted, so we missed out on F! for instance. We've seen it several times over the past year, but we had planned to see it this trip. However, both nights we were in HS late enough for F!, the kids wanted to ride another ride and see Star Wars fireworks instead. There were a few other things that got missed for similar reasons, but we still got a ton done.

I looked at your profile pic and can see that your wife is definitely into fitness and nutrition. Her arms look incredible! Definitely hard to stay on a super clean diet at Disney. We do the best we can when we go, but I can definitely see where staying off property helps.

Thanks!! She's amazing, I work out really hard just to try to keep up with her. Because we eat so clean on a regular basis, I think we'd both get pretty sick if we ate out all the time. Disney does offer healthy alternatives, which is wonderful, but the choices are fairly limited. My wife is at a different level, she's actually prepping for bodybuilding competition, so she ate clean even while in Disney (she had a few cheat items, but not much). I ate a very clean base diet, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy my fair share of treats.

 

[AnnaKat]

I'm glad that your family could enjoy all those days together @ WDW during the last year.
I am intrigued by your family's eating " clean ". I know that diet is important for body building.

By clean diet, AND not wanting to get " sick " from eating on WDW premises, do you mean an organic, non-GMO diet?!
We stayed onsite (DVC) for 17 days on our last trip(Nov./Dec. 15). Nutrition was a big
concern, because good nutrition turned around my health years ago.
We had organic peanut butter & gluten free bread delivered by Garden Grocer. We couldn't eat organic @ WDW's counter service & table service restaurants, but we were very intentional about everything we did eat.

Every year, it gets more difficult, as food quality diminishes, and more foods become GMO.

I admire your & your wife's dedication to fitness & good nutrition.

Oh, lol--we also enjoy desserts whilst @ WDW. A VERY good reason to indulge in gluten, IMO.

 

[Raya]

Thanks!! She's amazing, I work out really hard just to try to keep up with her. Because we eat so clean on a regular basis, I think we'd both get pretty sick if we ate out all the time. Disney does offer healthy alternatives, which is wonderful, but the choices are fairly limited. My wife is at a different level, she's actually prepping for bodybuilding competition, so she ate clean even while in Disney (she had a few cheat items, but not much). I ate a very clean base diet, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy my fair share of treats.

I agree, she looks great! And umm, selfishly... I'm also in Atlanta. If you and your wife ever want to give lessons, let me know!

 

[Accident]

At first when I read your post I thought "goodness I can't imagine staying at WDW for 17 days", as I'd say 4 days would be my max

I thought the same thing until I did it once.. And to be honest, around day 4 or 5 you start to think "how much longer are we here" but that feeling switches back to the more familiar "we only have x more days left". You don't do disney the same way on a long trip as you do a short one.. There is some comfort and relaxation in knowing you can or will come back again within a few days.. it lets you sleep in, rest, not have to run around every night, have a vacaton and just skip different things and make more specific while i'm at this part this time goals. I told my daughter we were learning to be locals who can always come back tomorrow.

 

[GBBTomorrow]

I thought the same thing until I did it once.. And to be honest, around day 4 or 5 you start to think "how much longer are we here" but that feeling switches back to the more familiar "we only have x more days left". You don't do disney the same way on a long trip as you do a short one.. There is some comfort and relaxation in knowing you can or will come back again within a few days.. it lets you sleep in, rest, not have to run around every night, have a vacaton and just skip different things and make more specific while i'm at this part this time goals. I told my daughter we were learning to be locals who can always come back tomorrow.

I've stayed ten days before, and I definitely could have stayed longer. I think two weeks would be wonderful. We are in DVC, so, like the OP, we do laundry and cook a lot of our own food. Oh, I want to go right now!

Great post, OP. Very thoughtful!

 

[marryfrmtx]

What a wonderful upbeat report! Glad you had a magical vacation.

 

[Klayfish]

I'm glad that your family could enjoy all those days together @ WDW during the last year.
I am intrigued by your family's eating " clean ". I know that diet is important for body building.

By clean diet, AND not wanting to get " sick " from eating on WDW premises, do you mean an organic, non-GMO diet?!
We stayed onsite (DVC) for 17 days on our last trip(Nov./Dec. 15). Nutrition was a big
concern, because good nutrition turned around my health years ago.
We had organic peanut butter & gluten free bread delivered by Garden Grocer. We couldn't eat organic @ WDW's counter service & table service restaurants, but we were very intentional about everything we did eat.

Every year, it gets more difficult, as food quality diminishes, and more foods become GMO.

I admire your & your wife's dedication to fitness & good nutrition.

Oh, lol--we also enjoy desserts whilst @ WDW. A VERY good reason to indulge in gluten, IMO.

Actually, for us nutrition is all about the basic macros of proteins, carbs and fats. We don't do any of the "fad" type diets that come and go. Nor do we do the organic/steroid free/only chickens that slept in queen beds and had free range of 1000+ acres stuff. Not that we look for foods covered in pesticides or anything, but for us it's a lot of basics. **I'll put the giant asterisk in that if someone has medical conditions then eat what your doctor says you can/should** The basics in our diet include:
Greek yogurt - store brand
Lean cuts of meat, mostly boneless/skinless chicken - store brand
Salads - store brand
Low carb/high fiber wraps (sorta like tortilla wraps)
Egg whites - store brand
Natural peanut butter - Jiffy or whatever is on sale
Protein powder - from Costco
Veggies

The ratio of proteins/fats/carbs will vary depending on what your goals are, but the body needs all of these elements (again, medical exceptions aside).

This is one of the big reasons we stay off property. I'm pretty into nutrition, though I do allow a cheat meal once per week (I'm trying to bulk). We're so used to eating our nutrition that after a few days of eating out, we'd both feel awful. In fact, our third or fourth day of this vacation I recall feeling pretty crummy while at AK. I had been indulging a bit more than I'm used to. I curbed it back and was fine the rest of the trip.

 

[bjscheel]

Maybe I could stay that long if we weren't worried about pets and jobs But we are, so a week is the max.

We've found almost all CM's to be great. DH is a "making friends, hanging out, shooting the breeze, small talk kind of guy" as you put it, and chats up the CMs from bus drivers to janitors. It can be really interesting!

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

Loved reading your post, and so glad you and your family had a wonderful time. Here's hoping the next year flies by for you!