OurOhana
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2009
- Messages
- 385
Weve done a cruise trip report, and started a second cruise report. But weve never done a WDW trip report. We thought wed do a short one about our impressions, since this was our first time staying on site in a long time. Both of us have stayed on property years and years ago when we were growing up, but we haven't done it together. Usually, we get a condo or suite nearby.
Details - We checked in Wednesday night, and out on Sunday morning. We stayed at the All-Star Movies Resort, room 5713 (Fantastia) We went to Hollywood Studios and the Magic Kingdom. We live about 2 ½ hours away. We drove to the resort, and mostly used Disney transportation. It was just me (37) DH (51) and DD (4).
Overall We had a great, relaxing time. We decided before we left that this would be a laid-back trip. No rushing to see everything and being exhausted at the end of the day. (best tip I got from the disboards) Wed gone to WDW in January and arent too far away, so no need to try to see everything. So we spent about half a day at each park and then spent time swimming in the afternoon. Very nice.
The resort A fellow guest described it as a Motel 6, but Disney themed. I thought it was pretty accurate. There was nothing wrong with the room, but it was nothing great. It needed a little TLC, but just as everyone on the board points out if youre not planning to spend a lot of time in the room, its no big deal. And it wasnt. We brought a coffee maker (I never would have thought it wouldn't have a coffee maker, but I knew it because I read the dis boards ahead of time) with us, as well as a small refrigerator. We also had a cooler (and only needed the cooler.) The room was pretty small. We didnt take pictures, because there are great ones on the boards already. Nothing much more we could add. The bedding was clean, the staff was friendly, the resort grounds were great. We had a great time in the pool. While the room might have fit in a Motel 6, the resort grounds were definitely nice. While we always enjoy a slide at other resorts weve stayed at, we didnt miss it here. Its a really large pool, with plenty of space for all of the people there. We had a blast, and our daughter was able to practice her swimming. The only odd moment was when someone moved our stuff off the one chair we were using. There were plenty of chairs, so no reason to move anything. Oh well. No big deal, and it didnt happen again.
Resort food court We really werent looking forward to trying this. In general, weve never been overly excited about Disney food at the parks, so we werent expecting much. We were pleasantly surprised. We were using our Disney Visa Rewards redemption points on this trip, so we wanted to eat on property as much as possible so we didnt spend money out of pocket for food. Here were some of the things we had: meatball sub (really good) pizza (good) chicken alfredo (really good, chicken was crunchy on the outside, moist inside, sauce was kind of bland, but fine) ice cream sundaes (really good and big, and the chocolate chip and cookie dough ice creams were filled with chips and cookie dough pieces. Yum). I had read that the food was good, but was really not expecting it to be as good as it was. I got the alfredo based on reading what others had to say about it. And they were right. Im glad I read the boards ahead of time.
Other food We went to T-Rex one night. We had the sampler appetizer (the chicken quesadilla and bruschetta were the best. Onion rings were pretty good. Queso was not all that great.) DH got a burger. It was very large, and pretty basic. Nothing to write home about, but not bad. I got a grilled chicken salad. I thought it was really good. DD got the popcorn shrimp. They were pretty good. Overall, the food was better than I expected for a touristy restaurant. But it was a bit pricey. So if you want to go for the great atmosphere, I dont think youll be disappointed with the food, so long as you expect the price.
We went to The Plaza restaurant in the Magic Kingdom for lunch. We didnt have a reservation, we just got there at 11 a.m. when It opened and were allowed in. I got a burger, which was decent. DH got a Rueben and thought it was really good. Our DD got a cheeseburger. It came with grapes and fries and they brought out an ice cream at the end. We would go back again. We thought it was pretty good.
We ate at the Commissary at Hollywood Studios. I got a chicken sandwich, which was just OK. DH got a burger, which was basic. We also split the fish, which was pretty good and hot.
We had dinner at the Trails End Restaurant at the Fort Wilderness Resort. It was a great chance to get a quick look at the resort grounds, which looked nice. The restaurant was good. We were again surprised. The buffet had fried chicken, prime rib, peel and eat shrimp, pasta, salads, corn, green beans, carrots, chili, salad fixins, ribs and other things Im sure Im forgetting. For dessert, they had ice cream with various toppings, cookies, brownies, cakes, etc. We would do this again.
For the room, we brought lunchables for our daughter, a half gallon of milk, cereal (plastic cups and silverware) muffins, oranges, snacks, a gallon of iced tea, juices, sodas, bottled waters. We were trying not to spend a ton, and this helped us. For instance, we didnt buy any drinks at the resort, we always had our own. And we never bought breakfast. We had our own.
Ending thoughts Since we live nearby, its easy enough for us to drive around and stay offsite. That would mean a larger room with a kitchen, etc, which is kind of nice for longer vacations. But I will say it was nice not to have to drive a lot by staying on property. For people coming from out of town whod prefer not to worry about driving around, staying on property is a great way to go.
Weve now gone on three Disney cruises (the last two were back-to-back) and we really love them. While visiting the parks is fun, we prefer the cruises. I think the parks will even be more fun when our daughter is old enough to stay up later and head back to the parks for the evening parade/fireworks, etc. But just as the cast members are great on the cruises, theyre great at the resort and parks. It was just easier for us to get to know the CMs on the cruise a bit better since we saw them more often.
Ive never done a short trip report before, so I hope I got to all of the big things. Please let me know if you have questions. And thanks to all of you who post regularly who helped us to plan our vacation.
Details - We checked in Wednesday night, and out on Sunday morning. We stayed at the All-Star Movies Resort, room 5713 (Fantastia) We went to Hollywood Studios and the Magic Kingdom. We live about 2 ½ hours away. We drove to the resort, and mostly used Disney transportation. It was just me (37) DH (51) and DD (4).
Overall We had a great, relaxing time. We decided before we left that this would be a laid-back trip. No rushing to see everything and being exhausted at the end of the day. (best tip I got from the disboards) Wed gone to WDW in January and arent too far away, so no need to try to see everything. So we spent about half a day at each park and then spent time swimming in the afternoon. Very nice.
The resort A fellow guest described it as a Motel 6, but Disney themed. I thought it was pretty accurate. There was nothing wrong with the room, but it was nothing great. It needed a little TLC, but just as everyone on the board points out if youre not planning to spend a lot of time in the room, its no big deal. And it wasnt. We brought a coffee maker (I never would have thought it wouldn't have a coffee maker, but I knew it because I read the dis boards ahead of time) with us, as well as a small refrigerator. We also had a cooler (and only needed the cooler.) The room was pretty small. We didnt take pictures, because there are great ones on the boards already. Nothing much more we could add. The bedding was clean, the staff was friendly, the resort grounds were great. We had a great time in the pool. While the room might have fit in a Motel 6, the resort grounds were definitely nice. While we always enjoy a slide at other resorts weve stayed at, we didnt miss it here. Its a really large pool, with plenty of space for all of the people there. We had a blast, and our daughter was able to practice her swimming. The only odd moment was when someone moved our stuff off the one chair we were using. There were plenty of chairs, so no reason to move anything. Oh well. No big deal, and it didnt happen again.
Resort food court We really werent looking forward to trying this. In general, weve never been overly excited about Disney food at the parks, so we werent expecting much. We were pleasantly surprised. We were using our Disney Visa Rewards redemption points on this trip, so we wanted to eat on property as much as possible so we didnt spend money out of pocket for food. Here were some of the things we had: meatball sub (really good) pizza (good) chicken alfredo (really good, chicken was crunchy on the outside, moist inside, sauce was kind of bland, but fine) ice cream sundaes (really good and big, and the chocolate chip and cookie dough ice creams were filled with chips and cookie dough pieces. Yum). I had read that the food was good, but was really not expecting it to be as good as it was. I got the alfredo based on reading what others had to say about it. And they were right. Im glad I read the boards ahead of time.
Other food We went to T-Rex one night. We had the sampler appetizer (the chicken quesadilla and bruschetta were the best. Onion rings were pretty good. Queso was not all that great.) DH got a burger. It was very large, and pretty basic. Nothing to write home about, but not bad. I got a grilled chicken salad. I thought it was really good. DD got the popcorn shrimp. They were pretty good. Overall, the food was better than I expected for a touristy restaurant. But it was a bit pricey. So if you want to go for the great atmosphere, I dont think youll be disappointed with the food, so long as you expect the price.
We went to The Plaza restaurant in the Magic Kingdom for lunch. We didnt have a reservation, we just got there at 11 a.m. when It opened and were allowed in. I got a burger, which was decent. DH got a Rueben and thought it was really good. Our DD got a cheeseburger. It came with grapes and fries and they brought out an ice cream at the end. We would go back again. We thought it was pretty good.
We ate at the Commissary at Hollywood Studios. I got a chicken sandwich, which was just OK. DH got a burger, which was basic. We also split the fish, which was pretty good and hot.
We had dinner at the Trails End Restaurant at the Fort Wilderness Resort. It was a great chance to get a quick look at the resort grounds, which looked nice. The restaurant was good. We were again surprised. The buffet had fried chicken, prime rib, peel and eat shrimp, pasta, salads, corn, green beans, carrots, chili, salad fixins, ribs and other things Im sure Im forgetting. For dessert, they had ice cream with various toppings, cookies, brownies, cakes, etc. We would do this again.
For the room, we brought lunchables for our daughter, a half gallon of milk, cereal (plastic cups and silverware) muffins, oranges, snacks, a gallon of iced tea, juices, sodas, bottled waters. We were trying not to spend a ton, and this helped us. For instance, we didnt buy any drinks at the resort, we always had our own. And we never bought breakfast. We had our own.
Ending thoughts Since we live nearby, its easy enough for us to drive around and stay offsite. That would mean a larger room with a kitchen, etc, which is kind of nice for longer vacations. But I will say it was nice not to have to drive a lot by staying on property. For people coming from out of town whod prefer not to worry about driving around, staying on property is a great way to go.
Weve now gone on three Disney cruises (the last two were back-to-back) and we really love them. While visiting the parks is fun, we prefer the cruises. I think the parks will even be more fun when our daughter is old enough to stay up later and head back to the parks for the evening parade/fireworks, etc. But just as the cast members are great on the cruises, theyre great at the resort and parks. It was just easier for us to get to know the CMs on the cruise a bit better since we saw them more often.
Ive never done a short trip report before, so I hope I got to all of the big things. Please let me know if you have questions. And thanks to all of you who post regularly who helped us to plan our vacation.
