bigsmooth
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2004
- Messages
- 269
Had our second trip home the week of New Year's. First trip to WDW when the parks were truly crowded- which made me appreciate DVC all the more. Nice to have a spacious room to come back to and relax in when battling crowds.
What we really liked:
1) Really enjoyed the unit, view out the balcony and proximity to DtD. Made it to Goofy's Candy company a couple of times. Walked back with a Butterfinger covered caramel apple. I'm pretty sure that this technically qualifies as a health food because of the apple content. Plus, do calories really count at Disney World?
2) NYE Fireworks at DtD. We alternated between our balcony and the poolside party (balcony looked out over the pool towards House of Blues). We'd BBQ'd steaks down by the pool that night, first time using the BBQ facilities. Worked great. That is one heck of a fireworks show, much better than I thought it would be. Close enough to really feel the fireworks, as well as see them. Incredible.
3) California Grill. First time there. Not a Contemporary fan, but I'll go to the Ca Grill again in a heartbeat. Loved the view, watched the fireworks
4) TeppanEdo. First time for this as well. Enjoyed watching the Chef prepare the meal, and consuming it wasn't that bad either. Yes, I have food related events dominating my top 5. Did not even mention the fun at Hoop De Doo, which included good food and getting picked on throughout the show by the stage entertainers.
5) DW raved about the Spa at SSR again. She's not the Disney fan like I am. So I use the spa to entice her to more frequent trips than she'd normally like to take.
Some of the negatives
1) The weather in the middle of the week. Yes, we saw the long range forecasts so we brought our warm winter wear. And we know winter weather in Florida can be unpredictable. But still did not stop me from being annoyed
2) Just was not our week for bus transportation. We waited under 15 minutes for a bus probably just once the whole week. We actually waited 45 minutes or longer three times during the week. The kicker was one day when we saw the MK bus pulling away as we walked to the Congress Park stop. I told my wife that was a bad sign. We saw 6, count them 6 Animal Kingdom buses before we saw another MK bus that was so packed that it skipped the Springs stop on the way out. Understand part of this was luck and timing. Know what I'd love to see? A close caption system pointing at the front security gate tied to a cable channel. That way at least I could kill time in my unit with the TV showing the traffic through the front gate. Instead of waiting 45 minutes at the bus stop, I could instead watch for the bus I want in the condo, and then walk out when I see the bus I want clearing the front gate. Just a thought.
3) Double wide strollers. I know, I know, if you have two young kids you need to transport them. But some of you out there, admit it. You get a certain gleam in your eye with those crowded walkways as you plow through with reckless abandon.
4) IASW. I threatened my kids prior to the trip that if they played the Small World soundtrack from their WDW CD that I would pull the plug on the whole trip. I thought I had them convinced to bypass the ride all together when my Father In Law exclaimed: "You made me ride Everest, at least you can do is ride Small World". In the spirit of family harmony, and the fact he was a good trooper and rode on Everest I made it through IASW. Both daughters thought it was good to sing the theme song constantly the rest of the trip, exclaiming that there was no way I could deny them the trip since we were already there.
5) Splash Mountain. Yes, this is one of my favorites. But with the temperatures plummeting below 45 and the wind howling, we used our fast passes and got on the ride, taking my 6 year old daughter for the first time. I assured here we would not get that wet. We sat in the back to ensure a maximum level of dryness. You know that effect that shoots a bunch of water up as the logs go down? You can time that perfectly with another log winding its way around the bottom not soon after leading the load area. By perfect timing, I'm talking direct shot sideways. My father in law gladly pointed out that I was responsible for selecting Splash Mountain, and at least on Small World we did not get soaked on a 45 degree day. I thought about arguing points about ear damage and possible damaging subliminal messages that I'm sure Disney hides in that ride, but decided to glumly concede the point.
Still in the post vacation funk. Sad realization is that we won't be coming back until October 2009 (although we are going to use some points to do a Grand California stay later this year). I'll have to use these boards to enjoy DVC through others at least for a while.
What we really liked:
1) Really enjoyed the unit, view out the balcony and proximity to DtD. Made it to Goofy's Candy company a couple of times. Walked back with a Butterfinger covered caramel apple. I'm pretty sure that this technically qualifies as a health food because of the apple content. Plus, do calories really count at Disney World?
2) NYE Fireworks at DtD. We alternated between our balcony and the poolside party (balcony looked out over the pool towards House of Blues). We'd BBQ'd steaks down by the pool that night, first time using the BBQ facilities. Worked great. That is one heck of a fireworks show, much better than I thought it would be. Close enough to really feel the fireworks, as well as see them. Incredible.
3) California Grill. First time there. Not a Contemporary fan, but I'll go to the Ca Grill again in a heartbeat. Loved the view, watched the fireworks
4) TeppanEdo. First time for this as well. Enjoyed watching the Chef prepare the meal, and consuming it wasn't that bad either. Yes, I have food related events dominating my top 5. Did not even mention the fun at Hoop De Doo, which included good food and getting picked on throughout the show by the stage entertainers.
5) DW raved about the Spa at SSR again. She's not the Disney fan like I am. So I use the spa to entice her to more frequent trips than she'd normally like to take.
Some of the negatives
1) The weather in the middle of the week. Yes, we saw the long range forecasts so we brought our warm winter wear. And we know winter weather in Florida can be unpredictable. But still did not stop me from being annoyed
2) Just was not our week for bus transportation. We waited under 15 minutes for a bus probably just once the whole week. We actually waited 45 minutes or longer three times during the week. The kicker was one day when we saw the MK bus pulling away as we walked to the Congress Park stop. I told my wife that was a bad sign. We saw 6, count them 6 Animal Kingdom buses before we saw another MK bus that was so packed that it skipped the Springs stop on the way out. Understand part of this was luck and timing. Know what I'd love to see? A close caption system pointing at the front security gate tied to a cable channel. That way at least I could kill time in my unit with the TV showing the traffic through the front gate. Instead of waiting 45 minutes at the bus stop, I could instead watch for the bus I want in the condo, and then walk out when I see the bus I want clearing the front gate. Just a thought.
3) Double wide strollers. I know, I know, if you have two young kids you need to transport them. But some of you out there, admit it. You get a certain gleam in your eye with those crowded walkways as you plow through with reckless abandon.
4) IASW. I threatened my kids prior to the trip that if they played the Small World soundtrack from their WDW CD that I would pull the plug on the whole trip. I thought I had them convinced to bypass the ride all together when my Father In Law exclaimed: "You made me ride Everest, at least you can do is ride Small World". In the spirit of family harmony, and the fact he was a good trooper and rode on Everest I made it through IASW. Both daughters thought it was good to sing the theme song constantly the rest of the trip, exclaiming that there was no way I could deny them the trip since we were already there.
5) Splash Mountain. Yes, this is one of my favorites. But with the temperatures plummeting below 45 and the wind howling, we used our fast passes and got on the ride, taking my 6 year old daughter for the first time. I assured here we would not get that wet. We sat in the back to ensure a maximum level of dryness. You know that effect that shoots a bunch of water up as the logs go down? You can time that perfectly with another log winding its way around the bottom not soon after leading the load area. By perfect timing, I'm talking direct shot sideways. My father in law gladly pointed out that I was responsible for selecting Splash Mountain, and at least on Small World we did not get soaked on a 45 degree day. I thought about arguing points about ear damage and possible damaging subliminal messages that I'm sure Disney hides in that ride, but decided to glumly concede the point.
Still in the post vacation funk. Sad realization is that we won't be coming back until October 2009 (although we are going to use some points to do a Grand California stay later this year). I'll have to use these boards to enjoy DVC through others at least for a while.
