Stop pushing the elevator button!! Done!! Complete!! Finished!!

[OhMari]

Great report so far! You really didn't get that great of weather but still better than at home right? Zhu zhu pets are hamsters, webkinz are all types of animals

With Florida being so cold, I was pretty much climatic to the cold weather, it didn't bother me at all. Heck, we shed our winter coats when it gets above freezing. You really get tired of wearing a winter coat from Oct. to March. Thanks for explaining Zhu zhu and webkinz, I had no idea.

I know for sure that for the Tickle Me Elmo a couple of years back, the company specifically made it a MUST-HAVE item and not put anything out, so that they would for sure sell out when they were finally put on the shelves.

It makes sense that a company would rather have their product sell-out than have leftovers. Also, if a retailer only has a few, they can up the price a little if it's an extremely popular but hard to find item. I'm a collector of figurines, and that's exactly what they do for products that are hard to get in Canada or even online.



Haha, I think to prevent further hijacking, we can continue this in our PMs =)

I don't mind.

 

[OhMari]

Not absolutely definite yet but we are looking at 26th March - 16th April, given the long journey time (around 18 hours door to door) and cost of flights it is better if we can go for three weeks rather than two Direct flights will be released in May and then we will be able to firm up our plans. We are planning a split stay with time on site (looking at the Poly or WL/AKL), time at Universal for fotl and also time in an off site villa for chilling - we are a family of five so like our space.

:

I'll be there the end of April, Easter is really late next year. I just hope with Easter being so late, the crowds won't be so intense. I'm trying to convince my sisters to do the week after Easter, then the crowds really start going home. But WDW still have all those extra surcharges to everything, just because it is Easter.

 

[OhMari]

The rain was really coming down.
We slowly made our way to Japan.
One side of my pants were soaking wet.

You had to pay attention to the numerous water puddles.
I swear the only place we saw people,
was under the Epcot Ball.
Everyone was waiting for the rain to stop.
There were no characters or PhotoPass photographers
anywhere.
The place was truly desserted.
World Showcase was even dead.
We just saw a few brave souls,
such as ourselves,
probably going to eat somewhere.

We had a noon ADR at Teppan Edo.

We checked in, and many people in front of us were walk-ins.
A CM with the same name as myself -Marisa-
announced if anyone had an ADR!
So, I got to go to the head of the line.

There was a Japanese Camera Crew,
following 3 Baseball players.
We were all told to put our camera's away,
and no flash photography.

The camera crew interviewed the 3 guys,
and then taped them watching the intro to
the opening of Teppan Edo.

No CM made the announcement that camera's
weren't allowed, just the camera crew lady.
So, I tried.

Is there an opening ceremony every day?
A few waitresses were smiling at me,
which surprised me.
This was our chef on the left-which I didn't know at the time.

We shared our table with a family of 4 and
a nice couple-another baseball player.
The only reason I knew of othe baseball players-
people would ask for their autographs.
I guess the week before training camp starts-many
baseball players will bring their families to WDW for a family vacation,
before they have to report to training camp.

I wanted to order the Grey Goose Slushi-but it wasn't on the menu.
My dh ordered Ice Tea,
and I order a Saki drink-I almost fell off my chair-
Wow, was the drink strong. I told the waitress,
but she just smiled at me, I don't think she understood me.
I ordered ice-water.
I think my dh ended up drinking the $11.00 Saki.

I ordered a garden salad-which was dumb. $5.95
and the Ueno - chicken breast and large shrimp $24.95
My dh ordered the Sirloin Steak - $26.95

With tax-tip it came to $75.

Flaming onion

The little guy sitting between his parents was so quiet and tired, he barely ate any of his food, and his dad started to eat the little guys food. The mom took him out of the resturant and when they returned, he started eating. We were all done, and the mom finally had a smile on her face after her son started to eat. For some reason, she really seemed tense. The dad talked to us, and he talked to the baseball player. But his wife, kept shooting mean looks his way.

We spent almost 2 hours eating-but the rain finally stopped.
And, the drummers were out. Finally there was life in World Showcase.

My dh told me his shoes were soaking wet and he wanted to go back to the BC and change and take a rest.
Plus, we had to check into AirTran for tomorrow's flight.
We also wanted to upgrade to Business Class.

We spent around an hour in our room drying out and getting connected to the internet.
Now I know why I saw so many people with their laptops down in the lobby.
DVC members are suppose to have free internet access. It took my dh awhile to connect but he did it.
We were successful upgrading to Business Class and checking in. AirTran charges for luggage, so we figured why not pay another $20 bucks and upgrade since your luggage is free then. The Fuzzy Disney Math.

I was surprised when my dh wanted to go back to Epcot.
He wanted to go to Ellen's Energy Ride-huh?
He had other things he wanted to see-Mission Space, Innovations.

When we returned, it actually got cooler out-the humidity of the morning was gone.
And the photographers for photopass were walking around.

I started taking pictures because it wasn't raining anymore.

I didn't notice the dolphins this morning. I was watching for puddles.

I love watching the dancing fountain.
My dh wasn't to keen, he didn't want to get wet again, with the spray.

This was last year's theme, "The Lion King"

This year:

Last year:

 

[heaven2dc]

Hmm....doesn't seem that the theme changed at all

We had the exact same chef back in February 2008 at Teppan Edo and they did the ceremony thing out front with all the waitresses lined up but none smiled at me - probably because I didn't take their picture.

I've never tried Saki but if a Long Island Iced Tea knocks me off my chair, guess I better not try Saki Those dolphin topiaries are too cute!

 

[OhMari]

Long Island Iced Tea's really kick my donkey butt.
Over at the Ritz, they had no clue how to make them.

Good to know about the opening ceremony at Teppan Edo,
I never knew they did that.

Hmm....doesn't seem that the theme changed at all

We had the exact same chef back in February 2008 at Teppan Edo and they did the ceremony thing out front with all the waitresses lined up but none smiled at me - probably because I didn't take their picture.

I've never tried Saki but if a Long Island Iced Tea knocks me off my chair, guess I better not try Saki Those dolphin topiaries are too cute!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Hey OhMari! I've been severly restricted on board time of late and fell behind on several TR's. I just finished page 3 and wanted to say on scoring the Beach club and on the photos! Moving on to page 4 now. more to come.

 

[Señor DonDuck]

OK, finally all caught up. I must say, that looks like a nice thick cut of steak at Teppan Edo. Interesting story of the baseball players and family. I'd probably be that husband getting nasty looks from his wife, paying attention to the players.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Caught up now. Good job on the stealth photos! I'm with you. If Disney says no photo, that's one thing, but if a media outlet doesn't want to be scooped, then tough biscuits. Don't shoot an interview in public. The food looked great. It's on our list for next time.

 

[YukiPhnx]

So what exactly happened at the opening ceremony? Did they just welcome everybody to the restaurant?

I never liked chicken at teppenyaki, didn't feel like it tasted any different. But steak...is amazing. Specially if they grill it up with slices of garlic.

Yes, sake is pretty darn strong. Not a lot of people know that. It's best on a cold day and when you drink it hot. It really warms you up.

When I went to Epcot during my first trip ever, it was also rainy, but around dinner time. My siblings and I were heading over to Morocco, hoping to catch Aladdin, but then it started pouring And we never got to see him.

 

[OhMari]

OK, finally all caught up. I must say, that looks like a nice thick cut of steak at Teppan Edo. Interesting story of the baseball players and family. I'd probably be that husband getting nasty looks from his wife, paying attention to the players.

LOL, I should of turned my camera to my left and gotten a picture of the guy, but it would of been to obvious. His expensive clothes and rolex watch gave him away. And, I would like to add, that I did take off my blue poncho and white hoodie, especially after I saw the baseball players walking around Teppan Edo.

Caught up now. Good job on the stealth photos! I'm with you. If Disney says no photo, that's one thing, but if a media outlet doesn't want to be scooped, then tough biscuits. Don't shoot an interview in public. The food looked great. It's on our list for next time.

Welcome back, if you were like our parish, the last couple of weeks were crazy, glad Easter is over. I think the only way I would go back, is if I had free dining. Very expensive.

So what exactly happened at the opening ceremony? Did they just welcome everybody to the restaurant?

I never liked chicken at teppenyaki, didn't feel like it tasted any different. But steak...is amazing. Specially if they grill it up with slices of garlic.

Yes, sake is pretty darn strong. Not a lot of people know that. It's best on a cold day and when you drink it hot. It really warms you up.

When I went to Epcot during my first trip ever, it was also rainy, but around dinner time. My siblings and I were heading over to Morocco, hoping to catch Aladdin, but then it started pouring And we never got to see him.

The bow and chant and welcome everyone. I can't imagine drinking Sake warm.

I'll try to update tomorrow and finish Epcot-
my camera captured some neat Illuminations Fireworks, but not Ratatoulie.

 

[OhMari]

I have a love/hate relationship with my camera.
I love the size of the digital camera,
but I hate the features.
I can never find where to turn my flash on/off.

When I get the flash off, no pictures turn out.

After we rode Spaceship Earth,
I really wanted our video sent home,
but I cringed having to touch the computer screen.
It's like touching the elevator button-
there has to be a gazzilion germs on the screens.
Most times I am okay, but I flew out of the area
to get to the bathroom and washed my hands.
Sometimes my OCD really takes over, and I hate it.
My dh enjoys it,
he gets to take a smoke break, while I"m in the bathroom.
This smoking area is right next to the
bathrooms by Spaceship Earth.
But 6 ft away is a "Smoke Free Environment Area".
Does that make any sense?
Apparently when you walk out of the men's bathroom,
the smoking area is right there.
Smoke was drifting over and my dh told me an
older man, just went beserk, because he could smell smoke.
My dh high tailed it out of there,
he said he felt a brawl coming on.

45 minutes of my life, that I couldn't take back-
I gave in, and went with my dh to watch Ellen's Universe of Energy.
I was more interested in counting how many rooms,
you actually travel to.
I'm pretty sure it was 3.
You start in one, the movie room, where if you don't get a bench,
you are suppose to stand,
everyone sits on their butts and ignores the announcement,
"for the safety of everyone, please remain standing".

The next room, is the room you get in your moving seats.
This is where the next movie starts,
then you move forward and see the dinosaurs.
Move ahead again, and you are back in the room,
except you are facing another screen.
Move again and you are back to the first screen.
Bored yet?
Like I said, 45 minutes you can't get back.
My dh enjoyed his 45 minutes-he would.

Sorry for this blurry picture,

but we can't plant these flowers till June in Wisconsin.
They are very sensitive to the cold.
I'm drawing a blank-what the heck are the names of these flowers.
I plant them every year too.

Caught the mono-rail coming in.
My dh had no clue that the mono-rail traveled into Epcot.
I told him, if we had time tomorrow, we will take a ride
over to TTC and back.

I wanted to see "Off Kilter"
but "Off Kilter" wasn't there to see.
But these guys were-

I don't know if they are the winter help-
this was the first time that I've seen them play,
and they "stunk".
They must have been cold-they only played 3 songs,
were done in 15 minutes and left.
Me and my dh looked at each other and both said-
"wow, that was really bad."

We had an ADR at 7:15 at Chef's de France.
I couldn't remember if it was Chef's de France or Bistro de Paris.
We walked back to the Beach Club at 6:00.
I wanted to change and take a shower. I was tired/sweaty etc.,
Shouldn't have bothered-I would of fit in with everyone else.


When we checked in, I said, I couldn't remember if I made
our ADR at Chef's or Bistro. I was told we could go to either one.
We saw the prices on the door in the early afternoon and
prices started out at $60. I'm sure our meal would of been well over $200
by the time we would of been done.

I really wanted to see Ratatouille.
Our water told us, the last round Ratatouille
was at 6:00 p.m. So we missed him by an hour.

I'm a people watcher, so I really tried to tune out
all the people around us. I should have read some reviews
before we dined at Chef's.
After I got home, one of the reveiws of Chef's de France-
the dining experience is suppose to be loud and packed like
a Cafe in Paris France.
I guess I was expecting something a little more formal.
It wasn't bad-
it just seemed like everyone that was in the park that day,
just struggled in, tired, wet, over exhausted.
We were seated one row away from the windows.

No food porn,
but I went with the
Prix Fixe 3 Course Menu
No Substitutions
$37.00 -
I chose the salad as an appetizer-I never saw the flat breads on the menu.

For my entre's I should of went with the chicken,
but did the Filet de Salmon, ratatouille sauce Choron - Broiled salmon, tomato Bearnaise,ratatouille made with onions, zucchini, eggplant and bell peppers.
I chose the Creme Brulee for dessert.

My dh had the french onion soup, he did do the 3 Course Meal
because he wanted the tenderloin steak.
Filet de boeuf grille, sauce au poivre noir Gratin Dauphinois et haricots verts - Grilled tenderloin of beef with a black pepper sauce original potato gratin of Savoy and green beans $34.95

We had a few glasses of wine.

I almost forgot, I usually don't salt my food,
but my potato's were really bland, and the
salt shaker top fell off and ruined my potato's.
I told the waiter and he didn't do anything.
He actually laughed. I'm not one to complain,
but when a meal is over $100 with tax & tip?

I love being at WDW,
eating at WDW, just about everything at WDW.
But the food prices are really over priced and the food choices are
almost identical to other resturants at WDW.
I should be adventurous and choose other places.

I wondered if we should of done the Dining Plan.
The basic plan is $39.99 a day.
So far we paid now $170.00 out of pocket.
The plan would of cost us $160.
Last evening my dh had ice cream-that would of been a snack credit.
This morning I picked up a few things for breakfast at the Beach Club Market Place-and I'm sure I would of used a snack credit too.
So let's say that was another $10 out of pocket.
So I am up to $180.00
We each would of had 2 snack credits and 4 CS available to us yet.
But we did have alcohol drinks and wine,
which is not included.
On Friday, I took Cindy to Beaches and Cream for lunch,
and the waiter said Beaches and Cream is a TS credit-so I couldn't use
my CS credits there. If I would of known that, I would of used the CS at the food court at over at All Star Movies, when we toured the resort.

We did have Sunday left to use our CS credits and 2 snack credits.
I think the Dining Plan would of been to our advantage this time.

When we paid our bill, we walked out the side door and walked
over to the American Pavallion. I knew there were bathrooms there.
We found a spot, next to the Pavallion.
After I got back from the bathroom, a lady was
going to set up her tri-pod next to me,
in which "I" was suppose to move.
"Really?"
Don't come one minute before Illuminations and expect
someone to move. Basically the whole park of Epcot was open,
because no one was there. Why did she need my spot.

I didn't move-and she moved 10 ft in the other direction.

To end our evening, I took a few pictures of Illuminations.

The wind was coming from the North/East-
the smoke trailed over Mexico

I thought the boat caught fire.

Black globe.

White globe.

How about a pink one?

Green?

Blue?

And Red

Fireworks

We stuck around a few minutes after Illuminations to let the crowds rush out.

It was a fun, rainy day at Epcot.
I experienced really hot sweaty days,
extremely jam packed crowded days.
The day was really different-at times we were really cold/
then the next you were sweaty/hot with the humidity of the rain.
I'm glad we got to experience a different kind of day at Epcot.
We really didn't do much in the countries this time,
which is okay. Other years, we never spent much time in Future World.
We didn't get into the Innovations building-but that will be another day.

Tomorrow-our last day.

 

[OhMari]

We strolled under the bridge at the International Gateway to Epcot.
I'm not a fan of Asian Music for romance-
I like it when they play violin music under the bridge.
Like someone is serenade'ing you.

We walked around the Boardwalk and decided to try Jellyrolls.


I really wanted to find someone to take our picture,
but my dh was freezing and he went to check Jelly Rolls.
He didn't feel like drinking and neither did I,
so we just called it a nite.

We had an ADR over at The Swan at the Fresh Market Place for 8:00 a.m. We totally missed our ressie. Our room became stifling hot. I think every unit for the Beach Club was turned on. When Florida looses their cold snap, it warms up very rapidly. It had to be 70 degrees outside.
Which is darn right balmy.

I went down to conciere' to see if we could get an ressie for breakfast, vs doing a counter service.
Plus, my dh said no characters.
I asked if she could make us a ADR
at The Dolphin,
where, we were suppose to eat this morning.
According to her, it was a walk-in resturant.
I didn't want to tell her, I made an ADR and missed it.
So we strolled over to The Dolphin,
but mistakenly walked into The Swan.

We really were not paying attention to the
obnoxious statues above the hotels.
But really, I just might stay at either one on my next visit.
I know I am going next Easter-and WDW prices
at the resorts are really getting up there, unless you have
a pin code, or like this year,
for the first time ever,
they had some price reductions on
rooms and packages.

The Fresh at The Dolph Buffet is $17.95.
All the food is suppose to be organic.
and they have Starbuck's coffee,
even though I'm not a coffee drinker-
but who goes to Starbucks for coffee.

Here is the menu,
because I am not a food porn picture taker.
Plus, the couple next to us-
gave us looks like we invaded their personal space.

Buffet

The Fresh Mediterranean Market is set up with stations.
As you visit each one, there is a list of available items.
The food is then made FRESH for you, to order.

Breakfast includes Fresh Juice and Starbucks Coffee!

Adults $17.95; Children $10.95

From the Pantry - Variety of Pastries, Danish and Muffins, Fresh Fruits, Yogurt and Homemade Granola

Nectar Breakfast - Health conscious extracts from fresh vegetables and fruits: Detox, Antioxidant and Wheatgrass

From the Casserole - Breakfast potatoes, bacon and sausage

Hot Cereals - hot breakfast cereals including Oatmeal and Grits

Rotisserie - slow roasted meats

Eggs from the Skillet - omelets and eggs made any style to order; egg whites and egg beaters upon request

Griddle Favorites - Traditional and Specialty pancakes, waffles, and French Toast

The chef made me Mickey Ears with my pancakes.
Strawberries were in the buffet too.

You can order from a menu,
if you don't want to do the buffet.

We strolled back to the Beach Club
by not going around the BoardWalk.
It was nearing 11:00 a.m. and we still had not checked out,
nor use the facilities, to freshen up,
or double check our packing.
I did end up leaving my favorite pair of
white sweat-capri's.
I know I got up in the morning and went to work out in the fitness
room, and that is the last time I remember them. I must have thrown them on the bed, and they must have gotten mixed up in the blankets.
Damn, it's hard to find capri sweatpants.

Here are a few pic's when we walked back to The Beach Club.

Nope, we went the other way.

I can see the Eiffle Tower
anyone watch Little People, Big World
Zac and Jeremy are hiking thru Europe
and will be visiting Paris.

This is my "happy place" I dream about, when I am having a bad day at work.

You can walk up to that gazebo-but you have to have a special key, to get to the 4th floor.

My dh liked pushing the elevator button,
just to watch the dial on top.

We got in so many fights about
"pushing the elevator button"
vs.
walking up one flight of stairs.
Most times I beat him,
while he waited for his elevator.

DH, grabbed our luggage and went and got
our rental.
It took me a little while-
and I had a nice chat with the cleaning lady.

On the way out to the main lobby,
I got stopped to do a survey.
But I couldn't remember our room number.
I took a picture of it,

But she told me, she would send me a post card,
and I could do the survey online.

I should of stayed in the lobby for awhile-
lots of ESPN people walking around-
or ESPN handed out lots of free things with their logos.

My dh wanted to ride the mono-rail from Epcot to the TTC center.
I wanted to go to Celebration.
But, hey, I told him the mono-rails smell like
a manure pit, but he didn't care.
Spring in Wisconsin-want to open your windows?
don't think so.

We had our parking pass from The Beach Club
so we were waived right in.

I knew the way.

I think round trip was 30 minutes.
I hate the logo's on the windows,
it was hard to get a decent picture
with the ballons on the windows.

So, I stood up and went to a different window,
and hung on to the pole and took pictures without
the obstructed view.

See the star next to Mickey's head?

I never saw the dolphins either yesterday.
Just the topiatries.

I would take a pictures of the entrance of bathrooms.

I really hadn't done any shopping and it was only around noon thirty-and I convinced my dh to go to DTD.
Mistake.
The place was packed.
And I didn't feel like paying $52 for a sweatshirt.
I'm not big on character shirts or sweatshirts,
but I like the vintage 1971 logo's.

I wonder what kind of celebration will be announced for WDW's 40th Anniversary.

We did stay long at DTD, and decided it was time to go to the airport. MCO, can be tricky with lines.
The line getting into the airport was backed up.
But the car rental return wasn't.
Security was 8 lanes of fun.
Which really moved fast.
It was 2:30 and our plane left at 3:30.
They started loading at 3:00 and we left on time.

We checked our bags for free,
because we upgraded to Business Class.
But my dh still keeps his laptop with him.

We actually rode in the back
of the airport mono-rail,
in which we were pushed backwards,
sort of?

No wonder you loose your balance,
did you see the twist and turns?

Flight was on time,
and we were back in Wisconsin by 5:00 p.m.

We met our dd for her birthday at the
Beer Belly's on Layton Ave in Milwaukee.
She thought we were coming in at 7:00 p.m.
I told her worse case scenario would be 7:00 p.m.

Our son was working out and didn't want greasy food-
neither did I, plus because it was considered a bar-
smoking was allowed.
It wasn't bad inside-
and it didn't make me sick.

We said our goodbyes-and had
to backtrack to the airport to get on I94.
If you want to see road construction nite-mare,
come to Milwaukee!!

And jiggity, jiggity home.

Did I mention my dh forgot which level he parked on?
Next time, he won't make fun of me,
when I take a picture
of the location.

 

[YukiPhnx]

Did I mention my dh forgot which level he parked on?
Next time, he won't make fun of me,
when I take a picture
of the location.

Haha, I think we ALL saw that coming! Too bad you missed Remy. He would be my only for reason for eating at Le Chefs de France.

Great trip report!

 

[OhMari]

Haha, I think we ALL saw that coming! Too bad you missed Remy. He would be my only for reason for eating at Le Chefs de France.

Great trip report!

Thanks for reading.
I got about 3 phone calls, while I waited for the luggage.
I only knew, we were way in the last row, and we could look
over the side of the parking ramp.
My dh actually asked me if I took a picture,
of where he parked his truck.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Now I know why I saw so many people with their laptops down in the lobby.
DVC members are suppose to have free internet access.

Yup, if you are in DVC internet access is free!

Love the pictures of the Beach Club/Boardwalk. One of the best places on property.

 

[OhMari]

Yup, if you are in DVC internet access is free!

Love the pictures of the Beach Club/Boardwalk. One of the best places on property.

We used the internet to check in for our airline. I couldn't believe some of the people that just sat in the lobby hallway all afternoon and evening on their computers. I felt like saying, "come on, your in Disney World, you certainly can find something to do, than sit on your computer."

 

[OhMari]

I love staying on WDW property.
But I'm finding out,
it's not hard at all to stay off property.
The roads leading to WDW are wide, 3 lanes of fun.
I remember as little as 10 years ago, all the road construction.
It was a nitemare.

But as Cindy reminded me,
Disney reminds you with little things,
the special touches,
that you are staying at a WDW resort.

If you want to stay away from WDW resorts,
there are some great places to stay, at 1/2 the cost.
Plus, every imaginable resturant is outside the gates of WDW.

I'm not a fan anymore of Counter Service,
unless you know really where to look for the hidden gems.
Same with the Table Service-just a few gems left.

As of today, we are still waiting for the announcement,
of when my nephew will be marching at the Magic Kingdom in 2011.
I heard rumors of February or April.
The band teacher says, he is waiting to hear from Disney yet.

The Swan/Dolphin has their rates and dates up on their website.
The highest price is $245 during Easter week.
Rooms at the Boardwalk, without any discounts or renting from DVC
starts around $1,000 a nite during Easter-crazy.

Moderates during Easter run over $200 a nite.
Hopefully WDW will have some discounts next year,
like they did, "for the first time ever" this Peak Season.
All planning is so up in the air yet.

I will be traveling with my 2 sisters.
I know one of my nieces wants to come along.
Don't know about my dd's yet, or dh's.

My oldest sister wants to go to Savannah for a few days,
my younger sister said, "no value resorts"
So it's a start.
I don't think I'll be doing a pre-trip,
I'll probably just find others going at the same time,
and watch what other's plan to do.

And, I still plan on going with my dh to his Ameriquest Convention next year.
He did a survey with the Ameriquest people, and asked them to hold the convention next year at WDW. He said, that way more families could enjoy the parks, while the dads were at the convention. Ahh, my kind of guy. But who knows. They like to move the convention to other Florida locations. So we will see.

Signing out!
OhMari

 

[wdwgirl03]

We have only stayed offsite once and that was because it was such a last minute trip Disney had nothing left (didn't help that it was after Christmas too...). It was manageable but having grown up going to WDW it's definitely more fun to stay on property.

That is so cool about your nephew going with the band. Hopefully everything will work out that you get to go. Like I said in my TR, I don't know exactly when we'll be going next year...still have to wait for things to play out with my sister and the college program and then spring break schedules but wouldn't it be crazy if we were there at the same time?!

Great report, thanks for sharing.

 

[YukiPhnx]

My first trip ever was off site and I really liked it! Of course, I had nothing to compare it to.

Our hotel had shuttles to the parks. My only complaint would be that most of the time, the earliest or latest bus to the park would often before after rope drop and before the park closes....

But when I went in August, I had no problem with the lines anyways, so getting there at rope drop wasn't really a priority.

I'm already planning on maybe staying in one of the DTD hotels after another trip or two onsite, purely to save on money. So much cheaper and pretty much right on site!

 

[OhMari]

We have only stayed offsite once and that was because it was such a last minute trip Disney had nothing left (didn't help that it was after Christmas too...). It was manageable but having grown up going to WDW it's definitely more fun to stay on property.

That is so cool about your nephew going with the band. Hopefully everything will work out that you get to go. Like I said in my TR, I don't know exactly when we'll be going next year...still have to wait for things to play out with my sister and the college program and then spring break schedules but wouldn't it be crazy if we were there at the same time?!

Great report, thanks for sharing.

Thanks for reading. I'll watch for your pre-trip announcement.

My first trip ever was off site and I really liked it! Of course, I had nothing to compare it to.

Our hotel had shuttles to the parks. My only complaint would be that most of the time, the earliest or latest bus to the park would often before after rope drop and before the park closes....

But when I went in August, I had no problem with the lines anyways, so getting there at rope drop wasn't really a priority.

I'm already planning on maybe staying in one of the DTD hotels after another trip or two onsite, purely to save on money. So much cheaper and pretty much right on site!

Mary from Mousesavers, will put online deals with DTD hotels on her website. When we went to DTD on our last day, I was looking how easy it is to walk across the street from many of the DTD hotels. You could basically get the shuttle bus from the hotel in the morning, and at nite, just take a DTD bus and walk back to your hotel. Or cab rides too. There is always a way. Plus many of the DTD hotels have free breakfast in the morning.