Team Renfroe - Pre-Trip Report for May 15-22, 2009 **Final Chapter**

[jjk]

Hi Alan,
Yippee you started your Pre trip report

Love your new Mini van

 

[alan_renfroe]

Hi Alan,
Yippee you started your Pre trip report

Love your new Mini van

Hey Rachel! Welcome to the new pre-trip report! Glad you are here along for the ride!

Alan

 

[MomofCKJ]

Hello everyone! So, let me catch you up a bit on what has gone on in the lives of the Renfroes since our return from Disney on May 24, 2008.

On June 3, DW and I celebrated our 13-year wedding anniversary!

On June 5, DW and I went to see Jimmy Buffett in concert at Lakewood Amphitheatre in Atlanta, GA. Awesome show! (I am a HUGE Buffett fan!)

The Griswolds....er....Renfroes decided we needed a new family truckster! I was driving a Mitsubishi Montero Sport, which was getting about 15 miles per gallon. (Fortunately, I live 8 blocks from my office!) Anyway, the SUV was becoming cumbersome and DW has been wanting a van for a long time. Our kids are at the age where they want their friends to tag along with us....so we needed more room. We drove DW's mother's Nissan Quest to Disney World in May and we really liked it. After test driving several vans, (and doing my obsessive-compulsive online research,) we decided to buy a Honda Odyssey. We live in Jacksonville, Alabama, and the Odysseys are made just down the road in Lincoln, Alabama. Although I've always been resistant to owning a minivan, I've always wanted a Honda. So I took a notch out of my "man card" and gave in to the mentality of the minivan! Actually, it makes great sense for our family. It has much more room (8 passengers,) it gets better gas mileage (about 22 miles per gallon,) and our payment is only $8 more than what we were paying for the previous vehicle.

Anyway, here is the new "family truckster":

I know, I know....it's not metallic pea! no wood paneling! You may think you hate it now, but wait til you drive it!

I can't wait to drive this baby to Disney World next spring!

Alan

You stole my van! LOL! Same exact one here, color and all. I love our Odyssey. We have 3 kids and it is just a practical thing to have the space for people, sports equipment, stuff. It works, rides well and we've had no problems at all with ours. Enjoy your new wheels!

Allyson

 

[kaysmommie]

Subbing, loved you last trip report. I even booked CSR for October since we needed to stay at a Moderate this trip. I have a question. I have read lots of reviews of CSR on tripadvisor and they scare me a bit, mostly about housekeeping issues at CSR. Did you have any problems with housekeeping on your stay?? The resort look so beautiful as long as the rooms are clean I'm sure it will be very nice.

We stayed at Pop in March and it was lots of fun and our room was very clean too. It's like being in one of the parks. My kids loved it even after staying at Poly. The rooms are kind of small though.

 

[mousebit]

Okay, I finally found my way over here! Can I join the party?

PS - Love the new van! The only thing you (or "Ellen") may not like about a Honda is that the darn things never wear out! We had one a few years back that just would not die. DH wouldn't sell or trade it because he kept saying there was nothing wrong with it. (I work from home, so don't drive a whole lot.) I finally threatened him with going out by myself and buying a little red convertible - real fast, real sporty, real red and real expensive. That sort of motivated him to help me choose a new family car. But we sure got our money's worth out of that Honda.

 

[alan_renfroe]

You stole my van! LOL! Same exact one here, color and all. I love our Odyssey. We have 3 kids and it is just a practical thing to have the space for people, sports equipment, stuff. It works, rides well and we've had no problems at all with ours. Enjoy your new wheels!

Allyson

Hey Allyson! It sounds like we have similar tastes in family trucksters!

We have only had the Odyssey for 2 1/2 weeks, but we are really enjoying it! I like having the 6-disc c.d. changer that plays mp3 discs. You can get about 180 songs on an mp3 disc, so that's 1,080 songs you can load into your c.d.! That makes me happy - especially on a long trip!

Subbing, loved you last trip report. I even booked CSR for October since we needed to stay at a Moderate this trip. I have a question. I have read lots of reviews of CSR on tripadvisor and they scare me a bit, mostly about housekeeping issues at CSR. Did you have any problems with housekeeping on your stay?? The resort look so beautiful as long as the rooms are clean I'm sure it will be very nice.

We stayed at Pop in March and it was lots of fun and our room was very clean too. It's like being in one of the parks. My kids loved it even after staying at Poly. The rooms are kind of small though.

Hey kaysmommie! Great to see you here!

We adored CSR and didn't have any major issues. However, the housekeeping wasn't anything special. We never came back to the room to find towel buddies or anything like that. Sometimes the t.v. would be turned to a spanish channel. They did place DD's stuffed animal buddies in cute poses. The housekeeping wasn't bad at all - just wasn't great. But everything else about CSR WAS GREAT! Of course there are all kinds of reviews because we all have different opinions, but the Renfroes give Coronado Springs two enthusiastic thumbs up!

Okay, I finally found my way over here! Can I join the party?

PS - Love the new van! The only thing you (or "Ellen") may not like about a Honda is that the darn things never wear out! We had one a few years back that just would not die. DH wouldn't sell or trade it because he kept saying there was nothing wrong with it. (I work from home, so don't drive a whole lot.) I finally threatened him with going out by myself and buying a little red convertible - real fast, real sporty, real red and real expensive. That sort of motivated him to help me choose a new family car. But we sure got our money's worth out of that Honda.

Yay! Barb is here too! Come on in and join the party!

That's hilarious about the 'ol minivan that wouldn't die. I guess the darn thing worked TOO well, huh? That's not a bad problem to have! I told DS11 that he had better LOVE that van, because it might quite possibly be the vehicle he learns how to drive!

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

I'm in!! Looks like we will be at Pop at around the same time!!

 

[Camster0307]

Hi Alan!

I will not be just lurking for this Team Renfro report - I'm here to do some posting! So......bring on the plans!

Love the new wheels, btw. Good choice!

 

[alan_renfroe]

I'm in!! Looks like we will be at Pop at around the same time!!

Welcome aboard PHP! I noticed in you signature, you've stayed at the POP, the All-Star, and Caribbean Beach Resort. How would you compare the three?

Hi Alan!

I will not be just lurking for this Team Renfro report - I'm here to do some posting! So......bring on the plans!

Love the new wheels, btw. Good choice!

Cool! My friend Cammie is here!

We are LOVING your trip report, by the way - one of the best I've ever read. You really know how to capture those little things that make WDW so special! Your daughter is adorable!

Glad to have you along for the pre-trippie! Maybe you can chime in and help me with some decisions along the way.

 

[alan_renfroe]

Our little town of Jacksonville, Alabama has its city fireworks show on the evening of July 3rd. We always get a large group of people together and "tailgate" prior to the fireworks show! It makes the event so much more fun! Here's a picture of DS at the fireworks gathering:

(We are missing him this week - he is away at summer camp until Friday!)

Only one week after getting the new family truckster, we took our first family trip in it. We were invited to a friend's lake house for the 4th of July weekend! It was the Renfroes and two other families with kids. We spent the weekend cooking out, riding on the pontoon boat, and having fun with the speed boat! Here are a few photos I took over the weekend:

This is our friend's daughter on the left, and our DD8 on the right. They are BFFs!

DS and friends being pulled on a Sea Doo float:

DD sitting safely on the boat!

Fun on the pontoon:

Swimming in the lake:

It was nice to spend some time with good friends! We had a wonderful weekend!

Now back to pre-trip planning for our next Disney trip!

 

[Michelle_and_Aaron]

Congrats on the new van Alan. I want a new one now! Lol there is no way that will happen anytime in the near future though since we close on a house tomorrow and Aaron would freak out if I proposed something else so soon.
It looks like you had a great 4th weekend!
And now you guys are almost off to Panama City Beach! Can't wait to hear about that!

 

[Camster0307]

Cool! My friend Cammie is here!

We are LOVING your trip report, by the way - one of the best I've ever read. You really know how to capture those little things that make WDW so special! Your daughter is adorable!

Glad to have you along for the pre-trippie! Maybe you can chime in and help me with some decisions along the way.

Thanks Alan! I need to get back to my TR today; I think I'm putting off doing the last day because that means it's over! I've had fun reliving the memories.

I know you were hesitant about doing a pre-trippie; I've never done one either so I'm here to tag along and learn right along with you. My Nov. trip with both my girls is pretty much set but I'm already thinking I want to plan another mother/daughter trip in Feb. for DD's 13th birthday. Maybe this will inspire me to do a preTR for that one!

Looking forward to hearing what your plans are and hopefully I'll be able to contribute some useful info!

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

Welcome aboard PHP! I noticed in you signature, you've stayed at the POP, the All-Star, and Caribbean Beach Resort. How would you compare the three?


.

Hi!! Well we're not staying at Pop until next May so I'm not much help on that one, but knowing that we were going to stay there next year we had a good look around it a couple of months ago when in Florida and it looks really nice and cheerful!! All Stars was fine, nothing spectacular too draw me back but nothing wrong with it. CBR I would not return too unless I had no other choice, it was just so big it felt really impersonal, and took ages even just to go get a drink refill. The one hotel I would love to return to is French Quarter - we spent two weeks there in May and adored it! Small, quaint, friendly and beautiful! Don't tell DH but I am still hoping to upgrade to it narer the time!!!!!!!

 

[alan_renfroe]

Congrats on the new van Alan. I want a new one now! Lol there is no way that will happen anytime in the near future though since we close on a house tomorrow and Aaron would freak out if I proposed something else so soon.
It looks like you had a great 4th weekend!
And now you guys are almost off to Panama City Beach! Can't wait to hear about that!

Congratulations on the new house, Michelle! That's awesome!

We are looking forward to leaving on our trip on Sunday.

Thanks Alan! I need to get back to my TR today; I think I'm putting off doing the last day because that means it's over! I've had fun reliving the memories.

I know you were hesitant about doing a pre-trippie; I've never done one either so I'm here to tag along and learn right along with you. My Nov. trip with both my girls is pretty much set but I'm already thinking I want to plan another mother/daughter trip in Feb. for DD's 13th birthday. Maybe this will inspire me to do a preTR for that one!

Looking forward to hearing what your plans are and hopefully I'll be able to contribute some useful info!

Hey Cammie! I sat down with my DD8 tonight and let her read through your trip report. She thinks your DD's hairdo was Kewl and she said, "aww...she's pretty!"

I know what you mean about putting off those last installments. Once the vacation ends, you still have the trip report to help you relive the memories. But what do you do when the trip report ends? Apparently, you start a Pre-Trip report! Yes, I was hesitant about doing a pre-trippie, but I figured I am pretty much checking the site just about every day for info, so I may as well get help from my DIS buddies! As excited as I am about our Florida trip next week, I can't help but to be looking forward to our next WDW trip in the spring!

Hi!! Well we're not staying at Pop until next May so I'm not much help on that one, but knowing that we were going to stay there next year we had a good look around it a couple of months ago when in Florida and it looks really nice and cheerful!! All Stars was fine, nothing spectacular too draw me back but nothing wrong with it. CBR I would not return too unless I had no other choice, it was just so big it felt really impersonal, and took ages even just to go get a drink refill. The one hotel I would love to return to is French Quarter - we spent two weeks there in May and adored it! Small, quaint, friendly and beautiful! Don't tell DH but I am still hoping to upgrade to it narer the time!!!!!!!

I have heard good and bad about CBR. If we go with a moderate, it will be either one of the Port Orleans resorts or Coronado Springs again. Someone mentioned something about a pin code that might help make Wilderness Lodge an option. After reading Cammie's TR, I would really like to try WL! However, if budget only permits a value resort - and I'm leaning towards the POP. We'll see!

 

[alan_renfroe]

On our May '08 trip, we were on the Deluxe Dining Plan and we enjoyed it VERY MUCH! We are big-time foodies, so it was great to get to eat at all those restaurants. However, it really is TOO much food. I wish Disney would come up with a package between the basic dining and deluxe dining. I would like for it to include 3 meals, like the Deluxe currently does, only you would have a choice of either an appetizer OR dessert, but not both....and this option would cost less than the current Deluxe plan.

Anyway, we were able to try many great restaurants, and I thought it would serve me well to give each of them a grade for future reference. So, here goes:

California Grill - A. What can I say? We had very high expectations of this restaurant and it DID NOT disappoint! By far the best sushi I've ever had anywhere, and the Banana Butterscotch Buzz dessert was the greatest dessert ever. If I only go back to one restaurant on our next trip, it would be this one.

Liberty Tree Tavern - B+. The food was really good, and it hit the spot for lunch after a morning full of activity at the Magic Kingdom. I would consider eating here again for lunch on our next trip, but we may try something different like Crystal Palace.

Tony's Town Square - B. DS11 LOVED this restaurant. I really liked the atmosphere and our service was really good. The food was good, but not great. It was on par with an Olive Garden or something similar. DS11 wants to start a tradition of having a father/son dinner together at Tony's on all future trips. How can I say no to that?

Cinderella's Royal Table - B-/C .Obviously the main attraction is getting to meet Cindy herself. My DD8 loved the princess treatment, but the food was just okay. If DW & DD do CRT again, it would be for breakfast.

Le Cellier - A- . High expectations were well justified. If I could only go back to TWO restaurants from our last trip, this would be the second. Loved it.

Narcoossee's - B. Hmm...we really, really liked the atmosphere and the vibe at Narcoossee's, but the service and food were slightly disappointing. I would rate the service and food a "C", but the beautiful location and the adventure of going to this restaurant add to the experience. What was it about the food that disappointed me? The lobster was overcooked and tough. Otherwise, the crab cake appetizer and the almond-crusted cheesecake dessert were great. DW's lobster tail on the surf and turf tasted a little 'funny.' Please don't take this criticism as it being BAD. It's not....it's great! But the food fell a little short of our extremely high expectations.

Boma - B+. About as good as it gets as far as breakfast buffets go. I loved trying some of the exotic foods, like boboti. I would have liked to have seen a few more traditional items, though. (I'm from the south, so biscuits, gravy, and grits are always appreciated!) The jungle juice was out of this world!!! I could've drank an entire carafe by myself.

Pepper Market - C+. Not bad - not bad at all. If we had been on the regular dining plan, this would be considered a CS credit...and I probably would rank it higher. As it were, simply compared to all the other wonderful restaurants, it wasn't as great. DS had a fish taco that was really good, though.

Hollywood & Vine - F. Yep. An F. And I don't think I'm being too hard on this place at all....it was simply terrible. To me, the entire restaurant had a funky smell in it. The salads were wilted and soggy. The vegetables were right out of a large can, like you might buy at Sam's Club...think lunchroom cafeteria. The carving station did offer a decent beef prime rib, but that is just me trying to find something positive to say. The chicken nuggets tasted like TV dinners. I know everyone has differences of opinions, but I would not under any circumstances set foot in this place ever again! UGG!

Yak & Yeti - B+. Really, really good. The pan seared ahi tuna appetizer was wonderful, the shoaxing steak & shrimp was terrific, and the fried wonton dessert was TO DIE FOR!! DW wasn't as thrilled as me, so I decided to give it a B+ instead of an A. (She did like it very much, though - just not as much as me.)

Yachtsman Steakhouse - A-. Outstanding. The seafood salad was the best appetizer I had all week...perhaps ever. The chateaubriand was a real treat. I didn't have dessert, but DW, DS, and DD certainly enjoyed theirs. The shining star here was the wonderful service by servers Bill and Eric. Ask for them BY NAME! They will take care of you.

'Ohana (breakfast) - B. The characters were great! We liked the vibe at 'Ohana and I will try my best to get an ADR for dinner on our next trip. I think I would really enjoy dinner at 'Ohana. The breakfast food was good, but not great. The fruit was nice and fresh. The pineapple bread was INCREDIBLE!

Teppan Edo - C. This is your typical Benihana-type teppan grill style Japanese restaurant. Nothing too fancy - nothing out of the ordinary. I give it a "C" because we could have a similar meal back home anytime...therefore, it wasn't special. (It didn't help that we were seated next to a big mouth!)

Tutto Italia - B. I would classify this as a really good Italian Restaurant. Not a GREAT one, but a REALLY GOOD one. Is it better than Tony's? Yes, but it is also much more expensive. Again, we were on the Deluxe Dining Plan, and it is totally worth 1TS. However, if I were paying out of pocket, I think I would've been disappointed. $20 for spaghetti. The desserts were FAB! DW loved the profiterolles and the canoli. The service was not very good at all.

50s Prime Time Cafe - B+. I really enjoyed the interaction with our Aunt Sara! She ran a tight ship! In addition to the role-playing, the food was actually really good also. I had the meatloaf and it was great. The shakes, the onion rings, the ice cream dessert...all great! The only reason I didn't give it an "A" (besides the fact that I rarely give As) is because it is crowded and a little slow at times. But that's just me being overly picky. It's great, and it probably should get an A.

Kona - A. My expectations were not as high for this restaurant, but it ended up being one of my very favorite meals of the entire week! The prime rib is outstanding! The sticky wings as an appetizer could easily make a full meal. (SOOO good!) The kids loved their Kona Cones - it was their favorite dessert of the entire trip. I WILL be going back to Kona!

So....

Restaurants I would like to revisit in Spring '09:

FOR SURE:
- California Grill
- Le Cellier
- Kona
- Yak & Yeti

PROBABLY:
- Tony's Town Square
- 50s Prime Time Cafe

PERHAPS:
- Yachtsman Steakhouse
- Liberty Tree Tavern

I would gladly go back to any of them, really, except Hollywood & Vine. I just want to leave plenty of space to try NEW things next time! In my next edition, I'll share some of the places we are thinking about trying next trip.

 

[englishrose47]

Hi Alan I found you !! Sounds likeyou have agood start on your pre trippie!You know when your going that is a great start!!My plans I think have changed as DD's BFF wants to go with us and she wants to go in Sept. (Value season plus hopefully free dining) So of course I am starting plans but is way to early for a PTR plus mine are boring with no pix!!

 

[Camster0307]

Hey Cammie! I sat down with my DD8 tonight and let her read through your trip report. She thinks your DD's hairdo was Kewl and she said, "aww...she's pretty!"

I know what you mean about putting off those last installments. Once the vacation ends, you still have the trip report to help you relive the memories. But what do you do when the trip report ends? Apparently, you start a Pre-Trip report! Yes, I was hesitant about doing a pre-trippie, but I figured I am pretty much checking the site just about every day for info, so I may as well get help from my DIS buddies! As excited as I am about our Florida trip next week, I can't help but to be looking forward to our next WDW trip in the spring!



I have heard good and bad about CBR. If we go with a moderate, it will be either one of the Port Orleans resorts or Coronado Springs again. Someone mentioned something about a pin code that might help make Wilderness Lodge an option. After reading Cammie's TR, I would really like to try WL! However, if budget only permits a value resort - and I'm leaning towards the POP. We'll see!

Sounds like you may need to schedule a stop at the GF salon to get that hairdo for DD. She'd look adorable and they'll also spray pixie dust in it. I tell people it's the pre-teen BBB!

We did love the WL but our fave is The Boardwalk - that's our "home" resort. I like that one so much because we spend most of our nights having dinner at Epcot so it's very convenient to get back to the resort. And the nightime activities on the BW is alot of fun. WL was great to get back & forth to MK though. I think if you're going to start planning yearly trips to WDW, you may want to look at DVC!

As for your restaurants, first off - I agree, how can you ignore the request of DS for having a traditional father-son meal there? How sweet! Just be grateful he didn't ask to have it at Hollywood & Vine! (we agree also - gross!)

LeCellier is a must do for us every year also. We have our traditional first night dinner at the San Angel Inn. It usually doesn't get great reviews around here but we love it! Worse case scenerio - if the food is no good, just order another margarita! If I can suggest one restaurant for now - take a look at Artist Pointe. We did have an ADR there for this trip but I cancelled because we were anxious to get to MK. I hear it's wonderful; but believe it's 2 TS credits on the dining plan.

Ok, that's my $.02 for now!

 

[mousebit]

Love your foodie report card, Alan!

After reading your TR, I had to scramble to get ADRs for Kona and Y&Y for our Sept. trip! You don't hear too much about Kona - except for the Tonga Toast - so I'm really looking forward to it.

Actually, we'll be going to quite a few of the same places you've reviewed. It'll be interesting to see if we get the same quality experience during free dining. In the past I never would have dreamed of going anywhere near WDW during FD since I'm not real fond of heat & humidity. But life got in the way and spring turned into summer...Then I decided that if I was going to go in sauna season I might as well get me some free food!

Glad you're having a fun summer. Kids here went back to school today. We go year round with cycle breaks every quarter. I'm only subbing now. Felt guilty when I saw the yellow bus this morning and was still in my jammies.

 

[alan_renfroe]

Hi Alan I found you !! Sounds likeyou have agood start on your pre trippie!You know when your going that is a great start!!My plans I think have changed as DD's BFF wants to go with us and she wants to go in Sept. (Value season plus hopefully free dining) So of course I am starting plans but is way to early for a PTR plus mine are boring with no pix!!

YAY!! Englishrose47 has arrived! Good to see you here!

You should definitely start a pre-trippie! As someone who encouraged me wrote, "part of the fun of a pre-trippie is to find out the exact moment a trip is planned and booked!" You should go for it!

Sounds like you may need to schedule a stop at the GF salon to get that hairdo for DD. She'd look adorable and they'll also spray pixie dust in it. I tell people it's the pre-teen BBB!

We did love the WL but our fave is The Boardwalk - that's our "home" resort. I like that one so much because we spend most of our nights having dinner at Epcot so it's very convenient to get back to the resort. And the nightime activities on the BW is alot of fun. WL was great to get back & forth to MK though. I think if you're going to start planning yearly trips to WDW, you may want to look at DVC!

As for your restaurants, first off - I agree, how can you ignore the request of DS for having a traditional father-son meal there? How sweet! Just be grateful he didn't ask to have it at Hollywood & Vine! (we agree also - gross!)

LeCellier is a must do for us every year also. We have our traditional first night dinner at the San Angel Inn. It usually doesn't get great reviews around here but we love it! Worse case scenerio - if the food is no good, just order another margarita! If I can suggest one restaurant for now - take a look at Artist Pointe. We did have an ADR there for this trip but I cancelled because we were anxious to get to MK. I hear it's wonderful; but believe it's 2 TS credits on the dining plan.

Ok, that's my $.02 for now!

Hey Cammie! I think $55 for a trip to the GF salon is totally worth it! I think we'll do this for DD this trip instead of CRT. She LOVED seeing those pictures of your DD. It is impressive that it lasts so long!

I would love to know a little more about DVC, Cammie. Anything you can share with me would be appreciated.

Oh, you are SOOO on my wavelength on restaurants!! If DS wants to do Tony's Town Square again as a father/son thing, I'm in! Who knows how much longer we will have these moments together! All I know is that on our last trip, this was a special moment for me and my DS. Also, one of my top priorities for this upcoming trip is to dine at Artist Pointe. In my next post, I am going to share my thoughts about restaurants we would like to go to on our next trip. Rest assured, Artist Pointe is on the top of that list!

Thanks, Cammie. Your $.02 is worth A LOT to me!

Love your foodie report card, Alan!

After reading your TR, I had to scramble to get ADRs for Kona and Y&Y for our Sept. trip! You don't hear too much about Kona - except for the Tonga Toast - so I'm really looking forward to it.

Actually, we'll be going to quite a few of the same places you've reviewed. It'll be interesting to see if we get the same quality experience during free dining. In the past I never would have dreamed of going anywhere near WDW during FD since I'm not real fond of heat & humidity. But life got in the way and spring turned into summer...Then I decided that if I was going to go in sauna season I might as well get me some free food!

Glad you're having a fun summer. Kids here went back to school today. We go year round with cycle breaks every quarter. I'm only subbing now. Felt guilty when I saw the yellow bus this morning and was still in my jammies.

Thanks, Barb! I hope you enjoy Kona and Yak & Yeti as much as we did! At Kona, we did not have the Tonga Toast, but I did have the awesome sticky wings as an appetizer, and the incredible prime rib as my entree! I highly recommend BOTH!!!

At Yak & Yeti, the pan-seared ahi tuna was soooooo goood!!!! The shoaxing steak and shrimp was a great entree. The fried wonton dessert was one of the BEST things EVER!!! OMG!! I would LOVE to have one RIGHT NOW!!!

We still have a few weeks left before our kids are back in school. I think they start back on August 7th. Anyway, we'll be at the beach next week, and I hope to take them to Six Flags Over Georgia before they have to go back to school. I really appreciate the time we get to spend together as a family. I work REALLY HARD during the fall and spring, so I try to make the most of my summers and holiday season!

 

[Luis Rodriguez]

Hi Alan,

Subscribing!!
Just found that you (finally!) had decided on a pre-trip report and, of course, I had to get in!

By now, I have visited the Disney parks about 14 times: WDW (12), Disneyland (1) and Disneyland Paris (1) staying mostly off-site. On our last visit, in January 2006 (and the first with our daughter, then 3 ½) we decided to go on site although, for budgetary reasons, we went straight to a Value Resort (All Stars Music). We found that, although the rooms were small, they were clean, the staff really helpful and amiable and the food courts adequate (we only did breakfast there).

Basically we found that we were most of the time at the parks, and used the room to “crash” at night.

This year, we are going to stay at the All Star Sports. We wanted to do POP, but there weren’t any rooms available at the time of booking (I really wanted to go to the Grand Floridian, but that would have broken the bank ).

So what I’m trying to tell you it is that it doesn’t really matter the resort you choose. In Disney even the “values” seem to be a good value. And, after all, home is where the family is…

Regards,

Luis

P.S. This is a photo of our DD during her Disney trip (she's the one on the right...)