shinedalgarno
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2005
- Messages
- 35
Me, Hubby, DS12, DD4 and DD11weeks, both DD first timers
We stayed in the following hotels:
Gaylord Palms for 2 nights (won on priceline for 91 a night)
This was a nice hotel but the walk from the parking lot to our room was the worst of the trip. The free water was nice. For the price, by the time they add on 7 or so a day for parking and the 10 a day for resort fees, I would prefer to stay at Pop Century.
Animal Kingdom for 1 night (AP rate savahnna view room, around 225)
This resort is beautiful and I am really glad we stayed there. We aren't exaclty 'loaded' so while it was really nice to do for one night, I am glad that we only did it for one night. It was a very cool thing to do though, and everyone should do it at least once.
Old Key West 5 nights (rented from DVC owner for 10 a point)
I love the atmosphere here. The people as so very nice and I love when you come in the gate how they always say 'Welcome Home'...very hospitipal....you can tell that this is an older resort, but it was still very nice. The new slide was great for the kids and we had a nice afternoon at the pool area, enjoying frozen beverages and letting the kids splash around. The beds were not very comfortable. It was great getting to park right in front of our room and it was a very short walk to the bus stop which was GREAT! Made us want to be DVC owners ourselves!
Pop Century 1 night (I think it was 83 with AP rates)
Pop had the most comfortable beds of all strangely enough! For value we will stay here from now on....we really loved this hotel....we do not spend much time in our rooms, so this was perfect for us because while having extra space, etc...is a nice amenity, we just need to save money and have a comfortable place to sleep.....my only complaint about Pop was that when leaving the Magic Kingdom that night, we were the only resort waiting for bus service.......we had to wait through 3 buses to actually get on one! It was hard for us, because with 3 kids we had to tote a double stroller and lots of gear, so can't take a crowded bus, particularly what I call the 'tall buses' there is no where to put your stroller so that it is not in the other patrons way and it is very embarassing. Also, not really a complaint, but comparitively I did not think that the front desk check-in person was very 'disney friendly'....maybe I was just missing the 'Welcome Home' from OKW.
Lessons learned on Hotels for us this trip: We will never voluntarily stay off site again. We loved the bus service that much, even hauling a double stroller. We will take a disney value resort over an offsite 5 stay any day of the week. Next time, we are going to either try to rent points again or will will stay at one of the value resorts....by far the best values.
We ate in the following restaurants and had Disney Dining Experience:
Biergarten:
This was good and the entertainment was fun. I am glad we did it, but it is not something we probably would repeat as there are some many other dining options in Epcot.
Boma for Breakfast and Dinner:
By far the best dinner buffet, and it was a great breakfast as well. We really loved the food and atmosphere. If you are staying at AKL we would highly recommend eating here, and we would eat here frequently if staying at AKL.
1900 Park Fair Cinderella Dinner:
This was great fun for my kids and the food was really very good. The childrens buffet was very cool. I am not usually a red meat eater, but the prime rib was excellent. Having done this once, I am not sure we would make a special effort to do it again unless my children put in a special request for it and I think that they would probably like to experience some of the other character dining before returning to this one.
Whispering Canyon Cafe:
The menu selection was not really the type of food that my family likes, BUT I would say it had one of the highest 'fun factors' of all of the restaurants. We didn't like any of the entree selections so we just orderd the nachos and they were GREAT. My DS12 really like the 'endless milkshake'. If staying here, we would make a point to eat here.
50's Prime Time Cafe:
We were not very hungry when we ate here, so, it is hard to say. We mainly had drinks and appetizers which were all very good. Very fun atmosphere, another family lost their child to our table for bad behaviour
We will try this experience again when we are at MGM.
O'Hana:
Saw wishes from here, it was good.....the food was good...I am glad we did this once, but would only do it again if staying at the Poly. Our server was a little gruff, as were the check-in staff. We liked the shrimp a lot, but felt bad asking for our fill of them. We are really glad we did this once.
Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian:
It was good, but not a good value. I really liked the Jasmine tea. It was cool to do, but I feel like I spent too much money on it, even with my DDE discount.
Olivia's:
It was good...would eat there if convenient, but would not make any special effort to return even if staying at OKW.
Storybook Princess Breakfast in Norway at Epcot:
This was a great value.....5 princesses!!! My children loved it! The food was delicious too, not a big selection like a buffet, it is brought to your table, but plentiful and very, very good. When spending a morning in Epcot, we will definately repeat at this restaurant.
Beaches-N-Cream:
We went here and had the Kitchen Sink...yes, we ate the whole thing....and also, that is why we were not hungry for dinner at 50's Prime Time that evening So glad we did this....the kids are still talking about it and we got some great pictures.....best food 'experience'.......we ate this for lunch...not after lunch....we also had one order of onion rings...but that was just gilding the lily......
Ate at several counter service locations:
Aloha Isle, Harbour something...Noodle stand.....and let me just say.....counter service ,, for my family, is 'the' way to go....the food in every instance was hot, fresh and delicious......our family could eat for about 30-35 dollars....even though we could not use our DDE here....next time we go, we will be eating at a lot less sit-downs and many more counter service locations...we had fear that they would not be good...but we couldn't have been more wrong, these are definately not 'just fast food'....there is one glaring exception...the quick eats place in Mexico in Epcot...we got an order of Nachos there and they were 'HORRID'....completely stale chips.....we will never eat anything from there again except for drinks.....
Off-site restaurants:
Chevy's:
Tex-mex, ate there for lunch....service was VERY slow....and the food was pretty good! It was a good value, but only if we were not in a hurry to get back to the parks, etc.
Sweet Tomatoes:
Man, what can I say. What do we have to do to get Sweet Tomatoes in Nashville? It was FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you are down visiting the Belz Outlet malls, EAT HERE.....My family considers it to be located pretty far away, BUT with that being said, we will always eat here at least once per trip from now on. If we had one in Nashville, I would eat lunch there every day. Great value and great food and wonderful service!!
Food lessons learned this trip: We had very little negative to say about any of the food we had this trip. We learned that most of the mid-range restaraunts like the ones we visited this, while very nice if convenient, are not worth the time for our family to visit as we would really rather be in the parks or at the pool and a 'sit down' experience is not a requirement for us while at WDW. We were so burnt out on traveling to and fro to get to them, that we even canceled our Chef Mickey ressie one night, and ate counter service..we were done chasing meals.....we will make an effort to go to Sweet Tomatos every time and we will do the Princess storybook breakfast again when in Epcot for mornings....we will also try some of the other character dining experiences, but will limit it to one dinner and one breakfast per trip.......things may have been a little smoother with older children, however....still, I think we will stick to counter service and a few select others.....it's just my opinion and I am sure others think it is worth the trouble, and I can understand that point of view as well.
Parks Summary:
Our thoughts on evening EMH:
YIKES!!! Too crowded! Better off to go to a different park and just go home at closing...even getting in to the EMH park for that night is rough in the late afternoon...MGM EMH was particularly bad...but not worth it.....
Animal Kingdom yes or no:
For us, probably a no next time...we always go to this park when we are there, and my favorite ride in WDW is there 'Dinosaur'...but, there is just not enough 'big attractions' for my family. It was really nice though, because the park was not crowded at all....so very little waiting....it is nice and shaded....one of the most beautiful parks....I wish we liked it more, but we just don't feel the need to go back...however, Avalance Mountain may be able to sway us when it is completed Maybe for us the best answer is...on park hopper yes.....but not enough to use a seperate admission for.....
Cindy's Castle:
GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!! Best it has ever looked! I generally don't like them mucking up the castle and just prefer 'classic castle' decor...but what can I say...it looks really beautiful....and Cinderellabration was very enjoyable!! I am glad that they have it.
Best new ride since our last trip:
Mission Space...and yes, we did see somebody having to utilize the provided barf bag...luckily,it was after they were off of the ride itself....
DD4 fave ride:
Probably Test Track
DS12 and hubb fave:
Rockn' Roller Coaster
My favorite:
Philharmagic...it's a really beautiful experience.
Best Tip that we continually did not utilize:
Get to the parks at opening and ride the major attractions....we made it a couple mornings, but were mostly to worn out and had to sleep in...but our best experiences were by far in the mornings right after openings.....
Drinking/Eating around the World at Epcot:
Hubby and I did share a drink or drinks in every country in Epcot.....this was a high point of the trip for us, although I think the kids weren't having nearly as much fun as we were......that being said, we would do it again, we deserved it! Also, this did encourage to go 'in to' every country rather than just around the outskirts...we saw a lot more than we had previously...
Thing I wish we had splurged on, but did not:
Living Legend at Epcot......
Some of our favorite pictures were taken at:
Downtown Disney
Was Stiches's great escape to scary for DD4?
No, in fact she was a little miffed that the ride did not move like a roller coaster and complained that it was not scary enough....but, this is the same little girl that road Tower of Terror 3 times.....and had no problem with Dinosaur, Haunted Mansion or almost any other attraction......I will say though, that she did remove her 3-d glasses during all of the 3-d shows especially Honey, I Shrunk the Audience.
Must you get your children pins for pin trading?:
You could get by without it, and if they didn't know about would probably not even notice it.....BUT, my 12 year old loved it.....it was a highlight of the trip for him.....my 4 year old....not so much...and she didn't want to wear her lanyard..etc......but, this was a great time passer while waiting in line, etc...for my 12 year old.....
Should you buy autograph books, etc. ahead of time to save money?:
We didn't save much, and it wasn't worth our trouble to buy autograph books ahead of time. They weren't that expensive at the parks.....wish we wouldn't have wasted the effort buying those ahead....BUT, we did buy glow sticks and rain panchos at the doller store ahead of time and we were so glad that we did....we had enough glow sticks for my kids to share them with other children and made lots of friends..also, when we got caught in the rain, we felt good to be already prepared....Also, we went and bought Brita bottles in advance, and it was a big waste for us, as we were too lazy to tote them around and ended up having to buy water and sodas anyway...good idea, just not for us.
Is it possible to do WDW with a 3month old baby:
Absolutely....if they are mild mannered and easy going. I would not have even attempted this when DD4 was a baby...she had colic and was miserable as it was...but with DD11weeks, it was not a problem other than lugging the double stroller....but I would not, anyhow, anyway have left it behind...it was invaluable for the baby and for DD4.
Anyway, I know this is long, and I did not use the traditional day-by-day format, but I hope it helps somebody along the way. Feel free to ask any questions!!! We had a GREAT time and we can not wait to go back....we really want to go every year! The food portion I am going to xpost in the restaurant forum..so please excuse the xpost.
We stayed in the following hotels:
Gaylord Palms for 2 nights (won on priceline for 91 a night)
This was a nice hotel but the walk from the parking lot to our room was the worst of the trip. The free water was nice. For the price, by the time they add on 7 or so a day for parking and the 10 a day for resort fees, I would prefer to stay at Pop Century.
Animal Kingdom for 1 night (AP rate savahnna view room, around 225)
This resort is beautiful and I am really glad we stayed there. We aren't exaclty 'loaded' so while it was really nice to do for one night, I am glad that we only did it for one night. It was a very cool thing to do though, and everyone should do it at least once.
Old Key West 5 nights (rented from DVC owner for 10 a point)
I love the atmosphere here. The people as so very nice and I love when you come in the gate how they always say 'Welcome Home'...very hospitipal....you can tell that this is an older resort, but it was still very nice. The new slide was great for the kids and we had a nice afternoon at the pool area, enjoying frozen beverages and letting the kids splash around. The beds were not very comfortable. It was great getting to park right in front of our room and it was a very short walk to the bus stop which was GREAT! Made us want to be DVC owners ourselves!
Pop Century 1 night (I think it was 83 with AP rates)
Pop had the most comfortable beds of all strangely enough! For value we will stay here from now on....we really loved this hotel....we do not spend much time in our rooms, so this was perfect for us because while having extra space, etc...is a nice amenity, we just need to save money and have a comfortable place to sleep.....my only complaint about Pop was that when leaving the Magic Kingdom that night, we were the only resort waiting for bus service.......we had to wait through 3 buses to actually get on one! It was hard for us, because with 3 kids we had to tote a double stroller and lots of gear, so can't take a crowded bus, particularly what I call the 'tall buses' there is no where to put your stroller so that it is not in the other patrons way and it is very embarassing. Also, not really a complaint, but comparitively I did not think that the front desk check-in person was very 'disney friendly'....maybe I was just missing the 'Welcome Home' from OKW.
Lessons learned on Hotels for us this trip: We will never voluntarily stay off site again. We loved the bus service that much, even hauling a double stroller. We will take a disney value resort over an offsite 5 stay any day of the week. Next time, we are going to either try to rent points again or will will stay at one of the value resorts....by far the best values.
We ate in the following restaurants and had Disney Dining Experience:
Biergarten:
This was good and the entertainment was fun. I am glad we did it, but it is not something we probably would repeat as there are some many other dining options in Epcot.
Boma for Breakfast and Dinner:
By far the best dinner buffet, and it was a great breakfast as well. We really loved the food and atmosphere. If you are staying at AKL we would highly recommend eating here, and we would eat here frequently if staying at AKL.
1900 Park Fair Cinderella Dinner:
This was great fun for my kids and the food was really very good. The childrens buffet was very cool. I am not usually a red meat eater, but the prime rib was excellent. Having done this once, I am not sure we would make a special effort to do it again unless my children put in a special request for it and I think that they would probably like to experience some of the other character dining before returning to this one.
Whispering Canyon Cafe:
The menu selection was not really the type of food that my family likes, BUT I would say it had one of the highest 'fun factors' of all of the restaurants. We didn't like any of the entree selections so we just orderd the nachos and they were GREAT. My DS12 really like the 'endless milkshake'. If staying here, we would make a point to eat here.
50's Prime Time Cafe:
We were not very hungry when we ate here, so, it is hard to say. We mainly had drinks and appetizers which were all very good. Very fun atmosphere, another family lost their child to our table for bad behaviour
We will try this experience again when we are at MGM.O'Hana:
Saw wishes from here, it was good.....the food was good...I am glad we did this once, but would only do it again if staying at the Poly. Our server was a little gruff, as were the check-in staff. We liked the shrimp a lot, but felt bad asking for our fill of them. We are really glad we did this once.
Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian:
It was good, but not a good value. I really liked the Jasmine tea. It was cool to do, but I feel like I spent too much money on it, even with my DDE discount.
Olivia's:
It was good...would eat there if convenient, but would not make any special effort to return even if staying at OKW.
Storybook Princess Breakfast in Norway at Epcot:
This was a great value.....5 princesses!!! My children loved it! The food was delicious too, not a big selection like a buffet, it is brought to your table, but plentiful and very, very good. When spending a morning in Epcot, we will definately repeat at this restaurant.
Beaches-N-Cream:
We went here and had the Kitchen Sink...yes, we ate the whole thing....and also, that is why we were not hungry for dinner at 50's Prime Time that evening
So glad we did this....the kids are still talking about it and we got some great pictures.....best food 'experience'.......we ate this for lunch...not after lunch....we also had one order of onion rings...but that was just gilding the lily......Ate at several counter service locations:
Aloha Isle, Harbour something...Noodle stand.....and let me just say.....counter service ,, for my family, is 'the' way to go....the food in every instance was hot, fresh and delicious......our family could eat for about 30-35 dollars....even though we could not use our DDE here....next time we go, we will be eating at a lot less sit-downs and many more counter service locations...we had fear that they would not be good...but we couldn't have been more wrong, these are definately not 'just fast food'....there is one glaring exception...the quick eats place in Mexico in Epcot...we got an order of Nachos there and they were 'HORRID'....completely stale chips.....we will never eat anything from there again except for drinks.....
Off-site restaurants:
Chevy's:
Tex-mex, ate there for lunch....service was VERY slow....and the food was pretty good! It was a good value, but only if we were not in a hurry to get back to the parks, etc.
Sweet Tomatoes:
Man, what can I say. What do we have to do to get Sweet Tomatoes in Nashville? It was FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you are down visiting the Belz Outlet malls, EAT HERE.....My family considers it to be located pretty far away, BUT with that being said, we will always eat here at least once per trip from now on. If we had one in Nashville, I would eat lunch there every day. Great value and great food and wonderful service!!
Food lessons learned this trip: We had very little negative to say about any of the food we had this trip. We learned that most of the mid-range restaraunts like the ones we visited this, while very nice if convenient, are not worth the time for our family to visit as we would really rather be in the parks or at the pool and a 'sit down' experience is not a requirement for us while at WDW. We were so burnt out on traveling to and fro to get to them, that we even canceled our Chef Mickey ressie one night, and ate counter service..we were done chasing meals.....we will make an effort to go to Sweet Tomatos every time and we will do the Princess storybook breakfast again when in Epcot for mornings....we will also try some of the other character dining experiences, but will limit it to one dinner and one breakfast per trip.......things may have been a little smoother with older children, however....still, I think we will stick to counter service and a few select others.....it's just my opinion and I am sure others think it is worth the trouble, and I can understand that point of view as well.
Parks Summary:
Our thoughts on evening EMH:
YIKES!!! Too crowded! Better off to go to a different park and just go home at closing...even getting in to the EMH park for that night is rough in the late afternoon...MGM EMH was particularly bad...but not worth it.....
Animal Kingdom yes or no:
For us, probably a no next time...we always go to this park when we are there, and my favorite ride in WDW is there 'Dinosaur'...but, there is just not enough 'big attractions' for my family. It was really nice though, because the park was not crowded at all....so very little waiting....it is nice and shaded....one of the most beautiful parks....I wish we liked it more, but we just don't feel the need to go back...however, Avalance Mountain may be able to sway us when it is completed
Maybe for us the best answer is...on park hopper yes.....but not enough to use a seperate admission for.....Cindy's Castle:
GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!! Best it has ever looked! I generally don't like them mucking up the castle and just prefer 'classic castle' decor...but what can I say...it looks really beautiful....and Cinderellabration was very enjoyable!! I am glad that they have it.
Best new ride since our last trip:
Mission Space...and yes, we did see somebody having to utilize the provided barf bag...luckily,it was after they were off of the ride itself....
DD4 fave ride:
Probably Test Track
DS12 and hubb fave:
Rockn' Roller Coaster
My favorite:
Philharmagic...it's a really beautiful experience.
Best Tip that we continually did not utilize:
Get to the parks at opening and ride the major attractions....we made it a couple mornings, but were mostly to worn out and had to sleep in...but our best experiences were by far in the mornings right after openings.....
Drinking/Eating around the World at Epcot:
Hubby and I did share a drink or drinks in every country in Epcot.....this was a high point of the trip for us, although I think the kids weren't having nearly as much fun as we were......that being said, we would do it again, we deserved it!
Also, this did encourage to go 'in to' every country rather than just around the outskirts...we saw a lot more than we had previously...Thing I wish we had splurged on, but did not:
Living Legend at Epcot......
Some of our favorite pictures were taken at:
Downtown Disney
Was Stiches's great escape to scary for DD4?
No, in fact she was a little miffed that the ride did not move like a roller coaster and complained that it was not scary enough....but, this is the same little girl that road Tower of Terror 3 times.....and had no problem with Dinosaur, Haunted Mansion or almost any other attraction......I will say though, that she did remove her 3-d glasses during all of the 3-d shows especially Honey, I Shrunk the Audience.
Must you get your children pins for pin trading?:
You could get by without it, and if they didn't know about would probably not even notice it.....BUT, my 12 year old loved it.....it was a highlight of the trip for him.....my 4 year old....not so much...and she didn't want to wear her lanyard..etc......but, this was a great time passer while waiting in line, etc...for my 12 year old.....
Should you buy autograph books, etc. ahead of time to save money?:
We didn't save much, and it wasn't worth our trouble to buy autograph books ahead of time. They weren't that expensive at the parks.....wish we wouldn't have wasted the effort buying those ahead....BUT, we did buy glow sticks and rain panchos at the doller store ahead of time and we were so glad that we did....we had enough glow sticks for my kids to share them with other children and made lots of friends..also, when we got caught in the rain, we felt good to be already prepared....Also, we went and bought Brita bottles in advance, and it was a big waste for us, as we were too lazy to tote them around and ended up having to buy water and sodas anyway...good idea, just not for us.
Is it possible to do WDW with a 3month old baby:
Absolutely....if they are mild mannered and easy going. I would not have even attempted this when DD4 was a baby...she had colic and was miserable as it was...but with DD11weeks, it was not a problem other than lugging the double stroller....but I would not, anyhow, anyway have left it behind...it was invaluable for the baby and for DD4.
Anyway, I know this is long, and I did not use the traditional day-by-day format, but I hope it helps somebody along the way. Feel free to ask any questions!!! We had a GREAT time and we can not wait to go back....we really want to go every year! The food portion I am going to xpost in the restaurant forum..so please excuse the xpost.
Would for sure do this again......My daughter is diabetic and on an insulin pump..they had no problem with this...and when I told them ahead of time that I needed to know 'EXACTLY' what she ate so that I could adjust her insulin...they gave me a 'visual representation' of what she ate...they must have been right on track too, because she had no blood sugar problems after we adjusting her insulin based on what they said...so what a relief for us! That was a big worry and we debated rather she could participate...I am so glad that we did not hold this back from her, it was really no problem! I highly recommend this!
Well they're now 12 and 18 and are more than anxious to finally go (been saving my pennies) along with their 3 other siblings and me. Sadly we had taken a trip to Florida in 1994 at Christmas time and my hubby had a heart attack and died so he never got to even see anything. But am happy to hear Disney is still a great family place to vist and am looking forward to going (March 06)!
