WDW in October vs. Hilton Head in March: a tale of two trips NEW! 10/6 p20

[Mndisneygirl]

Is it possible to like any place better than WDW? I know there are those of you who would say, “NO, I’d never want to vacation anywhere else.” Then there are those of you who would say, “YES, I love to experience new places and I can only go to WDW so many times.” (okay maybe they are not around here…). I think many of us fall into a third category – “There are other places, but not as good as WDW”.

My family had the pleasure of going to WDW in October 2012 and then we took a trip “SOMEWHERE ELSE” in March 2013! I know – crazy, right? Well, we are DVC members and we decided to try Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort! So it’s still Disney, but somewhere else!

This is the story of two trips – Our first time going to WDW in October for Food and Wine and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and our first time going to Hilton Head South Carolina! Did we really like “somewhere else” better than WDW? Stick around and find out!

Many of you “know” us from previous TRs, but here’s a quick introduction:

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Me – Sheree – self-proclaimed Disney lover and travel buff. Lowly government attorney is my day job, and selling Pampered Chef kitchen products is my part time job. My other part time job is to drive my daughters back and forth wherever they need to be!

DH – Dave – also a Disney lover (he got me hooked!) and all-around great husband and dad! He’s a mailman by day and a merchandise seller at evening concerts. He also has the same part time chauffer job!

DD12 – Sarah – turned 12 the day we left for Hilton Head in March, so she was still 11 ½ in October. Smart as anyone, very active in 6th grade – student council, yearbook, project citizen, and a dancer too! Favorite Disney character: Eeyore and Sully & Mike

DD10 – Paige – didn’t turn 10 until after HHI. So she was still a Disney child on our trips. Also a smarty pants – math whiz!, she is involved in competitive dance. Favorite Disney characters: Belle and Marie

So, since it took me 6 months to get started on this TR, I decided to combine the two trips and sort of hit the highlights. Of course, there were LOTS of highlights, so it really won’t be that short! We did a lot of "new" things on both our trips!
I hope you will join me and jump in with comments and questions at any time!!

 

[wiigirl]

In for your TR.

 

[Majordis]

Hi! I enjoyed your previous trip reports - thought I would come out and say hello! Can't wait to hear about Hilton Head

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Joining in for the fun!!!

 

[disneyfan61]

Anxious to hear all about it.

 

[uncw89]

I'm here! I'll try to keep up!!!

 

[dizneeat]

Yeah! You started! I am so in here!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Count me in!!

 

[MeMom]

Is it possible to like any place better than WDW? I know there are those of you who would say, “NO, I’d never want to vacation anywhere else.” Then there are those of you who would say, “YES, I love to experience new places and I can only go to WDW so many times.” (okay maybe they are not around here…). I think many of us fall into a third category – “There are other places, but not as good as WDW”.

I think because Disney World is clean, safe, and family-friendly, it just rises to the top of the list for us automatically. Then, factor in the variety of rides, shows, and activities for all interests and ages, and that solidifies it for a great choice. When you top it off with a longtime love for Disney things, it pretty much seals the deal.

We are doing our first non-Disney World/still Disney trip this year. We will be at Vero for four days. Then we're going to Disney World to stay at Kidani, but we're not doing any parks. My AP will still be good, but Jill's and the girls' will be expired. We're going to go to Sea World for one day, so it will be interesting to see how much comparing we do to Disney parks while we are there.

So, since it took me 6 months to get started on this TR, I decided to combine the two trips and sort of hit the highlights. Of course, there were LOTS of highlights, so it really won’t be that short! We did a lot of "new" things on both our trips!
I hope you will join me and jump in with comments and questions at any time!!

I am definitely in for seeing lots of pictures and hearing good stories!

 

[eandesmom]

I'm here! Now off to read.

 

[MEK]

Well I'm in the car on my way home from HHI so im certainly looking forward to hearing about both trips. I lived HHI every bit as much this time as last time and I'm seriously considering a return in October 2014. Can't wait to hear about your adventures.

 

[petals]

joining in.

 

[Poolrat]

Here - Can't wait to hear your take on Oct.


I am relatively close to HHI but have yet to stay there. I need a time where I have points not already dedicated to Disney World or land. Or more points.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I'm here!! So excited to hear what you thought of Disney's HHI resort!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I'll reply individually soon - but for now and thanks for joining me!

The Plan
Where we live, the kids have a short two day fall break for teachers to attend union meetings. So we get a Thursday and Friday off in mid-October. We thought it would be a great time to go to WDW – the fall décor, the MNSSHP, and my personal reason, Food and Wine Festival! We usually prefer to go when the weather here is cold and miserable, but we had skipped WDW in the winter of 2011-12 to go to Europe. We were ready to go back! Since our kids are really good students, and the fact that we usually drive (which adds a few days), we opted to pull them out for three days and go for a whole week! So we would leave Friday October 12 after school/work and hopped into the rented red Chevy Impala and hit the road! We drove (well, Dave drove) and drove and drove. Yup, we drove STRAIGHT THROUGH! We were really anxious to get there! Plus we saved money on a hotel for that night! Luckily the girls are able to get some decent sleep in the car. Me, eh, not so great, but I didn’t mind. We were going to DISNEY!!
Dave is really good driving all night. When we do that, we arrive around dinner time the next day (it’s about 24 hours) and then he gets a good night sleep before we hit the parks.
But I digress from the plan information!
We were going to have a split stay this trip! We were going to have 5 nights in a studio at the Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo with a savanna view and then 2 nights in a 1BR villa at Old Key West (never had a 1BR before and never stayed at OKW before!) I sort of feared the 1BR, because I was thinking once I had a taste of a big room, I’d never want to go back to a studio! Of course, our limited DVC points do have a say in what kind of room we get!

Unfortunately, I was in such a hurry to leave home, I did not take any pictures in the car or from the road. Unless there was one or two with my phone that I just don’t remember! We left our house around 4:30 p.m. and drove. We stopped in Tennessee for breakfast (HI Memom!) and then I drove through lots of fog in the mountains. DH drove a while until we got to the Florida Welcome Center! Yay! Fresh orange juice! We were super hot in our long pants – but we were thrilled!! I drove the rest of the way! Might have been speeding a little!

So let’s get to the good stuff, shall we?

We arrived at AKV around 5 p.m. Two of DH’s 4 sisters had just taken a cruise that had come in at Port Canaveral. So they drove on over to see us for a little bit. One of them lives in Florida and one in Virginia, so we don’t see them much. It’s fun to meet at WDW though! They weren’t staying, so we checked in and visited with them while we got some dinner at The Mara and then the kids swam in the pool.

Our room was a studio with savanna view. Oh, YES it was!! We were on the Arusha Savanna (new to us!) in room 5321 on the Kudu Trail. Want to see some pictures? I’ll bet you do! Well, okay then!








There were a few “issues” with the room condition. Because my SILs and families were there, we didn’t really make a fuss about it then. But there was sticky spots on the carpet, a wet sheet on the pull out and some pieces of food (popcorn) on the bathroom floor.

You can see the view next time!

This was the first time Sarah was allowed to have charging privilege on her KTTW card and she was very anxious to use it. So she wanted to have something to keep it safe and dry in. We went over to the Zawadi Marketplace and she bought a waterproof case for it – ALL BY HERSELF!

Then we headed to The Mara for dinner. There were ribs for the dinner special and DH got those (hoping they were as good as the ones he’d had at Boma in the past) – they were pretty good he said! I had a veggie flatbread that was really good with artichoke, arugula, carmelized onion and red peppers. Got a little too crispy, and wished there was more cheese, but I liked it a lot! Sarah had her usually chicken nuggets. Paige was going to share with me, but she didn’t like it much. She’d snacked a lot earlier, and later I got her some nuggets too.

We headed out to the pool so the girls could swim. Love the zero depth entry!







The girls swam while the rest of us visited and talked with Dave’s sisters about their cruise (It was on Carnival - I guess they were lucky to make it back!) After they left, we unloaded the rest of the car and hit the sack by 10:30. It was a long day(s) and we were beat! I’d worry about the floor tomorrow.

 

[jenseib]

Joining in. Will read and catch up when I get home.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Wow! A 24 hour drive? And I thought that our 16 hour drive was a lot.

I had to laugh when you said that the family members had sailed on Carnival and were lucky to have made it back. I thought that same exact thing.

Hopefully, the room conditions didn't cause too much trouble. It's not cool to start off a vacation with room issues.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Great first update! I can't believe you guys drive straight thru 24 hours!!

How nice that it worked out that Dave's sisters could come visit with you guys. I hope the room issues weren't too bad and they were taken care of right away.

 

[emmysmommy]

Oh my...I am looking forward to reading...welcome home!!

 

[Monny2AE]

I'm dreading our 16 hour drive. TWENTY FOUR!!!!!

It's disappointing that your room wasn't cleaned well.