We're back

[TracyK]

from a lovely holiday. Unfortunately poor Stevie did get Chicken Pox which unfortunately meant several days mainly stuck in the hotel. The rest of the holiday was brilliant though.

Best things

The World Showcase - We always love to wander round here. We have seen most things in the WS but this time I made a point of seeing things we'd missed before. The acrobats in China were incredible.

The Hard Rock Hotel especially the front of the line access.

E-nights - Even better than last year.

Wyndham by Request - This ensured us a beautiful room with own balcony overlooking the lagoon plus several other perks.

Sweet Tomatoes - wonderful vegetarian buffets.

Lack of crowds - August is soooo much quieter than Easter.

Raccoons and Armadillos - When I stayed at The Doubletree Suites I had a verandah. The first morning I was sitting out when along came a family of raccoons. The next couple of nights I also spied an armadillo. To coin an American saying "It was awesome!!!!!!"

Spying an alligator in the Magic Kingdom - I'd told Stevie before that several people on the Dis had reported alligator sightings but we'd never seen one. He was delighted to see one just below the wooden walkway by Splash Mountain. It was sunning itself and we managed to get some pictures.

Balcony at Courtyard and Best western DD - views of Epcot, Magic Kingdom and DD fireworks.

Disney Quest - It was our first visit and both of us loved it.

Worst things

Stevie's Chicken Pox - He had a bad case. He felt really bad for a couple of days and had spots just about everywhere. We made the best of it. I spoiled him by buying treats from the hotel gift shop and waited on him hand and foot. The plentiful television stations also helped. When he was slightly better we were able to get out a bit but we were very restricted until the spots dried-up.

The weather - It seemed to rain much more than last August. I really wouldn't choose this time of the year if I had more choice.


Fire away if you have any questions.
Tracy

 

[Goofyish]

Glad to hear you had a great time

Also glad to hear that August is so much quieter than Easter time - we just decided to go next August rather than next Easter

Any tips of touring WDW in August most appreciated

 

[BevS97]

so sorry to hear about the chicken pox. What a nightmare. A friend of mine's dd got them when they were in Switzerland skiing, and they weren't allowed to stay in the hotel and ended up spending 2 weeks in a hospital. Not the holiday they had planned.

Sounds like you weren't stuck in the hotel for too long though, but still so frustrating when you've waited all year for your vacation - the last place you want to be is stuck in the hotel room for any length of time.

Bev

 

[KayleeUK]

Glad Stevie's chicken pox didn't hinder you too much. Sounds like you had a fab time, can't wait for the full trip report

Kaylee

 

[UKDEB]

Welcome back, Tracy. Sounds like you had a great time. Hope Stevie's all better now. We're planning on doing DisneyQuest and Sweet Tomatoes (firsts) this trip, so would love to hear a bit more about these.

 

[Penny12]

Welcome back

I was there for some of the same time as you...yup...a couple of days the afternoon storms came and didn't really go away properly did they?

Sorry to hear Stevie got the Chicken Pox after all, but glad to hear that you seemed to make the best of a bad situation atleast!

Penny

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

Welcome back Sounds like you enjoyed yourselves - apart from the Chicken Pox (what a bummer). All the heat must have made the itching even worse

 

[TracyK]

Thanks everyone. I was determined to make the best of things. I obviously had to rethink the itinerary but we still managed to do most of the things we'd planned. Unfortunately he wasn't able to swim for the whole time and missed out on the pool at the Hard Rock. He was not actually infectious at this stage but he was still very spotty and too self-conscious to go swimming.
Tim - If you are staying on-site then a short pool break midday is a good idea. We didn't do many breaks because the park hours were fairly short in the second week. I found what worked best for us was lots of short breaks. We did shows and indoor attractions in the middle of the day. We also made good use of the Passholders' lounges at AK and Epcot. We drank plenty of course and did not remain outside for more than half an hour at a time during the day. This actually was quite easy to do as the rides and attractions are mainly under cover. We saved places like the World Showcase for the evenings when it was far more comfortable to stroll around.
Bev - That was awful for your friends. For the worst part of his illness we were staying at The Courtyard DD. The staff were very sympathetic and gave info on nearby clinics etc. I had gone prepared for the worst and the medications I took helped to ease the discomfort and itching. He was able to sit out on the balcony and I feel the sun helped speed-up the drying process. We were also lucky that the hotel offered a fairly good food service. They also had something called a manager's special on each day between 4:00 and 6:00. They offered complimentary beer, wine and soda, and nachos and popcorn. I would nip down and take supplies back to the bedroom. Once he got over his initial feeling ill stage he was more than happy to laze in bed eating Pizza-Hut pizza and watching a Zoog movie. It would have been a far worse experience if the hotel hadn't had such good facilities.
Tracy

 

[WDWfan uk]

Welcome back Tracy
Poor Stevie ......... chicken pox is so unpleasant but it sounds like you did a marvellous nursing job!
It's good to hear you enjoyed yourself in spite of those days when Stevie was feeling bad.

 

[drennan]

Welcome Home Tracy Wasn't you concerned about your son just before you went on holiday about picking up the virus as he was playing with a neighbours child who had them or am I thinking about someone else(or am I being completey stupid and is Stevie your son or husband ? - sorry Tracy I haven't been on these boards that long to register whos who yet) Anyway I'm glad Stevie and yourself enjoyed your holiday dispite the dreaded lurgy..... I myself have just got over shingles and lucky for me neither of my ds have caught the chickenpox from it.

Anyway looking forward to your trip report.

ttfn

 

[kazzie]

Tracy,

Great to hear you had such a good time

I've just returned from a holiday which my DD had an ear infection for the first few days (we only went for a week) and DH and DS had food poisoning the last two so I know how depressing it is for the whoile family if someone is unwell

PS Where, and what kind of restaurant is Sweet tomatoes?

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

Glad you did have a good time,shame about the chicken pox! at least it didnt bother your holiday too much!

Beth

 

[abaldacci]

great post

 

[Hilary]

Welcome back!

Glad to hear you had a great time despite the dreaded Chickenpox

Isn't it great when you spot the native 'wildlife'? I imagine the Americans think we must be a bit dotty to be ecstatic about seeing a raccoon/ armadillo/ alligator/ etc.

 

[TracyK]

Sorry I haven't responded but I've been away for a couple of days. I know I've only just got back but I'm making the most of my time off work.
Sharon - Yes it was my son Stevie who'd been in contact with my friend's grandson the day before his spots appeared(the most contagious time for chicken pox). Luckily we were able to make the most of a bad situation.
Kazzie - It sounds like you had a really bad time of it.
Amanda - Thanks
Hilary - LOL I was that excited that I woke Stevie up and dragged him out to see the raccoons. He was half asleep and because it was still fairly dark thought that they were cats and must have thought his mum had gone mad yelling "look what I can see" at 5:00 in the morning. Once he realised that they were in fact raccoons he was just as excited as me. We are always delighted to see the local wildlife. Our favourite find last year were the softback turtles that lived in a pond next to the Courtyard at DD. They would come to the side and follow you right along the edge. We stayed there again this year and just had to go and see them again.
Tracy