Since we’ve been home from our trip, DS has asked no less than 3 times a week when we are going back to Disney World. I don’t have an answer for that but I’m working on it. I bought DH new suitcases for Christmas. His only monotone comment, “Oh, no…Disney again.” In his opinion, WDW is too much “work” for a vacation.
I have been teaching DS how to say “Daddy, I miss Mickey” with the big sad eyes like the LaLa kids do….hey, it worked for them! I also have a WDW back up plan….a friend and her daughter who are interested in a “girls trip” with me and my girls.
So I don’t know how optimistic I am for another trip to Disney this year. Next school year, Mimi will be a senior and soon gone from our household. I think we’ll have to find a trip that we all agree upon. Hopefully there will be a trip of some kind in 2007 and hopefully it will include Disney.
Now about this trip report…over the last three months I have often wondered why I started writing this trip report in the first place. I guess the first and foremost reason is that since I started to DIS last April, I have been addicted to the trip reports board.
When I started reading all these reports, I was looking for something I could use. I was hoping to learn from the triumphs and mistakes of others who were willing to share. Initially, I did a search for “POR” and “September”. The first three reports I read were LaLa’s, ZZUB’s, and Glendamax’s. I laughed, I cried, I made notes…I was hooked. I found that I love living vicariously through others and visiting Disney World with them each and every day.
But trip reports and trip reporters are very different. Some are informative, some are very scheduled, some are downright commando, and others are just plain hilarious. I find male and female reports to be very different…in a good way. All trip reports are unique and I enjoy them each and every one.
That’s where I come in. There’s something you should know about me if you haven’t figured it out already. I’m a practical girl….always looking to do things in the most efficient manner. I don’t like surprises when it comes to expensive things like a Disney vacation. I like to be informed. In that respect, the DIS and I were made for each other.
But on this DIS adventure I have also found something I wasn’t looking for….friends. You’ve cheered me on, asked my advice, thanked me for sharing and commiserated with me as well. I feel like I “know” a lot of you now and maybe you know me a little better, too.
I thank you all most sincerely for reading and posting. Thanks for letting me know that you actually did enjoy this long and rambling report. And I hope that somewhere in there you found something that you could use for your trip as well.
To that end….being a practical girl….I have summarized some of my opinions regarding the different aspects of our trip. The reason that I put the Do’s and Don’t in every installment was because I had made notes in “the booklet” of what to do and what not to do next time. In the way of a DISclaimer….remember…we were there in the off-off-season and these are just my personal opinions. Individual results may vary…
PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE….In the beginning, the reason we picked POR was because we are a family of five which limits our options a quite bit. I know from previous trips that we just don’t spend a LOT of time at the hotel so I really didn’t want to spend a fortune on the room. But I must say that even though POR gets mixed reviews here on the DIS, we loved it!
I was worried that POR might be a little too rustic for my taste but the resort was beautiful, the setting peaceful, the food wonderful, the housekeeping immaculate, and the buses convenient. The pools (POFQ & POR) were great and it was nice to have 2 options there. There were also boats for rent, cane pole fishing, surry bikes, carriage rides and the boat to DTD. POR was a little more of a “deluxe” moderate in my opinion.
We were blessed to have the location we requested and an upgrade to a water view as well. We would not hesitate to stay at POR again. Here is a great
slideshow of the property from allearsnet that is more beautiful and comprehensive than anything we could do.
TRANSPORTATION….We drove to WDW so we had a car but we actually found we had little need for it. The Disney buses are fast, convenient, and drop you off right at the gates to the parks. I know there has been lots of bad buzz here on the DIS about the POR transportation but we really had a good experience.
We used the south depot at POR which is the first stop at POR. We never had to stand on our way to the parks and never got bypassed by a full bus. We were also the first POR stop on the way back from the parks each night. But remember we were there in the off season.
The only problem we had was on AK day…the bus was a very long wait for DH and the kids. AK is the farthest park from POR and the AK bus stops at Blizzard Beach on the way to AK. There was also the incident on the way back from DTD….doh….my fault.
Our car was convenient to drive to other hotels and places that are not directly linked on the Disney transportation chain and to drive to
Walmart etc. But frankly we could have done without a car.
FOOD…Our meals were, for the most part, great! Really….who can complain about free food. But I must say that the only place I absolutely would not book again would be CRT. That dinner was the worst one and the only 2 credit dinner of the week.
The Coral Reef was good but not great. Mama Melrose was also good but very like an Italian restaurant in any town. Kona on the other hand was fabulous and unique in every respect. And although Le Cellier overcooked our steaks, we will definitely book there again also.
Our best CS meal was Tusker House and I also loved the chicken wrap at Peco’s Bill’s. CHH was not all that great but the upstairs was such a nice peaceful break from the MK that I would recommend it. We also liked the pita wrap at Flatbread Grill at MGM.
One more thing….next time I will not book an ADR every single night of the trip. It is very tiresome to have to be somewhere every night after a long day at the parks….even if the food is free.
TOURING INFORMATION….Like I mentioned earlier, I bought the Unofficial Guide again. It is the WDW reference guide. It is very comprehensive in all aspects of Disney planning but I found it very unchanged from the 2000 version I had.
After some speculation, I subscribed to TourGuideMike.com. How can I begin to say enough good things about this site? The TGM site is easily as comprehensive as the UG but a little more concise. I have read posts from DISers who say that all Mike’s info can be found on the DIS. I think for the most part, there is some truth to that….if you have a year and 10 hours a day to comb the DIS for every shred of information you can find and record….assuming you know all the right questions to ask.
I see people posting here on the DIS all the time….”Is TGM worth it?” I always laugh. How much is this vacation costing you anyway, people? I guess I reasoned that if I could save one hour in line at WDW my money would be well spent….and it was. I actually emailed Mike with a question and he sent back a long, personal email with his thoughts and opinions. For only $18 or your money back? I doubt Barnes & Noble would let me return the UG after I’ve read it. Suffice to say, I will subscribe to TGM again.
THE BAG….I bought a smallish $6.99 black bag with an adjustable strap at Walmart for this trip. It had a pouch on the bag for “the booklet”; a side pouch for my cell phone; and a big zipper pouch big enough to hold 5 ponchos, glow necklaces, the camera and a bottle of water. It also had a front pouch which I filled with band aids, Tylenol, Rolaids, gum, and other little stuff.
And on the outside of the front pouch, it had a ring…like the kind on a key chain. I bought a small leather ID holder with a Velcro closure (also with a key chain ring) to attach to the front of the bag. I was able to keep the keys to the world separate from the rest of the junk and right where I needed them for easy access. I had read many stories about the keys becoming de-magnetized so this was an attempt to prevent that from happening. And it worked. Don’t forget to buy your bag in a unisex color….so your spouse can do part of the work.
BEST ADVICE….Go in the off season. Get to each of the parks at opening at least once. Don’t follow late nights with early mornings especially if you have young children. Build in some down time each day. You can’t do it all in one vacation so don’t even try. Be prepared for the time it takes to get from place to place (WDW is vast!) and plan accordingly.
FUN THREADS…..
TOP 40 TIPS….I actually copied/pasted these tips into the booklet.
DEFEATING ZURG….How to beat your kids and spouse at Buzz Lightyear...heh, heh.
So now, go forth unto Disney, my friends, with my hope that you are blessed with a safe and wonderful trip filled with memories to last a lifetime. But don’t forget to come back and tell me all about it when you get home…. 
