The kids and I arrived home at around 1am this morning. Needless to say, we slept in this morning. (I believe the clock said 9:16 when I woke up! I NEVER sleep that late!) Anyway, I have some thoughts that are fresh on my mind from our trip, so I thought I’d get them out before I forget.
On flying . . .
4 hours is certainly better than 18. Especially when you’re anticipating Walt Disney World. While we had barely enough time on our “layovers” to get from point a to point b, I still enjoyed flying and getting there so quickly.
Disney’s Magical Express service was WONDERFUL! It was nice to be picked up at the airport and brought back at the end of the trip. I appreciated that they took care of printing our boarding passes and checking our bag, too (even though it took FOREVER to get the bag checked for the trip home). However, I think that, in the future, we’d likely opt for a rental car.
On Value Resorts . . .
No thank you! Because we are a family of 5, we’ve always had to upgrade to Moderate to accommodate our family. Since we were going one short this trip, I decided to try a Value resort and we were less-than-thrilled. Call us snobs, call us spoiled, I don’t care what you call us. I won’t be staying at a Value resort again. (I’m sure I’ll be sharing more of our experience in a future post.)
On Disney transportation . . .
Because we have always driven in the past, I’m so used to having a car on property and being able to get from one place to another in a fairly reasonable amount of time. Relying on Disney transportation just plain stinks. Now, don’t get me wrong – if it’s all you know, fine! But, when you’re used to driving and being in charge of your schedule, it just doesn’t work! Hence the reason I’ll lean toward a rental car next time we fly.
On traveling without my husband . . .
No disrespect here, but we’re so used to Brian being our pack mule that we were a little frustrated by all that we had to carry! LOL Also, this was our first trip without a stroller. Man, I miss having a place to pile all our goodies.
On traveling in September . . .
We’ve now done Disney in January, February, March, May, and September. May is HOT. September is equally HOT. And did I say MISERABLE? Yep, that too. From now on, we’ll try to stick to traveling when the temperatures here in PA are COLD, so Disney weather is more reasonable.
Hot = Exhausting.
On the Disney Dining Plan . . .
I read mixed reviews and, while I’d never opt to just pay for it as a vacation package add-on, when Disney offers it for “free” I say “go for it!” We love having a nice sit-down (delicious) meal each day and we also enjoy the liberty of snacking and eating quick-service wherever and whenever we want, without having to dish out extra $ to pay for it.
My only “issues” would be the age (9 = adult?! Seriously?) and the fact that I feel like we waste so much food! Disney doesn’t skimp on food, that’s for sure!
So anyway, there you have it. I’ll be posting more about Disney and our trip over the next few days! Stay tuned.
8 comments:
Wow Heidi, really? Was the only good part flying and Magical Express? You've got me nervous about the Vaule Resort thing though. I'm a deluxe hotel girl staying at Art of Animation in October and had my doubts to begin with. I'm trying to create reasonable expectations, could you fill me in on why you won't do it again?
Kristen~
I think you'll enjoy Art of Animation. Do you know which building/theme you're staying in? We just visited that resort on Friday and I took a lot of pictures. We didn't ask to see inside a room though. But, with everything there being brand-new, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
We stayed at All-Star Music. Our air conditioner didn't work in our first room, so our first night was miserable there! We eventually got moved to a new room, which was better. The hair dryers weren't the best - very little power - but I asked if they had extras so we could have 2 and that helped. The service, etc. just wasn't as good as what we've experienced at the moderate level (Port Orleans Riverside) in the past.
I will tell you this --- our longest wait for a Disney bus was at Art of Animation. We waited 1/2 an hour for the bus to Downtown Disney to arrive. Hopefully that isn't typical. They're supposed to run at least every 20 minutes.
We'll be in the Little Mermaid section of the resort because there's only two of us going on this trip a standard room was all we needed, and I was out of DVC points. I had heard that the bus service was touch and go right now because the full resort isn't open yet. Hopefully that will improve some, but maybe I'll put aside some taxi money. I'm trying hard not to expect to hate it, but I am really pretty snobby when it comes to hotels and it's all Disney's fault. LOL.
You know, I am so thankful for this post. In the past we have stayed at the deluxe resorts because 1) we are a family of five 2) my husband is 6'3" and does NOT like cramped spaces and places [he grows quite grumpy 3) the transportation and service really match the deluxe price we payed - especially at The Polynesian transportation. I now know why I haven't done more posts on my blog. I felt like what you said, A snob. I didn't want people to think we were rich snobs who only stayed in the best. That's not how it is. My husband worked hard to make the money we saved to upgrade for a better place so that we can enjoy our trips and not be frustrated. It has always been worth waiting a little longer to go next because of it. I so appreciate your honesty. I am glad you had the guts to say what you didn't like. It releases me to feel freedom to be honest too.
Thanks for the positive feedback, Mindy! I didn't want to come across as being "better" than anyone else because goodness knows I am not. We were just all very disappointed in the difference between the Value and Moderate resorts. We've never stayed Deluxe, but I'd LOVE to stay at the Polynesian sometime. This trip was a quick, kids and mom only trip, and I was trying to do it on the least amount of money (aka Disney points) possible. But, I'll know to upgrade a bit next time!
We stayed at All Star Music once years ago and didn't care for it. We've stayed twice at Pop Century and loved it--it just seemed to have more Disney Magic. You might want to give it a try sometime. (We've also stayed at several moderate and deluxe resorts, but they're sadly not in the budget anymore.)
I remember growing out of the stroller too--it's nice not to have to locate it after every ride, but it sure is a great place to hold all your stuff!
I'm glad we aren't the only ones who weren't thrilled with All-Star Music, Debbie. I know other people who just LOVE Pop, so maybe sometime we'll give it a try. I think part of my problem was that I left for Disney not feeling well, and it only got worse on the plane. My ears were closed up for about 48 hours. Not having a.c. didn't help!
Good things to know for when I get to WDW. We live on the West Coast and do Disneyland often. I get what you mean about the "value" resort thing. Even though I am not in the room much I like a nice place - at least one step up from the "value" places. LOL Can't wait to hear more about your trip.
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