A late "Just back" entry (long)

[brehede1]

Apologies for a late "just back" thread - I have been swamped with work etc. since we returned!

First I would like to thank everyone who writes into the Disboards - we got so much really good advice here!!

We stayed in Orlando for 19 days from Aug 1st to August 20th, trying to get maximum value from our flights from Ireland! Our last trip was in 2009. I was staying with my DH and DSs aged 12 & 15. We stayed in a DVC Studio in the Poly for 4 nights (rented through Disboard) and then 2 weeks in a 2 bed at Bonnet Creek.

A few observations:

1. This was our 3rd time visiting in August, but it seemed hotter than I remembered before. It may be because the previous trips were in the last week of August and shorter! This time we had a tendency to go from one air conditioned place to another and spent as little time outdoors as possible! I love to sit outside for dinner or to relax and read etc outside on holiday (we don't get much chance with Irish weather) so I missed that. I think whenever we plan another trip it will be at a cooler time of year, I missed just relaxing in the parks/pool, people watching, looking at parades etc.
2. We loved the Poly, it was our first time there - have stayed before at WL and Coronado Springs. We used the Touring Plans fax service and got almost exactly the room we requested which was a great location, view from balcony of MK and Lagoon and close to the Oasis pool. Captain Cooks was good (although we ate breakfast in our room so only had 1 lunch on arrival there.) We had a late breakfast at Ohana for old times sake another day which we all really enjoyed. We had been at EMH the night before so it was lovely to sleep in and wander over for a leisurely breakfast. One of my favourite parts of the whole trip was cocktails and pot stickers at Trader Sams on the outside terrace - lovely setting despite the heat! We came back again on our last night in Orlando. Also really loved watching the fireworks from the beach!
3. We liked Bonnet Creek very much and were glad we heard about it on DisBoards. Obviously it is much more economical and great for a long stay. It was really spacious, everything was clean and well kept and staff were very good. The laundry facilities in the room were great. We had a couple of minor problems with sheets and a toilet and maintenance/housekeeping came up almost right away. The only small gripe was that our room overlooked a car park, and despite trying a few times and being willing to pay a cleaning charge, it wasn't possible to move to a water view! We did find that we didn't cook as much as we expected (never used the BBQs) since my sons always wanted to be on the move and in the parks! We also didn't use the pools or activities as much as expected. I think this was partly because it was just so hot and partly because we had 21 day tickets so kids were always tempted to be in the parks.
4. Touring Plans is a great service, the waiting times app was very useful and I also got a number of restaurant reservations thanks to the dining service, including BOG and Crystal Palace pre park opening within a few weeks of our trip.
5. Was disappointed with Monorail - it seemed to be closed every time we wanted to use it when we were staying at Poly but maybe we were just unlucky!
6. I really liked FP+ which I didn't expect, we had been expert users of the old system and I thought I would find it restrictive having to decide on FP 60 days ahead. It really suited a trip with teens since they often did not want to do "rope drop". I do think that it resulted in us moving from place to place under a schedule more though, and always thinking about getting another FP. We didn't wait in line much but maybe it felt a bit rushed (my fault!). Although I had booked FPs for all the days of our trip ahead, we ended up changing plans quite a bit, particularly after the first week. It was possible to get a FP for most rides on the same day (except Frozen & SDMT), even Test Track and Soaring was available if I refreshed enough times! Sometimes it would indicate no time slots available & then offer 3 time slots - definitely worth persisting!
7. We tried not to eat in the parks or resort too much to economise but still had a good few meals. We loved Yak & Yeti (ate there twice), weren't keen on Whispering Canyon (my kids were too old to get into the fun!), and we enjoyed Crystal Palace breakfast (Crystal Palace was our first ever character meal in 2007 so we always go there). Ohana was good as I said above, and BOG pre park was great from the perspective of walking up a quiet Main Street. I enjoyed the food but my family don't eat eggs so it was a bit restrictive for them. Nine Dragons in Epcot was fine but nothing special. We ate at the Kona Cafe at the Poly on our last night, it seemed very busy and our server was the only slightly surly one we encountered on our trip., but the food was good. Sci fi diner was good fun.
8. The parks seemed busy but most of the time quite bearable. We generally followed Touring Plans or EasyWDW advice regarding which parks were quietest. One of the busiest days (where we ignored the advice) was MK on Aug 3rd, it was EMH to 2am. I would never do that again, it was still really busy until about 1:30 (boys waited 45 mins at 12:30 for Tomorrowland raceway - they insisted!), and park felt very crowded all evening.
9. We enjoyed the new Star Wars events at HS, we are all fans. We were a bit disappointed with the new Star Tours which was always one of our favourites - we went on a good number of times but mainly got the same "trip". We loved the Star Wars fireworks show, and found a great place to watch thanks to advice on the Star Wars thread. Frozen sing along was great - I dragged my poor children along but they enjoyed the humour, it wasn't what I expected. They loved the line "this one is for the Dads" just before "Let it go".
10. We enjoyed the night time opening at Animal Kingdom, it was much better heat wise compared to day time. We did the safari in the day time, night and dusk and preferred day time! Loved the Lion King show and Birds of Prey. Kali River Rapids is a favourite too, we went on it numerous times!
11. Epcot was great, we liked the new Soaring (I found it a bit more intimidating given a fear of heights than the old version), and loved the changes at Test Track. My sons loved designing their own car and we went on a number of times! Really liked wandering around World Show case, we were lucky one evening, it had been raining heavily and the park cleared out, we found a spot for Illuminations quite late. We went on Frozen once to see what it was like with FP, we enjoyed it better than expected. My sons also really liked Sum of All Thrills.
12. I definitely thought that entertainment / parades reduced since our last visit - no parade at HS or AK. It wasn't a problem because my sons preferred the rides anyway but my younger son used to absolutely love the shows/parades when he was smaller.
13. FP for character meets was great, we didn't do a lot given the boys ages but the 12 year old still wanted to meet Mickey etc. at Epcot which was easy with a FP.
14. We spent some time at Disney Springs which had changed completely compared to 7 years ago! We met some relatives for dinner at Raglan Road (which felt like home) and also had a good meal at the D-Lux Burger. Boys enjoyed Disney Quest which was included on our ticket and we enjoyed the chance to have coffee at Stabucks and read while they were occupied.
15. We managed to get to a water park - Typhoon Lagoon, best part was the snorkelling.
16. We spent 2 days at Universal which we enjoyed very much but it just didn't have the charm of Disney - I was surprised how many rides were simulators.
17. We went to the Medieval dinner show one of our last nights which was a huge hit with both of my sons, it was the 12 year olds request but we all enjoyed it. Definitely get a discount voucher on line!
18. Finally, we also went to Kennedy Space Centre for a special evening event - it was billed as a meteor shower viewing but actually ended up being a viewing of various planets etc. through telescopes set up by local enthusiasts - very enjoyable although my DH and sons were covered in mosquito bites afterwards despite using insect repellent.

Overall, we had a great trip. I was worried that it couldn't live up to my sons' memories from when they were small, but they really enjoyed it. I found it quite bittersweet visiting with older children and missed the innocent wonder of the past, but we had great fun and made some new family Disney memories. Everyone was really sad leaving, wondering whether we would manage another visit before they were fully grown-up!

Sorry this is so long and happy to answer any questions!

 

[jerseygal]

Sounds like you had a GREAT EXTENDED vaca, thanks for posting! Always fun to make new memories with our kids as they grow!