Paigesmom2013
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2013
Just back a week from a 7 day trip to WDW. My first visit and it was me, DH, DD almost 3 and DD 4 months. We had 4-day park hoppers and went to Sea World one day. We stayed on property, All-Star Music, and had a rental car. No dining plan.
First, I have to say that the people on the Disboards have really good advice and know a lot about Disney.
Almost everything I read I found to be true. So thanks to all the Dissers out there! All in all, we had a good trip. I dont have a funny presentation, but here are a few things that I took away from the trip and know for next time. These are just my opinions.
--Rope drop is important; my family may never make rope drop.
So, I was pretty amazed on how big the World is and how long it takes to get places, even staying on property. It just took us too long to get out of the room and get in the car. Maybe that will change when the kids are older (or if I get a trip by myself.) But for now, rope drop is just a no-go and I just have to accept that.
--Park Hoppers didnt work for us either. We got discount tix thru DHs work, and hoppers were the only option so I dont feel we wasted them. But with young kids we never hopped. One park per day was good. I think wed get hoppers again when the kids are tweens/teens and its not so exhausting dealing with strollers.
--Low crowds mean something different to me. We went during a week when the crowds were an estimated 3 or 4. I was expecting empty parks. Naïve! I know the crowds werent bad at all, but I still felt like there were a lot of people around. So I have to adjust my expectation about the parks.
--We gotta go when its cooler. This trip was the week of Labor Day and me and DH were sweating right out of the gate. (Way before the gates, actually.)
I totally underestimated the heat. I know that we need to go in October, November or February to have a good time walking around.
--I liked staying on property, but maybe not a Value? Well, actually the resort areas were nice, but the room was not. I liked the pools and the food court at ASMu and I liked the benefits of staying on-site. But the rooms were very small with paper thin walls. People warn the rooms are small but I guess you have to see it with your own eyes. DH was also irked about using room towels at the pool. Next visit will be a moderate hopefully or maybe a suite offsite with a kitchenette since we'll always be on a limited budget.
--ADRs are good and bad. We had ADRs for Boma, Chef Mickeys, CRT, Kona Café and TRex. It was really nice knowing we had a spot reserved for meals, but it also made us feel trapped and limited on time. I think everyone has this feeling to some extent. Theres just not a lot of flexibility. But I liked all the food we had, with maybe the exception of T-Rex. (Overpriced.That visit was mostly for our DD.) I had some sticker shock with some of the meals, even the counter service lunches, so I think a dining plan might be the way to go for us in the future. Less to think about.
--Our baby could ride almost everything.
It was nice that our baby could ride almost all the rides we took our older daughter on. And she seemed to enjoy most everything, especially Its A Small World. It was nice to experience the attractions all together as a family. I rode one thing, Expedition Everest, by myself which was a blast!
So, that's my two cents. Have fun planning!
First, I have to say that the people on the Disboards have really good advice and know a lot about Disney.
Almost everything I read I found to be true. So thanks to all the Dissers out there! All in all, we had a good trip. I dont have a funny presentation, but here are a few things that I took away from the trip and know for next time. These are just my opinions.--Rope drop is important; my family may never make rope drop.
So, I was pretty amazed on how big the World is and how long it takes to get places, even staying on property. It just took us too long to get out of the room and get in the car. Maybe that will change when the kids are older (or if I get a trip by myself.) But for now, rope drop is just a no-go and I just have to accept that.--Park Hoppers didnt work for us either. We got discount tix thru DHs work, and hoppers were the only option so I dont feel we wasted them. But with young kids we never hopped. One park per day was good. I think wed get hoppers again when the kids are tweens/teens and its not so exhausting dealing with strollers.
--Low crowds mean something different to me. We went during a week when the crowds were an estimated 3 or 4. I was expecting empty parks. Naïve! I know the crowds werent bad at all, but I still felt like there were a lot of people around. So I have to adjust my expectation about the parks.
--We gotta go when its cooler. This trip was the week of Labor Day and me and DH were sweating right out of the gate. (Way before the gates, actually.)
I totally underestimated the heat. I know that we need to go in October, November or February to have a good time walking around. --I liked staying on property, but maybe not a Value? Well, actually the resort areas were nice, but the room was not. I liked the pools and the food court at ASMu and I liked the benefits of staying on-site. But the rooms were very small with paper thin walls. People warn the rooms are small but I guess you have to see it with your own eyes. DH was also irked about using room towels at the pool. Next visit will be a moderate hopefully or maybe a suite offsite with a kitchenette since we'll always be on a limited budget.
--ADRs are good and bad. We had ADRs for Boma, Chef Mickeys, CRT, Kona Café and TRex. It was really nice knowing we had a spot reserved for meals, but it also made us feel trapped and limited on time. I think everyone has this feeling to some extent. Theres just not a lot of flexibility. But I liked all the food we had, with maybe the exception of T-Rex. (Overpriced.That visit was mostly for our DD.) I had some sticker shock with some of the meals, even the counter service lunches, so I think a dining plan might be the way to go for us in the future. Less to think about.
--Our baby could ride almost everything.
It was nice that our baby could ride almost all the rides we took our older daughter on. And she seemed to enjoy most everything, especially Its A Small World. It was nice to experience the attractions all together as a family. I rode one thing, Expedition Everest, by myself which was a blast!So, that's my two cents. Have fun planning!
