TsLoveMickey
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2013
I just can't get over how perfect our trip was overall! Hope you enjoy my first trip report!
My party included myself, my DH, my mom, DD4 and DS0/turning one. We stayed at VWL on rented points through a very great third party service that I'd be happy to recommend via PM.
On the way to the airport Sunday morning I noticed my daughter had glitter on her face. I have no idea where it came from but I joked Tinker Bell must have visited and sprinkled us with pixie dust. A few minutes later, I checked dining availability to see if I could move my Akershus reservation back to 10:30 from 8:20 a.m. and lo and behold, it was available. I'd been trying for weeks! Pixie dust ... I think so!
We arrived at VWL about 6 p.m. after a delayed flight and slower than expected, but not terrible, Magical Express service. We were originally projected to land at 4 p.m. ... I'm so glad I listened to the boards' suggestions to not book an ADR for arrival night! That would have been stressful. I did online check in so I went to that check in line and walked right up to a friendly CM. I really wanted a lake/woods view but only chose upper floor/near elevator during online check in, so I held my breath when she gave us the room number until we got to the room.
Side note: we rented a stroller from Kingdom Strollers. It was waiting for us at concierge upon checking in. We did have a problem with the stroller on our second day and they came to the resort to replace it during naptime, very great service!
When we walked in the room, I could hardly contain my excitement. It was generally close to but not very near the elevator. It was a dedicated studio (maybe a corner?) overlooking the woods AND THE LAKE AND THE QUIET POOL! It had to be the most perfect room in all of VWL. Sorry, I'm bragging. But people ... I could see the electrical water pageant at 9:30 p.m. every. single. night. From the balcony. While my kids slept. Perfection!
We ate dinner the first night at Roaring Fork. It was actually pretty good for QS! I had a bad experience at CHH in MK the previous trip so I was a little wary of QS. We all had burgers (the adults had the angus bacon cheeseburgers). The toppings bar was nice. We were tired and hungry, and it hit the spot! On the way back to the room my daughter began what would be a 48-hour marathon begging session to go swimming. Shame on me for not fitting that in sooner given the awesome pools. We did catch the "campfire" and were able to roast a few marshmallows to appease her for a moment.
Monday was our first full day at MK. We started our day with a pre-opening Crystal Palace ADR at 8:10. They were so prompt and we had a table with a view of the castle! We were celebrating my DS' birthday so I really believe that had something to do with table location. If you're celebrating something, note it! The food was really good. We had a great server. We didn't feel rush but we DID feel discombobulated. Know what I mean? It was our first character meal this trip but we learned from it.
We had the best time using our FP+s on 7DMT, Splash and Belle. My daughter was chosen to play Beast so she got to dance with Belle! We got a rider swap for 7DMT so my mom could ride it with us the second time, and we got stuck on the tracks before they "closed" the ride, so we got a FP that we were able to use later. After that, we sat to eat the lunch we'd packed. My mom went to the QS nearby (I think it was Friar's Nook? Or whatever is close to it) and ordered three ice waters and a diet coke. The CM told her not to worry about paying for the diet coke! Seriously! I know it's just three bucks, but how nice is free?
The rain started right when we were heading out for naptime. Unfortunately it didn't stop but we headed back to the park around 5 just in time to duck in to see Tink and Mickey before a downpour. After that, it was just drizzly and we conquered almost all of Tomorrowland that evening. My DH bought DD a new Elsa costume and crown that morning, which she wore for the afternoon. During Monsters Laugh Floor, they zeroed in on her for one part and called her a princess, which was so cute and sweet! After we had our fill of being soggy, we took the monorail over to Contemporary to eat at Contempo Cafe.
Oh, Contempo Cafe. I deliberated on whether it was worth it to go over there. I read a blog post from Disney Tourist Blog about it from 2013 and decided to try it. The travel there was not bad at all, especially since we'd be taking the direct boat to WL after eating. But none of the menu items from the blog post I read were still offered. Again we were tired and hungry (and wet this time) so it would do. My mom and I had the spicy chicken sandwich which was unfortunately fried. In looking at the menu posted on Disney's website, I don't think all of those items were even offered when we went. Hmm. My DH had the cheeseburger. (Again.) DD had the chicken nuggets. We did get a cupcake ... it was good but so much icing! Too sweet ... and I REALLY like sweets. The atmosphere was good, though, and the boat ride back with a singing captain redeemed the evening.
Tuesday brought us to Animal Kingdom. We started with pre-opening breakfast at Tusker House at 8:20 a.m. We arrived at 8 and were checked in, told to line up for park opening, then walked to TH and checked in there. We were seated immediately. The food at this breakfast was awesome! The characters were cute and the server was good. We paced ourselves much better this time and really got to enjoy the food. The server was very patient.
Did I say how much I love FP+? It's so awesome to walk right on to rides like Safari and Dinosaur (and to do rider swap on some of them!).
We stayed in the park til about 2 before heading back for naps and -- finally, Mom! -- swimming at the resort. (We packed our lunch and snagged a table at the bar outside TH to eat, but we were hardly hungry after our big breakfast.) It was SO HOT and getting crowded by the time we left. (And we're from south Louisiana, so we're not strangers to heat and humidity. But goodness, it was sweltering!)
Tuesday night we went to Whispering Canyon Cafe at the resort for dinner. I debated so much on whether to eat here or not but decided it was a decent restaurant and very convenient. It was probably my least favorite table service of the trip, but it wasn't terrible. Our server was not very fun even though we had our card on green, but at least we didn't get the chick on the other side of the restaurant who was bordering on just plain rude. There were a few good ones here and there that seemed more interactive but not over the top. The food was pretty good FOR DISNEY. In the real world, it would have been sub-par. We did the AYCTE platter. The pulled pork, mashed potatoes, corn bread and salad were all very, very good. The rest was just meh. My DD did enjoy the wooden horse parade around the restaurant but her grilled cheese on nasty fish-shaped "bread" was a disgrace for almost $9. I really should have complained to management about that, but I resolved to take a chill pill before the trip and refused to let it bother me.
Wednesday we planned to make rope drop, but we were getting tired and it was our first non-super-early morning so we took it slow. We were the last people allowed on the first boat to MK at 8:30 a.m. *pixie dust* and the opening show began as our boat was pulling up to MK. So cool! We made it through the turnstiles as the park opened. We walked right on POC. The crowd calendar was absolutely right this morning as we never waited more than about 10 minutes for anything until we left the park around 1:30 for naps.
Since we ate breakfast in the room that day, we had lunch at BOG. Speedy check in, somewhat of a wait to order and not a bad wait at all for the food. We found a table right next to the "snowing window" in the very back of the main room, which was perfect. The food was great! My DH and mom had the roast beef sandwich and enjoyed it, and I had the turkey sandwich and loved it! My daughter's turkey sandwich was significantly better than the grilled cheese thing the night before.
We returned to the park around 5:30 in advance of our Anna & Elsa FP. My DD meeting them was such a special moment! She was fully dressed as Elsa (again) so it was extra special. The kids were fading fast and we were trying to make it to Wishes, so we took it slow and went to wait for our ADR at the Plaza for dinner. While waiting outside, a guy walked buy and handed my sweet girl a pack of Magic Band "charms" with Anna and Elsa. He said he'd only wanted Olaf. We were so amazed at his generosity as I'm sure those were not cheap! She felt so special.
Dinner at The Plaza was decent. I think I would have enjoyed it more had I not vowed to not eat burgers and fries the whole time and - what did I order but another burger and fries for the fourth time! But, the food was good. It was fun to order an ice cream sundae to share after dinner, too. Our server was just okay ... she offered my daughter cookies with her meal, which of course she accepted, and then she charged us an additional $1.75 for them. So, watch out for that. (DDhad the pb&j on "honey wheat bread" which was another piece of crap fish bread sandwich. She did eat it this time, though, so whatever.)
We had FP for MSEP and it was great. Minus the crazy teenager and her crazier mother who we mistakenly stood behind. They were sitting at the time, but stood for the parade despite every other front-row person sitting for the parade. Yep, they stood in front of two children without a care in the world. We eventually scooted down a little behind people who were still sitting. We left right after that and missed Wishes, but we didn't want to push the kids. Good move!
Thursday we went to Epcot for park opening. What a disaster! Minus MK (and maybe that was because we arrived at 8:45), arriving at exactly opening time is not a good idea. The lines for bag check were long, the lines to enter the park were long. Once past that, the skies opened up and we made it to The Land just in time. Soarin' was already an hour wait so we did Living with the Land twice before walking in the rain to Akershus for our ADR. That is a long walk in the rain with two kids, let me tell you! We were soaked when we got there but happy to have a spot inside.
This was my mom's favorite meal. The waiter was so charming and the food was really good. The princess interaction was much better than CRT which we'd experienced about a year and a half ago, in my opinion. The princesses actually spoke, held my daughter's hand, twirled her around, did parades with the kids, etc. Since we were character meal pros by this point, we ordered an extra platter, extra coffee and enjoyed our time. We never felt rushed or like we were taking too long.
We finished just in time to catch Mulan in China, and made our way around the world to see Aladdin and Jasmine. We headed for the UK next when Alice and her handler literally walked off in my four-year-old's face (we were the only people coming up to the line). Mary Poppins was not yet out and we'd had enough of the waiting, so we headed to Test Track for our FP/rider swap. My DD and DH were next in line when they closed the ride because of weather, so we headed to Nemo and then Soarin. Finally we were able to do Test Track before leaving the park around 5. Yes, 5, with kids who barely napped. So we put them down for bed at 6 p.m. and left them with Mom so we could return to the park for a little Flower & Garden booth hopping.
I'd had high hopes for the F&G booths but I wasn't that impressed. Hopefully F&W is better. I had the beef brisket burnt ends hash, which was awesome except for one piece that was so burnt that it was inedible. I chewed it for a full three minutes before spitting it out. Pretty sure that's not the point! Anyway, my DH enjoyed the pulled pork slider, which was a good size. We did the beer flight at Florida Fresh, which was good. We got the gnocchi and duck confit at France .. both were good but not GREAT. I got the white sangria at Morocco which was a joke for $5. DH went to the QS in Germany for a brat and beer and enjoyed them. I stopped at the caramel place in Germany for a salted caramel milk chocolate and BOY was that the highlight of my night. We watched Illuminations on the way out of the park (we were so tired by this point!) and were in bed by 9:30. Yep, we live on the edge.
Friday morning was our last park day and we were scheduled to depart that evening. We packed up, called bell services to take our bags and do resort airline check in and were out the door by 8:30 a.m. That whole process went very well. We left our carry ons with the valet our suitcases with the airline handlers, all coordinated by our bellman. It was nice.
We made the mistake of arriving at HS right at 9, so another long line for bag check but the park entry went a lot faster than at Epcot. We were able to do TSMM, meet Buzz and Woody and then Frozen sing-a-long before lunch. Has anyone else been to the Frozen sing-a-long with young children? I was not impressed with the "narrators." They were like TRYING TO BE funny rather than just funny. At one point the guy screeched "they DIED?!" about the scene with the parents on the ocean. I made it through the whole Frozen movie 23 times with my DD never realized "they DIED?!" and this idiot has to point it out? I was ticked. And I thought the sing a long was a little disappointing overall.
Next up was Hollywood & Vine lunch. We arrived at 11:20 for an 11:25 ADR. They proceeded to sit the entire restaurant before us until they called us about 11:45. Luckily INSIDE the restaurant was much better than outside. The food was so great. We needed a heavy meal to hold us over through traveling that evening and it did the trick. The dessert bar was a great ending to the vacation. The characters were cute but slow and we did not care -- no rushing, remember?
After lunch we did Little Mermaid and then headed out of the park. We made it back to the resort around 2:00-2:30 with Magical Express scheduled for 3:30. Of course they didn't pick us up until 3:45, but we were the bus' last stop so I figured that was better than the alternative. I was so sad to leave, but so over the top excited about the great vacation we'd just experienced.
A few side notes:
My party included myself, my DH, my mom, DD4 and DS0/turning one. We stayed at VWL on rented points through a very great third party service that I'd be happy to recommend via PM.
On the way to the airport Sunday morning I noticed my daughter had glitter on her face. I have no idea where it came from but I joked Tinker Bell must have visited and sprinkled us with pixie dust. A few minutes later, I checked dining availability to see if I could move my Akershus reservation back to 10:30 from 8:20 a.m. and lo and behold, it was available. I'd been trying for weeks! Pixie dust ... I think so!
We arrived at VWL about 6 p.m. after a delayed flight and slower than expected, but not terrible, Magical Express service. We were originally projected to land at 4 p.m. ... I'm so glad I listened to the boards' suggestions to not book an ADR for arrival night! That would have been stressful. I did online check in so I went to that check in line and walked right up to a friendly CM. I really wanted a lake/woods view but only chose upper floor/near elevator during online check in, so I held my breath when she gave us the room number until we got to the room.
Side note: we rented a stroller from Kingdom Strollers. It was waiting for us at concierge upon checking in. We did have a problem with the stroller on our second day and they came to the resort to replace it during naptime, very great service!
When we walked in the room, I could hardly contain my excitement. It was generally close to but not very near the elevator. It was a dedicated studio (maybe a corner?) overlooking the woods AND THE LAKE AND THE QUIET POOL! It had to be the most perfect room in all of VWL. Sorry, I'm bragging. But people ... I could see the electrical water pageant at 9:30 p.m. every. single. night. From the balcony. While my kids slept. Perfection!
We ate dinner the first night at Roaring Fork. It was actually pretty good for QS! I had a bad experience at CHH in MK the previous trip so I was a little wary of QS. We all had burgers (the adults had the angus bacon cheeseburgers). The toppings bar was nice. We were tired and hungry, and it hit the spot! On the way back to the room my daughter began what would be a 48-hour marathon begging session to go swimming. Shame on me for not fitting that in sooner given the awesome pools. We did catch the "campfire" and were able to roast a few marshmallows to appease her for a moment.
Monday was our first full day at MK. We started our day with a pre-opening Crystal Palace ADR at 8:10. They were so prompt and we had a table with a view of the castle! We were celebrating my DS' birthday so I really believe that had something to do with table location. If you're celebrating something, note it! The food was really good. We had a great server. We didn't feel rush but we DID feel discombobulated. Know what I mean? It was our first character meal this trip but we learned from it.
We had the best time using our FP+s on 7DMT, Splash and Belle. My daughter was chosen to play Beast so she got to dance with Belle! We got a rider swap for 7DMT so my mom could ride it with us the second time, and we got stuck on the tracks before they "closed" the ride, so we got a FP that we were able to use later. After that, we sat to eat the lunch we'd packed. My mom went to the QS nearby (I think it was Friar's Nook? Or whatever is close to it) and ordered three ice waters and a diet coke. The CM told her not to worry about paying for the diet coke! Seriously! I know it's just three bucks, but how nice is free?
The rain started right when we were heading out for naptime. Unfortunately it didn't stop but we headed back to the park around 5 just in time to duck in to see Tink and Mickey before a downpour. After that, it was just drizzly and we conquered almost all of Tomorrowland that evening. My DH bought DD a new Elsa costume and crown that morning, which she wore for the afternoon. During Monsters Laugh Floor, they zeroed in on her for one part and called her a princess, which was so cute and sweet! After we had our fill of being soggy, we took the monorail over to Contemporary to eat at Contempo Cafe.
Oh, Contempo Cafe. I deliberated on whether it was worth it to go over there. I read a blog post from Disney Tourist Blog about it from 2013 and decided to try it. The travel there was not bad at all, especially since we'd be taking the direct boat to WL after eating. But none of the menu items from the blog post I read were still offered. Again we were tired and hungry (and wet this time) so it would do. My mom and I had the spicy chicken sandwich which was unfortunately fried. In looking at the menu posted on Disney's website, I don't think all of those items were even offered when we went. Hmm. My DH had the cheeseburger. (Again.) DD had the chicken nuggets. We did get a cupcake ... it was good but so much icing! Too sweet ... and I REALLY like sweets. The atmosphere was good, though, and the boat ride back with a singing captain redeemed the evening.
Tuesday brought us to Animal Kingdom. We started with pre-opening breakfast at Tusker House at 8:20 a.m. We arrived at 8 and were checked in, told to line up for park opening, then walked to TH and checked in there. We were seated immediately. The food at this breakfast was awesome! The characters were cute and the server was good. We paced ourselves much better this time and really got to enjoy the food. The server was very patient.
Did I say how much I love FP+? It's so awesome to walk right on to rides like Safari and Dinosaur (and to do rider swap on some of them!).
We stayed in the park til about 2 before heading back for naps and -- finally, Mom! -- swimming at the resort. (We packed our lunch and snagged a table at the bar outside TH to eat, but we were hardly hungry after our big breakfast.) It was SO HOT and getting crowded by the time we left. (And we're from south Louisiana, so we're not strangers to heat and humidity. But goodness, it was sweltering!)
Tuesday night we went to Whispering Canyon Cafe at the resort for dinner. I debated so much on whether to eat here or not but decided it was a decent restaurant and very convenient. It was probably my least favorite table service of the trip, but it wasn't terrible. Our server was not very fun even though we had our card on green, but at least we didn't get the chick on the other side of the restaurant who was bordering on just plain rude. There were a few good ones here and there that seemed more interactive but not over the top. The food was pretty good FOR DISNEY. In the real world, it would have been sub-par. We did the AYCTE platter. The pulled pork, mashed potatoes, corn bread and salad were all very, very good. The rest was just meh. My DD did enjoy the wooden horse parade around the restaurant but her grilled cheese on nasty fish-shaped "bread" was a disgrace for almost $9. I really should have complained to management about that, but I resolved to take a chill pill before the trip and refused to let it bother me.
Wednesday we planned to make rope drop, but we were getting tired and it was our first non-super-early morning so we took it slow. We were the last people allowed on the first boat to MK at 8:30 a.m. *pixie dust* and the opening show began as our boat was pulling up to MK. So cool! We made it through the turnstiles as the park opened. We walked right on POC. The crowd calendar was absolutely right this morning as we never waited more than about 10 minutes for anything until we left the park around 1:30 for naps.
Since we ate breakfast in the room that day, we had lunch at BOG. Speedy check in, somewhat of a wait to order and not a bad wait at all for the food. We found a table right next to the "snowing window" in the very back of the main room, which was perfect. The food was great! My DH and mom had the roast beef sandwich and enjoyed it, and I had the turkey sandwich and loved it! My daughter's turkey sandwich was significantly better than the grilled cheese thing the night before.
We returned to the park around 5:30 in advance of our Anna & Elsa FP. My DD meeting them was such a special moment! She was fully dressed as Elsa (again) so it was extra special. The kids were fading fast and we were trying to make it to Wishes, so we took it slow and went to wait for our ADR at the Plaza for dinner. While waiting outside, a guy walked buy and handed my sweet girl a pack of Magic Band "charms" with Anna and Elsa. He said he'd only wanted Olaf. We were so amazed at his generosity as I'm sure those were not cheap! She felt so special.
Dinner at The Plaza was decent. I think I would have enjoyed it more had I not vowed to not eat burgers and fries the whole time and - what did I order but another burger and fries for the fourth time! But, the food was good. It was fun to order an ice cream sundae to share after dinner, too. Our server was just okay ... she offered my daughter cookies with her meal, which of course she accepted, and then she charged us an additional $1.75 for them. So, watch out for that. (DDhad the pb&j on "honey wheat bread" which was another piece of crap fish bread sandwich. She did eat it this time, though, so whatever.)
We had FP for MSEP and it was great. Minus the crazy teenager and her crazier mother who we mistakenly stood behind. They were sitting at the time, but stood for the parade despite every other front-row person sitting for the parade. Yep, they stood in front of two children without a care in the world. We eventually scooted down a little behind people who were still sitting. We left right after that and missed Wishes, but we didn't want to push the kids. Good move!
Thursday we went to Epcot for park opening. What a disaster! Minus MK (and maybe that was because we arrived at 8:45), arriving at exactly opening time is not a good idea. The lines for bag check were long, the lines to enter the park were long. Once past that, the skies opened up and we made it to The Land just in time. Soarin' was already an hour wait so we did Living with the Land twice before walking in the rain to Akershus for our ADR. That is a long walk in the rain with two kids, let me tell you! We were soaked when we got there but happy to have a spot inside.
This was my mom's favorite meal. The waiter was so charming and the food was really good. The princess interaction was much better than CRT which we'd experienced about a year and a half ago, in my opinion. The princesses actually spoke, held my daughter's hand, twirled her around, did parades with the kids, etc. Since we were character meal pros by this point, we ordered an extra platter, extra coffee and enjoyed our time. We never felt rushed or like we were taking too long.
We finished just in time to catch Mulan in China, and made our way around the world to see Aladdin and Jasmine. We headed for the UK next when Alice and her handler literally walked off in my four-year-old's face (we were the only people coming up to the line). Mary Poppins was not yet out and we'd had enough of the waiting, so we headed to Test Track for our FP/rider swap. My DD and DH were next in line when they closed the ride because of weather, so we headed to Nemo and then Soarin. Finally we were able to do Test Track before leaving the park around 5. Yes, 5, with kids who barely napped. So we put them down for bed at 6 p.m. and left them with Mom so we could return to the park for a little Flower & Garden booth hopping.
I'd had high hopes for the F&G booths but I wasn't that impressed. Hopefully F&W is better. I had the beef brisket burnt ends hash, which was awesome except for one piece that was so burnt that it was inedible. I chewed it for a full three minutes before spitting it out. Pretty sure that's not the point! Anyway, my DH enjoyed the pulled pork slider, which was a good size. We did the beer flight at Florida Fresh, which was good. We got the gnocchi and duck confit at France .. both were good but not GREAT. I got the white sangria at Morocco which was a joke for $5. DH went to the QS in Germany for a brat and beer and enjoyed them. I stopped at the caramel place in Germany for a salted caramel milk chocolate and BOY was that the highlight of my night. We watched Illuminations on the way out of the park (we were so tired by this point!) and were in bed by 9:30. Yep, we live on the edge.
Friday morning was our last park day and we were scheduled to depart that evening. We packed up, called bell services to take our bags and do resort airline check in and were out the door by 8:30 a.m. That whole process went very well. We left our carry ons with the valet our suitcases with the airline handlers, all coordinated by our bellman. It was nice.
We made the mistake of arriving at HS right at 9, so another long line for bag check but the park entry went a lot faster than at Epcot. We were able to do TSMM, meet Buzz and Woody and then Frozen sing-a-long before lunch. Has anyone else been to the Frozen sing-a-long with young children? I was not impressed with the "narrators." They were like TRYING TO BE funny rather than just funny. At one point the guy screeched "they DIED?!" about the scene with the parents on the ocean. I made it through the whole Frozen movie 23 times with my DD never realized "they DIED?!" and this idiot has to point it out? I was ticked. And I thought the sing a long was a little disappointing overall.
Next up was Hollywood & Vine lunch. We arrived at 11:20 for an 11:25 ADR. They proceeded to sit the entire restaurant before us until they called us about 11:45. Luckily INSIDE the restaurant was much better than outside. The food was so great. We needed a heavy meal to hold us over through traveling that evening and it did the trick. The dessert bar was a great ending to the vacation. The characters were cute but slow and we did not care -- no rushing, remember?
After lunch we did Little Mermaid and then headed out of the park. We made it back to the resort around 2:00-2:30 with Magical Express scheduled for 3:30. Of course they didn't pick us up until 3:45, but we were the bus' last stop so I figured that was better than the alternative. I was so sad to leave, but so over the top excited about the great vacation we'd just experienced.
A few side notes:
- I love magic bands! We paid for everything with them and I had them run the card at checkout and again at midnight the day we checked out so we could charge Friday's expenses as well.
- We did not do a meal plan but I did review menus and budget, and I came in $25 under budget! Which I promptly spent on a souvenir for myself.
- I'm proud to say my kids did not have one meltdown the entire trip. Thursday evening we came close, but we survived. Taking cues from your kids is the single most important tip for a successful trip with little ones. Don't try to skip naps and expect them to act appropriately! Or, skip naps but put them to bed at 6 ;-)
- We had a grocery delivery from Garden Grocer. I really did not think it was a good value for what I needed. Next time, I'll just pack my own stuff.
- I changed diapers mostly in restaurant bathrooms which I found to be cleaner than general park restrooms.
