Pesky
"Who's the monkey?!"
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2012
We are just back from our surprise trip to USO/WDW. luck was with us and we just missed Hurricane Matthew. In fact, weather was pretty good the whole trip and aside from an occasional brief shower and being hot and humid, great! Overall we had a busy, fun, exhausting time. Below are some notes and observations from our trip and please note these are my opinions so YMMV.
Resorts: We did a 3-way split among PBR at USO, AKV, and Poly studio. So we have the inevitable comparisons.
PBR: No fridge and had to call for one. And then it was a cube. So we did miss that kitchenette. Otherwise, good storage and decent space in the room. We also missed the split bathroom but plenty of storage in the bathroom itself. Pool was okay but not amazing. Transportation was good and prompt. Also what was nice was a bit of pixie dust -- the gal at the front desk helped to tell the kids they were at USO and later sent a basket with snacks and candy for free to our room. Kids loved that. Resort was well themed but very spread out. Certainly got our walking in. Bag check done at the dock prior to boarding so was nice to have that out of the way.
AKV: Lovely resort and very well themed. While room was smallest, great storage. Pool was meh although nice right by the flamingoes and playground. My room request on Arusha was granted and we did enjoy watching the animals. Bus service to and from this resort was excellent and rarely super crowded. Weird towel issue both here and Poly where reservation for 4, 4 bath towels, 3 washcloths and 2 hand towels. Annoying as we never wanted to wait for housekeeping to bring others and just dealt with it. But that seemed weird to me. Just 4 of everything, Disney.
Poly: Loved the location but even refurbed that resort looked well-loved. Carpet on stairs in main house even seemed lumpy. Room was spacious but hardly any storage -- used drawers in bathroom. Split bathroom was great but it was weird and kind of cheap that they had 2 bath/shower areas but only ONE set of shampoo/conditioner/bath gel and again, only 3 washcloths and 3 handtowels (one more than AKV). Soundproofing wasn't great -- you could hear people around you, fireworks, boats, etc.. Got room request in Tokelau so midway between TTC and main house and right by bus stop, so that was great and I do recommend it. Best pool out of where we stayed and kids loved that.
The Winners (what we are definitely glad we did and would do again):
* Pirates League: kids loved it!
* Lilo's Playhouse: kids wanted to go there again the next night (uh, no)
* MNSSHP: kids lasted longer than I thought and the fireworks were great. Great tip from the Dis here to sit in front of the Plaza.
* MM: we didn't get as many pics as I would like but the ride pics alone made this worth it
* Magic bands: we all loved that convenience, especially after being papered to death at USO.
* USO Express Pass: we had major withdrawals when we moved to WDW. Loved that thing! Made a huge difference.
* V&A: wonderful dinner but see below too.
* BOG lunch: great value and fun theming.
* Disney visa rewards: I had hoarded rewards points so had a lot to cash in and it worked beautifully.
* Using Tony Hinds -- he was prompt and helpful with the car service and grocery stop.
The Meh (glad we did it but don't feel like we need to do it again):
* V&A: the cost was so great that unless we win the lottery, I think that was a one and done. It's a LOT of food.
* Polynesian feast room service: 2 adult servings easily fed our family of 4 with plenty of leftovers. DH ended up canceling ohana as we did this.
* Behind the seeds tour: it was neat but honestly for our kids, could have skipped
* Boma and Tusker House: I'm not a buffet person so this is more me. Kids liked them so glad we tried but probably not something I'll do again.
* F&W: it was super crowded, even in the middle of the week, and we got full fast.
* HDDR: cute but kids weren't that into it. They had fun but don't think we need to do it again.
* the surprise factor: too hard now. kids will be in on planning next time.
The Probably Could've Skipped:
* park hoppers. GIven the age of our kids, we rarely ventured out from our rooms once we returned. Only one day did we really use the hopper. I do think that if our kids were teens going commando, this would be well worth it.
* Some sit-down meals: I had booked at least one TS meal a day and honestly that ended up being too much. I wish I had just left some days as QS/CS.
* DS/DTD: we probably could've put that time to better use resting.
* Buying wine at the grocery store. We drank 1 bottle and I felt kind of obligated so we didn't waste it. Probably could have skipped as we were so tired at the end of the day, we didnt' want wine.
Things we didn't get to do but wish we had:
* get DS that pokemon plush when he wanted it. you know the story -- went back and it was gone. Luckily he was good with another.
* miniature golf -- I think the kids would have liked it
* some restaurants I still want to try
* some magic shots
Those are my thoughts for now and i'll see if I can add more later.
Resorts: We did a 3-way split among PBR at USO, AKV, and Poly studio. So we have the inevitable comparisons.
PBR: No fridge and had to call for one. And then it was a cube. So we did miss that kitchenette. Otherwise, good storage and decent space in the room. We also missed the split bathroom but plenty of storage in the bathroom itself. Pool was okay but not amazing. Transportation was good and prompt. Also what was nice was a bit of pixie dust -- the gal at the front desk helped to tell the kids they were at USO and later sent a basket with snacks and candy for free to our room. Kids loved that. Resort was well themed but very spread out. Certainly got our walking in. Bag check done at the dock prior to boarding so was nice to have that out of the way.
AKV: Lovely resort and very well themed. While room was smallest, great storage. Pool was meh although nice right by the flamingoes and playground. My room request on Arusha was granted and we did enjoy watching the animals. Bus service to and from this resort was excellent and rarely super crowded. Weird towel issue both here and Poly where reservation for 4, 4 bath towels, 3 washcloths and 2 hand towels. Annoying as we never wanted to wait for housekeeping to bring others and just dealt with it. But that seemed weird to me. Just 4 of everything, Disney.
Poly: Loved the location but even refurbed that resort looked well-loved. Carpet on stairs in main house even seemed lumpy. Room was spacious but hardly any storage -- used drawers in bathroom. Split bathroom was great but it was weird and kind of cheap that they had 2 bath/shower areas but only ONE set of shampoo/conditioner/bath gel and again, only 3 washcloths and 3 handtowels (one more than AKV). Soundproofing wasn't great -- you could hear people around you, fireworks, boats, etc.. Got room request in Tokelau so midway between TTC and main house and right by bus stop, so that was great and I do recommend it. Best pool out of where we stayed and kids loved that.
The Winners (what we are definitely glad we did and would do again):
* Pirates League: kids loved it!
* Lilo's Playhouse: kids wanted to go there again the next night (uh, no)
* MNSSHP: kids lasted longer than I thought and the fireworks were great. Great tip from the Dis here to sit in front of the Plaza.
* MM: we didn't get as many pics as I would like but the ride pics alone made this worth it
* Magic bands: we all loved that convenience, especially after being papered to death at USO.
* USO Express Pass: we had major withdrawals when we moved to WDW. Loved that thing! Made a huge difference.
* V&A: wonderful dinner but see below too.
* BOG lunch: great value and fun theming.
* Disney visa rewards: I had hoarded rewards points so had a lot to cash in and it worked beautifully.
* Using Tony Hinds -- he was prompt and helpful with the car service and grocery stop.
The Meh (glad we did it but don't feel like we need to do it again):
* V&A: the cost was so great that unless we win the lottery, I think that was a one and done. It's a LOT of food.
* Polynesian feast room service: 2 adult servings easily fed our family of 4 with plenty of leftovers. DH ended up canceling ohana as we did this.
* Behind the seeds tour: it was neat but honestly for our kids, could have skipped
* Boma and Tusker House: I'm not a buffet person so this is more me. Kids liked them so glad we tried but probably not something I'll do again.
* F&W: it was super crowded, even in the middle of the week, and we got full fast.
* HDDR: cute but kids weren't that into it. They had fun but don't think we need to do it again.
* the surprise factor: too hard now. kids will be in on planning next time.
The Probably Could've Skipped:
* park hoppers. GIven the age of our kids, we rarely ventured out from our rooms once we returned. Only one day did we really use the hopper. I do think that if our kids were teens going commando, this would be well worth it.
* Some sit-down meals: I had booked at least one TS meal a day and honestly that ended up being too much. I wish I had just left some days as QS/CS.
* DS/DTD: we probably could've put that time to better use resting.
* Buying wine at the grocery store. We drank 1 bottle and I felt kind of obligated so we didn't waste it. Probably could have skipped as we were so tired at the end of the day, we didnt' want wine.
Things we didn't get to do but wish we had:
* get DS that pokemon plush when he wanted it. you know the story -- went back and it was gone. Luckily he was good with another.
* miniature golf -- I think the kids would have liked it
* some restaurants I still want to try
* some magic shots
Those are my thoughts for now and i'll see if I can add more later.
