lborne
It all started with a rabbit
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2006
A long review of a quick trip - includes AKL stay, EPCOT, MK, Disney Quest, and mid day switch from legacy FP to FP+
The guilty party : me - DH (45), DW (age censored), DS15 and DS10.
I promise as many photos as I can upload. Most will appear in later sections.
In my trip reports, I like to highlight important tips. So throughout, when I have an important tip or fact, it will be proceeded by the word TIP: like in this example:
TIP: If you bring Mickey a bit of sharp cheddar cheese, he will let your family stay overnight in the castle.
Notice that tips, are not always facts. You should be able to notice the difference on your own, but if not, there is the helpful book in the "Dummies" series entitled "You Big". Just ask the librarian.
Seriously, there actually may be a tip or two you can use.
Having lived most of my life within driving distance of THE EVIL EMPIRE as it is known to us locals, I have been countless times and have thus built up a resistance; much like some people can build up a resistance to cobra venom. In all those visits, I have accumulated a great deal of knowledge that I cant remember. Luckily, we have the DISboards - which I frantically use days before each visit to answer all the questions my wife asks me, like "Can we use these E-tickets I found from 1973?"
Im sure most of you reading this are Disney fanatics like myself. But you have to realize that we are in the minority, and even our friends who live within hours of Disneyworld think we are crazy for going as much as we do. I find that especially true with my fellow dads. Seems like the moms and kids are always pleading with the dad to give in and go to Disney. My guy friends just dont get my passion for the mouse.
I think there are some major misconceptions that keep dads from wanting to vacation at Disney.
TIP: Yes, it is going to be a while before I actually get to the trip report, so relax and take your xanax already.
One misconception about Disney that keeps Dads busy suggesting other vacation destinations such as The Bratwurst Festival in Wisconsin, is that the majority of your time at Disney is spent waiting in lines. This is not really a misconception, because it is true. You wait in lines long before you ever get on one ride or attraction. You wait to pay for parking, to park, for the parking lot tram, the bus, the ferry, and the monorail. You wait in lines to buy tickets, to have your bags checked, the get your finger scanned upon entering the park, to have Goofy sniff your private regions - well, that one is voluntary, but the line is still long. But wait, there's more. You will then wait to rent a stroller or wheelchair. You will wait in lines for the attractions. Then, after a full day of waiting, its time to turn around and do it all in reverse. At least you people who fly into Orlando get to practice in the TSA lines. Im not really sure what my point was here, but one additional tip comes to mind:
TIP: Never calculate the ratio of time spent on rides vs time waiting in lines. And never ever divide that number into the amount of money spent on your vacation.
This year we purchased the Florida (including Miami) Resident 4 day passes + more. The more being 4 days of water park, golf, putt putt golf, ESPN, DisneyQuest and lobotomy spa. All for about $175 per person. (Dont feel bad, we pay a lot more than you do for hurricane insurance). For those of you not living in Florida and dismayed at the high prices, I suggest you find the very helpful book titled "Disney World on $3,200 a day."
We also have the "After 2pm" water park passes which means we get to Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach just as most people are leaving to buy Noxema. If you want to know about the water parks, PM me, but I am not reviewing them here. Suffice it to say that we have been to all the water parks in central and south Florida, plus much of the Wisconsin Dells, and will not go anywhere again except the Disney ones. Absolutely, hands down, Disney water parks are the best by a wide margin.
One big decision we made is to stay at an official, "Disney, you will have fun, or else" resort. It is much more expensive to stay within the compound than outside Disney property. But you can find many who argue either way here on the DISboards. The decision basically boils down to whether you want to have a total Disney experience, by which I mean spend every single dollar in your bank account, or have more space in your room for things like sitting or setting down your luggage.
Staying off site does not necessarily mean staying at a Holiday Inn Express, the Motel 6, or those rooms they rent by the hour (Ask for Bob for a special ½ hr rate). There are some very nice resorts outside of Disney World that are extremely cheap compared to Disney prices. For example, we have stayed at resorts owned and run by mega hotel chains such as Sheraton, Marriott and Chester's Muffler Repair and Lodging. At these resorts, we've gotten a 1 or 2 bedroom condo with a full kitchen for under $1000 a week. Sometimes we've gotten them for less than $500 a week. Now granted, these are not up to Disney quality. For example, Mickey wont give you a wake up call, but for the savings, we can pay off the bell boy to dress up as Mickey and shake your kids awake.
The two most important things we look for in an off site resort, besides cost of course, are location and if it includes a full kitchen. Location is important. If the condo is located in, say Butte, Montana, then getting to the parks at rope drop is going to be difficult. So you'll want to check how far the resort is from Disney World. I recommend going to a mapping website and entering the resort address and then having it calculate the distance to the parks. Sometimes, these resort sites might say they are only 3.5 from Disney. And you assume they mean 3.5 MILES. But in reality, they mean hours or million parsecs.
Second, the whole purpose of staying off site is to save money and keep costs down so that you are able to pay the mortgage when you get home. It also means having plenty of cash on hand for adult beverages, especially when you forgot your medication at home. So in order to save the most amount of money, make sure your resort has a full kitchen. You will also want to check for an outdoor BBQ grill for when your wife complains about having to cook on vacation and tells you to grill something outside.
Another advantage of staying off site in a multi room condo is that you and your spouse get a room to yourselves. Even in a 1 bedroom condo, the kids can sleep out in the living room on a fold out sofa. I don't know why, but our kids absolutely love sleeping on a sofa that converts into a bed, despite the mattress being made of concrete. My wife and I slept on one once, and it took months of chiropractic help to fix. Maybe it is because when they were little, to get them to sleep there, we told the kids that the sofa was really a Transformer, and then showed them how it amazingly transformed into a bed and saved mommy and daddy's sanity.
So the kids get to sleep out in the living room on the cool transformer sofa which means that the wife and I have a room all to ourselves. A room with a door and a lock. So when we leave the parks at 2pm so the kids can nap, we can sneak into the bedroom, lock the door, and well - you know - take a nap too. Unfortunately now, our kids are way past napping age, but we still love the offsite condos if we are going for a week.
Now, you can get suites at Disney, but they will cost you and arm and a leg. Actually, I priced and arm and a leg on ebay, and they can be had for a reasonable price if you are not particular as to what species, so Im going to say that it will cost you MORE than an arm and a leg. But hey, its a vacation, and little Billy does not really need that operation anyway.
But every so often, we decide to splurge, sell grandmas wedding ring, and stay on Disney property. This time, we chose the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Luckily, being locals, we had a car. So many first time tourists staying at a Disney resort without a car find themselves stuck at the compound with no means of escape. Not for lack of trying. Several guests have been seen trying to make a break for it by swimming across Bay Lake. They usually get about half way before they hear a tic tock sound coming from behind them. Dont smile.
Of course, if you drive to Disney World, you will have your own vehicle unless youve stolen one. And if you stay at one of the Disney Resorts, you will have free parking to all the parks so its like a $15 off coupon. Woo Hoo.
As soon as we had booked our room at the AKL, we were able to go on line and customize our Magic Bands.
TIP: Register on-line as soon as you get your reservation and customize the color of your bands. They ship within a few days. So many people at the parks had grey bands and we could not figure out why anyone would want grey when they could have pink or green or blue, until we found out that grey is the default color if you dont change it.
Look out two tips in a row.
TIP: If your trip is a surprise for the kids, be careful as the magic bands arrived in a brown box but with the return address saying Disney World. And inside is a very Disney looking box that would really give away your secret. Our kids used to have the bad habit of ripping open any package that came in the mail, until that one day when . nevermind.
The magic bands were in a nice box and gave that sort of feel of when you open an Apple product. Not quite that nice, but at least I felt Disney actually put some thought into the packaging. Of course, my wife and a co-worker that I showed the box of bands to both wondered how much less our hotel stay would be if Disney did not have to send us the bands.
Anyway, about a week after the bands arrived, we got a small envelope in the mail from Disney. Again - watch out if you are trying to surprise the kids. Inside was information about the Magic Bands, the MDE website, FP+, etc. and how to register on-line and customize your MBs. However, we had already been on the web site, done this, and learned all about these items. In fact, our Magic Bands had already arrived.
Next up check in and explore AKL.
The guilty party : me - DH (45), DW (age censored), DS15 and DS10.
I promise as many photos as I can upload. Most will appear in later sections.
In my trip reports, I like to highlight important tips. So throughout, when I have an important tip or fact, it will be proceeded by the word TIP: like in this example:
TIP: If you bring Mickey a bit of sharp cheddar cheese, he will let your family stay overnight in the castle.
Notice that tips, are not always facts. You should be able to notice the difference on your own, but if not, there is the helpful book in the "Dummies" series entitled "You Big". Just ask the librarian.
Seriously, there actually may be a tip or two you can use.
Having lived most of my life within driving distance of THE EVIL EMPIRE as it is known to us locals, I have been countless times and have thus built up a resistance; much like some people can build up a resistance to cobra venom. In all those visits, I have accumulated a great deal of knowledge that I cant remember. Luckily, we have the DISboards - which I frantically use days before each visit to answer all the questions my wife asks me, like "Can we use these E-tickets I found from 1973?"
Im sure most of you reading this are Disney fanatics like myself. But you have to realize that we are in the minority, and even our friends who live within hours of Disneyworld think we are crazy for going as much as we do. I find that especially true with my fellow dads. Seems like the moms and kids are always pleading with the dad to give in and go to Disney. My guy friends just dont get my passion for the mouse.
I think there are some major misconceptions that keep dads from wanting to vacation at Disney.
TIP: Yes, it is going to be a while before I actually get to the trip report, so relax and take your xanax already.
One misconception about Disney that keeps Dads busy suggesting other vacation destinations such as The Bratwurst Festival in Wisconsin, is that the majority of your time at Disney is spent waiting in lines. This is not really a misconception, because it is true. You wait in lines long before you ever get on one ride or attraction. You wait to pay for parking, to park, for the parking lot tram, the bus, the ferry, and the monorail. You wait in lines to buy tickets, to have your bags checked, the get your finger scanned upon entering the park, to have Goofy sniff your private regions - well, that one is voluntary, but the line is still long. But wait, there's more. You will then wait to rent a stroller or wheelchair. You will wait in lines for the attractions. Then, after a full day of waiting, its time to turn around and do it all in reverse. At least you people who fly into Orlando get to practice in the TSA lines. Im not really sure what my point was here, but one additional tip comes to mind:
TIP: Never calculate the ratio of time spent on rides vs time waiting in lines. And never ever divide that number into the amount of money spent on your vacation.
This year we purchased the Florida (including Miami) Resident 4 day passes + more. The more being 4 days of water park, golf, putt putt golf, ESPN, DisneyQuest and lobotomy spa. All for about $175 per person. (Dont feel bad, we pay a lot more than you do for hurricane insurance). For those of you not living in Florida and dismayed at the high prices, I suggest you find the very helpful book titled "Disney World on $3,200 a day."
We also have the "After 2pm" water park passes which means we get to Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach just as most people are leaving to buy Noxema. If you want to know about the water parks, PM me, but I am not reviewing them here. Suffice it to say that we have been to all the water parks in central and south Florida, plus much of the Wisconsin Dells, and will not go anywhere again except the Disney ones. Absolutely, hands down, Disney water parks are the best by a wide margin.
One big decision we made is to stay at an official, "Disney, you will have fun, or else" resort. It is much more expensive to stay within the compound than outside Disney property. But you can find many who argue either way here on the DISboards. The decision basically boils down to whether you want to have a total Disney experience, by which I mean spend every single dollar in your bank account, or have more space in your room for things like sitting or setting down your luggage.
Staying off site does not necessarily mean staying at a Holiday Inn Express, the Motel 6, or those rooms they rent by the hour (Ask for Bob for a special ½ hr rate). There are some very nice resorts outside of Disney World that are extremely cheap compared to Disney prices. For example, we have stayed at resorts owned and run by mega hotel chains such as Sheraton, Marriott and Chester's Muffler Repair and Lodging. At these resorts, we've gotten a 1 or 2 bedroom condo with a full kitchen for under $1000 a week. Sometimes we've gotten them for less than $500 a week. Now granted, these are not up to Disney quality. For example, Mickey wont give you a wake up call, but for the savings, we can pay off the bell boy to dress up as Mickey and shake your kids awake.
The two most important things we look for in an off site resort, besides cost of course, are location and if it includes a full kitchen. Location is important. If the condo is located in, say Butte, Montana, then getting to the parks at rope drop is going to be difficult. So you'll want to check how far the resort is from Disney World. I recommend going to a mapping website and entering the resort address and then having it calculate the distance to the parks. Sometimes, these resort sites might say they are only 3.5 from Disney. And you assume they mean 3.5 MILES. But in reality, they mean hours or million parsecs.
Second, the whole purpose of staying off site is to save money and keep costs down so that you are able to pay the mortgage when you get home. It also means having plenty of cash on hand for adult beverages, especially when you forgot your medication at home. So in order to save the most amount of money, make sure your resort has a full kitchen. You will also want to check for an outdoor BBQ grill for when your wife complains about having to cook on vacation and tells you to grill something outside.
Another advantage of staying off site in a multi room condo is that you and your spouse get a room to yourselves. Even in a 1 bedroom condo, the kids can sleep out in the living room on a fold out sofa. I don't know why, but our kids absolutely love sleeping on a sofa that converts into a bed, despite the mattress being made of concrete. My wife and I slept on one once, and it took months of chiropractic help to fix. Maybe it is because when they were little, to get them to sleep there, we told the kids that the sofa was really a Transformer, and then showed them how it amazingly transformed into a bed and saved mommy and daddy's sanity.
So the kids get to sleep out in the living room on the cool transformer sofa which means that the wife and I have a room all to ourselves. A room with a door and a lock. So when we leave the parks at 2pm so the kids can nap, we can sneak into the bedroom, lock the door, and well - you know - take a nap too. Unfortunately now, our kids are way past napping age, but we still love the offsite condos if we are going for a week.
Now, you can get suites at Disney, but they will cost you and arm and a leg. Actually, I priced and arm and a leg on ebay, and they can be had for a reasonable price if you are not particular as to what species, so Im going to say that it will cost you MORE than an arm and a leg. But hey, its a vacation, and little Billy does not really need that operation anyway.
But every so often, we decide to splurge, sell grandmas wedding ring, and stay on Disney property. This time, we chose the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Luckily, being locals, we had a car. So many first time tourists staying at a Disney resort without a car find themselves stuck at the compound with no means of escape. Not for lack of trying. Several guests have been seen trying to make a break for it by swimming across Bay Lake. They usually get about half way before they hear a tic tock sound coming from behind them. Dont smile.
Of course, if you drive to Disney World, you will have your own vehicle unless youve stolen one. And if you stay at one of the Disney Resorts, you will have free parking to all the parks so its like a $15 off coupon. Woo Hoo.
As soon as we had booked our room at the AKL, we were able to go on line and customize our Magic Bands.
TIP: Register on-line as soon as you get your reservation and customize the color of your bands. They ship within a few days. So many people at the parks had grey bands and we could not figure out why anyone would want grey when they could have pink or green or blue, until we found out that grey is the default color if you dont change it.
Look out two tips in a row.
TIP: If your trip is a surprise for the kids, be careful as the magic bands arrived in a brown box but with the return address saying Disney World. And inside is a very Disney looking box that would really give away your secret. Our kids used to have the bad habit of ripping open any package that came in the mail, until that one day when . nevermind.
The magic bands were in a nice box and gave that sort of feel of when you open an Apple product. Not quite that nice, but at least I felt Disney actually put some thought into the packaging. Of course, my wife and a co-worker that I showed the box of bands to both wondered how much less our hotel stay would be if Disney did not have to send us the bands.
Anyway, about a week after the bands arrived, we got a small envelope in the mail from Disney. Again - watch out if you are trying to surprise the kids. Inside was information about the Magic Bands, the MDE website, FP+, etc. and how to register on-line and customize your MBs. However, we had already been on the web site, done this, and learned all about these items. In fact, our Magic Bands had already arrived.
Next up check in and explore AKL.
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