Mom*3
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2005
We went to WDW for a short stay Christmas Week, 4 nights at the Swan hotel, 12/26-12/30. We were celebrating my husband's 50th Birthday, but it was also a chance to see WDW at Christmas and vacation together with our college age kids.
Our group included me (49), DH (50), DS (22), DD (19), DD (17), SIL (47) and DS girlfriend (22). I mention all the ages, because I think it made a difference in our ability to navigate the parks. We were never really worried about getting separated (happened a few times in the crowds), we could text each other and catch up easily. Also, I knew that my college age kids would be able to work the MDE app quicker than me.
Staying at the Swan allows you to make FP+ 60 days in advance. We were very successful on our FP+ day. My husband was on one computer on his MDE account and I was on another with my own account. We were able to get FOP, 7DMT, Peter Pan, Slinky, etc. Also, MagicBands are not included or utilized at the Swan, but we bought ours on-line through the Disney store to use for park admission and FP+. We definitely thought they were worth the additional cost.
Our flight to Orlando was delayed a few hours (mechanical issue, not weather), so we did not arrive until 4:30 ish on 12/26. It was not really an issue for us, we didn't have any specific plans, except for dinner, plus we were later compensated from Soutwest Airlines. We had booked 2 rooms on Priceline Express for the Swan. Check-in was smooth, we were given adjoining rooms on the 9th floor. We cleaned up and got ready for our dinner reservation (7pm) at Shula's Steakhouse, located in the Dolphin hotel. I made the reservation through Open Table about 60 days before we arrived. Dinner was great, a little $$$, but we were celebrating my husband's 50th! We walked around the Boardwalk, took pics, shopped, looked at the Boardwalk Gingerbread display then went to bed early in anticipation of our LONG day at Magic Kingdom.
Our group included me (49), DH (50), DS (22), DD (19), DD (17), SIL (47) and DS girlfriend (22). I mention all the ages, because I think it made a difference in our ability to navigate the parks. We were never really worried about getting separated (happened a few times in the crowds), we could text each other and catch up easily. Also, I knew that my college age kids would be able to work the MDE app quicker than me.
Staying at the Swan allows you to make FP+ 60 days in advance. We were very successful on our FP+ day. My husband was on one computer on his MDE account and I was on another with my own account. We were able to get FOP, 7DMT, Peter Pan, Slinky, etc. Also, MagicBands are not included or utilized at the Swan, but we bought ours on-line through the Disney store to use for park admission and FP+. We definitely thought they were worth the additional cost.
Our flight to Orlando was delayed a few hours (mechanical issue, not weather), so we did not arrive until 4:30 ish on 12/26. It was not really an issue for us, we didn't have any specific plans, except for dinner, plus we were later compensated from Soutwest Airlines. We had booked 2 rooms on Priceline Express for the Swan. Check-in was smooth, we were given adjoining rooms on the 9th floor. We cleaned up and got ready for our dinner reservation (7pm) at Shula's Steakhouse, located in the Dolphin hotel. I made the reservation through Open Table about 60 days before we arrived. Dinner was great, a little $$$, but we were celebrating my husband's 50th! We walked around the Boardwalk, took pics, shopped, looked at the Boardwalk Gingerbread display then went to bed early in anticipation of our LONG day at Magic Kingdom.