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Joy Edwards -- December 2000 -- Walt Disney World (DL)December 10-16, 2000 The Cast
The history Living in California, visiting Disneyland has always been more feasible than visiting WDW. I have been to WDW twice, once when I was about 2 (for which I always told my parents we had to go again because I couldn't remember it!), and the 2nd time on my honeymoon with my darling husband Scott. We visited in August 1996, right as they were preparing for the 25th anniversary celebration, and that cake on the castle was just awful! We never did get to the see the actual castle, so that is top of our list this time. Another thing is that I hate humidity and am really glad we're going in December this time... not to mention it's the best time of year with all the holiday decorations and such! This is our only "real" vacation this year, so we are going to try to stick with less structure, and just enjoy walking around, taking up the atmosphere and seeing the parks through the eyes of our son. Trip Planning I am a net addict, and therefore, most of my planning has been done online. Through various resources & websites, I have found great deals and met some wonderful people. Here are the sites I surf: www.expedia.com and www.travelocity.com for airfare, www.nationalcar.com for car rental, www.mouseplanet.com (of course!), www.wdwig.com, www.wdw4adults.com, and www.passporter.com for Disney planning. Departure - Sacramento Delta flight departing 10:35 pm (yes, a red-eye flight with a toddler - no, we're not crazy), connecting in Atlanta, arriving in Orlando at 7:48 am local time. I had originally reserved the flight out of San Jose International months ago, when there was a great deal on the airfare..$467 for the three of us roundtrip. My parents live 45 minutes from the airport, so we had transportation figured out. However, last month, we decided that we would rather fly out of our home airport (my parents live 2 hours away), and have the convenience of really "coming home" directly. I checked Expedia, where I originally booked the flight, and found a similar itinerary out of Sacramento for just $100 more total for the 3 of us... but unfortunately a $75 per person change fee applied also. After a day of deliberation, we decided to go ahead and make the change, since the total for the tickets is still a good deal. As I occasionally check Expedia and Travelocity, I see that most tickets are still hovering in the $500 per person range, which tells me I still saved money. Rental Car at airport - National Car Rental Emerald Aisle club. I reserved months ago and checked the website daily, and changed the reservation whenever the price dropped, confirming the lower rate. I started off at $229/week and now am at $141.99/week. The price has gone way up back to the lower $200s again recently, so I think carefully watching the website rates has given us the best deal. Lodging/Tickets/Food - We have chosen the Discovery Magic package for this trip. On our previous trip, our honeymoon in August 96, we did the Deluxe Magic package, but found that we spent too much time (actually Scott will say I spent too much time) obsessing over getting to our next priority seating. With so much to see and do, and needing time to relax and enjoy, we decided that we would plan this trip for big breakfasts and dinners, and take in counter service, or just snack our way around through lunchtime. The Schedule - please note this is a very loose schedule
Return Trip - depart MCO at 2:35 pm, connecting in Atlanta, to Sacramento, arriving 9:35 pm local time. Our financial tally: Discovery Magic Package - Dixie Landings, King Bed/Water view MKC (Disney Club now?) rate for 6 nights, includes unlimited magic pass, millennium pin, and 2 flex choices per day. $1998.54. Rental Car - $141.99 per week, less 15% Emerald Club discount, plus applicable taxes, etc. = $158.65 Airfare - 2 adults, 1 infant in a reserved seat, round trip from Sacramento to Orlando on Delta = $567., plus $225 ($75 each) to change our itinerary, total of $792 Total = $2949.19 For comparison purposes, the same package run through Disney World's official trip planner on their website lists the whole air-inclusive, car-inclusive package at $4116.00. Even before our trip has begun, it is evident that with a bit of time, patience, and a web browser, you CAN find a much better deal putting everything together on your own. I'd appreciate any tips, hints, and suggestions that anyone can provide. See you at the parks!!! The Report Forgive me for the length of this report. Once I got started, I couldn't stop. To make it easier to find what info you're looking for, I've separated my report into sections: Daily summaries, Trip summary, helpful tips, and recommendations, Restaurant Reviews, Package comparisons Saturday, December 9 - Travel Day This was supposed to be the start of our vacation, but it turns out that due to contract negotiations, the pilots of Delta Airlines were refusing to work overtime and our flight was cancelled. They contacted us Saturday afternoon and rebooked us on the next flight, which was Sunday morning at 6:25. We had wanted to take a red-eye so we would not waste the whole day in flight! Well, there wasn't much we could do about it, but since they offered to rebook us on an alternate return flight, we extended our stay by a half-day by scheduling a return flight on Sunday morning instead of Saturday afternoon. I then turned around and booked a night's stay at the Hyatt at the airport so we would be able to jump right on the plane. Sunday, December 10 - the "real" travel day We were out of the house on schedule for the airport at 4:30 am. We live about 25 minutes from the airport, and there was no traffic at that hour. Scott dropped me and Nick off at the terminal, along with our associated baggage. We tried our best to pack lightly - only 2 suitcases, one carry-on, plus my laptop. In addition, we brought our own stroller (because it reclines and is more familiar to Nick) and Nick's car seat. Check-in and boarding was a breeze. We left on time and arrived in Salt Lake City nearly a half an hour early due to a very strong tailwind. Now, our original flight had us connecting in Atlanta. This alternate flight put us in Salt Lake City in the middle of an oncoming snowstorm. I have never flown in freezing weather, and this made me a bit nervous. It began snowing harder as we were getting ready to board. Ultimately, we wound up taking off about an hour later than scheduled, due to de-icing the plane and waiting for other planes. Again, due to tailwinds, we landed exactly on schedule at 4:23 pm. We got our bags (which had gotten slightly wet in Salt Lake City) and headed toward the rental car garage. We used National Car Rental Emerald Aisle service for the first time this trip. Scott was disappointed to find that they did not have any convertibles or SUVs in the Emerald Aisle. We settled for a Chevy Malibu, hooked up the car seat, loaded up and left. With the exception of getting lost inside the rental car garage looking for the exit, the trip from the airport to WDW was uneventful. It was shorter than I remember from last time, but I believe we took a different route this time. We took the 417 south to 535. There were 2 tollbooths at a dollar each. We were prepared with quarters, but apparently they have taken out the automated quarter -taking booths. More quarters for Scott for the arcade - he was happy. There was no line to check in at the hotel, since it was around 5:30. We found our way to our room. We were assigned to room 9911 in Parterre Place. I had faxed the room assigner 3 days before our arrival to request several things: a water view, a corner room, and a room in Magnolia Bend. A king bed was already included in our package price. Though we were in Magnolia Bend, we did not get the corner room, and there were thick trees obscuring the view of the water from our window. I really tried not be disappointed with the room assignment - after all, nothing was guaranteed. On the upside, we were very close to the elevator (we were on the 3rd floor) and our mansion was right next to the footbridge leading to the main lobby. From the airport that morning, I called WDW Dining to change our Hoop De Doo reservations to the late show. Even though we would have (barely) made it to the 7:15 show, we had not yet showered or unpacked. And since we were still on west coast time, 9:30 wasn't really late to us. The Hoop De Doo was wonderfully funny - funnier than I remember from our last trip. Scott's dad has this corny sense of humor, and we decided that we would try to plan to bring Scott's parents to WDW for Scott's dad's 50th birthday in a few years. It was nearly midnight when we finally got back to the room, and we set a 8 am wake up call for the next morning. MONDAY, DECEMBER 11 Parks visited: Magic Kingdom & Epcot Weather: low 80s, partly cloudy, periodic thunderstorms Dining: Crystal Palace, Le Cellier Today was a Surprise Morning for the MK, so we expected a large crowd when we entered the park. We had a 9:25 priority seating for the character breakfast at the Crystal Palace. We checked in at 9:10 and were seated within 5 minutes. There was a huge line, and there were families getting turned away at the window because they weren't taking any more walk-ins. The breakfast was standard buffet fare, though I was surprised by the prime rib hash, which I've never had before. The characters were Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. It was over breakfast that Scott and I decided to rethink our game plan about using our Discovery Magic flex features. In looking through the Discovery Magic guide, it seemed like we could get much more bang for our buck than with a character breakfast. There were some souvenirs available that cost more than the $15 per person breakfast, so we decided we would hit fewer character breakfasts, and maybe do a couple of lunches instead, and get a few souvenirs. The benefit of a character breakfast is the dedicated time spent with the characters, but since Nick is still at the age where he doesn't HAVE to meet every character, we have the luxury of being able to skip the breakfasts. We rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, which Scott loved. Nick took it pretty well also. We also hit the Tomorrowland Transit Authority and then walked over to Fantasyland and rode it's a Small World. We were both disappointed in IASM because it seemed to lack the spunk of the ride at DL. Also, we thought they should decorate it like IASM Holiday like at DL. Nick fell asleep soon after exiting IASM so we spent another hour walking around the park, getting familiar with the lay of the land, and then headed back to the hotel. We were not concerned with riding everything this time around because we would be going to the MVMCP at the end of the week. As we headed back to the hotel, we decided to purchase 2 refillable mugs at the food court. Originally we had planned to go to the grocery store and buy sodas for our room. However, given the proximity of our room to the food court, and because I couldn't see paying so much for the sodas (over $2 per small cup!), we decided to buy the mugs and make them worth the money. Scott is a pretty heavy soda drinker so I know this would be worth it in the end. We did make it over to Goodings Supermarket at the Crossroads to pick up some snack crackers for Nick and some bottled water for us. Yep, those prices are quite high at Goodings - and it doesn't help that Scott works for a warehouse grocery store. But we only needed a few things. We stopped by the McDonalds on the way back to pick up a happy meal for Nick, but he had a few French fries and then fell asleep in the car on the way back to DxL. Nick napped while I updated my trip diary and did some reading. Scott headed over to the arcade, quarters in hand. We finished our evening by going to Epcot. We had a 7:30 priority seating for Le Cellier. We were surprised to find that it was raining when we left the hotel. The rain soon turned into a downpour as we approached Epcot, running about 15 minutes late. We ran from the bus terminal to the main entrance, holding up our family sized umbrella over the stroller as much as possible. It didn't help much - we all got drenched by the time we reached the Canada pavilion. Even with the PS, we still had about a 15 minute wait so I stuck around while Scott went to go buy a dry (overpriced) shirt from the Canada store. Dinner was wonderful and relaxed. I was starting to catch a chill from the air conditioning though. We were going to stick around and watch Illuminations after dinner but decided that we needed to get Nick and me back to the hotel for some dry warm clothes. On our way back we stopped to browse in a couple of stores, but took note of what we wanted for Thursday, when we would be back for the Candlelight Processional and get the 15% shopping discount. On our way back through the lobby of DxL, we stopped at the Disney Vacation Club kiosk and scheduled a tour. We have been toying with the idea of buying DVC points for several months, but were unsure of our finances. We decided to take the tour so that we could make a decision when our tax return comes back early next year - if we have some money, then we would use it for a down payment. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12 Parks visited: Disney/MGM Studios, Epcot, Downtown Disney Weather: low 80s, morning thundershowers, partly cloudy Dining: Coral Reef, 'Ohana Today we slept in again and headed to Disney/MGM Studios for their 9 am opening. We had some breakfast pastries from the Starring Rolls bakery, and headed for the Rock N Roller Coaster at the rope drop. RnRC is intense. I found it as exciting as Space Mountain, but different. It didn't have the sharp turns and quick dips of Space Mountain, but because it had a couple of inversions in the dark, it was very fun. We also saw "Bear in the Big Blue House" which was something that Scott & I both looked forward to. Yes, I know it's a kids' show. We watch Bear faithfully every weekend morning on the Disney Channel with Nick, as do many parents - we all knew the words to the songs! Upon exiting the show, we found our stroller completely soaked from the rainstorm that started while we were inside. (Weather comment - this week has seen a cold front from the north that has caused problems for much of the Midwest, and as I understand it, this same cold front is causing the unseasonably warm subtropical moisture in our area - summertime weather in the middle of December.) We broke down and bought some ponchos and then went to the bus stop to catch a bus to Epcot for our lunch at the Coral Reef. The route from the Studios to Epcot took us by the Animal Kingdom first. By the time we reached Epcot, Nick had fallen asleep in my lap and we were late for our PS. (They aren't kidding when they say to allow extra time when using Disney transportation!) Lunch was delicious. The Discovery Magic plan has no restrictions on menu selections so I had the lobster. There's no way I'd spend triple digits on a lunch meal if I didn't have the plan. After lunch, we took the monorail to Downtown Disney, and then the Sassagoula Riverboat to Port Orleans, where we disembarked and walked up the carriage path to Parterre Place. In the evening we drove over to the Polynesian Resort to have dinner at 'Ohana. We had dined at 'Ohana four years ago, but I found that the menu had changed a bit. The side dishes were changed and they had fewer meat selections. Nevertheless, everything was wonderful and we wound up eating too much. We also were able to watch the MK fireworks from the restaurant, though our view was a bit obscured by the tables in front of us. We took the monorail over to the Grand Floridian to browse the shops and see the Christmas decorations. We bypassed the Contemporary because we would be going back for dinner on Friday. We wound up back at the Poly and then drove over to Downtown Disney. Since Nick slept through our dinner at 'Ohana, our first stop was at McDonald's to pick up a Happy Meal. Once he was settled in with French fries and cheeseburger on his stroller tray, we walked over through Pleasure Island to the West Side. Scott picked up a couple of t-shirts from Planet Hollywood and House of Blues (he likes to collect souvenir t-shirts from places we visit). We thought about going to DisneyQuest, but decided to go back another day when we had more time since strollers weren't allowed and we would wind up having to carry or supervise Nick. The drive back to our hotel convinced both of us that it was infinitely easier to drive ourselves than to rely on the bus system. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13 Parks visited: Animal Kingdom, Wide World of Sports, Epcot Weather: Overcast, humid, low 80s Dining: Donald's Breakfastosaurus, L'Originale Alfredo Today we had a 7:30 PS for the character breakfast at Donald's Breakfastosaurus. We hopped in the car and were at the AK in about 5 minutes. We were checked in at the gate and escorted through the park to the restaurant, which is in a far winding corner of the park. Scott was surprised to find what we deduced to be Krispy Kreme donuts in the buffet. We didn't confirm this with any cast members, but Krispy Kremes are so uniquely yummy that our palates said "yes". We spent the rest of the morning touring AK. I am not a huge animal/nature fan, so it was not so impressive to me. You could tell the Disney attention to detail was everywhere though. I had to laugh at myself because on the Kilimanjaro Safari, I couldn't tell which animals were real and which ones were animatronic. I have a terrible eye! One thing that was really nice about this visit was that there were very few crowds. We had no wait for anything (used a Fastpass for the Safari and avoided a 20 minute wait). The character trails area was great - Nick was able to walk up and interact with about 8 characters. We took a bunch of pictures and also had ours taken by the wandering photographers. Later, before we left, we picked out two that turned out the best. One was us standing in front of the Tree of Life, and the other was with Mickey & Minnie with holiday decorations in the background. We drove over to Wide World of Sports for lunch at the All Star Café. This was one of the most unimpressive portions of our trip. The food was mediocre and the complex itself was pretty boring. There were no sporting events going on and the only thing to see was the NFL Experience. Nick had fun climbing on some of the gym mats and the bounce house, and Scott tried his luck at passing a football at a target and kicking through goal posts (he passes well but can't kick straight). We left WWoS and went back to DxL for a nap. I went over to the pool area to do some laundry and update my trip diary. The quiet pool at DxL really is quiet compared to the main pool where there are lots of kids running and screaming. My only complaint would be the two teenagers who were throwing a football back and forth in the pool, purposely missing the catch to create a large splash, which kept splashing perilously close to me (and my laptop!). Our evening plans had changed twice since the beginning of the trip. We originally planned to have dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern, but neither of us was enticed by the menu (we can get turkey & ham any day!) and Nick had already had plenty of character interaction. We wanted to eat at Fulton's Crab House, so I had made reservations there because the CM at Dining Reservations assured me that Discovery Magic was accepted there. When I checked my Discovery Magic handbook, though, I found that the restaurant wasn't listed, and when I called WDW DINE to verify, they said it was not included! So we changed plans again to L'Originale Alfredo di Roma at Epcot. We were in the mood for some Italian food! We decided to brave the bus system to go to Epcot. We arrived at Alfredo's to find it quite busy. Apparently it's a popular choice for people dining on the Candlelight Processional package. We checked in and were seated within 10 minutes. Alfredo's is very very noisy. There are tons of wait staff milling about everywhere. The tables are placed extremely close together. The food was wonderfully rich and we were stuffed upon leaving. We headed over to Test Track. The wait was short in the standby line - only about 15 minutes. I went first, and I have to admit I was not impressed. The theming is good, but it just wasn't a very exciting ride (I like roller coasters). Scott switched off with me, and then afterward, we stopped off at the Camera shop on our way out. The only picture that turned out semi-decent was one of Nick crawling on the bench with the Spaceship Earth in the background, so we bought that and took the bus back to the hotel. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14 Parks Visited: DVC Tour, Boardwalk, Disney/MGM Studios, Epcot, Candlelight Processional Weather: clear, sunny, humid, low to mid 80s Dining: ESPN Bar & Grill, San Angel Inn We slept in this morning and grabbed a light breakfast at the Food court. The Disney Vacation Club bus picked us up on time at 10:10 and took us over to the Boardwalk Villas for our "open house tour." The tour was supposed to last about 60 minutes total, but at noon, we were official owners of DVC property! We bought 150 points at the Wilderness Lodge Villas. If you have questions on the specifics, please email me. We were treated to lunch at the ESPN club while we waited for our papers to be drawn up. After signing everything, we walked over to Epcot to do some shopping, since this was our Candlelight Processional day, everything we bought was 15% off. We also received lanyards and limited edition Holiday pins - even Nick got one. It was the first time on this trip that this "under 3 years old" child was treated like an actual head count. We were worn out from our long morning and coming down from our "high" of committing to the ownership of DVC. We hadn't planned on going back to the hotel, and dinnertime soon rolled around. We weren't really hungry since we had a late lunch. The San Angel Inn is not Mexican food like Chevy's or Taco Bell. It is more central American in nature. I think we would have enjoyed it more if we were not so tired and still full from lunch. We never made it to the CP because of our fatigue, and our fear that Nick would not sit still through the performance. We hopped the bus and headed back to the hotel for the night. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15 Parks visited: Magic Kingdom, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Weather: morning fog, then clearing to partly cloudy, low 80s Dining: Chef Mickey's, California Grill We woke up early this morning and drove over to the Contemporary for breakfast at Chef Mickey's. At the parking gate, the guard checked to make sure we really did have a priority seating and then handed us a "parking pass" that was only good for 3 hours. My guess is that they have a lot of people parking at the Contemporary all day long. Scott wasn't impressed with breakfast. I thought they had more variety than the other 2 places we'd been. Nick enjoyed the characters, as usual, but we said "no" to the photo they took of us - Nick had the weirdest look on his face. We took the monorail over to the MK. The park was practically empty at opening. We were able to walk on to almost every ride, until about 10:30, when the park started to fill up. Seems like there were field trips everywhere! I stopped off in the Emporium on Main Street to buy a few items, and I thought I could use my Disney Club card for a discount since Disneyland's Emporium takes it. The clerk at the counter said no, it's only good at the Downtown Disney shops. I was mistaken, and I am fine with that, but next, she said "I don't even know what that card is good for... it's so new." (sigh) I don't mind if someone doesn't know something, but from my years in customer service work, I really think it's better to say "I'll find out for you" rather than admit ignorance or indifference. From the MK, we took the monorail back to the CR, and then drove over the Wilderness Lodge to check out our new "home". I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the Wilderness Lodge. I am not particularly a fan of camping or nature, actually, but the Lodge is strikingly beautiful. We walked around the property and over to the Villas, getting the warm fuzzies when we came to the sign that said "Welcome Home Members" (big sigh!). After the walk around, we drove back to Dixie for a swim. We went to the main pool on Ol' Man Island. The pool is large and separated into several play sections, with a snaking waterslide and a waterfall. There is also a toddler wading pool and a spa. We tired Nick out enough for him to take a nap before we headed back to the Contemporary for our dinner at the California Grill. Again, as we drove in, the guard warned us that we would only be able to park for 3 hours and then risked being towed. Apparently, there were several corporate Christmas parties being held at the Contemporary's ballrooms that night. The view from the California Grill is fabulous. As we checked in, I asked for a table with a view of the fireworks. About 10 minutes later, we were rewarded with a table next to the window with a direct view of the MK. Our seating was at 5:30 and the fireworks were at 6:00. They dimmed the lights in the restaurant and piped in the music. It was fantastic being able to have such a clear view, not only of the fireworks, but to watch the sun go down and the lights start to come aglow in the park. After dinner we drove over and parked at the TTC. We took the ferry in to the park. It was very crowded. I'm told that they limit the MVMCP to about 20,000 tickets, but it seemed like much more than that. It was much more crowded than when we were there in the morning. We rode most everything we wanted to ride. Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad both seem longer and more intense here, though BTMRR seems to have less in theming. Neither Scott nor I felt like fighting the crowds, and we had seen all that we wanted to, so we decided to head back to the hotel about 11 pm. We stopped off to take a picture with Santa Goofy on Main Street, and then hopped on board the resort monorail (express monorail was not in service). We encountered a delay on approach to the Contemporary Resort. That lasted about 3 minutes. Then before we were able to leave the CR, we waited on board about 10-15 minutes. We were told that they had a red light ahead. I don't know what would cause that, unless there was another monorail at the TTC that was having difficulties getting out of the station. In any case, we did not get back to our room until after midnight. We were very exhausted and changed our touring plans for the next morning. Originally we were going to hit Disney/MGM Studios at the open, but we opted to sleep in. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16 Parks Visited: Disney/MGM Studios, Boardwalk, Downtown Disney Weather: Mid 80s, sunny Dining: Boatwright's Dining Hall, Rainforest Café I was up before Scott and Nick so I checked my email and made sure that our flight was still scheduled. Scott & Nick woke up around 8:30 and we went to Boatwright's Dining Hall for breakfast. Personally I found this buffet to be the best of any of the breakfast buffets we'd had, though this one had no characters. Even though we were late for our PS, we were still seated within 5 minutes. After breakfast, we went back to our room to pack. The hotel had left an itemized room charge statement hanging on our doorknob. It was frightening to see all those charges, though we did expect it. We loaded up the car and drove over to Disney/MGM Studios. We got fastpasses for Rock n Roller Coaster and then went over to Muppets 3D. I think Scott & I found it more entertaining than Nick. He was getting toward naptime and we were hoping that he would fall asleep but even after Scott & I rode RnRC, he was still awake. We decided to take a walk over to the Boardwalk so I could see if they had any Disney Vacation Club member polos. I saw one at the Wilderness Lodge but they didn't have my size. The walk along the canal is very quiet and peaceful. We actually beat the Friendship boat back. Unfortunately, the Boardwalk didn't have any member polo shirts. We decided to try the boat back to the Studios. The wait was long, the boat ride was long, and we would have been their twice as fast if we had walked! The boat stops first at the Boardwalk, then the Yacht & Beach Clubs, and then the Swan & Dolphin. I don't see any benefit in taking the boat unless you absolutely can't walk any further. It's just such a waste of time. Once back to the Studios, we finished up some shopping. Scott was hungry and Nick was awake so we returned to our car and drove over to Downtown Disney. We ate an early dinner at the Rainforest Café and then Scott took Nick to the Lego playground while I went to World of Disney. The World of Disney store is too large, in my opinion. I actually got lost there. I totally lost my bearings and had no idea what section of the store I was in, or what direction I was facing. And unfortunately, they don't have a complete selection of what is available in the parks. I did use my Disney Club card to get a 10% discount, but I'm glad that I bought other stuff in the parks when I did. Downtown Disney was very busy since there was a BBMAK (that's not an acronym for those that don't know the group) concert that night. There were tons of teenage girls and their parents everywhere. Parking was very hard to come by. We left just as it was getting dark, and found our way out toward the airport. After a stop off to refuel the car, we dropped it off at the airport and checked into the Hyatt. It's convenient that the Hyatt is located right next to the Delta ticketing booths and the monorail to the Delta terminal. I had requested a king bed and a crib, but when we got to our room, we found two doubles instead. I called down to the front desk and asked to be moved. We got a new room, but unfortunately, this one had a view of the atrium instead of the runway. (Scott likes to watch planes.) The room was very nice - t $119, cheaper than Dixie Landings, a much nicer room. Of course this isn't Disney though. The bed was comfy, making us realize how yucky the bed was in our DxL room. They never brought up the crib I requested, but we stuck Nick in between us and he was asleep quickly. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17 Travel Day 5 am came all too quickly. We got dressed and trudged down to the ticket counter to check our bags. The Hyatt will take your bags down for you, but they charge $5 for it and by this time in our trip, we were getting chintzy with our remaining funds. Unfortunately, even at 5:30 in the morning, the line for the Delta counter was huge! We waited over 15 minutes and then got up to the counter to find that they wanted us to pay another change fee for changing our return flight. I said "no", that's not right because we were inconvenienced by the cancellation of our outbound trip and the person rebooked our return flight to make up for it. Luckily, he was able to waive the fee (before I had a complete fit) and assign us our seats. We ran back up to the room to grab our carry-ons and headed out to the gate. The take off was delayed by about a half hour, putting us into Salt Lake City close to our connecting flight. SUMMARY & TIPS Packing and Weather - The warnings are true. You just can't tell what the weather is like in December. I checked weather.com for days prior to our trip and up until the day we arrived, it forecasted warm, sunny weather. Instead, we had every type of weather, sometimes all in the same day - warm, humid, cold, damp, thunderstorms, clear skies, clouds, sunshine! If you have rain gear at home, pack it. Ponchos take up little space, as well as umbrellas. You won't have to buy the gear when it starts to rain - unless you purposely wanted an excuse to buy a cute Mickey Mouse umbrella. Buses and Disney Transportation - Although I understand the Disney bus system, I can't recommend using it if you are traveling with a toddler. Nick understands that he should sit still when strapped into his car seat, but if he is allowed to sit on a lap, all he wants to do is squirm and get out. Staying at a moderate resort also means longer waits between bus rides, or more bus stops, and transfers required to get to where you're going. This adds up to a lot of parental frustration! Even though we were traveling in the off-peak season, I still think we benefited from using our own car. Restaurants and Priority Seating - I would say that Priority Seating is a smart thing to request as far in advance as possible. There were many places that were turning people away as walk-ins due to popularity. On the other hand, it was not difficult to get same-day reservations when we changed our plans. I'd say that if you can plan at least a half-day in advance, you'll have a better chance of getting what you want and having less wait. Either that or be prepared to eat counter service. Discovery Magic - see my spreadsheet to see comparison and profitability. One thing to keep in mind when traveling with a toddler under 3 is that restaurants MAY charge you if you order a child's plate. They won't if you are at a buffet, but if you order a la carte off the child's menu, you must double check and ensure that they don't charge against your available Adult Discovery Magic flex features. We found that we were charged at Le Cellier but not at Coral Reef. A visit to guest services with our receipt corrected the billing, but for the rest of the trip, we made sure to specify that the child's plate should be billed to our room, not the plan. On our last meal at the Rainforest Café, the system wouldn't even accept Discovery Magic payment unless the child's meal was removed from the ticket and billed separately a la carte. Also, if you are buying food from the food court, make sure to check your receipt. We found out that we had been charged a flex feature for 2 drinks and a snack from the food court. The plan costs way too much for me to lose a flex feature for an $8 snack. Again, a visit to the guest services desk fixed the bill. A nice extra that we got was two extra flex features. Apparently somewhere in the week, we were not charged for a meal. My suspicion is that it was for the Candlelight Processional dinner. The cast member that gave us our voucher for dinner had to look up the code for Discovery Magic payment, and I think she put in the wrong code. I asked guest services twice to check how many features we had remaining, and each time, it was two more than my count. Oh well. Scott & decided that if they couldn't figure this program out after over 11 months, it was not our place to correct them. Their loss. We got an extra meal out of it. On traveling with a toddler - If you are driving a rental car, consider bringing a sunshade for the window. On our way back to the hotel one afternoon, Nick nearly got sunburned by being in the direct sunlight, which was exactly shining into his position in his car seat. The roller shades or sticky films don't take up too much packing space, and can help to avoid your child's discomfort. Also, it is LOUD in many restaurants at the parks. I expected it to be loud inside the attractions, but I didn't realize that there was an enormous din of voices in all the restaurants. I was worried that my child would be the noisy one, when it turned out that he was the one getting over stimulated and overwrought from all the clatter. If you are planning to go to any sit-down meals, please realize that it's noisy. Luckily, Nick slept through a couple of those meals. Valet parking - we valet parked only once - the night we ate at the California Grill. Normally we only tip when picking up the car, but I guess it's the norm to tip both before and after here. My husband and I disagree with this because I believe most valets pool their tips anyway. When we dropped off the car, the valet very pointedly said three times (I was paying attention) "*I* will be taking care of your car right now and someone else will bring it to you later." She kept emphasizing I will do it now. Now, I am not against anyone trying to earn a decent living. I know that they rely heavily on tips. But I do not believe in rewarding someone who blatantly asks for a tip when they haven't done anything to earn it. At the very least, we would have appreciated some chit-chat - How are you doing? Is this your first visit here? Are you coming for dinner? Where? Oh that's a great restaurant - you should try the ... You know what I mean? Something to make it more personal. It was one of our more un-Disney interactions with a cast member. My highlights: Hoop De Doo, Coral Reef, Rock 'n Roller Coaster, buying DVC points! Scott's highlights: Rock 'n Roller Coaster, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Hoop De Doo, Le Cellier, Coral Reef Nick's highlights: the playground inside Toontown Fair, giving great big bear hugs to all the characters, watching the dancing waters of the Epcot Fountain, giggling like crazy as he tries to run away from parental supervision, general mischief Differences between Disneyland and Disney World: I think I drove Scott nuts with my comparisons for the first few days. I am a Disneyland child. As much as some of you grow up at WDW, I grew up at DL. For me, it will always be "home." Disneyland has a magic and intimacy (due to its size) that WDW doesn't quite match. The space at WDW allows them to do some wonderful things with attractions, though. As far as rides go, we liked Space Mountain and Big Thunder better than DL (longer, faster, and scarier!!). The park (MK) itself seemed so much more spread out, though. Quite an adjustment for this west-coaster! RESTAURANT REVIEWS San Angel Inn - the atmosphere was wonderful, but it was very loud and busy. Tables are spaced very close together, and service was spotty. We were late for our PS, and were seated in about 20 minutes. Luckily we got a table by the water. We had the queso fundido appetizer (excellent!), I had the mole poblano (different, spicy), and Scott had the plato mexicano (large portion, ok flavor). We skipped dessert - there wasn't much that appealed to us on the menu anyway. Dinner was part of the Candlelight Processional package, so the cost was $90.10 inclusive. We also paid an additional $26 for margaritas (3). Rainforest Café - arrived about 4:30 pm with no PS, and were seated right away. Appetizers: pork potstickers (doughy) and tomato & cheese flatbread (fancy pizza - good flavor). Main dish: bacon burger (good) and mixed grill (lots of variety for the undecided - the bbq sauce is zesty). Dessert: shared a chocolate volcano (basically like a brownie sundae - rich and gooey). Environment was lushly decorated. We were seated between the gorilla and elephant section, so we got to see both shows. Total including Nick's chicken nuggets meal was $104.21 inclusive. The food wasn't spectacular. I find it hard to believe we spent over $100 on a meal we would normally pay half as much for. The décor isn't worth it. L'originale Alfredos di Roma - We were a bit late for our PS. It took about 10 minutes to be seated. The tables were packed in close together here, but the wait staff was plentiful and attentive. Several managers were also roaming, making sure that all was going smoothly. Appetizer: antipasto sampler (yummy!) and Caesar salads. Main dish: Fettuccine with shrimp (love the fresh noodles!) and Sette Colli (veal - a bit on the dry side). Dessert: tiramisu for me (can't pass it up - it was excellent) and chocolate mousse cake (good). It was hard to absorb the décor since it was so frenetic inside, but this is definitely a place we will eat at again. Total was $121.24. Character Breakfasts - We attended three: Donald's Breakfastosaurus @ AK, Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary, and the Crystal Palace @ MK. Scott liked the food at the Crystal Palace best. I liked Chef Mickey's. Crystal Palace had a wide array of basic breakfast staples - nothing too fancy, so it appealed to a lot of people. Chef Mickey's had a bit more gourmet touch to its dishes, so I liked it, but Scott thought it too fancy for his breakfast palate. Service was good at Breakfastosaurus (funny wait staff with gags) and Crystal Palace. Chef Mickey's service was a little bit slow and disorganized. Each meal cost us $38.61 inclusive for 2 adults. All Star Café - Scott liked the décor but not the food. I didn't care much for each - Scott says that is because I'm not into sports. We had potato skins, he a burger, and me a chicken strips meal. Total was $34 including tax and tip. Not too expensive, but just an average meal, a la your local Chili's or Applebee's type restaurant. Not worth the drive all the way out to Wide World of Sports. 'Ohana - I think I liked the appetizers and side dishes better than the meats. My favorites were the dumplings and the stir-fried veggies. Scott enjoyed the bread and the salad. The flavor was good on all the meats, but I think we overdid it when we asked for seconds - we really should have stopped at firsts! Total was $53.21 inclusive, plus $7.69 for a rummy pineapple drink for me :) We would do this again. It's an excellent value for the money. It's a different approach to the all-you-can-eat buffet concept, and the view of the MK can't be beat! Coral Reef - With all the bad reviews this restaurant has gotten lately, I was very apprehensive about the experience we would have. We were pleasantly surprised to find that this was one of our best dining experiences. We rushed in late, due to slow transportation and rain, and we were still quickly seated. Nick was asleep in the stroller and the staff kindly and efficiently reorganized the table to allow room for us to roll in. Our server helped us decide what to order... appetizers: scallops with caviar (mmmm!) and lobster bisque (worth the trip alone). Main dish: tenderloin tips with veal reduction and grilled lobster (I have no idea how to crack a lobster properly - I'm sure I broke all culinary rules). Dessert: chocolate wave and peppermint cheesecake (very different and very good). Total was $123.41 including kid's meal. This restaurant is a definite do-again. Le Cellier - I've heard people say it's dark in this restaurant but I really didn't feel like we were in a dungeon. It was intimate but not necessarily made for couples only. Appetizers: cheese soup, rock shrimp cocktail, and crab cakes. Main dish: porterhouse and prime rib. Desserts: millennium spaceship earth filled with Butterfinger mousse and chocolate moose cake. Everything was excellent - I only wish we had a room with a fridge and microwave so we didn't waste any leftovers! Total was $104.05 including grilled cheese for Nick. This restaurant is a probable repeater. Boatwright's Dining Hall - There were tons of people waiting to get in here. We were an hour late for our PS but we were seated in less than 10 minutes. We opted for the breakfast buffet. I liked the offerings, but Scott didn't think it was anything special. Total was $32.75. The location was handy because we were staying at the resort, but I don't see any reason to make a special trip to this breakfast if you're staying elsewhere. California Grill - The best part of this meal was getting the window table we asked for. The fireworks over the MK were awesome. Service was beyond attentive here. Our waiter worked in tandem with an assistant and our dishes were brought and cleared in a timely manner, without making us feel rushed. Gary was our server and I have to commend him for recommending the banana soufflé to me, as it was absolutely heavenly! Appetizers: sundried tomato & goat cheese ravioli, yellowfin tuna tempura bonsai roll sushi, triple cheese flatbread. Main dish: spit-roasted chicken with soba noodles (this was so-so) and tamarind barbeque beef filet. Dessert: the aforementioned banana soufflé with a rum custard sauce and chocolate cheesecake wave. Nick's macaroni and cheese was also a hit. Total was $121.91 for the two of us, plus $15 for Nick (I added extra tip onto Nick's bill, because the service was supreme). I can see why this restaurant is worth the money, but we'd probably save it for a future occasion when it's just the two of us. ESPN Club - The atmosphere is the main draw here, although the food was pretty good too. Appetizers: hot wings and zingers (chicken tenders). Main dish: hamburger and hot dog (we were not in a fancy food mood). Desserts: hockey puck (chocolate covered brownie - very rich) and cheesecake. Total was over $50 but I don't have an itemized bill. The nice folks at the Disney Vacation Club picked up the tab on this one while we waited for our papers to be drawn up. Hoop De Doo Revue - Many people say it's the show not the food that is the big attraction here, but I have to say that we enjoyed both equally and immensely. Maybe it's because there's plenty of opportunity to eat gourmet food at WDW, but it's difficult to get such basics as fried chicken and ribs "just right." Everything here is wonderful - the food, the service, and the entertainment. Well worth the money, in my opinion, and I can be pretty stingy. We will do this again! PACKAGE PRICE COMPARISON Resort Magic Package - Ultimate Park Hopper passes for entire stay. Disney Millennium trading pin. One flex feature (i.e. - character breakfast, t-shirt, photo session). Accommodations and transportation. Discovery Magic Package - Resort Magic package, plus 2 flex features per person per night of stay. The difference in cost between the Resort Magic package and the Discovery Magic package was $750 for 6 nights. This works out to be $62.50 per person per day. With tax and 15% tip included, the $62.50 cost actually works out to be $51.65 worth of food.... Now we probably wouldn't eat $51.65 worth of food each day if we were paying cash, but a character breakfast and a decent meal at a moderately priced sit-down restaurant can add up pretty quickly. The spreadsheet shown in the appendix (at the end of the report) details our expenditures. All said, we ate and bought about $250 more "cash value" than we paid. The intermediate car rental through the package would have added an additional $198 to our package price, and this was not including any taxes or fees. By logging into National Car Rental's website about once a week, I was able to change our reservation every time the price dropped. This saved us over $50. We received Emerald Club discount of 15% also. The Emerald Aisle service is nice if you don't want to wait in line. If you don't mind, though, there are even better deals to be had with Dollar Car Rental, and they are also onsite at the airport. Airfare - I believe it's better to try to book your airfare separately. If you don't have the time, enlist the help of a travel agent. Disney's air-inclusive packages tend to run a bit on the high side. All in all, it was a wonderful trip. We didn't get to see as much as we had planned (missed Illuminations again!) but that is the trade-off in traveling with a toddler. On the up-side, we did buy the DVC points, so we will have plenty of opportunity to catch up in the future, and we have guaranteed opportunities to create many more memories as we watch our children and grandchildren enjoy WDW. For any more details or information, please email me at nutty4disney@aol.com. Also, I'll be putting up some photos on our website at http://www.geocities.com/bubbasmom99/disney.htm. Drop by and visit if you have the time! Joy Edwards nutty4disney@aol.com Mail a Comment to Joy EdwardsAppendix
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