We made it home. This morning we had a quick taste of the Magic Kingdom, with a breakfast at the Crystal Palace (still my fav character breakfast by far, the food is the best, the location cannot be beat and a great way to get into the Park early). He finally has the hang of these things, and loves to kiss the characters as you can see. Breakfast was followed by a haircut at the Main Street Barber Shop (I think called Harmony Barber Shop). It is a "thing" to get your child's first haircut here. I luckily made a reservation in advance - had to call lots of numbers to finally get the right one. They accept walk-ins, but the line was already forming when we were there 10 minutes after the park opened, and they will not reserve you there on the spot. Joel Andrew had a great haircut, got a certificate, first haircut Mickey-ear hat, and we have a lock of his hair now too. So, it is his second haircut really, but who is counting? Sadly we did not see the barber shop quartet that frequent the joint, that would have been cool. Then it was off to home, the travel time gave me some time to reflect on notes for our next trip.
Disney's Magical Express - Is truly neither Magical, nor Express. This is Disney's bus service that gets you to and from the airport. The only good things about it is that it is free, and they get your checked luggage for you and drop it in your room. So, no bag wrangling. That's about it. As you might recall, we had such a long wait to get from the airport to the hotel, had to wait two buses, had to stop at four hotels before ours, had to wait three hours before getting our checked luggage... Well, on the way home we again had to stop at four hotels! What the hey? Toddler was none too pleased to be sitting for an hour and a half in the bus, before airport debaucle and then plane flight. Next time we are forking out the dough for a private shuttle, and getting our checked bags ourselves.
Days and Times - We have decided that our next vacay to Disney will be longer, at least 6 full days, and we will arrive on a Saturday, depart most likely on a Saturday. A Saturday in the park is nuts. They make it too easy in Disney for locals to have annual passes, so on the weekends the place is overrun with them. Likewise, the parks that fill up the quickest, Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom, we shall save for the dead center of the week, least crowd? The thought is as well, with that much time you can focus on a park a day, but you can also focus on the other amenities that you generally miss because you are so focused on the park. For instance, our hotel had outdoor movie night, which would have been awesome. Wall-E under the stars would be a nice way to end an otherwise hectic day. Plus, we totally missed the pool (oh yeah, we are going to find some other warmer, non-school vacation period to come too). So, maybe with more time in our week we could enjoy some of these other activities.
Resort - I would not have changed a thing about our resort experience. We shelled out an extra 15% for our room, which was a 1-bedroom at Bay Lake Towers as opposed to the Studios the rest of the family got. The 1-bedroom had two bathrooms, we stuck a pack n play in one and had free roam of the other. Grandparents had a delicious dine-in meal in the dining area while Joel Andrew slept and Joel Husband and I went out to a nice dinner. Not to mention, the dishwasher, fridge and laundry came in very handy. We had a high chair so we could feed Joel Andrew in the room before his naps. All this was incredibly handy for having an 18 month old with you... But again, the laundry was priceless with our sicknesses, and my lack of maternity clothes.
Resort - I would not have changed a thing about our resort experience. We shelled out an extra 15% for our room, which was a 1-bedroom at Bay Lake Towers as opposed to the Studios the rest of the family got. The 1-bedroom had two bathrooms, we stuck a pack n play in one and had free roam of the other. Grandparents had a delicious dine-in meal in the dining area while Joel Andrew slept and Joel Husband and I went out to a nice dinner. Not to mention, the dishwasher, fridge and laundry came in very handy. We had a high chair so we could feed Joel Andrew in the room before his naps. All this was incredibly handy for having an 18 month old with you... But again, the laundry was priceless with our sicknesses, and my lack of maternity clothes. The other plus is the location. Walk to the Magic Kingdom in 10 minutes. Be on the monorail to Epcot or the other hotels in five. They have Chef Mickey's, which some say is the best character breakfast (it was fine, but had the primo stars), and the California Grill, which Joel and I tried last night and had a fantastic dinner.
As a side bar, we got a chance to peek in at the Grand Floridian, and I like it there, don't get me wrong, but I feel like you have to be dressed up to walk around. Joel Husband and I decided that when the kids are in college and we go to Disney by ourselves again, we might stay there. The Polynesian is the coolest place, the food is really good there and it is very convenient on the monorail, but it seems to be the most expensive. If it ever came down in price we might consider it, but no suites... Last time we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge, which is gorgeous. We love their restaurant Artist Point - and the pool is super cool. You can take a boat to the Magic Kingdom but it is not on the monorail. Bus it from there, which is a downside. They do have vacation club suites though. Finally, Animal Kingdom will be the place we will stay at when the boys are 5 and 7; we keep hearing the views of the animals, from your room, are the best. They have vacation club suites too. The bummer is that you have to take a bus to everything from there.
Age - the big question. When is the best age to bring your kid? Before the trip I said any age! And, I still agree. As long as you realize what you are working with (see post below), your child WILL LOVE the experience! And, you will have the memories that they will probably loose. Let's face it, we are really going for us. But, know your audience. That being said, and the fact that we have Deuce on the way, we are currently thinking the next time we come back Joel Andrew will be 5 and Deuce 3. This way they are hopefully both potty trained, in beds, and not needing planned naps. All this will make the trip easier (though I did not feel particularly hampered about changing diapers, and the kid having his own "bedroom" with the pack n play in the bathroom was nice...).
Age - the big question. When is the best age to bring your kid? Before the trip I said any age! And, I still agree. As long as you realize what you are working with (see post below), your child WILL LOVE the experience! And, you will have the memories that they will probably loose. Let's face it, we are really going for us. But, know your audience. That being said, and the fact that we have Deuce on the way, we are currently thinking the next time we come back Joel Andrew will be 5 and Deuce 3. This way they are hopefully both potty trained, in beds, and not needing planned naps. All this will make the trip easier (though I did not feel particularly hampered about changing diapers, and the kid having his own "bedroom" with the pack n play in the bathroom was nice...).You have heard my rants and dining before, so I will not go into it again. But I will say, that when and if I bring back my 3 and 5 year olds, I will be going to: Biergarten at Epcot; Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom; Polynesian Luau; and lots of quick service places (blech). I will have date night with Joel Husband at at least the fancy restaurant of the hotel we are staying in, at least once. (they have a sitter service there, and we would totally use it). We would also do in-room dining once. This burns two points off your meal plan, but as my in-laws and parents said last night, was worth it. They deliver the food to you in little warming, or cooling compartments, so it comes to the table in your room piping hot. They had rave reviews about the food.
So, that is all I have for now. As I reflect more, I will post more. And, maybe this will help some. It is hard to believe we are done with Disney for at least 3 more years... All the work that needs to happen before then!
No comments:
Post a Comment