Mendelson
02-01-2012, 01:15 PM
Highlights/notables/lessons learned:
First trip with a baby
First stay at a value
Discovery - the best WDW food value
Even the bottled water is bad
Better queues
Most things about strollers (stink) (my original word got the **** treatment)
Babies are afraid of pretty much everything
No South American tour groups to be seen (yay!)
This report is from a short work-related trip (I see that my last report was also a short, work-related trip report....my goal is for the next trip to be long and not-at-all work related!).
I was traveling with my wife and 16-month old son, whom we had planned to not bring to WDW until at least age three; this opportunity came up via work and so we thought we’d spend just one day in the parks. We flew in Friday night and I was occupied most day Saturday and Sunday. We stayed three nights at the Hilton Lake Buena Vista and Monday night at Pop Century.
The Hilton is, as you probably know, on property and right across the street from DTD. It was a perfectly average hotel....it was weird being on property but not really feeling like I was ON property. It’s a fine hotel, don’t get me wrong - staff was good and room was comfy and clean, etc. I would just never stay here on my own for a Disney trip, despite the five-minute walk to DTD.
And so.....
Friday night we got in around 9:40. After a stressful time on the departure end with baby management (including stroller and such), it was nice to ease into a comfy Mears towncar. We wanted something quick and easy for dinner after our travels (from the DC area), so after checking in I headed off for what I’m convinced is the best value in WDW, the Earl of Sandwich. For six bucks you can get a delicious, hot sandwich? And $2 sides? Seriously? They forgot to add the theme park premium to the menu pricing, I think. Loved it.
My wife’s brother and his wife and two young kids finished a week-long stay at Kadani Village on Saturday, and we met them our first morning at Boma for breakfast. I hadn’t been in AKL in eight years (has it really been that long??) and it really was a good welcome back to Disney...I just love this property. Breakfast was good, but certainly not the best meal at Boma, as most of the food is standard American breakfast and I’d like something unique when I come here. I did get two African dishes, both of which were delicious. We spent time time here roaming the grounds and then my in-laws (they had an excellent week with kids 7 and 5, thought AKL animal viewing was meager, and - to my dismay - got sucked into the world of pin trading) had to head to the airport and I headed off to meetings around 11:30. My wife and son enjoyed the AKL pool and some animal watching in the afternoon. (I know they technically should not have gotten in the pool and I hope Walt forgives us, wherever he is, but the thing was mostly empty anyway. Plus did I mention that my son is 16 months?...do you know how cute they are at that age??? Would you have denied him??)
My work event dined at Portobello’s that evening at DTD. It was okay - certainly nothing to write home about and I probably wouldn’t choose it again. My flat iron steak was too salty, a bit too tough, and other aspects of the meal were just average.
Sunday I worked from 9 - 3...it’s so cruel to be stuck in a stuffy, windowless room in a suit while your family tweets pictures from around the World! Wife and son went to the Poly for breakfast and then she let him play on the beach for awhile and chase seagulls. My son is still nursing, and he fell asleep while doing so while the two to of them relaxed in a hammock, with my wife having views of the castle on a 72-degree, sunny day. She texted me that it was perhaps the most perfect moment of breastfeeding in the history of breastfeeding. :-)
I was finally released from my meeting at 3:30 and met my wife and son and aunt and uncle (in Daytona for a few weeks and at DTD just to meet up with us for a bit) at T-Rex for a very early dinner at 4 (but the only time we could snag). We were very excited about this restaurant, as we were sure my son would love the experience. He had a different idea, however, and perhaps we should have been a bit more sensitive to how a 16-month old would respond to an enormous, moving, growling dinosaur. He clearly was not going to have a good time, so we went to Raglan Road instead, where the were no dinosaurs but where presence of so many Irish, while disturbing to many, was lost on my son and he ate in peace. We had a nice time catching up with my family and had a very pleasant meal. My son enjoyed roaming the outside dining area and pulling the leg hairs on the knees of random men, all of whom were incredibly understanding.
My aunt and uncle departed and the three of us decided to just take in DTD, something I hadn’t ever done to any extent. I could not believe, given how slow a time it is right now, how absolutely teeming with people it was. I also couldn’t believe how quickly this place could persuade me to want to spend thousands of dollars I don’t have. That Christmas store alone...my goodness! I loved that place. Between that and several other establishments I could have filled a suitcase with stuff, and I’m not even a collector of Disneyana.
It being still early and our son doing fine, mood-wise, I suggested to my wife we take the boat to PORFQ, a respite from the crowds and someplace where we could enjoy a quiet stroll. So we boarded a boat...and those boats, as many of you know, honk. A lot. They honk when they see another boat, when they go around a bend, when they go under a bridge, when a bird chips, or when leaves rustle. As we went right by the “treehouse” villas and the boat let out a blast (bird chirp) my wife said, “Wow, that would get annoying,” pointing out a significant atmosphere killer/sleep disturber for villa residents that I’m sure is probably not mentioned anywhere in the literature.
After some time at the pool and playground at FQ (my son was only a little more warm toward those alligators and that creepy Mardi Gras guy than the dinosaurs at T-Rex) we went back to DTD, went into the insanely overwhelming World of Disney store, went into the insanely decadent Ghiradelli store, and then back to the hotel to get our exhausted son in bed by 10. Cause the next day it was up at 7:15 for our 8am shuttle to MK!
First trip with a baby
First stay at a value
Discovery - the best WDW food value
Even the bottled water is bad
Better queues
Most things about strollers (stink) (my original word got the **** treatment)
Babies are afraid of pretty much everything
No South American tour groups to be seen (yay!)
This report is from a short work-related trip (I see that my last report was also a short, work-related trip report....my goal is for the next trip to be long and not-at-all work related!).
I was traveling with my wife and 16-month old son, whom we had planned to not bring to WDW until at least age three; this opportunity came up via work and so we thought we’d spend just one day in the parks. We flew in Friday night and I was occupied most day Saturday and Sunday. We stayed three nights at the Hilton Lake Buena Vista and Monday night at Pop Century.
The Hilton is, as you probably know, on property and right across the street from DTD. It was a perfectly average hotel....it was weird being on property but not really feeling like I was ON property. It’s a fine hotel, don’t get me wrong - staff was good and room was comfy and clean, etc. I would just never stay here on my own for a Disney trip, despite the five-minute walk to DTD.
And so.....
Friday night we got in around 9:40. After a stressful time on the departure end with baby management (including stroller and such), it was nice to ease into a comfy Mears towncar. We wanted something quick and easy for dinner after our travels (from the DC area), so after checking in I headed off for what I’m convinced is the best value in WDW, the Earl of Sandwich. For six bucks you can get a delicious, hot sandwich? And $2 sides? Seriously? They forgot to add the theme park premium to the menu pricing, I think. Loved it.
My wife’s brother and his wife and two young kids finished a week-long stay at Kadani Village on Saturday, and we met them our first morning at Boma for breakfast. I hadn’t been in AKL in eight years (has it really been that long??) and it really was a good welcome back to Disney...I just love this property. Breakfast was good, but certainly not the best meal at Boma, as most of the food is standard American breakfast and I’d like something unique when I come here. I did get two African dishes, both of which were delicious. We spent time time here roaming the grounds and then my in-laws (they had an excellent week with kids 7 and 5, thought AKL animal viewing was meager, and - to my dismay - got sucked into the world of pin trading) had to head to the airport and I headed off to meetings around 11:30. My wife and son enjoyed the AKL pool and some animal watching in the afternoon. (I know they technically should not have gotten in the pool and I hope Walt forgives us, wherever he is, but the thing was mostly empty anyway. Plus did I mention that my son is 16 months?...do you know how cute they are at that age??? Would you have denied him??)
My work event dined at Portobello’s that evening at DTD. It was okay - certainly nothing to write home about and I probably wouldn’t choose it again. My flat iron steak was too salty, a bit too tough, and other aspects of the meal were just average.
Sunday I worked from 9 - 3...it’s so cruel to be stuck in a stuffy, windowless room in a suit while your family tweets pictures from around the World! Wife and son went to the Poly for breakfast and then she let him play on the beach for awhile and chase seagulls. My son is still nursing, and he fell asleep while doing so while the two to of them relaxed in a hammock, with my wife having views of the castle on a 72-degree, sunny day. She texted me that it was perhaps the most perfect moment of breastfeeding in the history of breastfeeding. :-)
I was finally released from my meeting at 3:30 and met my wife and son and aunt and uncle (in Daytona for a few weeks and at DTD just to meet up with us for a bit) at T-Rex for a very early dinner at 4 (but the only time we could snag). We were very excited about this restaurant, as we were sure my son would love the experience. He had a different idea, however, and perhaps we should have been a bit more sensitive to how a 16-month old would respond to an enormous, moving, growling dinosaur. He clearly was not going to have a good time, so we went to Raglan Road instead, where the were no dinosaurs but where presence of so many Irish, while disturbing to many, was lost on my son and he ate in peace. We had a nice time catching up with my family and had a very pleasant meal. My son enjoyed roaming the outside dining area and pulling the leg hairs on the knees of random men, all of whom were incredibly understanding.
My aunt and uncle departed and the three of us decided to just take in DTD, something I hadn’t ever done to any extent. I could not believe, given how slow a time it is right now, how absolutely teeming with people it was. I also couldn’t believe how quickly this place could persuade me to want to spend thousands of dollars I don’t have. That Christmas store alone...my goodness! I loved that place. Between that and several other establishments I could have filled a suitcase with stuff, and I’m not even a collector of Disneyana.
It being still early and our son doing fine, mood-wise, I suggested to my wife we take the boat to PORFQ, a respite from the crowds and someplace where we could enjoy a quiet stroll. So we boarded a boat...and those boats, as many of you know, honk. A lot. They honk when they see another boat, when they go around a bend, when they go under a bridge, when a bird chips, or when leaves rustle. As we went right by the “treehouse” villas and the boat let out a blast (bird chirp) my wife said, “Wow, that would get annoying,” pointing out a significant atmosphere killer/sleep disturber for villa residents that I’m sure is probably not mentioned anywhere in the literature.
After some time at the pool and playground at FQ (my son was only a little more warm toward those alligators and that creepy Mardi Gras guy than the dinosaurs at T-Rex) we went back to DTD, went into the insanely overwhelming World of Disney store, went into the insanely decadent Ghiradelli store, and then back to the hotel to get our exhausted son in bed by 10. Cause the next day it was up at 7:15 for our 8am shuttle to MK!