lllovell
12-15-2005, 07:36 PM
I can't believe I have been back a week and haven't yet had a chance to share our trip!
We hit the road early on the 4th after the baby's 5 a.m. feeding (a happy, full baby makes for better travel!). The weather was incredibly warm and got increasingly hotter as we drove south making me glad I had tossed in some shorts for the trip! It was 76 degrees when we hit Saratoga Springs at 1:15 on Sunday afternoon!
We were assigned room 3614 in The Springs section of the complex which worked out GREAT for our family. The view from the balcony was of the hospitality areas so not really much to look at, but being close to the pool, Artist Pallet, etc was FANTASTIC! The bus stop was right outside our building and the preview rooms for DVC were open every evening so we were able to take some friends through without an appointment one night and give them a glimpse of what the grand villa we will be staying in for spring break looks like! :bouncingp
I really am starting to like SSR more and more. This was our first time to stay there and the construction isn't an issue at all. As a matter of fact, after checking in, we only used the "main" entrance while taking the rides on the buses to and from parks and we were too excited and talking amoung ourselves to notice! There are lovely fountains, beautiful walkways and the views of DTD at night are simply amazing.
Our room was smoking optional (which I didn't even realize until I noticed later that night that we didnt have the no smoking sign above the doorhandle) and handicap accessable, but with no roll in shower. Neither of these bothered me since we had a tub (1 bedroom villa so there were actually 2 tubs with the master bedroom having a whirlpool) and no one had recently smoked in the room. After a quick unloading of the car, we went off property and found the Walmart Supercenter and stocked up on groceries. I can't ever go to WDW without going to see SOMETHING that first night, so we then headed off to MGM.
It was the EMH night at MGM and it worked out fantastically! We walked right into decent seats for Fantasmic and then hubby went off to get us bracelets. (side note - they scanned ALL of our cards and then wouldn't give hubby bracelets for myself or our middle child who had sat with me while I fed the baby - but we got bracelets from a different person later who was very helpful and laid back about it). We walked in the back way to see the lights and WOWOWOWOWO!!! We had not seen this display before and it was simply amazing. Also, going in the back side (down past the back lot tour loading) was great as we didn't run into the mob. We walked around for a long time admiring the lights. I would call this a must see for anyone traveling during the Christmas season. Also, EMH wasn't crowded at all and it was a perfect time to wander around the back lot area admiring the lights so if you can go on Sunday night, I would advise it (lots of the "crowd" would have been at MVMCP too).
Monday we hit the Magic Kingdom against my better judgement (have always heard that it is a no-no on Mondays) and it actually was not too bad. Busy for this time of year, but even then we did the TTA, Buzz Lightyear and Indy Cars within an hour. Mostly we just wandered around a bit and then headed back to pick up some friends from the airport and to go swimming. Yes swimming! We are at WDW and what do my kids want to do? SWIM :hammer:
A quick lunch at the Artist Pallet which was very good (had the Chef's special - steak and potatoe flat bread) and then off to get our swimsuits! Luckily on Monday it was warn emough for a dip and the boys LOVED the big slide (although both slides are over my youngest child's head and the lifeguards are pretty strict about you standing near the bottom to catch them). The adults had a nice frosty beverage by the pool and we all played and had a great time! (the hot tubs looked inviting - but with 3 small children, no chance this trip!) While in line at the bar, the bartender told the lady in front of me that they were building a "BBQ" over in that area (she pointed to the hot tub area close to the main street) to serve food for poolside dining. We ate dinner at the Rainforest this night after walking over from SSR and I will admit that I am very glad I spent the $15 to join the Safari Club as we havent waited more than 20 minutes to dine there since we did. (food was so-so - which is normal, but the kids love the atmosphere)
Tuesday we headed back to the MK to hit Fantasyland. I love this time of year! The longest we waited in line was 15 minutes for Peter Pan! (and we rarely used a fast pass). We stopped to watch Cinderellabration on our way in and while it was only so-so to me, the children loved it (especially my 3 year old niece). Back to the room for naps and dinner and then we headed over to MGM so our friends could see the lights. The baby LOVED the lights as well and she would fuss if we covered her too much even though a chill had set in to Orlando by this time. (I would go and see those lights every night I think if it were up to me :) ) Rudouph Pluto and Santa Goofy were there and we had family pictures taken which came out great! (again - I think entering the back lot area from the right of the hat, not the left side is best!)
Wednesday was off to EPCOT! My friends had never done Soarin so we split up (poor hubby was brave and took our 2 month old and 3 year old along with my almost 3 year old niece to see the eco movie and to ride the ride in the Land while we waited in line). We should have fast passed Soarin as it was our longest wait at 40 minutes for the whole trip, but it didn't take too terribly long overall. Love this ride! It does take my breath away every time and my friend loved it as well! We also went to see Figment and dang if I dont always forget about the blast of the horn and air at the end of that ride and it scared my niece. oops! I took all the kids a couple of times and let the other adults ride Mission Space and then the baby and I had a "coke ice cream" with my niece while the rest quickly road Test Track. All of this was just in the morning hours! After rest time and dinner, we went to LegoLand (a must for every trip for my boys) and then back to EPCOT to see the holiday tag on Illuminations. My son was the official conductor for the entire show, waving his arms, calling for more water, more fireworks - - - it truly made me smile just watching him enjoying himself. Illuminations is my favorite show all year round, but add the holiday tag and its truly amazing!
Thursday morning we slept in since we stayed out late the night before with the kiddies. It ended up raining all day so we borrowed movies from the Artist Pallet all evening and had a nice kick back day! I kinda liked that it rained and we slowed down a bit because even being a DVC member and knowing we are going back soon, I still find myself trying to gear into commando mode too often. We also drove over to the Boardwalk for an ice cream that afternoon and played a few video games while we were there. I love going to other resorts and seeing all the decorations and the child's room done all in chocolate and gingerbread cookies was amazing to see! The boardwalk was empty because of the weather, so the kids loved it - they could play with the mirrors without having to share the space, etc. (btw - "duh" moment here...Beaches and Cream must be at the BCV huh? :beaniepro because it certainly ins't at the Boardwalk)
Friday, we were supposed to do DTD and head home, but we had promised a child that we would see Herbie in the car show, so off to MGM we went. They walked onto Star Tours, we walked down and right into Muppet's 3-D and then walked into the Stunt Show. The child that had really really wanted to see the show lasted about 1/2 way through before he crashed out (the show doesn't start until about an hour after nap time for him lol) but he did get to see Herbie and so he was a happy camper. Again it rained right after the show, so we headed out of the park. Back to Crossroads for a quick meal (TGI Fridays - decent food, good service - not crowded at ALL) and then headed home.
Over all it was a fantastic trip! I would recommend this time of year to anyone that can get away because it is so beautiful and there are no crowds!
P.S. - Room Ready my tookie!!! We arrived at 1:15 in the afternoon and my ONLY request was non-smoking as we were put into a smoking optional room (which is just a positive "spin" way of saying smoking right?). The young lady at check in read my ressie to me, which included non-smoking request and then said nothing to me when we were put in the room. I didn't mind the room since no one had smoked in there (at least I couldn't smell a thing) but why not tell me? Also, since we arrived at 1:15, weren't there rooms available that were non-smoking? Shouldn't I have been given an option of waiting for one to be clean? I think room ready isn't being used at all and I am fine with that overall, but pick a policy and stick to it. I am starting to wonder if I should make more specific requests about location or something. With minimal requests, I am probably getting my family put into the "gap filling" rooms.
We hit the road early on the 4th after the baby's 5 a.m. feeding (a happy, full baby makes for better travel!). The weather was incredibly warm and got increasingly hotter as we drove south making me glad I had tossed in some shorts for the trip! It was 76 degrees when we hit Saratoga Springs at 1:15 on Sunday afternoon!
We were assigned room 3614 in The Springs section of the complex which worked out GREAT for our family. The view from the balcony was of the hospitality areas so not really much to look at, but being close to the pool, Artist Pallet, etc was FANTASTIC! The bus stop was right outside our building and the preview rooms for DVC were open every evening so we were able to take some friends through without an appointment one night and give them a glimpse of what the grand villa we will be staying in for spring break looks like! :bouncingp
I really am starting to like SSR more and more. This was our first time to stay there and the construction isn't an issue at all. As a matter of fact, after checking in, we only used the "main" entrance while taking the rides on the buses to and from parks and we were too excited and talking amoung ourselves to notice! There are lovely fountains, beautiful walkways and the views of DTD at night are simply amazing.
Our room was smoking optional (which I didn't even realize until I noticed later that night that we didnt have the no smoking sign above the doorhandle) and handicap accessable, but with no roll in shower. Neither of these bothered me since we had a tub (1 bedroom villa so there were actually 2 tubs with the master bedroom having a whirlpool) and no one had recently smoked in the room. After a quick unloading of the car, we went off property and found the Walmart Supercenter and stocked up on groceries. I can't ever go to WDW without going to see SOMETHING that first night, so we then headed off to MGM.
It was the EMH night at MGM and it worked out fantastically! We walked right into decent seats for Fantasmic and then hubby went off to get us bracelets. (side note - they scanned ALL of our cards and then wouldn't give hubby bracelets for myself or our middle child who had sat with me while I fed the baby - but we got bracelets from a different person later who was very helpful and laid back about it). We walked in the back way to see the lights and WOWOWOWOWO!!! We had not seen this display before and it was simply amazing. Also, going in the back side (down past the back lot tour loading) was great as we didn't run into the mob. We walked around for a long time admiring the lights. I would call this a must see for anyone traveling during the Christmas season. Also, EMH wasn't crowded at all and it was a perfect time to wander around the back lot area admiring the lights so if you can go on Sunday night, I would advise it (lots of the "crowd" would have been at MVMCP too).
Monday we hit the Magic Kingdom against my better judgement (have always heard that it is a no-no on Mondays) and it actually was not too bad. Busy for this time of year, but even then we did the TTA, Buzz Lightyear and Indy Cars within an hour. Mostly we just wandered around a bit and then headed back to pick up some friends from the airport and to go swimming. Yes swimming! We are at WDW and what do my kids want to do? SWIM :hammer:
A quick lunch at the Artist Pallet which was very good (had the Chef's special - steak and potatoe flat bread) and then off to get our swimsuits! Luckily on Monday it was warn emough for a dip and the boys LOVED the big slide (although both slides are over my youngest child's head and the lifeguards are pretty strict about you standing near the bottom to catch them). The adults had a nice frosty beverage by the pool and we all played and had a great time! (the hot tubs looked inviting - but with 3 small children, no chance this trip!) While in line at the bar, the bartender told the lady in front of me that they were building a "BBQ" over in that area (she pointed to the hot tub area close to the main street) to serve food for poolside dining. We ate dinner at the Rainforest this night after walking over from SSR and I will admit that I am very glad I spent the $15 to join the Safari Club as we havent waited more than 20 minutes to dine there since we did. (food was so-so - which is normal, but the kids love the atmosphere)
Tuesday we headed back to the MK to hit Fantasyland. I love this time of year! The longest we waited in line was 15 minutes for Peter Pan! (and we rarely used a fast pass). We stopped to watch Cinderellabration on our way in and while it was only so-so to me, the children loved it (especially my 3 year old niece). Back to the room for naps and dinner and then we headed over to MGM so our friends could see the lights. The baby LOVED the lights as well and she would fuss if we covered her too much even though a chill had set in to Orlando by this time. (I would go and see those lights every night I think if it were up to me :) ) Rudouph Pluto and Santa Goofy were there and we had family pictures taken which came out great! (again - I think entering the back lot area from the right of the hat, not the left side is best!)
Wednesday was off to EPCOT! My friends had never done Soarin so we split up (poor hubby was brave and took our 2 month old and 3 year old along with my almost 3 year old niece to see the eco movie and to ride the ride in the Land while we waited in line). We should have fast passed Soarin as it was our longest wait at 40 minutes for the whole trip, but it didn't take too terribly long overall. Love this ride! It does take my breath away every time and my friend loved it as well! We also went to see Figment and dang if I dont always forget about the blast of the horn and air at the end of that ride and it scared my niece. oops! I took all the kids a couple of times and let the other adults ride Mission Space and then the baby and I had a "coke ice cream" with my niece while the rest quickly road Test Track. All of this was just in the morning hours! After rest time and dinner, we went to LegoLand (a must for every trip for my boys) and then back to EPCOT to see the holiday tag on Illuminations. My son was the official conductor for the entire show, waving his arms, calling for more water, more fireworks - - - it truly made me smile just watching him enjoying himself. Illuminations is my favorite show all year round, but add the holiday tag and its truly amazing!
Thursday morning we slept in since we stayed out late the night before with the kiddies. It ended up raining all day so we borrowed movies from the Artist Pallet all evening and had a nice kick back day! I kinda liked that it rained and we slowed down a bit because even being a DVC member and knowing we are going back soon, I still find myself trying to gear into commando mode too often. We also drove over to the Boardwalk for an ice cream that afternoon and played a few video games while we were there. I love going to other resorts and seeing all the decorations and the child's room done all in chocolate and gingerbread cookies was amazing to see! The boardwalk was empty because of the weather, so the kids loved it - they could play with the mirrors without having to share the space, etc. (btw - "duh" moment here...Beaches and Cream must be at the BCV huh? :beaniepro because it certainly ins't at the Boardwalk)
Friday, we were supposed to do DTD and head home, but we had promised a child that we would see Herbie in the car show, so off to MGM we went. They walked onto Star Tours, we walked down and right into Muppet's 3-D and then walked into the Stunt Show. The child that had really really wanted to see the show lasted about 1/2 way through before he crashed out (the show doesn't start until about an hour after nap time for him lol) but he did get to see Herbie and so he was a happy camper. Again it rained right after the show, so we headed out of the park. Back to Crossroads for a quick meal (TGI Fridays - decent food, good service - not crowded at ALL) and then headed home.
Over all it was a fantastic trip! I would recommend this time of year to anyone that can get away because it is so beautiful and there are no crowds!
P.S. - Room Ready my tookie!!! We arrived at 1:15 in the afternoon and my ONLY request was non-smoking as we were put into a smoking optional room (which is just a positive "spin" way of saying smoking right?). The young lady at check in read my ressie to me, which included non-smoking request and then said nothing to me when we were put in the room. I didn't mind the room since no one had smoked in there (at least I couldn't smell a thing) but why not tell me? Also, since we arrived at 1:15, weren't there rooms available that were non-smoking? Shouldn't I have been given an option of waiting for one to be clean? I think room ready isn't being used at all and I am fine with that overall, but pick a policy and stick to it. I am starting to wonder if I should make more specific requests about location or something. With minimal requests, I am probably getting my family put into the "gap filling" rooms.