1st annual No Park trip 2004

[UsedtobeSmith]

The first Annual *No Parks* Trip part 1

Pre trip thoughts....

The 1st Annual 'no park' trip



Cast:

Laura-turning 40 <gasp> Mom, vacation planner, WDW nut
Ozo- Husband and father, loves to be on vacation, hates to get there. (Aka pack mule) Great hands on dad.
Madeline - 4, WDW vet, Loves Splash Mountain, Loves Princess's, picky eater, but all around great kid.
Juju - almost 3 (November), WDW vet, Loves TTA, hates to spin, eats anything, cute as a button.
Charlie - 4 months, first trip to WDW. Great baby with some sleep issues. <Yawn> Wonderful temperament, He's the icing on our wonderful cake.

This trip was booked 37 days out. My husband learned he needed to use vacation time before the end of Sept, or he would loose it.

We are all WDW vets having gone 5 times last year, so a trip with no parks seems doable...... Plus we are well vested in DVC so WDW takes on a whole new meaning, knowing that we are there a couple of times a year.... ya know?

THE PLAN:

Since this is a resort trip, we splurged, our First two nights are booked at the AKL concierge level, AND, after all this is my 40th birthday present! After much thought and debate, we opted to go with the One Bedroom suite. My sweet Charlie is still waking up a couple of times a night, so we felt the extra room would be wonderful. Plus it will give some in the group a better night's sleep.

We chose AKL for many reasons. First and foremost, it is a wonderful resort..... great pool, lots to things to explore, a great place to hang out. And that is exactly what we plan on doing.... hanging out.

The next three nights we are at VWL in a two bedroom. It is our first time there, and we are very excited to explore it's wonders, and again, hang out. We have never been to the Petting zoo or Hoop De Do and eagerly await both those activities.

Now mixed into all of this is a sprinkling of Character meals that hopefully will make up for a no ride trip and soothe poor Madeline's heart when she learns no Splash Mountain this trip....

The plan seems like a winner.........

The first Annual *No Parks* Trip part 2
OFF LIKE A HERD OF TURTLES

We wake up early, toss some last minute things into the suitcase, wake the kids, get them dressed, fed, and attempt to pack the van.... my gosh, I only packed 3 days worth of stuff, but apparently that is more than our van can handle..... it takes 3 attempts to fit the suitcase puzzle together and we are off.... DH is a bit red faced... too much exertion so early in the morning....This is a bad sign....

Everything goes smoothly at the airport. We have the routine down. Curbside check in is a wonderful luxury, I hope sticks around. Security is always a pain... Mind you I don't mind it, it is needed, and we have a system and we follow the rules. Wake Charlie (RULE #1 Babies always fall asleep right before going thru security, so be prepared to have quick comforts near by.... in this case.... binky)and get him set up in the hip-hammock. DH starts loading the carry ons (two Barbie suitcases, backpack(filled with goodies), infant car seat, and the diaper bag. While he is doing that, I start emptying my pockets into the bins.... Misc. barrettes, fuzzy craft balls, keys, cell phone, extra binkys, change, tissue etc... (Forgot RULE #2.... discard the garbage from your pockets before emptying them in public)

Meanwhile the girls are chomping at the bit to run thru the metal detectors.... The stroller gets collapsed (with a couple of grunts from DH) and sent through... WHEW... DH goes thru.... DD go thru, and Charlie and I bring up the rear.... Thankfully no one beeps... (RULE #3... wear sandals... saves you from having to remove your shoes)

On the other side we opt to keep Charlie in the hip hammock and use the stroller to carry the kids suitcases, backpack and diaper bag. Works out nicely. Total time from start of unload to reload.... 8 minutes.... We get a couple of positive comments on our security system... The girls smile... we trot off to our gate.

Flight goes wonderfully. (RULE #4... bring lots of snacks and amusement devices)But I must comment on the unfriendly staff working the gate for AA... quite a disappointment. No smiles, no nothing. Scowls even.... :::Shrug:::: Oh well... their life.. not mine!

Again, getting everyone and everything on the plane was an event. But we did it, and no one cried. :-)

I love MCO... The girls love riding the train to the main section... Cinabon.... LOL

We rented from Dollar. Got a Mini van for 6 days for 199.99. Not bad, used a code from mousesavers.com (thanks Mary)The van was the same style as ours (Dodge Grand Caravan) so we used the same packing method, so load up went smoothly. (RULE #5.... learn from your mistakes)
Off we go!!!

[UsedtobeSmith]

The first Annual *No Parks* Trip part 3
ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE

We pull up to the front gate to find our parking pass all ready. The older gentlemen working the gate was very nice and made us feel special. Nice first impression.

We pull up and tell the Valet we are Concierge, and off we go. He stops briefly at the bellhop desk, and presents us with our keys. Nice touch.

I must comment on my first views of the lodge.... driving up.... It was quite lovely. Lots of tall grasses.... wonderful landscaping.... I Esp. love how you couldn't even see the lodge until you were right up on it. Disney is wonderful at letting you see only what they want you to see.... I was impressed.

My DD (4) commented on the hay roof, and she thought it was funny. How can a roof be made of hay... hay is for horses... ha ha ha ha... quite amused she was.... too cute.

Although AKL is quite grand... I found it modest in its approach. As I walked into the lobby, I didn't expect the overhang, and was a bit taken aback from the very dark entrance... then I walked up 10 feet and full scope of the lobby came into view. Wonderful. But dark. NOTE: I will admit I need glasses (about to be 40 ya know, but still in denial) And light is very important to me... I cant see all that well in good light, and low light... forget about it....kinda of bummed I didn’t make the time for me to get glasses before the trip.

Our 1 bedroom suite was off the Kudo Trail... don't know the room number off hand, but if you take the hike down Kudo( off the lobby)and make the first left... all the way down... corner room on the right. I was a bit upset (yeah yeah I know) that our room was so far away from the concierge lounge. I was expecting (don’t know why... just was) that we would be at least be on the 5th or 6th floor and a quick hop to the lounge.... whatever... no biggy, got over it quick.

I have mixed feelings about the Concierge staff... I had talked to them about having some gifts for my DD in the room on our arrival, and each night at turndown. Nothing was in the room... I called and spoke with Jill and she said they thought it was just for turn down service... Oh okay... fine. That night they set up a Safari Tigger and Minnie and two autograph books, plus pictures of Pooh and friend and Mickey and Friends autographed..... Very nice.

That night we were also treated to a lovely yummy Zebra cake and party hats for my birthday. Very nice. Cake was yummy. DH thought they should have sent up some milk too... he loves his milk with cake... lol

The next night though.... we come back to the room rather late and I am sooo excited to see the surprises the rest of the $100 plus bucks they charged to my CC would be, and there is nothing.... Thank goodness I didn’t do a build up to the girls... so they weren’t disappointed... just DH and I. I called up to the concierge and after 10 minutes they said something like.... Well if we had known the turn down people didn’t do it, we would have done it..... HUH? Okay, fine... no biggy... just credit me, and try to have better follow up with
the next group a bit better. What bugs me the most is... they never said they were sorry. UGH... Oh well. I will know next time to follow up better on things like this myself, and not delegate that responsibility to others.

The One Bedroom Suite was larger than I thought it would be, but still too small for us (lol) The shield on the door was lovely and I regret not taking a picture of it. The room was very nicely appointed… all the details were marvelously. But like I said before… Dark… even with all the room lights on, I found it hard to read. One big annoyance was only 2 small garbage cans in the whole place. One in the parlor and one in the bedroom. None in either bathroom. The vanity in the second bathroom was a lot higher than normal. Felt regal. The master bath was quite nice. Very large 8 person shower… lol double sinks… nice décor. Again… dark. There was a vanity outside the master bath that had a magnifying mirror, but the light source provided was not conclusive to putting on makeup.


Hmmm what else… talked about the view already… and the room…. Oh the pool….

THE POOL…..

We all really liked the pool. Charlie and I found a couple of lounge chairs way in the back, kinda next to/behind the slide area, just past the bridge. We couldn’t see much of the pool, but the shade was nice, and we got to see a HUGE 3-4 foot long snake slithering by. I did manage to take pictures of that….. quite a thrill for everyone! Maddie thought the slide was a bit rough, so she only went down it 4 times…. Lol They both also liked the playground. I liked the fact that it was shady.

BOMA…..

Lets just say, this type of food isn’t our cup of tea. Neither of us really liked it… plus I found the service lacking. Our greater, gave us two necklace oval things for the girls to color, one red crayon, one black, and didn’t tell us any of the story that went with them. Plus I thought one ‘set’ of crayons should have been offered to each child… No biggy, but I would like to know the meaning behind the necklace and the colors.

RESORT…

Over all we liked the resort. The animals were neat to look at, the landscaping was wonderful, and the décor was wonderful. BUT we wont be returning anytime soon. It just isn’t us… hard to pin point but both my husband and I just weren’t as thrilled as we thought we would be… plus we really are spoiled by DVC and we need our two bedrooms.
... so much to do...

[UsedtobeSmith]

The first Annual *No Parks* Trip part 4

VWL…

WOW… what can I say. Wonderful wonderful wonderful! Loved everything about it. Our two bedroom unit was on the second floor overlooking the Mickey topiary. What a nice short walk! The room was ready at 1130am when we checked in. (Sunday) Ahhhh it is good to be home! We spread out, unpack, and hit the main pool.

I was surprised that there was more shady areas at AKL pool than at the main WL pool, but we found a table (with umbrella) near the kiddie pool and set up shop. I hadn’t done much research on the Lodge itself, taking the find as we bump into it attitude… well… much to my surprise… we had bumped right into the huge geyser, not 20 feet behind us. How fun! But on the first eruption, most of our stuff got soaked! It was great, Esp. since we had NO CLUE it was right behind us, until it erupted! LOVE IT!

We all thought the pool at WL was way better than the pool at AKL. Maddie said to me, after coming down the slide for the first time… Oh mom… it gets dark in there just for one second, but it was so much fun to be dark just for one second, Can I go on it again? And she proceeded to go down it 87 zillion more times. I really enjoyed the river side of the pool. Top notch!

We also loved the quiet pool at the Villas. Empty most of the time, and the tickle bubbles were an unexpected surprise. (All the still photos I have seen, show calm water, so who knew?)

We ate at the Whispering canyon Café. Food was plentiful, and tasty. The servers left something to be desired though… slow, inconsistent… but nothing major. But slow is bad with three little kids. LOL

We also sampled some of the offerings at the to go place… I thought the chicken strips had a bit of zing to them. Nice. Next time we will buy the reusable mugs.

Our big adventure at VWL was to take the boat over to FT Wilderness to do Hoop De Doo and the petting zoo/pony rides. It was a great afternoon. Although I did allow too much time for the zoo and rides… I say plan on 30-45 tops. We allowed 1.45 hours and were dying in the heat. Hung out at the shop until the bar opened (430 I think) just to get out of the heat.

HOOP DE DOO

In another 5 or 6 year we will go again, and book way in advance. We were too far for the kids to feel involved and they lost interest quickly. I spent most of the show taking them to the bathroom for one reason or another so it was lost on me. Plus we didn’t think the food was all that great. Chicken was good, but the ribs? No thanks. And the corn seemed like it had seen better days. Oh well, we know what to expect next time.

MORE PONY RIDES

The next day we head back to FT Wilderness and ride the ponies one more time. This time though, we go… ride… take the boat back. I also found the lawnmower tree. Cool. We hit the pool on the way back… Dinner with Cinderella that night… great day.

CINDERELLA DINNER 1900 Park Faire

When we drove up to the GF, My oldest wanted to stay there. Oooh mama…. Can we stay here next???? The lobby was very Grand indeed. We arrived quite early and really took in the GF. There was a band on the second floor playing some wonderful jazz… that got the girls dancing (and others too) We rode the monorail, danced some more… walked up and down the grand staircase, and just relaxed.

Food was good. Cinderella took a lot of breaks, so we ended up waiting for her for close to an hour after we had finished eating (1.45 hours since were seated). If it had been anyone else we could have left, but we can’t leave without seeing the Princess herself. So that was kinda of a bummer… having to hear over and over… where is Cinderella??? I really love corn dogs, everything else was yummy too. We found the soft serve ice cream to be heads above that at China Buffet. LOL If the wait hadn’t been so unbearable it would have been great. Other Characters were Perla, Prince Charming, and another mouse (name escapes me now) with the Fairy God Mother in the waiting area.

OTHER MEALS…

Chef Mickey’s… Fun as always. We arrived early so we could ride the monorail around before dinner. There It was Charlie’s first ride on the Monorail. He was asleep. He seemed to like it though. :-) The girls loved it too. Esp. when they saw the Castle. Fun ride.
There was a long line at the check in desk, gotta say at least 15-20 parties checking in. The guy in front of me was trying to intimdate the gal (he stood 6'5" and was the size of an out of shape football player) into getting them in early (it was 7 and his PS was for 915) he tapped his huge fingers on the podum, grunted and groaned... it was quite embarassing if you ask me. The CM handled the situation wonderfully but didnt cave on the availibity. He snorted and left. Geez... couldnt the guy see the place was jammed... and he really acted like he should be put in the front of the line.... Sad....

LAST THOUGHTS

Overall this was a great trip. Flying with three kids wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be, We discovered the charm of VWL and can check off AKL as a place to go. Had a couple of good meals, swam, took it real slow. Nice. Everyone we talked to was amazed we were doing a no park trip. But when we started listing off everything we did do, they were amazed. I love DVC and I am so grateful it has allowed us the freedom to go to WDW often, in wonderful 2 bedroom villas, and most of all it gives us time to do nothing…

We all look forward to our next No Park trip!

BTW I am flashing ahead 5-7 years to when we can add Water Parks and Mini golf into the mix.... Wow

[jnrrt]

What a great report! I'd love a trip like that, especially since we just spent a week running ourselves crazy at the parks. Maybe next time.

We also spent our first night at AKL this time (although, hello, I think we had the cheapest room in the place, so a little different than yours, lol), and had the same experience. We just love the lodge, but staying there, our room was really really dark, and SMALL after staying at a DVC, even compared to CB where we'd started! We actually love Boma, so that will be a reason to go back, but I don't know if we'll need to stay there again anytime soon.

Glad to hear you loved VWL - I can't wait to try that one!

[PoohsPal]

Glad you had a good trip! Thansk so much for sharing!

[ripleysmom]

We were at VWL a few years ago for President's week and fell completely in love with the place.

[dianeschlicht]

I applaud you for being able to stick to the "no park" theme. I would NEVER be able to do that! I will, however, take advantage of many of the things you did on your "no park" trip. In fact, I guess I have taken in most of those things, just not all in one trip!

[jiggerj]

Wow! What a great report! I also applaud you for being able to stick to the "no park" theme. Thanks for sharing with us! :)

[UsedtobeSmith]

The first NO PARK trip was easy, since the boy was 4 or 5 months old, staying out of the parks worked out fine for us (esp since it was very hot)


We have another NO PARK trip coming up in March... at least that is the plan as of now. It's another split stay, this time between Ft Wilderness cabins and BCV. We might go to MK one day while at Ft Wilderness, but then it's pool pool pool.

NO PARK trips are nice.... we really feel like we are cheating the system! LOL :whatever: