Trip Review 11/2-11/8

[oceanstbride]

Thank you all who gave recommendations/tips prior to our trip. They came in very handy! Also, thank you to TamiTaylor who helped plan a really fun trip for a family who wanted to be prepared plan wise, but not over planned. This was DS's (5) first trip and H's and my multiple day trip to Disney (we did MK one day after a conference together about 10 years ago).

Friday, 11/2 - picked DS up from school early, told him we were going to the gym. Headed to the city to pick up H from work. DS was asking a lot of questions about why we were picking up Daddy, why did he take the train to work and not drive, etc., but didn't notice the 3 suitcases and stroller in the trunk. I had a stuffed Mickey hiding in the trunk for H to grab when he was getting in the car. Told DS and he was really excited. Headed to airport. Arrived to MCO around 8pm. Took shuttle to the Doubletree by the airport (stayed here because we were originally going to fly down on Sat., but better flight option for both non stop and points was for Friday night).

Sat., 11/3 - Hotel was clean and everyone was friendly. Great breakfast buffet (not included). Took shuttle back to MCO to get on Magical Express. ME was a little overwhelming by the amount of people, but moved very quickly. Arrived to Port Orleans Riverside around 12:30ish. I couldn't figure out how to check in online, so we stood in line. By the time it was our turn, our room was ready (yay!). Settled into our room, which I thought was very nice. I really liked the layout with the vanity part of the bathroom open to the room. Walked to POFQ to check out it out and had lunch there. Ordered breakfast food/snacks (including a 6 pack of beer) from Prime Now. Headed to pool at POR, DS loved the slide. While at pool, miss phone call telling us we need to provide ID for delivery of beer. I called the number they left back which was the Prime Now customer service who couldn't do anything but cancel the order, which was annoying. Since there was other stuff we wanted in that order, had to reorder. Took boat to Disney Springs for dinner reservation at Paddlefish. We love seafood and the food was great. H and I split 2 apps, a salad, and clams, DS had chicken fingers, but ate mostly what we had. This and 2 drinks was $128.

Sun., 11/4 - MK! I feel like we did a lot on our MK days without feeling like we were running around. We are not super early birds, so rope dropping is not something we planned to do on our trip. This was one of a few times that the bus was really not convenient. We got to our stop and waited around 40 minutes for a bus to MK. Finally arrived and DS was so excited . We did teacups and H and DS did the Speedway (I am pregnant so could not do a fair number of rides) before our FP for Peter Pan. Then carousel and FP for Buzz. Lunch at Liberty Tree which was good. DS and H had the pot roast, I had a salad which was just ok, and a slice of Boston Cream pie $95. FP for Splash Mountain. We thought DS would be fine on this since he loves the log flume at the boardwalk down the shore, but he was a little scared afterwards. The photo of them is funny because you can barely see DS with him ducking down. We caught the Fantasy Parade and headed back for some rest time (was hoping for a nap since we had a later dinner reservation). DS actually napped! Headed back to MK and did Dumbo, Under the Sea, Philharmagic, and Winnie the Pooh. Dinner at the Crystal Palace. I thought the food was fine, DS ate a good amount, and H hated it (I personally think he just chose wrong and was a little salty at the price). The characters were a lot of fun and interacted great with DS. $168 total. It was pouring rain when we finished dinner, so we stood on the porch to watch the fireworks. Overall a really fun day! DS's favorite part - Dumbo.

Mon., 11/5 - Epcot. Extremely crowded. Long bus ride to get there due to traffic. Also really hot and humid this day. It didn't feel like we did a lot, I think due to the heat and crowds. FP for Soarin' which was really cool. DS loved it and happy that he did this before Avatar to make sure he'd be ok on that ride. Then Figment, Pixar movie, and Under Seas with Nemo. Went to the World Showcase for lunch where we grabbed a bunch of different items from the food stands they had set up for Food and Wine Festival. Had food from the Thailand and Mexico stands and a really delicious sandwich from the bakery in Norway, then test track donuts $60. Got in line to meet Anna and Elsa with a 25 minute wait, but when we walked up they said it was really 45 minutes. Turtle talk with Crush was really cute. DS was picked first to talk with Crush and he ended up talking with H too. DS loved it. Headed back for a nap. Came back and H and DS did Mission Space which he also loved, then we headed to Beach Club for reservation at Cape May Cafe. Seafood buffet which was great $180 and watched Illuminations afterwards. While they were on Mission Space, I went into the larger Epcot shop and found a few things I liked. I decided not to get them assuming (incorrectly) that the World of Disney would have everything since we were planning on going back there towards the end of our trip. I wish I had just picked things up as I saw them especially since they weren't particularly big or breakable. DS's favorite part - talking with Crush.

Will finish later!

[nicolewi]

This is great! I will be watching for your next parts of the trip report.

We have the exact same situation with our flights. I currently have an extra night booked at AoA for Friday, on a separate reservation from the rest of our stay. I think we will probably stick with that, b/c it seems like a ton of hassle to get the four kids to one hotel, then back to the airport, on the ME, and to our hotel. I also think coming in late on Friday we will have a short ME trip, vs probably a much longer one if we do it on Saturday.

But...how easy was it to save money and stay at the closer hotel? Would you do it again?

[covergirl82]

Love reading trip reports! I'll come back later to read the rest.

I really appreciate the costs for meals - we are paying out of pocket for meals on our trip in two weeks, and we are also going to Liberty Tree for lunch.

[oceanstbride]

Nov 19, 2018 12:00:59 GMT -5 nicolewi said:

This is great! I will be watching for your next parts of the trip report.

We have the exact same situation with our flights. I currently have an extra night booked at AoA for Friday, on a separate reservation from the rest of our stay. I think we will probably stick with that, b/c it seems like a ton of hassle to get the four kids to one hotel, then back to the airport, on the ME, and to our hotel. I also think coming in late on Friday we will have a short ME trip, vs probably a much longer one if we do it on Saturday.

But...how easy was it to save money and stay at the closer hotel? Would you do it again?

We couldn't get Friday night added to our reservation to POR so I didn't even consider staying at a different Disney hotel. The Doubletree was $141 including tax. It wasn't a huge headache at all, but we weren't planning on going to the parks on Saturday at all. If we were, it probably would make sense to stay on Disney property (don't they transfer bags for you?). I have no idea how much one of the more budget Disney hotels would've been for the night, so not sure if it saved a lot of money. I was annoyed by my procrastination - when I looked a few weeks earlier, airport hotels were cheaper by about $20-30 than what I paid because I waited until about 3 nights before we got there.

[oceanstbride]

Tues., 11/6 - AK. This was H's and my first time here also. Overall really fun, but again hot! I had a hard time finding shade when H and DS went on rides I couldn't go on. We were slow moving this morning and made it just in time for our FP for Safari. I did go on the Safari even though expectant mothers should not ride. H and I joked that we live in PA where they never fix our potholes, so pretty similar. Did the Gorilla Walk afterwards. H and DS did Everest, which DS was not a huge fan of (I guess it goes backwards and is dark at some point?), then DS and I did Triceratop Spin. Lunch was at Satuli Canteen which was really good. H had some beef/chicken combo bowl and I had the shrimp noodle bowl. DS had the kids fish and rice, which was kind of bland, $42. Then H and DS did Avatar (FP), which DS loved. The wait time was insane for standby - went from 180 minutes to 210, back down to 180 and then 150 by the time they were finished. We grabbed our one and only Mickey bar of our trip before heading into Nemo musical. After Nemo we were all just kind of done, so we headed back to POR. Went swimming and grabbed pizza and a burger to split and ate it in our room. I feel like there were some shows that we could've done if we stayed, but I think we all just needed a break. We weren't planning on going back to the park that night so it worked out. DS's favorite part - Avatar.

Wed., 11/7 - HS. We walked in and Daisy and Donald were there so we waited to meet Donald. While in line, the Star Wars stormtroopers came out for their parade. DS loved seeing them up and close. Did Muppets 3D show then picked out some ornaments, then Star Tours. While H and DS were in Star Tours, there was Jedi training happening. I walked about halfway to where the sign up was before remembering that participants have to be there to sign up. I think DS would love it and if we got there earlier I would've tried to sign him up. Something we'll definitely want to do the next time we go. After Star Tours, DS built his own light saber and was on cloud nine. We originally had lunch reservations at Prime Time, but changed them to the Mama Melrose's. We should've kept them as is - none of us were huge fans of the food. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't good and our server wasn't the best. H had a pasta dish and glass of wine, I had a salad and flatbread, and DS had salmon, $98. After lunch we did the Frozen sing a long, which was so much fun. Then headed to Toy Story land, which is super cute. The army guys paraded along and we did the Alien Saucer ride. We canceled our FP to Slinky Dog Dash after DS wasn't a huge fan of Everest the day before. In retrospect, he loved Mine Train (which he did the following day) which SDD seems like a similar rollercoaster, so he probably would've loved it. Ran into another souvenir "issue" - DS wanted the slinky dog and I said we'd wait to get it at World of Disney, but they didn't have it. Looks like I can order online which I might as a surprise for Christmas. On our way out we met Daisy. Relaxed in our room for a bit while DS watched vintage Disney cartoons. Took the boat to DS for dinner at Wine Bar George. Food was great - H had 2 glasses of wine, we got a big cheese and meat board, hummus and pita, grilled salad, chicken skewers to share. Then did our shopping at World of Disney and had ice cream afterwards. Didn't get back to our room until almost 11 and we were checking out the next morning. Not the best planning. DS's favorite part - Aliens

Thurs., 11/8 - MK for our last day. Packed up quickly in the morning and had our bags held in the lobby. Headed to MK where we waited awhile again for a bus. FP for Mine Train. DS loved it. He and H did Barnstormer afterwards, then It's a Small World. Had FP to Meet Mickey, who was really interactive and took his time with each party. When we were done, caught the tail end of the Move it, Shake it parade. Lunch at the Plaza restaurant. I thought the food was great, I had a tuna salad croissant, H had a reuben, and DS had a burger. They have bottomless milkshakes which were really good. Then we did Pirates of the Caribbean and Aladdin. We walked H up to the entrance of the park and said our goodbyes (he took bus back to POR to grab his suitcase and then ubered to his new hotel and then presented that evening at a conference). DS and I went to meet Tinkerbell, then did the train ride around the park, Monsters Incl, and then Astro orbiter. We took the bus back to POR, got our bags, and then Magic Express to MCO. DS's favorite part - Mine Train.

[oceanstbride]

Some general thoughts:
H and I had more fun than I think we thought we would. Experiencing Disney with DS was just so much fun.
We achieved the balance of doing a good amount while having fun, but not getting so exhausted we needed a vacation afterwards.
POR was nicer than I thought it would be. The theme-ing was nice and we liked that it wasn't "in your face Disney".
I kept tabs for the most part on what we spent per meal to see if the dining plan would make sense for us in the future. Sit down meals/buffets aren't cheap, but I still think we made out better than paying for the deluxe dining plan (at a quick glance). Overall, I thought the food was better than what I expected. H was telling someone over the weekend how horrible the food was, but as he started talking about it and describing things as "one of the best sandwiches I've had" and great meals, I really think it was a handful of not fabulous meals that was clouding his judgement.
It was hotter than we were expecting!
We went during Jersey week so thought it might be super crowded. It was also Food and Wine as well as a race weekend the weekend we arrived. I didn't think anything was overly crowded except for our day at Epcot.
We will choose to stay in a 1 bedroom (maybe renting DVC points) or try staying off site so we can have more of a suite arrangement next time. H hated being forced to go to bed so early sharing a room with DS. I didn't even look into suites or staying off site this time, forgetting that we haven't shared a room with DS for an entire vacation since he was a baby (I didn't mind going to bed so early especially being more tired than normal while pregnant).
The bus system was overall fine with the exception of a few long waits. I can see though how it would get old quickly with younger kids.
I totally understand how families want to keep going again and again - lots of fun and thank you again for all your help!

[nicolewi]

Thanks for all the great info! We are staying at AoA the whole time, so getting the extra night is definitely super convenient. But, it's $460 or so. That's so crazy. There are six of us, so we can't stay in a standard Disney room anywhere.

Your trip sounds like lots of fun.

[covergirl82]

We are renting DVC at Poly the first week of December, and it's definitely more affordable. For a studio, we paid $2000 (about $285/night) for 7 nights. Suites would be more, but renting DVC would probably allow you to stay at a higher-level resort for around the same as the AoA. (Even though my kids are elementary school age, I still don't mind going to bed early/around the same time as my kids, because I still am tired at their bedtime, whether at home or at Disney!)

[oceanstbride]

nicolewi -$460 to add on an extra night (sorry I didn’t realize you were staying there the whole time)? What is the cost for the other nights? If it’s a lot, the hassle of staying near the airport and shuttling back and forth wasn’t that bad if it will save you a good amount of money.