Minniemania877
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2018
My mom and I just got back from nearly a week at Disney World. While I'm not going to do a trip report day by day style, I did have observations and thoughts on the week that may be helpful, particularly about weather.
Weather-It rained every day, except for Monday and Tuesday (the last full day and then our travel day) while we were there. Yes, a rainy day at Disney is better than most days at home, I can attest that 5 days of rain really wears on you. Large chunks of each day had rain, many times pouring rain. We wore rain coats with ponchos over and still managed to feel damp constantly. Pack more than one pair of shoes! We had each packed 2-3 options and with all the rain, it still felt like we were constantly drying out shoes, sandals, etc. We used the blow dryer in the room every afternoon to dry out for the evening. This wasn't "typical Florida weather" as people kept saying prior to the trip where it rains briefly each afternoon. My mom and I can get through a park quickly but it really added an added challenge. We kept commenting to each other that it was difficult for us (veteran park goers, no young kids, older parents, etc.) we couldn't imagine the week for people who saved and saved for a first trip OR had many young children, etc. It also really prohibited us from walking the resorts and exploring. Once we were back from the parks, the last thing we wanted to do was walk around in rain. We weren't planning on going back for 4-5 years but we're actually going to take another trip next May to "redeem" this one. It was a GREAT, fun week with my mom and it was Disney World after all, but the rain really did sort of put a damper on the trip.
Renting Points-First time, highly recommend! I calculated how much a moderate was when planning and made sure we would spend less each night renting than we would at a moderate to justify this. We plan to do again next year. This also allowed us to resort hop which we'd never done. It was super easy!
Celebration Buttons-Get them when you're celebrating! We went a week after I finished up grad school and it was so fun to have people congratulate me and was a great conversation starter with cast members and guests. At Boma, the waitress even gave me a congratulatory cupcake! I will say, people are really stretching the "celebrations" now. We saw "I'm celebrating....friendship, family, girls trip, etc." and it just seemed like people had them even when they didn't necessarily have a special celebration. This seemed sort of odd to me. We did see one woman who was celebrating being cancer-free and all I can hope is Disney World cast members did it up big for her!!
Saratoga Springs Resort-Studio room 5501. This was preferred location, I believe, can't remember though. It was Congress Park section. Great location for quiet pool, laundry, Disney Springs, and bus stop. About a 10-15 min walk to the lobby and main pool (keep in mind, we're fast walkers). A studio was plenty big for the two of us. Great meal at Artist's Palette; we had plans to lay by the pool, walk to DS, etc. but the rain really restricted much of that. We actually only ate at Artist's Palette because it was raining and we just couldn't muster up walking to DS in the rain but it was a pleasant surprise!. Resort was a little spread out for our taste and felt the theming while nice, was more subtle than we prefer.
Animal Kingdom Lodge-Kidani Village, studio room 7701. Larger room than SSR and immediately up the stairs and off the elevator. Really liked this resort! So cool to see all the animals, but now that I've seen the layout, I don't think I'd recommend spending extra money on a Savannah view. It's not really necessary to get the full experience (great if you can, but if you're trying to save some money, I'd skip the savannah view!). Ate at Sanaa, Boma, and the Mara and was pleased with all of them. Not sure I'd eat at Sanaa again but the experience of seeing all the animals there was worth it. One negative, on our last night I got sick until about 1am so we planned to really stay in the room until 11am checkout. Housekeeping checked on us 3x that morning asking when we were leaving. I understand once to see about getting rooms clean for guests who leave early, but it was excessive and seemed like we were really getting the boot.
*I know experiences varies so much but buses for us were great at both resorts and we never waited more than 10 minutes. The one time we waited 25 minutes was at AKL for Epcot and coincidentally it was the one night we had reservations to make.
Keys to the Kingdom Tour-I surprised my mom with this as an early birthday gift. We learned a lot of cool information and fun facts, had a nice lunch at Pecos Bill, and felt like our tour guide stuck to shady areas when possible. Our tour guide, Rae, was awesome! Our group, well, meh. They all tried to sort of "out-Disney" one another to prove they were the true Disney fan and it left a bad taste in our mouths. We went to have a fun time and have a new experience and we don't regret it but I do think your group can be hit or miss which does make an impact when you're spending 5 straight hours together.
Dining-First experience with the food & garden festival and we were very impressed. We aren't big drinkers so we stuck to the food but all the portion sizes were perfect to try multiple kiosks and we didn't have one thing we disliked. Trattoria al Forno is a hidden gem that we went to twice. Flame Tree BBQ is always a good staple at AK. What happened to the ice cream cookie sandwich being served on warm cookies? First world problem because it's still a good dessert, but was much better when the cookies weren't cold. We likely won't do the meal plan again (which I've explained to my mom for years it wasn't worth it) and will instead just get a Disney gift card and use that. It still helps to have some money pre-paid but the plan just doesn't work for our touring style.
Service-Our KTTK tour guide explained that cast members are really 80/20-80% are really great and 20% are new and don't get it yet or just never have that magic and I really think this is true. While we had some great service, many times we felt cast members couldn't be bothered or really did the bare minimum. I also thought there was more trash in the parks and lack of cleanliness than in previous visits (our last trip was 2016). One negative: We lost a hat in MK (on Friday night) and went to Guest Relations who directed us to Lost & Found at the Ticket and Transportation Center but to wait until the next morning when everything for the day had been collected. We go the next day (in pouring rain) and confirm with the ferry, TTC kiosk folks, and security at TTC we were headed in the right direction. We get to the gift shop and they tell us that Lost & Found had closed that day and was moving to Disney Springs. I understand not everyone knowing that information but I really felt like the folks who work at the TTC should be aware of that. We could have avoided the 20 minute trip altogether. It was worse because we were in a downpour but no one was aware of the change. Again, I'm not expecting Cast Members in Epcot or even a land in MK to know about the location change but Guest Relations and those who are directly affected (we can't be the first people to ask cast members at the TTC where Lost & Found is) should have been aware of that information. Sadly, even after submitting the Lost & Found form online, the hat has not been found (sounds silly but the hat had sentimental value).
I did not intend for this to get so lengthy but congrats to those who stuck with it! I found trip reports very helpful in planning and hope this helps or entertains others. My mom and I had a great time and are excited to go back next year!
Weather-It rained every day, except for Monday and Tuesday (the last full day and then our travel day) while we were there. Yes, a rainy day at Disney is better than most days at home, I can attest that 5 days of rain really wears on you. Large chunks of each day had rain, many times pouring rain. We wore rain coats with ponchos over and still managed to feel damp constantly. Pack more than one pair of shoes! We had each packed 2-3 options and with all the rain, it still felt like we were constantly drying out shoes, sandals, etc. We used the blow dryer in the room every afternoon to dry out for the evening. This wasn't "typical Florida weather" as people kept saying prior to the trip where it rains briefly each afternoon. My mom and I can get through a park quickly but it really added an added challenge. We kept commenting to each other that it was difficult for us (veteran park goers, no young kids, older parents, etc.) we couldn't imagine the week for people who saved and saved for a first trip OR had many young children, etc. It also really prohibited us from walking the resorts and exploring. Once we were back from the parks, the last thing we wanted to do was walk around in rain. We weren't planning on going back for 4-5 years but we're actually going to take another trip next May to "redeem" this one. It was a GREAT, fun week with my mom and it was Disney World after all, but the rain really did sort of put a damper on the trip.
Renting Points-First time, highly recommend! I calculated how much a moderate was when planning and made sure we would spend less each night renting than we would at a moderate to justify this. We plan to do again next year. This also allowed us to resort hop which we'd never done. It was super easy!
Celebration Buttons-Get them when you're celebrating! We went a week after I finished up grad school and it was so fun to have people congratulate me and was a great conversation starter with cast members and guests. At Boma, the waitress even gave me a congratulatory cupcake! I will say, people are really stretching the "celebrations" now. We saw "I'm celebrating....friendship, family, girls trip, etc." and it just seemed like people had them even when they didn't necessarily have a special celebration. This seemed sort of odd to me. We did see one woman who was celebrating being cancer-free and all I can hope is Disney World cast members did it up big for her!!
Saratoga Springs Resort-Studio room 5501. This was preferred location, I believe, can't remember though. It was Congress Park section. Great location for quiet pool, laundry, Disney Springs, and bus stop. About a 10-15 min walk to the lobby and main pool (keep in mind, we're fast walkers). A studio was plenty big for the two of us. Great meal at Artist's Palette; we had plans to lay by the pool, walk to DS, etc. but the rain really restricted much of that. We actually only ate at Artist's Palette because it was raining and we just couldn't muster up walking to DS in the rain but it was a pleasant surprise!. Resort was a little spread out for our taste and felt the theming while nice, was more subtle than we prefer.
Animal Kingdom Lodge-Kidani Village, studio room 7701. Larger room than SSR and immediately up the stairs and off the elevator. Really liked this resort! So cool to see all the animals, but now that I've seen the layout, I don't think I'd recommend spending extra money on a Savannah view. It's not really necessary to get the full experience (great if you can, but if you're trying to save some money, I'd skip the savannah view!). Ate at Sanaa, Boma, and the Mara and was pleased with all of them. Not sure I'd eat at Sanaa again but the experience of seeing all the animals there was worth it. One negative, on our last night I got sick until about 1am so we planned to really stay in the room until 11am checkout. Housekeeping checked on us 3x that morning asking when we were leaving. I understand once to see about getting rooms clean for guests who leave early, but it was excessive and seemed like we were really getting the boot.
*I know experiences varies so much but buses for us were great at both resorts and we never waited more than 10 minutes. The one time we waited 25 minutes was at AKL for Epcot and coincidentally it was the one night we had reservations to make.
Keys to the Kingdom Tour-I surprised my mom with this as an early birthday gift. We learned a lot of cool information and fun facts, had a nice lunch at Pecos Bill, and felt like our tour guide stuck to shady areas when possible. Our tour guide, Rae, was awesome! Our group, well, meh. They all tried to sort of "out-Disney" one another to prove they were the true Disney fan and it left a bad taste in our mouths. We went to have a fun time and have a new experience and we don't regret it but I do think your group can be hit or miss which does make an impact when you're spending 5 straight hours together.
Dining-First experience with the food & garden festival and we were very impressed. We aren't big drinkers so we stuck to the food but all the portion sizes were perfect to try multiple kiosks and we didn't have one thing we disliked. Trattoria al Forno is a hidden gem that we went to twice. Flame Tree BBQ is always a good staple at AK. What happened to the ice cream cookie sandwich being served on warm cookies? First world problem because it's still a good dessert, but was much better when the cookies weren't cold. We likely won't do the meal plan again (which I've explained to my mom for years it wasn't worth it) and will instead just get a Disney gift card and use that. It still helps to have some money pre-paid but the plan just doesn't work for our touring style.
Service-Our KTTK tour guide explained that cast members are really 80/20-80% are really great and 20% are new and don't get it yet or just never have that magic and I really think this is true. While we had some great service, many times we felt cast members couldn't be bothered or really did the bare minimum. I also thought there was more trash in the parks and lack of cleanliness than in previous visits (our last trip was 2016). One negative: We lost a hat in MK (on Friday night) and went to Guest Relations who directed us to Lost & Found at the Ticket and Transportation Center but to wait until the next morning when everything for the day had been collected. We go the next day (in pouring rain) and confirm with the ferry, TTC kiosk folks, and security at TTC we were headed in the right direction. We get to the gift shop and they tell us that Lost & Found had closed that day and was moving to Disney Springs. I understand not everyone knowing that information but I really felt like the folks who work at the TTC should be aware of that. We could have avoided the 20 minute trip altogether. It was worse because we were in a downpour but no one was aware of the change. Again, I'm not expecting Cast Members in Epcot or even a land in MK to know about the location change but Guest Relations and those who are directly affected (we can't be the first people to ask cast members at the TTC where Lost & Found is) should have been aware of that information. Sadly, even after submitting the Lost & Found form online, the hat has not been found (sounds silly but the hat had sentimental value).
I did not intend for this to get so lengthy but congrats to those who stuck with it! I found trip reports very helpful in planning and hope this helps or entertains others. My mom and I had a great time and are excited to go back next year!
