BudgieMama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2013
So, I'm just back from my first trip, and fighting the jet lag (we had a red eye flight and didn't get a lot of sleep, and I'm desperately trying to stay awake!) So in an effort to keep my brain awake, I thought I'd write my highs and lows!
Highs
Saratoga Springs
We LOVED the resort. We had booked a studio, but some pixie dust happened during check in, and when we opened the door to our room, we found ourselves in a One Bedroom Villa! It was a huge for the two of us. We loved having the space, and the whirlpool bath. We requested a higher floor (we were put on the ground floor) and to be near transport (we were exactly in the middle of two bus stops, both were 5 minutes walk), but actually it was all fine. I'd heard complaints about the distance to places and the buses, but we found neither to be a problem. The resort is beautiful, the CMs very helpful and we'd stay there again in a heart beat. Loved it.
Magic Bands, FP+, etc
They all just worked. We loved the flexibility to change things with the app, especially when we arrived at places we had booked a FP+ for and found a short wait. When I had an afternoon in MK on my own, it became even better, shifting times around was even easier, and I was able to acquire an additional FP+, walk to the attraction and by the time I got there, adjust the time so I could go in in the next 5/10 minutes. Perfect! We didn't have a single problem, and my Software Programmer of a husband was incredibly impressed by the whole system, and couldn't believe it had been running for less than a year to work so flawlessly for us. We had minimal waits for everything, and got to experience everything we wanted to (except the Tiki Room, which we somehow missed! :'( )
Meeting Rapunzel
She was perfect. Completely adorable.
Memory Maker
My husband was a bit grouchy about the cost of this, until about two days in and he started seeing the photos we were getting. Well worth it for us, even as just a couple. We have nearly 300 photos for the whole week, and less than half a dozen are duds (and 4 of those are because the lens was dirty, so all our Pluto meet and greet photos are blurry!)
The food
We loved everything we ate, and were amazed at the quality of the meals! Very impressive. The meal plan was so much more food than we could eat, but we were allowed to use our left over QS meal credits (all 8 of them) for snacks to take home with us.
The length of stay
People told us a week was too short, especially for a first visit, but it was perfect for us. We were ready to come home yesterday.
Lows
The heat
It was STUPIDLY hot last week. Even the Floridian CMs were complaining about it. I ended up with a horrible heat rash all over my legs, which was very painful. First Aid were great about it, but it was frustrating.
Villains Unleashed
The event was awful. Oversold, overcrowded, under-organised. We have complained about it, as at $70 it was a complete rip off. Really not a happy bunny about that one.
Edited to add: I just got off the phone from guest relations, and have been offered a full refund for Villains Unleashed. It looks like not being able to get it sorted whilst I was there paid off, as they would have offered me extra park tickets or tickets to MNSSHP, but as I'm back in England, they offered me the money back.
Overall, a great trip! We loved it, and both had a great time... although we both realised neither of us could do WDW every year... maybe every 5 years or so!!
Highs
Saratoga Springs
We LOVED the resort. We had booked a studio, but some pixie dust happened during check in, and when we opened the door to our room, we found ourselves in a One Bedroom Villa! It was a huge for the two of us. We loved having the space, and the whirlpool bath. We requested a higher floor (we were put on the ground floor) and to be near transport (we were exactly in the middle of two bus stops, both were 5 minutes walk), but actually it was all fine. I'd heard complaints about the distance to places and the buses, but we found neither to be a problem. The resort is beautiful, the CMs very helpful and we'd stay there again in a heart beat. Loved it.
Magic Bands, FP+, etc
They all just worked. We loved the flexibility to change things with the app, especially when we arrived at places we had booked a FP+ for and found a short wait. When I had an afternoon in MK on my own, it became even better, shifting times around was even easier, and I was able to acquire an additional FP+, walk to the attraction and by the time I got there, adjust the time so I could go in in the next 5/10 minutes. Perfect! We didn't have a single problem, and my Software Programmer of a husband was incredibly impressed by the whole system, and couldn't believe it had been running for less than a year to work so flawlessly for us. We had minimal waits for everything, and got to experience everything we wanted to (except the Tiki Room, which we somehow missed! :'( )
Meeting Rapunzel
She was perfect. Completely adorable.
Memory Maker
My husband was a bit grouchy about the cost of this, until about two days in and he started seeing the photos we were getting. Well worth it for us, even as just a couple. We have nearly 300 photos for the whole week, and less than half a dozen are duds (and 4 of those are because the lens was dirty, so all our Pluto meet and greet photos are blurry!)
The food
We loved everything we ate, and were amazed at the quality of the meals! Very impressive. The meal plan was so much more food than we could eat, but we were allowed to use our left over QS meal credits (all 8 of them) for snacks to take home with us.
The length of stay
People told us a week was too short, especially for a first visit, but it was perfect for us. We were ready to come home yesterday.
Lows
The heat
It was STUPIDLY hot last week. Even the Floridian CMs were complaining about it. I ended up with a horrible heat rash all over my legs, which was very painful. First Aid were great about it, but it was frustrating.
Villains Unleashed
The event was awful. Oversold, overcrowded, under-organised. We have complained about it, as at $70 it was a complete rip off. Really not a happy bunny about that one.
Edited to add: I just got off the phone from guest relations, and have been offered a full refund for Villains Unleashed. It looks like not being able to get it sorted whilst I was there paid off, as they would have offered me extra park tickets or tickets to MNSSHP, but as I'm back in England, they offered me the money back.
Overall, a great trip! We loved it, and both had a great time... although we both realised neither of us could do WDW every year... maybe every 5 years or so!!
