Trip Report - OKW, 12/4 - 12/8

[JimMIA]

Just a quickie to hit the highlights of our Holiday trip to WDW. There were five of us, DW, DD3goingon23, Grandma (75+), Great Aunt (75+), and your humble servant.

Arrival & Check-in - We arrived at 10:30 AM on Sunday, right in the middle of the big morning checkout rush. However, checkin was pretty quick and painless. Our room was assigned, but not ready, so we were given keys and the number to call later.

Room - We were in 3912, a two bedroom. Our only requests were for ground floor and non-smoking, both for medical reasons, and both requests were met. The room was spotless, and of course, very spacious. Grandma and Great Aunt spent most of the time in the room going, "Oh my GAWD!!!"

We had only two minor issues with the room. Turns out the toaster only toasted one side of the bread. That was replaced (I swear!) in about five minutes. I have no idea how they did that so quickly. The other issue we had was a stopped-up toilet (hard to believe, but true) which occurred at night. That took longer -- about an hour -- but I thought that was pretty darn good service considering the hour. The only misstep we noticed was on T&T day, one of the trash baskets was not emptied.

Cindy's - I guess you have to do Cindy's once when you have a DD3goingon23, but I won't do it again. The food and service were fine, but it was essentially a $200 one-minute photo op. Cindy doesn't actually do lunch. Girlie loved it, of course, but the adults felt thoroughly ripped-off.

Candlelight Processional - We did that Monday night (Cicely Tyson) and it was well worth doing. It's free, but what I mean is the program was well worth the time it took. We did not use any of the dinner packages -- just made an ADR for Italy after the CP. As always, Italy was great...not our favorite Epcot eatery, but always good.

MVMCP - We did Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party on Tuesday night. Unlike Cindy's, it is definitely something I will do again. With the two elderly ladies, we didn't do the park, just the parade and fireworks (Okay...DD3goingon23 and I did Teacups, but only once!). It was another $200 for our party, but this one was worth every penny.

MK - we were at MK several times, but with our party, everything went pretty slowly. Small World was wonderful - our first time through since the rehab. Winnie the Pooh wasn't great and it is truly handicapped-CRUEL! Hard to believe Disney treats people with disabilities like that in 2005. Oh well, it's a dumb ride anyway. DD3goingon23's favorite rides are the carousel, Teacups, Dumbo, and now, the Grand Prix. We did all of those several times and she never gets tired of them.

Epcot - We didn't really get to show Grandma and Great Aunt all of Epcot, but we hit some of the highlights. China was a big hit. Turtle Talk with Crush was hilarious, and highly-recommended, but again, it's not very handicapped-friendly. They have very limited space for folks in wheelchairs or ECV's, and you are somehow just supposed to know to go to a separate line and make a reservation to come back later.

Soarin' - I'm listing this separately, because it deserves special mention. Soarin' is just breathtaking! This is one of those attractions that we will do on every visit.

However...this is one you will definitely want to FastPass. The lines were over an hour, and it's only about a two-minute ride. Even with FastPass, it will take you 20 minutes or so to work your way up and actually board, so this is not an attraction that you just walk on. Get your FastPasses early, because we were seeing 3+ hour lag times between issuance and showtime on the FastPasses...and that is not during the busy season!

Dining & DDE - With GM and GA, we didn't do much dining. We used our DDE card for Cindy's, Cap'n Jacks at DTD, Italy, and Olivias...all of which were excellent. Even on this short trip, with much less dining than we usually do, we saved about $75...so we are $25 ahead. BUT...the card doesn't expire until 12/31/2006, so we'll get two more trips on it. Even with just the three of us most of the time, the DDE will save us good money.

The only dining disappointment was our inability to get into Le Cellier due to the CP Dinner Packages. It was overbooked, and they weren't even doing walk-ins or a wait list at all. So we'll have to hit it twice in May.

Glitch - every vacation has a glitch, and as usual, ours was self-inflicted. We didn't do a very good job of checking the room before we left. GA left her jewelry in the safe and DW left some clothes in the amoire. The jewelry is on it's way to us, thanks to CM Lucy at the OKW front desk , and hopefully we'll locate the clothing when Lost & Found opens on Monday.

OKW - This was actually our first stay at our main home resort, and we absolutely loved it. Because it was a short trip, and also because the focus was on GM and GA (both 75+), we really didn't get a chance to enjoy the resort itself. But we made lots of notes to do on our next trip. Next trip is going to be 6-7 days, and at least 2 of those will be spent entirely at OKW except possibly for dinner somewhere else.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Great report, Jim! So glad you liked our "home"! I too am always amazed at how quickly they can take care of requests, including maintenance.

 

[DrTomorrow]

Jim,

Thanks much for the report; I gather that the various meal programs are filling up the TS restaurants.

One question: how the the weather/rain impact your trip?

Thanks!

 

[JimMIA]

Jim,

Thanks much for the report;

You're welcome Dr. Tom...and you'll notice I did NOT disappear for three months after my visit!

I gather that the various meal programs are filling up the TS restaurants.

My impression is that it was not the dining plans, but the CP dinner packages. At least that's what I was told by Disney Dining when we called.

One question: how the the weather/rain impact your trip?

HA! I think it was actually a Godsend! We didn't have any rain (other than very short sprinkles) until our check-out day (Thursday). We had intended to go back to MK for one last fling, but it was raining steadily. I think our whole party was delighted when I suggested we just bag it and head home!

That's a good question, tho. Living in South Florida, we are quite used to rain. But ours comes in tremendous hour-long thunderstorms, preceded and followed by bright sunshine. So we never think about rain; we just go indoors for a while.

I'll be sure to build some rainy-day ideas into my next Disney trip, because the weather in Orlando is completely different than our weather down here in Miami. We almost never have days where it just rains all day long, but Orlando does.

Have a great trip!

 

[LisaS]

Did your GM and GA go on Soarin'? We're taking my 86-year-old mom to WDW in May and I would like to take her on Soarin' if she's willing. Just wondered if your GM and GA went on it and if so, did they like it?

Thanks.

 

[JimMIA]

Did your GM and GA go on Soarin'? We're taking my 86-year-old mom to WDW in May and I would like to take her on Soarin' if she's willing. Just wondered if your GM and GA went on it and if so, did they like it?

Thanks.

Yes, they did go on Soarin'.

GA loved it; GM hated it -- kept her eyes closed the whole time because it scared her...which was pretty funny for a person who was a flight attendant on the prop aircraft hanging in Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum!

There are a lot of times during Soarin' when you go up and over something (mountain ridge, etc.) very abruptly, and I think that's what scared GM. DW -- who is a fearful flyer -- loved it! Why? 'Cause she could see the ground. Go figure.

The ride itself has only very gentle motion, but visually it looks like you're falling off the edge of the earth several times.

 

[LisaS]

Thanks for the info. I thought it might help if I could tell my mom that other "senior ladies" have been on the ride. Interesting that a former flight attendant on a prop plane would be the one to have a problem on Soarin'!