Travel dates: June 17-22, 2014
Travel method: Southwest Airlines, SAN to ORD
Resort: Port Orleans Riverside Resort (PORR)
Accommodations: Royal Room on third floor in Oak Manor
Ages: 48, 45, 13, and 10 (turned 11 during trip)
Disney experience: First trip to WDW! We are DL APs and visit about 4x annually
Cast:
Jack B – a higher education marketing executive, kneeboard surfer, husband, and otherwise busy dad of two girls
Lucita B – Spanish teacher, wife, mother of two daughters, semi-obsessed with giving her girls lasting memories (while photographing each and every one, just in case)
Marisa B – eighth grader, ballet dancer, not quite ready to grow up just yet but wants to be a professional dancer and roller coaster designer
Jana B – sixth grader, singer, dancer, gymnastics lover and aspiring Disney princess (probably Belle according to the girls)
Introduction (We’re going to WDW!)
We’re big fans of all things Disney including DL and DCA, which are conveniently about a 75-minute drive up the I-5. So the idea of taking a family vacation to the “World” had crossed our minds a few times but we had our reservations (Lucita and I, not the girls). Florida is hot, humid and we really wondered how we’d hold up over several long days. It’s also a pricey trip – especially on top of ballet lessons, private school tuition, etc. However, this year the planets seemed to align (with help of some free airfares via rewards cards) and we decided to bite the bullet! Breaking the good news to the girls was just pure awesomeness.
Planning planning planning!
A mid-June trip was decided since summer is the only time (other than Christmas and Easter breaks) Lucita and the girls can really get away. Yes it would be hot and yes it would probably be crowded but damn the torpedoes – here we come! After doing some research, I settled on Port Orleans – Riverside. It fit our budget, has a great pool and is centrally located (or so I read). The clincher was the resort’s “Royal Rooms” which are princess-themed and moderately priced. Belle Meyer from Small World Vacations assisted with the planning and making the resort reservation, which was helpful. Little did I know that booking our resort would be the easiest part of the planning process. For the uninitiated, the idea of planning each day of your family vacation, including meals, rides, and other details, may seem crazy. Welcome to the World! If you want to dine at a decent hour at any of WDW’s sit-down restaurants – without a long wait – it seems you must make a reservation months in advance. FastPass+ reservations start booking 60 days in advance (for resort guests), which means you need to decide ahead of then what parks you’ll visit on which days and what types of tickets you’ll need and what attractions to go on. Whew! The arrival of our Magic Bands about two weeks prior was a day of great joy and some relief that our trip was almost here.
Wheels up!
After more time on the My Disney Experience website than I’d care to remember, it was finally time to start our real Disney experience. Our flight was a smooth one – except for a few thunderstorms along Florida’s west coast – and we arrived safely. We collected our bags ourselves since it was already 7 p.m. and we didn’t want to be waiting for Disney to deliver them. Next, we backtracked across Orlando’s very large airport (there’s an entire Hyatt inside the terminal) to the Magical Express – WDW’s private bus service for resort guests. Cast Members with oversized Mikey hands welcomed us to the bubble. You do have to hand it to Disney, they know how to move a lot of people to, from, and within the resort. It would be the first of countless bus rides over the next five days.
Fortunately, the PORR and our “Royal Room” lived up to all our expectations. In addition to the princess theming, the rooms have fiber optics in the headboards and the girls took great delight ending each day with their own synchronized fireworks display. Our “River View” room didn’t really have much of a view but it was quiet and clean. The resort itself is massive but beautifully done so you really feel like you’ve been transported back 100 years in the Deep South. Because of its size and layout along the Sassagoula River, there is definitely some walking involved to get from the main lobby/food court/bus area to your room or to the “Ol’ Man Island” pool. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but personally I enjoyed this relative “quiet time” amidst the busyness of a Disney trip.
Highlights from our five days/five nights:
“I don’t think we’re in Anaheim anymore!”
Day 1 was dedicated to visiting the Magic Kingdom and we were all excited to see how it differed from our beloved Disneyland. On the short walk from our room our to the shuttle stop when we ran across a large black snake sunning himself on the pathway.Fortunately, “Jafar” decided to head for the shrubs and was never seen from again. We were, however, much more attentive while moving about the resort!
FastPass+
From the perspective of a first-time resort guest, FastPass+ was a total home run. Day 1 we arrived at Magic Kingdom about 10 a.m., which wasn’t bad considering it was still 7 a.m. back home. After taking in Main Street, we were able to jump on Space Mountain using our Magic Bands/FP+ reservation. We were actually 10 minutes late for our “window” but were still allowed on. The rest of the morning we casually toured Fantasyland, while hitting our FP+ appointments for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (mildly disappointing) and Enchanted Tales With Belle(a nice surprise). The park was hot, humid and crowded but having a few FP+ appointments made it feel much less stressful and rushed. We chose our stand-by attractions carefully and the longest we waited was 40 minutes for the Haunted Mansion. We appreciated that most of the lines at WDW were in the shade or inside!
“I wasn’t expecting this!”
The girls said they really wanted to hit one of the two WDW water parks: Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. We planned this for Day 2, as it seemed like a break from theme park lines, crowds and hot concrete. I’ll admit, I did zero research on either of the two parks. We simply woke up and asked the girls which water park they wanted to visit. They choose Blizzard Beach which has steeper slides and a playful “winter” theme. This turned out to be a really great day of family fun. A chairlifttakes you to the top of Mount Gushmore (use the singles-rider line for a shorter wait). There was no wait for Teamboat Springs, a 1,200-foot whitewater group raft flume, so we plopped down on the large raft not really knowing what would come next. The bottom fell away almost immediately. As we went careening up and down the sloped walls of the slide, Lucita yelled “I wasn’t expecting this!” The girls loved it and busted out “I wasn’t expecting this!” frequently the rest of our trip.
“Walk this way”
After Blizzard Beach, we only had about four hours to spend at Disney’s Hollywood Studios but it was still a lot of fun. We used the single-rider line for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, which was a blast. I’m not sure how Walt would have felt about associating his brand with Aerosmith but I suppose it works in a Hollyweird kind of way. We ended the evening with Fantasmic! This is where FP+rocks. We strolled into the stadium about 15 minutes before show time and still got great seats. No waiting for hours on hot pavement. No parents lifting kids up right in front of you. Sure, DL’s version is better but who cares, in your best Prince Naveen voice say: "Sitting would be niiiice!"
Exploring EPCOT
While planning our trip, I wasn’t sure about EPCOT. It doesn’t have a lot of rides and the edutainment aspect seemed like it might fall flat with the kids. I quickly learned, however, this wouldn’t be the case. As we rode Spaceship Earth, Marisa yelled out “I studied that!” and she enjoyed explaining about Guttenberg and his printing press (she got an equally big kick out of the silly postcards at the end of the ride). That’s pretty much how Day 3 at EPCOT went, Walt Disney’s futuristic park has a great combination of thrills and charm that consistently surprised us. The World Showcase was our favorite – Jana celebrated her 11th birthday meeting the real Belle and dining on some tasty pizza at Via Napoli. We ended the day with a stunning Florida sunset and “Illuminations.”
Disney Dining
WDW has a lot more unique dining options than Disneyland. These are definitely a “no hurry” affair, but ended up being some of our favorite experiences of the trip. We really enjoyed dinners at Tony’s Town Square restaurant (MK), Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria (EPCOT), and Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant (DHS). Lucita especially liked Sci-Fi, where you dine inside a convertible while watching classic old movies. Our favorite meal, however, required no advance reservation. MK’s Be Our Guest restaurant is definitely a can’t-miss for fans of Beauty and the Beast. You chose from one of three dining rooms that recreate scenes from the movie. No character visits but the food is decent and affordably priced. After trying for weeks to get a dinner reservation I gave up. Lunch, however, is first-come. We tried about Noon on Day 1 and it was already booked up. On our last day we went by about 11:15 a.m. and got a table with almost no wait. We ate in the West Wing (the one with the rose). It was a nice break from the PB&J sandwiches we’d made that morning in our room.
Conquering Everest
Over four days we covered three theme parks (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios) plus Bizzard Beach. Sure we just scratched the surface – but we were pretty satisfied. There was one big coaster that we hadn’t tried: Expedition Everest, arguably the best in WDW. So Day 4 we made an end-of-day dash to Animal Kingdom to ride Everest – arriving at the queue about 15 minutes before the park closed. It was worth the effort. There was no line so we rode it twice and then rushed back for our dinner reservation at the Rainforest Caf – it was a crazy way to wrap up our trip!
A Happy Ending
We loved seeing the fireworks shows at WDW, EPCOT and DHS but for our final night we decided to come back to Port Orleans early and watch “Frozen” which was that night’s featured outdoor movie. First however, there was one last item on our checklist: beignets from Port Orleans French Quarter – a short hike or boat ride from PORR. We were introduced to beignets at DL’s New Orleans Square and it remains a must-have treat each trip. Never, however, had we eaten beignets while watching lightning dance across the sky. Nature’s fireworks show continued on our boat ride back to PORR (water taxis run continuously day and night and are another benefit for guests at the two PO resorts). We arrived for the movie just in time to see Elsa belt out “Let it Go.” As we settled comfortably for the rest of the movie (guests are provided pool towels to sit on the grass), we got a nice surprise…the 10 p.m. “Wishes” show could be seen in the distance. The fireworks mixed with flashes of lighting reflecting on the Sassagoula River. It was a fitting finale to a memorable trip.
Conclusion (Faith, trust and a little bit of pixie dust!)
In spite of all the planning, some of our family's favorite moments didn't come from FP+ or an advance reservation. The girls still talk about the wildlife we saw including countless lizards, an armadillo, and of course “Jafar.” It included running into Gaston and his huge ego in a corner of Fantasyland and seeing Aladdin and Jasmine ride The Magic Carpets of Aladdin. Even a cool drink by the pool or an ice cream break during an afternoon thunderstorm was as good as any sit down meal. So don't worry if you can't get reservations to Cinderella's Royal Table, or FP+ for Anna and Elsa, I think you'll have a great time anyway.
Jack’s Top 5 Tips
I’m certainly no expert after one trip but here’s what worked for our family:
5. Get on Twitter: as I planned our trip, I found it really helpful to use Twitter for updated information. For example, with Twitter I was able to get FP+ reservations for the new 7 Dwarfs Mine Train within three minutes after they became available. In addition to @disneyparks and @waltdisneyworld, I’d suggest following folks like @touringplans, @themeparkfrog, @mouseplanet and others.
4. Eat breakfast in your room. You’ll save time, money and maybe some sanity by eating breakfast in your room. We brought cereal and muffins. Milk, cereal, fruit, bowls and utensils were also available for purchase from the store and restaurant at PORR.
3. Eat an early lunch. Up for a challenge? Try finding a table at Noon at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe! We learned our lesson quickly. Also, unless you have a lot of extra time, I’d avoid a table service restaurant for lunch.
2. Take a break: we took a mid-day pool break and it really helped in terms of beating the heat. We returned to the parks in the evening refreshed and ready for dinner, evening parades and fireworks.
1. Take advantage of FP+: this is a huge benefit but I suspect a lot of people still don’t understand it. Remember, FP+ windows open 60 days in advance for resort guests at midnight in Eastern Time Zone (30 days in advance for others ticketholders). After you use your first three appointments, use the park kiosks to add a fourth, fifth, etc. If you’re park hopping, the front desk at our resort gladly added additional FP+ appointments too!
Bonus tip for parents: before making advanced dinner/lunch reservations, check the children’s menu online to be sure it includes meals your picky eater will eat! Nothing like a meltdown after a long, hot day because chicken tenders aren’t on the menu! Touringplans.com offers a lot of menu information.
Special thanks to all the Cast Members who made our trip such an enjoyable one. They are the true stars of WDW and the reason the place remains a magical destination for families like ours!
Travel method: Southwest Airlines, SAN to ORD
Resort: Port Orleans Riverside Resort (PORR)
Accommodations: Royal Room on third floor in Oak Manor
Ages: 48, 45, 13, and 10 (turned 11 during trip)
Disney experience: First trip to WDW! We are DL APs and visit about 4x annually
Cast:
Jack B – a higher education marketing executive, kneeboard surfer, husband, and otherwise busy dad of two girls
Lucita B – Spanish teacher, wife, mother of two daughters, semi-obsessed with giving her girls lasting memories (while photographing each and every one, just in case)
Marisa B – eighth grader, ballet dancer, not quite ready to grow up just yet but wants to be a professional dancer and roller coaster designer
Jana B – sixth grader, singer, dancer, gymnastics lover and aspiring Disney princess (probably Belle according to the girls)
Introduction (We’re going to WDW!)
We’re big fans of all things Disney including DL and DCA, which are conveniently about a 75-minute drive up the I-5. So the idea of taking a family vacation to the “World” had crossed our minds a few times but we had our reservations (Lucita and I, not the girls). Florida is hot, humid and we really wondered how we’d hold up over several long days. It’s also a pricey trip – especially on top of ballet lessons, private school tuition, etc. However, this year the planets seemed to align (with help of some free airfares via rewards cards) and we decided to bite the bullet! Breaking the good news to the girls was just pure awesomeness.
Planning planning planning!
A mid-June trip was decided since summer is the only time (other than Christmas and Easter breaks) Lucita and the girls can really get away. Yes it would be hot and yes it would probably be crowded but damn the torpedoes – here we come! After doing some research, I settled on Port Orleans – Riverside. It fit our budget, has a great pool and is centrally located (or so I read). The clincher was the resort’s “Royal Rooms” which are princess-themed and moderately priced. Belle Meyer from Small World Vacations assisted with the planning and making the resort reservation, which was helpful. Little did I know that booking our resort would be the easiest part of the planning process. For the uninitiated, the idea of planning each day of your family vacation, including meals, rides, and other details, may seem crazy. Welcome to the World! If you want to dine at a decent hour at any of WDW’s sit-down restaurants – without a long wait – it seems you must make a reservation months in advance. FastPass+ reservations start booking 60 days in advance (for resort guests), which means you need to decide ahead of then what parks you’ll visit on which days and what types of tickets you’ll need and what attractions to go on. Whew! The arrival of our Magic Bands about two weeks prior was a day of great joy and some relief that our trip was almost here.
Wheels up!
After more time on the My Disney Experience website than I’d care to remember, it was finally time to start our real Disney experience. Our flight was a smooth one – except for a few thunderstorms along Florida’s west coast – and we arrived safely. We collected our bags ourselves since it was already 7 p.m. and we didn’t want to be waiting for Disney to deliver them. Next, we backtracked across Orlando’s very large airport (there’s an entire Hyatt inside the terminal) to the Magical Express – WDW’s private bus service for resort guests. Cast Members with oversized Mikey hands welcomed us to the bubble. You do have to hand it to Disney, they know how to move a lot of people to, from, and within the resort. It would be the first of countless bus rides over the next five days.
Fortunately, the PORR and our “Royal Room” lived up to all our expectations. In addition to the princess theming, the rooms have fiber optics in the headboards and the girls took great delight ending each day with their own synchronized fireworks display. Our “River View” room didn’t really have much of a view but it was quiet and clean. The resort itself is massive but beautifully done so you really feel like you’ve been transported back 100 years in the Deep South. Because of its size and layout along the Sassagoula River, there is definitely some walking involved to get from the main lobby/food court/bus area to your room or to the “Ol’ Man Island” pool. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but personally I enjoyed this relative “quiet time” amidst the busyness of a Disney trip.
Highlights from our five days/five nights:
“I don’t think we’re in Anaheim anymore!”
Day 1 was dedicated to visiting the Magic Kingdom and we were all excited to see how it differed from our beloved Disneyland. On the short walk from our room our to the shuttle stop when we ran across a large black snake sunning himself on the pathway.Fortunately, “Jafar” decided to head for the shrubs and was never seen from again. We were, however, much more attentive while moving about the resort!
FastPass+
From the perspective of a first-time resort guest, FastPass+ was a total home run. Day 1 we arrived at Magic Kingdom about 10 a.m., which wasn’t bad considering it was still 7 a.m. back home. After taking in Main Street, we were able to jump on Space Mountain using our Magic Bands/FP+ reservation. We were actually 10 minutes late for our “window” but were still allowed on. The rest of the morning we casually toured Fantasyland, while hitting our FP+ appointments for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (mildly disappointing) and Enchanted Tales With Belle(a nice surprise). The park was hot, humid and crowded but having a few FP+ appointments made it feel much less stressful and rushed. We chose our stand-by attractions carefully and the longest we waited was 40 minutes for the Haunted Mansion. We appreciated that most of the lines at WDW were in the shade or inside!
“I wasn’t expecting this!”
The girls said they really wanted to hit one of the two WDW water parks: Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. We planned this for Day 2, as it seemed like a break from theme park lines, crowds and hot concrete. I’ll admit, I did zero research on either of the two parks. We simply woke up and asked the girls which water park they wanted to visit. They choose Blizzard Beach which has steeper slides and a playful “winter” theme. This turned out to be a really great day of family fun. A chairlifttakes you to the top of Mount Gushmore (use the singles-rider line for a shorter wait). There was no wait for Teamboat Springs, a 1,200-foot whitewater group raft flume, so we plopped down on the large raft not really knowing what would come next. The bottom fell away almost immediately. As we went careening up and down the sloped walls of the slide, Lucita yelled “I wasn’t expecting this!” The girls loved it and busted out “I wasn’t expecting this!” frequently the rest of our trip.
“Walk this way”
After Blizzard Beach, we only had about four hours to spend at Disney’s Hollywood Studios but it was still a lot of fun. We used the single-rider line for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, which was a blast. I’m not sure how Walt would have felt about associating his brand with Aerosmith but I suppose it works in a Hollyweird kind of way. We ended the evening with Fantasmic! This is where FP+rocks. We strolled into the stadium about 15 minutes before show time and still got great seats. No waiting for hours on hot pavement. No parents lifting kids up right in front of you. Sure, DL’s version is better but who cares, in your best Prince Naveen voice say: "Sitting would be niiiice!"
Exploring EPCOT
While planning our trip, I wasn’t sure about EPCOT. It doesn’t have a lot of rides and the edutainment aspect seemed like it might fall flat with the kids. I quickly learned, however, this wouldn’t be the case. As we rode Spaceship Earth, Marisa yelled out “I studied that!” and she enjoyed explaining about Guttenberg and his printing press (she got an equally big kick out of the silly postcards at the end of the ride). That’s pretty much how Day 3 at EPCOT went, Walt Disney’s futuristic park has a great combination of thrills and charm that consistently surprised us. The World Showcase was our favorite – Jana celebrated her 11th birthday meeting the real Belle and dining on some tasty pizza at Via Napoli. We ended the day with a stunning Florida sunset and “Illuminations.”
Disney Dining
WDW has a lot more unique dining options than Disneyland. These are definitely a “no hurry” affair, but ended up being some of our favorite experiences of the trip. We really enjoyed dinners at Tony’s Town Square restaurant (MK), Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria (EPCOT), and Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant (DHS). Lucita especially liked Sci-Fi, where you dine inside a convertible while watching classic old movies. Our favorite meal, however, required no advance reservation. MK’s Be Our Guest restaurant is definitely a can’t-miss for fans of Beauty and the Beast. You chose from one of three dining rooms that recreate scenes from the movie. No character visits but the food is decent and affordably priced. After trying for weeks to get a dinner reservation I gave up. Lunch, however, is first-come. We tried about Noon on Day 1 and it was already booked up. On our last day we went by about 11:15 a.m. and got a table with almost no wait. We ate in the West Wing (the one with the rose). It was a nice break from the PB&J sandwiches we’d made that morning in our room.
Conquering Everest
Over four days we covered three theme parks (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios) plus Bizzard Beach. Sure we just scratched the surface – but we were pretty satisfied. There was one big coaster that we hadn’t tried: Expedition Everest, arguably the best in WDW. So Day 4 we made an end-of-day dash to Animal Kingdom to ride Everest – arriving at the queue about 15 minutes before the park closed. It was worth the effort. There was no line so we rode it twice and then rushed back for our dinner reservation at the Rainforest Caf – it was a crazy way to wrap up our trip!
A Happy Ending
We loved seeing the fireworks shows at WDW, EPCOT and DHS but for our final night we decided to come back to Port Orleans early and watch “Frozen” which was that night’s featured outdoor movie. First however, there was one last item on our checklist: beignets from Port Orleans French Quarter – a short hike or boat ride from PORR. We were introduced to beignets at DL’s New Orleans Square and it remains a must-have treat each trip. Never, however, had we eaten beignets while watching lightning dance across the sky. Nature’s fireworks show continued on our boat ride back to PORR (water taxis run continuously day and night and are another benefit for guests at the two PO resorts). We arrived for the movie just in time to see Elsa belt out “Let it Go.” As we settled comfortably for the rest of the movie (guests are provided pool towels to sit on the grass), we got a nice surprise…the 10 p.m. “Wishes” show could be seen in the distance. The fireworks mixed with flashes of lighting reflecting on the Sassagoula River. It was a fitting finale to a memorable trip.
Conclusion (Faith, trust and a little bit of pixie dust!)
In spite of all the planning, some of our family's favorite moments didn't come from FP+ or an advance reservation. The girls still talk about the wildlife we saw including countless lizards, an armadillo, and of course “Jafar.” It included running into Gaston and his huge ego in a corner of Fantasyland and seeing Aladdin and Jasmine ride The Magic Carpets of Aladdin. Even a cool drink by the pool or an ice cream break during an afternoon thunderstorm was as good as any sit down meal. So don't worry if you can't get reservations to Cinderella's Royal Table, or FP+ for Anna and Elsa, I think you'll have a great time anyway.
Jack’s Top 5 Tips
I’m certainly no expert after one trip but here’s what worked for our family:
5. Get on Twitter: as I planned our trip, I found it really helpful to use Twitter for updated information. For example, with Twitter I was able to get FP+ reservations for the new 7 Dwarfs Mine Train within three minutes after they became available. In addition to @disneyparks and @waltdisneyworld, I’d suggest following folks like @touringplans, @themeparkfrog, @mouseplanet and others.
4. Eat breakfast in your room. You’ll save time, money and maybe some sanity by eating breakfast in your room. We brought cereal and muffins. Milk, cereal, fruit, bowls and utensils were also available for purchase from the store and restaurant at PORR.
3. Eat an early lunch. Up for a challenge? Try finding a table at Noon at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe! We learned our lesson quickly. Also, unless you have a lot of extra time, I’d avoid a table service restaurant for lunch.
2. Take a break: we took a mid-day pool break and it really helped in terms of beating the heat. We returned to the parks in the evening refreshed and ready for dinner, evening parades and fireworks.
1. Take advantage of FP+: this is a huge benefit but I suspect a lot of people still don’t understand it. Remember, FP+ windows open 60 days in advance for resort guests at midnight in Eastern Time Zone (30 days in advance for others ticketholders). After you use your first three appointments, use the park kiosks to add a fourth, fifth, etc. If you’re park hopping, the front desk at our resort gladly added additional FP+ appointments too!
Bonus tip for parents: before making advanced dinner/lunch reservations, check the children’s menu online to be sure it includes meals your picky eater will eat! Nothing like a meltdown after a long, hot day because chicken tenders aren’t on the menu! Touringplans.com offers a lot of menu information.
Special thanks to all the Cast Members who made our trip such an enjoyable one. They are the true stars of WDW and the reason the place remains a magical destination for families like ours!