I really want to preface this entire post that I am so thankful for the opportunity to travel with my family and have time away from our normal routine and experience different things together. I'm glad to have checked Disney off of our bucket list so I don't want anyone to think that I'm being ungrateful when I say that Disney just isn't my thing. We had an agent book it for us and she did an outstanding job. I would highly recommend her. I did some research and some planning and tried to go into it with an open mind despite the fact that I don't like the heat, or lines, or rides, or junky food. I live on the Gulf Coast so I knew the weather would be bad but we tagged along with Jonathan for work so we couldn't pick the days we went. We tried to make the best of the peak season. Light colors, ponchos, comfortable shoes, sunscreen, we were prepared.
I wanted to write all of this upfront because I don't want to pretend our vacation was picture perfect or magical. We did have fun but I just want to be 100% honest about our experience. But, I also don't want to be seen as cynical or complaining. This is just what happened with us.
We had several bumps along the way and they really started to wear on us as the trip went on. When we got to the resort (Port Orleans Riverside: Which I've heard rave reviews about) they had charged our credit card instead of waiting for his work payment. That took about an hour to fix which with Disney being such a huge institution I would have thought they could have handled that better. Check in was at 3. We got there before 11 (Knowing we were doing the resort and Disney Springs that day so we put our swimsuits in our backpacks). We didn't get our room until about 6, they temporarily lost our luggage, found it but couldn't get it to our room because of the rain, the rain stopped and we went swimming but a kid puked in the pool. The real icing on the cake on day one was when Georgia fell asleep in a restaurant in Disney Springs. It was a monsoon outside. Trees and rain blowing sideways and all. I was still eating, Jonathan was ordering more food, and he was on the phone trying to figure out the room situation. A waitress walked over to tell me that they don't allow sleeping. I told her that I wasn't waking up my daughter and I wasn't taking her out in the rain. We stayed and finished our dinner but all the events of this day just wore me out. Obviously the rain and the puking kid couldn't be controlled but the rest should have been and it was super disappointing.
Our days in the parks were smooth sailing. No hiccups that I can remember. When I felt overwhelmed with the lines or the heat I would just google, "secluded Disney" or something like that and wander around until I found a shady spot to sit. Milam (our one year old) stayed home so it was just the three of us and I don't ride rides. Once Jonathan was off for the day then I was able to do my own thing while they rode ALL the rides. I have a pretty good sense of direction so while I originally thought the parks would be overwhelming they weren't. I thought Georgia would like the rides but I wasn't sure. Well, she LOVED them and she met the height for all of them so that's all her and Jonathan did. G and I did all the slow moving stuff.
Now, for all the pictures! I hope I got all the right pictures on the right days!
Hotel
This guy right here. Best girl dad ever.
Disney Springs
Hollywood Studios
Dinner at Brown Derby
Dinner at Brown Derby
Magic Kingdom
Dinner at Tony's
-The only day I used my real camera in the parks-
Dinner at Tony's
-The only day I used my real camera in the parks-
I sat in this lovely corner for about 3 hours while the other two rode rides. It was the best ever because Magic Kingdom was packed. People would walk down here, realize it was empty, and then turn around and leave.
Epcot
This was our favorite park
This was our favorite park
The aquarium after Nemo was amazing and the AC felt magical.
Land was my favorite. Loved looking at the gardens.
Alice walked away from us twice.
Mary Poppins walked away.
Line was too long for Belle.
Luckily this girl is not super thrilled about Princesses so it was all good.
Checking out
When it was time to check out we were just ready to be home. We were so tired from the heat and the sun and missed our boy. Unfortunately they messed our bill up yet again. When we checked out they charged our credit card for $400 of taxes. Jonathan had already filled out the tax forms and had given them the correct papers from his school but he filled them out again. He nearly missed our shuttle to the airport and then he was just fuming. During all the fiascoes on the first day whenever Jonathan would call Disney (from the hotel phone or his cell phone) he would get someone and then get hung up on. It literally happened 5 or 6 times and it was infuriating. Once he finally got on the shuttle for the airport he called Disney to clear up the charges on our card again and continued to get hung up on. He finally reached someone and they said to email. I'm writing this on July 13th and this took place on June 28th. We are yet to be refunded for the collected taxes.
When it was time to check out we were just ready to be home. We were so tired from the heat and the sun and missed our boy. Unfortunately they messed our bill up yet again. When we checked out they charged our credit card for $400 of taxes. Jonathan had already filled out the tax forms and had given them the correct papers from his school but he filled them out again. He nearly missed our shuttle to the airport and then he was just fuming. During all the fiascoes on the first day whenever Jonathan would call Disney (from the hotel phone or his cell phone) he would get someone and then get hung up on. It literally happened 5 or 6 times and it was infuriating. Once he finally got on the shuttle for the airport he called Disney to clear up the charges on our card again and continued to get hung up on. He finally reached someone and they said to email. I'm writing this on July 13th and this took place on June 28th. We are yet to be refunded for the collected taxes.
So in review, the parks were fine. The resort and Disney Springs were a little short of a nightmare. BUT we managed to enjoy family time.
Is your family a "Disney Family"?
Did you have a bad experience like we did?
I hesitate to even write all of this because some people will defend Disney to the death and our agent did a great job so please don't send messages about how we did it wrong or should have done things differently. Obviously everyone is allowed to have their own feelings. Thanks in advance for being courteous!
5 comments:
The photo of G in front of the castle is awesome!
I don't have kids, but I am a big Disney person. I went to undergrad in Florida so we went a lot (and went in the offseason). And, I plan on taking my husband in November...but we'll be staying with friends and not at the resort, so it sounds like we'll be avoiding a lot of issues y'all had.
Sorry that the resort and billing was a fiasco. If it helps, I'm quite sure your little one will remember only the fun rides and not mom and dad about to strangle every Disney employee! :)
Your plan sounds like a good idea. The resort and Disney springs (which isn’t a park) were our only pit falls.
They don't allow sleeping?! What in the world! I could understand if a person just came in to sleep, but a CHILD who fell asleep while her family was eating?! That is insane.
I am so torn on Disney. We have talked about it but don't want to go until all of our kids are old enough to walk the whole day (no strollers), potty trained, and off of naps, and big enough to ride rides! I can't decide if I feel like it would be worth it. We did Disneyland for one day and it was great (but exhausting) and that was just with 2 kids.
My family has a time share and their home location is in Orlando, so if we do ever go, we would probably stay there and go into the parks for a few days, rather than staying at a Disney resort.
I actually really appreciate your honesty about your experience. Disney is one of those things you start to feel like you HAVE to do. I was feeling a little down about it last year because everyone we knew seemed to be going to Disney, and I was feeling guilty because I honestly don't know if we'll ever make it there with five kids. It would be so expensive, I'm not even sure it would be worth it! If we go, it'll be when Georgie is old enough to really remember it (to me that would be 6+), so we have a while to think about it. I kind of feel like we "should" give the kids the experience, but I don't know. I'm not a big Disney person, so the prospect isn't as exciting to me.
Callie and Natalie,
Over all I would say Disney is overpriced and overrated. I never went as a child and never cared. I did kind of feel that mom guilt because we had never gone but now that we have I can honestly say I would have felt ripped off had this not been a work related trip for Jonathan. We had a free room and free flights...so even just paying for food and park tickets I thought it was too much but that's just me.
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