Disney Vacations

[Gary Gorski]

Originally Posted by cougarfreak

Man, we just got back. My 6 year old daughter looked at me after the Cinderella Royal table night and said, "Dad, that was the greatest night of my life". Brought a tear to my eye. My 4 year old son, who is as introverted as me, ran up to Donald Duck and jumped on him out of joy when we saw him last night. Needless to say, we'll be booking for next summer as well. I have to take advantage of this stuff before my kids are teenagers and don't want anything to do with me.

Awesome.

This is a big thing for me personally too - I've got my whole life to pay bills and work - time with my kids is finite.

Really really want to jump on this free dining offer. We didn't go in the spring this year like we have in the past so I'm really itching to get back and mid-October sounds like a great time to go.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Another fun story. My friend's daughter has a syndrome that will cause her to die sometime between 12 and 20 years of age. They're currently on their third trip to Disney. She's now 10 years of age. While hopping on a ride on Star Tours, my friend realized they were taking the 'tour' with gold medal Olympian Dan O'Brien. They got to chat with him, get an autograph, and take some pictures. Great stuff.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

The new Fantasyland is open. Disney has a YouTube channel with a bunch of videos about the new attractions.

New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom - YouTube

This one was my favorite of the bunch........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3DcB...23A7E41055A9F9

[cougarfreak]

We are booking to go back next year. Staying at the same place (wilderness lodge), same meal plan (plus dining). The only thing I'm not paying extra for this year is park hopper. We only used in once day last year. As long as my kids want to go back, and I can afford it, I'm going to do it annually. Great time was had by all.

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

The new Fantasyland is open. Disney has a YouTube channel with a bunch of videos about the new attractions.

New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom - YouTube

This one was my favorite of the bunch........

New Real Estate in New Fantasyland - YouTube

I just got back from Disney and a tour of the new Fantasyland. Much of it looks like it came right out of Beauty and the Beast. Dining at the Beast's castle is very cool with both the decor and the food ordering/delivery technology. I spent a bunch of time trying to think through the logistics of the RFIDs and the background programming for the restaurant. Pretty cool stuff.

[Butter]

How is the food delivered at that place? That's the only thing I wasn't sure about. Do you have to pick up from a counter, or do they bring it to your table?

[BrianD]

You order from a computer kiosk and then sit at any table. The food is brought to the table by a server shortly after.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Another fun story. My friend's daughter has a syndrome that will cause her to die sometime between 12 and 20 years of age. They're currently on their third trip to Disney. She's now 10 years of age. While hopping on a ride on Star Tours, my friend realized they were taking the 'tour' with gold medal Olympian Dan O'Brien. They got to chat with him, get an autograph, and take some pictures. Great stuff.

Pretty cool. Nice of him.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by BrianD

You order from a computer kiosk and then sit at any table. The food is brought to the table by a server shortly after.

How do they know which table? Do you take a number? A vibrating whatsit? Anything?

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

How do they know which table? Do you take a number? A vibrating whatsit? Anything?

That was the fun part that had me totally geeking out. They give you a "magic rose" which is a plastic red disk with a rose printed on it. This rose was scanned at the meal ordering kiosk and placed on the table. I guess that it has an RFID tag in it, and I believe that the table has a different RFID tag. The tables transmit the ID of the rose that was placed on it, and the servers know to bring the meal associated with the rose to the table holding the rose.

I could feel heat coming from one portion of the table, so I am guessing that they are plugged in and networked. I really wanted to try to tip over a table and see what was in the base, but I wasn't brave enough to try it. I also wanted to sit at a table for a few minutes and then move to another table to see if their database would track the movement, but my wife wouldn't let me.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by BrianD

I also wanted to sit at a table for a few minutes and then move to another table to see if their database would track the movement, but my wife wouldn't let me.

I bet you $100 it was. Disney's so fucking hi-tech, I bet if you move it tells them not only where you moved to, but also where you moved from, and that they send a server right over to you to ask if everything was okay at the old table (or just right to the old table to check it out/clean it).

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

I bet you $100 it was. Disney's so fucking hi-tech, I bet if you move it tells them not only where you moved to, but also where you moved from, and that they send a server right over to you to ask if everything was okay at the old table (or just right to the old table to check it out/clean it).

You are probably right. My wife and I were discussing all of the stats that were probably generated in the restaurant. Time to order (is the computer program easy enough to follow), time between ordering and sitting down (how much time to people spend wandering around looking at the decorations, time between sitting down and food being delivered. The only thing I couldn't figure out is how they tell how long a table is occupied. They took the rose away after delivering the food, so either there would need to be weight sensors on the table, or the bus staff would have to indicate when a table opened up.

[dfisher]

In the next few weeks, they are testing out advanced ordering at that restaurant. People that take the Magical Express bus will get selected to place an order and a time they want to eat. They then scan themselves in (I think it is all on a wristband) to an express kiosk, pick up a rose, and their food will be delivered.

[Chubby]

heading there sept 8-14th, all bookedwith airfare.

does anyone know what characters are part of the disney jr dining? we're setting up one character dining, a dining with fireworks for the wife's birthday on the 11th and maybe a dine with an imagineer

[dfisher]

Originally Posted by Chubby

heading there sept 8-14th, all bookedwith airfare.

does anyone know what characters are part of the disney jr dining? we're setting up one character dining, a dining with fireworks for the wife's birthday on the 11th and maybe a dine with an imagineer

Handy Manny, Oso, Jake, and June. Lots of good info on characters here: Disney World Character Meals « Kennythepirate Blog

[Desnudo]

Anyone ever stay in the cabins at fort wilderness?

[Chubby]

Originally Posted by dfisher

Handy Manny, Oso, Jake, and June. Lots of good info on characters here: Disney World Character Meals « Kennythepirate Blog

awesome, thank you!

[CraigSca]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

Anyone ever stay in the cabins at fort wilderness?

I personally haven't, but I do know of a friend who is planning to. Apparently the cabins themselves are pretty nice, but she mentioned something about the need to rent a golf cart (they rent them) in order to get around the resort. It seems odd to me, however, that Disney would let anyone feel they can't get around the resort without one.

[OldGiants]

What with all the negative news about Carnival Cruise Lines, I thought I'd post a bit about the Disney Cruise we took over Thanksgiving on the new Fantasy.

We left from Port Canaveral at the same time as a Carnival Liner boarded and left. Parked offsite and took a van to the port with a bunch of folks who were going on Carnival. They ragged us about Disney not having booze (not true) and gambling (other than bingo, true but so what?). Coming back, we also had a (different) Carnival crowd on the van, and they were rather jealous of our stories. So, no comparison.

First, if you Google Disney Sandy, you will see some videos of Fantasy when it was tossed about by the fringe of hurricane Sandy. If you see the fixtures in the stores being tossed around, those were designed by my daughter. She was amazed at the damage we could still see, and vowed they'd be bolted down in the future. The German shipyard wanted fixtures that could be moved around. Again, don't be put off, the Fantasy is amazing.

Our cruise was terrific: St Thomas, San Juan and Castaway Cay were the three stops on a Sat to Sat cruise that included Thanksgiving. That meal was turkey and a lobster tail, and wasn't even the best. Too much great food, liquor cost (a few free drinks) but wasn't required for enjoyment. Tremendous amount of programs for adults (cooking, travel, crafts, contests--won lots of hats) and tons more for kids. Free first run movies, we saw Wreck It Ralph and could have seen Lincoln but for other things to do. Characters all over the place. The Aquaduck is terrific, if a short ride. I was on it about ten times while most were ashore in St Thomas.

You rotate dinner over three main restaurants and can pay about $25 per head to eat in the two fine dining places, Remy's or Palo's. But reserve ahead of time for these. They are filled.

The Artist's Palette Restaurant had a terrific feature one night. When you came in, you drew a character. Head, torso, arms and legs were in five big boxes, easy for kids to figure out. Then, about 40 minutes later, they showed an animated movie in which each person's figure danced on the screen. To say kids loved this is like saying they kind of like Christmas morning.

Suffice to say, everyone had a great time and wanted to come back soon. You can't do everything on a one week cruise. Go if you can and bring kids.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by OldGiants

Suffice to say, everyone had a great time and wanted to come back soon. You can't do everything on a one week cruise. Go if you can and bring kids.

I've heard nothing but fantastic things about the Disney Cruises. Will definitely do one eventually.

[Chubby]

tyler convinced us to go with Chef Mickey for character dining. waiting on not so scary dates now

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Chubby

tyler convinced us to go with Chef Mickey for character dining. waiting on not so scary dates now

Unless something has changed a lot recently, Chef Mickey has always been a solid choice for character dining (although I enjoy the breakfast buffet enough that I always begrudged the interruptions a bit).

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Unless something has changed a lot recently, Chef Mickey has always been a solid choice for character dining (although I enjoy the breakfast buffet enough that I always begrudged the interruptions a bit).

Yeah, they get the characters around pretty quickly at Chef Mickey. Always nice when you have kids.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by OldGiants

What with all the negative news about Carnival Cruise Lines, I thought I'd post a bit about the Disney Cruise we took over Thanksgiving on the new Fantasy.

I really want to go on a Disney Cruise, but we are going on a Carnival Cruise here in about 2 1/2 weeks... just couldn't afford the over 2x price difference right now.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

I personally haven't, but I do know of a friend who is planning to. Apparently the cabins themselves are pretty nice, but she mentioned something about the need to rent a golf cart (they rent them) in order to get around the resort. It seems odd to me, however, that Disney would let anyone feel they can't get around the resort without one.

You cannot drive to your cabin. Getting from one of the cabins to anywhere else can be done by bus (but you must walk to a bus stop) or, apparently, golf cart. One thing I would find maddening about the cabins is how long it would take to get somewhere. Without the golf cart, you need to walk to a bus stop, wait for then ride the bus, all just to get somewhere where you can connect to the normal Disney transportation system (boat to MK, bus everywhere else). Sounds to me like you'd be looking at ~twice the travel time as the regular resorts.

[Chubby]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Unless something has changed a lot recently, Chef Mickey has always been a solid choice for character dining (although I enjoy the breakfast buffet enough that I always begrudged the interruptions a bit).

thats what I have heard and when tyler wanted to do something mickey related i was all for it

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Great pic from the Disney Princesses Facebook page......

[Eaglesfan27]

This thread has been a great resource. Never did go last December, but we are definitely going this December. Mary will be 5 then and she loved the 1 day we did in Disney when on a cruise last year. I can't wait to spend a week there with her. Booking our room this week.

[GrantDawg]

My daughter is there now with her band. She was the most excited for one thing: to see Ariel's area. 17, and still my little girl.

[Eaglesfan27]

Finally, booking our trip for December. Which meal plan (if any) do most people recommend?

[cougarfreak]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Finally, booking our trip for December. Which meal plan (if any) do most people recommend?

We did the one with 1 sit down, 1 quick, and 1 snack a day, and it was plenty for us to eat. Most of the sit downs are buffets. The quicks are very large fast food type meals (quality is actually better). The snack is what we used for breakfast (big muffin, fruit, or something similar).

[Glengoyne]

Mrs Glen posting,

When we went last year, we did the same meal plan as cougar. A couple of things to remember is they will often swap out dessert for an additional side or appetizer. Also, you will most likely get a cup that you can refill at the hotels. That doesn't count toward your drink. We stocked up on bottles of water with the quick serve meal at the hotel, beats buying water in the park.

One more thing, listen to the cashiers, they would often make recommendations about how best to utilize your snack/quick serve allotments. Paying $.50 for a piece of toast and getting a bag of chips to snack on in the park makes more sense than just getting the toast for free.

Oh, yeah. If you are traveling with little ones, they aren't necessarily resigned to the children's menu all the time. I remember we had allotments for adult sit down, child sit down, and quick service... These were not broken down by age.

[hoopsguy]

Did same meal plan as cougarfreak and it worked well for us.
We did a character breakfast and one nice meal for just me/wife, so had to juggle a little bit over the course of the week to account for those "double meal" options, but I think this represented best value for our family.

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne

Mrs Glen posting,

When we went last year, we did the same meal plan as cougar. A couple of things to remember is they will often swap out dessert for an additional side or appetizer. Also, you will most likely get a cup that you can refill at the hotels. That doesn't count toward your drink. We stocked up on bottles of water with the quick serve meal at the hotel, beats buying water in the park.

One more thing, listen to the cashiers, they would often make recommendations about how best to utilize your snack/quick serve allotments. Paying $.50 for a piece of toast and getting a bag of chips to snack on in the park makes more sense than just getting the toast for free.

Oh, yeah. If you are traveling with little ones, they aren't necessarily resigned to the children's menu all the time. I remember we had allotments for adult sit down, child sit down, and quick service... These were not broken down by age.

Yes, to all this. Be sure to check with Cast Members about what qualifies as a 'snack'. You'll be pleasantly surprised what counts as a snack item.

Also, bring back your hotel mugs from prior trips. You can use them them in future years. No one will ever say anything or even imply you are doing something underhanded. We always bring old mugs and look around to see who has ones older than ours. Seeing an 80-year old couple with 'Dixie Landing' mugs sitting in the Port Orleans food court playing cribbage during a squall was a great moment. My daughter keeps an old mug in her car so she can grab a drink if she has work in one of the hotel shops.

Lastly, Disney gets the soda syrup free in return for advertising, so you aren't 'stealing' a drink and costing them a profit.

[Eaglesfan27]

Thanks for all of the replies... our trip is booked with the 1 sit down, 1 quick, and 1 snack meal plan. I can't wait!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Thanks for all of the replies... our trip is booked with the 1 sit down, 1 quick, and 1 snack meal plan. I can't wait!

FWIW (since you're already booked) I think you'll likely find that to be sufficient.

We're very food-centric on our trips -- dining reservations & availability largely dictate which park we hit which days, etc -- and that version worked out quite well for even us.

I was a raging skeptic about the meal plan prior to our last trip but didn't really hit a snag at all.

A couple of other tips that might be helpful to make the meal plan even more user-friendly (I can't remember atm if this is your first ever trip or not, so this may be old hat stuff for you)
1) Take a case or so of bottled water with you if you're driving or pick one up at a nearby Wal-Mart if you have access to a car during the trip. That's for use in the room, during breaks at the hotel, etc. Keeps you from burning up a snack in the food court, etc.

1b) Ditto a box/bag/etc of the family favorite snacks. Whether that's Little Debbie's or Cheez-Nips or whatever, even an overpriced box of Entenman's donuts from the gift shop will help keep you from wasting snacks from the meal plan when you're back at the hotel. Keep those suckers for the park (especially if you're a guy like me who needs a cup of coffee during the day)

[cougarfreak]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Thanks for all of the replies... our trip is booked with the 1 sit down, 1 quick, and 1 snack meal plan. I can't wait!

I'd DEFINITELY recommend making reservations for your sit downs. It's a must.

[dfisher]

Originally Posted by cougarfreak

I'd DEFINITELY recommend making reservations for your sit downs. It's a must.

You can make them 180 days in advance. Some of the most popular ones fill up really quickly (some on that 180 day mark). Since you are staying on Disney property, you can make your reservations for the whole trip (up to 10 days) 180 days from your arrival date.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by cougarfreak

I'd DEFINITELY recommend making reservations for your sit downs. It's a must.

+10,000

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by dfisher

You can make them 180 days in advance. Some of the most popular ones fill up really quickly (some on that 180 day mark). Since you are staying on Disney property, you can make your reservations for the whole trip (up to 10 days) 180 days from your arrival date.

I'll add my +10,000 to Jon's 10,000.

I'd highly recommend eating a meal at the Be Our Guest restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. Reservations are not taken for lunch and you may not be able to get them for dinner as the restaurant is new and popular. The atmosphere and technology used in the restaurant is worth experiencing.

[Glengoyne]

Oh, Mrs. Glen to pile on again!

When we booked we went through Small World Travel (?). Minnie, our agent was awesome and made several excellent dining suggestions.

If you are wanting to see IllumiNations at EPCOT, I think it was a 6:00 p.m. reservation at the Rose and Crown. When you make the reservations, tell them you want to see the show, and they will make it happen. Same applies on the day when you check in for dinner, make sure you let them know. We were right down on the waterfront. Also, the restaurant has its own private viewing area, so if you don't want to eat that late, you can eat, then go to that area and see the show.

We did Cinderella's Castle for lunch/dinner, and for a double credit meal, it was worth it. I know it is popular for breakfast, and OldGiants could tell you why I'm sure, but our experience was pretty neat.

Okay, I'll just run down the park-meal highlights:

Animal Kingdom: We ate at Tusker House. By far it was the best unique food we had. It's 'African' fare, but don't let that sway you away. It was buffet style, and there was something for everyone.

Hollywood Studios: 50's Prime Time Cafe. It was fun, but the food wasn't anything to write home about. Your food choices were along the lines of meatloaf and fried chicken. Although, the PB&J milkshake was AWESOME, (but you can make that at home).

We also had a couple of meals at the hotel (Wilderness Lodge). Breakfast one morning, and Valentines dinner at their signature restaurant.

We did a sit-down at Downtown Disney at the Cuban place, name escapes me right now, but I think Gloria Estefan owns it. That was our first dining experience with the dining plan. I will never forget when we were able to tell our 11 yo daughter that, yes she could have the 2 lobster tails with shrimp and clams dinner. (She thought she had died and gone to heaven!)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne

Oh, Mrs. Glen to pile on again!

When we booked we went through Small World Travel (?). Minnie, our agent was awesome and made several excellent dining suggestions.

If you are wanting to see IllumiNations at EPCOT, I think it was a 6:00 p.m. reservation at the Rose and Crown. When you make the reservations, tell them you want to see the show, and they will make it happen. Same applies on the day when you check in for dinner, make sure you let them know. We were right down on the waterfront. Also, the restaurant has its own private viewing area, so if you don't want to eat that late, you can eat, then go to that area and see the show.

We did Cinderella's Castle for lunch/dinner, and for a double credit meal, it was worth it. I know it is popular for breakfast, and OldGiants could tell you why I'm sure, but our experience was pretty neat.

Okay, I'll just run down the park-meal highlights:

Animal Kingdom: We ate at Tusker House. By far it was the best unique food we had. It's 'African' fare, but don't let that sway you away. It was buffet style, and there was something for everyone.

Hollywood Studios: 50's Prime Time Cafe. It was fun, but the food wasn't anything to write home about. Your food choices were along the lines of meatloaf and fried chicken. Although, the PB&J milkshake was AWESOME, (but you can make that at home).

We also had a couple of meals at the hotel (Wilderness Lodge). Breakfast one morning, and Valentines dinner at their signature restaurant.

C'mon now Mrs. Glen ... everybody knows that Sci-Fi Diner >>> 50's Prime Time

The rest of her stuff, all pretty solid. The reminder about Rose & Crown for Illuminations prompts me to add a similar recommendation for tying dining together with any plans to Fantasmic at DH Studios. Makes seating a lot less of a hassle, less time spent twiddling your thumbs (which ain't real pleasant in December, even in Orlando).

[Eaglesfan27]

I was to Disney for 1 day about a year ago when I took a cruise, so I definitely understand the importance of reservations. I am using an agent from Small World Vacations and letting her know all of the details of where we want to eat and when... I've heard good things about the agency so I am hoping/trusting she will get us our reservations on the first possible day... But I will keep up with that as I've promised a meal at the Royal Cinderella table to Mary.

[cougarfreak]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I was to Disney for 1 day about a year ago when I took a cruise, so I definitely understand the importance of reservations. I am using an agent from Small World Vacations and letting her know all of the details of where we want to eat and when... I've heard good things about the agency so I am hoping/trusting she will get us our reservations on the first possible day... But I will keep up with that as I've promised a meal at the Royal Cinderella table to Mary.

I use the same service. They are very good. If you want to do the Royal Table, I'd definitely get on it 180 days out. I did that last year. I am doing the Be Our Guest and I made sure I booked out 180 days.

[Draft Dodger]

we literally just got back today from a week at Disney World (Art of Animation). We too did the meal plan and while I was skeptical it was worth it. Mostly. I did find that since we made the reservations in advance - a necessity - it kind of locked us in a little more than I would have liked at times. Some nights it worked out perfectly, others it was kind of chore to leave one park, grab a shuttle to another park and march all the way back to the restaurant. You can be looking at a solid hour there. AND, although the service was universally prompt for the dinners I found that the included desserts added a long time to the meals.

We did find, though, that they were fairly flexible with reservation times. It was pouring rain on Monday at the Magic Kingdom and we had reservations at the castle for the Royal Table and we decided to take a shot and see if we could get in about an hour early. We had no issue and it worked perfectly - by the time dinner was over the rain was done. Did something similar at the Biergarten despite the hostess telling us they were completely full and there was no chance to sit early. 5 minutes later, our pager was buzzing.

My favorite meal was O'Hanas at the Polynesian resort. They start you off with salads and other starters, then bring around endless meat on skewers. Super easy to get there - 5 minutes on the monorail from the MK.

The worst part of the dining plan was quick service eating in our hotel. The layout was terrible - 4 or 5 different stations, all with different food choices so if you want a burger and one kid wants pasta and the other wants a salad you have to split up or go wait in several different lines. It was confusing and if you're familiar with Disney World you know that a decent percentage of guests aren't exactly deep thinkers so it was usually a total madhouse. Quick service at the parks was always much, much better although it was sometimes hard to find a restaurant that had something that each of us was interested in.

[Draft Dodger]

oh and I did the grocery delivery thing to have bottled water, easy breakfast stuff and snack foods in our room. It was handy to have, but we had a lot left over. The meal plans give you almost too much food.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

The layout was terrible - 4 or 5 different stations, all with different food choices so if you want a burger and one kid wants pasta and the other wants a salad you have to split up or go wait in several different lines. ... Quick service at the parks was always much, much better although it was sometimes hard to find a restaurant that had something that each of us was interested in.

On the latter, we've gotten so organized (some might say obsessive) that we usually have the QS restaurants figured out ahead of time as well

On the former, yeah, the resorts with the mall food court layout are just a nightmare a lot of the time. It's easier once the kid(s) are big enough to zip the line on their own & stuff. I think our last trip we managed to avoid meals there with the exception of me going down early so I could grab an actual breakfast, just brought back lighter fare for the wife & kid in the room after I finished.

I will say that the one food court style that's worth any of the hassle is the Pepper Market at Coronado Springs. I hate the resort itself but have actually gone there while staying elsewhere just to eat their quick serve.

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

we literally just got back today from a week at Disney World (Art of Animation). We too did the meal plan and while I was skeptical it was worth it. Mostly. I did find that since we made the reservations in advance - a necessity - it kind of locked us in a little more than I would have liked at times. Some nights it worked out perfectly, others it was kind of chore to leave one park, grab a shuttle to another park and march all the way back to the restaurant. You can be looking at a solid hour there. AND, although the service was universally prompt for the dinners I found that the included desserts added a long time to the meals.

We did find, though, that they were fairly flexible with reservation times. It was pouring rain on Monday at the Magic Kingdom and we had reservations at the castle for the Royal Table and we decided to take a shot and see if we could get in about an hour early. We had no issue and it worked perfectly - by the time dinner was over the rain was done. Did something similar at the Biergarten despite the hostess telling us they were completely full and there was no chance to sit early. 5 minutes later, our pager was buzzing.

My favorite meal was O'Hanas at the Polynesian resort. They start you off with salads and other starters, then bring around endless meat on skewers. Super easy to get there - 5 minutes on the monorail from the MK.

The worst part of the dining plan was quick service eating in our hotel. The layout was terrible - 4 or 5 different stations, all with different food choices so if you want a burger and one kid wants pasta and the other wants a salad you have to split up or go wait in several different lines. It was confusing and if you're familiar with Disney World you know that a decent percentage of guests aren't exactly deep thinkers so it was usually a total madhouse. Quick service at the parks was always much, much better although it was sometimes hard to find a restaurant that had something that each of us was interested in.

How did you like Art of Animation? My daughter designed most of the fixtures in the store there. She took us on the grand tour last August and pointed out that some of the ceiling art is signed by Pixar animators. The underwater music in the pool is a nice touch.

[Draft Dodger]

nice! We liked it very much. it was a beautiful resort (in a Disney way, of course). my daughter especially liked the underwater music.

[PurdueBrad]

We're starting to look at taking my 4 year old. Do you guys usually book through Disney or a travel agent?