Pre-Trip Pre-Report 3/9 - 3/13

Just like our last trip in early January, it happened quickly. Last trip was scheduled within 24 hours. Same with this one. Wife and I were working from home in PA during an ice storm and my daughter texted from work down in Jacksonville, FL. "Check out Frontier prices....super low." Didn't take me long before I was calling my mom and convincing her to join us and telling my daughter to make dining and park reservations. My sons who are 22 and 19, have not joined us for a FL trip in three years. I convinced them to join us too so I'm really looking forward to that. We were upgraded to Saratoga Springs five years ago and my youngest son saw the treehouse villas and said he'd love to stay there someday. We were in a two bedroom. We're booked for the villa for this trip ! Super excited for this one because we have the entire family and my mom who is 72 is coming along. Just got a new IPhone so I'll be able to take some really good pictures this trip. Really hoping that we can get into a RotR group because it will be my sons' first time to the Star Wars part of the park.

 

[macefamily]

50 pounds for four nights???
What all was in there?

That's one of three

 

[macefamily]

After a half hour trip from the airport we were dropped off at Saratoga Springs. We got our bags together and hitched a ride with a gentleman with his extended golf cart and he took us back in the woods to unit 7028. I haven't played golf in a while, but the course looked like it was in fabulous condition.

 

[MickeyCB]

Following along and enjoying your report!

 

[macefamily]

I didn't know what to expect since we've never stayed in a treehouse villa. Upon walking up the path to the two-tier stairs I noticed something in the front area of the villa. What ? Just a little Magic.

 

[macefamily]

As noted, we've never stayed in a treehouse villa. They looked really cool. I was surprised to discover that the villas opened in 2009. They seemed aged and rustic. I would have guessed that they were built in the 80's. The exterior deck and wood were obviously aged and some planks were disconnected and lifting. The interior had a 70's vibe. There were no coasters because the tables were all chunky finished wood. The master bath was really nice and the kitchen area was complete. The living room area was spacious and shared the space with a big dining room table. We absolutely loved the secluded feel of the villas. There were two villas that shared the same entrance path, but they split and were separated by a tree line. If we had extra time, we would have utilized the permanent charcoal grill that was outside. I noticed the neighbors one night grilling some massive steaks. They smelled incredible.

 

[Tuvalu]

The treehouse villas have been there at least from the 80s. They were part of the golf course accommodations (along with regular villas...now gone...which I stayed in). When the Disney Institute opened (now Saratoga Springs) I think the treehouses were used for CMs. Then the treehouses closed for a long time, reopening in 2009.

 

[macefamily]

Thanks. Then I was spot-on with my guess of 80's construction.

 

[cgersic]

I absolutely love the outside deck! The view of the water out the window is just pure Florida to me. Loving this!

 

[macefamily]

I have been going to FL for 27 years. Every time I'm there, I scan the waters in the hopes of seeing an alligator in the wild. I have never seen one. I truly thought that I would look out that window one morning and see a head and eyes floating in that waterway. It never happened.

 

[macefamily]

DAY 1 -- Hollywood Studios
Daughter and wife were up at 6:50 to get their phones ready for RotR. We were praying for a group because we had three people in our party who never rode it before. Heck, my wife, daughter, and myself only rode it once because we could never get into a group the other three times we visited. My daughter said her stomach was upset because she was so worried. 6:59 >>>>7:00 AM !!! Bang. Wife struck out. Daughter excitingly screamed ! She got it ! But she only has three people registered in her Disney app. We decided we'd let the three first-timers go. As we got to HS, my wife went right to guest services. She explained the situation, and they added three more to the group ! How did she do that ? I remember when we tried the same thing with Avatar, and they wouldn't budge. Oh well. Thank you Guest Services. A little Magic to start the day.

 

[MickeyCB]

As we got to HS, my wife went right to guest services. She explained the situation, and they added three more to the group ! How did she do that ?

I can tell you how she did that. She didn't meet the evil CM Liz that we went to begging for help during our October trip when we only had 1 person show up on our "successful" RotR boarding pass. She scolded us for multiple people in our group trying for a pass. Thank goodness for some truly compassionate CM's we met about 2 minutes later that helped us out.
I might still be a little bitter about this!
Meet evil Liz.

 

[macefamily]

I hear you. We actually had real Fastpass tickets that we were given when Rockin' Rollercoaster shut down, and they wouldn't convert them to Avatar FP's. The CM's must have been given an order to NOT allow any Avatar extras. Anyway, we started our HS journey on a
beautiful Wednesday morning. Here's some of what we experienced as we made our way to Rise of the Resistance.

ts

 

[macefamily]

We made it ! It was a second time for some of us, but it was a first time for the other half. Rise of the Resistance is quite possibly the most immersed experience that has ever been engineered. From the queue to the final exit it is an awesome ride. The First Order guard who lined us up was great. He was snide and sarcastic and picked on everyone. Upon entering the ride you are bombarded by truly amazing special effects. Everyone enjoyed themselves and it was a great way to start our Disney day.

 

[macefamily]

Everyone really enjoyed Rise of the Resistance. It's a fantastic experience. My mom loves Tower of Terror so the plan was to meander across the park stopping at the Brown Derby outdoor bar and greet Ron. Ron makes a nice Long Island Iced Tea. Too bad Ron wasn't there that day. A woman from the Czech Republic was mixing the drinks. Definitely not as good as Ron. When we got to ToT the wait time was 65 minutes and the line was at a dead stop. My mom took one look at it and said, "Forget it, I don't want to ride it that bad."

 

[cgersic]

Curious to know how the crowds are around this time right now? Especially at DHS.

 

[macefamily]

There doesn't seem to be a break at DHS anymore. Last week, our wait for Flight of Passage was 40 minutes; not bad. I've been checking the wait times this week, and FoP is running anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes. I think there's more schools on spring break in FL this week than last. Forget about Universal Studios. At one point yesterday, 10 different rides were over a 100 minute wait. That's crazy.

 

[macefamily]

Sorry for the delay in posting. Picking up with our first full day at HS. We had three first timers for Runaway Railway. I love accompanying someone who is experiencing an attraction for the first time.

 

[fractal]

We made it ! It was a second time for some of us, but it was a first time for the other half. Rise of the Resistance is quite possibly the most immersed experience that has ever been engineered. From the queue to the final exit it is an awesome ride. The First Order guard who lined us up was great. He was snide and sarcastic and picked on everyone. Upon entering the ride you are bombarded by truly amazing special effects. Everyone enjoyed themselves and it was a great way to start our Disney day.



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I couldn't agree more.

 

[macefamily]

We had reservations for Mama Melrose so we had to quick-step it back to the center of the park. I stopped for a few pics along the way of my favorite sites. I may have been a bit cranky, but I was perturbed at the check-in process at Mama Melrose. It was hot and sticky and we arrived three minutes before our reservation time. We sat and waited, and waited, and waited. We had a party of six, and I saw parties of five and six people show up and get seated in a few minutes. At 20 minutes, I went up and asked the scheduler when we could expect a seat. His look said it all. I think he forgot us and bypassed us. I was ready to go to Baseline for a soft pretzel. We waited a half hour beyond our reservation time. I was so pizzed off that when we eventually got seated I did not order any food. I just ordered a wine flight. To top it off, our waitress tried to pull a quick one on us. The gratuity is automatically added for parties of 6 or more, but the receipt was conveniently folded so that part was hidden. It just made me more unhappy at the 'happiest place on Earth.' Dad was not in a good mood at this point of the day.

 

[Darstarr]

We had reservations for Mama Melrose so we had to quick-step it back to the center of the park. I stopped for a few pics along the way of my favorite sites. I may have been a bit cranky, but I was perturbed at the check-in process at Mama Melrose. It was hot and sticky and we arrived three minutes before our reservation time. We sat and waited, and waited, and waited. We had a party of six, and I saw parties of five and six people show up and get seated in a few minutes. At 20 minutes, I went up and asked the scheduler when we could expect a seat. His look said it all. I think he forgot us and bypassed us. I was ready to go to Baseline for a soft pretzel. We waited a half hour beyond our reservation time. I was so pizzed off that when we eventually got seated I did not order any food. I just ordered a wine flight. To top it off, our waitress tried to pull a quick one on us. The gratuity is automatically added for parties of 6 or more, but the receipt was conveniently folded so that part was hidden. It just made me more unhappy at the 'happiest place on Earth.' Dad was not in a good mood at this point of the day.


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Totally unacceptable!!!
But I like your solution...