Having returned home from our first Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and second trip to WDW in the same year, we were reflecting on how such a short trip can still contain so much stuff.
The original plan months ago was to try out the Davids Vacation Club Rental website and stay at a DVC on the monorail. This was going to be a short trip that began just to go, have fun at MK then take our DD to the party so we can take in what everyone else is bragging about.
Can't say enough good things about Davids Vacation Club. When our quick 'overnight' mutated into 4 days and adding our mother in law they took everything in stride and there were no issues with our reservations on the front end or getting setup with the DME on the back end. They informed us that nothing was available around the monorail but they did have the Animal Kingdom Lodge and a savannah view no less. Knowing that next to Halloween, animals were the kiddos favorite we went for it.
We probably bought into the hype a little too much. We both still talk about our club level experience at the Yacht Club as a high water mark trip. So it was probably a little much to think we would be hugging giraffes off our balcony, but that is exactly what we fell into before the trip.
DAY 1: Southwest Flight into MCO, Mears Car to AKL Kidani Village
-We got out of the airport with no problems, opt'd to splurge on the Mears Car so we could have an afternoon at the pool to relax. Checking in there was no problem as everything done through Davids Vacation Rental was a reservation that we could add fast passes/etc to.
Then came, 'the walk'.
For anyone who has experienced this before and those who may consider after. It is an experience to be walking to your room. Then still walking. Then. Still. Walking. Then meeting another poor soul in the hallway who saw our luggage and cheerfully said 'Welcome to longest hallway in WDW'. On the third floor rooms start at 770X and end at 778X. We were 777X. We had a fitbit and measured the walk to the pool from our room and back. It was 1/2 a mile. So to go grab a coffee in the morning, then back, then to the bus/parks, then home is adding a mile to your daily walking total. All well and good for fitness buffs, but I swear people were renting Jazzies just for use in that hallway.
Then came the 'savannah' view. Let's go back earlier to the vision of our family Xmas card and us hugging a giraffe. Instead we were facing away from the main building with it's picture perfect savannah and were given a fenced in zebra who liked to sleep and an ostrich. Hype meet reality.
After unpacking, and joking(at first) about the walk back down to the pool we got changed and relaxed poolside with some drinks. The pool, slides and splash pad areas are on par with any other Disney hotel so fun and no complaints there. The lack of a quick serve beyond private dining was a little odd so we jumped next door to the Jambo house that evening. Then another expedition everest level trek back to our room.
DAY 2: MK, Cinderella's Royal Table, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
The next day we were up early with the intention of hitting MK, taking a break then returning for the party. On a whim I had a called a few months prior to inquire about dining reservations at be our guest for lunch and there wasn't anything early afternoon, the person did say 'I just had a cancelation for Cinderella's Royal Table if you want that'. I said sure and it was a lovely meal. Our daughter loved seeing the princesses, the food was great and eating in the castle was a very cool experience.
Crowd level for MK was at most a 5.5/10. There were waits but beyond the current hot rides nothing seemed to be higher than 20 minutes. There was a definite lack of tour groups be they High School, Brazilian or otherwise which was pleasant. The no selfie stick signage was up and from our trip in January there was none of the dodging that happened then which was nice as well!
MNSSHP. I'll start off by saying if you, the significant other or kiddos are halloween fans you HAVE TO GO TO THIS PARTY! From the candy, to the boo to you parade, to the fireworks it's all so worth the extra price of admission. We weren't always parade people, but the sparks flying off the shovels, Goofy's cotton candy smelling float and the infectious 'boo to you' song our DD is still singing, might be converting us. The fireworks were also a huge treat as well as seeing the park dressed up at night! We were back to our hotel a little after 11p and still talking about how worth it everything was.
DAY 3: AK, Downtown Disney, HS, Epcot
You ever have one of those crazy 'hey let's do this...' but everyone actually agrees to it?! The prior evening was discussing how we would sleep in, go to AK for it's a bugs life, then head to downtown disney and do T-Rex for lunch. I decided to see if there were fast passes for Toy Story MWM and there were at 4:30p. So we were to sleep in, go to AK, then DTD, then HS for TSMWM.
Instead everyone was up and ready before 9:00a and we walked right into AK, hit the safari, rode EE, then hit it's a bugs life before 10:30. So we went to DTD and got our souvenir shopping done before lunch. During the meal our daughter asked if she could go on the Disney junior ride so we added that to our list as well as character meets for her.
It was a little more crowded than we thought HS would be but still walked into the Disney Junior show, then waited about 10 minutes each to see Jake and Doc McStuffins. After that we walked on with our FP's to Toy Story and had a great ride there. The construction going for Star Wars Launch bay was up next to the Disney Junior and the SW hype train is in full affect which is nice to see as I'm one of those who didn't exactly jump through the ceiling when Avatar land was announced.
About this time we were considering heading back to our hotel, we joked that the walk would be the same to just go to Epcot when the craziness started. We thought about just maybe catching the fireworks, then added pizza in Italy so our 'sleep in' day turned into 3 parks and DTD!
DAY 4: O'Hana, DME, Home As is custom we had to sneak a character meal in, Chef Mickey was only available at 7:25a and seeing the walk and location of our hotel we figured there was no way that was happening. We didn't do O'Hana when we stayed at Poly 3 years ago so figured we would check there and got a time at 10:00 that would leave us enough time to check out, check our bags, go to Poly then return to AKL to catch the DME.
The family style portions/serving was nice, food came out quick and they were spot on with refills. Only downside was the somewhat limited choice(you get a platter of mickey waffles, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon and home fries) when compared to other character dining but the food made/delivered was delicious! We were seated along the outer windows facing the pool and lagoon so the view was great and awesome cap to the trip. We jumped the monorail to MK, then a bus back to AKL with time to spare before the bus ride to the airport!
HIGHLIGHTS: MNSSHP, I know people discuss it all the time, but well worth the extra $
Downtown Disney Refurb: Looks like a lot going in and definitely needed with how crowded the shopping/restaurants
LOWLIGHTS: Animal Kingdom Lodge, Maybe your savannah experience was different but the walking, hotel layout and real lack of the usual 'deluxe' amenities that we've come expect just didn't make this hotel a must revisit. Even our animal loving daughter didn't have that 'oooo ahhh' moment when she went out on our patio the first time. We got a great deal on the room so it isn't anything to make a stink about, but if you are wavering on where to stay think of the additional 10-15 minutes each way you have to add for even the most minor items.
The original plan months ago was to try out the Davids Vacation Club Rental website and stay at a DVC on the monorail. This was going to be a short trip that began just to go, have fun at MK then take our DD to the party so we can take in what everyone else is bragging about.
Can't say enough good things about Davids Vacation Club. When our quick 'overnight' mutated into 4 days and adding our mother in law they took everything in stride and there were no issues with our reservations on the front end or getting setup with the DME on the back end. They informed us that nothing was available around the monorail but they did have the Animal Kingdom Lodge and a savannah view no less. Knowing that next to Halloween, animals were the kiddos favorite we went for it.
We probably bought into the hype a little too much. We both still talk about our club level experience at the Yacht Club as a high water mark trip. So it was probably a little much to think we would be hugging giraffes off our balcony, but that is exactly what we fell into before the trip.
DAY 1: Southwest Flight into MCO, Mears Car to AKL Kidani Village
-We got out of the airport with no problems, opt'd to splurge on the Mears Car so we could have an afternoon at the pool to relax. Checking in there was no problem as everything done through Davids Vacation Rental was a reservation that we could add fast passes/etc to.
Then came, 'the walk'.
For anyone who has experienced this before and those who may consider after. It is an experience to be walking to your room. Then still walking. Then. Still. Walking. Then meeting another poor soul in the hallway who saw our luggage and cheerfully said 'Welcome to longest hallway in WDW'. On the third floor rooms start at 770X and end at 778X. We were 777X. We had a fitbit and measured the walk to the pool from our room and back. It was 1/2 a mile. So to go grab a coffee in the morning, then back, then to the bus/parks, then home is adding a mile to your daily walking total. All well and good for fitness buffs, but I swear people were renting Jazzies just for use in that hallway.
Then came the 'savannah' view. Let's go back earlier to the vision of our family Xmas card and us hugging a giraffe. Instead we were facing away from the main building with it's picture perfect savannah and were given a fenced in zebra who liked to sleep and an ostrich. Hype meet reality.
After unpacking, and joking(at first) about the walk back down to the pool we got changed and relaxed poolside with some drinks. The pool, slides and splash pad areas are on par with any other Disney hotel so fun and no complaints there. The lack of a quick serve beyond private dining was a little odd so we jumped next door to the Jambo house that evening. Then another expedition everest level trek back to our room.
DAY 2: MK, Cinderella's Royal Table, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
The next day we were up early with the intention of hitting MK, taking a break then returning for the party. On a whim I had a called a few months prior to inquire about dining reservations at be our guest for lunch and there wasn't anything early afternoon, the person did say 'I just had a cancelation for Cinderella's Royal Table if you want that'. I said sure and it was a lovely meal. Our daughter loved seeing the princesses, the food was great and eating in the castle was a very cool experience.
Crowd level for MK was at most a 5.5/10. There were waits but beyond the current hot rides nothing seemed to be higher than 20 minutes. There was a definite lack of tour groups be they High School, Brazilian or otherwise which was pleasant. The no selfie stick signage was up and from our trip in January there was none of the dodging that happened then which was nice as well!
MNSSHP. I'll start off by saying if you, the significant other or kiddos are halloween fans you HAVE TO GO TO THIS PARTY! From the candy, to the boo to you parade, to the fireworks it's all so worth the extra price of admission. We weren't always parade people, but the sparks flying off the shovels, Goofy's cotton candy smelling float and the infectious 'boo to you' song our DD is still singing, might be converting us. The fireworks were also a huge treat as well as seeing the park dressed up at night! We were back to our hotel a little after 11p and still talking about how worth it everything was.
DAY 3: AK, Downtown Disney, HS, Epcot
You ever have one of those crazy 'hey let's do this...' but everyone actually agrees to it?! The prior evening was discussing how we would sleep in, go to AK for it's a bugs life, then head to downtown disney and do T-Rex for lunch. I decided to see if there were fast passes for Toy Story MWM and there were at 4:30p. So we were to sleep in, go to AK, then DTD, then HS for TSMWM.
Instead everyone was up and ready before 9:00a and we walked right into AK, hit the safari, rode EE, then hit it's a bugs life before 10:30. So we went to DTD and got our souvenir shopping done before lunch. During the meal our daughter asked if she could go on the Disney junior ride so we added that to our list as well as character meets for her.
It was a little more crowded than we thought HS would be but still walked into the Disney Junior show, then waited about 10 minutes each to see Jake and Doc McStuffins. After that we walked on with our FP's to Toy Story and had a great ride there. The construction going for Star Wars Launch bay was up next to the Disney Junior and the SW hype train is in full affect which is nice to see as I'm one of those who didn't exactly jump through the ceiling when Avatar land was announced.
About this time we were considering heading back to our hotel, we joked that the walk would be the same to just go to Epcot when the craziness started. We thought about just maybe catching the fireworks, then added pizza in Italy so our 'sleep in' day turned into 3 parks and DTD!
DAY 4: O'Hana, DME, Home As is custom we had to sneak a character meal in, Chef Mickey was only available at 7:25a and seeing the walk and location of our hotel we figured there was no way that was happening. We didn't do O'Hana when we stayed at Poly 3 years ago so figured we would check there and got a time at 10:00 that would leave us enough time to check out, check our bags, go to Poly then return to AKL to catch the DME.
The family style portions/serving was nice, food came out quick and they were spot on with refills. Only downside was the somewhat limited choice(you get a platter of mickey waffles, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon and home fries) when compared to other character dining but the food made/delivered was delicious! We were seated along the outer windows facing the pool and lagoon so the view was great and awesome cap to the trip. We jumped the monorail to MK, then a bus back to AKL with time to spare before the bus ride to the airport!
HIGHLIGHTS: MNSSHP, I know people discuss it all the time, but well worth the extra $
Downtown Disney Refurb: Looks like a lot going in and definitely needed with how crowded the shopping/restaurants
LOWLIGHTS: Animal Kingdom Lodge, Maybe your savannah experience was different but the walking, hotel layout and real lack of the usual 'deluxe' amenities that we've come expect just didn't make this hotel a must revisit. Even our animal loving daughter didn't have that 'oooo ahhh' moment when she went out on our patio the first time. We got a great deal on the room so it isn't anything to make a stink about, but if you are wavering on where to stay think of the additional 10-15 minutes each way you have to add for even the most minor items.
Last edited:
