Trip Report Wowww - Spring Break 2018 at Saratoga Springs

We've been back almost a week, so I guess I better get this started! :D

Who: Me and my husband, R
Why: Spring break at my work
When: March 27-31
Where: Saratoga Springs Resort (1st time)

I worked on Monday, but I took Tuesday and Wednesday off, then we were out for spring break the rest of the week. I like taking advantage of these school breaks when I can, even though this is the craziest time for crowds outside of Christmas.

Monday night we dropped our pup-pup off at the dog-sitter's and felt AWFUL. We hate leaving him. They take great care of him and he has another dog there to play with, but it's still hard to leave him behind, especially when we have a night at home without him to snuggle with. I know you all think I'm a nut :hilarious:

We got up Tuesday morning and planned to leave the house by 7:30. I knew there would be some traffic on 240, but the Memphis airport is always totally dead, so I wasn't worried about getting there 2 hours early. Traffic was sluggish as expected, but we got there at about 9 for our 10:30 flight.



On our way into the airport! I felt like a major goober with my jacket AND my Donald Duck suitcase. It was Disney overload....the guy in the elevator smugly asked where we were going :hilarious: Of course he knew...

We checked our bag and I was trying the Magical Express luggage tags for the first time since I think our honeymoon. I was nervous, but thought we'd be fine if it arrived late. We both had a change of clothes in our carry-on.

As we expected, security took no time at all. We have pre-check, but even without it, Memphis is so quick (unless you get their training line!). Pre-check is helpful in Nashville though, where we'll fly out of next month! Also, obvs it's helpful at MCO.



I always get stupid expensive water at the airport. I usually get SmartWater, but I tried Evian this time...not a fan. But now I know! We didn't have a huge wait at our gate, but long enough to get annoyed with a fellow passenger and her phone conversation :rolleyes:. I must be a magnet for loud talkers, because I swear they always sit by me. Can they not see I'm trying to read?!

We had a super empty flight, so we were able to get a window and aisle with a seat between us, which I like. I was hungry and all they had was peanuts...which I don't like. I mean, they're fine, but I much prefer pretzels! I remembered I had a larabar in my bag, so I ate that.

Soon enough we were landing and since we used our Disney luggage tags, we walked straight to the Magical Express! We both had to pee and had trouble finding open bathrooms, which has happened to me before at MCO! So weird.

Our scheduled landing was 1:25, but we were already on a bus and pulling away at 1:45. Great timing so far! I was a little worried about our room being ready though...no text yet. This ALWAYS happens when I make room requests. If I don't make room requests, I almost always have my room assignment before noon. So once we got to the resort (2nd stop), I went to the desk to check on the room.

If I'd realized the quick service place was right there, we would have eaten first, but alas, I didn't explore enough. The cast member did some clicking and got us a room in the Paddock...nothing in Congress Park like I wanted, but it turned out to be fine. It was FINALLY time to eat something. Took me a bit to figure out how their cafeteria works, but we got it.

Their food place and gift shop are all one thing, so you order food, then you can pay for that and your store purchases at the same place...then you go sit down and they bring your food. It's kind of weird, honestly, but it was never busy in there so it was fine.



The inside of the dining area is pretty!



R got a spicy Italian beef sandwich. It looked AMAZING to me, but I tried it and it wasn't my fav. He liked it though.



I got the Bistro buffalo chicken panini, which looked way more awesome in the picture. It tasted good though. It perked me up, too. I didn't realize how hungry I was!

When we finished eating, we took off toward our room. We didn't get lost, but we FELT lost the whole time. There's not much signage, and finding how to get into our building was super confusing. We entered on the far end in a kind of hidden door. Thankfully our room was the first one past the staircase on the 2nd floor, so it was convenient to the first door we found :joyfull:

Sorry this has been so text heavy! Promise it won't be like that the whole time.


The room was pretty dull. I was not big on Saratoga Springs, if you can't tell :hilarious: I was sad because I was excited to stay there, but it just wasn't shaping up to be one of our favs! I guess we just know what we like now, and we don't like these big, spread out resorts. I did like the view from the balcony though!



Excuse our junk already laying around. I didn't even pay attention when booking that it's only one bed :cry: We share a king at home, so this would be different... Usually if there are two beds, we each take one :hilarious:



I did like all the storage in that entertainment center! Very convenient!




The burnt out light bulb was a nice touch :hilarious:



I changed into my shorts, and we headed out to catch our first fast pass in MK!
 
Last edited:

LeighM

Well-Known Member
Everyone will always make fun of you until they need something...
When I was in the Dominican last year with my friends they gasped at my 50 pound suitcase --- until it was like Oh I wish I brought "etc" and I had it :joyfull:

I always try to get my suitcase to the 40 pound weight limit - I have to leave some room for WDW purchases :)
 

Fankle

Active Member
We have the standard mickey wine stoppers. Use them all the time and they bring back great memories. I'd love to see a pic of the haunted mansion one. I'll have to look out for it!
 

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Since I don't have a Pre-Trip Report to post in, I wanted to post a couple of things here:

1. R and I have lost about 10lbs each this month in preparation for our trip next week! We started counting our calories on like the 2nd, and have stuck to it. I think I have another 12 to go to be in a "healthy" body weight, but meh...I'm happy where I am if I can maintain it. But we won't be counting calories at Disney (because they don't exist) so we're excited to splurge a bit. Yachtsman here we come!

2. I remembered a few days ago that I never added Magical Express to our reservations (I have done this before...I never learn), so I added it, fully expecting no letter because it was less than 2 weeks out. Well, today I came home from lunch to a UPS Express Mail envelope with our Magical Express letter and tag! WHAT?! I was so pleasantly surprised that they did that without me even asking for it. Since our flight gets there at 8pm, I was going to just get our bag, but now I feel like I should use the luggage service!

Have any of you guys had a flight arrive at 8pm or around there before? I am curious what time we should expect the bag if we let them bring it. I don't really want to be jarred awake at 2am, honestly.
 

krause

Well-Known Member
Since I don't have a Pre-Trip Report to post in, I wanted to post a couple of things here:

1. R and I have lost about 10lbs each this month in preparation for our trip next week! We started counting our calories on like the 2nd, and have stuck to it. I think I have another 12 to go to be in a "healthy" body weight, but meh...I'm happy where I am if I can maintain it. But we won't be counting calories at Disney (because they don't exist) so we're excited to splurge a bit. Yachtsman here we come!

2. I remembered a few days ago that I never added Magical Express to our reservations (I have done this before...I never learn), so I added it, fully expecting no letter because it was less than 2 weeks out. Well, today I came home from lunch to a UPS Express Mail envelope with our Magical Express letter and tag! WHAT?! I was so pleasantly surprised that they did that without me even asking for it. Since our flight gets there at 8pm, I was going to just get our bag, but now I feel like I should use the luggage service!

Have any of you guys had a flight arrive at 8pm or around there before? I am curious what time we should expect the bag if we let them bring it. I don't really want to be jarred awake at 2am, honestly.

1. Congrats to both of you!! Calories definitely don’t count in Disney and I think as long as you’re mindful of what you’re eating, the extra calories would balance out with all the walking you do and you’ll for sure be able to maintain 😊

2. We always arrive late and I just let my hubby grab the door at 2am haha. I do believe you can request to have your bag left at bell services and then just call for it in the morning? Just make sure you have overnight stuff in your carry on. I think they only guarantee your bag 4 hours after you arrive at the resort (for international flights at least).
 

krisri18

Well-Known Member
Since I don't have a Pre-Trip Report to post in, I wanted to post a couple of things here:

1. R and I have lost about 10lbs each this month in preparation for our trip next week! We started counting our calories on like the 2nd, and have stuck to it. I think I have another 12 to go to be in a "healthy" body weight, but meh...I'm happy where I am if I can maintain it. But we won't be counting calories at Disney (because they don't exist) so we're excited to splurge a bit. Yachtsman here we come!

2. I remembered a few days ago that I never added Magical Express to our reservations (I have done this before...I never learn), so I added it, fully expecting no letter because it was less than 2 weeks out. Well, today I came home from lunch to a UPS Express Mail envelope with our Magical Express letter and tag! WHAT?! I was so pleasantly surprised that they did that without me even asking for it. Since our flight gets there at 8pm, I was going to just get our bag, but now I feel like I should use the luggage service!

Have any of you guys had a flight arrive at 8pm or around there before? I am curious what time we should expect the bag if we let them bring it. I don't really want to be jarred awake at 2am, honestly.
We've landed at 10pm before (due to delays), it was close to midnight when we got to the resort and another 90 mins before we saw our luggage.
 

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Have any of you guys had a flight arrive at 8pm or around there before? I am curious what time we should expect the bag if we let them bring it. I don't really want to be jarred awake at 2am, honestly.

We once arrived around 9pm and just opted get our bags before heading to DME. We barely had any wait for our bags at baggage claim, but there was a long wait for our DME bus to leave and then more of a wait to get to our resort (since we were third or fourth resort in their drop off order), so it was after 10:30 before we actually got to our resort and started working on getting our room. Not saying every trip this late will be like this, but I was really happy we just grabbed our bags.
 

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Same boat as you! I think we will just pick up our gear from the baggage claim.
We've landed at 10pm before (due to delays), it was close to midnight when we got to the resort and another 90 mins before we saw our luggage.
We once arrived around 9pm and just opted get our bags before heading to DME. We barely had any wait for our bags at baggage claim, but there was a long wait for our DME bus to leave and then more of a wait to get to our resort (since we were third or fourth resort in their drop off order), so it was after 10:30 before we actually got to our resort and started working on getting our room. Not saying every trip this late will be like this, but I was really happy we just grabbed our bags.
BLEAH...I guess we'll just get our bag. I enjoyed just going to the bus straight from the plane last time, but I guess if I don't want to be woken up, that's the best option. That's what we've done every other trip but spring break, so we're used to it.

I feel bad that they sent our luggage tag though! R says I'm being silly...it's not like it hurts them...I just know how much express mail costs :hilarious:
 

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
1. Congrats to both of you!! Calories definitely don’t count in Disney and I think as long as you’re mindful of what you’re eating, the extra calories would balance out with all the walking you do and you’ll for sure be able to maintain 😊

2. We always arrive late and I just let my hubby grab the door at 2am haha. I do believe you can request to have your bag left at bell services and then just call for it in the morning? Just make sure you have overnight stuff in your carry on. I think they only guarantee your bag 4 hours after you arrive at the resort (for international flights at least).

Thanks! I doubt we'll be super mindful, but I think I'll probably have to watch the fried foods if I don't want to be in pain. If I cut out fried food for a while, my tummy is always upset if I go back to it. But um....beer. That's the main thing :hungry: We'll go back to being good when we get back I guess. Hopefully we won't gain it all back in one week :hilarious:

I will ask about having them hold it! That would actually be awesome. I could just run down and get it the next morning and grab breakfast. I can put my pjs in R's backpack.
 

PacNWTigger

Well-Known Member
Since I don't have a Pre-Trip Report to post in, I wanted to post a couple of things here:

1. R and I have lost about 10lbs each this month in preparation for our trip next week! We started counting our calories on like the 2nd, and have stuck to it. I think I have another 12 to go to be in a "healthy" body weight, but meh...I'm happy where I am if I can maintain it. But we won't be counting calories at Disney (because they don't exist) so we're excited to splurge a bit. Yachtsman here we come!

2. I remembered a few days ago that I never added Magical Express to our reservations (I have done this before...I never learn), so I added it, fully expecting no letter because it was less than 2 weeks out. Well, today I came home from lunch to a UPS Express Mail envelope with our Magical Express letter and tag! WHAT?! I was so pleasantly surprised that they did that without me even asking for it. Since our flight gets there at 8pm, I was going to just get our bag, but now I feel like I should use the luggage service!

Have any of you guys had a flight arrive at 8pm or around there before? I am curious what time we should expect the bag if we let them bring it. I don't really want to be jarred awake at 2am, honestly.
Congrats on the weight loss, and I wholeheartedly agree that there should never be calorie counting at Disney because you always end up walking it off, right?? ;)

We are flying in at a similar time on the 5th, and I don't think we are going to do the luggage service. They say it can take up to three hours (sometimes more), and after a day of flying we don't want to wait up or be woken up for our luggage to arrive at our room.
 

Megbutnotmegan

Well-Known Member
My mom and I once did a late flight (which is unusual for us because we are usually 6 am flight types). So we checked bags with yellow tags not even thinking about timing. We were staying at Pop and so our bags said AK for resort area and they took our bags to AKL instead of Pop. It was a LONG night but we got a tour of the Pop luggage storage area and became BFFs with the bell services cast. We learned that the Pop bell service cast members have a fierce basketball rivalry with the All Star bell service cast members. So yeah probably you want to pick up your bags unless you want to make some new friends. 😂
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
I

I bring everything but the kitchen sink too! I've got multiple allergy meds, inhalers, plus all the "just in case" meds. I've handed out cough drops to strangers at paraded, Band-Aids to the lady in line for ice cream who was complaining of a blister, you name it. I get teased for packing it all but when you're halfway through WS and need a Pepto, suddenly you're the hero!
I'm so glad I'm not the only person who does this! I've ALWAYS been this way. In high school, my best friend called my purse "The killer purse" because it was big and heavy, but it had everything. We'd be on a speech and debate trip and everyone knew I was the one who had nail clippers, a sewing kit, Ibuprophen, immodium, safety pins, bandaids, pens and pencils, etc. And back then, I also carried a backpack full of toys/stuff to do....coloring books and crayons, silly putty...I don't even remember everything I had in that bag. But even kids from other schools knew where to go if they were bored or sick. Now my problem is that the straps on my purses keep breaking because I carry so much stuff with me.
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
1. Congrats to both of you!! Calories definitely don’t count in Disney and I think as long as you’re mindful of what you’re eating, the extra calories would balance out with all the walking you do and you’ll for sure be able to maintain 😊

2. We always arrive late and I just let my hubby grab the door at 2am haha. I do believe you can request to have your bag left at bell services and then just call for it in the morning? Just make sure you have overnight stuff in your carry on. I think they only guarantee your bag 4 hours after you arrive at the resort (for international flights at least).
I didn't think you could even have the bag service for international flights. We were told we would have to get our own bags, so that's what we did. I thought bag service was only for domestic flights. We stood around waiting forever for one of our bags because for some reason, they apparently used 2 baggage carousels next to each other, and all but one of our bags came out on the one, and we stood there waiting for the last bag. We thought maybe it had gotten lost, so DH went to ask about it, and he walked past the other carousel and was like....oh hey, there's our other bag! Who knows how long it had been going around there. We grabbed it, went to the DME lines, and were able to get right on and we were the last people to get on. If the baggage service is available for international flights, I'll have to look into that for next summer!
 

krause

Well-Known Member
I didn't think you could even have the bag service for international flights. We were told we would have to get our own bags, so that's what we did. I thought bag service was only for domestic flights. We stood around waiting forever for one of our bags because for some reason, they apparently used 2 baggage carousels next to each other, and all but one of our bags came out on the one, and we stood there waiting for the last bag. We thought maybe it had gotten lost, so DH went to ask about it, and he walked past the other carousel and was like....oh hey, there's our other bag! Who knows how long it had been going around there. We grabbed it, went to the DME lines, and were able to get right on and we were the last people to get on. If the baggage service is available for international flights, I'll have to look into that for next summer!

We’re from Canada so I’m not sure if that makes a difference! They mail us out the yellow tags. We don’t get our MagicBands though we have to pick those up at check in 🤷🏻‍♀️
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
We’re from Canada so I’m not sure if that makes a difference! They mail us out the yellow tags. We don’t get our MagicBands though we have to pick those up at check in 🤷🏻‍♀️
Ah, we didn't get yellow tags. And we don't get our magic bands either. The only thing we got was sent through email and we had to print it off. I'll do some sluthing, though...maybe they've changed it since our last trip. Thanks!
 

krause

Well-Known Member
Ah, we didn't get yellow tags. And we don't get our magic bands either. The only thing we got was sent through email and we had to print it off. I'll do some sluthing, though...maybe they've changed it since our last trip. Thanks!

No problem! We still have to fill out the online DME request form in advance too 😊
 

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
My mom and I once did a late flight (which is unusual for us because we are usually 6 am flight types). So we checked bags with yellow tags not even thinking about timing. We were staying at Pop and so our bags said AK for resort area and they took our bags to AKL instead of Pop. It was a LONG night but we got a tour of the Pop luggage storage area and became BFFs with the bell services cast. We learned that the Pop bell service cast members have a fierce basketball rivalry with the All Star bell service cast members. So yeah probably you want to pick up your bags unless you want to make some new friends. 😂

Oh that sounds like a NIGHTMARE. I would be so frustrated. I guess if the staff was fun that makes it a little easier, but still...what a bummer! I think we'll just go ahead and pick up our bag, even though I know we're going to be hungry and just ready to get to the resort :hilarious:

I keep meaning to ask, whats the name of your shirt shop again? They are so cute!
Aww thanks! It's kristimcmurry.etsy.com. I used to sell photos on there back in college and for a while after, so I just repurposed the shop.
 

Megbutnotmegan

Well-Known Member
Oh that sounds like a NIGHTMARE. I would be so frustrated. I guess if the staff was fun that makes it a little easier, but still...what a bummer! I think we'll just go ahead and pick up our bag, even though I know we're going to be hungry and just ready to get to the resort :hilarious:


Aww thanks! It's kristimcmurry.etsy.com. I used to sell photos on there back in college and for a while after, so I just repurposed the shop.
It was definitely a nightmare made easier by good cast members! You’re making a good decision.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom