Trip Report - Walt Disney World

August 2009

Submitted by The Lanigan Family

From the moment you leave the airport and get on the magical express to Disney world you feel the excitement building. Don’t worry about your luggage, in Disney fashion everything magically appears later in your room. (As long as you put your tags on your luggage). This is my 2nd trip to Disney world. We loved our first trip so much we joined the Disney Vacation Club (DVC). I went to Disney with my family which is myself, husband and two children ages 6, and 2, and of course grandma. My sister’s family also came with us; they have 4 children ranging from age 7 to 19. She is my DVC partner.

 

We are here, welcome home! Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa. We are staying in the Paddock area in a two bedroom villa. One room has a king size bed and an attached bathroom with a sunken tub, the other bedroom has two queen bed and an attached bathroom. Both rooms are joined by a living room and kitchen. There is also a washer/dryer in our room off the kitchen. (This is very convenient). We are staying here for five days then transferring over to the Beach Club villas. The hotel bell service will transfer our entire luggage to the next resort for us. Saratoga Springs hotel is very beautifully decorated and Grounds are park like. We enjoyed our stay here.

 

We visited Down Town Disney this time, and I loved it. There is great shopping and dining. At down town Disney we went on the new attraction Characters in flight, which is a giant tethered helium balloon ride that’s goes up 400 ft above down town Disney. The view is spectacular, and I was told it is even more magical at night.

  

 

Next stop the Beach Cub Villas, which is wonderfully located walking distance to EPCOT. The atmosphere around the beach club villas is so relaxing. You feel like you are on two different vacations, one vacation at the theme parks and the other at the beach. Most of the Beach club pools have sand in them, and the children’s pool also has a sand dune in the middle of the pool, equipped with pails and shovels courtesy of the beach club hotel. So far this hotel is our favorite, but we can’t wait to visit more Disney resorts.

 

We purchased a hopper pass so we visited all the theme parks, which are Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal kingdom. With the hopper pass you are not tied down to one park a day. We were able to start out in one place and end up in another, which is more convenient for my family.

 

We enjoyed all of the restaurants we ate in this year at Disney. We did not have a bad meal or service the whole vacation here. The restaurants I listed below are family friendly, as is everything in Disney. Just know your children’s best time to eat in a restaurant. (Avoiding cranky/tired times) My oldest son did fall asleep a few times at dinner and the restaurants were very accommodating to us. They let us bring in a stroller so he can sleep in it, and also kept his food hot till he woke up. This is a list of the places we ate, and we do recommend them to you. You can look them all up online to get an idea of what there menu offers.

 

The restaurants that require reservations we strongly recommend you make them. Without a reservation the wait time to be seated can be lengthy.

 

B = Breakfast

L = Lunch

D = Dinner

R = Reservations recommended

Q = Quick services

 

Yak & Yeti: Location, Animal Kingdom (L, D, R)

The Plaza Restaurant: Location, Magic Kingdom (L, D, R)

Wolfgang Puck express marketplace: Location, Downtown Disney (L, D, Q)

T-Rex: Location, Downtown Disney (L, D, R)

Teppan Edo: Location, EPCOT (L, D, R)

Le Cellier Steakhouse: Location, EPCOT (L, D, R)

Flying Fish: Location, Board Walk Resort area (D, R)

Breakfast buffet at Cape May Café Character breakfast: Location, Beach Club Resort (B, R)

Playhouse Disney’s Play N Dine at Hollywood & Vine Character Breakfast: Location, Hollywood Studios (B, L, R)

 

Hope you enjoy your stay at Disney,

The Lanigan Family