Raiders of the Lost Park – Final Thoughts
First of all, thank you to everyone who has joined my report, commented, given a like, or just read along. I truly appreciate you taking your time to read about my little adventure. I hope I was able to entertain you a bit with my first trip report. It was a big time commitment but also a lot of fun to relive my family's memories of the trip and definitely worthwhile.
Overall thoughts on Resort:
I was perfectly content with All-Star Music. I wasn’t my preferred choice, since we had become used to Moderate resorts and missed the extra space and double sink, but we made it work. In case you forget, I booked ASMu because we could get the free dining deal. For a family of four, it’s tight to cram suitcases and bathroom stuff into a single sink and closet, but we managed. We also didn’t spend a whole lot of time in the room. If you like relaxing on the balcony after a long day, this is not the resort for you. Our room was nice and quiet, being in the 3rd floor by parking. It was away from the main pool, which from a noise perspective is a benefit.
Overall thoughts on food:
Free dining is nice for the savings. For 4 of us, it was a $2000 value. I couldn’t turn that down. Yes, I’m aware I paid rack rate for ASMu room, but I came out on top money wise.
But I am not a fan of the dining plan. I like to have flexibility and do both QS and TS. After a couple days trying to eat both lunch and supper, we realized my family just doesn’t like two big meals. We like breakfast and supper, with snacks in between. From a value perspective, breakfast doesn’t make sense on the dining plan. Unless it was free, I would not get the dining plan again.
As for the ASMu resort food court, I enjoyed breakfast, although had mostly Mickey waffles. Lunch/Dinner was…meh. Not bad overall (although a couple misses) but not great. Just fine. The Moderate food courts we’ve visited had more selection outside of burgers, nuggets, and pizza.
Overall thoughts on transportation:
We had no major problems with buses, other than a few waits that were longer than we would have liked. I really did like having a rental car for going to the parks (other than MK). Relying on your own schedule rather than Disney buses’ schedule is refreshing. Despite the cost, I would seriously consider having a rental car again.
As for our next trip? I have no idea.
The first problem is finances. The cost of flying four of us to Orlando was $3000 (Canadian). Even in US$ it’s still not cheap. When you add in the cost of everything else, I need a breather for a year or two.
The second problem is when to go. Years ago I didn’t mind pulling the girls out of school to travel at (slightly) less crowded times in April and October. Since they are older now, it is harder for them to recover when they miss school time, especially in Brianna’s case who is now in her first year of university. That leaves the summer, but the August heat really hit us hard. If we do a summer trip again, I might actually consider staying offsite in a rental house with private pool, so we can rest and take plenty of breaks in between park time. To be honest, I find less benefit to staying on site. You can see with this trip, we rarely took advantage of EMH – and that time is cut back compared to what it used to be. The 60 day FP is nice, but something I might be willing to sacrifice. Of course, there are many resorts I would love to stay at, so I have no idea. Maybe stay both on site and off site? Arrghh, I don’t know.
Well, I have lots to consider before another trip. I have a strong desire to visit WDW in 2021 for the 50th, like most of us do I expect. Can I wait 3 years for another trip? Well, 2019 is too early for my bank account and I don’t want to deal with the Galaxy’s Edge crowds in 2020, so it may well be 2021 or perhaps even later. I love Walt Disney World, but adventure is out there and I would like to see other places too.
After all, there’s a great big beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of every day. I know that one day I will stroll down Main Street USA with some dust in my eye and a smile in my heart. Until then, see you real soon.