Sheraton Vistana Villages

In the past 4 years, we have visited the Sheraton Vistana Villages, located on International Drive twice.  We had a one bedroom and two bedroom suite in the St. Augustine section and had a fantastic experience both times.  The rooms were very nicely decorated and clean.  Housekeeping was wonderful.  Any requests were handled promptly and courteously.  There are many buildings in this hotel, but we prefer the "newer" areas, specfically the St. Augustine area.  This is where the pirate ship pool is.  We never even made it to the main pool both trips (guess we should book another for research right? ;)).  The pirate ship pool is huge and a ton of fun!  A tiki bar next to it and very family friendly. 

The rooms are HUGE!  The kitchens had huge islands that I wish my own kitchen had.  Utensils and basic kitchen items (soap, towels, pots, bakeware etc.) were included.  Dining area to fit 8 people.  A screened in porch that was a joy to sit in when the kids went to sleep.  Comfy couches.  DVD player.  The master bathroom had a huge jacuzzi tub.  Almost too big shower stall as it got cold it was so spacious!  Separate toilet room.  Shared bathroom was standard with double sink.  Beds were really comfortable.  Washer and dryer was great.

The only thing we did not like about this hotel was we asked for a crib. I called almost a half dozen times before our trip to confirm it was a full size crib.  We had an almost 2-year-old who would not sleep in a pack and play.  The crib arrived and it was one of the junior cribs.  This was all they had we were informed.  It took a couple days of searching but we found a wonderful crib rental company that helped us.

Definitely one of our favorite off-site hotels.  Highly recommend. Note this is also a timeshare property and they will call to provide you with a "complimentary welcome package" but it is supposedly a timeshare sales talk.  We skipped it each time and never heard back from them.  You can go through a timeshare presentation and I think they give you Disney tickets or whatever the promotion is.  Time is money but it may be worth it if you have a few hours to spare and may be interested in the resort.

Here are some pictures. 

Our building.

Picture of the one bedroom with Taylor's crib in the living room.  Sorry for the mess...it was taken in the middle of the trip.  The crib we rented outside of the hotel.



Kitchen area

Big tub in the master bathroom.

Where to stay? Onsite vs. Offsite

One of the biggest decisions you will make on your Disney vacation is where to stay.  Overall, we prefer to stay on Disney property but we have done both and found pros and cons to both.  A later post will address hotels specifically.  Here is our overview. 

On Disney Property
Pros:

• You are right in the "action".  You are still on Disney property and feel like it 24/7.  Each resort is located a "hop, skip and a jump" from one of the parks or Downtown Disney.
• Disney transportation is fantastic.  Forget about your rental car...take a bus, boat or monorail where ever you want to go at Disney World. 
• Hotels are available in various price levels. 
• Hotels are themed so while you left the parks, you're still surrounded by Mickey and friends.
• Kids programs are amazing.  I'm talking about pool activities, craft events, trivia nights, etc. not a drop off program.
• There is some sort of food option available at all hotels.  In the Value resorts there are food courts.  Every other resort (except for a couple Moderates) has a restaurant and usually another quick serve option.
• Disney's Magical Express (transportation to and from the airport) is included and eliminates the need for any type of transportation.  Plus you check your bags at the airport (for most airlines), and they arrive at your hotel that evening...check them and forget them!  Great convenience!

Cons:

• Disney transportation can take a while.  At some hotels and during some times (especially after park closing or fireworks), you may need to wait multiple buses before getting on one.
• Disney's Magical Express can take a while as well.  We've waited almost an hour to get on a bus to our resort.  Had to wait to fill up the bus and then drop off everyone at different hotels.  Depends on how old your children are and their personalities, but this can be a pain.
• Sometimes you need a break from Mickey and the theming can get too much for those that aren't so crazy about the mouse.
• The rooms can be small.  Smaller than some of the rooms you can get off-site for the same price.

Off-site Hotels
Pros:

• A lot more room for your money.  You can get some fantastic deals on a number of hotels on International Drive that will be suites larger than my first apartment for the cost of a Value resort. 
• A break from the Disney madness!
• Some hotels offer transportation to the parks.

Cons:

• You will need to drive or take a shuttle everywhere.  "Right outside Disney gate" will still equal a good 45 minutes of driving to the gate, around Disney property, finding parking which is usually much farther than where Disney transportation can go.  We estimated an hour of transportation for our hotel less than 5 miles from the gate when we stayed off-site to our dining reservation anywhere.  On site, we would only estimate a half hour prior to our reservation we would need to leave our room.  Time = money
• Those shuttles to the parks usually come only 4 or 5 times a day. If your child has a meltdown between then, you either wait or get a cab.  Disney transportation is every 20 minutes.  Never waited more than 45 minutes and that was during a peak time.

For us, honestly it comes down to what you want to pay and can live with in terms of size of the room.  When the kids were little, the bigger room size or getting an additional bedroom off-site outweighed our decision to stay on-site.  If we had a larger budget or found a great deal, we stayed on Disney property.  But if we could deal with a regular hotel room, our preference was always a Disney hotel as there are several hotels at all price points to consider.

Skinned knees, bee stings, night terrors and more...

Maybe you've been in this situation before...
"Taylor, slow down....don't run....DON'T RUN!!!" (Insert fall)  "Waaaahhhhh!"

When my kids get excited, they run/skip/etc. everywhere!  I love seeing that enthusiasum and carefree nature.  But every so often this results in skinned knees.  Usually I have a small first aid kit on me (bandaids, first aid spray and Tylenol), but rest assured, there is a First Aid Center in every park. 

The First Aid Center is invaluable for any type of emergency at Disney World.  Bee stings, stomach bug, skinned knees, you name it!  They gave us a number for the pharmacy I posted about HERE when my daughter wasn't feeling good.  Keep this in the back of your mind...but hopefully you will never need it.

We had the (unfortunate) experience to use the Medical Center onboard the Disney Magic in January 2011.  It was the very last night of our cruise and we had a ton of fun the entire week.  Our almost 3-year-old, Taylor was fantastic the entire vacation and would stay up later to experience all the fun the boat had to offer.  Her last night she got invited to a special event with the characters at 10pm(!).  Her bedtime is normally 7:30pm.  We kept her up, but the heat from Castaway Cay and excitement from the event (around 10 kids were invited to meet EVERY character) got to her.  Around 2am she woke up screaming.  Screaming on the top of her lungs and her eyes were rolling back in her head.  I tried to get her to look at me but she wouldn't.  We never saw her like this and were very worried she was having a seizure.  We called the Medical Center and the doctor met us there. We walked in and he helped us immediately.  He was super nice and helpful.  By this point, Taylor fell back asleep and it was confirmed she did not have a seizure from his tests.  While I stayed awake to make sure it didn't happen again (and my poor husband attempted to sleep in Taylor's bed!), I was very comforted that if something was wrong, they were more than capable to handle it.  The Medical Center looked like a small ER with everything you can imagine!  I was very impressed.  And we were comforted that while it looks like Taylor just had a "night terror", they were compassionate and understanding the entire time.  I hope we never have to use them again (although with my daredevil baby boy I'm not too sure!), but if we do I know we will be getting excellent care!

Sunscreen

Don't forget to pack sunscreen!  While in the cooler months it doesn't seem to be "that hot", you can still burn!  And during the other times of the year, it seems like you're packing everything in the kitchen sink, don't forget one of the very basics - sunscreen!!!  A good sunburn, outside of the skin cancer risk,  will make everyone miserable!  It's not worth the extra 2 minutes to spray some on everyone every couple hours. 

Oh and if you forget to pack it, the Baby Care Stations and resort hotels carry it in the gift shops.  But plan on paying quite the premium.  If you have a car, stop by any local pharmacy or grocery store. 

Favorite Disney links

Quick post while my youngest is resting on me...

Two sites I frequent regarding Disney information are All Ears and Disboards.

http://www.allearsnet.com/ - Everything Disney!  No joke.  Menus to anything and everything in Disney.  Ride information.  Contact numbers.  Special events.  Add a weekly newsletter (that I LOVE!) and you have more information on Disney than a casual Disney traveler knows what to do with. Basically if you want to know anything about Disney World....go here! 

http://www.disboards.com/ - I am a child of the late 80's/90's.  I grew up on Prodigy and AOL...frequenting message boards and the like.  Disboards is a message board for Disney fans.  And even if you aren't a fan of message boards, give this site a shot.  Have a question, ask!  Someone will know the answer.  Need advice, for example, do I bring a stoller for my 4-year-old?  Or what is the best character dining?  This site is the place to go!  For cruise information, this is my favorite resource as well.  There aren't many strong sites about Disney cruising, but I lived on the Cruise board for several months before my cruise.  Even met some amazing fellow cruisers.  My screen name is Melissa&Shawn (signed up pre-kids) so feel free to message me anytime!

Kids turn into angels on vacation...right?

When you picture your Disney vacation, your kids are true angels right?  Of course!  Reality?  I wish!!! 

Just a quick post that you need to anticipate your kids' behavior to be similar, if not worse (?!!!) than they are at home.  Please understand that Disney World or a Disney cruise is A LOT to take in from any person's perspective, especially children.  Add a new environment overall, less sleep (probably), the heat (probably), all the walking, and excitement of rides/characters/etc. and it will make anyone cranky. 

Please keep this in mind and take things slow and expectations reasonable.  A Disney vacation will create memories to last a lifetime nonetheless!

P.S.  And when you need the kids to act better, a "call" to Mickey while in Disney World works like a charm!!!

THE Dress!

My daughter loves dressing up, as any normal 3 or 4-year-old.  Of course the minute we step into Magic Kingdom she wanted to wear her princess dresses.  Our last trip, Rapunzel was the "IT" dress.  In fact they didn't have any on property!  But prior to our trip, I made a quick trip to our local Disney Store and got her a Rapunzel dress (on sale!) for a fraction of the cost of any princess dress on site.  I wrapped it in some tissue paper and gave it to her as a surprise and she LOVED it!  No begging for another highly overpriced dress.  That day we got countless comments and Taylor looked and acted like our sweet princess!  Money and sanity saved!

Traveling with your baby

We've traveled to Disney twice with non-walking babies so their mode of transportation was limited.  Either they would sit in the stroller or we would carry them.  My kids are 90% and above for their height and weight from 2-weeks-old, so after a few minutes my arms would hurt holding them.  We've used the Baby Bjorn for a while, especially when our kids were infants.  But I found a new baby item that I LOVE!  The Ergo can be used from newborn...

(Cooper was one day shy of 1 month old)

...to baby....

(Cooper @ 10 months old in Disney - France part of Epcot)

...to toddler.

(Taylor @ 18 months in Disney - Animal Kindom, showing the back carry.  P.S.  My husband thought it would be a good idea to give her a cold water to drink...it ended up down my back!)

I've also figured out the side carry via some YouTube tutorials and it makes carrying the kids so much easier.  The kids love it too!  Highly recommend!

*Please note, this is my recommendation and I have not been compensated by the above company in any way.  This is truly from my own experience.

Fast Pass...why wait on lines!

Let me introduce you to one of the best inventions at Walt Disney World....Fast Pass!

These wonderful "tickets" allow you to bypass the line for that particular ride. 

Let me start from the beginning....

• Most "well known" rides will have a Fast Pass ticket kiosk to the side of the ride.  There will be a time period posted above the kiosk to allow you to chose whether you want the ticket or not.
• If you think you want to ride this ride during those posted times, insert your park ticket into the kiosk machine.
• Out will come this wonderful ticket that you keep until your time.
• When your time comes, head to the Fast Pass line and bypass the wait time.  Most times you will be on a ride within 10 minutes or less! 

It is fantastic, especially when you have young kids. 

There are some drawbacks.  You used to be able to go to the ride anytime AFTER your posted time.  But this year (2012), they changed this and only give you a grace period of 10 minutes after your time listed on the ticket.  So if you don't plan to be in the area, don't get a Fast Pass for the ride.

Also, if you get a Fast Pass for a ride, you can not get another Fast Pass until after this ticket time has passed.  So for the pass above, I could get another Fast Pass after 3:45pm. 

Special note for Toy Story Mania ride in Hollywood Studios.  Plan on waiting until the park opens and DASHING to the line to get a Fast Pass for this ride.  Otherwise plan on at least a 60 minute or above wait to ride.  I'm not joking.  It is like a marathon-like atmosphere at the beginning of the park day to get on line for the tickets and we've waiting a half hour just to get our Fast Passes for this ride.  But it's worth it!