Brief recap: My 8th trip after a 7 year break and OH and the kids' 1st

Lizzybear

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 23, 2006
Just got back from 4 nights at Davy Crockett ranch with my OH and 3 kids (ages 5.5, 2.5 and 1) As the title states it's been 7 years since my last trip, though I have been a number of times before, and first trip for everyone else
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Accommodation: Loved the space in the lodge and the self catering facilities, also felt the theming worked very well throughout the resort. My only complaint was the time it took to get to and from the parks (factoring in parking and getting from the car park to the parks) We knew you needed a car for this resort but, having stayed in other onsite hotels previously, I did miss just being able to walk back more than I thought I would. I imagine once the new road is finished the drive will be much quicker so I wouldn't 100% rule it out for a future trip. We got a good deal with the free 2 days and nights promo so that helped balance out the slightly less convenient location.
Restaurants: (We mostly self catered but did eat at the following)
Plaza Gardens breakfast: loved this! The food was delicious and we didn't need to eat again until the evening
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Characters were great aswell, their accompanying cms were very on the ball with making sure they visited every table and my daughters were in their element, not so much my son though bless him! We would definitely eat there again
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Auberge de cendrillion late lunch/early dinner: Very nice for my oldest daughter to meet the princesses without a huge wait (though they seemed a little rushed imo) and we enjoyed the food but we were initially sat at a table for 5 which couldn't accommodate a high chair (not sure why as my son is clearly of an age to need one!) and I had to be quite firm in insisting we wanted to be moved. They did move us to another table but it took a good 10 minutes and sort of took the shine off our experience a little bit. Once we were reseated all was fine but for us this meal was likely a one off.
Parks: A little busier than expected but by no means unmanageable. We did nearly everything we wanted to and our children all really enjoyed themselves. Even my son went on loads of rides with us and loved the parade
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It was interesting to see the changes that have happened since my last visit in 2010, loved the new animagique show and the parade and fireworks in particular. Sad that potc was closed but gives us a good excuse to return
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Overall we had a brilliant trip and made lots of memories as a family
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I found going with 3 young children went better than I expected. They all coped really well with the long days and late nights and it forced me to slow down a bit more in the parks and see them in a new way
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Sounds like you had a good time. Walking to the parks is the reason we stay on site too and I think we'd miss the convenience, but i've always liked the look of DCR and would like the extra space so I suppose there's pros and cons with every option.
 

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