Dixie Landings

The two brothers were very close, but eventually Everette's yearning of solitude drove him upriver from Port Orleans, in search of a new home. Johnathon (now nown by all as Colonel JC), married his longtime sweetheart, Millie, and the two moved to fulfill the Colonel's dream of sucess and fortune.

The Colonel and his family, moved northward where he settled, claimed his land called "Magnolia Bend" and built his mansion "Acadian House", and across the river he built his cotton mill. In 1853 the Colonel's son-in-law, Buford Honeyworth, decided that a sucessful business venture would be a steamboat company. The Colonel was delighted, and so on Jan. 3, 1853 the Sassagoula Steamboat Company was founded. And in the summer of 1855, the first boat the Dixie Queen arrived in Dixie Landings. For 10 years the glorious ship, sailed the Mississippi. Until one terrible night, lightning struck the ship, splitting her in two. However the Dixie Queen had a saviour, and Monsieru Henri Le Marin, used the timbers from the ship to build his compnay...the Boatwright Shop.

In the years that had passed, the Colonel heard many stories about a hermit that lived on Ol' Man Island. On day, his grand-daughter returned with a present from the hermit, and the Colonel decided it was time to pay a visit to the island. Much to his surprise, he was greeted by his long lost brother Everette! The two shared the stories of their life since they were separated. Everette refused to leave his home, but the brothers would often spend time together on the Ol' Man Island.

On both of my trips, we have stayed in the Alligator Bayou. In 1995, in Lodge 37, and in 1997 in room 3913. Both of our rooms are what is considered "extremely far" from the main pool, the food court, or anywhere else that you might want to go. But even from this distance, our trip was wonderful, and none of us minded the walk to the pool or the main building. The walk was just what we needed to get the blood flowing in the morning, so we were ready to go, by the time we reached the parks. If you are traveling with children who are too big to be strollered around, and too young to appreciate the walk, you will most likely want to request Lodges 14, 15, 18, 27 or Oak Manor.

There are six pools at Dixie Landings. Five are considered "quiet" pools and are located throughout the resort. These pools are more commonly used by adults, and while we were there, we often had the pool to ourselves. The main pool is called "Ol' Man Island" and is modeled after a swimming hole you might find Tom or Huck splashing around in. The pool area is set back of the main building on it's own island, so it is not as easy for visitors of Dixie Landings to walk around, and there is plenty of vegitation around the pool, providing the necessary shade. There is also a hot tub, a child's pool, and a water slide, on Ol' Man Island.

The food court at Dixie Landings is called Colonel's Cotton Mill. Inside there is a bakery, a pizza & pasta place, a grille place, and a Tex-Mex place. There is also a section with packaged fruit, and vegis and pre-made sandwiches, milk, cereal, fresh fruit, etc. The pizza served is very taste and a large pepperoni pizza is only like $16. This really is a large pizza, and so the price is very reasonable for Disney. The pizza place also serves these wonderful things called Garlic Knots. It basically just garlic bread, but it is really good. I think it was about $2 for 4 knots. Dixie Landings has a refillable mug, with a Song of the South, motif; and refills are now free. Everytime we returned to Dixie Landings, we would fill up the mug in the restaurant, grab a snack, and before we returned to the room we would refill it again. We only used one mug for 4 adults, with 2 straws (one for my parents, one for me and my husband). But even a mug for each family member is a good deal.

The sitdown restaurant is called Boatwright's. On the 1995 trip, we ate dinner there, and in 1997 we used one of our Fall Fantasy breakfasts there. On both trips, neither of my parents was particularly impressed with either the food or the service. I thought that my prime rib dinner was good, but small; I didn't care for the breakfast very much. None of us have any immediate plans for returning for dinner here. The food court is the better option.

From what I have seen the transportation from Dixie Landings is one of the best on property. Sure the Grand Floridian has wonderful transportation to the Magic Kingdom, but the trip to Epcot is much longer. Dixie Landings is in the middle of everything. I noticed while at Blizzard Beach, that the bus sign shows the shortest wait to Port Orleans/Dixie Landings. Of only 15 min, while other resorts are listed at 30 min. intervals. In fact, we never waited longer than 15 min. for either a bus to or from Dixie Landings; even if we just missed a bus. And the boat to Downtown Disney is just fabulous. Almost as if you really were cruising down the Mississippi. The boat runs from 10 AM until midnight, at approximately 20 min. intervals. The boats seat about 32 people, and can fill up in the evenings, so keep that in mind if you are on a schedule. The boats will not run if there are storms, and nor will they run past dusk, if there is an encephalitis warning (we learned this first hand).

All in all this is a beautiful resort, and if it wasn't that I wanted to explore the other resorts, I would stay here again.

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Page last updated January 13,1999