Broncobilly83
01-02-2010, 02:33 PM
Ok, my now fiance and myself just got back from a 7 day trip at WDW, arriving on 12/26/09 and checking out this morning. I plan to do a more detailed trip report, as a lot of the tricks we learned came from these boards, so I want to share my experiences to help others in the future.
We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter and were on the Disney Dining Plan. The last time I went was in 2000 and the last time she went was in 1986. We had park hopper passes, but did not use that feature, and I decided to get into pin trading for the experience to see what it was like and let me tell you, that is addicting :lmao:
The beyond excellent:
Candlelight Processional w/ Edward James Olmos
Fantasmic!
Dinner on 12/30 at Contemporary's California Grill (worth the 2 credits per person on the dining plan)
The special merchandise credit of $1000 for $695 (have $.86 left!)
The good to great:
Park Levels and ride lines (planned parks based off suggestion from here)
Pin Trading (some hiccups that I will have in a detailed post)
The Crystal Palace Character Buffet
Osborne Family Christmas Lights
Christmas decorations at the resort and parks seemed just fine to me
Le Celliar Steakhouse, Canada Pavilion
Rose and Crown Pub, England Pavilion
Cast Member attitudes and interactions
The Needs Work (in my opinion, of course):
Holiday Pins, as I checked in on 12/26 and not a single 2009 Christmas pin was to be had, anywhere, including our hotel pin!
2009 merchandise - our trip was basically 12/26/09 to 01/01/10, so I would want stuff like picture frames, albums, etc that had 2009 on it, not 2010 on it, but all 2009 was clearanced a few weeks earlier and sold out.
Hollywood and Vine Dinner Buffet w/ F! package - mass chaos with alternate lines closing at random. Wait staff in disarray and mgmt basically clueless
No baggage check-in for Southwest Airlines at the resorts!
No Scrooge McDuck ANYTHING!!! I mean, it is the holidays, you have him in the daily parade, and that is it?!? No character showings, no merchandise, no pins, nada. That just seems weird to me.
We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter and were on the Disney Dining Plan. The last time I went was in 2000 and the last time she went was in 1986. We had park hopper passes, but did not use that feature, and I decided to get into pin trading for the experience to see what it was like and let me tell you, that is addicting :lmao:
The beyond excellent:
Candlelight Processional w/ Edward James Olmos
Fantasmic!
Dinner on 12/30 at Contemporary's California Grill (worth the 2 credits per person on the dining plan)
The special merchandise credit of $1000 for $695 (have $.86 left!)
The good to great:
Park Levels and ride lines (planned parks based off suggestion from here)
Pin Trading (some hiccups that I will have in a detailed post)
The Crystal Palace Character Buffet
Osborne Family Christmas Lights
Christmas decorations at the resort and parks seemed just fine to me
Le Celliar Steakhouse, Canada Pavilion
Rose and Crown Pub, England Pavilion
Cast Member attitudes and interactions
The Needs Work (in my opinion, of course):
Holiday Pins, as I checked in on 12/26 and not a single 2009 Christmas pin was to be had, anywhere, including our hotel pin!
2009 merchandise - our trip was basically 12/26/09 to 01/01/10, so I would want stuff like picture frames, albums, etc that had 2009 on it, not 2010 on it, but all 2009 was clearanced a few weeks earlier and sold out.
Hollywood and Vine Dinner Buffet w/ F! package - mass chaos with alternate lines closing at random. Wait staff in disarray and mgmt basically clueless
No baggage check-in for Southwest Airlines at the resorts!
No Scrooge McDuck ANYTHING!!! I mean, it is the holidays, you have him in the daily parade, and that is it?!? No character showings, no merchandise, no pins, nada. That just seems weird to me.