Just Back - stuff you might wanna know

[jandel]

Hi all - just returned from 6 glorious days at the Yacht Club (1st time ever at a deluxe - whoo-hoo:banana:) and here's the good, the bad and the ugly:

The good, no make that great: The CM's everywhere bent over backwards to shower us with pixie dust. 1. Got upgraded to a room overlooking Stormalong Bay and the lake. 2. Balloons and a chocolate Mickey awaited us in our room. 3. Got last-minute (5pm) reservations for Le Cellier at 6pm same evening. 4. Got stuck on Haunted Mansion for ten minutes...directly in front of dining hall scene!

The Bad: Not much. 1. Test Track and Splash Mountain closed for refurb. 2. Lots of large tour groups one day at HS but they were all well-behaved and not really noticable once in the park.

The UGLY: Just one thing - the weather. Cold, overcast, sleeting on Saturday. It kept the crowds down but it was a challenge to stay out all day. Thank goodness for indoor shows :).

Some things to know if you're going: We ran into a couple we'd seen at our hotel in Epcot on Sunday night. It was about 6pm and they could not get in to ANY sit-down restaurant because they had forgotten to make an ADR for that night. Also in MK we saw several "no walk-ups" signs on different days.

There's lots of those wall things that they put up when they're changing or building something in every park except AK.

Still no "live" Yeti on EE.

Most plants still look ok - lots of flowers and even some roses are blooming - but there are a few covered beds with jack frost signs on them.

As of 9pm yesterday (Monday) the Christmas decorations are still up and holiday music is still going strong.

There is no 2009 stuff to be found anywhere.

Crowds were non-existent in every park except Epcot in the evening. We waited no more than 10 minutes for anything. Rode EE, BTMR, TOT and Mission Space back-to-back :cool1:.

Speaking of Mission Space, for those of you wondering about green versus orange. I am quite claustrophobic and prone to motion sickness (at least in a car.) We tried green version first and I swear, they scare you to death with all the repeated warnings about the ride. Anyway, I found it to be all nonsense. I LOVED this ride. So much fun. So the next day we decided to try the orange mission. How much worse could it be right? Wrong. I got so nauseated after it was over I had to sit on a bench with my head down for twenty minutes :eek:. Just a word of warning to those of you on the fence about which version to try :)

I will try and post some pictures in a more detailed report later.

Lisa

[lvdis]

I'm glad you had a great trip despite the cold weather. That's awesome! I'm curious, did you walk to DHS or Epcot from your resort at all or just take the boat? Also, were the Osborne Family Dancing lights still going in DHS? Thanks!

[Mary T in PA]

Sounds like a great trip, except the weather! I still can't believe how ugly it's been down there.

Mary

[jandel]

We walked to Epcot all the time. It takes less than ten minutes to be at the back gate. DHS is a little farther so we would take the boat over there. The entire time we were there we caught a bus just twice - once to AK and once to DD. That was a nice change.

A CM told me the last night for the Osbourn lights was the 4th :sad1:.

[smsnorthup]

I can't believe the xmas decorations are still up and music playing! Do you think it will still be going on this weekend....anyone know? We leave on Fri and were just saying how we wish we could still see the decorations...we were there for Thanksgiving and saw them then. Sorry to the OP for the cold weather...I would have been pretty miserable in that cold even at Disney...can't handle the cold!!

[bgohre]

Sounds like you and me had the same Mission Space experience. Sorry about the weather. At least you weren't in MN. :)

[Pooh&OurHunny]

thanks for the info. Glad you got the upgrade and balloons...it great to get something when you're not expecting it.

[zhazhazsu]

Hi! I am just back too from 7 nights at POR. I caught O! Lights on there last night, really something special and stunning.

I agree with everything you said, wait times were low ( except for TSM) and weather was pretty crummy on Saturday.

However I differ in opinion about Mission Space. DH has been trying to get me to ride the orange side since our last trip. I finally did this trip, and I get why he called it " boring" I would describe it as a " slightly uncomfortable" feeling, although I can see why some could get sick from it.

Also Sum of All Fears is great! Fun ride, and I loved that I could make it as intense as I wanted. I also liked that it hasn't caught on yet, so it had a minimal wait time.

[jandel]

Hi! I am just back too from 7 nights at POR. I caught O! Lights on there last night, really something special and stunning.

I agree with everything you said, wait times were low ( except for TSM) and weather was pretty crummy on Saturday.

However I differ in opinion about Mission Space. DH has been trying to get me to ride the orange side since our last trip. I finally did this trip, and I get why he called it " boring" I would describe it as a " slightly uncomfortable" feeling, although I can see why some could get sick from it.

Also Sum of All Fears is great! Fun ride, and I loved that I could make it as intense as I wanted. I also liked that it hasn't caught on yet, so it had a minimal wait time.

Well, shoot. We were never at DHS at night but we did ask a CM first morning we were there and she told me they stopped on the 4th (we arrived on the 7th.) If I had know that we would have gone back and seen them.

I had no problem with Mission Space during the ride itself - I was exhilerated :) but after I got off and stepped outside it just hit me.

[jandel]

I can't believe the xmas decorations are still up and music playing! Do you think it will still be going on this weekend....anyone know? We leave on Fri and were just saying how we wish we could still see the decorations...we were there for Thanksgiving and saw them then. Sorry to the OP for the cold weather...I would have been pretty miserable in that cold even at Disney...can't handle the cold!!

Dh and I were saying all week - doesn't matter, we're in Disney :woohoo:

It was 11 degrees and 2 inches of snow on ground when we left our house last Thursday. Our plane landed this afternoon in a snow shower and now there's 5 inches on the ground.

I don't care - I'm still on a Disney high :cool1: and I've got about a week's worth of Disney chocolate and sweets to graze through!

[PIRATEGIRL007]

I can't believe the xmas decorations are still up and music playing! Do you think it will still be going on this weekend....anyone know? We leave on Fri and were just saying how we wish we could still see the decorations...we were there for Thanksgiving and saw them then. Sorry to the OP for the cold weather...I would have been pretty miserable in that cold even at Disney...can't handle the cold!!

accoring to early posts on the board the decorations in the Magic Kingdom should remain up thru Jan 14th. This info was directly from the Disney Parks blog.

[Glampire31]

Glad you had such a great time.... Was the balloons and chocolate mickey in your room a surprise or something from disney? Just curious.... :grouphug:

[disneyfan55]

Hi all - just returned from 6 glorious days at the Yacht Club (1st time ever at a deluxe - whoo-hoo:banana:) and here's the good, the bad and the ugly:

The good, no make that great: The CM's everywhere bent over backwards to shower us with pixie dust. 1. Got upgraded to a room overlooking Stormalong Bay and the lake. 2. Balloons and a chocolate Mickey awaited us in our room. 3. Got last-minute (5pm) reservations for Le Cellier at 6pm same evening. 4. Got stuck on Haunted Mansion for ten minutes...directly in front of dining hall scene!

The Bad: Not much. 1. Test Track and Splash Mountain closed for refurb. 2. Lots of large tour groups one day at HS but they were all well-behaved and not really noticable once in the park.

The UGLY: Just one thing - the weather. Cold, overcast, sleeting on Saturday. It kept the crowds down but it was a challenge to stay out all day. Thank goodness for indoor shows :).

Some things to know if you're going: We ran into a couple we'd seen at our hotel in Epcot on Sunday night. It was about 6pm and they could not get in to ANY sit-down restaurant because they had forgotten to make an ADR for that night. Also in MK we saw several "no walk-ups" signs on different days.

There's lots of those wall things that they put up when they're changing or building something in every park except AK.

Still no "live" Yeti on EE.

Most plants still look ok - lots of flowers and even some roses are blooming - but there are a few covered beds with jack frost signs on them.

As of 9pm yesterday (Monday) the Christmas decorations are still up and holiday music is still going strong.

There is no 2009 stuff to be found anywhere.

Crowds were non-existent in every park except Epcot in the evening. We waited no more than 10 minutes for anything. Rode EE, BTMR, TOT and Mission Space back-to-back :cool1:.

Speaking of Mission Space, for those of you wondering about green versus orange. I am quite claustrophobic and prone to motion sickness (at least in a car.) We tried green version first and I swear, they scare you to death with all the repeated warnings about the ride. Anyway, I found it to be all nonsense. I LOVED this ride. So much fun. So the next day we decided to try the orange mission. How much worse could it be right? Wrong. I got so nauseated after it was over I had to sit on a bench with my head down for twenty minutes :eek:. Just a word of warning to those of you on the fence about which version to try :)

I will try and post some pictures in a more detailed report later.

Lisa

Thanks for the post! Are the resort mugs new yet? I wish they'd go back to the larger ones that they used to have when they were resort specific. I have such a collection of them and still use them! Thanks.

[elizabethswan]

so regarding mission space green, how does it compare to other rides? just wondering because i love soarin but find thunder mountain too scary. i know, what a wimp! any info would be much appreciated!

[dewdropfairy]

Thanks for the update, I'm headed there soon myself so this is very useful information. :)

Did you use FP much? What were the waits for TSM like?

[Nikisha421]

thanks for the report i am in such need of a wdw trip!!!

[zhazhazsu]

Well, shoot. We were never at DHS at night but we did ask a CM first morning we were there and she told me they stopped on the 4th (we arrived on the 7th.) If I had know that we would have gone back and seen them.

I had no problem with Mission Space during the ride itself - I was exhilerated :) but after I got off and stepped outside it just hit me.

Oh no, I meant that I saw them on the last night they were up, which was the 4th. Sorry for any confusion.

[weheartdisney]

Sounds like a wonderful trip other than the weather. The upgrade had to be the best surprise. Nothing like *extra* pixie dust on your visit.

I'm praying it warms up before our trip in less than 3 weeks.

[VirginiaMom]

Hi! I am just back too from 7 nights at POR. I caught O! Lights on there last night, really something special and stunning.

I agree with everything you said, wait times were low ( except for TSM) and weather was pretty crummy on Saturday.

However I differ in opinion about Mission Space. DH has been trying to get me to ride the orange side since our last trip. I finally did this trip, and I get why he called it " boring" I would describe it as a " slightly uncomfortable" feeling, although I can see why some could get sick from it.

Also Sum of All Fears is great! Fun ride, and I loved that I could make it as intense as I wanted. I also liked that it hasn't caught on yet, so it had a minimal wait time.

Gotta ask... What is 'Sum of All Fears' and what park is in in? Love the report... I just planned a trip for 1/29 so this is very useful!

[VirginiaMom]

Upgrading my question...just read that it was at Epcot in Innovations. Innovations is big- is it East or West? Also, where in the building is it? I always get lost in Epcot, so I'd appreciate any advice! Thanks!

[mommy3girls]

We have 11 more sleeps (my girls and I are counting down) until our first trip to Walt Disney World. Fingers crossed for warmer weather and lots of sunshine....

[yost1931]

We just got back late last night. Agree with all that was said.
The weather on Saturday was awful.

Wait times at TSM were anywhere between 60 and 110 minutes. Soarin was also around an hour in the afternoon. We fast passed both of those but had no need to get fast passes for anything else. We walked onto Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise and everything in Fantasyland one morning. Took about 2 hours to ride about 7-8 rides. Awesome!

I thought that Epcot was crazy on marathon day. We parked there, but went to the Magic Kingdom. The monorails were all backed up. That night we headed back to Epcot for dinner and thank goodness we had an ADR. There were no walk ups and I heard a CM say there was no availability anywhere in Epcot that evening due to the marathon.

We had a great time. The cold could not keep us down. We were in Disney! I can't wait to get back for another trip.

[jemimabean]

Thanks for the update! We're heading that way at the end of the month, and posts like this make me super excited.

[MHTeacher]

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. :thumbsup2 We were at Yacht Club 12/29-1/1, two weeks ago. It was our first time to stay there and we loved the resort. Kids want to stay there again in May. I thought the location was great; different from the Poly, but great nevertheless.

Glad to hear you had a great time. :)

[MJMcBride]

A CM told me the last night for the Osbourn lights was the 4th :sad1:.


It was. We were there from the 3rd to the 10th and saw the lights on the 4th

I don't like the Xmas decor up so late. I just wasn't in the christmas mood anymore and wanted the old music (especially at Epcot)

[MJMcBride]

I thought that Epcot was crazy on marathon day. We parked there, but went to the Magic Kingdom. The monorails were all backed up.

Everything was backed up to ridiculous levels. Frankly, I would like to see the Marathon removed from the list of events

http://www.mouseextra.com/2010/01/12/a-call-to-end-the-marathon-madness/

Thats just my 2 cents

[LisaPisa]

We leave next week and I've been thirsting for exactly the info you just provided - especially your take on green vs. orange. To do or not to do has been my haunting question for months. I'm so glad for your input! I'm def going GREEN!

[snowwhitenyc]

I am just back tonight...for a bit of an update, the weather is improving (and looks better every day in the coming week) and the Christmas decorations are starting to come down. There was a crane behind the castle this morning and it looks like they got a lot of the lights down last night. It was a nice bonus for the marathoners to get to see the decorations, but I definitely agree about the music! SOOO happy to be away from Rudolph, White Christmas, etc.

I had a bit of a different experience this weekend. This was my fourth visit to the World in a year and I couldn't believe how empty it felt. We were at Epcot on marathon day and did absolutely everything we wanted with no waits at all. That night we went to the Magic Kingdom for EMH -- we got there just before 8 and after the fireworks the park emptied out so much I was afraid I had misread the schedule...there was NO ONE there. We walked on to every single ride...in 3 hours I thought we'd get through about half of the rides we wanted to do, but we managed to do everything!

Sorry to hear that some ran into marathon-related tie-ups. To us it seemed that Disney handled the marathon really well, I was impressed with how smoothly things ran (except for the sleet at the start of the half -- my friend who ran it really hated that)...but perhaps staying at an Epcot resort gave me a different kind of experience.

[aidtrismommy]

Just got back last night. I also agree with OP about most things except we encountered large crowds at MK on Monday night. There were several tour groups there that night, all in Fantasyland. It was almost impossible to walk through that area. It was our last night and we had already done everything anyways so it didn't effect us much, but I have to admit that I find the chanting annoying. (It was also a Spectro night, so I knew it would be busy) We watched the parade from the fire station and left right after to avoid the crowds heading to the busses and it worked out just fine. Saturday was the start of the Marathon and it took us an hour to get to the MK from SSR. It was long and annoying (we knew that would happen also because we go the same time every year) The parks themselves were not busy, the roads were just congested and they were detouring MK and Epcot busses to the TTC. We ended up going to Epcot because the monorail to MK was very backed up. Epcot was dead, we walked onto everything. It was also very cold and sleeting so I am sure that kept people away. We spent hours in innoventions, did some rides, and took the boat to DHS for dinner at 50's prime time. DHS was also dead (except TSM still had a70 min wait) :confused3 I took my boys to the Animation place to see the incredibles before we left and we saw Frozone, Chip and Dale, Sorcerer Mickey, Pooh, Pocohontas and Meeko, and Goofy with NO lines . We just walked up to ALL of them. There were probably 10 families in there doing the same thing. It was a nice surprise.

[TLinden16]

I'm going to move this over to our trip report board.