WDW Vet - Just back 5/11-5/14

[WLodgeLizard]

Couple observations

Had dinner Friday night at PCH Grill. As advertised there was NO problem getting a table and the food and prices were decent.

Stayed at VGC. Overall good experience. Love the murphy bed for our DS7. The location is perfect. Enjoyed the closeness to Downtown Disney, namely Haagen Daas. Whitewater Snacks was serviceable. Definitely recommend buying the larger sizes for OJ and bagels there. Have to ding them on a couple things. 1. The shelf in the roll-in shower is TINY. You cannot even put the shampoo and soap on the shelf at the same time. 2. There are 4 bath towels in the master bathroom, but only 1 towel hook. Pretty simple math there. 3. With all of the beautiful wood and granite, you would think that they could do a little better than a $2 metal kitchen sink! (a general DVC complaint).

Crowds. It was crowded, but wait times were not terrible, especially on Sunday at DCA.

Food. Enjoyed Hungry Bear and Pacific Wharf. Sorry, no pics. The sourdough bowl is VERY good. Should have had it for brunch and then wouldn't have to eat for the rest of the day.

Tickets. We have some remaining MYW tickets (used to buy 10 day, no-expire park-hopper tickets). Asked several people at VGC and was told that I could not convert them to DL tickets. Went to the gate and had no problem. It does take a little bit of time. They have to ask for a supervisor and that supervisor goes into a room to print out the tickets. It took about 10-15 minutes, not too bad.

Attractions - Didn't go commando, so didn't get too many in, but really enjoyed Buzz. I think it may have ruined the WDW Buzz for me! Indy was good, but prefer Dinosaur, even though we are big Indy fans. WOC is a must see.

Overall - We usually do WDW every year. I could see switching between DL and WDW every other year.

WLL

 

[DisneytheKid]

Thanks for the review. Its nice to hear about the Pacific Warf. I've read a lot about it and am looking forward to trying their bread bowls

 

[DLR29]

Thanks for the trip report! Glad you had a good time.

Buzz over here is a lot easier to aim I think. Interesting about your Dino/Indy analysis. Usually people love Indy a lot more than Dino, although to each his own.

What did you think about not having to take buses or boats or monorails everywhere?

 

[HydroGuy]

Thanks! Glad you had an enjoyable trip?

So when are you returning for Cars Land?

 

[KCmike]

What did you think of...
Aladdin stage show?
Space Mtn, Pirates, and It's a Small World?

I was a WDW vet and now Disneyland is my home park. So much magic, nostalgia, proximity, and SoCal offers so much to see and do. Didn't I mention the weather?

Nice report.

 

[DISHoppy]

Tickets. We have some remaining MYW tickets (used to buy 10 day, no-expire park-hopper tickets). Asked several people at VGC and was told that I could not convert them to DL tickets. Went to the gate and had no problem. It does take a little bit of time. They have to ask for a supervisor and that supervisor goes into a room to print out the tickets. It took about 10-15 minutes, not too bad.

Thanks for the 411 on this. I have MYW NEs as well that I'm going to convert to DL tix. The question on whether they can be honored/converted is a stumper for most CMs. I called the DLR general info line a few weeks ago, and the CM I spoke with had to go away to ask after my inquiry on this and my follow up queries. Sucks that it takes that long to convert them. I just don't want to $pend another grand on DL tix after $5K+ on a DCL cruise and WDW stay last Dec and now ~$5K on this trip.

-Kevin

 

[Briarrose1306]

Just a random question. Is there a difference between the bread bowls at the Pacific Wharf and the ones they use for the gumbo in NOS? I didn't think there was but I frequently hear people rave about the Pacific Wharf ones and nada about the gumbo/clam chowder ones.

 

[ValpoCory]

Indy was good, but prefer Dinosaur, even though we are big Indy fans.

It's funny that Indy has such a long line, and Dinosaur on average is a much shorter line. Maybe the height requirement difference means Indy is more exciting? But then again, I think the height requirement agencies are different in California vs. Florida, so what do I know.

 

[WLodgeLizard]

We really enjoyed Aladdin. The sets were amazing. Is the carpet supposed to move around during the "whole new world song"? That number seemed a little off. During most of the song, the set pieces were moving, but we didn't see the actors. Then they popped up out of the smoke, but didn't move. I thought I had read about how many wires are used to make the carpet fly. The Genie was pretty good.

On the Indy\Dino thing, don't get me wrong, Indy is VERY well done, it's a great ride. It just seemed like Dino was a little more fun, especially the very last part.

The transportation thing wasn't a huge change for us. We usually stay at DVC properties where we can walk to the parks (BWV, BCV, BLT).

WLL

 

[Priory]

Yeah, the 'Whole New World' segment hasn't been the same since this happened:

http://youtu.be/uDeV3BVjS2Y

 

[ValpoCory]

The transportation thing wasn't a huge change for us. We usually stay at DVC properties where we can walk to the parks (BWV, BCV, BLT).

Even when staying at those places, you have to bus to 2 parks and have a comparatively lengthy non-bussed trip to a 3rd park.

The VGC is close to everything.