Just Back Observations

[Racemom17]

A quick recap to include park attendance, observations, dining experiences and weather.

We had a party of 11, first trip for 5 of the 11.

Me, DH, 3 boys age 13, 9, 7 (DH’s first trip to Disney since 1972)
Grandma and Grandpa
My brother, sister-in-law and their two (age 6-nephew and 22 months-niece)

Stayed preferred at All Star Movies with Free Dining, with upgrade to the Basic (1CS, 1TS and 1 Snack) We were in Dalmations building 1 rooms, 1860-1861-1862

Arrived October 29th, staying through Nov 3rd


Due to room restrictions, one of my boys stayed in my Mom’s room- was on all her travel information…due to this they would not let him leave on the Magical Express with us. My Mom wanted to stay behind to wait on my brother’s family to arrive so we all waited. Once we got in line for ME…it was a 30-45 minute approximate wait for the bus.

First night there we just relaxed at the resort and let the kids swim. We had an ADR at Chef Mickeys at 650. We stayed at Movies a couple years ago when they were refurbing the main pool so the kids were very happy to see if finished and get to play in it. Thursday was warm and muggy when we got there. We were seated about 715 for our dinner ressie. Our waitress had a hard time bringing the right drinks, refilling them, etc…and the food wasn’t as good as it was before. The kids all enjoyed the characters though and that was the whole point.

Friday- MAGIC KINGDOM

We ate breakfast at Movies and then headed to the parks. We were there at rope drop so all the newbies could see the opening of the park. We headed to Fantasyland first where we rode:
Peter Pan (no wait)
Small World (no wait)
Carosel (no wait)
Dumbo wait time 5-20 minutes
Winnie the Pooh, posted time was 20 minutes but was more like 10.
Mad Tea Party (wait time 10 minutes)- headed into Toontown:

Road Barnstormer (15 minute wait)
My niece did a walk through of the houses…the boys did not…got on the Railroad and rode around to Frontier Land.
Splash Mountain wait time was 40 mins so we got Fast Pass and hopped on BTMRR. Headed to LTT for our 250 Lunch ADR…seated almost immediately. I ordered the Pot Roast as always and it was just as good as I remembered it (LTT is still my fav rest.) No pictures of food but service was great and fast. DH got Salmon cakes and liked them, kids got pizza. DS got the cheeseburger which is always huge. I had the apple cobbler for dessert. YUMMY.

After lunch we went through Haunted Mansion (15 minute wait) and our Fast Passes for Splash…then back to the resort to swim and eat dinner there.

It was warm but overcast so it wasn’t terrible today

SATURDAY- HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

Arrived after the park opened…maybe 915? Went straight to TSM, wait time listed as 50 minutes…got FP for later in the day.

Voyage of the Little Mermaid- 10 minute wait

Mom, Sister, Niece and 2 sons and nephew stayed for Disney Playhouse…the rest of us headed to RnR….40 minute wait…we waited…it was my first trip on the RnR…because I am a ride weenie…the take off took my breathe away….but we all got FP when we got off and I did ride again later in the day. Met up with our group and had CS lunch….we ate on Sunset Blvd at Fairfax Fare and Rosies…I had the turkey leg…wasn’t impressed with it this time…it was very warm this day so that could be why, no overcast so the sun beat us.

Next up:

Muppet Vision
Lights, Motor, Action
Toy Story Mania…which all the kids loved…the wait time was 60 minutes at the time but we did the FP…they all wanted to ride again which we didn’t!

Early ADR at Sci Fi….I will never eat here again…the wait was long, even though when we got seated there were tons of empty seats so I just think they were short staffed…I had the butcher steak and it was overdone and the potatoes were over seasoned. The milkshakes and Sundaes were good.

My brother did Star Tours and my Mom and Dad took one son to get in line for Fantasmic, they were the only ones staying for it…the rest of us went back to the resort to swim and do a little laundry…since it was so warm…

Granny, Grandpa and DS 9 loved Fantasmic, seated at 6…it was busy leaving the park and there was a lot of pushing but nothing they didn’t expect.

SUNDAY: ANIMAL KINGDOM/EPCOT

Dad and Brother went to Epcot, the rest of us went to AK.

Brother rode TT and thought it was lame? Liked Soarin…they ate at Biergarten and enjoyed the food there…that is all I know about that day 

At AK…we arrived after rope drop…headed to Pizzafari for BF…this was a good breakfast (as the resort was super busy) nobody in line and lots of seating in the AC.

Kilimanjaro Safari, wait time 20 mins…saw more animals this time than ever before…we usually get there right at rope drop and head there first…probably about 10 we went this time…everyone was out and ambling around…except for the lion/lioness who were sunning on a rock.

Headed to Asia and rode Kali River 3 times in a row…10 minute wait time…but I was soaked and my jean shorts rubbed all day…I couldn’t find a pair of shorts to buy anywhere…so a change of clothes would have been nice.

EE, wait time of 20 minutes…DH, Sister and 2 boys rode…the rest of us sat and dried. We did get FP for later but never came back.

Dinoland-
Rode Triceratop spin 15 minute wait
Primeval Whirl….15 minute wait….my nephew was not tall enough to ride, yet he road EE, Splash and BTMRR so go figure on that one.

Ate at Flame Tree BBQ, it wasn’t busy at all like I have seen it in the past…lots of seating...it was later 2ish….then left to go back to the resort and rest…headed to DTD for the evening for shopping. We ate at Movies for dinner.

MONDAY-MAGIC KINGDOM

Best day weather wise…nice breeze…but still warm…We were going to be in the parks late this day so we did not go over until noon…(the waiting about killed me) we let the kids swim in the AM…

Got to the park at 1230…I rode the railroad around to splash and got FP…everyone else headed to CP for our ADR. Food was great here…but the wait was about 20 mins past our ADR….good service though…

Adventure Land

Jungle Cruise was at 30 mins so we didn’t wait…straight to

Pirates, 10 min wait.
Got FP for BTMRR and used our FP for Splash Mountain….had to wait about 15 mins from the time we got off Splash to get on BTMRR….when we came off BTMRR the line was backed out of the que. Splash was done, not sure why…this area is always busy but just seemed mobbed that day. My brother also lost his wallet on BTMRR…someone turned it in on the next train YAY someone honest…

We rode the train around to Toontown and did Barnstormer for the little ones….headed to Tomorrow land…

Every one did Indy cars while I went and got FP for Buzz…went to Buzz…rode

We did Transit Auth 2 times, my son loves it for some reason…the lights were on in space mountain but you couldn’t see much…because they have stuff covering…but were they launch the trains you could see and they had cars on the track testing them both times we went through…weird to go through their in the light.

Watch the last little bit of Spectro and headed to Tonys for dinner…this is now my second favorite rest….Fireworks at 8 we watched from the middle of town square, our ADR was 825 (EMH from 9-12 tonight) I had the mushroom ravioli, so good….DH had the Seafood diavolo, shrimp scampi for a couple, son had spaghetti and meatballs and 2 little ones had salmon…they were very happy to have a choice other than pizza or chicken nuggets…they all had ice cream bomb for dessert and the spumoni. Spumoni wasn’t a huge hit…we intended to hit more rides after dinner but it was 10 before we finished…2 of the 5 kids fell asleep at the table so we headed back to the buses…and home to our resort.

Overall, weather was great. Movies did a great job on the room, always clean. 2 mornings it was very busy in the food court but otherwise was not bad…wasn’t as impressed with the food court this time as I was the first time we stayed here.

Parks were not terrible as far as attendance levels….

I felt like we didn’t get to do as much since there were so many of us….there was a lot of bathroom breaks, let me get a drink, let me smoke…and some pokey people….but I took a big Disney breathe and got over it…

[TLinden16]

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

[My2Qtz0205]

Primeval Whirl….15 minute wait….my nephew was not tall enough to ride, yet he road EE, Splash and BTMRR so go figure on that one.

EXACTLY!! We felt the same frustration!

[Alesia]

Originally Posted by Racemom17

Primeval Whirl….15 minute wait….my nephew was not tall enough to ride, yet he road EE, Splash and BTMRR so go figure on that one.

Primeval whirl has a taller height requirement because of the spinning combined with the tight turns. Centrifugal force isn't an issue on EE, Splash or BTMRR.

[leslie826]

Sounds like a fun trip!! You have me a little worried about the ME though. My girls are on the room ressie with my mom, and she is not arriving at the same time as us. They told me it wouldn't matter, since they were kids, they would let them on the bus. Maybe I should check into this further?

[Racemom17]

Originally Posted by leslie826

Sounds like a fun trip!! You have me a little worried about the ME though. My girls are on the room ressie with my mom, and she is not arriving at the same time as us. They told me it wouldn't matter, since they were kids, they would let them on the bus. Maybe I should check into this further?

They have changed the ME counter a bit...past years we have always gotten the booklet, checked in at the counter and they send us to the bus lines...this year if you have your booklet you go straight to the buslines, no need to check in at the counter....because Nathan was in my Mom's booklet one CM insisted he could not leave without the booklet, which was staying with my Mom...while the CM next to her said he could...they went back and forth...she did say he could go but only if one of us stood in the long check in line at the counter to get him switched to my booklet? By the time we would have stood in the check in line just so he could leave with me...my brother and his family would have arrived...they scan each person in the booklet...and supposedly pull the back page from the booklet for counting purposes...not sure what it matters if he went with me or her...since it was the same day, within 1 hour of each other...