Fantasmic Comparison Trip Report October 2009 Part 1

[marcus.ka]

This will be more or less a comparison Trip Report. As many of you know I have been 2 or 3 times to DLRP in the past years.
And after many years of dreaming about it, it was finally time to go to Walt Disney World.
Although I was very much looking forward to this trip I was also a little bit afraid because I have heard so much about WDW, and about the unimaginable size of the whole resort, and about the real Magic you can experience there, and about the more than friendly and helpful CM’s.

On Monday, 28 September we flew to Miami and had 4 wonderful days in this magnificent city.
And on Friday, 2nd October we drove to Orlando. After a four hour drive we finally saw the entrance I was looking forward to for so long.



In all we had 9 full days and two half days at the resort which was enough time to explore everything for the first time and to do everything we wanted. Including all rides, shows and parks. We also have been one day to the two Universal parks which was also a great experience. It was so cool to do a E.T. and Simpsons ride. E.T. was THE movie of my childhood and the waiting line was even better than the ride itself. It was such a magical experience to be in the forest where E.T. has landed. And the flight over the city with E.T. in my bicycle was such a great moment.





Here is what we did on the several days:

Friday, 2nd October we visited Epcot but only from 6:45pm until the park closed at 9pm.
Saturday, 3rd October we did the Universal Studios.
Sunday, 4th October we have been to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and we ate at Mama Melrose’s Ristorante.
Monday, 5th October we visited the Magic Kingdom and we ate at the Plaza Restaurant.
Tuesday, 6th October we did the Animal Kingdom and we ate in the evening at our resort at the Port Orleans Riverside and afterwards we did “some” shopping at Downtown Disney.
Wednesday, 7th October we visited Typhoon Lagoon and we ate in the evening at the Grand Floridian Café and afterwards we have been for a few hours at the Magic Kingdom.
Thursday, 8th October we visited again the Disney’s Hollywood Studios and we had a very cool dinner at the 50’s Prime Time Café.
Friday, 9th October we had our only full day at Epcot and we had a luxurious dinner at Les chefs de France.
Saturday, 10 October we had our second full day at the Magic Kingdom and for dinner we visited Pooh and his friends at the Crystal Palace Restaurant.
Sunday, 11 October we did the highlights of the Studios again. In the afternoon we relaxed at one of the many pools in our resort. And then we had dinner at the Boma Restaurant at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
On Monday, 12 October (our last day) we said Goodbye in the morning to the Magic Kingdom and in the afternoon we had to drive to the airport.

As you can see we have been to all parks and to one water park. We visited two of the Deluxe Hotels, had time to relax at the pool and we also have done some shopping. So if someone would ask me I would say 8 days are enough for a good first impression of WDW.







Here is what I think about Walt Disney World:

General:
OK it is big, but not as big as I thought. Everyone was always only talking about how big it is, and so I was prepared to see an even bigger resort.

No, Miss Piggy was also not bigger as I thought she would be!



Hotels:
The first two nights we spend at the All Star Music and the other 8 nights at the Port Orleans Riverside. If you know me from the DLRP board you might know that I like to spend some more bucks for a better hotel. But this was not the case at WDW. We were more satisfied with the ASM than with the POR. We have spent so many nights at DLRP and we never had a room that was nearly this dirty than the two connecting rooms we had at the POR. We had the impression that no one has been in these two rooms for months.
We complained about this but it was the same the next day. And so we collected the M&M’s that lay on the carpet, and we also dusted the rooms our self.
And Mousekeeping also did nothing with our towels at the POR but they did at the ASM. We had lovely animals in the window when we arrived.
And it is also not worth to pay extra for the water view at the POR. If we should return I would have no problem to spend the holiday at a value resort. The rooms are big enough, and you even have several pools.
But this was the only downside we had at all at WDW!
The rest of the vacation was more than perfect. Everything went very smooth and we had not even the smallest problem. I was a little concerned because I booked this trip via the UK to benefit from the good currency rate and to get the free Dining Plan. And I also was a little bit concerned because I have never done ADR online before, but as I said we did not have one problem during all of our days at WDW.

Our building at the Port Orleans Riverside



Food:
The food was also excellent and a little bit better than at DLRP, except for the breakfast. Breakfast is very good at all DLRP hotels, but not at WDW. OK the people in the US have a different type of breakfast as we in Europe anyway.
But what we had at the restaurants for Lunch and Dinner was just great. The best meals we had were at the Grand Floridian Café and at the Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Fast Food on our first evening; of course we tried German food.


The Dessert Platter at the Grand Floridian


The 2nd part (which is also the last part) will be up soon.

[Jets fan]

Great start. That dessert platter looks 'to die for'

Thanks for sharing
Tina

[TotallyAngelic]

Really enjoyed this report so far - great to read first impressions of WDW from someone who spends a lot of time in DLRP. Your photos are stunning. That dessert platter looks divine

[Tammy Stringer]

A great review of your first trip to WDW and some lovely photos too

Tammy

[thelittlemermaid83]

Cant wait to read more Marcus.

[eeyorefanuk]

Hello Marcus

Yes I am normally over on the DLRP side, but we have booked for our first visit next year so enjoying reading your thoughts on WDW.

Can I ask the desssert sharing, did you get this free on the DDP, if so for one or two people?? Looks soooooooooooooo yummy ! Can you tell I have a sweet tough

[marcus.ka]

Yes the dessert was on the DDP. But it was for 2 people. Although I could also have eaten this by myself.

[SusanEllen]

Marcus,
You've written an excellent and entertaining report. I'm disappointed to read that the room care at POR didn't improve. Disney isn't perfect, but they usually shine when it comes to service and making things right. Too bad, they didn't correct that when you pointed out the problems. In fact, if you would contact them with a letter outlining your concerns, I'll bet you'd get a reponse.

The Disney people will be happy to know that you think of this trip as your "first" to WDW. You did manage to work in a lot, but you can be sure there are a lot more things for you to see and do. Put my favorite resort, the Wilderness Lodge, on the list for your next trip--a gorgeous place with some good places to eat.

[Cyrano]

Marcus enjoyed reading about your first trip to WDW

[Ware Bears]

Ooh, that dessert platter looks very yummy!!

Great report and lovely photos.