Just back from an awesome trip!

[phyllis1966]

Hey everyone - we just got back late last night from what I think was our best WDW vacation yet! The weather was great with 2 small exceptions: we had 2 hours of rain during our November 10th MVMCP (it stopped almost miraculously at the exact time Holiday Wishes started!), and the sub-60 degree temps. all day on Thursday, our AK day. The crowds were low all week (7th - 14th). Using the Free DP, our first time ever, was easy and saved us lots of money.


Any questions, ask away!

[KellyNY]

Originally Posted by phyllis1966

Hey everyone - we just got back late last night from what I think was our best WDW vacation yet! The weather was great with 2 small exceptions: we had 2 hours of rain during our November 10th MVMCP (it stopped almost miraculously at the exact time Holiday Wishes started!), and the sub-60 degree temps. all day on Thursday, our AK day. The crowds were low all week (7th - 14th). Using the Free DP, our first time ever, was easy and saved us lots of money.


Any questions, ask away!

Welcome back! Glad you had a good trip!

[Pjimmeyer]

Originally Posted by phyllis1966

Hey everyone - we just got back late last night from what I think was our best WDW vacation yet! The weather was great with 2 small exceptions: we had 2 hours of rain during our November 10th MVMCP (it stopped almost miraculously at the exact time Holiday Wishes started!), and the sub-60 degree temps. all day on Thursday, our AK day. The crowds were low all week (7th - 14th). Using the Free DP, our first time ever, was easy and saved us lots of money.


Any questions, ask away!

YAY!!! Great to hear what a wonderful time you had!

Where did you eat and how did you like it? Did you get a chance to ride Space Mountain while they are testing it out? Any character experiences? Where did you stay? How were the CMs? I guess I might be asking for a full trip report if you have the time.

-Jimbo

[Lorelai]

[quote=phyllis1966;34342504]Hey everyone - we just got back late last night from what I think was our best WDW vacation yet! The weather was great with 2 small exceptions: we had 2 hours of rain during our November 10th MVMCP (it stopped almost miraculously at the exact time Holiday Wishes started!), and the sub-60 degree temps. all day on Thursday, our AK day. The crowds were low all week (7th - 14th). Using the Free DP, our first time ever, was easy and saved us lots of money.


Any questions, ask away!

How were lines for TSM??

Also, what was your fave meal in a sit down restaurant this trip?

[SnowandMittens]

Glad to hear you had fun!

Did you get any fun souvineers on the trip?

[phyllis1966]

Originally Posted by Pjimmeyer

YAY!!! Great to hear what a wonderful time you had!

Where did you eat and how did you like it? Did you get a chance to ride Space Mountain while they are testing it out? Any character experiences? Where did you stay? How were the CMs? I guess I might be asking for a full trip report if you have the time.

-Jimbo

I'm at work, so I'll answer these posts as I get the chance...

We (DH, DD10, my parents, DH's parents and I) ate breakfast at Crystal Palace (good, but they've ruined the Puffed French Toast, which was the reason it was DH's favorite), 1900 Park Fare (delicious as always, esp. my fave, the bread pudding), Chef Mickey's (not as good as usual, not sure why, just the general consensus), Boma (always everyone's fave), 'Ohana (awesome, especially the pineapple bread), and the GF Cafe (delicious as always). A side note about the GF Cafe: both of our moms ordered the vegetable frittata, which sounded good, but they both hated it! My Mom said it was very bland (it was eggwhites only, but not stated as such on the menu), and DMIL, who says everything is good, actually described it as "brutal!" That really cracked me up! They were graciously accomodated, of course, and 2 new entrees were brought out in a few minutes.

Dinners were at Citricos (awesome as always), The Wave (first time here - fantastic), the Plaza Restaurant (yummy sandwiches - our folks enjoyed the broccoli slaw that came with the sandwiches if you didn't want fries), Restaurant Marrakesh (tasty as always), Rose and Crown for those who didn't want Morrocan that night (they thoroughly enjoyed they're meal), Jiko (awesome, but they changed the Pistachio Creme Brulee and it wasn't as good as last time), and everyone's favorite meal of this trip, Le Cellier (mouth-wateringly delicious and Barry was an amazing server).

Space Mountain was not yet running. I knew this ahead of time, but I was still bummed. The TTA soundtrack is as boring as many have mentioned - DD was very disappointed in this, as it was always one of her faves.

Every single CM we encountered was pleasant, and most were very cheerful and engaging - not a grump in 8 days, as many posters have recently reported. They made the entire vacation that much more enjoyable. They were dancing, they were singing, they were awesome!

We stayed at the GF, and it was another amazing stay there. In fact, we received our first ever upgrade! To a theme park view! Of the castle and Space Mountain! I'll post pics when I get some free time this week...

No special character moments for DD - she's a bit shy. A hug and a pic and she's good to go. The Mad Hatter at 1900 Park Fare breakfast was really funny with us adults, though!

It was a terrific trip! More answers as I get the time!

[phyllis1966]

Originally Posted by Lorelai

How were lines for TSM??

Also, what was your fave meal in a sit down restaurant this trip?

When we arrived at DHS before 11 am on Monday the 9th, a 40 minute stand-by wait was posted, but the wait was more like 25 minutes. On Friday night, though, we arrived at 7 pm specifically to see the Osborne Lights. After 15 minutes of that, we headed over to TSMM to see if we could squeeze in a ride because it was so much fun the first time, and the wait was 70 minutes (yes 70; I even asked if that time was accurate!). We had to skip it because we wanted to see Holiday Wishes from our balcony that night and we needed to high-tail it out of there to get back to the GF.

What a fun ride! It was longer than Buzz, and really much more fun and easy to control.

As for our favorite sit-down, all 7 of us agreed (and we all have different palates), that Le Cellier was our favorite, with The Wave an extremely close 2nd.

[phyllis1966]

Originally Posted by SnowandMittens

Glad to hear you had fun!

Did you get any fun souvineers on the trip?

We don't spend much on souvineers any more, but DD10 really loves the Disney Cuties pins, so we found a few more of those, although she lost the Cutie version of Bambi that she bought a few years back. It must have been knocked off her backpack, where she likes to wear them. I looked in every store and stand the last 3 days of the trip, but couln't find another. I'll try on-line and see if I can find it...

Oh, how could I forget, DH spent $190 (!!) on a blown-glass octopus in the Mexico pavilion - to each his own, I guess...thank goodness it didn't break on the flight home. It's kinda ugly, I think...

DD also loves the bubble-blowing gun her Grandma bought her. Many CM's were using them and she pined for it for a few days, so just as I was taking out $10, Grandma snuck up and bought it for her. It lights up, too - not a bad deal for $10.