A Crazy Crowded Refurbishment Disney World Vacation! - Sept 2-8, 2015 (Lots of Pics!)

[BillyBuff]

A Crazy Crowded Refurbishment Disney World Vacation! - Sept 2-8, 2015

Okay, it was a last minute vacation plan which was originally made for Universal Studios Orlando but we’ve gotten an email from Walt Disney World about the free dining plan so the DW said “Let’s GO!” and so that started with the search!

The email came in mid July so we checked but almost all of the eligible resorts did not have any rooms left. There were a few for Coronado Springs and Caribbean Beach and the DW has never been to CBR so booked it!

>> VIDEOS! (Updated 11/29/2015) <<

• A brief tour of the room

• The Burudika performers at Harambe, Animal Kingdom. The crowd levels were light on this day (Day 1)

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

We didn’t know about the bridge refurbishment at CBR yet until a few days before heading there. Without that bridge, it was a HUGE inconvenience as we were located at Aruba building 53. They did have shuttle vans which run between the two stops at Aruba and Old Port Royale but sometimes it’s a hit or miss. For instance one of the shuttle stops in the building groups 51-52-53 to drop guests off, then heads to buildings 54-55-56 to drop the other guests there. Then it will pick up guests at that stop and head on back. But if the shuttle van is full, then you’ll have to wait for the next return trip!

The room itself was okay. Just a corner room with a king bed. Aruba was practically empty. We got a text on the day of our arrival around 7:30AM. We didn’t even opt for an early arrival when doing the online check-in so I guess they had plenty of rooms available.

Old Port Royale

Wow…extremely crowded in the mornings, lunchtime, and evenings! I guess everyone was refilling their resort mugs. Plus no one watches their children so you’ll have kids trying to refill their mugs but couldn’t reach the buttons and thus spilling whatever they had in their mugs onto the floor. I overheard a CM speaking to another CM as they were cleaning the tables that this was the worst resort to work in. Oops! They probably figured we didn’t understand English.

Next Up!: Day 1 - Animal Kingdom

 

[BillyBuff]

Day 1 - Animal Kingdom

So after checking out and dropping off our stuff at our room at CBR, we headed over to Animal Kingdom! The bus ride took us all the way around the resort. I guess Aruba was stop #2 with Jamaica being the first? Well, it was quite a long ride as this was a big resort!

Animal Kingdom seemed a bit light on the crowds as we got there around 11am. Our first agenda is Expedition Everest! Since we already planned ahead with Fast Pass+, we walked right up to the ride without any wait. It was Mrs. BillyBuff’s first time on this ride! She screamed too loud on this ride…sorry!

Lunch was at Flame Tree as usual. This place seems to be our “go to” whenever we’re at the Animal Kingdom. The CM who took our order seems annoyed when after we ordered and then said we’re on the dining plan. She didn’t ask us if we were on the dining plan in the beginning but got annoyed when we said we did after our order went in. It must be the heat…even though her tag says she’s from Puerto Rico. But anyways, the quality of the ribs were just ok. Just doesn’t seem the same as before.

After lunch we headed over to Kilimanjaro Safari. No wait?! And we got the entire back two rows to ourselves?! Yay! Plus all the animals were up close too! Also if you hate bumpy car rides, try to stay away from the back! The ride was extremely bumpy.

We just walked around. We did the trails with the animals. Then started to head out since the park closes at 5pm. It’s Tough To Be a Bug was accepting guests so we headed in. It seems everyone had the same idea! As we were waiting for the show to start, a group of guests started to chant in Spanish “Start the show” and clapping/stomping. Unfortunately I didn’t film it as Mrs. BillyBuff said they might give us dirty looks. *sigh* The chanting got to the point where it felt awkward so an CM came up front and announced that the show will start now.

Now back to CBR to take a quick shower so we can head to dinner at Bongo’s at DTD!

Dinner was ok. I felt we could have gotten something better. Darn wasted our table service credits here. Oh well.

We used our vouchers to head over to Disney Quest. It was Mrs. BillyBuff’s first time so I thought she could experience it before it closes for good.

That’s it for today. Back to CBR for some rest!


Next Up: Day 2 - Magic Kingdom!

 

[BillyBuff]

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom!

Surprising the bus ride to the Magic Kingdom was not crowd heavy. I guess its because of the early morning EMH. But after arriving at the park, crowd levels were at medium. Not too crowded and not too light.The hub at the castle still has walls up. There were quite a lot of walls up almost every where we walked. I guess a lot of new things are coming to the Magic Kingdom!

Buzz Lightyear Ranger Spin had almost no wait so we walked on really quick. The bad part was the PhotoPass was malfunctioning. Also some of the “guns” were not working properly. This ride needs some a lot of repairs! We didn’t get our photos from this ride. Then their PhotoPass system for this ride went offline for the rest of the day.

We decided to check out the new Fantasyland. We have not checked this area out yet. Gaston’s for lunch. The pork shank was delicious!

It’s a Small World had no wait at all! Got our own row. Wow!

It started to get a bit humid so off to the Liberty Belle we go. Mrs. BillyBuff has never been on this so here we go. Also we noticed a lot of love bugs. It’s September so I guess it’s mating season. Haunted Mansion was also light on the crowds.

And of course overtime we’re at the Magic Kingdom we must have our funnel cakes! I didn’t get a photo of it but I did get this.. Its the waffles and chicken sandwich…which we gotten for FREE! Yes, FREE! The CM asked if I was hungry. I said yes. He asked if he gave me something free, would I take it….the guy next to me said he’ll take it. But the CM continued to ask me so he gave me the sandwich! It was pretty good.

It was still too humid so off to the PeopleMover for a bit of relaxation.

So, I do not know how I’ve gotten a reservation at Be Our Guest but we did! Originally we had Tony’s Town Square but their menu changed and it didn’t look too appetizing. Then we switched to Crystal Palace but wasn’t thrilled about the time… 4:55pm. So I kept checking and checking and finally saw an opening for BOG at 5:55pm so I clicked it to reserve it! I guess we got lucky! Plus it was around 30 days out!

We chilled and walked around the park some more. Oh yeah, if you’re the kind that goes to bed early then CBR is not for you. You can hear the fireworks from Illuminations. Good thing we don’t sleep that early!

Next Up: Day 3 - EPCOT!

And some heat exhaustion!

 

[Go Big Blue]

Love your pics!

 

[DJJimmy9]

Great report...helps pass the time on our flight. Only 30-minutes to touch down at MCO. BLT here we come!!!

 

[BillyBuff]

Day 3 - EPCOT!

Today felt hotter and more humid than the other days. I live in south Florida and am used to the heat but without the winds, this humidity is getting to me.
As we walked up to the entrance of EPCOT…..one word CROWDS

Wow, it seems so crowded today. EMH is for this evening from 9pm to 11pm. We just got here around 9:30am and its pretty crowded. Of course the first thing we head to is Spaceship Earth. It was pretty relaxing not to see anyone use their flash on this ride. I must have gotten on at a lucky time. Test track was pretty fast to get on. Not much of a wait.

Weather seems to be okay for now. Much on that later.

The Seas with Nemo & Friends is up next. The aquarium is always fun to check out.

After that we headed to Living with the Land and lunch at Sunshine Seasons. Had an awesome whoopie pie!

The World Showcase doesn’t seem that crowded yet but I have a feeling it will get crowded soon. Later on the clouds came out from nowhere. We left shortly after to go back to the hotel to change for dinner at Cape May Cafe.

Food at Cape May Cafe was pretty good! The mussels were great! Loved the crab legs and clams too. I definitely ate more than I could handle. We hung out at the Beach Club to watch the fireworks from Hollywood Studios.

After dinner we walked back to EPCOT to burn off some of our food. Not too crowded after Illuminations.

Next Up: Day 4 - Hollywood Studios

 

[BillyBuff]

Great report...helps pass the time on our flight. Only 30-minutes to touch down at MCO. BLT here we come!!!

Thanks! We wished we never left but at least we're a few hour's drive away!

Love your pics!

Thanks!

 

[Phillip Williams]

Great posts. I heard living with the land was closed for refurb. Is it open now?

 

[BillyBuff]

Great posts. I heard living with the land was closed for refurb. Is it open now?

As far as I know it was open last week.

 

[Choozee]

Love your pics!

 

[BillyBuff]

Day 4 - Hollywood Studios…Another HUMID Day

Saying it’s very humid is an understatement. What’s a comparison to this weather? Let’s say it’s a mix between a sauna and a steam room with the hot sun. I live in south Florida but this kind of mugginess is a lot to handle! Glad I bought the CoolCore towel from EPCOT and used it for the rest of my trip or otherwise I’d probably end up with extreme heat exhaustion. I did drink more than 64oz of water per day but the problem is my perspiration isn’t evaporating from me. The CoolCore towel definitely helped! Check it out here: http://www.coolcore.com/

So today’s EMH at Hollywood Studios was 8am to 9am so we missed the opening which meant the lines coming in isn’t that bad. But on the inside, crowds are slightly higher than usual. Even though we have FastPasses, we’re just winging it so we can use the passes for later.

First stop was The Great Movie Ride as the standby line was at least 5 minutes. Always loved the decor as they are very detailed.

After that we just walked around Hollywood Studios just to relax. Since we’re at WDW almost every year, going at a slow non-hectic pace is the way to go.

A quick lunch at Bill & Min’s without any lines. But after we’ve gotten our food, the lines started to fill up!

We walked around some more and definitely missed the Backlot Studios Tour ride. The Osborne lights are already up on the buildings. Too bad we don’t have time to catch it for the last time.

Not much to see anymore. We felt this park has gotten a bit boring? So we headed onto our next ride. Toy Story Mania had a long line for the FastPass+! Wow is it long! But it went by pretty fast.

Star Tours was fun. We went twice. First was standby then the second time we used our FastPass.

Hungry again so we stopped by the Commissary. Yup, more crowds! I guess it’s lunchtime. Plus Hollywood Studios does lack indoor seating for their quick service places. It is definitely too hot and humid to eat outside.

Lights, Motors, Action! was next. We arrived earlier than our fast passes and they were already lining guests in. I don’t know why guests give each other the dirty look as they pass them on the line. It’s not actually cutting since the queue is one big area. Plus the CMs asked that we fill in all possible areas in line. But this one guy looked like he wanted to kick my butt because I was behind him and ended up in front of him in line.

More walking around…

Dinner at Mama Melrose! Dinner was actually good here. I heard stories about people saying how it’s like Olive Garden, etc. but we felt different about it. We liked it!

So, after reviewing my images, I noticed majority of the pictures were out of focus. The culprit…sweat! I inadvertently touched my lens with sweaty fingers so it was smudged!

Anyways, we headed back to CBR for another night of rest. We didn’t even stay to watch the fireworks.



Up Next: Day 5 - Animal Kingdom

 

[BillyBuff]

Day 5 - Animal Kingdom

Another crowded day which I’m guessing is because of Labor Day weekend. Crowd levels are moderate to high. It’s bearable but not too crowded. But it will be later on as they extended closing time to 7:00pm! It was scheduled for 5pm then changed to 6pm then finally 7pm.

We love the safari so here we go again. It was a bit crowded on both lines. We managed to get the back row seats to ourselves again. We can see “more” from the back but it’s also a much bumpier ride.

Definitely another hot day here so we hit Tamu Tamu for a quick pineapple soft serve. Not the same as a Dole whip but this will do for now. Next we tried Harambe Market for the ribs. It was delish! We tried the milk tart as well as the watermelon lemonade.

Then we trekked over to Asia to visit the trail before hitting Festival of the Lion King.

It’s a short day at Animal Kingdom as our plans were to head back to CBR for some pool time…or so we thought. RAIN!

We chilled a bit in our room and got ready for dinner at BOMA. This was our first time with dinner at BOMA and we loved it! The meats & craving station had a really long line. We got our plate filled with pork shoulder and prime rib. Then after we stayed mainly with the other stations which we loved a lot. Not sure why the carving station is so popular. The other stations had no lines at all. After dinner and we’re back to CBR for a quick refill on drinks and off to bed we go!

Next Up: Day 6 - A Very Crowded Hollywood Studios

 

[BillyBuff]

Day 6 - A Very Crowded Hollywood Studios

As our resort bus approached Hollywood Studios, we can see the crowds lined up trying to get in. And it’s only 9:30am! EMH for today is 9:30pm to 11:30pm.

We immediately fast walked to our first fasts because we have 10 minutes left!

Next up was the Indiana Jones Stunt Show.

Lunch was at Fairfax Fare for a turkey leg! Again not much to do at Hollywood Studios so we decided to head over to Saratoga Springs to go to Downtown Disney.

Then back again for dinner at 50’s Primetime Cafe. This has got to be the worst wait ever! They were running behind on their reservations too. So we went to check in 10 minutes prior to our time and the CM said we can’t check in yet until 5 minutes of our reservation. But the next guests behind us said they were 15 minutes early and the CM checked them in! What the heck?! Then of course they spoke the same language because they are from the same country. I guess sometimes certain CMs give preferential treatment to certain guests. And of course our "countries" are having internal issues with each other but stuff like that shouldn't be held personal. I was also feeling a bit lightheaded due to low blood sugar so I wasn’t up to complaining with the CM. I finally went to another CM and she checked us in. The other CM had a smirk on her face as I was checked in. Guest Relations will be hearing something from me very soon…

Dinner was great. But we won’t be coming back here anymore just because of how the front desk handled guests. I seem to remember her from our last trip too!

Anyways, resort bus back to CBR was extremely crowded so we waited for the second one which also gotten packed like sardines. Being from NYC and the military, I’m used to being a sardine. But back to our room and time to pack as it will be our last night here. Boo!


Next Up: Day 7 - Magic Kingdom and Last Day!

 

[BillyBuff]

Day 7 - Magic Kingdom and Last Day!

Our last day at Walt Disney World! I am glad we’re just a few hours drive away so we can stay a little later than usual. We decided to check out the Polynesian and being a resort guest, we can park with our permit on the dash just in case.

Mrs. BillyBuff never took the monorail before. What?! Well, we usually stayed at the other moderates and deluxe but she never had a chance to go on a monorail so here we are. She thinks the monorail needs some improving. The ride felt very shaky. But it smelled somewhat…lol Off to the Magic Kingdom we go!

We’re just going to wing it today. Crowd levels are still high so we were glad we got our plans done earlier in the week.

Of course we just had to grab another funnel cake!

The area around the castle is still being worked on...

And Mrs. BillyBuff never had a Dole whip before…say what?! Got to get one! She loved it! She said the combination between the juice and soft serve was just perfect!

Also went to Tom Sawyer’s Island but the both bridges were closed…

Carousel of Progress had a technical issue where we were in a loop and kept watching the same scene at least 6 times! Even though we loved Carousel of Progress, the continuous loops was getting a bit annoying! They gave us fast passes for the inconvenience which we quickly darted over to Buzz Lightyear! The standby line was ridiculously long but we have our fastpasses!

After checking out the store on Main Street, off to Polynesian we go for a quick early dinner at Captain Cook’s and yet another Dole whip float at Pineapple Lanai!

With that said…home we go. We’ll miss WDW but at least it’s a few hours drive away!

THE END…?


I have videos which I will be posting up later as soon as I edit them so stay tuned!!

 

[Karin1984]

Nice report! I was there the same week and keep trying to find myself in your pics but I think we were never in the same park on the same day.

We were at 50s Prime Time Cafe on the 6th. Also with us they were running behind. It was crowded and loud in the lobby. That and my to-English-speaking-unpronouncable-last-name, I kept going back to the cms as well to make sure I didnt miss our table. Food was okay, server and atmosphere were great!

 

[BillyBuff]

Nice report! I was there the same week and keep trying to find myself in your pics but I think we were never in the same park on the same day.

We were at 50s Prime Time Cafe on the 6th. Also with us they were running behind. It was crowded and loud in the lobby. That and my to-English-speaking-unpronouncable-last-name, I kept going back to the cms as well to make sure I didnt miss our table. Food was okay, server and atmosphere were great!

A lot of people couldn't understand what the CMs were saying as they called out their names lol

So how was the crowd levels at the parks that you visited? I think I planned it poorly this time because I was following the EMH parks

 

[TXMNie]

Great report! Love the photos. Thanks!

 

[anealanis]

Can you tell me where that picture with the artists drawing Disney characters is? I would like to get some for my kids.

 

[Karin1984]

A lot of people couldn't understand what the CMs were saying as they called out their names lol

So how was the crowd levels at the parks that you visited? I think I planned it poorly this time because I was following the EMH parks

It was okay. I read more reports of people who thought it was more crowded. It was only my 2nd visit, but to me, it didnt feel crowded. MK sometimes, when we looked at the long lines at Starbucks for example. Or the fp-line for TSMM, but that one looked a lot worse than it was, maybe 10 minute wait.

Our park plan
1-september MK
2-september EP
3-september BB, HS
4-September MK, DTD
5-September AK, MK
6-September HS
7-September EP
8-september AK, MK
9-September EP ( plus hopping to MK for the parade)
10-september MK till 2pm

We were mainly avoid ing EMH.

 

[nilla]

I'm in!

Wait, it's over? Alright, guess I have some reading to do!

My first impression is "AWESOME photos"