Maybe the water wasn't working? When we were there last July it had water/mist coming out--not a lot, but enough to cool off a bit. I remember being really grateful for it though, it was SO hot!
I think it was a combination of things. By the time we made it to HS, we were on day 8 and we were all exhausted. We were kind of underwhelmed with the park in general, but Fantastmic!, after seeing Wishes and Illuminations, just didn't measure up. Plus it was raining the whole time, not heavily but enough to be uncomfortable. The water projections were pretty cool, but Aaron and I both thought "That's it?" lol. I do think we'll have to give it another try some other time. I doubt we'll make time for it this trip since we'll only have 3-4 hours in HS max, but maybe next time!
Oh, yeah. I can see how it being miserably hot and rainy could definitely take away from the enjoyment. I wonder if they alter the show when it's raining. I can also see not being overwhelmed by the park. We skipped it the first two times we went to WDW and the main reason we went this time was for Jedi training.
You know, the sad thing is, they're supposed to keep everybody happy. So the easiest thing she could do if you weren't going to say anything was just to let it go and then try to appease you. Doesn't make it right, but I can't really blame the CM for taking the path of least resistance.
That makes sense. We didn't lose much time with that incident, it was a combination of things. We definitely should have been up and out earlier than we were to be safe.
Geeze. From what I keep seeing, it seems to be a madhouse now that you've got 3 breakfasts going on in the park... Had they started doing the BoG breakfast while you were there or was it still just CRT and CP?
I hadn't thought of that. They had started serving BOG breakfast so I guess it made the crowds a bit worse.
That's a great picture!
Thanks!
That stinks. This is one that we always try to work in. I've booked the ADR for basically each of our last 3 trips. But every time, I get an 8 am ADR and then a month before our trip they'll move MK EMH to that day or extend the park hours so that our ADR isn't actually until after the park opens. I've still never had a breakfast anywhere in MK.
I definitely see the appeal but I think eating the breakfast is a waste of time if you really just want to be out enjoying the park.
I'm glad it wasn't just us. Every day we had messages on the phone that weren't meant for us. I hope the right rooms actually got the message.
Oh yeah, I'd definitely want to stay on top of that one. I'd have a lot of faith in the system at this point. Kind of reminds me of my issues trying to figure out how I was going to leave
Disneyland.
Yeah, glad we got it straightened out. Not that there weren't problems when we were leaving but that's a story for another day.
That's just not right...
I know. But in their defense they weren't gone long.
Well, if I were you, I'd tell them to have fun at the tree house and they could meet me in Frontierland when they're done.
I wish I'd thought of that.
Crystal Palace breakfast buffet was not one of my favorites, but my mom liked the food and my kids loved Eeyore too! As for Fantasmic!, we were so underwhelmed that we left before it was over. I did not get what was going on, it was too far away to see from the first five rows, and I could not understand any words, if there was any audio besides music. We were happy to make it out before the mass of people. I think I would like the Star Wars academy. I wonder if old people are accepted for Jedi Training?
The food and characters were great so we enjoyed the meal. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy Fantasmic! I'm glad we got the preferred seating so our view was pretty good. Age 12 is the cut off for Jedi Training, I think. I think I would have liked doing it, too.
That's annoying! We haven't tried that yet - I guess we probably won't in the future.
I think if you got there super early before your ADR time it would be okay. We just had a problem getting anywhere early for our entire trip. The actual meal was good.
Of course you freaked out! At least it got fixed.
We got it fixed but that wasn't the end of our transportation issues.
Why the hating on Swiss Family Tree House? I finally re-read the book (a childhood favorite) after our last visit. I had forgotten how all of their experiments always worked, and the Dad was always right. Somehow that didn't seem odd as a kid, but as a grownup, it did get annoying after awhile, and I wanted one of his experiments to fail miserably!
I don't really hate it but I'd done it every other trip and I didn't really feel like I needed to do it again. I thought an actual ride would be more fun.
I don't remember ever reading the book as a kid but it actually sounds like something Aidan would enjoy. I'll look for it at the library.
Yay for MK day!! I hate things didn't go as planned for you guys with early entry
We only did it once last time, we were late, and it was totally stressful. That's a great castle pic though!! Much better than the view from the CP porch when we were there--it was across a bunch of construction :/ I'm so excited to see the gardens finished this year!
We LOVED CP. That was the one my kids both requested to do again this year. I just love how cute and cuddly all the characters are; I never really outgrew Winnie the Pooh I guess
Alyssa feels the same way about the Magic Carpets! It was the first ride she actually enjoyed at MK, so every time we passed it she wanted to jump on
Yeah, super stressful. I think next time I'll just try to make rope drop again. We still had the construction walls from the entrance of the park so it's just as well we didn't get a photo from Main Street. Are you going back this year?! Lucky!!
We really enjoyed the breakfast which cheered me up after the initial disappointment.
The carpets are great because if you start out in Adventureland you can do a ride right away without a wait and that gets the day off to a positive start.
That's frustrating! I've actually been reading reports lately of people who don't get let in until right before their ADRs, or people who for some reason can't get the pictures ... I think that pre-park ADRs aren't as valuable as they used to be.
I love all of the character pictures! Even if you didn't get the desired pre-park ADR benefits, it's still nice that the boys enjoyed meeting the characters!
Andy mentioned above the BoG breakfast. Wonder if that's why the crowds are so high. You're right, the great CP experience lessened my disappointment quite a bit.
I think the carpets are such an underrated ride. People think they're just the same as Dumbo & every other ride, but they really are so much fun!
I'm looking forward to seeing what you did next!
They are great because you can always count on their not being much of a line.
Having read your dining report, I still can't believe it was so crowded getting into the park for early entry. But your perfect castle view and the boys pics with the winnie the pooh crowd may just make up for it. They are great!
Glad you got your ME all worked out. I haven't gotten our tags for our trip in a few days. They assured me I can just give our claim checks to the ME desk and they can take care of it, but definitely don't have a warm and fuzzy on that.
My daughter loves the flying carpets too. Especially that darn spitting camel. Gets me every time.
I'm gonna vote you go ride BTMR by yourself next!
Totally agree - the CP breakfast and characters made up for my photo disappointment. Oh, I'd be a little nervous about not having the tags but I hope if all works out for you.
I wish I'd ridden Splash or BTMRR by myself.
I didn't realize until the next morning and I completely panicked. 
I ran down tho the Front Desk and they told me how to contact lost and found. When I did they told me they had my camera. 
I was so relieved! We had to take a short detour to - I think TTC but don't quote me on that - pick it up but it was completely painless. That's one of the things that has made me a Disney fan for life. 
The PP photographers all had lines and we had to check in at CP.
They were also seated next to us at CP with their happy family. 
I'm looking forward to having both kids in school full time next year. I don't know what I'll do with all my free time. I might have to find a job. 
We continued on through Adventureland and found a short wait for this ride.
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