Just Got Back

[Mixie]

Just got back! What a fun trip.

Weather: Great time to go - sunny, warm but not humid. Had one morning of rain (real rain, not just a quick shower) but other than that, fine!

Crowds: Not bad, except for the MK. MK was a madhouse the day we were there.

Wait times: Decent and usually overstated. For example: a 40 minute posted stand by wait for Toy Story was really a 25 minute wait. The only ride that was actually it's posted wait time was Soarin'.

Fastpasses: A must! We used FP for: Tower of Terror, Rock n Roll, Toy Story, Soarin, Test Track, Everest, Kali. Worth the effort for sure.

Walked on to: Tough to be a bug (first ride of the day) and Dinosaur (went during parade time), Voyage of the Little Mermaid (pouring rain outside), Living with the Land (just after Soarin'), Mission: Space (not sure why such a low line?).

Missed: Big Thunder and Splash Mountain (crowded and had no FP), Indiana Jones (missed the last show due to bad timing on our part), Maelstrom (never made it to Norway).

FYI - if you get ill at Disney (hubby was sick, sick sick the second day we were there) you can get transportation free to an Urgent Treatment clinic that is near Downtown Disney. Hubby had a bad sinus infection and needed antibiotics. He missed half our day at Hollywood Studios and our third day (our MK day) he needed to head back to the hotel for a nap. Threw off my planning but I just rolled with it and what can you do?

Fantasmic is totally worth the effort to go see. If you were on the fence about it, I'm pushing you over to the 'go see' side. We didn't have dinner reservations but that didn't make any difference. We did see the 10 pm show after there was an 8:30 show. The arena was mostly full for the 10 pm show. We didn't line up until about 9:00 ish. They started letting people in way before 10 so we were not just standing around for an hour.


Any questions???

 

[DAZY3BYZ]

Glad you had such a great trip!! Sorry your DH was sick. Been there...done that at Disney...NO FUN!! Glad you loved F! too!! So many people seem to think it is not worth the hassle but ,although I wish it wasn't so tough to see these days, I do think it is a spectacular show!!

 

[Mixie]

Thank you! I panicked when hubby got up Tuesday and said he needed a doctor. The front desk got me in touch with the clinic. I called and they had a driver there in 15 minutes.

They drove him back to our hotel and he joined us around 11 at HWS. After he was on anitbiotics for a couple of days he felt better.


A few other things:

We were booked for ASMu but when we got there they didn't have a preferred room for us! I was very upset since I had paid in advance for the room!!! The manager moved us to Sports, which was ok but not our theme at all. Room was nice, pool was nice, crowded, tho. The manager took care of our bags, got us a shuttle to Epcot (since it took nearly 45 minutes to get things sorted out - I was not happy) and gave us some fastpasses, which was nice. But the shocker was when I got the final room bill - they took $200 off the room charge. That was unexpected.

Food: Aside from our reservations (Marrakesh, TRex, Tusker House) the food was so-so. Got really tired of fries. Daughter especially didn't like the kids menus. I should have gone with my gut instinct and brought more food from home. But I have to say the chocolate muffins at breakfast were to die for. The scrambled eggs, tho, were terrible.

Cast members: Everyone was amazing. We wore our anniversary buttons and were wished a happy anniversary many times. No real bad CM stories from us.

Rides: Everything was in working order when we were there (aside from what's closed for updating, of course). No major breakdowns or bugs. I have to say I was very impressed with TSM, and disappointed in Buzz. I remember Buzz being so much fun to play, and TSM just blew it out of the water. We went back for TSM but unless they update Buzz I don't think I would do it again.

 

[mlittig]

Glad things worked out for your husband

 

[Mixie]

Thanks!

Let's see .. what else?

Magical Express: Excellent. We didn't have to worry about our bags at all. Everything arrived in our room, undamaged and secure.

Resort: All Star Sports - we had a nice room with double beds. Everything was in good condition. We were in room 6149 - one of the Surf Board rooms right next to the pool but not on pool side, which was good, I think it was quieter that way. Also very close to the food court. The pool showed a movie on the inflatable screen every night.

Busses: Sports was first to be picked up and first for drop off of the All Stars. A few mornings our bus was full enough that we went straight to our destination without stopping at the other all stars. Blizzard Beach and AK were 5 minutes away - really! Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney were the longest bus rides at about 30 minutes. Waited twice for about 20 minutes for a bus the whole trip. Most busses arrived within 10 or less.

Other Guests: Everyone seemed super nice while we were there. No real incidents to report. Seemed to me there were lots of college aged kids on spring break but they were, for the most part, not unruly.

Characters: DD wasn't into meet and greet so we didn't really do that. Wandering around I saw: Belle in France, Daisy, Lilo, King Louis, Rafiki, Mary Poppins, Goofy, Mickey, Minnie and probably others I can't think of at the moment. Lots at AK in Camp Minnie Mickey on our way to the Lion King show.

 

[kmedina]

Glad you loved F! too!! So many people seem to think it is not worth the hassle but ,although I wish it wasn't so tough to see these days, I do think it is a spectacular show!!

I love Fantasmic at DW. I will probably not watch it at Dl again. Unlike DW, Dl does not have a dedicated arena. On busy days, you have to scope out a seat more than two hours before the show starts. Losing those two hours is not fun, but sitting for over two hours in an uncomfortable place is even less fun. That is why I try to always see it at DW. It is much easier, especially with the Fantasmic Dining Package. Even without it though, it is still better since you get a real seat.

 

[cruise cruise cruise]

Where did you see Daisy? Was she doing autographs?
We have never taken the kids to WDW, but in all our trips to DL, Daisy is the one we have never gotten a sigi from
Thanks

 

[kmedina]

Where did you see Daisy? Was she doing autographs?
We have never taken the kids to WDW, but in all our trips to DL, Daisy is the one we have never gotten a sigi from
Thanks

I have never seen her at Dl either despite nearly 50 trips. On our last trip to DW, we saw her at HS on our 8th day. She was near the big hat where all of the characters are out on the morning.

 

[NaLisa]

We saw Daisy just after RD at Epcot. I was the FP runner for Soarin' and DH and DDs stopped for pics and autograph. No line at all since everyone was in a hurry to get to Soarin' or TT.

 

[Mixie]

Where did you see Daisy? Was she doing autographs?
We have never taken the kids to WDW, but in all our trips to DL, Daisy is the one we have never gotten a sigi from
Thanks

Really?

Daisy was in Epcot, real near the entrance. She was doing autographs, there was a line of about 20 people. We were there on Saturday just after opening and she was there. Oddly enough, when we left Epcot at about 4, she was in the exact same place still with a line. (I'm sure it was different signing session).

 

[jodipaige2004]

Daisy is a regular at Epcot first thing in the morning - and yes, barely any lines as people are too intense on doing the RP run to Soarin'! You can also find her intermittedly in town sqaure at MK. If you really want to guarantee a meet and greet, try breakfast or lunch at Tusker House in AK. She is always there.

 

[Mixie]

And lastly, regrets:

I regret not getting to see Illuminations. We went to Epcot the day we got there and I planned on staying for Illuminations, but hubby was feeling ill so we left just as it started. I've not seen the show since 1996.

I regret not getting enough Photopass pictures. The day we were at HS it was raining most of the morning. I only saw 1 photographer just at the entrance when we left. The day we were at MK it was so crowded, I only saw 2 photographers, even tho I was really looking. We did much better at AK - got lots of photos there.

I regret not purchasing a dog tag from the dog tag engraving machine that was in the MK, I think where Space Mountain lets out. DD got one for herself and I realized later that it would have been perfect to hang from my rear view mirror (I have one from a favorite concert hanging there now). I'm not one for souvineers - I only purchased a cup and a tshirt the whole trip for myself - but I wish I had thought of it at the time.

And - I regret that the night we arrived back home, in the airport, I dropped our refillable mug and broke the lid. Had it all week long, carried it around, used it every day and dropped it an hour from home. Made me so mad at myself!