Live Report: Mostly Free Dining

[bettybeth]

We are arriving on 9/21 and I'm afraid the walk on rides will be history!

Why are you afraid? We arrive on 9/26 and from everything I've read I'm expecting low crowds. I have booked all of our ADR's just in case.

 

[SLDL]

You have an interesting perspective & I hope my trip (in 12 days!) goes as smoothly as yours. As someone else mentioned, everyone will have a different experience...thanks for sharing yours.

 

[blue_river]

Thank you for posting that information, because sometimes when I read how you can no longer walk up to a restaurant or a popular restaurant with no ADR because of the Dinning Plan, I think to myself it maybe true but not 365 days a year.

I have said some Disboards members over hype ADR's & how you can not do walkup's anymore, so your post proves otherwise. I hope others who claim you can't do walkup's see what you posted.

Other members are posting THEIR experience at the TIMES they were visiting. I imagine things like this change daily so just because one person does post that there were no walkups available does not mean their CLAIM is untrue. While we were visiting (Aug. 26 - Sept. 2) there were people being turned away from Hollywood & Vine, CRT, Chef Mickeys and Coral Reef. My claim is TRUE but that doesn't mean that it isn't the same thing the next day or the next week!

 

[blue_river]

Just because others experienced things differently than previous posters does not mean that their experiences were false. It seems to me as if you think other posters are not telling the truth. They are posted as experiences ... just as yours are. I am thankful we have the disboards to rely on for these experiences and then we can judge and post our own when we get back.

Off the top of my head, here are some nuggets I gleaned from the Disboards while preparing for my trip. All are false in my experience.

1. People who check in late don't get their room request honored.
2. National car rental stinks, and Emerald Aisle only has lousy intermediate cars (especially for people who arrive late at night).
3. Disney bus service is great!
4. ADRs are necessary if you wish to have a table service meal in September.
5. Only lousy desserts are available at Pepper Market.
6. Disney had banned skimpy tops.
7. It storms every day, mid-day in September (it has stormed twice so far, once in the mid-afternoon, and a second time at sunset).
8. Restaurant servers hate the dining plan.
9. It is not possible to pay for a child's meal OOP at a character meal.
10. Cape May has gone down hill.
11. Garden Grill has gone donw hill.
12. At character meals, servers will rush you.

ETA:

13. Diamond AAA Parking isn't worth it. It's great at Epcot and MGM, and very good at MK unless you arrive at MK very early (before opening) and wind up in the first line or two in the lot, or arrive so late you can park anywhere at MK.

There are others I cannot remember. Caveat emptor when reading these boards folks (including what I write here).

 

[PortieOwner]

Sorry about the delay in posting a followup report. We were so busy Sunday/Monday finishing our trip and travelling home that I didn't get internet access until this morning. I always hate leaving Orlando and always wish I could just move down there.

One gripe about CSR which I will post on the resorts board is the convention which arrived Sunday afternoon. This was the Sterling jewelry group, out of Ohio I think. This was a huge, young, and rowdy group. They were already drinking hard in the lounge in the early afternoon and by Sunday night they had overflowed the lounge and were drinking throughout El Centro, and even wandering the gift shop with their open beers. Lines at Pepper Market that night and the next day at lunch were as long as 30 people. This was a trashy, low class group and I wonder if Sterling realizes what poor public relations it is to have their employees behave that way at a convention at a family resort?

I am sure CSR likes this convention--the attendees were throwing around money like drunken sailors. If they are there next year I personally would alter my plans to check out from CSR before they arrive or choose another resort. Last year we were there at the end of September and another jewelry retailer (Robinson?) was having a convention there and those folks were well-behaved (apart from smoking everywhere). They did not seem to have any Sterling people staying in our Cabanas area which was good.

At the end of the trip we had something like 1 TS, 3 CS, and 5 Snacks left over. Part of the reason we had so many snacks left over is that Pepper Market refused to deduct snack credits for some of the snacks I bought and rolled them into our counter service meals (mostly breakfasts). I think we got 5-6 Bakery II items this way from Pepper Market.

We had one TS left because the first night I paid OOP for my kid's meal at Boma. I mostly did this to see if it was possible to "share" credits, and it was no problem doing it. As it worked out, I had one leftover TS credit because of that and paid WDW $12.99 for an OOP meal so things worked out in WDW's favor.

All in all, the meal plan was more food than we could eat, but I still liked using it and I could see buying the plan because it would be a cost saving and I would not worry about what an extra snack or CS meal cost. It is not that hard to spend $20 (or more!) on a single CS meal at WDW. The meal plan was super easy to use, all the employees everywhere (TS, CS, snack carts) are clued in on how to use it so it's no problem.

In terms of ADRs, I cancelled quite a few: Chef Mickey's at 1030am, Coral Reef at 730pm (later changed to 550pm but cancelled), Boma at 8am, Kona Cafe at 630pm, and Hollywood and Vine at 8am. We found sit down meals did cut into touring time too much, although buffets worked the best for all of us in terms of getting healthy food, counter service was more efficient (but worse food) and did enable us to recharge sufficiently.

Overall the resort was more crowded over the weekend and there were a lot of Florida locals at the parks and resorts (I could tell a big difference in the CSR parking lot between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning). If I were to do the trip again I'd consider going down the Sunday before Labor Day and coming back the Saturday after Labor Day. I think Tues-Fri were some of the quietest WDW days of the year. But only do this if you can cope with sky-high humidity and heat and sun. That weather can sap the energy out of many people including kids. My single best purchase was a case of Dasani water at SuperTarget for around $4. We always had plenty of cold water with us, and we had an insulated 1 liter bottle we brought along and took regular drinks. It is very easy to become dangerously dehydrated in the sort of heat/humidity Florida had last week.

Car rental was with National Emerald Aisle and they were great. $116 for the week for a Buick Rendevous with leather interior, probably a $33,000 vehicle. It was a very good car for us--the kid's car seat fit well and was higher and easy for us to put him into it. The car got great gas milage, I think I put 8 gallons into it at the end of the week. Leaving the car back at National was fast and painless. Again, I was not impressed with the buses the one day we used them. I was very happy with AAA Diamond parking and I'd use AAA again just to get the parking pass.

Sunday

Sunday morning we had a breakfast at Boma scheduled but I cancelled it the night before because we didn't want to deal with being there at 8am (we found with our child he wanted to sleep in and he needed the sleep despite taking nap time mid day every day and being back in the room by 8-830pm every night). We got a CS breakfast to go from Pepper Market (one of their CS breakfast meals will feed 3-4 people).

We went to Animal Kingdom and arrived at the rear of the pack for the 9am opening, so we missed most of the opening parade event. We went right to the Safari which showed a wait of 20 minutes but was nearly a walk-on. Afterwards we walked the Pagnali trail and then headed to the Boneyard playground. These extensive playgrounds (Boneyard, Honey I Shrunk the...) are my kid's favorite thing to do at the theme parks so we devoted big chunks of time for the playgrounds. While he was there I ran to Expedition Everest and got Fastpasses (the standby was only 20 minutes and the Fastpass time was less than an hour). At the same time I checked the Kali line and it was 10 minutes and they were not doing Fastpasses yet (I am not sure they offered them all day for Kali). Went back to Dinoland and we did baby-swap for the Dinosaur ride (also a walk-on) and then returned to the Boneyard. There were plenty of people on the paths of AK, but the rides and shows and other attractions had short waits--the longest I saw was the rollercoaster in Dinoland which showed a 30 minute wait (in the hot sun--ouch).

We did lunch at Restrauntasaurus (basically McDonalds). We chose it not for the food, which is not very good, but for the air conditioning which we really needed. AK is tough on a hot humid day and every day we were in Orlando was hot and humid. I would have preferred Flame Tree (but no AC) or Tusker House (too far from Dinoland). After the meal we headed to EE but the ride was not operating. In fact it would be broken down much of the afternoon. One warning: if there is a ride you really, really want to do don't leave it for the last day. More on this below. Instead we rode Kali which showed a 20 min. standby time and it was about 15 mins. I bet it would have been 5 minutes if EE was running. We did get soaked on the Kali ride and I would like to thank those who chose skimpy tops who rode it on Sunday at about noon.

We headed over to Camp Mickey-Minnie and stopped on the way at the Kodak Tree of Life photo spot and once nice Disney professional photographer snapped our picture for us. It's great when their pros are willing to volunteer to take the picture (I think they will always do it if you ask them but I can be shy about asking). At Camp Mickey-Minnie we took some pictures with Donald Duck--tiny line for this, maybe one family in front of us. None of the characters were busy (a Lion King show was starting). Then we left AK, with three EE Fastpasses still in my pocket.

While my family napped I decided to return to AK and try to redeem a Fastpass or two on EE. But the ride was still closed and they didn't seem to think it would be up anytime soon, so I asked one of the castmembers there if I could go in to see the queue area which I had heard was terrific. I was leaving the next day and would not be back to AK to ride EE. So the nice castmember spoke to the ride manager who said it was fine and she was responsible for me. I got a great behind the scenes tour of the queue (both standby and Fastpass). She showed my some hidden Mickeys, a few other ride secrets, and explained what a lot of the artifacts meant. This was one of the high points of the trip and proof that Disney really does a good job hiring and training their cast members. On the way out of the park I stopped at Guest Services and filled out a castmember compliament card.

Late afternoon we headed to Epcot for our final time there. We had cancelled Coral Reef and booked the Princess meal at Akershus, mostly to check out the Norweigan food and see how it compared to the Old Days when I always went to Akershus on every trip and the meal there was always the best of my visit. Anyway, arriving at Epcot we visited Innoventions East and participated in the American Plastics Council's robot race and build your own robot activity. This was a great event and my kid loved the free robot. Next we went to Test Track. The sign said 20 minutes so I asked if I could trade my EE Fastpasses for TT Fastpasses and the castmember did so. Inside there was no waiting in Fastpass or Standby so it didn't matter and for some reason when our car came back to the exit point they asked if we wanted to ride it again and we did, so we had a 2-fer.

After this we went and rode the Mexico boat ride (no wait) and then signed in for our Akershus meal. It took them about 15 minutes to seat us but once we were seated everything was run with Nordic efficiency. The koldbord is not what it once was in the pre-princess days but you can still find some quality appetizers there (I liked the beet salad and potato salad the best). I had the poached cod for the entree and that was done very well. My wife's salmon and pasta was also good. Of the princesses, Jasmine was by far my favorite. She was really hot, and the best Jasmine I have ever seen.

After dinner we rode Maelstrom, again with no wait, and then we walked around the World Showcase. Along the way we stopped at the model trains near Germany for a while. They had fixed them up since last September when I remember several trains not working, and not running at night. This time they were running after dark, and they were well-lit. We also stopped briefly at the Japanese garden. That was our short trip to Epcot. We once again missed a rain storm, which began as we got to the car, and ended by the time we were back at CSR.

Monday

Monday was a hectic day. We packed up first thing in the morning, then got some CS takeout again from Pepper Market. I got checkout time extended to 12pm and after breakfast we went to Disney Studios for a couple of hours. We were there in time for the opening ceremony, walked by ABC Theatre and got tickets for the 10am Playhouse Disney Live in Concert and then went to Star Tours which we rode twice. There were brief waits to ride but only because they wanted to try to fill up the spaceships (they were only running 2-3 simulators that morning). Afterwards we took the Great Movie Ride, and decided to skip Playhouse Disney because our kid wanted to play in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. This place is a huge hit for many kids. While we was there I found some iced coffee for my wife at the "Bookstore" and then walked over to the Walt Disney Story. I didn't have time to watch the movie, just browse the exhibits and I spoke a little bit with one of the castmembers there.

On the way back from the Walt Disney exhibit I saw that there were characters everywhere along Mickey Ave, including Rabbit and Balu! So I got the family and we went back for photos with Rabbit and Baloo. Then we stopped at the ABC Commissary on the way out for a cold drink (I didn't try the food but the menu looks fine and the ABC Commissary must be the nicest, cleanest, coolest indoor CS place at any park).

Then it was time to go back to CSR, complete packing and drive to the airport.

My wife says no WDW trips for at least two years but I heard Disneyland or perhaps even DLP calling.

Portie

 

[PortieOwner]

what and where is character connection?

It is right across the covered walkway from Innoventions West. Directly south from the Innoventions West building and just to the right, or northwest, of the Fountain View bakery/coffee shop. Definitely check it out.

Portie

 

[PortieOwner]

Though you have been kind enough to post while actually onsite, PortieOwner, and lots of us find some of your comments useful, it sounds as if you're a bit upset with previous posts you've found here and vehemently disagree with?? Or did some of the stuff you read here make you unnecessarily anxious pre-trip? Or raise/lower expectations too much???

Yes, that's the problem, some of the things I read here really did make me anxious. Same thing happened last year and I didn't learn my lesson.

I am also trying to be a useful critic, so sorry if I sound too harsh.

Portie

 

[PortieOwner]

Those were people's accounts of what they experienced at the time of their trip. Just because you did not experience them during your trip does not make them false. Many things are based on when you go. You are going during a less busy time, so certainly that does affect many things.

I did not experience many of the things you did while there in August, that does not make your accounts false, just different.

Here is one specific problem I had: people insisted that no ADRs would be available at the last minute or as a walk-up in September. I must have read that 50 times on these boards. As a result, I didn't make what would have been some useful adjustments in our dining schedule until later in the trip (and that was at my wife's insistence). It turned out that I had no problem getting whatever reservations or time adjustments I needed from WDW-DINE, even on the day of my meal.

Portie

 

[PortieOwner]

Why are you afraid? We arrive on 9/26 and from everything I've read I'm expecting low crowds. I have booked all of our ADR's just in case.

Here is my own ill-informed opinion. Don't expect low crowds! We were there last year from about Sept. 27th-Oct. 3 and once the Food and Wine festival started things got really busy, especially at Epcot but all the parks were more crowded. I would have preferred going in late September this year but based on last year's crowds, and the yucky atmosphere of Food and Wine, I decided to go right after Labor Day.

One other thing--I was overhearing some Southwest ground employees chat at the airport and they said there is no longer a "quiet" season in the Spring (much of May used to be quieter) and in the Fall the only "quiet" season now is the last week in August and the first couple of weeks in September. By mid-September things are back to October levels.

To avoid crowds do what the tour books recommend--arrive early. And avoid early entry mornings unless you plan to bail to another park or nap by 11am or noon.

Portie

 

[Buzz2001]

One gripe about CSR which I will post on the resorts board is the convention which arrived Sunday afternoon. This was the Sterling jewelry group, out of Ohio I think. This was a huge, young, and rowdy group. They were already drinking hard in the lounge in the early afternoon and by Sunday night they had overflowed the lounge and were drinking throughout El Centro, and even wandering the gift shop with their open beers. Lines at Pepper Market that night and the next day at lunch were as long as 30 people. This was a trashy, low class group and I wonder if Sterling realizes what poor public relations it is to have their employees behave that way at a convention at a family resort?

I hope you drop Sterling an email as well.

 

[Nasus]

Why are you afraid? We arrive on 9/26 and from everything I've read I'm expecting low crowds. I have booked all of our ADR's just in case.

I didn't mean I was frightened, only as a figure of speech. Guess its a Southern thing Anyway, I'm sure that the low crowds will be history by 9/21 when we arrive specifically because I don't have good luck where that's concerned. Also, it it getting close to Food and Wine and the first MNSSHP. Crowded or not, I appreciate PortieOwner's take on things

Susan

 

[PortieOwner]

I hope you drop Sterling an email as well.

I'm going to send them snail mail. Maybe I will cc Coronado Springs but I really don't blame them much for the behavior of their guests.

BTW Sterling is the owner of Kay and Jared Jewlers. Must be a good business to be in since they clearly had a lot of money to throw around.

Portie

 

[PortieOwner]

I didn't mean I was frightened, only as a figure of speech. Guess its a Southern thing Anyway, I'm sure that the low crowds will be history by 9/21 when we arrive specifically because I don't have good luck where that's concerned. Also, it it getting close to Food and Wine and the first MNSSHP. Crowded or not, I appreciate PortieOwner's take on things

Susan

My experience last year was that crowds were light until Food and Wine started (on the Friday of that week). Other DisBoards people down there at the same time seemed to confirm that right up until the 29th crowds were low. As always, get up early, and make use of the Crowd Blog over at touringplans.com and also Tour Guide Mike's ideas (if you are a subscriber). If one park seems really bad, don't be afraid to bail. We saw a lot of this last Saturday--MK wasn't an early open or anything but the crowds piled up (such as they were--nothing like peak season) by mid-day and people headed elsewhere. Epcot that afternoon was very easy to tour.

One thing I thought WDW did very well this time was keeping the parks open for decent hours (and keeping many Future World rides open until 9pm), as well as keeping park entertainment (parades, characters, singing, etc.) at summertime levels. I have been down once before on Night of Joy weekend and they had the MK closing at 6PM and nothing else open except World Showcase beyond 6PM or so (this was in 1997).

Portie