My (very belated) Trip Report LA,USO, IoA, WDW

[WanderlustNZ]

I'm with you on the length of the cruise and that 5 would be too short. That said I've never been a cruise person so I'm hoping that will change! The things i do to get my Disney fix and for our DS!.

Thanks for the blog link, a great read. I didn't know that you could book a specific stateroom. I understand what you mean by the upgrade, it would seem a no brainer to upgrade to me, but I totally understand what you mean about the space and am glad that your research helped you make the right decision for you all. Loved the photo of your DS sitting in the overside window, certainly looks relaxed.

I'll have a look at those suggestions for the snow part, pesky work got in the way during the day! back to the planning...

I have no doubt you'll be converted once you try it.

There is something quite magical about sitting up on deck, enjoying your morning cuppa, and watching as you sail into a brand new destination. Sure beats planes and airports for getting around any day.

Choosing a stateroom is an absolute must as almost every cabin on a ship is different. The further forward you are, or the higher the deck, the more rocking you feel, the further back you are, the more likely you are to feel engine vibrations.
Cabins near elevators are good for getting around quickly, but are usually noisier. Cabins under the pool deck are to be avoided if you like to sleep in. Cabins too close to bars or the theatre should be avoided if you want to go to bed early.
Basically the best cabins are those with cabins above, below, and on either side.

Also be aware that an upgrade is often not what one would consider an upgrade. If you agree to accept an upgrade should you be offered one, you need to be prepared for possible disappointment (unless of course the only higher stateroom categories are suites). There are lower class balconies on Disney ships that are closed in and have obstructed views. There is also one (I can't remember which ship) that only really has room for one person.
There are also higher class balconies located in areas that I would worry would be really noisy.

Basically, unless you really couldn't care less which part of the ship you get moved to (and it will be to a cabin that no one else has picked) it is worth considering choosing a cabin you like and locking it in.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Hopefully this link works. If so, scroll down to the "Tiny Dancer"

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1426

 

[lffam]

I have no doubt you'll be converted once you try it.

There is something quite magical about sitting up on deck, enjoying your morning cuppa, and watching as you sail into a brand new destination. Sure beats planes and airports for getting around any day.

Choosing a stateroom is an absolute must as almost every cabin on a ship is different. The further forward you are, or the higher the deck, the more rocking you feel, the further back you are, the more likely you are to feel engine vibrations.
Cabins near elevators are good for getting around quickly, but are usually noisier. Cabins under the pool deck are to be avoided if you like to sleep in. Cabins too close to bars or the theatre should be avoided if you want to go to bed early.
Basically the best cabins are those with cabins above, below, and on either side.

Also be aware that an upgrade is often not what one would consider an upgrade. If you agree to accept an upgrade should you be offered one, you need to be prepared for possible disappointment (unless of course the only higher stateroom categories are suites). There are lower class balconies on Disney ships that are closed in and have obstructed views. There is also one (I can't remember which ship) that only really has room for one person.
There are also higher class balconies located in areas that I would worry would be really noisy.

Basically, unless you really couldn't care less which part of the ship you get moved to (and it will be to a cabin that no one else has picked) it is worth considering choosing a cabin you like and locking it in.

is this they type of thing you are talking about as the mini suite?

with the wall separating the bedroom? I really do like that idea, but I must say I would have thought having an open verandah would outweigh that? I know it will be personal preference, and Ive not experienced it, but in theory to me it would seem that the "fresh air" and being able to sit outside would be a big plus.

I found this video of stateroom 5522 . Am I right that 5520 doesn't have the split bathrooms?

From the DCL website it seems this stateroom is more aft, did you notice any rocking? I'm not sure it will bother us, but then I've never been on a cruise so I am trying to hedge my bets. I know what you mean about planes and airports, I seem to spend half my working life in one so its not my favourite part of my holidays. I want to get somewhere and relax.

As you and others have said the cost of the cruse of Christmas is astronomical when compared to before and after, but then we think it might be our preferred way to spend Christmas - the Parks may just be too crazy for us and I'm not sure we can find the right white Christmas to suit us , but I'll keep looking

 

[lffam]

Hopefully this link works. If so, scroll down to the "Tiny Dancer"

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1426

link worked, but I'm not sure what you were referring to on theTiny Dancer post Stateroom 5188 with the small balcony?

 

[WanderlustNZ]

link worked, but I'm not sure what you were referring to on theTiny Dancer post Stateroom 5188 with the small balcony?

Lol, I'm surprised you're not shocked by how awful it is.

That verandah caused quite a stir when people started posting pics of it on cruise critic as it's probably the smallest verandah anyone had ever seen. Definitely no space for sitting with your partner and drinking coffee. In fact there is barely any space to stand.
This cabin would have been considered an 'upgrade' as far as my booking went, and even though I wasn't keen on any upgrade, this one in particular would have made me cry.

That's a great pic of one of the 8a minisuites - it shows all the space on the floor. As for whether fresh air would be better than all that space and two televisions, it's up to personal preference.
We have cruised with a verandah before and we preferred all the space. In fact we rarely consider upgrading to verandah on any ship as we don't find we use the space enough to justify the price. When we're in our room, we tend to be relaxing on the bed reading or watching TV. When we want to spend time relaxing outside, we like going up to one of the restaurants, pools, or bars on deck. There was a bar up in the adults only area of the Fantasy that was lovely and quiet and often had live music. It was DH and I's favourite place to chill out together when DS was in the kids club.
In saying that, I know couples who swear by verandahs and eat every breakfast out there, and sit out there for hours every evening. For them, the verandah is worth every cent.

We have cruised in an inside cabin before and that is one thing DH have sworn we'll never do again. The lack of natural light made me uncomfortable and I never wanted to be in the cabin except to sleep. But for people like my mum, who never spends time in her cabin anyway, she only ever books inside cabins in order to save money. Again, it depends on preferences and how you intend to spend time on your cruise.

That 8a was a forward cabin, but we felt very little rocking. However, in all fairness, the Caribbean was like a millpond during our cruise and we wouldn't have felt much rocking wherever we were. I knew from experience that my whole family could handle a bit of rocking had we got some (in fact I kind of like it), but we still took some prescribed sea sickness tablets for DS just incase we needed them (which we didn't). Probably the biggest issue with it's location was the walking distance to the other end of the ship, but given how much you eat on a cruise, we needed the exercise. A big plus to it's location was that it was on a dead end corridor, meaning no through traffic so it was very quiet. It was also super close tot the kids club - DS's favourite place on the whole ship.

There was no split bath, but that didn't worry us at all. The 3 of us share a single bathroom just fine in any hotel room around the world (or even at home for that matter). I preferred having the extra space in the room.

 

[lffam]

I was shocked at how small it was and Oh yeah now I get the context with the upgrade!!

I completely understand what you mean about the space it is something that we think is premium also. We don't really know what will want to do on board. Of course we are going with the view of being out and about enjoying the activities ect on board but we haven't yet experienced it and given that I said to DW a few years ago a cruise was never on my plans I think I'm hedging my bets a little. I do like the idea of having breakfast out on the verandah or sitting out reading a book. I hear what you say about the bathroom not being split as when we thought about it we said exactly what you said about how most hotel rooms have and we have stayed in a lot of those together.

After s but more research and some medical advise I think the ski/mountain resorts will be out. Most I've looked at are at a reasonable altitude which is something we are better of avoiding for some reasons I won't go into here. We are looking at Vermont though! A sleepy New England town !could end up being a pipe dream but giving it a chance.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

After s but more research and some medical advise I think the ski/mountain resorts will be out. Most I've looked at are at a reasonable altitude which is something we are better of avoiding for some reasons I won't go into here. We are looking at Vermont though! A sleepy New England town !could end up being a pipe dream but giving it a chance.

Fair enough, you have to do what is right for your health.

One other option I thought of could be Quebec. I have no idea what flights cost to get there, but it does look like an awfully pretty city with all it's European influences.

Also, I just had another thought about the cruise - did they add Midship Detective Agency to the Magic when they updated it? Your son will love it and it's a wonderful thing to do as a family.

 

[LivingforDisney]

Wow, that is small.
We got the verandah, mind you none of us have ever done a cruise!
My thinking was , my sister & I will probably be up early, so we can have a coffee on the verandah whilst kids are waking up , getting ready, also in the evening will be nice.
My kids tend to stick to me like glue, I am going to have to try to get them to try out the teenagers club, but they are both quite shy, and probably wont even talk to anyone lol.
My son will be 17 on this trip, he has come out of his shell a bit, if someone starts up a conversation he will be right, but he wont initiate it!!!
I ended up going with a cabin on deck 7 , mid ship, with a Murphy bed.
Do they let you look at the cabin if they offer you are upgrade? or if you say yes, then its just well a surprise lol?
Any chance they would offer me a suite lol

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Wow, that is small. We got the verandah, mind you none of us have ever done a cruise! My thinking was , my sister & I will probably be up early, so we can have a coffee on the verandah whilst kids are waking up , getting ready, also in the evening will be nice. My kids tend to stick to me like glue, I am going to have to try to get them to try out the teenagers club, but they are both quite shy, and probably wont even talk to anyone lol. My son will be 17 on this trip, he has come out of his shell a bit, if someone starts up a conversation he will be right, but he wont initiate it!!! I ended up going with a cabin on deck 7 , mid ship, with a Murphy bed. Do they let you look at the cabin if they offer you are upgrade? or if you say yes, then its just well a surprise lol? Any chance they would offer me a suite lol

Hopefully your son will surprise you. My DS is very shy, but after just a few days, he was practically begging us to let him go back to the kids club.

Most upgrades are assigned prior to sailing day. It depends on the cruise company (and sorry, I'm not sure of the specifics with Disney), but sometimes you might just get upgraded without being asked. I've read of cases where people didn't even know they'd been upgraded until they went into their online reservation and saw a different cabin.

Wouldn't a suite upgrade be amazing! From what I understand, suites are pretty popular on the Disney cruises and book out quite early. However it's technically not impossible to be upgraded to a suite, just unlikely. If you have booked one of the highest classes of balcony cabin your chances will be higher as most cruise upgrades are within a few cabin subcategories.

Had I got an upgrade from the top category of window cabin (8a) it would have been quite possible it would have been to the lowest balcony category. So the chances of getting that thimble sized balcony would have been a real possibility.

Without looking at a deck plan, deck seven mid ship sounds like a good choice. Also due to the dynamics of your travelling party (travelling with older teens who sometimes sleep in for ages), I can definitely see why you might want a balcony as a place to go and talk while you're waiting for them to wake up.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Wow, that is small. We got the verandah, mind you none of us have ever done a cruise! My thinking was , my sister & I will probably be up early, so we can have a coffee on the verandah whilst kids are waking up , getting ready, also in the evening will be nice. My kids tend to stick to me like glue, I am going to have to try to get them to try out the teenagers club, but they are both quite shy, and probably wont even talk to anyone lol. My son will be 17 on this trip, he has come out of his shell a bit, if someone starts up a conversation he will be right, but he wont initiate it!!! I ended up going with a cabin on deck 7 , mid ship, with a Murphy bed. Do they let you look at the cabin if they offer you are upgrade? or if you say yes, then its just well a surprise lol? Any chance they would offer me a suite lol

Just a quick thought. Given that you have a cabin midship deck seven, I am guessing you do have a higher category of cabin (perhaps category 4)?
Have you out of interest priced up connecting cabins in a lower cabin category (e.g. the cheapest category 5)? You would need to book your sister and one of your kids into one room and you and your other child into another, but with an open door between you, you could always sleep with your kids in one room, and your sister and you in the other. I only suggest this as it is sometimes quite surprising how cruise pricing works. Often two smaller cabins work out cheaper for four people than one large one. This results in two balconies, two bathrooms, and a lot more space. Just a thought...

 

[lffam]

Also, I just had another thought about the cruise - did they add Midship Detective Agency to the Magic when they updated it? Your son will love it and it's a wonderful thing to do as a family.

That sounds awesome according to DS but having read it I do not think that it is on the re-imagineered Disney Magic. Not quite sure! We aren't only considering the Magic. The fantasy seems to have the right length and timing. In WDW we did a Phineas and Ferb thing like that and DS loved it.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

That sounds awesome according to DS but having read it I do not think that it is on the re-imagineered Disney Magic. Not quite sure! We aren't only considering the Magic. The fantasy seems to have the right length and timing. In WDW we did a Phineas and Ferb thing like that and DS loved it.

Oh, that's a shame they didn't add it to the magic. It's great fun.
It is similar to the Phineas and Ferb thing, as well as the Sorcerers thing at MK and the menehunes at Aulani. Disney do a great job of these scavenger hunt style games. There are 3 levels to the ship version, beginning with the easiest challenge of discovering which Disney Villian stole some puppies, through to a slightly more challenging muppet challenge. When DS wasn't begging to go to kids club, he was begging to do the Detective game.

Of course, as well as picking the ship, there's also the issue of picking what ports interest you. As much as I loved my Disney cruise, I wouldn't have considered one had the ports not interested me. Have you thought about which cruise itinerary interests you most as that's always a good place to start when it comes to picking?

St Martin was our standout favourite port. We loved the feel of the island and the fun Maho Beach (try typing Maho beach into Google images).
I think we would have loved the Western too, or one of the itineraries that visited Key West, however we weren't too keen on visiting Nassau.

 

[lffam]

Oh, that's a shame they didn't add it to the magic. It's great fun.
It is similar to the Phineas and Ferb thing, as well as the Sorcerers thing at MK and the menehunes at Aulani. Disney do a great job of these scavenger hunt style games. There are 3 levels to the ship version, beginning with the easiest challenge of discovering which Disney Villian stole some puppies, through to a slightly more challenging muppet challenge. When DS wasn't begging to go to kids club, he was begging to do the Detective game.

Of course, as well as picking the ship, there's also the issue of picking what ports interest you. As much as I loved my Disney cruise, I wouldn't have considered one had the ports not interested me. Have you thought about which cruise itinerary interests you most as that's always a good place to start when it comes to picking?

St Martin was our standout favourite port. We loved the feel of the island and the fun Maho Beach (try typing Maho beach into Google images).
I think we would have loved the Western too, or one of the itineraries that visited Key West, however we weren't too keen on visiting Nassau.

Maybe this is where Marvels Avenger's Academy has been included. I believe it is in the Magic which has this. DS being a big Marvel's fan was rally looking forward to that in the Magic, but that might have to be next time for us.

When I read your paragraph about the ports that interest, I thought to myself - that makes allot of sense - but you know what, I haven't considered that anything other that a cursory look! I really just made sure the dates fit, it was going to Castaway Key, thats about it, I actually just assumed it was really about the onboard cruise itself and while i knew there was ports that were docked at on certain days, I haven't given which ones they were any real consideration. I thought of myself as someone who was quite versed in the planning but I think I've missed this aspect of it completely so thanks for pointing it out.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Maybe this is where Marvels Avenger's Academy has been included. I believe it is in the Magic which has this. DS being a big Marvel's fan was rally looking forward to that in the Magic, but that might have to be next time for us. When I read your paragraph about the ports that interest, I thought to myself - that makes allot of sense - but you know what, I haven't considered that anything other that a cursory look! I really just made sure the dates fit, it was going to Castaway Key, thats about it, I actually just assumed it was really about the onboard cruise itself and while i knew there was ports that were docked at on certain days, I haven't given which ones they were any real consideration. I thought of myself as someone who was quite versed in the planning but I think I've missed this aspect of it completely so thanks for pointing it out.

In all fairness, you could spend the whole week on a Disney cruise, never get off the ship, and still have a great time. But cruising is also a style of travel where you will have a fabulous time in spite of the ship if you pick the ports wisely.

DH and I did our first cruise to the Greek Islands, Dubrovnik and Italy on a ship we didn't end up liking much. Our inside cabin was claustrophobic, almost everyone around us spoke Italian (which we didn't), and the onboard activities were quite dull. However we absolutely loved that holiday and it go us hooked on the cruising style of travel. All because we loved the beautiful ports and the relaxing way of getting to them. We loved that instead of sitting in airports, we were sleeping, eating, and watching shows, while the ship took us to stunning locations that would otherwise have been difficult and very expensive to get to. Sitting up on deck in the sunshine, eating my breakfast, and watching as the ship cruised up to Dubrovnik old town is one of my top ten 'life is good' moments.

The Caribbean Islands are really beautiful, but super expensive and timely to get to from Australia and NZ. I don't think many ANZACS are prepared to pay all that money to fly to just one island incase it doesn't live up to expectations. I love that a cruise gives you the chance to Island hop and sample 3 or more different destinations. Castaway Cay is stunning, but IMO, not the 'real' Caribbean. It was nice also to get a taste of 'Island life' and see and talk to locals.

 

[LivingforDisney]

Wanderlust, I did look at booking 2 cabins, but it was a little. More expensive.
I asked and they all said one cabin is fine, they want to be on deck 7, not lower.
And said that extra we save they could use that money toward buying 'more' stuff lol.
We are cat 4C, makes no sense it me.
The 4 of us survived last year 2 weeks in one room at Pop Century.
Daughter said she won't be in the cabin much anyhow, I think she is a bit nervous about going on it.
Anyhow next hurdle....... Airfares

 

[lffam]

I think there is fair chance I'll get hooked on the cruises. I am a little unsure about the amount of people in a confined space like a ship and also not being able to see land and the motion,. Other than all that I'm hooked already !!

I just checked the itinerary and the dates we are looking at goes to St Marteen , St Thomas St John, Castaway Cay and then back to Port.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I think there is fair chance I'll get hooked on the cruises. I am a little unsure about the amount of people in a confined space like a ship and also not being able to see land and the motion,. Other than all that I'm hooked already !! I just checked the itinerary and the dates we are looking at goes to St Marteen , St Thomas St John, Castaway Cay and then back to Port.

It's definitely addictive

I wouldn't worry about the confined space. You will be surprised by just how big the ship feels. After a week, there were still places on the Fantasy we never got to see.

As for not being able to see land, you will grow to love the views of the vast, open ocean.

It's really only motion sickness that is a potential issue, but big new ships have great motion stabilisers and most people are fine. It is worth taking some motion sickness meds just incase.

That's the itinerary we did and it was great.

We loved St Martin, it was our favourite day of our whole WDW/Universal/DCL holiday.
http://3batteredsuitcases.blogspot.co.nz/2013/12/cool-caribbean-charm.html

St Thomas/St John had stunning beaches, but we unfortunately chose the wrong excursion. If we did it over again, I wouldn't waste half our day getting to St John. We would just stay at St Thomas.

Just talking about cruising is making me so excited about my Tassie cruise next month. Can't wait to see more of Australia.

 

[lffam]

It's definitely addictive I wouldn't worry about the confined space. You will be surprised by just how big the ship feels. After a week, there were still places on the Fantasy we never got to see. As for not being able to see land, you will grow to love the views of the vast, open ocean. It's really only motion sickness that is a potential issue, but big new ships have great motion stabilisers and most people are fine. It is worth taking some motion sickness meds just incase. That's the itinerary we did and it was great. We loved St Martin, it was our favourite day of our whole WDW/Universal/DCL holiday. http://3batteredsuitcases.blogspot.co.nz/2013/12/cool-caribbean-charm.html St Thomas/St John had stunning beaches, but we unfortunately chose the wrong excursion. If we did it over again, I wouldn't waste half our day getting to St John. We would just stay at St Thomas. Just talking about cruising is making me so excited about my Tassie cruise next month. Can't wait to see more of Australia.

I had read your blog during the week, I meant to mention it, great read, somer great tips and some very lovely spots. I probably should get back to the Trip report soon!

 

[lffam]

Hollywood studios

We started with a bus trip from WL to HS via GF. This was our second trip to HS, we had gone on our first night at WDW. We arrived around 1050 so a bit of a late start. Seemed quite crowded. We had a FP+ for the Indy stunt show. Not sure what the FP gave us as aside from a separate entrance line, it didn't really do much. May have been different if we were there when they first let every one in at the beginning we may have gotten in before but there was no reserved or special area for FP holders. The show itself was quite good, they asked for some audience participants who got to go out an be part of the show.

Wandered around the Streets of America. All the lights are up for The Osbourne Family Lights , but not on of course.

Another ride on Star Tours using our second FP for the day and bypassing the 60m stand by line. great ride and intend to do it a few more times before the trip is over. We were told there are 50+ different scenarios. The two times we have ridden it were Both different in parts.

Lunch was at Mama Melrose Italian Restaurant. This is a table service venue. We actually booked the Fantasmic package. This gave us the meal as well as VIP entrance to the show with a reserved seating area, not reserved seating. They still recommend you line up 35min before the show.


While we didn't actually go to the show tonight, because we saw it on a FP on our first night, I would definitely do it with the dining package again. With the FP there was no reserved area, just a different line to get into with all the masses. When it came to the actual Hollywood Bowl where Fatasmic is performed, both FP and general admission all combine, only the Dinner package guests have a reserved area for seating.

The lunch it itself at Mama Melrose, was ok, not fantastic. Normally on the dining plan for lunch or dinner you get an Entree (Aussie Main) and a dessert and non alcoholic drinks . Unbeknownst to us for this package we actually got appetisers (Aussie entree) and Entree each and a Dessert sampler platter. Minestrone was very nice, Calamari was way too salty. For mains we had pork Osso bucco and roasted chicken and risotto. Both meals, the meat had little taste. Desserts where 3 samplers 2 were great 1 so so. Overall I'd have to say avg, from the start where they didn't have enough staff on the check in as the lines were out the door, to some avg service. Our experience may have been abnormal, it wasn't bad, just not great as it has been in most places we have been.

Bit more wandering around the park. Met Phineas and Ferb got photos and autographs then over the Lights Motors Action show.

Similar deal with the FP as with Indy Stunt show. Not sure what it did for us. No special seating. We weren't there when they started to let people in so maybe they did let the FP people in first. Anyway I'd recommend you sit somewhere in the lower section below the steel pillars as they really do obstruct the view. I think any seat along the bottom area would give a better view that on more in middle in the upper section. The show is a great show with some amazing driving. I thought the "host" or the director actually looked like one of the guys off full house, not bob saget or john stamos but the other guy can't remember his name!

Went into magic of Disney Animation and Animation Academy. Here there is a Disney animator who who's you how to draw a Disney character. There were these pushy and slightly obnoxious girls in the class who tried to get her to draw genie and stated that she wanted to do the genie and that was final to the Disney cast members credit she gave three options and the class voted. We ended up doing Karl Fredricksen from Up which was really good. They show you step by step with a camera and projector hooked up showing exactly how they are drawing it and you follow. You get to take away your drawing. A must do I think.

We walked straight into the 5pm session of American idol experience. I didn't know what to expect, but found this really enjoyable. Two singers who auditioned earlier in the day and were selected to perform auditioned in front of the crowd. Then the audience votes to choose a winner. The set looks great very much like what you see on tv. They have a number of shows during the day and each of the winners from each show goes into the grand finale show. I think the winner of that show gets a ticket to bypass all the crowds and audition at a real American idol show in a city of their choice.

After that we went over to toy story midway mania and used our third FP to bypass the 65min stand by wait. We all really love this ride, it is a lot of fun. Definitely one for FP.

By the time we came out it was 6:45. We went into some shops and bought a few things and left the park right on closing time. Hopped on bus for our trip back to WL.

 

[lffam]

Whispering Canyon It’s been while since I’ve posted here so thought I would get back into it. I will also try and keep my new trip planning separate from this thread.
I might start a new thread with all the new trip plan info. Here is new Pre-Trip Post

We ate a variety of table, Counter and quick service dining venues. The dining plan was a completely new concept to us having only had experienced Disneyland before. While we did do some character dining while we were there in 2010, as you all know the dining plan for WDW is quite different. I may have written about this earlier, but will recap. We originally booked at a time when free dining wasn't offered for our dates. Then Free dining offer came out and we considered if this was a better deal for us or not. Having not experienced it before, it was a difficult decision. In the end I am happy with the decision we made. It gave us a level of convenience and also probably added a bit more of the the immersive Disney experience by being on it. There was a little bit of tally keeping trying to make sure we didn’t use some of the categories at too fast rate to make sure we had enough to get us through our entire 13 day stay.

As with everything, we find a balance between the planning and just running with it and we eventually found that with the dining plan also. We definitely found ourself eating more because it was included, e.g. a desert for lunch ? really we didn’t need that! I couldn't say I wouldn’t get the free dining again if it were on when we next went, but I do think as far as $$ go I’m pretty sure if we just paid as we went and ate what we wanted/needed, then we would have spent less. I don’t think it would be massive savings but savings all the same. Thus why I’m not too fussed as to if we did the dining plan again or not. Of course, its not really free dining, there is a trade off with the price that you pay for the room rate.

The two venues we ate at the most were Whispering Canyon Cafe and the Roaring Fork simply because they were in the Wilderness Lodge. We picked up our mugs from the Roaring Fork. They have an inside area to eat and also you can sit outside in the pool area. Our most common selections here were the pizza flat breads, the ham and steak burgers, mickeys waffle and pancakes and the mickey ice creams! The Ice cream was the staple dessert or snack for DS. he is a big Magnums fan so these were right up his alley. Dad didn’t mind them either!!

Whispering Canyon was an interesting restaurant. Our first experience was a little off putting. When we were tossing up if we should get he dining plan or not I had called Disney and asked if DS could order off the kids menu even though we were paying for an adult for him on the dining plan. Now this was for the reason that we know our darling son is a fussy eater and if there wasn’t anything that took his fancy on the regular menu the Kids Menu would always come through for us. We were assured that this would not be a problem however he would still have to pay the adult price for the plan which was not an issue. Well our first sit down he wanted to order off the kids menu and we were told he couldn’t. We had already been having some issues with our magic bands and had spent some time at Concierge where the lovely Terri was sorting things out for us. I wasn’t up for any more hassle so we just accepted it and ordered. Then when the server came back and threw the straws, napkins and coasters onto the table I looked at DW and thought "OK that was a bit random” anyway moved on ordered our meals which came out relatively quickly. I must say the food was nice, family style buffet - a concept that seems very big over there and I can see why. Wasn’t quite sure what was going on when some one asked tomato sauce, i mean Ketchup but soon saw this as part of the restaurants “charm" they intend.

The next day my customer service meter got the better of me and as we were in the lobby I went over to the Whispering Canyon front desk area and asked if I could speak to a manager. There happened to be 4 there and they were very interested in my feedback about not being allowed to order off the kids menu. They were most apologetic and said that should never have happened and if something like that ever happens in a Disney property we should ask to speak to a manager. I was glad a mentioned it and satisfied it was just a blip and that was it. We went back another couple of times for dinner and breakfast and aside form the whole napkin, straws and coaster throwing bit, which I just assume is part there scripted “charm” while not massive deal, just not my cup of team I’m afraid. That aside, I couldn’t fault the food, very homely massive portions and certainly tasty.