3TinksAndAnEeyore
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2007
I'm hoping to add some meaningful dialogue to some of the excellent threads already existing out there (the September thread, WOC thread, GCH thread), but there are enough random thoughts from our visit, I thought I'd post a few of them here. I may even use this post as an outline for an honest-to-goodness trip report this time around!
1. First of all, like several other people have noted, I was beyond pleasantly surprised by the lack of crowds over Labor Day weekend. With a seven year-old and four year-old making constant requests (and re-requests) for particular rides and the four-year old suddently balking at rides she had done with glee eight months prior, this was not one of our more efficient trips. There was a lot of criss-crossing of the parks and hemming and hawing over what we would ride next. Never-the-less, using fastpasses and getting into the parks early each morning meant that we never waiting more than ten minutes for a ride with the exception of a 20 minute wait for Peter Pan on Monday night at midnight (more on that to come later in the post).
2. Don't assume that because your kids rode (and seemed to greatly enjoy) Pirates or Alice on a previous visit that they will readily board the ride on a subsequent visit. Our DD4 refused to ride PoC and Alice and needed heaping amounts of encouragement to ride SM, Matterhorn, and just about any other ride she had previously loved. We did convince DD to wait in line for us for PoC, assuring and re-assuring her that if she chose not to ride when we got to the boat, that she could just walk across the boat and not go on the ride. She vacililtated for the entire ten minutes of the queue, but when we got to the boat she said she didn't want to go on the ride. She said she was scared of the fire. So, DH simply walked across the boat with her in his arms to the landing to wait with her while DD7 and I went on the ride. (Somewhat ironically, the ride was actually malfunctioning Friday morning and the fire that had worried her wasn't actually working.)
But, DH felt like we had won the good parents of the year award when he observed a mom who was was essentially forcing her approximately 5 year old son to go on the ride. The little boy was screaming and crying and the CMs eventually had to tell the mom that she was going to have to take him off the boat so the other guest could continue on the ride. The mom took him off the boat and proceeded to berate the little boy for "ruining it for her".
DD4 did love having lunch at the BB a few days later, but still stated she absolutely did not want to ride PoC, so she never did this trip. We thought we'd end up having to do a child swap for Space and Matterhorn, as well, but DD4 ended up deciding at the last minute she wanted to give those a try again and loved them as much as she had previously. She happily rode on Mr. Toad, Snow White, Pinnochio, and Peter Pan, but consistently refused to ride on Alice.
Ah, four year-olds!!!
3. Calling ahead for a pre-check in at the GCH at 7AM for a 9AM check-in time nabbed us an excellent room! Okay, maybe we would have gotten a great room even if we had checked in at 7PM at night, but from what I've read, the early check-ins seem to result in the better rooms and views. When we actually arrived at the hotel around 9AM on Friday morning, there was no line at the registration desk, and we finished up the check-in process in about 3 minutes. We checked in all our luggage with bell service and made our way to the parks. It was great! While they weren't able to tell us our room number, they did say we were on the fifth floor. ("Score!" I thought.)
Right at 3:00PM (official check-in time), we happened to be back at the vicinity of the GCH, so we stopped in to check on our room assignment even though we hadn't received the promised text yet. Again, there was no line at the front desk. I very politely let them know that it wasn't urgent, and we just happened to be in the area, so we thought we'd check on our room. The CM said our room wasn't ready and she was going to go check and see if something else was ready for us. Since I'd been so happy with the thought of a 5th story view room, I was immediately kicking myself as the CM disappeared from view. When she came back, I assured her we really weren't in a hurry and I didn't want to rush them if it meant losing a fifth floor view. She just smiled and asked how a sixth floor view would do. (Again, "Score!") The view ended up being incredible. We were right in the middle of the wing that looks out over the Mariposa Pool with GRR and ToT in the background. (I'll post more in the GCH thread when I get a chance.)
4. WOC: Even with a fairly decent knowledge of when and where to line up and where to sit in the different colored areas, WOC felt incredibly stressful while trying to get a good spot. If it had been just DH and myself, it would have been way less of an ordeal, but with two young kids, we wanted to make sure we ended up in a spot where they would be able to see. While I enjoyed the show (and I'll post more on the WOC threads later), I'm not certain that the long wait to get a "good spot" was worth trying to keep our two DDs occupied during the wait for the WoC line to form, the entry into the viewing area, and then waiting for the show to start. I definitely recommend bringing activities for the kids. Once we were in the viewing area, the kids were able to sit until the show started and we had stuff for them to do and some snacks, but the stand and wait portion was just too much.
5. Having a Fastpass Runner. Priceless. Especially when said runner is willing to forego the carousel, Dumbo, and Casey Jr. Thank you, DH!
6. Get there early!!! On Monday, DL opened at 9:00. We got to security at 8:15 (with Ralph Brennan's beignets in hand) and we were one of the first families through to the gate. We were the first people in line at the turnstyle we picked. When I had the opportunity, I said good morning to one of the CMs on the other side of the gate. He came over and started talking with us and the girls and then asked us if we would like to open up the park. (Again, score!) This is what I'd been aiming for by getting there early and striking up the conversation, but DH was pretty wowed. Even though it was mostly just a matter of counting down from ten, it felt pretty special. I'm really, really glad we were able to do this.
7. Take a nap!!! On that same Monday, DH and I insisted that we were all going back to the hotel for a nap. Now, DD7 and DD4 are both beyond naps at this point when we are at home and they protested pretty vehemently that they did not need a nap, but DH and I told them that after the nap, we would stay as long as they wanted. We drew the curtains at 3:30 and were up and going again by about 6:30. Everyone but DH got at least a two hour nap during that time period. And, both DDs made it through fireworks, the 10:30 Fantasmic!, and all the way through to the midnight closing! I couldn't believe it, but they just kept going, and going, and going. We got in line for PP at 11:59, had about a twenty minute wait (our longest wait of the trip except for race packet pick up) and finally left the park close to 1AM. So, we opened the park and just about closed it, as well!
There were lots of other small moments where I thought, "Oh, I need to post about this!" Next time, I need to keep a small notebook of everything I need to write about!
1. First of all, like several other people have noted, I was beyond pleasantly surprised by the lack of crowds over Labor Day weekend. With a seven year-old and four year-old making constant requests (and re-requests) for particular rides and the four-year old suddently balking at rides she had done with glee eight months prior, this was not one of our more efficient trips. There was a lot of criss-crossing of the parks and hemming and hawing over what we would ride next. Never-the-less, using fastpasses and getting into the parks early each morning meant that we never waiting more than ten minutes for a ride with the exception of a 20 minute wait for Peter Pan on Monday night at midnight (more on that to come later in the post).
2. Don't assume that because your kids rode (and seemed to greatly enjoy) Pirates or Alice on a previous visit that they will readily board the ride on a subsequent visit. Our DD4 refused to ride PoC and Alice and needed heaping amounts of encouragement to ride SM, Matterhorn, and just about any other ride she had previously loved. We did convince DD to wait in line for us for PoC, assuring and re-assuring her that if she chose not to ride when we got to the boat, that she could just walk across the boat and not go on the ride. She vacililtated for the entire ten minutes of the queue, but when we got to the boat she said she didn't want to go on the ride. She said she was scared of the fire. So, DH simply walked across the boat with her in his arms to the landing to wait with her while DD7 and I went on the ride. (Somewhat ironically, the ride was actually malfunctioning Friday morning and the fire that had worried her wasn't actually working.)
But, DH felt like we had won the good parents of the year award when he observed a mom who was was essentially forcing her approximately 5 year old son to go on the ride. The little boy was screaming and crying and the CMs eventually had to tell the mom that she was going to have to take him off the boat so the other guest could continue on the ride. The mom took him off the boat and proceeded to berate the little boy for "ruining it for her".
DD4 did love having lunch at the BB a few days later, but still stated she absolutely did not want to ride PoC, so she never did this trip. We thought we'd end up having to do a child swap for Space and Matterhorn, as well, but DD4 ended up deciding at the last minute she wanted to give those a try again and loved them as much as she had previously. She happily rode on Mr. Toad, Snow White, Pinnochio, and Peter Pan, but consistently refused to ride on Alice.
Ah, four year-olds!!!3. Calling ahead for a pre-check in at the GCH at 7AM for a 9AM check-in time nabbed us an excellent room! Okay, maybe we would have gotten a great room even if we had checked in at 7PM at night, but from what I've read, the early check-ins seem to result in the better rooms and views. When we actually arrived at the hotel around 9AM on Friday morning, there was no line at the registration desk, and we finished up the check-in process in about 3 minutes. We checked in all our luggage with bell service and made our way to the parks. It was great! While they weren't able to tell us our room number, they did say we were on the fifth floor. ("Score!" I thought.)
Right at 3:00PM (official check-in time), we happened to be back at the vicinity of the GCH, so we stopped in to check on our room assignment even though we hadn't received the promised text yet. Again, there was no line at the front desk. I very politely let them know that it wasn't urgent, and we just happened to be in the area, so we thought we'd check on our room. The CM said our room wasn't ready and she was going to go check and see if something else was ready for us. Since I'd been so happy with the thought of a 5th story view room, I was immediately kicking myself as the CM disappeared from view. When she came back, I assured her we really weren't in a hurry and I didn't want to rush them if it meant losing a fifth floor view. She just smiled and asked how a sixth floor view would do. (Again, "Score!") The view ended up being incredible. We were right in the middle of the wing that looks out over the Mariposa Pool with GRR and ToT in the background. (I'll post more in the GCH thread when I get a chance.)
4. WOC: Even with a fairly decent knowledge of when and where to line up and where to sit in the different colored areas, WOC felt incredibly stressful while trying to get a good spot. If it had been just DH and myself, it would have been way less of an ordeal, but with two young kids, we wanted to make sure we ended up in a spot where they would be able to see. While I enjoyed the show (and I'll post more on the WOC threads later), I'm not certain that the long wait to get a "good spot" was worth trying to keep our two DDs occupied during the wait for the WoC line to form, the entry into the viewing area, and then waiting for the show to start. I definitely recommend bringing activities for the kids. Once we were in the viewing area, the kids were able to sit until the show started and we had stuff for them to do and some snacks, but the stand and wait portion was just too much.
5. Having a Fastpass Runner. Priceless. Especially when said runner is willing to forego the carousel, Dumbo, and Casey Jr. Thank you, DH!
6. Get there early!!! On Monday, DL opened at 9:00. We got to security at 8:15 (with Ralph Brennan's beignets in hand) and we were one of the first families through to the gate. We were the first people in line at the turnstyle we picked. When I had the opportunity, I said good morning to one of the CMs on the other side of the gate. He came over and started talking with us and the girls and then asked us if we would like to open up the park. (Again, score!) This is what I'd been aiming for by getting there early and striking up the conversation, but DH was pretty wowed. Even though it was mostly just a matter of counting down from ten, it felt pretty special. I'm really, really glad we were able to do this.
7. Take a nap!!! On that same Monday, DH and I insisted that we were all going back to the hotel for a nap. Now, DD7 and DD4 are both beyond naps at this point when we are at home and they protested pretty vehemently that they did not need a nap, but DH and I told them that after the nap, we would stay as long as they wanted. We drew the curtains at 3:30 and were up and going again by about 6:30. Everyone but DH got at least a two hour nap during that time period. And, both DDs made it through fireworks, the 10:30 Fantasmic!, and all the way through to the midnight closing! I couldn't believe it, but they just kept going, and going, and going. We got in line for PP at 11:59, had about a twenty minute wait (our longest wait of the trip except for race packet pick up) and finally left the park close to 1AM. So, we opened the park and just about closed it, as well!
There were lots of other small moments where I thought, "Oh, I need to post about this!" Next time, I need to keep a small notebook of everything I need to write about!
