JimmyV
Por favor manténganse alejado de las puertas.
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2008
Since this report covers everything from transportation to resorts to theme parks to dining, I thought it best to post it here. Hope some of the information proves useful to others.
Trip Report for WDW vacation—8/18/11-8/24/11
WHO:
Me, wife, daughter-13, all Disney veterans, and daughter’s best friend, also 13, who had never been to any Disney park before. This trip would prove to be a good study of how WDW performs for both long-time visitors and a newcomer.
TRANSPORTATION:
(MCO To WDW)
After exploring every possible option from taxi, to week-long rental car to DME to private car service, I finally landed on renting a car for a single day, picking it up from National’s Emerald Aisle and returning it at the Dolphin, our first of two hotels. First of all, by staying at the Dolphin for the first part of our trip, taking DME from the airport was not an option. So that left me with paying for Mears, taking a cab, renting a car, or hiring a car service. Mears was eliminated as it does not allow for a stop off at Publix off of John Young Parkway to load up in breakfast food, snacks, drinks, water and anything else we might need for the week. We could do that in a cab or car service, but in the end, the cost of a one day, one-way car rental was under $45, which is less than a cab and far less than a private car service. We find that the best way to make rope drop is to eat breakfast in the room while we get dressed and ready to go. So being able to stop off at Publix was a “must” and proved to be cost-effective. The cost of the car plus all of our groceries was less than what we would have spent if we had purchased the same types of items in the parks or resorts and we got to choose exactly what we wanted. In the end, we could have taken DME and used a grocery delivery service, but I am not quite on board with letting others pick out my fruits, vegetables and wine. I am too much of a “shop by sight” person to entrust others to do my grocery shopping. The one-way rental went off without a hitch. There is a National Rental Counter right at the Dolphin, so when I pulled in to the front entrance, I gave the car to the valet who took care of the return. He even handed me a receipt for the return right there on the spot.
(WDW To MCO)
We took DME from our second resort (The Contemporary) back to the airport. I was skeptical that I needed to board a bus at 3:55 for a 7:00 flight, but the buses were running so late that we needed every minute of that. Our 3:55 departed at 4:45. I guess you get what you pay for.
RESORT #1: (Dolphin)
We had a theme park facing room that overlooked Epcot and the Boardwalk. Illuminations had just started when we got to our room and we could see a bit of the show from our 8th floor balcony. However, one cannot view Illuminations from there the same way one can view Wishes from a Magic Kingdom facing room. At best, you see just the highest of the shooting flares and can see the glow from the fireball. As always, the Dolphin proved to be a fine, well-run resort with kind employees and efficient service. Unfortunately, (or maybe not), our schedule was so jam packed the first few days that we really didn’t get to enjoy everything that the resort had to offer. But dollar or dollar, it is hard to beat the level of rooms, service and location. For those that have not been in a while, note that they have done away with the mini-bar fridge, and now offer an empty mini-fridge to store your own items, thus making the stop at Publix all the more worthwhile. No more having to buy a $5 Styrofoam cooler to hold milk and OJ.
For those keeping score, the boat trip from the Dolphin to Epcot took us exactly 14:20. You can use that for comparison’s sake when electing to walk or take the boat. On our way home from Epcot, we always got off at the Boardwalk, which is the first stop, and walked from there. In fact, one night coming back from Epcot, we just missed a boat that was departing International Gateway. Ordinarily, I would then walk home. But another boat was waiting in the dock area for immediate boarding and we decided to take it. By getting off at the Boardwalk and walking, not only did we beat the boat we were on, we actually beat (by about 10 seconds) the first boat that we could not get on. So I highly recommend this strategy for anyone who is willing and able to walk from the Boardwalk to the Swan and Dolphin.
I did not time the ride from the Dolphin to DHS. I don’t care for that walk and don’t really have any interest in doing it again. So it doesn’t matter to me if it is faster or not. But I am fairly certain that riding the boat is the better option unless the boats are really running late.
RESORT #2: (Contemporary)
The second half of our split stay was at the Contemporary. Luggage transfer was handled by the Dolphin valets without a hitch. They came and got our bags at 8:00 a.m. and we took the bus to the Magic Kingdom. When we got to the Contemporary, our bags were there and ready to be taken to our room.
We got zapped by the upgrade fairy, which was great. We paid for a Tower Theme Park View room during the 40% off promotion offered back in January. When we arrived, we were moved up to a 14th Floor Concierge level room facing the Magic Kingdom. I have to say that I have never given serious thought to paying for the Concierge level, but if staying at the Contemporary, I would do it again in a heartbeat. Breakfast foods, espresso machines, wine, cheese, and best of all, a dessert buffet with a cordial bar set up for fireworks viewing every night. Since we weren’t on a Dining Plan, we were able to have dessert, if we wanted it, any day of our choosing. We aren’t big dessert eaters (which is one of the reasons that we weren’t on the DP), but for those who are, you can probably make the Concierge level pay for itself by eating breakfast and dessert (with a few drinks tossed in) each day. I did not spend any time analyzing the financials of it since it was a pixie dust upgrade at no cost to me. But in the end, I think I would pay for this level of service if given the chance.
The Contemporary was my family’s resort of choice when I was growing up and we stayed there annually from 1972-1976 we kids got too big to fit in one room. (At which time, we gravitated over to Club Lake Villas where Saratoga Springs now sits, and Tree House Villas). So it was fun and nostalgic to stay here again, even if everything is different. All in all, we were very pleased with the quality of the resort, thought the pool is boring in comparison to many other resorts.
DAY ONE: DHS
My Toy Story Mania Adventure
I was absolutely adamant that we were going to “beat the system” at Toy Story Mania so we took the boat and arrived for 9:00 opening at 8:10 or so. When we got to the turnstile, there were 6 people in front of us. At around 8:30 when they started to let the people through, the first person in line could not figure out the whole finger scanning thing and we were passed by a whole lot of people at other turnstiles who should have been behind us. Who shows up an hour before park opening with no idea how to work the turnstile? In any event, when we got to the rope, we were about 5 bodies deep in the wall to wall mass of people lining the street. Not bad. For those who have not braved this scene, note that there is a huge difference in arriving at 8:15 versus 8:25 or 8:30. And the folks who arrived at 8:50 could barely make any headway past the turnstile because the street was so full by that time.
My strategy was to let my wife and the two kids “power-walk” (with specific instructions not to cut off any strollers, ECVs, or allow their pace to interfere in any way with anyone else) to the standby line while I made my way to the Fast Pass line. I was willing to take one for the team and skip the first ride of the day so that I would not have to endure a ridiculous FP wait. Since we were traveling with a first-timer who had never done any thrill rides, I feared that Rockin’ Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror might not sit too well with her, leaving us with TSM as our safe harbor. So it was essential that I made arrangements for them to ride twice. The plan went off without a hitch. Without any running, shoving or rude behavior, the mass of people sorted itself out between the power walkers and the casual walkers. There was no pushing, shoving or falling down. At least, not at the front of the pack. My family ended up about 30th in the standby line and I was third in my FP line. Of course, the first person in the FP line couldn’t work the system, so I got a bit further behind. But it was no big deal. I got a 10:05 return time. My group was out of the ride by 9:13. And here is the important takeaway from all of this. By the time that they exited the ride, the FP line was all the way back to Little Mermaid and looked to be a 30+ minute wait for FPs. So if I had ridden with my group, we would have been off the ride by 9:13, but I would have had to kill 30+ minutes getting FPs with return times of mid-afternoon, thus locking me out of another FP until 11:45 or so, depending on when I actually got my passes. Instead, by skipping the ride, I had passes with 10:05 return times, and could head to RnR and ToT to ride and obtain additional FPs for one of those. Which is what we did. If I had to assess what is the most efficient method of ensuring two rides on TSM with minimal waits in a manner that allows for maximum FP collection, I would say the first choice would be to do what we did, and have one person hold back and get FPs while the rest of the group rides. The next best option would be to get FPs first and then get in the SB line. The line will say 30 minutes, but in reality, people were getting through in under 20. remember, no one is cutting you off with FPs at that hour, so the SB line is the sum total of the line. The third best (or worst) approach would be to ride first and then get in line for FPs. You pretty much ensure that you will only ride one ride in the first hour, and you ensure that you will be locked out of additional FPs for the full 2 hour window. People who get FPs first will be able to get more FPs well before 11:00. In my case, I got my second set at 10:05.
Other Observations
The rest of our day went as planned. We did pretty much everything that we wanted to do except Lights, Motors, Action. They really need to add another show. However, we were able to see a bit of the show from the tram of the Backlot Tour. It was just too hot for us to want to sit in that theater in the middle of the day. If they had an early evening show, it would have suited us better.
As for Fantasmic, I was indifferent about going, so we did not go out of our way to plan for the 9:00 show, and thought that the 10:30 show might be a bit late. However, at around 8:40 we were getting out of RnR and saw the crowd heading in to the theater. The line didn’t look too bad, so we hopped in the back of it. We were seated far to the left, but pretty much directly in front of the water spray that projects the images. Since all three water sprays show the same thing, I am not sure that queuing up extra early for center seating is the most efficient use of time. We didn’t spend a single minute waiting in line, and walked right in and got a decent side seat. The people who waited 2 hours for the show, or paid for a dinner that they only half enjoyed just so they could get prime seats saw the same show as us. And while they were waiting in line, we were enjoying the rest of the park. There may be times when arriving at 8:40 will get you shut out, but the theater was pretty much full by 9:00, so I can’t say that this particular day was a “light” crowd. Not when RnR and ToT had 70+ minute waits most of the day and TSM was routinely up to 110. Bottom line—unless F! is an absolute “must do”, I think you are better off taking your chances by showing up 30 minutes before the show. You won’t get a center seat, but 90% of the seats provide very good viewing.
DAY TWO-Epcot (Future World)
I wasn’t too sure how excited a couple of 13 year-olds would be about World Showcase, so we planned to spend the day doing as much of Future World as possible. We pretty much covered everything. No real surprises or things of note to report. Just a few observations. The kids loved Sum Of All Thrills, but the line rarely dipped below 40 minutes, so they only did it once. I was surprised how much time they spent at the Living Seas. Both my daughter and her friend are big into animals, and they could have stayed at the tanks all day if we let them. Don’t overlook this pavilion thinking that it is “just an aquarium like we have back home.” So what? If your kids like fish and animals, let them enjoy this area.
As is often the case, Test Track was acting up and was closed for about 2 hours in the early afternoon. This really presents a good case study for FP return time “rules”. When everyone in the park is trying to use their FPs at the same time, then the FP line can be 45 minutes long. This was pretty much the case from 4:00 pm until closing at 9:00. If you are confronted with a situation where the FP line extends far outside of the building, consider using the single rider line. That went much faster than the FP line.
DAYS THREE AND SIX-Magic Kingdom
I’m not going to go into great detail here. The MK is always fun, and we made the most of our day, staying until 3:30 in the afternoon and returning at night for EMHs until 1:30 am. We also returned for the morning of our “fly home” day. Just a few observations. First, the park (and several of the rides) are in need of a “dry dock” overhaul, though I don’t know how they can do that. In one half-hour span, we walked over to Splash Mountain to find that it was out of service and no FPs were being distributed. So we walked over to Pirates and were met at the entrance by a CM who told us that the ride was down with no time estimate of re-opening. So we walked back to Frontierland and passed by The Country Bear Jamboree and thought we might “sit a spell” to cool off, and were informed that the show was closed due to technical issues. That was three rides down all in the same half hour, two of which are “major attractions” in the same side of the park. That can really put a cramp in your touring plan. Also, my daughter noted little things like how the “falling rocks” at Thunder Mountain weren’t shaking or falling any more. How the laser guns at Buzz Lightyear don’t seem to shoot straight, or at all. We saw several people (not little kids mind you) exiting the ride with scores under 3,000 points. The paint job on the characters in the Peter Pan ride looks as fresh as if they had been painted in 1971. Small World broke down while we were on in, trapping us in a musical nightmare. Pirates re-opened and when we rode it, it broke down for about 15 minutes. But we were in the final scene where Jack is in the treasure room, so it wasn’t too bad. Even the People Mover was closed for over an hour. If this had been my first time in the park, I am not sure that I would have come away with a very positive impression.
And now a word (perhaps heretical) about the Enchanted Tiki Room. People here have been longing for its reopening and praising its return to the original show. And it is mostly all that. But you would think that if the world at large was so darned interested in the original show, there would be a line to see it and the shows would be filled. Nope. When we attended, the theater was no more than 1/3 filled and no one seemed moved by the show at all. (Which is probably why they deleted the “sing along” portion). The crowd seemed bored, and there was no life or buzz about it being open again. And this was still within the first week of its grand re-opening. I fear that there was a good reason for transitioning over to “Under New Management”. Say what you will about the revised show, but the change came about clearly because the original show had lost its mojo. And we are now back to square one. If the “grand reopening” can only draw in 100 people per show, then I do not see a long life ahead for Pierre, Fritz, Jose and Michael.
DAY FOUR-Epcot (World Showcase)
Having burned the midnight oil at MK EMHs the day before, we planned a light day where we would head to World Showcase close to opening at 11:00 and spend the day strolling, shopping and seeing the attractions at the country pavilions. Nothing new to report here. However, I will say (and maybe I am in the minority on this) that I thought that British Revolution was pretty good. And if you ever pass by one of the phone booths in the UK and hear the phone ring and the person on the other end tells you that “today at the UK pavilion, we are offering Spam, eggs, bacon, Spam, sausage and Spam” in a British, Monty Python accent, it is probably my daughter. She and her friend thought that calling the phone booths was the funniest thing going.
DAY FIVE-Animal Kingdom
Again, nothing new to report here that hasn’t been covered a thousand times before. It wasn’t very crowded, and we were able to bet FPs for Everest first thing, and then ride it twice in succession, each time with a 5 to 7 minute wait. If you haven’t been in a while, it is worth noting that they have gotten rid of the “Big Red”, Little Red” story line at the Safari, which I think is a positive. You still hear from a game warden, but the sub-plot has been tweaked to be a bit less corny. On the Pagani Trail, the baby gorilla was adorable. We got a good view of mother and child.
DINING
As mentioned above, we were not on a Plan. Counting only my family, we saved over $150 by paying OOP. If I added in the fourth member of our party, the savings would have been even bigger, as she ate very little on a couple of days of the trip. Most of our savings came from the fact that on the DDP, all of our appetizers would have been additional expenses. And if we had been on the DxDP, while the appetizers would have been covered, we simply would not have eaten the cost equivalent of food per person per day. For example, 2 orders of fried chicken easily fed three people at 50’s Prime Time. So if all of us had been on the DxDP, that would have been a big waste. Generally, we found that three meals shared among four people was plenty of food. But since every member of the party has to be on the same plan, we would have ended up paying for four meal plans and only using three. And as mentioned above, I think we only ordered two desserts the entire trip. So having that “thrown in” with the Plans is not a cost saver for us.
We ate at:
Fairfax Fare-people dis the CS at DHS, but I found this to be on par with the rest of WDW. Not better. Not worse. We had two orders of ribs and one pork sandwich split among four people and it was plenty.
50’s Prime Time-three orders of fried chicken for four people. More than enough food and the chicken was very good as were the potatoes. I liked the greens, but the kids probably would have preferred a different veggie. The girls split a milkshake which was terrific.
Sunshine Season’s-Always a winner with so much to choose from.
Via Napoli-The four of us split an order of calamari and 2 individual pizzas. The white pie with artichokes and truffle oil was the favorite. This was plenty of food for us.
Columbia Harbor House-believe it our not, this was my first visit here. We took the advice of the board and found a table upstairs. Nice and quiet (relatively) and the amount of food for around $10 was impressive. We shared among the four of us 2 orders of shrimp, a chicken and shrimp combo and a salad.
Kona Café-Another first for us. The girls each ordered off the sushi menu and each go a roll, and then shared them. My wife and I each ordered noodle dishes from the prix fixe option so that we would end up with 2 desserts to share among us all. We all shared the pot sticker apps, and shared the desserts. I thought that everything was good except the noodle dishes which I found to be fair.
La Cantina-We had tacos and a salad. Not a bad lunch.
Le Chefs de France-Mixed reviews here. Daughter and her friend each ordered their own Onion Soup and then split an macaroni gratin. The crouton on the soup was gummy and soggy, and the cheese was a bit goopy. All in all, I though that the soup was a weak effort. The macaroni gratin was very good, but my daughter thought that an spritz of truffle oil would have improved it quite a bit. My escargot was OK, but my “short ribs” were a disaster. First of all, the meat was not “short ribs” it was a chunk of chuck roast. Really below average for $29. My wife had the duck and it was very good. Dollar for dollar, this was the weakest meal of the trip. Not that the food was bad. But our bill was almost double of what we paid at Via Napoli or Kona café.
Flame Tree BBQ-Very good as always. One order of ribs, one pork sandwich one order of fries and one salad split among us. The birds were not an issue. Yes, they were there, but they were not aggressive.
California Grill-We always make this our last dinner of each trip and have done so since 1996. It was nice to dress for dinner and see familiar faces like Ray’s behind the bar. The girls split a dragon roll (which was absolutely huge) and a flat bread. Honestly, the sushi would have been enough for them all by itself. My wife had a salad and the fettuccini with blue foots. It was excellent. I had my favorite, the Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli and the Halibut. Both were great. I have seen some mixed reviews of the CG here, (and we have been witness to some uneven meals), but I must say that this visit was stellar.
On our fly away day when we went back to the MK, we had lunch at Cosmic Ray’s. All I can say is, ugh!. Those burgers sat there like lead. The girls wanted to split a burger, so we went to station 3. I would have preferred the rotisserie chicken, but I didn’t want to wait in a second line. So I had a burger. Never again.
I hope that some of this helps folks who are trying to make their plans. If you have any questions, let me know and I will try to answer them for you.
Trip Report for WDW vacation—8/18/11-8/24/11
WHO:
Me, wife, daughter-13, all Disney veterans, and daughter’s best friend, also 13, who had never been to any Disney park before. This trip would prove to be a good study of how WDW performs for both long-time visitors and a newcomer.
TRANSPORTATION:
(MCO To WDW)
After exploring every possible option from taxi, to week-long rental car to DME to private car service, I finally landed on renting a car for a single day, picking it up from National’s Emerald Aisle and returning it at the Dolphin, our first of two hotels. First of all, by staying at the Dolphin for the first part of our trip, taking DME from the airport was not an option. So that left me with paying for Mears, taking a cab, renting a car, or hiring a car service. Mears was eliminated as it does not allow for a stop off at Publix off of John Young Parkway to load up in breakfast food, snacks, drinks, water and anything else we might need for the week. We could do that in a cab or car service, but in the end, the cost of a one day, one-way car rental was under $45, which is less than a cab and far less than a private car service. We find that the best way to make rope drop is to eat breakfast in the room while we get dressed and ready to go. So being able to stop off at Publix was a “must” and proved to be cost-effective. The cost of the car plus all of our groceries was less than what we would have spent if we had purchased the same types of items in the parks or resorts and we got to choose exactly what we wanted. In the end, we could have taken DME and used a grocery delivery service, but I am not quite on board with letting others pick out my fruits, vegetables and wine. I am too much of a “shop by sight” person to entrust others to do my grocery shopping. The one-way rental went off without a hitch. There is a National Rental Counter right at the Dolphin, so when I pulled in to the front entrance, I gave the car to the valet who took care of the return. He even handed me a receipt for the return right there on the spot.
(WDW To MCO)
We took DME from our second resort (The Contemporary) back to the airport. I was skeptical that I needed to board a bus at 3:55 for a 7:00 flight, but the buses were running so late that we needed every minute of that. Our 3:55 departed at 4:45. I guess you get what you pay for.
RESORT #1: (Dolphin)
We had a theme park facing room that overlooked Epcot and the Boardwalk. Illuminations had just started when we got to our room and we could see a bit of the show from our 8th floor balcony. However, one cannot view Illuminations from there the same way one can view Wishes from a Magic Kingdom facing room. At best, you see just the highest of the shooting flares and can see the glow from the fireball. As always, the Dolphin proved to be a fine, well-run resort with kind employees and efficient service. Unfortunately, (or maybe not), our schedule was so jam packed the first few days that we really didn’t get to enjoy everything that the resort had to offer. But dollar or dollar, it is hard to beat the level of rooms, service and location. For those that have not been in a while, note that they have done away with the mini-bar fridge, and now offer an empty mini-fridge to store your own items, thus making the stop at Publix all the more worthwhile. No more having to buy a $5 Styrofoam cooler to hold milk and OJ.
For those keeping score, the boat trip from the Dolphin to Epcot took us exactly 14:20. You can use that for comparison’s sake when electing to walk or take the boat. On our way home from Epcot, we always got off at the Boardwalk, which is the first stop, and walked from there. In fact, one night coming back from Epcot, we just missed a boat that was departing International Gateway. Ordinarily, I would then walk home. But another boat was waiting in the dock area for immediate boarding and we decided to take it. By getting off at the Boardwalk and walking, not only did we beat the boat we were on, we actually beat (by about 10 seconds) the first boat that we could not get on. So I highly recommend this strategy for anyone who is willing and able to walk from the Boardwalk to the Swan and Dolphin.
I did not time the ride from the Dolphin to DHS. I don’t care for that walk and don’t really have any interest in doing it again. So it doesn’t matter to me if it is faster or not. But I am fairly certain that riding the boat is the better option unless the boats are really running late.
RESORT #2: (Contemporary)
The second half of our split stay was at the Contemporary. Luggage transfer was handled by the Dolphin valets without a hitch. They came and got our bags at 8:00 a.m. and we took the bus to the Magic Kingdom. When we got to the Contemporary, our bags were there and ready to be taken to our room.
We got zapped by the upgrade fairy, which was great. We paid for a Tower Theme Park View room during the 40% off promotion offered back in January. When we arrived, we were moved up to a 14th Floor Concierge level room facing the Magic Kingdom. I have to say that I have never given serious thought to paying for the Concierge level, but if staying at the Contemporary, I would do it again in a heartbeat. Breakfast foods, espresso machines, wine, cheese, and best of all, a dessert buffet with a cordial bar set up for fireworks viewing every night. Since we weren’t on a Dining Plan, we were able to have dessert, if we wanted it, any day of our choosing. We aren’t big dessert eaters (which is one of the reasons that we weren’t on the DP), but for those who are, you can probably make the Concierge level pay for itself by eating breakfast and dessert (with a few drinks tossed in) each day. I did not spend any time analyzing the financials of it since it was a pixie dust upgrade at no cost to me. But in the end, I think I would pay for this level of service if given the chance.
The Contemporary was my family’s resort of choice when I was growing up and we stayed there annually from 1972-1976 we kids got too big to fit in one room. (At which time, we gravitated over to Club Lake Villas where Saratoga Springs now sits, and Tree House Villas). So it was fun and nostalgic to stay here again, even if everything is different. All in all, we were very pleased with the quality of the resort, thought the pool is boring in comparison to many other resorts.
DAY ONE: DHS
My Toy Story Mania Adventure
I was absolutely adamant that we were going to “beat the system” at Toy Story Mania so we took the boat and arrived for 9:00 opening at 8:10 or so. When we got to the turnstile, there were 6 people in front of us. At around 8:30 when they started to let the people through, the first person in line could not figure out the whole finger scanning thing and we were passed by a whole lot of people at other turnstiles who should have been behind us. Who shows up an hour before park opening with no idea how to work the turnstile? In any event, when we got to the rope, we were about 5 bodies deep in the wall to wall mass of people lining the street. Not bad. For those who have not braved this scene, note that there is a huge difference in arriving at 8:15 versus 8:25 or 8:30. And the folks who arrived at 8:50 could barely make any headway past the turnstile because the street was so full by that time.
My strategy was to let my wife and the two kids “power-walk” (with specific instructions not to cut off any strollers, ECVs, or allow their pace to interfere in any way with anyone else) to the standby line while I made my way to the Fast Pass line. I was willing to take one for the team and skip the first ride of the day so that I would not have to endure a ridiculous FP wait. Since we were traveling with a first-timer who had never done any thrill rides, I feared that Rockin’ Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror might not sit too well with her, leaving us with TSM as our safe harbor. So it was essential that I made arrangements for them to ride twice. The plan went off without a hitch. Without any running, shoving or rude behavior, the mass of people sorted itself out between the power walkers and the casual walkers. There was no pushing, shoving or falling down. At least, not at the front of the pack. My family ended up about 30th in the standby line and I was third in my FP line. Of course, the first person in the FP line couldn’t work the system, so I got a bit further behind. But it was no big deal. I got a 10:05 return time. My group was out of the ride by 9:13. And here is the important takeaway from all of this. By the time that they exited the ride, the FP line was all the way back to Little Mermaid and looked to be a 30+ minute wait for FPs. So if I had ridden with my group, we would have been off the ride by 9:13, but I would have had to kill 30+ minutes getting FPs with return times of mid-afternoon, thus locking me out of another FP until 11:45 or so, depending on when I actually got my passes. Instead, by skipping the ride, I had passes with 10:05 return times, and could head to RnR and ToT to ride and obtain additional FPs for one of those. Which is what we did. If I had to assess what is the most efficient method of ensuring two rides on TSM with minimal waits in a manner that allows for maximum FP collection, I would say the first choice would be to do what we did, and have one person hold back and get FPs while the rest of the group rides. The next best option would be to get FPs first and then get in the SB line. The line will say 30 minutes, but in reality, people were getting through in under 20. remember, no one is cutting you off with FPs at that hour, so the SB line is the sum total of the line. The third best (or worst) approach would be to ride first and then get in line for FPs. You pretty much ensure that you will only ride one ride in the first hour, and you ensure that you will be locked out of additional FPs for the full 2 hour window. People who get FPs first will be able to get more FPs well before 11:00. In my case, I got my second set at 10:05.
Other Observations
The rest of our day went as planned. We did pretty much everything that we wanted to do except Lights, Motors, Action. They really need to add another show. However, we were able to see a bit of the show from the tram of the Backlot Tour. It was just too hot for us to want to sit in that theater in the middle of the day. If they had an early evening show, it would have suited us better.
As for Fantasmic, I was indifferent about going, so we did not go out of our way to plan for the 9:00 show, and thought that the 10:30 show might be a bit late. However, at around 8:40 we were getting out of RnR and saw the crowd heading in to the theater. The line didn’t look too bad, so we hopped in the back of it. We were seated far to the left, but pretty much directly in front of the water spray that projects the images. Since all three water sprays show the same thing, I am not sure that queuing up extra early for center seating is the most efficient use of time. We didn’t spend a single minute waiting in line, and walked right in and got a decent side seat. The people who waited 2 hours for the show, or paid for a dinner that they only half enjoyed just so they could get prime seats saw the same show as us. And while they were waiting in line, we were enjoying the rest of the park. There may be times when arriving at 8:40 will get you shut out, but the theater was pretty much full by 9:00, so I can’t say that this particular day was a “light” crowd. Not when RnR and ToT had 70+ minute waits most of the day and TSM was routinely up to 110. Bottom line—unless F! is an absolute “must do”, I think you are better off taking your chances by showing up 30 minutes before the show. You won’t get a center seat, but 90% of the seats provide very good viewing.
DAY TWO-Epcot (Future World)
I wasn’t too sure how excited a couple of 13 year-olds would be about World Showcase, so we planned to spend the day doing as much of Future World as possible. We pretty much covered everything. No real surprises or things of note to report. Just a few observations. The kids loved Sum Of All Thrills, but the line rarely dipped below 40 minutes, so they only did it once. I was surprised how much time they spent at the Living Seas. Both my daughter and her friend are big into animals, and they could have stayed at the tanks all day if we let them. Don’t overlook this pavilion thinking that it is “just an aquarium like we have back home.” So what? If your kids like fish and animals, let them enjoy this area.
As is often the case, Test Track was acting up and was closed for about 2 hours in the early afternoon. This really presents a good case study for FP return time “rules”. When everyone in the park is trying to use their FPs at the same time, then the FP line can be 45 minutes long. This was pretty much the case from 4:00 pm until closing at 9:00. If you are confronted with a situation where the FP line extends far outside of the building, consider using the single rider line. That went much faster than the FP line.
DAYS THREE AND SIX-Magic Kingdom
I’m not going to go into great detail here. The MK is always fun, and we made the most of our day, staying until 3:30 in the afternoon and returning at night for EMHs until 1:30 am. We also returned for the morning of our “fly home” day. Just a few observations. First, the park (and several of the rides) are in need of a “dry dock” overhaul, though I don’t know how they can do that. In one half-hour span, we walked over to Splash Mountain to find that it was out of service and no FPs were being distributed. So we walked over to Pirates and were met at the entrance by a CM who told us that the ride was down with no time estimate of re-opening. So we walked back to Frontierland and passed by The Country Bear Jamboree and thought we might “sit a spell” to cool off, and were informed that the show was closed due to technical issues. That was three rides down all in the same half hour, two of which are “major attractions” in the same side of the park. That can really put a cramp in your touring plan. Also, my daughter noted little things like how the “falling rocks” at Thunder Mountain weren’t shaking or falling any more. How the laser guns at Buzz Lightyear don’t seem to shoot straight, or at all. We saw several people (not little kids mind you) exiting the ride with scores under 3,000 points. The paint job on the characters in the Peter Pan ride looks as fresh as if they had been painted in 1971. Small World broke down while we were on in, trapping us in a musical nightmare. Pirates re-opened and when we rode it, it broke down for about 15 minutes. But we were in the final scene where Jack is in the treasure room, so it wasn’t too bad. Even the People Mover was closed for over an hour. If this had been my first time in the park, I am not sure that I would have come away with a very positive impression.
And now a word (perhaps heretical) about the Enchanted Tiki Room. People here have been longing for its reopening and praising its return to the original show. And it is mostly all that. But you would think that if the world at large was so darned interested in the original show, there would be a line to see it and the shows would be filled. Nope. When we attended, the theater was no more than 1/3 filled and no one seemed moved by the show at all. (Which is probably why they deleted the “sing along” portion). The crowd seemed bored, and there was no life or buzz about it being open again. And this was still within the first week of its grand re-opening. I fear that there was a good reason for transitioning over to “Under New Management”. Say what you will about the revised show, but the change came about clearly because the original show had lost its mojo. And we are now back to square one. If the “grand reopening” can only draw in 100 people per show, then I do not see a long life ahead for Pierre, Fritz, Jose and Michael.
DAY FOUR-Epcot (World Showcase)
Having burned the midnight oil at MK EMHs the day before, we planned a light day where we would head to World Showcase close to opening at 11:00 and spend the day strolling, shopping and seeing the attractions at the country pavilions. Nothing new to report here. However, I will say (and maybe I am in the minority on this) that I thought that British Revolution was pretty good. And if you ever pass by one of the phone booths in the UK and hear the phone ring and the person on the other end tells you that “today at the UK pavilion, we are offering Spam, eggs, bacon, Spam, sausage and Spam” in a British, Monty Python accent, it is probably my daughter. She and her friend thought that calling the phone booths was the funniest thing going.
DAY FIVE-Animal Kingdom
Again, nothing new to report here that hasn’t been covered a thousand times before. It wasn’t very crowded, and we were able to bet FPs for Everest first thing, and then ride it twice in succession, each time with a 5 to 7 minute wait. If you haven’t been in a while, it is worth noting that they have gotten rid of the “Big Red”, Little Red” story line at the Safari, which I think is a positive. You still hear from a game warden, but the sub-plot has been tweaked to be a bit less corny. On the Pagani Trail, the baby gorilla was adorable. We got a good view of mother and child.
DINING
As mentioned above, we were not on a Plan. Counting only my family, we saved over $150 by paying OOP. If I added in the fourth member of our party, the savings would have been even bigger, as she ate very little on a couple of days of the trip. Most of our savings came from the fact that on the DDP, all of our appetizers would have been additional expenses. And if we had been on the DxDP, while the appetizers would have been covered, we simply would not have eaten the cost equivalent of food per person per day. For example, 2 orders of fried chicken easily fed three people at 50’s Prime Time. So if all of us had been on the DxDP, that would have been a big waste. Generally, we found that three meals shared among four people was plenty of food. But since every member of the party has to be on the same plan, we would have ended up paying for four meal plans and only using three. And as mentioned above, I think we only ordered two desserts the entire trip. So having that “thrown in” with the Plans is not a cost saver for us.
We ate at:
Fairfax Fare-people dis the CS at DHS, but I found this to be on par with the rest of WDW. Not better. Not worse. We had two orders of ribs and one pork sandwich split among four people and it was plenty.
50’s Prime Time-three orders of fried chicken for four people. More than enough food and the chicken was very good as were the potatoes. I liked the greens, but the kids probably would have preferred a different veggie. The girls split a milkshake which was terrific.
Sunshine Season’s-Always a winner with so much to choose from.
Via Napoli-The four of us split an order of calamari and 2 individual pizzas. The white pie with artichokes and truffle oil was the favorite. This was plenty of food for us.
Columbia Harbor House-believe it our not, this was my first visit here. We took the advice of the board and found a table upstairs. Nice and quiet (relatively) and the amount of food for around $10 was impressive. We shared among the four of us 2 orders of shrimp, a chicken and shrimp combo and a salad.
Kona Café-Another first for us. The girls each ordered off the sushi menu and each go a roll, and then shared them. My wife and I each ordered noodle dishes from the prix fixe option so that we would end up with 2 desserts to share among us all. We all shared the pot sticker apps, and shared the desserts. I thought that everything was good except the noodle dishes which I found to be fair.
La Cantina-We had tacos and a salad. Not a bad lunch.
Le Chefs de France-Mixed reviews here. Daughter and her friend each ordered their own Onion Soup and then split an macaroni gratin. The crouton on the soup was gummy and soggy, and the cheese was a bit goopy. All in all, I though that the soup was a weak effort. The macaroni gratin was very good, but my daughter thought that an spritz of truffle oil would have improved it quite a bit. My escargot was OK, but my “short ribs” were a disaster. First of all, the meat was not “short ribs” it was a chunk of chuck roast. Really below average for $29. My wife had the duck and it was very good. Dollar for dollar, this was the weakest meal of the trip. Not that the food was bad. But our bill was almost double of what we paid at Via Napoli or Kona café.
Flame Tree BBQ-Very good as always. One order of ribs, one pork sandwich one order of fries and one salad split among us. The birds were not an issue. Yes, they were there, but they were not aggressive.
California Grill-We always make this our last dinner of each trip and have done so since 1996. It was nice to dress for dinner and see familiar faces like Ray’s behind the bar. The girls split a dragon roll (which was absolutely huge) and a flat bread. Honestly, the sushi would have been enough for them all by itself. My wife had a salad and the fettuccini with blue foots. It was excellent. I had my favorite, the Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli and the Halibut. Both were great. I have seen some mixed reviews of the CG here, (and we have been witness to some uneven meals), but I must say that this visit was stellar.
On our fly away day when we went back to the MK, we had lunch at Cosmic Ray’s. All I can say is, ugh!. Those burgers sat there like lead. The girls wanted to split a burger, so we went to station 3. I would have preferred the rotisserie chicken, but I didn’t want to wait in a second line. So I had a burger. Never again.
I hope that some of this helps folks who are trying to make their plans. If you have any questions, let me know and I will try to answer them for you.
