mousehouse23
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2016
- Messages
- 474
Spoiler: It's almost all highs. 
I have an AP, but the kids and DH got 5-day Park Hopper Plus tickets. Our original intention was to take a down day on Wednesday, right in the middle of our trip, when we'd go to Blizzard Beach and maybe play some putt-putt. But looking at the weather forecast--where highs were maxing out around 70--we knew we should adjust our plans. The only day to touch 80 was the first day we were there, Sunday, so we decided to go to BB then, and hit Epcot afterward.
As a result, we upgraded their tickets to 6-day tickets, because we decided who needs a down day when you're at Walt Disney World?
We hit every park 2 times--once at RD and once at night. I love getting that nighttime feel at each park, so that was essential when I planned out our itinerary. I actually ended up going to Epcot 4 times in total--once by myself. I swear I could spend all day in that park. I just love it during F&G.
HIGHS:
Weather: We really lucked out. Although it was cold in the mornings, I would take that in a heartbeat over the unbearable heat of summer. The afternoons were perfect, and outside of Monday, we didn't see any rain.
Rope Drop: In spite of Spring Break crowds, we managed to do nearly everything we wanted to at RD for each park. HS was the toughest with only 4 rides. Had to skip ToT the first time there.
Flight of Passage: Just an awesome, transcendent experience. The best ride experience I've ever had, hands down.
AK at night: I love this park more and more with each visit. A lot of that is due to Pandora, but the nighttime musical acts and the Tree of Life Awakenings show are also wonderful. It's a beautiful park to walk around during the day, but at night, it's downright entrancing. The energy is amazing.
Flower and Garden Festival: Epcot is my favorite park, and F&G is Epcot on steroids. I got so many beautiful photos this time around. The kids love the topiaries, too.
Winter Summerland: If you've never taken the opportunity to do some miniature golfing at Disney World, I recommend getting a Park Hopper Plus ticket for this and the water parks. Winter Summerland is playful and fun, and just a solid family outing.
Tower of Terror: I finally took the plunge and rode ToT! It was the last attraction on my list, because I dislike drops intensely. And honestly? It didn't bother me at all! I am so glad I got to experience this iconic ride, finally. Loved the creepy atmospherics, especially since I was a Twilight Zone fan growing up. If you're on the fence about this attraction, I say go for it! It's definitely less intense than Splash Mountain. I felt so relieved getting off it, and I'm looking forward to riding again the next time.
Mobile Ordering: Made our lives easier on Magic Kingdom days, especially at Pecos Bill's and Columbia Harbor House.
Rolling FP+: Keep refreshing the MDE app to find those precious 4th and 5th rolling FPs, even on peak-crowd days. We scored a Soarin' 4th FP+ on Thursday, much to my surprise.
Epcot Aqua Seas Tour: DD and I did this tour on our last day, Friday. She rated it a 10/10! We snorkeled in the Seas aquarium and got up-close looks at the sea turtle, rays, and fish. We also saw the manatees in their backstage tank. They are really adorable.
Food: We are not terribly adventurous eaters, but we loved our pizza and pasta at Via Napoli, our carrot cake cookies at HS, and all our delicious goodies from France's patisserie. Top counter-service meal was Columbia Harbor House, though we also liked Yak & Yeti's CS Honey Chicken. We did not eat at any F&G booths, so I'm no help there. Finally made it to Earl of Sandwich at Disney Springs, and enjoyed it fine, though wasn't overly wowed. Ample Hills Creamery on Disney's BoardWalk is worth all the hype, though!
Meeting BB-8: The only character meet we did. He was such a cutie. *Beep boop beep*
Disney's BoardWalk: A nice escape from the busyness of WS in Epcot. Sooo looking forward to staying at the BC this July, if only for 2 nights! It's been my dream resort for awhile. We stayed offsite this time to save up a little.
Disney Springs: A great step-up from Downtown Disney. We're not big shoppers but enjoyed the nighttime entertainment and people watching. Just a fun place to walk around. Probably won't go every trip, but would be happy to go in a year or two.
LOWS:
Rides Going Down: Na'Vi was down on the morning we Rope Dropped AK, which meant that we didn't get to ride it. We stuck with the line for an hour before giving up. It also meant we got up at 6:30 for nothing that day. We were none too happy.
Also, our last FP+ of our final MK day was for BTMR. It went down for an hour and a half. The kids were tired by that point, so we just left. It stunk because we always end our MK days with BTMR, so we were all disappointed. Another time we had a FP+ for HM, but that went down. You get the idea...
F&G crowds: It seems hypocritical to rave about F&G and then lament the crowds also enjoying F&G, but . . . yeah. What can I say? I want it all to myself!
Seriously, though, I've never seen WS as busy as it was on Friday afternoon. It was a struggle to find a walkable path there. Felt like a MK Saturday. (The horror. 
)
Sci-Fi Diner: I was really looking forward to this ADR. We normally eat at 50's Primetime Cafe at HS, but decided to try something new. I did not enjoy my sandwich at all. Plus, our server was really behaving strangely, and it made us uncomfortable. I think he was just trying to tease and mess with our kids, but it was one of those situations where you couldn't really tell if he was being serious or not. Our son is rather shy, and he was very embarrassed. The milkshakes were completely standard faire (I like 50's better). We did enjoy the atmosphere and movie clips, but honestly, I was so ill-at-ease with our server, I just wanted to leave. We won't be going back anytime soon, I'm afraid.
My family's lack of desire to see any nighttime shows: I don't know what it is. They just don't care!
And since I don't want to be the one keeping them at the parks when they're exhausted and want to leave, we just go ahead and leave. But one of these days, I WILL see some Star Wars fireworks, if it's the last thing I do!!!! (And yes, this is a real reason to stay onsite, so your family can split up and take advantage of Disney transportation.)
Leaving: This was our sixth family trip to WDW, and I feel like I enjoyed just as much as the first time we went. Sure it was crowded, and there's not the same sense of novelty there once was. But there are layers of family memories built up there that add another dimension, and poignancy, to the whole experience. Our kids have grown up going to this wonderful, magical place. I am so, so grateful we've been able to do this together as a family for as many years as we have.
As much as there is to complain about WDW, I really do think we're all so lucky to get to experience it. I never want to take going there for granted.
The End
I have an AP, but the kids and DH got 5-day Park Hopper Plus tickets. Our original intention was to take a down day on Wednesday, right in the middle of our trip, when we'd go to Blizzard Beach and maybe play some putt-putt. But looking at the weather forecast--where highs were maxing out around 70--we knew we should adjust our plans. The only day to touch 80 was the first day we were there, Sunday, so we decided to go to BB then, and hit Epcot afterward.
As a result, we upgraded their tickets to 6-day tickets, because we decided who needs a down day when you're at Walt Disney World?
We hit every park 2 times--once at RD and once at night. I love getting that nighttime feel at each park, so that was essential when I planned out our itinerary. I actually ended up going to Epcot 4 times in total--once by myself. I swear I could spend all day in that park. I just love it during F&G.
HIGHS:
Weather: We really lucked out. Although it was cold in the mornings, I would take that in a heartbeat over the unbearable heat of summer. The afternoons were perfect, and outside of Monday, we didn't see any rain.
Rope Drop: In spite of Spring Break crowds, we managed to do nearly everything we wanted to at RD for each park. HS was the toughest with only 4 rides. Had to skip ToT the first time there.
Flight of Passage: Just an awesome, transcendent experience. The best ride experience I've ever had, hands down.
AK at night: I love this park more and more with each visit. A lot of that is due to Pandora, but the nighttime musical acts and the Tree of Life Awakenings show are also wonderful. It's a beautiful park to walk around during the day, but at night, it's downright entrancing. The energy is amazing.
Flower and Garden Festival: Epcot is my favorite park, and F&G is Epcot on steroids. I got so many beautiful photos this time around. The kids love the topiaries, too.
Winter Summerland: If you've never taken the opportunity to do some miniature golfing at Disney World, I recommend getting a Park Hopper Plus ticket for this and the water parks. Winter Summerland is playful and fun, and just a solid family outing.
Tower of Terror: I finally took the plunge and rode ToT! It was the last attraction on my list, because I dislike drops intensely. And honestly? It didn't bother me at all! I am so glad I got to experience this iconic ride, finally. Loved the creepy atmospherics, especially since I was a Twilight Zone fan growing up. If you're on the fence about this attraction, I say go for it! It's definitely less intense than Splash Mountain. I felt so relieved getting off it, and I'm looking forward to riding again the next time.
Mobile Ordering: Made our lives easier on Magic Kingdom days, especially at Pecos Bill's and Columbia Harbor House.
Rolling FP+: Keep refreshing the MDE app to find those precious 4th and 5th rolling FPs, even on peak-crowd days. We scored a Soarin' 4th FP+ on Thursday, much to my surprise.
Epcot Aqua Seas Tour: DD and I did this tour on our last day, Friday. She rated it a 10/10! We snorkeled in the Seas aquarium and got up-close looks at the sea turtle, rays, and fish. We also saw the manatees in their backstage tank. They are really adorable.
Food: We are not terribly adventurous eaters, but we loved our pizza and pasta at Via Napoli, our carrot cake cookies at HS, and all our delicious goodies from France's patisserie. Top counter-service meal was Columbia Harbor House, though we also liked Yak & Yeti's CS Honey Chicken. We did not eat at any F&G booths, so I'm no help there. Finally made it to Earl of Sandwich at Disney Springs, and enjoyed it fine, though wasn't overly wowed. Ample Hills Creamery on Disney's BoardWalk is worth all the hype, though!
Meeting BB-8: The only character meet we did. He was such a cutie. *Beep boop beep*
Disney's BoardWalk: A nice escape from the busyness of WS in Epcot. Sooo looking forward to staying at the BC this July, if only for 2 nights! It's been my dream resort for awhile. We stayed offsite this time to save up a little.
Disney Springs: A great step-up from Downtown Disney. We're not big shoppers but enjoyed the nighttime entertainment and people watching. Just a fun place to walk around. Probably won't go every trip, but would be happy to go in a year or two.
LOWS:
Rides Going Down: Na'Vi was down on the morning we Rope Dropped AK, which meant that we didn't get to ride it. We stuck with the line for an hour before giving up. It also meant we got up at 6:30 for nothing that day. We were none too happy.
Also, our last FP+ of our final MK day was for BTMR. It went down for an hour and a half. The kids were tired by that point, so we just left. It stunk because we always end our MK days with BTMR, so we were all disappointed. Another time we had a FP+ for HM, but that went down. You get the idea...
F&G crowds: It seems hypocritical to rave about F&G and then lament the crowds also enjoying F&G, but . . . yeah. What can I say? I want it all to myself!
Seriously, though, I've never seen WS as busy as it was on Friday afternoon. It was a struggle to find a walkable path there. Felt like a MK Saturday. (The horror. ) Sci-Fi Diner: I was really looking forward to this ADR. We normally eat at 50's Primetime Cafe at HS, but decided to try something new. I did not enjoy my sandwich at all. Plus, our server was really behaving strangely, and it made us uncomfortable. I think he was just trying to tease and mess with our kids, but it was one of those situations where you couldn't really tell if he was being serious or not. Our son is rather shy, and he was very embarrassed. The milkshakes were completely standard faire (I like 50's better). We did enjoy the atmosphere and movie clips, but honestly, I was so ill-at-ease with our server, I just wanted to leave. We won't be going back anytime soon, I'm afraid.
My family's lack of desire to see any nighttime shows: I don't know what it is. They just don't care!
And since I don't want to be the one keeping them at the parks when they're exhausted and want to leave, we just go ahead and leave. But one of these days, I WILL see some Star Wars fireworks, if it's the last thing I do!!!! (And yes, this is a real reason to stay onsite, so your family can split up and take advantage of Disney transportation.)Leaving: This was our sixth family trip to WDW, and I feel like I enjoyed just as much as the first time we went. Sure it was crowded, and there's not the same sense of novelty there once was. But there are layers of family memories built up there that add another dimension, and poignancy, to the whole experience. Our kids have grown up going to this wonderful, magical place. I am so, so grateful we've been able to do this together as a family for as many years as we have.
As much as there is to complain about WDW, I really do think we're all so lucky to get to experience it. I never want to take going there for granted.
The End
