Well, we're officially home from our third family Disney trip. I know I always appreciate current "Good/Bad/Ugly" reviews and tips so I thought I would throw my two bits out there too.
We had a really fabulous time. I think this was our best trip yet. Our first trip, we were so green that we really had no idea what to expect and likely weren't too productive. Our second, we spent a lot of time just running from attraction to attraction and felt we missed out on a lot when we got home. This time, we did plenty of rides (some over and over) but also made sure to spend time at shows and parades and all those other fun things that are so abundant. We had 5-day hoppers and went 5 days straight. I think next time we'll stay longer and maybe do one less day at the parks (only because we've been there 3x now) and take days off because man were we sore from all the walking for 5 days!
I adore Disney. I love how you can turn a corner and be surprised by Goofy or a little stage show or a barbershop quartet. I love the rides. I love the people. I love the magic and the detail that goes into every little thing they do. We had a few disappointments, but that's expected and we didn't let it affect our time there in any way. Here are a few good, bad and ugly's that stand out:
GOOD
1) Fairfield Inn by Marriot on Anaheim - we stayed here for the first time and actually really liked it. The most important thing for me when staying at a hotel is bed comfort and these beds were fantastic. I never once had a problem with a sore back or tossing and turning (this is impressive for me). Our rooms were very clean and well taken care of during our stay. Showers were great, our room was very spacious and quiet, and staff were prompt and pleasant. The walking distance to the parks was very manageable (I will never stay at a hotel that requires a shuttle again) but the best part over all of it.... REAL COFFEE! I had started a thread before we left about the crappy coffee in DLR and it turned out our hotel served Seattle's Best at the Pizza Hut onsite. We were sooooo excited and happily skipped to the parks each morning, feet still a'throbbing from the day before, but with our venti cups of rich delicious coffee in hand, life was good.
2) Crowds - We were there Thursday to Monday and the peak crowds levels were about a 5 on Thursday, a 6 on Friday, a 9 on Saturday and then a 7 or so for Sunday / Monday. Mornings were awesome. We would walk on rides, doing several over and over until the crowds picked up. We made great use of FP, trying to have one at all times. We never once lined up standby for SM but still rode it at least 5x. We found the crowds to be up and down on some days. Sunday and Monday were both really "quiet" until about 1 and then they got really busy. Monday night was crazy, which surprised us. Sunday night, at around 6pm we rode RSR 3x in a row. We literally walked on the first time, had a 2 minute wait the second time and a 10 minute wait the third time. Apparently this NEVER happens so we totally lucked out. FP still run around early in the AM for this ride but I was happy to see that you could still get another FP for other rides after a certain time. I had thought you had to wait all day without one since it was now disconnected. Yay!
3). Shows / Parades - we made sure to catch the shows, fireworks and the parades, which we never did our last visits mostly to avoid the crowds. The Christmas fireworks were absolutely amazing. My girls didn't want to stay for them at first but both stated after that it was one of their favorite things. The parade was amazing too but I wish we had seen it in the dark. It was very warm and sunny and the floats all looked like they would be more impressive all lit up. Still, incredible. Aladdin was just so much fun. Everyone must try and catch this when they go. Our kids loved it. And the shows at Fantasy Faire are definitely worth catching too. We caught the Tangled one last time and the Beauty and the Beast one this time. I think I preferred Tangled slightly but they are both so much fun. Oh, and we caught the Viva Navidad by accident one afternoon and really enjoyed it. Tons of fun.
4) Cast Members - I know there have been complaints lately about the attitudes of the CMs but I don't think these guys get NEAR enough credit. I can not imagine how exhausting it would be to work all day with the guests (see UGLY point 2). Guests can be so mean and so disrespectful to them. Or blame them when something totally beyond their control goes wrong. We saw them being abused all over the place but 99% of them kept their cool and their magic, always smiling and going the extra mile to make our day. We always felt special and welcome. Koodos to the CMs! I remember one miserable guy on SOC and one on the same ride who was so overly playful and loud that it was bordering on completely obnoxious but other than that, they were all fabulous! Be kind and respectful to them and they will amaze you.
5) Rides - so we tried some new ones this time and loved them all. We thought we would get past our "looks stupid" attitude about Luigi's Tires and seriously, we had a great time on these. Getting the hang of it wasn't difficult it all, just don't lean too far. We were killing ourselves laughing through the whole thing. We finally tried ITTBAB which we had avoided the last two times due to my dd's fear of spiders but we loved it! What a great little show. My dd just hid her eyes for the spider part (no, of course mommy didn't as well...) and all was well. My oldest DD jumped up and screamed at the end when the "other bugs" exited the theatre and the whole theatre laughed along with us. Great time! The new BTMRR was so much fun. We must have ridden this a dozen times. The back is the best! The front is actually disappointing as you're always waiting for the back to crest the hills so grab the back when you can. We also did ST for the first time and I was pleasantly surprised. I got so sick on that ride as a teen that I was terrified to go on again but we braved it this time and it was so much fun! My oldest felt "funny" so it can be a bit nauseating for some but I'm glad we tried it again.
The best advise for rides is to go early each morning and use FP as much as possible. You'll get tons done this way.
6) Minnie's Breakfast - we do this each time and as usual, this character breakfast was awesome. We saw so many characters and the interaction was so above and beyond. We got autographs and pics with each and joked and played around with many too. So much fun! My one complaint is that I wish the hostesses would tell everyone when they check in to stay at their table and the characters will come to them. Parents and kids would be trying to chase and distract the characters all the time but the characters would just ignore them. It was painful to watch this one mom who followed the characters around for 20 minutes, being ignored and her daughter being sad when they wouldn't acknowledge her. Finally, out of sheer pity, I explained that the characters would come to them at their table. She thanked me, saying she had no idea and sure enough, as soon as they sat down, they started coming by.
7) Cleanliness - I can't get over how clean Disney is all the time. The bathrooms are always spotless, never out of soap or paper towel, and the grounds always seem to be clear of any garbage anywhere. DLR does an amazing job of this. It can't be easy with all the people. My only complaint about the bathrooms is that the number of stalls outnumbers the number of sinks by about 10:1. There's rarely lineups for stalls but ALWAYS lineups for sinks.
8) Ghiradellis - OMG... the Sea Salt Caramel sundae is worth every single calorie. Do it.
9) Redwood Creek Challenge - We found this by accident later one evening and our girls had a great time running around here... and I got one hell of a workout on those rope walkways (pant pant). It was quiet in here and beautiful. So much to do. A great place for the parents to take a break and let their kids run free.
BAD
1) Jingle Cruise - I don't know if we just got a bad "guide" but we were terribly disappointed in this one. The cruise wasn't nearly as decorated as I thought and the puns were just beyond cringe-worthy. I think our boat may have chuckled quietly once, possibly out of pity more than anything. The rest fell completely flat. I remember last time killing ourselves laughing through the Jungle Cruise so it was really disappointing. Thankfully we didn't wait long as the lines were short on Thursday.
2) Christmas decor - okay, so I was totally disappointed in this area. I was expecting WAAAY more Christmas decor but was shocked to see that many areas hardly had anything (Rivers of America, Adventure Land, Pier, etc). Carsland was so beautiful though. The Castle was incredible at night and Main Street was okay but I went there expecting to see way more decor than there was. This was really our main reason for going this time of year. Honestly, I think my expectations were just set too high. It was beautiful, as usual there. More so at night.
3) HM Holiday Overlay - This isn't really "bad" as we didn't mind it and it was fun to see something different but we totally missed the original. It was one of our favorites on our last two trips but this time, we only bothered to see it twice.
4) The bag check - so what's up with this? I know they have done it for years but what's the point? It causes major backups and they honestly don't even really look more than a glance in each bag. It's not a huge inconvenience, but it does seem unnecessary.
UGLY
1) Strollers - seriously. I know this is a common complaint but the sheer volume of strollers (which are often shoved around by their impatient aggressive owners) is unbelievable. They are everywhere, rolling over our toes or bumping our heels. Our family was separated one night after the fireworks all because of strollers (dh and dd got through a herd of them but didn't notice other dd and I couldn't) and we all got lost in the surge of people heading out. Luckily we had a pre-arranged meeting place in the event this did happen (make sure you do this! I'm so glad we did... we all knew exactly where to go). I wish Disney had some way of capping the number of strollers. I also wish more parents would make their healthy 6-10 year olds walk. Big kids that should definitely NOT be in a stroller were everywhere. My daughter was 5 last time and it never crossed our mind to bother bringing a stroller and she did great. The number of extra-large or double-wide strollers was amazing to me. Why anyone would want to try and lug those around all day I have no idea. The first year we went, my dd was three and we bought a good umbrella stroller that was light and compact. Even then I found it cumbersome.
2) Inconsiderate People - I was shocked at many of the other guests. It's amazing to me how many groups would just stopped walking in a main through-way to talk or take pictures. Or how many times I crashed into people while trying to walk into a lineup because they stopped to discuss if they wanted to go on or now... RIGHT in the front of the entrance. People would cut in front of us in lineups for food or rides. We were shoved by one dad, carrying his little boy, who was obviously a little too short for SOC and he was dropping F bombs left right and centre. Hello. Kids everywhere buddy... including your own! I sat down on a bench one night and a moment later, a larger woman literally sat on top of my one leg. I said "excuse me" and she huffed up, growled at me and stomped off. It wasn't that busy, there were other benches. People were rude to CMs everywhere and very demanding. Maybe being Canadian is my problem.
. We're used to people showing common courtesy and respect... it's a disease up here 
3) Park Coffee - if you have any ounce of coffee drinking experience, just don't do it. It didn't matter how fresh it was or how desperate we were... that coffee is nasty
All in all, we had such a good time. I feel like we did everything we wanted to and then some. Our kids were at a great age so they enjoyed everything from all the rides to the plays and shows. We can't wait to go back in a few years to do it all over again.
Let me know if anyone has any questions!
We had a really fabulous time. I think this was our best trip yet. Our first trip, we were so green that we really had no idea what to expect and likely weren't too productive. Our second, we spent a lot of time just running from attraction to attraction and felt we missed out on a lot when we got home. This time, we did plenty of rides (some over and over) but also made sure to spend time at shows and parades and all those other fun things that are so abundant. We had 5-day hoppers and went 5 days straight. I think next time we'll stay longer and maybe do one less day at the parks (only because we've been there 3x now) and take days off because man were we sore from all the walking for 5 days!
I adore Disney. I love how you can turn a corner and be surprised by Goofy or a little stage show or a barbershop quartet. I love the rides. I love the people. I love the magic and the detail that goes into every little thing they do. We had a few disappointments, but that's expected and we didn't let it affect our time there in any way. Here are a few good, bad and ugly's that stand out:
GOOD
1) Fairfield Inn by Marriot on Anaheim - we stayed here for the first time and actually really liked it. The most important thing for me when staying at a hotel is bed comfort and these beds were fantastic. I never once had a problem with a sore back or tossing and turning (this is impressive for me). Our rooms were very clean and well taken care of during our stay. Showers were great, our room was very spacious and quiet, and staff were prompt and pleasant. The walking distance to the parks was very manageable (I will never stay at a hotel that requires a shuttle again) but the best part over all of it.... REAL COFFEE! I had started a thread before we left about the crappy coffee in DLR and it turned out our hotel served Seattle's Best at the Pizza Hut onsite. We were sooooo excited and happily skipped to the parks each morning, feet still a'throbbing from the day before, but with our venti cups of rich delicious coffee in hand, life was good.
2) Crowds - We were there Thursday to Monday and the peak crowds levels were about a 5 on Thursday, a 6 on Friday, a 9 on Saturday and then a 7 or so for Sunday / Monday. Mornings were awesome. We would walk on rides, doing several over and over until the crowds picked up. We made great use of FP, trying to have one at all times. We never once lined up standby for SM but still rode it at least 5x. We found the crowds to be up and down on some days. Sunday and Monday were both really "quiet" until about 1 and then they got really busy. Monday night was crazy, which surprised us. Sunday night, at around 6pm we rode RSR 3x in a row. We literally walked on the first time, had a 2 minute wait the second time and a 10 minute wait the third time. Apparently this NEVER happens so we totally lucked out. FP still run around early in the AM for this ride but I was happy to see that you could still get another FP for other rides after a certain time. I had thought you had to wait all day without one since it was now disconnected. Yay!
3). Shows / Parades - we made sure to catch the shows, fireworks and the parades, which we never did our last visits mostly to avoid the crowds. The Christmas fireworks were absolutely amazing. My girls didn't want to stay for them at first but both stated after that it was one of their favorite things. The parade was amazing too but I wish we had seen it in the dark. It was very warm and sunny and the floats all looked like they would be more impressive all lit up. Still, incredible. Aladdin was just so much fun. Everyone must try and catch this when they go. Our kids loved it. And the shows at Fantasy Faire are definitely worth catching too. We caught the Tangled one last time and the Beauty and the Beast one this time. I think I preferred Tangled slightly but they are both so much fun. Oh, and we caught the Viva Navidad by accident one afternoon and really enjoyed it. Tons of fun.
4) Cast Members - I know there have been complaints lately about the attitudes of the CMs but I don't think these guys get NEAR enough credit. I can not imagine how exhausting it would be to work all day with the guests (see UGLY point 2). Guests can be so mean and so disrespectful to them. Or blame them when something totally beyond their control goes wrong. We saw them being abused all over the place but 99% of them kept their cool and their magic, always smiling and going the extra mile to make our day. We always felt special and welcome. Koodos to the CMs! I remember one miserable guy on SOC and one on the same ride who was so overly playful and loud that it was bordering on completely obnoxious but other than that, they were all fabulous! Be kind and respectful to them and they will amaze you.
5) Rides - so we tried some new ones this time and loved them all. We thought we would get past our "looks stupid" attitude about Luigi's Tires and seriously, we had a great time on these. Getting the hang of it wasn't difficult it all, just don't lean too far. We were killing ourselves laughing through the whole thing. We finally tried ITTBAB which we had avoided the last two times due to my dd's fear of spiders but we loved it! What a great little show. My dd just hid her eyes for the spider part (no, of course mommy didn't as well...) and all was well. My oldest DD jumped up and screamed at the end when the "other bugs" exited the theatre and the whole theatre laughed along with us. Great time! The new BTMRR was so much fun. We must have ridden this a dozen times. The back is the best! The front is actually disappointing as you're always waiting for the back to crest the hills so grab the back when you can. We also did ST for the first time and I was pleasantly surprised. I got so sick on that ride as a teen that I was terrified to go on again but we braved it this time and it was so much fun! My oldest felt "funny" so it can be a bit nauseating for some but I'm glad we tried it again.
The best advise for rides is to go early each morning and use FP as much as possible. You'll get tons done this way.
6) Minnie's Breakfast - we do this each time and as usual, this character breakfast was awesome. We saw so many characters and the interaction was so above and beyond. We got autographs and pics with each and joked and played around with many too. So much fun! My one complaint is that I wish the hostesses would tell everyone when they check in to stay at their table and the characters will come to them. Parents and kids would be trying to chase and distract the characters all the time but the characters would just ignore them. It was painful to watch this one mom who followed the characters around for 20 minutes, being ignored and her daughter being sad when they wouldn't acknowledge her. Finally, out of sheer pity, I explained that the characters would come to them at their table. She thanked me, saying she had no idea and sure enough, as soon as they sat down, they started coming by.
7) Cleanliness - I can't get over how clean Disney is all the time. The bathrooms are always spotless, never out of soap or paper towel, and the grounds always seem to be clear of any garbage anywhere. DLR does an amazing job of this. It can't be easy with all the people. My only complaint about the bathrooms is that the number of stalls outnumbers the number of sinks by about 10:1. There's rarely lineups for stalls but ALWAYS lineups for sinks.
8) Ghiradellis - OMG... the Sea Salt Caramel sundae is worth every single calorie. Do it.
9) Redwood Creek Challenge - We found this by accident later one evening and our girls had a great time running around here... and I got one hell of a workout on those rope walkways (pant pant). It was quiet in here and beautiful. So much to do. A great place for the parents to take a break and let their kids run free.
BAD
1) Jingle Cruise - I don't know if we just got a bad "guide" but we were terribly disappointed in this one. The cruise wasn't nearly as decorated as I thought and the puns were just beyond cringe-worthy. I think our boat may have chuckled quietly once, possibly out of pity more than anything. The rest fell completely flat. I remember last time killing ourselves laughing through the Jungle Cruise so it was really disappointing. Thankfully we didn't wait long as the lines were short on Thursday.
2) Christmas decor - okay, so I was totally disappointed in this area. I was expecting WAAAY more Christmas decor but was shocked to see that many areas hardly had anything (Rivers of America, Adventure Land, Pier, etc). Carsland was so beautiful though. The Castle was incredible at night and Main Street was okay but I went there expecting to see way more decor than there was. This was really our main reason for going this time of year. Honestly, I think my expectations were just set too high. It was beautiful, as usual there. More so at night.
3) HM Holiday Overlay - This isn't really "bad" as we didn't mind it and it was fun to see something different but we totally missed the original. It was one of our favorites on our last two trips but this time, we only bothered to see it twice.
4) The bag check - so what's up with this? I know they have done it for years but what's the point? It causes major backups and they honestly don't even really look more than a glance in each bag. It's not a huge inconvenience, but it does seem unnecessary.
UGLY
1) Strollers - seriously. I know this is a common complaint but the sheer volume of strollers (which are often shoved around by their impatient aggressive owners) is unbelievable. They are everywhere, rolling over our toes or bumping our heels. Our family was separated one night after the fireworks all because of strollers (dh and dd got through a herd of them but didn't notice other dd and I couldn't) and we all got lost in the surge of people heading out. Luckily we had a pre-arranged meeting place in the event this did happen (make sure you do this! I'm so glad we did... we all knew exactly where to go). I wish Disney had some way of capping the number of strollers. I also wish more parents would make their healthy 6-10 year olds walk. Big kids that should definitely NOT be in a stroller were everywhere. My daughter was 5 last time and it never crossed our mind to bother bringing a stroller and she did great. The number of extra-large or double-wide strollers was amazing to me. Why anyone would want to try and lug those around all day I have no idea. The first year we went, my dd was three and we bought a good umbrella stroller that was light and compact. Even then I found it cumbersome.
2) Inconsiderate People - I was shocked at many of the other guests. It's amazing to me how many groups would just stopped walking in a main through-way to talk or take pictures. Or how many times I crashed into people while trying to walk into a lineup because they stopped to discuss if they wanted to go on or now... RIGHT in the front of the entrance. People would cut in front of us in lineups for food or rides. We were shoved by one dad, carrying his little boy, who was obviously a little too short for SOC and he was dropping F bombs left right and centre. Hello. Kids everywhere buddy... including your own! I sat down on a bench one night and a moment later, a larger woman literally sat on top of my one leg. I said "excuse me" and she huffed up, growled at me and stomped off. It wasn't that busy, there were other benches. People were rude to CMs everywhere and very demanding. Maybe being Canadian is my problem.
. We're used to people showing common courtesy and respect... it's a disease up here 3) Park Coffee - if you have any ounce of coffee drinking experience, just don't do it. It didn't matter how fresh it was or how desperate we were... that coffee is nasty
All in all, we had such a good time. I feel like we did everything we wanted to and then some. Our kids were at a great age so they enjoyed everything from all the rides to the plays and shows. We can't wait to go back in a few years to do it all over again.
Let me know if anyone has any questions!
Stroller or not, some people just need to be a little more courteous. It goes a long way.
