A newbie's reaction to WDW*DINING PLAN REVIEWS* pg. 4

[javamom]

cool tip there, I might try that alternate route out of Epcot myself!

 

[denanbob]

No wake up call again today. Since we'd already done most of the major rides at Epcot, we figured we didn't need to be in the front of the line at rope drop. Woke up at 8am and on the bus to Epcot at 9:30. I was hoping to catch the first Turtle Talk show at 10:00, but we didn't quite make it. We walked into the Living Seas right at 10:00 and the line was SUPER long for Crush. I didn't know how big the theater was, but I figured we'd get in for the next show. Wrong. Had to wait until 10:30 to enter. Super cute show though, and worth the wait. My kids were too chicken to go down front so we sat in the very back row which made for an easy and quick exit. After the show, we explored the Living Seas for awhile. Enjoyed seeing the dolphin and the huge turtles. Next we wen to the Land and FP'd Living with the Land. It was a 40 minute standby wait. We sat down at Sunshine Seasons for snacks and a drink while waiting for our FP time (11:45). This place was B-U-S-Y!! I really enjoyed LWTL. Loved the greenhouses. I don't think the kids were overly impresses, but this was a good Mom ride! Then we FP'd Soarin' which had a 50 minute standby wait at this time. Went over to Honey I Shrunk the Audience and waited 30 minutes to see this. One thing I could do without at Disney (besides the crowds...heehee) are all the PRE-SHOWS!! Just get on with it already!!!!!!! No, I'm not impatient, why do you ask???????? I loved HISTA!! Very clever and fun and the mice FREAKED ME OUT! If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'm not telling.........We then walked through the butterfly tent thingie and the kids played on the space net which was a big hit (I think these were strictly part of the Flower and Garden festival and just temporary exhibits). The skies were looking MIGHTY dark at this point and the clouds rolled in FAST. We practically RAN to Canada for our ADR at Le Cellier. We got there at 1:20 for a 1:40 ADR and were able to wait inside (thank goodness) because it started raining the SECOND we walked in the door (I think my good karma is back finally). We heard her turn several people away saying if you didn't have ADR's, you weren't eating there that day as they were booked solid the whole day. We were seated about 1:30 and word was it was POURING outside. We all had the yummy cheese soup and breadsticks. I had a chicken breast which was ok, but my mashed potatoes were to die for. I also had a wonderful strawberry dessert that I could've eaten 3 of. It was reallllllly good. Balsamic ice cream.......who has ever heard of that? Glad I gave it a try though. We walked out of there at 3pm to bright and sunny skies. That could not have worked out better. We then went to the Character Connection and saw Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Chip-N-Dale. No waits at all. Hit both sides of Innovations next but didn't spend too much time here. Lots to do and see but we were getting tired so we skimmed the place. We did the fire safety game inside the house and that was fun. We emailed the free postcard (hence the pic in my siggy) and did some other things. Wanted to make the robots, but the line was over 30 minutes long. We rode Soarin' with our FP's and then headed out of the park to journey over to Fort Wilderness for Hoop Dee Doo. We took the Monorail to Ticket and Transportation Center, then the express Monorail to MK, then the boat to Fort Wilderness. Wish we would have had time to change and freshen up before the show (and grab a jacket because it was COLD in Pioneer hall), but we had a blast anyway. What a FUN show. The kids were CRACKING UP the whole entire time. Lots of fun. Go for the show, not the food. It's ok, but not great. Here are a few pics:

After it was over, we took the boat back to MK and the bus back to POR. Of course, when we arrived at MK, Spectro was over and letting out so the lines for the bus were long. We wanted to swim when we got back (nobody is ever too tired to swim) but it was lightning out so we decided it wasn't a good idea. Everyone else was in bed by 11:00, but I stayed up and packed for home. Tomorrow would be our last day and I didn't want to have to pack on our last night. I think I finally made it to bed around 12:30ish. Oh, here is one of the neat things that mousekeeping did with Layni's Mickey and Minnie:

Up next: our last day (MK FINALLY!!!) ~ LOTS of pics coming next!

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your report ~ Thanx for sharing.

Lovely piccies.

 

[PlutosFriend]

Awww love Minnie and Mickey in the hamock! I bet your daughter did too Great report. We were there the same week. I keep waiting to see me in the back drop of one of your pictures! LOL

 

[WINTER]

Help me out here . . . If I am at the MK and I want to go wander around Fort Wilderness, I can take a boat? Does it have a name? Thanks!

 

[MagicMe]

Enjoying your trip report. Glad your karma turned to the light!!! Can't wait to hear the rest.

 

[WeLoveThePoly]

I'm really enjoying your report and pictures. You mentioned you have a Canon S2 IS - I just ordered one and I can't wait to get it! It looks like it takes great pictures. I want to have it all figured out before our trip in October.

Debbie

 

[minnie61650]

Another wake up call this morning and Layni answers this As we were in line, guess what happens? You got it! The ride broke down. PITA was laughing his a** off as I was just SURE someone was AGAIN playing a trick on me. This seriously could not happen this many times to me, could it? About 10 minutes later, it was up and running again, but broke down 3 times while we were on it. Only for about 30 seconds each time. We were cracking up! The kids actually loved that the ride broke down while we were on it, so that was good. ......Up next: water park day that turned to MGM day due to rain, and DTD take 2!

I loved your trip report.
The photos were wonderful!
Thanks for sharing.

I just wanted to point out that those short ride delays when riding some of the rides may not have "ride breakdowns" at all. So maybe your Karma is not that bad after all.

I use an ECV (electric mobility scooter) because of limited mobility.
Sometimes Disabled guests are pulled from the mainstream line part way down and are boarded at the exit in case a moving sidewalk needs to be slowed down or stopped so the disabled may board a ride.
Sometimes we wait even longer than able bodied guests because we (disabled guests) must be pretty evenly spaced out before boarding an attraction so there is as little interruptions for the "regular able bodied guests" as possible. The CM's don't want to slow down or stop the ride too often during anyone's ride. Have you ever been on Buzz Lightyear, IASW, Spaceship Earth or the Haunted Mansion, when the ride slowed down or stopped momentary then started up again? The most likely reason it stopped was to enable a Disabled guest to board or disembark from the ride. So next time the ride stops momentary, sit back and enjoy the scenery. After all you are at Disney!

Hope that explains all the "ride breakdowns."

Glad you had fun at Disney!
Wishing you good Karma

 

[boxer]

excellent report.............your family reminds me ALOT of mine, lol. Maybe I missed it, but what were your dates at POR? We must have crossed paths there sometime during our stay (4/26 to 5/6).

 

[denanbob]

Maybe I missed it, but what were your dates at POR? We must have crossed paths there sometime during our stay (4/26 to 5/6).

We probably just missed each other. We arrived on 5/6 around 4:30pm and left on the 13th. But I SWEAR we saw the same guy with the back hair at the POR pool! (Gosh, I hope he's not reading our trip reports....).

 

[denanbob]

Sorry it's taken me so long to get this last part up. I actually had a life this weekend and went out for our anniversary to see Lewis Black (stand-up comedien if anyone knows who he is). Anyway, so here is our last day:

Everyone was up at 7 via a dud wake-up call. It was finally my turn to answer the phone and I was so excited to see who it was going to be, and all I got was dead silence! I'm chalking this one up to a coincidence, NOT the return of my bad karma. We head down to Riverside Mill food court to eat breakfast because we have extra counter service meals that we must use or lose. We were at the bus stop by 8:30 and arrived at MK by 9:00. Not early enough to see the opening show though. Since we'd already ridden Space Mountain on night-from-hell night, we went straight to Big Thunder Mountain with no wait. This was ok, but not as fun as I was anticipating. I grew up at Cedar Point, so this may be a factor in my reaction. Next, we did Splash Mountain which I thought was so great. Wonderful theming, relaxing ride, with a fun ending. My face got drenched, but the rest of me stayed pretty dry. Then we took the boat (actually floating dock) to Tom Sawyers Island and I was all geared up to find a paintbrush. Several people overheard me talking about it and were asking me questions. I didn't want to tell them. I wanted to keep my top secret information to myself and tell everyone else to mind their own business, but that wasn't very Disney-like, now, was it? So I spilled it for everyone and like an M.C. at a charity event, I'm speaking to the whole line telling them how the paintbrush thing works. We got on the floating dock and my PITA says "you're an idiot". Nice. He doesn't care that he's un-Disney-like. He wanted OUR kids to find the paintbrushes. I secretly did, too, but I'd had my share of bad karma and I wasn't going to rock the boat (no pun intended). Come to find out, as we board the dock, the captain tells the whole crowd about the paintbrushes anyway, so I wasted my time. Turns out, none of US found the paintbrushes and it seems everyone else had one (well, not everyone, but that's how it felt). We returned from the island feeling defeated and vowing never to return to that stupid island as long as we live. HMPF!!!!!! We then took the railroad to Toontown and went through Mickey's house, the judges tent for pics with Mickey, rode barnstormer, then went through Minnie's house which is where the following picture was taken (notice our crocs, BOXER!! haha):

We walked to Tomorrowland (thought for a moment about looking for the secret red path, but instead just went with the flow). Rode Indy Speedway. My boys LOVED this. I thought is was a little too slow. Then we rode Stitch. Did I miss something? I couldn't even figure out what was supposed to be happening. I thought my shoulder harness was malfunctioning until PITA told me I was supposed to think it was Stitch jumping on me. Didn't get that at all. And I'm NOT blonde, so that wasn't the problem. And were we just supposed to assume that the smell permeating the room was Stitch burping? Was there a burp sound that I missed? Whatever the case, none of us cared for it so it wasn't just me. I ran to FP Space Mountain and then we all headed to Casey's for lunch. Good, but very crowded and not near enough seating. Then we FP'd Jungle Cruise and headed to Fantasyland. THAT'S WHERE EVERYONE WAS!! Holy mackeral! Wall to wall people. Waited 15 minutes for Small World (10 year old took a nap during this ride ). Then rode Snow White's Scary Adventures with minimal wait. Then we rode the carousel:

Layni and I waited 30 minutes for Winnie-the-Pooh while PITA and boys used the restroom and played with a ball we got Brayden in Toontown. Of course the ride broke down for 10 minutes while we were waiting (and thanks to the lady explaining the possible non-breakdowns as being loading disabled folks, but this was not that). That could have been what happened during the three 30 second "breakdowns" on Haunted Mansion the other night though, never thought of that. Thanks for pointing it out for me.

Anyway, finally rode it and it was a cute ride. Not sure it was 40 minutes of waiting in line for, but cute none the less. We FP'd Peter Pan (60 minute wait with a 3 hr. FP return time), then played in Ariel's grotto for a bit to cool off. Decided not to wait 60 minutes to meet Ariel though. Layni was not happy, but I was exercising my Mom's right to put my foot down.

The boys were begging to ride Space Mountain so we walked over there and had to wait 15 minutes even with our FP. I thought that was strange but found out from a CM when we were loading that the ride had been broken down (imagine that!) so the FP line had backed up. After that, we FP'd Buzz Lightyear, then got ice cream and rode the TTA twice in a row to relax and kill time while waiting for Buzz. When we did ride Buzz, *I* got the highest score (90,000 even beating PITA). I was walking mighty proud when we exited that ride. The boys were TICKED and not being very good sports. Could it have something to do with me saying "neener, neener, neener"?????? Off we went to do the Jungle Cruise. We had a great driver (whatever you call him) and we enjoyed this. BACK to Fantasyland to ride Peter Pan. Neat ride, but I can't believe the lines it attracts!! Worth it to see it once but don't think it would be on my must-do list for a later trip. We were dog tired and after 3 round trips of Magic Kingdom, we were ready to head home. I wanted to get my Photopass pictures first and the map SAID get them at Exposition Hall (I think that was the name of it) which was right at the entrance, so that worked out perfectly. On our way, "Cinderellabration" was starting so we stopped to watch "just a little bit, please PITA????". PITA was hot and tired but Layni is too cute so she won. Cute little girls at Disney trump big tired Daddy's every time!!

I guess I can't post pics from MK and not include any of the castle, right? The first one is me experimenting with the color accent feature on my camera:

This next one is just a regular picture, nothing fancy:

So we arrive at Town Hall Expo center to find a sign out front that says "We are sorry for the inconvenience but we are not doing photopass pictures here. Please go to County Bounty in Toontown to view and purchase your pictures". W-H-A-T-E-V-E-R!!!!!!! Bad karma is BACK! PITA is NOT walking back to Toontown. I don't dare tell him I could just view the pictures online when we get back. Instead I pout and whine and tell him "this is our last chance to get our pictures because we're leaving in the morning". Instead of waiting for his answer, I suggest he take the kids back to POR and I would take the RR back to Toontown, get the pics and be right there. He vetoes that in an instant. Even though I drive him crazy and make him mad, he still loves me and was worried about leaving me. Isn't that sweet? Jake decides he'll come with me, and PITA reluctantly agrees to the arrangment. Jake and I take the RR back to Toontown, get to County Bounty and wait 45 MINUTES in line to view our pictures. NOT happy. Finally get up there fully prepared to hand over $99 and buy the CD until I realize that all of my kids' eyes are closed in almost every picture. W-H-A-T-E-V-E-R!!!!!! My luck! So I bought one 5x7 of the kids with Mickey and left fuming mad. I know ya'll are thinking we're the most un-Disney-like family you've ever seen in your life. But we're new, and we're learning so give us a break, ok? Finally arrive back at POR at 7:30 and find the rest of the family in the pool. Swam until around 8:15 (it was COLD this night), and headed to food court for supper. We heard a loud sound coming from the bar area and we realized it was the infamous Piano Bob guy I'd heard so much about. We got our food and took it over to the River Roost and ate it there while listening to Bob:

What a riot! We all had a blast! He sure puts on a good show. Great ending to our vacation. We left the bar around 10:00 and went to the General Store to pick up last minute souveniers. Headed back to our room around 11:00 and PITA and boys decide they want to swim again!!! Layni and I were too cold to swim, so we walked down with them and sat wrapped in towels watching those goofballs swim in the cold. Finally, Layni and I walked back to the room and were sleeping before they even got back. Next morning we were on Magical Express by 7:00 for the airport. Don't think my bad karma is over YET. We get to the airport and the Air Tran computers are down and there is a line BILLIONS of people long. They were walking around calling out flight numbers of planes that were leaving soon and pulling those people out of line to the front of the line to avoid people missing flights. The good news is we missed no flights, everything was on time, our luggage didn't get lost and we arrived safe and sound back in Ohio at 2:15pm on Saturday giving us 1.5 days to recover from our vacation! All in all it was a good one with a few mishaps along the way. Life is back to normal around here, and I'm happy to say the bad luck SEEMS to have moved on to someone else. Dare I say that? Thanks for reading everyone!!! And as they say.....have a magical day!

 

[LAS]

THANKS! Enjoyed your report.

 

[denanbob]

Help me out here . . . If I am at the MK and I want to go wander around Fort Wilderness, I can take a boat? Does it have a name? Thanks!

Oops, sorry, I didn't see this earlier for some reason. Yes, you take the shuttle ferry or something like that (not sure of the technical name). They are right behind the entrance to MK (or in front of it depending on how you look at it....LOL). There are 2 boats. One says "resort ferry" and the other says "Wilderness Lodge/Fort Wilderness and maybe something else but I'm not sure". You really can't miss it. Nice boat ride! Hope my response wasn't too late!

 

[denanbob]

I finally sat down to go through all of our receipts and found out that the dining plan was WELL worth it for us. Of course, after seeing in writing all of the food we ate, I've put us all on strict diets, but that's beside the point. Anyway..........our grand total on the dining plan was $1150 for the week and it only cost us $742 to add it on!!! That's $400 in free food!!!!!!!!!! Actually, it's probably more like appetizers and desserts to be honest. Things we most likely would not have gotten if we weren't on the plan. But still!! Here are the restaurants we ate at and a quick write-up on each one:

McDonalds at DTD: Need I say more? McDonalds for heavens sake.

Tusker House at AK: Excellent salad with grilled chicken and chocolate cake. Lots of nice big tables for big groups of people. Line moves fast even though it's long (unless the computer breaks down as soon as you approach like in my situation).

50's Diner: I know I've seen mixed reviews on this one, but this was actually our favorite meal of the trip. $111 for 2 adults/3 children including appetizers/desserts/tax/tip. Our waitress was MOM and we had a blast. We thought the food was very very good. Wish I would have got a milkshake though. Heard they are great.

Princess Breakfast in Norway: Great fun. Food was good. Enjoyed this place.

Liberty Tree Tavern at MK: Fun meal. I thought food was good. DH (PITA) thought it was ok but not bad. Tray of turkey, ham and roast beef (they called it steak), bowls of mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green beans, stuffing. Dessert was apple cobbler with ice cream. I think about $120 for family of 5. Atmosphere was nice, not cramped tables which I liked. Service good.

Rosie's Cafe at MGM: This was crowded with not enough seating. We had to do the stake-out plan where you act like you're casually standing around but really you're scouring tables to find some semblance of movement to indicate the people may actually be leaving and then you CASUALLY make your way over to them and practically sit on top of them to overtake their table. You all know what I'm talking about. $50 for 5 counter service meals. Chicken strips and cheeseburgers were good.

FoodQuest at Disney Quest: Had pizza and garlic bread and brownies. Not bad, not great.

Avalunch at Blizzard Beach: I can't remember what everyone else had, but I had the turkey club wrap and it was very good. Long line that moved slow and not NEAR enough seating. Yummy tollhouse chocolate chip cookies though.

Coral Reef at Epcot: First, let me just say $180 for 5 table service meals (2 adults/3 children). ZOIKES! Service was questionable. Server was very nice but too busy to handle his tables well. And he was notably stressed out. Restaurant was loud, very loud. View is not all that great unless you are right up to the aquarium glass. Food was good but not great. Chocolate wave dessert was worth the $180 in and of itself however. Electric ice cubes are $5.00 but provided entertainment for my kids the whole time we were there (1.5 hours). I had the crab cakes and DH had steak. Crab cakes tasted a little fishy to me (not bad, actually FISHY like fish), but to be fair, I've never had crab cakes before so I was trying something new. I wouldn't order them again, but maybe I just don't like crab cakes.

Le Cellier in Canada at Epcot: I forget this total (around $120 I think). Cheese soup was really good. Didn't love the pretzel breadsticks but the multi-grain ones were excellent. Service and atmosphere were good. Pretty dark in there though (yes, I know, it's a cellar what did I expect?). I think I got a chicken breast with mashed potatoes. I know the mashed potatoes were excellent!! And my dessert was PHENOMENAL!!! Balsamic ice cream (I had to ask) with strawberry topping and lady fingers. 2 kids had the chocolate moose which was wonderful and 1 had the smores dessert that was too pretty to eat.

Hoop Dee Doo at Fort Wilderness: Excellent time here. Enjoyed the show. Food was ok. BBQ ribs, fried chicken, corn on the cob, baked beans, and I forget the rest. Beer and Sangria are included in price. Strawberry shortcake for dessert. $176 for family of 5 including show and dinner, tax and tip.

Casey's Corner at MK: LONNNNG lines, very limited seating. Good dogs and fries though. I had corn dog nuggets which I loved. Fries were good and brownies for dessert were pre-packaged not-so-good kind. Great toppings bar for your dogs and fries though. I would eat here again.

Riverside Mill Food Court at POR: We had one breakfast and one dinner here. Not bad. Not spectacular, but good enough. Ample seating. Can get in and out pretty quickly. Nice atmosphere.

I think that's it. I hope I didn't forget anything. I'm mad that I never got a milkshake or a Dole Whip the whole time. Where did the time go??? Feel free to ask any questions.......ta ta for now!

 

[BethyBelle]

Great trip report! Thanks for sharing. We are going in November for our first time as well. I have one question for you. I thought you had to use your fastpass on a ride before you could go get another one. But it seemed as though y'all would get another fastpass before you used the first one you got. Can you explain this to me!

Thanks!!!!!!

 

[sadler]

Dena

I enjoyed reading your trip report and was glad to see that you had an enjoyable family vacation despite some of the "issues" you describe in your report. I especially enjoyed the fact that you spell your name "DENA" as that is the name of our DD (17). While we spell her name the same way as you, we have found relatively few "Dena"s and more "Deena"s or "Dina"s.

Enjoy your Disney trips while the kids are still young enough to love Disney. Our Dena (a veteran of many WDW vacations) is off back-packing through Thailand this summer but fortunately I will be doing a father/son trip at WLV with DS(11) in July.

 

[LoriO]

I just want to subscribe. I like the way you tell your report

 

[boxer]

Hoop Dee Doo at Fort Wilderness: Excellent time here. Enjoyed the show. Food was ok. BBQ ribs, fried chicken, corn on the cob, baked beans, and I forget the rest. Beer and Sangria are included in price. Strawberry shortcake for dessert. $176 for family of 5 including show and dinner, tax and tip.

did your older son enjoy this show? My "PITA" daughter (10) thought it was 'boring and for kids'. My son (5) LOVED it. I agree with you though----the food was VERY mediocre for a 2-credit dinner.

 

[sadler]

BethyBelle:

You may find these links helpful

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1097233&highlight=fastpass


http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1108862&highlight=fastpass

 

[denanbob]

I thought you had to use your fastpass on a ride before you could go get another one. But it seemed as thought y'all would get another fastpass before you used the first one you got. Can you explain to me!

Not necessarily. When you get a fastpass, it will give you 2 times. One time is your fastpass return window (say for example between 12:00-1:00) and the second time is when you're eligible for another fastpass. Example:

We walked up to Buzz Lightyear ride at 12:00 and it said 30 minute wait, or a fastpass return time of 12:45-1:45. Instead of waiting 30 minutes, we grabbed a fastpass, then got ice cream and rode the TTA waiting for our 12:45 time (it sure beat standing in a line for 30 minutes with NO ice cream). Anyway, the fastpass also said "you may obtain another fastpass anytime after 12:50 (5 minutes after we were eligible to use it). So that was only a 50 minute timespan from the time we got the fastpass (12:00) and the time to be eligible for another one (12:50). HOWEVER, see example 2:

We walked up to Peter Pan at 2:00 with a 60 minute wait time posted and a fastpass return time of 5:00-6:00 (3 hours later). We got the fastpass and it said our return time was 5-6 (which I knew) and we were eligible to receive another FP at 4:10. So that tied us up a bit. So basically, it is either 2 hours after you get a fastpass OR 5 minutes after your fp window whichever is SOONER. Does this make sense? It can be a complicated system to learn, but you can certainly use it to your advantage if you do it right! Let me know if you have any other questions or if you don't understand what I was trying to say..........kinda hard to explain.