MikeandReneePlus5
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2010
- Messages
- 2,136
We had a wonderful 8 night vacation at WDW - In no particular order -
The BC is awesome....great location, great pool, great smell in the lobby (yup), and we had a great view. The only slight bummer was if there is lightning in a 5 mile radius they close Stormalong Bay. there is a lot of lightning in Florida in August so the pool closed a bunch.
First time at Le Cellier and it was AWESOME. I heard so many mixed reviews but we just loved it. I don't care that it was 2 TS....our gross bill for 7 was over $500 (with wine and apps and tip) and after credit it came down to $125 or so. The food is delicious and the atmosphere wonderful. We had a great server named George.
Tiki Room is AWESOME. The birds look beautiful and Iago and Zazu are blissfully gone. This is a must do for anyone who enjoys the nostalgia of a time when the islands were considered exotic (instead of just shiny hotels/resorts), and who enjoys 40s/50s style music. If you don't like either of those things...maybe not for you. I smiled through the whole thing. The theater was maybe 1/3 full and everyone cheered every number!
IMO, there are many, many people clued in to the whole "use a FP late" thing. Moreso that our previous trips in 2009 2007 and 2005. In fact, late in the day the FP line is bascially a SB line...a FP gains you almost nothing (at least during non-peak times when we go). It didn't matter though...since lines were so short generally.
TSM Stampede - what a trip. It was fun! Everyone was very polite. We got to the park at 8:50 and were at the far back of the pack. We got FPs for 10:15 return and were off the ride by 9:20. I can't imagine anyone getting there at 8 am could have done much better. Maybe a 9:40 FP but who cares about that difference?
Soarin' Stampede - we did this from the IG. there maybe 2 dozen people there....
. I forget our exact FP return time but it was further out than TSM, that I do remember.
Wishes Dessert Buffet - fantastic. We had a table on the far right on the rail as you look at the castle and it was perfect. In fact, here is a pretty good tip - if you aren't going to the buffet grab a spot in the hallway by the Noodle Station that overlooks the dessert buffet area....near to where that hallway dumps out into Tomorrowland. There were a few people leaning on a rail right behind us but outside the buffet area and their few seemed just as good as ours (and they were not crowded).
Illuminations - amazing. My new favorite show (I had always been a Wishes fan). We saw it 4 times. So easy to find viewing....just stop anywhere a few feet back from the people pressed against the rails and you are good. The view from Canada stairs is excellent. So much easier to see that Wishes.
Fantasmic - We got good seats at 7:45 for an 8:30 show....by 8:15 is was standing room only.
Muppet 3D is very tired.
50s PT =
.
Wishes from Poly beach = soooo much better than I thought it would be. Really just a great view....you will not be disappointed if you make the effort to go. And the sound is loud and crystal clear.
New Star Tours is excellent. the queue alone is amazing. And the fact that they have Stormtrooper's patroling the FP line and interacting with guests is great. I might have missed that in previous trips if they had that before...it was new to me.
DHS from the BC is one mile and a nice walk. After F! let's out it so much better than waiting in line for a boat.
Rude guests: we saw almost none. I can only remember one event and it was too minimal to post about. the rule was polite and normal, letting others go first, holding doors, smiles, story sharing.....just really really excellent. You read these boards too much you lose faith in humanity. I know it can be luck of the draw but we couldn't have had a better experience. Caveat: we didn't do parades (except Move it Shake it which was AWESOME. Nothing like shaking your tail feathers with Jessie and Frozone!).
CMs - can't say enough. Just incredible. Not only friendly and helpful but so quick witted! We tend to joke a lot in my family...just good natured stuff and every time we included a CM in one of these type situations they always were right on it. Just alert and attentive and engaging. Really super people and a credit to WDW. I could post numerous stories of positive CM interactions but suffice to say they were just flat out incredible.
The path through the ITTBAB exit to the Tree of Life is wonderful. Great up close views of the tree and you are practially alone even when the park is crowded. Don't miss this one.
Calling the Epcot phone booths is a blast. It's fun for you and adds a bit of magic to the person answering...we saw many smiles and "can you believe this?" type responses from adults and kids alike when we said we were from UK and just checking up on things or prentended to be Micky just checking up on vacation fun.
I know I said awesome a lot but I don't feel like getting out a thesaurus!
What a great trip we had. I am in withdrawal...for real!
The BC is awesome....great location, great pool, great smell in the lobby (yup), and we had a great view. The only slight bummer was if there is lightning in a 5 mile radius they close Stormalong Bay. there is a lot of lightning in Florida in August so the pool closed a bunch.
First time at Le Cellier and it was AWESOME. I heard so many mixed reviews but we just loved it. I don't care that it was 2 TS....our gross bill for 7 was over $500 (with wine and apps and tip) and after credit it came down to $125 or so. The food is delicious and the atmosphere wonderful. We had a great server named George.
Tiki Room is AWESOME. The birds look beautiful and Iago and Zazu are blissfully gone. This is a must do for anyone who enjoys the nostalgia of a time when the islands were considered exotic (instead of just shiny hotels/resorts), and who enjoys 40s/50s style music. If you don't like either of those things...maybe not for you. I smiled through the whole thing. The theater was maybe 1/3 full and everyone cheered every number!
IMO, there are many, many people clued in to the whole "use a FP late" thing. Moreso that our previous trips in 2009 2007 and 2005. In fact, late in the day the FP line is bascially a SB line...a FP gains you almost nothing (at least during non-peak times when we go). It didn't matter though...since lines were so short generally.
TSM Stampede - what a trip. It was fun! Everyone was very polite. We got to the park at 8:50 and were at the far back of the pack. We got FPs for 10:15 return and were off the ride by 9:20. I can't imagine anyone getting there at 8 am could have done much better. Maybe a 9:40 FP but who cares about that difference?
Soarin' Stampede - we did this from the IG. there maybe 2 dozen people there....
. I forget our exact FP return time but it was further out than TSM, that I do remember.Wishes Dessert Buffet - fantastic. We had a table on the far right on the rail as you look at the castle and it was perfect. In fact, here is a pretty good tip - if you aren't going to the buffet grab a spot in the hallway by the Noodle Station that overlooks the dessert buffet area....near to where that hallway dumps out into Tomorrowland. There were a few people leaning on a rail right behind us but outside the buffet area and their few seemed just as good as ours (and they were not crowded).
Illuminations - amazing. My new favorite show (I had always been a Wishes fan). We saw it 4 times. So easy to find viewing....just stop anywhere a few feet back from the people pressed against the rails and you are good. The view from Canada stairs is excellent. So much easier to see that Wishes.
Fantasmic - We got good seats at 7:45 for an 8:30 show....by 8:15 is was standing room only.
Muppet 3D is very tired.
50s PT =
. Wishes from Poly beach = soooo much better than I thought it would be. Really just a great view....you will not be disappointed if you make the effort to go. And the sound is loud and crystal clear.
New Star Tours is excellent. the queue alone is amazing. And the fact that they have Stormtrooper's patroling the FP line and interacting with guests is great. I might have missed that in previous trips if they had that before...it was new to me.
DHS from the BC is one mile and a nice walk. After F! let's out it so much better than waiting in line for a boat.
Rude guests: we saw almost none. I can only remember one event and it was too minimal to post about. the rule was polite and normal, letting others go first, holding doors, smiles, story sharing.....just really really excellent. You read these boards too much you lose faith in humanity. I know it can be luck of the draw but we couldn't have had a better experience. Caveat: we didn't do parades (except Move it Shake it which was AWESOME. Nothing like shaking your tail feathers with Jessie and Frozone!).
CMs - can't say enough. Just incredible. Not only friendly and helpful but so quick witted! We tend to joke a lot in my family...just good natured stuff and every time we included a CM in one of these type situations they always were right on it. Just alert and attentive and engaging. Really super people and a credit to WDW. I could post numerous stories of positive CM interactions but suffice to say they were just flat out incredible.
The path through the ITTBAB exit to the Tree of Life is wonderful. Great up close views of the tree and you are practially alone even when the park is crowded. Don't miss this one.
Calling the Epcot phone booths is a blast. It's fun for you and adds a bit of magic to the person answering...we saw many smiles and "can you believe this?" type responses from adults and kids alike when we said we were from UK and just checking up on things or prentended to be Micky just checking up on vacation fun.
I know I said awesome a lot but I don't feel like getting out a thesaurus!
What a great trip we had. I am in withdrawal...for real!
). AK had unique stuff related to safari wear, DHS had unique boutique type stuff my daughters loved and some great vintage D40 stuff (including an awesome mustard yellow jersey with the classic Walt Dinsy World logo on the front...couldn't buy that sucker fast enough)...and there was plenty of stuff in Mouse Gears that I didn't see elsewhere (although they did have the D40 stuff I think). I just didn't see the overlap you were complaining about 
