Anyone Game? 2 Castles and a Road Trip TR! Last Day and TR Wrap Up! #2796; 10/01

[mvf-m11c]

Very nice updates. I thought about going inside Enchanted Tales with Belle but I would not even consider waiting that long.

Nice pictures of BTMRR. I can't wait until the DL version is completed since it has been down for over a year.

 

[LegoMom3]

I will reserve comment on the new FP+ and tier system. I'd like to remain family-friendly here on your TR.

Dude, I don't know HOW you managed to hold onto a camera and take pictures while zooming around BTMRR!!!! I do see you were in the last car. That is hands-down my all-time favorite WDW ride. I could ride over and over and over (and often do when there's a late night EMH!).

.

 

[franandaj]

I've never had a chance to try LeFou's Brew, but I have heard that it is really sweet. I felt the same away about Belle's M&G, we got there right at rope drop and only had to wait about 5 minutes. It was cute but we don't need to do it again.

I understand your frustration with the FP+ system after touring DL with your family. You folks are total commandos! I'm not sure many families can keep up with you! For us I think we will go on more rides with the FP+ system since Fran didn't go on too many rides.

Your BTMRR pictures are great! I can't wait to finally go on that ride again at DL! I'm definitely putting it on my FP+ for WDW this Spring!

 

[dolphingirl47]

How funny. For me it was the other way round with Le Fou's Brew. I absolutely adored the tropical fruit foam, but found the apple a little too sweet.

I had much the same thoughts about Enchanted Tales with Belle. I would not have done it if I could not have used Fastpass+ for it. I volunteered to play one of the parts and had a ball, but can understand that it is not quite so appealing if you don't get to meet Belle.

I am glad that you had no technical issues with Fastpass+ and that it led to you having a more relaxed time.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

Sorry. I'll try and keep the photobabble to a minimum. But I love that you even read it all and try to understand it.

It's your TR, talk about whatever you like! I'll just keep trying to understand what you're saying!

 

[rentayenta]

Love the action shots on BTMRR. It's our family's favorite mountain collectively too.

I liked LeFew's Brew but I haven't had Butter Beer so I have no point of comparison.

The pic with you and Gaston is awesome! So cute.

It seems like every time the little Mickey lights green, it's a bonus.

 

[eandesmom]

I am only caught up through your travel day but did want to comment before I forget, or read things on my phone, think I commented but really didn't. You know. That stuff.

It's always a tought call, the regional airport versus driving to a larger hub. Sometimes worth it but honestly the joy of the small ones, no security, short waits etc can really make the difference in the overall experience.

UGH on your DFW experience, that is one of my least favorite airports anyway, I try very hard not to fly through there...which means I rarely fly American these days.

The 3 hour time difference bites. Welcome to my world. This is why we take the red eye.

Hallowishes from the plane? How supremely magical, what an arrival!

 

[ACDSNY]

Very cool "fun with the camera" shots on BTMRR! It's one of my favorite rides too.

 

[maryr1oz]

More great updates - you're such a great photographer!

At the moment i'm currently ploughing through your Hong Kong report as we now have a trip planned there in July - the information there is proving extremely helpful as usual

 

[Luvchefmic]

All caught up again LeFreus Brew I tried it when NFL first opened I haven't had Butter Beer but I found WDW drink sickeningly sweet I really enjoyed your ETWB photos have never been in there but after reading your comments, since I have no little ones to bring with me, I think I'll pass I haven't been on BTMRR in years, thanks for the ride, it was fun !

I truly hope the FP+ program gets more improvements in the future I rarely used FP- when I came down from NY so it really doesn't effect me since I live here but I can see how it could be very frustrating and limiting to visitors that were used to pulling FPs There may be hope the commercials here are saying " Be Our Guest While We Test"....we'll see

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Enjoyed your update we thought the queuing area in LM was full of wonderful details! In fact when we saw on it on preview to DVC members because the line was empty it was almost frustrating we couldn't savour the details!

I hear the mine train is opening 3rd May you will def have to come back!

I adored LeFou's brew and I also love Butterbeer. I have a very sweet tooth No souvenir cup though? This is one of my prized possessions lol..

I must get Gaston to match!

Love your photos of Great Thunder! Brilliant!

Wow re you use to score 8-10 paper FP's! Omg. Like Alison and Fran we have benefitted from FP+ as I never use to be able to do many rides. I can't be there for RD. But sorry this isn't going to work out for your family so well :-(

Now I have a craving for Butterbeer or LeFou's brew...

 

[eandesmom]

What a first day so far!

I agree about the view situation at BCV, it honestly deters me from staying there much as I love SAB. We are balcony junkies and the chance of meh is just far too high. SO cute that your DS still does the autograph book, I love it. I have very mixed feelings about FP+.

While I feel strongly that 3 is not enough and the only one park is just wrong I confess, I loved strolling into a park at noon or later (or at 4pm on NYE) and knowing I had FP's for the headliners. LOVED that. And we did use the early AM to ride everything else and that was after paper was turned off. Granted it was a crazy busy time of year, it will be interesting to see how I feel about it come May when it's less crazy. But overall, for our trip, it actually was a godsend and to your point, made the whole thing much more relaxed, we did all kinds of extras I really hadn't planned on or expected, bonus prizes.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Great updates. My family loves BTMR also. If we had to vote on a overall family favourite at WDW I think BTMR would come second (just tipped to the post by Expedition Everest). I remember riding BTMR in my teens and thinking it was lame and not scary enough. Now it's about as scary as this chicken gets.

I agree fully about LeFou's Brew. The "one tropical fruit too many" is a great description. Even though I found it tasty enough to finish, it was just a bit too sweet and sickly to consider purchasing again. Butterbeer, on the other hand, would be reason on it's own to return to Universal. We loved it.

I was reading about the Fastpass + Tier system the other day and thinking how grateful I was that it wasn't in place while we were there. It sounds so restrictive. In saying that, I didn't mind the Fastpass + concept for the exact reason you stated - it slows you down. I really enjoyed the pace in which my family did WDW.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Great updates, I feel like I'm there with you. I just wish the LM was a longer ride, the details are fabulous though.

I'm totally jealous you don't get motion sickness on the rides. Cool photos on BTMR.

I'm totally jealous of anyone that doesn't get motion sickness on cruises. Happy. to. trade. for. 7. days.


Yes, there are quite a few rides at Disney that would benefit from length.

Very nice updates. I thought about going inside Enchanted Tales with Belle but I would not even consider waiting that long.

Nice pictures of BTMRR. I can't wait until the DL version is completed since it has been down for over a year.

I was sad that BTMRR was closed when I was at DLR. Hopefully it won't be too much longer (and I haven't kept up with the DLR schedule at all this year!!).

I will reserve comment on the new FP+ and tier system. I'd like to remain family-friendly here on your TR.

Dude, I don't know HOW you managed to hold onto a camera and take pictures while zooming around BTMRR!!!! I do see you were in the last car. That is hands-down my all-time favorite WDW ride. I could ride over and over and over (and often do when there's a late night EMH!).

.

I self-moderated my views about the FP+ and tiering system in the interest of keeping things family-friendly here as well.


BTMRR is relatively easy to keep hold of the camera. EE was more of a challenge. I didn't even attempt it on RnRC.


And that's not me on the train. I was behind the camera.

I've never had a chance to try LeFou's Brew, but I have heard that it is really sweet. I felt the same away about Belle's M&G, we got there right at rope drop and only had to wait about 5 minutes. It was cute but we don't need to do it again.

I understand your frustration with the FP+ system after touring DL with your family. You folks are total commandos! I'm not sure many families can keep up with you! For us I think we will go on more rides with the FP+ system since Fran didn't go on too many rides.

Your BTMRR pictures are great! I can't wait to finally go on that ride again at DL! I'm definitely putting it on my FP+ for WDW this Spring!

I thought Butterbeer was sweeter. LeFrou had that fruity tang to it that balanced out the sweetness.

Yes, I don't think I'll be doing ETwB again.

Hope you get a few more rides in when you go in Spring. Looking forward to living vicariously through your TR.

How funny. For me it was the other way round with Le Fou's Brew. I absolutely adored the tropical fruit foam, but found the apple a little too sweet.

I had much the same thoughts about Enchanted Tales with Belle. I would not have done it if I could not have used Fastpass+ for it. I volunteered to play one of the parts and had a ball, but can understand that it is not quite so appealing if you don't get to meet Belle.

I am glad that you had no technical issues with Fastpass+ and that it led to you having a more relaxed time.

Corinna

I loved the foam on it's own. I loved the apple slushie on it's own. In combination, there was just a taste that wasn't in balance for me. But that's me. Glad you loved it.

Yes, the MB and FP+ worked well for us; except on the last day. But we'll get to that.

It's your TR, talk about whatever you like! I'll just keep trying to understand what you're saying!

Hopefully, it'll come back to you quickly when you decide to look into it.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Love the action shots on BTMRR. It's our family's favorite mountain collectively too.

I liked LeFew's Brew but I haven't had Butter Beer so I have no point of comparison.

The pic with you and Gaston is awesome! So cute.

It seems like every time the little Mickey lights green, it's a bonus.

Thanks. I used to think that EE was my family's favourite ride but it seems that DH isn't so keen on it anymore.

The green lights were definitely a bonus.

Very cool "fun with the camera" shots on BTMRR! It's one of my favorite rides too.

Thanks. I had a lot of fun playing with the camera settings on that ride.

More great updates - you're such a great photographer!

At the moment i'm currently ploughing through your Hong Kong report as we now have a trip planned there in July - the information there is proving extremely helpful as usual

Thank you.
Glad to see that the HK trip report has longevity. That part of the boards was severely lacking information.

(Feel free to drop similar comments again....anytime! )

All caught up again LeFreus Brew I tried it when NFL first opened I haven't had Butter Beer but I found WDW drink sickeningly sweet I really enjoyed your ETWB photos have never been in there but after reading your comments, since I have no little ones to bring with me, I think I'll pass I haven't been on BTMRR in years, thanks for the ride, it was fun !

I truly hope the FP+ program gets more improvements in the future I rarely used FP- when I came down from NY so it really doesn't effect me since I live here but I can see how it could be very frustrating and limiting to visitors that were used to pulling FPs There may be hope the commercials here are saying " Be Our Guest While We Test"....we'll see

I think that ETwB is worth a visit at least once if you've never been in there. But only if you don't have to queue up for more than 5 or 10 minutes.

I sure hope that Disney make some tweaks to the FP+/MB program and I sure hope they don't roll it out (yet) to the other parks until they do!!!

Enjoyed your update we thought the queuing area in LM was full of wonderful details! In fact when we saw on it on preview to DVC members because the line was empty it was almost frustrating we couldn't savour the details!

I hear the mine train is opening 3rd May you will def have to come back!

I adored LeFou's brew and I also love Butterbeer. I have a very sweet tooth No souvenir cup though? This is one of my prized possessions lol..

I must get Gaston to match!

Love your photos of Great Thunder! Brilliant!

Wow re you use to score 8-10 paper FP's! Omg. Like Alison and Fran we have benefitted from FP+ as I never use to be able to do many rides. I can't be there for RD. But sorry this isn't going to work out for your family so well :-(

Now I have a craving for Butterbeer or LeFou's brew...

How special to experience LM on the preview.

Sadly, I don't have any plans to head back to WDW in the foreseeable future. But I'd like to get on that Mine ride at some stage.

Lovely mug; but I had to resist. I didn't get the souvenir mug. I have a cupboard-full of similar souvenir mugs and DH, DS and I decided we weren't going down that path for this trip.

Thanks.

I am only caught up through your travel day but did want to comment before I forget, or read things on my phone, think I commented but really didn't. You know. That stuff.

It's always a tought call, the regional airport versus driving to a larger hub. Sometimes worth it but honestly the joy of the small ones, no security, short waits etc can really make the difference in the overall experience.

UGH on your DFW experience, that is one of my least favorite airports anyway, I try very hard not to fly through there...which means I rarely fly American these days.

The 3 hour time difference bites. Welcome to my world. This is why we take the red eye.

Hallowishes from the plane? How supremely magical, what an arrival!

That 3 hour time difference does bite, doesn't it. In the past, I've headed across and just blithely accepted it because it was just part of the groundhog travel day to the US. I never realised how much of a bite it must make if you're travelling from regional Western US with connections to make. Totally get why you would choose the red eye.

Hallowishes from the plane will be something I won't forget for a while.

What a first day so far!

I agree about the view situation at BCV, it honestly deters me from staying there much as I love SAB. We are balcony junkies and the chance of meh is just far too high. SO cute that your DS still does the autograph book, I love it. I have very mixed feelings about FP+.

While I feel strongly that 3 is not enough and the only one park is just wrong I confess, I loved strolling into a park at noon or later (or at 4pm on NYE) and knowing I had FP's for the headliners. LOVED that. And we did use the early AM to ride everything else and that was after paper was turned off. Granted it was a crazy busy time of year, it will be interesting to see how I feel about it come May when it's less crazy. But overall, for our trip, it actually was a godsend and to your point, made the whole thing much more relaxed, we did all kinds of extras I really hadn't planned on or expected, bonus prizes.

I loved knowing that I had FP+ all sorted as well. 3 is not enough for me, though. But given some of the posts around wait times, I can understand why Disney isn't rushing out to hand out more.

Great updates. My family loves BTMR also. If we had to vote on a overall family favourite at WDW I think BTMR would come second (just tipped to the post by Expedition Everest). I remember riding BTMR in my teens and thinking it was lame and not scary enough. Now it's about as scary as this chicken gets.

I agree fully about LeFou's Brew. The "one tropical fruit too many" is a great description. Even though I found it tasty enough to finish, it was just a bit too sweet and sickly to consider purchasing again. Butterbeer, on the other hand, would be reason on it's own to return to Universal. We loved it.

I was reading about the Fastpass + Tier system the other day and thinking how grateful I was that it wasn't in place while we were there. It sounds so restrictive. In saying that, I didn't mind the Fastpass + concept for the exact reason you stated - it slows you down. I really enjoyed the pace in which my family did WDW.

EE would be my favourite ride at WDW.

I'm also grateful that we got there before tiering was implemented.

 

[Pinkocto]

I have to take dramamine on the cruises, but it works perfectly. One night at dinner mom said I actually looked green. I wouldn't have made it to the restroom if there had been an emergency, thankfully there wasn't one.

 

[scottny]

I like the view from the balcony.
Main Street is so empty.
Nice PP pics.
Nice character pics and the food looked good.
Love the pics strolling along.
Loved the Under the Sea pics.
I hope they change the rules for fp+ and more than 1 park a day.
Love the pics from BTTRR.
I am caught up again.

 

[mvf-m11c]

I was sad that BTMRR was closed when I was at DLR. Hopefully it won't be too much longer (and I haven't kept up with the DLR schedule at all this year!!).

It would have been fun if BTMRR was opened during the trip in September. It has been closed since January 2013 and still waiting for it to reopen. I have read that it might be opened next month. I can't wait for it to be reopened.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I have to take dramamine on the cruises, but it works perfectly. One night at dinner mom said I actually looked green. I wouldn't have made it to the restroom if there had been an emergency, thankfully there wasn't one.

Dramamine only goes so far with me. I can do short half-day things on the ocean. I think a river cruise might be the way to go for me.

I like the view from the balcony.
Main Street is so empty.
Nice PP pics.
Nice character pics and the food looked good.
Love the pics strolling along.
Loved the Under the Sea pics.
I hope they change the rules for fp+ and more than 1 park a day.
Love the pics from BTTRR.
I am caught up again.

Nice to see you! Glad you're all caught up again. I sure hope that they open up FP+ for more than 1 park per day as well.
Thanks.

It would have been fun if BTMRR was opened during the trip in September. It has been closed since January 2013 and still waiting for it to reopen. I have read that it might be opened next month. I can't wait for it to be reopened.

That's a long time for it to be down. Not long to go if it's re-opened next month. Looking forward to seeing your pictures of it.

 

[declansdad]

PIO, is the exif data for your photos available in Photobucket?