My 12 year old son and I just returned after spending 7 nights at the BWI and 1 night at the AKL. We are frequent visitors to DL, but this was only our second trip to WDW. Our concensus highlights:
BWI was great. Our faxed room request paid off so we had a lovely view of inner gardens and the full expanse of Epcot including the fireworks. The room was a nice size and we loved the central location. We liked the AKL Savana view experience alot as well, but for an extended stay, the BWI was perfect.
Smartest move: E-night. Big fun. We ended up doing it twice, but the weather made the last night a little less enjoyable. Still, it was so worth it.
Favorite ride: Buzz Lightyear. My son liked it because once we figured that the right side was better than the left, he could usually beat me (once scoring around 310,000 points). This was a new and different ride for us. Honorable mentions (largely because these are new rides for us): Test Track, R&R Coaster, Primevial Whirl, Kilanjoro Safari
Favorite nighttime show: Fantasmic, Spectromagic, Illuminations -- all wonderful.
Favorite show: Loved Indiana Jones and Who Wants to be a Millionnaire Play It.
Favorite character: Peter Pan, hands down. What a delight he is! He takes a long time with all the guests, so be patient and enjoy his performance while you wait your turn. (He hangs out around Pirates of the Caribean, even though he told me that he doesn't really like that ride. We talked at length about the differences between DL/California Adventure and WDW). Wendy, was also charming, nodding as Peter chattered away.
Favorite restaurant: Spoodles. I expected that I would like it, but was surprised that my son liked it so much. The food was great, the staff was great, and we were able to return for immediate seating without a PS.
Favorite character meal: Liberty Tree Tavern. The best food and excellent service.
Least favorite character meal: Crystal Palace. It took two hours from the time we checked in for our PS until the time we had the last of the four characters visit our table. The food was mediocre.
Also enjoyed Cinderalla's Royal Table Breakfast, Akershus Princess Breakfast, and dinner at 1900 Park Fare.
Favorite Fun Restaurant: 50's Prime Time. My son especially enjoyed the food and he is watching his elbows more. We also enjoyed Teppan Yaki, Sci-Fi Diner and Rainforest Cafe. My DS liked the Rainforest Cafe better at Disneyland, but they seated us with the PS lunch time groups even though our PS was for evening.
Best cast member: Robin at BWI front desk. She bent over backwards to make sure our fax request for a nice view of the fireworks was met. We got a great room (5282). Close second the waiter at Spoodles who convinced us to hang out for awhile during a storm. Honorable mention: Akershsus and Liberty Tree Tavern waiters and hostesses. Both gave us kids rates even though my DS is 12, and were very attentive.
Disappointments: DisneyQuest. My DS found it a little boring. This surprised me since he's a Nintendo junkie. It was also noisy and the virtual rides turned my stomach right after lunch. Perhaps on another day we would have enjoyed it more.
Regrets: Waited too long to buy Pal Mickey. DS loved him, but we didn't get to use him at Epcot.
No regrets: Renting a car even though we were staying on site.
Crowds: Manageable with proper planning / FastPass/ early admissions
Weather: I missed California weather. The heat wasn't quite as bad as I expected but the rains were worse.
Still-- wow! What fun. Can't wait to get back.
BWI was great. Our faxed room request paid off so we had a lovely view of inner gardens and the full expanse of Epcot including the fireworks. The room was a nice size and we loved the central location. We liked the AKL Savana view experience alot as well, but for an extended stay, the BWI was perfect.
Smartest move: E-night. Big fun. We ended up doing it twice, but the weather made the last night a little less enjoyable. Still, it was so worth it.
Favorite ride: Buzz Lightyear. My son liked it because once we figured that the right side was better than the left, he could usually beat me (once scoring around 310,000 points). This was a new and different ride for us. Honorable mentions (largely because these are new rides for us): Test Track, R&R Coaster, Primevial Whirl, Kilanjoro Safari
Favorite nighttime show: Fantasmic, Spectromagic, Illuminations -- all wonderful.
Favorite show: Loved Indiana Jones and Who Wants to be a Millionnaire Play It.
Favorite character: Peter Pan, hands down. What a delight he is! He takes a long time with all the guests, so be patient and enjoy his performance while you wait your turn. (He hangs out around Pirates of the Caribean, even though he told me that he doesn't really like that ride. We talked at length about the differences between DL/California Adventure and WDW). Wendy, was also charming, nodding as Peter chattered away.
Favorite restaurant: Spoodles. I expected that I would like it, but was surprised that my son liked it so much. The food was great, the staff was great, and we were able to return for immediate seating without a PS.
Favorite character meal: Liberty Tree Tavern. The best food and excellent service.
Least favorite character meal: Crystal Palace. It took two hours from the time we checked in for our PS until the time we had the last of the four characters visit our table. The food was mediocre.
Also enjoyed Cinderalla's Royal Table Breakfast, Akershus Princess Breakfast, and dinner at 1900 Park Fare.
Favorite Fun Restaurant: 50's Prime Time. My son especially enjoyed the food and he is watching his elbows more. We also enjoyed Teppan Yaki, Sci-Fi Diner and Rainforest Cafe. My DS liked the Rainforest Cafe better at Disneyland, but they seated us with the PS lunch time groups even though our PS was for evening.
Best cast member: Robin at BWI front desk. She bent over backwards to make sure our fax request for a nice view of the fireworks was met. We got a great room (5282). Close second the waiter at Spoodles who convinced us to hang out for awhile during a storm. Honorable mention: Akershsus and Liberty Tree Tavern waiters and hostesses. Both gave us kids rates even though my DS is 12, and were very attentive.
Disappointments: DisneyQuest. My DS found it a little boring. This surprised me since he's a Nintendo junkie. It was also noisy and the virtual rides turned my stomach right after lunch. Perhaps on another day we would have enjoyed it more.
Regrets: Waited too long to buy Pal Mickey. DS loved him, but we didn't get to use him at Epcot.
No regrets: Renting a car even though we were staying on site.
Crowds: Manageable with proper planning / FastPass/ early admissions
Weather: I missed California weather. The heat wasn't quite as bad as I expected but the rains were worse.
Still-- wow! What fun. Can't wait to get back.
