I posted this over in the DL forum, but thought it would be better placed here.
With only a few exceptions it was a wonderful trip! We were there 11/19-11/23 and although crowded it wasn't as bad as I expected. We were able to get to the park at opening every day and spent the first few hours completely covering one area of the park. Once the crowds hit we went back to our rooms for a few hours to rest. We did the Discover the Magic tour on Sunday and were not too impressed. I think the group size was too big (20 people) and the "character interaction" was extremely limited. Basically it consisted of the tour guide speaking to the characters for less than 30 seconds and a quick group photo and then we were off again. Now I do understand that it wasn't always possible to interact more, especially when there was a long line waiting to see the characters, the kids didn't even get a chance to say hello, just a quick wave. For the amount of money we paid (11 people at $40 each!) I expected more planning/organization on Disney's part.
Character Dining, we did both Ariel's Grotto and Goofy's Kitchen. AG was wonderful. We did it our first day, so that we could get a bunch of the princesses checked off our daughter's lists without waiting in line! It worked out perfectly! The fiid was ok, but honestly we do this for the character's and not the food. GK was a dismal failure. Shortly after we were seated my son got sick (luckily he made it to the bathroom before he lost his stomach!) One of the staff members was nice enough to set up a little bed for him in the corner. We thought he was just overly tired at this point and not really sick, so we stayed to finish breakfast while he rested. We've eaten at GK several times before, but this was the first time we felt let down. The character's really didn't come around much, Goofy only came when we were just about leaving, because we had told the server it was his birthday (which we were celebrating that day) Mulan, Dale and the White Rabbit were the only other character's we saw and their time was extremely limited. The WR didn't even acknowledge my daughter in her wheelchair although he stood right in front of her. We left disappointed by the experience, but let it go since by this time we were getting worried about our son.
As far as attractions go, my 5 year old had the most fun. She went on everything except Space mountain and BTMRR. She has renamed the Tower of Terror in DCA the "Tower of Fun" as it was her favorite ride! Our 7 year old had a wonderful taking in the sights and sounds and riding a few rides (she is severely disabled, so can't go on everything) My 4 year old (turned 4 at DL) was a different story. He refused to even stand in line for any of the dark rides, even with his pocket flashlight. He absolutely loved Autopia and would've driven the car all day. He unfortunately got a stomach bug on day 3 and spent most of the day sleeping. We actually found a way to make the best of this, since he didn't want to go back to the hotel (after already sleeping there for 4 hours in the afternoon) we sat and staked out a front row center seat for Fantasmic, while my husband and I switched off taking the girls on rides. The kids all loved the show, including my son, who woke up in time to watch it.
One thing we were really worried about was the fireworks show. It was cancelled the first 3 nights we were there, but on our last night, it was on! We even had bench seats in the Hub for the show, so it was an absolutely perfect way to spend our last night. A quick seating tip. We were able to grab a bench seat right after the 7:45 Christmas parade ended when people were leaving. The seats were perfect and we only had to wait an a little over an hour for the fireworks to start.
Overall we really did have a wonderful trip. The Carousel Inn was nice, nothing fancy, but clean and a short walk to the gates. Now we have a LONG 15 months till we can go again.
With only a few exceptions it was a wonderful trip! We were there 11/19-11/23 and although crowded it wasn't as bad as I expected. We were able to get to the park at opening every day and spent the first few hours completely covering one area of the park. Once the crowds hit we went back to our rooms for a few hours to rest. We did the Discover the Magic tour on Sunday and were not too impressed. I think the group size was too big (20 people) and the "character interaction" was extremely limited. Basically it consisted of the tour guide speaking to the characters for less than 30 seconds and a quick group photo and then we were off again. Now I do understand that it wasn't always possible to interact more, especially when there was a long line waiting to see the characters, the kids didn't even get a chance to say hello, just a quick wave. For the amount of money we paid (11 people at $40 each!) I expected more planning/organization on Disney's part.
Character Dining, we did both Ariel's Grotto and Goofy's Kitchen. AG was wonderful. We did it our first day, so that we could get a bunch of the princesses checked off our daughter's lists without waiting in line! It worked out perfectly! The fiid was ok, but honestly we do this for the character's and not the food. GK was a dismal failure. Shortly after we were seated my son got sick (luckily he made it to the bathroom before he lost his stomach!) One of the staff members was nice enough to set up a little bed for him in the corner. We thought he was just overly tired at this point and not really sick, so we stayed to finish breakfast while he rested. We've eaten at GK several times before, but this was the first time we felt let down. The character's really didn't come around much, Goofy only came when we were just about leaving, because we had told the server it was his birthday (which we were celebrating that day) Mulan, Dale and the White Rabbit were the only other character's we saw and their time was extremely limited. The WR didn't even acknowledge my daughter in her wheelchair although he stood right in front of her. We left disappointed by the experience, but let it go since by this time we were getting worried about our son.
As far as attractions go, my 5 year old had the most fun. She went on everything except Space mountain and BTMRR. She has renamed the Tower of Terror in DCA the "Tower of Fun" as it was her favorite ride! Our 7 year old had a wonderful taking in the sights and sounds and riding a few rides (she is severely disabled, so can't go on everything) My 4 year old (turned 4 at DL) was a different story. He refused to even stand in line for any of the dark rides, even with his pocket flashlight. He absolutely loved Autopia and would've driven the car all day. He unfortunately got a stomach bug on day 3 and spent most of the day sleeping. We actually found a way to make the best of this, since he didn't want to go back to the hotel (after already sleeping there for 4 hours in the afternoon) we sat and staked out a front row center seat for Fantasmic, while my husband and I switched off taking the girls on rides. The kids all loved the show, including my son, who woke up in time to watch it.
One thing we were really worried about was the fireworks show. It was cancelled the first 3 nights we were there, but on our last night, it was on! We even had bench seats in the Hub for the show, so it was an absolutely perfect way to spend our last night. A quick seating tip. We were able to grab a bench seat right after the 7:45 Christmas parade ended when people were leaving. The seats were perfect and we only had to wait an a little over an hour for the fireworks to start.
Overall we really did have a wonderful trip. The Carousel Inn was nice, nothing fancy, but clean and a short walk to the gates. Now we have a LONG 15 months till we can go again.
