Final report! - Cant believe I booked Super Bowl weekend -

[tx911]

I think you were at the meet and treat my husband went to. My son adores dancing with characters. So if you saw a 10 year old dark haired boy with glasses dancing it up that was him. He and my husband were wearing matching shirts.

I loved those fireworks! Sounds like the after hours was really good!

Beak and Barrel is super cool. But a lot like Ogas, seating can make the experience not the best. We were seated but not in a great spot.

We really enjoyed the weather and the crowds. We may choose the same weekend next year!

Pecos Bills is unexpectedly good! We eat there every single visit.

I thought the crowds were pretty good overall. Cheerleaders galore though!

 

[tx911]

I think you were at the meet and treat my husband went to. My son adores dancing with characters. So if you saw a 10 year old dark haired boy with glasses dancing it up that was him. He and my husband were wearing matching shirts.

I loved those fireworks! Sounds like the after hours was really good!

Beak and Barrel is super cool. But a lot like Ogas, seating can make the experience not the best. We were seated but not in a great spot.

We really enjoyed the weather and the crowds. We may choose the same weekend next year!

Pecos Bills is unexpectedly good! We eat there every single visit.

We stood in line to get our picture taken with Eric and Ariel. After that we just watched the dance show for a few minutes before heading out. I don't think I saw your family but I was focused on women in jeans

 

[kgou]

Looking forward to see what you think of RIV and Poly!

Thanks! Since we are traveling during the lowest points period of the year, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try them both. those point charts during some of the other travel periods are a bit too rich for me!

Pecos Bills is unexpectedly good! We eat there every single visit.

AGREED. Place gets a lot of hate, but we really enjoy it.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I really enjoy the shows. They are a priority for me nowadays. I was bummed we could not work Festival of the Lion King into our schedule, and the Nemo show got canceled. Winged Encounters happens hourly from 815a to 1215p. You should definitely make this a priority on your next trip. It's only about 10 minutes long or so.

Caring for Giants I thought was great. Our guide was wonderful. You walk "back stage" and then ride in a bus to an area behind the elephant section of the safari. From here you get a good look at some of the elephants, although they are still pretty far away. The main difference from the safari is that it's a much longer time watching them and a bit closer. We saw one eating and then drinking water from a large pool, as well as "spraying" dust on himself. The whole time the guide is talking and providing lots of interesting information about the elephants and the park itself. I would 100% do it again, and I also want to try the rhino one. If you are feeling more adventurous and have the time, the Wild Africa Trek is the cream of the crop tour at Animal Kingdom, and very much worth its steep price.

Thank you so much for mentioning this. My 60 day window just opened yesterday and I completely forgot. I checked and giants is sold out, but I’m going to try again tomorrow. I also just booked Behind the Seeds and my husband is pretty happy about it.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I thought the crowds were pretty good overall. Cheerleaders galore though!

So many. They kept me from my coffee at MK!

 

[tx911]

 

[cruisehopeful]

I was surprised by how much I loved Grand Floridian, too. When we walked up and saw the old cars out front, I was immediately hooked. I loved the store with the nicer clothes and when we decided to take a break from the heat we sat in the DVC lobby and absolutely loved the Mary Poppins fountain. If the one bedrooms had 2 bathrooms, I would want to stay there all the time. It just has a better feeling to it than the other properties.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I was surprised by how much I loved Grand Floridian, too. When we walked up and saw the old cars out front, I was immediately hooked. I loved the store with the nicer clothes and when we decided to take a break from the heat we sat in the DVC lobby and absolutely loved the Mary Poppins fountain. If the one bedrooms had 2 bathrooms, I would want to stay there all the time. It just has a better feeling to it than the other properties.

I still haven’t seen the fountain. Next trip! Since now we have to go get cake there as often as possible.

 

[Sweettears]

I had no idea there was an opening now. Sounds like it would’ve been amazing.

Oh wow. Maybe that’s why MK wasn’t bad crowd wise. I will set my expectations for tomorrow for it to be extra busy.

Look it up on YouTube. It was awesome and old school Disney

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

+1 to everything @tx911 said— Toppolino’s brunch is fantastic, some of the best food we’ve ever had for brunch (unlike most character dining experiences). He had a much better Caring for Giants experience than we did but we still enjoyed ours (a few years later my kids still talk about holding elephants’ poop ), and the Wild Africa Trek is worth every cent, by far the best tour we’ve done.

Behind the seeds is probably our second favorite, and I feel we learned things that have made our subsequent rides on the Land more enriching.

 

[tx911]

+1 to everything @tx911 said— Toppolino’s brunch is fantastic, some of the best food we’ve ever had for brunch (unlike most character dining experiences). He had a much better Caring for Giants experience than we did but we still enjoyed ours (a few years later my kids still talk about holding elephants’ poop ), and the Wild Africa Trek is worth every cent, by far the best tour we’ve done.

Behind the seeds is probably our second favorite, and I feel we learned things that have made our subsequent rides on the Land more enriching.

I did the glittering greenhouse version of behind the seeds. I liked it but the plants don’t do it for me like the animals do. @VGCgroupie is vegan I believe so may feel differently about it

I think including a ride on LwL would be a great addition!

 

[Brian Noble]

Night one we stayed at OKW. I had never stayed before. I don't want to disparage it because I know there are many who love it, but this was a once and never again resort for me.

What kind of room did you book?

I ask because, more than any other resort, at OKW Villas and Studios are just completely different experiences. I also think that OKW works best if you enjoy chilling at the resort, which tends not to describe most people at WDW who are there for the theme parks. A one-night stay might not pull that lever.

In fairness, I've also had very different experiences in the OKW villas, depending on what the veranda/patio overlooks. My last visit was a 1BR villa in Building 56, on the left hand side as you face the front of the building. That veranda is set with a view of the woods to the right, but Peninsular Road to the left. There was a small bonus in that we could see a bus coming and be at the bus stop before it finished the turnaround, but stil. Meh. A very different experience from e.g. Building 45 with a view of the waterway to Disney Springs. SSR is laid out in a way that provides a much more consistent experience; even the rooms at the edges of the buildings aren't too bad.

 

[Brian Noble]

Now that I think about it, one of my favorites was a ground floor 1BR in Building 27. This was an accessible villa with a roll-in shower, and I almost asked to be moved, but I am glad I didn't. It was on the right-hand side of the building as you faced it, and it felt like the little pond out back was our own private nature reserve.

My experience might have been colored by the fact that I booked this on an Accommodation Certificate at Interval, and it would have been hard to be grumpy given how little I paid for it. But still.

 

[tx911]

What kind of room did you book?

I ask because, more than any other resort, at OKW Villas and Studios are just completely different experiences. I also think that OKW works best if you enjoy chilling at the resort, which tends not to describe most people at WDW who are there for the theme parks. A one-night stay might not pull that lever.

In fairness, I've also had very different experiences in the OKW villas, depending on what the veranda/patio overlooks. My last visit was a 1BR villa in Building 56, on the left hand side as you face the front of the building. That veranda is set with a view of the woods to the right, but Peninsular Road to the left. There was a small bonus in that we could see a bus coming and be at the bus stop before it finished the turnaround, but stil. Meh. A very different experience from e.g. Building 45 with a view of the waterway to Disney Springs. SSR is laid out in a way that provides a much more consistent experience; even the rooms at the edges of the buildings aren't too bad.

We were in a 1BR for that night. There was a pile of bags full of towels and housekeeping stuff near the entryway that kind of gave a bad impression right off the bat. Our view was beautiful though. I can see where it would be relaxing on a longer trip. I just prefer interior doors and a less sprawling resort. A big part of it is probably that your home resorts really do start to feel like home after a while.

 

[VGCgroupie]

+1 to everything @tx911 said— Toppolino’s brunch is fantastic, some of the best food we’ve ever had for brunch (unlike most character dining experiences). He had a much better Caring for Giants experience than we did but we still enjoyed ours (a few years later my kids still talk about holding elephants’ poop ), and the Wild Africa Trek is worth every cent, by far the best tour we’ve done.

Behind the seeds is probably our second favorite, and I feel we learned things that have made our subsequent rides on the Land more enriching.

I love they have these little extras you can book. I used to think who wants to take up park time for that. But now we can be use of DVC and being AP holders.

 

[tx911]

I love they have these little extras you can book. I used to think who wants to take up park time for that. But now we can be use of DVC and being AP holders.

Yes, you definitely start to focus on things other than rides when you go frequently.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I did the glittering greenhouse version of behind the seeds. I liked it but the plants don’t do it for me like the animals do. @VGCgroupie is vegan I believe so may feel differently about it

I think including a ride on LwL would be a great addition!

We love the animals. For the beyond the seeds I just know we are going to have to go to Home Depot asap because my husband will have so many ideas of how to grow some veggies!

 

[tx911]

Now that I think about it, one of my favorites was a ground floor 1BR in Building 27. This was an accessible villa with a roll-in shower, and I almost asked to be moved, but I am glad I didn't. It was on the right-hand side of the building as you faced it, and it felt like the little pond out back was our own private nature reserve.

My experience might have been colored by the fact that I booked this on an Accommodation Certificate at Interval, and it would have been hard to be grumpy given how little I paid for it. But still.

I was in building 25 ground floor. I bet we were looking at the same little pond!

 

[tx911]

These big guys were out in force last Sunday too:

 

[VGCgroupie]

@tx911 I was able to book Caring for the Giants today! How does payment work? Is it like dining where you pay when you get there and they only charge you credit card that you used for booking for a no show?