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

[tx911]

My husband said they should make Minnie Coopers for when you don't need to transport as many people and make them cheaper.

How about a "Bug's Life" VW Bug? Or better yet Herbie the Love Bug!

 

[VGCgroupie]

How about a "Bug's Life" VW Bug? Or better yet Herbie the Love Bug!

Hire us Disney!

 

[tx911]

So we may just cross paths! I will be at BWV, by the time I make it over to RIV you will be back home.

Like ships in the night

 

[Brian Noble]

I don't think Id like parking then entering the park especially for MK. Maybe for HS and AK it would be okay.

I almost never drive to MK. The exception---if I am arriving around sunset, taking the ferry across Seven Seas Lagoon is lovely around that time. I try to do that about once per trip. But MK is also the park that has the largest number of DVC rooms that use Something Other Than Busses to get there, if your goal is "Avoid Bus". I don't mind the bus trips, so I will nearly always take the bus to MK if I am not staying in the MK area.

I drive to most other places that would otherwise require a bus---including, typically, for resort-to-resort trips. "Where should we have dinner" gets a lot more interesting when nothing is more than about 15 minutes away. You still need an ADR to get past the guard shack, but there are a surprising number of last minute options these days.

The other exception to that: I am increasingly unlikely to drive to Disney Springs. Buena Vista Drive is a never-ending sequence of traffic lights, going around means dealing with the Apopka-Vineland mess, and it can be very annoying trying to find a spot in one of the parking garages. One of the things I love (love!) about SSR (and to a lesser extent OKW) is the ease of access to the Springs. The BOATHOUSE is on my frequent flyer list, for example.

I've also discovered that I like the Skyliner a lot more than I expected. It can be a wait leaving Epcot after fireworks, but otherwise has been lovely. Studios doesn't have the same problem for some reason.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I almost never drive to MK. The exception---if I am arriving around sunset, taking the ferry across Seven Seas Lagoon is lovely around that time. I try to do that about once per trip. But MK is also the park that has the largest number of DVC rooms that use Something Other Than Busses to get there, if your goal is "Avoid Bus". I don't mind the bus trips, so I will nearly always take the bus to MK if I am not staying in the MK area.

The big ferry does actually look pretty cool to ride on. I can get behind that.

I drive to most other places that would otherwise require a bus---including, typically, for resort-to-resort trips. "Where should we have dinner" gets a lot more interesting when nothing is more than about 15 minutes away. You still need an ADR to get past the guard shack, but there are a surprising number of last minute options these days.

For us dining isnt a big driver, mostly due to our diet.

The other exception to that: I am increasingly unlikely to drive to Disney Springs. Buena Vista Drive is a never-ending sequence of traffic lights, going around means dealing with the Apopka-Vineland mess, and it can be very annoying trying to find a spot in one of the parking garages. One of the things I love (love!) about SSR (and to a lesser extent OKW) is the ease of access to the Springs. The BOATHOUSE is on my frequent flyer list, for example.

We havent been to Disney Springs. But I suspect it would never be high on our priority list. Maybe in the future. Maybe future me will like SSR more.

I've also discovered that I like the Skyliner a lot more than I expected. It can be a wait leaving Epcot after fireworks, but otherwise has been lovely. Studios doesn't have the same problem for some reason.

We love the Skyliner. My son asked several times this trip to take a ride on it just because.

 

[Brian Noble]

My son asked several times this trip to take a ride on it just because.

I have used it to escape the Dining Desert that is Studios during one of the Epcot Festivals, for example. I am very food motivated!

 

[VGCgroupie]

I have used it to escape the Dining Desert that is Studios during one of the Epcot Festivals, for example. I am very food motivated!

I did just have cake completely change my outlook of VGF

 

[eticketplease]

Disney Transportation.
I hate the bus.
I hate the bus when I have to wait for the bus.
I hate the bus when I dont have to wait for the bus.

I hate the bus.
It’s a soul sucking experience for me and I plan to try to avoid it at all costs in the future.

I'm sensing a theme here.

It sounds like AKL, OKW and SSR will be ideal resorts for you

 

[eticketplease]

I think you could pull it off if you (a) rented a car and (b) stayed somewhere with alternative transportation to MK. Of course, there are also downsides to rentals, but as they say on the Transportation Board:

There is no Pixie Dust in Transportation.​

lol that statement is so true and yet it's one of the perks of staying onsite.

My SO always gets mad when bus after bus roll by stating "Refilling my Pixie Dust"

 

[eticketplease]

I could pony up the cash for a Minnie Van or Uber.

Use that Delta Platinum card like I do.

I buy the minimum $25 of lyft cash and get the $10 statement credit so I have always have enough for at least 1 ride.

Remember you have to activate it first before buying it on your iPhone with Apple Pay

 

[Genie+]

We saw Fantasmic for the first time at HS and we love it much more than at DLR. We missed the pirate scene but not enough to say DLR version is superior. Being able to not sit on the ground?!! YES!!!! Not having to drop cash for a premium seat! YES!! Steamboat willy at the end? YES!! Key takeaway, in Feb row 4 isnt the best idea. Next time we will sit much farther back.

Coffee options at HS are strong and I LOVE IT!

Oh yeah we made that same mistake many years ago during a Jan trip. Got wet and it’s cold in the evening! It’s such a great show. We make sure to see it every trip. One year we had the pleasure of sharing the stadium with a cast member event. Their love of this show was so infectious it has never left me.

HS is awesome for having coffee in every corner lol.

I really wanted to experience Festival of the Arts but it just didn’t happen. By the time we completed rides and characters it was over. EEH was a bust and I can only see it working the last 30 minutes. The only rides that had short wait were the rides that always have short waits. Remys wait did go down alot around 10pm 99.5% of all dining closes and showcase closes so its just blah. It’s not like when you get to be at MK when it has less people, that feels magical, Epcot just felt closed.

Epcot is tricky with everything being so spread out. Especially hard during EEH. Our go-to food options for that are Yorkshire Fish cart or Connections. It’s easy to get caught off guard because most assume Epcot will have good food options, and for EEH quite the opposite. You kind of have to plan ahead if you don’t want to be traipsing the huge EP expanse for food during our precious 2 hours.

Nowadays we plan EP EEH where we’re doing just one or two smaller areas. I hope you get back for Arts Fest soon. That is really cool to immerse yourself but the most comfortable way is focusing the majority of the day on its special offerings. It’s hard trying to juggle the regular park and the festival stuff.

AK - We decided not to do EE at AK because everyone was exhausted. We rode Everest 2 times, Avatar 2 times (no LLSP) and did the Safari 2 times. Friends in Flight was amazing. My son got honorary bird trainer. He and I did the circle for the bird to fly through and he also got to do the grape launching. He lived for this type of stuff and Im sure that will be a core memory for him.

Love it!!! That’s a magical day for sure.

End of day at AK seems like a great time to catch all the good rides, maybe because people leave to park hop. We were at the park at 6:30 and Pandora was lighting up.

Gotta love Pandora at night! Did you notice the sound effects also change to different animals?

Disney Transportation.
I hate the bus.
I hate the bus when I have to wait for the bus.
I hate the bus when I dont have to wait for the bus.

I hate the bus.
It’s a soul sucking experience for me and I plan to try to avoid it at all costs in the future.

Bus from BLT to AK was 38 minutes and we didn't have to wait for a 2nd bus nor did we have to wait for an ECV to be loaded, if that had happened we would’ve neared an hour. 38 minutes of being packed like a sardine in a freezing bus.

Monorail to from BLT/Epcot was seemless. While it can take awhile at least the ride is enjoyable and you dont have to breakdown a stroller to boot!

Agreed lol. We tried skipping the car rental back in 2019 and decided never again. Buses are nice to have in case we split up, and that’s about it We still use other Disney transpiration because like you pointed out, at least the trip is enjoyable. I love how beautiful it is to be out on the MK resort boats, or taking the EP monorail and getting a bird’s eye into the park, or the whole skyliner experience is fun midday, etc.

They put Happy Birthday to my granddaughter on the TV which was a very nice touch!

So cool

TOTWL - We did the free reservations, it was nice but nothing to write home about. The view is possibly much better over at the lower decks of the contemporary. I cant imagine paying the Villains Dessert price for that. Although if the food is as good as the drinks maybe it’s worth it!

We like Wicked Wind Down for being somewhere to relax together, unwind and see the fireworks together without being cramped in MK. The cost isn’t bad if you were planning on grabbing a bite and imbibing somewhere anyway. Not a must do but a good alternative to MK dessert party I think, especially now my Disney kids are young adults. Nice to get comfy there and shoot the breeze, capped off by the unique FW view.

We’ll skip it next trip since we’re ending at Contemporary. Interested to see the difference in view.

DVC VDay meet and treat - I didn’t go but my husband took my son. He loves dancing with characters. To me that is much more special than just a photo op with a backdrop. We got some valentines and a small tin with mini off brand m&m’s. Was it worth the monorail ride over from Epcot? For my son absolutely yes. For those who don’t find value in the dancing, probably not.

Sounds much like the Halloween DVC offering. https://dvcfan.com/dvc-discounts/me...25-disney-vacation-club-halloween-meet-treat/ The value is the fun experience.

Member lounges - We only went to the after hours at Epcot. Mickey and Minnie was amazing as usual, no wait. Although they didn’t seem to want people to hang out with Mickey and Minnie even though there was nobody there, it felt awkward and wasn’t like our previous experience with Nick and Judy. They had pretzels this time which was nice for us.

McKims we got in with no wait with MMB. The apple chips were so good so they must be terrible for me.

Am I still all in as a DVC member?
My feeling being a DVC member after this trip. Still love it. I can’t imagine ever paying rack rate for BLT. I love that I can be there without thinking about how much I spent on the room.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I'm sensing a theme here.

It sounds like AKL, OKW and SSR will be ideal resorts for you

I don't talk much about AKV because the animals are a huge trade off for the resort being bus only. But with that said AKV would be a resort only stay for us, with maybe MK if we committed to paying the cost for a Minnie Van. Them dropping you off where the buses go is pretty great.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Use that Delta Platinum card like I do.

I buy the minimum $25 of lyft cash and get the $10 statement credit so I have always have enough for at least 1 ride.

Remember you have to activate it first before buying it on your iPhone with Apple Pay

Ive got to use my cash once so far. Sadly just on a regular ole Uber for husband in Dallas.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Epcot is tricky with everything being so spread out. Especially hard during EEH. Our go-to food options for that are Yorkshire Fish cart or Connections. It’s easy to get caught off guard because most assume Epcot will have good food options, and for EEH quite the opposite. You kind of have to plan ahead if you don’t want to be traipsing the huge EP expanse for food during our precious 2 hours.

Funny enough we can get vegan fish at Epcot just not at Yorkshire. We will plan ahead if we ever attend EEH again. But if we do we will be at BW likely so not as dire of a food situation.

Nowadays we plan EP EEH where we’re doing just one or two smaller areas. I hope you get back for Arts Fest soon. That is really cool to immerse yourself but the most comfortable way is focusing the majority of the day on its special offerings. It’s hard trying to juggle the regular park and the festival stuff.

April will have a festival and I need to read up on the offerings that were just released!

Gotta love Pandora at night! Did you notice the sound effects also change to different animals?

I didnt notice that! I will pay attention next time, that is so cool.

We’ll skip it next trip since we’re ending at Contemporary. Interested to see the difference in view.

The night we were there at BLT we didnt see many people at all over on the Contemporary decks. I think would be a sweet spot!

 

[eticketplease]

Ive got to use my cash once so far. Sadly just on a regular ole Uber for husband in Dallas.

It doesn't expire.

To be honest it is the only charge I make on the card except when booking a hotel to get the hotel credit.

I use a different AMEX when booking the companion ticket and still get the free bag for being a cardholder

 

[VGCgroupie]

It doesn't expire.

To be honest it is the only charge I make on the card except when booking a hotel to get the hotel credit.

I use a different AMEX when booking the companion ticket and still get the free bag for being a cardholder

View attachment 1047502

Mind blown!!

 

[Genie+]

It doesn't expire.

To be honest it is the only charge I make on the card except when booking a hotel to get the hotel credit.

I use a different AMEX when booking the companion ticket and still get the free bag for being a cardholder

View attachment 1047502

Wish I had a use for Delta lol.

 

[Girlstar30]

Good riddance Dinosaur , you wont be missed by me I wish they were doing something zootopia instead of Indiana Jones, seems like an outdated choice

 

[Girlstar30]

Sad to report there was virtually no decent RnR merch left when we were there in early Jan - no picks, drumsticks or even shirts outside of XXL (although we did find some pins at the stand outside).

I was able to get an ornament from RnR in September, but we did the ship to home and it got a little damaged and they ran out so no replacement avaliable.

I will never do Disney ship to home again except for Disney Art on Demand which was packaged very nicely, but thats for another thread.

 

[Girlstar30]

We did not preferred view of the lake.

Yeah waiting for transport can be tough. We brought some non AP holding first timers with us so we are hitting all 4 parks. So when it’s just us 3 we will be splitting our trips and skipping parks to maximize location and park transportation.

Those tpv's can get pricy. We got lucky last time in a tpv booking a standard studio. I really do wonder if the prioritize owners for views. I heard they dont but they gave us a great view at blt and akv and a cm at vgc told me they do prioritize owners hmm. Riv did give me exactly what I wanted tho so who knows.