Indecisive
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2013
- Messages
- 366
My Party: Me (37), DH (42), DS (7), DS (4), MIL (74), and FIL (79). It was the kids' first visit and it was almost like a first visit for the rest of us because we hadn't been there for decades.
Dates: May 4-9, 2014
Crowd Level: 5
Resort: 2-Bedroom Villa at Bay Lake Tower with points rented through David's. We loved the space, decor and convenience. Although we paid for a standard view, we lucked into a room with a MK view (off to the side). We could see the fireworks and the monorail. It was awesome! We had so much space to spread out. It is unbelievable to me that we got all that space (2 bedrooms, a full kitchen, living room, 3 full baths) and convenience for less than the price of 2 regular adjoining hotel rooms at any monorail resort. We loved the convenience of the monorail. I loved being able to walk from MK after the fireworks without waiting on the monorail line. We took the boat to the Hoop Dee Doo. The Contempo Cafe was good for quick service. The kids loved the waterslide. We would definitely stay here again.
Magic Bands: We found these to be super convenient. We only experienced one teeny glitch. One day in the middle of our trip, when MIL and FIL scanned their bands on the orbs at the entrance to MK, the orbs lit up blue. A woman with an ipad came right over and said their magic bands got disconnected somehow. She reconnected them in about 30 seconds and we were on our way. Other than that, there were no glitches at all. We found it very convenient, too, that even though we were on one room reservation, MIL and FIL were able to link their bands to their own credit card for room charges and DH and I were able to link our bands to our own credit card for ours. On our checkout day, there were 2 receipts in envelopes on the door to our room. We looked them over and everything was charged to the right party. We really enjoyed the ability to use our bands as our room key, park tickets, FP+, Memory Maker, etc. DS4 got annoyed with wearing his band a couple of times, which was no big dealI just carried it in a secure pocket of my messenger bag during those times.
Memory Maker: We were so glad we had this and definitely got our money's worth. We got about 160 pictures (plus some other stock photos they loaded from our Star Wars dinner at H&V). Most of the pictures were really good. We found lots of PhotoPass photographers at MK, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom (but none at DHS). We also got lots of ride photos. Additionally, we were able to link just our own photos from Jedi Training, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Captain Jack Sparrows Pirate Tutorial, and our Star Wars dinner to our MM. It was SO worth it!
FastPass+: Being first timers who visited during a Crowd Level 5 week, I cannot compare my experience to the old FastPass or to high crowd times. However, for what it is worth, I really liked FP+. I know some people dont want to make really specific touring plans ahead of time, but I did make touring plans (and I didnt mind doing it at all). For my family, it worked really well to hit a headliner right at Rope Drop (or right after a pre-opening breakfast) and save FP+ for late morning and/or late afternoon, as applicable, depending on our planned route at that park. I was very happy to have the FP+ reserved ahead of time so that we did not have to send a runner to run back and forth to collect paper FPs. For the most part, we stuck to my touring plans and everything worked great. I moved a couple things around and, with a little effort and a little patience, I was able to change what I wanted. I did not feel like my face was stuck in my phone for the whole trip because we really stuck to my plan for the most part. I did not even end up needing to use my portable charger! For anyone who says that I didnt need FP during a crowd level 5 week, that is fine if you feel that way for yourself, but we really enjoyed bypassing the 70 minute wait for Peter Pan, etc. In some cases, we bypassed lines that were merely 40 minutes or so, but that still saved a lot of time! I never bothered to try to get a fourth (or more) FP. By late afternoon, after using our third FP+, we had hit everything I planned for the day anyway and, as planned, we just left the parks to hit the hotel pool, have dinner, and hit the hay. We saw no need to stand in line for the kiosks to get more FP+.
Dining Plan: We did not do it and I dont regret it. I had done some online calculators ahead of time and it didnt look like we would save any money, so we didnt purchase it. No regrets!
Star Wars Dinner at H&V: The characters were really cute. I am glad we did it. It would be great if they would make this a permanent dinner. There was nothing so special in my opinion to make it so expensive (other than, of course, supply & demand!). I was happy to pay it once, but you really arent getting much additional for the extra money/credits.
Be Our Guest: Our lunch FP worked even though I had not received an invitation. It was great. I had made an ADR for dinner as well but cancelled it because I felt it was enough to see the inside of the castle and walk through all the rooms once.
Bag: I bought an REI Tranquility Shoulder Bag and really liked it. I had looked at it and the Donner bag side by side and chose the Tranquility because of the comfort padding on the shoulder strap, which the Donner lacked. The Tranquility has two water bottle pockets, numerous zippered compartments, etc. It was just the right size for what I needed and was very convenient.
Magical Participation: We were so happy that DH7 developed a talent for getting chosen as a volunteer. He was picked: to talk to Crush during Turtle Talk with Crush, as the Beast in ETWB, to receive pirate tutoring from Captain Jack Sparrow, to joke with a monster at the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, and for a bird demonstration at the Flights of Wonder pre-show. Of course, being front & center and showing enthusiasm seemed to be the key! It felt magical though.
Main Street Electrical Parade/Fireworks: Thanks to Robos map, we found a great spot near the bridge between Main Street and the Hub where we were able to see the MSEP, Celebrate the Magic, and the Fireworks all from one spot. There was no wind on our night, so we even got to see Tinker Bells flyby.
Overall, it was a magical vacation! If anyone has any questions, please let me know.
Dates: May 4-9, 2014
Crowd Level: 5
Resort: 2-Bedroom Villa at Bay Lake Tower with points rented through David's. We loved the space, decor and convenience. Although we paid for a standard view, we lucked into a room with a MK view (off to the side). We could see the fireworks and the monorail. It was awesome! We had so much space to spread out. It is unbelievable to me that we got all that space (2 bedrooms, a full kitchen, living room, 3 full baths) and convenience for less than the price of 2 regular adjoining hotel rooms at any monorail resort. We loved the convenience of the monorail. I loved being able to walk from MK after the fireworks without waiting on the monorail line. We took the boat to the Hoop Dee Doo. The Contempo Cafe was good for quick service. The kids loved the waterslide. We would definitely stay here again.
Magic Bands: We found these to be super convenient. We only experienced one teeny glitch. One day in the middle of our trip, when MIL and FIL scanned their bands on the orbs at the entrance to MK, the orbs lit up blue. A woman with an ipad came right over and said their magic bands got disconnected somehow. She reconnected them in about 30 seconds and we were on our way. Other than that, there were no glitches at all. We found it very convenient, too, that even though we were on one room reservation, MIL and FIL were able to link their bands to their own credit card for room charges and DH and I were able to link our bands to our own credit card for ours. On our checkout day, there were 2 receipts in envelopes on the door to our room. We looked them over and everything was charged to the right party. We really enjoyed the ability to use our bands as our room key, park tickets, FP+, Memory Maker, etc. DS4 got annoyed with wearing his band a couple of times, which was no big dealI just carried it in a secure pocket of my messenger bag during those times.
Memory Maker: We were so glad we had this and definitely got our money's worth. We got about 160 pictures (plus some other stock photos they loaded from our Star Wars dinner at H&V). Most of the pictures were really good. We found lots of PhotoPass photographers at MK, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom (but none at DHS). We also got lots of ride photos. Additionally, we were able to link just our own photos from Jedi Training, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Captain Jack Sparrows Pirate Tutorial, and our Star Wars dinner to our MM. It was SO worth it!
FastPass+: Being first timers who visited during a Crowd Level 5 week, I cannot compare my experience to the old FastPass or to high crowd times. However, for what it is worth, I really liked FP+. I know some people dont want to make really specific touring plans ahead of time, but I did make touring plans (and I didnt mind doing it at all). For my family, it worked really well to hit a headliner right at Rope Drop (or right after a pre-opening breakfast) and save FP+ for late morning and/or late afternoon, as applicable, depending on our planned route at that park. I was very happy to have the FP+ reserved ahead of time so that we did not have to send a runner to run back and forth to collect paper FPs. For the most part, we stuck to my touring plans and everything worked great. I moved a couple things around and, with a little effort and a little patience, I was able to change what I wanted. I did not feel like my face was stuck in my phone for the whole trip because we really stuck to my plan for the most part. I did not even end up needing to use my portable charger! For anyone who says that I didnt need FP during a crowd level 5 week, that is fine if you feel that way for yourself, but we really enjoyed bypassing the 70 minute wait for Peter Pan, etc. In some cases, we bypassed lines that were merely 40 minutes or so, but that still saved a lot of time! I never bothered to try to get a fourth (or more) FP. By late afternoon, after using our third FP+, we had hit everything I planned for the day anyway and, as planned, we just left the parks to hit the hotel pool, have dinner, and hit the hay. We saw no need to stand in line for the kiosks to get more FP+.
Dining Plan: We did not do it and I dont regret it. I had done some online calculators ahead of time and it didnt look like we would save any money, so we didnt purchase it. No regrets!
Star Wars Dinner at H&V: The characters were really cute. I am glad we did it. It would be great if they would make this a permanent dinner. There was nothing so special in my opinion to make it so expensive (other than, of course, supply & demand!). I was happy to pay it once, but you really arent getting much additional for the extra money/credits.
Be Our Guest: Our lunch FP worked even though I had not received an invitation. It was great. I had made an ADR for dinner as well but cancelled it because I felt it was enough to see the inside of the castle and walk through all the rooms once.
Bag: I bought an REI Tranquility Shoulder Bag and really liked it. I had looked at it and the Donner bag side by side and chose the Tranquility because of the comfort padding on the shoulder strap, which the Donner lacked. The Tranquility has two water bottle pockets, numerous zippered compartments, etc. It was just the right size for what I needed and was very convenient.
Magical Participation: We were so happy that DH7 developed a talent for getting chosen as a volunteer. He was picked: to talk to Crush during Turtle Talk with Crush, as the Beast in ETWB, to receive pirate tutoring from Captain Jack Sparrow, to joke with a monster at the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, and for a bird demonstration at the Flights of Wonder pre-show. Of course, being front & center and showing enthusiasm seemed to be the key! It felt magical though.
Main Street Electrical Parade/Fireworks: Thanks to Robos map, we found a great spot near the bridge between Main Street and the Hub where we were able to see the MSEP, Celebrate the Magic, and the Fireworks all from one spot. There was no wind on our night, so we even got to see Tinker Bells flyby.
Overall, it was a magical vacation! If anyone has any questions, please let me know.
We did end up having several Memory Maker photos from DHS, however, because we did a Cars M&G, we got Jedi Training photos, we got ride photos from RNR and TOT, and we got a group photo with Jedi Chip and Dale at H&V.
