princesslover
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2009
- Messages
- 1,171
We were there 11/30-12/7. First of all, we had a magical time. It was me, DH, and DD6 and DD3 (just turning 3 while we were there.) I'm going to post some honest opinions about some things, and I hope I don't come across as complaining, because none of these "ruined" our trip. Just some observations.
First, I will say that for us, Disney ended up being more about the shows, fireworks, and parades than the attractions (rides). BTMRR, Splash, Space Mountain were fun and everything, but really it was the shows that made it "Disney." Don't get me wrong, Soarin, for example is out of this world, and the Haunted Mansion was really unique. But it wasn't about the rides.
The character meals always felt rushed to us. Granted, I realize they have a lot of people to get to, so I'm not really upset or anything. But it was obviously rushed. Each one was like "here I am , take a pic quick and toss me the autograph book." Okay, they didn't say that, but it was pretty obvious they wanted in and out. I guess I thought maybe they would interact a bit with the kids, but there was really none of that. At least I will be prepared for that if I can talk my DH into a "next time."
There were a ton of people each day in the parks, but fo rsome reason, we didn't wait much for anything. We did utilize fastpass, but the standbys weren't even bad - (~20 min usually). I think Disney does a great job of handling crowds.
I really wanted my kids to love Epcot, but they didn't. I think in a few years they might. I also know that we didn't see a lot of what Epcot has to offer. We did the big ones (TT, Soarin, Nemo, Turtle Talk, Maelstrom, Mexico Boat ride, and DH did Mission Space.) DD6 and I went back for Illuminations. I would have loved to have seen more countries, but we didn't have time.
The rain on 12/4 messed with our plans. What happened was that we were in DHS that day and it POURED all.day.long. We were supposed to see F! and the Osborne lights that night. Well, we went back to the resort instead. Since we didn't see the Osborne lights that night, we went back to DHS the next day instead of going to AK as planned. Yes, I wanted to see the Osborne lights that bad...that I gave up our AK to see them. Plus my DD's had wanted to see the Beauty and the Beast show, which was also cancelled the previous day due to the rain. In hindsight, we probably should have gone to AK the day it poured, since the two big shows are indoors, but we thought AK would not be a good park in the rain. I guess there is always next time to see the Lion King show. I don't regret going back to see the Osborne lights though. Definitely worth it.
Rain messed with our plans part II: Due to the rain on Thursday and Friday last week, the taping got moved to Sunday, which was DD3's birthday. We had breakfast in the castle, and had planned to enjoy her birthday by doing her favorite attractions in the park. It was sooo PACKED that we couldn't move, and by 1:30 we had enough. I purposely tried soooo hard to plan around the taping, and in the end, it didn't matter. I'm a little bitter about that, but what can you do?
MVMCP: Not sure it was worth the money for us. We saw the parade, and Holiday Wishes. Then my DD3 fell asleep. We left by 10:00. Very epensive hot chocolate and cookies! But the hot chocolate was yummy.
Transportation took way longer than I envisioned. For example, it took one full hour to get from the Wilderness Lodge to the Polynesian, after transerrring from boat to monorail at MK. One hour! I guess that was surprising to me. I learned that anytime you have to transer, it takes a long time.
Anyway, as I said, the trip was wonderful. Nothing we could have done about the two things that messed us up: Rain and taping. I'm not sure if I would choose this week again, though.
Those are just my thoughts - but again, there were so many high points to our trip. I'd do it all again!
First, I will say that for us, Disney ended up being more about the shows, fireworks, and parades than the attractions (rides). BTMRR, Splash, Space Mountain were fun and everything, but really it was the shows that made it "Disney." Don't get me wrong, Soarin, for example is out of this world, and the Haunted Mansion was really unique. But it wasn't about the rides.
The character meals always felt rushed to us. Granted, I realize they have a lot of people to get to, so I'm not really upset or anything. But it was obviously rushed. Each one was like "here I am , take a pic quick and toss me the autograph book." Okay, they didn't say that, but it was pretty obvious they wanted in and out. I guess I thought maybe they would interact a bit with the kids, but there was really none of that. At least I will be prepared for that if I can talk my DH into a "next time."
There were a ton of people each day in the parks, but fo rsome reason, we didn't wait much for anything. We did utilize fastpass, but the standbys weren't even bad - (~20 min usually). I think Disney does a great job of handling crowds.
I really wanted my kids to love Epcot, but they didn't. I think in a few years they might. I also know that we didn't see a lot of what Epcot has to offer. We did the big ones (TT, Soarin, Nemo, Turtle Talk, Maelstrom, Mexico Boat ride, and DH did Mission Space.) DD6 and I went back for Illuminations. I would have loved to have seen more countries, but we didn't have time.
The rain on 12/4 messed with our plans. What happened was that we were in DHS that day and it POURED all.day.long. We were supposed to see F! and the Osborne lights that night. Well, we went back to the resort instead. Since we didn't see the Osborne lights that night, we went back to DHS the next day instead of going to AK as planned. Yes, I wanted to see the Osborne lights that bad...that I gave up our AK to see them. Plus my DD's had wanted to see the Beauty and the Beast show, which was also cancelled the previous day due to the rain. In hindsight, we probably should have gone to AK the day it poured, since the two big shows are indoors, but we thought AK would not be a good park in the rain. I guess there is always next time to see the Lion King show. I don't regret going back to see the Osborne lights though. Definitely worth it.
Rain messed with our plans part II: Due to the rain on Thursday and Friday last week, the taping got moved to Sunday, which was DD3's birthday. We had breakfast in the castle, and had planned to enjoy her birthday by doing her favorite attractions in the park. It was sooo PACKED that we couldn't move, and by 1:30 we had enough. I purposely tried soooo hard to plan around the taping, and in the end, it didn't matter. I'm a little bitter about that, but what can you do?
MVMCP: Not sure it was worth the money for us. We saw the parade, and Holiday Wishes. Then my DD3 fell asleep. We left by 10:00. Very epensive hot chocolate and cookies! But the hot chocolate was yummy.
Transportation took way longer than I envisioned. For example, it took one full hour to get from the Wilderness Lodge to the Polynesian, after transerrring from boat to monorail at MK. One hour! I guess that was surprising to me. I learned that anytime you have to transer, it takes a long time.
Anyway, as I said, the trip was wonderful. Nothing we could have done about the two things that messed us up: Rain and taping. I'm not sure if I would choose this week again, though.
Those are just my thoughts - but again, there were so many high points to our trip. I'd do it all again!
Unfortunately weather is what it is, and flexibility is a must. We find the AK to be a great park to "do" in the rain - on the Safari the animals really come out. Of course, that may have to do with the fact that we're dyed in the wool August visitors. I'm glad you had a good time and were able to pretty much roll with the punches. There's always a glitch or two in any vacation in the World and it's best to have good back-up plans. Normally we go from Plan A to Plan BBB in the matter of a few hours depending on crowds, weather, and how long it takes to get food. Post some pictures!!
