andyman8
DIS Veteran and WDW Passholder
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2011
- Messages
- 4,664
With all of the "discussion" on the Boards lately, I just wanted to assure everyone that there is plenty of "magic" left at WDW. We've been here since just 8pm at the GF last night and we've experienced quite a bit of extra pixie dust. Beyond telling you about that, I also have some strategies, tips, etc... that I'll be gathering and including in these live updates. We'll be here through Wednesday and I'm hoping to update this thread every morning.
Yesterday, we hit some unexpected traffic on the Turnpike and had some problems with one MagicBand at check-in. I cannot emphasize enough that if you make a change to your reservation, check to make sure all your MBs are still active, as the CM who changed it seemed to deactivate one for some odd reason or another. Because the concierge is the one who has the technical capability to really re-activate a band, we had to go there.
In the midst of all this, I inquired if there were any rooms with a view of the castle available. Well, (I think partially because we soon discovered that my kids' math teacher was his and we had an extensive discussion about that), he upgraded us from a Garden View to what I guess is an extremely nice Lagoon View that looks right out at the Castle. For those who know the resort, we're on the east side on Boca Chica on the first floor. As I'm typing this on the balcony, I can hear the MK welcome show, the train whistle, and see the monorail passing by. Awesome! As I always recommend, it never hurts to ask!
So anyways we were really behind for our 7:45pm Narcoossee's reservation. It was like 9:30, but we figured we'd give it a try, and they let us in with no attitude or worries at all. They were so accommodating for us, it was incredible. Had a chance to watch Wishes and have an awesome meal!
Everyone headed back to the room except me, as I wanted to take care of claiming the AP renewals and tickets, so I thought that since MK closes in under an hour, there probably wouldn't be much of a line; I was wrong. Waited half an hour, but ended up taking care of everything and even had enough time to pop into park and use my 7DMT FP+.
That ride, while it's hard to say if it's an E-ticket or not so early on, is certainly unique. Although I don't think it's the roller coaster certain Disney "bloggers" are leading people to believe, it's quant and fun but is extremely popular. At this point last night, most if not all rides were walk-on (it was almost 12am), yet this had a 60 minute posted wait and I'd venture to say in reality it was longer! None the less, great new addition and very fun to ride at night. Looking forward to riding it during the day on Sunday!
So what did we learn from day 1? ALWAYS check the status of each MB before you leave, only see the concierge for MB-related problems, never give up on a late ADR (particularly at such an expensive restaurant!), the line at the MK ticket desk is always long no matter what time of day/night, and give 7DMT a try!
We're off to Epcot today, but everyone else is sleeping in for another couple minutes or so! If you're here now as well or have any tips or problems with what I said, feel free to discuss and share opinions. I don't want this to necessarily all be about my trip, but using my experience to better others. Thanks!
Yesterday, we hit some unexpected traffic on the Turnpike and had some problems with one MagicBand at check-in. I cannot emphasize enough that if you make a change to your reservation, check to make sure all your MBs are still active, as the CM who changed it seemed to deactivate one for some odd reason or another. Because the concierge is the one who has the technical capability to really re-activate a band, we had to go there.
In the midst of all this, I inquired if there were any rooms with a view of the castle available. Well, (I think partially because we soon discovered that my kids' math teacher was his and we had an extensive discussion about that), he upgraded us from a Garden View to what I guess is an extremely nice Lagoon View that looks right out at the Castle. For those who know the resort, we're on the east side on Boca Chica on the first floor. As I'm typing this on the balcony, I can hear the MK welcome show, the train whistle, and see the monorail passing by. Awesome! As I always recommend, it never hurts to ask!
So anyways we were really behind for our 7:45pm Narcoossee's reservation. It was like 9:30, but we figured we'd give it a try, and they let us in with no attitude or worries at all. They were so accommodating for us, it was incredible. Had a chance to watch Wishes and have an awesome meal!
Everyone headed back to the room except me, as I wanted to take care of claiming the AP renewals and tickets, so I thought that since MK closes in under an hour, there probably wouldn't be much of a line; I was wrong. Waited half an hour, but ended up taking care of everything and even had enough time to pop into park and use my 7DMT FP+.
That ride, while it's hard to say if it's an E-ticket or not so early on, is certainly unique. Although I don't think it's the roller coaster certain Disney "bloggers" are leading people to believe, it's quant and fun but is extremely popular. At this point last night, most if not all rides were walk-on (it was almost 12am), yet this had a 60 minute posted wait and I'd venture to say in reality it was longer! None the less, great new addition and very fun to ride at night. Looking forward to riding it during the day on Sunday!
So what did we learn from day 1? ALWAYS check the status of each MB before you leave, only see the concierge for MB-related problems, never give up on a late ADR (particularly at such an expensive restaurant!), the line at the MK ticket desk is always long no matter what time of day/night, and give 7DMT a try!
We're off to Epcot today, but everyone else is sleeping in for another couple minutes or so! If you're here now as well or have any tips or problems with what I said, feel free to discuss and share opinions. I don't want this to necessarily all be about my trip, but using my experience to better others. Thanks!
Congrats on your upgrade, and looking forward to reading along as you enjoy your trip!! 
I can't wait to read all about it. Have a great time.
Love to read reviews as we will be there in 22 days!
