pigby
<font color=66CC33>This one might be a little more
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2000
- Messages
- 3,410
Hi
Thought I would post a few highs and lows from our recent trip - left early morning Sunday 28th October - got back midnight Thursday 1st November.
Highs -
1. The cold, clear weather for most of the time.
2. The fact that Studios is no longer a half day park (especially when it's busy) - we spent part of the day there every day - the new 'Hollywood' part will be amazing - better than we expected - with new streets etc - the trees and lamposts in that area are up but wrapped up in plastic.
3. Crush's Coaster - really smooth, amazing, state of the art coaster - loved the theming and the fact that it's a different ride depending whether you sit at the front or back.
4. The Santa Fe hotel - after some bad reports we weren't expecting much (especially after staying at NPB, SL and Cheyenne plus various WDW resorts) , but we thought it was great - friendly CM's throughout the resort, fab room view - see below - we were in the Roadrunner section - facing the canal and near the bridge to the Cheyenne - very convenient. The room was bright and had a feel good factor that I can't really describe - beds were comfy and the room size was fine for the three of us. The bar was great - enjoyed the frozen margaritas. The restaurant whilst busy at breakfast, was lovely and they coped really well with the crowds.
5. The parades - especially the daytime parade on Halloween night - we had gone back to our hotel to change into costumes early and were back in for the party at 5pm - the daytime parade was only on at 5.30pm and the amount of attention we received from the characters in that parade was unbelievable. Also had quite a few people take a photo of us (not supposed to though - says in the programme)
6. Eating at 'new to us' counter service restaurants - adored both Toad Hall and Colonel Hathi's.
7. Got 2 free fast passes when Crush's Coaster broke down - were able to ride twice with no wait following day.
8. The CM's - the vast majority were friendly, courteous and couldn't do enough for you - there was the odd one who had lost some of his Disney spirit but this was outweighed by the rest. I do think trying to speak a little French helps though (just my personal opinion)
Lows
1. Main negative was definitely the crowds - huge - bigger than last Christmas - won't queue for 2 hours for anything - hope we can take DD out of school next time - couldn't have done this year as it's her SAT's year.
2. The constant rain on Monday was a bit of a downer - we have always continued in the past as rain tends to keep down the crowds but we went back to our hotel at 2pm soaked through to the skin - my trainers didn't dry out all holiday.
3. Good Morning Fantasyland breakfast - on the Monday, there was a huge queue all morning - probably people wanting to get out the rain - this is our second experience of this being shambolic - the hotel breakfast was much more civilised - we'll give this one a miss next time.
4. The Halloween party - not a total negative - loved the parades - daytime and Fantillusion (saw this last Christmas and it was the same but still love it) and the fireworks which we saw from halfway down Main Street were fab - we saw a Cruella show in Frontierland which wasn't on in the day but the crowds were really bad - couldn't ride much - Phantom Manor early in night (posted time 45 minutes but was less - lines got much worse later. Rode Pirates and the Riverboat and that was it - expected loads of characters walking around like at the Halloween parties at WDW but there wasn't - found ourselves at a bit of a loose end for an hour and a half or so after Fantillusion till the fireworks and we didn't want to start queuing for something and missing the main event. We left after the fireworks although it had been our original intention to stay till the end.
5. The inaccurate waiting times at some of the attractions - for example, the Studio Tram Tour said 15 minutes - an hour later we got on the ride - this was on the rainy day as well and most of the line is not under cover. When we came off the ride, it said 20 minutes - the queue was just as long as when we joined it.
6. One of my personal bug bears - our longest waits were not to enter the parks, oh no - it was to get out again - why do they only have one or two turnstiles open for people leaving the park with the majority of exits locked - one day there was a huge crowd waiting to leave Studios with only one turnstile manned by one CM - there wasn't even a queue to get in the park at that time.
Saying this, the negatives are minor compared to the positives - would we return? You bet!!! And yes we would save a little money by staying at the Santa Fe again.
Thought I would post a few highs and lows from our recent trip - left early morning Sunday 28th October - got back midnight Thursday 1st November.
Highs -
1. The cold, clear weather for most of the time.
2. The fact that Studios is no longer a half day park (especially when it's busy) - we spent part of the day there every day - the new 'Hollywood' part will be amazing - better than we expected - with new streets etc - the trees and lamposts in that area are up but wrapped up in plastic.
3. Crush's Coaster - really smooth, amazing, state of the art coaster - loved the theming and the fact that it's a different ride depending whether you sit at the front or back.
4. The Santa Fe hotel - after some bad reports we weren't expecting much (especially after staying at NPB, SL and Cheyenne plus various WDW resorts) , but we thought it was great - friendly CM's throughout the resort, fab room view - see below - we were in the Roadrunner section - facing the canal and near the bridge to the Cheyenne - very convenient. The room was bright and had a feel good factor that I can't really describe - beds were comfy and the room size was fine for the three of us. The bar was great - enjoyed the frozen margaritas. The restaurant whilst busy at breakfast, was lovely and they coped really well with the crowds.
5. The parades - especially the daytime parade on Halloween night - we had gone back to our hotel to change into costumes early and were back in for the party at 5pm - the daytime parade was only on at 5.30pm and the amount of attention we received from the characters in that parade was unbelievable. Also had quite a few people take a photo of us (not supposed to though - says in the programme)
6. Eating at 'new to us' counter service restaurants - adored both Toad Hall and Colonel Hathi's.
7. Got 2 free fast passes when Crush's Coaster broke down - were able to ride twice with no wait following day.
8. The CM's - the vast majority were friendly, courteous and couldn't do enough for you - there was the odd one who had lost some of his Disney spirit but this was outweighed by the rest. I do think trying to speak a little French helps though (just my personal opinion)
Lows
1. Main negative was definitely the crowds - huge - bigger than last Christmas - won't queue for 2 hours for anything - hope we can take DD out of school next time - couldn't have done this year as it's her SAT's year.
2. The constant rain on Monday was a bit of a downer - we have always continued in the past as rain tends to keep down the crowds but we went back to our hotel at 2pm soaked through to the skin - my trainers didn't dry out all holiday.
3. Good Morning Fantasyland breakfast - on the Monday, there was a huge queue all morning - probably people wanting to get out the rain - this is our second experience of this being shambolic - the hotel breakfast was much more civilised - we'll give this one a miss next time.
4. The Halloween party - not a total negative - loved the parades - daytime and Fantillusion (saw this last Christmas and it was the same but still love it) and the fireworks which we saw from halfway down Main Street were fab - we saw a Cruella show in Frontierland which wasn't on in the day but the crowds were really bad - couldn't ride much - Phantom Manor early in night (posted time 45 minutes but was less - lines got much worse later. Rode Pirates and the Riverboat and that was it - expected loads of characters walking around like at the Halloween parties at WDW but there wasn't - found ourselves at a bit of a loose end for an hour and a half or so after Fantillusion till the fireworks and we didn't want to start queuing for something and missing the main event. We left after the fireworks although it had been our original intention to stay till the end.
5. The inaccurate waiting times at some of the attractions - for example, the Studio Tram Tour said 15 minutes - an hour later we got on the ride - this was on the rainy day as well and most of the line is not under cover. When we came off the ride, it said 20 minutes - the queue was just as long as when we joined it.
6. One of my personal bug bears - our longest waits were not to enter the parks, oh no - it was to get out again - why do they only have one or two turnstiles open for people leaving the park with the majority of exits locked - one day there was a huge crowd waiting to leave Studios with only one turnstile manned by one CM - there wasn't even a queue to get in the park at that time.
Saying this, the negatives are minor compared to the positives - would we return? You bet!!! And yes we would save a little money by staying at the Santa Fe again.
, I've got one of those in my wardrobe too !
