Just back from a stay at WDW and I thought Id contribute a review/trip report of our time in Florida, mainly WDW but some other reviews and observations also.
Our group was me, my wife (both veterans of numerous visits to WDW over many years, I totally get Disney, she enjoys it but isn't as keen as I am on the place), and our 2 children, son just turned 8, daughter fast approaching 6.
We stayed 10 nights at POR, had a free dining promotion included in our package (which we upgraded from the CS package to the standard package), our visit included all 4 parks, Typhoon Lagoon, Sea World, and KSC. We then moved on to the Gulf Coast and finally Key West.
I'm not going to go in strict day by day order, just divide it up to few headings of travel, resort, dining/restaurants, parks, off-site, rest of vacation to highlight a few events, some good things, some bad things, some comments which are my own and you dont have to agree with they are my views of this particular vacation.
Thats the background on with the review -
TRAVEL
Getting to Orlando - we flew with American Airlines from London to Miami and had a 2 hour scheduled connection in MIA for the short flight to MCO. The transatlantic flight was uneventful and even arrived 20 minutes ahead of schedule, nothing much to report other than to say that the entertainment and food of AA was well behind the standards offered by some European airlines.
Arriving at MIA our problems began, not the fault of the airline but of the US immigration, the lines to enter the US were not that long but took an age to process each person, we were actually moved by a kind airport official to a shorter line for US nationals (as we had children), yet it still took us almost 2 hours just to enter the country (contrast that with our arrival back in London which I would guess handles many more international passengers than MIA on our wait in a similar sized line was no more than 10 minutes). It really is time that immigration at MIA was sorted out, such waits are unacceptable. The result a missed onward connection to McCoy and now 2 very crotchety children who had been awake for 15 hours and faced with a 3 hour wait until the next flight. The airline were very efficient at rebooking us and sympathetic to our position but this seemed to be a common problem. I would therefore recommend that either connection times under 3 hours are not offered by airlines in MIA or the airport sorts out its immigration process. I booked via MIA as it was on paper a reasonable overall journey with children, I could have booked via JFK or other places with only a small increase in overall journey time, been assured of a connection and arrived in Orlando much earlier and with the children in a better state. Never again via MIA.
Arrival at MCO was now at about 9.30pm (children awake for 21.5 hours, getting bad this). I knew that Magical Express was near the car hire desks so went down to that level. But no sign of it, and no signs saying where it was. After much searching I found out that it was in a different terminal and dragged the family and luggage over there. Note to MCO airport, passengers going to WDW must be your biggest users of the airport please put adequate signage up in all areas of the airport to direct people, the current signage level isn't good enough.
Magical Express - well by now it was 10.00pm and Magical Express wasnt running too frequently and we had a 35 minute wait for a bus which went to a number of other reports before dropping us at POR at around 11.15pm (kids now up for 24hours, deep joy). Couldn't fault ME or Disney, the lateness was due to problems in MIA.
POR check-in - , was really smooth and efficient and here the first bit of Disney magic kicked in and was a welcome relief from the events of the last few hours. I had faxed (yes a fax in 2011) a request through 2 days before to have a room in one of the newly refurbished blocks, and that request had been met. Well done Disney that was great, we got a room in Magnolia Bend, it was refurbished, and this block is close to both the reception/food area send also a bus stop, so 10/10 for Disney. We got to the room quickly and flopped into bed over 24 hours after getting up, a very long journey.
Car Rental - Staying on site we decided that we didnt need a car for the initial part of our stay and woudl pick up a car after a week from the rental car centre. What a great decision, this was by far the easiest car pick-up I have had anywhere. If you are renting a car do it this way and not at the airport, it was so easy. Just phone, arrange picked up and be taken to the car centre. We were picked up from POR at the time arranged, driven to the car centre. Here there was no line and our booking was handled extrememly efficiently, and about 5 minutes from arrival here we were sitting in the car. Brilliant, will do this next time we visit no question. It saves you money, time, hassle, its so easy. (The only problem that transpired (and I await to see what happens on this) is that we were dropping off the car in MIA and were not warned that the toll roads in MIA are now fully automated, so it remains to be seen how that will be dealt with. Had been warned of that then we could have taken alternative routes or made toll arrangements, will let you know how we get on with this if the car company contact me).
RESORT
Room - Refurbished room was very nice, although I couldnt tell much difference from the last time we stayed there except for the larger flat screen TV and the fact that everything seemed relatively new.
On most days housekeeping made up 'animals' from the bathroom towels, these went down very well with the kids and were a nice touch, well done.
General - The resort appeared to be very quiet, with very few cars in the car parks and not too many people walking about.
The grounds as always were immaculate and this really is a great resort to stay at.
One minor complaint was that the pool lifeguards went off duty quite early so that by around 7.00pm the pool slide was cordoned off. This was a big disappointment to the children as we arrived back after this time and a swim/slide would have been welcome. Not a huge problem as on days after that we extended our park time and gave up on the end of day swim back at the resort. I would suggest a time of 10.00 pm might be more guest friendly to close the slide, maybe this is the case at busier times of year.
Food Court - now I'm not a fan of food courts, the food is fine, but unless all yir party wants to eat the same thing then you either all split up and go to different windows, or stay together and line up multiple times with a result that some meals are cold by the time you get to eat them. We only ate breakfast at the resort, and then only on a couple of days, and this proved to be a problem with the 2 children, you couldn't send them to get their own food and you also didn't want to get theirs and leave them sitting eating on their own whilst you returned for yours. I would have thought that Disney could somehow manage this problem a little better (or maybe its just me for whom this is an irritant).
DINING
We upgrade our CS dining plan to FS dining plan (paying the difference between the plans) and am so glad that we did. Whilst the CS meals we had were ok I could not imagine having 2 of these meals a day every day, oh no. As a result of the upgrade and with some good ADRs made at 180 days we ate at the following table service restaurants -
CRT - I didnt have high expectations of this meal as viewed it more for the location and atmosphere but was very pleasantly surprised. The setting was unbeatable, the characters were great (although we got to see them toward the end of their 'round' and a couple of them felt slightly rushed), but the food was also above what we were expecting. I also liked the story told to introduce the characters. All in all a very well done meal package and well worth the 2 credits. Do it, if you can get a reservation, especially if you have children.
Le Cellier - lunch (a 1 credit meal), a good meal, nice selection for the children (grilled chicken), and excellent, if smallish, fillet mignon. Deserves its reputation and would like to go at night, although the 2 credits may not be such good value here. I would eat here again if I could get the ADR.
Captains Grille - probably the most disappointing meal, the restaurant was very quiet (we ate around 5.30pm), and therefore lacked atmosphere. The food was reasonable though nothing special and for me the choice seemed fairly limited. Having heard good things this was therefore a let down on expectations (although I must say nothing was wrong with the meal). Would I eat here again, yes, but it wouldn't be a must get ADR.
Chefs de France - probably the worst meal we had, although again it wasnt a bad meal. The service was quick, and gave the impression of wanting you out quickly. The tenderloin I had wasnt the best quality. We have eaten here before and have always enjoyed it, so the meal was a let down this time. This could have been an off day so I will give the venue one more chance before removing from my list of must do dining locations.
Narcoosees - great location to view the fireworks, although had to go outside as even though we had a window seat the view was blocked by others going outside. Food and service was excellent, although as with most of the TS meals the kids choices were essentially the same and therefore uninspiring, adults don't like to eat the same day after day after day so why would kids. Will eat here again.
1900 Park Fair - very disappointed by the room, seemed hollow, cavernous, and cold. Character interaction and food were good however, and so I can forgive the surroundings and would eat here again.
Chef Mickey - have heard many say this is a loud place, didn't find it so, good food selection, good character interaction, well worth trying to get the ADR and a nice break away form MK for an hour or two. Recommended.
Crystal Palace - now this place was noisy, and chaotic, but as with the other buffets food and character interaction were good and so worth getting the ADR for. Best place to eat in MK.
Overall - we didnt have a bad meal, just some expectations were exceeded and some weren't met. The buffets offered good choice, although carvery servers could offer more than one slice of meat, it saves you asking for more or going back for more. Character interaction at buffets was generally good although at times we were aware of characters wishing to move on quickly. On the non buffets I thought the children's selection was generally poor, uninventive, and virtually the same at all restaurants (notable exception of Le Cellier, which both the children rated as their nicest meal). Disney could and should give more thought in this area as towards the middle and certainly by the end of our trip we were getting exceedingly concerned by the lack of variety and general healthiness in the diet of the children.
Counter Service - all fairly standard meals were had, again children's variety was poor, but adults variety was better (we could have improved this variety by being more selective as to where we ate, but lunches tended to be governed by where we were in the parks rather than by selecting a location to eat in). Our favourite was Columbia Harbour House. I have no idea how people on the QS dining plan eat 2 of these meals each day but good luck to them if they do.
Snacks - we tended to get pastries etc for breakfast as use of snack credits, plus the occasional ice cream (double scoops easily large enough to share).
Dining plan overall -
Would I pay for the dining plan - not sure.
Would I use free dining (as in our case) - yes.
Would I upgrade QS to TS plan - definatley.
Was there too much food on the DP - yes.
I would like to see the desserts dropped from the QS meals, and maybe somehow from the TS, so that if you wanted one you could then pay OOP, 2 desserts a day , on top of the snacks, on top of the rather unhealthy QS meals just piles on the pounds.
Other food and drink - we really wanted to do the Kitchen Sink at Beaches & Cream, but we found that there was just too much food available on the dining plan that we didnt have room for it - maybe next time.
Now it may be the exchange rate hitting me, or that I'm getting older and therefore grumpier, but I found the prices at WDW much more expensive than I previously remember. We would have loved to have had a couple of drinks in Epcot in the evening but found that the prices for beer, wine, margaritas etc to be prohibitively expensive $12.50 for a margarita, $8.00 for a beer or wine. Some nights we did have one drink, but had the prices been at a more reasonable level we would have had a few more. Thus from us, overall Disney lost out by having these very high prices.
Tipping at buffets, controversial view here maybe, but whilst I dont have a problem tipping a server who takes your order, serves your meal etc I do find the 'customary' 18% a touch high for a buffet meal, where the server just brings drinks and clears plates. Probably an English view rather than an American view.
THE PARKS
Overall - In the 4 parks we sampled just about every attraction, the ones we particularly liked as a family were pretty much the obvious ones, Splash & Thunder, Soarin', Buzz, Toy Story Mania, Haunted, Pirates. We found wait times to be very short and with judicious use of FP we got to ride pretty much what we wanted when we wanted. The longest lines we for the characters, no problem with that as they all interacted well with all guests, they really do make the Disney experience magic for the young ones. This was one of my first times interaction with the 'face' characters and they can be great fun, our kids cant wait to go to London now that Tink has told them she hangs out there. So rides pretty much as expected, and wont go into any more detail, we all know and love them and the family nature of pretty much all the rides is what makes it such a special experience, not too many rides scare off the young ones.
Other park tips - try to make use of morning EMH or even just get there for park opening, the first 2 hours can see you do a lot of the rides with minimal waits. If you have young kids they will be up and out of bed anyway so get to the parks, its worth it.
Afternoon rest - tried going back to the resort for a break one afternoon, found it to be a waste of time, you dont really have enough time at the resort to make it worthwhile and you are always conscious of the time and the need to get back to park. It may work for some, it didn't for us. We found it better to go on some slower less crowded attractions if we needed a mid-afternoon recharge.
Disney Transport - we used it extensively and it worked well most of the time, its a great system and meant we didnt need to expense of a hire car for the first week of our stay. Two suggested improvements though, 1) at the bus stops how about an indicator to show the next few buses due and their estimate arrival times, these are commonplace on bus services in Europe and would be a great help, 2) buses at park closing (particularly at Epcot at 9.20pm or thereabouts, or after MK fireworks), well Disney know that there will be a mass exodus of people after the fireworks, how about having 3, 4, or 5 buses waiting at this time ready to take all us tired people back home. Just running one bus at a time at these times isn't really good enough, there really should be no wait for people leaving after the fireworks as this traffic peak is entirely predictable and waits could be minimised by having more buses ready at these times.
Bibbedy Bobbidy Boutique - we booked our daughter in for a hair, nails and make up package. She loved it, if youve got a girl then do it, our package cost about $60, the experience lasted over an hour, and she got some make-up to take away. Great value, great fun, great memories.
Jedi Training - as DD had done BBB then DS did Jedi Academy, get there early and sign up for this, the children loved it, its free, just limited places.
Kidcot - the children loved doing this, it helped them explore the pavillions, meet people, and gave them an interest in World Showcase, its free, it gives the adults time to explore the shops, but why no yellow sharpies I wonder. If your kids like this sort of thing do it.
Minor irritations - firstly lines etiquette appears to have got worse since my last visit, and also line camaraderie isn't there as much as I noticed previously. A few irritations to me (may not be to you, each to their own) i) dont try to assemble your group when one of you is halfway down the line, assemble together near the ride then all join the line at once, its so much more civilised to do it that way, and ia) dont try to assemble your group right at the line entrance either, ii) if I've turned my back away from the way the line is facing to talk to my group and the line moves forward without me noticing don't a) try to push past me, or b) shout at me that the line has moved 10 feet. I will notice the line has moved soon enough and move forward and unless I'm within a few feet of getting on the ride (when I wouldn't have turned round anyway) you will get to the ride without me causing you any delay and there will be no unpleasantness.
Another irritation by just one cast member as follows, he was probably trying to be helpful but it didnt turn out that way. Our DD is dead on the 44inch height threshold if she stands straight. Well this day she was in a bit of a slouchy mood and was about half an inch shy and just wouldn't stand up straight, so the CM showing no leeway at all (though probably rightly from his view sticking to rules is rules) wouldn't let her ride (she had ridden the day before when she stood up straight and was looking forward to another ride), DD was close to tears at not being let on, the CM said to me sorry but just come back next year when she's grown a bit. As I say probably trying to be helpful but a touch insensitive when a trip to WDW is a 4,000 mile flight and takes us many years to save up for, best not to say anything.
Finally - and this really is my problem, but I thought Id share it, I saw 2 women aged 35+ wearing Snow White costumes. I have no problem with the kids in costumes, I love it, but a grown woman I actually found rather scary in a horror film sort of way, unnerved me quite a bit I can tell you.
OTHER WDW
Typhoon Lagoon - first time here have always been to Blizzard Beach before (closed for refurb this visit). TL is probably the second best water park in the world (after BB), but is not as good, the park is dominated by the surf waves which are not suitable for most swimmers as they are just too big, the slides and rafts are shorter than at BB, and the shark swim is overrated especially if you've never snorkelled before as this can take some getting used to, especially for kids. Still good, but not anywhere near as good as BB.
OFF SITE
Sea World - a great day and a different day to WDW. The whale and dolphin shows now seem to have dispensed with much of the cheesy sentimental storytelling of the past and now just concentrate on letting the animals jump and splash people and are much the better for it. Sea World could learn much form Disney in ride loading and unloading to make this much slicker, and the entrance procedures are farcical when compared to WDW, Disney doies thing better by far in this department. Times may be hard at SW as there were a couple of examples of what I would see as 'nickel and diming' the customer - firstly, the machines to let you soak the riders on Atlantis, which are great fun, are now 25c when previously they were free, result I didn't use them (nor did many others) and these were great fun to wet unsuspecting riders. Secondly the dolphin feed has now risen to $7, not bad, but now everyone in your party has to purchase, you cannot share a tray of food, for 4 of us that would have been $28 when just one tray shared between the two kids would have been sufficient for us (in the end we managed to talk them down to a tray of food for each child and none for the adults, but still a bit of needless profiteering going on here. Finally I found that the special offers for children going free or at reduced rates were only open to US/CAN residents, not overseas visitors, I felt this to be quite unfair to us overseas visitors. These issues, particularly the latter two (the splash machines I wont get too wound up by) left me with a sour taste over prices and l will think twice about visiting SW on my next visit to Orlando, visitors, even overseas ones, should not be treated as cash cows..
KSC - another entirely different day to WDW and well worth the trip particularly for adults and older children, although I'm not too sure how many repeat visits you could have there as the displays do not seem to change (not that they need to).
REST OF VACATION
Marco Island - A good few days unwinding at Marco Island. Stayed at a fine hotel only to be spoiled by an wake up call I hadn't requested (not to matter we've got kids and were up anyway). We had a bit of a disagreement over some hotel policies at check-in (over zealous security measures which I told the hotel were unnecessary) and maybe this was revenge by the reception staff, I hope not.
Key West - love the buildings, but really not much for kids there. The gay influence seems to be waning and it seems to have turned into a real drinking culture place since my last visit about 10 years ago. Didnt feel threatened, but defiantly not a place for children.
THE END
So that was it, a great vacation, now we just need to start saving to hopefully get back there in 3 or so years. Hope you found this review helpful, Ive included my 'hidden' good bits and tried to give some hints to help in your visits to the parks, I've missed off many of the true Disney magic stuff, the cleanliness, the courtesy, the details, the themeing, the fountains, the rides, the characters, the transport, the gardens etc etc because if you're on these boards then you probably love the place like I do and know all that already. I've put in the bad bits and some ways I would change them, these may sound negative to you, I wanted to be constructive, and these few points in the overall vacation did nothing to spoil our fun, enjoyment, and desire to return as soon as we've saved up enough money, so don't take them too out of context. You wont agree with all I've written but hopefully some of it will be useful to you.
Our group was me, my wife (both veterans of numerous visits to WDW over many years, I totally get Disney, she enjoys it but isn't as keen as I am on the place), and our 2 children, son just turned 8, daughter fast approaching 6.
We stayed 10 nights at POR, had a free dining promotion included in our package (which we upgraded from the CS package to the standard package), our visit included all 4 parks, Typhoon Lagoon, Sea World, and KSC. We then moved on to the Gulf Coast and finally Key West.
I'm not going to go in strict day by day order, just divide it up to few headings of travel, resort, dining/restaurants, parks, off-site, rest of vacation to highlight a few events, some good things, some bad things, some comments which are my own and you dont have to agree with they are my views of this particular vacation.
Thats the background on with the review -
TRAVEL
Getting to Orlando - we flew with American Airlines from London to Miami and had a 2 hour scheduled connection in MIA for the short flight to MCO. The transatlantic flight was uneventful and even arrived 20 minutes ahead of schedule, nothing much to report other than to say that the entertainment and food of AA was well behind the standards offered by some European airlines.
Arriving at MIA our problems began, not the fault of the airline but of the US immigration, the lines to enter the US were not that long but took an age to process each person, we were actually moved by a kind airport official to a shorter line for US nationals (as we had children), yet it still took us almost 2 hours just to enter the country (contrast that with our arrival back in London which I would guess handles many more international passengers than MIA on our wait in a similar sized line was no more than 10 minutes). It really is time that immigration at MIA was sorted out, such waits are unacceptable. The result a missed onward connection to McCoy and now 2 very crotchety children who had been awake for 15 hours and faced with a 3 hour wait until the next flight. The airline were very efficient at rebooking us and sympathetic to our position but this seemed to be a common problem. I would therefore recommend that either connection times under 3 hours are not offered by airlines in MIA or the airport sorts out its immigration process. I booked via MIA as it was on paper a reasonable overall journey with children, I could have booked via JFK or other places with only a small increase in overall journey time, been assured of a connection and arrived in Orlando much earlier and with the children in a better state. Never again via MIA.
Arrival at MCO was now at about 9.30pm (children awake for 21.5 hours, getting bad this). I knew that Magical Express was near the car hire desks so went down to that level. But no sign of it, and no signs saying where it was. After much searching I found out that it was in a different terminal and dragged the family and luggage over there. Note to MCO airport, passengers going to WDW must be your biggest users of the airport please put adequate signage up in all areas of the airport to direct people, the current signage level isn't good enough.
Magical Express - well by now it was 10.00pm and Magical Express wasnt running too frequently and we had a 35 minute wait for a bus which went to a number of other reports before dropping us at POR at around 11.15pm (kids now up for 24hours, deep joy). Couldn't fault ME or Disney, the lateness was due to problems in MIA.
POR check-in - , was really smooth and efficient and here the first bit of Disney magic kicked in and was a welcome relief from the events of the last few hours. I had faxed (yes a fax in 2011) a request through 2 days before to have a room in one of the newly refurbished blocks, and that request had been met. Well done Disney that was great, we got a room in Magnolia Bend, it was refurbished, and this block is close to both the reception/food area send also a bus stop, so 10/10 for Disney. We got to the room quickly and flopped into bed over 24 hours after getting up, a very long journey.
Car Rental - Staying on site we decided that we didnt need a car for the initial part of our stay and woudl pick up a car after a week from the rental car centre. What a great decision, this was by far the easiest car pick-up I have had anywhere. If you are renting a car do it this way and not at the airport, it was so easy. Just phone, arrange picked up and be taken to the car centre. We were picked up from POR at the time arranged, driven to the car centre. Here there was no line and our booking was handled extrememly efficiently, and about 5 minutes from arrival here we were sitting in the car. Brilliant, will do this next time we visit no question. It saves you money, time, hassle, its so easy. (The only problem that transpired (and I await to see what happens on this) is that we were dropping off the car in MIA and were not warned that the toll roads in MIA are now fully automated, so it remains to be seen how that will be dealt with. Had been warned of that then we could have taken alternative routes or made toll arrangements, will let you know how we get on with this if the car company contact me).
RESORT
Room - Refurbished room was very nice, although I couldnt tell much difference from the last time we stayed there except for the larger flat screen TV and the fact that everything seemed relatively new.
On most days housekeeping made up 'animals' from the bathroom towels, these went down very well with the kids and were a nice touch, well done.
General - The resort appeared to be very quiet, with very few cars in the car parks and not too many people walking about.
The grounds as always were immaculate and this really is a great resort to stay at.
One minor complaint was that the pool lifeguards went off duty quite early so that by around 7.00pm the pool slide was cordoned off. This was a big disappointment to the children as we arrived back after this time and a swim/slide would have been welcome. Not a huge problem as on days after that we extended our park time and gave up on the end of day swim back at the resort. I would suggest a time of 10.00 pm might be more guest friendly to close the slide, maybe this is the case at busier times of year.
Food Court - now I'm not a fan of food courts, the food is fine, but unless all yir party wants to eat the same thing then you either all split up and go to different windows, or stay together and line up multiple times with a result that some meals are cold by the time you get to eat them. We only ate breakfast at the resort, and then only on a couple of days, and this proved to be a problem with the 2 children, you couldn't send them to get their own food and you also didn't want to get theirs and leave them sitting eating on their own whilst you returned for yours. I would have thought that Disney could somehow manage this problem a little better (or maybe its just me for whom this is an irritant).
DINING
We upgrade our CS dining plan to FS dining plan (paying the difference between the plans) and am so glad that we did. Whilst the CS meals we had were ok I could not imagine having 2 of these meals a day every day, oh no. As a result of the upgrade and with some good ADRs made at 180 days we ate at the following table service restaurants -
CRT - I didnt have high expectations of this meal as viewed it more for the location and atmosphere but was very pleasantly surprised. The setting was unbeatable, the characters were great (although we got to see them toward the end of their 'round' and a couple of them felt slightly rushed), but the food was also above what we were expecting. I also liked the story told to introduce the characters. All in all a very well done meal package and well worth the 2 credits. Do it, if you can get a reservation, especially if you have children.
Le Cellier - lunch (a 1 credit meal), a good meal, nice selection for the children (grilled chicken), and excellent, if smallish, fillet mignon. Deserves its reputation and would like to go at night, although the 2 credits may not be such good value here. I would eat here again if I could get the ADR.
Captains Grille - probably the most disappointing meal, the restaurant was very quiet (we ate around 5.30pm), and therefore lacked atmosphere. The food was reasonable though nothing special and for me the choice seemed fairly limited. Having heard good things this was therefore a let down on expectations (although I must say nothing was wrong with the meal). Would I eat here again, yes, but it wouldn't be a must get ADR.
Chefs de France - probably the worst meal we had, although again it wasnt a bad meal. The service was quick, and gave the impression of wanting you out quickly. The tenderloin I had wasnt the best quality. We have eaten here before and have always enjoyed it, so the meal was a let down this time. This could have been an off day so I will give the venue one more chance before removing from my list of must do dining locations.
Narcoosees - great location to view the fireworks, although had to go outside as even though we had a window seat the view was blocked by others going outside. Food and service was excellent, although as with most of the TS meals the kids choices were essentially the same and therefore uninspiring, adults don't like to eat the same day after day after day so why would kids. Will eat here again.
1900 Park Fair - very disappointed by the room, seemed hollow, cavernous, and cold. Character interaction and food were good however, and so I can forgive the surroundings and would eat here again.
Chef Mickey - have heard many say this is a loud place, didn't find it so, good food selection, good character interaction, well worth trying to get the ADR and a nice break away form MK for an hour or two. Recommended.
Crystal Palace - now this place was noisy, and chaotic, but as with the other buffets food and character interaction were good and so worth getting the ADR for. Best place to eat in MK.
Overall - we didnt have a bad meal, just some expectations were exceeded and some weren't met. The buffets offered good choice, although carvery servers could offer more than one slice of meat, it saves you asking for more or going back for more. Character interaction at buffets was generally good although at times we were aware of characters wishing to move on quickly. On the non buffets I thought the children's selection was generally poor, uninventive, and virtually the same at all restaurants (notable exception of Le Cellier, which both the children rated as their nicest meal). Disney could and should give more thought in this area as towards the middle and certainly by the end of our trip we were getting exceedingly concerned by the lack of variety and general healthiness in the diet of the children.
Counter Service - all fairly standard meals were had, again children's variety was poor, but adults variety was better (we could have improved this variety by being more selective as to where we ate, but lunches tended to be governed by where we were in the parks rather than by selecting a location to eat in). Our favourite was Columbia Harbour House. I have no idea how people on the QS dining plan eat 2 of these meals each day but good luck to them if they do.
Snacks - we tended to get pastries etc for breakfast as use of snack credits, plus the occasional ice cream (double scoops easily large enough to share).
Dining plan overall -
Would I pay for the dining plan - not sure.
Would I use free dining (as in our case) - yes.
Would I upgrade QS to TS plan - definatley.
Was there too much food on the DP - yes.
I would like to see the desserts dropped from the QS meals, and maybe somehow from the TS, so that if you wanted one you could then pay OOP, 2 desserts a day , on top of the snacks, on top of the rather unhealthy QS meals just piles on the pounds.
Other food and drink - we really wanted to do the Kitchen Sink at Beaches & Cream, but we found that there was just too much food available on the dining plan that we didnt have room for it - maybe next time.
Now it may be the exchange rate hitting me, or that I'm getting older and therefore grumpier, but I found the prices at WDW much more expensive than I previously remember. We would have loved to have had a couple of drinks in Epcot in the evening but found that the prices for beer, wine, margaritas etc to be prohibitively expensive $12.50 for a margarita, $8.00 for a beer or wine. Some nights we did have one drink, but had the prices been at a more reasonable level we would have had a few more. Thus from us, overall Disney lost out by having these very high prices.
Tipping at buffets, controversial view here maybe, but whilst I dont have a problem tipping a server who takes your order, serves your meal etc I do find the 'customary' 18% a touch high for a buffet meal, where the server just brings drinks and clears plates. Probably an English view rather than an American view.
THE PARKS
Overall - In the 4 parks we sampled just about every attraction, the ones we particularly liked as a family were pretty much the obvious ones, Splash & Thunder, Soarin', Buzz, Toy Story Mania, Haunted, Pirates. We found wait times to be very short and with judicious use of FP we got to ride pretty much what we wanted when we wanted. The longest lines we for the characters, no problem with that as they all interacted well with all guests, they really do make the Disney experience magic for the young ones. This was one of my first times interaction with the 'face' characters and they can be great fun, our kids cant wait to go to London now that Tink has told them she hangs out there. So rides pretty much as expected, and wont go into any more detail, we all know and love them and the family nature of pretty much all the rides is what makes it such a special experience, not too many rides scare off the young ones.
Other park tips - try to make use of morning EMH or even just get there for park opening, the first 2 hours can see you do a lot of the rides with minimal waits. If you have young kids they will be up and out of bed anyway so get to the parks, its worth it.
Afternoon rest - tried going back to the resort for a break one afternoon, found it to be a waste of time, you dont really have enough time at the resort to make it worthwhile and you are always conscious of the time and the need to get back to park. It may work for some, it didn't for us. We found it better to go on some slower less crowded attractions if we needed a mid-afternoon recharge.
Disney Transport - we used it extensively and it worked well most of the time, its a great system and meant we didnt need to expense of a hire car for the first week of our stay. Two suggested improvements though, 1) at the bus stops how about an indicator to show the next few buses due and their estimate arrival times, these are commonplace on bus services in Europe and would be a great help, 2) buses at park closing (particularly at Epcot at 9.20pm or thereabouts, or after MK fireworks), well Disney know that there will be a mass exodus of people after the fireworks, how about having 3, 4, or 5 buses waiting at this time ready to take all us tired people back home. Just running one bus at a time at these times isn't really good enough, there really should be no wait for people leaving after the fireworks as this traffic peak is entirely predictable and waits could be minimised by having more buses ready at these times.
Bibbedy Bobbidy Boutique - we booked our daughter in for a hair, nails and make up package. She loved it, if youve got a girl then do it, our package cost about $60, the experience lasted over an hour, and she got some make-up to take away. Great value, great fun, great memories.
Jedi Training - as DD had done BBB then DS did Jedi Academy, get there early and sign up for this, the children loved it, its free, just limited places.
Kidcot - the children loved doing this, it helped them explore the pavillions, meet people, and gave them an interest in World Showcase, its free, it gives the adults time to explore the shops, but why no yellow sharpies I wonder. If your kids like this sort of thing do it.
Minor irritations - firstly lines etiquette appears to have got worse since my last visit, and also line camaraderie isn't there as much as I noticed previously. A few irritations to me (may not be to you, each to their own) i) dont try to assemble your group when one of you is halfway down the line, assemble together near the ride then all join the line at once, its so much more civilised to do it that way, and ia) dont try to assemble your group right at the line entrance either, ii) if I've turned my back away from the way the line is facing to talk to my group and the line moves forward without me noticing don't a) try to push past me, or b) shout at me that the line has moved 10 feet. I will notice the line has moved soon enough and move forward and unless I'm within a few feet of getting on the ride (when I wouldn't have turned round anyway) you will get to the ride without me causing you any delay and there will be no unpleasantness.
Another irritation by just one cast member as follows, he was probably trying to be helpful but it didnt turn out that way. Our DD is dead on the 44inch height threshold if she stands straight. Well this day she was in a bit of a slouchy mood and was about half an inch shy and just wouldn't stand up straight, so the CM showing no leeway at all (though probably rightly from his view sticking to rules is rules) wouldn't let her ride (she had ridden the day before when she stood up straight and was looking forward to another ride), DD was close to tears at not being let on, the CM said to me sorry but just come back next year when she's grown a bit. As I say probably trying to be helpful but a touch insensitive when a trip to WDW is a 4,000 mile flight and takes us many years to save up for, best not to say anything.
Finally - and this really is my problem, but I thought Id share it, I saw 2 women aged 35+ wearing Snow White costumes. I have no problem with the kids in costumes, I love it, but a grown woman I actually found rather scary in a horror film sort of way, unnerved me quite a bit I can tell you.
OTHER WDW
Typhoon Lagoon - first time here have always been to Blizzard Beach before (closed for refurb this visit). TL is probably the second best water park in the world (after BB), but is not as good, the park is dominated by the surf waves which are not suitable for most swimmers as they are just too big, the slides and rafts are shorter than at BB, and the shark swim is overrated especially if you've never snorkelled before as this can take some getting used to, especially for kids. Still good, but not anywhere near as good as BB.
OFF SITE
Sea World - a great day and a different day to WDW. The whale and dolphin shows now seem to have dispensed with much of the cheesy sentimental storytelling of the past and now just concentrate on letting the animals jump and splash people and are much the better for it. Sea World could learn much form Disney in ride loading and unloading to make this much slicker, and the entrance procedures are farcical when compared to WDW, Disney doies thing better by far in this department. Times may be hard at SW as there were a couple of examples of what I would see as 'nickel and diming' the customer - firstly, the machines to let you soak the riders on Atlantis, which are great fun, are now 25c when previously they were free, result I didn't use them (nor did many others) and these were great fun to wet unsuspecting riders. Secondly the dolphin feed has now risen to $7, not bad, but now everyone in your party has to purchase, you cannot share a tray of food, for 4 of us that would have been $28 when just one tray shared between the two kids would have been sufficient for us (in the end we managed to talk them down to a tray of food for each child and none for the adults, but still a bit of needless profiteering going on here. Finally I found that the special offers for children going free or at reduced rates were only open to US/CAN residents, not overseas visitors, I felt this to be quite unfair to us overseas visitors. These issues, particularly the latter two (the splash machines I wont get too wound up by) left me with a sour taste over prices and l will think twice about visiting SW on my next visit to Orlando, visitors, even overseas ones, should not be treated as cash cows..
KSC - another entirely different day to WDW and well worth the trip particularly for adults and older children, although I'm not too sure how many repeat visits you could have there as the displays do not seem to change (not that they need to).
REST OF VACATION
Marco Island - A good few days unwinding at Marco Island. Stayed at a fine hotel only to be spoiled by an wake up call I hadn't requested (not to matter we've got kids and were up anyway). We had a bit of a disagreement over some hotel policies at check-in (over zealous security measures which I told the hotel were unnecessary) and maybe this was revenge by the reception staff, I hope not.
Key West - love the buildings, but really not much for kids there. The gay influence seems to be waning and it seems to have turned into a real drinking culture place since my last visit about 10 years ago. Didnt feel threatened, but defiantly not a place for children.
THE END
So that was it, a great vacation, now we just need to start saving to hopefully get back there in 3 or so years. Hope you found this review helpful, Ive included my 'hidden' good bits and tried to give some hints to help in your visits to the parks, I've missed off many of the true Disney magic stuff, the cleanliness, the courtesy, the details, the themeing, the fountains, the rides, the characters, the transport, the gardens etc etc because if you're on these boards then you probably love the place like I do and know all that already. I've put in the bad bits and some ways I would change them, these may sound negative to you, I wanted to be constructive, and these few points in the overall vacation did nothing to spoil our fun, enjoyment, and desire to return as soon as we've saved up enough money, so don't take them too out of context. You wont agree with all I've written but hopefully some of it will be useful to you.
We actually few to MIA and then drove to WDW. How long was the flight from MIA to MCO?
