Hey guys sorry it late but here's the highs and lows of our trip last week. There were me, DH and DS who is 3 and a half.
LOWS
Hotel Cheyenne; stayed here before on a previous trip, but it just seemed a bit disorganized. Long queues at reception, computers breaking down so unable to make restaurant reservations on one occasion, and an upstairs room with 2 large suitcases, a buggy, an over excited toddler, and no lift!!!
Toilets; I was disappointed to find that a lot of the toilets were not as clean as they could be. I understand that they get used a hell of a lot, and although they were being cleaned, I just felt a bit uncomfortable in one or two of the toilet blocks, and found myself using the paper seat covers, which of course DS found hilarious.
Ride closures; quite a few of the rides were closed for frequent short periods due to technical problems. We queued up outside POTC for rope drop one morning only to be told it was closed for the time being. Peter Pan was also closed at rope drop one morning, and so was ratatouille.
HIGHS
The weather!; was gorgeous blue skies and sunshine and pleasant temperatures for the whole week. Definitely made a difference to our trip.
Characters; there seemed to be loads of meet and greet opportunities around both parks this trip, and they were very organized. CMs made queue lines and even took photos for us with our camera and iPhones, so we could all get in together. This was my favorite part of the trip, seeing DS get excited in the queue and getting his autograph book ready.
Cafe Mickey; we booked two breakfasts here during our trip and it was worth every penny. It wasn't too busy, the characters spent ample time with all the guests, and goofy (DS's favorite) was there for both of our bookings, and was tickling him and sat with in and just basically made his day. Brought a lump to my throat!
Ratatouille; we visited WDS on Tuesday, and went straight to ratatouille for rope drop, only to be told it was closed for at least an hour do to technical problems. We walked round the park and did a few rides and went back around 11:30 just before lunch, and were able to grab fast passes to return at 3:30. DS loved it, found it very funny. I was impressed with the whole ride experience, and think Disney have done well.
Queue times; a lot of the rides we're walk ons, 5 minutes, or the longest was 20 minutes for autopia. Even crushes coaster only had a maximum of 40 minutes! DS favorite on this trip was BTM so was a good job as we had to go and queue up again a few times!
Princess Pavillion; On our last day we were walking towards small world at 10:30am and the queue for the princesses was huge!!! Lists of people waiting for the tickets. We walked past again around an hour later, and the CMs were still giving out reservation tickets, and there was no queue, so we grabbed a ticket and had a slot for 3:40. DS didn't want his picture taken but was quite happy to give Ariel a kiss!! I'd never been to princess Pavillion before so it was a bonus for me as I am a Disney princess fan!
The food; we went standard half board and also booked table service too for evening meals. Very happy with standard of food and the choice of where we could use the
halfboard standard vouchers. Mainly buffets, but it worked for us. The tea time treat vouchers were great too. Took some research to find out where to use them, but was great getting a free drink and cake mid afternoon, and a chance to sit down and recharge. Depending on where u used them, you could get muffins, brioche, 2 Mickey shaped cakes, cookies, fruit cake etc. we saved a lot of money going half board.
The CMs; they were all so lovely. I taught DS the French words for hello, goodbye, please and thankyou, and he said them every time we got on or off a ride and in all the shops. They thought he was extra cute! Dreams; took my breath away again! Loved the few changes they'd made to last years show. Totally amazing unmissable experience. Meeting Spider-Man; had the opportunity to meet Spider-Man in WDS and it was fab! Daddy and DS are Spider-Man fans anyway, and the CM in the costume was British, so was even better when he was chatting to DS and taught him how to swing on his web for a photo! Definitely a must-do for Spider-Man fans!
There are probably a lot more I could write but those are the main points. Altogether an unforgettable trip. Oh, and the Halloween decorations were starting to go up too!
LOWS
Hotel Cheyenne; stayed here before on a previous trip, but it just seemed a bit disorganized. Long queues at reception, computers breaking down so unable to make restaurant reservations on one occasion, and an upstairs room with 2 large suitcases, a buggy, an over excited toddler, and no lift!!!
Toilets; I was disappointed to find that a lot of the toilets were not as clean as they could be. I understand that they get used a hell of a lot, and although they were being cleaned, I just felt a bit uncomfortable in one or two of the toilet blocks, and found myself using the paper seat covers, which of course DS found hilarious.
Ride closures; quite a few of the rides were closed for frequent short periods due to technical problems. We queued up outside POTC for rope drop one morning only to be told it was closed for the time being. Peter Pan was also closed at rope drop one morning, and so was ratatouille.
HIGHS
The weather!; was gorgeous blue skies and sunshine and pleasant temperatures for the whole week. Definitely made a difference to our trip.
Characters; there seemed to be loads of meet and greet opportunities around both parks this trip, and they were very organized. CMs made queue lines and even took photos for us with our camera and iPhones, so we could all get in together. This was my favorite part of the trip, seeing DS get excited in the queue and getting his autograph book ready.
Cafe Mickey; we booked two breakfasts here during our trip and it was worth every penny. It wasn't too busy, the characters spent ample time with all the guests, and goofy (DS's favorite) was there for both of our bookings, and was tickling him and sat with in and just basically made his day. Brought a lump to my throat!
Ratatouille; we visited WDS on Tuesday, and went straight to ratatouille for rope drop, only to be told it was closed for at least an hour do to technical problems. We walked round the park and did a few rides and went back around 11:30 just before lunch, and were able to grab fast passes to return at 3:30. DS loved it, found it very funny. I was impressed with the whole ride experience, and think Disney have done well.
Queue times; a lot of the rides we're walk ons, 5 minutes, or the longest was 20 minutes for autopia. Even crushes coaster only had a maximum of 40 minutes! DS favorite on this trip was BTM so was a good job as we had to go and queue up again a few times!
Princess Pavillion; On our last day we were walking towards small world at 10:30am and the queue for the princesses was huge!!! Lists of people waiting for the tickets. We walked past again around an hour later, and the CMs were still giving out reservation tickets, and there was no queue, so we grabbed a ticket and had a slot for 3:40. DS didn't want his picture taken but was quite happy to give Ariel a kiss!! I'd never been to princess Pavillion before so it was a bonus for me as I am a Disney princess fan!
The food; we went standard half board and also booked table service too for evening meals. Very happy with standard of food and the choice of where we could use the
halfboard standard vouchers. Mainly buffets, but it worked for us. The tea time treat vouchers were great too. Took some research to find out where to use them, but was great getting a free drink and cake mid afternoon, and a chance to sit down and recharge. Depending on where u used them, you could get muffins, brioche, 2 Mickey shaped cakes, cookies, fruit cake etc. we saved a lot of money going half board.
The CMs; they were all so lovely. I taught DS the French words for hello, goodbye, please and thankyou, and he said them every time we got on or off a ride and in all the shops. They thought he was extra cute! Dreams; took my breath away again! Loved the few changes they'd made to last years show. Totally amazing unmissable experience. Meeting Spider-Man; had the opportunity to meet Spider-Man in WDS and it was fab! Daddy and DS are Spider-Man fans anyway, and the CM in the costume was British, so was even better when he was chatting to DS and taught him how to swing on his web for a photo! Definitely a must-do for Spider-Man fans!
There are probably a lot more I could write but those are the main points. Altogether an unforgettable trip. Oh, and the Halloween decorations were starting to go up too!
I've always wanted to see inside the PP too, but the kids aren't interested - maybe if it's quiet I'll manage to convince them.
