I have lurked on the board for months now - getting info. We just came home from our first Disney trip in 5 years. Having lived in South Florida for 4 years, we were all "disneyed out" from having been there too many times. But after 5 years, we were ready to go back and we all had a great time.
We stayed at Riverside - AB #38. Very happy with this hotel, although our favorite is the French Quarter, my sister needed to sleep 5.
We had many special things happen on this trip. The tamed squirrel came out of the bushes in England while we were watching "The Beatles" and just stared at my 15 year old son. When he noticed this squirrel, he showed my husband who tried to give him some candy and my husband got nervous as the squirrel got closer and closer so he just threw it on the ground. But I know that squirrel would have taken it from his hand.
We had a turn riding in the front of the monorail. Saw the croc in Tom Sawers river as we walked over the footbridge. We were picked to sit in the fast finger seats at Millionaire. Both my siser and I were given pins by cast members (Mine was a Minnie). My nephew was chosen to steer the jungle cruise boat. And the best of all - around 10:00 a.m., my 17 year old son and I were leaving the MK. We decided to go into the animation studio right next door to Tonys. It looked llike it was a Kodak store but we continued walking through and right around the corner were Mary Poppins and Cinderella with only one other couple there to take pictures. We got some great pictures and I asked why they weren't being mobbed by people. "Mary" said that not many people know that they can be found there while waiting for the parade. And we found our first hidden mickey in the test track photo. We had a great spot for the spectro parade. As you walk up to the castle, you will see a bump out spot - we were able to sit on the railing and since the spot bumps out, no one was in front of us.
The negatives I found:
The security check is something that must be done, but it is just one more line and a little more walking to get through. I saw only 1 "street sweeper", where in the past, you saw them all over the parks. As a result, there are cigarette butts, old fastpass tickets, candy wrappers, etc. on the park and hotel grounds. This was a major disappointment for me as DW was always in pristine condition. Food prices are still ridiculous especially in the food court - $2.50 for a bagel! We bought the mugs and if DW is going to overcharge on the food, I will bring that mug back with me each time we stay at Riverside.
The crowds were not what I expected. As a Florida resident, we were used to going off-season with great discounts. I really miss those perks. But the only day that I felt the parks were too crowded was on Wednesday. The MK was great on Sunday. And we were able to get on all the rides (except Fast Track, which we saved for one morning) at Epcot on Saturday evening. My boys loved DisneyQuest (the 15 year spent `12 hours there one day).
This was the first time we went that we did not have to worry about young kids getting separated, etc. And the boys enjoyed being able to do what they wanted. One of our meals was at Mama Melrose's - I highly reccomend the Chicken Marsala and Chocolate Madaline!
This was my nephews (ages 7, 9 &11) first time there and we are already planning for next year.
Diane
We stayed at Riverside - AB #38. Very happy with this hotel, although our favorite is the French Quarter, my sister needed to sleep 5.
We had many special things happen on this trip. The tamed squirrel came out of the bushes in England while we were watching "The Beatles" and just stared at my 15 year old son. When he noticed this squirrel, he showed my husband who tried to give him some candy and my husband got nervous as the squirrel got closer and closer so he just threw it on the ground. But I know that squirrel would have taken it from his hand.
We had a turn riding in the front of the monorail. Saw the croc in Tom Sawers river as we walked over the footbridge. We were picked to sit in the fast finger seats at Millionaire. Both my siser and I were given pins by cast members (Mine was a Minnie). My nephew was chosen to steer the jungle cruise boat. And the best of all - around 10:00 a.m., my 17 year old son and I were leaving the MK. We decided to go into the animation studio right next door to Tonys. It looked llike it was a Kodak store but we continued walking through and right around the corner were Mary Poppins and Cinderella with only one other couple there to take pictures. We got some great pictures and I asked why they weren't being mobbed by people. "Mary" said that not many people know that they can be found there while waiting for the parade. And we found our first hidden mickey in the test track photo. We had a great spot for the spectro parade. As you walk up to the castle, you will see a bump out spot - we were able to sit on the railing and since the spot bumps out, no one was in front of us.
The negatives I found:
The security check is something that must be done, but it is just one more line and a little more walking to get through. I saw only 1 "street sweeper", where in the past, you saw them all over the parks. As a result, there are cigarette butts, old fastpass tickets, candy wrappers, etc. on the park and hotel grounds. This was a major disappointment for me as DW was always in pristine condition. Food prices are still ridiculous especially in the food court - $2.50 for a bagel! We bought the mugs and if DW is going to overcharge on the food, I will bring that mug back with me each time we stay at Riverside.
The crowds were not what I expected. As a Florida resident, we were used to going off-season with great discounts. I really miss those perks. But the only day that I felt the parks were too crowded was on Wednesday. The MK was great on Sunday. And we were able to get on all the rides (except Fast Track, which we saved for one morning) at Epcot on Saturday evening. My boys loved DisneyQuest (the 15 year spent `12 hours there one day).
This was the first time we went that we did not have to worry about young kids getting separated, etc. And the boys enjoyed being able to do what they wanted. One of our meals was at Mama Melrose's - I highly reccomend the Chicken Marsala and Chocolate Madaline!
This was my nephews (ages 7, 9 &11) first time there and we are already planning for next year.
Diane
