Just arrived 5 hours ago . . .

[Susiequsie60]

Well, it's about 4:30 pm and we're back in the room for a little bit. Enough time to have a cocktail and for me to recap our day so far. I'm happy to report that I've got the big guy right here next to me to help with anything I might forget.

We ended up leaving our room around 8:30 this morning. I don't think it was my "tapping away" on this computer that finally got him out of bed, but who knows. We went down to the Boardwalk Bakery for a bite to eat and to pick up our refillable mugs. We got the "Length of Stay" just because we always get the mugs when we come and we'll probably work out fine with a cup of coffee or two a day. Mr. Picky wishes they had Splenda, but he said the fake yellow packs they did have were "ok." He really didn't like the food we got. The eggs on the sandwiches were definitely not "real" eggs, and he expected more from the cinnamon roll that we shared. It was nice and soft, but he felt that it didn't have enough flavor. Full disclosure: I'm pretty easy when it comes to food, so I enjoyed the stuff we got. Our thought is that we'll be back at the Bakery for coffee and probably to try some other sweets, but not for breakfast. We have lots of other places we want to try out anyway. (FYI: The total cost at the Bakery was $57, which included 2 sandwiches, 1 cinnamon roll, and 2 Length of Stay mugs.)

After breakfast we stopped up in the room to drop-off our mugs, and then headed down to catch a boat over to Hollywood Studios. The boat ride was fine, and all seats were taken by the time we made the last stop (Swan/Dolphin I think.) We entered the park right around 10:30 a.m. (I'm going to add some pictures in the next post. Just to leave this one with writing.) As soon as we got in, it looked a little crowded, but honestly, I think it was an optical illusion. Crowds were very low.

First thing we did was the Great Movie Ride - another sentimental favorite of mine. The best part for me this time: we sat with a young family who was just like us, only 20 years ago! A little girl almost 4, and a little boy around 2. That's exactly what our kids were on our first trip. They probably thought I was some creepy lady cause I kept looking and smiling at their kids. Oh well. There was no wait for the ride at all - which believe it or not for us was a first.

Right from there we headed over to the Tower of Terror. It said a 20 minute wait, but I'm pretty sure we waited less than 15. It was awesome of course.

My husband was kind enough to do Muppet 3D with me. (Have I mentioned I'm a bit of a sentimental sap?) I enjoyed it as always.

Then we headed to Star Tours - again, pretty much walk right in, maybe a five minute wait.

After Star Tours we headed over to the SciFi for lunch - it was probably around 1:15 p.m. She told us it would be about 20 minutes (or less) and we ended up waiting 8-10 minutes. This food was really yummy. My husband got an Oreo milkshake (he shared a little) and some deep fried pickles (he shared a little) and we both got Reubens. So that bill was $53 (with tip.) I'm just putting prices down so people have an idea of what things costs.

After lunch we headed back to the BWI - this time we walked. I keep checking the time, but then I keep forgetting what time things happen. I think it was between 2:30 and 3:00 when we got back here. Our room wasn't make-up yet, but that wasn't a big deal. We changed into our bathing suits and headed down to the "quiet pool" for a little. There was one other guy there when we arrived, and a few more people came as the afternoon went on. The water was lovely and the pool itself is OK. The hot tub is definitely only meh. Very small and blah. After we swam my husband snoozed and I read. We headed back up here to our room around 4:15 p.m. before we go over to the MK for our FP+'s and (maybe) a late evening there.

Today was a really really great day. I feel like there were basically no crowds at the Studios. Of course the standby times for RR and TSM were long (60-90 minutes) but we'll be doing those later in the week, either very first thing in the morning or with a FP+. Today was just a laid back sort of a strolling around enjoyable day for us. The weather is absolutely spectacular. I'd say it was about 80 degrees and sunny. So far, so good for our anniversary vacation.

Isn't there some type of football game going on in our home state of New Jersey tonight?

 

[RHMH]

Happy Anniversary

Wishing You and Yours a Magical Vacation !!

 

[Susiequsie60]

This is what it looked like to get in HS at around 10:30 a.m. Took around 1 minute to get through.



Oh my - this is an Oreo Milkshake at SciFi!!


This is the quiet pool at the BWI:

 

[Susiequsie60]

Oh my - it's 11:45 pm and we just got back from MK.

I'm too darn exhausted to do anything but say that I'm too darn exhausted to do anything. I'll be back tomorrow to tell you about our night . . .

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Sounds like you are having a blast! Love seeing the low crowds. My best friend and her family will be there Thursday.

Have a great day!

 

[MeMom]

Thanks for the live updates.
It is so nice to see WDW as it is right now while we are hundreds of miles away still dealing with our winter woes.
No requests, really, because I will enjoy any pictures you share of anything.
Have a great day!

 

[Susiequsie60]

Good morning ~

It's Monday, February 3 at 6:49 a.m. and I am wide awake. Go figure. I'm going to write about our night at the MK, and I'll apologize in advance for how much I have to say. I tend to be a little wordy, especially when I'm writing. So here goes:

Hate to say it, but our night was not quite as enjoyable as the others things we've done. Why? Here are the main reason -

* Not so great trip to and from the park from the BWI

* Mechanical glitches in rides

* CM's who were not exactly Disney-like

* Somewhat faulty research on my part

We left our room at about 5:30 p.m. for the BWI bus stop. Of course, as we were walking down the little hill, we see a bus there but couldn't tell for which park. We start running and waving and just then he closes the door and starts to pull away. I think there's a stop sign or a stop light right at the corner there, a few feet from the bus stop, and that's where the driver is when we get there. It's a MK bus, and I'm indicating that we'd like to get on. He looks at us, shakes his head "no" and points back to the bus stop.

I'm guessing there must be some rule about picking people up once you leave the bus stop, and it's probably not his fault, but that wasn't a great way to start our night. We sat at the bus stop for about 15 minutes waiting for the next bus. Of course when that bus arrived, that lovely thing happened where parents let there kids (both little and teen) get in front of other people to get on the bus quickly. I don't like to sound like a crabby old lady, but rudeness in kids (which almost always comes from rudeness in parents I think) is one of my pet peeves. The bus ended up being pretty crowded. Of course with all the young people on it, my husband and I were the only ones who thought it would be a good idea to squeeze next to each other on the bench type seat and invite an older man to sit there. Sorry, I think that parents who let little kids take up a seat when the bus is crowded could rethink that. When my kids were little I'd always take them on my lap, and when they were teens, they'd know to always offer their seat to someone older. OK - enough crabby old lady talk (for now.)

Once we got there things started out great. We headed straight over to use our FP+ for Space Mt, then took a spin on the People Mover. All was right with the world . . .

Here's where things went a little downhill for me. At that point we had our next FP+ - for Pirates. Let me interject to say that when I made my FP+ reservations (weeks ago) I entered my choices of rides, and then my computer just gave me a few different scenarios of the times that I would have them. I didn't actually hand-pick the times - I think it said something like Option A, Option B, etc. What I'm getting at is that it was Disney's idea to give me a 6-7 PM on Space Mt, following immediately by a 7:20-8:20 PM on Pirates. Maybe I could have tweaked the times, but it seemed like an effort. I'm just not sure about that.

Well, I quickly discovered that it is impossible to get across the park when there is a parade going on!! Literally. Impossible. So, I guess I'm going to have to own this one because of my lack of research. Parades aren't something my husband and I are interested in, so I just didn't pay that much attention to them. I'm sure that it's written down somewhere here on these boards or on EasyWDW or Touringplans (all of which I've been using) NOT to try to get across the park during a parade (or maybe HOW to get across the park during a parade) but I just wasn't aware. I got a little crabby when I was literally swallowed by a sea of humanity near Main Street.

So, we eventually made it across the park, and got on Pirates. Here was our first mechanical glitch. The sound. It just sort of stopped. Like in the middle of a scene. Something like that kind of breaks the mood. We've always loved this ride, but even my husband said he was a little disappointed in it. Maybe it's just showing its age. Other than the addition of Jack Sparrow in a few places, my husband thought that there might have been some little changes, but it just wasn't as good. Was there something with soldiers near the end that was different too?

So then we had some time to kill before our Haunted Mansion FP+ so we walked over to Sleepy Hollow to try the waffle sandwiches I'd been telling him about. Well, again, lack of research on my part, but we were very disappointed to hear that you CANNOT get the sandwiches (other than nutella) after 5:00 pm. Bleh. That was just annoying for us. (And personally, I think it's a silly thing for WDW to do.) We were going to have them for dinner. We needed a new plan, so we just went in to the Columbia Harbor House, but unfortunately at that point after dawdling around, it was RIGHT when the fireworks finished so the place was pretty mobbed.

And then I was a little cranky because I was hungry and disappointed because I wasn't having waffles . . . but, the food was delicious. My husband had the lobster roll and I had the fried fish (the fish/french fries portion was a little small.) But the dinner only cost us $30 and was tasty so that was a good thing.

We did a quick Small World (no wait) because no trip to the MK is complete without it!!!

So it was time for our Haunted Mansion FP+ and that's where we encountered our second little glitch. You know, the one there where they stop the ride. At least there they have that recording that says that "spirits having taken over the ride . . ." so at least they try to keep the mood. But again, another ride that could probably do with some updates. (And, of course, another sentimental favorite of mine.)

We were going to ride Thunder Mountain Railroad but the standby line was 30 minutes and I didn't want to wait. We decided to go across the park to check out Carousel of Progress (another old standby that we knew wouldn't have a wait.) Now I know we're doing alot of walking here, but for us, that's never an issue. My preference is always to just keep moving. Walking = good. Waiting = bad.

Now what are the chances that we're going to run into another parade? Well not another parade exactly. It appeared to be the same parade, but just at a later time. Do they do the same parade twice each night? Again, I guess my research skills just aren't what they should be. So, we fought our way through the crowds and parade and got to the ride.

I can deal with the fact that the ride is totally outdated. But this one really messed up with the sound. At one point, the show sound stopped, we could hear a woman's voice saying "Carousel of Progress will now move" and when we got to the next scene, it had already started . . . I know these things happen, but now we're talking three times in one night. All on the old standby rides. Maybe these rides need a little more upkeep?

It was an evening EMH last night, so we were trying to hang out until 10:00 pm when we thought the crowds would get lighter (we wanted to ride Peter Pan and Big Thunder.) A little after 10 we got to Big Thunder Mt and the sign said 20 minutes, but we actually waited around 15. Here, however, is where I saw what personally was my first really nasty CM. Now, I know it was late. It probably was a long day for him. And the guest was definitely in the wrong. But, I really didn't like the way he behaved (and neither did the people standing around me.)

It seems that 3 people in line sort of "placed" themselves to be in the first car of the train. I didn't see what happened. All I know is that the CM spoke to them soooo loudly and in such a nasty tone (while he moved them) that we were all joking that we weren't going to move a muscle until he "placed" us. We all agreed that he scared us!! Again, the guests were wrong, but I don't think the CM handled it well at all. Then, after the ride, another CM spoke to some people in a really sarcastic, snide tone of voice about an exit gate "being closed for a reason." Honestly, the mistake the guests made in attempting to go out this way was legitimate - the signage was questionable. So, bottom line is that I didn't like the behavior of the CM's at this ride. Not very Disney-like, and in all candor, this was the very first time I've EVER seen something like this. Just saying . . .

After this we went over to Peter Pan - said 20 minutes; we waited less than 15. I was exhausted - it was close to 11:00 pm. Obviously I'm getting old.

We waited almost 20 minutes for a bus back - bleh. I think that I'm already spoiled by the fact that staying at the BWI is so convenient for Epcot and the Studios I'm becoming a transportation snob!!

I know you'll be shocked to hear this, but my husband is once again snoring contentedly next to me. I think he's in a state of shock that I'm letting him sleep in each morning (so far.) That's the one really major difference in this trip from all of our past ones. Without our kids, it's just so much more relaxed. I guess I didn't realize how much easier it is for 2 people to agree on what to do than it is for 4 people!! And once you don't have to think about characters or kiddie rides, that opens up so much more discretionary time.

I've managed to type away about an hour and a half here. I guess it's just about time to start our day. Crowd levels are supposed to be super low today, so we might just wing the first part of the day before we head over to use our evening FP+'s (I can't remember which park, and I'm too lazy to check right now.)

Later ~

I'll post some pix of last night later . . .

 

[PinkLemonade7503]

It sounds like a lovely relaxing trip!

We were just there in January, and one day in Epcot, we had three rides stall out. It also happened twice, the next day, on Space Ranger Spin. I had never had that happen while I was at WDW, so it was a bit unnerving to have it happen so much. We kept saying things like "We can ride one more ride before our next fast pass, but if it stalls we might not make it." you know it's happening a lot, if you are working it into your touring plans.

It was more crowded than expected when we were there, so we thought it had something to do with that.

 

[Susiequsie60]

Just saw on Touring Plans that MK was supposed to be a "4" and it was a "7" last night.

 

[Susiequsie60]

Just got back to the room after a wonderful day out and about. Before I write anything about that, I wanted to take a few minutes to give you my take on the FP+ system. I can only give you my opinion as someone here during a non-peak time, having stayed a few times both before FP- was around, and after it was here, and now that it's gone again. I actually had multiple e-mail conversations with a lovely WDW customer service rep about my concerns - I wasn't sure that FP+ was going to work for me. Now that we've been here since Saturday, here's what I think:

First of all, it certainly has not ruined my vacation in any way. It seems to work just fine for actually getting you on the attractions quickly - which I guess is part of the goal. It might even help to make the stand-by lines a little shorter. Not sure on that.

That said, however, I really don't care for the system as far as how it has affected my vacation. It definitely does not work with my personal style of "doing Disney." Want to know why? It's made it ridiculously difficult to change plans or plan on the fly. I feel that each day at breakfast, my husband and I have to discuss what we've already committed to for that day, and then plan the rest of the day around it. It's a pain in the neck. If we do want to change things, it's an inconvenience to have to go my computer to make the changes (or my iPhone - but that's an even bigger pain.) I know we could make changes at the parks, but I'm hesitant. There always seem to be people huddled around the kiosks, looking confused and not informed. And who knows what's available now? Honestly, today is a great example. We just got back, and a nice long nap sounds wonderful. But what about our 4:00 pm FP+ at the Studios? We can rush over there to be sure we "do it," or we can take a nap and not worry about it (thereby "wasting" a FP+,) or we can get on the stupid computer and waste some time trying to figure out some logical changes. Personally, I'd rather NOT have to worry about plans that I made weeks ago. I just KNEW that it didn't make sense to commit to which rides I wanted to enjoy every single say that I was here.

For me (and only for me and my husband - we're the only 2 people I'm talking about here) the new FP+ system has definitely not enhanced our vacation experience, but instead has put a damper on it. I'm sure that for many people it will work beautifully.

I'm not a FP+ hater or basher. Just someone who has been using it for the past few days and am not really loving it. I will be sure to contact the Customer Service rep that I'd been corresponding with to tell her about my experience. If anyone has any specific questions on our FP+ experience, I'd be happy to answer them.

 

[ProudMommyof2]

So sorry it is working out this way with FP+. It really messes with a planner or someone who maximized FP-.

My next trip is for a conference. With getting to the park after 4pm most days I think it will work well for me, but that is a very small subsection of people that benefit.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

I hope tomorrow is better!

 

[Susiequsie60]

Actually, today was a fantastic day! I hope that my previous post about FP+ didn't come off as some negative anti-FP+ rant. I didn't mean it that way at all. I just wanted to put it out there that I prefer the old FP- system. Maybe it's just something in my head. I don't know. We weren't huge users of the old system - only 2 or 3 a day. But I liked the ability to use them in different parks, and to get more than one for the same ride if we wanted. Again - not a deal breaker by any means. In the end, I don't really think it changes my opinion of WDW as a whole.

So, about today. As I just said, it was a great day. Very very busy. I decided to take some notes on my iPhone so I'd remember what went on!

We had breakfast at Kuzima at around 10:00 am. Do you know what I've noticed? I've yet to find any restaurant here that will seat you immediately when you walk in - even if there are lots of empty tables. We only waited about 5 minutes or so, but I guess I'm just used to walking in to a restaurant and having the hostess immediately bring me to a table (if there is one available.) There were quite a few empties this morning, yet still we had to sit a cool our heels for a little. Must be a Disney thing.

The menu is interesting. My husband got the waffles with marscapone cheese, honey and pecans. It was out of this world. I got the french toast (with figs and apple compote) which was good (but I liked my taste of the waffle better!) We also shared an order of sweet potato hash. The restaurant might not have been the best choice for us because I think we like our breakfast a little more "basic." All in all though, it was a nice experience. It cost around $40.

After breakfast we decided to grab our car and drive over to the Animal Kingdom. We had a really fun time there. We got there around 11 a.m. and immediately went to the Dinosaur ride. It said 20 minutes and we were on in less than 10. We then headed straight over to the Kali River Rapids (11:30 a.m.) which also said 20 minutes, and again we were on in about 10 minutes. After that we walked over to the 3D "Bugs" and walked right in (it was just about noon at that point.) We left the park around 12:30 p.m.

So we were there for around 1 1/2 hours and did 3 quick things. Since we had our car, we drove over to Downtown Disney. I've never been the biggest fan of this area, but we really enjoyed it today. We parked down by the House of Blues end, and strolled all the way down to the other end. We took a water taxi back to the House of Blues and had the most delicious lunch there. We split the lobster mac & cheese, 2 pulled pork sliders, and 2 angus hamburger sliders. Everything was absolutely delicious. That lunch was a little over $90. Did I mention that we might have had a couple of cocktails with lunch? As far as we were concerned, the meal was well worth the money.

When we got back to the room (after I posted here this afternoon) we chilled here, I read a little and ended up taking a lovely nap. We left our room to go to Epcot around 7:00 this evening. (NOTE: I originally had 3 FP+'s for Hollywood Studios for this afternoon/evening. When I woke from my nap, I decided to change them since it was very obviously too late to go. For lack of anything better to do, I did book a quick FP+ for Maelstrom at Epcot. At that point, this was pretty much the only thing available.)

When we got there we did Maelstrom and then Mexico (the ride.) We walked around World Showcase thinking we might hang out for Illuminations. Around 8:30 we decided we wanted to eat so we just went in to Via Napoli to try out the pizza. It was absolutely delicious! First we shared an order of calamari, which we both enjoyed. My husband got a mushroom & sausage pizza. I got the white pizza with prosciutto, melon and arugula. Really really yummy. Dinner was about $80.

We walked out of the restaurant just in time to watch the last few minutes of the fireworks. We know that we'll be back over there at some point this week to really watch Illuminations in its entirety. That's one of the absolute best things about this trip. First of all, staying at the BWI makes Epcot so unbelievably convenient. I really do feel like we are just about "part" of the park. It's such a convenient walk over there. I love not having to rely on any type of transportation to get there.

I also love that my husband and I are really both enjoying taking short little trips to the various parks whenever we want with no real "must do" agenda. We always get Park Hoppers, and that's really part of the enjoyment for us. The fact that we've been able to be in 2 different parks every day makes it so much fun for us. Even if we only experience 2 or 3 attractions, it's fine because we know we'll be back later in the week.

So, Illuminations ended as we were walking towards the exit, and we walked back to our hotel. I decided that I'd waited long enough, so I got myself a nice waffle cone at Seashore Sweets. Espresso Chip - yum.

Now a nice relaxing and early night in our room. In thinking about what we've done so far, we've really enjoyed ourselves very much, with the only not-so-great time being at the Magic Kingdom last night. And really, it's not like it was a bad night. Just a couple of little glitches. I'm definitely loving our Anniversary Trip so far!! Wednesday is our actual anniversary and I booked a late lunch (or an early dinner?) at Le Cellier at 4:05 p.m. My crazy husband is insisting that he wants to try the $64 aged steak on the menu. I've already told him that I doubt it's worth it, but whatever . . .

I'll try to post a few new pictures.

 

[quest4dl]

I'm really enjoying your 'live' trip reports - thanks so much for all your detailed information! We'll also be staying at the Boardwalk Inn (last week of March) - looking forward to getting to Epcot and DHS easily.

 

[Susiequsie60]

My husband is the photographer in the family. So much so that I'm constantly losing patience with him because he's always clicking away. I'll get him to send me some more and better photos, but I've go a few on my phone for now.

This is what the BWI self-parking lot looked like today. When we arrived on Saturday my husband had to park way far out, and now the lot is pretty empty.


Have I mentioned how much I love It's a Small World?


The castle looked so beautiful last night.


And the lobster mac & cheese looked so beautiful this afternoon!!

 

[Susiequsie60]

I'm really enjoying your 'live' trip reports - thanks so much for all your detailed information! We'll also be staying at the Boardwalk Inn (last week of March) - looking forward to getting to Epcot and DHS easily.

I fear that I have now been totally spoiled and will never want to stay anywhere else . . .

I love it here.

 

[scottny]

Sounds like a great trip so far except for the FP+ glitches but overall good. Enjoying your report and pics.

 

[Susiequsie60]

Sounds like a great trip so far except for the FP+ glitches but overall good. Enjoying your report and pics.

Definitely Scott. Overall GREAT.

I also should say that other than the first waiter on the first day in San Angel, our Magic Bands have worked perfectly. And I'm pretty sure they worked there too, and he just didn't really know what he was doing. When we went to Epcot tonight, I literally brought nothing with me. It was nice to know that all I needed was on my wrist.

Note: It is definitely very easy to charge things to your room, which normally isn't something we do. We like the convenience though, and at this point in life, we're both disciplined enough with our money to know that we can work this way. I definitely give the Magic Bands themselves a good grade.

 

[xlsm]

I'm loving your report! I needed a good Disney fix today and this live report is fitting the bill and getting me so excited for our own trip!

My poor husband has to put up with me saying, "See? We need to stay at BWI!" over and over, LOL!!

I look forward to reading about the rest of your trip. Thanks so much for sharing

 

[Avery&Todd]

LOVING your instant TR!!!

Im hoping to book BWI very, very soon (as soon as DH gets off the fence about going!!) and Im anxious to hear how you like the feel of the resort. Do you feel like everything is so far away from point A to point B?

We stayed our first 2 trips at WL, and the last one at BC but when we ate at Flying Fish last time, we LOVED the look of the BWI and thought it would be fabulous to stay there too!

Have you walked to/from the restort to HS?? How long did that take? I remember taking the boat from BC to HS and it took for flippin ever - and if we had thought about walking it might have been faster!!

Also, can you tell me what size you think the sleeper couch is? We have 2 boys, who would be 14 (almost 15) & 12 in June when we'd go, and the 12 yr old would be put on the sleeper couch since they dont want to "touch"...

We used the sleeper couch in our BC room for him and it was plenty big but that was 2 years ago and he's grown a little since then..

THANKS!!