Just Back 4/30-5/7

[darlaya]

This was our first stay on Disney property, but our 10th Disney trip. We had a GREAT trip. First, we stayed at the Carribean Beach Resort. We really enjoyed the resort, but it took some getting use to having only one room for the kids and us. We also LOVED using the busses versus driving everywhere we needed to go. The only down side was planning well how long it would take to get from our resort to another resort for dinner. It typically took us 45-60 minutes. If we drove, it would have been more like 15 minutes.

The quick low down..... The early part of the week, the crowds were moderate. On Wednesday, we went to AK....I really enjoy the attractions here, but cannot stand how crowded in you feel. I will not return to AK unless they have EMH in the evening. We were constantly bumping into others & vice versa. On THursday we did not go to a park, but those who went to Epcot said there were no crowds at all because they had an early closing day due to the 50th Celebration kick-off. We did go to Epcot on Friday....it was very very busy. There were busses of class trips and just general interest in the new attractions here. Soarin was amaing! and Turtle Talk with Crush is a must see! Having Fast passes was very helpful. We also went to the Garden Grill for a character dinner. It was just OK. We enjoyed the Crystal Palace much better, but Mickey and friends are not part of that character dining.

Stunt Show at MGM was awesome. If you have thrill seekers in your home...they will love to see this show. If you have young children, they may be frightened by the noises...explosions, fire and shooting. My 7 year old was a little frightened and there were many families with much younger children who left early. Tower of terror and Rockin Roller coaster were great. It was so much fun to watch my sons 7 & 9 to experience the rides for the first time.

The Meal Plan was incredible. This was so worth it. We ate at Sci-Fi Dine In, Boma's. O'hanas, Kona Cafe, The Garden Grill, Shutters, the Crystal Palace. Having dinners included paid for itself. Lunch and a snack were the cherry on top! Almost all of our meals were wonderful. Once we figured out how to use our plan, we made wise choices and often skipped dessert at lunch time.

The final magical touch was Disneys Magical Express. It ws so nice to be taken to the airport in a beautiful and comfortable bus...that was included in our package. I would definitely stay on property again if the dining plan continues to be offered!

If anyone has specific questions...don't hesitate to ask. Love to share more about our trtip!

Denise

 

[rileyroosmom]

How did the Magical Express work? Did you have to go to a lot of resorts before getting to yours? Did you have to wait for the bus to be filled? How long would you say it took from leaving the plane to arriving at the resort? Oh yeah, how about luggage? How long did it take to show up? Sorry for all the questions!!!

 

[Ducky4Disney]

Good to hear you you had a great trip! Did you try any of the evening EMH's? I'm trying to get a feel about whether they are worth it. Also, how was the Garden Grill since it reopened? I really like that restaurant. I am wondering if they've changed it much.

D4D

 

[darlaya]

Glad you asked! On arival, we were not on the Magical express because it did not officvially start yet so we paid to be on the Mears Shuttle. We thought it took a long time. We waited almost 1 hour before we got on a bus. We were the third stop. So to help frame things, we arrived at MCO at about 10:45. We didn't get to our resort until almost1 pm. Our luggage was with us because we flew Southwest which does not participate in the early check-in and baggage claim to resort . We did, however, overhear people during the week say that they were still waiting for their luggage. It did not arrive on the same bus as they had come in on. We were able to check in to our room right away which was a relief!

On the return, they reserved us on a 4:30 Magical express bus. There was only one other stop and there were only 15 of us on the bus. Now at 4:30 there simply were not many people travelling to the airport. Even when we got to the airport, it was pretty quiet. Although it was early, I kind of enjoyed the slow pace and no lines. We breeezed right through security on a Saturday which is unheard of! From what the bus driver said, they have a lot of kinks to work out as they have just started this service. She also said that she is on a schedule so I don't think they can wait around. You have to make a reservation the night before to be on the bus. Unless someone was flagging her down, she was sticking to her time schedule..which I greatly appreciated It was a pretty smooth process. NOw if you are flying on one of the partcipating airlines, you can actually check-in from your resort the night before. they will check you in and take your luggage.

I hope that answers your questions.
Denise

 

[darlaya]

The only EMH we were able to take advantage of was MGM on Sunday. It was worth it. It was nice to be able to go back and ride the Rock-n-roller coaster after Fanstamic. There were 2 other EMH that we could have done, but didn't because my parents joined us midweek and they were unable to do a very long day. If they didn't live so far from us and if we saw them more often, my husband and I would have gone off by ourselves on those days.

I don't know what it was like before they re-opened. We thought the food was just ok. The character connection was really nice. The kids had alot of opportunity to chat and take photos of Mickey, Pluto, Chip & Dale. The restaurant rotates very very slowly which my boys thought was very cool. The starters are good, but our main entrees were just so-so. They bring salad and bread to your table. Then you choose one entree out of five choices. I think the choices were a thin strip of sirloin, rotisserie chicken, snapper (which I had and was working hard to get through because it was dry and chewy), a vegetarian choice, ravioli and then they bring out a family dessert which was a fondue. It included marshmallows, tiny brownies, tiny pieces of short cake, a small dish of cut up strawberries with pineapple and a 4 mini chocolate chip cookies. It ws not our favorite restaurant for food quality, but we enjoyed the atmosphere and characters. My kids actually preferred BOMA's over any other restaurant. They are 7 and 9 years old. They liked Bomas over the crystal Palace, The Garden Grill, Ohanas & Sci-Fi Dine In. Go Figure!

Denise

 

[beautybelle]

How were the crowds on the 6 and 7th?