Just back 8/16 - 8/25

[srauseo]

Overall, this was a fantastic trip. It's just so stupid hot and humid in Florida in August. I wish my family could go at a different time of year. The crowds weren't bad. Outside of the headliners waits were pretty reasonable for most things.

We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and the Beach Club Villas. This was my second time at Port Orleans and I definitely see why it's so popular. I love the lush landscaping and it feels very serene. Beach Club was also great. Stormalong Bay is fantastic (but OMG is the concrete hot!!!) and walking to and from EPCOT is a great perk. It took a long time to get our luggage transferred from POR to BCV - if we do another split stay in the future we'll plan better to have access to swimsuits, etc. All staff interactions were positive (especially Monty Ray at the Beach Club). Mousekeeping was good in both locations.

Had a lot of good food this trip - highlights were Chefs de France (great service), Morimoto (also great service), Spice Road Table (service was pretty slow but friendly), Raglan Road (great service), Bon Voyage Breakfast at Trattoria al Forno (great service), and the Highway in the Sky dine around. My family also had a great meal at Boatwrights while I was in EPCOT. My mom said the catfish was fantastic. Crew Cup Lounge was a bit of a hidden gem at Yacht Club. Quiet (until one time when a dad brought in four young, rambunctious kids that he proceeded to ignore while he worked on his laptop and mom got a massage next door - everyone else in the lounge was giving him side eye), good food, good service. Didn't have any complaints about any of the food at Disney.

Flight of Passage is amazing! Several times during the ride I was like "Whoa!" "Wow!" out loud. I just couldn't help it. All the pre-ride stuff is a little much IMO (yes, it's a rite of passage, we get it!) but the ride itself was worth it.

PPO breakfast still worked like a charm at EPCOT (Akershus) and MK (Be Our Guest). Beat the Rope Drop crowd to Frozen and were able to ride 7DMT twice before the Rope Drop crowd arrived. However, as expected PPO at Tusker House did not provide an advantage for Flight of Passage and, in fact, probably put us at a disadvantage for that ride. Everything else in AK had short/non-existent waits that morning.

Bus service, overall, was great. Especially return service from the parks - usually little to no wait. But one morning we waited over 30 minutes for a bus to Hollywood Studios from Port Orleans Riverside. And, of course, it was the morning we had a PPO breakfast ADR. We ended up being late which threw off our morning a little. We used Lyft and the Minnie Van service a few times (for two other PPO ADRs) and it was easy and fun.

Saw a guest "break" Everest. They left their sunglasses in the storage pocket and I think they pushed through an emergency exit door to get back onto the unloading platform to retrieve them. Of course, that set off alarms and they had to unload everyone, shut down the ride, and wait for fire/security to come and confirm everything was OK. The whole process took about 25 minutes. Just sharing this as a reminder that ride downtime is sometimes caused by guests breaking rules and not lack of maintenance, etc. You could tell the castmembers were pretty annoyed about it though they were joking around and trying to entertain everyone that was stuck in line.

We did two days in Universal pre-Disney. Stayed at Royal Pacific which is a great looking resort. Concierge was super helpful pre-trip. Love the Express Pass, especially now that WWOHP is included. The Wizarding World is still the best thing out there, IMO, but overall I still prefer Disney to Universal.

That's all the top of mind stuff. Feel free to ask questions!

 

[ArwenMarie]

Glad you had a good trip! I've resigned myself to going in August now too. Even though it's crazy hot, we always end up having our best trips in August

 

[MissMarzenia]

Great report! Thank you for sharing, I am tired of reading the stories about how everyone (both CM and guests) are much more rude than in the past.
4 days and a looong flight for us and vacations begin!

 

[deedeew80]

How did you all deal with the heat? We're heading there next August and I am not looking forward to that heat! Unfortunately, it's the only time we are able to go. I plan on taking breaks in the afternoon, dressing lightly, drinking tons of water, etc. Any other tips?

 

[srauseo]

How did you all deal with the heat? We're heading there next August and I am not looking forward to that heat! Unfortunately, it's the only time we are able to go. I plan on taking breaks in the afternoon, dressing lightly, drinking tons of water, etc. Any other tips?

Those are all good ideas. We also tried to tour strategically and save rides with long, outdoor queues (Big Thunder, Flight of Passage, Jungle Cruise, etc.) for early morning or after dark. We did rides with good indoor queues like Pirates and movies and indoor theater shows like the Frozen sing along during late morning/early afternoon when the sun was really cooking. The Land and Sea pavilions are great places to tour when it's really hot out.

 

[mamamelody2]

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip! Thanks for sharing!

 

[disnic75]

I'd love to hear more about your monorail dining experience. Where did it take you and what did they serve at each stop? Do you get options?

 

[srauseo]

I'd love to hear more about your monorail dining experience. Where did it take you and what did they serve at each stop? Do you get options?

We did not get choices, however, they did call in advance to ask about allergies, etc. So, if you have things you need to avoid they will definitely work with you but I don't think it's for picky eaters. We started at the Wave with a cocktail (a Bay Lake Sunset) and a shooter of soup. We got a tomato bisque with a mini grilled cheese. Yummy. Then we went to the poly. We had a roped off area in the lobby. We got Mai Tais, some sushi, and a little piece of pork belly cooked right there. Delicious. Then on to the Floridian. We started in the tea room off the lobby with a cheese plate and champagne. Then we went to Citricos where we had a choice of red or white wine with a duet of short ribs and halibut. Again, delicious. After that, it was back to the Contemporary where we had dessert and coffees (with liqueurs if you like) on a small, private balcony area with a great view of the fireworks and the monorail running right overhead.

We definitely enjoyed it. It's spendy, for sure, but they definitely give you a lot to eat and drink. You get a couple cast members who escort you from stop to stop and make sure you're having a good time. We met some interesting people. You get a badge to wear and feel like a VIP.

So, I'd say it's great for a special occasion or if you're looking for a new experience. You could certainly do a progressive supper on your own around the monorail resorts for cheaper but it would be hard to beat the convenience of this event. We walked in and our food and drinks came out. The logistics were really smooth. Plus, a pretty prime spot to view the fireworks. But, like I said, probably wouldn't be good for picky eaters, or very shy people or people who don't drink alcohol.