travelgirl77
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2017
- Messages
- 185
We stayed at the Contemporary, Atrium Club Level, which was really wonderful. We had a TPV room and had breakfast and snacks in the club lobby almost every single day. It was great, and I loved the proximity of the Contemporary to MK.
Weather:
It was extremely hot every single day. We live on the Gulf Coast of Alabama, so we are pretty used to this, but throw in crowds, black concrete, etc. and it was super hot. We got out early each day and I made sure to get the free ice water from CS places around the clock. We also headed back to the hotel in the middle of the day each day for a bit of a respite..which was well worth it. The kids never napped, but we closed the curtains and just laid there in the air conditioning for an hour or two.
Crowds:
I have not been in over 10 years so I didn't know what to expect, but I thought it was pretty crowded, especially MK. I have to say that people were o.k., although we were met with more than our fair share of individuals cursing and being rude, which was a huge disappointment. My husband got into it on our first day with a guy who was dropping f-bombs in his conversation with the rest of his party as we walked around Fantasyland. There seemed to be a general sense of entitlement, and a general lack of regard for others. People in our boat for Splash Mountain lifted up their shirts for the picture (guys and gals). It did not deter our fun, but we were all cognizant of it happening every day.
Parks & Rides:
We all enjoyed MK and AK. We had ok times at Epcot and HS. I traveled with my husband and son (8), and daughter (4).
Favorite Rides: Son: Splash Mountain; Daughter: TSMM; DH: Splash Mountain & the Train around the Park; Me: Splash Mountain
Least Favorite Rides: Son: People Mover (the horror); Daughter: Tower of Terror; DH: none; Me: The Barnstormer
My husband and son rode FOP with fastpasses. The lines for this were outrageous..up to 3 hours while we were there on two different occasions. I gave my son Dramamine, as he is prone to motion sickness. It was my husband who had a problem. He got off the ride and said that it was amazing, and he could not stop talking about it. He called it "The best worst ride ever." He said that it was so immersive and kept saying it was great, but he kept wishing it would end. The dives were especially difficult for him. He rode Star Tours earlier in the trip and had no problems. For the rest of the day, he wouldn't ride Everest, nor any other ride save Kali River Rapids. That being said, he wouldn't stop raving about it.
We rode pretty much every single ride in the parks, and some multiple times. I loved that my kids were game for everything, including my 4 year old who rode Everest, Tower of Terror, and every ride in MK. We all enjoyed the shows and next time I will allot more time to those, especially the Lion King in AK...that was just great!
Misc.
The CMs were good, not great, and of course, I hyped them up to my husband, who has never been to Disney. I had a great experience with a CM, Paige, at the Haunted Mansion. I lost my sunglasses somewhere in the mansion and checked to see if they found them. They hadn't, but Paige gave me a coupon for a free pair in the park (not in Sunglass Hut). It was my own stupidity to lose them, but I was grateful for that coupon. The best CMs were in Epcot, but even then, I did not feel that they were better than any other theme park.
I will review restaurants on the restaurant board, however, I will say that the food overall was o.k.
Finally, the presence of cell phones has definitely changed the Disney experience for me. I purchased the Memory Maker package so I would not be whipping out my phone for every photo. It was dismaying to be on rides, watching night shows, watching indoor shows, etc. and having people all around me holding up their phones to get the right shot or video. During illuminations a family in front of us had three different people in the family holding up their phones to record. On the great movie ride, our CM had to admonish a family at least 4 times for taking photos with the flash on. I watched a guy come down Splash Mountain with the phone out to get a selfie and he dropped it in the water. I lost count of how many people ran into me because they were looking down on their phones. A video or picture cannot replace being in the moment. I just encourage you to try to enjoy the parks without pulling out the device so often.
Overall, we had an amazing time. My son cried when he met Pooh; my daughter hugged and kissed all of the princesses with so much joy; my stoic husband got lost in the magic of it all; and I just loved being in Disney again. We hope to go again next year.
Weather:
It was extremely hot every single day. We live on the Gulf Coast of Alabama, so we are pretty used to this, but throw in crowds, black concrete, etc. and it was super hot. We got out early each day and I made sure to get the free ice water from CS places around the clock. We also headed back to the hotel in the middle of the day each day for a bit of a respite..which was well worth it. The kids never napped, but we closed the curtains and just laid there in the air conditioning for an hour or two.
Crowds:
I have not been in over 10 years so I didn't know what to expect, but I thought it was pretty crowded, especially MK. I have to say that people were o.k., although we were met with more than our fair share of individuals cursing and being rude, which was a huge disappointment. My husband got into it on our first day with a guy who was dropping f-bombs in his conversation with the rest of his party as we walked around Fantasyland. There seemed to be a general sense of entitlement, and a general lack of regard for others. People in our boat for Splash Mountain lifted up their shirts for the picture (guys and gals). It did not deter our fun, but we were all cognizant of it happening every day.
Parks & Rides:
We all enjoyed MK and AK. We had ok times at Epcot and HS. I traveled with my husband and son (8), and daughter (4).
Favorite Rides: Son: Splash Mountain; Daughter: TSMM; DH: Splash Mountain & the Train around the Park; Me: Splash Mountain
Least Favorite Rides: Son: People Mover (the horror); Daughter: Tower of Terror; DH: none; Me: The Barnstormer
My husband and son rode FOP with fastpasses. The lines for this were outrageous..up to 3 hours while we were there on two different occasions. I gave my son Dramamine, as he is prone to motion sickness. It was my husband who had a problem. He got off the ride and said that it was amazing, and he could not stop talking about it. He called it "The best worst ride ever." He said that it was so immersive and kept saying it was great, but he kept wishing it would end. The dives were especially difficult for him. He rode Star Tours earlier in the trip and had no problems. For the rest of the day, he wouldn't ride Everest, nor any other ride save Kali River Rapids. That being said, he wouldn't stop raving about it.
We rode pretty much every single ride in the parks, and some multiple times. I loved that my kids were game for everything, including my 4 year old who rode Everest, Tower of Terror, and every ride in MK. We all enjoyed the shows and next time I will allot more time to those, especially the Lion King in AK...that was just great!
Misc.
The CMs were good, not great, and of course, I hyped them up to my husband, who has never been to Disney. I had a great experience with a CM, Paige, at the Haunted Mansion. I lost my sunglasses somewhere in the mansion and checked to see if they found them. They hadn't, but Paige gave me a coupon for a free pair in the park (not in Sunglass Hut). It was my own stupidity to lose them, but I was grateful for that coupon. The best CMs were in Epcot, but even then, I did not feel that they were better than any other theme park.
I will review restaurants on the restaurant board, however, I will say that the food overall was o.k.
Finally, the presence of cell phones has definitely changed the Disney experience for me. I purchased the Memory Maker package so I would not be whipping out my phone for every photo. It was dismaying to be on rides, watching night shows, watching indoor shows, etc. and having people all around me holding up their phones to get the right shot or video. During illuminations a family in front of us had three different people in the family holding up their phones to record. On the great movie ride, our CM had to admonish a family at least 4 times for taking photos with the flash on. I watched a guy come down Splash Mountain with the phone out to get a selfie and he dropped it in the water. I lost count of how many people ran into me because they were looking down on their phones. A video or picture cannot replace being in the moment. I just encourage you to try to enjoy the parks without pulling out the device so often.
Overall, we had an amazing time. My son cried when he met Pooh; my daughter hugged and kissed all of the princesses with so much joy; my stoic husband got lost in the magic of it all; and I just loved being in Disney again. We hope to go again next year.
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