Hi,
We just returned from 8 nights at Disney. We stayed at Pop and were part of the Magic Band/fastpass+ testing. These are some thoughts/observations/review of our trip, including fastpass+ and magic bands.
Magic Bands/Fastpass +: While I'm still not completely sure how I feel about having to wear a band on my arm for my entire trip (if I'm not going to wear it, then it's absolutely more convenient to just use the KTTW cards), I do have to say how surprisingly convenient just swiping your wristband for entering the rooms, getting food, purchasing stuff was. We really had no issues with our bands, it worked well every time we entered a park, ate, made purchases etc. I think the fact that we were staying at a resort that had been testing the bands for a while probably helped, as we didn't encounter any of the issues that I've read others have. The only issue we had was when my dd (6) lost her band one night, but even then the CM's at Pop were able to get her a new band quickly.
The fastpass + worked well as a "bonus" to the regular fastpass system. We used our KTTW card to get fastpasses, just as we would always do, and mainly used fastpass + for parades/fireworks. There's no way that our family would be happy with only using 3 fastpasses a day and we'll be passing that info. along when we do the Disney feedback review. We used fastpass + for Wishes... nice experience, they let you into the grass area of the rose garden about 20 mins. before wishes. It's not the best view, but it's pretty decent and very nice to be sitting on grass with room to breath, as opposed to standing on crowded Main Street. We also used fastpass + for Fantasmic!...I would say this was the most beneficial fastpass, as we didn't have to wait in line, and then when you start walking up to the stadium 30 mins. before showtime, while it may not look like having a fastpass for it is an advantage at first, you will then come to a section towards the middle of the stadium that is blocked off by CM's and only allow fastpass + ppl. in. This was really nice, when we entered the stadium was crazy crowded, but our section was almost empty. We had great seats with really no waiting in line. About 10 mins. before showtime the CM's open the section up to anyone, so I'd def. get there at least 15-20 mins. before showtime. We also used fastpass+ for Illuminations...I wouldn't do it again. I'm not sure if there was something going on this night or what, but they had a very small section in front of one of the shops roped off for Illuminations fastpass+ ppl. They had the middle part (where I thought we were supposed to go) roped off for something else. The area was way too small and very crowded. We would not waste a fastpass on this again as it was very inconvenient. We also used fastpass+ on Main Street Electrical Parade. We tried to do this 2 nights ago and the park was very crowded. While I can see a benefit to using a fastpass for this, I don't think we'd do it again, and we actually ended up leaving and finding a spot to kinda sit and wait for our Wishes fastpass. We actually had a decent view of the parade and it was so much less crowded. I'm not sure what was up with the crowds Sunday (I get EMH's, but we did the same day the year prior and it was nothing like Sunday night), but it was really crowded and just unpleasant to be around (we're used to really light crowds.)
Pop: For whatever reason, I'm just not a fan of Pop. I really don't like the decor, how hectic and loud the food court and entire area usually feels etc. We had been staying at the CR and Bay Lake Tower the last few years, and were supposed to be staying at ASMo this year, but ended up switching to Pop, which was of course our own choice. There's certainly a difference between Deluxe and Value
. I will say we really seemed to luck out with the buses and the CM's were for the most part helpful and friendly. Make sure you make and know your PIN number when you check-in. The guy checking me in didn't mention anything about it, and I didn't think I'd need it since I didn't plan on charging anything to the room. After we checked in we went to DTD and ate at Rainforest Cafe and when trying to use a dining credit found out we had to have a pin. It ended up working out after some phone calls, but I had to make a pin as soon as I got back to the resort and you have to enter your pin anytime you want to use a dining credit etc., so be prepared.
The food court at Pop was really just not good. The ice cream place was great, but other than that we were pretty disappointed by the selections. For those who care, we only ever saw the Cheese Cake in the small circular container, no actual slices. The food court also always seemed just mobbed and slammed with ppl. It didn't seem to matter if it was 10 in the morning or 10 at night, the place was always packed. On average it took at least 35 mins. to get and pay for a meal. The drink stations were always a mess, most times at least one sections was "out of order", you could barely get any ice, it would litereally give you 2 ice cubes and then stop. The rapid refill stuff was a little annoying. We honestly don't drink much soda and didn't use them that often, but just the fact that it would lock you out (we had an instance where coke was hooked up to the lemonade and so we of course dumped it and wanted to get what we actually wanted and had to wait and wait) left a pretty bad taste in our mouths and just came off as really petty. I get that ppl. abused it, but it's still pretty annoying. I will say, if it wasn't "free" there's no way in the world we'd ever pay that much for mugs etc. though anyways.
Fridges: We had 2 rooms on this trip. I didn't even bother asking about the fridge when I checked in (my ds is gluten free and I had made a request before we got there), as after reading reports on here, it doesn't seem like they have any clue as to what they're talking about anyways (which I think is annoying in itself, but...) my mom did ask and the CM checking her in, was very definite that there's no way she'd have a fridge in her room and came off a little rude that she even asked. My mom then asked about getting a cooler, which I had read they were offering. The CM looked at her like she was insane and said that they don't have anything like that. She didn't offer any solutions (didn't offer to store things in their fridge, which I had read they do, didn't offer a credit or anything else). I told her to just not worry about it, and that we would wait until we got to our room and saw what the situation was. We get the rooms and low and behold she has a fridge in her room, but we didn't. I called the front desk and explained my son was gluten free and we received a fridge within 10 mins.
We also had a very quick and uneventful check-out process (airline and magical express stuff) yesterday, which was a very nice change compared to our experience 4 years ago.
Crowds: With the exception of our last park day (9/8) the crowds were nice and low and we were able to get everything done that we wanted etc.
Waterparks: This was a first for us, and it was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the main parks. I think we'll end up making this an every other year thing. We rented a cabana at Typhoon Lagoon, and while it was nice, I don't think we'd do it again. It's just really expensive and it seemed like we'd be able to find a nice shady spot of our own as long as we were there at opening. This is what we did on our Blizzard Beach day and it worked out great.
Dining: We've gone during this time every year for the last 6 years or so, and I feel like this year was the first year that we felt like the food just wasn't that great. It wasn't horrible, just not very good either for the most part. We had pretty good service everywhere though, which was very nice.
Rainforest Cafe: Good food, good service, will be back next year
Liberty Tree Tavern: Food was okay, not as good as we remembered and service was fine, not sure if we'll be back next year, but I'm sure eventually
The Plaza: We ate here twice, as we always do and as always the food was great, as was our service, will absolutely be back next year
Spirit of Aloha: This was fun and the food was decent. We had a nice seat to watch the show and while I probably wouldn't waste 2 dining credits or pay those kind of prices again for it, I'm glad we did it once
Beaches-n-Cream: While the food was just okay (although the sundae's excellent) the service was much better than we had before. First, we waited for a booth -I hate that they try to cram 5 people in one of those tiny little tables, booth was very nice and we had a different server than usual and she was very friendly and nice, will probably go back next year
Chef Mickeys: This was okay. I feel like the food wasn't as good as normal, but I really wasn't very hungry and wasn't really in the mood for a buffet anyways, so I'm sure that had something to do with it. We had good service though and I'm sure will be back
Crystal Palace Breakfast: Good food, good service, I'm sure we'll be back next year
House of Blue's: This was new for us and the food was okay, as was the service. I'm not opposed to going back if others wanted to, but I also don't have a need to go back
Weather: This is probably one of the driest trips we've ever had. We only had to break out the ponchos once. It was pretty warm as usual, but it was nice not to have to deal with much rain. There were a few showers on some of our other days, but they happened to occur while we were indoors, so it worked out well for us.
Overall we had a nice trip with pretty friendly CM's, and honestly a pretty friendly public. If anyone has any questions, just let me know!
We just returned from 8 nights at Disney. We stayed at Pop and were part of the Magic Band/fastpass+ testing. These are some thoughts/observations/review of our trip, including fastpass+ and magic bands.
Magic Bands/Fastpass +: While I'm still not completely sure how I feel about having to wear a band on my arm for my entire trip (if I'm not going to wear it, then it's absolutely more convenient to just use the KTTW cards), I do have to say how surprisingly convenient just swiping your wristband for entering the rooms, getting food, purchasing stuff was. We really had no issues with our bands, it worked well every time we entered a park, ate, made purchases etc. I think the fact that we were staying at a resort that had been testing the bands for a while probably helped, as we didn't encounter any of the issues that I've read others have. The only issue we had was when my dd (6) lost her band one night, but even then the CM's at Pop were able to get her a new band quickly.
The fastpass + worked well as a "bonus" to the regular fastpass system. We used our KTTW card to get fastpasses, just as we would always do, and mainly used fastpass + for parades/fireworks. There's no way that our family would be happy with only using 3 fastpasses a day and we'll be passing that info. along when we do the Disney feedback review. We used fastpass + for Wishes... nice experience, they let you into the grass area of the rose garden about 20 mins. before wishes. It's not the best view, but it's pretty decent and very nice to be sitting on grass with room to breath, as opposed to standing on crowded Main Street. We also used fastpass + for Fantasmic!...I would say this was the most beneficial fastpass, as we didn't have to wait in line, and then when you start walking up to the stadium 30 mins. before showtime, while it may not look like having a fastpass for it is an advantage at first, you will then come to a section towards the middle of the stadium that is blocked off by CM's and only allow fastpass + ppl. in. This was really nice, when we entered the stadium was crazy crowded, but our section was almost empty. We had great seats with really no waiting in line. About 10 mins. before showtime the CM's open the section up to anyone, so I'd def. get there at least 15-20 mins. before showtime. We also used fastpass+ for Illuminations...I wouldn't do it again. I'm not sure if there was something going on this night or what, but they had a very small section in front of one of the shops roped off for Illuminations fastpass+ ppl. They had the middle part (where I thought we were supposed to go) roped off for something else. The area was way too small and very crowded. We would not waste a fastpass on this again as it was very inconvenient. We also used fastpass+ on Main Street Electrical Parade. We tried to do this 2 nights ago and the park was very crowded. While I can see a benefit to using a fastpass for this, I don't think we'd do it again, and we actually ended up leaving and finding a spot to kinda sit and wait for our Wishes fastpass. We actually had a decent view of the parade and it was so much less crowded. I'm not sure what was up with the crowds Sunday (I get EMH's, but we did the same day the year prior and it was nothing like Sunday night), but it was really crowded and just unpleasant to be around (we're used to really light crowds.)
Pop: For whatever reason, I'm just not a fan of Pop. I really don't like the decor, how hectic and loud the food court and entire area usually feels etc. We had been staying at the CR and Bay Lake Tower the last few years, and were supposed to be staying at ASMo this year, but ended up switching to Pop, which was of course our own choice. There's certainly a difference between Deluxe and Value
. I will say we really seemed to luck out with the buses and the CM's were for the most part helpful and friendly. Make sure you make and know your PIN number when you check-in. The guy checking me in didn't mention anything about it, and I didn't think I'd need it since I didn't plan on charging anything to the room. After we checked in we went to DTD and ate at Rainforest Cafe and when trying to use a dining credit found out we had to have a pin. It ended up working out after some phone calls, but I had to make a pin as soon as I got back to the resort and you have to enter your pin anytime you want to use a dining credit etc., so be prepared. The food court at Pop was really just not good. The ice cream place was great, but other than that we were pretty disappointed by the selections. For those who care, we only ever saw the Cheese Cake in the small circular container, no actual slices. The food court also always seemed just mobbed and slammed with ppl. It didn't seem to matter if it was 10 in the morning or 10 at night, the place was always packed. On average it took at least 35 mins. to get and pay for a meal. The drink stations were always a mess, most times at least one sections was "out of order", you could barely get any ice, it would litereally give you 2 ice cubes and then stop. The rapid refill stuff was a little annoying. We honestly don't drink much soda and didn't use them that often, but just the fact that it would lock you out (we had an instance where coke was hooked up to the lemonade and so we of course dumped it and wanted to get what we actually wanted and had to wait and wait) left a pretty bad taste in our mouths and just came off as really petty. I get that ppl. abused it, but it's still pretty annoying. I will say, if it wasn't "free" there's no way in the world we'd ever pay that much for mugs etc. though anyways.
Fridges: We had 2 rooms on this trip. I didn't even bother asking about the fridge when I checked in (my ds is gluten free and I had made a request before we got there), as after reading reports on here, it doesn't seem like they have any clue as to what they're talking about anyways (which I think is annoying in itself, but...) my mom did ask and the CM checking her in, was very definite that there's no way she'd have a fridge in her room and came off a little rude that she even asked. My mom then asked about getting a cooler, which I had read they were offering. The CM looked at her like she was insane and said that they don't have anything like that. She didn't offer any solutions (didn't offer to store things in their fridge, which I had read they do, didn't offer a credit or anything else). I told her to just not worry about it, and that we would wait until we got to our room and saw what the situation was. We get the rooms and low and behold she has a fridge in her room, but we didn't. I called the front desk and explained my son was gluten free and we received a fridge within 10 mins.
We also had a very quick and uneventful check-out process (airline and magical express stuff) yesterday, which was a very nice change compared to our experience 4 years ago.
Crowds: With the exception of our last park day (9/8) the crowds were nice and low and we were able to get everything done that we wanted etc.
Waterparks: This was a first for us, and it was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the main parks. I think we'll end up making this an every other year thing. We rented a cabana at Typhoon Lagoon, and while it was nice, I don't think we'd do it again. It's just really expensive and it seemed like we'd be able to find a nice shady spot of our own as long as we were there at opening. This is what we did on our Blizzard Beach day and it worked out great.
Dining: We've gone during this time every year for the last 6 years or so, and I feel like this year was the first year that we felt like the food just wasn't that great. It wasn't horrible, just not very good either for the most part. We had pretty good service everywhere though, which was very nice.
Rainforest Cafe: Good food, good service, will be back next year
Liberty Tree Tavern: Food was okay, not as good as we remembered and service was fine, not sure if we'll be back next year, but I'm sure eventually
The Plaza: We ate here twice, as we always do and as always the food was great, as was our service, will absolutely be back next year
Spirit of Aloha: This was fun and the food was decent. We had a nice seat to watch the show and while I probably wouldn't waste 2 dining credits or pay those kind of prices again for it, I'm glad we did it once
Beaches-n-Cream: While the food was just okay (although the sundae's excellent) the service was much better than we had before. First, we waited for a booth -I hate that they try to cram 5 people in one of those tiny little tables, booth was very nice and we had a different server than usual and she was very friendly and nice, will probably go back next year
Chef Mickeys: This was okay. I feel like the food wasn't as good as normal, but I really wasn't very hungry and wasn't really in the mood for a buffet anyways, so I'm sure that had something to do with it. We had good service though and I'm sure will be back
Crystal Palace Breakfast: Good food, good service, I'm sure we'll be back next year
House of Blue's: This was new for us and the food was okay, as was the service. I'm not opposed to going back if others wanted to, but I also don't have a need to go back
Weather: This is probably one of the driest trips we've ever had. We only had to break out the ponchos once. It was pretty warm as usual, but it was nice not to have to deal with much rain. There were a few showers on some of our other days, but they happened to occur while we were indoors, so it worked out well for us.
Overall we had a nice trip with pretty friendly CM's, and honestly a pretty friendly public. If anyone has any questions, just let me know!
9/25 and 9/26. I could get Fantasmic but we are only going to HS for 1/2 day. We have a 2.5 yr old
