Just Back 9/11/16-9/16/16

[Jhondy210]

We had a fabulous trip from 9/11/16 to 9/16/16. The trip included me (30), my mom, and my niece (6). It was my niece's first trip. We stayed at Caribbean Beach in Barbados section.

• Good
  • Crowds were amazing. We waited for nothing! I think the longest line we were in was the FP+ line for Peter Pan. It was great especially since my niece was not doing well with waiting for things like food. We rode 7 dwarf mine train 4 times, space mountain 7 times, everest 4 times, soaring twice, and toy story twice. We could have road things a lot more but chose not too.
  • Pirates League was awesome. My niece did both BBB and PL. I asked her which one she preferred and she said she would want to only do PL next trip (if there is a next trip). She said it hurt when they put her hair up at BBB and it did not hurt when they did her hair at PL. She was also enjoyed the more interactive experience of PL. I also noticed she got more attention as a pirate than as a Princess. I thought she looked cute with both BBB and PL.
  • Weather was hot the entire time we were there but it only rained one evening (our halloween party evening). So, I thought the weather was great.
  • We ate at CRT, GG, BOG, and H&V. All the food was good and fresh.
  • We loved Caribbean Beach. My niece loved swimming in the pool and the hotel room was quiet. We found the hotel to be very clean.
  • I thought the parks were very clean.
  • 6 year olds still believe the characters are real! She had a great meet and greet with Kylo Ren. She was scared of him but it was still great. She also had great interaction with the Fairy Godmother and now believes the Fairy Godmother is really her Fairy Godmother who watches over her.
• Bad
  • I found the cast members to be more uncaring this trip. They cast members seemed to be older than the normal college kids and they seemed to just be going through the motions. I found them to be less than magical experiences with cast members, which I had never experienced before. We did have a couple really good interactions but it seemed to be more uncaring interactions. My mother was surprised how long it took for the first time she heard a cast member say "have a magical day". It took till the day before we left till she heard that.
  • We bought the Metal modeling kits and those are a piece of junk and the pieces broke too easily.
  • I don't like the updates to Disney Springs. I don't like the bus drops off at stores that are not Disney related. I know others have a different opinion but when I'm at Disney, I want to buy Disney stuff and not under armor or make-up, etc. I wish the bus still dropped off by the Disney stores cause that always felt like a more magical shopping experience. This time it felt like going to the mall.
  • We had a good experience with Jedi Training but could they not create some type of shade or fans for the kids participating. It was definitely hot!
  • Our Halloween Party was rained out. There was no parade, fireworks, or special characters. I think Disney could do a better job of finding a way to bring some of the stuff inside so the party can still go on. We got to trick or treat and that was it. I also didn't like that the solution to the party being rained out was a 1 day park hopper ticket for each person that can not be upgraded, can not be re-assigned to another person, and must be used in 1 year. I plan on going back December 2017 but I don't know when my mom or niece will go back so the 1 day park hopper is a waste for us not to mention we need to by multiple park day tickets so it doesn't save us much.
• What I learned:
  • a 6 year old patience is very short. Also, when she says she is hungry she needs food that moment or I will be dealing with a crabby kid until she gets food.
  • A perfect trip would have probably been two days longer. I think we would have had a more relaxed trip had we had one day for every park and one day for disney springs. That would have allowed us to slow down and get more pool time in.
  • You don't have to ride every ride to have a great trip or even ride all your favorite rides. This trip was about my niece's first WDW trip. So, we rode things she wanted to ride and we re-rode many rides over and over again. We did not make it to many show type rides like COP and MILF because she didn't like just sitting and watching shows as much. It will be something we will be able to do on another trip if she has the opportunity to come back.
  • I was nervous bringing my niece on roller coasters because she is so tiny. However, at 6 years old she had no fear and loved the roller coasters.
• My favorite part of the trip:
  • My favorite part of the trip was watching the joy on my niece's face and hearing her giggle on the drops of the roller coaster. I loved when she would get off her first ride on a roller coaster and tell me how awesome it was and her running to tell her grandma we were going to go on one more time. I loved her talking to a nice older couple behind us on Everest and telling them all about the ride, telling them not to be scared, and telling them they should ride again. After the ride she decided they were her friends cause she wanted them to be. So, if they are Disboard members, Thank-you! You made a little girl feel special.

Feel free to ask any questions. We definitely had a really good tip.

 

[rymahoney]

Thanks for report. I would be highly angry about the party refund thing.

 

[eileenjez]

What day was your party? We did Tues. the 13th. It rained all night but we had fireworks and some shows.

 

[Jhondy210]

Thanks for report. I would be highly angry about the party refund thing.

I'm trying not to be too angry cause it is not Disney's fault the weather was bad. It just stunk cause there was no parade or fireworks and that was the only night we were going to do parade and fireworks. I also forgot there was no photo pass people out either. I wanted the special Headless Horseman magic shot but we couldn't do that either. I have emailed Disney to tell them I was not satisfied with their compensation as it does my family no good. I'm waiting to see what they say. That being said, my niece loved trick or treating even though it was raining. We also got on the last ride of splash before they closed it due to the lightening so that was good.

 

[Jhondy210]

What day was your party? We did Tues. the 13th. It rained all night but we had fireworks and some shows.

We did the 13th. We didn't see any fireworks unless they did them really late. All we saw was trick or treating. We stayed through most of the night but maybe we left too early. It didn't seem the rain and lightening was letting up.

 

[Calee]

We were just there too and I so agree about Disney Springs. Fine with me that they added those stores-but man, PLEASE have the busses by the Disney stores!

 

[Mike Mantis]

Was the rain on Wednesday? We just got back too and the downpour at Epcot was awful. We walked all the way from Spaceship Earth to Norway literally through torrential rain and about 4 inches of standing water near Test Track.

Had to get my daughter to Norway and on the Frozen ride. We wrapped her stroller in a few ponchos and she got there dry. Me, I had to throw out a pair of shoes that were too soaked and muddy to salvage.

We had a fabulous trip from 9/11/16 to 9/16/16. The trip included me (30), my mom, and my niece (6). It was my niece's first trip. We stayed at Caribbean Beach in Barbados section.

• Good
  • Crowds were amazing. We waited for nothing! I think the longest line we were in was the FP+ line for Peter Pan. It was great especially since my niece was not doing well with waiting for things like food. We rode 7 dwarf mine train 4 times, space mountain 7 times, everest 4 times, soaring twice, and toy story twice. We could have road things a lot more but chose not too.
  • Pirates League was awesome. My niece did both BBB and PL. I asked her which one she preferred and she said she would want to only do PL next trip (if there is a next trip). She said it hurt when they put her hair up at BBB and it did not hurt when they did her hair at PL. She was also enjoyed the more interactive experience of PL. I also noticed she got more attention as a pirate than as a Princess. I thought she looked cute with both BBB and PL.
  • Weather was hot the entire time we were there but it only rained one evening (our halloween party evening). So, I thought the weather was great.
  • We ate at CRT, GG, BOG, and H&V. All the food was good and fresh.
  • We loved Caribbean Beach. My niece loved swimming in the pool and the hotel room was quiet. We found the hotel to be very clean.
  • I thought the parks were very clean.
  • 6 year olds still believe the characters are real! She had a great meet and greet with Kylo Ren. She was scared of him but it was still great. She also had great interaction with the Fairy Godmother and now believes the Fairy Godmother is really her Fairy Godmother who watches over her.
• Bad
  • I found the cast members to be more uncaring this trip. They cast members seemed to be older than the normal college kids and they seemed to just be going through the motions. I found them to be less than magical experiences with cast members, which I had never experienced before. We did have a couple really good interactions but it seemed to be more uncaring interactions. My mother was surprised how long it took for the first time she heard a cast member say "have a magical day". It took till the day before we left till she heard that.
  • We bought the Metal modeling kits and those are a piece of junk and the pieces broke too easily.
  • I don't like the updates to Disney Springs. I don't like the bus drops off at stores that are not Disney related. I know others have a different opinion but when I'm at Disney, I want to buy Disney stuff and not under armor or make-up, etc. I wish the bus still dropped off by the Disney stores cause that always felt like a more magical shopping experience. This time it felt like going to the mall.
  • We had a good experience with Jedi Training but could they not create some type of shade or fans for the kids participating. It was definitely hot!
  • Our Halloween Party was rained out. There was no parade, fireworks, or special characters. I think Disney could do a better job of finding a way to bring some of the stuff inside so the party can still go on. We got to trick or treat and that was it. I also didn't like that the solution to the party being rained out was a 1 day park hopper ticket for each person that can not be upgraded, can not be re-assigned to another person, and must be used in 1 year. I plan on going back December 2017 but I don't know when my mom or niece will go back so the 1 day park hopper is a waste for us not to mention we need to by multiple park day tickets so it doesn't save us much.
• What I learned:
  • a 6 year old patience is very short. Also, when she says she is hungry she needs food that moment or I will be dealing with a crabby kid until she gets food.
  • A perfect trip would have probably been two days longer. I think we would have had a more relaxed trip had we had one day for every park and one day for disney springs. That would have allowed us to slow down and get more pool time in.
  • You don't have to ride every ride to have a great trip or even ride all your favorite rides. This trip was about my niece's first WDW trip. So, we rode things she wanted to ride and we re-rode many rides over and over again. We did not make it to many show type rides like COP and MILF because she didn't like just sitting and watching shows as much. It will be something we will be able to do on another trip if she has the opportunity to come back.
  • I was nervous bringing my niece on roller coasters because she is so tiny. However, at 6 years old she had no fear and loved the roller coasters.
• My favorite part of the trip:
  • My favorite part of the trip was watching the joy on my niece's face and hearing her giggle on the drops of the roller coaster. I loved when she would get off her first ride on a roller coaster and tell me how awesome it was and her running to tell her grandma we were going to go on one more time. I loved her talking to a nice older couple behind us on Everest and telling them all about the ride, telling them not to be scared, and telling them they should ride again. After the ride she decided they were her friends cause she wanted them to be. So, if they are Disboard members, Thank-you! You made a little girl feel special.

Feel free to ask any questions. We definitely had a really good tip.

 

[Jhondy210]

Was the rain on Wednesday? We just got back too and the downpour at Epcot was awful. We walked all the way from Spaceship Earth to Norway literally through torrential rain and about 4 inches of standing water near Test Track.

Had to get my daughter to Norway and on the Frozen ride. We wrapped her stroller in a few ponchos and she got there dry. Me, I had to throw out a pair of shoes that were too soaked and muddy to salvage.

Wed. we were at DHS and AK and we didn't see any rain on Wednesday! We just had rain on Tuesday night. It was definitely pouring on Tuesday night and at parts of MK we were wading through some deep puddles (by deep I still mean ankle deep and under). It is crazy how different weather can be at the different parks.

 

[Jhondy210]

We were just there too and I so agree about Disney Springs. Fine with me that they added those stores-but man, PLEASE have the busses by the Disney stores!

It made me lose the "disney" feeling that I get when I am at Disney. I also think I spent less money because I wasn't wrapped in the Disney fantasy that makes me forget the credit card bill after the trip…plus it was somewhat crowded and a somewhat minor long walk that it made us not go to Disney Springs more than once and only for a little bit.

 

[eileenjez]

We did the 13th. We didn't see any fireworks unless they did them really late. All we saw was trick or treating. We stayed through most of the night but maybe we left too early. It didn't seem the rain and lightening was letting up.

The fireworks were somewhere between 10 and 11. We were getting ready to leave and stopped at main street for them. They had a light show on the castle and then the fireworks. I was surprised that they were able to have them since it had been raining so hard. Who would have thought a tropical storm would build right on top of us.

 

[Calee]

Tuesday night rain was CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had eaten dinner at Chef Mickey's and then decided to go to Hollywood Studios. We had been at MK during the day but it was closed for the party. We got to HS and got off the bus and it had started MONSOONING. We ran from the bus to a bag check covered area and it was so bad my kids were crying and my husband said we should leave. People were flocking out of HS. I suggested we wait a few and the rain let up enough that we went in and did a few (indoor) rides in a pretty empty park! Fantasmic and fireworks were cancelled there so I was shocked to hear fireworks later once we were back in our hotel! (At MK)

 

[laura2287]

Yes, that rain on Tuesday was intense! We were at the Boardwalk and hopped on the bus to Magic Kingdom so we could transfer to the monorail to get to Cali Grill for dinner... We were the only ones on the MK bus and the driver worked his magic to drop us off right at the Contemporary Was happy the downpour stopped and we got to watch the fireworks from the balcony around 10:15 or so.

 

[aretha30]

Thanks for the report. Sounds like a great trip. Hopefully Disney does the right thing and compensates you in a different way for MNSSHP, the 1 day hoppers would be great if you could use them but since you can't they should do something else.

 

[JerseyJanice]

What a charming story about your niece in the Everest queue! Six years old is an adorable age.

Thanks for posting about your trip. Welcome home.

 

[Jennasis]

The Tuesday rain pretty much ruined the DVC AK event. We had a 6:30 dinner at Sanaa and watched it rain like heck outside, and then we headed to the party. It was so dark in the park and the rain made it harder to see. There were almost no visible animals on the safari (even after the rain stopped), the tree of life awakening was meh, and they moved all the snacks and some of the character meets but didn't announce WHERE. So we wandered around looking for stuff and finally had enough, were wet and miserable so we left. Luckily it was a free event.

 

[Mr & Mrs DD]

Rained out parade: We were at Magic Kingdom for MNSSHP last Tuesday the 13th as well. We stood in the rain waiting for the parade for a couple hours before they made the announcement to cancel it. We went walking around the park and did a few rides. As we were getting ready to leave the rain had finally completely stopped. We asked a cast member if they would be doing the MNSSHP at 11:15. She told us "Yes, as long as the weather holds out". We ended up staying later than we had planned, but we did get to do what we had came there to do. When they announced the cancellation of the first parade, they should have also announced that there would be a parade later if the weather allows. I think a lot of people thought the whole thing was being called off. That's what we thought until we asked someone. We did get to see the parade that night with no rain, but it was late.
HOT - Yes, it was very hot last week. It felt like we were only about a mile from the Sun. No complaints though. Aside form that rainy Tuesday, we had really good weather (hot weather).

 

[dkrauss]

What I learned

a 6 year old patience is very short. Also, when she says she is hungry she needs food that moment or I will be dealing with a crabby kid until she gets food

My favorite part of the trip was watching the joy on my niece's face and hearing her giggle on the drops of the roller coaster. I loved when she would get off her first ride on a roller coaster and tell me how awesome it was and her running to tell her grandma we were going to go on one more time. I loved her talking to a nice older couple behind us on Everest and telling them all about the ride, telling them not to be scared, and telling them they should ride again. After the ride she decided they were her friends cause she wanted them to be. So, if they are Disboard members, Thank-you! You made a little girl feel special.

Feel free to ask any questions. We definitely had a really good tip.

We're doing a trip in November with my niece and nephew, who is also 6yrs old. It's helpful to hear of others experiences, especially with younglings For several years now my wife and I have been visiting WDW, some would say "religiously". This will be our first trip with younglings in our group. What we've always found so special about WDW is the joy that you see in a child's face as you walk down Main St USA. Or the excitement and apprehension of a child walking on ToT and then they're excitement as they ask dad can they do it again

Thank you for posting this review, it was awesome.

Doug

 

[Jhondy210]

The fireworks were somewhere between 10 and 11. We were getting ready to leave and stopped at main street for them. They had a light show on the castle and then the fireworks. I was surprised that they were able to have them since it had been raining so hard. Who would have thought a tropical storm would build right on top of us.

Wow we must have just missed it because we left around 10:30, I think but maybe I'm wrong on the time.

 

[Jhondy210]

We're doing a trip in November with my niece and nephew, who is also 6yrs old. It's helpful to hear of others experiences, especially with younglings For several years now my wife and I have been visiting WDW, some would say "religiously". This will be our first trip with younglings in our group. What we've always found so special about WDW is the joy that you see in a child's face as you walk down Main St USA. Or the excitement and apprehension of a child walking on ToT and then they're excitement as they ask dad can they do it again

Thank you for posting this review, it was awesome.

Doug

Yea, I've gone to WDW many times but this was the first time that I was responsible for a child's well being while there. Th trip was not how I had planned it but I wouldn't change it for anything. I thought the castle would be more exciting to her but she did not light up with excitement when seeing it like I do. She was more excited to ride Everest then see the castle. I was also surprised with how well she did with all the walking and we did not take mid day breaks except to eat lunch. Otherwise we were at the park either before opening or at opening and stayed until about 7pm each night and she did really good. I thought I was going to need to rent a stroller or deal with complaining and I heard none of that! My niece's reactions to the roller coasters were the best. She also had an awesome reaction to Soarin' where she was just giggling the entire ride. It was her first visit to WDW and I am so thankful that her mom and dad let me have that experience with her. I also realize asking her if she wanted to do something wasn't a good plan because she didn't really know what she was saying yes or no to. For example, I asked her if she wanted to go watch the parade and she said no. I ended up taking her to go see it and she loved the parade especially when the characters waved at her. It didn't dawn on me that she thought the parade would be like the ones at home and she had no idea what a Disney parade is like. Also, when a 6 year old says she has to go the bathroom she means she has to go the bathroom now. We did get a couple dirty glares when my mom ran my niece out of the pooh line and I stayed in it so when they got back they got in the line where I was. If some other family did that it wouldn't have bothered me so I didn't care that we got a couple glares, especially since it didn't change their wait; my niece went up alone to meet the characters and we took one picture.

I'm definitely excited for my next adults only trip but I am hoping I will be able to do another trip with my niece again or with my other nieces and nephews.

 

[Jhondy210]

Rained out parade: We were at Magic Kingdom for MNSSHP last Tuesday the 13th as well. We stood in the rain waiting for the parade for a couple hours before they made the announcement to cancel it. We went walking around the park and did a few rides. As we were getting ready to leave the rain had finally completely stopped. We asked a cast member if they would be doing the MNSSHP at 11:15. She told us "Yes, as long as the weather holds out". We ended up staying later than we had planned, but we did get to do what we had came there to do. When they announced the cancellation of the first parade, they should have also announced that there would be a parade later if the weather allows. I think a lot of people thought the whole thing was being called off. That's what we thought until we asked someone. We did get to see the parade that night with no rain, but it was late.
HOT - Yes, it was very hot last week. It felt like we were only about a mile from the Sun. No complaints though. Aside form that rainy Tuesday, we had really good weather (hot weather).

yea we ended up leaving between 10 and 10:30 cause we had an early morning PPO breakfast at DHS the next day and I didn't think the rain was going to let up. Had I known they were going to do a parade later, I likely would have waited cause I was really excited to see the parade since I love the boo to you parade. Oh well. I guess that just makes an excuse for why I have to go back again during halloween season