CinderellaDream
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2013
- Messages
- 419
We went on our first family trip to Disney in December 2012 and have been back six times since then so you could safely say that we have become Disney addicts. I was concerned with all the negative threads regarding recent visits so I thought I would put a positive spin on things. I will preface by saying that I was attending a conference Mon-Fri which means all of our touring was done after 2:00 each day during the weekdays.
We stayed at Holiday Inn DTD for one night on 6/13 and ate at T Rex. Food was decent, service was okay, and the restaurant itself was loud which was exactly as I expected. I must say however that the crowd level at DTD was ridiculous. I was so glad we were able to walk to DTD versus fighting for a parking space. We went Saturday to Car Masters Weekend. It was not really my cup of tea but the kids and I tagged along while DH looked at EVERY car in the show. (Okay, maybe not EVERY car but it felt that way in the 95 degree heat!)
Saturday afternoon we checked into a 1 BR garden view at BWV. One suggestion for anyone staying there....request a room near the elevators!! Those hallways are long, especially when lugging two backpacks and pushing a double stroller after a full day at the parks! The room itself was great.
Saturday night we ate at 'Ohana and then had FP+ for SDMT, MSEP, and Wishes. Dinner was fantastic and our waiters, Brandon and Chris, were spectacular! We went to MK after dinner and rode the Carousel, Mad Tea Party, Dumbo, Barnstormer and IASW. Due to rain, MSEP was cancelled and the Wishes FP+ area was the walkway around the grassy area where we would normally sit in the Rose Garden.
Sunday we did SWW and the FtF package. We had FP+ for TSMM, VOTLM, and Beauty and the Beast. I rearranged fastpasses all that morning as we were running later than I planned to arrive at HS. For FtF, it was nice having reserved seating (AKA standing) for the parade however we probably could have waited on a nice shaded sidewalk for the same amount of time and had just as good a view of the parade. The ice cream and drinks provided were great. Where the FtF package really stood out was the desert party. The skies opened up late that afternoon and it poured rain for what seemed like hours. The desert party was moved into the Disney Jr. show area which actually worked out really well. Tables were set up and my kids had a ball running around and dancing with the other children. The food and drinks were wonderful. Just before the fireworks started, we were escorted outside to the reserved section near the stage. The Symphony fireworks were the best we saw all week!
We also ate at H&V for the Star Wars dinner. Characters were great and my kids really enjoyed it.
We did AK on Monday, had FP+ for Kali, Nemo, and FOTLK. All three were great but we ended up leaving early so I can't comment on the availablity of 4th FP+ late that afternoon. We ate at Yak & Yeti which is one of our favorite restaurants on property.
Tuesday and Wednesday we were back at MK. FP+ included meeting Tink, Haunted Mansion, MSEP on Tuesday and A&E, POTC, and SDMT. FP+ for MSEP was great and we stayed in the exact same spot for Wishes. The view of the parade and Celebrate the Magic were great but we should have moved back up Main Street for a better view of Wishes. We had no problem changing/adding FP+ times and experiences either of those days with the exception of A&E and SDMT. I booked both of those at the 60 day mark. Also, we used the rider switch for SDMT which is a great option for families with younger kids. We ate at Kona for dinner and loved it as usual. We are big fans of the bread/butter and sushi there.
Thursday we went to EP with prebooked FP+ for Spaceship Earth, TT, and Soarin. Due to the change in tiering at EP, I was able to change one FP+ (don't remember which one) to TT thereby giving me both TT and Soarin on the same day. We also used rider switch for these two rides. We ate at Cape May Cafe, rented a surrey bike and then returned to EP for Illuminations. The surrey bike was so much fun even though the hill over by the Swan is absolutely brutal.
Friday we were back at MK and had FP+ for A&E, Cinderella and Rapuzel, and PP. We also rode the Carousel, Mad Tea Party, Dumbo, Barnstormer, met Ariel. It started raining around 6:00 so we were unable to use our last rider switch for SDMT because it was shut down for a couple of hours. At this point in the week we were exhausted and had already seen/done all of our must do's, so we headed back to BWV for the night and came home yesterday.
So...if you're still with me after that long overview, I just have to say that our trip could not have been better and we never had one problem with magicbands, FP+, or anything else really. It was a great trip and I can't wait to plan the next one!
If you have questions, I'll do my best to answer.
We stayed at Holiday Inn DTD for one night on 6/13 and ate at T Rex. Food was decent, service was okay, and the restaurant itself was loud which was exactly as I expected. I must say however that the crowd level at DTD was ridiculous. I was so glad we were able to walk to DTD versus fighting for a parking space. We went Saturday to Car Masters Weekend. It was not really my cup of tea but the kids and I tagged along while DH looked at EVERY car in the show. (Okay, maybe not EVERY car but it felt that way in the 95 degree heat!)
Saturday afternoon we checked into a 1 BR garden view at BWV. One suggestion for anyone staying there....request a room near the elevators!! Those hallways are long, especially when lugging two backpacks and pushing a double stroller after a full day at the parks! The room itself was great.
Saturday night we ate at 'Ohana and then had FP+ for SDMT, MSEP, and Wishes. Dinner was fantastic and our waiters, Brandon and Chris, were spectacular! We went to MK after dinner and rode the Carousel, Mad Tea Party, Dumbo, Barnstormer and IASW. Due to rain, MSEP was cancelled and the Wishes FP+ area was the walkway around the grassy area where we would normally sit in the Rose Garden.
Sunday we did SWW and the FtF package. We had FP+ for TSMM, VOTLM, and Beauty and the Beast. I rearranged fastpasses all that morning as we were running later than I planned to arrive at HS. For FtF, it was nice having reserved seating (AKA standing) for the parade however we probably could have waited on a nice shaded sidewalk for the same amount of time and had just as good a view of the parade. The ice cream and drinks provided were great. Where the FtF package really stood out was the desert party. The skies opened up late that afternoon and it poured rain for what seemed like hours. The desert party was moved into the Disney Jr. show area which actually worked out really well. Tables were set up and my kids had a ball running around and dancing with the other children. The food and drinks were wonderful. Just before the fireworks started, we were escorted outside to the reserved section near the stage. The Symphony fireworks were the best we saw all week!
We also ate at H&V for the Star Wars dinner. Characters were great and my kids really enjoyed it.
We did AK on Monday, had FP+ for Kali, Nemo, and FOTLK. All three were great but we ended up leaving early so I can't comment on the availablity of 4th FP+ late that afternoon. We ate at Yak & Yeti which is one of our favorite restaurants on property.
Tuesday and Wednesday we were back at MK. FP+ included meeting Tink, Haunted Mansion, MSEP on Tuesday and A&E, POTC, and SDMT. FP+ for MSEP was great and we stayed in the exact same spot for Wishes. The view of the parade and Celebrate the Magic were great but we should have moved back up Main Street for a better view of Wishes. We had no problem changing/adding FP+ times and experiences either of those days with the exception of A&E and SDMT. I booked both of those at the 60 day mark. Also, we used the rider switch for SDMT which is a great option for families with younger kids. We ate at Kona for dinner and loved it as usual. We are big fans of the bread/butter and sushi there.
Thursday we went to EP with prebooked FP+ for Spaceship Earth, TT, and Soarin. Due to the change in tiering at EP, I was able to change one FP+ (don't remember which one) to TT thereby giving me both TT and Soarin on the same day. We also used rider switch for these two rides. We ate at Cape May Cafe, rented a surrey bike and then returned to EP for Illuminations. The surrey bike was so much fun even though the hill over by the Swan is absolutely brutal.
Friday we were back at MK and had FP+ for A&E, Cinderella and Rapuzel, and PP. We also rode the Carousel, Mad Tea Party, Dumbo, Barnstormer, met Ariel. It started raining around 6:00 so we were unable to use our last rider switch for SDMT because it was shut down for a couple of hours. At this point in the week we were exhausted and had already seen/done all of our must do's, so we headed back to BWV for the night and came home yesterday.
So...if you're still with me after that long overview, I just have to say that our trip could not have been better and we never had one problem with magicbands, FP+, or anything else really. It was a great trip and I can't wait to plan the next one!
If you have questions, I'll do my best to answer.
