I just got back from a very magical 7 night vacation. It was me, my DH, & my 3 DDs (8, 5 & 2). For us, Disney's magic is very much alive and well!
Resort- We stayed at Art of Animation in the Little Mermaid Section. This resort was amazing. If you have kids that like the character themed resorts, this one is great! The Nemo pool was awesome (although we only got to use it once bc of so much bad weather). It was quite a hike from our room to the busses, food court, and main pool. But, we enjoyed the walk through the Lion King section & my DDs always enjoyed playing in the elephant graveyard on the way.
Magic Bands- I loved the Magic Bands. I wish I had them for every day life! They were so convenient and we never had any issues with them. They worked fine to enter the parks, open the rooms, enter pools, pay for dining or souvenirs & use fast passes.
FP+- I was nervous about FP+ after reading this forum. FP+ was great! We never got the dreaded blue Mickey when we scanned our bands for FPs. It was nice to have our first three FPs already set since I made them 60 days out and was able to get headliners like A&E, Mine Train, TSMM, etc. I especially enjoyed the benefit of a late park arrival with FP+s in hand. We only tried for a 4th FP+ twice (bc we didn't really need them)- once at HS & once at MK - both times around 3:00. At HS none of the headliners had any availability. At MK, I booked a Space FP+ & almost everything had availability except A&E, Mine Train & parades.
Weather- I learned that Florida only has 2 kinds of weather in the summer: HOT & Downpour! I'm used to the heat (being from TX) but I was not prepared for the amount of rain we got! We have only been to WDW in Nov & Dec before so this was a new experience. It rained every single day of our vacation except one day. We put on our ponchos & stroller cover & made the best of it though. It seemed like HS & MK were the best parks to be in in the rain bc of the amount of inside rides/activities. Our AK day was pretty much a bust bc of the rain & we didn't get much pool time but that was the only real disappointments due to weather.
New Fantasyland- The attention to detail in this addition is awesome. Each area was just done so well. We loved walking through all of it & basking in the ambiance.
Food Allergies- One of my DDs has several food allergies. At BOG, Tusker house & 1900 Park Fare, the chef came to our table and was SO knowledgeable & helpful! At each place, they walked us through menu or buffet telling us what was safe for her to eat. At each place they also made her her own plate of food & dessert that wasn't on the menu so she wouldn't feel left out. At Via Napoli, the manager came to our table & was not very educated about food allergies. One of my DD's allergies is wheat. The manager tried to convince me that white flour pasta was safe for her bc it wasn't made with wheat flour. Really??!
Be Our Guest- Amazing! This restaurant was an attraction in & of itself. It was so gorgeous. We did dinner & lunch (with the FP) and both were superb. Service was awesome.
Cinderella's Royal Table- We ate here for my DD's 8th birthday. The food was decent, much better than I expected. They made you feel like royalty here. This is a must do at least once IMO. Service & character interaction were very good. The view of FL was amazing.
Via Napoli- I was underwhelmed by this restaurant. The pizza was good but not out of this world. The service was ok. The desserts were very yummy though.
Tusker House- We had breakfast here & it was delicious. Great service & character interaction.
Mama Melrose- This restaurant was very cute, the food was delicious & service was great. We did this for F! Pkg but would do it again even without that.
1900 Park Fare- We did the Cinderella dinner here. The character interaction with the Tremaine family was fantastic as usual! The food was decent also.
Resort- We stayed at Art of Animation in the Little Mermaid Section. This resort was amazing. If you have kids that like the character themed resorts, this one is great! The Nemo pool was awesome (although we only got to use it once bc of so much bad weather). It was quite a hike from our room to the busses, food court, and main pool. But, we enjoyed the walk through the Lion King section & my DDs always enjoyed playing in the elephant graveyard on the way.
Magic Bands- I loved the Magic Bands. I wish I had them for every day life! They were so convenient and we never had any issues with them. They worked fine to enter the parks, open the rooms, enter pools, pay for dining or souvenirs & use fast passes.
FP+- I was nervous about FP+ after reading this forum. FP+ was great! We never got the dreaded blue Mickey when we scanned our bands for FPs. It was nice to have our first three FPs already set since I made them 60 days out and was able to get headliners like A&E, Mine Train, TSMM, etc. I especially enjoyed the benefit of a late park arrival with FP+s in hand. We only tried for a 4th FP+ twice (bc we didn't really need them)- once at HS & once at MK - both times around 3:00. At HS none of the headliners had any availability. At MK, I booked a Space FP+ & almost everything had availability except A&E, Mine Train & parades.
Weather- I learned that Florida only has 2 kinds of weather in the summer: HOT & Downpour! I'm used to the heat (being from TX) but I was not prepared for the amount of rain we got! We have only been to WDW in Nov & Dec before so this was a new experience. It rained every single day of our vacation except one day. We put on our ponchos & stroller cover & made the best of it though. It seemed like HS & MK were the best parks to be in in the rain bc of the amount of inside rides/activities. Our AK day was pretty much a bust bc of the rain & we didn't get much pool time but that was the only real disappointments due to weather.
New Fantasyland- The attention to detail in this addition is awesome. Each area was just done so well. We loved walking through all of it & basking in the ambiance.
Food Allergies- One of my DDs has several food allergies. At BOG, Tusker house & 1900 Park Fare, the chef came to our table and was SO knowledgeable & helpful! At each place, they walked us through menu or buffet telling us what was safe for her to eat. At each place they also made her her own plate of food & dessert that wasn't on the menu so she wouldn't feel left out. At Via Napoli, the manager came to our table & was not very educated about food allergies. One of my DD's allergies is wheat. The manager tried to convince me that white flour pasta was safe for her bc it wasn't made with wheat flour. Really??!
Be Our Guest- Amazing! This restaurant was an attraction in & of itself. It was so gorgeous. We did dinner & lunch (with the FP) and both were superb. Service was awesome.
Cinderella's Royal Table- We ate here for my DD's 8th birthday. The food was decent, much better than I expected. They made you feel like royalty here. This is a must do at least once IMO. Service & character interaction were very good. The view of FL was amazing.
Via Napoli- I was underwhelmed by this restaurant. The pizza was good but not out of this world. The service was ok. The desserts were very yummy though.
Tusker House- We had breakfast here & it was delicious. Great service & character interaction.
Mama Melrose- This restaurant was very cute, the food was delicious & service was great. We did this for F! Pkg but would do it again even without that.
1900 Park Fare- We did the Cinderella dinner here. The character interaction with the Tremaine family was fantastic as usual! The food was decent also.
Next month will be our first summer trip, so we are trying to gear up for the weather. We are going to try to look at rain as an advantage....maybe some people will leave the parks! 
Anyway, thank you so much for your review! I'm so glad you & family had a fabulous time at WDW. 
Sounds like a great trip!
