Just Back!!! Highs and lows...

[ptrbryant]

We had a fantastic WDW trip--our longest yet at 9 days, 8 nights. To keep things organized, I thought I'd list the highs and lows:

Highs:

*So that I could see Davy Jones in concert (which alone is on the Highs list), we added an extra night at the start of our vacation and stayed at a Value for the first time--AllStarMovies. We were really almost afraid to try a Value, but we loved it! Stayed in the Love Bug section, had no noise issues, a truly spotless room and comfortable beds.
*CMs were great! Everywhere we went, CMs were friendly and helpful, seeming to enjoy their jobs. The only exception was at Star Wars Weekends, where CMs were routinely giving out wrong information.
*Saw a homeschooled 15 year old boy win the Disney Cruise for his family at the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Star Wars edition show...great fun--as was all of Star Wars Weekend!
*While DH and DS10 were on Soarin' (I have too much motion sickness to ride it), I was touched to see a middle-aged woman in a wheelchair enter to ride it. I kept thinking that's truly Disney Magic, allowing someone who perhaps can't walk a chance to feel like they're hang gliding!
*Perfect weather nearly everyday, crowds very manageable.
*Did our first evening EMH at MK...rode Haunted Mansion at midnight!
*Wonderful stay at Villas at Wilderness Lodge, first floor studio near quiet pool...couldn't have been any better!

Lows:
NOT MANY!!!
*Super-rushed at Garden Grill for lunch on departure day. I booked an evening flight home, giving us a entire day in the parks. DS still loves Mickey and Dale's his next favorite. Our waitress, though friendly, couldn't clear our plates or talk fast enough. She brought our bill while we were still eating dessert. I mentioned that we'd not yet seen Dale, so he stopped by very briefly. All our character interaction there was not very special---Chef Mickey's for dinner had been much more leisurely and had much better interaction.
*Ride breakdowns!!!! Not sure what the problem was, but DH got stuck on Expedition Everest and had to wait to be guided down ten flights of stairs inside the mountain (no photos allowed!). He really didn't want to get on the ride again and didn't. I got stuck on Haunted Mansion for about 4 minutes before the ride resumed; same thing happened on TTA. Even the monorail took forever due to "safety checks".
*Filthy bathrooms! I couldn't believe it! We joke any time we're in a public restroom in the "real world" that if there's any mess, we say,"That would never happen at Disney World!". The worst offending bathrooms were in the Land pavillion and the ones near the German pavillion in World Showcase (and, as someone with German heritage with germophobic family members, I found this especially unacceptable). The projectile diahrrea in the stalls (and worse!) was awful, but even the sink areas were soaked all over, soap splattered all over the place, once almost no paper towels anywhere and I didn't see many CMs in the restrooms as I have on other trips.

Soooo, the pros certainly outweighed the cons and now I'll work on planning our next trip!

Let me know if you have any questions!

Karla B.

Just back from AllStarMovies and Villas at Wilderness Lodge!

 

[PrincessPatty]

Glad to hear you had a great time! I feel the same way about those in wheelchairs/ECV's too!

Just remember....a bad day in the Disney is better than a good day in the real world!

 

[ciera321]

It sounds like you had a great vacation over all. As for the bathrooms, there's no reason for that. When we started going as a family around 16 years ago, you'd go into a bathroom and there was usually a person in there cleaning, but I guess they've cut back... Thanks for sharing your thoughts!!!

 

[TikiGoddess]

Good review. Thanks! Glad to hear about the Love Bug section at ASMo. We've stayed at Movies before, but were in Toy Story. Was it closer in the Love Bug to take the Sports bus?

 

[tiggtail]

Thanks for the highs and lows of your trip! Makes me want to be there NOW! Its so darn hard to wait for 5 more months! I was also glad you posted about the bathrooms. I've wanted to say something but was afraid I'd get flamed. The last two times we were at Disney we experienced the same thing (not in all parks but in MGM and Epcot). I remember in 1996 when we took one of our first vacations there, we couldn't believe how clean the bathrooms were and noticed there was usually someone in there cleaning most of the time. Now it's a different story..too bad really cuz with so many people, the bathrooms are one of the most important things to keep clean.
Glad you had a terrifically wonderful vacation...our turn next!!

 

[MJMcBride]

The projectile diahrrea in the stalls (and worse!) was awful

I said I was sorry about that!

 

[ptrbryant]

I said I was sorry about that!

 

[ptrbryant]

we rented a car and never used the buses, so I can't comment about how efficient they were. One of these times, I'll talk DH out of spending the money on a rental and I'll have a better idea on how to compare the options.

Karla B.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

I'm suprized at the conditions of the bathrooms. When we were at WDW a couple of months ago, bathrooms always looked clean AND still had someone working at cleaning them when ever I happened to be in one.

 

[aplejax76]

I said I was sorry about that!

Now that's funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SueM in MN]

*While DH and DS10 were on Soarin' (I have too much motion sickness to ride it), I was touched to see a middle-aged woman in a wheelchair enter to ride it. I kept thinking that's truly Disney Magic, allowing someone who perhaps can't walk a chance to feel like they're hang gliding!!

I cried when DD went on Soarin' for the first time. She can't walk and needs a lot of help to transfer, but Soarin' was a pretty easy ride to get her on. During the ride, she just kept tapping my arm to point things out to me.
She will never ride a hang glider, but she sure loved Soarin'.

 

[KCMiller]

I'm trying to imagine what could be worse . . .


KC

 

[Biscuitsmom31]

I said I was sorry about that!

Hilarious!

 

[momrek06]

*While DH and DS10 were on Soarin' (I have too much motion sickness to ride it),
!

To the OP: Great report with the highs and lows! I wanted to add that I suffer with horrible motion issues and I went on the DIS Boards prior to going to WDW and posted about SOARIN' and motion issues and everyone assured me it would be fine and "just close your eyes if you have any issues"....

YUP, it was AWESOME! I LOVED it...only complaint with SOARIN' is that it is too short. I could have stayed on forever. So, OP, if you go again be SURE to try SOARIN'!! You will be fine! It reminded me of an IMAX Theater, which I am not fond of as well and I just close my eyes if it gets real intense.

 

[ptrbryant]

I'm trying to imagine what could be worse . . .


KC

Umm, it would be totally gross for me to describe it in detail, but remember I'm talking about the Ladies' Room and certain items that are used at a specific time of the month. It appeared someone had no clue as to how to dispose of said items and perhaps even used one as a paintbrush on the stall wall. After quickly backing out of what I saw and moving down the line, another woman stepped in only to say,"Oh, my dear Lord!" and back out again just as I had done!

Karla B.

 

[ptrbryant]

To the OP: Great report with the highs and lows! I wanted to add that I suffer with horrible motion issues and I went on the DIS Boards prior to going to WDW and posted about SOARIN' and motion issues and everyone assured me it would be fine and "just close your eyes if you have any issues"....

YUP, it was AWESOME! I LOVED it...only complaint with SOARIN' is that it is too short. I could have stayed on forever. So, OP, if you go again be SURE to try SOARIN'!! You will be fine! It reminded me of an IMAX Theater, which I am not fond of as well and I jsut close my eyes if it gets real intense.

Wow! Thanks for the advice...maybe I'll try it on our next trip. I actually feel sick if I watch the Aladdin part of Philharmagic, so I'm still a bit nervous about the idea. Maybe, though.

Karla B.

 

[BABYJOSIE98]

HOW WAS WAITS FOR FANTASMIC??? DID YOU GO?? IS AN HOUR AHEAD OF TIME PLENTY TO GET A SEAT SOMEWHERE IN THE PLACE????

HOW ABOUT AK??? REALLY BUSY????

I KNOW THE HOLIDAY WILL BRING MORE CROWDS,BUT AFTER MONDAY WE HOPE THINGS SETTLE FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK....

THANKS FOR THE REPORT...

 

[Belle Amy]

*Saw a homeschooled 15 year old boy win the Disney Cruise for his family at the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Star Wars edition show...great fun--as was all of Star Wars Weekend!

Wasn't that amazing! He was so quiet the whole time and when the host read the last question, he started shaking his head, because he knew....I get goosebumps when I think about it!

Sorry to hear about your bad experiences with the bathrooms. It seems that I always find my way into one that has some discusting display, and I just have to back out slowly. While Disney has some fault in the mess not being cleaned up promptly, I find more fault with the people the leave the mess. Who would do such a thing? Even if I had an accident, I'd make sure that I cleaned it up. But some people feel they aren't at home, so it isn't their responsibility. Yuk, sorry you had to witness such things!

Glad you had a good time though!! Thanks for the report!

 

[Quinn222]

Wow! I actually feel sick if I watch the Aladdin part of Philharmagic, so I'm still a bit nervous about the idea. Maybe, though.
Karla B.

I thought I was the only one! And I don't get motion sickness as a rule but have to close my eyes for that Aladdin bit. I do fine on Soarin' though.

 

[ptrbryant]

HOW WAS WAITS FOR FANTASMIC??? DID YOU GO?? IS AN HOUR AHEAD OF TIME PLENTY TO GET A SEAT SOMEWHERE IN THE PLACE????

HOW ABOUT AK??? REALLY BUSY????

I KNOW THE HOLIDAY WILL BRING MORE CROWDS,BUT AFTER MONDAY WE HOPE THINGS SETTLE FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK....

THANKS FOR THE REPORT...

We went to Fantasmic (which, as always, was fantastic!) about one hour before it started and it was really filling up already. We totally lucked out that there were three spots still open on a bench right in the middle, about five seats from the seat. To be safe, you may want to consider getting there even earlier. Without the luck we had, everyone else was sitting down on either of the two very far ends.

AK always seems busy to me, but I think it has something to do with the layout of the park. I would certainly recommend FastPasses for the safari ride and Expedition Everest.

Are you staying on-site? If so, try to take advantage of the EMH--esp. at night. We couldn't believe how MK cleared out at 10 and it seemed to magical to be walking around there at night without huge crowds.

Have a great time!

Karla B.