Just Back - Highs and Lows

[JayDubs]

Just got back from a weekend with friends at DLP (my second trip, their first). Here's a quick run-down of our highs and lows.


HIGHS:
~ Dreams! Saw it twice. Simply the best theme park entertainment I've ever seen. Recommended with Hot Chocolate and a treat from the Cookie Kitchen.
~ Extra Magic Hours: The nicest part was just being in the park when it is so quiet. It was a great experience.
~ Hotel Breakfast: We stayed at Newport Bay. I was VERY surprised at the quality and quantity of breakfast items available. We left satisfied both days. (Tip: Arrive before the 8am rush!)
~ Staff: Experienced some GREAT interactions with staff, especially at Phantom Manor (they were all playing it up really well) and then we watched (creeper-style from the castle balcony) the Disney Villains Meet-and-Greet one day and they character interaction was AWESOME! Very entertaining just to observe. All the staff was very friendly throughout our visit.
~ Big Thunder Mountain at Night: Whole different riding experience in the dark! And the line was much shorter too...
~ Lucky Nugget Saloon: The was perhaps the best value meal of our trip. The food was good, free refills on soda were a plus, and the atmosphere/entertainment really made it for us.

LOWS:
~ Room location at Newport Bay: It cannot be overstated how HUGE this hotel is, and our room literally couldn't have been farther from the lobby. Being as the lobby is the ONLY WAY out of the building to get to the parks (as far as we could find), this was incredibly inconvenient. Seriously, I've never seen corridors that long in a hotel and we dreaded walking them each time we came back from the parks. We were most likely closer to the Sequoia lobby than our own. Put room request in beforehand, and they responded that they couldn't honor it. Big let down.
~ Mousekeeping busted into our room when we were still in it, well before checkout time our last day. They did knock, but didn't give us time to respond before they were already in the room. They mumbled an apology and left right away. It wasn't a HUGE deal (no harm no foul), but still pretty unprofessional.
~ Studios Tram Tour Downtime: This was my second trip to the Studios, and the second time the Tram Tour was closed for "technical reasons." Actually, the ride went up a little later in the day, but it had an incredibly long line (over an hour) and they were not giving out FastPasses, so we skipped it to get to the other park.


Overall it was a great trip! While my "home" resort would technically be WDW, I've got a great affection for DLP. Great Disney atmosphere!

 

[crmscotland]

Glad you had a great trip . s

 

[MissSkellington]

Welcome home! Glad you had a lovely trip...it's always nice when the highs out weigh the lows.

If I may....where exactly is the Villains meet and greet? I've read it's in the castle courtyard...is that the area when you pass through the castle heading into Fantasyland? Where the sword is?

Did you see any great Villains? This trip for us is mainly about meeting characters.

 

[cherrymarzipan]

Welcome back and glad you enjoyed your trip. Like the previous two posters we are looking forward to a Halloween trip ourselves (though we have a bit longer to wait) so it is good to hear the villains are out in force! Any new/unusual ones?

Regards the housekeeping incident, this seems to be a common problem. When we stayed at the HNY earlier this year we were constantly hassled by a cleaner well before check out time despite putting the "do not disturb" sign on the door. It meant one of us had to remain in the room at all times while the other loaded he car.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[tennisfan]

Welcome back, thanks for sharing your Highs & Lows. It looks like you enjoyed most of your trip.

 

[JayDubs]

The Villains Meet & Greet was in the Castle Courtyard--and yes, that is the area around the Sword-In-The-Stone. We just stumbled upon it and so we watched all the interactions from the balcony on the back of the castle.

On Sunday, the villains present were: Queen of Hearts, Captain Hook, Maleficent, Cruella de Vil, Jafar, Doctor Facilier (I think that was him...) and Gaston. The "Fabulous Hallo-Swing Orchestra" was also playing in that same area at the same time, which added a lot to the atmosphere. They started playing Gaston's theme from Beauty & The Beast and Gaston was pulling women out of the crowd (not kids, women) and dancing with them around the plaza. It was great fun. Jafar and Queen of Hearts both seemed very playful and spirited as well.

 

[MissSkellington]

Oh that sounds fantastic!!! Thank you!

My most wanted list includes Gaston and Dr. Facilier (as well as Launchpad McQuack, Scrooge McDuck and Roger Rabbit.....little luck in finding those...lol)

So I'm hopeful! Does anyone know if with the new fall/Halloween parade with the Ducks and Chipmunks...do they stop and do a meet and greet at all, like the anniversary train did?