ckmiles
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2008
- Messages
- 450
My BFF and I were at Disney October 6th thru the 13th. We stayed off site at a time share (the Hilton by Seaworld) which was very nice.
Weather
Saturday, Sunday and Monday were really hot and humid- after that it was gorgeous with no rain. The humidity was not fun, but we moved slowly and drank lots of water.
F&WF
This was the first time for us (and honestly the reason I convinced my BFF to go to Disney!) We got our gift card with the elastic band and loaded up with $100 each. Now to be fair it was Columbus day and it was humid and hot. But after stopping at a few booths and seeing the small glasses of wine for $4 we were unimpressed. We had planned on eating mostly at the festival but after that first day we did not go back. It just wasnt for us.
Keys to the Kingdom Tour
Loved this - this was the highlight of the trip. I had never done a tour so had no expectations but it well done (our guide was Rae- loved her!) so informative- I look forward to doing another tour. It takes touring the parks to a whole new level. You look at things differently and I found I pay much more attention to the details and the attention to details that Disney uses.
CM
I went down there with a new attitude (I tend to be more introverted so I was pushing myself out of my comfort zone) Speaking to people first, saying Hi to lots of people - well this really made a difference to me. I greeted every CM I saw most responses were very positive. It started on the first day we were at DTD and Ghirardelli's looking for dessert- There's always the CM passing out samples- she was surrounded by people trying to get one, she reached one out to me and I automatically said thank you (my mom would have beat me if I didnt) and her whole face lit up and said loudly in front of everyone - "you said the magic words- you get 2 samples!" Completely caught me off guard-ironically it was pumpkin spice chocolate which is not my favorite - but it started the trip off with some Pixie dust.
On Wednesday we went to Epcot to see Illuminations- I had read on the DISboard where to have the best view for show so I arrived very early and we planned to park our butts with a pretzel and people watch. We walked the entire world showcase looking for a spot- I had noticed all of the really great locations were roped off for special events. I was curious who those special events were for. Companies rent them out? you buy special tickets for them? So I decided to ask a CM how do you get to those special events- He smiled at me and said you need a ticket, and asked me if I had a ticket. I said no. He asked me if I would like one. I said yes- and he gave me one! We got to sit over by the bridge by the international gateway. It was not crowded at all and was a great view! Another great pixie dust moment!
MNSSHP
We were really looking forward to this (OK the candy mostly
) but we had costumes (50's poodle skirts!) and this was our first time. It was more crowded than I expected (even though I had no frame of reference) but we got lots of candy, got our pictures with Pooh and friends, and loved the fireworks. I dont think we need to do this again- but we loved everyone being dressed up and the vibe was really good.
Final thoughts
We loved Rope drop got so much done with minimal crowds. The animation drawing at DHS was so great-we went back to do it again and brought our pictures home! The holiday sandwich at Earl of Sandwich was a big hit (I didnt eat it but BFF loved it and we had to go back again)
Overall we had lots of fun- I think just relaxing and going with the flow really helped me (Im a big planner) I hope BFF will go back again!
The DIS board was a big help- I send out a general thanks to everyone who posts here and answers everyone's questions- I know it made a difference -BFF was impressed with my knowledge of things and I told her its all about the boards!
Weather
Saturday, Sunday and Monday were really hot and humid- after that it was gorgeous with no rain. The humidity was not fun, but we moved slowly and drank lots of water.
F&WF
This was the first time for us (and honestly the reason I convinced my BFF to go to Disney!) We got our gift card with the elastic band and loaded up with $100 each. Now to be fair it was Columbus day and it was humid and hot. But after stopping at a few booths and seeing the small glasses of wine for $4 we were unimpressed. We had planned on eating mostly at the festival but after that first day we did not go back. It just wasnt for us.
Keys to the Kingdom Tour
Loved this - this was the highlight of the trip. I had never done a tour so had no expectations but it well done (our guide was Rae- loved her!) so informative- I look forward to doing another tour. It takes touring the parks to a whole new level. You look at things differently and I found I pay much more attention to the details and the attention to details that Disney uses.
CM
I went down there with a new attitude (I tend to be more introverted so I was pushing myself out of my comfort zone) Speaking to people first, saying Hi to lots of people - well this really made a difference to me. I greeted every CM I saw most responses were very positive. It started on the first day we were at DTD and Ghirardelli's looking for dessert- There's always the CM passing out samples- she was surrounded by people trying to get one, she reached one out to me and I automatically said thank you (my mom would have beat me if I didnt) and her whole face lit up and said loudly in front of everyone - "you said the magic words- you get 2 samples!" Completely caught me off guard-ironically it was pumpkin spice chocolate which is not my favorite - but it started the trip off with some Pixie dust.
On Wednesday we went to Epcot to see Illuminations- I had read on the DISboard where to have the best view for show so I arrived very early and we planned to park our butts with a pretzel and people watch. We walked the entire world showcase looking for a spot- I had noticed all of the really great locations were roped off for special events. I was curious who those special events were for. Companies rent them out? you buy special tickets for them? So I decided to ask a CM how do you get to those special events- He smiled at me and said you need a ticket, and asked me if I had a ticket. I said no. He asked me if I would like one. I said yes- and he gave me one! We got to sit over by the bridge by the international gateway. It was not crowded at all and was a great view! Another great pixie dust moment!
MNSSHP
We were really looking forward to this (OK the candy mostly
) but we had costumes (50's poodle skirts!) and this was our first time. It was more crowded than I expected (even though I had no frame of reference) but we got lots of candy, got our pictures with Pooh and friends, and loved the fireworks. I dont think we need to do this again- but we loved everyone being dressed up and the vibe was really good.Final thoughts
We loved Rope drop got so much done with minimal crowds. The animation drawing at DHS was so great-we went back to do it again and brought our pictures home! The holiday sandwich at Earl of Sandwich was a big hit (I didnt eat it but BFF loved it and we had to go back again)
Overall we had lots of fun- I think just relaxing and going with the flow really helped me (Im a big planner) I hope BFF will go back again!
The DIS board was a big help- I send out a general thanks to everyone who posts here and answers everyone's questions- I know it made a difference -BFF was impressed with my knowledge of things and I told her its all about the boards!
