Just back - observations

[clareita]

We (me, dh, kids 12, 10, 7) just got back from a 4 1/2 day trip. Here are some observations.

1. I loved the MVMCP
We went primarily for the parade, show, and fireworks. They were great. If you are going to do rides with short lines, however, you will be disappointed. We were at the MK in the morning, and the lines weren't significantly shorter during the party. We didn't stay until the end, so maybe they were shorter after 11.

2. If you are spending a lot of time at Epcot and DHS, the Beach Club's location can't be beat. It was great to be able to walk to both parks. We could've taken a boat to DHS, but it took less time to walk. The only way I would take the boat is if it was right there when we walked outside.

3. The lights on the castle were fantastic. The rest of the decorations were nice, but not quite as great as I was expecting. I think they do a better job with Christmas decorations at Disneyland.

4. For someone who is not a big fan of huge roller coaster, I was surprised by how much I loved Rock'n'Roller Coaster.

5. Toy Story Mania is fun. It's a cute ride and my family enjoyed it, but I can't figure out for the life of me why anyone would wait over 90 minutes for it. I wouldn't wait more than 30 minutes, tops.

6. If you have any Harry Potter fans in your family and you can afford it, you've got to see the WWoHP at Universal. It is phenomenal - truly amazing. The queue for Forbidden Journey is like a ride itself, and the ride is unlike anything I've ever been on. Disney doesn't have anything like it.

7. The new queue for Winnie the Pooh is great. If this is what they're doing in the Fantasyland expansion, it will be great.

8. I was surprised by how good the buffet lunch at Tusker House at AK was. The salmon was perfectly cooked, and not overcooking fish at a buffet almost never happens.

All in all, we had a great trip. I want to thank everyone who answered my various questions and kept me from being the person I overheard at DHS looking at a map and saying to her husband, "Let's go over that way. We can go on Star Tours. What's this Toy Story Mania thing? We should check it out." I'm not kidding. That's a direct quote.

 

[cm8]

We (me, dh, kids 12, 10, 7) just got back from a 4 1/2 day trip. Here are some observations.

1. I loved the MVMCP
We went primarily for the parade, show, and fireworks. They were great. If you are going to do rides with short lines, however, you will be disappointed. We were at the MK in the morning, and the lines weren't significantly shorter during the party. We didn't stay until the end, so maybe they were shorter after 11.

2. If you are spending a lot of time at Epcot and DHS, the Beach Club's location can't be beat. It was great to be able to walk to both parks. We could've taken a boat to DHS, but it took less time to walk. The only way I would take the boat is if it was right there when we walked outside.

3. The lights on the castle were fantastic. The rest of the decorations were nice, but not quite as great as I was expecting. I think they do a better job with Christmas decorations at Disneyland.

4. For someone who is not a big fan of huge roller coaster, I was surprised by how much I loved Rock'n'Roller Coaster.

5. Toy Story Mania is fun. It's a cute ride and my family enjoyed it, but I can't figure out for the life of me why anyone would wait over 90 minutes for it. I wouldn't wait more than 30 minutes, tops.

6. If you have any Harry Potter fans in your family and you can afford it, you've got to see the WWoHP at Universal. It is phenomenal - truly amazing. The queue for Forbidden Journey is like a ride itself, and the ride is unlike anything I've ever been on. Disney doesn't have anything like it.

7. The new queue for Winnie the Pooh is great. If this is what they're doing in the Fantasyland expansion, it will be great.

8. I was surprised by how good the buffet lunch at Tusker House at AK was. The salmon was perfectly cooked, and not overcooking fish at a buffet almost never happens.

All in all, we had a great trip. I want to thank everyone who answered my various questions and kept me from being the person I overheard at DHS looking at a map and saying to her husband, "Let's go over that way. We can go on Star Tours. What's this Toy Story Mania thing? We should check it out." I'm not kidding. That's a direct quote.

 

[shan136]

5. Toy Story Mania is fun. It's a cute ride and my family enjoyed it, but I can't figure out for the life of me why anyone would wait over 90 minutes for it. I wouldn't wait more than 30 minutes, tops.

I agree, it is a cute ride and the queue is fantastic but not worth a 90 minute wait. I think that it's popularity is most likely because it's one of the few young child friendly rides at HS. I think that if they added more attractions/rides for the 5-9 set the wait times at TSM would drop significantly.

 

[tinkerbellmamma]

I have to agree as well, Toy Story Mania was cute and fun but totally not worth the wait and it went down twice while we were waiting but 70 minutes was just insane. We went at 10:00am and the Fast Passes were for 7pm - huh?? the park was open just an hour and you already gave out that many passes??

I was also disappointed in the decorations, they were better in years past.

 

[tinkerbellmamma]

I forgot to add that we were totally not impressed with the Princess character meal in Epcot. For the price we paid, the food was just not worth it, we got better food at Chef Mickey and the ability to have as much as we wanted for a cheaper price.

 

[mom2shayleeandlogan]

We loved Tusker house for lunch too! It was one of our favorites

 

[Owlpost23]

WWOHP is truly unique-glad you enjoyed it so much!!!

 

[FINFAN]

Glad you had a great time! Were you able to see or get a feel for any of the Fantasyland progress?

 

[clareita]

Glad you had a great time! Were you able to see or get a feel for any of the Fantasyland progress?

When we were up in Dumbo you could see the construction. I was surprised by how big the area is. You could see the framing for some two story or three story buildings. I don't know what it will look like when it is finished, but seeing all the work makes me want to come back in a couple of years when it is completed.

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

Great review-we just went to the MK for five wonderful days and got lots of wonderful tips through these boards that greatly enhanced our experience-went with two other families and being the DIS reader, I was the expert!

Agree with you about Toy Story Mania-we did rope drop at DHS and it was almost scary when they dropped the rope and folks starting running and almost stampeding over to the ride. It is good, and I think it's appeal to families with little ones really adds to the appeal since the other two big rides at DHS are not for the under 5 year old.

 

[luckylady131]

I forgot to add that we were totally not impressed with the Princess character meal in Epcot. For the price we paid, the food was just not worth it, we got better food at Chef Mickey and the ability to have as much as we wanted for a cheaper price.

Are you talking about Akershus? We thought the food was great (although we didn't eat at Chef Mickey's). And you are able to get more of anything you want, if you are talking about the hot plate they bring out. You just have to ask the waitress for more of whatever.

We thought we had the best character interaction there as well. It probably helped that our reservation was for 10:55am, so they were gearing up for lunch, and the restaurant wasn't busting at the seams. Sleeping Beauty came up to our daughter and she was able to lead one of the little parades around the restaurant. She was in heaven!

 

[sdwrdt]

We (me, dh, kids 12, 10, 7) just got back from a 4 1/2 day trip. Here are some observations.

6. If you have any Harry Potter fans in your family and you can afford it, you've got to see the WWoHP at Universal. It is phenomenal - truly amazing. The queue for Forbidden Journey is like a ride itself, and the ride is unlike anything I've ever been on. Disney doesn't have anything like it.

Did they actually let you queue in Hogwarts?

We were there Thanksgiving. Queue (over an hour) was ALL OUTSIDE! Once we got in Hogwarts, employees were yelling at us to not stop unless we moved aside for others. We were worried about meeting up with other daughter, so didn't stop to actually enjoy the experience.

I was tempted to complain to Universal that they don't allow Express Passes for Forbidden Journey, but the line we waited in was all snaking, no enjoyment!

 

[TLinden16]

I'm going to move this to our trip report board.