jennypenny
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 11, 2000
- Messages
- 1,713
First, thanks to everyone who wished us well before our trip. We all got the flu the week of the trip and wondered if we'd make it. Well, we did (barely) and slept poolside the first two days we were there. Luckily, we flew in before the rest of the family so we had that luxury.
Notes on...
The Beach Club: Much better than the last few visits. I love BCV, but I have always complained about the front desk and their customer service in general. They must have a new manager or something because service was much better. We checked in at the desk in the BCV atrium and that was flawless. And if you need the concierge desk try them first--they are much more pleasant to deal with. And we got 3 calls asking us how we felt (we were obviously really sick when we checked in) and if they could help us in any way. We had room 151 at the end of the hall but it was nice to hop out the exit right there under the stairs and be on the back path to epcot. Furniture showing wear--I think the style of the BCV with the white furniture makes that worse.
Crowds: Wow. President's weekend is pretty crowded. It's still doable, but it's crowded. The difference between that weekend and, say, July 4th is that it's only 70 degrees--not 90. That makes a big difference in your patience level. And it keeps the lines on the water rides short.
Spaceship Earth: We loved the renovation. Lines were pretty long but I understood why after we rode it. Kudos to Siemens.
Soarin': wait times seem to be coming down finally. And if you go at 8:45 it's practically a walk on.
Test track: Took three days with fast passes before it was finally running when it was our turn to ride. It's quite funny that the ride supposed to promote the US auto industry is always broken...
Monsters Inc: Better this time. That's the kind of attraction that's better when it's crowded in the parks.
Norway: Well, we got talked into the princess meal with my niece while the guys got to go to ESPN (my DD12 was NOT happy about posing with princesses when she could be at ESPN). The meal wasn't bad. Certainly not worth the money but we're not that into character meals. My niece said it was "the best day of her life" so I guess it was worth it. For those who track such things we saw pocohontas, alice, belle, cinderella, and jasmine.
Tusker House: Food was great, service a little weird, and slow considering we were the only ones there. And we had 11 people and they wouldn't push the tables together because it was "a safety hazzard" for other guests but we were the only ones there. Honestly people, look up from your clipboard!
Vegetarian comments: We travelled with 2 vegetarians and they didn't have much trouble finding food. (CS was harder than TS) Mexico will do a salad or cheese versions of their mexican standards which was good. Mama Melrose did the wood fired shrimp over pasta without the shrimp which was fantastic. They even brought the shrimp on a separate plate for others at the table to enjoy. Coral Reef wasn't that accommodating. Rose and Crown did a nice curry veggie dish. Tusker House is a vegetarian's delight.
Germany: food is much better under the new chef. Show was a really abreviated version of it's usual self but it hadn't been that long since George passed so I think that was the reason.
SSR: The rest of our family was staying at SSR. They had 1 hour+ waits for epcot busses a couple of evenings. Bus service has improved there but when it's bad, it's horrible. I would never stay there without a car (and I would at OKW). This is not the first trip, or the second, that we've experienced horrible bus service there.
Dining Plan: Some of the kinks seem to be worked out. I didn't find it hard to check out--you just get two checks. And we always got two because we always had a check for alcohol
. It's not as good of a value but we definitely get our money's worth. It it's easier splitting a check in a large group if you are all on the dining plan.
We also went to look at homes at Windsor Hills while we were there. We go to WDW a few weeks a year now and we're considering buying a home (to rent out most of the time) and selling DVC
. Even though Disney keeps the point values artificially high right now I don't think that will continue indefinitely. We starting to think we'd prefer an asset to DVC. Not sure though.
Notes on...
The Beach Club: Much better than the last few visits. I love BCV, but I have always complained about the front desk and their customer service in general. They must have a new manager or something because service was much better. We checked in at the desk in the BCV atrium and that was flawless. And if you need the concierge desk try them first--they are much more pleasant to deal with. And we got 3 calls asking us how we felt (we were obviously really sick when we checked in) and if they could help us in any way. We had room 151 at the end of the hall but it was nice to hop out the exit right there under the stairs and be on the back path to epcot. Furniture showing wear--I think the style of the BCV with the white furniture makes that worse.
Crowds: Wow. President's weekend is pretty crowded. It's still doable, but it's crowded. The difference between that weekend and, say, July 4th is that it's only 70 degrees--not 90. That makes a big difference in your patience level. And it keeps the lines on the water rides short.
Spaceship Earth: We loved the renovation. Lines were pretty long but I understood why after we rode it. Kudos to Siemens.
Soarin': wait times seem to be coming down finally. And if you go at 8:45 it's practically a walk on.
Test track: Took three days with fast passes before it was finally running when it was our turn to ride. It's quite funny that the ride supposed to promote the US auto industry is always broken...
Monsters Inc: Better this time. That's the kind of attraction that's better when it's crowded in the parks.
Norway: Well, we got talked into the princess meal with my niece while the guys got to go to ESPN (my DD12 was NOT happy about posing with princesses when she could be at ESPN). The meal wasn't bad. Certainly not worth the money but we're not that into character meals. My niece said it was "the best day of her life" so I guess it was worth it. For those who track such things we saw pocohontas, alice, belle, cinderella, and jasmine.
Tusker House: Food was great, service a little weird, and slow considering we were the only ones there. And we had 11 people and they wouldn't push the tables together because it was "a safety hazzard" for other guests but we were the only ones there. Honestly people, look up from your clipboard!
Vegetarian comments: We travelled with 2 vegetarians and they didn't have much trouble finding food. (CS was harder than TS) Mexico will do a salad or cheese versions of their mexican standards which was good. Mama Melrose did the wood fired shrimp over pasta without the shrimp which was fantastic. They even brought the shrimp on a separate plate for others at the table to enjoy. Coral Reef wasn't that accommodating. Rose and Crown did a nice curry veggie dish. Tusker House is a vegetarian's delight.
Germany: food is much better under the new chef. Show was a really abreviated version of it's usual self but it hadn't been that long since George passed so I think that was the reason.
SSR: The rest of our family was staying at SSR. They had 1 hour+ waits for epcot busses a couple of evenings. Bus service has improved there but when it's bad, it's horrible. I would never stay there without a car (and I would at OKW). This is not the first trip, or the second, that we've experienced horrible bus service there.
Dining Plan: Some of the kinks seem to be worked out. I didn't find it hard to check out--you just get two checks. And we always got two because we always had a check for alcohol
. It's not as good of a value but we definitely get our money's worth. It it's easier splitting a check in a large group if you are all on the dining plan.We also went to look at homes at Windsor Hills while we were there. We go to WDW a few weeks a year now and we're considering buying a home (to rent out most of the time) and selling DVC
. Even though Disney keeps the point values artificially high right now I don't think that will continue indefinitely. We starting to think we'd prefer an asset to DVC. Not sure though.
