joanne8621
Sprinkler of pixie dust
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2001
- Messages
- 105
Got back Thursday from 2 wonderful weeks at WDW. Here are some thoughts on what I did, and how I found the parks, etc.
October 24 - November 7
Travelled alone (by choice!)
Stayed at - Polynesian (4 nights), AKL (3 nights), Wilderness Lodge (7 nights)
After recent events in the US, I was certain I was still going to go up until the last minute. But I'm very glad I did, and would recommend that anyone else having doubts just go & enjoy yourselves! I found the security at WDW to be very good. Security were checking bags upon entering every park. Some were more thorough at checking than others. There was also a security presence in the parks and I felt 100% safe at all times. That's the great thing about WDW, you're in a fantasy world, and completely removed from the real world unless you turn on the TV or read the newspaper.
Crowds were quite low, apart from weekends, when more locals seemed to be in the parks, making lines longer (especially at Epcot). Many rides were walk-ons, particularly in the mornings and evenings.
When I checked in at each resort, I was given a printed sheet with altered theme park hours on, as hours printed in the park guides had supposedly been changed. However, on more than one occasion I found that the hours on the print out were wrong, and the printed park guides were correct. For example, I visited MK on Saturday - the print out listed Sepctro for 7:30pm, but the park guide and MK tip board listed it as 8pm & 10pm. I asked a CM on a food cart who said it was at 7:30pm, then asked another CM who said it was 8 & 10pm! It turned out that it was at 8 & 10pm. I think they should get their act together and make sure everyone knows the correct times, and also to ensure that they give the correct information to guests, both in person & also in the park guides. Always check at park guest services to get correct times. Towards the end of my stay, park guides given out at MK didn't have dates on, they were just general guide maps that said to check at guest services for parade & firework times. However, resorts were still giving out dated park guides.
The ending of early entry didn't bother me, as I'd never used it before, and although I had planned to use it once on this trip, I wasn't bothered to see it go. For information on the character caravan <a href="http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk/charcara.html">click here.</a>
It was my first time at the Poly & AKL, and I completely fell in love with the AKL. The resort is beautiful, and having the animals right outside was amazing. When I checked into my room on the Kudu trail, overlooking Sunset savannah, the sun was just setting & there were giraffes and bongo eating about 100yds from my balcony, it was perfect! I now wish I had stayed there longer.
Wilderness Lodge was ok, but I had noisy neighbours for the last few days. The room had a connecting door, and that made the noise carry more. The kids were shouting and screaming from 7:30am each day. Despite me banging on the door & asking them to keep the noise down, it continued each morning. I also found transport to be a let down on occasions at WL. Buses were sometimes a long wait. Also, Sunday morning I was going to MK for 8:10am PS. I left at 7:40am to get the boat, but when I get down to the boat dock I found out that the MK boat only started at 8:30am! By the time I'd trekked back to the bus stop & got a bus to the Poly, then mono to MK, it was 8:20am.
Another transport problem was at Downtown Disney when I'd been to Disney Quest. I walked all the way up to the West Side bus stop to find a notice saying the stop was closed & to use the PI bus stop! Now I have lupus and use crutches to get around. It's a relatively long walk to the West Side bus stop, and even longer back to PI. I was extremely tired and in a lot of pain when I reached PI. I stopped at the bus info window to tell them how annoyed I was that a notice wasn't placed near Cirqure du Soleil, instead of only when you get to the bus stop. They said the stop had been closed indefinitely & it was up to PI management where the notice was placed!
I found MGM to be the best place for character greeting, I have never seen so many characters in one place! Starting from around 11am to about 2:30pm there were always characters around the hat. They included - Meg & Hercules, Milo Thatch & Kida, Bert & Mary Poppins, Cruella, Mulan & Shang, Meeko, Mushu, Snow White, Dwarfs, Belle, Baloo, King Louie, Alice & the Mad Hatter, White Rabbit, Queen of Hearts, the Tweedles, Aladdin, Jasmine, Rafiki, Green Army Men - this was all on one day. I spent about 3 hours just going round getting photos & autographs (yes, I had an autograph book for the first time!).
At the MK, the best place for characters was after Cindy's show.
I did Cindy's breakfast, Donald's Breakfastosaurus & Crystal Palace breakfast, all of which were great.
I went parasailing from the Contemporary, one word - awesome! I would highly recommend this to anyone. It was about $71 with AP discount, and worth every penny. The view was incredible, I could see for miles.
MNSSHP was a lot of fun. I dressed as Tinker Bell, and there were some excellent costumes, including a woman dressed as a Christmas tree, complete with lighted fairy lights! I came away with a bag full of candy and stickers, and memories of a great night.
I did the Undiscovered Future World tour, which was ok, but having done the Backstage Magic Tour, I felt I could have told the guide more facts than she told us. It wasn't her fault, she worked on guest services and only did the tour occasionally. We got a pass for the special viewing area for IllumiNations in Italy, but when I got there, the CM said the area had been booked for a party & didn't know a thing about the tour. After radioing through, she found out that it had been changed to the 'wall' at the UK. It turned out to be a great view, but with nowhere to sit. I met a lovely couple from England on the tour - David & Rosemary, and later met up with them at Epcot fot the afternoon.
I got the free Annual Passholder lanyard & pin from Island Mercantile at AK, but when Daid & rosemary went to get one, they had run out. I also bought the AP holder pin ($10.50), but later heard they were in very short supply. I went to pick up my free internet pin when I bought the 100 YOM light-up pins, but they had none in stock. They took my name and address to ship it to me, but not sure when it will arrive.
I met up with Deb Wills (wdwig.com) for lunch at Epcot one day, and she is such a lovely person! We ate at Rose and Crown, but I can't remember much about the food as we were talking so much!
All of the parades were good, particularly Share a Dream Come True and Tapestry. Tapestry runs from Mexico to Morocco for the first parade, then back for the second. I found a good, uncrowded place to watch in America, in front of America Gardens Theater.
I flew with Virgin Atlantic, and the flights were ok, both took off on time & landed early. The caterers had put the wrong meals on the return flight, which were disgusting! I'd recommend taking a few snacks onboard to keep you going.
All in all I'm very glad I went, and if anyone out there is hesitating over whether to go or not, I'd say go for it! The lines are short, the closures will hardly affect you & you'll have a fantastic time!
I've got tons of stuff to add to my site (menus, maps, price info, 100s photos, Food and Wine recipes, and much more)
Joanne
October 24 - November 7
Travelled alone (by choice!)
Stayed at - Polynesian (4 nights), AKL (3 nights), Wilderness Lodge (7 nights)
After recent events in the US, I was certain I was still going to go up until the last minute. But I'm very glad I did, and would recommend that anyone else having doubts just go & enjoy yourselves! I found the security at WDW to be very good. Security were checking bags upon entering every park. Some were more thorough at checking than others. There was also a security presence in the parks and I felt 100% safe at all times. That's the great thing about WDW, you're in a fantasy world, and completely removed from the real world unless you turn on the TV or read the newspaper.
Crowds were quite low, apart from weekends, when more locals seemed to be in the parks, making lines longer (especially at Epcot). Many rides were walk-ons, particularly in the mornings and evenings.
When I checked in at each resort, I was given a printed sheet with altered theme park hours on, as hours printed in the park guides had supposedly been changed. However, on more than one occasion I found that the hours on the print out were wrong, and the printed park guides were correct. For example, I visited MK on Saturday - the print out listed Sepctro for 7:30pm, but the park guide and MK tip board listed it as 8pm & 10pm. I asked a CM on a food cart who said it was at 7:30pm, then asked another CM who said it was 8 & 10pm! It turned out that it was at 8 & 10pm. I think they should get their act together and make sure everyone knows the correct times, and also to ensure that they give the correct information to guests, both in person & also in the park guides. Always check at park guest services to get correct times. Towards the end of my stay, park guides given out at MK didn't have dates on, they were just general guide maps that said to check at guest services for parade & firework times. However, resorts were still giving out dated park guides.
The ending of early entry didn't bother me, as I'd never used it before, and although I had planned to use it once on this trip, I wasn't bothered to see it go. For information on the character caravan <a href="http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk/charcara.html">click here.</a>
It was my first time at the Poly & AKL, and I completely fell in love with the AKL. The resort is beautiful, and having the animals right outside was amazing. When I checked into my room on the Kudu trail, overlooking Sunset savannah, the sun was just setting & there were giraffes and bongo eating about 100yds from my balcony, it was perfect! I now wish I had stayed there longer.
Wilderness Lodge was ok, but I had noisy neighbours for the last few days. The room had a connecting door, and that made the noise carry more. The kids were shouting and screaming from 7:30am each day. Despite me banging on the door & asking them to keep the noise down, it continued each morning. I also found transport to be a let down on occasions at WL. Buses were sometimes a long wait. Also, Sunday morning I was going to MK for 8:10am PS. I left at 7:40am to get the boat, but when I get down to the boat dock I found out that the MK boat only started at 8:30am! By the time I'd trekked back to the bus stop & got a bus to the Poly, then mono to MK, it was 8:20am.
Another transport problem was at Downtown Disney when I'd been to Disney Quest. I walked all the way up to the West Side bus stop to find a notice saying the stop was closed & to use the PI bus stop! Now I have lupus and use crutches to get around. It's a relatively long walk to the West Side bus stop, and even longer back to PI. I was extremely tired and in a lot of pain when I reached PI. I stopped at the bus info window to tell them how annoyed I was that a notice wasn't placed near Cirqure du Soleil, instead of only when you get to the bus stop. They said the stop had been closed indefinitely & it was up to PI management where the notice was placed!
I found MGM to be the best place for character greeting, I have never seen so many characters in one place! Starting from around 11am to about 2:30pm there were always characters around the hat. They included - Meg & Hercules, Milo Thatch & Kida, Bert & Mary Poppins, Cruella, Mulan & Shang, Meeko, Mushu, Snow White, Dwarfs, Belle, Baloo, King Louie, Alice & the Mad Hatter, White Rabbit, Queen of Hearts, the Tweedles, Aladdin, Jasmine, Rafiki, Green Army Men - this was all on one day. I spent about 3 hours just going round getting photos & autographs (yes, I had an autograph book for the first time!).
At the MK, the best place for characters was after Cindy's show.
I did Cindy's breakfast, Donald's Breakfastosaurus & Crystal Palace breakfast, all of which were great.
I went parasailing from the Contemporary, one word - awesome! I would highly recommend this to anyone. It was about $71 with AP discount, and worth every penny. The view was incredible, I could see for miles.
MNSSHP was a lot of fun. I dressed as Tinker Bell, and there were some excellent costumes, including a woman dressed as a Christmas tree, complete with lighted fairy lights! I came away with a bag full of candy and stickers, and memories of a great night.
I did the Undiscovered Future World tour, which was ok, but having done the Backstage Magic Tour, I felt I could have told the guide more facts than she told us. It wasn't her fault, she worked on guest services and only did the tour occasionally. We got a pass for the special viewing area for IllumiNations in Italy, but when I got there, the CM said the area had been booked for a party & didn't know a thing about the tour. After radioing through, she found out that it had been changed to the 'wall' at the UK. It turned out to be a great view, but with nowhere to sit. I met a lovely couple from England on the tour - David & Rosemary, and later met up with them at Epcot fot the afternoon.
I got the free Annual Passholder lanyard & pin from Island Mercantile at AK, but when Daid & rosemary went to get one, they had run out. I also bought the AP holder pin ($10.50), but later heard they were in very short supply. I went to pick up my free internet pin when I bought the 100 YOM light-up pins, but they had none in stock. They took my name and address to ship it to me, but not sure when it will arrive.
I met up with Deb Wills (wdwig.com) for lunch at Epcot one day, and she is such a lovely person! We ate at Rose and Crown, but I can't remember much about the food as we were talking so much!
All of the parades were good, particularly Share a Dream Come True and Tapestry. Tapestry runs from Mexico to Morocco for the first parade, then back for the second. I found a good, uncrowded place to watch in America, in front of America Gardens Theater.
I flew with Virgin Atlantic, and the flights were ok, both took off on time & landed early. The caterers had put the wrong meals on the return flight, which were disgusting! I'd recommend taking a few snacks onboard to keep you going.
All in all I'm very glad I went, and if anyone out there is hesitating over whether to go or not, I'd say go for it! The lines are short, the closures will hardly affect you & you'll have a fantastic time!
I've got tons of stuff to add to my site (menus, maps, price info, 100s photos, Food and Wine recipes, and much more)
Joanne
