Just Back - stuff you might wanna know

[jandel]

Hi all - just returned from 6 glorious days at the Yacht Club (1st time ever at a deluxe - whoo-hoo) and here's the good, the bad and the ugly:

The good, no make that great: The CM's everywhere bent over backwards to shower us with pixie dust. 1. Got upgraded to a room overlooking Stormalong Bay and the lake. 2. Balloons and a chocolate Mickey awaited us in our room. 3. Got last-minute (5pm) reservations for Le Cellier at 6pm same evening. 4. Got stuck on Haunted Mansion for ten minutes...directly in front of dining hall scene!

The Bad: Not much. 1. Test Track and Splash Mountain closed for refurb. 2. Lots of large tour groups one day at HS but they were all well-behaved and not really noticable once in the park.

The UGLY: Just one thing - the weather. Cold, overcast, sleeting on Saturday. It kept the crowds down but it was a challenge to stay out all day. Thank goodness for indoor shows .

Some things to know if you're going: We ran into a couple we'd seen at our hotel in Epcot on Sunday night. It was about 6pm and they could not get in to ANY sit-down restaurant because they had forgotten to make an ADR for that night. Also in MK we saw several "no walk-ups" signs on different days.

There's lots of those wall things that they put up when they're changing or building something in every park except AK.

Still no "live" Yeti on EE.

Most plants still look ok - lots of flowers and even some roses are blooming - but there are a few covered beds with jack frost signs on them.

As of 9pm yesterday (Monday) the Christmas decorations are still up and holiday music is still going strong.

There is no 2009 stuff to be found anywhere.

Crowds were non-existent in every park except Epcot in the evening. We waited no more than 10 minutes for anything. Rode EE, BTMR, TOT and Mission Space back-to-back .

Speaking of Mission Space, for those of you wondering about green versus orange. I am quite claustrophobic and prone to motion sickness (at least in a car.) We tried green version first and I swear, they scare you to death with all the repeated warnings about the ride. Anyway, I found it to be all nonsense. I LOVED this ride. So much fun. So the next day we decided to try the orange mission. How much worse could it be right? Wrong. I got so nauseated after it was over I had to sit on a bench with my head down for twenty minutes . Just a word of warning to those of you on the fence about which version to try

I will try and post some pictures in a more detailed report later.

Lisa

 

[lvdis]

I'm glad you had a great trip despite the cold weather. That's awesome! I'm curious, did you walk to DHS or Epcot from your resort at all or just take the boat? Also, were the Osborne Family Dancing lights still going in DHS? Thanks!

 

[Mary T in PA]

Sounds like a great trip, except the weather! I still can't believe how ugly it's been down there.

Mary

 

[jandel]

We walked to Epcot all the time. It takes less than ten minutes to be at the back gate. DHS is a little farther so we would take the boat over there. The entire time we were there we caught a bus just twice - once to AK and once to DD. That was a nice change.

A CM told me the last night for the Osbourn lights was the 4th .

 

[smsnorthup]

I can't believe the xmas decorations are still up and music playing! Do you think it will still be going on this weekend....anyone know? We leave on Fri and were just saying how we wish we could still see the decorations...we were there for Thanksgiving and saw them then. Sorry to the OP for the cold weather...I would have been pretty miserable in that cold even at Disney...can't handle the cold!!

 

[bgohre]

Sounds like you and me had the same Mission Space experience. Sorry about the weather. At least you weren't in MN.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

thanks for the info. Glad you got the upgrade and balloons...it great to get something when you're not expecting it.

 

[zhazhazsu]

Hi! I am just back too from 7 nights at POR. I caught O! Lights on there last night, really something special and stunning.

I agree with everything you said, wait times were low ( except for TSM) and weather was pretty crummy on Saturday.

However I differ in opinion about Mission Space. DH has been trying to get me to ride the orange side since our last trip. I finally did this trip, and I get why he called it " boring" I would describe it as a " slightly uncomfortable" feeling, although I can see why some could get sick from it.

Also Sum of All Fears is great! Fun ride, and I loved that I could make it as intense as I wanted. I also liked that it hasn't caught on yet, so it had a minimal wait time.

 

[jandel]

Hi! I am just back too from 7 nights at POR. I caught O! Lights on there last night, really something special and stunning.

I agree with everything you said, wait times were low ( except for TSM) and weather was pretty crummy on Saturday.

However I differ in opinion about Mission Space. DH has been trying to get me to ride the orange side since our last trip. I finally did this trip, and I get why he called it " boring" I would describe it as a " slightly uncomfortable" feeling, although I can see why some could get sick from it.

Also Sum of All Fears is great! Fun ride, and I loved that I could make it as intense as I wanted. I also liked that it hasn't caught on yet, so it had a minimal wait time.

Well, shoot. We were never at DHS at night but we did ask a CM first morning we were there and she told me they stopped on the 4th (we arrived on the 7th.) If I had know that we would have gone back and seen them.

I had no problem with Mission Space during the ride itself - I was exhilerated but after I got off and stepped outside it just hit me.

 

[jandel]

I can't believe the xmas decorations are still up and music playing! Do you think it will still be going on this weekend....anyone know? We leave on Fri and were just saying how we wish we could still see the decorations...we were there for Thanksgiving and saw them then. Sorry to the OP for the cold weather...I would have been pretty miserable in that cold even at Disney...can't handle the cold!!

Dh and I were saying all week - doesn't matter, we're in Disney

It was 11 degrees and 2 inches of snow on ground when we left our house last Thursday. Our plane landed this afternoon in a snow shower and now there's 5 inches on the ground.

I don't care - I'm still on a Disney high and I've got about a week's worth of Disney chocolate and sweets to graze through!

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

I can't believe the xmas decorations are still up and music playing! Do you think it will still be going on this weekend....anyone know? We leave on Fri and were just saying how we wish we could still see the decorations...we were there for Thanksgiving and saw them then. Sorry to the OP for the cold weather...I would have been pretty miserable in that cold even at Disney...can't handle the cold!!

accoring to early posts on the board the decorations in the Magic Kingdom should remain up thru Jan 14th. This info was directly from the Disney Parks blog.

 

[Glampire31]

Glad you had such a great time.... Was the balloons and chocolate mickey in your room a surprise or something from disney? Just curious....

 

[disneyfan55]

Hi all - just returned from 6 glorious days at the Yacht Club (1st time ever at a deluxe - whoo-hoo) and here's the good, the bad and the ugly:

The good, no make that great: The CM's everywhere bent over backwards to shower us with pixie dust. 1. Got upgraded to a room overlooking Stormalong Bay and the lake. 2. Balloons and a chocolate Mickey awaited us in our room. 3. Got last-minute (5pm) reservations for Le Cellier at 6pm same evening. 4. Got stuck on Haunted Mansion for ten minutes...directly in front of dining hall scene!

The Bad: Not much. 1. Test Track and Splash Mountain closed for refurb. 2. Lots of large tour groups one day at HS but they were all well-behaved and not really noticable once in the park.

The UGLY: Just one thing - the weather. Cold, overcast, sleeting on Saturday. It kept the crowds down but it was a challenge to stay out all day. Thank goodness for indoor shows .

Some things to know if you're going: We ran into a couple we'd seen at our hotel in Epcot on Sunday night. It was about 6pm and they could not get in to ANY sit-down restaurant because they had forgotten to make an ADR for that night. Also in MK we saw several "no walk-ups" signs on different days.

There's lots of those wall things that they put up when they're changing or building something in every park except AK.

Still no "live" Yeti on EE.

Most plants still look ok - lots of flowers and even some roses are blooming - but there are a few covered beds with jack frost signs on them.

As of 9pm yesterday (Monday) the Christmas decorations are still up and holiday music is still going strong.

There is no 2009 stuff to be found anywhere.

Crowds were non-existent in every park except Epcot in the evening. We waited no more than 10 minutes for anything. Rode EE, BTMR, TOT and Mission Space back-to-back .

Speaking of Mission Space, for those of you wondering about green versus orange. I am quite claustrophobic and prone to motion sickness (at least in a car.) We tried green version first and I swear, they scare you to death with all the repeated warnings about the ride. Anyway, I found it to be all nonsense. I LOVED this ride. So much fun. So the next day we decided to try the orange mission. How much worse could it be right? Wrong. I got so nauseated after it was over I had to sit on a bench with my head down for twenty minutes . Just a word of warning to those of you on the fence about which version to try

I will try and post some pictures in a more detailed report later.

Lisa

Thanks for the post! Are the resort mugs new yet? I wish they'd go back to the larger ones that they used to have when they were resort specific. I have such a collection of them and still use them! Thanks.

 

[elizabethswan]

so regarding mission space green, how does it compare to other rides? just wondering because i love soarin but find thunder mountain too scary. i know, what a wimp! any info would be much appreciated!

 

[dewdropfairy]

Thanks for the update, I'm headed there soon myself so this is very useful information.

Did you use FP much? What were the waits for TSM like?

 

[Nikisha421]

thanks for the report i am in such need of a wdw trip!!!

 

[zhazhazsu]

Well, shoot. We were never at DHS at night but we did ask a CM first morning we were there and she told me they stopped on the 4th (we arrived on the 7th.) If I had know that we would have gone back and seen them.

I had no problem with Mission Space during the ride itself - I was exhilerated but after I got off and stepped outside it just hit me.

Oh no, I meant that I saw them on the last night they were up, which was the 4th. Sorry for any confusion.

 

[weheartdisney]

Sounds like a wonderful trip other than the weather. The upgrade had to be the best surprise. Nothing like *extra* pixie dust on your visit.

I'm praying it warms up before our trip in less than 3 weeks.

 

[VirginiaMom]

Hi! I am just back too from 7 nights at POR. I caught O! Lights on there last night, really something special and stunning.

I agree with everything you said, wait times were low ( except for TSM) and weather was pretty crummy on Saturday.

However I differ in opinion about Mission Space. DH has been trying to get me to ride the orange side since our last trip. I finally did this trip, and I get why he called it " boring" I would describe it as a " slightly uncomfortable" feeling, although I can see why some could get sick from it.

Also Sum of All Fears is great! Fun ride, and I loved that I could make it as intense as I wanted. I also liked that it hasn't caught on yet, so it had a minimal wait time.

Gotta ask... What is 'Sum of All Fears' and what park is in in? Love the report... I just planned a trip for 1/29 so this is very useful!

 

[VirginiaMom]

Upgrading my question...just read that it was at Epcot in Innovations. Innovations is big- is it East or West? Also, where in the building is it? I always get lost in Epcot, so I'd appreciate any advice! Thanks!