Lady Hiss
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2000
- Messages
- 397
Our trip (Feb 23-27th) was kinda short and our first w/o kids (different, yet fun). Here are the highs first, and then, unfortunately, a few lows:
Hotel: BCV! Our room (471) had a nice Epcot view and was spotlessly clean.
The Hong Kong CM at check-in was very personable, and yes, she remembered the "Welcome Home".
Food:
Beaches & Cream cheeseburgers were sinfully delicious.
Artist Point deserves the great reputation - service was
friendly; food was fabulous!
Citricos was equally good, maybe a little more gourmet -
crab gatau was delicious. Band in lobby was mellow & just right.
Germany lunch buffet was fun; band was entertaining;
CM waiter was enthusiastic & service was prompt.
El Pirata in the Magic Kingdom - tacos were yummy.
Magic Kingdom: Crowded (it was President's week) but doable; Wishes was wonderful. Dole Whip was great.
Studios: ESPN The Weekend - lots to do and see. Interactive area had fun stuff for teens to do; parade was good with sports stars (ex: Jerry Rice) in it; interviews and live broadcast were interesting; crowds made it difficult to get on ToT and RnR so we needed to plan accordingly; new animation tour is good (liked the changes and interactive stuff - Incredibles stuff for kids was nice).
Animal Kingdom: We saw a lot more than we usually do - maybe because we weren't on a tight schedule: DeVine - I love how people walk right past her and wonder why everyone is staring at a bunch of leaves. The Chinese acrobats - amazing to watch and the backdrop was Expedition Everest so we got some interesting pics. Characters on a boat floating down the 'river' - is this new? New to us, anyway. Drummer on the bridge - friendly and kind to all who wanted to play the drums with him. Mama Monkey & baby near Kali River Rapids were great fun to watch. Friendly CMs at this park.
Epcot: Undiscovered Future World tour was great - fun to go backstage and into some VIP areas. Next time, we'd try the Segway Tour as we looked longingly at them riding around World Showcase. Soarin' sounds like it'll be fun. Spaceship Earth, while a favorite, needs an update. Illuminations - wonderful, as always. Wish this park stayed open later as we didn't get to do half of what we'd hoped to do.
Jellyrolls: Our first time at this great place. We ended up standing in the back for quite a while because it was packed (after Illuminations). I'd go back, but maybe with a group. Ray & Scotty were a lot of fun.
OK - the not-so-good (IMHO):
BCV - Walls are so thin I could hear the person in the next room snoring each night! REALLY! I ended up buying ear plugs. Sheesh.
Bus Transportation - The worse we've experienced. We had half hour waits several times (MK to BC and vice versa). I'm glad they took Boardwalk off the route, but there are still problems.
Beaches & Cream - While the food is yummy, it's too darn small & the counter was dirty and sticky.
CMs - I hesitate to bring this up because I know most are trying hard, but... many, many CMs talked amongst themselves and ignored guests to the point that it felt just like home. Very few friendly 'Hi, how are you?'s even. Boat CMs and bus drivers barely made an effort. The worst: counter service CMs.
Earl of Sandwich - IMHO, just like a big Subway. Noisy, unfriendly, and lousy theming. Food was OK.
All in all, another great Disney trip and a fun getaway. Next time, we'll take it even slower - it's amazing how much you see along the way.
Thanks for taking the time to read. We really appreciate all we've learned from this board.
Lady Hiss - who's really tired of winter
Hotel: BCV! Our room (471) had a nice Epcot view and was spotlessly clean.
The Hong Kong CM at check-in was very personable, and yes, she remembered the "Welcome Home". Food:
Beaches & Cream cheeseburgers were sinfully delicious.
Artist Point deserves the great reputation - service was
friendly; food was fabulous!
Citricos was equally good, maybe a little more gourmet -
crab gatau was delicious. Band in lobby was mellow & just right.
Germany lunch buffet was fun; band was entertaining;
CM waiter was enthusiastic & service was prompt.
El Pirata in the Magic Kingdom - tacos were yummy.
Magic Kingdom: Crowded (it was President's week) but doable; Wishes was wonderful. Dole Whip was great.
Studios: ESPN The Weekend - lots to do and see. Interactive area had fun stuff for teens to do; parade was good with sports stars (ex: Jerry Rice) in it; interviews and live broadcast were interesting; crowds made it difficult to get on ToT and RnR so we needed to plan accordingly; new animation tour is good (liked the changes and interactive stuff - Incredibles stuff for kids was nice).
Animal Kingdom: We saw a lot more than we usually do - maybe because we weren't on a tight schedule: DeVine - I love how people walk right past her and wonder why everyone is staring at a bunch of leaves.
The Chinese acrobats - amazing to watch and the backdrop was Expedition Everest so we got some interesting pics. Characters on a boat floating down the 'river' - is this new? New to us, anyway. Drummer on the bridge - friendly and kind to all who wanted to play the drums with him. Mama Monkey & baby near Kali River Rapids were great fun to watch. Friendly CMs at this park. Epcot: Undiscovered Future World tour was great - fun to go backstage and into some VIP areas. Next time, we'd try the Segway Tour as we looked longingly at them riding around World Showcase. Soarin' sounds like it'll be fun. Spaceship Earth, while a favorite, needs an update. Illuminations - wonderful, as always. Wish this park stayed open later as we didn't get to do half of what we'd hoped to do.
Jellyrolls: Our first time at this great place. We ended up standing in the back for quite a while because it was packed (after Illuminations). I'd go back, but maybe with a group. Ray & Scotty were a lot of fun.
OK - the not-so-good (IMHO):
BCV - Walls are so thin I could hear the person in the next room snoring each night! REALLY! I ended up buying ear plugs. Sheesh.
Bus Transportation - The worse we've experienced. We had half hour waits several times (MK to BC and vice versa). I'm glad they took Boardwalk off the route, but there are still problems.
Beaches & Cream - While the food is yummy, it's too darn small & the counter was dirty and sticky.
CMs - I hesitate to bring this up because I know most are trying hard, but... many, many CMs talked amongst themselves and ignored guests to the point that it felt just like home. Very few friendly 'Hi, how are you?'s even. Boat CMs and bus drivers barely made an effort. The worst: counter service CMs.
Earl of Sandwich - IMHO, just like a big Subway. Noisy, unfriendly, and lousy theming. Food was OK.
All in all, another great Disney trip and a fun getaway. Next time, we'll take it even slower - it's amazing how much you see along the way.
Thanks for taking the time to read. We really appreciate all we've learned from this board.
Lady Hiss - who's really tired of winter
