WBC: We loved WBC! We were in Building 1. After seeing the whole resort, I wish we could have stayed in Building 6, as it seemed to have more action. The Pirate Pool was warm, most of the others were a little chilly but still very nice and resort-ish feeling. Very convenient to Disney. We loved the washer and dryer in room! I would love to come back and stay again!
Magicbands: We liked having everything all together and not having to keep up with everything. Super nice to not have to bring ID to the parks. We spent a day at Universal, and the difference between everything being on our Magicbands at Disney and having to keep up with three things at Universal (Room key, park tickets, Express Pass) really made us see how convenient the Magic Bands actually are.
1900 Park Fare: One of the best meals of the trip. We loved all the character interaction with the stepsisters and stepmother. The food was divine!
Crowds: We were in Orlando from March 7-14th. I thought that both Disney World and Universal seemed extremely crowded. We don't go to Orlando often, but both seemed comparable to a summer day at Disneyland. I can't imagine what true Spring Break or summer crowds might be. The Harry Potter areas in Universal were especially crammed. Perhaps it's not that there were so many more people there, but that due to FP+ and Express Pass they were in the common areas more so than ques somewhere?
ADRs: I made ADRs. We followed them, for the most part. Several times we wished we could have changed our minds about lunch (or moved the time up or down) without penalty. It's hard to know what you're going to want (and when you will want it) 180 days in advance.
Cast Members: We had a few nice cast members, but for the most part, they were nothing special. They didn't stand out as anything different than what I'd see at a Six Flags, unfortunately. Most weren't offensive, just nothing special and many weren't friendly at all. I will say that at both Universal and Disney there was a rush to board people on to ride vehicles that I'd not seen before. I have a 40 inch flat without shoes on daughter (maybe 40.5 with shoes) and when we arrived at park opening and went straight to Splash, the ride was a walk on. I'm not sure of the hurry, but we rounded the corner and they were yelling at us to hurry and board. Not one cast member even checked my daughter's height, period. They told us not to bother putting her jacket on her, she was going to get wet anyway (and this didn't seem to be said too nicely, either) and hurried us on the ride without ever checking her. I wouldn't have tried to put her on had she not been tall enough, but it was a little concerning.
Fireworks Dessert Buffet: Ah, this was sad. We were so looking forward to this. Unfortunately, my husband felt sick to his stomach right as we entered and couldn't eat anything. I talked to a CM and explained the situation and that he was looking forward to the desserts so much, was there a way someone could prepare a to-go box for him? I offered to pay an additional fee if necessary and she checked with her manager, who said it could not be done. I had hoped that since this was an extenuating circumstance, perhaps they could have accommodated him, and I can't help but think they would have done it in the past (not sure about WDW, but I think they would have taken care of him at DL), especially since it would cost them nothing and they surely threw the food out at the end of the night. I wasn't mad, but I was a little disappointed. Then, to top it off, our family had wonderful seats at a table right by the railing. We were asked not to move our chairs but just turned around in them to see the fireworks. I'd say the chairs were about 18 inches from the railing. A man came and stood at the railing right in front of my husband and my 3 year old. We mentioned they could no longer see and he stayed right where he was.
We won't be doing the dessert party again, but I'm glad we tried it once so we know. Plus, the desserts weren't very good anyway.
Characters: I guess because in California they have Sleeping Beauty Castle and in Florida it is Cinderella Castle, the Cinderella characters seem to be more involved in FL. We love them! The sisters and Lady Tremaine rode the Carousel early one morning and it was just hilarious. Anastasia screamed the ENTIRE time, while Lady Tremaine hid her face in embarrassment and Drizella yelled encouraging words to Anastasia. They were just hilarious and this was really a highlight of our trip! The talking Mickey was also AMAZING. So cool to see. The Anna and Elsa meet and greet went fine. I didn't feel rushed but Elsa seemed a little flat to me. Not much personality. My little one didn't care, though! We were glad to have Fast Passes.
Attractions: We really liked 7DMT, although I wouldn't wait over an hour for it. The dark ride part was really cute, although I wished it was a little longer. Is Big Thunder more tame in MK than it is at DL? It seemed like there were a lot fewer up and down hills, but it was under refurb the last time we went to DL so maybe I'm not remembering correctly.
Universal: We loved the Harry Potter areas so much, but it was so crowded when we were there. Frozen butterbeer was DELICIOUS. The two Harry Potter big rides were probably the best rides I've ever ridden. Express Pass was amazing. We loved the Hogwarts Express and all the shopping and the candy shop. I'm really glad we got to go check it out.
We had a great trip and made lots of memories. I'm glad to be home, though!
Magicbands: We liked having everything all together and not having to keep up with everything. Super nice to not have to bring ID to the parks. We spent a day at Universal, and the difference between everything being on our Magicbands at Disney and having to keep up with three things at Universal (Room key, park tickets, Express Pass) really made us see how convenient the Magic Bands actually are.
1900 Park Fare: One of the best meals of the trip. We loved all the character interaction with the stepsisters and stepmother. The food was divine!
Crowds: We were in Orlando from March 7-14th. I thought that both Disney World and Universal seemed extremely crowded. We don't go to Orlando often, but both seemed comparable to a summer day at Disneyland. I can't imagine what true Spring Break or summer crowds might be. The Harry Potter areas in Universal were especially crammed. Perhaps it's not that there were so many more people there, but that due to FP+ and Express Pass they were in the common areas more so than ques somewhere?
ADRs: I made ADRs. We followed them, for the most part. Several times we wished we could have changed our minds about lunch (or moved the time up or down) without penalty. It's hard to know what you're going to want (and when you will want it) 180 days in advance.
Cast Members: We had a few nice cast members, but for the most part, they were nothing special. They didn't stand out as anything different than what I'd see at a Six Flags, unfortunately. Most weren't offensive, just nothing special and many weren't friendly at all. I will say that at both Universal and Disney there was a rush to board people on to ride vehicles that I'd not seen before. I have a 40 inch flat without shoes on daughter (maybe 40.5 with shoes) and when we arrived at park opening and went straight to Splash, the ride was a walk on. I'm not sure of the hurry, but we rounded the corner and they were yelling at us to hurry and board. Not one cast member even checked my daughter's height, period. They told us not to bother putting her jacket on her, she was going to get wet anyway (and this didn't seem to be said too nicely, either) and hurried us on the ride without ever checking her. I wouldn't have tried to put her on had she not been tall enough, but it was a little concerning.
Fireworks Dessert Buffet: Ah, this was sad. We were so looking forward to this. Unfortunately, my husband felt sick to his stomach right as we entered and couldn't eat anything. I talked to a CM and explained the situation and that he was looking forward to the desserts so much, was there a way someone could prepare a to-go box for him? I offered to pay an additional fee if necessary and she checked with her manager, who said it could not be done. I had hoped that since this was an extenuating circumstance, perhaps they could have accommodated him, and I can't help but think they would have done it in the past (not sure about WDW, but I think they would have taken care of him at DL), especially since it would cost them nothing and they surely threw the food out at the end of the night. I wasn't mad, but I was a little disappointed. Then, to top it off, our family had wonderful seats at a table right by the railing. We were asked not to move our chairs but just turned around in them to see the fireworks. I'd say the chairs were about 18 inches from the railing. A man came and stood at the railing right in front of my husband and my 3 year old. We mentioned they could no longer see and he stayed right where he was.
We won't be doing the dessert party again, but I'm glad we tried it once so we know. Plus, the desserts weren't very good anyway. Characters: I guess because in California they have Sleeping Beauty Castle and in Florida it is Cinderella Castle, the Cinderella characters seem to be more involved in FL. We love them! The sisters and Lady Tremaine rode the Carousel early one morning and it was just hilarious. Anastasia screamed the ENTIRE time, while Lady Tremaine hid her face in embarrassment and Drizella yelled encouraging words to Anastasia. They were just hilarious and this was really a highlight of our trip! The talking Mickey was also AMAZING. So cool to see. The Anna and Elsa meet and greet went fine. I didn't feel rushed but Elsa seemed a little flat to me. Not much personality. My little one didn't care, though! We were glad to have Fast Passes.
Attractions: We really liked 7DMT, although I wouldn't wait over an hour for it. The dark ride part was really cute, although I wished it was a little longer. Is Big Thunder more tame in MK than it is at DL? It seemed like there were a lot fewer up and down hills, but it was under refurb the last time we went to DL so maybe I'm not remembering correctly.
Universal: We loved the Harry Potter areas so much, but it was so crowded when we were there. Frozen butterbeer was DELICIOUS. The two Harry Potter big rides were probably the best rides I've ever ridden. Express Pass was amazing. We loved the Hogwarts Express and all the shopping and the candy shop. I'm really glad we got to go check it out.
We had a great trip and made lots of memories. I'm glad to be home, though!
