Just Back!

[preemiemama]

Just got back yesterday and wondered if anyone had any questions.

We used Magical Express, stayed at Saratoga in the Paddock section, and did not rent a car so relied on Disney bus transportation.

We ate at: Ohana (breakfast and dinner), Chefs de France, Kouzzina, Via Napoli, Crystal Palace, and Rose and Crown. Quick service Pinocchio's, BOG, Paddock Grill, ABC Commissary, Pizza Planet, and Kringla Bakeri.

We pre-ordered Photopass Plus. We had annual pass vouchers that we activated this trip, and we did not have FP+. There were 3 of us: DH, DS13, and myself.

Be glad to answer anything I can!

 

[scoobydooby]

Hi. Would love to hear about Kouzzina as we are eating there for the first time in three weeks

Also. If you don't have FP+ is FP still working as usual?

 

[Sydnoahmom]

Welcome home! What meal did you eat at CP?
What are your thoughts on new Fantasyland? How were crowds?

 

[DisneyHeather]

Just got back yesterday and wondered if anyone had any questions.

We used Magical Express, stayed at Saratoga in the Paddock section, and did not rent a car so relied on Disney bus transportation.

We ate at: Ohana (breakfast and dinner), Chefs de France, Kouzzina, Via Napoli, Crystal Palace, and Rose and Crown. Quick service Pinocchio's, BOG, Paddock Grill, ABC Commissary, Pizza Planet, and Kringla Bakeri.

We pre-ordered Photopass Plus. We had annual pass vouchers that we activated this trip, and we did not have FP+. There were 3 of us: DH, DS13, and myself.

Be glad to answer anything I can!

What was the quickest and easiest way to get to the Poly for breakfast at Ohana from SSR? I have a 930 ADR in December and was wondering.

Glad you had a good trip

 

[preemiemama]

Hi. Would love to hear about Kouzzina as we are eating there for the first time in three weeks

We ate there 2 years ago for breakfast and it was awesome, so this trip we tried for dinner. It was more crowded at dinner time, and we had a 15 minute wait for our reservation, but our server was excellent and so was the food. DH had the lamb and loved it. DS and I had the Kouzzina trio and it was great as well. I highly recommend the Loukomathes for dessert- they were the best dessert we had all week!

. If you don't have FP+ is FP still working as usual?

Yes, it was. We worked rope drop a lot, and actually found a loophole that helped us with getting around the BTGs (there were 10 on Friday am in DHS!!!). I may get flamed, but because of having the APs, our tickets were not connected to our room keys. SO, we were able to pull regular FPs with BOTH our APs and our room keys. We did not use this much- really only on Friday am when we ran into the mass of BTGs. It was a help, though!

 

[preemiemama]

What was the quickest and easiest way to get to the Poly for breakfast at Ohana from SSR? I have a 930 ADR in December and was wondering.

Glad you had a good trip

Our ressie was for 9:30 as well. We got on a MK bus around 8:30 and then hopped the monorail from there to the Poly- arrived about 9:15-9:20.

 

[preemiemama]

Welcome home! What meal did you eat at CP?

We ate dinner at CP. The food was good. Not the best meal all week, but not bad either. The character interaction was great, and they got around to everyone. I wish they had photopass people, but otherwise we could not complain!

are your thoughts on new Fantasyland? How were crowds?

I liked new Fantasyland, but it was really crowded. With DS13, we did not do ETWB, but did the rest. I like the theming, and BOG was our favorite QS (lunch) of the trip by far. DS even wants to go back again for lunch next year!

The crowds were bad after 12:30-1:00. We had no problem walking in for lunch at BOG at 11, but the line was huge when we left at noon. Little Mermaid and Dumbo also had massive waits after noon- but so did everything else in MK it seemed! Even HM and POC were over 45 minutes. If you go in the summer, work the rope drop/nap and pool break/return at night strategy and you will be fine.

 

[LoriC1964]

Thanks for sharing!

I was interested to hear that there was no line at BoG at opening time. Helps with planning my itinerary!

 

[dpswift]

How was Via Napoli? DH and I are planning on going there for lunch in Sept. Were you on the Dining Plan? What did you order?

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

I'm glad to hear that was no wait at BOG at 11 am...we're going in September (crowd calendars are showing anywhere from a crowd level 1 to 3 while we're there) and we're really hoping to do lunch at BOG one of the days we're there. It sounds like you had a great trip!

 

[Brian_WDW74]

As stated in the Looking for the Live Report and Just Back Threads? sticky thread, "just back" threads belong in the Trip Reports forum. So I've moved this one.

 

[preemiemama]

How was Via Napoli? DH and I are planning on going there for lunch in Sept. Were you on the Dining Plan? What did you order?

We were very disappointed in Via Napoli this trip. We ate there 2 years ago, and it was relatively new then. It took us 3 hours from start to finish, and the food was just meh. We thought perhaps it was because it was new, so we decided to give it another try this time. While it was faster- we were out in 90 minutes- the food was still just OK, and the service was awful.

We found that overall being on the dining plan gave us mediocre service, but Via Napoli was by far the worst service on the trip. Drinks were not refilled unless we asked- and only once then. Bread service was non-existent. We only saw the waiter to bring our food and bring our bill. We really wanted to like it this time, but I think it is not on our return list for the future...

Also, one change to note on the dining plan is that they now bring you the bill to fill out the tip PRIOR to finalizing the dining plan charges. So unless you are paying cash, the server knows the amount of their tip prior to finishing your service. We had one snotty waiter once he saw his tip at Via Napoli! Just be aware that this is now the case with the dining plan...

 

[preemiemama]

I'm glad to hear that was no wait at BOG at 11 am...we're going in September (crowd calendars are showing anywhere from a crowd level 1 to 3 while we're there) and we're really hoping to do lunch at BOG one of the days we're there. It sounds like you had a great trip!

I was surprised- especially on a day when it was so crowded at MK! Like I said, by noon it was packed! Early was the way to go. I would think in September you should have no trouble getting in!

 

[preemiemama]

As stated in the Looking for the Live Report and Just Back Threads? sticky thread, "just back" threads belong in the Trip Reports forum. So I've moved this one.

Sorry- and thank you for moving it!

 

[Volunteer]

I may get flamed, but because of having the APs, our tickets were not connected to our room keys. SO, we were able to pull regular FPs with BOTH our APs and our room keys. We did not use this much- really only on Friday am when we ran into the mass of BTGs. It was a help, though!

So, if I read the above correctly, you're Key to the World (which did not have a ticket connected to it), was able to pull fast passes? That is very interesting (I'm not flaming, just curious as, in theory, that shouldn't be possible ).


Thanks for sharing all your info from your trip!

 

[wiigirl]

Welcome back!

 

[preemiemama]

Yes- you read correctly. We were able to pull FP at the same time with the AP and then the KTTW card. It was interesting to me as well- and very useful when we hit those large numbers of BTGs (or when Soarin was down one morning at RD in Epcot)! For example, Friday in HS we had FP for RnR for 10:00 and ToT for 10:30 by having one on each set of cards...

Not sure how long it will work, but it did this trip!