Just got back....Happy to answer ?s

[RyMickey]

Just walked in from a wonderful 10 day trip at WDW (having stayed at Boardwalk Inn, DVC Boardwalk Villas, and the Polynesian), followed by 4 nights at Disney's Hilton Head Resort in South Carolina.

Did nighttime EMHs at all parks but the Studios...

Woke up late at least half our mornings, pooled it in the afternoons, and went to parks at night....

Found crowds to be manageable in the evenings, but it did seem to get crowded as our stay continued which seemed odd...

As I said in an earlier post that I posted from Hilton Head, we found the crowds to be friendly. There were lots of our British friends there, too, which was always fun, because I'm a sucker for the British accent (one dream of mine is to marry a British woman - probably should head over to Britain for that one to come true, though). Struck up quite a few conversations with people.

And...I think I saw a DISer at the Poly...I recognized her from her picture on the boards, but I was too embarrassed to say anything...although it didn't stop my brother from yelling out "DISBOARDS!" while we were in the Poly pool last Thursday. So, if you thought you heard someone yelling that, you probably did. Once I see your picture again, I'll try to comment to you, oh mysterious DISer. Hope you had a wonderful trip whomever you are.

I'll post a more in-depth run-down later on and will be posting my first trip reports on the trip reports boards (nervous about that one ) along with restaurant reviews on that board.

Overall, we had a wonderful trip - and a relaxing one, too. Our most relaxing trip yet.

 

[mitros]

10 days, quite a trip, did you herniate your Master Card on that one?

 

[RyMickey]

Well, being DVC members certainly helps (and it would be a Disney Visa, after all ). That being said, we only ate one meal a day out and for those meals we used our 20% off Disney Dining Experience card (essentially it was one meal free). My brothers and I helped pay for the cost of the Boardwalk and Poly hotel rooms (although as college students we're strapped for cash now). We got annual passes with the DVC rate which we'll use next June when we go down with our group of 12.

Of course, it's not cheap, but we looked at the trip as a relaxing vacation, spending time at the pool, not even going into the parks on 2 days out of the 10. We're all older now (2 of us are in college, 1 will be a high school senior this year), and while it may seem odd that we are fascinated with the inner workings of Disney, we all love to vacation here. We had fun - spending quality time with Mom and Dad and all (for some strange reason, I hear the "aaawww's" of a Full House tv audience right now).

 

[luv2nascar]

sounds like you had a wonderful time. Sorry you are back. Start planning that next trip. No time like the present.

 

[Leota]

How were the evening EMH's for you? They were pretty packed on Spring Break & I'm hoping they will be better when we go in a week or so.

Also glad to hear that the college students are still enjoying WDW vacations with the parents. My DS is a senior in HS this year & I was freaking out that he wouldn't want to do WDW with me/us anymore. He assured me he'd go as long as I'd take him, lol.

 

[RyMickey]

How were the evening EMH's for you? They were pretty packed on Spring Break & I'm hoping they will be better when we go in a week or so.

We arrived on a Friday and went to MK EMH that night and were pleasantly surprised about the crowds. While we didn't get as much done as we would have on the E-ride nights, I think the reason for that was because we didn't push ourselves. On E-ride nights, we felt that since we were paying for them, we had to really hit everything.

At MK, they had FastPasses available for Space Mountain and Peter Pan (we took advantage of the former).

On the second MK EMH (the following Friday), we thought it was packed. We had to loop in the outside queue for Splash (the previous night we had walked right on), Big Thunder was a 30 minute wait, etc.

However, it's a good time to hit some of the lesser rides on both of the evenings. All the Fantasyland rides were empty with the exception of Peter Pan which had a long wait. Same with Adventureland. Even Tomorrowland (Space Mountain excluded) was the same way.

We also did EMHs at Epcot and AK. We felt that it was worth it at both those parks. We saw everything available to see at AK except for the Festival of the Lion King show. At Epcot, Test Track has FastPass available, so we got a FastPass and did everything else that was open (with the exception of Soarin' [which still had tremendously long waits at night], Malestrom, and El Rio Del Tiempo).

So, after all that long-windedness, is it worth it? Yeah. MK might be the worst experience (although we still plan on doing this next summer), but at Epcot and AK, we had a great time.

Also glad to hear that the college students are still enjoying WDW vacations with the parents. My DS is a senior in HS this year & I was freaking out that he wouldn't want to do WDW with me/us anymore. He assured me he'd go as long as I'd take him, lol.

I wholeheartedly agree with the bolded statement.

 

[danny1649]

Thank you for sharing

 

[JulyGirl]

Welcome back! Which resort did you enjoy the most?

 

[RyMickey]

Welcome back! Which resort did you enjoy the most?

Well, the Boardwalk Villas are our home (DVC, ya know)...That being said, we love the Polynesian. This was our second time there. Big rooms and we love the ambience. We were at the volcano pool one day, sitting so we couldn't see the Magic Kingdom. I looked up and said, "It really feels like you're not at Disney at this hotel."

However, one qualm about the Poly is that the room where we were staying (the Tokelau section) needed some work. It wasn't bad by any means, but you could see the age of the place. Same goes for the Great Ceremonial House. Wallpaper was peeling in places. I know that they're doing renovations to the resort rooms and to the Main Lobby areas, so this isn't a huge concern.

 

[annie1995]

Glad you had a great time, did you happen to notice if Ice Station Cool is closed at Epcot? my husband missed it last time we were there, and was hoping to take him there next month. I have heard that it is closed for refurbishment, but disney says it's still operational. So I am hearing two different stories. Anyway thanks for any info you might have!

 

[mitros]

Has it been a while since you have stayed at the Poly? Did you know they are in the midst of a total re-hab, including the main building. They are going to, if not already done, move all the stores around on the first floor of the Great Ceremonial House, as well as combine the small bathrooms by the front entrance and the ones around the corner by the ladies shop into one large bathroom. {long overdue, if you ask me} Can't wait to check it out in September.

annie1995: It is supposedly totally closed now, and will not reopen for 6 months, after a complete rehab. can't seem to find out anything other then it will be "dance club" themed. Where did you hear Disney saying that is still operational?

 

[annie1995]

I called Disney and asked about the operational updates. Its also not online under the update sectons either. Go Figure

 

[RyMickey]

Mitros - I know/knew that Poly was being renovated when we were there. Currently, some of the store areas are still closed, but they did have a large store that was new to us since our last visit two years ago. Don't get me wrong - the resort/room did not disappoint. I was just commenting that the renovation is deservedly needed.

Annie1995 - It's definitely closed and will reopen in a couple of months with the proposed name "Club Cool." Unfortunately, the rumor is that there will not be free samples anymore and it will be more of just a store-type atmosphere. Who knows?!?!?