disney_princess_85
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2009
- Messages
- 5,804
After 16 nights, six flights and five hotels, we are finally home! We had a great trip overall and I'd like to share my thoughts. 
Cast:
Me, Lauren
DBF, Andrew
Itinerary:
Oct 5-8-
NYC, Dream Downtown
Oct 8-19-
WDW, Old Key West, Animal Kingdom Lodge
Universal Studios, Hyatt Place
Oct 19-21-
NYC, The Refinery
I'll focus on the Orlando portion of our trip but we had a fantastic time in NYC and I'd be happy to answer any questions!
Highs:
- Weather: During 11 nights in Orlando, we didn't see a single drop of rain! Very unusual, especially for this time of year. It was fab not having to deal with the downpours we're used to and we were treated to some amazing blue skies and beautiful sunsets. It was HOT though, so plenty of breaks were required.
- OKW: It was our first stay here and we really enjoyed it. Our room was spacious and clean and we were ideally located opposite the Turtle Pond bus stop. It was handy being close to Downtown Disney again, which is something we liked at SSR and missed last year when we stayed at WL. A special mention goes out to the Gurgling Suitcase bar- small but perfectly formed with a great selection of drinks!
- Restaurants: We were on the DDP for the fifth year running and this was the first time we were pleased with all our meals! Narccoossee's was just amazing from start to finish and our server Jason was excellent.
Other highlights include Coral Reef, which was a very pleasant surprise after reading so many divisive reviews! The quality of both the food and service was very high and we loved the general ambience of the place. Be Our Guest was another surprise- after reading so many reports of being rushed etc. we weren't expecting much. However, we were seated in the ballroom which was just magical and the food and server were both great.
- Halloween Horror Nights: It was our first time attending HHN and we'd opted for the Frequent Fear Pass and ended up going twice (both times until 1am!). I was a little apprehensive as I'm a huge scaredy cat, however it was so much FUN! Everything was so amazingly done and while both nights we attended were busy, we still managed to do most things.
- Hyatt Place: We booked a night here following our first HHN, so we didn't feel rushed. At £65 for the night, our expectations were fairly low but it was fantastic! The hotel has just been refurbished and our room was HUGE, spotless and even included a kitchenette and a massive sofa. The service was amazing too, so friendly and helpful. We were so pleased and we'll definitely stay again. It's located just outside of the main Universal complex and takes around 20 minutes to walk to Citywalk or $5 in a taxi.
- Animal Kingdom Lodge: Well, what can I say that hasn't already been said?! I booked this for one night as part of DBF's birthday present. When we checked out of OKW, I was regretting my decision to move resorts as it seemed a bit of a hassle. However, Disney took care of our luggage (an amazing, convenient service!) and all my reservations melted away once we entered the hotel. We were upgraded to a room overlooking the Arusha Savanna and we were very lucky with the amount of animals we saw in a short space of time. It never gets old seeing a giraffe or zebra strolling past your room and I'd absolutely love to stay here for longer next time. The entire look and feel of the hotel is simply breathtaking and it was SO hard to leave the next day!
- A slower pace: Having been several times now, we don't feel the need to go full-on military-style marching around the parks. Some of our best times were spent strolling around the Boardwalk and dropping into the Belle Vue Lounge, or hitting up happy hour at House Of Blues.
- Late nights: Disney randomly extended their park hours just before we left, so we enjoyed quite a few late nights, including a 3am close at MK! This was great- hardly any crowds and most rides were a walk-on.
- Flights: We flew with BA from Manchester-London-NYC. It was our first time with BA and we found the service, entertainment and food to be very good. We paid for exit row seats on the outbound flight but opted for regular economy on the way back- fine for me at 5'5" but 6'2" DBF was a little cramped. Luckily we both slept for pretty much the entire flight so it wasn't too bad! Our internal flights were with United and we paid for extra legroom seats on the way out and upgraded to United First on the way back- this was a great decision! We were treated like royalty throughout with amazingly attentive service and seemingly non-stop drinks and food.
Lows:
- Crowds: The parks were insanely busy throughout, unfortunately. There were loads of huge tour groups and seemingly lots of corporate events going on, which made it very difficult to navigate the parks at times, especially at Epcot with Food & Wine being on. It was so busy that it's made us rethink October- we might try May or November next time.
- Rude people: Apparently it's not customary to hold doors open for others anymore, or to say 'thank you' when someone holds one open for you! The amount of rudeness we encountered was astounding and disappointing. I have several minor injuries to my legs thanks to inconsiderate pram-pushers. Prams aren't weapons, people!
- Food & Wine: I hate to say this but we just didn't enjoy it this year. It was too busy to truly relax and take in the atmosphere- we just wanted to get out of there! Plus, there wasn't much newness to the booths and the vegetarian options were scarce. Any veggies/tofu lovers who are going soon- do NOT try the shockingly bad tofu dish from Japan. I've never seen/eaten such a sad little plate of food!
- OKW buses: We're pretty accustomed to multiple-stop buses, having stayed at SSR and CSR in the past, however it seemed to take absolutely ages to get around OKW, plus the route often changed so it wasn't clear when we'd be getting off!
Wow, that was longer than I expected!
Cast:
Me, Lauren
DBF, Andrew
Itinerary:
Oct 5-8-
NYC, Dream Downtown
Oct 8-19-
WDW, Old Key West, Animal Kingdom Lodge
Universal Studios, Hyatt Place
Oct 19-21-
NYC, The Refinery
I'll focus on the Orlando portion of our trip but we had a fantastic time in NYC and I'd be happy to answer any questions!
Highs:
- Weather: During 11 nights in Orlando, we didn't see a single drop of rain! Very unusual, especially for this time of year. It was fab not having to deal with the downpours we're used to and we were treated to some amazing blue skies and beautiful sunsets. It was HOT though, so plenty of breaks were required.
- OKW: It was our first stay here and we really enjoyed it. Our room was spacious and clean and we were ideally located opposite the Turtle Pond bus stop. It was handy being close to Downtown Disney again, which is something we liked at SSR and missed last year when we stayed at WL. A special mention goes out to the Gurgling Suitcase bar- small but perfectly formed with a great selection of drinks!
- Restaurants: We were on the DDP for the fifth year running and this was the first time we were pleased with all our meals! Narccoossee's was just amazing from start to finish and our server Jason was excellent.
Other highlights include Coral Reef, which was a very pleasant surprise after reading so many divisive reviews! The quality of both the food and service was very high and we loved the general ambience of the place. Be Our Guest was another surprise- after reading so many reports of being rushed etc. we weren't expecting much. However, we were seated in the ballroom which was just magical and the food and server were both great. - Halloween Horror Nights: It was our first time attending HHN and we'd opted for the Frequent Fear Pass and ended up going twice (both times until 1am!). I was a little apprehensive as I'm a huge scaredy cat, however it was so much FUN! Everything was so amazingly done and while both nights we attended were busy, we still managed to do most things.
- Hyatt Place: We booked a night here following our first HHN, so we didn't feel rushed. At £65 for the night, our expectations were fairly low but it was fantastic! The hotel has just been refurbished and our room was HUGE, spotless and even included a kitchenette and a massive sofa. The service was amazing too, so friendly and helpful. We were so pleased and we'll definitely stay again. It's located just outside of the main Universal complex and takes around 20 minutes to walk to Citywalk or $5 in a taxi.
- Animal Kingdom Lodge: Well, what can I say that hasn't already been said?! I booked this for one night as part of DBF's birthday present. When we checked out of OKW, I was regretting my decision to move resorts as it seemed a bit of a hassle. However, Disney took care of our luggage (an amazing, convenient service!) and all my reservations melted away once we entered the hotel. We were upgraded to a room overlooking the Arusha Savanna and we were very lucky with the amount of animals we saw in a short space of time. It never gets old seeing a giraffe or zebra strolling past your room and I'd absolutely love to stay here for longer next time. The entire look and feel of the hotel is simply breathtaking and it was SO hard to leave the next day!
- A slower pace: Having been several times now, we don't feel the need to go full-on military-style marching around the parks. Some of our best times were spent strolling around the Boardwalk and dropping into the Belle Vue Lounge, or hitting up happy hour at House Of Blues.
- Late nights: Disney randomly extended their park hours just before we left, so we enjoyed quite a few late nights, including a 3am close at MK! This was great- hardly any crowds and most rides were a walk-on.
- Flights: We flew with BA from Manchester-London-NYC. It was our first time with BA and we found the service, entertainment and food to be very good. We paid for exit row seats on the outbound flight but opted for regular economy on the way back- fine for me at 5'5" but 6'2" DBF was a little cramped. Luckily we both slept for pretty much the entire flight so it wasn't too bad! Our internal flights were with United and we paid for extra legroom seats on the way out and upgraded to United First on the way back- this was a great decision! We were treated like royalty throughout with amazingly attentive service and seemingly non-stop drinks and food.
Lows:
- Crowds: The parks were insanely busy throughout, unfortunately. There were loads of huge tour groups and seemingly lots of corporate events going on, which made it very difficult to navigate the parks at times, especially at Epcot with Food & Wine being on. It was so busy that it's made us rethink October- we might try May or November next time.
- Rude people: Apparently it's not customary to hold doors open for others anymore, or to say 'thank you' when someone holds one open for you! The amount of rudeness we encountered was astounding and disappointing. I have several minor injuries to my legs thanks to inconsiderate pram-pushers. Prams aren't weapons, people!
- Food & Wine: I hate to say this but we just didn't enjoy it this year. It was too busy to truly relax and take in the atmosphere- we just wanted to get out of there! Plus, there wasn't much newness to the booths and the vegetarian options were scarce. Any veggies/tofu lovers who are going soon- do NOT try the shockingly bad tofu dish from Japan. I've never seen/eaten such a sad little plate of food!
- OKW buses: We're pretty accustomed to multiple-stop buses, having stayed at SSR and CSR in the past, however it seemed to take absolutely ages to get around OKW, plus the route often changed so it wasn't clear when we'd be getting off!
Wow, that was longer than I expected!
