MeLaNie9
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2006
- Messages
- 1,236
We came home to an illness then death in the family, so our report is a bit late. We arrived at WDW on May 13th, stayed at the Poly. Our room was ready upon arrival (and after a stop at Captain Cook's - food not bad) but crib and refrigerator were not yet in room. We decided to head to MK. We were able to see Philharmagic, IASW, Peter Pan before our dinner at Crystal Palace with Pooh and friends. Food here was pretty good, character interaction good. We saw Spectromagic Parade and tried to head out after that but exit route was mobbed. By the time we got back to Poly is was close to 10pm and DS( almost 2) was exhausted. This situation was made worse by the fact that the crib and refrigerator had not arrived and we had to wait for them to be delivered. Otherwise, Poly was great. We stayed in Tahiti with MK view and watched the Wishes fireworks each night.
Weather was great except for one day of rain, when we were at AK. The rides were deserted however. We did all the parks over our 7 days and made it to our first MGM Star Wars weekend (loved the Star Wars parade). DS(2) did well - liked almost everything except Dumbo/Magic Carpets/Triceratops Spin. His favorite was clearly IASW. He disliked things that were too loud (Ellen's Energy Adventure was way too loud) and were in the dark for a good period of time (go figure - he really hated the TTA when it went through SM). We thought it was a great age to take him - he enjoyed alot, liked seeing the characters, and hey - he was free!!!!
DH and I loved Soarin. Our favorite for sure. I was 13 weeks pregnant at the time so didn't go on everything I would have liked to ride, esp. BTMRR. I did do the Safari at AK (not bumpy at all in first seat). Believe it or not, I thought the bumpiest ride was IASW - the part when the boats are being shunted up to the loading/unloading area.
We did 3 character meals - Crystal Palace dinner, Garden Grill dinner, and Chef Mickey's breakfast. Garden Grill again wins as our favorite. The character interaction was excellent, in fact the characters came back to our table multiple times because DS tended to warm up to them over time and they recoginized this. Plus, the food was really good. DH loved the catfish and I loved the beef and potatoes. CM's breakfast was not a good scene - way too crowded and we had to wait for a long time to be seated. We probably won't do this one again. DH surprised me with room service breakfast for Mother's Day which was really good. Otherwise, we ate breakfast in the room - we had packed those small cereals, bowls, spoons, and fruit bars and bought milk at the Poly.
Other meals of note - we enjoyed LTT lunch, the server (Raymond) was funny and great. Kona Cafe had to be our favorite dinner, food was delicious, even though DS was cranky throughout this meal! We were on the DDP and found it to be fantastic. I am not sure how much money we saved but we are confident that we did save - the snacks were great because I know I would have been snacking (pregnant and just over morning sickness) and spending if I wasn't on the DDP. Also, getting appetizer, entree, and dessert for both DH and I was great in order to feed DS off our plates. Having tip/tax included was awesome - didn't have to carry much cash and take time to figure out tips. We planned all meals out in advance and had ADR's for all TS. Pecos Bill's was by far our favorite CS, we also liked Tusker House and Flatbread Grill. I would have to say that our least favorite was Boma. I am a pretty adventurous eater, but didn't find anything that I liked on their buffet. Worst of all, virtually all of their desserts were labeled as containing alcohol, obviously a no-no for me.
The parks were crowded but not overwhelmingly so and we never seemed to have to wait for a ride more than 15-20min. We used FastPass for a few things, but had also used the Unofficial Guide to plan our days and it really worked. We were able to ride DS's favorites over and over and we were first in line in Toontown to meet Mickey (best UG tip was taking the WDW railroad to Toontown right before it opens). We felt that we did not need to be in MK to see Wishes ever (usually too late for DS anyways), we did not do Fantasmic, but enjoyed Illuminations. We did not scope out a place and sit there for hours for Illuminations, we just walked right up to the area around lagoon nearest the park entrance/exit a few minutes before it started and had a great view. Plus exiting afterwards was a breeze.
We loved staying on the monorail, but the bus transportation was horrible. The waits for buses were long and those buses were so crowded. Especially a bus we took to Downtown Disney. By the end of the week, we were clearly avoiding the buses. DS absolutely loved the monorail - riding and seeing it go by. The bus driver on the Magic Express to the airport was awful. He was an elderly guy who kept telling horrible jokes and stories and he made a wrong turn because he wasn't concentrating on the road!
Poly Volcano pool was crowded, but we only used it briefly. I sat on the beach outside of Tahiti one afternoon and it was deserted. It was very relaxing. DS enjoyed the nightly Light Parade.
All in all, there were a few glitches but we had a great trip. Many people told us that DS was too young for this trip, but we really think it was a good time to take him. I hope to go back when our second is about his current age and I can enjoy more rides then!
Weather was great except for one day of rain, when we were at AK. The rides were deserted however. We did all the parks over our 7 days and made it to our first MGM Star Wars weekend (loved the Star Wars parade). DS(2) did well - liked almost everything except Dumbo/Magic Carpets/Triceratops Spin. His favorite was clearly IASW. He disliked things that were too loud (Ellen's Energy Adventure was way too loud) and were in the dark for a good period of time (go figure - he really hated the TTA when it went through SM). We thought it was a great age to take him - he enjoyed alot, liked seeing the characters, and hey - he was free!!!!
DH and I loved Soarin. Our favorite for sure. I was 13 weeks pregnant at the time so didn't go on everything I would have liked to ride, esp. BTMRR. I did do the Safari at AK (not bumpy at all in first seat). Believe it or not, I thought the bumpiest ride was IASW - the part when the boats are being shunted up to the loading/unloading area.
We did 3 character meals - Crystal Palace dinner, Garden Grill dinner, and Chef Mickey's breakfast. Garden Grill again wins as our favorite. The character interaction was excellent, in fact the characters came back to our table multiple times because DS tended to warm up to them over time and they recoginized this. Plus, the food was really good. DH loved the catfish and I loved the beef and potatoes. CM's breakfast was not a good scene - way too crowded and we had to wait for a long time to be seated. We probably won't do this one again. DH surprised me with room service breakfast for Mother's Day which was really good. Otherwise, we ate breakfast in the room - we had packed those small cereals, bowls, spoons, and fruit bars and bought milk at the Poly.
Other meals of note - we enjoyed LTT lunch, the server (Raymond) was funny and great. Kona Cafe had to be our favorite dinner, food was delicious, even though DS was cranky throughout this meal! We were on the DDP and found it to be fantastic. I am not sure how much money we saved but we are confident that we did save - the snacks were great because I know I would have been snacking (pregnant and just over morning sickness) and spending if I wasn't on the DDP. Also, getting appetizer, entree, and dessert for both DH and I was great in order to feed DS off our plates. Having tip/tax included was awesome - didn't have to carry much cash and take time to figure out tips. We planned all meals out in advance and had ADR's for all TS. Pecos Bill's was by far our favorite CS, we also liked Tusker House and Flatbread Grill. I would have to say that our least favorite was Boma. I am a pretty adventurous eater, but didn't find anything that I liked on their buffet. Worst of all, virtually all of their desserts were labeled as containing alcohol, obviously a no-no for me.
The parks were crowded but not overwhelmingly so and we never seemed to have to wait for a ride more than 15-20min. We used FastPass for a few things, but had also used the Unofficial Guide to plan our days and it really worked. We were able to ride DS's favorites over and over and we were first in line in Toontown to meet Mickey (best UG tip was taking the WDW railroad to Toontown right before it opens). We felt that we did not need to be in MK to see Wishes ever (usually too late for DS anyways), we did not do Fantasmic, but enjoyed Illuminations. We did not scope out a place and sit there for hours for Illuminations, we just walked right up to the area around lagoon nearest the park entrance/exit a few minutes before it started and had a great view. Plus exiting afterwards was a breeze.
We loved staying on the monorail, but the bus transportation was horrible. The waits for buses were long and those buses were so crowded. Especially a bus we took to Downtown Disney. By the end of the week, we were clearly avoiding the buses. DS absolutely loved the monorail - riding and seeing it go by. The bus driver on the Magic Express to the airport was awful. He was an elderly guy who kept telling horrible jokes and stories and he made a wrong turn because he wasn't concentrating on the road!
Poly Volcano pool was crowded, but we only used it briefly. I sat on the beach outside of Tahiti one afternoon and it was deserted. It was very relaxing. DS enjoyed the nightly Light Parade.
All in all, there were a few glitches but we had a great trip. Many people told us that DS was too young for this trip, but we really think it was a good time to take him. I hope to go back when our second is about his current age and I can enjoy more rides then!
