gottalovepluto
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2014
- Messages
- 23,013
This board was so helpful in planning our amazing trip to DL, I wanted to report back on how it went & touch on what might help others in the future. Basic info: family of 5 with adult children. We stayed 4 nights at Grand Californian club level, if anyone has questions about that I'm happy to try to answer for you as it's a lot of money to spend to go in blind if you don't know exactly what you're getting. We tried to hit EMH every morning, an afternoon pool break, and back to the parks as late as we could stay up. DL was operating a full 8am-midnight schedule most of the trip. We hit 2 grad nites but I won't go into that as there is lots of info/opinions already available here on the DIS.
60th Anniversary: love it! Everything is themed from décor, to tickets, to bags, to receipts, 60th everywhere! The character's on main street are all decked out, we met Pluto and Daisy (what a character Daisy is! I had no idea she was such a hoot!) and as y'all know the castle is gorgeous. The firework show is higher than before so easier to see from hotels. If you can watch the firework show with a view of the castle, the lighting system on the castle at night and how it interacts is magical
Paint the Night is lots of fun, definitely go to the 11pm show if you can, much less crowded. Don't freak out though at missing the shows if you don't make them, these will be around a LONG time as they obviously cost bookoo bucks. Didn't make it to WOC. Do enter the text drawing everyday, we all entered and didn't win anything but I saw a report on mouseplanet(?) of someone who did and they got $250+ food vouchers, 7 hour VIP tour and reserved spots for one of the shows. It's a long shot but with nothing to loose it's totally worth it!
EMH: perfect time to ride Matterhorn via the single rider line. It was a very popular ride this trip and I practically walked on using single rider during EMH. I rode it 3 times one morning when my fam was on star tours, I couldn't take the bashing anymore so I had to stop. No, they didn't change the cars at all. Fantasyland side was smoother than Tomorrowland but isn't always open during EMH to SRL. Our bad EMH was the last morning at DCA, everything was down except for TSMM and the ferris wheel- which came to an abrupt stop right after the group in front of us boarded and CMs had to take the ride down. This can happen, EMH can be a total bust so I advise do NOT book a DL hotel just for 1 EMH.
DAS: my dad needed to utilize the DAS system, a combination of can't stand and crowd issues, I was extremely nervous about this and asked the board here and the disABILITIES board for advice and information on how the system worked. They said he needed to explain his needs NOT his diagnosis. He walked right into guest services in DL, explained his needs and the woman who helped him heard him out completely, asked a couple questions, and put him in the system without giving him a bad time. She even talked him through the program and was extremely patient with all of his questions (he was a bit nervous about a new system), I'm kicking myself I didn't write down her name because she made him feel so much more confident that it was going to be ok and we'd have a wonderful time.
Utilizing DAS: I'll leave out the details you can find online, but this system is wonderful! However, you MUST have someone in your party who can act as the DAS runner for every ride, there is a lot more walking involved now and each ride adds up. 2 summers back we weren't able to ride Indy because the GAC line was as long (over 1 hour) as the regular line and the FP line was running 20 min which was too long for my dad. This time we waited our allotted time and were boarded onto a car faster than we ever did under GAC. I would much rather wait a longer period of time where dad has no issues than a shorter period of time with problems. Personally, I also felt better about the new system because waiting our allotted time period made me feel more normal (yes, that seems petty but it's the truth). Don't be afraid of the new system, be patient with guest services when the tech malfunctions (which happened a few times, but it's not their fault) and you may find yourself with a better trip than before even if you don't hit as many rides.
ECV: never saw myself writing this paragraph but 2 days into the trip dad couldn't really walk anymore, he either wheelchaired or ECVed the trip or missed the parks. He went to the club level concierge and they hooked him up with an ECV rental. He loved it, we were so happy he wasn't in pain anymore but nervous about his crowd problems. He stayed away from crowded areas as much as possible and when we were in crowded areas he tried to whisk ahead on his own and met us at the destination. The ECV instead of wheelchair made that possible. This is the singe best advice I have here: if a member of your party has mobility AND crowd issues, rent an ECV and let them take a longer route around the crowds if possible and if not let them get through the crowds as fast as they can on their own if they see an opening. ECVs can move faster than people. (No, he didn't run anyone over the whole trip.) FYI you can ride the monorail and train with your ECV, except you cannot use Main Street Station, no ramps. We still used the DAS in conjunction to the ECV as the ECV didn't solve all his problems. Using the DAS already we didn't need to use wheelchair return times.
GCH CL: I distinguish here that we stayed CL as the amenities and service can be different than a regular GCH stay. Namely Craftsmen's club and concierge access. Our daybed room was in fine shape, didn't notice the wear and tare others have mentioned at GCH lately. Admittedly this might have been due to sleep deprivation lol. We used the spa at the pool and it was great as always. The hotel seemed pretty full, but it was full of families with VERY young children, guess the older ones weren't out of school yet for the most part. Housekeeping was fine, but we daily had to ask for towels for 5, 3 bath towels weren't gonna cut it. Craftsman's club: food is the same as it has been over the last few years. Service was notably better, food remained stocked until the service period was over, the staff was excellent, we recognized some of them from previous trips (the last was two years ago) so their turn around must be pretty low. Don't know why service seemed stepped up a level but it was nice. ALLERGIES: don't be afraid to stay club level if you have food allergies. They finally have a solution. There is an allergy menu where you can pick food you can eat and if you don't see anything they will work with you. It takes an extra 10-30 minutes but the person in our party with gluten + dairy allergies had no problems this time. I'm SO glad they have created a solution here. Also, firework viewing at night is much better as they are higher with the new show. General GCH tip- rooms can be very far away, I honestly don't remember if I could even see the end of our hallway.
Overall it was our most exhausting trip since we started staying onsite but it was wonderful! There was so much to see and we still could have spent another day if our feet and bodies (and budget) weren't giving out! Thanks to all who helped me plan and to anyone who's thinking of checking it all out- do it!
60th Anniversary: love it! Everything is themed from décor, to tickets, to bags, to receipts, 60th everywhere! The character's on main street are all decked out, we met Pluto and Daisy (what a character Daisy is! I had no idea she was such a hoot!) and as y'all know the castle is gorgeous. The firework show is higher than before so easier to see from hotels. If you can watch the firework show with a view of the castle, the lighting system on the castle at night and how it interacts is magical
Paint the Night is lots of fun, definitely go to the 11pm show if you can, much less crowded. Don't freak out though at missing the shows if you don't make them, these will be around a LONG time as they obviously cost bookoo bucks. Didn't make it to WOC. Do enter the text drawing everyday, we all entered and didn't win anything but I saw a report on mouseplanet(?) of someone who did and they got $250+ food vouchers, 7 hour VIP tour and reserved spots for one of the shows. It's a long shot but with nothing to loose it's totally worth it!EMH: perfect time to ride Matterhorn via the single rider line. It was a very popular ride this trip and I practically walked on using single rider during EMH. I rode it 3 times one morning when my fam was on star tours, I couldn't take the bashing anymore so I had to stop. No, they didn't change the cars at all. Fantasyland side was smoother than Tomorrowland but isn't always open during EMH to SRL. Our bad EMH was the last morning at DCA, everything was down except for TSMM and the ferris wheel- which came to an abrupt stop right after the group in front of us boarded and CMs had to take the ride down. This can happen, EMH can be a total bust so I advise do NOT book a DL hotel just for 1 EMH.
DAS: my dad needed to utilize the DAS system, a combination of can't stand and crowd issues, I was extremely nervous about this and asked the board here and the disABILITIES board for advice and information on how the system worked. They said he needed to explain his needs NOT his diagnosis. He walked right into guest services in DL, explained his needs and the woman who helped him heard him out completely, asked a couple questions, and put him in the system without giving him a bad time. She even talked him through the program and was extremely patient with all of his questions (he was a bit nervous about a new system), I'm kicking myself I didn't write down her name because she made him feel so much more confident that it was going to be ok and we'd have a wonderful time.
Utilizing DAS: I'll leave out the details you can find online, but this system is wonderful! However, you MUST have someone in your party who can act as the DAS runner for every ride, there is a lot more walking involved now and each ride adds up. 2 summers back we weren't able to ride Indy because the GAC line was as long (over 1 hour) as the regular line and the FP line was running 20 min which was too long for my dad. This time we waited our allotted time and were boarded onto a car faster than we ever did under GAC. I would much rather wait a longer period of time where dad has no issues than a shorter period of time with problems. Personally, I also felt better about the new system because waiting our allotted time period made me feel more normal (yes, that seems petty but it's the truth). Don't be afraid of the new system, be patient with guest services when the tech malfunctions (which happened a few times, but it's not their fault) and you may find yourself with a better trip than before even if you don't hit as many rides.
ECV: never saw myself writing this paragraph but 2 days into the trip dad couldn't really walk anymore, he either wheelchaired or ECVed the trip or missed the parks. He went to the club level concierge and they hooked him up with an ECV rental. He loved it, we were so happy he wasn't in pain anymore but nervous about his crowd problems. He stayed away from crowded areas as much as possible and when we were in crowded areas he tried to whisk ahead on his own and met us at the destination. The ECV instead of wheelchair made that possible. This is the singe best advice I have here: if a member of your party has mobility AND crowd issues, rent an ECV and let them take a longer route around the crowds if possible and if not let them get through the crowds as fast as they can on their own if they see an opening. ECVs can move faster than people. (No, he didn't run anyone over the whole trip.) FYI you can ride the monorail and train with your ECV, except you cannot use Main Street Station, no ramps. We still used the DAS in conjunction to the ECV as the ECV didn't solve all his problems. Using the DAS already we didn't need to use wheelchair return times.
GCH CL: I distinguish here that we stayed CL as the amenities and service can be different than a regular GCH stay. Namely Craftsmen's club and concierge access. Our daybed room was in fine shape, didn't notice the wear and tare others have mentioned at GCH lately. Admittedly this might have been due to sleep deprivation lol. We used the spa at the pool and it was great as always. The hotel seemed pretty full, but it was full of families with VERY young children, guess the older ones weren't out of school yet for the most part. Housekeeping was fine, but we daily had to ask for towels for 5, 3 bath towels weren't gonna cut it. Craftsman's club: food is the same as it has been over the last few years. Service was notably better, food remained stocked until the service period was over, the staff was excellent, we recognized some of them from previous trips (the last was two years ago) so their turn around must be pretty low. Don't know why service seemed stepped up a level but it was nice. ALLERGIES: don't be afraid to stay club level if you have food allergies. They finally have a solution. There is an allergy menu where you can pick food you can eat and if you don't see anything they will work with you. It takes an extra 10-30 minutes but the person in our party with gluten + dairy allergies had no problems this time. I'm SO glad they have created a solution here. Also, firework viewing at night is much better as they are higher with the new show. General GCH tip- rooms can be very far away, I honestly don't remember if I could even see the end of our hallway.
Overall it was our most exhausting trip since we started staying onsite but it was wonderful! There was so much to see and we still could have spent another day if our feet and bodies (and budget) weren't giving out! Thanks to all who helped me plan and to anyone who's thinking of checking it all out- do it!
