My first trip report - let's talk Disney, resort, food and more.

[Disney for Life]

To all that come to this happy place - Welcome, sit back and enjoy the ride.

About us and our trip details:
My wife and I traveled from Canada to Orlando and used MDE to get to our Disney resort. We stayed at the Beach Club from September 5th to the 19th. We rented a car for one day to make our way to Busch Gardens - Had to get my coaster fill.

Let me begin by saying that some of our experiences with cast members, our resort and our level of happiness (in some cases our dissatisfaction) may have been impacted due to hurricane Irma.

Here we go: After a cancelled flight from Canada, we finally made it to Orlando at 8pm - 3.5 hours behind our schedule. We then make our way to the MDE and are waiting to be picked up. Unfortunately, this was delayed due to a major accident on the main highway to Disney; however this did not dampen our mood as our prayers were with the accident victims and hoped that everyone involved was alright. After waiting for about 2 hours, we finally board a MDE or so we thought. They actually hired a Mears cab to take us to our resort.

After finally making it to the Beach Club, our check-in process went seamless and we were quickly on our way to our room. Room #3530, a wood/garden view room. Well, it ended up being a woods view. Oh, I forgot to mention that this was our first stay in a Deluxe resort. We have stayed on Disney property before, but only at the Pop Century.

About Our Resort:

The good

• Room location was excellent - next to the stairway attached to a walking path that made our hop to Epcot fast and easy.
• Very clean

The Bad

• Bathtub would not drain - it was like taking a bath during your shower.
• Cast members were not the friendliest - especially trying to get help to sign up for their "Minnie Vans" - what a nightmare that was.
• Return bus transportation to the resort was looooong. On average, we waited 30+ minutes and often we took the Boardwalk bus as it was quicker for us to walk back to the BC resort from there. We met a couple on a Boardwalk bus that waited over an hour for a BC bus and they gave up and were always taking a Boardwalk bus.
• Price - sorry, but the location is not worth triple the price of a value resort.

To be continued: Up next, the parks....

 

[dnllmz]

Following along

 

[Disney for Life]

The Parks....

For our tickets, we had 8 day park hopper with water parks. Our original plan was 8 theme park days, 3 water park days, 1 day at Busch Gardens and 1 relax day however, mother nature decided otherwise. We ended up having 9 theme park days (purchased an extra day), 0 water parks, 1 Busch Garden and 3 relax days. To give some context to our park days, we are rope drop people and with crowd levels being low, we could easily do every "big" rides first thing in the morning.

Our first stop: EPCOT
This is our favorite park. We just love the ambiance, the open spaces, the food and Soarin. Illuminations is great and there is enough space for everyone to enjoy the show. It does not feel as crowded as the Magic Kingdom or Star Wars show at Hollywood Studios. Although the food & wine festival was underway, we did not pay much attention to it. We like a drink here and there, just not enough to enjoy the festival. Overall the crowds were light and we could pretty much get any fastpass we wanted during the day/evening. This even included Frozen in Norway.

Our favorite ride in EPCOT has to be Soarin and it was our first time to Disney since the movie changed. We really enjoyed the new one with one exception - try to sit in the middle section otherwise, you will see a very warped Eiffel tower.

Next up: Animal Kingdom
First of all, for us, Animal Kingdom was always a half day park. We could usually do everything we wanted in the morning then park hop to somewhere else. With all the hype around Pandora, I figured we would want to spend more time there so I had planned 2 full days at this park. As I sit here trying to write stuff up about our visit to this park, I'm still pondering if I liked Pandora or not. Don't get me wrong, I loved the theming, the colors, the drinks and even the gift shop - I'm just a little disappointed about the rides. The Na'vi River Journey is nice and well made, but it's really short. To me, this is a once and done type ride.

Now the big one: Flight of Passage. I liked the ride, but it's far from my Disney favorite. I thought the 3D effects were not that great, not sure if it was the glasses or not and the screen was blurry at times. My wife felt the same way - it was a good ride, but definitely not worth a 2-3 hour wait. Rides are subjective just like food, so please don't flame me for giving my personal opinion about the ride. I keep telling myself, if this is all they could do for Avatar, I'm a bit scared for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and I'm not talking about the theming, just the rides themselves.

Other than Pandora, the crowd levels were light and we were still able to do everything we wanted by noon-1pm. We came back in the evening to see the Rivers of Light and Pandora lite up at night.


Off to Hollywood Studios
I planned on the Star Wars Dessert Party but it was cancelled due to the park being closed because of Irma. I did get refunded and I did not rebook because of the many changes I had to make during our trip. Tower of Terror is still one of our best rides - I hope Disney never changes this one. Later on I will talk more about guest and cast member behaviors but I have to say this now. My wife and I had a fastpass booked for Tower of Terror however, we were a few minutes early. So we hung around the entrance and did some people watching. To our dismay, we witnessed a young couple with 2 small children - I'd say they were between 3 and 5 years old park their stroller against the wall and the parents went on the ride leaving the kids alone. We just could not believe it. They left them there will they went in the fastpass line. So my wife said I'm going to follow the parents to see how long they left their kids there. We ended up being in the same ride and it took us 21 minutes from entering the fastpass queue, watching the movie in the holding room, doing the ride and walk back to their location. When we got off the ride and got back to where the kids were, the youngest one had gotten out of the stroller and was just standing there. I know this was none of our business but we would have never left our kids alone at that age.

Again, due to low crowd levels, I could get back to back fastpasses for any ride. I think in the end, I was able to get like 10 fastpass and was able to ride Toy Story Mania 3 times in a row... Boy my arms were sore after that adventure. Helpful tip for anyone planning to see the Star Wars fireworks show - don't stand too close to the stage in front of the Chinese theatre. It's a great spot with not much people in from of you, but I felt that I missed half of the show because I could not see the entire theatre in my line of sight. I'd say stay back a bit to be able to see everything and it was a great show and I'd recommend it to anyone Star Wars fan or not (my wife is not and she really liked the show).


To be continued... up next, I finish off the parks

 

[Disney for Life]

At the parks - part 2

Magic Kingdom
The favorite park of many and do you blame them. This park truly cries out WALT DISNEY. The only negative comment (and it's not really negative) I have to say about this park is the fact that our #1 ride was being refurbished - Splash Mountain. It was sad to see all the scaffolding and fences around this ride. I guess we will have to go back specifically for this attraction.

Our plan was to attend the MNSSHP on September 10th however, the park was closed and a refund was provided. We had other options we could have chosen but with the many changes I had to make to our plan I had no other day where it would fit in. I was looking forward to this party as it would have been our first time attending it... Ah well, another reason to visit Disney again.

Once again the crowds were low and we were able to do most attractions with little to no wait at all. The only exceptions were Peter Pan and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train which had wait times around 30 minutes.

Busch Gardens
This was only our second time to Busch Gardens and I kept asking my wife, how can they survive? The park was a ghost town with maybe 100 people in the entire park. We walked up to each ride and it was basically pick your seat and go. The only ride we waited was the Congo River - but we only waited for the next "boat" to arrive.

They have some great coasters at this park and the only reason I returned. Cobra's Curse was new to us and we witnessed someone getting sick on it - I even caught the whole thing on my GoPro. I will upload videos soon on youtube. The only downside to this park was the closure of attractions that are still there like Gwazi and a flume ride. Why would they not take them down??

To be continued... up next: Restaurant reviews and Dining Plan

 

[TCB in FLA]

Thanks for sharing your trip -- looking forward to the restaurant reviews.

 

[KimmyD]

Looking forward to more. Thank you.

 

[Disney for Life]

The Food Review
To me, food is a touchy subject. It really comes down to each their own, while I may like something and you may not, so it's really subjective. As we were on the dining plan, we had a variety of quick service, table service and snacks to choose from. To give some context, I booked all my ADR's at the 180 day mark. We had some "must do's" on our list, but for the most part, we tried new restaurants. Some restaurants we chose were based on other reviews we had seen an read, while some we looked at the menu and went with what sounded and looked good to eat.

As mentioned, we were on the Disney dining plan that included: 1 QS, 1TS and 2 snacks per day for each of us. I always debated whether or not this would actually save us some money - in our case, it did not and it was far from it. More on this later on...

EPCOT
Table Service
Coral Reef - We went to this restaurant despite reading reviews - this one seems to be a hit or a miss and either you like it or you hate it. We experience both! We only had 1 reservation for this restaurant however, we ended up going there 3 times, this was due to some changes we needed to make because of Irma.
1st visit - My wife had the Seafood Scampi and she loved it. It was well seasoned, it had flavor and the portion was just right. I on the other hand had the Braised Beef and just like my wife, I really enjoyed this meal. For desert, we had the Bailey's Mousse and the Turtle Cheesecake. We really liked the service and the ambiance of this restaurant.
2nd visit - I tried the Seafood Scampi, since my wife enjoyed it so much, and I have to say I preferred the Braised Beef. My wife took the waiters recommendation and ordered the Grilled Pork Chop, once again, she really enjoyed this choice and really couldn't say which meal she preferred. We again took the same deserts as our first visit.
3rd visit - This third visit was a total failure food wise. Upon arrival, we had decided to get our favorite dish again, me the Braised Beef and my wife was undecided in her choice because she liked then both equally, so she went with the Seafood Scampi again. To my dismay, the Braised Beef was no longer on the menu and it was replaced by the Grilled New York Strip. I decided to give the Grilled New York a try - it had absolutely no taste to it, it was bland and really tough and full on nerves that made it really hard to cut and chew. I only ate about 1/3 of it. As for my wife, her Seafood Scampi was literally floating in butter and lots of garlic. She did not finish her meal either and felt a bit sick to her stomach afterwards because of all that butter. At least we were able to stick to our great deserts again. In the end, we left so disappointed, having had two great meals before and this one not so much.

Chefs de France - Again, due to our need to make changes to our schedule and ADR's, we ended up eating here twice. We thoroughly enjoyed this restaurant. the food and the service. This is one that will be on our bucket list when we return to Disney.
1st visit - I took the White Wine Salmon - this was a great choice. I really enjoyed this meal and hope that they have it when I return in a couple of years. My wife had the Grilled Tenderloin of Beef. It was cooked to perfection (medium rare) and she said it melted in her mouth and definitely a meal she would have again in the future. For desert, I had the Chocolate Cake (delicious) and she had the Swan Crème Puff - this one she did not like so much. She said it was a bit dry and not very flavorful.
2nd visit - My wife ordered and appetizer this time around. She tried the French Onion Soup and although it was full of flavor, there was a bit too much cheese for my wife's liking. She then ordered the Roasted Chicken and enjoyed her meal. Another one she would likely add to her list. I on the other hand had the Steak Frites. It was a great meal but I found the portion to be a bit large. For desert, my wife had the Crème Brulee and I got the Chocolate Cake again.

Rose & Crown - We both ordered the same thing, the Fish & Chips. It was really good and would probably order it again should we go back. Not much to say about this restaurant other than the service was great and the food was good. We didn't really care for our desert though, we had the Sticky Toffee Pudding and the English Trifle. We would definitely skip desert if we go back to the Rose & Crown.

Garden Grill (Breakfast) - Insider tip: We had and 8am reservation with park opening at 9am. We finished eating at approx. 8:40 and went straight to Soarin and we were able to ride it 2 times before the masses arrived. We are not huge fans of character meets, but after reading some reviews on this restaurant we decided we wanted to give this one a try. Chip and Dale were awesome and they really interacted with us. The other characters, not so much. The food was good, but really, how can one screw up making breakfast?? We enjoyed this experience but if we were not on the dining plan, we would definitely skip on this one as the cost is not worth it for us.

Quick Service
Les Halles Boulangerie - A nice location for a quick meal - the only thing negative I can say is that the seating is very limited. We both had, and enjoyed, the Turkey BLT.

In Epcot, all these restaurants above were new to us. The one that I would probably skip next time we go would have to be the Garden Grill - for the cost, it really didn't appeal to us, but I definitely understand if you are interested in character meet & greets then it would be worthwhile.


To be continued... up next, more food reviews

 

[disneyseniors]

following along with your review. Love the comments so far and can't wait for the ones on the CM's and guest behavior.

 

[Disney for Life]

Next up: More food reviews from the Magic Kingdom

Table Service
I have to say that there is not much that appeals to us from a table service restaurant at the Magic Kingdom. So this trip, we decided to do only quick service.

Quick Service
Be Our Guest - Like most everyone, we love this restaurant mostly because it has that table service feel at a quick service restaurant (breakfast & lunch). I was able to book 3 ADR's at BOG, once for breakfast and twice for lunch. A quick tip: Try to pre-order your food online because the ordering line at this restaurant was very long and for the most part, you need to wait outside in the direct sunlight. All of our ADR's, we had pre-ordered online and we had no issues with our food.
1st visit (breakfast) - We both had the Open-Faced Bacon and Egg Sandwich. We really enjoyed it and was filling for a breakfast meal. I have to say though, it's worth going here if you have the dining plan but if I'd have to pay $24 + tax each I'm not sure if I'd like it. It seems like a hefty price to pay for what you receive.
2nd visit (lunch) - I tried the Carved Turkey Sandwich while my wife ordered the French Dip Sandwich. I have to say it was pretty good and the portion was rather large. If you'd pay for it, it was reasonably priced at roughly $16 a plate. The staff is friendly and the service is quick. The food arrived hot and we had no problems finding a seat.
3rd visit - I again had the Carved Turkey Sandwich and my wife tried the Braised Pork. She really enjoyed the Braised Pork and said she would not hesitate to take it again. Overall, another great experience at this restaurant.

Columbia Harbour House (lunch) - We had never been to this quick service restaurant in the past, but we wanted to go just so we could sit on the "bridge" and do some people watching. My wife felt like some shrimp so she ordered the Land and Sea Trio. I, on the other hand, needed some of the famous Chicken Nuggets. Who can go wrong with the nuggets?? My wife liked her food but though it was a bit on the greasy side and a bit heavy for a very hot and humid day. We got to sit on the "bridge" and watch people - people can be so funny at times (and I would include me and the wife in this mix).

That's all folks for the Magic Kingdom...

Up next: More food reviews from the Animal Kingdom and Disney Springs

 

[mamamelody2]

Following...

 

[Disney for Life]

Animal Kingdom Food Review

This is one park where I feel there are not enough restaurants. I'm not sure why I feel this way really, the list of eating establishments are plenty but somehow I just think there could be more.

Table Service
Tusker House (Breakfast) - We had dining reservations at 8am for breakfast. I preferred this buffet breakfast over the Garden Grill - there just seemed to be more food choices. The character meet & greet was okay in my opinion however, I think Chip & Dale were the best over at the Garden Grill. In terms of food, we ate a bit of everything and it was quite good. The service was also great.

Rainforest Café (lunch) - We have been to this restaurant before on previous trips and always found it good and the reason we always return. However, this time around, we found the food to be excellent - not sure what they've done to make it better because the menu appeared to be the same. I went for the Mojo Bones (ribs) and my wife got the Ribs, Steak & Shrimp Trio. I have to say the ribs were awesome, fall off the bone goodness. My wife also enjoyed her ribs and especially her shrimps. It's too bad that my ADR was booked for this restaurant so late into our trip because we would have liked to go again. As for our previous trips, it was a once and done kind of restaurant but not this time. The only negative comment I have to say is the noise level but we knew what we were getting into before going.

Quick Service
Satu'li Canteen - Hmmm, the food offering was different and quite good. My wife and I were a bit surprised by the taste (the deserts were just meh). I had the Wood Grilled Chicken Bowl. I found it to be well seasoned and tasteful with just the right amount of sauce and portion size was adequate. For my wife she took the Slow-Roasted Sliced Beef Bowl and like me, she really enjoyed it. Now the desert was a different story. She got the blueberry and I got the chocolate desert and just like reviews I had read, these deserts were tasteless and a bit bland.

Pizzafari - We were actually looking to find the FlameTree BBQ but took a wrong turn and we ended up seeing the Pizzafari and decided to give it a try. I ordered the Pepperoni Flatbread while my wife got the Mediterranean Flatbread. I think we enjoyed sitting in the air-conditioned seating area than the food. It was not bad buy any means, but it was not great either. A nice meal to fill a void in our stomachs and to keep us going for a while.


Still to come... Disney Springs and resort food reviews

 

[rebelbuddhist]

The Parks....

To our dismay, we witnessed a young couple with 2 small children - I'd say they were between 3 and 5 years old park their stroller against the wall and the parents went on the ride leaving the kids alone. We just could not believe it. They left them there will they went in the fastpass line. So my wife said I'm going to follow the parents to see how long they left their kids there. We ended up being in the same ride and it took us 21 minutes from entering the fastpass queue, watching the movie in the holding room, doing the ride and walk back to their location. When we got off the ride and got back to where the kids were, the youngest one had gotten out of the stroller and was just standing there. I know this was none of our business but we would have never left our kids alone at that age.

Not sure I agree this was none of your business. As a mandated reporter (school teacher) in the US, we are all responsible for the safety and welfare of children. The situation you described is fraught with the opportunity for a tragedy anywhere from a scared child all the way to a stolen one! I probably would have informed a CM immediately or even stayed observing the children to make sure nothing happened to them!

 

[disneyseniors]

Not sure I agree this was none of your business. As a mandated reporter (school teacher) in the US, we are all responsible for the safety and welfare of children. The situation you described is fraught with the opportunity for a tragedy anywhere from a scared child all the way to a stolen one! I probably would have informed a CM immediately or even stayed observing the children to make sure nothing happened to them!

Yes, I thought this too. One time I went to the local library, and in the car next to me was a baby in a car seat. The doors were unlocked and a window by the baby was cracked a little. I couldn't believe anyone would leave an infant out in an unlocked car all alone. Anyone could have opened the door and taken that baby. So, I sat there for about 15 minutes or more without a sign of anyone. I was ready to call 911 when a young woman came to the car and got in. I rolled down my window Before she got in and gave her a piece of my mind. I yelled at her that she shouldn't leave a baby alone in a car. What if she choked? What if she cried and choked, or got sick and threw up? What if a pervert decided to take advantage of a baby alone in an UNlocked car??? I told her I was going to call the police. She looked scared at that and took off as fast as she could. I didn't get the license plate.
I am just so glad I was able to sit there and watch the child until the "parent" came out. Who knows what would have happened?
I can only hope the "mother" learned a lesson, but doubt it. She was really scared when I mentioned the police, though, so maybe?
The OP probably didn't think that way, but I always do. I would have stayed there, or left my husband there, and went to get a CM. I might be overly cautious, but I would worry.

 

[Disney for Life]

I totally agree - in hindsight we should have reacted differently. My wife and I said right after all it was done (meaning after the parents were back with their children) that we should have advised a CM as opposed to following the parents. I have to say that we were caught off guard by what we were witnessing and our first instinct was to see if the parents were actually leaving their kids there alone. It happened all so fast and we just kept thinking to ourselves that we would never do or have done that and that it was hard to believe someone did it.

 

[disneyseniors]

I totally agree - in hindsight we should have reacted differently. My wife and I said right after all it was done (meaning after the parents were back with their children) that we should have advised a CM as opposed to following the parents. I have to say that we were caught off guard by what we were witnessing and our first instinct was to see if the parents were actually leaving their kids there alone. It happened all so fast and we just kept thinking to ourselves that we would never do or have done that and that it was hard to believe someone did it.

There is NO criticism of you or your wife meant. I know these things happen quickly and who would think parents would leave their young toddlers alone while they rode???? Insane! Also, there is the Disney bubble where we are all looking at different things, thinking different things and never considering someone would do that. Thank heavens the childrens guardian angels were watching out for them that day. Didn't mean it to sound like a criticism of anyone

 

[DisneyMichael]

Sounds like a fun trip report, other than the issue with those parents leaving their little kids alone

 

[Disney for Life]

More food reviews...

Disney Springs
Lots of changes happened again and we did not spend as much time as we anticipated at Disney Springs. Originally, we had planned on eating twice at T-Rex (we loved this place on previous trips) and we debated over our next location. It was between The House of Blues, Planet Hollywood or Paradiso 37. We ended up choosing Paradiso 37 and have no regrets, so much so, that we cancelled one of our T-Rex reservation to go back to Paradiso 37.

T-Rex - As stated above, we have eaten here on previous trips and really liked the food, the service and the ambiance of the restaurant. I can sat that time was different, the food was terrible, the service was just meh. I ordered the Boneyard Buffet and my wife got the New York Strip. We both found our plates to be bland with not much taste - maybe they ran out of seasoning. The server wasn't too friendly and just didn't seem to care to serve us. No smile, no offer to refill our drinks, just nothing there. I almost forgot the desert, we took the Meteor Donut Bites (for two) and it was the worst desert we ever had. They were really dry and tasteless - not sure what I could have added to it to make it taste better!

Paradiso 37 - In the end, we were happy with our choice on this one and quite surprised by the food. This is one restaurant that we had not heard or seen much in terms of reviews so we were skeptical with this choice in the beginning. Definitely on our bucket list when we return.

1st visit - Let me begin by saying the service there was exceptional and probably the best we've had on this trip. I went for the Roasted Half Chicken and the Paradiso Surf & Turf for the wife. The portions were large but the taste for both plates were outstanding. Like I said before, we were quite surprised and consider this restaurant a gem. My wife has the Tres Leche for desert, I skipped out as I could not fit another bite.

2nd visit - The same service and great food just like our first visit. My wife ordered the New York Strip and I got the Ribs - again, really the food was great and writing about it is making my mouth water. We both had enough to eat so we both decided to skip desert this time around.

Up next - resort dining review

 

[Disney for Life]

The last food review I will make - then I will move on to CM/guest behaviors

Resort Dining
Let me begin by saying that the Beach Club resort has some restaurants however, in my opinion, they are not that great. I can honestly say that I preferred the Pop Century food court. Typically, we are seldom at our resort and mainly at the parks, so I/we want some quick meals that we can just eat and go. I have to say the Market Place in the BCR was mediocre at best. I mean, one breakfast meal and flatbread pizza for lunch/dinner. For the price one pays at this resort, you would think they could do better. I know they have more table service locations, but who wants to waste an hour doing breakfast at $30 a person??? And then there's Cape May Café - it smells like rotten fish when you walk by this place. Don't get me wrong, we both like seafood, but having that smell of fish daily was a bit much. Anyways, enough ranting and on to the food review...

Market Place - We had several mornings where we ate breakfast there and surprisingly, the food was good. It's just too bad there not a lot of choices. Also, we had some muffins for a quick snack to eat. We had some flatbread pizza a couple of times that were just ok.

Cape May Café - A great place if you are a seafood lover. I know my youngest son would have not stepped foot in that place because of the smell alone. We ate here once but it was during our lockdown during the hurricane. My wife had a variety of food like shrimp, chicken nuggets and fries. I only ate some chicken nuggets.

Beaches & Cream - We love this place and had been there before. The only thing I don't understand is that it's considered a table service restaurant. For this reason, we decided to pay for our meal because the cost was approx. $15 and not worth a table service credit. We both ordered the Turkey BLT sandwich and all I could say was "WOW this thing is huge". There was no way I could eat the whole thing. I was so looking to get a nice ice cream desert, but we were so full that we decided to come back later to get ice cream from the take-out counter.

O'hana (Polynesian Resort) - This was our first time and we made this choice based on reviews and we absolutely loved it. So much so, that we were able to get a second reservation during our stay. The only negative comment I can say about this restaurant is the amount of food they bring out to your table. So much food that we actually felt bad wasting so much of it. The noodle were the best I have had in a long time, the chicken was just amazing, not dry at all and full of flavor. My wife loved the stir fry and the shrimp. The steak in our opinion was good but not great like the chicken and shrimps. This is definitely staying on our list to go back when we return.

In case you were wondering, I did not miss Hollywood Studios. We did have on table service ADR for the Sci-Fi Dine-In but it was cancelled because of the parks closure (Irma). We did go to this park many times but never long enough to have to eat there.

Up next: CM and guest behaviors

 

[Disney for Life]

CM and guest behaviors...

Let me begin by saying that hurricane Irma may have had a significant impact to our experience. So many CM's working overtime and long hours while having to deal with the potential destruction of the hurricane back home. Trying to get some food, take care of their family and hunker down when the storm passes by. Then dealing with no power after the fact. I know at this point many of you may be saying: well it was our choice to go to Florida and deal with the hurricane and we deserved what we got. I don't want to defend my actions but when we headed down to Disney on Tuesday Sept 5th, predictions on the hurricane was going to miss Florida altogether.

Let's start with CM's
Overall, I have to say most were friendly and courteous and willing to assist when needed. After writing the restaurant reviews, I can say that I had no issues at any location with the exception of T-Rex. As for our resort, the CM's standing outside welcoming guest were the most unfriendly, most unhelpful CM's I have ever encountered in all my trips to Disney. They never smiled and when we tried to talk to them, we felt like we were bothering them - another reason why I would never stay at this resort again.

At the parks, the CM's didn't seem to care or just not happy to be there. Don't get me wrong, they were still friendly, but something was just missing. I always liked going to the Haunted Mansion over at the Magic Kingdom because they were in "character". Well not this time and I have to say most rides where they had an opportunity to be in "character" they were not. This took away from the magic that we is only felt when at Disney.

Now let's talk about guest behaviors and I have one word to describe them: WOW!!!
Ok, where to begin on this one... Chanting groups, strollers running over people, ECV drivers not knowing how to drive - it was all there. The biggest issue I noticed this time around was the meltdowns by both children and the parents. At one point my wife and I said let's count to see how many times it happens in a day, well we were in Epcot and we reached 100 by 4pm and we stopped counting. Possibly is was the time of year we went to Disney - there were lot's of pre-school kids and newborns. I know I will get flamed for this one by why would anyone go with such you children? They are not going to remember it when they are older, sure they may have some pictures but that's it. So many families did not appear to have fun. Imagine, it was around 90-92 degrees and we saw so many mothers (and fathers) carry a newborn in a sling type holder on their chest with a blanket over the baby. Just imagine how hot that must of been for the baby and the parent carrying them but to their defense, they may have booked their trip before knowing they were going to have another child.

I mean, kids crying because the parents were trying to make them ride something they were afraid of and parents yelling for them to hurry up. One child was afraid to go on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, they were standing in front of the fastpass line and people, including us walked past them to enter the queue and the dad was yelling at the son to hurry up and saying look at all the people that are now in front of us and it was all his fault. Not sure if they ended up going on the ride or not.

Another reason I will get flamed - the smokers. I have to say that I have nothing against smokers, it was their choice in life to smoke as it was my choice to not smoke. I do think though they should respect the rules set out by Disney and only smoke in designated areas. We saw so many people walking around the parks smoking and vaping that were outside of set locations and what appeared to be in plain sight of CM's. They just didn't care at all. We saw one vaping while walking in the Soarin queue as we were leaving the ride.

Back to the parents and their kids. So many parents would not watch their kids (as I described already at Hollywood Studios), they would run into other guests with no apology. I video taped one child swimming in Epcot near the waterfall by Soarin. Obviously the child was not being watched and hopped the fence to go for a swim. A security guard was trying to pull the child out of the water but he got away. Finally the dad (we are assuming) got in the water to pull his son out. This was a first for us to see something like this.

We noticed a lot of young girls were dressed as a princess. I'm sure they loved being dressed that way and it probably made for nice pictures. The downside to all those dresses were kids trying to walk in them. I mean they were tripping because the dress was too long and the shoes seemed so uncomfortable. I have to say that for every 2 kids dressed up, 1 would be having a meltdown because of it.

Maybe this was mean of us but my wife and I would have a line we'd say (to ourselves of course) whenever we saw a meltdown (parent or child): Welcome to the happiest place on earth.


Up next - I will get into the dining plan and why it was not worth it for us and my final remarks on the trip.

 

[TCB in FLA]

No flames here. I admit during my now-16-year-old DS first visit in 2002 with extended family is was meltdown city for everyone. Our expectations and touring style has really changed since that first trip.

And the smokers are really out of control. We stayed at POR, which I dearly love other than the decision to put the smoking areas right around the main walking path around the water. During a 40-minute run, I counted 38 cigarettes being smoked all right next to the path. It was absolutely disgusting.

I'm enjoying your report!