OnTheWay2Diz
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2003
- Messages
- 13
My family and I returned from our first WDW trip about 2 weeks ago and I'm just now finding time to write my trip report. First, I'll tell any other first-timers something that I wish someone had told me:
Stay at a monorail hotel for a few days to do Magic Kingdom and then move to an Epcot hotel for the rest. One of our biggest headaches while there, aside from the crowds and heat, was the bus system from Beach Club to anywhere except Epcot or MGM.
Our family has decided that on next trip (and there will for certain be a next one!) we will split between Grand Flordian and Beach or Yacht Club.
The only other piece of advice I'd offer a "newbie" like I was, is don't go to Flordia in the summertime! It is a close call as to what was worse, the heat or the crowds! UGH!! Like someone else posted earlier, I have never seen so many RUDE people in all my life. But I won't dwell on the negative, I just want to report the good stuff!
We stayed at the Beach Club on the concierge level and it not only met, but exceeded my expectations! The room was beautiful and much larger than I anticipated. We had a beautiful view of the lake and the boardwalk. It was really pretty at night when all the lights were on. The entire hotel, the grounds, everything was just lovely. And having the lounge on our floor was a lifesaver. It was always fully stocked with munchies and anything and everything you could possibly want to drink. And it was nice after a long, hot day at the parks to just get off the elevator and grab a bite without having to worry about how much something cost or even having to dig around for the money to pay for it.
As for the parks, we enjoyed them all but there were several rides that we had looked so forward to and we didn't even get to ride them. Some the fast passes were already out and some required you to come back very late in the day. For instance, we got a Fast Pass to Test Track around 11:00am and couldn't ride it until 6:30-7:30pm. How crazy is that? We didn't even go back, we were swimming in Stormalong Bay joking that it was our time to ride. I had mostly looked forward to riding Rock 'n Roller Coaster and we couldn't even get near it.
I also discovered that there is a fine balancing act between priority seating and no priority seating. We had one for almost every night we were there (thank goodness!), but it seemed we'd have to leave one thing in order to get to dinner because it was so crowded that I was affraid if I cancelled the PSs we wouldn't be able to eat anywhere. I can't tell you how many times I heard people being turned away while I was standing there checking in. We almost lost our seating at Prime Time Cafe because our "entire party" wasn't there when they called our names. My husband had taken our daughter out to see the parade since we were just sitting there waiting and had been told it would be about 30 minutes. Thank goodness the lady held our card out for me until I found them.
Chef Mickey's, Cape May Cafe, Beaches and Cream, Spoodles, Big River Grill...all were good. We also had breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table and it was just OK. Obviously the most important thing was my daughter seeing Cindy and her pals, that was worth it all (waking up at the crack of dawn, the over-priced mediocore breakfast). But in my humble opinion, that definitly falls into the category of "been there, done that, don't need to do it again." The biggest disapointment in the food department was Prime Time Cafe. I just didn't enjoy it at all. I didn't think the food was even a tiny bit good. For it to be portrayed as Mom's home cooking...well, it was nowhere close! I will admit that I just didn't like the atmosphere either. I thought it bordered on rude, but I have to say that I knew what I was getting into going there, so I have no one to blame but myself. My mom was with us and she has a habit of taking those handi-wipe things with her in her purse everywhere she goes and then swiping her hands with them before her meal arrives. When she took it out and was about to open it, our waiter came by and just got all over her about it. I think it sort of embarassed her. We all just kind of laughed it off, but really, I knew then that I'd never go back. But I do know lots of people enjoy it there...that's what makes the world go 'round, right?
I think the two things that really impressed me the most througout the entire World was the niceness of the Cast Members and the cleanliness of the bathrooms. Those are two biggies with me and I never encountered one bad attitude in a cast member and every bathroom we stepped in, and believe me, my husband referred to our trip as the "potty tour of WDW", we saw our share of bathrooms! LOL Every single one had seat covers, plenty of tissue and were all clean. I'm sure that is an awesome task within itself to keep them all in tip top shape like that.
Overall, I'd say this was one of our best family vacations ever. Our room and the staff on our floor, Stormalong Bay and the great atmosphere at Beach Club and in the Boardwalk area made up for the stress brought on by the crowds, heat and transportation woes. By the last 2 days of our vacation, we were content to stay in our area (Epcot, Boardwalk and B/Y Club areas) and not even deal with going to the other parks. It still bothers me that we didn't even get to see Downtown Disney or ride RnRollcoater, Space Mnt. or Fast Track. We have about decided that when we go back, we will take our daughter out of school and go in the offpeak times. I know some people don't agree with this, but I feel like the magical times there are well worth missing a week of school as long as your child makes up the work.
Oh well, sorry to be so long, just tried to cover as much as I could for anyone that was interested. I know when I was planning our trip, I'd sit and read this board for hours trying to figure out what to do, where to stay, etc....so I hope this helps someone else out there that had some of the same questions I had. This board is a valuable resource! Thanks!
Stay at a monorail hotel for a few days to do Magic Kingdom and then move to an Epcot hotel for the rest. One of our biggest headaches while there, aside from the crowds and heat, was the bus system from Beach Club to anywhere except Epcot or MGM.
Our family has decided that on next trip (and there will for certain be a next one!) we will split between Grand Flordian and Beach or Yacht Club.
The only other piece of advice I'd offer a "newbie" like I was, is don't go to Flordia in the summertime! It is a close call as to what was worse, the heat or the crowds! UGH!! Like someone else posted earlier, I have never seen so many RUDE people in all my life. But I won't dwell on the negative, I just want to report the good stuff!
We stayed at the Beach Club on the concierge level and it not only met, but exceeded my expectations! The room was beautiful and much larger than I anticipated. We had a beautiful view of the lake and the boardwalk. It was really pretty at night when all the lights were on. The entire hotel, the grounds, everything was just lovely. And having the lounge on our floor was a lifesaver. It was always fully stocked with munchies and anything and everything you could possibly want to drink. And it was nice after a long, hot day at the parks to just get off the elevator and grab a bite without having to worry about how much something cost or even having to dig around for the money to pay for it.
As for the parks, we enjoyed them all but there were several rides that we had looked so forward to and we didn't even get to ride them. Some the fast passes were already out and some required you to come back very late in the day. For instance, we got a Fast Pass to Test Track around 11:00am and couldn't ride it until 6:30-7:30pm. How crazy is that? We didn't even go back, we were swimming in Stormalong Bay joking that it was our time to ride. I had mostly looked forward to riding Rock 'n Roller Coaster and we couldn't even get near it.
I also discovered that there is a fine balancing act between priority seating and no priority seating. We had one for almost every night we were there (thank goodness!), but it seemed we'd have to leave one thing in order to get to dinner because it was so crowded that I was affraid if I cancelled the PSs we wouldn't be able to eat anywhere. I can't tell you how many times I heard people being turned away while I was standing there checking in. We almost lost our seating at Prime Time Cafe because our "entire party" wasn't there when they called our names. My husband had taken our daughter out to see the parade since we were just sitting there waiting and had been told it would be about 30 minutes. Thank goodness the lady held our card out for me until I found them.
Chef Mickey's, Cape May Cafe, Beaches and Cream, Spoodles, Big River Grill...all were good. We also had breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table and it was just OK. Obviously the most important thing was my daughter seeing Cindy and her pals, that was worth it all (waking up at the crack of dawn, the over-priced mediocore breakfast). But in my humble opinion, that definitly falls into the category of "been there, done that, don't need to do it again." The biggest disapointment in the food department was Prime Time Cafe. I just didn't enjoy it at all. I didn't think the food was even a tiny bit good. For it to be portrayed as Mom's home cooking...well, it was nowhere close! I will admit that I just didn't like the atmosphere either. I thought it bordered on rude, but I have to say that I knew what I was getting into going there, so I have no one to blame but myself. My mom was with us and she has a habit of taking those handi-wipe things with her in her purse everywhere she goes and then swiping her hands with them before her meal arrives. When she took it out and was about to open it, our waiter came by and just got all over her about it. I think it sort of embarassed her. We all just kind of laughed it off, but really, I knew then that I'd never go back. But I do know lots of people enjoy it there...that's what makes the world go 'round, right?
I think the two things that really impressed me the most througout the entire World was the niceness of the Cast Members and the cleanliness of the bathrooms. Those are two biggies with me and I never encountered one bad attitude in a cast member and every bathroom we stepped in, and believe me, my husband referred to our trip as the "potty tour of WDW", we saw our share of bathrooms! LOL Every single one had seat covers, plenty of tissue and were all clean. I'm sure that is an awesome task within itself to keep them all in tip top shape like that.
Overall, I'd say this was one of our best family vacations ever. Our room and the staff on our floor, Stormalong Bay and the great atmosphere at Beach Club and in the Boardwalk area made up for the stress brought on by the crowds, heat and transportation woes. By the last 2 days of our vacation, we were content to stay in our area (Epcot, Boardwalk and B/Y Club areas) and not even deal with going to the other parks. It still bothers me that we didn't even get to see Downtown Disney or ride RnRollcoater, Space Mnt. or Fast Track. We have about decided that when we go back, we will take our daughter out of school and go in the offpeak times. I know some people don't agree with this, but I feel like the magical times there are well worth missing a week of school as long as your child makes up the work.
Oh well, sorry to be so long, just tried to cover as much as I could for anyone that was interested. I know when I was planning our trip, I'd sit and read this board for hours trying to figure out what to do, where to stay, etc....so I hope this helps someone else out there that had some of the same questions I had. This board is a valuable resource! Thanks!
can you tell me about the food offerings? I know breakfast is continental but I was wondering what the afternoon snacks were and what the hot food was like? and evening desserts?
