Lady Hiss
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2000
- Messages
- 397
The weather was perfect and a good time was had by all (4 adults). 
Highs:
Easter at Animal Kingdom - We were able to do all our top priorities: KS, EE, Pangani trail, more EE, chai tea, and a few rides in Dinoland. We spent the rest of the day at Epcot and our resort.
Birthday celebration - Breakfast at Sunshine Terrace; Soarin'; TT (well, kind of - it broke down, but fast passes were given); MS; lunch and fancy drinks around the World Showcase
; Spaceship Earth; F&G Festival pavilion (great place for a quiet break and snack with nice exhibits and speakers); MK at night including Be Our Guest birthday dinner 
(atmostphere is kind of loud & frenetic, but dining area is beautiful and food was yummy), Wishes, Buzz, People Mover, Dumbo (a walk-on!), and teacups. A perfect birthday for our 24 yr. old DD.
EPCOT - love, love, love this park; flowers/topiaries were gorgeous
; did some browsing at Mouse Gears; enjoyed the concert behind UK; French balancing act; The Nelson concert in America; food/drinks around the WS (yep, we did this A LOT); dinner at Teppan Edo was delicious and fun - chef and waitresses were lively and funny;
Beach Club Villas - quiet room at the end of the building; quick repairs on a few minor malfunctioning things in the room; nice view of high Illuminations fireworks.
Magical Express - worked like a charm and we love the convenience; on return trip bus driver played Disney trivia and had everyone happy and laughing for most of the sad trip to the airport.
[Lows:
I hate to say it, but the lack of magic. We're Disney veterans and we miss the old days when cast members were enthusiastic and devoted to customer service. We encountered many, many cast members talking amonst themselves (at rides; in restaurants; in shops; at entrance gates; on transportation) without much thought to guests who were present - lots of conversations about when they were scheduled to work, time off, etc. There were a lot of conversations in other languages (no, not in Epcot where I'd expect it a bit more) while guests stood by waiting for service. I realize it was a holiday week, but that's the nature of the hospitality business - you work on holidays. Most (85%) CMs seemed to be just going through the motions.
Toy Story Mania - We love this ride, but it was almost not doable for the entire week we were there.
Yep, we got there early in the AM. We decided to do stand-by (60 min posted wait time) - big mistake. The wait was 2 hours while fast pass holders walked on. We finally rode another day - got fast passes for 9:30 PM. So, 2 times on this ride for the entire week - not acceptable - which brings me to...
Soarin' - Also, a huge hassle.
We rushed to get to The Land right away and at 9:02 AM, fast pass time was already 10:30 AM - no it wasn't EMH either. We figured they must have dropped the rope early - wish we would've known. We rode twice during the week we were there. I realize it was a holiday week, but we did everything right (got up early to get FP) and still had difficulty getting on this.
All in all, we had a fabulous trip (80 degrees with sunshine certainly helps). We've learned to go with the flow and not get stressed. It's still one of our favorite places on earth.
Lady Hiss
Disney vet (1972 and beyond)
Highs:
Easter at Animal Kingdom - We were able to do all our top priorities: KS, EE, Pangani trail, more EE, chai tea, and a few rides in Dinoland. We spent the rest of the day at Epcot and our resort.
Birthday celebration - Breakfast at Sunshine Terrace; Soarin'; TT (well, kind of - it broke down, but fast passes were given); MS; lunch and fancy drinks around the World Showcase
; Spaceship Earth; F&G Festival pavilion (great place for a quiet break and snack with nice exhibits and speakers); MK at night including Be Our Guest birthday dinner (atmostphere is kind of loud & frenetic, but dining area is beautiful and food was yummy), Wishes, Buzz, People Mover, Dumbo (a walk-on!), and teacups. A perfect birthday for our 24 yr. old DD.EPCOT - love, love, love this park; flowers/topiaries were gorgeous
; did some browsing at Mouse Gears; enjoyed the concert behind UK; French balancing act; The Nelson concert in America; food/drinks around the WS (yep, we did this A LOT); dinner at Teppan Edo was delicious and fun - chef and waitresses were lively and funny; Beach Club Villas - quiet room at the end of the building; quick repairs on a few minor malfunctioning things in the room; nice view of high Illuminations fireworks.
Magical Express - worked like a charm and we love the convenience; on return trip bus driver played Disney trivia and had everyone happy and laughing for most of the sad trip to the airport.
[Lows:
I hate to say it, but the lack of magic. We're Disney veterans and we miss the old days when cast members were enthusiastic and devoted to customer service. We encountered many, many cast members talking amonst themselves (at rides; in restaurants; in shops; at entrance gates; on transportation) without much thought to guests who were present - lots of conversations about when they were scheduled to work, time off, etc. There were a lot of conversations in other languages (no, not in Epcot where I'd expect it a bit more) while guests stood by waiting for service. I realize it was a holiday week, but that's the nature of the hospitality business - you work on holidays. Most (85%) CMs seemed to be just going through the motions.
Toy Story Mania - We love this ride, but it was almost not doable for the entire week we were there.
Yep, we got there early in the AM. We decided to do stand-by (60 min posted wait time) - big mistake. The wait was 2 hours while fast pass holders walked on. We finally rode another day - got fast passes for 9:30 PM. So, 2 times on this ride for the entire week - not acceptable - which brings me to...Soarin' - Also, a huge hassle.
We rushed to get to The Land right away and at 9:02 AM, fast pass time was already 10:30 AM - no it wasn't EMH either. We figured they must have dropped the rope early - wish we would've known. We rode twice during the week we were there. I realize it was a holiday week, but we did everything right (got up early to get FP) and still had difficulty getting on this. All in all, we had a fabulous trip (80 degrees with sunshine certainly helps). We've learned to go with the flow and not get stressed. It's still one of our favorite places on earth.
Lady Hiss
Disney vet (1972 and beyond)
