We had a great time. The students were perfectly behaved, not a single whinge or moan out of any of them! This was my second visit - last time was July 2003!
Stayed at the Cheyenne which was okay other than the fact that one night there was no hot water which meant that no one could get a shower after a day in the freezing cold snow which did NOT go down well, not least with me...I also found the room to be cold despite having those little electric heaters on but everyone else seemed fine. Noise through the connecting doors was unreal - I could literally have been in the same room. Nice themeing and probably the best bedding arrangement of the lot (double bed was very comfortable).
Parks were manic on Sunday, 45 minutes wait for almost everything and bitterly cold, barely rode anything. Despite the park being packed to the brim, most of the cafes and coffee stalls were closed and the lines were astronomical at the others.
Disney cleaning also left a LOT to be desired - several piles of vomit on the main concourse through the production 'tent' which everyone has to trail through to get in and out of the Studios park, Disney kept saying they were on it but nothing was done 20 minutes later. There was also a poor small girl being very violently sick on the bathroom floor in there - parents obviously trying to get her to the toilet but didn't make it, which wasn't a problem in itself other than the fact that the maintenance woman who was cleaning the toilets refused to do ANYTHING about it until she had cleaned all the other toilets, despite begging from the child's family (wouldn't even cover it with paper towels) so it blocked off two thirds of the bathrooms there. Really, really shoddy
Monday it snowed and the parks were almost empty so we walked on everything; Space Mountain was awesome, as was Rock 'n' Rollercoaster but Tower of Terror was the icing on the cake (although they have made the 'hotel' look European which I think means it lacks some of the 1950s appeal of its Floridian counterpart). Staff at the ToT were awesome too.
Food was pretty good although the wait for hot drinks at breakfast was long and there was never any milk (lots of dry cereal thrown away). Ate at the Cheyenne for dinner several times, very good value but only because we booked in advance. We ate later one night and got to see Chip and Dale which was nice to do without paying for a character meal. The food was good and loads of range; the desserts were to die for. Fast food in the parks was mediocre at best. Food and drink everywhere was extortionately priced - I know it's a captive audience but they really were taking the 'mickey'.
To summarise I had a great time but I learnt a few things:
- You really can do EVERYTHING in a day in the winter
- Despite the cold weather, Disney really aren't geared up for it; there isn't enough indoor seating and a lot of the rides still line up outside
- I will never, ever go back in the winter - being outside all day in freezing temperatures is not for me
- I highly doubt I will return as it's so expensive there; WDW Florida provides far better value for money even at the current exchange rate, not least because the portion sizes are more reasonable and water fountains are more widely available.