rachael95
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 11, 2000
- Messages
- 622
Cast:
Me (28) - big planner - have been planning for a WDW vacation for several years.
DH (33) - work-aholic - didn't get excited until the last minute, actually was able to go with out internet connection and have fun. I was proud of him.
Background: We both like Disney, we wanted to do WDW for our honeymoon 8 years ago but couldn't afford it. We're both cheapskates, but thanks to the FTP we did Animal Kingdom Lodge for a week with Savanna view.
We went Sept. 20-27th. This was a wonderful week to go. Practically no lines in the park (except MK.) The crowds were getting worse by the last weekend though. I think in the future, we'd go one week earlier and have a higher risk of hurricanes to avoid the crowds even more.
Quick Impressions:
Hotel:
AKL - Wonderful, the savanna view is definitely worth it. It was great getting up in the morning and going out to the deck to watch the animals.
Parks:
MK - This was our biggest disappointment. Granted, we are two adults with No kids, but we were ready to pretend we were. We went on a Thursday. The park is dingy, run-down and was kind of disappointing. Doing Peter Pan's flight made me think of going through Rock City in Chattanooga - straight out of the 60s. Nothing seems to have really been updated, or kept up. The pavement had a lot of cracks, everything needed paint and the rides were really showing their age. This was the only park where rides we went on broke down. That being said, I really enjoyed Splash Mountain. I made DH ride it 3 times in a row (until he said the song was going to make him go insane, after 3 times in a row, I was forced to agree). That was the odd thing, Splash Mountain had no waits, we could have sat in the ride as often as we wanted, but we had to do a FP for Peter Pan because it had a 40 minute wait!
MGM - This was actually a toss up with Epcot for our favorite park. Fantasmic was definitely the best show we saw. We loved it so much, even the terrified screaming kids that kept hitting us with their toys didn't spoil Fantasmic. That being said, parents who bring kids under 3 into that show should be arrested for being idiots. Hope I didn't offend anyone, but I swear, those little kids have been scarred for life. It was cruel of the parents to bring them into a show where they don't understand what pretend is only to see a dragon appear that's as big as my house, breathing fire onto the lake that is so hot you can feel the heat. When Disney warns about the show being scary (and they do in both English and Spanish) then you ought to pay attention. Off my soap box now.
Epcot - also one of both of our favorite parks. Though I'm glad I saw the fireworks here before MGM because they would have been a disappointment after Fantasmic. Loved World Showcase. DH loved Mission Space, though I didn't go on it because he said it would have made me ill. (I got woosy on Star Tours.)
Animal Kingdom - I loved this park. DH could take or leave it. We both liked the Safari (since we couldn't go in the morning, we went late afternoon and the animals were again perky.) The weirdest thing that happened here was the bus ride home. There were only four of us on the bus (plus driver) and the other two were former employees. So we got to hear some dirt about AK. The worst animal losses they've had was a Giraffe to Lightning
and a peacock that some how wandered into the lion's area. Needless to say, the safari was stopped that day until after the lion finished lunch. 
Sit Down Restaurants:
Rose and Crown - Epcot - England - Icky. DH said the fish and chips were ok. I got the Plowman's salad. The salad itself would have been good, but the creamy mustard vinagrette dressing was NASTY. It was like trying to put a yucky flavored mayonaise on my salad. Though we did get our sodas in the 1.5 yard glasses for only $7 - cheap souvie.
Alfredo's - Epcot - Italy - On the whole, very good, DH favorite. DH loves Fettucini Alfredo - he said he's now ruined from eating it anywhere else. We got the Antipasta cheese and meat appetiser one day $23.99 and definitely a rip off. The meats were not great, the cheese was so so and it wasn't very much food at all. Don't get this. I got the Caesar salad for lunch one day - $7 and a huge salad, very good with lots of bacon. The next day we went, I got the sausage and penne pasta - that was also good. The Italian marguerita is very good. On the whole, we'll definitely go back (we ate here twice in week.)
Le Cellier - Epcot - Canada - My favorite. First, I hate cheese soup. But their cheese soup is delicious. Try it with dipping your pretzel into the soup and you have a great appetiser. We ate here twice and got the cheese soup both times. First time we ate here, we got the filet and the beef tenderloins. These were both excellent. Good deal if you get it at lunch time and done perfectly. 2nd time we ate here, we got the hamburgers. I wished I'd spent the extra $5 and gotten the beef tenderloin again. I paid $10 for a hamburger that wasn't very tasty that came out on an English muffin. Ick. I don't like English muffins, if you do, get the burger, if you want a regular bun, don't eat the burger here. But, the beef tenderloin, Filet, Cheese Soup and the Creme Brulee were so good, I forgave them the burger and will definitely come back here next time.
Boma: AKL - we ate here three times for breakfast. It cost us $5 more than going to IHOP and was way worth it. Tons of great food and the Frunch was so good, I got the recipe.
Service:
We had wonderful service every where we went. This is what separates Disney from other hotels and restaurants. DH travels for work a lot and he said he's never been to a hotel (even ones where it's cost a lot more than AKL) where the people were genuinely nice and helpful.
This is long enough and covers the highlights, if I have time in the next few days, I might actually get to our trip.
---Rachael
Me (28) - big planner - have been planning for a WDW vacation for several years.
DH (33) - work-aholic - didn't get excited until the last minute, actually was able to go with out internet connection and have fun. I was proud of him.
Background: We both like Disney, we wanted to do WDW for our honeymoon 8 years ago but couldn't afford it. We're both cheapskates, but thanks to the FTP we did Animal Kingdom Lodge for a week with Savanna view.
We went Sept. 20-27th. This was a wonderful week to go. Practically no lines in the park (except MK.) The crowds were getting worse by the last weekend though. I think in the future, we'd go one week earlier and have a higher risk of hurricanes to avoid the crowds even more.
Quick Impressions:
Hotel:
AKL - Wonderful, the savanna view is definitely worth it. It was great getting up in the morning and going out to the deck to watch the animals.
Parks:
MK - This was our biggest disappointment. Granted, we are two adults with No kids, but we were ready to pretend we were. We went on a Thursday. The park is dingy, run-down and was kind of disappointing. Doing Peter Pan's flight made me think of going through Rock City in Chattanooga - straight out of the 60s. Nothing seems to have really been updated, or kept up. The pavement had a lot of cracks, everything needed paint and the rides were really showing their age. This was the only park where rides we went on broke down. That being said, I really enjoyed Splash Mountain. I made DH ride it 3 times in a row (until he said the song was going to make him go insane, after 3 times in a row, I was forced to agree). That was the odd thing, Splash Mountain had no waits, we could have sat in the ride as often as we wanted, but we had to do a FP for Peter Pan because it had a 40 minute wait!
MGM - This was actually a toss up with Epcot for our favorite park. Fantasmic was definitely the best show we saw. We loved it so much, even the terrified screaming kids that kept hitting us with their toys didn't spoil Fantasmic. That being said, parents who bring kids under 3 into that show should be arrested for being idiots. Hope I didn't offend anyone, but I swear, those little kids have been scarred for life. It was cruel of the parents to bring them into a show where they don't understand what pretend is only to see a dragon appear that's as big as my house, breathing fire onto the lake that is so hot you can feel the heat. When Disney warns about the show being scary (and they do in both English and Spanish) then you ought to pay attention. Off my soap box now.
Epcot - also one of both of our favorite parks. Though I'm glad I saw the fireworks here before MGM because they would have been a disappointment after Fantasmic. Loved World Showcase. DH loved Mission Space, though I didn't go on it because he said it would have made me ill. (I got woosy on Star Tours.)
Animal Kingdom - I loved this park. DH could take or leave it. We both liked the Safari (since we couldn't go in the morning, we went late afternoon and the animals were again perky.) The weirdest thing that happened here was the bus ride home. There were only four of us on the bus (plus driver) and the other two were former employees. So we got to hear some dirt about AK. The worst animal losses they've had was a Giraffe to Lightning
and a peacock that some how wandered into the lion's area. Needless to say, the safari was stopped that day until after the lion finished lunch. Sit Down Restaurants:
Rose and Crown - Epcot - England - Icky. DH said the fish and chips were ok. I got the Plowman's salad. The salad itself would have been good, but the creamy mustard vinagrette dressing was NASTY. It was like trying to put a yucky flavored mayonaise on my salad. Though we did get our sodas in the 1.5 yard glasses for only $7 - cheap souvie.
Alfredo's - Epcot - Italy - On the whole, very good, DH favorite. DH loves Fettucini Alfredo - he said he's now ruined from eating it anywhere else. We got the Antipasta cheese and meat appetiser one day $23.99 and definitely a rip off. The meats were not great, the cheese was so so and it wasn't very much food at all. Don't get this. I got the Caesar salad for lunch one day - $7 and a huge salad, very good with lots of bacon. The next day we went, I got the sausage and penne pasta - that was also good. The Italian marguerita is very good. On the whole, we'll definitely go back (we ate here twice in week.)
Le Cellier - Epcot - Canada - My favorite. First, I hate cheese soup. But their cheese soup is delicious. Try it with dipping your pretzel into the soup and you have a great appetiser. We ate here twice and got the cheese soup both times. First time we ate here, we got the filet and the beef tenderloins. These were both excellent. Good deal if you get it at lunch time and done perfectly. 2nd time we ate here, we got the hamburgers. I wished I'd spent the extra $5 and gotten the beef tenderloin again. I paid $10 for a hamburger that wasn't very tasty that came out on an English muffin. Ick. I don't like English muffins, if you do, get the burger, if you want a regular bun, don't eat the burger here. But, the beef tenderloin, Filet, Cheese Soup and the Creme Brulee were so good, I forgave them the burger and will definitely come back here next time.
Boma: AKL - we ate here three times for breakfast. It cost us $5 more than going to IHOP and was way worth it. Tons of great food and the Frunch was so good, I got the recipe.
Service:
We had wonderful service every where we went. This is what separates Disney from other hotels and restaurants. DH travels for work a lot and he said he's never been to a hotel (even ones where it's cost a lot more than AKL) where the people were genuinely nice and helpful.
This is long enough and covers the highlights, if I have time in the next few days, I might actually get to our trip.
---Rachael
