srauseo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2009
- Messages
- 681
A few notes about my recent trip:
1. Stayed at Port Orleans Riverside for the first time and really enjoyed it. Requested connecting rooms with original reservation and via fax five days before arrival. Got connecting rooms. Mousekeeping was great. Kids loved the pool. Food court seating area was nice. Got really crowded around 7:30/8:00am but always able to find a table. Bus service was very smooth for the whole trip though the arrival time screens at the bus stops were not working. We never waited long for a bus going to or coming back from the parks. Boat trip to Disney Springs was also very nice. Seems like a pretty convenient location.
2. Weather was beautiful and the crowds weren't bad. Decorations up everywhere. This seems like a great time to go. As usual, first thing in the morning was a great time to be in the park. It was cool in the morning and the evening but we were fine with carrying a light sweater to toss on.
3. We did PPO breakfast at BOG and Akershus to try and beat the crowds to 7DMT and FEA. This is still a workable strategy. Only got one ride on BOG as they sent us through the whole standby queue which is a long walk. That might have been because there seemed to be a fairly large crowd gathered for a PPO ride that morning. Bigger than when I have done this in the past. At Akershus we didn't get out before the first of the rope drop crowd arrived (probably exited restaurant around 8:50 which was probably 5 minutes too late) but we slid in with them and only waited about 20 minutes. We were able to ride again with FP later that day. We also were able to get to Test Track after FEA and ride with about a 20 minute wait there as well. Ditto with Peter Pan after 7DMT.
4. Went to MVMCP on 11/29. Almost everything was a walk on except 7DMT and Jungle Cruise and maybe Peter Pan. Didn't get on Jungle Cruise at all this trip. I had scheduled a FP that was inexplicably canceled. People were staking out spots for the parades and characters hours in advance. If you aren't into those, you can ride all night to your heart's content. We did take advantage of the included snacks and drinks though. Everything was good. And we did end up squeaking in to a pretty good parade spot last minute and it is a really nice parade.
5. Castmembers were generally great. So were most other guests. In fact, most people seemed to be going out of their way to be friendly and courteous. Encountered very little rudeness or bad behavior this trip and nothing really egregious.
6. Rode Splash Mt. twice. Got splashed the first time and soaked going around the top outside curve the second time. Did not get wet on Pirates. Got a little splashed on FEA. Got pretty wet on KRR. Everything was in working order. Was never turned away from a ride and never had to sit through a long breakdown.
7. When did they turn the Muppets fountain into a planter? Boo.
8. No complaints about food. Everything I ate was good to really good. Ate at Boma, Flame Tree, Tusker House, Sci Fi, PizzeRizzo, Pecos Bill, T-Rex, Boatwrights, BOG, Cindy's, Akershus, Les Halles, and Biergarten.
Overall, a great, but exhausting trip. I was traveling with my friend and her three kids. I don't know how she does it. Why does it take kids so long to put their shoes on?!? Happy to answer questions.
1. Stayed at Port Orleans Riverside for the first time and really enjoyed it. Requested connecting rooms with original reservation and via fax five days before arrival. Got connecting rooms. Mousekeeping was great. Kids loved the pool. Food court seating area was nice. Got really crowded around 7:30/8:00am but always able to find a table. Bus service was very smooth for the whole trip though the arrival time screens at the bus stops were not working. We never waited long for a bus going to or coming back from the parks. Boat trip to Disney Springs was also very nice. Seems like a pretty convenient location.
2. Weather was beautiful and the crowds weren't bad. Decorations up everywhere. This seems like a great time to go. As usual, first thing in the morning was a great time to be in the park. It was cool in the morning and the evening but we were fine with carrying a light sweater to toss on.
3. We did PPO breakfast at BOG and Akershus to try and beat the crowds to 7DMT and FEA. This is still a workable strategy. Only got one ride on BOG as they sent us through the whole standby queue which is a long walk. That might have been because there seemed to be a fairly large crowd gathered for a PPO ride that morning. Bigger than when I have done this in the past. At Akershus we didn't get out before the first of the rope drop crowd arrived (probably exited restaurant around 8:50 which was probably 5 minutes too late) but we slid in with them and only waited about 20 minutes. We were able to ride again with FP later that day. We also were able to get to Test Track after FEA and ride with about a 20 minute wait there as well. Ditto with Peter Pan after 7DMT.
4. Went to MVMCP on 11/29. Almost everything was a walk on except 7DMT and Jungle Cruise and maybe Peter Pan. Didn't get on Jungle Cruise at all this trip. I had scheduled a FP that was inexplicably canceled. People were staking out spots for the parades and characters hours in advance. If you aren't into those, you can ride all night to your heart's content. We did take advantage of the included snacks and drinks though. Everything was good. And we did end up squeaking in to a pretty good parade spot last minute and it is a really nice parade.
5. Castmembers were generally great. So were most other guests. In fact, most people seemed to be going out of their way to be friendly and courteous. Encountered very little rudeness or bad behavior this trip and nothing really egregious.
6. Rode Splash Mt. twice. Got splashed the first time and soaked going around the top outside curve the second time. Did not get wet on Pirates. Got a little splashed on FEA. Got pretty wet on KRR. Everything was in working order. Was never turned away from a ride and never had to sit through a long breakdown.
7. When did they turn the Muppets fountain into a planter? Boo.
8. No complaints about food. Everything I ate was good to really good. Ate at Boma, Flame Tree, Tusker House, Sci Fi, PizzeRizzo, Pecos Bill, T-Rex, Boatwrights, BOG, Cindy's, Akershus, Les Halles, and Biergarten.
Overall, a great, but exhausting trip. I was traveling with my friend and her three kids. I don't know how she does it. Why does it take kids so long to put their shoes on?!? Happy to answer questions.
