Quick trip yesterday, observations! (pictures to added!!!)

[iheartdisney]

Hello all! Our APs expired a year ago, so this was our only visit since September. Here are my quick observations.

1. Touringplans may be the unwritten experts at WDW, but they don't have a CLUE at DL! Friday was posted at a 6, with most DCA rides graphing at a 20 minute waits at the height of the day. In reality, most everything was well over 30 minutes within an hour of opening.

2. DCA's new entrance looks SO very swanky! I can't believe it! It looks like MGM studios back when it was new!

3. Disney Studio 365- BEST Disney money spent in awhile! My DD has been asking to go to BBB for 3 years, at least! but it just isn't something that we could ever justify the price. Well, I found out about the 365 makeover (and the fact that they are $15 less, and more to them then the tight bun that they do at BBB) and we booked it! The stylists were amazing, the kids loved it, and the freebies totally made it worth it. If you are like me and can't swallow a $45 makeover, this is the place! An hour well spent!

Our group before

our group after

The big reveal: (she was really tired!


The next big reveal:


We actually had more comments and compliments on his hair than the girls.' In the interest of full disclosure, he had the mohawk when we went in.

4. PCH staff at Paradise Pier- AMAZING!! I didn't look at the schedule to see when they switch from breakfast to lunch before taking the kids there for the Kitchen Sink ice cream before we headed home. They checked in back, and made it up and served us over in the lounge area next to the PCH. Went above and beyond to make up for a space cadet mom, and the kids were thrilled!

The kitchen sink:

Funny sand castle TV room at the PPH:

5. Build-A-Bear Workshop: I have been to my share of BABW in my time- at least once a year for the last 9 years- this is the BEST I have ever been to! The employees really go a step above- even compared to other BABW locations. They were super attentive and conversational with a 9 year old- even at 11 p.m!! LOVED our experience here! make sure to go up the second floor: They had a lot more of the rarer animals (and the dinos) upstairs.

6. Stayed at the Holiday Inn on Walnut. Very nice hotel. While it is right next to the parking garage, there is really no way to cut over to the trams. It was only a 15 minute walk to the monorail station- .69 miles on my walking app. 1.18 to the front gate. I would stay there again.

kickin' in the hotel room

View of Mickey and Friends from the room: and no, you couldn't hear a thing!

We had more of an experience day than a ride day, and really had a great one. I hate seeing parents trying to rush their children from one thing to the next- because sometimes when you do that, you are missing the whole point! We spent over and hour in the Redwood Creek area, and I had never even been in there. but that was the highlight of my DS8 day! So you never know sometimes!

And here are some random shots:
1. Carsland as seen from the Fun Wheel:

2. Close-up of the Cozy Cones:

3. BEAUTIFUL weather for a shot of Bear Mountain:

4. Pirates sequence from World of Color as seen from the Yellow Zone. We entered the second yellow entrance from Paradise Pier, and walked all the way through to the ropes at the far walkway so the kids could line up at the rope to see. It was a decent view.


5. Wouldn't be a trip if I didn't post a flower picture!

6. Walking to the PPH we came across these cute gazebos for taking some photos in front of. (that is why they are there, right?)

 

[skiingfast]

1. Sorry you trusted TP, it is barely helpful at DLR.

2. Those tarps are coming down quick and I agree it looks more and more awesome as the details emerge.

Sounds like you had a great time, can't wait to see the pics.

 

[gmi3804]

Given that TP seems to be inaccurate in the crowd-predicting department, which sites are more accurate?

 

[Eeee-va]

Thanks for the report! It's good to know that Touring Plans is still wrong for DL (I know they were pretty bad last year). I really love DCA now, construction and all. Glad you had such a great time!

I haven't heard anything about Ridemax lately, but I'd assume they are still fairly accurate? They don't give you daily crowd predictions, I don't think, but if you plug in a potential schedule you can see what wait times they are predicting for each, and it's usually pretty darned close. I'm almost certain it's more accurate than Touring Plans for DL, at least.

 

[Sally_fan]

Thank you for posting this! I am so happy to hear that the DCA entrance is looking good. I would love to hear a little more about the Studio Disney makeover. My daughter is 10 (will be 11 on our trip) & wanted to do BBB when she was younger but is no longer interested. I am wondering if at 11 she is too "old" or is they gear the makeover towards any age? I looked it up on the Disney site & it sounds great! Thanks for sharing!

 

[quantumottle]

Given that TP seems to be inaccurate in the crowd-predicting department, which sites are more accurate?

I too fell for the Touring Plans hype years ago, on a WDW trip. TP was no better at WDW predictions than DL. I strongly encourage people to use Ridemax - for DL or WDW. I've repeatedly found it to be far more accurate than TP.

 

[skiingfast]

I haven't heard anything about Ridemax lately, but I'd assume they are still fairly accurate?

I strongly encourage people to use Ridemax - for DL or WDW.

Ridemax


I feel like ridemax pays attention to even the smallest situtations that can effect wait times. TP looks at what happened two years ago and assumes history will repeat itself.

 

[gmi3804]

So Ridemax has a crowd predicting feature as well as a tour organizer?

 

[cyclenut]

Hello all! Our APs expired a year ago, so this was our only visit since September. Here are my quick observations.

1. Touringplans may be the unwritten experts at WDW, but they don't have a CLUE at DL! Friday was posted at a 6, with most DCA rides graphing at a 20 minute waits at the height of the day. In reality, most everything was well over 30 minutes within an hour of opening.

2. DCA's new entrance looks SO very swanky! I can't believe it! It looks like MGM studios back when it was new!

It is growing on me, but it is still not my favorite. Glad you like it.

3. Disney Studio 365- BEST Disney money spent in awhile! My DD has been asking to go to BBB for 3 years, at least! but it just isn't something that we could ever justify the price. Well, I found out about the 365 makeover (and the fact that they are $15 less, and more to them then the tight bun that they do at BBB) and we booked it! The stylists were amazing, the kids loved it, and the freebies totally made it worth it. If you are like me and can't swallow a $45 makeover, this is the place! An hour well spent!

4. PCH staff at Paradise Pier- AMAZING!! I didn't look at the schedule to see when they switch from breakfast to lunch before taking the kids there for the Kitchen Sink ice cream before we headed home. They checked in back, and made it up and served us over in the lounge area next to the PCH. Went above and beyond to make up for a space cadet mom, and the kids were thrilled!

5. Build-A-Bear Workshop: I have been to my share of BABW in my time- at least once a year for the last 9 years- this is the BEST I have ever been to! The employees really go a step above- even compared to other BABW locations. They were super attentive and conversational with a 9 year old- even at 11 p.m!! LOVED our experience here!

Glad you had such a great time at BABW. My DD works at that store and generally works the closing shift. They really look for people that like to work with kids. It is part of the screening process and based on your experience, it shows. If you haven't already, take the survey on the receipt. They would appreciate it. Yes, they do pay attention to the survey, which might be another reason why you enjoyed your experience. They try to make adjustments based on what the customers expect.

6. Stayed at the Holiday Inn on Walnut. Very nice hotel. While it is right next to the parking garage, there is really no way to cut over to the trams. It was only a 15 minute walk to the monorail station- .69 miles on my walking app. 1.18 to the front gate. I would stay there again.

Hopefully I will have pictures on photobucket by tomorrow. I just wanted to share my quick thoughts before I forgot! We had more of an experience day than a ride day, and really had a great one. I hate seeing parents trying to rush their children from one thing to the next- because sometimes when you do that, you are missing the whole point! We spent over and hour in the Redwood Creek area, and I had never even been in there. but that was the highlight of my DS8 day! So you never know sometimes!

Would love to see your pictures. I totally agree with you about rushing around. There are really two ways to enjoy the parks. One is to try and fit everything into whatever space and time you have and the other is to just walk around and enjoy the atmosphere as you take in the attractions.

If you've got the time, do both.

 

[sewingmolly]

I'm also just back from a week-end trip and I can't agree more about Touringplans. They were sooo wrong. We also had Ridemax and they were much closer to reality. Unfortunately, we had wanted to believe Touringplans because their times were much shorter. One of the problems with Touringplan is that they predicted that the crowds would peak about 5:00pm. The reality was that the lines coming into the park on Saturday were the longest at about 4:30. There were a lot of locals who just came for the evening. The crowds just got worse all evening. Magic mornings were wonderful.

We prefer the old entrance to DCA. This one is just a copy of DHS. The old one was distinctive and we loved the northern and southern California mosaics and the Golden Gate bridge. We also miss the California letters. There was no L for Lizzy to have her picture taken with.

 

[Eeee-va]

One of the problems with Touringplan is that they predicted that the crowds would peak about 5:00pm. The reality was that the lines coming into the park on Saturday were the longest at about 4:30. There were a lot of locals who just came for the evening.

Everyone makes mistakes and there's surely a learning curve with crowd prediction, but based on that prediction, I'm starting to wonder if they even read some of the sites they advertise on (like MiceAge and MousePlanet). At least, it's always been my experience that a lot of visitors (presumably locals) come in for the evening.

 

[iheartdisney]

I would love to hear a little more about the Studio Disney makeover. My daughter is 10 (will be 11 on our trip) & wanted to do BBB when she was younger but is no longer interested. I am wondering if at 11 she is too "old" or is they gear the makeover towards any age? I looked it up on the Disney site & it sounds great! Thanks for sharing!

I might do a full-on review of 365, just because when i was looking, there wasn't a whole lot of info out there. I don't think 11 would be too old at all- it is geared more towards the "tween" age. It is decorated with Jonas Brothers and Selena Gomez and that age group of stuff. She would have a blast!

It is growing on me, but it is still not my favorite. Glad you like it.

Glad you had such a great time at BABW. My DD works at that store and generally works the closing shift. They really look for people that like to work with kids. It is part of the screening process and based on your experience, it shows. If you haven't already, take the survey on the receipt. They would appreciate it. Yes, they do pay attention to the survey, which might be another reason why you enjoyed your experience. They try to make adjustments based on what the customers expect.

Thanks for sharing that, i will make sure to do the survey. I seriously can't say enough good things about the BABW at Downtown Disney. It was awesome!

We prefer the old entrance to DCA. This one is just a copy of DHS. The old one was distinctive and we loved the northern and southern California mosaics and the Golden Gate bridge. We also miss the California letters. There was no L for Lizzy to have her picture taken with.

We do miss the letters! (and the giant hubcap... I actually liked the giant hubcap.) But the last time I saw DCA, the entrance was completely boarded up, so to see it all lit up... it is amazing!
I remember noticing something was different at MGM/ DHS between when I went as a teen in the 90's and when I took my kids for the first time. Seeing the DCA entrance, I can see what it was. It looks amazing. Hopefully DHS will be the next park to get an Extreme Makeover once Fantasyland is finished- it badly needs it!

 

[skiingfast]

6. Walking to the PPH we came across these cute gazebos for taking some photos in front of. (that is why they are there, right?)

I'm guessing so, it's near the wedding gazebo, but not the same one. Maybe a resting place for people doing the long walk rather than through the GCH.

 

[Sally_fan]

I might do a full-on review of 365, just because when i was looking, there wasn't a whole lot of info out there. I don't think 11 would be too old at all- it is geared more towards the "tween" age. It is decorated with Jonas Brothers and Selena Gomez and that age group of stuff. She would have a blast!!

Oh I would love to see that!! I didn't find much review type info on it either. Just some media reviews really. Thanks for offering your opinion. I will run it by her & see what she thinks. Thanks for adding the photos as well! Your kids look like they had a blast! The girls look super cute & I love what they did with your son's mohawk!! I can not wait to see the new DCA entrance!!

 

[awdsmama]

I would love to hear about your son's experience there. Did he like it and what did they do for boys, I see the colored hair gel but anything else?

I'm taking my 7yo next month and wondering if this is worth the $ for boys or not?

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Thanks for the pics! I didn't know about the Studio makeovers! My DS would love the final product but is SO WHINY about his head being touched. Glad it's him and not one of the girls LOL So I dunno if he'd want to do it..but I'm gonna try! LOL