We - DW, DD8, DD5, & DS2 - drove from the heart of Texas to Fort Wilderness for the week after Thanksgiving. My inlaws flew in from Houston to join us for the week. They stayed at WL. Here are some random thoughts from our trip:
Dining - By the time we decided to book the trip, dinner reservations were hard to come by for parties of 7. Lunch ressies were pretty easy. We were on the dining plan and that worked out OK.
We ate table service lunches at Trails End, Tempenyaki, 50s Prime Time, Crystal Palace. We also had breakfast at the Castle on our last day. All of these meals were decent to good.
We weren't as fortunate with our counter service meals. We ate at Pecos Bills (OK), Cosmic Rays (Bad), Roaring Forks (Awful), San Angel (Awful), Seasons (Good), and Tusker House (Good).
Crowds - The parks seemed much more crowded than our previous trip in Sept 2003. Line waits ranged from walk-on in the mornings to 60+ minutes in the afternoon. We made heavy use of the Fast Pass system. In 03, we only used one fast pass.
Weather - Temperatures were pretty warm (70s to 80s). I was comfortable in shorts and short sleeve shirts. I put a jacket on a couple of nights. We did get rained on.
Fireworks - Wishes was great. It was our favorite fireworks show. We were able to nab a front row table at the Tomorrowland Terrace. And Tinkerbelle flew right at us and landed on the roof over our table.
Illuminations was also good. We watched from Mexico. You get a great view of the globe from there and the heat from the fire really warms you up quick.
We didn't think Fantasmic was worth all the hype (Just our opinion). The effects were really cool, but I could have done without the Pocohontas scene and the villain scene seemed to go on too long. The barge with all the characters at the end was great. DD5 was standing up waving.
Random Thoughts/Observations
1. As long as the Dining Plan is in existence, I won't book a trip to Disney less than 180 days out. I can always adjust lodging based on AP rates or special package offers, but getting a ressie where you want to eat can be a different story.
2. I won't do table service lunches during value season again. They cut too much into park time.
3. Christmas Decorations, Osborne Lights, and Candlelight Processional are great. The MGM Christmas parade was our favorite parade.
4. My kids are great travelers. I would/will make the 18 hour drive again.
5. It is hard to effectively do the dining plan with a just barely under 3 year old in tow.
6. I love my inlaws, but they walk way too slow.
7. You get better character interaction when you aren't getting autographs.
8. Trading Pins is fun, but you should invest in pin locks. The rubber mouse ears will fall off.
9. There are fewer princesses at CRT than there was 3 years ago, but the table visits are better organized now.
10. My DS loves Mickey.
YOAMD - We had 5 encounters with the YOAMD:
1. Found a Disney Magic slip in our stroller after riding the Safari; it said that we, the brown backpack family - were the most prepared for a 2 week safari.
2. I received an special consveration station award and pin for participating in a tarantula talk.
3. DS received a citation from the YOAMD Police. He was written up for just about everything including having more fun than the law allows.
4. DD5 received her name free on her mouse ears and a certificate to go with it.
5. I received a certificate with a disney cast member pin attached when I had to buy a new battery for my archaic snapshot camera at MGM.
Dining - By the time we decided to book the trip, dinner reservations were hard to come by for parties of 7. Lunch ressies were pretty easy. We were on the dining plan and that worked out OK.
We ate table service lunches at Trails End, Tempenyaki, 50s Prime Time, Crystal Palace. We also had breakfast at the Castle on our last day. All of these meals were decent to good.
We weren't as fortunate with our counter service meals. We ate at Pecos Bills (OK), Cosmic Rays (Bad), Roaring Forks (Awful), San Angel (Awful), Seasons (Good), and Tusker House (Good).
Crowds - The parks seemed much more crowded than our previous trip in Sept 2003. Line waits ranged from walk-on in the mornings to 60+ minutes in the afternoon. We made heavy use of the Fast Pass system. In 03, we only used one fast pass.
Weather - Temperatures were pretty warm (70s to 80s). I was comfortable in shorts and short sleeve shirts. I put a jacket on a couple of nights. We did get rained on.
Fireworks - Wishes was great. It was our favorite fireworks show. We were able to nab a front row table at the Tomorrowland Terrace. And Tinkerbelle flew right at us and landed on the roof over our table.
Illuminations was also good. We watched from Mexico. You get a great view of the globe from there and the heat from the fire really warms you up quick.
We didn't think Fantasmic was worth all the hype (Just our opinion). The effects were really cool, but I could have done without the Pocohontas scene and the villain scene seemed to go on too long. The barge with all the characters at the end was great. DD5 was standing up waving.
Random Thoughts/Observations
1. As long as the Dining Plan is in existence, I won't book a trip to Disney less than 180 days out. I can always adjust lodging based on AP rates or special package offers, but getting a ressie where you want to eat can be a different story.
2. I won't do table service lunches during value season again. They cut too much into park time.
3. Christmas Decorations, Osborne Lights, and Candlelight Processional are great. The MGM Christmas parade was our favorite parade.
4. My kids are great travelers. I would/will make the 18 hour drive again.
5. It is hard to effectively do the dining plan with a just barely under 3 year old in tow.
6. I love my inlaws, but they walk way too slow.
7. You get better character interaction when you aren't getting autographs.
8. Trading Pins is fun, but you should invest in pin locks. The rubber mouse ears will fall off.
9. There are fewer princesses at CRT than there was 3 years ago, but the table visits are better organized now.
10. My DS loves Mickey.
YOAMD - We had 5 encounters with the YOAMD:
1. Found a Disney Magic slip in our stroller after riding the Safari; it said that we, the brown backpack family - were the most prepared for a 2 week safari.
2. I received an special consveration station award and pin for participating in a tarantula talk.
3. DS received a citation from the YOAMD Police. He was written up for just about everything including having more fun than the law allows.
4. DD5 received her name free on her mouse ears and a certificate to go with it.
5. I received a certificate with a disney cast member pin attached when I had to buy a new battery for my archaic snapshot camera at MGM.
