mickeymom629
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2002
- Messages
- 2,645
We were a party of 11 and went to all the parks and DS, Dec. 6-15. It only rained (a lot) on the evening of the 7th. We went to mini golf at Winter Summerland and finished right as it started to rain/thunder and got a rain check for another game (no expiration)! Did not get to use our free water park days since the weather was too chilly - not sure if the water park was open because we didn't try to go. The rest of the time was perfect weather for walking around the parks!
Just some thoughts on some new things we did this time (last trip was 2 years ago):
The new Zootopia show is cute (we sat way too close - front row) and more family friendly than Bugs Life (which we miss).
The Little Mermaid show is okay, maybe not quite as good as the previous one but close. The one thing that bothered me was that her tail was kind of shabby-looking. I would have preferred a prettier/glittery costume.
We did a Fantasmic dining package (50s Prime Time) and so happy that the reserved seats are in the center, rather than on the side like they were years ago. Even the one show on a Jollywood party night was probably not necessary to get the package but at least we didn't need to wait in line!
DH was not impressed by the new Test Track, but others in our group thought it was okay and still the fun ride. Everyone still misses the original.
The Encanto show at E is cute and we happened to be sitting nearby (behind the stage) having a snack when it was happening. Otherwise, we probably wouldn't have made time for it.
Hall of Presidents was well done. We saw it a few years ago and there were some rude people in the audience. Luckily, that didn't happen this time.
We enjoyed the new Country Bears and loved the humor when referencing the old show.
We saw Feathered Friends and Enchanted Tales with Belle for the first time. Both good but ETw/B is for kids younger than 9, imo. My 2 9 year-old grandkids didn't enjoy it as much as the 6 year-old did. All participated.
We had some magical experiences from cast members (a couple were in responses to actions by my grandkids) and I gave cast compliments on MDE.
My only requests on our reservations at ASMu and OKW was that our rooms be close together and, in both places, they were right next to each other! 4 rooms at ASMu and 2 2-bedrooms at OKW.
DH and I used single rider for Remy when we were at the park by ourselves and we ended up in the same mouse. It saved us the 55 minute wait posted. The 2D version is nice because it's clearer and no need to wear the glasses BUT it is not less nauseating, in our opinion. I think I may be done riding that ride, unfortunately.
The kids enjoyed the Christmas tree hunt in DS, Olaf hunt in E and getting the Wilderness Explorers stickers (still need a few) in AK. We all love drawing with the animators.
I had gotten some pins on eBay and lanyards on Amazon and my grandkids divided them and enjoyed pin trading for the first time.
It was nice that there were characters that just roamed for us to get pictures since we don't make it a point to see characters.
We did all the major rides in all of the parks except ToT which was down for most of our HS day and we didn't make time to wait in the long line.
I really like that they let people through security before early entry.
Some of my kids golfed at Magnolia golf course and enjoyed that. Not all brought their own clubs so the cost was a little more.
My granddaughters loved Spaceship Earth last trip because of the videos but their pictures didn't turn out great the two times they did it this trip, so it's not their favorite anymore, lol.
Having a plan, being flexible and getting to the parks early are necessities if you have particular things you want to do. There were rides that went down and that caused us to miss some things. I only got LLMP for 2 of our days - HS and E, which were somewhat lower fees, comparatively - and definitely helped us save time. We did not have park hoppers and chose to only go to MK on party days so we missed the parade and fw there.
I'm so happy we all made it safely there and back and no one got ill! Now we're just dreading our credit card statements... and thinking of the next time we can return!
Just some thoughts on some new things we did this time (last trip was 2 years ago):
The new Zootopia show is cute (we sat way too close - front row) and more family friendly than Bugs Life (which we miss).
The Little Mermaid show is okay, maybe not quite as good as the previous one but close. The one thing that bothered me was that her tail was kind of shabby-looking. I would have preferred a prettier/glittery costume.
We did a Fantasmic dining package (50s Prime Time) and so happy that the reserved seats are in the center, rather than on the side like they were years ago. Even the one show on a Jollywood party night was probably not necessary to get the package but at least we didn't need to wait in line!
DH was not impressed by the new Test Track, but others in our group thought it was okay and still the fun ride. Everyone still misses the original.
The Encanto show at E is cute and we happened to be sitting nearby (behind the stage) having a snack when it was happening. Otherwise, we probably wouldn't have made time for it.
Hall of Presidents was well done. We saw it a few years ago and there were some rude people in the audience. Luckily, that didn't happen this time.
We enjoyed the new Country Bears and loved the humor when referencing the old show.
We saw Feathered Friends and Enchanted Tales with Belle for the first time. Both good but ETw/B is for kids younger than 9, imo. My 2 9 year-old grandkids didn't enjoy it as much as the 6 year-old did. All participated.
We had some magical experiences from cast members (a couple were in responses to actions by my grandkids) and I gave cast compliments on MDE.
My only requests on our reservations at ASMu and OKW was that our rooms be close together and, in both places, they were right next to each other! 4 rooms at ASMu and 2 2-bedrooms at OKW.
DH and I used single rider for Remy when we were at the park by ourselves and we ended up in the same mouse. It saved us the 55 minute wait posted. The 2D version is nice because it's clearer and no need to wear the glasses BUT it is not less nauseating, in our opinion. I think I may be done riding that ride, unfortunately.
The kids enjoyed the Christmas tree hunt in DS, Olaf hunt in E and getting the Wilderness Explorers stickers (still need a few) in AK. We all love drawing with the animators.
I had gotten some pins on eBay and lanyards on Amazon and my grandkids divided them and enjoyed pin trading for the first time.
It was nice that there were characters that just roamed for us to get pictures since we don't make it a point to see characters.
We did all the major rides in all of the parks except ToT which was down for most of our HS day and we didn't make time to wait in the long line.
I really like that they let people through security before early entry.
Some of my kids golfed at Magnolia golf course and enjoyed that. Not all brought their own clubs so the cost was a little more.
My granddaughters loved Spaceship Earth last trip because of the videos but their pictures didn't turn out great the two times they did it this trip, so it's not their favorite anymore, lol.
Having a plan, being flexible and getting to the parks early are necessities if you have particular things you want to do. There were rides that went down and that caused us to miss some things. I only got LLMP for 2 of our days - HS and E, which were somewhat lower fees, comparatively - and definitely helped us save time. We did not have park hoppers and chose to only go to MK on party days so we missed the parade and fw there.
I'm so happy we all made it safely there and back and no one got ill! Now we're just dreading our credit card statements... and thinking of the next time we can return!
