Pre trip report
Trip report Part 1
We all really enjoyed Stitch Live and saw the show 3 times. On the last time dh was chosen as the baddie thanks to dd1 working out where he should sit!
We were all a bit freaked out by Honey I Shrunk the Audience (in a good way!) it really is in 3D! The parade is magical and candelabration was really pretty to watch (get there early for a good view though!). Its a shame fantillusion isnt running though.
Mickeys Winter Wonderland was lovely too, although it was a bit strange to hear Christmas songs in February. We also watched Animagique and Cinemagique which hadnt really changed since we went 5 yrs ago, but were still worth watching.
Dd1 and my highlights included space mountain, BTM (best in the dark), Crush, Indianna Jones, RnR coaster but we also enjoyed the gentler rides such as Buzz and Peter Pan. I found IJToD the scariest ride, but maybe that was just because that was the first big ride we went on.
DD2 loved small world, star tours, BTM, POTC, Buzz and CaseyJr.
We found that the best place to get autographs/photos with the characters was in the studio park. There was much less pushing and shoving than the last time we went, and the CMs seemed more in control of everything. They also seemed friendlier than I remembered!
We had some good meals and Ive added reviews and photos to Annettes, Chuck Wagon and Agrabah. The buffets seemed really good value to me, especially if you are on a budget.
We were a bit disappointed by the breakfast in Bella Notte. We had to queue for about 15 minutes before we were seated. There was a little more variety than at the Cheyenne (pots of yogurt, fresh fruit salad and nutella spread in addition to the standard Chuck Wagon breakfast) but it was packed, and you had to go up to the counter and ask for drinks rather than help yourself.
Breakfast in the hotel was busy but its such a big restaurant that theres plenty of room and food for everyone, although the juice dispensers ran dry from time to time.
As recommended here, we found that snacks and drinks can be bought much cheaper than in the parks and hotel, both at the garage by the Santa Fe and the news agents/shop at the station by the entrance to the parks.
The only negatives about the trip were that BTM and Armageddon seemed to break down indiscriminately, Casey jr was rarely running and that the parks were much busier than we expected for Feb half term, which meant long queues for all the popular rides, and that fast passes ran out early. My top tip for Crush is to queue at the Studio gates before opening time and run to Crush as soon as you're let in!
We would have liked to go on BTM more often than time allowed, due to the queues, the ride breaking down and fast passes running out.
By the time we left the park on Thursday, the sun was out again (wed had a couple of dull days with a little light rain) and Mary Poppins was singing and dancing just as she had been when we arrived.
We headed back to the hotel, checked out and caught the VEA coach back to the airport. The flight was running on time and we were soon back home safe and sound, with lots of magical Disney memories .
Trip report Part 1
We all really enjoyed Stitch Live and saw the show 3 times. On the last time dh was chosen as the baddie thanks to dd1 working out where he should sit!
We were all a bit freaked out by Honey I Shrunk the Audience (in a good way!) it really is in 3D! The parade is magical and candelabration was really pretty to watch (get there early for a good view though!). Its a shame fantillusion isnt running though.
Mickeys Winter Wonderland was lovely too, although it was a bit strange to hear Christmas songs in February. We also watched Animagique and Cinemagique which hadnt really changed since we went 5 yrs ago, but were still worth watching.
Dd1 and my highlights included space mountain, BTM (best in the dark), Crush, Indianna Jones, RnR coaster but we also enjoyed the gentler rides such as Buzz and Peter Pan. I found IJToD the scariest ride, but maybe that was just because that was the first big ride we went on.
DD2 loved small world, star tours, BTM, POTC, Buzz and CaseyJr.
We found that the best place to get autographs/photos with the characters was in the studio park. There was much less pushing and shoving than the last time we went, and the CMs seemed more in control of everything. They also seemed friendlier than I remembered!
We had some good meals and Ive added reviews and photos to Annettes, Chuck Wagon and Agrabah. The buffets seemed really good value to me, especially if you are on a budget.
We were a bit disappointed by the breakfast in Bella Notte. We had to queue for about 15 minutes before we were seated. There was a little more variety than at the Cheyenne (pots of yogurt, fresh fruit salad and nutella spread in addition to the standard Chuck Wagon breakfast) but it was packed, and you had to go up to the counter and ask for drinks rather than help yourself.
Breakfast in the hotel was busy but its such a big restaurant that theres plenty of room and food for everyone, although the juice dispensers ran dry from time to time.
As recommended here, we found that snacks and drinks can be bought much cheaper than in the parks and hotel, both at the garage by the Santa Fe and the news agents/shop at the station by the entrance to the parks.
The only negatives about the trip were that BTM and Armageddon seemed to break down indiscriminately, Casey jr was rarely running and that the parks were much busier than we expected for Feb half term, which meant long queues for all the popular rides, and that fast passes ran out early. My top tip for Crush is to queue at the Studio gates before opening time and run to Crush as soon as you're let in!
We would have liked to go on BTM more often than time allowed, due to the queues, the ride breaking down and fast passes running out.
By the time we left the park on Thursday, the sun was out again (wed had a couple of dull days with a little light rain) and Mary Poppins was singing and dancing just as she had been when we arrived.
We headed back to the hotel, checked out and caught the VEA coach back to the airport. The flight was running on time and we were soon back home safe and sound, with lots of magical Disney memories .
