We are 4 adults, me 61 yr, wife 60 yr, daughters 29 and 27 yr. We have been to WDW many times and have stayed at many resorts and have many experiences. We arrived 10/14 and did parks on 15, 16, and 17 including MNSSHP on 16. The following are random thoughts. I know that I will catch some flack for some opinions/observations but so be it.
The Good:
We buy Disney gift cards starting about a year in advance of the trip which not only spreads the cost over a year. It's nice to not have a bill at checkout. WE buy them from our local grocery store which also sells gas and we get discounts on the gas so that's a plus too.
AKL is still a very nice resort. It's probably due for some renovation but still very nice. Seeing the animals outside was nice. We used a rental car to get around which worked out very well. Not rushing for a bus and basically puts our schedule completely in our hands. Driving around was a breeze.
Dinner at Topolino was very good. That and Yak and Yeti were the best meals that we had. Riveria Resort looks very nice.
Fantasmic is still very enjoyable despite seeing it over 10 times.
Geo 82 Fireworks event is very expensive but well worth it. Great service. It was nice to watch the EP fireworks show without have to line up early for a good spot. Also, gets you ahead of a lot of the crowd leaving after the fireworks. They do need to dim the lights more however.
Skyliner is a pleasant ride. We rode it after dinner at Topolino because we had never been on it before.
Beak and Barrel serves strong drinks. Overall better than Olga's.
Jungle Cruise during MNSSHP was great. Our captain was hilarious.
Brunch at Art Smith's was outstanding.
Soarin' is still enjoyable.
The Bad:
Space 220 dinner was ok once. Won't do it again. Food is mediocre. Experience was meh.
Early entry. 3o minutes isn't enough. Should be 60. WE rope dropped Avatar, Runaway RR and Remy. WE arrived 30 minutes before rope drop for each ride. By the time we were off Avatar and Remy, early entry was over. Runaway RR wasn't open at rope drop so we had to change plans and ride RnR. This slight change, caused a ripple effect the rest of the day.
MNSSHP should hand out treat bags at multiple locations.
Tron is too short. I would never wait more than 20 minutes to ride it. WDW needs a real roller coaster. Every coaster is basically Space Mountain with some bells and whistles added as technology expands.
Na'vi is simply boring. Tiana's Bayou has no clear story. Glad I did it. Not a priority in the future.
The Ugly:
People standing in groups at ride exits, in the middle of a walking path or waiting for their LL time standing right in front of the entry. People need to pay attention and not be in their own little world.
Use of scooters in the parks. Clearly this is being abused. I know that you can't judge a book by its cover but I couldn't count the number of times where multiple family members were on scooters. The probability of that is extremely low. I say this as someone who is scheduled for knee replacement surgery in January and currently getting lumbar injections for sciatica. Eight years of rugby takes it toll but I managed every day from rope drop to park closing.
Ignoring cast members. When they say move to the end of the row, just do it. Ignoring that is just rude and obnoxious.
The overall cost. It's just getting out of hand.
Magic bands plus. Constantly buzzing and flashing. Adds nothing to the experience and in fact the buzzing is annoying.
The Good:
We buy Disney gift cards starting about a year in advance of the trip which not only spreads the cost over a year. It's nice to not have a bill at checkout. WE buy them from our local grocery store which also sells gas and we get discounts on the gas so that's a plus too.
AKL is still a very nice resort. It's probably due for some renovation but still very nice. Seeing the animals outside was nice. We used a rental car to get around which worked out very well. Not rushing for a bus and basically puts our schedule completely in our hands. Driving around was a breeze.
Dinner at Topolino was very good. That and Yak and Yeti were the best meals that we had. Riveria Resort looks very nice.
Fantasmic is still very enjoyable despite seeing it over 10 times.
Geo 82 Fireworks event is very expensive but well worth it. Great service. It was nice to watch the EP fireworks show without have to line up early for a good spot. Also, gets you ahead of a lot of the crowd leaving after the fireworks. They do need to dim the lights more however.
Skyliner is a pleasant ride. We rode it after dinner at Topolino because we had never been on it before.
Beak and Barrel serves strong drinks. Overall better than Olga's.
Jungle Cruise during MNSSHP was great. Our captain was hilarious.
Brunch at Art Smith's was outstanding.
Soarin' is still enjoyable.
The Bad:
Space 220 dinner was ok once. Won't do it again. Food is mediocre. Experience was meh.
Early entry. 3o minutes isn't enough. Should be 60. WE rope dropped Avatar, Runaway RR and Remy. WE arrived 30 minutes before rope drop for each ride. By the time we were off Avatar and Remy, early entry was over. Runaway RR wasn't open at rope drop so we had to change plans and ride RnR. This slight change, caused a ripple effect the rest of the day.
MNSSHP should hand out treat bags at multiple locations.
Tron is too short. I would never wait more than 20 minutes to ride it. WDW needs a real roller coaster. Every coaster is basically Space Mountain with some bells and whistles added as technology expands.
Na'vi is simply boring. Tiana's Bayou has no clear story. Glad I did it. Not a priority in the future.
The Ugly:
People standing in groups at ride exits, in the middle of a walking path or waiting for their LL time standing right in front of the entry. People need to pay attention and not be in their own little world.
Use of scooters in the parks. Clearly this is being abused. I know that you can't judge a book by its cover but I couldn't count the number of times where multiple family members were on scooters. The probability of that is extremely low. I say this as someone who is scheduled for knee replacement surgery in January and currently getting lumbar injections for sciatica. Eight years of rugby takes it toll but I managed every day from rope drop to park closing.
Ignoring cast members. When they say move to the end of the row, just do it. Ignoring that is just rude and obnoxious.
The overall cost. It's just getting out of hand.
Magic bands plus. Constantly buzzing and flashing. Adds nothing to the experience and in fact the buzzing is annoying.