linzjane88
Closet Disneyphile
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2014
- Messages
- 1,427
So I always think I will be good and post my experiences/trip reports in real time. The reality of having a group of 8 moving through the parks, with 3 kids, means I never actually find the time to do it! But here is some thoughts and confessions:
Airport experiences: PDX to MCO on SW was easy. SW kept the middle seats open and I was thinking they would still group parties traveling together but was pleasantly surprised that we all got to be seated 2 to a row with an empty middle. It makes for such a more comfortable flight. Southwest is doing boarding groups of 10 in theory--PDX and DEN (layover) did it but MCO did more of a 30 at a time thing. Not that it mattered much but you just gotta stay on your toes when paying attention to boarding groups being called.
Rental Car: We usually use Alamo and find it the best by far. This was our first time with Avis due to price and I wasn't impressed TBH. The Budget and Avis lines inside the airport were crazy. In theory Avis has a direct to car setup-in practice it doesn't work if your a first time renter with them. The line moved like molasses and we waited for like 40 minutes with only about 6 people in front of us. By the time we were done the line was about 3x as long. The lady called me up and since we had online profiles updated she quickly handed me my packet with my rental car assignment. She then calls my BFF who also had an updated profile but for some reason didn't hand her the packet (friend didn't know she was supposed to get one) so we get to the garage and my friend had no way of knowing her rental car assignment and had to re-wait in another 20 minute line at the garage checkin counter. Our car reeked of cigarette smoke and hers smelled just dirty.
SSR: first time staying at my DVC home resort and I loved it! 2 bedroom preferred--we had a gorgeous view of DS from our room. No complaints! Well only that our party of 8 needs more room than a 2 bedroom but it was just a few nights at the start of the trip so we shoehorned in.
Ubering to Speedway: It seems so simple, I watched the videos and looked at the map, and at the end of the day determined that I am directionally challenged. In hindsight I know what I did wrong. In real-time I panicked about where I should go when everyone started questioning why we were standing at a gas station. I further powered on with my decision making even after my husband kept informing me I was going to the wrong way. (and reiterating the statement every few minutes) 'I KNOW THINGS. I READ DISBOARDS! MARCH PEOPLE! RESPECT MY AUTHORITY!!!' Poor choices were made. Many bonus miles were walked. We were sweaty. In addition to somehow missing a turn and walking to the Boardwalk we then thought "Hey! Skyliner!" until we walked all the way over and got in line only to be told that they were going to stop loading and it would be faster to take the IG boat. So we went to the boat at IG where the CM said they wouldn't load for 15 minutes and it would be faster to take the Skyliner or the boat at BC. So we decided to just walk to the DHS but we also got really excited to see the YC/BC boat loading as we got to it. Yes! Sweaty relief! Until we got halfway down the dock and they called for no further boarding. We got passed by alllll the boats and skyliners that turned us down along the walk, to add insult to injury. I've never seen my sweet and mild mannered 12 year old so ready to slaughter me. I think we had something crazy like over 8000 steps BEFORE WE GOT TO THE PARK! We might laugh in a few years
Additionally the park was supposed to open at 10 but they changed the hours to 9am at some point and I didn't know so it was quite literally all for naught. We didn't even get into the park before opening, LOL!
Boarding group: We got one! I removed everyone in my profile that wasn't on the trip to save a few clicks. All the adults in our party tried for a BG and an extra person clicked did slow down one in our group. I would definitely have everyone try and if nobody is particularly 'tech savvy' in your group you might be out of luck. Those things are gone in less than 5 seconds! I speed tested the wifi and my data, restarted my phone about 15 minutes prior, and we got BG 10 and were called at around 9:30 if I remember correctly.
Dining and Mobile order: Mobile order is so hit or miss! Put in your orders well ahead of when you're hungry and hit 'I'm here' when you are on your way. Even without our group (doing 3 separate mobile orders with the same pickup time) sometimes one would get stuck waiting 15 minutes more. Flame Tree--fast for us but we were done eating our food by the time my dad got his. I hit 'i'm here' about 30 seconds before him but otherwise it made no sense. We had 4 entrees and he had 1! Ronto Roasters was the same deal but our friends were the ones waiting that time. Cosmic Rays was a royal cluster. I'm still bitter. Asked DH to put in a MO to get DD8 nuggets while I was in line with her for Astro Orbiter. We were in line about 30 minutes and I expected to her food would be done when we got out. NOPE! One order of chicken nuggets took over 45 minutes and my DH is not a 'speak to the manager' type so he waited patiently, without ever asking anyone WTH was going on, while they tried sorting out some error. He said there was a whole pile of people waiting for their orders but the MO system had a fluke so there was a sea of loaded up orders waiting and ready to go on the counter but they weren't actually giving them to anyone or marking them as ready until they could figure it out. Unfortunately the people who just came in to order walked up, ordered, and were able to grab food and leave. By the time we go them they were cold (which is how DD likes them but on principal I was
. Sit down dining was largely not an option for us as a group of 8. We did get into Via Napoli which left a little to be desired. It has the same loud cafeteria effect of BOG which is so not relaxing. Service was meh--the waitress brought an extra mixed drink that nobody had ordered and at the last second we decided to take it if it was just getting thrown away. It was SO gross! And we got charged for it. I mean we did drink it and all but more in a 'pass this gross drink around the table' sort of way. Our friends ordered a side of green beans which were *bad*. It was like they scorched the oil and they had an acrid, burnt taste. Probably won't be back. We had lunch at LTT and didn't realize that they are AYCTE style only right now. When they asked how many kids I said 3( ages 8, 12, 13), still not realizing they meant for pricing. My friend and I were sick at the idea of spending so much on our kids that we knew were going to eat like birds. I fully expected them to charge us for the two 'Disney adult' kids but they didn't--kid prices for all 3! I wouldn't bank on that happening (and I wouldn't knowingly lie) but I felt zero guilt because between the three of them they ate like 3 $worth of mac and cheese, potatoes, and a few bites of toffee cake. The service was great too. For the most part Grub Hub to our house or Uber eats worked out more conveniently than the usual daily Disney reservations--way cheaper too! Our favorite place in the DHS, Baseline Taphouse, had about a 15 minute wait to get in and then their already limited seating (we are always 8-13 of us so our group size was nothing out of our norm) was cut in half further for distancing rules so virtually impossible for our group. They did allow us to take our beers and trays over to anywhere we could find seating, they suggested ABC commissary but we found some benches outside of Sci-Fi.
Attraction Lines: They *look* atrocious but actually move really fast and feels less like a line and more like a slow walk through the que. The most frustrating part was finding the end of the line TBH. Sometimes you would circle to some totally random place you would never dream of the line being. For that reason we got waaaaaaay more steps in than usual. Not to mention no shows to sit your time away. A few lines ended up being way worse than posted. RNR, Dinosaur, and Test Track (due to weather).
Outlets: Disney Character Warehouse has a virtual ques to get in that takes 90 minutes to 2 hours to get into (Thursday afternoon with hardly anybody strolling through the outlets)!! I had no idea! I remember back in the day when you just walked in to the store
. I can't imagine what it would be like during busier times.
Masks: There is better mask usage at Disney than anywhere else I go--and we are in Washington (very masky!). That being said there are some places that there is no way to distance. If that's an issue to you than just stay home. I'm talking to you, neckbeard guy that threw a hissy fit when my dad inadvertently got to close behind you in line. But also if you are going to be a butt about rules JUST STAY HOME. The RNR line we had the biggest jerk in line behind us mocking the announcements *every* time they came over the loud speaker. He also berated a CM who reminded him to pull his mask up. Times are what they are. Don't be a #!(&. Nobody is forcing you to go to Disney right now. That being said I am just as sweaty in my mask as you are so also don't be a *%@* by trying to sneak and take your mask off where you shouldn't. If I don't get to you don't either! I even got told to put my mask on in the TSM line. DH had a beer that I had *just* taken a drink of (CM was actively announcing to the line the you could eat and drink in the line which I think went against the policy change but I wasn't going to argue!) and I stuck a bobby pin in my mouth while I was putting my hair up. It was like less than 5 seconds and I got told.
Windsor Hills: First time we stayed here and I definitely get the appeal of the area. It feels less like a house party zone than Storey Lake and much closer than Reunion. Our house was awesome and decked out with all sorts of fun stuff including a TV on the patio. We will definitely be returning back. We watched movies in the heated pool almost every night. We did the community pool and water park one day and it was really fun but it was like the Rona didn't exist! LOL. No attempts at distancing or mask wearing. It didn't bother me but it might to others.
In general thoughts: It was fun, it scratched the Disney itch, but this is the first time I didn't feel like I *NEED* to have more days in the park. We did 1 day at each park and were satisfied. Maybe it was the fact we don't have AP (and can't get them
) or maybe it was that with so many missing shows/altered experiences you pretty much do the rides and then are good. We spent way less this trip than usual. TS dining was hard to get for our party--there's not as many places open to begin with but options drops hugely with a big group. Waiting in line to go into a store to browse was enough of a turn off to keep us moving usually. Not being able to snack and drink while you wander was the thing I miss most. Come to think of it we didn't get any food or drinks from the stands in Epcot because stopping the whole group so somebody could get a snack was a deterrent. In addition there wasn't always decent seating/table options to stop and set your stuff while you had your snack so it just felt like more work than it was worth. As an aside this is the only time I have come back from WDW without gaining any weight at all. 
In general we had a great trip but I don't know that I would want to repeat the experience if it were any more crowded and based on looks we hit a very low-crowd few days. I have never seen parking lots so empty but because of distancing rules, seats blocked out, no shows etc it doesn't translate to 'no wait times'.
That's all I got for now.
Airport experiences: PDX to MCO on SW was easy. SW kept the middle seats open and I was thinking they would still group parties traveling together but was pleasantly surprised that we all got to be seated 2 to a row with an empty middle. It makes for such a more comfortable flight. Southwest is doing boarding groups of 10 in theory--PDX and DEN (layover) did it but MCO did more of a 30 at a time thing. Not that it mattered much but you just gotta stay on your toes when paying attention to boarding groups being called.
Rental Car: We usually use Alamo and find it the best by far. This was our first time with Avis due to price and I wasn't impressed TBH. The Budget and Avis lines inside the airport were crazy. In theory Avis has a direct to car setup-in practice it doesn't work if your a first time renter with them. The line moved like molasses and we waited for like 40 minutes with only about 6 people in front of us. By the time we were done the line was about 3x as long. The lady called me up and since we had online profiles updated she quickly handed me my packet with my rental car assignment. She then calls my BFF who also had an updated profile but for some reason didn't hand her the packet (friend didn't know she was supposed to get one) so we get to the garage and my friend had no way of knowing her rental car assignment and had to re-wait in another 20 minute line at the garage checkin counter. Our car reeked of cigarette smoke and hers smelled just dirty.
SSR: first time staying at my DVC home resort and I loved it! 2 bedroom preferred--we had a gorgeous view of DS from our room. No complaints! Well only that our party of 8 needs more room than a 2 bedroom but it was just a few nights at the start of the trip so we shoehorned in.
Ubering to Speedway: It seems so simple, I watched the videos and looked at the map, and at the end of the day determined that I am directionally challenged. In hindsight I know what I did wrong. In real-time I panicked about where I should go when everyone started questioning why we were standing at a gas station. I further powered on with my decision making even after my husband kept informing me I was going to the wrong way. (and reiterating the statement every few minutes) 'I KNOW THINGS. I READ DISBOARDS! MARCH PEOPLE! RESPECT MY AUTHORITY!!!' Poor choices were made. Many bonus miles were walked. We were sweaty. In addition to somehow missing a turn and walking to the Boardwalk we then thought "Hey! Skyliner!" until we walked all the way over and got in line only to be told that they were going to stop loading and it would be faster to take the IG boat. So we went to the boat at IG where the CM said they wouldn't load for 15 minutes and it would be faster to take the Skyliner or the boat at BC. So we decided to just walk to the DHS but we also got really excited to see the YC/BC boat loading as we got to it. Yes! Sweaty relief! Until we got halfway down the dock and they called for no further boarding. We got passed by alllll the boats and skyliners that turned us down along the walk, to add insult to injury. I've never seen my sweet and mild mannered 12 year old so ready to slaughter me. I think we had something crazy like over 8000 steps BEFORE WE GOT TO THE PARK! We might laugh in a few years
Additionally the park was supposed to open at 10 but they changed the hours to 9am at some point and I didn't know so it was quite literally all for naught. We didn't even get into the park before opening, LOL!Boarding group: We got one! I removed everyone in my profile that wasn't on the trip to save a few clicks. All the adults in our party tried for a BG and an extra person clicked did slow down one in our group. I would definitely have everyone try and if nobody is particularly 'tech savvy' in your group you might be out of luck. Those things are gone in less than 5 seconds! I speed tested the wifi and my data, restarted my phone about 15 minutes prior, and we got BG 10 and were called at around 9:30 if I remember correctly.
Dining and Mobile order: Mobile order is so hit or miss! Put in your orders well ahead of when you're hungry and hit 'I'm here' when you are on your way. Even without our group (doing 3 separate mobile orders with the same pickup time) sometimes one would get stuck waiting 15 minutes more. Flame Tree--fast for us but we were done eating our food by the time my dad got his. I hit 'i'm here' about 30 seconds before him but otherwise it made no sense. We had 4 entrees and he had 1! Ronto Roasters was the same deal but our friends were the ones waiting that time. Cosmic Rays was a royal cluster. I'm still bitter. Asked DH to put in a MO to get DD8 nuggets while I was in line with her for Astro Orbiter. We were in line about 30 minutes and I expected to her food would be done when we got out. NOPE! One order of chicken nuggets took over 45 minutes and my DH is not a 'speak to the manager' type so he waited patiently, without ever asking anyone WTH was going on, while they tried sorting out some error. He said there was a whole pile of people waiting for their orders but the MO system had a fluke so there was a sea of loaded up orders waiting and ready to go on the counter but they weren't actually giving them to anyone or marking them as ready until they could figure it out. Unfortunately the people who just came in to order walked up, ordered, and were able to grab food and leave. By the time we go them they were cold (which is how DD likes them but on principal I was
. Sit down dining was largely not an option for us as a group of 8. We did get into Via Napoli which left a little to be desired. It has the same loud cafeteria effect of BOG which is so not relaxing. Service was meh--the waitress brought an extra mixed drink that nobody had ordered and at the last second we decided to take it if it was just getting thrown away. It was SO gross! And we got charged for it. I mean we did drink it and all but more in a 'pass this gross drink around the table' sort of way. Our friends ordered a side of green beans which were *bad*. It was like they scorched the oil and they had an acrid, burnt taste. Probably won't be back. We had lunch at LTT and didn't realize that they are AYCTE style only right now. When they asked how many kids I said 3( ages 8, 12, 13), still not realizing they meant for pricing. My friend and I were sick at the idea of spending so much on our kids that we knew were going to eat like birds. I fully expected them to charge us for the two 'Disney adult' kids but they didn't--kid prices for all 3! I wouldn't bank on that happening (and I wouldn't knowingly lie) but I felt zero guilt because between the three of them they ate like 3 $worth of mac and cheese, potatoes, and a few bites of toffee cake. The service was great too. For the most part Grub Hub to our house or Uber eats worked out more conveniently than the usual daily Disney reservations--way cheaper too! Our favorite place in the DHS, Baseline Taphouse, had about a 15 minute wait to get in and then their already limited seating (we are always 8-13 of us so our group size was nothing out of our norm) was cut in half further for distancing rules so virtually impossible for our group. They did allow us to take our beers and trays over to anywhere we could find seating, they suggested ABC commissary but we found some benches outside of Sci-Fi.Attraction Lines: They *look* atrocious but actually move really fast and feels less like a line and more like a slow walk through the que. The most frustrating part was finding the end of the line TBH. Sometimes you would circle to some totally random place you would never dream of the line being. For that reason we got waaaaaaay more steps in than usual. Not to mention no shows to sit your time away. A few lines ended up being way worse than posted. RNR, Dinosaur, and Test Track (due to weather).
Outlets: Disney Character Warehouse has a virtual ques to get in that takes 90 minutes to 2 hours to get into (Thursday afternoon with hardly anybody strolling through the outlets)!! I had no idea! I remember back in the day when you just walked in to the store
. I can't imagine what it would be like during busier times.Masks: There is better mask usage at Disney than anywhere else I go--and we are in Washington (very masky!). That being said there are some places that there is no way to distance. If that's an issue to you than just stay home. I'm talking to you, neckbeard guy that threw a hissy fit when my dad inadvertently got to close behind you in line. But also if you are going to be a butt about rules JUST STAY HOME. The RNR line we had the biggest jerk in line behind us mocking the announcements *every* time they came over the loud speaker. He also berated a CM who reminded him to pull his mask up. Times are what they are. Don't be a #!(&. Nobody is forcing you to go to Disney right now. That being said I am just as sweaty in my mask as you are so also don't be a *%@* by trying to sneak and take your mask off where you shouldn't. If I don't get to you don't either! I even got told to put my mask on in the TSM line. DH had a beer that I had *just* taken a drink of (CM was actively announcing to the line the you could eat and drink in the line which I think went against the policy change but I wasn't going to argue!) and I stuck a bobby pin in my mouth while I was putting my hair up. It was like less than 5 seconds and I got told.
Windsor Hills: First time we stayed here and I definitely get the appeal of the area. It feels less like a house party zone than Storey Lake and much closer than Reunion. Our house was awesome and decked out with all sorts of fun stuff including a TV on the patio. We will definitely be returning back. We watched movies in the heated pool almost every night. We did the community pool and water park one day and it was really fun but it was like the Rona didn't exist! LOL. No attempts at distancing or mask wearing. It didn't bother me but it might to others.
In general thoughts: It was fun, it scratched the Disney itch, but this is the first time I didn't feel like I *NEED* to have more days in the park. We did 1 day at each park and were satisfied. Maybe it was the fact we don't have AP (and can't get them
) or maybe it was that with so many missing shows/altered experiences you pretty much do the rides and then are good. We spent way less this trip than usual. TS dining was hard to get for our party--there's not as many places open to begin with but options drops hugely with a big group. Waiting in line to go into a store to browse was enough of a turn off to keep us moving usually. Not being able to snack and drink while you wander was the thing I miss most. Come to think of it we didn't get any food or drinks from the stands in Epcot because stopping the whole group so somebody could get a snack was a deterrent. In addition there wasn't always decent seating/table options to stop and set your stuff while you had your snack so it just felt like more work than it was worth. As an aside this is the only time I have come back from WDW without gaining any weight at all. In general we had a great trip but I don't know that I would want to repeat the experience if it were any more crowded and based on looks we hit a very low-crowd few days. I have never seen parking lots so empty but because of distancing rules, seats blocked out, no shows etc it doesn't translate to 'no wait times'. That's all I got for now.
