GenevieveRaqs
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 632
We're just back from a great trip celebrating our DS's 6th birthday. I thought I'd share a few tidbits and observations. 
1. Seven Dwarves Mine Train--(C'mon, it's on everyone's mind!) We scored two FPs for the ride, and it was a good, solid family coaster. The outdoor coaster portion was fun with mild thrills (as expected, somewhere between Barnstormer and BTMRR), and the indoor mine portion was wonderfully detailed with true-to-film characters. DS has been singing the songs ever since we rode! The ride does have a couple of major weaknesses and one "why'd they do that?" minor annoyance. First of all, it should have been twice as long, as originally planned. The second indoor scene, which was cut in early planning, would really have rounded the ride out into a true E-ticket. The other weakness is the cottage scene. There's nothing wrong with the scene itself--it's quite cute and well done. But you can't see it for a large part of the day due to the terrible glare on the glass. This would be SO easy to remedy with no-glare glass that I'm shocked Disney launched the ride with this kind of issue. The minor annoyance is the size of the ride vehicles. For an average sized adult, it's a pretty cramped ride. Not a huge deal when you're smushed up against your own family members, but we're a party of 3 so I got very cozy with a stranger in my mine car!
2. BOG Dinner--I had lunch at BOG early last year during a quick weekend trip with a friend before a conference, but this was DH and DS's first time at BOG and my first time at dinner. DH and I both really enjoyed our meals. He had the shrimp and scallops (was one of his favorite meals of the trip), and I had the lamb (well prepared, very flavorful, loved the celeriac puree). DS wasn't feeling very hungry due to the heat and just being overly excited (story of the entire trip!), so he didn't eat much of his Mickey meatloaf. But I tried it and thought it was quite good, despite the wailing and gnashing of teeth that ensued over the children's menu when the restaurant launched.
We were seated in the Ballroom, and DS really enjoyed exploring the West Wing after dinner. With as popular as the restaurant is, I can't understand why they don't use the Rose Gallery for seating at dinner. Getting to carry "Lumiere's friend" into the dining room when we were seated was a fun little touch.
3. Downtown Disney--What. A. Mess. Frankly it was such a stressful experience (and a terrible way to start our trip) that I have very little desire to go back, even though it will presumably be better once all Disney Springs construction is completed. While I'm not usually in the camp of thinking Disney "owes" us anything above what we've paid for (in other words, an excellent resort experience with top-notch entertainment options and world-class service...although I don't think we always get that, either), I cannot believe they've created this huge parking mess at a glorified shopping mall and then have the audacity to charge for valet parking when you can't find anywhere else to park. No, sorry Disney, you've made it nearly impossible to get to your mall, so it is up to you to provide easy, free solutions to that mess. Then with all the construction walls up squeezing huge crowds into very small walkways, it was just an unpleasant experience all around. This was not helped at all by our first (and likely only) visit to Earl of Sandwich. After hearing SO many good things about this place, we were excited to try it. The whole place was a disorganized mad house with surly employees offering little help other than barking at patrons who were confused about where to go (the notable exception was the very cheery guy taking entree orders). My Thai chicken salad was tiny and nothing to write home about. Seriously, it looked like the salads Delta sometimes offers as an option on international flights. Yes, I'm comparing it to airline food. DH had the Thanksgiving sandwich, which was tastier but still nothing spectacular.
4. Harambe Addition--The new theater area in AK is beautiful, blending perfectly into the existing Harambe village. I don't know if the back of Tusker House was always so well themed, but it was certainly fun to see it from a new vantage point and be able to see lots of details that I had never seen (or, perhaps, that did not exist) before. The Festival of the Lion King is still fantastic. I may be remembering incorrectly, but it felt to me that the performers and floats filled the stage area more than before, giving the show a more cohesive and impressive look (if that's possible!).
1. Seven Dwarves Mine Train--(C'mon, it's on everyone's mind!) We scored two FPs for the ride, and it was a good, solid family coaster. The outdoor coaster portion was fun with mild thrills (as expected, somewhere between Barnstormer and BTMRR), and the indoor mine portion was wonderfully detailed with true-to-film characters. DS has been singing the songs ever since we rode! The ride does have a couple of major weaknesses and one "why'd they do that?" minor annoyance. First of all, it should have been twice as long, as originally planned. The second indoor scene, which was cut in early planning, would really have rounded the ride out into a true E-ticket. The other weakness is the cottage scene. There's nothing wrong with the scene itself--it's quite cute and well done. But you can't see it for a large part of the day due to the terrible glare on the glass. This would be SO easy to remedy with no-glare glass that I'm shocked Disney launched the ride with this kind of issue. The minor annoyance is the size of the ride vehicles. For an average sized adult, it's a pretty cramped ride. Not a huge deal when you're smushed up against your own family members, but we're a party of 3 so I got very cozy with a stranger in my mine car!
2. BOG Dinner--I had lunch at BOG early last year during a quick weekend trip with a friend before a conference, but this was DH and DS's first time at BOG and my first time at dinner. DH and I both really enjoyed our meals. He had the shrimp and scallops (was one of his favorite meals of the trip), and I had the lamb (well prepared, very flavorful, loved the celeriac puree). DS wasn't feeling very hungry due to the heat and just being overly excited (story of the entire trip!), so he didn't eat much of his Mickey meatloaf. But I tried it and thought it was quite good, despite the wailing and gnashing of teeth that ensued over the children's menu when the restaurant launched.
We were seated in the Ballroom, and DS really enjoyed exploring the West Wing after dinner. With as popular as the restaurant is, I can't understand why they don't use the Rose Gallery for seating at dinner. Getting to carry "Lumiere's friend" into the dining room when we were seated was a fun little touch.3. Downtown Disney--What. A. Mess. Frankly it was such a stressful experience (and a terrible way to start our trip) that I have very little desire to go back, even though it will presumably be better once all Disney Springs construction is completed. While I'm not usually in the camp of thinking Disney "owes" us anything above what we've paid for (in other words, an excellent resort experience with top-notch entertainment options and world-class service...although I don't think we always get that, either), I cannot believe they've created this huge parking mess at a glorified shopping mall and then have the audacity to charge for valet parking when you can't find anywhere else to park. No, sorry Disney, you've made it nearly impossible to get to your mall, so it is up to you to provide easy, free solutions to that mess. Then with all the construction walls up squeezing huge crowds into very small walkways, it was just an unpleasant experience all around. This was not helped at all by our first (and likely only) visit to Earl of Sandwich. After hearing SO many good things about this place, we were excited to try it. The whole place was a disorganized mad house with surly employees offering little help other than barking at patrons who were confused about where to go (the notable exception was the very cheery guy taking entree orders). My Thai chicken salad was tiny and nothing to write home about. Seriously, it looked like the salads Delta sometimes offers as an option on international flights. Yes, I'm comparing it to airline food. DH had the Thanksgiving sandwich, which was tastier but still nothing spectacular.
4. Harambe Addition--The new theater area in AK is beautiful, blending perfectly into the existing Harambe village. I don't know if the back of Tusker House was always so well themed, but it was certainly fun to see it from a new vantage point and be able to see lots of details that I had never seen (or, perhaps, that did not exist) before. The Festival of the Lion King is still fantastic. I may be remembering incorrectly, but it felt to me that the performers and floats filled the stage area more than before, giving the show a more cohesive and impressive look (if that's possible!).
. I know they wanted to see the parade and share it with their kids, but we staked out and held our spot for over an hour to have it ruined by their arrival 5 minutes before the parade. Strollers not properly folded or held as out of the way as possible on buses is another brochure opportunity - along with parade and park etiquette... It really was crazy last week. Plan a list of acceptable stick-up-for-yourself comments before you need them.
i definatly would have used it on the camera guy using you shoulder as a tripod. I am seriously considering canceling our dinner at DTD after reading some of these comments too. Thinking it may not be worth it. As for park etiquette, most people don't seem to care about anyone but themselves these days, so doubt that people don't know things are rude, just that they don't care
