sequoia 14
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 17, 2014
- Messages
- 75
We (me, DH and DD) just wrapped up a wonderful 5 day trip to the World. I am normally a lurker (thank you everyone for all the great information!), but I thought I would try to pass along a few observations.
- I grew up in FL, but the heat was intense. By our fourth day we skipped a morning in the parks to just float in the pool. It was glorious.
-We stayed at the Poly for the first time. We ordered the kids size of the Polynesian Twilight Feast for a room service dinner one evening and the portion was huge. I shared it with my DD and there was food left over. DD enjoyed the new splash pool area and I thought the sushi at Kona Island was superb.
-Loved, loved, LOVED the new Frozen ride. A part of me will always miss Maelstrom, but our whole family thought the ride was beautiful and well synced. We enjoyed it so much that we rode it a second time standby (posted wait time was 60 minutes, but we only waited 35).
-Animal Kingdom at night should not be missed. The park only seemed crowded around the Jungle Book area. We had our own safari ride. I have never seen the lions that active. The females were chasing each other and the male was roaring. The Tree of Life light show was breathtaking. Definitely try Tiffins. All the dishes I had were superb. The Jungle Book show wasn't as bad as I thought it would be from some descriptions.
-We had a PPO breakfast at BOG for 8:10 and pre-ordered. We arrived at the gates at 7:55, strolled and took pictures on the way to the restaurant and finished at 8:50. Rode the Mine Train one time and just beat the rope droppers to Peter Pan (so glad we had a chance to go through the standby line...the new room designs are superb).
-The next day we had a PPO breakfast at Garden Grill for 8:05. We finished our meal at 8:50 and were just ahead of the rope drop crowd to Soarin. I think we got lucky as they did not seem to open the gates that early that morning. I would highly recommend not rushing this character breakfast though. It was DD's favorite. The characters came by multiple times and my DH could not stop commenting on how good the sticky bun was.
-All of the Disney cast members I encountered were helpful and engaged except for one lone anomaly. The security checks were thorough and smooth.
-I tried Dining with an Animal Specialist at Sanaa while my DH stayed behind in the room while our DD was napping. This felt like the best deal at Disney. Only $49 and I got sooooo much food (bread service with nine sauces, three salads, main entree, three mini deserts and unlimited soda). Our specialist was super engaged and I learned tons of new facts about the animals at Disney. She also volunteered that the powers that be are now thinking ROL will not debut till the summer, but I would take it with a grain of salt as she does not work at AK.
-If you want to meet Joy and Sadness aim for the morning or late evening. Every time we checked during the middle of the day the wait was 1.5 hrs. We skipped it.
-We decided to not make dining reservations for our Epcot days. We were able to eat at both Rose & Crown (dinner) and Chefs de France (lunch). I also saw open spots online for Le Cellier and Via Napoli for lunch.
-I met up with a friend to have Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian. I had never been before so I cannot compare with the past, but I thought the amount of food/drinks we received for $35 was fair. Our waiter Kit really made the experience. If you are looking for a relaxing afternoon location this is it.
-Being able to make the 4th FP on our phone was a huge time saver. The headliners were gone but there still seemed to be a large variety of choices.
-Disney Springs is really shaping up. For new experiences we got a flight of coke products at the 3rd floor lounge area at the Coke store and tried some ice cream at Sprinkles. I'm excited to see it in a year or two when it is completely finished and there isn't so much backtracking around construction.
-On a random note, I saw a 20 minute wait at Stitch's Great Escape around 11am. I was flabbergasted.
-I did not see a single mosquito on property.
We had a wonderful trip and can't wait to start planning our next one!
- I grew up in FL, but the heat was intense. By our fourth day we skipped a morning in the parks to just float in the pool. It was glorious.
-We stayed at the Poly for the first time. We ordered the kids size of the Polynesian Twilight Feast for a room service dinner one evening and the portion was huge. I shared it with my DD and there was food left over. DD enjoyed the new splash pool area and I thought the sushi at Kona Island was superb.
-Loved, loved, LOVED the new Frozen ride. A part of me will always miss Maelstrom, but our whole family thought the ride was beautiful and well synced. We enjoyed it so much that we rode it a second time standby (posted wait time was 60 minutes, but we only waited 35).
-Animal Kingdom at night should not be missed. The park only seemed crowded around the Jungle Book area. We had our own safari ride. I have never seen the lions that active. The females were chasing each other and the male was roaring. The Tree of Life light show was breathtaking. Definitely try Tiffins. All the dishes I had were superb. The Jungle Book show wasn't as bad as I thought it would be from some descriptions.
-We had a PPO breakfast at BOG for 8:10 and pre-ordered. We arrived at the gates at 7:55, strolled and took pictures on the way to the restaurant and finished at 8:50. Rode the Mine Train one time and just beat the rope droppers to Peter Pan (so glad we had a chance to go through the standby line...the new room designs are superb).
-The next day we had a PPO breakfast at Garden Grill for 8:05. We finished our meal at 8:50 and were just ahead of the rope drop crowd to Soarin. I think we got lucky as they did not seem to open the gates that early that morning. I would highly recommend not rushing this character breakfast though. It was DD's favorite. The characters came by multiple times and my DH could not stop commenting on how good the sticky bun was.
-All of the Disney cast members I encountered were helpful and engaged except for one lone anomaly. The security checks were thorough and smooth.
-I tried Dining with an Animal Specialist at Sanaa while my DH stayed behind in the room while our DD was napping. This felt like the best deal at Disney. Only $49 and I got sooooo much food (bread service with nine sauces, three salads, main entree, three mini deserts and unlimited soda). Our specialist was super engaged and I learned tons of new facts about the animals at Disney. She also volunteered that the powers that be are now thinking ROL will not debut till the summer, but I would take it with a grain of salt as she does not work at AK.
-If you want to meet Joy and Sadness aim for the morning or late evening. Every time we checked during the middle of the day the wait was 1.5 hrs. We skipped it.
-We decided to not make dining reservations for our Epcot days. We were able to eat at both Rose & Crown (dinner) and Chefs de France (lunch). I also saw open spots online for Le Cellier and Via Napoli for lunch.
-I met up with a friend to have Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian. I had never been before so I cannot compare with the past, but I thought the amount of food/drinks we received for $35 was fair. Our waiter Kit really made the experience. If you are looking for a relaxing afternoon location this is it.
-Being able to make the 4th FP on our phone was a huge time saver. The headliners were gone but there still seemed to be a large variety of choices.
-Disney Springs is really shaping up. For new experiences we got a flight of coke products at the 3rd floor lounge area at the Coke store and tried some ice cream at Sprinkles. I'm excited to see it in a year or two when it is completely finished and there isn't so much backtracking around construction.
-On a random note, I saw a 20 minute wait at Stitch's Great Escape around 11am. I was flabbergasted.
-I did not see a single mosquito on property.
We had a wonderful trip and can't wait to start planning our next one!
