Trip observations 7/6-7/13

[ChasingLeslie]

We had a wonderful vacation! It was our kids' first Disney trip and they loved it. Except for a few dinners, I made all of our plans for the morning and early afternoon thinking they'd be tired and want to rest/swim...but they turned out to be park warriors and wanted to stay.

I planned 3 MK days, 2 Epcot days, 1 HS day, and 1 AK day. The parks seemed "dead" the first 3-4 days, but then the crowds noticeably jammed up by Sunday. The kids really loved HS, whereas AK fell flat (except KRR which they wanted to ride over and over) so we hopped back to HS. Even with a day and half at HS, we still missed the Indy and B&B shows as well the the Green Army Men training. I'm not sure how most guest could do HS in less than a full day.

This was my first time using FPs and ADRs and I was mostly very pleased. I took advantage of the extra FPs after we used our three and we never waited more than 20-25 minutes for anything. For us, making FPs for early morning and then stacking extra ones through the day was the best plan. My best advice is to make sure your "headliners" are first because you can move the times of the secondary rides, but it's almost impossible to move things like 7DMT or FEA. Try to minimize crisscrossing the parks as much as possible. My only complaint was I often felt like we were rushing from one timed event to another.

We used the dining plan and it was a lot of food. Most times we split meals because we weren't terribly hungry and ended up having 4QS and 7SC remaining (which we burned on Starbucks and snacks to take home). We did make good use of the TS credits, though. Everyone loved 1900 PF (dinner), Tusker (breakfast), and CP (lunch), as well as Via Napoli, MM, and Bongos. Akershus (breakfast) was fine, and LTT was the one meal that was underwhelming.

Bus service was almost always good, cast members were friendly, and although I lost out on convincing DH to upgrade to APs I am going to cross my fingers for another trip next year.

 

[cluvsdisney]

It sounds like a great vacation!!

 

[CaliTex]

Im so glad your vacation was a good one--you are much braver than I am, going in the summertime. What meal did you have at LTT? LTT used to be great, but last two times for dinner were a disaster, but I am considering it for lunch. Any opinions on lunch at LTT?

 

[JerseyJanice]

Thanks for your report.

Sounds like you and your family had a great trip.

 

[RLGNC]

Sounds awesome! Thanks for sharing!

 

[ChasingLeslie]

Im so glad your vacation was a good one--you are much braver than I am, going in the summertime. What meal did you have at LTT? LTT used to be great, but last two times for dinner were a disaster, but I am considering it for lunch. Any opinions on lunch at LTT?

We had lunch. It was okay, but just the least enjoyable meal of the trip. DH had a burger and Boston cream pie. I had a salad (somewhat wilted and smothered in too much dressing) and OGTC. The toffee cake was the whole reason I booked the meal, if I am being honest, and it was yummy but not out of this world. My son asked for the pasta with cream sauce, but it was a red pepper cream (not a true alfredo) and he wouldn't eat it. I ended up eating that instead of my salad. We also tried the fritters and they were flat out GROSS and not at all what I expected.

 

[Parker Clan]

I love the "park warriors" line sounds like you guys had a blast!

 

[skywaywaver]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! We too will attempt to keep making FP+ after the first 3 are over. I may have missed it, but where did you stay?

 

[ChasingLeslie]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! We too will attempt to keep making FP+ after the first 3 are over. I may have missed it, but where did you stay?

We stayed at CSR, which is lovely. We didn't use the pool much, but we had fun when we were there (DD loved roasting marshmallows). We ate at Cafe Rix/Pepper Market a handful of times. The bus service was very good...except for one MK day when we must have just missed the bus and another didn't come for 25 minutes.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

Also wanted to add...

Most other guests were very friendly and kind. We had great conversations with other families while waiting in line, and did not experience any line jumpers. One time, DD needed an "emergency potty" break and the cast member at the entrance told us to come back through the FP line, which was very nice. Besides a few inconsiderate smokers and one tour group that insisted on sitting down in an already tight walkway, the only really rude guests we encountered were people at seated experiences who would push to get closer to the front and then try to sit dead center in the auditorium.

 

[Duffywannabe]

There are quite a few Disney fans who don't do rides, or at least thrill rides. Those people tend to not like simulation rides from what I have seen, so the 3 main attractions at HS are just out for many. For them, HS is less than a half day park.

I agree it is hard to do it all in one day if you are truly want to do it all. even in its current state.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

There are quite a few Disney fans who don't do rides, or at least thrill rides. Those people tend to not like simulation rides from what I have seen, so the 3 main attractions at HS are just out for many. For them, HS is less than a half day park.

I agree it is hard to do it all in one day if you are truly want to do it all. even in its current state.

Everyone tours the parks differently and enjoys different things...

We rode TSMM and Star Tours multiple times (with FPs) and spent a good portion of the morning on Jedi Training. DH and I traded turns riding RnRC with DS, and taking DD to meet Disney Junior characters. I also used the @kennythepirate guide for Character Palooza.

 

[loves to dive]

Sounds like you had a good time and good luck with APs. Warning, they make WDW addictive and expensive since you can justify going with well, we don't need to get tickets. I'm going for F&W which will be my third trip on my current AP and frankly, if I could get away with it, I'd go next month as well.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

@loves to dive - we are in MI and have to justify the flights...the thought with the APs would have been to book another trip next summer, a week earlier. I lost, but I am still going to push for another trip (DS is 8 and I want to go again before he is a Disney adult).

 

[CaliTex]

Thanks for the report on LTT--I had reservations about my, uh, reservations, and your report seals the deal--I'm going to cancel and try something different. Maybe the Skipper Canteen?

I hope you win the argument for more trips! It's been my experience that people are either Disney people or not--and if you are--and if the entire family likes it, I can say that you will make lots of good memories. Doing fun things as a family just builds a bond that helps in the tougher times. I'm a grandma now, but I grew up going to DL with my family and had so many excellent, fun times that we took our kids growing up and now we are bringing our grandkids! Sometimes I feel like skipping the gym but I tell myself to suck it up and go, so that I can do things like Disney with the grands!

(I know YOU don't need convincing on the trips, but if this helps with your DH....)

Also, thanks for the report on the overall good experiences with other visitors--I love to hear that everyone was (mostly) wonderful. I confess that rudeness gets under my skin after a bit.

 

[ArielSRL]

We felt the DDP was too much food, as well. I have a 2 yr old and 4 yr old. While the 2 yr old usually eats well (the 4 yr old never does), neither ate much at Disney except what I brought in for them. So we are foregoing it next year.

Thanks for the mini-report! I hope you get a 2017 trip!

 

[pd1138]

Thanks for your observations! I love these posts as I get ready for our trip!! Always have extra snack credits and we use them for the kids to pick out treats to bring to their friends back home!! Also liked your comment about guests being friendly overall! One of our favorite parts of the trip is striking up conversations with other families while waiting!!