Our family (mom, dad, 10 year old son) were at WDW April 11 - 16. 4 day ticket, no parkhopper.
It was my 6th visit since 1978, our third as a family and the first visit in 5 years.
We stayed at Beach Club Resort with the idea that of all the parks, Epcot is one of the hardest to see in a day and the location is ideal for a second day visit focusing on the World Showcase as well as general transportation to Epcot (ie, it really is walking distance). We picked the Beach Club also because of the large pool complex and our attempt to do WDW in a less intensive way which involved a more relaxed schedule and afternoon breaks at the pool.
Our last stay was at the Contemporary which fulfilled a dream inspired by my very first visit with my own parents and siblings -- we didn't stay there, we stayed off property in our motorhome and drove our towed vehicle to the park. But it was our first physical stop once we got to Orlando, and it was pretty cool to go inside that hotel, see the Monorail passing through. I remember at the time if you weren't staying there you could pay to ride the Monorail and my normally cheap dad let us ride it.
Day 1 we arrived on Magical Express from the airport. That experience was pretty good, although it kind of felt after a long airplane ride there was a little too much queuing for the bus although in reality I think it was about 15 minutes from arrival to departure for the resort. We did not check our bags through to our rooms because we didn't want to risk separation from our luggage for the estimated 2-5 hours.
Our room was ready when we arrived. We had been told by Disney via mailing that there was some room refurbishment going on. We ended up in a refurbished room on 4 about 10 rooms down from the elevators. There was refurbishment going on in two hallways that branched off the elevator lobby on our floor, but other than seeing tenting curtains around some rooms looking down the hall and a few construction workers it was zero impact.
The room itself was nice, we had a Juliette balcony that looked out onto the entrance. Not much of a view, but it didn't matter to us and there was no noise. The room location felt pretty convenient to the Marketplace shop/deli, pool and lobby. Some resorts and hotels (especially Vegas) make it an epic walk to the elevator let alone the lobby and other areas.
The pool complex was nice, but not as extensive as I expected. The lazy river was kind of short and very lazy. I'm not sold on the sand idea in the pool, it made walking hard and made it too sandy on the pool deck and patio area. But it was hot and the water felt good. I found navigating the pool complex a little too much walking when searching for my wife or son. I guess it makes it seem larger, but it was hard to find people. Bar service at the bar was good, but waitress visits were few and far between, and prices were high.
Day 2 was Magic Kingdom. We arrived at park opening and hit 7 Dwarves first before the lines got too long, we didn't have a FastPass for it. Sort of underwhelming compared to Big Thunder or Space Mountain as a ride. Had lunch (w/reservation) at the Plaza and then went back for some rest/pool time. Returned to the park at 5 for our passes for Space Mountain, then Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder. Had fish at Columbia House (always a favorite of ours). It had started to rain and threatened to rain hard, but by the time we got to Big Thunder it was close to 8 and most of the crowds had left due to sprinkles or to mass by the Castle for fireworks so we rode again with no more than a 5 minute wait. Hit Pirates after with no queue at all. After this we headed out, caught the fireworks and then bussed back to the hotel. Bus was crowded and a longer wait than I cared for.
Day 3 was Epcot. Mostly we stayed in Futureworld and did Soarin', Ellen, Mission to Mars and the dome ride (whose name always escapes me, I want to call it the AT&T ride..). Didn't get a pass for Test Track but it was down all day. Looped through World Showcase to Chefs de France for our dinner reservation. Prompt seating. Food was good, but not exceptional. Wine was actually poor, too light and fruity for a Pinot Noir in our opinion. Heat and a second theme park wiped us out so we headed back to the hotel.
Day 4 was Typhoon Lagoon. This was a big hit and our first Disney Waterpark visit (as a kid, I always wanted to do River Country). Got there at opening and stayed until close. Our son was in the wave pool the whole time I think. Lazy River was fun and moved quickly and a very long ride. Wished I had brought my own beer, there wasn't any cooler searches but there was beer service. Bus ride back was a drag, it involved a transfer at Epcot and the last stop on the second bus -- not what you want after a day at the water park.
Day 5 was originally planned for a visit to Universal, but a last minute review of what we wanted to do there led to some confusion as to whether to hit one side, both sides, etc, and when we checked the ticket costs decided to stay at WDW. Went to Hollywood studios. Fastpasses for Tower, Aerosmith and Star Tours. Crowds seemed light and we were able to ride Aerosmith a second time plus the Great Movie ride without any queuing. Pool break at the hotel after.
Day 6 was World Showcase at Epcot. Snacking, the American Experience, managed a pass for Test Track, so we did that, more snacking in Mexico, China, beer at Germany and then to satisfy the 10 year old a trip to ESPN at the Boardwalk for early dinner. My wife and I returned to grab desserts in France while the 10 year old watched TV in the room.
Checked out on day 7 and visited my dad in Tavares for two days after (he picked us up at the hotel).
Overall impressions: Liked the hotel, would stay there again. Not as "magical" as the Contemporary, but still convenient and great amenities. Extremely hot during our visit -- we wanted this for swimming and water park but as Minnesotans forgot how fatiguing "summer" is at a theme park. Our more relaxed schedule (breaks, late arrivals, breaking Epcot up) helped. We all had a good time.
Editorial: Personally, as much fun as I had, I think Disney has lost some of its vision. I've never been a fan of the MK Tomorrowland makeover into a cartoon future. Epcot's Futureworld has lost nearly all its visionary aspect and is now just rides and merchandise in my opinion. Hollywood Studios has always felt "off" -- I love the themed main street, but it's a shopping mall, there's little "experience" there and the "Hollywood" experience seems in name only.
I'm glad we went but I don't feel the enthusiasm at this point to go back. The commercial exploitation has become an increasing turnoff.
It was my 6th visit since 1978, our third as a family and the first visit in 5 years.
We stayed at Beach Club Resort with the idea that of all the parks, Epcot is one of the hardest to see in a day and the location is ideal for a second day visit focusing on the World Showcase as well as general transportation to Epcot (ie, it really is walking distance). We picked the Beach Club also because of the large pool complex and our attempt to do WDW in a less intensive way which involved a more relaxed schedule and afternoon breaks at the pool.
Our last stay was at the Contemporary which fulfilled a dream inspired by my very first visit with my own parents and siblings -- we didn't stay there, we stayed off property in our motorhome and drove our towed vehicle to the park. But it was our first physical stop once we got to Orlando, and it was pretty cool to go inside that hotel, see the Monorail passing through. I remember at the time if you weren't staying there you could pay to ride the Monorail and my normally cheap dad let us ride it.
Day 1 we arrived on Magical Express from the airport. That experience was pretty good, although it kind of felt after a long airplane ride there was a little too much queuing for the bus although in reality I think it was about 15 minutes from arrival to departure for the resort. We did not check our bags through to our rooms because we didn't want to risk separation from our luggage for the estimated 2-5 hours.
Our room was ready when we arrived. We had been told by Disney via mailing that there was some room refurbishment going on. We ended up in a refurbished room on 4 about 10 rooms down from the elevators. There was refurbishment going on in two hallways that branched off the elevator lobby on our floor, but other than seeing tenting curtains around some rooms looking down the hall and a few construction workers it was zero impact.
The room itself was nice, we had a Juliette balcony that looked out onto the entrance. Not much of a view, but it didn't matter to us and there was no noise. The room location felt pretty convenient to the Marketplace shop/deli, pool and lobby. Some resorts and hotels (especially Vegas) make it an epic walk to the elevator let alone the lobby and other areas.
The pool complex was nice, but not as extensive as I expected. The lazy river was kind of short and very lazy. I'm not sold on the sand idea in the pool, it made walking hard and made it too sandy on the pool deck and patio area. But it was hot and the water felt good. I found navigating the pool complex a little too much walking when searching for my wife or son. I guess it makes it seem larger, but it was hard to find people. Bar service at the bar was good, but waitress visits were few and far between, and prices were high.
Day 2 was Magic Kingdom. We arrived at park opening and hit 7 Dwarves first before the lines got too long, we didn't have a FastPass for it. Sort of underwhelming compared to Big Thunder or Space Mountain as a ride. Had lunch (w/reservation) at the Plaza and then went back for some rest/pool time. Returned to the park at 5 for our passes for Space Mountain, then Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder. Had fish at Columbia House (always a favorite of ours). It had started to rain and threatened to rain hard, but by the time we got to Big Thunder it was close to 8 and most of the crowds had left due to sprinkles or to mass by the Castle for fireworks so we rode again with no more than a 5 minute wait. Hit Pirates after with no queue at all. After this we headed out, caught the fireworks and then bussed back to the hotel. Bus was crowded and a longer wait than I cared for.
Day 3 was Epcot. Mostly we stayed in Futureworld and did Soarin', Ellen, Mission to Mars and the dome ride (whose name always escapes me, I want to call it the AT&T ride..). Didn't get a pass for Test Track but it was down all day. Looped through World Showcase to Chefs de France for our dinner reservation. Prompt seating. Food was good, but not exceptional. Wine was actually poor, too light and fruity for a Pinot Noir in our opinion. Heat and a second theme park wiped us out so we headed back to the hotel.
Day 4 was Typhoon Lagoon. This was a big hit and our first Disney Waterpark visit (as a kid, I always wanted to do River Country). Got there at opening and stayed until close. Our son was in the wave pool the whole time I think. Lazy River was fun and moved quickly and a very long ride. Wished I had brought my own beer, there wasn't any cooler searches but there was beer service. Bus ride back was a drag, it involved a transfer at Epcot and the last stop on the second bus -- not what you want after a day at the water park.
Day 5 was originally planned for a visit to Universal, but a last minute review of what we wanted to do there led to some confusion as to whether to hit one side, both sides, etc, and when we checked the ticket costs decided to stay at WDW. Went to Hollywood studios. Fastpasses for Tower, Aerosmith and Star Tours. Crowds seemed light and we were able to ride Aerosmith a second time plus the Great Movie ride without any queuing. Pool break at the hotel after.
Day 6 was World Showcase at Epcot. Snacking, the American Experience, managed a pass for Test Track, so we did that, more snacking in Mexico, China, beer at Germany and then to satisfy the 10 year old a trip to ESPN at the Boardwalk for early dinner. My wife and I returned to grab desserts in France while the 10 year old watched TV in the room.
Checked out on day 7 and visited my dad in Tavares for two days after (he picked us up at the hotel).
Overall impressions: Liked the hotel, would stay there again. Not as "magical" as the Contemporary, but still convenient and great amenities. Extremely hot during our visit -- we wanted this for swimming and water park but as Minnesotans forgot how fatiguing "summer" is at a theme park. Our more relaxed schedule (breaks, late arrivals, breaking Epcot up) helped. We all had a good time.
Editorial: Personally, as much fun as I had, I think Disney has lost some of its vision. I've never been a fan of the MK Tomorrowland makeover into a cartoon future. Epcot's Futureworld has lost nearly all its visionary aspect and is now just rides and merchandise in my opinion. Hollywood Studios has always felt "off" -- I love the themed main street, but it's a shopping mall, there's little "experience" there and the "Hollywood" experience seems in name only.
I'm glad we went but I don't feel the enthusiasm at this point to go back. The commercial exploitation has become an increasing turnoff.
