We are here too! Updated TR!

[K8T]

Hi guys

Arrived yesterday on Virign VS075, the flight was delayed due to a technical fault and we spent almost and hour on the tarmac, but the flight was great, food rubbish, flight good. In flights movies were brilliant - I watched three and our dd (8), was mesmerised the whole trip, didn't hear a peep.

So glad we didn't upgrade to PE, although it probably was a lot nicer than ours, the legroom was brilliant and to be honest, I would rather save the £250 each they offered us to upgrade. Having said that, the seats right at the back, appeared more cramped in than ours (we were in the 40's), so would suggest when you are choosing stay nearer the front.

Orlando Int. need to sort out their immigration proceedures, half the desks not open, took well over an hour of queuing to get through. However, the ME, was excellent and we were straight on and off.

We are staying at the BC and when we arrived, were whisked off to Concierge!, shown to the lounge, got a large glass of Rose and sat down to do our checkin. I have no idea why we are concierge, just booked a room with a pool/water view with CO, the CM didn't think it was an upgrade, so maybe that is what I booked. I had no idea

Very, very happy though, buffet breakfast, snacks, soft drinks, fruit etc., all when we want it. Have a lovely balcony over looking the pool - I think we were in shock last night.

Went to Beaches and Cream, but wait was an hour, so Cape May got us in within 15 mins. It was busy and too tired to really enjoy it, but the food was excellent. We are on the DP and have upgraded our dd to adult (she hates burgers/mac. cheese etc), and the CM actually came over and asked her age and then went off again, proably to check that she was allowed to eat her mussells, crab claws and beef!!!

People were swimming in the pool really late last night and although was tempting on the warm balmy evening, we went to bed.

No idea what we are doing today, being a bit lax with the planning, possibly MK as dd is desperate to go there, despite it being a 'busy' day, I suggested HWS, but don't think that quite floats her boat!

It doesn't matter where we go to be honest, as I have only made one ADR for the whole trip (did I say I was a bit lax with the planning?!) However, I was pleased to hear that the Concierge will make any ADRs we require in the mornings and he didn't seem to think there would be any problems.

Wifi working perfectly in the hotel, hope it will in the parks and I can use the APP.

Will update again if get the chance, thanks to everyone who took the time to answer my mundane and sometimes extremely silly questions before we came.

 

[dmdelight]

Hi guys

Arrived yesterday on Virign VS075, the flight was delayed due to a technical fault and we spent almost and hour on the tarmac, but the flight was great, food rubbish, flight good. In flights movies were brilliant - I watched three and our dd (8), was mesmerised the whole trip, didn't hear a peep.

So glad we didn't upgrade to PE, although it probably was a lot nicer than ours, the legroom was brilliant and to be honest, I would rather save the £250 each they offered us to upgrade. Having said that, the seats right at the back, appeared more cramped in than ours (we were in the 40's), so would suggest when you are choosing stay nearer the front.

Orlando Int. need to sort out their immigration proceedures, half the desks not open, took well over an hour of queuing to get through. However, the ME, was excellent and we were straight on and off.

We are staying at the BC and when we arrived, were whisked off to Concierge!, shown to the lounge, got a large glass of Rose and sat down to do our checkin. I have no idea why we are concierge, just booked a room with a pool/water view with CO, the CM didn't think it was an upgrade, so maybe that is what I booked. I had no idea

Very, very happy though, buffet breakfast, snacks, soft drinks, fruit etc., all when we want it. Have a lovely balcony over looking the pool - I think we were in shock last night.

Went to Beaches and Cream, but wait was an hour, so Cape May got us in within 15 mins. It was busy and too tired to really enjoy it, but the food was excellent. We are on the DP and have upgraded our dd to adult (she hates burgers/mac. cheese etc), and the CM actually came over and asked her age and then went off again, proably to check that she was allowed to eat her mussells, crab claws and beef!!!

People were swimming in the pool really late last night and although was tempting on the warm balmy evening, we went to bed.

No idea what we are doing today, being a bit lax with the planning, possibly MK as dd is desperate to go there, despite it being a 'busy' day, I suggested HWS, but don't think that quite floats her boat!

It doesn't matter where we go to be honest, as I have only made one ADR for the whole trip (did I say I was a bit lax with the planning?!) However, I was pleased to hear that the Concierge will make any ADRs we require in the mornings and he didn't seem to think there would be any problems.

Wifi working perfectly in the hotel, hope it will in the parks and I can use the APP.

Will update again if get the chance, thanks to everyone who took the time to answer my mundane and sometimes extremely silly questions before we came.

what a wonderful start to your holiday

we also flew with virgin this year and we had great seats in economy.
all of us were immersed in the movies and music there and back-
i am a fussy eater to start with but must agree the food was ugh!

looking forward to further updates

 

[crabbie1]

Glad you arrived safely and wow concierge. Very nice. Regards ur meals you can always do walk ups if there is somewhere u want to go. Try captains grill its lovely there and they often have time slots or will get you in.Happy holidays.

 

[wayneg]

We have found Beaches & cream tend to over estimate your wait time. Last time they told us about 30 minutes, in reality we didn't have time to get to the bathroom and back before the pager was bleeping/flashing.

I agree with Alyson, Captains Grill is a great place to eat, they usually have availabilty for late bookings. Although we didn't like Cape May so we all enjoy different things.

 

[K8T]

Well, after a good breakfast Porridge for me - sorry...oatmeal! Croissants, fruitloops (for dd and they do live up to their name, sending her loopy!). We decided to go to Animal Kingdom, with dd desperate to ride Expedition Everest, because she saw a trailer on the TV and liked the idea of a Yeti!!

Because we were up so early - dd woke at 4.30 wanting to know if it was time to get up yet! I persuaded her to go back to sleep, but we were still awake well before breakfast started at 7am. Despite having a vague plan to go to HS this morning, we headed off to AK just missing the rope drop.

Now dd does like the odd coaster, has done stuff like Grand National at Blackpool and 13 at Alton Towers, so we were quite happy with Expedition E, which was a walk on. However, after riding it, she said she didn't want to do it ever again! - I think it was the backwards bit!! We managed to fit in, River Rapids, It's tough to be a bug, walk through the Jungle trek and Jeep Safari with no waits. After the Nemo show (my most favourite thing in the whole of Disney), it gets me a little emotional, just the music (I have the cd in the car!), the message and the spectacle itself, to me is wonderful, went to Primeval Scream, but after Yeti, dd didn't want to ride, instead we grabbed some ribs - I had the Veggie salad at Flame Tree Barbecue. OH and dd shared the ribs, so we used two quick service credits - the portions were HUGE!!!

We just got into the Lion King show after lunch, with dd singing all the way through, much to the disgust of the people in front, who obviously didn't appreciate it and shuffled along a bit Maybe I should have stopped her, but it wasn't really loud and lots of others were joining in too!

At about 1.30, it was starting to get hot and busy, so we got the bus back to BC and spent a couple of hours in the pool, with some beers and Sangria.

On the way back to the room, we saw one of the balcony's, in the otherwise perfect facade of the BC front, drapped in towels - I said to OH, that's the sort of thing Brits do abroad, only to see when we walked closer, that it was indeed a Liverpool FC towel!!

We had a dining reservation, made this morning, for Sci Fi, so after the pool, we got the boat to HS. HS, despite being a supposedly 'quiet' day, was actually very busy! We got to SF and had to wait a good half hour to be seated, but we were in a great car, the service was terribly slow, the food warm, not hot. we asked for dd's blue cheese sauce on the side, but her steak strips came covered in it, which they did change. Again, there was so much food - I had a Veggie Shepherds pie, it was lovely, but along with the Cookies and Oreo shake, which was included in the plan and then apple pie - we were all stuffed.

As we were leaving, the waitress came up and said that as we were in the special car for tonight - or some such thing - we all got a glow in the dark cup, filled with popcorn!!! (hurrah!!!!!)

Because of the length of time it took to be served and eat, we legged it to the 7.30pm Fantasmic, only to be told 'standing room only'. However, on walking along the back to the very edge of the theatre, there were lots and lots and I mean rows and rows, of empty seats. When we asked if we could sit in these, we were told they were for VIP's. At 2 minutes to start, no one was in them and no one ever did sit in them. We walked a bit further and saw three more rows of empty seats, but were told they were for disabled (where?), the show was just starting, so I asked if we could go and sit in them, but was told no they had to stay empty in case any disabled people turned up (they didn't). We sat right at the back, the other side of the walkway, behind the empty seats and then were told off, when dd stood on the bench (no one was behind her), holding onto me, so she could at least see something of the show.

I was really unhappy about them being so bureaucratic, dd was upset she couldn't see much and it was all a rather sad end to an otherwise fun day. I think I may write to Disney about this - I know the CM were just doing their jobs, but to see kids not being able to see the show behind what were empty seats, surely isn't really Disney.

Anyway, tomorrow is another day and EMH at Epcot are calling.

 

[stoneyloon]

I'm surprised to read about your Fantasmic ordeal. We arrived for the 7.30 show the other day and had heard that it was standing room only. We got there just before it started and got guided to the best seats we've ever had, loads of empty VIP seats. We must have got a trainee!

 

[monica23535]

We are at The Beach Club too right now, in fact, so are several other Brits!

That policy at Fantasmic is ridiculous, you should definitely complain.

 

[wayneg]

That policy at Fantasmic is ridiculous, you should definitely complain.

I suspect the CM was sticking to the correct rules, no standing on seats, only disabled to use the disabled seats etc. Where some will be more lenient others will stick to the rules.

 

[jen_uk]

Sounds like a great trip so far, BC is my favourite hotel

 

[catherine]

Sounds like you're having a great time. Loving the live TR! Thanks for taking the time to share your trip with us.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Well seems you've had a good share of the magic so far - great start

Shame about Fantasmic - if seats are empty when it starts I think they ought to let people use them

 

[Wills Mom]

While it really was disappointing to hear about the CM in Fantasmic! your trip sounds really great otherwise Thanks for taking the time to update

 

[sharon78]

Thanks for the live trippie, hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday.

 

[K8T]

Thanks everyone for reading and the kind comments. I won't be complaining about Fantasmic, they were just doing their job, but extremely frustrating nonetheless.

Today again, was bright and sunny, a beautiful sunrise over the water first thing, we haven't had a scrap of rain yet.

We were up at 6.30 this morning, which was an improvement on yesterday and after another enjoyable breakfast in our 'concierge lounge' (I love saying that!), we wandered over to Epcot.

It was extra magic hours this morning and we walked on Soarin' and FP'd it as we went in. DD hasn't done this and loved it. I love the smells they pump through, although noticed the film reel has some 'bits' on it! We then went onto Nemo and stayed on, twice!. Then back over to Soarin' with our FP, just as we were going there a couple gave us some FP which we the same time as ours, as they had gone before we could say we had some already, we then passed them on to a family of 3, who had just joined a now 45 minute queue - just passing on the Magic!!

We went to Misson Space, the Orange one - dd was really anxious, but enjoyed it, I noticed OH taking it all very seriously!! pressing the buttons and using the joystick - talk about boys and toys

Test track is closed, so were a lot of the other displays, so we thought we would walk over to Norway and Mexico to do the little rides there, but they didn't open until 11 either and it was only just past 10.00, we decided to leave it and went back to BC for a quick snack and asked if we could book the Japanese place Teppen Edo for tomorrow night, which they did without a problem.

We got our costumes and headed off to Magic Kingdom on the bus. We rode Pirates - walk on - even at lunchtime and then FP'd Peter Pan, which was 5.00. We did Jungle Cruise, but I didn't think our guide was as good as we have had before, then Thunder Mountain (10 min). I think because there were a lot of younger children in MK today, the scary rides were actually not so busy, just my theory. I then insisted we all did Small World, at which dd breathed a sigh of exasperation, but it has to be done. I think it is actually quite spooky, all those dolls with staring eyes, it could be a scene from a horror film! On the way back we popped into Haunted Mansion.

It was really hot, with no sign of rain, so we went to the Crystal Palace for 3.25. It was, not unstrangely, teeming with little kids and as it was only Pooh characters, I realised that dd is now getting a bit too old for them The food was extremely good for buffet stuff, with lots of fish choices for me, OH said the beef was fantastic.

We needed coffee so sat outside the Bakery on Main Street - having lifted some Cookies from the buffet at CP By now some of the people for MNSSHP were coming in and it was a great spot to people watch, with a variety of costumes. DD put her dalmation costume on and I went and changed into Cruella - it was hilarious and we got loads of comments and people asking for photos. I had forgotten my red lipstick and black eye pencil (for dd's whiskers and my eyebrows), but the Pirates dress up very kindly gave me the end of a red and black pencil, which was fantastic and made a huge difference.

We had a great time, collecting lots of sweets and interacting with a load of people. Everyone was really friendly and we posed for lots of photos, I was disappointed when we queued for ages to meet Cruella and about four people away, she was whisked off for the parade - we didn't see her again. We did however find a family of around 8 dalmations, so we had a group photo!

We went into Stitch, which I hadn't been in before and it was all a bit weird, I can't say I liked it much to be honest, wouldn't bother again, the bars really pressed on my shoulders and hurt afterwards for some time. We also did the Monsters Inc. thing and I got picked as Cruella, which was funny.

We walked past the New Fantasyland, it looked great and they were allowing some people to go in and look around - I tried to blag it, but no doing, apparently it was for CM's only. There seemed to be a lot of construction going on and a lot of boarding around. Magic Carpets wasn't running and was boarded and also an area between Adventureland and Fantasyland, just before Small World - there was a lot of banging and drilling as we passed by.

Bascially, we did everything in Magic Kingdom that could be done today, we watched the Parades - the Boo to you one is brilliant, but I noticed the Horseman was only walking, with the occassional trot after his fall last week! We saw the fireworks and had lots of laughs. We were impressed with the fireworks which sort of surrounded you if you stood in front of the castle, or at the bottom of main street, but I somehow felt the music and voice overs, didn't really all gel together for some reason. The fireworks were good, but it just didn't all flow. I thought they may have done something like DLP, with the projections on the castle, but no, what they did visually was basic, however, it was impressive pyrotechnically.

If you are unsure about MNSSHP, I would certainly say it was worth the extra money, but only if you dress up and join in. Going along would be interesting, but it was being part of it that made the difference. We saw some brilliant and innovative costumes, one family was all the Disney Credit Cards, each one with a different picture on. Lots of Where's Wallys, and hundreds of Pirates. I think it was the characters that weren't expected were the good ones. OH had to be reminded to keep his eyes front when a few 'saucy' Alice in Wonderlands and Goth type characters passed by - not sure it was 'quite Disney'!!

Just before we left, we did Thunder Mountain twice in a row in the pitch dark (walk ons) and got a lot of funny looks as Cruella and a dalmation in the carriage! DD is a bit obsessed by this ride and I have to admit, it was fun!

All in all a good day, we didn't rush around - although it sounds like it - we did everything we wanted without any arguments or sulks, which those of you travelling with kids in heat and being tired, is no mean feat.

Gone 10.00 when we got back in, dd fell asleep in the bus, luckily we got out of MK just as the last parade was going to start, so we missed the crowds and the bus was almost empty.

We also haven't used all our snacks and no Quick Service today, I know we can use the Snack credits o lots of other things, anyone know about the Quick Service, are there any alternatives to actually having the meals?

Not sure what we are doing tomorrow, I feel that we should do more of HS, as we haven't done Toy Story Mania and a few other things. DD won't do TOT again, after doing it in Paris - she boasts about it and got the sweat shirt (if she does a scary ride we buy her the T Shirt, but they had an offer on the hoodies in DLP!), but says 'never again'!

Early evening we are going to Epcot to walk around the world. The food and drink festival is on at the moment and there are lots of little stalls selling snacks of different countries, some of which sound very good and are on the DDP.

I will report more tomorrow for anyone who is interested, today to be honest, was quite uneventful by way of reporting back, but if anyone has any questions, do ask.

 

[K8T]

We are at The Beach Club too right now, in fact, so are several other Brits!

That policy at Fantasmic is ridiculous, you should definitely complain.

Monica, I will look out for you, or rather your little boy, looks very cute and cheeky, so should be 'spottable'!!!

 

[wayneg]

On Stitch you need to sit upright until the system locks, then you can relax and no pressure on your shoulders.

I agree the parties are far better if you dress up.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Loving your trip report - its ALWAYS interesting to read!!

I agree - MNSSHP is great in costume - we only wore T-Shirts (DD was dressed up fully) but still got plenty of comments and it makes it fun.

 

[sharon78]

Pleased to hear you enjoyed the MNSSHP, I also really like Thunder Mountain in the dark, puts a different spin on it.

 

[monica23535]

Monica, I will look out for you, or rather your little boy, looks very cute and cheeky, so should be 'spottable'!!!

I bet you will hear my boy before you see him lol

Just got back from Hollywood Studios and watched the Indiana Jones stunt show. We were told when entering the theatre that it was standing room only, however, when we went to stand at the back, a Cast Member told us they had loads of handicapped seats that weren't being used so we were welcome to sit there. It would be great if that were the same case at Fantasmic. We shall see later when we go back to watch it.

Beautiful day isn't it?

 

[K8T]

Another beautiful sunny day and it was HOT HOT HOT today!

We had a bit of 'Magic' again too.

We slept in this morning and then made our way over to HS, arriving around 10am. It was extremely busy not quite sure why. First thing we did was to run (literally), over to Toy Story Mania, only to find that FP's were now giving a 5.00pm return time or a 60 minute wait, I was just about to put the tickets in the FP machine, when we realised that we had a reservation in Epcot at Teppan Edo at 5pm. DD was very disappointed, although we did think about queuing for an hour, but then the CM said that the time had just got longer!!!

To be honest, the thought of waiting for over an hour having just arrived, didn't appeal, so I asked the CM what the best time was to do it, evening or morning and she said first thing in the morning as the park opens, so we planned on coming back tomorrow and thanked her.

We were just walking away, when a CM called Jess, called us back and said 'just a moment, come with me'. We followed her and she took us to the front of the FP queue, made a phone call and waved us through! DD was jumping up and down like a mad thing and we couldn't quite believe it ourselves. We thanked her profusely and then walked through and were on the ride in five minutes!! It was a wonderful bit of pixie dust and extremely kind of her to notice. We were quite happy to come back tomorrow and although dd was disappointed, she was OK with it, not crying or anything!!!!

We loved the ride, great theming and not too short. Thanks to Jess we had a wonderful start to the day. I intend to let Guest Services know about this tomorrow morning.

Moving on from here, we wandered down and past the Walt Disney One Man's Dream exhibition and show. OH wasn't so keen, but I felt it would be good for dd to see exactly how it all started. We were just going in and a man stopped us and asked dd her name, she told him and he said 'If you go in and find the answer to this question, tell the CM at the end the answer and there will be a little something for you'. The question was typed on a card and was 'what was the first Disney live action film?'. The card it was on, said at the top something like 'Special Moment', I can't quite remember, as I was so surprised.

We wandered through and quickly found that it was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. dd told the CM at the end and she went off, got some stickers and a badge with Honorary Citizen of Walt Disney World Resort on it, with a picture of a key (with Mickey ears for the top of it). DD was thriled to bits when she was told it was a special badge and meant she was a WDW VIP! She wore it all day and it is, at this moment, by the side of her bed, ready for the morning.

So with that amazing start to our day, we set off with a spring in our step, doing Indiana Jones Stunt Show, which we all enjoyed. Monica, I saw that the reserved seating in front of us, was opened up to the public just before the show began, very sensible. It will be interesting to see how you get on with Fantasia.

We, FP'd Star Wars and OH went on Rocking Coaster to see if dd would be OK doing it. He decided not We thought about TOT, but we had all done it in July in DLP, so it didn't seem worth waiting 30 mins - maybe another time. Star Wars was fun, dd enjoyed it, although we had to get out the first unit, as it wouldn''t work!!

We had lunch at Backlot, but again, it was far too much. We should have had a Sandwich between us, as they were huge and came with fries, we didn't bother with the deserts!

Once we had lunched, we did Muppet 3d, sitting right in the front. I also showed dd the key under the doormat when you go in (check it out on the right hand side!).

We had intended to go to DTD today, but time was running out and it was now 3pm and we were stuck in HS, as the parade was about to start. Personally, I thought this parade was very poor and not the usual Disney fare. Mostly consisting of dancers either on scooters, with hoops, or waving streamers!!! It also had a very 70's look about it, but maybe it was supposed to be 'retro'!!

Going back to the BC for a swim, we realised that eating in just two hours time, would be impossible, so we asked the concierge if we could possible try and move our Teppan Edo at 5.30, later - personally, I didn't hold out much hope, but......YES! that Pixie Dust was obviously still floating around, as we could move it to 7.45, much better.

While dd and OH had a couple of hours in the pool, I returned a little earlier to the room, grabbed some cheese, olives and a cold glass of Rose from the lounge and spent an hour on the balcony - very civilised!

Teppan Edo, was wonderful, we shared with a family from Boston, which we enjoyed. The whole evening was briliant. I had the swordfish, OH the Mignon and dd the shrimp. Everything tasted fantastic and know that without the DP, we probably wouldn't have bothered doing this. DD loved the food and I would certainly recommend it for a family with kids, it was extremely entertaining, the Chef tossing the food and utensils around, whilst cooking on a huge hotplate in front of you. We had done something similar at a restaurant called the Mongolian Wok, several times, but this was much more sophisticated.

We had a quick stroll to the UK and Canada to check out the menu for Le Cellier, but to be honest, nothing immediately grabbed me, I don't eat meat, although love fish, and it doesn't inspire me to spend two meal credits. We need to check out Flying Fish and Askerhaus for tomorrow - any suggestions?

So, another good day, the air is cooler now and I think we could all benefit from a little rain, although I have just seen on the news that 40 MPH winds are on there way!!!!

Tomorrow? Who knows? Downtown Disney is still calling, Typhoon Lagoon is top of OH lists and dd just wants to go back to MK to ride Big Thunder Mountain. It is EMH there tomorrow morning, if we are up early, it may be an option.

Until then, Good Morning to you and Goodnight from us here.

Wayne - I had no idea what to expect in Stitch and didn't know that the harnesses would come down and touch your shoulders, or I would have braced myself!! I will know next time, although don't think there will be one!