Frozen2014
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2014
Returned yesterday from an absolutely magical vacation! A few comments:
Resort - Art of Animation Adorable (Cars suite) and loved the fact that we had two rooms with two full washrooms. Very time efficient when trying to get out as quick as you can in the mornings. Also, the rooms and resort were clean as anything and we were a close walk to the cafeteria for a quick breakfast.
Memory Maker Recommend it to anyone coming the first time to Disney with kids. We had almost 300 pictures in just 5 days. Magic shots are cute, and the photo captures things like BBB, character greets, many castle and scenic shots, etc And I loved how some rides (and even 7DMT video) came through.
Fast Pass Don't get why some complain as this was sooo helpful in coming to the park with 3 rides you could almost walk on (or at least bypass the long line). For others we rode early or just stuck it out and waited. I guess the toughest part was questioning "do we have time to go on another ride before our next FP?"
General Park Comment Similar to our resort, I noticed how spotless everything was. I never saw a piece of garbage on the ground. Very impressed.
CMs and Photographers Everyone was super nice and helpful. In all our trip, the only exception was one photographer directing people for magic shot photos at the Haunted Mansion at MNSSHP (and from above, we had MANY photographers).
Parades and Fireworks I didn't think a parade would be anything special but for the afternoon one at MK (Festival of Fantasy), the colors and details were quite impressive. We also caught the MNSSHP which was cool. My favorite part was with the zombies and also the guys that dug their metal things into the ground making a spark. And of course seeing the Haunted Mansion ghosts. The electrical parade was cool too with the lights. And wow...the fireworks at MNSSHP was really impressive. (Illuminations one was neat too but I preferred the MNSSHP one)
Castle Light Show Amazing effects on the castle
Rides So many to talk about. My favorite (and DD5 as well) was Haunted Mansion. Big Thunder was super fun rollercoaster as was 7DMT (well, except for the "exception" of why this trip wasn't 200% amazing). Test Track is really cool how you build your car, and then go really fast at the end. Also, there were great shows at HS.
Kids Reaction We came with our DD5 and DS9. Needless to say my DD was in such awe meeting all the princesses (CRT, Akershus + Tiana, Anna & Elsa)...and also meeting Sophia, Gaston and the fabulous Disney 5 characters. It was priceless to see her reaction. She also did BBB which was quite magical. She really did feel like a princess. My DS LOVED Jedi Traing and Star Tours and Splash Mountain. Seeing that smile on their face is what it is all about. He even surprised us by being excited to see the fabulous 5 (at Chef Mickeys)
Food Had some great meals at CRT, Boma, Ohana...those were my favorites. For QS, delicious healthy beet salad at Sunshine Seasons, surprised at yummy quinoa salad at ABC Commissary, and flat bread at Pinocchio Haus
Weather After hearing about all the rain in September and watching the daily weather in October, I was worried about what we'd get. We came ready with ponchos and all. However, we were absolutely lucky and didn't need them at all. Not one drop of rain and was in high 20s all week (cooler in morning and evenings but very comfortable).
Crowds We really only experienced bad crowds twice...and those were both expected from reading here. One was visiting MK on a Monday (so yeah...knew we wouldn't be alone at the park, so just went with the flow) and the parades and shows for MNSSHP on Friday (also knew the warnings). But really, it wasn't that bad...just waited a bit longer for rides (or skipped them) and grabbed a spot for parades early, etc. On other days, HS was almost walk on (or walk in for shows), and Epcot was just about walk on too. Even Test Track was only a 30 min wait including the part building your car. And likes seemed to move, even when long. DH was funny at Epcot since as he was complaining how I "made good use of a FP" (totally sarcasm) since we walked right in...for all but Test Track and Soarin.
The Bad (my exception for a perfect trip) Our first day at the park I was sick...I mean really sick. Had awful migraine and very nauseous. Awful. I could barely move. I sat in a table for awhile and let DH take the kids on the rides. I did force myself to go on 7DMT (I wasn't missing that after scoring a FP) and then threw up after. Helped to feel a touch better, but then it all returned and I couldn't eat at BOG. So upset as I so wanted to try one of those triple chocolate cup cakes (but couldn't even look at it). I did manage to sit it out through the Electrical Parade as I didn't want my kids to miss that, but boy was it rough getting ourselves back to our car.
Never the less, I felt better the next morning. Just one of those things I guess and the rest was amazing.
And the good news. Before our trip, DH had made it seem like this would be our first and only trip to Disney. But now he's talking about 'when we go back again..." Yah, so maybe in a few years we'll be back!
Resort - Art of Animation Adorable (Cars suite) and loved the fact that we had two rooms with two full washrooms. Very time efficient when trying to get out as quick as you can in the mornings. Also, the rooms and resort were clean as anything and we were a close walk to the cafeteria for a quick breakfast.
Memory Maker Recommend it to anyone coming the first time to Disney with kids. We had almost 300 pictures in just 5 days. Magic shots are cute, and the photo captures things like BBB, character greets, many castle and scenic shots, etc And I loved how some rides (and even 7DMT video) came through.
Fast Pass Don't get why some complain as this was sooo helpful in coming to the park with 3 rides you could almost walk on (or at least bypass the long line). For others we rode early or just stuck it out and waited. I guess the toughest part was questioning "do we have time to go on another ride before our next FP?"
General Park Comment Similar to our resort, I noticed how spotless everything was. I never saw a piece of garbage on the ground. Very impressed.
CMs and Photographers Everyone was super nice and helpful. In all our trip, the only exception was one photographer directing people for magic shot photos at the Haunted Mansion at MNSSHP (and from above, we had MANY photographers).
Parades and Fireworks I didn't think a parade would be anything special but for the afternoon one at MK (Festival of Fantasy), the colors and details were quite impressive. We also caught the MNSSHP which was cool. My favorite part was with the zombies and also the guys that dug their metal things into the ground making a spark. And of course seeing the Haunted Mansion ghosts. The electrical parade was cool too with the lights. And wow...the fireworks at MNSSHP was really impressive. (Illuminations one was neat too but I preferred the MNSSHP one)
Castle Light Show Amazing effects on the castle
Rides So many to talk about. My favorite (and DD5 as well) was Haunted Mansion. Big Thunder was super fun rollercoaster as was 7DMT (well, except for the "exception" of why this trip wasn't 200% amazing). Test Track is really cool how you build your car, and then go really fast at the end. Also, there were great shows at HS.
Kids Reaction We came with our DD5 and DS9. Needless to say my DD was in such awe meeting all the princesses (CRT, Akershus + Tiana, Anna & Elsa)...and also meeting Sophia, Gaston and the fabulous Disney 5 characters. It was priceless to see her reaction. She also did BBB which was quite magical. She really did feel like a princess. My DS LOVED Jedi Traing and Star Tours and Splash Mountain. Seeing that smile on their face is what it is all about. He even surprised us by being excited to see the fabulous 5 (at Chef Mickeys)
Food Had some great meals at CRT, Boma, Ohana...those were my favorites. For QS, delicious healthy beet salad at Sunshine Seasons, surprised at yummy quinoa salad at ABC Commissary, and flat bread at Pinocchio Haus
Weather After hearing about all the rain in September and watching the daily weather in October, I was worried about what we'd get. We came ready with ponchos and all. However, we were absolutely lucky and didn't need them at all. Not one drop of rain and was in high 20s all week (cooler in morning and evenings but very comfortable).
Crowds We really only experienced bad crowds twice...and those were both expected from reading here. One was visiting MK on a Monday (so yeah...knew we wouldn't be alone at the park, so just went with the flow) and the parades and shows for MNSSHP on Friday (also knew the warnings). But really, it wasn't that bad...just waited a bit longer for rides (or skipped them) and grabbed a spot for parades early, etc. On other days, HS was almost walk on (or walk in for shows), and Epcot was just about walk on too. Even Test Track was only a 30 min wait including the part building your car. And likes seemed to move, even when long. DH was funny at Epcot since as he was complaining how I "made good use of a FP" (totally sarcasm) since we walked right in...for all but Test Track and Soarin.
The Bad (my exception for a perfect trip) Our first day at the park I was sick...I mean really sick. Had awful migraine and very nauseous. Awful. I could barely move. I sat in a table for awhile and let DH take the kids on the rides. I did force myself to go on 7DMT (I wasn't missing that after scoring a FP) and then threw up after. Helped to feel a touch better, but then it all returned and I couldn't eat at BOG. So upset as I so wanted to try one of those triple chocolate cup cakes (but couldn't even look at it). I did manage to sit it out through the Electrical Parade as I didn't want my kids to miss that, but boy was it rough getting ourselves back to our car.
Never the less, I felt better the next morning. Just one of those things I guess and the rest was amazing.
And the good news. Before our trip, DH had made it seem like this would be our first and only trip to Disney. But now he's talking about 'when we go back again..." Yah, so maybe in a few years we'll be back!
so I enjoy hearing about other peoples' first trips.
