I'm back from my weekend stay. I hope to go for another day visit towards the end of this month. Since I have an AP, I spend little to no time waiting for stuff when it is crowded. I always know I'll be back.
A few tidbits - stayed in the cheapest level room at GCH. New room, but shower didn't drain at all. We called for help and they did fix it while we were out at the parks. Saturday afternoon, we were going to have drinks in the lobby, but it was standing room only and we couldn't find anywhere to sit. There was a line for people buying drinks at the bar to carry away, which is what we ended up doing. We had to move some chairs around but managed to get 3 together outside to enjoy our drinks.
I had breakfast right after 7am at Whitewater snacks and the place was almost completely empty. The cashier said people don't get up until 9am and that it would be very busy then.
The next morning, just after 7am, I walked all through DTD trying to find a breakfast place and nothing was open that early besides Starbucks, which had a long line. I had early entry to DCA that day, so I just went there and rode Guardians 3 times and then got breakfast at the Starbucks inside.
I have decided that it's worth paying for the on property hotels just so I can ride Guardians several times in a row in the morning. It's my favorite ride by a long shot. I rode it twice in a row the day before without early entry. The ride is nearly walk on to about 20 minutes during the first hour of park opening. I look at it as I am saving money over booking a VIP tour ( Mickey math at its finest).
The halloween party was pretty nice on Friday night. I'm not sure I'll go again in the future. It's always nice, but hard to justify the price. If I didn't have an AP, I'd be happy to pay the price, but it feels like I am paying for something that I already have. I did like the parade and the fireworks (Headless horseman was my favorite), but I wouldn't pay for that year after year. The rides we went on were basically walk on, minus the Haunted Mansion, so it could be worth going just for the rides if someone wants to power rides and not do the other Halloween stuff.
For the first time in forever, I had excellent service at Rainforest Cafe. I told the manager that our server was really good. It made the $129. lunch/drinks much easier to swallow with such a good server. Food is always mediocre, but we know that going in. It was a nice break from the very busy parks.
Everything was cute and fun. We left a lot earlier than planned on Sunday because we just don't do massive crowds anymore. It was a good weekend, but probably one we will avoid going forward. I do love Gay Days (despite being straight) and wore my red Tshirts and got my rainbow tumbler, but I probably won't visit again on that weekend.
October is here! 
