Just Back - 12/12/16 to 25/1/17

[wsssup]

We have the Just back blues already.
Will try and keep this short and leave the rest for the more detailed trip report coming soon.

Quick Trip Info
Family of 3, Myself and Wifey , and 7 yr old Daughter. Travelling from Melbourne Australia.
Total travel time to Orlando is 25 Hours. It is a long and Painful flight, but happy thoughts will get you there in the end.
1 week at Universal, the rest was all Disney World.

Highlights
Star Wars tour. Worth the money, loved it. Hollywood Studios was Clean staff were friendly and i could sit there all day in Launch Bay.

Jawa Interactions amazing. Being there for so long they ended up coming to us all the time.

Star Wars Desert party 2 times as we loved it and the Fireworks that much. Hands down the best fireworks at any of the parks.

Christmas break crowds... Compared to Disneyland in Peak Summer season, this was a big surprise. What some people think is crowded others will not.

Magic Bands, oh my thank you for making it so easy to do everything on site with this magic little band.

Our Rental car.. Made it so much easier to get around to the Parks, and driving in the U.S.A as a foreigner was very easy.

Diet Mountain Dew, I love you and will miss you........ We dont get it in Australia.

Fastpass - We got an extra 2 to use each day so 5 fastpasses per day was a huge bonus

Baymax meet and Greet - The best interaction of a character ever, i hope they fix his area he deserves better.

Club Cool - oh Melon Frosty i will miss you.... Beverly i will not hahaha.

Magic Kingdom New years Fireworks - Ummmmm Wow insane... watched from front of Big Thunder mountain, perfect 360 view.

Early Morning Magic Event - Worth the money, after 10 times riding Mine train i was done.

After Hours Event - This one is the winner, walk on rides, free popcorn drinks.

Elena of Avalor meet - The best meet my daughter had. This princess is the best princess in any of the parks. The attention is all on your kids with no rush at all. The best hands down

The weather - Oh Florida, wow. In our whole time there i think it really rained a handful of days. And when it rained it really did downpour, which was still fun. Mostly just warm to hot weather.

There is many more highlights but i would be here forever.

Lowlights
There were some lowlights, but we still stayed positive and loved our trip.

Pop Century Resort. Sorry guys but this place is not so great. Maybe ok for a short stay but not a long one. Bad room service, and food that seriously is not food.

Disney Transportation - Yeh this one is not so great either..... we solved that problem with getting a rental car.

Brazilian tourists - I noticed many people had posted about this in many threads before we left.... it is a sight to see. Sorry but most are plain rude.

Be our guest - Yes it looks amazing and who doesnt want to hang with beast.... but the food , it really is just quick service food brought out to your table.

Food in general in America wasnt agreeing with our stomachs.

Disney World Cast Members - Compared to Disneyland it really is hit or miss at Disney World. After being there for so long you do get the feeling that a lot don't want to be there and are just going through the motion.



Conclusion
An amazing trip we will not forget.
If you are wanting to do Christmas, i say go for it and dont look into people's idea's of it being insane crowds, as it is really not that bad.

7 weeks is a long time and we loved our stay. We have done both Disneyland and now Disney World.
Now to just wait for Star Wars Land to open and will Return.... but it will be Disneyland, its just the one we prefer.
Trip report to come.

Cheers
Adam

 

[Disneylover99]

Wow! Nice long trip!

 

[MindyMouse76]

How did you get an extra 2 FP? Just curious. Sounds like overall it was a great trip.

 

[wsssup]

How did you get an extra 2 FP? Just curious. Sounds like overall it was a great trip.

Through Pop Century for a few mistakes they had made at the beginning of our stay. It was a kind gesture by management.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Nice summary, thanks for sharing
You stayed 7 weeks at Pop?
The two extra FPS a day sounds great

 

[tlmadden73]

I'm sorry ..
SEVEN WEEKS?
How do you find enough to do (even at WDW) for SEVEN WEEKS?
I'm not judging (maybe a bit jealous, okay .. a LOT jealous), but how is that even economically possible without going into bankruptcy!? LOL.

I would agree with your assessment on Pop Century though. For a longer trip, I definitely would want to splurge for a moderate at least for some better rooms/amenities. When you are there for a few days and just need a bed to rest your head, Pop Century is just fine.

 

[mikeamizzle]

Wow, a 7 week trip to WDW, that is impressive! I cant even imagine what that room bill slipped under the door on the day before checkout must've looked like. Congrats that is epic.

Regarding your comments on the hotel, I agree, I don't think I could last 7 nights in POP let alone 7 weeks (sorry POP fans!), I probably would've opted for ~4-5 weeks in a deluxe.

I also know what you mean regarding the Castmembers at Disneyland, I was blown away by my first trip there in May 2016 and am eager to plan a return visit in 2017.

Why is Diet Mountain Dew not available in AUS?

 

[Barnabas T Bullion]

Wow 7 weeks away from work at being at WDW sounds like friggin heaven to me. That is a long flight though.

Loved the comments on your trip, though! Good post. Good to have you in the States (did your trip span two presidencies?)!

 

[Savagehenry]

Brazilian tourists - I noticed many people had posted about this in many threads before we left.... it is a sight to see. Sorry but most are plain rude.


I run a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school and this made me LOL. Ive been around enough to understand the cultural differences. I know a few words and phrases to disarm any potential incidents (and maybe a few to incite some )

 

[OchreHand]

I had to do a double take on the dates you posted. Sounds like a trip to remember. Thanks for sharing your trip report.

 

[wsssup]

Wow, a 7 week trip to WDW, that is impressive! I cant even imagine what that room bill slipped under the door on the day before checkout must've looked like. Congrats that is epic.

Regarding your comments on the hotel, I agree, I don't think I could last 7 nights in POP let alone 7 weeks (sorry POP fans!), I probably would've opted for ~4-5 weeks in a deluxe.

I also know what you mean regarding the Castmembers at Disneyland, I was blown away by my first trip there in May 2016 and am eager to plan a return visit in 2017.

Why is Diet Mountain Dew not available in AUS?

We spent a week at Royal Pacific Universal first then the rest was at Pop.
Everything was paid for before leaving. Including Annual passes so there was no bill at the end of the stay.

Pop was just a place to rest our heads but even the small amount of daily time spent there it became more noticable as time went on how bad the resort is.

We have normal Mountain dew only, no idea why we dont get diet mountain dew lol...
Oh Walmart , Super target and diet mountain dew i miss you.

 

[wsssup]

Brazilian tourists - I noticed many people had posted about this in many threads before we left.... it is a sight to see. Sorry but most are plain rude.


I run a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school and this made me LOL. Ive been around enough to understand the cultural differences. I know a few words and phrases to disarm any potential incidents (and maybe a few to incite some )

This would be handy hahaha. You hit the nail on the head it does all come down to cultural differences. When your in the moment you tend to forget this.

 

[mrzrich]

If you ever do decide to return to Walt Disney World, I would highly recommend renting a house or condo. A long stay such as yours might have been more enjoyable that way. I can't imagine spending 7 weeks is a tiny Pop century room

 

[wsssup]

If you ever do decide to return to Walt Disney World, I would highly recommend renting a house or condo. A long stay such as yours might have been may enjoyable that way. I can't imagine spending 7 weeks is a tiny Pop century room

Thats a great tip and something we didn't think of until it was all over. It was 1 week at Royal Pacific Universal which was awesome, followed by the rest at Pop.

 

[RADOPT]

Pop Century Resort. Sorry guys but this place is not so great. Maybe ok for a short stay but not a long one. Bad room service, and food that seriously is not food.

Thank you! I am not going for as long but you just convinced me not to stay at Pop.

but it will be Disneyland, its just the one we prefer

WDW and DL are like night and day. Love both but WDW is work and DL is an easy vacation, easpeciall since it is 6 hours down the road for us. I planned more for WDW then I did for our european vacation!
Looking forward to your trip report.

 

[AngiTN]

I find your thoughts on Baymax curious. While we enjoy meeting him he really isn't terribly interactive. What was it that made it the best character interaction you had? Over even a face character that can talk?

If you ever do decide to return to Walt Disney World, I would highly recommend renting a house or condo. A long stay such as yours might have been may enjoyable that way. I can't imagine spending 7 weeks is a tiny Pop century room

Ain't that the truth. I can't imagine 7 hours at Pop, much less 7 weeks!

 

[Dakota731]

How long were ride lines at this time of year?

 

[Savagehenry]

This would be handy hahaha. You hit the nail on the head it does all come down to cultural differences. When your in the moment you tend to forget this.

Ive seen some crazy-questionable things at Disney that were culturaly appropriate where the guests come from (like shorts that I wouldn't even consider underwear lol) but Ive been fortunate enough to have access to a lot of different cultures and attitudes and try to remind myself of that.

Oh and Ps! I have a friend who trains Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Melbourne and some affiliates scattered along the Gold Coast if you're interested

 

[maxiesmom]

Thank you! I am not going for as long but you just convinced me not to stay at Pop.

Looking forward to your trip report.

Pop is just fine if you are not looking for anything fancy, and just a place to sleep. It is a value resort, so no, it really doesn't run to room service. And the food court has typical Disney food court food for the most part. If American quick service doesn't agree with you, then most quick service places won't do, that is not a Pop negative but an American quick service food negative.

 

[NileNellie]

Did you eat every meal out? I'm not sure if it was a case of the American food not agreeing with you, or just eating out for that many meals in a row. I'm sure that would do a doozy on me!