BlueLion
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 15, 2016
- Messages
- 161
Just returned yesterday from 5 days at WDW with my husband and 9 and 2-year-old sons. We all had a lot of fun and a really great family vacation. Since I enjoyed reading these posts leading up to my trip, I wanted to share a quick rundown on my thoughts and observations in the hopes that some might be useful. Though I guess it turned into more of a long rundown. 
General:
Disboard learnings:
Ride/Attraction/Character standouts:
Special "extras":
Restaurants:
General:
- If you are a planner to any degree (and if you're reading this, you probably are), wear a watch. So many times this week, I was wishing for one. I always wore a watch until mine broke a while back, and now just use my cell phone. This got old fast at Disney though, especially trying to track things like FP+ times and ADRs. And especially with no clocks in the resort rooms. And especially the morning I forgot my cell phone in the room. I'll definitely wear a watch next time. That said, there were probably cases where it was good I couldn't easily see the time, e.g., anytime I was getting antsy about timing.
- Free cups of ice water from quick service restaurants - amazing. Must have been filtered because they always tasted good. We'd fill our water bottles.
- CMs were great. Nearly all were good to above average, and any who weren't, I've already forgotten. No problems at all here.
- Tiny plates - my one little (ha) complaint I feel obligated to comment on. What is up with the kiddie size plates at the quick service restaurants? They could barely hold the food in many cases. I didn't experience much of the "Disney pinching pennies" theme oft discussed here, but this was one thing that really stood out to me.
- Timing/scheduling/prioritizing - if you're traveling with non-Type-A "fit everything in" people and/or toddlers, be prepared for things to take longer than expected, to often have to adjust your plans and just not fit everything in. I had mentally prepared for this, but it still felt like we were constantly behind schedule and rushing. I had to remind myself to go with the flow, recognize my tendencies and compensate a bit so as not to drive my family nuts. It worked out just fine.
- Stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and we were happy with it. Posted a few comments on this thread if you're interested: Disney's PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE Resort Information and Questions Thread
- Photopass/Memory Maker - we've bought it on a couple past Disney trips, so pre-ordered this time. Love all the pics and the new videos and animations.
- August heat - we're in Austin, TX, so used to heat. Humidity was a little worse though. Just got used to sweating a lot, used sunscreen, drank water, and it was manageable.
- Crowds - Seemed okay overall. Lighter in the mornings, picking up by after lunch, which was when we left for our breaks. It was crowded, but not insane. By maximizing FP+ usage, didn't wait in any horrible lines but still did nearly all the major attractions and then some. Bag check longs felt mildly long/slow at MK on a couple occasions, but weren't really terrible, and I get the need for them.
- Afternoon breaks - we did them every day and it worked out great for beating the heat and crowds and getting in some relaxation time, though DH was the only one who ever actually napped.
- Park Hoppers - we skipped them this time to save a few bucks and with a little extra advance planning, I was able to make it work out just fine. Didn't miss the spontaneity that they do allow for.
Disboard learnings:
- Shoes - DH, 9 yo and I all got Keens sandals after reading recommendations here. They wore theirs the whole time with no complaints. I mixed mine up with Skecher GoWalks and Teva Olowahus. My feet were still sore by the end of the day, but no major problems and I'd definitely recommend all of these shoes, for Disney and in general.
- Hydroflask - have been loving mine for everyday use, and loved it at Disney. Water stayed icy cold all day as I refilled it.
- Liquid hand soap for hotel room - a little thing, but this was really nice to have
- Moisture-wicking clothing - I got two Columbia Freezer dresses and wore them with JKY wicking slipshorts from Target. Loved them.
- Pin trading - 9 yo really enjoyed this. We got some from ebay beforehand, along with a lanyard. It was fun to find CMs with pins, check them out and make trades.
- Pressed pennies - We enjoyed this as well, and used the M&Ms and Mentos container suggestions.
- Safetytats - first read about them elsewhere, then got input here as well. I got the the personalized tattoos. They look good, but sunscreen definitely made it come off. When I was more careful to avoid the sunscreen on the tattoo, it lasted longer.
- Nightlight - great for the hotel room. Just realized I left it there.
Ride/Attraction/Character standouts:
- Expedition Everest - DH and I love it
- Rock N' Roller Coaster - 9 yo's first big coaster ride!
- Small World - 2 yo wanted repeat rides and his little legs just couldn't get him there fast enough as he ran down the (empty) ramp
- Haunted Mansion - one of my nostalgic rides from my youth, and realized again how much I love it
- 7 Dwarfs Mine Train - first time on this, and was lucky enough to get in a few rides - what a great family coaster. It's smooth, fun, and not too little or too scary.
- Barnstormer - The one ride with a height requirement that the 2 yo met. He sat in the front row (twice), threw his hands in the air, screamed, and loved it.
- Agent P - we could have really used more time for this. We got one mission done at the UK pavilion and 9 yo would have loved to do more, but we had to wrap up.
- Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom - 9 yo loved this too. We'd planned to stay in our final evening, but I ended up taking the kids back to MK primarily so he could do more Sorcerers. We got a pack of cards on ebay in advance, then also got cards in the park each day we went.
- Chewie and Kylo Ren meet and greets were great - very different from all the others, and so fun to see those characters up close
- Chip & Dale at Storybook Circus were especially fun. Also liked the indoor characters there - Goofy and Donald were fun and the AC was so nice.
- Characterpalooza at Hollywood Studios, courtesy of http://www.characterlocator.com/ - got super lucky with our timing here and met a bunch of characters at once, in no time at all.
Special "extras":
- Early Morning Magic at Hollywood Studios - we all loved this, and it was a highlight of our trip. It was so nice to get into an empty, non-crowded park and have it practically to ourselves. We got my 9 yo signed up early for Jedi Training, met Buzz and Woody with zero wait and got some good time in with them, then rode TSM 3 times in a row. DH and 9 yo rode a 4th time but 2 yo was done, so we waited outside. Since there was no one inside to meet Woody, he came out and was hanging out with us for a good 5 minutes. Then Buzz joined as well. It was amazing. They were favorites of my older son, and now of the younger one, so this was really special, and they were a big part of why we did EMM - to avoid a long line with the little guy. Got some good pics in the street from a nice PhotoPass photographer, too. We had to ride swap for Star Tours, so DH and 9 yo rode that while 2 yo and I met Mickey/Minnie with no line at all. The RD crowd was just arriving when we were able to swap, but I got to use the FP line with my EMM band. DH took 2 yo to meet Olaf while the older son and I rode Star Tours with no wait. We'd worked up an appetite from all that, so headed to ABC Commissary for breakfast, which was very good. The food was all better than I'd expected, and I guess we somehow ended up as the "family of the day" at the event, or something, as we had a special table that was decorated and a very nice server who assisted with getting us everything the entire time. All in all, this was a great experience and I'd definitely recommend it. We were lucky cost-wise that we had one kid and one infant, which made it a slightly better value for us than it'd be for some.
- Star Wars Dessert Party - The show was great, the party okay, just a little tough with a toddler. More detailed comments here: Official Star Wars at DHS ,Galactic Spectacular Fireworks / Dessert Party/Launch Bay/JT
Restaurants:
- Garden Grill lunch - we all loved it. Super relaxed, good food, friendly service, fun characters who came by a lot but without being overbearing. We rode Living with the Land earlier in the day, which I recommend before eating as it was fun to see the scenes from the ride. Definitely recommend the meal.
- Crystal Palace lunch - we'd done this 5 years ago when our older son was 4 and had good memories, so we went for it again. It was mildly chaotic and we caught a couple longish buffet lines, but I'd expected that. The food was quite tasty - better than I'd expected - and the characters were great. I recommend it.
- Sci-Fi Dine In lunch - really loved the different atmosphere here, and enjoyed the salmon BLT.
- Be Our Guest lunch - braised pork was good and the overall experience was okay. Glad we did it, but wouldn't call it a "must-do" unless you're big Beauty and the Beast fans. I got lucky on the ADR, but might have been let down if I'd jumped through hoops for it.
- Be Our Guest breakfast - we went for the early, more relaxed entry into MK, castle pics, and the hope to get in a 7DMT ride early. It delivered on those counts. We got coffee, juice and cupcakes, and the CM was nice enough to give us a pastry tray as well (without us asking).
- Columbia Harbor House dinner - 9 yo and I really enjoyed our meal here. I had the lobster roll, he had chicken pot pie, both were yummy. Sat upstairs per TouringPlans advice, got a nice window seat, and it was very relaxing.
- Restaurantosaurus dinner - just a so-so experience here. Burger was average, topping bar could have been good, but with those small plates that barely held the burger and fries, it was kind of awkward to add much. We also hit it at a pretty crowded time.
- Yorkshire Fish Shop dinner - fish & chips - yum!!
- Gaston's - had a quick dinner of ham & cheese stuffed pretzels here and liked it. Le Fou's Brew was good.
