HappyPanda
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2012
We are back after a 4n/5d trip at the Cheyenne 21-25 November. It was me, my Mum and my two Daughters (age 11 and 2) and my friend and her 6 year old son. It wasn't quite the easy trip we'd hoped for as my Mum managed to injure herself before we even got on the eurostar. After a trip to the hospital, a pair of crutches and some strong painkillers she just about managed to get around the parks but it meant that everything was at a much slower pace and we had to factor in a lot more rest times than we have planned on.
As is traditional, I thought i would share my highs and lows:
Highs:
The Christmas Programme - Wow, I can't believe how much there was to do! We were there for 5 days and still didn't manage to do everything. My eldest Daughter absolutely loved Mickey's Christmas Big Band show and Surprise Mickey was hit with all of us. We also all really loved the Christmas overlay on It's a Small World - something I've always wanted to see.
Crowd Levels - The Wednesday - Friday were really quiet in the parks with queue times to match. Saturday and Sunday were much busier but not ridiculously so - I think the cold and wet weather probably put a lot of day trippers off. We used the fastpass and baby switch services effectively and never queued for more than 20/30 minutes for anything.
Food - we ate in The Chuckwagon Cafe, Billy Bobs, Earl of Sandwich, Rainforest Cafe, Hakuna Matata and Cowboy Cookout - Chuckwagon was a bit manic and disorderly but the food was good - all the other places were fantastic.
BBWWS - It's a must do on every trip for us and this year was no exception. It was weird not having the buffallo but I liked the added segment with the special effects. It was also weird having a different Buffallo Bill than in all our other visits - this one was much, much younger!
Character Meets - we didn't meet that many characters but the ones we did meet were in controlled queues with minimal waiting times. The Lineberty app isn't the greatest but we managed to meet Pluto and Minnie using it so it's not a complete disaster. Pooh in particular was a real highlight of our trip - he was splashing in puddles with my 2yo! My friend and I also met Darth Vader which was the most terrifying and intimaditing experience but I loved it!
Plaza Gardens Breakfast - i haven't done a character breakfast for a few years after a dreadful experience in the old Cafe Mickey one where we only saw 2 characters. I'm pleased to say our experience this time was so different. We saw 6 characters (Mickey, Scrooge McDuck, Daisy, Eeyore, Piglet and Tigger) and the food was really good too.
Studios EMT I was the first one to be disappointed when they changed the format of the old EMH but I'm a complete convert now. We did the Studios EMT on Saturday morning and I honestly couldn't believe how much we fitted in within 90 mins! We did Crush x2, Parachutes x2, Slinky Dog x3, RC Racer x1, Ratatouille x3 (twice in main queue and one with my eldest on single rider), Cars Quatre Roues Rallye x2.
Lows
Disney Express/Eurostar check in for Journey Home - wow, what a shambles! We arrived at 3.40pm and it was what I can only describe as absolute chaos. There were people and bags everywhere and noone had any idea where the check-in queue started/finished or where the baggage reclaim line was. I manage to battle my way to the cheyenne window but trying to get back to the priority boarding area (which we were able to use because of my Mum's injury) took me nearly 20 minutes. It was honestly one of the most stressful experiences in all my Disney trips.
As is traditional, I thought i would share my highs and lows:
Highs:
The Christmas Programme - Wow, I can't believe how much there was to do! We were there for 5 days and still didn't manage to do everything. My eldest Daughter absolutely loved Mickey's Christmas Big Band show and Surprise Mickey was hit with all of us. We also all really loved the Christmas overlay on It's a Small World - something I've always wanted to see.
Crowd Levels - The Wednesday - Friday were really quiet in the parks with queue times to match. Saturday and Sunday were much busier but not ridiculously so - I think the cold and wet weather probably put a lot of day trippers off. We used the fastpass and baby switch services effectively and never queued for more than 20/30 minutes for anything.
Food - we ate in The Chuckwagon Cafe, Billy Bobs, Earl of Sandwich, Rainforest Cafe, Hakuna Matata and Cowboy Cookout - Chuckwagon was a bit manic and disorderly but the food was good - all the other places were fantastic.
BBWWS - It's a must do on every trip for us and this year was no exception. It was weird not having the buffallo but I liked the added segment with the special effects. It was also weird having a different Buffallo Bill than in all our other visits - this one was much, much younger!
Character Meets - we didn't meet that many characters but the ones we did meet were in controlled queues with minimal waiting times. The Lineberty app isn't the greatest but we managed to meet Pluto and Minnie using it so it's not a complete disaster. Pooh in particular was a real highlight of our trip - he was splashing in puddles with my 2yo! My friend and I also met Darth Vader which was the most terrifying and intimaditing experience but I loved it!
Plaza Gardens Breakfast - i haven't done a character breakfast for a few years after a dreadful experience in the old Cafe Mickey one where we only saw 2 characters. I'm pleased to say our experience this time was so different. We saw 6 characters (Mickey, Scrooge McDuck, Daisy, Eeyore, Piglet and Tigger) and the food was really good too.
Studios EMT I was the first one to be disappointed when they changed the format of the old EMH but I'm a complete convert now. We did the Studios EMT on Saturday morning and I honestly couldn't believe how much we fitted in within 90 mins! We did Crush x2, Parachutes x2, Slinky Dog x3, RC Racer x1, Ratatouille x3 (twice in main queue and one with my eldest on single rider), Cars Quatre Roues Rallye x2.
Lows
Disney Express/Eurostar check in for Journey Home - wow, what a shambles! We arrived at 3.40pm and it was what I can only describe as absolute chaos. There were people and bags everywhere and noone had any idea where the check-in queue started/finished or where the baggage reclaim line was. I manage to battle my way to the cheyenne window but trying to get back to the priority boarding area (which we were able to use because of my Mum's injury) took me nearly 20 minutes. It was honestly one of the most stressful experiences in all my Disney trips.
