olliesmom
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2015
We arrived home last night from a week at WDW (our first trip in 3 years) and I just wanted to share some of our experiences as I'm not planning to do an entire trip report. We stayed at the Beach Club and were a part of two adults, one infant. We had park hoppers and did not use a dining plan.
MDE
So. Frustrating. The app didn't work the entire trip. It would load the screen with the castle and then crash and go back to my home screen. I was using an iPhone 6 and went to the front desk on a few occasions but was told that an update had recently been processed and the app wasn't working with all phones yet. We weren't able to view Photopass photos, mobile order, make 4th+ FP on the go, make and cancel dining reservations, view wait times etc. etc. I asked at the BC where to provide feedback on our experience and it was suggested that I email in so I've done that, but for a trip that seems to be largely based around the app for making plans (whether in advance or same-day) it was so disappointing to not be able to access it at all. This really had an impact on trip especially as we didn't bring laptops or tablets with us and had only our phones.
Crowds
Seemed above average to us, but we were still able to do everything we wanted and rarely waited in lines due to FP planning and lots of time at the resort swimming/relaxing during the afternoons. MK was very busy on non-party days so we avoided those as much as possible.
Weather
Mostly sunny, a bit of rain here and there. Variable temperatures. We used layers, layers, layers and found our fleece layers and Lululemon clothing to be the best when the temperature dropped in the evenings. We were able to swim three days in a row which was great though!
Cleanliness
Everything seemed clean and well maintained for the most part. Some bathrooms were overflowing with paper products but this seems par for the course with the higher crowds. Parks looked great.
Holiday Extras
We didn't do any paid extras but really enjoyed the holiday touches and decorations. Watched Candlelight Processional from outside the theater without waiting which was wonderful. We toured the decorations at the monorail resorts one afternoon which was really nice and small touches like the Christmas finale to Illuminations made the experience different than visits at other times of year. Definitely did miss the Osborne lights which were installed during our last Christmas visit in 2008.
Food
We ate mostly counter service with a few table service (Via Napoli, Cape May, Sci Fi, Ohana breakfast) when we got sick of counter service. Food prices were high for the quality for the most part. We did really enjoy Via Napoli, Cape May and Tangierine Cafe. Otherwise felt for the first time that most quick service quality was below the chains we have here at home as were the table service meals for the price. We did place a Publix order via Instacart which was very convenient and felt the food from Publix was great for the price.
Photopass
Lots of lines for Photopass photographers which made it a little harder to get value out of it. However, we lucked out with some really great shots. Out of 265 photos, there are probably about 10-15 I would frame and another 10-15 that are unusable because of lighting/shadows/focus issues. The rest are pretty good, so overall I'm happy with it.
It was a great trip and we absolutely loved staying at the Beach Club. The pricing was noticeably higher than our last trip ($5.65 for a Mickey bar?!) and we certainly did buy/eat less than in years past. I do feel we got fair value for money and can't imagine a more baby friendly vacation destination. We got to ride tons of attractions with DS and he absolutely loved looking around. I used to feel like our Disney vacations were an incredible value and I no longer feel that way, but we enjoyed our time enough that I'm not at the point of saying I wouldn't return. We will continue mixing in non-Disney vacations (had a blast recently in Maui) for variety and watch the prices with a wait and see approach.
Happy to answer any questions!
MDE
So. Frustrating. The app didn't work the entire trip. It would load the screen with the castle and then crash and go back to my home screen. I was using an iPhone 6 and went to the front desk on a few occasions but was told that an update had recently been processed and the app wasn't working with all phones yet. We weren't able to view Photopass photos, mobile order, make 4th+ FP on the go, make and cancel dining reservations, view wait times etc. etc. I asked at the BC where to provide feedback on our experience and it was suggested that I email in so I've done that, but for a trip that seems to be largely based around the app for making plans (whether in advance or same-day) it was so disappointing to not be able to access it at all. This really had an impact on trip especially as we didn't bring laptops or tablets with us and had only our phones.
Crowds
Seemed above average to us, but we were still able to do everything we wanted and rarely waited in lines due to FP planning and lots of time at the resort swimming/relaxing during the afternoons. MK was very busy on non-party days so we avoided those as much as possible.
Weather
Mostly sunny, a bit of rain here and there. Variable temperatures. We used layers, layers, layers and found our fleece layers and Lululemon clothing to be the best when the temperature dropped in the evenings. We were able to swim three days in a row which was great though!
Cleanliness
Everything seemed clean and well maintained for the most part. Some bathrooms were overflowing with paper products but this seems par for the course with the higher crowds. Parks looked great.
Holiday Extras
We didn't do any paid extras but really enjoyed the holiday touches and decorations. Watched Candlelight Processional from outside the theater without waiting which was wonderful. We toured the decorations at the monorail resorts one afternoon which was really nice and small touches like the Christmas finale to Illuminations made the experience different than visits at other times of year. Definitely did miss the Osborne lights which were installed during our last Christmas visit in 2008.
Food
We ate mostly counter service with a few table service (Via Napoli, Cape May, Sci Fi, Ohana breakfast) when we got sick of counter service. Food prices were high for the quality for the most part. We did really enjoy Via Napoli, Cape May and Tangierine Cafe. Otherwise felt for the first time that most quick service quality was below the chains we have here at home as were the table service meals for the price. We did place a Publix order via Instacart which was very convenient and felt the food from Publix was great for the price.
Photopass
Lots of lines for Photopass photographers which made it a little harder to get value out of it. However, we lucked out with some really great shots. Out of 265 photos, there are probably about 10-15 I would frame and another 10-15 that are unusable because of lighting/shadows/focus issues. The rest are pretty good, so overall I'm happy with it.
It was a great trip and we absolutely loved staying at the Beach Club. The pricing was noticeably higher than our last trip ($5.65 for a Mickey bar?!) and we certainly did buy/eat less than in years past. I do feel we got fair value for money and can't imagine a more baby friendly vacation destination. We got to ride tons of attractions with DS and he absolutely loved looking around. I used to feel like our Disney vacations were an incredible value and I no longer feel that way, but we enjoyed our time enough that I'm not at the point of saying I wouldn't return. We will continue mixing in non-Disney vacations (had a blast recently in Maui) for variety and watch the prices with a wait and see approach.
Happy to answer any questions!
