We got back on saturday from a week long trip. It was great! Weather was wonderful, crowds were managable, CMs overall were pleasant and helpful. My DD this morning told me she wants to move to WDW, so the brain washing is now complete
Just thought I'd comment on some frequent issues mentioned here:
MK morning procedures: They seemed to work fine. We didn't stick around to watch the welcome show, just hung out on MS until we were allowed to head towards adventureland. I was one of the people who cancelled a PPO BoG reservation when the changes were announced, and I'm glad I did. We got to mosey on MS like I wanted and saved a ton of money of BoG breakfast.
Plaza Donut Sundae Breakfast: Gross. I was SO excited for this, but as many of you predicted, a donut and ice cream and all that other gooey stuff before lunch time was just way too much. But it was fun to give it a try!
New Magic Bands: Loved them! They seemed a lot more comfortable than the old ones and we had a lot less trouble getting Mickey to turn green - not sure if it was because of the new MB or not, but it worked just fine.
Crowds: During the week, the crowds were awesome. Lots of good fastpasses available for 4, 5, and 6th fastpasses, reservations for a lot of restaurants still available the same day. This Saturday (2/3) in the MK, though, was CRAZY! We had been there on Tuesday and Friday, and Saturday was absolutely night and day. I had heard not to do MK on Saturdays, and now I am a true believer. It was a mad house. I can't imagine what a Saturday during the summer looks like.
Polynesian DVC: I wasn't blown away. It needs some TLC, which it shouldn't need as young as it is. (The elevator in particular is in really bad shape - wallpaper peeling, dirty, etc., and it is SO small) The room itself was great and we didn't have any issues, but maybe my expectations were too high.
Polynesian transportation: This is why to stay there. Transportation was amazing. I don't know if we were just lucky or what, but we never waited more than five minutes for anything, and i loved having access to so many different options.
San Angel Inn: This doesn't get a lot of talk around her, but oh my - it was fantastic! We had a table right be the river, the atmosphere was great, the staff was nice (except for the overly-brusque check in), and the food was absolutely delicious. All four of us licked our plates clean. Truly the highlight of our trip. (Compared to 'Ohana, which was not at all as good as I had expected)
ETA: Epcot Festival of the Arts: We spent a lot of time in Epcot, but didn't really do any of the art stuff except for take some pictures. I suspect if you had an older group it might have been really cool, but for a family with a 4 and 7 year old, nothing jumped out as a "must do". It certainly didn't detract from the rest of Epcot at all though.
Overall, another wonderful week in the World!
Just thought I'd comment on some frequent issues mentioned here:
MK morning procedures: They seemed to work fine. We didn't stick around to watch the welcome show, just hung out on MS until we were allowed to head towards adventureland. I was one of the people who cancelled a PPO BoG reservation when the changes were announced, and I'm glad I did. We got to mosey on MS like I wanted and saved a ton of money of BoG breakfast.
Plaza Donut Sundae Breakfast: Gross. I was SO excited for this, but as many of you predicted, a donut and ice cream and all that other gooey stuff before lunch time was just way too much. But it was fun to give it a try!
New Magic Bands: Loved them! They seemed a lot more comfortable than the old ones and we had a lot less trouble getting Mickey to turn green - not sure if it was because of the new MB or not, but it worked just fine.
Crowds: During the week, the crowds were awesome. Lots of good fastpasses available for 4, 5, and 6th fastpasses, reservations for a lot of restaurants still available the same day. This Saturday (2/3) in the MK, though, was CRAZY! We had been there on Tuesday and Friday, and Saturday was absolutely night and day. I had heard not to do MK on Saturdays, and now I am a true believer. It was a mad house. I can't imagine what a Saturday during the summer looks like.
Polynesian DVC: I wasn't blown away. It needs some TLC, which it shouldn't need as young as it is. (The elevator in particular is in really bad shape - wallpaper peeling, dirty, etc., and it is SO small) The room itself was great and we didn't have any issues, but maybe my expectations were too high.
Polynesian transportation: This is why to stay there. Transportation was amazing. I don't know if we were just lucky or what, but we never waited more than five minutes for anything, and i loved having access to so many different options.
San Angel Inn: This doesn't get a lot of talk around her, but oh my - it was fantastic! We had a table right be the river, the atmosphere was great, the staff was nice (except for the overly-brusque check in), and the food was absolutely delicious. All four of us licked our plates clean. Truly the highlight of our trip. (Compared to 'Ohana, which was not at all as good as I had expected)
ETA: Epcot Festival of the Arts: We spent a lot of time in Epcot, but didn't really do any of the art stuff except for take some pictures. I suspect if you had an older group it might have been really cool, but for a family with a 4 and 7 year old, nothing jumped out as a "must do". It certainly didn't detract from the rest of Epcot at all though.
Overall, another wonderful week in the World!