DisneyDarlingness
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 22, 2005
Hi everyone! Since I found others' reports so helpful before our trip last week, I thought I'd just post briefly about our experience. DH and I are 37 and have an almost 4 year old girl and a 15 month old boy, and while DH and I have been to WDW many times, we stopped visiting when I had DD, and last week was our first trip there since 2013.
We were there from Sat 2/24 to Sat 3/3, stayed at AKL, and went to all 4 parks, Epcot and MK twice (no park hopping). DD did Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and loved it. We did character meals every day, including Crystal Palace (once for lunch and once for dinner), Garden Grill (Chip and Dale were huge hits), Tusker House, Trattoria al Forno late breakfast (food wise breakfast because Rapunzel and Ariel and their princes only come for breakfast, timing wise lunch), and Hollywood and Vine (which I hadn't appreciated was a character meal prior to booking, oddly but truly). We also ate at the Mara, Satuli Canteen, and Cosmic Ray's and used the mobile order function on the MDE app, which worked well. The food was EXCELLENT everywhere in our view, at all the buffets (especially Crystal Palace) and quick services (especially Mara). Garden Grill was also wonderful. Some were more excellent than others but delicious everywhere (being hungry for each meal helped too!). Of course the prices were high but we didn't mind it as we knew that going in.
The weather was perfect - a little on the hot side most days, but not a single drop of rain. The kids napped in the Summit X3 Double Stroller that I rented from Kingdom Strollers, although DD fought it most days (our daily trial). They were scared/intimidated by the characters and princesses at first (DD was silent and stoic, DS cried) but by the second half of the trip were smiling and reaching out for them at the meets. We focused on character meets with a few rides (DD loved BTMRR and 7 Dwarves, though hated seeing the witch at the end; she liked Frozen Ever After until Marshmallow appeared and said it was too scary, so I gave up our 3 FPs for our 2nd Epcot day). We didn't cover as much as I thought we might (I thought we would do more rides, but DD was more scared of the dark rides than I expected), but we still did a lot, and I knew all the meticulous planning might be completely out the window once we arrived. I subscribed to Kenny the Pirate's Character Locator half way through the trip in order to better focus our remaining days on meets, and found it pretty helpful in planning.
The MDE app was amazing in giving us the flexibility to rearrange things as we started to find out what DD actually liked to do and what schedule actually worked for us - this being our first trip, it was so hard to anticipate before arriving. After the first day (at MK), I was able to start canceling and booking new things, and that continued throughout (and led to some late nights as I kept refreshing the app for better FP times or ADRs!). Turns out 9 am breakfasts are a no; lunches are ideal times for bigger character meals for us. The app made for a real dynamic experience, which maximized the fun for the kids, but it was a little hard for me to plan the vacation and live the vacation at the same time.
The crowds were definitely there, although Touring Plans rated our days 3s and 4s, and said afterwards that their predictions were in line with actual crowds (I checked the website throughout our stay to get a sense of what a "3" level crowd was, for instance). DH didn't think it was that busy, but it seemed busy enough to me - you can't just push that huge double wide stroller freely all the time, and you need to wait your turn to pass due to the foot traffic. The lines were not particularly short (40 mins for Winnie the Pooh for instance, and 40 mins for meeting Jasmine/Aladdin); on the other hand for "E ticket" rides like Soarin the wait was only 25-30 mins we saw. I think it just felt more crowded to me because I've never had a double stroller to push at WDW before.
We all slept all right in the AKL room - DD had a queen bed, DH and I had the other, and they brought a pack n play with cute Mickey sheets for DS. He still wakes up once or twice a night normally and I can nurse him to sleep; his crying didn't wake DD though because of our active days in the heat. The AKL experience was excellent - we called the front desk a few mornings for extra towels and another pack n play sheet, and they were always responsive (you do have to wait on hold a bit). And they refilled the coffee pods for the coffee maker, though they brought some when we asked the front desk as well. We were very happy with Mousekeeping (though I wonder when towel animals fell by the wayside?).
Raglan Road was another particular highlight - we were fortunate enough to be seated in front of the main stage for dinner and DD got to dance on stage with other kids (they did a mini Irish dancing lesson), which was ADORABLE and she just loved it. I wish we could've explored Disney Springs more, but we wanted to get the most out of the parks. We got mosquito bites though at Disney Springs, and nowhere else. We also swam in the pool once at AKL (Uzima) and DD wanted to do more of that, but again, we ran out of time after our park fun.
Almost every day we stayed in the park the whole day, with a stroller nap for each child (only once at the same time, which was a total jackpot). On our HS day (day 3) we left around 2:30 and napped in the room, leaving to swim at 5:30 (for only about half an hour) before dinner at the Mara. The in room nap day was very restful, but it was actually fine to stay in the parks all day for the rest of the trip.
I'll mention one unexpected thing: I learned about how Rider Switch works with FP+ on the fly during the trip (should've researched it more thoroughly beforehand) but understand now that the way it's supposed to work is that the first rider or riders are the ones who have to have FP+ to go into the line and get the Rider Switch plastic card. The second rider or riders (up to 3) do not need FPs once they have the Rider Switch card in hand. I saw this explained on a number of different websites and it was corroborated by a friend of mine who was there the previous week. However, at 7 Dwarves, the CM said that everyone in the party has to have a FP - not just the first set of riders. This seemed to confuse the people in line around us, and after DH exited he said he overheard other guests talking about the same issue. I was fairly certain this CM was incorrect about how it was supposed to work (although I couldn't, at the moment, find the official policy on this on the actual Disney website) - but it worked out fine as I told the CM that this was not how I thought it worked based on what the Soarin CM had explained the day before, and based on what I had seen on the website. The CM agreed the website was confusing and said Rider Switch works differently for each ride (which would surprise me if true - because then how do people plan how many FP+ to get?), and said he would make an exception, but to be aware as not all CMs might be as nice as he was. I won't lie - I felt unpleasantly surprised by the interaction, but in the end DH and I got to ride, and DD went on twice, so it was fine. But - just so you know - there might be a policy change out there that might scupper other people's carefully thought-out FP+ arrangements!
Overall, it was an incredible experience - the CMs were friendly, the other guests nice, the food delicious, and the lines with FP were fine. Our Magic Bands had no issues with opening the room door on arrival (though I never got a text - but checked the MDE app and saw the room number there, plus saw an email later with the room number). I'm so glad I got Memory Maker - DD was really into the magic shots. We can't wait to go back (though probably not until next year at least)! Every one of us enjoyed it, even the at-times exhausted parents, LOL!
We were there from Sat 2/24 to Sat 3/3, stayed at AKL, and went to all 4 parks, Epcot and MK twice (no park hopping). DD did Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and loved it. We did character meals every day, including Crystal Palace (once for lunch and once for dinner), Garden Grill (Chip and Dale were huge hits), Tusker House, Trattoria al Forno late breakfast (food wise breakfast because Rapunzel and Ariel and their princes only come for breakfast, timing wise lunch), and Hollywood and Vine (which I hadn't appreciated was a character meal prior to booking, oddly but truly). We also ate at the Mara, Satuli Canteen, and Cosmic Ray's and used the mobile order function on the MDE app, which worked well. The food was EXCELLENT everywhere in our view, at all the buffets (especially Crystal Palace) and quick services (especially Mara). Garden Grill was also wonderful. Some were more excellent than others but delicious everywhere (being hungry for each meal helped too!). Of course the prices were high but we didn't mind it as we knew that going in.
The weather was perfect - a little on the hot side most days, but not a single drop of rain. The kids napped in the Summit X3 Double Stroller that I rented from Kingdom Strollers, although DD fought it most days (our daily trial). They were scared/intimidated by the characters and princesses at first (DD was silent and stoic, DS cried) but by the second half of the trip were smiling and reaching out for them at the meets. We focused on character meets with a few rides (DD loved BTMRR and 7 Dwarves, though hated seeing the witch at the end; she liked Frozen Ever After until Marshmallow appeared and said it was too scary, so I gave up our 3 FPs for our 2nd Epcot day). We didn't cover as much as I thought we might (I thought we would do more rides, but DD was more scared of the dark rides than I expected), but we still did a lot, and I knew all the meticulous planning might be completely out the window once we arrived. I subscribed to Kenny the Pirate's Character Locator half way through the trip in order to better focus our remaining days on meets, and found it pretty helpful in planning.
The MDE app was amazing in giving us the flexibility to rearrange things as we started to find out what DD actually liked to do and what schedule actually worked for us - this being our first trip, it was so hard to anticipate before arriving. After the first day (at MK), I was able to start canceling and booking new things, and that continued throughout (and led to some late nights as I kept refreshing the app for better FP times or ADRs!). Turns out 9 am breakfasts are a no; lunches are ideal times for bigger character meals for us. The app made for a real dynamic experience, which maximized the fun for the kids, but it was a little hard for me to plan the vacation and live the vacation at the same time.
The crowds were definitely there, although Touring Plans rated our days 3s and 4s, and said afterwards that their predictions were in line with actual crowds (I checked the website throughout our stay to get a sense of what a "3" level crowd was, for instance). DH didn't think it was that busy, but it seemed busy enough to me - you can't just push that huge double wide stroller freely all the time, and you need to wait your turn to pass due to the foot traffic. The lines were not particularly short (40 mins for Winnie the Pooh for instance, and 40 mins for meeting Jasmine/Aladdin); on the other hand for "E ticket" rides like Soarin the wait was only 25-30 mins we saw. I think it just felt more crowded to me because I've never had a double stroller to push at WDW before.
We all slept all right in the AKL room - DD had a queen bed, DH and I had the other, and they brought a pack n play with cute Mickey sheets for DS. He still wakes up once or twice a night normally and I can nurse him to sleep; his crying didn't wake DD though because of our active days in the heat. The AKL experience was excellent - we called the front desk a few mornings for extra towels and another pack n play sheet, and they were always responsive (you do have to wait on hold a bit). And they refilled the coffee pods for the coffee maker, though they brought some when we asked the front desk as well. We were very happy with Mousekeeping (though I wonder when towel animals fell by the wayside?).
Raglan Road was another particular highlight - we were fortunate enough to be seated in front of the main stage for dinner and DD got to dance on stage with other kids (they did a mini Irish dancing lesson), which was ADORABLE and she just loved it. I wish we could've explored Disney Springs more, but we wanted to get the most out of the parks. We got mosquito bites though at Disney Springs, and nowhere else. We also swam in the pool once at AKL (Uzima) and DD wanted to do more of that, but again, we ran out of time after our park fun.
Almost every day we stayed in the park the whole day, with a stroller nap for each child (only once at the same time, which was a total jackpot). On our HS day (day 3) we left around 2:30 and napped in the room, leaving to swim at 5:30 (for only about half an hour) before dinner at the Mara. The in room nap day was very restful, but it was actually fine to stay in the parks all day for the rest of the trip.
I'll mention one unexpected thing: I learned about how Rider Switch works with FP+ on the fly during the trip (should've researched it more thoroughly beforehand) but understand now that the way it's supposed to work is that the first rider or riders are the ones who have to have FP+ to go into the line and get the Rider Switch plastic card. The second rider or riders (up to 3) do not need FPs once they have the Rider Switch card in hand. I saw this explained on a number of different websites and it was corroborated by a friend of mine who was there the previous week. However, at 7 Dwarves, the CM said that everyone in the party has to have a FP - not just the first set of riders. This seemed to confuse the people in line around us, and after DH exited he said he overheard other guests talking about the same issue. I was fairly certain this CM was incorrect about how it was supposed to work (although I couldn't, at the moment, find the official policy on this on the actual Disney website) - but it worked out fine as I told the CM that this was not how I thought it worked based on what the Soarin CM had explained the day before, and based on what I had seen on the website. The CM agreed the website was confusing and said Rider Switch works differently for each ride (which would surprise me if true - because then how do people plan how many FP+ to get?), and said he would make an exception, but to be aware as not all CMs might be as nice as he was. I won't lie - I felt unpleasantly surprised by the interaction, but in the end DH and I got to ride, and DD went on twice, so it was fine. But - just so you know - there might be a policy change out there that might scupper other people's carefully thought-out FP+ arrangements!
Overall, it was an incredible experience - the CMs were friendly, the other guests nice, the food delicious, and the lines with FP were fine. Our Magic Bands had no issues with opening the room door on arrival (though I never got a text - but checked the MDE app and saw the room number there, plus saw an email later with the room number). I'm so glad I got Memory Maker - DD was really into the magic shots. We can't wait to go back (though probably not until next year at least)! Every one of us enjoyed it, even the at-times exhausted parents, LOL!
