Last minute trip - Grand Floridian and Pandora

NavyDad

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 21, 2012
6/3 - 6/10

Last minute trip to WDW. Wanted to surprise the kids with an end of school year trip and we all were excited to see Pandora. I usually book about 9-12 months out so this was something completely new. Booked about 2 weeks out this time. We used the military package so available rooms were slim pickings. Decided to splurge a bit and go with Grand Floridian since my first two choices (Cabins & Pop) were not available.

Left Central PA Friday June 3rd as soon as the kids got home from school. Drove around 9 hours and stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Fayetteville, NC. Nice, cheap hotel. Got on the road early and arrived at WDW around 4 PM. This was our first time staying at a monorail resort so it was new and interesting driving through the MK gate and then making the left to drive by TTC, Poly, Shades of Green, Wedding Pavilion and then we saw the sign for Grand Floridian. Unfortunately there was no place to park so we drove around the lot for 15 minutes. I refused to valet and just decided to pull along a curb and leave the wife and kids in the vehicle running while I checked in. The parking issue would be a recurring theme....

Walking into the Grand Floridian it was really, really beautiful. Check in was a bit delayed as they were pretty busy. The CM that checked me in was very nice and once she was we were booked at a military rate she tried to upgrade me to a MK view or even a Club level room but both of those were booked solid for 2 days in the middle of our stay. I asked about the parking situation and she told me to check with the valet people but she thought they would let me park in the valet area if the self parking was closed. When I walked out I asked them about it and they kind of chuckled and told me over-flow parking was either at the DVC or the convention center. We loved the Grand Floridian but there parking situation is terrible IMO and they didn't seem overly concerned about it... so we left the car parked along the curb as about 5 others had done and walked into our room about 5 PM.

Room was very nice. We were in an outbuilding that was very close to the pool and boat dock as well as the quick service and Narcoosee's. Really I don't think any building would be much better than the others as the resort is mostly compact in layout. This was the largest and nicest room we have had at any WDW hotel. Nicer resort than Beach Club. Pools were really good but not quite as good as Beach Club.

Our first park morning was Sunday June 4th at AK. Park opened at 8 AM. We arrived and parked about 6:45. DW and kids got in line at around 7 AM while I hit up guest service to activate our military tickets. That was quick and easy. CM at window gave me 5 really nice "opening week" park maps with Pandora theming. They were much nicer than the park maps in the kiosk. Found the family and went through the tap style at around 7:15 (still 45 minutes before park opens). Followed the crowd to the left and queued up in front of Pandora entrance about 10-15 rows back. Around 7:35 the crowd was enormous, fully packed all the way back to the gates. The CM's started walking us in to Pandora. They were good about telling people to stay left for River Journey and right for Flight of Passage. This became a free for all with grown people running children over and single members pulling their 15 family members ahead of everyone into line. We were lined up just outside the entrance and walked at a good pace through the entire queue. The first time we stopped was at the merge point. The entire queue is just awesome and we actually wished we had more time in line to enjoy it. We had a little delay in the link room and then we were on the ride. I had read about it a bit and was nervous about the restraint. I am a bigger guy over 6 feet tall with long legs and I fit just fine. The ride was way beyond my expectation and probably my favorite ride at WDW. We all loved it and were just amazed.

We walked off about 8:25. Stopped in the Pandora shop to find out that the Banshee's had sold out a couple days before basically as we were driving to WDW. Checked the queue for River Journey which already was at 65 minutes around 8:30. Decided not to wait and headed out the back exit towards Africa. Did Safari with no wait and we were out by 9 AM. Sent the kids towards Kali and Everest. DW and I stopped in Harambe market and shared a pastry and a drink and looked through the shops. Met the kids at Everest around 9:30. Rode a few times with no wait. Headed toward Dinoland and rode Whirl and Dinosaur again with no wait. Used our FP for the first show of Nemo. Had lunch in the Dino place in our normal tables in the little airstream. DW and I decided to leave after that and go back to the room as the rest of our FP were for the evening and we had done everything we wanted to do that morning. Kids decided to stay and hit Kali and Everest as the waits were still less than 30 minutes. Even though it was only around Noon we had been there for over 5 hours and got a ton of stuff done.

That night we came back around 7:30 with plans to see Pandora at night, use our FP for a night time Safari and ride Everest at night (something we had never done). We accomplished all of those things and more. Loved the atmosphere at AK at night. Pandora all lit up was great. Honestly, just could not have had a better first day and we knew we had three more days at AK scheduled for this trip.
 
Thanks for the information on the parking situation. I was back and forth between GF and Contemporary on our trip and obviously glad I didn't switch because we were able to get the best upgrade, but it is an incredibly beautiful resort.
Your first AK day sounds like it went close to perfect. :)
 
Day 2: 6/5

We were actually planning on spending the morning at MK and then evening at DHS. The kids loved Pandora so much they wanted to go back the next morning when AK actually opened at 7 AM for EMH. We didn't have any morning FP's scheduled so we just decided to be spontaneous and go with what the kids wanted to do. I was hoping since it was morning EMH so early that AK would not be as crowded as the morning before so we could hopefully RD both Pandora rides. BOY WAS I WRONG!!!

We arrived at AK parking lot at 6:30 and it was already about half full. We were a little further back in line at the tap styles which also resulted in us being at least 20-30 rows back at Pandora. They let us head toward FoP at around 6:45. Felt much more crowded than the previous morning. We took some nice pictures as we strolled through the outside queue. Had a slower trip through the queue this time which we actually enjoyed. We loved the ride just as much the second time. Checked the store to see if they had miraculously gotten in more banshee's.... no luck. Headed toward River Journey. It was still no yet official park opening and the line for River Journey was 95 minutes... kids didn't want to wait so we bagged that and re-traced our route from the day before. We rode everything in Africa and Asia. DW and I decided to take some time and do the animal trails in both areas. Kids headed to Dino land. Decided to skip Nemo that day because DW is the only one who likes it. We had done everything we wanted to do by 11 and decided to hit the first Lion King show before we headed back to the resort for our lunch ADR. Lion King was great as usual. This was our first time seeing it with the new cast. We enjoyed it. When we came out it was pouring so we decided to head to the vehicle and back to the Grand Floridian.

We had lunch ADR at Grand Floridian Café at 1 PM. In the morning and early afternoon they have basically a brunch menu. Kids had French Toast, pasta and I believe Mickey waffles. DW and I each had the Grand Floridian Café sandwich. It was amazing. Ham, turkey and bacon on really good toasted bread with some kind of cream sauce served with onion rings. We all loved our food and decided to add two more brunch ADR's for later in the week.

Took a nap for a few hours while the T storms blew threw and then headed to DHS. We had FP for Indy, TSM and ToT. DW and the kids were all being sleepy and slow after two early mornings at AK so we ended up missing our Indy FP by about 5 minutes. They had already started seat standby so we had to watch from standing room only in the back. No problem. DW and I had not seen Indy for many years and the kids had never seen it. We all enjoyed it quite a bit. We had some time to kill before our TSM FP so we decided to spend some time in One Man's Dream. That was the first time I noticed they had some stuff in their for Song of the South so I took some pictures. We enjoyed about 15 minutes and there and headed to TSM which was awesome as always. Kids wanted a snack so we tried to by some churros at a little cart near TSM. We got two churros, a powerade and a water. They were out of chocolate sauce for the churros so I asked if they could knock off some of the price since they were supposed to come with the sauce. The CM gave me a big smile and said they were free. I tried to pay for the drinks and she said they were free as well and to consider it a "magic moment". It was just something small but we were delighted with the gesture.

We then headed to Star Tours and waited about 30 minutes. Line seemed to move really slow. Then headed to ToT to use our FP. The park was a bit dark at this point so it made it a little better. We rode RnR single rider which was awesome as usual. DW and I were tired at this point and wanted to go back to the resort. Kids stayed late and rode RnR and ToT a few more times. It was a pretty good evening at DHS.
 
Day 3: 6/6

MK morning and evening

Park opened at 9 AM

Hopped on the monorail about 8:15. We were through the tap style about 8:30. We had FP's for later that night. We wanted to rope drop Mine Train because that was one of the only FP's we could not get at such late notice. We went straight to the right bridge in front of castle. We were about 3rd or 4th row back. CM held us until 8:45 when the little pre-show happens and then they walked us back through the past the teacups and to the queue for Mine Train. Again, grown people are running and throwing elbows knocking over children and stepping on people's feet. We walked in a calm manner and got right in the queue. Walked through the queue at a good pace. Mine train was awesome like always. I snapped a pic of the witch at the end at exactly 9:11.

Walked to Liberty Square and rode Haunted Mansion with no wait. Headed towards pioneer. Rode BTMR, Splash and then BTMR again all with no wait. Rode Pirates and headed for a Dole float. Sat down to eat our Dole Floats at exactly 10:40. Got a lot done in 2 hours. We were all really tired from the last two days so we left MK and headed back to GF. We got back to our room at 11:40. Mouse keeping had already been there and the room was perfect. We had a brunch ADR at Grand Floridian Café for 1:30. We all decided to take a power nap for about 90 minutes. Walked across the courtyard for our ADR at about 1:15. By this time we were all rested and hungry! I had the Café sandwich again because it was so great the day before. DW had the French toast that she raved about and kids all went with the Penne Chicken Alfredo which they all loved. Again, really good food at some of the best prices you will pay at WDW. The fact that it was right in the lobby of our hotel just made it super convenient as well.

***Side note: our first two trips when the kids were young we went all day commando until everyone was tired, cranky and worn out. Since then we always do nap/pool time in the middle of the day and focus our park time in the first 3 hours and last 3 hours. It has made the experience better in every way***

After lunch DW and I decided to relax back in the room while the kids had a couple hours of pool time. We had our FP's scheduled for that night at MK. Space at 5, Buzz at 7 and Peter Pan at 8. Planned to stay after that and just enjoy MK at night. Kids were ready to go back to the park after pool time so we let them go ahead. DW and I don't ride space mountain anymore because it hurts our backs so we told them to use their FP without us and meet us at Buzz around 7. They headed to MK and we stayed back at the resort. Decided to go to the lobby and sat for about an hour or so and enjoy the live music. From around 3-7 PM they alternate between and piano player on the main floor and a "society orchestra" playing on the balcony. We enjoyed that quite a bit. Met the kids around 7 and rode Buzz. IMO this ride needs a major reno. Half the guns don't work and the whole ride just looks a bit shabby. Did Laugh Floor after that and headed to Peter Pan. As soon as we got off Peter Pan the fireworks started as we were behind the castle. Watched those for a bit and headed to Haunted Mansion. When we got off Haunted Mansion the MDE app showed Mine Train as a 30 minute wait. When we got there the que was completely full and the wait said 75 minutes. My guess is the line died down during fireworks and built up quickly right after. Kids wanted to ride Space so they went that direction. DW and I rode Dumbo together and then headed over and rode Splash. We walked around and took some pics of the castle lit up and headed out around 10:30. Kids met us back at the GF around the same time after riding Space to end the night.
 


Day 4: 6/7

This day was Epcot in the morning and MK in the evening. We had no FP for Epcot so we needed to RD everything. Park opened at 9 AM. We got to the parking lot around 8:20. We were through the tap style and queued up to the left of the ball around 8:30. Around 8:45 they let us start walking. I took DW and DD11 towards Norway to ride Frozen. The older kids wanted to ride Test Track so they headed in that direction and were to meet us at Soarin right after. The "walk" to Norway was terrible. Again grown people just mowing down small children, people with strollers just ramming into anyone in their way. There were quite a few "runners" that sprinted to Norway and then brought 15 of their closest family members into line with them. After we got in line we had probably 50+ people walk around us to catch up in line to their family member so we basically didn't move in the line for the first 20 minutes. We got in line for Frozen about 9:55 and got off the ride around 9:30. We liked the ride quite a bit. My DD11 really loved it. I would be OK to miss that experience the next time.

Headed straight to Soarin. Line said 60 minutes at 9:40 but it really only took us about 20 minutes. We enjoyed the new show after going in with low expectations. The older kids had met us there and we were off the ride and walking out of the Land Pavilion by 10:15. The kids wanted to go to France and see if the ice cream shop was opened and DW wanted a pastry and coffee. Ice cream shop was not open so we all went into the French pastry shop. We were all kind of hungry so decided to eat brunch. We each got a ham and cheese croissant and a desert pastry and shared a large baguette. This was honestly some of the best food we had at WDW this trip. Really, really good!

By 11 it was starting to rain. We were just walking around the world showcase. We don't usually do much in this area honestly. As the rain got heavier we decided to duck into Japan as our kids all LOVE Japanese anime, food and culture. Well, the shop did not disappoint! We spent an hour inside their and the kids were in heaven. We let them pick out some Japanese candy to take home. By this time it was still raining pretty good. Kids decided to go ride Mission Space, check the single rider line for TT and then go back to the hotel. DW and I decided to stay at WS and explore the countries a little bit more which was fun. That was the first time we saw the American Experience show and we thought it was really awesome. In some ways I liked it better than Hall of Presidents.

We were all pretty thoroughly drenched by 1 PM and decided to head back to the GF and dry off before our trip back to MK that night.

We headed back to MK around 5. DD11 is a huge Minnie and Mickey fan. We bought DW and both DD's new Minnie ears at the Emporium. Plan was to meet the talking Mickey near the entrance and take a pic with the ears on and then head to see Minnie at the circus tent to do another pic. Talking Mickey had a 60 minute line so we bagged that. I read the app wrong and thought circus Minnie only had 15 minute wait but it was actually 45 minutes so we bagged that as well. We did get some nice pics on Main Street though....

We had FP for all the mountains that night as well as a dinner reservation at Liberty Tree at 8:05. The kids went to ride Space while DW and I rode the boat around the island. We then rode HM and met the kids in front of Liberty Tree and checked in just before 8 PM. The CM did warn us they were a little backed up and took our cell number so they could text us. We decided to wait in the check in area because we were hungry and tired. The plan was to eat and try to be back out before the fireworks started if at all possible and head right to Mine Train. Well, we were not seated until 8:55 and didn't get drinks until 9:05 exactly 1 hour after our ADR. By that point we didn't really want to even eat there anymore but we had really liked our previous lunch there a couple of years ago. Unlike lunch which was a a la carte, dinner is a fixed price all you can eat meal that runs about $40 per person. Our first plate of food didn't arrive until almost 10PM. By this time DW and the kids were tired, hot and cranky and didn't even want to eat dinner. The waitress apologized over and over and stated that when it rained earlier in the day nobody would get up and leave after eating so they were 1-2 hours behind all day. It was not her fault but as we walked out at 10:30 my wife and I agreed that we just paid close to $300 for possibly our worst dining experience we have ever had at WDW. That was a bummer.

The park was MUCH more crowded that night than it had been the previous couple of nights because they had EMH until 1 AM. The lines were long for everything even at 11 PM. We were all tried and a bit grumpy and had an early morning planned the next day so we decided to go back to the GF.

The big lesson we learned this trip was to avoid EMH at all costs. If we go back to Liberty Tree again it will be for lunch I think. The all you can eat meals just don't work for us anymore since all of our kids have to pay adult prices now and DW and DD's are just not big eaters....
 
Day 5: 6/8

This would be our last park day and it was also my birthday. We had Rivers of Light, Safari and Everest FP planned for the evening. Our plan was to rope drop Pandora in the morning and then come back in the evening to enjoy the rest of the park. It worked to perfection I am happy to report!

AK opened at 8AM that morning - no morning EMH thank goodness.

We left the GF right at 6 and were parked by 6:15 in the first row. We were at the tap style at 6:30 and waited about 15 minutes before they let us into the park. You could tell they were getting better at the opening procedures and stayed ahead of the building crowds. By 7 (still 1 hour before park opens) we were queued up at the entrance to Pandora pretty much in the front couple of rows. Around 7:15 we were walking as a group towards FOP. Walked through the queue at a good pace. Enjoyed the ride just as much the third time and we were out around 7:45. At this point the line for River Journey was posted as 30 but we only waited maybe 15 minutes. This ride is very cool, nice to look at but short and IMO not worth more than a 30 minute wait.

We had taken a bit of a risk this morning and it paid off. My family really wanted to ride River Journey first thing since we had not ridden it yet and we had already done FoP twice. Once we got in and I noticed we were a bit ahead of the crowds I made the decision to ride FOP again first and promised them we would go to River Journey no matter how long the wait was. My gut told me it wouldn't be nearly as bad as it had the other days had been. It worked out and everyone was happy.

We came out of River Journey just after official park open and now posted time was 90 minutes for RJ and 240 minutes. My wife and I remarked how mad we would have been if we showed up right at park open and saw those wait times.

Another lesson: the early bird gets all worms!

So the plan for the evening was DW and I were eating at Sanna and meeting the kids at AK later. DW and I really liked Sanna. The view over the Savanah was great and unique. The bread service was amazing. The food was really good but I think you have to be an adventurous eater to fully appreciate the menu.

That evening we did the Flights of Wonder show which we love, did another night Safari. Rode Everest 5-6 times at night which was awesome and ended the night with the second Rivers of Light show. Really great way to end the night. Really great last park day and probably one of the best birthdays I have had...
 
Day 6: 6/9

Resort Day at GF!

Last day of our vacation. Kids were going to get up in the morning and do quick service for breakfast and then head straight to the pool. DW and I had breakfast reservations for two at Kona Café for 9:30. Well, after 5 straight park days and early mornings we all slept in until 10. DW and I walked over to the Poly and checked in at the Kona Café. We apologized for being an hour late and asked if we could still be seated. They said no problem and sat us right away. We really enjoyed the Tonga Toast and everything that went with it.

We spend most of the late morning and early afternoon at the pool that day. GF has 2 pretty nice pools and an awesome kids water play area. We spent a few hours in the beach pool with the water slide. Kids had fun with the entertainment and games. Disney trivia in the pool was probably their favorite.

DW and I had an early dinner reservation at Narcoosee's. Food was great if pricey. View is very nice over the lake. She had the surf and turf. She especially liked the butter poached lobster tail. Good wine and beer selection. Kids had pizza and cupcakes at the quick service grill which they loved.

Both pool bars have a pretty good menu but we didn't end up eating or drinking at either.

We went back to the beach pool that night and watched the MK fireworks from the pool. It was a great view. It actually got a little chilly at the pool that night so right after the fireworks were done we headed over to the courtyard pool that has the big hot tub. That was a nice relaxing way to end the day.
 


I feel like I just came back from the trip with you guys :joker: Great trip report! Sounds like such a great time was had by all!
 
Last Day:

Loaded up all the luggage and headed to the rotunda in the main building around 11 AM for our last Disney meal of the trip: Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare.

So this was a breakfast buffet. We love Crystal Palace and Tusker House breakfast so we were hoping we would love 1900 Park Fare just as much and also meet some interesting characters we had not met before.

Food: A- everything was top notch on par with what we have experienced at Crystal Palace. Omelet bar was great. Breakfast pastries and fresh fruit were great. Kid selections were very good but no Pooh's stuffed French toast. Biscuits and gravy, corn beef hash and all the breakfast meats were really good. I didn't eat them but the salmon and Eggs Benedict were very popular. The juice they brought around was really good but they give you Dixie cup size glasses...

Atmosphere: C- place was neat inside but was much smaller than I expected and honestly was kind of dingy and run down looking. I'm sure they push hundreds and hundreds of people through that place per day but the tables, chairs and carpets were in the condition you would expect to see at Denny's at 2 AM not a nice place at the Grand Floridian. They did keep the food counters stocked and tidy.

Characters: A+ We had Tigger, Pooh, Mary Poppins, Alice and the Mad Hatter. 3 characters we never met and they were great to interact with. If you have any interest in these characters this is the place to meet them.

Service: B- Hostess was kind of grumpy, we saw our server 3 times before she brought the bill. She filled up our tiny little glasses with delicious juice and was gone. Omelet chef was kind of grumpy but he was efficient and made perfect omelets. Food staff kept the buffet stocked and tidy. Photo Pass CM's handled the characters well.

Value: C- I think this has more to do with the fact that we now have 3 children who all pay adult prices. We just don't get much value out of the all you can eat places at Disney. With taxes, fees and tip we paid about $250 for breakfast that was a half notch above what you would get at Denny's, Perkins or Big Boy. We paid less than half of that at Grand Floridian Café and the food was on par if not better than 1600 Park Fare. The other thing that gets me is the suggested tip at these places. I am NOT a cheap tipper by any means but I think it's a bit much to suggest I should tip over $50 at a buffet where your server brings you drink refills 3-4 times...

I have to say that if you have a couple of small children and would like to see these characters it is a great place for that.

Got on the road about 12:30. Decided to cut over to 81 instead of going all the way up 95. The beach/summer traffic on 95 can be very bad. We stayed at a Holliday Inn Express in Mt. Airy, NC on the way back that was one of the nicest "budget" hotels we have stayed in. On Sunday 77 and 81 through NC and VA had lots and lots of truck traffic and was a little worse than I expected. We made it back to central PA around 4 PM. Great trip!
 
Random Thoughts:

Pandora: really awesome. Hit it out of the park. Area is kind of small but very detailed. You have to see it during the day and then and night to really appreciate it. I'm still on a bit of a post visit high but Flight of Passage may be my new favorite ride anywhere.

AK: The night time atmosphere is second to none IMO. Between night time Pandora, night safaris, Tree of Life lit up and new night time show this is WDW's best night time park. It's about time. Nobody can say this is a half day park anymore.

DHS: There is good stuff on the way but right now this park is a shell of itself and maybe a half day park. We were able to do everything we wanted to do at least once in just one evening. I have to say though.... based on how crazy it was for Pandora opening whenever they do open Star Wars Land at DHS I am going to avoid that place for at least a year because it will be totally nuts.

Epcot: Liked the new Soarin, the new Frozen is just OK - another boat ride. If you have little kids that like Frozen they will love it.

MK: Mine Train still has crazy long waits from park opening until late at night. Hop in line right as the fireworks start for a short wait.
 
loved the report!

I agree -- the atmosphere at 1900 is not the greatest. I do wonder if the tips get shared with the characters or not -- if they do, then the tips are worth it. If they do not get a tip share, then I agree -- tipping 20% on a buffet is insane. I'm a little torn on the breakfast character meets. Right now we have a 4 and 2 year old, so breakfast is about the only sit down meal we can do with the youngest (lunch and dinners are hit and miss at Disney -- she gets very cranky sitting still). I just hate dropping $30+ on breakfast. It's just eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles...nothing extravagant. At least with the dinners, I'm getting steak, pork loin or something like that. A lot more palatable to drop $45 a person on dinner than $30 on breakfast (I'm counting my TIW discount card).

Glad you enjoyed the GF. It's our favorite resort! I love sitting in the lobby and listening to the piano guy. The pools are not over-the-top spectacular (like SAB), but the slide is pretty fun. My daughter had a blast going down it for at least 40 minutes while hung out at the bottom waiting for her each time (I also participated in the Disney trivia going on so I had a lot of fun too).

Thanks for the tips on RD at pandora. I guess I didn't realize that it was possible to actually get in the queue for the rides PRIOR to rope drop. With that said, I think my touring strategy with my big family trip is going to be hit up the rest of the park at RD and make the FP+ selections for FOP for late morning or just after lunch. I do have a solo trip coming up before that, so I might try and drag myself out of bed early in the morning.

My only main comment is that I wouldn't say Frozen is just another boat ride. The music and animatronics are a cut above anything else at Disney. I would say it is more immersive than POC -- and certainly better than IOSW. The let it go portion is very immersive with all of the lighting on the ceiling.
 
loved the report!

I agree -- the atmosphere at 1900 is not the greatest. I do wonder if the tips get shared with the characters or not -- if they do, then the tips are worth it. If they do not get a tip share, then I agree -- tipping 20% on a buffet is insane. I'm a little torn on the breakfast character meets. Right now we have a 4 and 2 year old, so breakfast is about the only sit down meal we can do with the youngest (lunch and dinners are hit and miss at Disney -- she gets very cranky sitting still). I just hate dropping $30+ on breakfast. It's just eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles...nothing extravagant. At least with the dinners, I'm getting steak, pork loin or something like that. A lot more palatable to drop $45 a person on dinner than $30 on breakfast (I'm counting my TIW discount card).

Glad you enjoyed the GF. It's our favorite resort! I love sitting in the lobby and listening to the piano guy. The pools are not over-the-top spectacular (like SAB), but the slide is pretty fun. My daughter had a blast going down it for at least 40 minutes while hung out at the bottom waiting for her each time (I also participated in the Disney trivia going on so I had a lot of fun too).

Thanks for the tips on RD at pandora. I guess I didn't realize that it was possible to actually get in the queue for the rides PRIOR to rope drop. With that said, I think my touring strategy with my big family trip is going to be hit up the rest of the park at RD and make the FP+ selections for FOP for late morning or just after lunch. I do have a solo trip coming up before that, so I might try and drag myself out of bed early in the morning.

My only main comment is that I wouldn't say Frozen is just another boat ride. The music and animatronics are a cut above anything else at Disney. I would say it is more immersive than POC -- and certainly better than IOSW. The let it go portion is very immersive with all of the lighting on the ceiling.

I would say with your kids ages the breakfast character meets are probably still a good option for you for right now. Some of our best memories when our kids were younger came from CRT, CP and Tusker House. Now, at this point for us we probably won't do any of those again until we have grandkids some day.

I was really hesitant to stay at GF because both my wife and I felt like it would be a bit too fancy for us and we would feel out of place. As a military family with 3 kids we have not had a lot of opportunity to stay at super nice hotels and eat at fancy restaurants so we were worried the atmosphere at GF might make us feel uncomfortable. Well, we were wrong. We loved the GF. It was a really nice resort and much more family friendly than we expected.

The first deluxe we stayed at was Beach Club. We LOVED SAB! No other Disney resort matches SAB but my kids did say they liked the slide at GF because it was faster.

I think FP later on in the day is the way to go for Pandora especially if you plan to spend two days at AK. This being a last minute trip we had no chance at Pandora FP but I was happy that we were able to do everything using rope drop. It can be done as long as you are willing to get out of bed. My 19 years in the military has conditioned me to hear the alarm, my feet hit the floor and I can be ready to go out the door in a few minutes if needed. DW and kids - not so much LOL!

As far as Frozen. I think my experience was just tainted by the experience of getting over to the ride and getting in line (I was grumpy by that point) combined with the fact that boat rides aren't really my thing. I'm also not that into Frozen. I would have preferred to ride TT with my older kids but I'm glad I went on Frozen once with DW and DD.
 
I have been *loving* hearing about everyone's Pandora experiences! I have no trips planned anytime soon, so I love living vicariously :yo-yo:
 
Regarding Pandora rope drop:

Our first day at AK the CM's operated similar to other parks. Open up early at certain time benchmarks to let people in before park open.

The second and third day you could tell they were getting better and evolving their opening to better handle the quickly building crowds in the morning:

Instead of relying on certain times they seemed to rely more on crowd size bench marks. Once the crowd at the tap styles filled all the way back past the Guest Services buildings they opened the tap styles to move the crowd up to Tree of Life viewing spot and allowed the crowd to flow over towards Pandora entrance. As soon as the crowd had filled from the Pandora entrance and started to back up to the tap styles they allowed the Pandora crowd to move into the Pandora area and start forming a queue outside the entrance to FoP. Once that line filled in and backed up all the way to Africa they opened the ride entrance and let people move into the queue proper.

It ended up being an extremely smart and efficient way to control the crowds IMO. The AK and Pandora CM's really had their stuff together and you could see them getting better as the week went on. As I said though I can imagine some guests showing up and wondering how in the world there is already a 90 minute wait right at park open...
 
I tried to get BOG dinner ADR, but wasn't able to. I did get 1900 Park Fare. Can anyone tell me if this would be a good meal for a 6-yr old girl?
 
I tried to get BOG dinner ADR, but wasn't able to. I did get 1900 Park Fare. Can anyone tell me if this would be a good meal for a 6-yr old girl?

Yes for sure!

This would be the perfect place for a girl that age. The character interaction is great. As long as you are good with the cost I would keep the reservation.

Once she is about 15 and just "too cool" for everything then not so much...
 
Yes for sure!

This would be the perfect place for a girl that age. The character interaction is great. As long as you are good with the cost I would keep the reservation.

Once she is about 15 and just "too cool" for everything then not so much...
Haha! I dread the too cool days, so I'll keep it! Thanks!!
 
Yes for sure!

This would be the perfect place for a girl that age. The character interaction is great. As long as you are good with the cost I would keep the reservation.

Once she is about 15 and just "too cool" for everything then not so much...

The stepsisters and stepmom are awesome. Anastasia was the best interaction we had all week. My DD gets really shy around the characters, and Anastasia would not take no for an answer. She was the only character to get her out of the chair and talk.
 
The stepsisters and stepmom are awesome. Anastasia was the best interaction we had all week. My DD gets really shy around the characters, and Anastasia would not take no for an answer. She was the only character to get her out of the chair and talk.
That's awesome! I'm betting my girl will love it then :)
 

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