mastermind307
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 24, 2010
Returned home last Saturday from a great trip to Disney. Many things had changes since my last visit (June 2013) and while it was more crowded than I expected, we still had a good time.
Magic Bands - Ours worked perfectly, never had an issue. I really liked them and thought they were very easy to use. We used them to enter our room, get into parks, charge things to our room, and make extra FPs. It was so nice not to have to get a card out and hand them to my DH and DD and get them back and put them away. Plus DD really liked being able to open the door to our room.
FastPass+ - I really liked the old system and knew how to use it to our advantage, so I wasn't sure how I'd like the new system. Really the only issue I had with it was not being able to ride Test Track over and over. It is one of DD favorite rides and under the old system I was able to get multiple FPs for it. On the flip side I was able to secure a FP for it on our arrival day and in the past the FPs would have been gone by then. Here's what we had FPs for.
EPCOT - Mission Space, Test Track, Spaceship Earth
AK - Everest, Dinosaur, Safari
HS - TSM, Star Tours, Extreme Stunt Show (we left before using the this one)
EPCOT - Character Spot, Soarin', Figment, Living with the Land (4th), Test Track (5th, was able to grab 2 for DD and DH), Spaceship Earth (6th, DD wanted to ride again)
Magic Kingdom - Buzz Lightyear, 7DMT, Anna and Elsa
Magic Kingdom - Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, 7DMT, Cinderella and Rapunzel (not everybody rode Pooh and 7DMT so I was able to get a FP for DD and me), Dumbo (4th), Ariel (5th)
Magical Express - First time using it and it was a great experience. We had to wait about 15 minutes to get on the bus and then we were the 3rd stop. Received text while on the bus that our room was ready. When we arrived we went straight to our room. DD used her MB and opened the door. So nice to not have to go to the lobby and check in first. When we came back from EPCOT that evening our luggage was in our room. We got to Wilderness Lodge around 1:30 and got back from EPCOT around 7:30 so not sure exactly when it arrived, but I was very happy to walk in and see it.
CMs - We didn't encounter any rude CMs. All were nice and helpful. None went above and beyond, but I have no complaints about any of them.
Guest - Most guest were fine. There are two instances I remember where guest were rude. The first is a women put her hands on me and literally shoved me out of the way. I know it was crowded and I expected people to accidentally bump into me, but having somebody put her hands on me and shove me on purpose was uncalled for. The second is DD and I were waiting in line to meet Rapunzel and Cinderella. The FP line was outside the building and it didn't move for awhile. I say that because people saw who was in front and behind them. Anyway it's our turn, and the CM lets us and the people in front and behind us go in. The group in front of us started going into the wrong room We followed them, but quickly realized we need to go into the other room. Well the people behind cut right in front of us. What bothered me the most was that they were 2 adults and they knew they were behind us. And then they take forever with Rapunzel. It didn't ruin our trip or anything but it's frustrating when I try to teach my DD the right thing and then she see adults acting that way.
Wilderness Lodge - We loved it!
Food - I noticed a decline in the quality of food. We enjoyed our meals, but there are some places we probably won't return. My biggest disappointment was Ohana. The food was still good, but not quite as good as it was in 2011 or 2013. A pleasant surprise was BOG lunch. The menu didn't look that good to me, but I wanted to see inside the castle. So when a lunch ADR opened up I grabbed it. The food was actually really good, especially the desserts. We ate at:
Garden Grill, Tusker House, Trails End, Whispering Canyon, Sci-Fi, Kona Cafe, Ohana, BOG, Crystal Palace, Roaring Fork, Cosmic Rays, Sunshine Seasons, Wolfgang Puck Expess.
Transportation - Overall, it was good. We only had 1 bad experience and that trying to get to HS on Columbus Day. Other than that we didn't wait for than 10 minutes (usually less than 5) for a bus. We also took the boats to MK and the campground.
I'm already looking forward to my next trip to the World, even though I don't know when that will be. DH gets to pick where we go next year and it won't be Disney. But he did tell me in a few years I can take another all girls trip without him.
Magic Bands - Ours worked perfectly, never had an issue. I really liked them and thought they were very easy to use. We used them to enter our room, get into parks, charge things to our room, and make extra FPs. It was so nice not to have to get a card out and hand them to my DH and DD and get them back and put them away. Plus DD really liked being able to open the door to our room.
FastPass+ - I really liked the old system and knew how to use it to our advantage, so I wasn't sure how I'd like the new system. Really the only issue I had with it was not being able to ride Test Track over and over. It is one of DD favorite rides and under the old system I was able to get multiple FPs for it. On the flip side I was able to secure a FP for it on our arrival day and in the past the FPs would have been gone by then. Here's what we had FPs for.
EPCOT - Mission Space, Test Track, Spaceship Earth
AK - Everest, Dinosaur, Safari
HS - TSM, Star Tours, Extreme Stunt Show (we left before using the this one)
EPCOT - Character Spot, Soarin', Figment, Living with the Land (4th), Test Track (5th, was able to grab 2 for DD and DH), Spaceship Earth (6th, DD wanted to ride again)
Magic Kingdom - Buzz Lightyear, 7DMT, Anna and Elsa
Magic Kingdom - Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, 7DMT, Cinderella and Rapunzel (not everybody rode Pooh and 7DMT so I was able to get a FP for DD and me), Dumbo (4th), Ariel (5th)
Magical Express - First time using it and it was a great experience. We had to wait about 15 minutes to get on the bus and then we were the 3rd stop. Received text while on the bus that our room was ready. When we arrived we went straight to our room. DD used her MB and opened the door. So nice to not have to go to the lobby and check in first. When we came back from EPCOT that evening our luggage was in our room. We got to Wilderness Lodge around 1:30 and got back from EPCOT around 7:30 so not sure exactly when it arrived, but I was very happy to walk in and see it.
CMs - We didn't encounter any rude CMs. All were nice and helpful. None went above and beyond, but I have no complaints about any of them.
Guest - Most guest were fine. There are two instances I remember where guest were rude. The first is a women put her hands on me and literally shoved me out of the way. I know it was crowded and I expected people to accidentally bump into me, but having somebody put her hands on me and shove me on purpose was uncalled for. The second is DD and I were waiting in line to meet Rapunzel and Cinderella. The FP line was outside the building and it didn't move for awhile. I say that because people saw who was in front and behind them. Anyway it's our turn, and the CM lets us and the people in front and behind us go in. The group in front of us started going into the wrong room We followed them, but quickly realized we need to go into the other room. Well the people behind cut right in front of us. What bothered me the most was that they were 2 adults and they knew they were behind us. And then they take forever with Rapunzel. It didn't ruin our trip or anything but it's frustrating when I try to teach my DD the right thing and then she see adults acting that way.
Wilderness Lodge - We loved it!
Food - I noticed a decline in the quality of food. We enjoyed our meals, but there are some places we probably won't return. My biggest disappointment was Ohana. The food was still good, but not quite as good as it was in 2011 or 2013. A pleasant surprise was BOG lunch. The menu didn't look that good to me, but I wanted to see inside the castle. So when a lunch ADR opened up I grabbed it. The food was actually really good, especially the desserts. We ate at:
Garden Grill, Tusker House, Trails End, Whispering Canyon, Sci-Fi, Kona Cafe, Ohana, BOG, Crystal Palace, Roaring Fork, Cosmic Rays, Sunshine Seasons, Wolfgang Puck Expess.
Transportation - Overall, it was good. We only had 1 bad experience and that trying to get to HS on Columbus Day. Other than that we didn't wait for than 10 minutes (usually less than 5) for a bus. We also took the boats to MK and the campground.
I'm already looking forward to my next trip to the World, even though I don't know when that will be. DH gets to pick where we go next year and it won't be Disney. But he did tell me in a few years I can take another all girls trip without him.
