Trip Report COMPLETE - A Jersey Girl in a Disney World July 13th-19th 2015

Hello Everyone! Just returned from a wonderful Disney trip July 13th to July 19th. It has been 9 years since our last visit (2006), so it's VERY different. Pre-Fastpass +, Pre-Magic Bands, Pre-Iphone even. I'll go more into the pros and cons of those (in our opinion) later.
This was also our first time flying down in almost 20 years. We have been taking the Amtrak Auto Train to have our car, but this time, we just
wanted to get there fast.

We chose to fly Spirit out of Atlantic City and it was a great experience. I know you hear mixed things about Spirit, but we had no trouble.
Flight left on time, landed in almost exactly 2 hours. I do have to say, airport security was a trip for me! I last flew in 1997, shove your backpack through the metal detector and done.

This was also our first time renting a car. We had a reservation, but thought we still needed to wait in line at the counter to get keys. I guess I should have researched this a little better. Someone finally suggested that we try the kiosk, and low and behold, we were on the road in
10 minutes after waiting in line half an hour. Maybe it was just me, but Alamo needs to make this more clear on their website.

So, here we go on the road to the Caribbean Beach. We arrived around 12:30pm and our room was ready! Building 25 in Martinique. After dropping off our bags, we made a WaWa run for coffee (hey, we are from Jersey, gotta have a WaWa). We also stopped at the Super Walmart on 535 (which is a different kind of adventure in itself). Turns out it only looks close and easy to get to on the map.

We were shocked at all the construction at Downtown Disney. I will be posting some pics in a later post, but it is something you need to experience to see the scope of it. The parking garage is the best and safest seeming garage I have ever been in, however the walk to the Marketplace side is LOOOOONG. So glad they are building a closer garage. The temp was around 100 that afternoon and we were regretting our decision by the time we made it to the bridge by Planet Hollywood. Our next visit was by Disney bus, much more conveniently located =)

Dinner at Old Port Royal at the Caribbean (more on our food issues in a later post), then headed over to Hollywood Studios for the evening.
Waited 35 min. standby for the Great Movie Ride (some nice little changes since AMC is sponsoring), then used our FP on Toystory (20 min wait even in the FP line).

Also on my "I Miss at the Studios" List are the Citizens of Hollywood walking around in the evenings and definitly Sid's. Got many good collectibles there.

The Frozen Dance Party probably appeals to the kids, but it was SO loud with the bass cranked up SO much. Or maybe I'm just getting old.
Back soon with Day 2!

 

[jlanj4]

Lots of construction going on along the river. This is the view from the Everest side.









Headed over for our 9:15am Everest FP (walk on). Again, the problem with FP today was the downtime, although we were able to take some pictures and see a couple of Memory Maker photographers while waiting.










This was the first time I had managed to get on Everest (1st couple of times I chickened out, last two the wait was just too long).
It does rattle your head a little bit! The view is fantastic, going backwards is the best part, and the Yeti seemed to be working (we went by so fast though!)



Construction walls were up in front of the river by Everest around in front of the Nemo theater. Our Dinosaur Fastpass was scheduled for after lunch, so we hopped in the standby line, which was about a 20 minute wait.

You can also see construction from the bridge to Dinoland -







By then it was getting HOT again so we stopped at the Flame Tree Barbecue for lunch. Usually Flame Tree is our favorite quick service to visit, but as we had issues with food the whole trip, same was true here. That jalapeno corn bread is on FIRE and inedible. I physically cannot eat spicy food, and no one else in our party could eat it either. The chicken and ribs were spicier too. This was a problem with everything across parks. I know spices are a "thing" now, but when you can't eat it, your food choices are now very limited. At other places, I ended up getting a burger almost every meal, and you do get sick of the same thing after a week. Any recommendations for better "plainer" quick service options would be appreciated. (I did send my concerns to guest relations but haven't heard back yet). I know Disney is supposed to be very accommodating to dietary restrictions, but you can't call ahead when you want to grab something on the go. (I know we're unusual, but we don't do sit down meals, we just want to eat and go).

So after lunch we headed back to the Caribbean, then took the bus to Downtown Disney for some shopping. Dodged a quick rainstorm, and got frozen cappuccinos at Ghirdeli (which didn't taste the same either, what is UP with the food?)

 

[jlanj4]

After dinner, we went back to Epcot for the evening. No Fastpasses for Soarin available obviously, so we just walked around and took pictures.











Panorama of World Showcase


I was so looking forward to my traditional churro in Mexico. Even those are different! Instead of that huge stick of fried sugary goodness
that lasts a good 3/4 walk around World Showcase, they are now these "churro nuggets" that I ended up finishing by the time we were past Norway.
What are you doing to my food Disney?


Tidbits from today:

*Our Magic Bands worked perfectly for FP and charging food and merchendise, but my parent's bands refused to work at every park entry. They do handle it quickly and easily, with plenty of IPad weilding cast members to help. They took their photos and we had no problems getting in at other parks, but they had to be checked EVERY TIME. Weird glitch.

*Talked to a great bus driver on the way back from Animal Kingdom who has me even more convinced I need to move down here when I retire and work in the park (20 years to go!)

*Usually Animal Kingdom is my least favorite park, but I really enjoyed it this time. It was the least crowded of any of the parks on our whole trip, and it was such a more relaxed vibe after the hectic MK and Studios.

*If you are only visiting the Marketplace side of Downtown Disney, by all means take your resort shuttle and save yourself the walk from the garage.

 

[Disneyfreak Jen]

Enjoying your review so far!

 

[jlanj4]

Thursday July 16th Magic Kingdom & Hollywood Studios

We noticed how much downtime we had waiting for our FP at the Magic Kingdom Tuesday, so we decided to try the "Old Standby Plan" we've used for the Magic Kingdom for the past 25 years or so, hoping it would still work with the new system. We arrived for early opening (EMH today, Tuesday was 8am open for everyone). We waited almost 15 minutes for a bus this morning, our longest wait the whole trip.













We walked on Buzz 3 times in a row (family tradition, we're very competitive with it), rode the PeopleMover, then walked over to Adventureland to be there for rope drop.

 

[jlanj4]

Rope dropped about 5 minutes early and we walked on Jungle Cruise right on the 1st boat of the day. Our guide was great.





The temperature was building when we got off, it was another scorcher of a day, then we sadly trudged past Pirates (our traditional 2nd stop). Big Thunder was next, also a walk on. In the past, we would have stopped at Splash first, but the last couple of times we ended up SOAKED -to the point of almost having to wring out our underwear soaked - so even though it was hot, we decided not to chance it this time. With this humidity, my hair would never recover either =)

Through Frontierland and Liberty Square to use our 9:45 FP on Seven Dwarfs (Standby was about 45 minutes, we waited 5). Crowds were still ok at this point but building. We had some ice cream and decided to kill some time riding It's a Small World and get that song stuck in our heads before our 10:45 Haunted Mansion FP. IASW was a walk on and in the 10 minutes we were inside it went from bright and sunny to torrential downpour for about 20 minutes. We waited under an overhang and ran to HM just in time for our FP when it slacked off (With Cast Members trying to shoo everyone away from the exit area into the rain (with very little success). FP got us right on and the sun was shining when we came out. There was also a Photopass photographer out taking pictures in front of the hearse- an unexpected bonus.

 

[jlanj4]

Now it was getting REALLY HOT. We walked back through Fantasyland to Cosmic Rays for lunch. And here we go with the food issues again. Everyone else I was with had burgers. I mistakenly ordered the grilled chicken sandwich. No problem, right? The picture on the menu made it appear lightly seasoned. HA. It arrived COATED in herbs. I couldn't even tell it was chicken the coating was such a solid green. Yuck. So I threw it out and bought a hot dog. A cast member was going table to table to ask how everything was so I told her I threw mine and bought something else. She was very sympathetic, apologized, and said the menus have really changed in the last few years. She said never throw the food out, let them know and they could have gotten me something else (I know I should have done that in the first place-I'm just one that doesn't like to cause a fuss).
She gave us a free Fastpass for any ride in the MK for our whole party (which really was great, but I did waste about $10 on lunch).

So now I'm sure you're all sick of me whining about food- and we did get a call back yesterday from guest services - an actual phone call and not a form email!
They acknowledged our concerns, saying we can request unseasoned food anywhere in the park, but we would probably have to wait for the next batch to be made.
Yeah,try waiting that long in the parks.

Anyway, back to the hotel for the afternoon and to WaWa for a coffee run (I've been 2 1/2 days without WaWa coffee - this is hell for New Jersians)
We got a few pictures of the crew working on trimming the palm trees at the Caribbean. I never thought about palm trees having to be trimmed. These guys were there all week just in Martinique, and they WORKED. Truckloads every day.







We visited the Studios again at night, no time waiting for a bus. We ate Backlot Express. Super crowded but the food was ok. Walked around and went in the stores.
The Frozen Dance Party was still too loud but not as overbearingly loud as the first night we were there. I also hate that the stage blocks the view of the theater, although glad to see the hat finally gone.









Crowds were very heavy and we didn't get on any rides, everything was 30-40 min + and it was still HOT. We visited the animation store (so disappointed it's closing next month - one of my favorite shops to visit over the years). If you are into cels or prints, they still had a
fantastic selection and everything was easy to ship home and arrived packed very well.

Tidbits from Today:

*Animation Gallery employees said there are 4 cel animators left who will continue to work backstage for now and the cels will be sold in other galleries.
Almost all of the animators are nearing retirement, so who knows how long the program will continue.

*I can't wait for an official announcement about changes to the Studios at D23 (Convention). It's always been my second favorite park after MK, but it
is sorely in need of some love.

* I was glad to see our old Magic Kingdom "Plan of Attack" still worked for us, with the addition of a Seven Dwarfs FP.

Next Part with Sea World and Epcot coming soon!

 

[jlanj4]

Day 5 - Sea World and Epcot

Off onto I-4 to Sea World! $17 for parking? Yikes! I also know we could have saved money buying our tickets online in advance, but this was almost a last minute decision - we were getting a little Disney-ed out at this point. Getting tickets at the kiosks is super easy and saved us probably a half hour wait in line. Bag check was much more lax than any of the Disney parks.









I had said before that Animal Kingdom is a much more laid back vibe, and Sea World is even more so. Just so nice not to have to rush around for a day.

We started over in the Key West section by the stingrays and dolphins, then worked our way around the park clockwise.





The penguin section is FREEZING! The ride is probably fun if you are 4 years old. At least we got out of the heat, it was beginning to be another incredibly hot day.



The sea lions are hilarious. We stopped for about half an hour just to watch them being fed. Some adorable baby pups and an old fat one who was twice the size of the others (and twice as loud!)

 

[jlanj4]

We ate lunch at the Terrace BBQ - the old Anheisuer Busch Hospitality Center. It did cost slightly more than Disney, but the food (chicken and ribs) was fabulous and it was not crowded at all.

 

[jlanj4]

It was getting way too hot to stay for the Shamu show, so we finished our loop of the park and headed out for the rest of the afternoon.

Back to the Caribbean for a rest, then over to Epcot where we finally had a FP for Soarin. But before that, we walked around World Showcase starting on the Canada side. The temperature had cooled considerably and we thought it would be great walking weather, but by the time we got to Morocco it started raining and getting oppressively muggy (not raining hard, just enough to have to use the umbrella and be annoying).












Went over to Soarin for our FPP and waited about 15-20 minutes. I love that ride. A third theater is needed though.

80's child that I am, I was disappointed that Captain Eo was down (and reopened the day we left, again, WHY in the middle of summer??)

Later Today - Our last day (Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom) and our Final Thoughts

 

[jlanj4]

Day 6 - Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom

We got to the Studios early for EMH early open. Went right over to the Tower of Terror and walked right on. Great drop sequence this time! The Memory Maker video you get is cute too.







Headed over to Star Tours and that was also a walk on. This was our first time on Star Tours 2.0. I like that they inserted more characters from the movie, but the vehicle motion is lacking, it seems the old ride was rougher.

We stopped into the Muppets while waiting for our Toy Story Fastpass. Always a great place to cool off. We found Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop on New York Street and a had to stop and take some pictures (I love Once Upon a Time. Are they props from the show in the window, or just replicas?)











Toy Story FP at 9:30am with a 10 minute wait, shorter than our previous wait with an evening FP.

By this time the crowds were HEAVY. Stopped at the Joffrey's cart for frozen cappuccinos and Danish. Cappuccinos great, Danish not so much. We sat on a bench near the old Jack Sparrow attraction building and were invited into the new "lounge" by a cast member. Very small, nothing to write home about, but at least it was air conditioned. There were about half a dozen other guests in there.

Next stop the Animation Store to purchase a couple of cels, then over to see Indiana Jones. On the way over, we cut in front of the Chinese Theater behind the stage and got stuck in front of the old American Idol building, not being able to cross in front of the Frozen Parade. Instead of waiting 10 minutes in the sun, we cut back around the Brown Derby and the Fastpass kiosks and got to Indy around the lake the other way.

So great seats at Indy. We always sat on the left, and this time we sat at the top right. Much better view, as most of the action takes
place on that side of the stage. Great if you have a zoom lens.

 

[jlanj4]

At lunch at Backlot Express. Can you say MOBBED. We lucked out and barely got a table.

By this time the temp was in the upper 90's and very humid so we headed back to the Caribbean for a swim.

The Caribbean is very well kept, but we did notice a few things that needed fixing in our building (Martinique 25 by the stairwell on the cul-de-sac side)

 

[jlanj4]

Magic Kingdom was open for EMH until 2am that night, so we arrived back there around 7pm. Main Street was PACKED for the parade.













We used our complimentary FP (see earlier Magic Kingdom post) on Buzz (yes AGAIN). Got ice cream and walked through Fantasyland. Wait times for everything were 40 min+ (mostly +) I had forgotten how dark it is back there at night! More lighting is needed - I thought the woodland creatures were going to come out and mug us =)





We were going to try to watch the fireworks from the Liberty Square bridge area but were shooed away by cast members, so we watched from in front of the riverboat dock. Plenty of room back there, good view of the fireworks, but it does lose something not being over the castle. We then staked out a spot right next to the Country Bears for the 11pm parade. A little bit of a wait as the parade starts on Main St., but worth waiting. A MUCH lighter crowd (only 1 row thick by the rope). Tip: stand on one of the wooden platforms around the trees for a great view.

 

[jlanj4]

 

[jlanj4]

Killed some time walking around, and got back on the bus around 12:30am. The bus was right there waiting, and there were no mass crowds leaving, as most people left after the fireworks. We got back to the hotel a little after 1am. (Note - what a hike to the Caribbean bus stop at the Magic Kingdom! It is the next to the last stop on the 3rd bus overhang.)





We grabbed a few hours sleep and then off to the airport for our 930am flight.

This brings us to
Day 7 - Going Home

Car rental return tip - watch the signs at the airport. I cannot stress that enough. Traffic is bad even early in the morning. The rental return lane is marked on the signs and the road itself, but come up FAST.

The Spirit check in kiosks were all down so they had to check us in at the counter (Tip - $2 to print the boarding pass yourself at the kiosk, $10 for them to print it for you).

The security line was INSANE. 10 rows and about a 30 minute wait, although once you got through the first checkpoint it went very quickly.

Our plane took off and landed on time, and no problems getting our bags in Atlantic City.









I cannot wait until our next trip - we are planning to go back at the end of June, stay at the Polynesian, and take the Keys to the Kingdom tour!

stay Tuned for Final Thoughts

 

[jlanj4]

Final Thoughts

*If you are flying to Disney, consider Spirit if it flies from your area. Even though I know you've heard mixed things, we had no trouble.

*Consider the cost of renting a car and how much you will actually use it as compared to taking Disney's Magical Express or a private shuttle. All the add ons (insurance etc) really add up. We paid just over $600 for an SUV for 6 days. Next time we are thinking about using Magical Express or FL Tours or some other company to get to the hotel, and just renting a car from the Car Care Center for a couple of days to go to Universal and back to the airport. Any tips you may have would be appreciated.

*Memory Maker is worth it, especially if you have children or are going with a group. Besides your photos, you get great stock photos and videos of your ride on the 7 Dwarfs (which is adorable) and Tower of Terror.

*If you are looking for a laid back vibe for your hotel, the Caribbean Beach is it. While the rooms may not be luxurious, it works. This was our 9th or 10th time staying there and we love it. Request a preferred room in Martinique - you pay a little more but it is convenient to the food court and main pool.

*Avoid the Superwalmart on 535. It is a ZOO. I read that it is the busiest Walmart in the country and I believe it.

*The Magic Bands worked better than we expected - so easy to charge, use for Photopass, and no more fumbling for your room key/card.

*Downtown Disney is no longer the relaxing afternoon stop it used to be. Traffic is terrible, everything is very hustle-bustle, and the garage, while needed, is an eyesore. (Here are some construction pics on the new garage, closer to the Marketplace side. Sorry for the
quality, they're from the car)





*Consider what you are going to be doing between rides when scheduling your Fastpasses (downtime). There often isn't enough time to jump on another ride between times unless there is only a 10-15 min. wait.
Also think of how long it will take you to walk from ride to ride and avoid backtracking. If you are spending the whole day at the park, I would recommend spreading them throughout the day, or if you are taking an afternoon break, do one or two in the morning and save the other for when you return in the evening (we often park hop in the evening so that didn't work for us).

*Another nice improvement at the Caribbean was fixed from our last visit. Back in 2006, construction on the (Non-Disney) Bonnet Creek Resort next door was clearly visible from many spots.
Disney has let the hedge at the edge of the property grow considerably (it's at least 10 feet +) and it is almost no longer visible.

*And finally, we have visited over the years in October, February, March, May, June, July, and August. This was by far the most crowded we have ever seen it, and also the hottest. I would avoid July again if at all possible.

I hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I have putting it together. Any and all comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome!

 

[BigHero4]

Thanks for such a comprehensive review! All points noted for our next trip.

 

[Figgy1]

Great TR thnx for sharing. I know what that Walmart can be like, off hours aren't as bad sometimes.

 

[disneydad1000]

We will be staying at CBR for the first time in less than 2 weeks, we always stay at POR..very excited to try something new. I really enjoyed your trip report! The one thing that we will do to avoid the craziness of Downtown traffic is to go to Riverside and then take the boat to DT..very relaxing ride and the kids love the boat ride.

 

[Flyersgirl17]

Thanks for sharing!!!! Loved all the pictures

 

[FlaggNL]

Thanks for the updates and the final thoughts!! Again great pictures! Loved to see some from Searworld. Been there once more than 20 years ago