Hello - so I returned with the family from a quick three-day trip to Disney a couple weeks ago. This was on the heels of a week-long trip back in early May. I'd go once a month if I could...
The one thing I did on both trips, which really worked out well, was to stay in multiple resorts. I wanted to focus on my Pandora experience in this post, but quickly, on our May trip, I stayed in a one-bedroom villa at the Wilderness Lodge (Boulder Ridge) for a few nights to make use of the boat transport to the Magic Kingdom and basically did restaurants/activities in that area. Then we moved over to the Boardwalk Villas for the last half and did Hollywood and Epcot, but mostly did the move so I could easily access the back Epcot entrance for the restaurants. So our only real bus ride for the week was from Boardwalk to Animal Kingdom. Both resorts were great but with different vibes. For me, the more relaxed vibe at Wilderness was preferred, and for my wife, the bustle at Boardwalk was more for her. Of course, going in early May meant no Pandora. Which led me to the trip last week...
I hadn't really planned on going again to Disney World for some time, so this was more of an last-minute, impulsive middle-of-summer, all-camped-out kind of trip, spurred on by the deals I kept getting via email and cheap airfare from NJ. (Also to shake off a rough first half of the summer due to some family health issues.) So what the heck, I was dying to see Pandora, so away we went. This time, we did Jambo House for two nights (I has stayed there in 2016) and Wilderness (Copper Creek villa) for one. A couple takeaways I thought I'd share:
On Pandora - so I was able to get a FastPass for the Na'vi River Journey, but not Flight of Passage. So my strategy was to get there well before the park opened (regular 9am open on a Sunday). Also - figuring on it being stifling hot, I figured we could get a good amount of the park done by lunch as well. It was rough getting moving, but we were lined up at security at the park by 7:20 am (no-bag line). There were a decent amount of people there, but not crazy. They let us go to the main entrance a little before 8am. That area started to fill up. We were there probably until 8:20ish, then they started letting us in to go to the next holding area at the Pandora bridge. Despite the early hour - it was really hot, and there was no air at that Pandora bridge area. But despite the 90-minute wait all told, it paid off as we were among the first in line. Shortly before 9, I looked back to see what the line was...
Anyway, park opened and it was bedlam despite the cast members' best efforts to keep everyone from running like crazy. But we got in and had no wait. Got done and walked over and did the Na-vi ride with no wait as well. By 9:06 (I checked my phone), we had done both rides. Flights of Passage was unbelievable - just awesome. Made the whole trip. Na'vi? Ehhh. It was cool - but not worth a long wait. We got lucky later in the day by scoring a FastPass to Flights of Passage in the evening, so dumped the Na'vi FastPass I had. We did most of the rides we wanted to by 11:30-12, and went back to Animal Kingdom lodge for a swim, lunch and nap. Then came back to Rainforest Café for dinner, then a few more rides (it was nice to do FOP again and really appreciate it without the rushing) and to check out the tree at night, and then called it an evening. Wanted to do River of Lights, but my 7-year-old was toast.
We were up early the next morning to go to the Magic Kingdom, and took a cab with our suitcase and bag over to the Wilderness Lodge. We could have had concierge bring it over, and I could have gone straight to a park, but I wanted to guarantee that my suitcase would be at Wilderness Lodge when we returned around noon again - I wanted to have access to my bathing suit. Plus I think it helps to pop by and see if you can check in, maybe ask about a specific room or anything like that. Make your presence known - that sort of thing. So we did that, then took the boat over and back. Sweated with the rope-droppers again, but had no wait for the seven dwarfs coaster (which I couldn't get a FastPass for). Hit the Beast's castle for lunch; did the afternoon swim and nap; and came back for dinner (we did Tony's Town Square this time - doesn't get great reviews but I liked it) and more rides. We did rides throughout the fireworks show, but left at the same time that was ended, so got caught in that craziness. They had us go out by the first aid station on the side of the Crystal Palace, which took you behind Main Street. I thought it was odd that they would let us see that side of Disney (loading docks and what not), but it was a lot easier than the alternative. Then they had room key issues at Wilderness that night - bracelets weren't working, and key cards that had given out weren't working either. So some frustration there, but they were so nice about it. You could tell they were genuinely upset. Someone ended up walking us to our room to let us in - we were going to bed anyway. All in all, another good day.
By the way, new Copper Creek villas ... very nice. Certainly appreciated the newer amenities, particularly the new couch bed. The one in Boulder Creek was kind of beat up and worn. But I think the new villas are smaller than the Boulder Creek ones, and I kind of liked the more-open space feel and décor of Boulder Creek. Copper Creek felt like they had taken two rooms and made it into one, which I guess is exactly what they did. But then, it was also nice to be in the main building. The new pool, which had been under construction in May, was nothing spectacular. My kid just wanted to go back to the main one.
Last day - hung around the pool and lodge. Got a late check-out to 1pm. Did breakfast at the Whispering Canyon Café. We did dinner there in May and loved it, but this time, kind of had a bum waiter, so it wasn't as much fun. But still cool. Then headed back to the airport midafternoon and then home. Until next time, which I keep saying will be when Star Wars land opens, but we'll see if I can wait that long. Welp - thanks for reading if you made it this far!!
P.S. - doing a Disney cruise in November - maybe should have called this "Triple the fun in 2017." My Disney Visa is definitely taking some blows this year, but I really cherish these experiences I've had with my family, particularly my young daughter. It does get costly, but I wouldn't change a thing...
The one thing I did on both trips, which really worked out well, was to stay in multiple resorts. I wanted to focus on my Pandora experience in this post, but quickly, on our May trip, I stayed in a one-bedroom villa at the Wilderness Lodge (Boulder Ridge) for a few nights to make use of the boat transport to the Magic Kingdom and basically did restaurants/activities in that area. Then we moved over to the Boardwalk Villas for the last half and did Hollywood and Epcot, but mostly did the move so I could easily access the back Epcot entrance for the restaurants. So our only real bus ride for the week was from Boardwalk to Animal Kingdom. Both resorts were great but with different vibes. For me, the more relaxed vibe at Wilderness was preferred, and for my wife, the bustle at Boardwalk was more for her. Of course, going in early May meant no Pandora. Which led me to the trip last week...
I hadn't really planned on going again to Disney World for some time, so this was more of an last-minute, impulsive middle-of-summer, all-camped-out kind of trip, spurred on by the deals I kept getting via email and cheap airfare from NJ. (Also to shake off a rough first half of the summer due to some family health issues.) So what the heck, I was dying to see Pandora, so away we went. This time, we did Jambo House for two nights (I has stayed there in 2016) and Wilderness (Copper Creek villa) for one. A couple takeaways I thought I'd share:
On Pandora - so I was able to get a FastPass for the Na'vi River Journey, but not Flight of Passage. So my strategy was to get there well before the park opened (regular 9am open on a Sunday). Also - figuring on it being stifling hot, I figured we could get a good amount of the park done by lunch as well. It was rough getting moving, but we were lined up at security at the park by 7:20 am (no-bag line). There were a decent amount of people there, but not crazy. They let us go to the main entrance a little before 8am. That area started to fill up. We were there probably until 8:20ish, then they started letting us in to go to the next holding area at the Pandora bridge. Despite the early hour - it was really hot, and there was no air at that Pandora bridge area. But despite the 90-minute wait all told, it paid off as we were among the first in line. Shortly before 9, I looked back to see what the line was...
Anyway, park opened and it was bedlam despite the cast members' best efforts to keep everyone from running like crazy. But we got in and had no wait. Got done and walked over and did the Na-vi ride with no wait as well. By 9:06 (I checked my phone), we had done both rides. Flights of Passage was unbelievable - just awesome. Made the whole trip. Na'vi? Ehhh. It was cool - but not worth a long wait. We got lucky later in the day by scoring a FastPass to Flights of Passage in the evening, so dumped the Na'vi FastPass I had. We did most of the rides we wanted to by 11:30-12, and went back to Animal Kingdom lodge for a swim, lunch and nap. Then came back to Rainforest Café for dinner, then a few more rides (it was nice to do FOP again and really appreciate it without the rushing) and to check out the tree at night, and then called it an evening. Wanted to do River of Lights, but my 7-year-old was toast.
We were up early the next morning to go to the Magic Kingdom, and took a cab with our suitcase and bag over to the Wilderness Lodge. We could have had concierge bring it over, and I could have gone straight to a park, but I wanted to guarantee that my suitcase would be at Wilderness Lodge when we returned around noon again - I wanted to have access to my bathing suit. Plus I think it helps to pop by and see if you can check in, maybe ask about a specific room or anything like that. Make your presence known - that sort of thing. So we did that, then took the boat over and back. Sweated with the rope-droppers again, but had no wait for the seven dwarfs coaster (which I couldn't get a FastPass for). Hit the Beast's castle for lunch; did the afternoon swim and nap; and came back for dinner (we did Tony's Town Square this time - doesn't get great reviews but I liked it) and more rides. We did rides throughout the fireworks show, but left at the same time that was ended, so got caught in that craziness. They had us go out by the first aid station on the side of the Crystal Palace, which took you behind Main Street. I thought it was odd that they would let us see that side of Disney (loading docks and what not), but it was a lot easier than the alternative. Then they had room key issues at Wilderness that night - bracelets weren't working, and key cards that had given out weren't working either. So some frustration there, but they were so nice about it. You could tell they were genuinely upset. Someone ended up walking us to our room to let us in - we were going to bed anyway. All in all, another good day.
By the way, new Copper Creek villas ... very nice. Certainly appreciated the newer amenities, particularly the new couch bed. The one in Boulder Creek was kind of beat up and worn. But I think the new villas are smaller than the Boulder Creek ones, and I kind of liked the more-open space feel and décor of Boulder Creek. Copper Creek felt like they had taken two rooms and made it into one, which I guess is exactly what they did. But then, it was also nice to be in the main building. The new pool, which had been under construction in May, was nothing spectacular. My kid just wanted to go back to the main one.
Last day - hung around the pool and lodge. Got a late check-out to 1pm. Did breakfast at the Whispering Canyon Café. We did dinner there in May and loved it, but this time, kind of had a bum waiter, so it wasn't as much fun. But still cool. Then headed back to the airport midafternoon and then home. Until next time, which I keep saying will be when Star Wars land opens, but we'll see if I can wait that long. Welp - thanks for reading if you made it this far!!
P.S. - doing a Disney cruise in November - maybe should have called this "Triple the fun in 2017." My Disney Visa is definitely taking some blows this year, but I really cherish these experiences I've had with my family, particularly my young daughter. It does get costly, but I wouldn't change a thing...
