There will be 3 parts to this, I swear I tried to condense it and this is the shortest I could get it. I will add the others two parts later when I am not so tired.
DISCLAIMER: Despite some of my negative comments, our vacation was really good and overall we had a great time. I wanted to point out the bad parts to help anyone that may be going soon and maybe they can use our mistakes/tips to help plan their vacations.
The Resort (Port Orleans Riverside)
Room: 3912 – Nice View of the “woods” – No traffic noise – Very quiet – 10m from food court – 5m from north depot – 15m from main (south?) depot – 10m from main pool, smaller pool nearby. To far IMO if you have kids but would be great with just the wife and I.
Mousekeeping was great, a new towel animal everyday, tons of towels TONS (tip your mouskeepers), the room was spotless everyday we returned.
Food Court – busy anytime we went, food quality was mixed; the burgers/nuggets line really bad, the Pizza/Italian really good and the desserts were just average.
Refillable Mugs, our room was too far to use, it made no sense to walk 10 min for a free soda. We purchased 2-liters and water from the store ($2.50) and kept them in the fridge.
A note about the buses, if they get full they will not stop at the other depots. In the morning we found it best to leave from the main depot outside the lobby.
Overall I really enjoyed POR, the atmosphere was great and I will stay here again. However, I want to be closer to the food court and main depot vs the north depot.
MGM (9/12)
We planned a ½ day here on the day we arrived. BIG mistake, we were so tired from the flight we had no energy at all. The kids were cranky as were we. After 3 hours in the park we called it quits and got some much needed rest. I think one of the best moves we made on our vacation.
Highlights/Favorites: TOT, LMA, Mermaid for DD4
What we missed(wanted to do): Fantasmic, Muppets 3d, Beauty and the Beast, Indy Show and when it re-opens RNR
Overall Impressions: I was tired so take this with a grain. I was not impressed with The Studios at all, I had no problem leaving early to get some rest on this day. Had RNR been open my overall opinion may have been better. So I will give it an undecided for now.
Food: Dinner: CS at hotel
MK (9/13)
EMH day, we were on the rope for the drop. Pinocchio opened the park and our DS4/DS11 and DS13 were character magnets. Pinocchio giving a kiss on our DD4’s head was a great way to start the day and kick off our vacation.
Highlights/Favorites: Splash, Philharmagic, BTMR, PPan and of course Dumbo for DD4
What we missed(wanted to do): Nothing, toured all of Fantasyland and most of Adventure/Frontierland before our afternoon break on day1 of MK.
Food:
Grabbed bfast to go at the hotel
CS for lunch at Pecos which was good
Dinner at 1900 (grand café while remodeling),
Characters: Cinderella, Prince C, Fairy GM and the 2 mice??
The look on my DS4’s face when she met Cinderella was priceless and alone made the trip worth it. The food??? I did not get the menu at all especially, for a character meal. Most kids too old for the kids menu were stuck with food they would never eat. Considering this is an activity for the kids, the menu made no sense.
Overall Impressions - thoughts:
I will only compare DL to DW two times in this report. They are both great parks and I made it a point to stop the kids anytime they tried to compare. Each park is unique and magical in its own way. However on this day, 2 rides stuck out as being so bad I wanted to comment. POTC and IASW are really bad, I don’t know if they lost the master plans on the trip to Florida, but both were disappointing. The DL versions are far superior and it’s sad that two Disney classics were butchered like this.
DISCLAIMER: Despite some of my negative comments, our vacation was really good and overall we had a great time. I wanted to point out the bad parts to help anyone that may be going soon and maybe they can use our mistakes/tips to help plan their vacations.
The Resort (Port Orleans Riverside)
Room: 3912 – Nice View of the “woods” – No traffic noise – Very quiet – 10m from food court – 5m from north depot – 15m from main (south?) depot – 10m from main pool, smaller pool nearby. To far IMO if you have kids but would be great with just the wife and I.
Mousekeeping was great, a new towel animal everyday, tons of towels TONS (tip your mouskeepers), the room was spotless everyday we returned.
Food Court – busy anytime we went, food quality was mixed; the burgers/nuggets line really bad, the Pizza/Italian really good and the desserts were just average.
Refillable Mugs, our room was too far to use, it made no sense to walk 10 min for a free soda. We purchased 2-liters and water from the store ($2.50) and kept them in the fridge.
A note about the buses, if they get full they will not stop at the other depots. In the morning we found it best to leave from the main depot outside the lobby.
Overall I really enjoyed POR, the atmosphere was great and I will stay here again. However, I want to be closer to the food court and main depot vs the north depot.
MGM (9/12)
We planned a ½ day here on the day we arrived. BIG mistake, we were so tired from the flight we had no energy at all. The kids were cranky as were we. After 3 hours in the park we called it quits and got some much needed rest. I think one of the best moves we made on our vacation.
Highlights/Favorites: TOT, LMA, Mermaid for DD4
What we missed(wanted to do): Fantasmic, Muppets 3d, Beauty and the Beast, Indy Show and when it re-opens RNR
Overall Impressions: I was tired so take this with a grain. I was not impressed with The Studios at all, I had no problem leaving early to get some rest on this day. Had RNR been open my overall opinion may have been better. So I will give it an undecided for now.
Food: Dinner: CS at hotel
MK (9/13)
EMH day, we were on the rope for the drop. Pinocchio opened the park and our DS4/DS11 and DS13 were character magnets. Pinocchio giving a kiss on our DD4’s head was a great way to start the day and kick off our vacation.
Highlights/Favorites: Splash, Philharmagic, BTMR, PPan and of course Dumbo for DD4
What we missed(wanted to do): Nothing, toured all of Fantasyland and most of Adventure/Frontierland before our afternoon break on day1 of MK.
Food:
Grabbed bfast to go at the hotel
CS for lunch at Pecos which was good
Dinner at 1900 (grand café while remodeling),
Characters: Cinderella, Prince C, Fairy GM and the 2 mice??
The look on my DS4’s face when she met Cinderella was priceless and alone made the trip worth it. The food??? I did not get the menu at all especially, for a character meal. Most kids too old for the kids menu were stuck with food they would never eat. Considering this is an activity for the kids, the menu made no sense.
Overall Impressions - thoughts:
I will only compare DL to DW two times in this report. They are both great parks and I made it a point to stop the kids anytime they tried to compare. Each park is unique and magical in its own way. However on this day, 2 rides stuck out as being so bad I wanted to comment. POTC and IASW are really bad, I don’t know if they lost the master plans on the trip to Florida, but both were disappointing. The DL versions are far superior and it’s sad that two Disney classics were butchered like this.
LOL It just got annoyed and was being a Smart A* in my report. Everyone enjoys different rides and especially the classic's. I didn't say to remove the ride, rather I am not a fan of "tricky" advertising. When I first got my FP's at space and saw the extra ticket that said special FP "I was like WEHOOO!" that quickly turned to ....
