Hey guys! Just got back. I thought I'd jot down a few random thoughts about going during the Thanksgiving season.
A few months ago, my sister-in-laws (2 of them) wanted to go to WDW. They had never been before. I volunteered to tour them around, promising to hit every major attraction. The catch? They only had three days, and these days fell on the Thanksgiving weekend. Could we do it, especially during peak season? Were we insane for even trying?
All-Star Suite Accommodations:
First of all, we stayed in the new suites at the All-Star Music. The suite was very nicely done. I loved having a little kitchenette for the kiddies (mine are 4 and 2). It made getting my son's "tippie" cup filled with apple juice at two o'clock in the morning, a much easier accomplishment. The two bathrooms are nice, and the pull down couch, chair, and ottoman are much more comfortable than I thought they could be. They still kinda feel like your sleeping on grandma's hide-a-bed, but they are new enough (right now) that the padding still keeps you from feeling the bar.
Unfortunately, it still is a value resort. We found the front desk lines huge, and unmanageable (even at 11:30 at night). The busses were extremely undependable on the way to the park. One morning (thanksgiving) we had to wait almost an hour for the bus to the Animal Kingdom. Yes, you heard right. An hour to AK. Jeesh.
Fortunately, the return trip were much smoother, with nary a wait longer than five minutes.
CROWD CONTROL:
Ok. I have learned my lesson. I submit. I will NEVER go again, at peak season. Actually, Thanksgiving day at AK and MGM was excellent. We rode everything, saw the new Nemo show (more on that in a moment), and even stayed for a late showing (8:30) Fantasmic.
Friday, however, was a different story. The Magic Kingdom was wall to wall packed. Now, I know, I know, some of you out there are saying, "duh, you thought it would be different?" Look, I've been to DW twelve times over the last 15 years. I just never go on peak season. I knew that strange things were afoot when we got to Pirates. I love Pirates, I curse the new overlay. I have never had to wait 65 minutes to ride this attraction, EVER! The other lines were even more outrageous. Luckily, through careful maneuvering, and my keen sense of timing ( :secret: ), I was able to get us on every major attraction, including the new pirates. But it was a difficult job which only a true Disney pro can accomplish. I don't recommend it for the faint-of-heart.
Saturday was spent at Epcot . . . at least some of it was. We'll learn more about the magic of e-coli, in just a moment. The crowds were plentiful, but once again, even in my absence, my touring plan prevailed.
Sunday, the sister-in-laws left to go back to the magical land of Colorado. This left me, the wife, and the kids, with some much needed rest time. We gently toured Epcot and the MK. This was much more like it. Peter Pan was only a twenty minute wait for most of the day. There were even a couple of times when Buzz was a walk-on.
Monday, I said screw it. We are not staying at Animal Kingdom, but we are gonna go use their pool. So that is what we did. I met some nice Brits in the hot tub, and we soaked and enjoyed a cool, drizzly rain.
WEATHER
Which brings me to the weather. It snowed. No, I am not just talking about the Osborne lights, and we missed MVMCP by one night. No, Tuesday night, it actually snowed. It was crazy cold when we first got there, and everyone was talking about the snow. Thanksgiving was cool, but pleasant. Friday it got warm, again (upper 70's) The rest of the time was upper 70's - lower 80's. BTW, unusually, it only rained twice, and neither downpour was much to write home to mama about.
RIDES
So, I got to ride a few rides, and no, the Monster's Inc show was a no-show.
Wonders of Life:It was open! That's right, Body Wars, Cranium Command, and The Making of Me. The pavilion looked excellent. I was stoked to see it open, and running.
Finding Nemo: the ride Loved it! It was much better than I originally thought it would be. They did a lot with the space they had. The queue was cool, too. The angler fish was the best effect (for me). As was Nemo swimming in the pipe to escape Bruce. The projections inside the aquarium were great, as well. Very well done. The only beef is that the ride's story line has Nemo being a punk, and completely does away with the moral of the movie. Oh, by the way, the EAC was really fantabulous!
Finding Nemo: the musical Great puppets, especially Mr. Ray, and the sharks. I did not find the actors faces to be as distracting as I thought they'd be. The music, however, sucked. I hated the music. I will give them props for lifting entire sections of lyrics straight from the film's dialogue, but I did not think the songs were catchy, at all. Sorry.
Expedition Everest: Fabulous! We rode the single riders line, and waited only about ten minutes on Thanksgiving day! The ride is amazing, full of surprises, and I love the Yeti. This is definitely more than just a beefed-up Matterhorn.
POTC: Ok. Mixed review here, folks. I loved the Davey Jones waterfall effect. It was not where I thought they would put it, and it was major impressive. I also enjoyed Capt. Jack and Barbosa. They were very impressive animatronics. The new lighting was great. It really added a lot to the attraction, as did the clean up of the fire effects. I did find the new dialogue to be a bit distracting. I didn't want to hear every pirate talking about Capt. Jack. I also didn't like how they did away with the song for most of the ride, and really missed the ghostly voices talking at the beginning.
Haunted Mansion: Haunted mansion? Yep. Let me take this opportunity to voice my displeasure at how they have treated this attraction. The first time we rode it, the sound was absolutely terrible. Madam Leota's voice was completely absent. That should have been a category one, enough to shut down the attraction. Also absent was the coffin voice ("let me outta here".) Now, luckily, they had all of this fixed, on Sunday, but the attraction still needs a lot of work. There are broken jump effects, rips in the scrim, and assorted other signs of ill-repair.
DINING:
So, we went with the dining plan, once more. By the way, Cinderella's Castle is supposedly booked straight through February. Evidently, those who book it, now must register a credit card, in case they don't show. Gone are the days when you could show up around 4:30 p.m. and get in. You must reserve your spot four to six months before hand.
The dining plan is awesome. That is, unless you get sick. You can not (and I knew this before I left, but found out first hand) get any kind of extension or refund. We stayed in the suites for the first four nights, and then moved to a single room for the last night. Thus, we had the plan the first four, and didn't purchase it on the last. On Friday, we went to eat at Liberty Tree Tavern. The food was tasty. However, my wife and I were the only ones in our party to eat the dressing. About two a.m., I awoke to hear my wife sending hers back into the toilet. Sure enough, both of us had the tell-tell signs of food poisoning. We were the only ones out of our party of six (including the kiddos) to get sick.
Needless to say, we were not able to enjoy Epcot, the next day. We got there, rode Nemo, and then my wife and I left the kids with her sisters. We went back to the hotel, and climbed back into bed. Because of this, we had four counter service meals left at the end of the trip. We tried to use them, but we just couldn't eat. Disney would not make any concessions for us, unless we could prove that we had food poisoning. I told them that I was a doctor, and I would be happy to save a sample, but I don't think they really wanted proof. I think that they just wanted to shut us up.
We won't be returning to Liberty Square Tavern, and I think next time we will go back to staying at a moderate or deluxe resort.
CONCLUSION:
In spite of all of these hang-ups, it was a great trip. The Osborne Spectacle was amazing, the Candlelight Processional was great (by the way, you can use the dining plan on it), and it was still magical, in spite of the vomiting and diarrhea.
That's all, I think. Adios, for now.
P.S. I spent the last evening with Earl from Trapped on Vacation. We had a blast. I think his latest podcast has our trip on it.
A few months ago, my sister-in-laws (2 of them) wanted to go to WDW. They had never been before. I volunteered to tour them around, promising to hit every major attraction. The catch? They only had three days, and these days fell on the Thanksgiving weekend. Could we do it, especially during peak season? Were we insane for even trying?
All-Star Suite Accommodations:
First of all, we stayed in the new suites at the All-Star Music. The suite was very nicely done. I loved having a little kitchenette for the kiddies (mine are 4 and 2). It made getting my son's "tippie" cup filled with apple juice at two o'clock in the morning, a much easier accomplishment. The two bathrooms are nice, and the pull down couch, chair, and ottoman are much more comfortable than I thought they could be. They still kinda feel like your sleeping on grandma's hide-a-bed, but they are new enough (right now) that the padding still keeps you from feeling the bar.
Unfortunately, it still is a value resort. We found the front desk lines huge, and unmanageable (even at 11:30 at night). The busses were extremely undependable on the way to the park. One morning (thanksgiving) we had to wait almost an hour for the bus to the Animal Kingdom. Yes, you heard right. An hour to AK. Jeesh.
Fortunately, the return trip were much smoother, with nary a wait longer than five minutes.
CROWD CONTROL:
Ok. I have learned my lesson. I submit. I will NEVER go again, at peak season. Actually, Thanksgiving day at AK and MGM was excellent. We rode everything, saw the new Nemo show (more on that in a moment), and even stayed for a late showing (8:30) Fantasmic.
Friday, however, was a different story. The Magic Kingdom was wall to wall packed. Now, I know, I know, some of you out there are saying, "duh, you thought it would be different?" Look, I've been to DW twelve times over the last 15 years. I just never go on peak season. I knew that strange things were afoot when we got to Pirates. I love Pirates, I curse the new overlay. I have never had to wait 65 minutes to ride this attraction, EVER! The other lines were even more outrageous. Luckily, through careful maneuvering, and my keen sense of timing ( :secret: ), I was able to get us on every major attraction, including the new pirates. But it was a difficult job which only a true Disney pro can accomplish. I don't recommend it for the faint-of-heart.
Saturday was spent at Epcot . . . at least some of it was. We'll learn more about the magic of e-coli, in just a moment. The crowds were plentiful, but once again, even in my absence, my touring plan prevailed.
Sunday, the sister-in-laws left to go back to the magical land of Colorado. This left me, the wife, and the kids, with some much needed rest time. We gently toured Epcot and the MK. This was much more like it. Peter Pan was only a twenty minute wait for most of the day. There were even a couple of times when Buzz was a walk-on.
Monday, I said screw it. We are not staying at Animal Kingdom, but we are gonna go use their pool. So that is what we did. I met some nice Brits in the hot tub, and we soaked and enjoyed a cool, drizzly rain.
WEATHER
Which brings me to the weather. It snowed. No, I am not just talking about the Osborne lights, and we missed MVMCP by one night. No, Tuesday night, it actually snowed. It was crazy cold when we first got there, and everyone was talking about the snow. Thanksgiving was cool, but pleasant. Friday it got warm, again (upper 70's) The rest of the time was upper 70's - lower 80's. BTW, unusually, it only rained twice, and neither downpour was much to write home to mama about.
RIDES
So, I got to ride a few rides, and no, the Monster's Inc show was a no-show.
Wonders of Life:It was open! That's right, Body Wars, Cranium Command, and The Making of Me. The pavilion looked excellent. I was stoked to see it open, and running.
Finding Nemo: the ride Loved it! It was much better than I originally thought it would be. They did a lot with the space they had. The queue was cool, too. The angler fish was the best effect (for me). As was Nemo swimming in the pipe to escape Bruce. The projections inside the aquarium were great, as well. Very well done. The only beef is that the ride's story line has Nemo being a punk, and completely does away with the moral of the movie. Oh, by the way, the EAC was really fantabulous!
Finding Nemo: the musical Great puppets, especially Mr. Ray, and the sharks. I did not find the actors faces to be as distracting as I thought they'd be. The music, however, sucked. I hated the music. I will give them props for lifting entire sections of lyrics straight from the film's dialogue, but I did not think the songs were catchy, at all. Sorry.
Expedition Everest: Fabulous! We rode the single riders line, and waited only about ten minutes on Thanksgiving day! The ride is amazing, full of surprises, and I love the Yeti. This is definitely more than just a beefed-up Matterhorn.
POTC: Ok. Mixed review here, folks. I loved the Davey Jones waterfall effect. It was not where I thought they would put it, and it was major impressive. I also enjoyed Capt. Jack and Barbosa. They were very impressive animatronics. The new lighting was great. It really added a lot to the attraction, as did the clean up of the fire effects. I did find the new dialogue to be a bit distracting. I didn't want to hear every pirate talking about Capt. Jack. I also didn't like how they did away with the song for most of the ride, and really missed the ghostly voices talking at the beginning.
Haunted Mansion: Haunted mansion? Yep. Let me take this opportunity to voice my displeasure at how they have treated this attraction. The first time we rode it, the sound was absolutely terrible. Madam Leota's voice was completely absent. That should have been a category one, enough to shut down the attraction. Also absent was the coffin voice ("let me outta here".) Now, luckily, they had all of this fixed, on Sunday, but the attraction still needs a lot of work. There are broken jump effects, rips in the scrim, and assorted other signs of ill-repair.
DINING:
So, we went with the dining plan, once more. By the way, Cinderella's Castle is supposedly booked straight through February. Evidently, those who book it, now must register a credit card, in case they don't show. Gone are the days when you could show up around 4:30 p.m. and get in. You must reserve your spot four to six months before hand.
The dining plan is awesome. That is, unless you get sick. You can not (and I knew this before I left, but found out first hand) get any kind of extension or refund. We stayed in the suites for the first four nights, and then moved to a single room for the last night. Thus, we had the plan the first four, and didn't purchase it on the last. On Friday, we went to eat at Liberty Tree Tavern. The food was tasty. However, my wife and I were the only ones in our party to eat the dressing. About two a.m., I awoke to hear my wife sending hers back into the toilet. Sure enough, both of us had the tell-tell signs of food poisoning. We were the only ones out of our party of six (including the kiddos) to get sick.
Needless to say, we were not able to enjoy Epcot, the next day. We got there, rode Nemo, and then my wife and I left the kids with her sisters. We went back to the hotel, and climbed back into bed. Because of this, we had four counter service meals left at the end of the trip. We tried to use them, but we just couldn't eat. Disney would not make any concessions for us, unless we could prove that we had food poisoning. I told them that I was a doctor, and I would be happy to save a sample, but I don't think they really wanted proof. I think that they just wanted to shut us up.
We won't be returning to Liberty Square Tavern, and I think next time we will go back to staying at a moderate or deluxe resort.
CONCLUSION:
In spite of all of these hang-ups, it was a great trip. The Osborne Spectacle was amazing, the Candlelight Processional was great (by the way, you can use the dining plan on it), and it was still magical, in spite of the vomiting and diarrhea.
That's all, I think. Adios, for now.
P.S. I spent the last evening with Earl from Trapped on Vacation. We had a blast. I think his latest podcast has our trip on it.
