Hey all, I just got back from Disney on Monday, spent 4 nights at the Port Orleans Riverside hotel and was able to hit all the parks in my stay. Couldnt have been happier with the resort for the price and was extremely happy with the room and staff there. Myself, girlfriend and her sister were down there for the half marathon weekend, which I have to say was a pretty fun time. We all did the 5k on Saturday morning through a totally empty Epcot which was an amazing experience to be there while the park was empty and then the girls did the half marathon on Sunday. I was able to get into the MK around 5:30 with other people lining up to see the racers, was also a totally incredible experience to be there with only spectators and watching the runners go through.
It has been about two years since I have been there and I have to admit, while some things were new and amazing, most of everything else is starting to lose my interest. At Hollywood studios, we waited for about 2 hours for midway mania because we got there later in the day and we were not able to get a fastpass, this was one of the worst experiences I have had in WDW. Two hours of watching almost every single person with a fastpass get let through while the standby line was hardly moving at all. For me its fastpass all the way now with the must see rides, huge mistake on our part but we had no choice. The park itself seemed in good condition, its just that there hasn't been anything new in so long that its a "been there done that" mentality. Sadly I think it was more fun to go in the shops than some of the rides. I have to admit though that for only my second time on Star Tours 2.0, that ride is pretty fun, we had a wookie hit our spaceship and slide down the window, pretty funny stuff. And while we were there we tried to eat one great meal for dinner and just snack the rest of the time to save money. The Brown Derby food was incredible and was extremely pleased with the whole experience of dining there.
Over at Epcot, which has always been my favorite, we got fastpass for TT 2.0 and then and did the other rides. Nemo was fun as usual, nothing amazing, but always a good time. We didn't go on Soarin this time, but I always enjoyed it. Hoping they update the movie sometime soon as well. The Imagination Pavilion to me has its days numbered at best, the ride is stale, no one was in line and less than half of the things to play with at the end of the ride worked...I hope this will be replaced soon. We didn't do Universe of Energy or Mission Space due to lack of interest, but maybe will get back there soon one day to do them, although Universe of Energy offers a comfy place to take a nap during your trip. TT 2.0 was amazing I thought, a huge fan of the original and the new scenery made the ride into something totally new and exciting even though the track didn't change.
My favorite part of WDW is the world showcase in Epcot, we ate there every other night that we were there including the Hibachi in Japan, Tutto Italia and Le Chefs De France. All were outstanding meals and couldn't be happier with them. My only other gripe with Epcot was Illuminations....same old show over and over again....cant say anything more about it.
I'll skip Animal Kingdom because to me it was neither amazing or horrible since the last time I was there, still fun rides, just not a full day park. I wish they would have some more animals though and possibly a new ride. Can't wait to see what happens in the coming years for AK!
Now to MK, this was probably the park that I had my most conflicting thoughts on. FIrst the things I loved..Big Thunder Mountain looked great and was so much fun, we didnt get to go through the new queue because of fastpass but it looked great none the less. The new fantasyland was pretty impressive looking, totally themed perfectly and a lot of space was created by the layout. The little mermaid ride was extremely well done except for the end where it just seemed to come to a conclusion abruptly. I would have liked them to focus on the destruction of Ursula more instead of having her as a cardboard cutout. Gaston's was a nice little shop and LeFou's Brew I thought was very tasty. Be Our Guest is a restaurant experience everyone must try. We lined up at 10 am for an early lunch and got in right away. By opening time the line was over by Gastons. The place is beautiful, the food was perfect and for Disney standards reasonably priced and the theming of the rooms was perfect.
My two biggest gripes about MK were that Tomorrowland is looking so dated and out of place that I really think it sticks out like a sore thumb. The decor is blah and everything looks very unkempt. I wish they would overhaul this land and make it something that could actually be conceived as a Tomorrowland.
The second thing that bugged me were the people working the rides at Disney. They were either extremely grumpy, didn't put on a great show like they used to, or were very rude. The first experience came in Pirates of the Caribbean, there were a group of off hours workers talking about what shifts they were working at night which I know it isnt horrible but it does take away a little of the magic, then they started screaming a new Alicia Keys song and extremely rude the whole time. The other issue I had were the Haunted Mansion workers, in the entrance rooms they just stood there talking to each other and didnt interact with the guests at all like they used to, no jokes or even an attempt to be part of the Haunted Mansion. Second the cast members that were loading people into the Doombuggies were whistling and laughing and joking around with each other. This just didnt sit well with me. For the countless times I have been there, I have never seen cast members out of character and to me it just seems like a decline in the atmosphere.
It has been about two years since I have been there and I have to admit, while some things were new and amazing, most of everything else is starting to lose my interest. At Hollywood studios, we waited for about 2 hours for midway mania because we got there later in the day and we were not able to get a fastpass, this was one of the worst experiences I have had in WDW. Two hours of watching almost every single person with a fastpass get let through while the standby line was hardly moving at all. For me its fastpass all the way now with the must see rides, huge mistake on our part but we had no choice. The park itself seemed in good condition, its just that there hasn't been anything new in so long that its a "been there done that" mentality. Sadly I think it was more fun to go in the shops than some of the rides. I have to admit though that for only my second time on Star Tours 2.0, that ride is pretty fun, we had a wookie hit our spaceship and slide down the window, pretty funny stuff. And while we were there we tried to eat one great meal for dinner and just snack the rest of the time to save money. The Brown Derby food was incredible and was extremely pleased with the whole experience of dining there.
Over at Epcot, which has always been my favorite, we got fastpass for TT 2.0 and then and did the other rides. Nemo was fun as usual, nothing amazing, but always a good time. We didn't go on Soarin this time, but I always enjoyed it. Hoping they update the movie sometime soon as well. The Imagination Pavilion to me has its days numbered at best, the ride is stale, no one was in line and less than half of the things to play with at the end of the ride worked...I hope this will be replaced soon. We didn't do Universe of Energy or Mission Space due to lack of interest, but maybe will get back there soon one day to do them, although Universe of Energy offers a comfy place to take a nap during your trip. TT 2.0 was amazing I thought, a huge fan of the original and the new scenery made the ride into something totally new and exciting even though the track didn't change.
My favorite part of WDW is the world showcase in Epcot, we ate there every other night that we were there including the Hibachi in Japan, Tutto Italia and Le Chefs De France. All were outstanding meals and couldn't be happier with them. My only other gripe with Epcot was Illuminations....same old show over and over again....cant say anything more about it.
I'll skip Animal Kingdom because to me it was neither amazing or horrible since the last time I was there, still fun rides, just not a full day park. I wish they would have some more animals though and possibly a new ride. Can't wait to see what happens in the coming years for AK!
Now to MK, this was probably the park that I had my most conflicting thoughts on. FIrst the things I loved..Big Thunder Mountain looked great and was so much fun, we didnt get to go through the new queue because of fastpass but it looked great none the less. The new fantasyland was pretty impressive looking, totally themed perfectly and a lot of space was created by the layout. The little mermaid ride was extremely well done except for the end where it just seemed to come to a conclusion abruptly. I would have liked them to focus on the destruction of Ursula more instead of having her as a cardboard cutout. Gaston's was a nice little shop and LeFou's Brew I thought was very tasty. Be Our Guest is a restaurant experience everyone must try. We lined up at 10 am for an early lunch and got in right away. By opening time the line was over by Gastons. The place is beautiful, the food was perfect and for Disney standards reasonably priced and the theming of the rooms was perfect.
My two biggest gripes about MK were that Tomorrowland is looking so dated and out of place that I really think it sticks out like a sore thumb. The decor is blah and everything looks very unkempt. I wish they would overhaul this land and make it something that could actually be conceived as a Tomorrowland.
The second thing that bugged me were the people working the rides at Disney. They were either extremely grumpy, didn't put on a great show like they used to, or were very rude. The first experience came in Pirates of the Caribbean, there were a group of off hours workers talking about what shifts they were working at night which I know it isnt horrible but it does take away a little of the magic, then they started screaming a new Alicia Keys song and extremely rude the whole time. The other issue I had were the Haunted Mansion workers, in the entrance rooms they just stood there talking to each other and didnt interact with the guests at all like they used to, no jokes or even an attempt to be part of the Haunted Mansion. Second the cast members that were loading people into the Doombuggies were whistling and laughing and joking around with each other. This just didnt sit well with me. For the countless times I have been there, I have never seen cast members out of character and to me it just seems like a decline in the atmosphere.
