Not really any “news” to report, but I thought I would share about my trip and some photos anyway.
On Thursday Jan 26 I flew direct from ol’ Kentucky to Orlando (direct! J) I used DME for both flights to and from WDW. IMHO it was pretty seamless and all the CM’s at the airport and on the busses were great and knew what was going on. Upon arrival the theme was hurry up and wait. I waited about 10-15 minutes to check in and board DME. Then it was off to the Wilderness Lodge! WL is my favorite resort but I did see a few glitches while I was there. When I arrived at the resort I checked in around 3:30pm. The registration and concierge staff were helpful as expected, but my room was not ready. No big deal, I wasn’t really in a rush so I waited around. They gave me info to call and check back and have my room key activated. [I was not the only family this happened with either.] So after an hour and a half of calling that number to check, shopping, having lunch, walking around, sitting around, etc. I asked the concierge if there was any update on why my room was taking so long. So the concierge bumped me to a King room very close to the pool (very nice.) It seemed each day I noticed lots of people waiting around with bunches of luggage for their rooms.
Roaring Forks is still under rehab but you can still get food there its just not as big. Essentially it worked the same as always, you just had to sit outside in the hall or by the pool they had a seating area.
Anyhow, once I got settled into my room I zipped on the bus to EPCOT. I really only wanted to ride a few things (SSE of course, Soarin) and see World Showcase and Illuminations. The weather was great and I did all with little wait [Soarin 20 minutes stand by.] Illuminations was great as per always and I got to see more of World Showcase, which was nice. When we went in August it POURED on our EPCOT day so I got fleeced out of the whole WS experience. I took the Monorail back to the TTC and got on the boat back to the WL. I was exhausted to say the least. Plus I was so excited I was walking faster than usual J what can I say.
Friday Jan 27 I went to Disney MGM Studios. I got up and was there around opening time at 9-ish. The crowds were minimal. Star Tours was first on my list and the stand by was 10 minutes. I did really everything that morning except LMA, RNRC, and TOT. I decided to skip the parade and go back to the hotel for a while. Sidebar~ I have never really done the break-up the day at the parks, but I must say it was really nice and made the day much more enjoyable. I even got to go to Downtown Disney for retail therapy, which I didn’t think I would get to do. I will definitely plan that daybreak from now on. I went back around 6 to ride RNRC and see Fantasmic. Fantasmic is my favorite “nighttime spectacular” so I rather enjoyed it.
A few DTD notes…the Adventure Store is being worked on. World of Disney seemed to be moved around a bit, but not really noticeable. Planet Hollywood has seen better days for sure. The outside is pretty noticeably worn out.
Saturday Jan 28 was Magic Kingdom day. I rode the boat to the MK (so great!) and got there just after the opening. I sort of zig-zagged as I expected from being so excited. I did all the usuals. Here are a few stand by ride times:
HM 30 Minutes
Pirates 20 Minutes
Philharmagic 20 Minutes
Splash 50 Minutes
Space 50 Minutes
BTMRR 45 Minutes
Peter Pan 60 Minutes
Pooh 30 Minutes
Sorry those are all the main ones I remember. I came back for the parade at 3, which was just as wonderful as I remembered. The crowds had picked up while I was gone, but about average for a Saturday especially since lots of people were in for the Everest AP preview. The crowds were manageable, but heavier than earlier in the morning. The only real complaint I had was the other people complaining. I had never noticed before all the complaints. One more notable was in the Country Bears. I know there are some who don’t like the bears and that’s okay (to each is own) but there was one family sitting beside me who loudly complained “That was so stupid” “The timing was way off” “What a waste of time” on and on. And not you know in normal speaking tone, Loud. I was just like you know, can you wait until we are out of the theater at least? It was super annoying plus there were lots of kids around me who seemed to enjoy it.
Good MK News…make sure to sit down…the COP had a crowd! I was so excited! When I rode it earlier in the day around 9:30 there were a few but not a lot to speak of, but around 3:30 it was packed. The TTA also had a pretty hefty line which caught me a little off guard. Pirates does need a little love, I think the rehab will shine it up a bit. HM was much better than last time, esp. the audio.
Weather was GREAT! It was warm but not too warm and there was a nice cool breeze blowing. Its what I called [when I lived in Tampa] “Florida Winter”
That’s really all I can think of now, but I had a great relaxing trip, and am already planning one for June [aren’t you all proud?!] that will be my week-long trip. I was so jealous of everyone who had their "EE Preview Weekend" lanyards, but I guess I will have to wait for June. All the CM’s were top notch, and service was of course Disney. I will post all my pictures in my WDWMagic photo album soon.
Now its back to reality, but I have my new Tink notepad for a reminder.
Talk to y’all later.
On Thursday Jan 26 I flew direct from ol’ Kentucky to Orlando (direct! J) I used DME for both flights to and from WDW. IMHO it was pretty seamless and all the CM’s at the airport and on the busses were great and knew what was going on. Upon arrival the theme was hurry up and wait. I waited about 10-15 minutes to check in and board DME. Then it was off to the Wilderness Lodge! WL is my favorite resort but I did see a few glitches while I was there. When I arrived at the resort I checked in around 3:30pm. The registration and concierge staff were helpful as expected, but my room was not ready. No big deal, I wasn’t really in a rush so I waited around. They gave me info to call and check back and have my room key activated. [I was not the only family this happened with either.] So after an hour and a half of calling that number to check, shopping, having lunch, walking around, sitting around, etc. I asked the concierge if there was any update on why my room was taking so long. So the concierge bumped me to a King room very close to the pool (very nice.) It seemed each day I noticed lots of people waiting around with bunches of luggage for their rooms.
Roaring Forks is still under rehab but you can still get food there its just not as big. Essentially it worked the same as always, you just had to sit outside in the hall or by the pool they had a seating area.
Anyhow, once I got settled into my room I zipped on the bus to EPCOT. I really only wanted to ride a few things (SSE of course, Soarin) and see World Showcase and Illuminations. The weather was great and I did all with little wait [Soarin 20 minutes stand by.] Illuminations was great as per always and I got to see more of World Showcase, which was nice. When we went in August it POURED on our EPCOT day so I got fleeced out of the whole WS experience. I took the Monorail back to the TTC and got on the boat back to the WL. I was exhausted to say the least. Plus I was so excited I was walking faster than usual J what can I say.
Friday Jan 27 I went to Disney MGM Studios. I got up and was there around opening time at 9-ish. The crowds were minimal. Star Tours was first on my list and the stand by was 10 minutes. I did really everything that morning except LMA, RNRC, and TOT. I decided to skip the parade and go back to the hotel for a while. Sidebar~ I have never really done the break-up the day at the parks, but I must say it was really nice and made the day much more enjoyable. I even got to go to Downtown Disney for retail therapy, which I didn’t think I would get to do. I will definitely plan that daybreak from now on. I went back around 6 to ride RNRC and see Fantasmic. Fantasmic is my favorite “nighttime spectacular” so I rather enjoyed it.
A few DTD notes…the Adventure Store is being worked on. World of Disney seemed to be moved around a bit, but not really noticeable. Planet Hollywood has seen better days for sure. The outside is pretty noticeably worn out.
Saturday Jan 28 was Magic Kingdom day. I rode the boat to the MK (so great!) and got there just after the opening. I sort of zig-zagged as I expected from being so excited. I did all the usuals. Here are a few stand by ride times:
HM 30 Minutes
Pirates 20 Minutes
Philharmagic 20 Minutes
Splash 50 Minutes
Space 50 Minutes
BTMRR 45 Minutes
Peter Pan 60 Minutes
Pooh 30 Minutes
Sorry those are all the main ones I remember. I came back for the parade at 3, which was just as wonderful as I remembered. The crowds had picked up while I was gone, but about average for a Saturday especially since lots of people were in for the Everest AP preview. The crowds were manageable, but heavier than earlier in the morning. The only real complaint I had was the other people complaining. I had never noticed before all the complaints. One more notable was in the Country Bears. I know there are some who don’t like the bears and that’s okay (to each is own) but there was one family sitting beside me who loudly complained “That was so stupid” “The timing was way off” “What a waste of time” on and on. And not you know in normal speaking tone, Loud. I was just like you know, can you wait until we are out of the theater at least? It was super annoying plus there were lots of kids around me who seemed to enjoy it.
Good MK News…make sure to sit down…the COP had a crowd! I was so excited! When I rode it earlier in the day around 9:30 there were a few but not a lot to speak of, but around 3:30 it was packed. The TTA also had a pretty hefty line which caught me a little off guard. Pirates does need a little love, I think the rehab will shine it up a bit. HM was much better than last time, esp. the audio.
Weather was GREAT! It was warm but not too warm and there was a nice cool breeze blowing. Its what I called [when I lived in Tampa] “Florida Winter”
That’s really all I can think of now, but I had a great relaxing trip, and am already planning one for June [aren’t you all proud?!] that will be my week-long trip. I was so jealous of everyone who had their "EE Preview Weekend" lanyards, but I guess I will have to wait for June. All the CM’s were top notch, and service was of course Disney. I will post all my pictures in my WDWMagic photo album soon.
Now its back to reality, but I have my new Tink notepad for a reminder.
Talk to y’all later.
