Helloooooo!
I just recently spent 4 days down at Walt Disney World, the dates ranging from May the 8th - May the 12th
This'll probably be more detailed than normal, with no pictures for the time being (I have pictures posted in my albums on Facebook, but I am at work right now. I'll link them here when possible.)
May 8th:
Left Louisville, Kentucky on time, around 3:50 pm and arrived with no trouble in Orlando International Airport around 6 pm. I got on the Disney Magical Express and finally got to see the new 'movie' they have on there. I will admit, I did not enjoy the new DME video... it feels too formal, and more like a commercial than the old film which showed off the rides. The pre-show promoting Disney Parks Blogs wasn't bad, it was goofy and silly, had short versions of cartoons (Though they played the same 3 over and over again... Chip and Dale vs. Donald, Mickey/Goofy/Donald vs. Ghosts, and Pluto vs. a Baby Seal, had to sit through them multiple times while waiting) But the video itself didn't have the family feel to it, and felt more like one of those Disney Vacation DVDs you get before the trip.
I finally arrived at Pop Century and got checked in. I was rather surpised on how useful the Magic Band actually turned out to be. Didn't have too many issues with it getting it set up and so on. After getting into my room, I decided to hit up Downtown Disney for supper and hopped on a bus
First stop: Earl of Sandwich
...oh how the mighty has fallen.
Increased prices, lower food quality. Both of these, as talked about elsewhere in the Forums, are at the forefront here of my complaints. While I am happy they have implimented a pager system now so you can get a seat and wait for your food to come, I was rather unhappy that the bread and meat has changed in the sandwich itself, I picked up two The Originals to eat:
-The bread is different, it's harder, more crunchy and not flowery like it originally was.
-The meat was different too, the roast beef was shreaded and didn't have much flavor.
Safe to say I was very disappointed in the meal, and will probably look elsewhere to eat for supper now.
Second Stop: Ghirardelli
Glad to see this place adding more to their menu now though, I picked up the new Cookie Crumble Sunday...and without getting into too many words about it. IT WAS AWESOME.
Finally, after stuffing my face, I hit up the Stores. Was able to find some souviners right off the bat for the family. Then walked to West side to check out the new stuff. I enjoyed the new entertainment, and was sad that it wasn't happy hour yet at the House of Blues. I ended up heading back to the Hotel via Pleasure Island buses about 10 pm, then went to bed.
May 9th:
Woke up around 8 am, skipping breakfast (Took a few granola bars though..), I got on the bus to head to the Magic Kingdom for the rope drop. Now.. I had never seen the rope drop before, and it was nice... at least, for someone who was still half asleep at the time.
Now, here's where I actually get most of my day done in just a few hours. I took the advice from the "Blog which must not be named" and avoided Fantasyland for the first 4 hours of the day. This was due to the massive HORDE of people running to meet Anna and Elsa. This literally left every other spot of the park WIDE OPEN. I had fast passes for both Splash and Thunder Mountain.. and had no need to use them, just for the sake of using them. I walked on to both rides twice. Wandered over toward Pirates, got hit with about a 10 minute wait, then watched the Tiki Room before grabbing a Dole Whip float.
During this period of time, Space Mountain was apperently down all morning. It was up and running about noon, and the wait shot up to 65 minutes quickly... mostly due to FP+ backups coming in. I rode the PeopleMover and waited for the FP+ line to also shrink before hopping in it for my 12:15 ride.
Then... LUNCH TIME!
I was one of the few lucky people to get to test the new FP+ for the Be Our Guest Restaurant... it went very smoothily, got to bypass that huge line, and got to eat some of the best quick service food on Disney Property.
I had the Roast Beef Sandwich with Pommas/Pommus? fries, the French Onion Soup, and the Masters Cupcake.
SO GOOD!
And this was also the first time I got to be inside of the building as well, the setting and atmosphere was perfect. I got lucky enough to sit down in the Rose Room... the effects were awesome.
After the meal, I went back to the hotel for a nap and returned later that evening - Riding the following: The Little Mermaid, Philharmagic, and Haunted Mansion before leaving a bit early to beat the firework crowd.
Will continue with my report a bit later... typing this up at work.. lol
I just recently spent 4 days down at Walt Disney World, the dates ranging from May the 8th - May the 12th
This'll probably be more detailed than normal, with no pictures for the time being (I have pictures posted in my albums on Facebook, but I am at work right now. I'll link them here when possible.)
May 8th:
Left Louisville, Kentucky on time, around 3:50 pm and arrived with no trouble in Orlando International Airport around 6 pm. I got on the Disney Magical Express and finally got to see the new 'movie' they have on there. I will admit, I did not enjoy the new DME video... it feels too formal, and more like a commercial than the old film which showed off the rides. The pre-show promoting Disney Parks Blogs wasn't bad, it was goofy and silly, had short versions of cartoons (Though they played the same 3 over and over again... Chip and Dale vs. Donald, Mickey/Goofy/Donald vs. Ghosts, and Pluto vs. a Baby Seal, had to sit through them multiple times while waiting) But the video itself didn't have the family feel to it, and felt more like one of those Disney Vacation DVDs you get before the trip.
I finally arrived at Pop Century and got checked in. I was rather surpised on how useful the Magic Band actually turned out to be. Didn't have too many issues with it getting it set up and so on. After getting into my room, I decided to hit up Downtown Disney for supper and hopped on a bus
First stop: Earl of Sandwich
...oh how the mighty has fallen.
Increased prices, lower food quality. Both of these, as talked about elsewhere in the Forums, are at the forefront here of my complaints. While I am happy they have implimented a pager system now so you can get a seat and wait for your food to come, I was rather unhappy that the bread and meat has changed in the sandwich itself, I picked up two The Originals to eat:
-The bread is different, it's harder, more crunchy and not flowery like it originally was.
-The meat was different too, the roast beef was shreaded and didn't have much flavor.
Safe to say I was very disappointed in the meal, and will probably look elsewhere to eat for supper now.
Second Stop: Ghirardelli
Glad to see this place adding more to their menu now though, I picked up the new Cookie Crumble Sunday...and without getting into too many words about it. IT WAS AWESOME.
Finally, after stuffing my face, I hit up the Stores. Was able to find some souviners right off the bat for the family. Then walked to West side to check out the new stuff. I enjoyed the new entertainment, and was sad that it wasn't happy hour yet at the House of Blues. I ended up heading back to the Hotel via Pleasure Island buses about 10 pm, then went to bed.
May 9th:
Woke up around 8 am, skipping breakfast (Took a few granola bars though..), I got on the bus to head to the Magic Kingdom for the rope drop. Now.. I had never seen the rope drop before, and it was nice... at least, for someone who was still half asleep at the time.
Now, here's where I actually get most of my day done in just a few hours. I took the advice from the "Blog which must not be named" and avoided Fantasyland for the first 4 hours of the day. This was due to the massive HORDE of people running to meet Anna and Elsa. This literally left every other spot of the park WIDE OPEN. I had fast passes for both Splash and Thunder Mountain.. and had no need to use them, just for the sake of using them. I walked on to both rides twice. Wandered over toward Pirates, got hit with about a 10 minute wait, then watched the Tiki Room before grabbing a Dole Whip float.
During this period of time, Space Mountain was apperently down all morning. It was up and running about noon, and the wait shot up to 65 minutes quickly... mostly due to FP+ backups coming in. I rode the PeopleMover and waited for the FP+ line to also shrink before hopping in it for my 12:15 ride.
Then... LUNCH TIME!
I was one of the few lucky people to get to test the new FP+ for the Be Our Guest Restaurant... it went very smoothily, got to bypass that huge line, and got to eat some of the best quick service food on Disney Property.
I had the Roast Beef Sandwich with Pommas/Pommus? fries, the French Onion Soup, and the Masters Cupcake.
SO GOOD!
And this was also the first time I got to be inside of the building as well, the setting and atmosphere was perfect. I got lucky enough to sit down in the Rose Room... the effects were awesome.
After the meal, I went back to the hotel for a nap and returned later that evening - Riding the following: The Little Mermaid, Philharmagic, and Haunted Mansion before leaving a bit early to beat the firework crowd.
Will continue with my report a bit later... typing this up at work.. lol
