Greetings All --
My wife and I (first timers), just got back late last night from our 7 day stay at Wilderness Lodge. Below is a trip report (I am still working on uploading pictures). But to answer an earlier thread our first ride ever was Haunted Mansion (Rode it at dusk, very very cool!) I decided to break the report down not by day, but by events, places, and things so so much is still running together. so on with the report.
Transportation
We used DME and loved it. Our ride over and back was great, and just having the luggage appear in our room was even better. From Wilderness lodge we used the boats and buses. Overall I found the busses aggrevating and tried to avoid them as much as possible (about 1/2) the time. We would use the boat to the MK and then monorail to Epcot. Also we found the busses to sometimes have very sporadic schedules. The boat ride was beautiful and although it might have taken longer, was a nice diverson.
Lodging
Our hotel was amazing! We got towel animals every night in our room and made sure to leave a tip every day ($5 per day, $10 on the last). We could see the MK fireworks over the tree tops from our balcony, and overall just really enjoyed the lodge. WL has a great feel to it, the food was good, and the hot tubs and pool were wonderful. On a side note they did have a near drowning on Saturday night, but the person was okay. We also traveled around to some other resorts and have decided to try the Grand Floridian if there is any way for a few nights maybe next year.
Dining
We were on the Free Dining plan and ate at several places. We liked the view from the Califonia Grill for Hallowishes the best, but the food at LeCellier was the tasties. Also enjoyed breakfast with characters at Polynesian and meals at Wolfgang Pucks Express, Whispering Canyon, and Spoodles. Overall I would not have paid for the Dining plan as I feel I would not have eaten that much otherwise. I am still stuffed from the trip and havent eaten in almost 2 days.
Other activities
We went to Downtown Disney and spent an evening at DisneyQuest. let me start by saying I am a huge fan of video games, and really enjoyed this place. However I would not have paid extra if it wasn't already on my ticket. If this was located in Dallas (where we live), or somewhere that I couldn't get to the parks easily, it would be well worth $40 for an afternoon and evening. Overall Downtown Disney was a big bust, hard to get to, not a lot going on (except shopping) and missing something. The whole dead stretch through pleasure island was a bit weird too. I would have seen Cirque, but did not want to spend another night there and they were sold out when we went.
PARKS
Magic Kingdom
Definately a great park, loved almost everything (Stitch excluded) and really enjoyed the feeling you got while watching the parade, riding rides, and fireworks. I even got my hair cut on main street at the barber. As far as rides go, our favorite was probably splash mountain and we greatly enjoyed Philharmagic. The fastpass thing through me off though (More on this later), and I really think this place could use a few more dining (table service) options. Overall a really nice place and loved that we went there first and last for the trip.
Animal Kingdom
Very nice, enjoyed the rides and shows as well as exhibits. However we only went once because it felt like we did it all in a day and didn't need to go back. It could use some more development to make this a multi day visit. Expedition Everest was good, but we really like bugs life in the tree, very cleverly done for a film.
Hollywood Studios
Loved Fantasmic, enjoyed the park, but still felt like it needed some work to bring it all the way to its potential. The street actors were great, and had realitivly short wait times (Except Toy Story, stupid fastpass). Overall a nice park that we went to several times for a few hours to kill some time.
and finally Epcot (this might get a bit long)
I just don't get it. . . . We rode spaceship earth and thought, 'okay, this is going to be a different kind of park, not rides, but learning something'. then we go to mission space and enjoyed the ride, but walked out kind of scratching our heads. Same with Nemo and Friends and Test Track. I think that Universe of Energy (Although Outdated) showed what this park could be, and Living with the Land does the same. Really enjoyed Soarin (Stupid Fastpass). The real head scratcher was the imagination pavillion, two words; it sucked. The ride left us both just looking puzzled and the film was about 15 years too late. I just don't get why you guys love the dragon thing ( i found it annoying). Also the world showcase was weird. We liked the shopping but think that they missed an opportunity while showing a bunch of films. We took a lot of time to talk to people that worked there from each Country, but still felt it was basically a large strip of restaurants. It was nice, but needs some love and cohesion. Enjoyed Illuminations a great deal however.
Fastpass
Just make people wait in line (All I have to say about that):hammer::hammer::hammer:
Questions? Discussion??
My wife and I (first timers), just got back late last night from our 7 day stay at Wilderness Lodge. Below is a trip report (I am still working on uploading pictures). But to answer an earlier thread our first ride ever was Haunted Mansion (Rode it at dusk, very very cool!) I decided to break the report down not by day, but by events, places, and things so so much is still running together. so on with the report.
Transportation
We used DME and loved it. Our ride over and back was great, and just having the luggage appear in our room was even better. From Wilderness lodge we used the boats and buses. Overall I found the busses aggrevating and tried to avoid them as much as possible (about 1/2) the time. We would use the boat to the MK and then monorail to Epcot. Also we found the busses to sometimes have very sporadic schedules. The boat ride was beautiful and although it might have taken longer, was a nice diverson.
Lodging
Our hotel was amazing! We got towel animals every night in our room and made sure to leave a tip every day ($5 per day, $10 on the last). We could see the MK fireworks over the tree tops from our balcony, and overall just really enjoyed the lodge. WL has a great feel to it, the food was good, and the hot tubs and pool were wonderful. On a side note they did have a near drowning on Saturday night, but the person was okay. We also traveled around to some other resorts and have decided to try the Grand Floridian if there is any way for a few nights maybe next year.
Dining
We were on the Free Dining plan and ate at several places. We liked the view from the Califonia Grill for Hallowishes the best, but the food at LeCellier was the tasties. Also enjoyed breakfast with characters at Polynesian and meals at Wolfgang Pucks Express, Whispering Canyon, and Spoodles. Overall I would not have paid for the Dining plan as I feel I would not have eaten that much otherwise. I am still stuffed from the trip and havent eaten in almost 2 days.
Other activities
We went to Downtown Disney and spent an evening at DisneyQuest. let me start by saying I am a huge fan of video games, and really enjoyed this place. However I would not have paid extra if it wasn't already on my ticket. If this was located in Dallas (where we live), or somewhere that I couldn't get to the parks easily, it would be well worth $40 for an afternoon and evening. Overall Downtown Disney was a big bust, hard to get to, not a lot going on (except shopping) and missing something. The whole dead stretch through pleasure island was a bit weird too. I would have seen Cirque, but did not want to spend another night there and they were sold out when we went.
PARKS
Magic Kingdom
Definately a great park, loved almost everything (Stitch excluded) and really enjoyed the feeling you got while watching the parade, riding rides, and fireworks. I even got my hair cut on main street at the barber. As far as rides go, our favorite was probably splash mountain and we greatly enjoyed Philharmagic. The fastpass thing through me off though (More on this later), and I really think this place could use a few more dining (table service) options. Overall a really nice place and loved that we went there first and last for the trip.
Animal Kingdom
Very nice, enjoyed the rides and shows as well as exhibits. However we only went once because it felt like we did it all in a day and didn't need to go back. It could use some more development to make this a multi day visit. Expedition Everest was good, but we really like bugs life in the tree, very cleverly done for a film.
Hollywood Studios
Loved Fantasmic, enjoyed the park, but still felt like it needed some work to bring it all the way to its potential. The street actors were great, and had realitivly short wait times (Except Toy Story, stupid fastpass). Overall a nice park that we went to several times for a few hours to kill some time.
and finally Epcot (this might get a bit long)
I just don't get it. . . . We rode spaceship earth and thought, 'okay, this is going to be a different kind of park, not rides, but learning something'. then we go to mission space and enjoyed the ride, but walked out kind of scratching our heads. Same with Nemo and Friends and Test Track. I think that Universe of Energy (Although Outdated) showed what this park could be, and Living with the Land does the same. Really enjoyed Soarin (Stupid Fastpass). The real head scratcher was the imagination pavillion, two words; it sucked. The ride left us both just looking puzzled and the film was about 15 years too late. I just don't get why you guys love the dragon thing ( i found it annoying). Also the world showcase was weird. We liked the shopping but think that they missed an opportunity while showing a bunch of films. We took a lot of time to talk to people that worked there from each Country, but still felt it was basically a large strip of restaurants. It was nice, but needs some love and cohesion. Enjoyed Illuminations a great deal however.
Fastpass
Just make people wait in line (All I have to say about that):hammer::hammer::hammer:
Questions? Discussion??
Well, I actually have to agree with you on some of your reasoning. Imagination! is a pretty pathetic pavilion in its current form (refurb is rumored, so lets hope it happens soon). And, yes, World Showcase could use a few more attractions that tell about the country, culture, people, etc, but I still love it. The concept is so unique, even if it is lacking in some respects. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. :shrug: I'm glad you enjoyed IllumiNations, though. 
