Trip Report "It's 1,206 miles to Orlando..." -- A Serendipitous August 2021 Uni/WDW Trip Report

It’s 1,206 miles to Orlando. We've got 4 full carryons, half a pack of sunscreen, it's 93 degrees out and we're wearing face masks. HIT IT. ...

We just returned from a 9-day, 8-night Orlandoan vacation that encompassed six parks, 3 hotels, and even a local escape room. I'll hit the highlights of each (see below for links to each section). Suffice it to say that despite the August heat and the added stresses of traveling in the COVID-19 era, this was one of the loveliest, most serendipitous and relaxing Orlando vacations my family has ever had. Some might call it luck or pixie dust: I’d call it Providence. We prayed for God to “smooth the way” for us on this long-awaited trip, and He graciously did.

Summertime! The livin' was easy, the weather was hot but tolerable, and the crowds were low. Although my 13-year-old daughter managed to concuss herself less than 3 days before our departure (life lesson: do not play soccer while wearing a cardboard box that covers you from shoulders to knees and pins your arms to your sides, even if your friends think it’s hilarious) and had to sit out a few of the rougher experiences, she experienced no headaches or other symptoms on the trip.

The timing of this vacation – planned back in November as "something to look forward to" during our long and isolated winter – turned out to be the decisive factor, and I’m incredibly grateful that we got to do it now, after most things were reopened, but before they’re slated to dramatically change. I’m anxious about the upcoming cost increases, the naked nickel-and-diming of guests, the fact that the stratification of hotel amenities between deluxes and other hotel categories is now creeping inexorably into the park touring experience, the increased need to spend in-park time glued to one’s phone, the loss of DME, and the disincentivizing of onsite stays – not to mention, we never know what tomorrow may bring in terms of new viruses or variants that could restrict our travel. When those factors are combined with the fact that my children are both teenagers now, I fear that the Disney magic may be starting to slip away for all of us, and that other destinations will increasingly capture our attention in the future. As a result, I was glad we were able to enjoy one last trip, before the craziness of the 50th or the introduction of new and untested pay-to-play Fastpass systems, where the parks were quieter and touring was a bit simpler and more relaxing, like in the old days.


For an overview of our travel between Buffalo, NY and Orlando, and ground transportation, click here.

For the Universal leg of our trip with visits to both parks and stays at Hard Rock Hotel and Royal Pacific Resort, click here.

For the WDW leg of our trip with trips to all parks and a stay at the Dolphin Hotel, click here.

For an overview of the Boo Bash at Magic Kingdom on August 24th, click here.

[*NOTE: At the request of my children, who are old enough that they want to have some control over their online "presence," I'll be deleting all of the "people photos" in this trip report after a few days.]
[UPDATE: Photos deleted on 9/1/21.]

 

[Weather_Lady]

Planes, Trains and Automobiles:

We flew JetBlue directly from Buffalo, NY (BUF) to Orlando (MCO) -- for free, using points we racked up on our JetBlue Mastercard during our extended period of pandemic-related isolation at home. Buffalo’s airport is a 90-minute drive from our house, but it's small and efficient and has reasonable parking fees, and we find it easy to navigate. We departed on time and even landed a few minutes early. Our return trip was similarly uneventful.

I’d booked our ground transportation to and from the airport, and between Universal and Disney World, with Orlando Luxury Transportation. They did a great job, with our drivers arriving a little early and texting us when they were there, and all the vehicles were spotless and in like-new condition. Thanks to prices being super-low when I initially booked our ride from the airport to our hotel, I sprang for a limo instead of the usual town car or SUV. It was a great surprise for the family as the kids had never ridden in one and DH and I hadn’t since our prom days, and it was a fun way to pull up to the Hard Rock Hotel. I’d use this service again in a heartbeat (although don’t forget to read the fine print if you’re pricing out a trip: while their prices are competitive either way, they do add on a 12.5% service fee when you book).

For our “off-campus” jaunt from Universal to Escape Game Orlando, and to transfer between our Universal hotels, we used Lyft. Our first two drivers were great, and totally professional. The third seemed to be a bit new to driving – not just rideshare driving, but driving a motor vehicle itself! She weaved in and out of lanes without signaling, drove over a curb, took personal calls during the trip, and managed to take multiple wrong turns even with her GPS telling her where to go. Fortunately for us, the trip length was only 5 miles – just long enough to raise our collective blood pressure and get the adrenaline pumping!

 

[Weather_Lady]

A Universally Awesome Experience:

The Universal leg of our trip was an absolute blast. We had purchased Seasonal Annual Passes, something I almost always recommend to others as it’s cheaper than most multi-day park-to-park tickets, the passholder room discounts are great, and the blackout dates are easy to work around.

The kids are old enough now that we can't really force them to share a bed, so for the first time, we opted for non-standard rooms with extra sleeping spaces. We were booked for 2 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel in a deluxe 2-queen room (essentially a standard room with extra square footage, a foldout sofa and a separate dressing area) at around $300/night after taxes and fees, with a passholder discount. Our next 2 nights were at Royal Pacific Resort, in a Jurassic World Family Suite (a standard King room with a lushly-themed adjoining 2-twin bedroom featuring Gyrosphere beds and a dinosaur mural) at around $400/night after taxes and fees, with passholder discount. We hadn’t really meant to do a split stay, but the passholder discounts weren’t offered for all of our dates for either room category, so we booked for the sets of dates that worked best. Besides, we really enjoy both of those resorts, and as premium hotels, they both offer free unlimited express passes.



Our dining experiences were mixed, ranging from “fine” to “great.” Standout meals included hamburgers and onion rings at The Kitchen (Hard Rock Hotel), cocktails and a charcuterie platter so big it fed 2 of us with leftovers sufficient for 2 subsequent meals at The Velvet Lounge (Hard Rock Hotel), imaginative sushi rolls at The Cowfish (CityWalk), sandwiches and giant shakes at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium (CityWalk), and a celtic-inspired Cobb Salad with Scotch eggs and some beers at Finnegan’s (USF).

Our visits to the parks were wonderful. It’s hard to complain when you can walk or take a boat to either park in just minutes, and when the lines are already short and express pass is making almost all of them even shorter. We loved the two attractions that were new to us, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure and the Velocicoaster. I think the latter is probably my favorite rollercoaster ever (with Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster being my second-favorite), due to its combination of thrills (that barrel roll over the water!) and an unexpectedly smooth ride. I went on it once by myself and once with my 15-year-old son, who did so much screaming that he swears a giant ball of saliva left his mouth and flew God-knows-where as we plummeted down the latter half of the “top hat.”

We had a lovely room at the Hard Rock on the 5th floor, overlooking the pool, and it was ready for us when we checked in around 12:30pm. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Hard Rock (and later Royal Pacific) has restored daily housekeeping, so we returned on our second day to find our beds freshly-made, surfaces wiped down, and coffee and toiletries refreshed. Our lone disappointment was that, contrary to what I’d been told when I called the hotel a few weeks ago, they have NOT resumed transferring luggage for split stays between the premium hotels. While we considered hoofing it from the Hard Rock to Royal Pacific when it came time to move, we sprang for a Lyft instead. Even though we’d packed light (1 carryon apiece), we felt the ride was $15 well spent, and the speedy trip enabled us to transfer our milk and cream cheese (part of an Amazon Prime Now grocery order meant to provide our in-room breakfasts) to Royal Pacific’s Bell Services fridge quickly enough that spoilage was not a danger.

So on our third day, we arrived at Royal Pacific around 9:00am for check-in. Our Jurassic World Family Suite was not ready yet, nor had we expected it to be, but the TM checking us in said she had a fun surprise for us: we’d been randomly assigned to a suite on the Club Level floor, which meant we’d have full complimentary access to the lounge. Club Level is not something we’ve ever done or that we'd typically consider, but we’ve never gotten a hotel upgrade of any kind before and were beyond thrilled to get the chance to see how the other half lives! The TM invited us to check our bags with Bell Services and head up to the Lounge and enjoy the last hour of the breakfast offerings. Off we went, up the elevator to where the fancy people go. The way my kids were oohing and aahing over everything in the Lounge, the other guests must have thought they were food-deprived children who’d never seen a bagel or a piece of fruit before.

This was the view from our room!!! We kept the blinds open at night, and awoke to see Hogwarts Castle rising out of the mist every morning.

On our last Universal day, I rose up early to do the laundry while lounging by the pool (such a Proverbs 31 wife, LOL!). FWIW, if you’re planning on doing laundry at Royal Pacific, you’ll want to get there first thing in the morning, as there are just 4 washers and 4 dryers in each tower, and they get claimed quickly.

In the afternoon, we Lyfted over to The Escape Game Orlando, a facility we’ve visited before that’s just a few minutes from Universal, to try a couple of new-to-us rooms. I’m happy to say that we escaped both with plenty of time to spare. The first room, Mission:Mars, had a fun theme and some great sets, although the game design was, in my opinion, overly linear and didn’t offer much for more than two people to do. We had a better time in the second room we did, “The Playground,” which involved a number of imaginative classroom and playground-themed puzzles that could be worked on simultaneously, and gave everyone a chance to shine. If you’re into escape rooms, I highly recommend The Escape Game! Although we've enjoyed almost all of them at this point, the top 3 rooms there, in our opinion, are Prison Break, Gold Rush and The Playground.

 

[Weather_Lady]

5 Carefree Days at WDW:

After 4 nights at Universal, we packed up and headed to Disney World. Those who followed my angsty posts on the Polynesian renovation thread will remember that we were originally booked at the Polynesian with a room-and-ticket package (with the “2 ticket days free” offer). After much weeping and gnashing of teeth, we decided, in light of the lack of monorail service, ongoing construction, and lack of touring advantages (EMH, etc.) for staying at the Polynesian, to cancel. Instead, we bought our park tickets from an authorized reseller and booked a Premium Studio Suite (a double-sized, partitioned room with a family room and foldout on one side and a standard 2-double room on the other) at the Dolphin Hotel, at a AAA “Hot Deals” rate of $390/night (after taxes and resort fees). By doing so, we doubled our living space and saved several hundred dollars over the price of the Polynesian package.

We found the Dolphin to be perfectly adequate for our needs, although we were disappointed to find that our room configuration was not quite the same as on the Marriott website, which meant that instead of the divided bathroom we expected, we had a single bathroom for four people to try and get ready in every morning. Still, the location was great, and we appreciated the convenient boats and paths to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. At the recommendation of recent guests, we took the Swan & Dolphin’s Mears buses to and from Animal Kingdom, but walked to Boardwalk or Yacht Club to hitch a ride on Disney buses when traveling to or from the Magic Kingdom (to avoid having to transfer at the TTC). Although recent reviews of the hotel had complained that it was dirty and that requests for blankets/toiletries from housekeeping were not timely addressed, we had no such issues.

Crowds were super-low everywhere we went, which meant that social distancing on buses and boats and even in the parks required almost no effort whatsoever. Although CMs often had to remind guests boarding transportation or stepping into ride queues that it was time to don a mask, we didn’t see anyone who seemed willfully non-compliant. On the rare occasion we saw guests trying to get away with “below the nose” mask-wearing after entering a queue (like my daughter, who usually wears a mask even when she doesn't have to, is inexplicably doing in the photo below), we simply moved away from them, with my inner Dwight Schrute voice silently declaring, “SHUN!”



Because of the low crowds, we found ourselves confronting the distinctly First World Disney Problem of finishing up with every park long before we’d thought we would, and in many cases, ended up having to return to a park for no reason other than a dinner reservation, simply because we’d originally planned to spend a full day there and just couldn’t fill it.

On our arrival day, we rope-dropped Epcot (arriving at 10:20am at the International Gateway, with a scheduled 11am opening), with a plan to do Frozen and the Gran Fiesta Tour before our 12:00pm lunch reservation at San Angel Inn. However, thanks to the pre-opening rope drop and low crowds, we were a little too efficient: we’d ridden both attractions, perused the exhibits, and meandered around the shops in both pavilions as slowly as we could by 11:15am. San Angel Inn was able to accommodate us early, so we had lunch (we really enjoy the food at San Angel Inn, but there’s no question that it is ridiculously overpriced) and then covered every attraction in Epcot (sans the World Showcase films, American Adventure, and Living With The Land, which was down all day) by 3pm. In fact, we’d have finished up by 2:45 pm had we not been evacuated off of Test Track! It was our first-ever evacuation, and occurred at the best possible point (right near the end of the fast outdoor portion, just seconds before the end of the ride) to enjoy minimal inconvenience, while also seeing some cool views of backstage areas. After returning to the Dolphin to fetch our bags and settle into our now-ready room for a siesta, we walked back to Epcot for dinner at the Biergarten, one of DH’s perennial favorites. The meal (family-style, although they’ll be returning to buffet service soon) was fine, although the setting and entertainment were really the stars.

On our second day, we hit Animal Kingdom, arriving at the front gates at 7:15am (for an 8am scheduled opening, although we knew rope drop would happen earlier) with almost nobody ahead of us. Once again, lines were so low that we were able to ride every attraction (we didn’t do any shows this time) – some twice – by the time we headed to Yak & Yeti for lunch. (The Tuna nachos and noodle bowls were a hit.) After a nap at the hotel, we bused back to Animal Kingdom solely for dinner at Rainforest Café (DD’s choice) and then hopped to Hollywood Studios. At some point on the bus over there, I realized that ROTR boarding groups were still open, so after we tapped in around 6:30pm I got us a backup boarding group. We started with Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, which was new to us since it hadn’t opened yet when we last visited. We found it very charming. Then we did Slinky Dog Dash (with barely a 20-minute actual wait time) and Toy Story Midway Mania. Our boarding group for ROTR was called, so we did that, and then closed out our whirlwind visit with Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster.

Day 3 was our Magic Kingdom day, and by now, we’d thrown our touring plans out the window due to the low wait times, and were just meandering anywhere we wanted, like carefree Disney tourists in the 1980s or something. We skipped 7DMT, Peter Pan, and the Jungle Cruise, leaving them for the Boo Bash, but otherwise just had a relaxing day doing attractions at will and having an impromptu lunch at Skipper Canteen. In the evening, we hopped back to Hollywood Studios with a last-minute reservation at Mama Melrose’s (first time, it was just okay) and batted “clean up,” hitting all the attractions we hadn’t already (e.g., Muppets, Star Tours, etc.) with the lowest waits of the day.

Day 4 was supposed to have been our Hollywood Studios day, but since we’d already covered it all over our two brief evening visits, we only spent a little bit of the morning there, for second rides on ROTR (we got Boarding Group 13 from our snuggly beds at the Dolphin), Runaway Railway and Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster. After an early lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater, DH and DS went back to the hotel to rest up for our big Boo Bash night, and DD and I – without thinking it through, obviously – decided to ride the Skyliner over to Epcot. Imagine our surprise when they wouldn’t let us in! It was only 1:15pm and although we knew that parkhopping doesn’t begin until 2pm, this was our first visit since this stupid and draconian rule was introduced, and neither of us had bothered to check the time, simply because it felt later in the day than it was. So we got a few more steps in by walking back to the Dolphin.

The kids napped, and DH and I spent a lovely couple of hours at the grotto pool, lounging near the waterfall. As evening approached, we donned our Boo Bash outfits: a Chewbacca fur-print tank and bandolier for me with matching Chewy-mouth face mask, a Boba Fett costume tee and matching face mask for DH, a Mike Wazowski costume tee for DS, and a homemade (blue tie-die with purple spots) Sulley tee and matching “horn” headband for DD. Off we traipsed to the Boo Bash, mercifully unaware of the fact that nobody would ever see our outfits anyway because they were about to be covered by ponchos. (To hear the whole grisly tale, skip to the next post.) After the Boo Bash, we caught a bus to the Boardwalk and walked to the Dolphin, where we were all in bed by 12:45am.

Day 5 was initially planned as a “backup” HS day in case we got shut out of ROTR, but we changed our park reservation to MK and I headed there for a visit to Guest Relations and some souvenir shopping (not for us, but for our pet-sitters and some family members) at the Emporium. DH and the kids had initially planned to meet me there around 9:30am, but everybody was tired and sluggish and finishing the packing and shoe-drying took longer than expected. (Funny story: DH had taken his and DD’s rain-soaked sneakers to the guest laundry room at the Dolphin to dry them out, but every time he went back to check them, the dryer was open and the shoes had been thrown onto the floor. After restarting the machine and lurking in the laundry room to see if he could catch the culprit red-handed, he discovered that the dryer was simply tumbling with such vigor that the sneakers kept “kicking” the dryer door open and flying out on their own! In the end, DH had to sit on the floor for 20 minutes with his back against the dryer door to get the job done.)

The family arrived at MK around 10:30am, as I was taking in a princess appearance at the train station and a trolley performance by the Dapper Dans, and basically just “having a moment.” We did one last ride on Buzz and Space Mountain (which was still a walk-on at 10:30am – I can’t even believe I’m writing those words!), had a quick lunch at Columbia Harbor House - which was excellent! - grabbed the first Crescent Lake resort bus that arrived at the depot (bound for Beach Club, as it happened), and were meeting our driver at the Dolphin by 12:20pm for our ride back to the airport. It wasn’t the Magical Express (may it rest in peace), but it was express, and it felt magical.

 

[Weather_Lady]

And you'll always love me, won't you? - Yes.
And the rain won't make any difference? - No.

~ Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell To Arms
________________________________

Abashed at the Boo Bash:

If you’ve been following the Boo Bash thread, then you know that the date we happened to choose for our one-and-only, first-and-last DAH or party-type event, August 24th, was a clustercuss in every possible way. It rained – varying between pounding monsoon rain and mere lazy drizzle – pretty much the entire night. Parts of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland were ankle-deep pools of water and human tears. All of the entertainment – including the 9pm MK closing show, and all of the Boo Bash cavalcades, Maleficent, Cadaver Dans, etc. -- was canceled, as were most of the special character appearances. All “outdoor” rides (e.g., 7DMT, Big Thunder Mtn., PeopleMover, Jungle Cruise, etc.) were shut down during the first hour or so due to lightning. The trick-or-treat candy stations were delayed in opening, and the snack-and-drink carts were “selling out” within minutes.

If you enjoy a bit of literary masochism, then by all means read on for the play-by-play of my family’s Boo Bash experience, related in excruciatingly unnecessary detail!

9:00 (park “close”) - 9:30 (official Boo Bash start time): A torrential downpour has been underway for a good half hour or more, but we’ve dutifully picked up our Boo Bash bracelets and bags from the CMs cowering under the eaves by the former Stitch attraction in Tomorrowland. The bracelet ceremony is briefly interrupted as the CMs have to pack up their cart and retreat a few feet further back into the old Stitch queue to escape the rising floodwaters. Every guest not wearing a poncho or raincoat is soaked to the skin, and most day guests have already abandoned the park, driven out by the rain or else by the announcement that Happily Ever After is canceled. Those guests who remain are huddled together under any bit of shelter they can find. Around 9pm, we ride it’s a small world, and then splash across the flooded thoroughfare to the Peter Pan queue, to kick off our post-closing adventures. (The wait time was 20 minutes, and it was the last real wait for anything we’d experience that night.)

9:30-40: The Boo Bash is now officially underway. We exit Peter Pan and join a long queue that has formed for the Pinocchio’s Village Haus candy station. J. Worthington Foulfellow and Gideon appear on the covered balcony and wave their furry little hearts out, desperately trying to keep us entertained while small children in the crowd unhelpfully call out things like, “hi, kitties!” and “who are those guys!?” After about 10 minutes of standing in the rain, a CM appears, apologizes, says that there’s been a “delay with the candy,” and thanks us for our patience. When asked how long before the candy gets there, she says with genuine dismay, “I’m so sorry, but I really have no idea.”

9:40-45: Ain’t nobody got time for that. We leave the candy line and join another long queue that has formed by a snack-and-drink cart just a few yards away toward the restrooms. Shortly before we reach the front, a CM leaves the cart and begins walking up the line handing out the last of the Mickey ice cream sandwiches, explaining that this is all they have: the cart has run out of everything, and they’ll have to shut down anyway because the rain is picking up again. (Apparently, snack carts cannot be expected to function in such hostile conditions, although it’s fine to expect guests to endure them.) She suggests that everybody head over to Liberty Square, where there’s supposed to be another snack cart.

9:45-55: Since we’re close to it, we splash on over to the Ariel’s Grotto candy station. The giant lighted inflatable phallus candy sign is there, but there are no CMs and no candy. We join a crowd that has encircled the inflatable, staring hopefully at it like ancient worshipers around an obelisk. They appear to be waiting for it to speak. It doesn’t. After a few minutes, one brave soul decides to venture off and walk backwards through the darkened grotto queue to see if maybe there’s a candy station tucked in there someplace. She discovers a couple of CMs literally hiding inside, and thinking she’s found the candy station, summons the congregation. As the mob begins to crowd into the tunnel, the CMs sheepishly explain that they have no candy (I guess I’d hide, too!) and are just trying to figure out where and how to set up their station. We are encouraged to visit another candy stop while they figure things out.

9:55-10:15: We ride Little Mermaid because we’re there and it’s about time we were able to do something, and then head over to the Pete’s Silly Side Show candy station. To absolutely no one’s surprise, there’s nothing there. So we slog back through Fantasyland and over to Liberty Square Market with visions of popcorn, Mickey bars and soft drinks dancing in our heads. Upon arrival, we’re informed by the harried CMs at the snack and beverage carts that they’ve already “sold out” of everything except for a few bottles of water. By this point, the goodwill of the guests around us is nearly exhausted, and many are openly starting to grumble. A couple of families storm off, vowing to head straight to Guest Relations. Others start to get confrontational with the CMs, demanding to know how Disney could have been so unprepared. One sweet lady, trying to do what she can to deescalate the situation and perhaps gripped by survivor’s guilt that she was one of the last to be served, holds her unopened box of popcorn aloft and offers it as a sacrifice to the crowd. They are not appeased. We decide to try the candy stations by Pecos Bill and the Tiki Room before things get uglier.

10:15-10:30: The Pecos Bill and Tiki Room candy stations are open! And they actually have candy! Huzzah! The line at the Tiki Room is long and moving slowly, and as we’re standing in it, I see CMs quietly ninja-pushing a snack cart into place near the top of the steps down to the Jungle Cruise. I hop out of line, rush over before they’ve even turned their lights on, and am able to pick up drinks for the whole family and a Mickey bar for myself. The Mickey bar is half-melted. Standing all alone by the Tiki Room exit like a tragic protagonist in a Hemingway novel, I try to pound down my Mickey bar before it disintegrates, with rivulets of rain washing the stray bits of fallen chocolate shell down the front of my poncho and into the pitiless river at my feet.

10:30-10:35: DH and the kids emerge from the candy line triumphant, explaining that they’d taken this opportunity to make up for lost time (and lost candy) by asking for extra handfuls, which the CMs sympathetically obliged. DH drinks the Coke I’d fetched for him, and seeing the snack stand still open, runs over and gets 3 more, along with 2 frozen strawberry bars. I don’t know if it was out of spite, or because he was worried we wouldn’t get another chance, but he finished them all!

10:35-12:00am: At this point, we turned to attractions, which had been the real draw for us anyway. In the next 90 minutes or so, we did 7DMT (10-minute wait, the only non-walkon), Pooh, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder (“my eyes!” we all yelled, as the rain smashed into our faces at 35 mph), Pirates, and the Jungle Cruise (first time seeing the new stuff). It was now midnight and there was technically a half-hour left of “party time,” but the conditions were catching up with us. After hours of trekking around in the rain in soaking-wet footwear, we all had sodden face masks through which we could barely breathe, pruney hands, and blistered feet (even me in my Tevas). My son had developed an open, bleeding sore on the top of one foot where his wet rubber sandal had been rubbing against it, and after a brief and comical attempt at wearing the sandals sideways, he had resorted to walking barefoot. We conceded that we’d gotten to ride everything we wanted, decided to call it quits, and limped out to the bus stations. As my 13-year-old daughter sighed in her world-weariest voice, “well, at least we’ve got a good story to tell now when people ask how our trip was.”

EPILOGUE: After we got back to the hotel and triaged everyone’s foot injuries to make the most of our limited supply of Band-Aids, I spent some time tossing and turning, trying to decide whether our experience was worth a complaint to Disney during our few precious remaining hours on property. Had the weather-related cancellations and downtime been the only issue, I would not have considered it, but my mind kept going back to the fact that we wasted nearly 1/3 of the Boo Bash just trying to obtain the candy treats and "unlimited" free snacks and beverages that were promised, but which, like the ghosts in Haunted Mansion, didn’t “materialize” until the experience was partly through. Because these had been mistakes entirely within Disney’s control, I decided I’d pay a visit to Guest Relations first thing in the morning, to politely ask for a 1/3 refund of the $550 I’d spent on the Boo Bash tickets.

While the rest of the family finished packing up and checking out the next morning, I bused over to the Magic Kingdom on the heels of the rope drop crowd, carefully rehearsing my opening and closing arguments in my head the whole way. I only had to wait a minute or two to speak with a CM, and as soon as I uttered the words “Boo Bash,” I realized there would be no need for me to plead my case. The CM immediately apologized for the way the event had been conducted, and said she could describe a few different compensation options. Eventually, she offered us each 2-day parkhopper tickets, to be used at any future time (a “street value” of $1,380 at current Undercover Tourist pricing). These I gratefully accepted, and of course, they did just what Disney intended for them to do – turned a subpar experience that I was ashamed of into a “good story” that now feels fun to tell. As much as I disapprove of the general direction in which Disney is going these days, I have to give credit where credit is due: they did right by us when it came to our unmagical trip through Disney’s “Boo Bash Waterpark.” I still don’t see us ever gambling on any species of DAH or seasonal party in the future, however!

 

[cgersic]

Wow! What a whirlwind of a trip! Sorry about the Boo Bash, but really happy to hear they took care of the situation. Thanks for the report!

 

[ArmoredRodent]

After restarting the machine and lurking in the laundry room to see if he could catch the culprit red-handed, he discovered that the dryer was simply tumbling with such vigor that the sneakers kept “kicking” the dryer door open and flying out on their own! In the end, DH had to sit on the floor for 20 minutes with his back against the dryer door to get the job done.)

Been there, done that!

 

[Tiggerish]

Goodness, I'm truly sorry your Boo Bash turned out as it did, and I feel a little bad that I was so amused reading about it (but only a little--it was very entertaining!) I didn't realize until just now that I am a literary You certainly brought the evening to life with your retelling.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Goodness, I'm truly sorry your Boo Bash turned out as it did, and I feel a little bad that I was so amused reading about it (but only a little--it was very entertaining!) I didn't realize until just now that I am a literary ********* You certainly brought the evening to life with your retelling.

A literary what now?

 

[Tiggerish]

A literary what now?

Ha! Same phrase you used above. Apparently the filter will let through the verb but not the noun!

 

[meggo819]

informative and very entertaining! Thanks for sharing!

 

[RememberWhen]

While I’m sorry that Disney was so ill prepared for your Boo Bash experience I’m so very grateful that it was you describing it. Thank you for the laughs!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Sounds like you had a good time overall, even with the Boo Bash troubles.

 

[belledream]

So grateful I stumbled upon this literary masterpiece tonight. Can’t believe this actually happened, but you’re right - it’s a good story to tell now, and you did it wonderfully!

Glad you got a lovely family vacation in.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Sounds like you had a good time overall, even with the Boo Bash troubles.

Yes - we really did have a wonderful trip overall! One of the best.

 

[Zipadeelady]

I also felt guilty laughing at your Boo Bash experience. It sounds like you made the best out of bad experience. And your upside down mask in line at Peter Pan, Priceless.

 

[RoadiJeff]

Wow, what a story. I especially liked reading the details of your Boo Bash experience. My wife and I did Micky's Very Merry Christmas Party in 2019. Like your ordeal, it rain off and on throughout the evening, although maybe not a monsoon downpour but enough to keep the parades from happening.

My biggest complaint was that when I made the reservations I asked the Guest Services person about Fastpass. She said that they were not offered and not needed because the crowds were like night and day compared to the regular operating hours at MK. We quickly discovered that she had it backwards. The daytime crowds were not all that bad when we had Fasspasses but there must have been twice as many people for MVMCP and that was including the bad weather - I cannot imagine how crowded it might have been if the weather was nice.

I know Disney cannot control the weather, or at least I do not think they can, but they certainly have control over how many tickets they sell. After I posted a few complaints on various forums I was contacted by Guest Services and offered two one-day tickets to any Disney park. I gladly accepted, although we will never attend another Disney special party.

 

[LAM378]

Love this report! I laughed out loud at “just meandering anywhere we wanted, like carefree Disney tourists in the 1980s or something”. So true.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

Weatherlady, thanks so much for your fun report. I can't imagine being at a special event like boo bash and going through all that you did. I know my husband would have said, "we're out of here, this is nuts" , and go to GS.
The rest of your trip sounded great, especially at Universal. So glad you had a great trip

 

[MickeyCB]

I literally laughed out loud reading of your BooBash adventures!
NOT at what occurred but how you described everything!
If you don't already write for a living you need to start!!
Wasn't it your report that had the hilarious description of the kid at Boma trying to tap out a rhythm or something? I remember busting a gut over that as well!
Thank you for sharing all of this it was great!
(And yes, I agree, with the issues with the candy trails, the snack carts etc. I do think at the price paid some compensation was in order).