Disney Trip February 14-19, 2016
Arrival:
Ordered a car service at 8:30 am to LaGuardia for an 11:15 flight. No issues with the drive, and surprisingly no issues getting to the gate. I ponied up the extra $ for priority boarding on Southwest to get a seat that would get me and the kids off the plane sooner.
The flight from NY had a layover in Indianapolis, and we landed in a snowstorm. After a 30 minute delay to de-ice, we were off to Orlando. Upon landing, it was fairly effortless getting to the Magical Express, the line for the EPCOT resorts was fairly short.
By 6:30 we were dropped off at the Caribbean Beach, and since I checked in online, I had already received a text with my room number. Since it was -19 in NY when we left, we unfortunately had to lug winter coats and sweatshirts through the internal shuttle to our room in Aruba. Having previously stayed at All-Star Sports, Movies and Pop Century, it was a bit of a change getting used to the more spread out nature of the CBR. The room location was not bad, it was close to the walkway to Port Royale (Food Court and Pool) and it was the second stop coming back from the parks. In addition, I had this view each morning.
First Evening-MK
Crowds 8/10
Fastpasses: Space Mountain, Seven Dwarves, Pooh
No issues on arrival, and crowds for the rides were not horrible as many guests were lining up for the evening parades and fireworks. Space Mountain had a sizable FP queue, but no issues on Seven Dwarves or Pooh. We were able to knock out Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain (x2) and Big Thunder Mountain with little waiting.
Dining: Kids wanted something quick, and with a vegetarian in tow, we ate at the Tomorrowland Terrace. Nothing special here, burgers were cafeteria quality, but my little one had no complaints about her veggie burger- 5/10. Used snack allotment for Dole Whips at Aloha Isle on the way out.
About 40 minutes back to the CBR, I’m not sure why Disney doesn’t use more articulated buses for the CBR, as every bus was crammed.
Monday, Feb 15-DHS
Crowds (10+/10)
Fastpasses: Tower of Terror, Star Tours, Toy Story
After breakfast at Port Royale, we ended up waiting over 30 minutes for a bus to DHS (3 MK buses, and 2 EPCOT buses came in the meantime), so it was already past 9 when we arrived. The bag screening line was overwhelmed, DHS simply did not have enough screeners available, plus a woman in front of us brought in two backpacks, rolling luggage(!), her purse and a pack. After 45 minutes, we raced to Rock n’Rollercoaster, which already had a 30 minute wait. Unfortunately, the fastpass line was being overwhelmed, so the line ops began letting, by my count, 50 fastpasses in for every 2 standby riders.
Now I knew since it was President’s Day, there was going to be exceptional crowds, but I was not ready for the crowds at DHS. Basically, unless we had a FP, waits were in the 60-90 minute range on all rides, with Toy Story over 2 hours. We had time to kill before Tower of Terror fastpasses, so we went to Star Wars to meet Chewie and Kylo Ren. The displays were cool, but the character meets were a little disappointing that no autographs were given.
Due to the fairly intense crowds, we took in whatever rides we could between fastpasses. Kids spent quite a bit of time browsing and trading pins. Of note I appreciated the refreshes to Star Tours and the Great Movie ride. On Toy Story, the ride glitched out, there simply was no displays once our cars went in front of the screens. I spoke to the ride ops, and they let us ride again, oddly that no other riders asked the same. Once we finished, the only extra fastpasses available were to Fantasmic, however I saw the troops lagging and called it an early day. This was prescient, as later I received an email that Fantasmic was cancelled due to wind. Because we left at 6:30, there was not much of a wait back to the CBR.
Dining: Used a QSR at the ABC Commissary, the food quality was identical to the Tomorrowland Terrace. Instead of an overly dry burger, I had an overly-salty chicken sandwich. All three of us enjoyed the Darth Vader cupcakes, though (5/10). Dinner was at Port Royale, a little better than expected, though I would have likes to see a better selection of sides with my sirloin roast (6/10).
Tuesday, Feb 16-EPCOT
Crowds (8/10)
Fastpasses: Test Track, Crush, Character Greeting
I let the kids sleep in a bit, as I had a fastpass for Test Track, the only real bottlenecks with Soarin’ closed. Mission Space had a 30 minute standby line, and IMO needs a bit of a refresh, the pre-flight training video is the same as from day 1, and could definitely use a HD display. Test Track’s refresh was a benefit over the last trip; my kids liked designing a car and loading the design onto the ride.
The kids were excited to participate in the Agent P challenge in World Showcase, but unfortunately they were disappointed that it was for only one country, and the phones were difficult to hear in the loud crowds. WS was being a little devious with their character greetings, we stumbled across Tigger, Pooh, Goofy and Pluto in a walled off enclosure that was sealed off just as we got there.
My eldest is French-obsessed right now, so she wanted to see the France film, which provided a bit of sitting down time. As an American history nut, I mandated the American Adventure, which also allowed us a little sitting time while the Voices of Liberty played. Kids spent quite a bit of time browsing the shops in Japan, as my little one is Anime-obsessed and loves Japanese candy. My eldest is a big Mulan fan, and was not happy when she missed the character greeting by a few minutes. We missed out FP for Crush, which I swapped out to another ride on TT. Kids enjoyed the character greeting, though the FP line was being overwhelmed until they began letting more FP’s in.
A side note on how well the Photo Pass worked. The Disney Photographers were good about taking many pictures, so there was always one picture that came out well. We utilized the extra evening hours to ride everything in FW with minimal waits, plus time to indulge my kid’s new obsession with pins.
Dining: Lunch was at the Katsura Grill in Japan, sushi and green tea ice cream was a welcome respite from burgers. However, they ran out of sushi just after I ordered (8/10). Dinner was at Coral Reef, a minimal wait from my 5:30 reservation. I was already in the mood for a steak over fish, but by little one sealed it by telling me it would be barbaric if I ate fish in an aquarium. Both my eldest and I had the NY strip steaks, I sent my first one back as it was served medium well instead of medium rare, the server apologized and quickly rectified it. My little vegetarian was intrigued by the vegan chicken and veggies, when she ate it she was amazed (Marinated tofu covered in rolled oats) and asked the server to find the recipe. Portion sizes were respectable, and desserts were good. Also, we were not rushed by the servers, something that happens far too often (9/10).
Wednesday, Feb 17-MK
Crowds (8/10)
Fastpasses: Buzz Lightyear, Tinkerbelle, Wishes
Got to the park well before opening, and was able to knock off most of the big rides, except for Seven Dwarves, which had a posted 60 minute wait by 9:15. After lunch we headed back to the CBR for a nap and swim, returning to the MK for our evening dining reservation. A bit to my surprise, but the main pool at the CBR was completely packed to the point that no lounges were available. Following dinner, we bounced around the MK until our FP for Wishes. Original plan was to stay until 12, but little one was exhausted.
Dining: Lunch at Be Our Guest, 11:15 reservation ensured a small wait. Finding seating was no issue, and it was much appreciated that beverages were self-service. All three dishes were cooked a la minute and the atmosphere provided a welcome respite (9/10).
Dinner was at the Crystal Palace, a mandatory stop for my Eeyore-obsessed daughter. Wait was about 20 minutes past our reservation time. Character experience was excellent, as each one took plenty of time to interact and pose multiple times. My little one brought a backpack full of Eeyores, and Eeyore happily played and posed with them all. Unfortunately the food was below average, lots of bottom-feeder buffet fare (overcooked prime rib, dry turkey…) that was coming up the rest of the night (3/10 for food, 9/10 for characters)
A few things that really annoyed me today:
· Large groups stopping traffic dead to take pictures, instead of standing to the side, and composing pictures with respect for other park goers.
· On three instances people using strollers with no kids inside as battering rams to clear traffic. These daredevils were weaving in and out of traffic like they were at Daytona.
· While in the FP area for Wishes (everyone is seated on the grass, with walkways crossing the area, a man in a motorized scooter ran over my foot, then when I yelled, he backed over it again.
· Despite the attendants in the FP area for Wishes telling everyone had to be seated, late arrivals insisted on standing in the walkways, blocking the view of those who were sitting. When several seated guests complained, the standees had the nerve to be ed.
Thursday, February 18-AK
Crowds (5/10)
Fastpasses: Safari, Expedition Everest, Dinosaur
Due to the relatively low crowds, my kids and I ended up riding Everest 8 times over the day. Why more attractions at Disney don’t offer single-rider lines is beyond me. Due to the cool weather, the Safari was filled with plenty of active animals. Kids were not really interested in animal exhibits (we live 30 minutes from the Bronx Zoo), and spent the day riding rides and pin trading. The Disney shopping app indicated that an Eeyore pin my daughter desperately wanted was in AK, but the cast member told her it was at Pin Traders at Disney Springs (more on this later). I scheduled a FP on the Safari at 3, but when we got there the FP line was nearly as long as the 90 minute standby line (it seemed the FP scanners were not working). Kids begged me to swap it out, and I did for Nemo, which honestly afforded me a chance for a nap. Since the AK closes early, I told the kids we could go to Disney Springs, as they heard that they sold Park-Exclusive Funko Pops. Now someone needs to explain to me why one cannot go directly from a park to Disney Springs, we needed to go to the AK Lodge and transfer, we ended up waiting nearly 30 minutes. I should have used my better judgement when we got to Disney Springs and it was more packed that Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Literally, wall to wall crowds as far as the eye can see. We got to Pin Traders, and found out they sold out on the Eeyore pin, and my daughter went hysterical. We were told that maybe the new Superhero Shop in Disney Springs West would have the Pops. Braving the sea of humanity, we eventually got there to find no Pops. Now the kids just want to eat, and I needed to find a QSR place to burn my last three meals. No restaurant had seats, when we saw a 45 minute line at Earl of Sandwich, I decided to head back to CBR. Despite a long wait for a bus with exhausted kids, we made it back by 9.
Dining: My eldest had her heart set on Flame Tree Barbeque, but the lack of vegetarian options ruled it out. Eventually we found a pizza place that wasn’t bad, the pizzas were passable, and the antipasti and tiramisu were welcome (7/10). Dinner was at the CBR (6/10).
Friday, February 19-MK
Crowds (8/10)
Fastpasses: Space Mountain, Seven Dwarves, Pooh, Haunted Mansion.
Woke the crew up at 5:30, as we needed to check out and get to Chef Mickey’s. Bell service arrived exactly when requested, drove us to the Customs House, and stored our bags. Rather than risk the buses, I ordered an Uber car, and for $9 was at the Contemporary in 20 minutes.
Dining: Arrived at Chef Mickey’s and was directed to take a photograph with a statue of Mickey-why not an actual character? Character interactions were not as good as at the Crystal Palace, I actually had to grab two characters so that both my kids could get into the picture. As far as breakfasts go, it was acceptable, bonus points for having lox for the bagels. Biscuits and gravy were not up to the standards I have from down south. Bonus points for Krispy Kremes (6/10).
My little one was excited to take the monorail, as she got to annoy her sister by breaking into the “Marge versus the Monorail” song. Kids essentially had free rein to do whatever they wanted until we had to leave at 2. Little one dropped $42 for a 3-D printed iPhone case, eldest was happy to mock her. I had the idea to video in slow motion my little one on the Mad Tea Party. Note on Seven Dwarves, my butt and waist fit comfortably , but my legs feel like they were going to lose circulation by the end of the ride.
Dining: Eldest asked for Cinderella’s Royal Table, and even at the cost of 2 meals, who am I to resist. Atmosphere was just above Medieval Knights, though I was upset at not getting my own sword. Princesses did take time to interact. Meal was an unqualified mess, I ordered the short ribs and in my book any piece of meat that needs a knife cannot call itself proper short ribs. In addition, the portions were comically small. I understand that the space does not have enormous capacity and significant demand (addressed in spades at BOG), but to me it seemed I wasted 6 sit down allotments.
On the way out, I nearly made the mistake of stopping at a Photopass photographer for pictures in front of the castle. The group of six ahead of us took 10 minutes to take all their pictures, including group pix, each one had to make various poses. When we got to the buses, I had an hour before the Magical Express was due to leave, and a monster line for the CBR. The bus driver let us squeeze in, to the chagrin of the riders we were wedged into.
One note on the trip home, it takes a lot to be worse than LaGuardia, but Orlando’s security line was the worst I’ve encountered by a mile. It was 30 minutes to get passes checked, and another 30 minutes of freefall to get bags scanned.
Arrival:
Ordered a car service at 8:30 am to LaGuardia for an 11:15 flight. No issues with the drive, and surprisingly no issues getting to the gate. I ponied up the extra $ for priority boarding on Southwest to get a seat that would get me and the kids off the plane sooner.
The flight from NY had a layover in Indianapolis, and we landed in a snowstorm. After a 30 minute delay to de-ice, we were off to Orlando. Upon landing, it was fairly effortless getting to the Magical Express, the line for the EPCOT resorts was fairly short.
By 6:30 we were dropped off at the Caribbean Beach, and since I checked in online, I had already received a text with my room number. Since it was -19 in NY when we left, we unfortunately had to lug winter coats and sweatshirts through the internal shuttle to our room in Aruba. Having previously stayed at All-Star Sports, Movies and Pop Century, it was a bit of a change getting used to the more spread out nature of the CBR. The room location was not bad, it was close to the walkway to Port Royale (Food Court and Pool) and it was the second stop coming back from the parks. In addition, I had this view each morning.
First Evening-MK
Crowds 8/10
Fastpasses: Space Mountain, Seven Dwarves, Pooh
No issues on arrival, and crowds for the rides were not horrible as many guests were lining up for the evening parades and fireworks. Space Mountain had a sizable FP queue, but no issues on Seven Dwarves or Pooh. We were able to knock out Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain (x2) and Big Thunder Mountain with little waiting.
Dining: Kids wanted something quick, and with a vegetarian in tow, we ate at the Tomorrowland Terrace. Nothing special here, burgers were cafeteria quality, but my little one had no complaints about her veggie burger- 5/10. Used snack allotment for Dole Whips at Aloha Isle on the way out.
About 40 minutes back to the CBR, I’m not sure why Disney doesn’t use more articulated buses for the CBR, as every bus was crammed.
Monday, Feb 15-DHS
Crowds (10+/10)
Fastpasses: Tower of Terror, Star Tours, Toy Story
After breakfast at Port Royale, we ended up waiting over 30 minutes for a bus to DHS (3 MK buses, and 2 EPCOT buses came in the meantime), so it was already past 9 when we arrived. The bag screening line was overwhelmed, DHS simply did not have enough screeners available, plus a woman in front of us brought in two backpacks, rolling luggage(!), her purse and a pack. After 45 minutes, we raced to Rock n’Rollercoaster, which already had a 30 minute wait. Unfortunately, the fastpass line was being overwhelmed, so the line ops began letting, by my count, 50 fastpasses in for every 2 standby riders.
Now I knew since it was President’s Day, there was going to be exceptional crowds, but I was not ready for the crowds at DHS. Basically, unless we had a FP, waits were in the 60-90 minute range on all rides, with Toy Story over 2 hours. We had time to kill before Tower of Terror fastpasses, so we went to Star Wars to meet Chewie and Kylo Ren. The displays were cool, but the character meets were a little disappointing that no autographs were given.
Due to the fairly intense crowds, we took in whatever rides we could between fastpasses. Kids spent quite a bit of time browsing and trading pins. Of note I appreciated the refreshes to Star Tours and the Great Movie ride. On Toy Story, the ride glitched out, there simply was no displays once our cars went in front of the screens. I spoke to the ride ops, and they let us ride again, oddly that no other riders asked the same. Once we finished, the only extra fastpasses available were to Fantasmic, however I saw the troops lagging and called it an early day. This was prescient, as later I received an email that Fantasmic was cancelled due to wind. Because we left at 6:30, there was not much of a wait back to the CBR.
Dining: Used a QSR at the ABC Commissary, the food quality was identical to the Tomorrowland Terrace. Instead of an overly dry burger, I had an overly-salty chicken sandwich. All three of us enjoyed the Darth Vader cupcakes, though (5/10). Dinner was at Port Royale, a little better than expected, though I would have likes to see a better selection of sides with my sirloin roast (6/10).
Tuesday, Feb 16-EPCOT
Crowds (8/10)
Fastpasses: Test Track, Crush, Character Greeting
I let the kids sleep in a bit, as I had a fastpass for Test Track, the only real bottlenecks with Soarin’ closed. Mission Space had a 30 minute standby line, and IMO needs a bit of a refresh, the pre-flight training video is the same as from day 1, and could definitely use a HD display. Test Track’s refresh was a benefit over the last trip; my kids liked designing a car and loading the design onto the ride.
The kids were excited to participate in the Agent P challenge in World Showcase, but unfortunately they were disappointed that it was for only one country, and the phones were difficult to hear in the loud crowds. WS was being a little devious with their character greetings, we stumbled across Tigger, Pooh, Goofy and Pluto in a walled off enclosure that was sealed off just as we got there.
My eldest is French-obsessed right now, so she wanted to see the France film, which provided a bit of sitting down time. As an American history nut, I mandated the American Adventure, which also allowed us a little sitting time while the Voices of Liberty played. Kids spent quite a bit of time browsing the shops in Japan, as my little one is Anime-obsessed and loves Japanese candy. My eldest is a big Mulan fan, and was not happy when she missed the character greeting by a few minutes. We missed out FP for Crush, which I swapped out to another ride on TT. Kids enjoyed the character greeting, though the FP line was being overwhelmed until they began letting more FP’s in.
A side note on how well the Photo Pass worked. The Disney Photographers were good about taking many pictures, so there was always one picture that came out well. We utilized the extra evening hours to ride everything in FW with minimal waits, plus time to indulge my kid’s new obsession with pins.
Dining: Lunch was at the Katsura Grill in Japan, sushi and green tea ice cream was a welcome respite from burgers. However, they ran out of sushi just after I ordered (8/10). Dinner was at Coral Reef, a minimal wait from my 5:30 reservation. I was already in the mood for a steak over fish, but by little one sealed it by telling me it would be barbaric if I ate fish in an aquarium. Both my eldest and I had the NY strip steaks, I sent my first one back as it was served medium well instead of medium rare, the server apologized and quickly rectified it. My little vegetarian was intrigued by the vegan chicken and veggies, when she ate it she was amazed (Marinated tofu covered in rolled oats) and asked the server to find the recipe. Portion sizes were respectable, and desserts were good. Also, we were not rushed by the servers, something that happens far too often (9/10).
Wednesday, Feb 17-MK
Crowds (8/10)
Fastpasses: Buzz Lightyear, Tinkerbelle, Wishes
Got to the park well before opening, and was able to knock off most of the big rides, except for Seven Dwarves, which had a posted 60 minute wait by 9:15. After lunch we headed back to the CBR for a nap and swim, returning to the MK for our evening dining reservation. A bit to my surprise, but the main pool at the CBR was completely packed to the point that no lounges were available. Following dinner, we bounced around the MK until our FP for Wishes. Original plan was to stay until 12, but little one was exhausted.
Dining: Lunch at Be Our Guest, 11:15 reservation ensured a small wait. Finding seating was no issue, and it was much appreciated that beverages were self-service. All three dishes were cooked a la minute and the atmosphere provided a welcome respite (9/10).
Dinner was at the Crystal Palace, a mandatory stop for my Eeyore-obsessed daughter. Wait was about 20 minutes past our reservation time. Character experience was excellent, as each one took plenty of time to interact and pose multiple times. My little one brought a backpack full of Eeyores, and Eeyore happily played and posed with them all. Unfortunately the food was below average, lots of bottom-feeder buffet fare (overcooked prime rib, dry turkey…) that was coming up the rest of the night (3/10 for food, 9/10 for characters)
A few things that really annoyed me today:
· Large groups stopping traffic dead to take pictures, instead of standing to the side, and composing pictures with respect for other park goers.
· On three instances people using strollers with no kids inside as battering rams to clear traffic. These daredevils were weaving in and out of traffic like they were at Daytona.
· While in the FP area for Wishes (everyone is seated on the grass, with walkways crossing the area, a man in a motorized scooter ran over my foot, then when I yelled, he backed over it again.
· Despite the attendants in the FP area for Wishes telling everyone had to be seated, late arrivals insisted on standing in the walkways, blocking the view of those who were sitting. When several seated guests complained, the standees had the nerve to be ed.
Thursday, February 18-AK
Crowds (5/10)
Fastpasses: Safari, Expedition Everest, Dinosaur
Due to the relatively low crowds, my kids and I ended up riding Everest 8 times over the day. Why more attractions at Disney don’t offer single-rider lines is beyond me. Due to the cool weather, the Safari was filled with plenty of active animals. Kids were not really interested in animal exhibits (we live 30 minutes from the Bronx Zoo), and spent the day riding rides and pin trading. The Disney shopping app indicated that an Eeyore pin my daughter desperately wanted was in AK, but the cast member told her it was at Pin Traders at Disney Springs (more on this later). I scheduled a FP on the Safari at 3, but when we got there the FP line was nearly as long as the 90 minute standby line (it seemed the FP scanners were not working). Kids begged me to swap it out, and I did for Nemo, which honestly afforded me a chance for a nap. Since the AK closes early, I told the kids we could go to Disney Springs, as they heard that they sold Park-Exclusive Funko Pops. Now someone needs to explain to me why one cannot go directly from a park to Disney Springs, we needed to go to the AK Lodge and transfer, we ended up waiting nearly 30 minutes. I should have used my better judgement when we got to Disney Springs and it was more packed that Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Literally, wall to wall crowds as far as the eye can see. We got to Pin Traders, and found out they sold out on the Eeyore pin, and my daughter went hysterical. We were told that maybe the new Superhero Shop in Disney Springs West would have the Pops. Braving the sea of humanity, we eventually got there to find no Pops. Now the kids just want to eat, and I needed to find a QSR place to burn my last three meals. No restaurant had seats, when we saw a 45 minute line at Earl of Sandwich, I decided to head back to CBR. Despite a long wait for a bus with exhausted kids, we made it back by 9.
Dining: My eldest had her heart set on Flame Tree Barbeque, but the lack of vegetarian options ruled it out. Eventually we found a pizza place that wasn’t bad, the pizzas were passable, and the antipasti and tiramisu were welcome (7/10). Dinner was at the CBR (6/10).
Friday, February 19-MK
Crowds (8/10)
Fastpasses: Space Mountain, Seven Dwarves, Pooh, Haunted Mansion.
Woke the crew up at 5:30, as we needed to check out and get to Chef Mickey’s. Bell service arrived exactly when requested, drove us to the Customs House, and stored our bags. Rather than risk the buses, I ordered an Uber car, and for $9 was at the Contemporary in 20 minutes.
Dining: Arrived at Chef Mickey’s and was directed to take a photograph with a statue of Mickey-why not an actual character? Character interactions were not as good as at the Crystal Palace, I actually had to grab two characters so that both my kids could get into the picture. As far as breakfasts go, it was acceptable, bonus points for having lox for the bagels. Biscuits and gravy were not up to the standards I have from down south. Bonus points for Krispy Kremes (6/10).
My little one was excited to take the monorail, as she got to annoy her sister by breaking into the “Marge versus the Monorail” song. Kids essentially had free rein to do whatever they wanted until we had to leave at 2. Little one dropped $42 for a 3-D printed iPhone case, eldest was happy to mock her. I had the idea to video in slow motion my little one on the Mad Tea Party. Note on Seven Dwarves, my butt and waist fit comfortably , but my legs feel like they were going to lose circulation by the end of the ride.
Dining: Eldest asked for Cinderella’s Royal Table, and even at the cost of 2 meals, who am I to resist. Atmosphere was just above Medieval Knights, though I was upset at not getting my own sword. Princesses did take time to interact. Meal was an unqualified mess, I ordered the short ribs and in my book any piece of meat that needs a knife cannot call itself proper short ribs. In addition, the portions were comically small. I understand that the space does not have enormous capacity and significant demand (addressed in spades at BOG), but to me it seemed I wasted 6 sit down allotments.
On the way out, I nearly made the mistake of stopping at a Photopass photographer for pictures in front of the castle. The group of six ahead of us took 10 minutes to take all their pictures, including group pix, each one had to make various poses. When we got to the buses, I had an hour before the Magical Express was due to leave, and a monster line for the CBR. The bus driver let us squeeze in, to the chagrin of the riders we were wedged into.
One note on the trip home, it takes a lot to be worse than LaGuardia, but Orlando’s security line was the worst I’ve encountered by a mile. It was 30 minutes to get passes checked, and another 30 minutes of freefall to get bags scanned.
