Trip Report September is the slow season, right? RIGHT?!?!?!

I don't usually do trip reports,mainly because I'm not a giant nerd. Ignore my 10k posts on a WDW message board as you read that please.

I'm pretty excited about this trip though. Finally going to get to see the boy who lived! Plus we are spending a couple days at those dumpster fires Disney calls theme parks. Can't win em all I guess.

Who: Me and the Missus(sp?)

When: Sept 11-15th

Where: Bay Lake Tower

Plans: Two days at WDW one at USO.

On to the deets, as the kids say. Kids say deets, right?
 
Click to expand...
xdan0920

xdan0920

Think for yourselfer
Original Poster
lostpro9het said:
I would STRONGLY suggest you keep TaF! If the menu just doesn't do it for you then I'd get it but TaF is outstanding IMO.

EDIT:
Here is our recent experience:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...happen-on-castaway-creek.902439/#post-6825281
Click to expand...

The menu looks good to me, it's more about not wanting to leave the park.

By the way. I read the link you sent, and holy moly I would have went nuts if my bus turned around like yours did! I would have been inconsolable. Good for you for not having a total meltdown.
 
lostpro9het

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
xdan0920 said:
The menu looks good to me, it's more about not wanting to leave the park.
Click to expand...
Gotcha! Just a note, that bottle of beer I got a TaF was over 100% more at VN ($36 vs $17)!! I couldn't believe it when I saw what VN charging for it!

xdan0920 said:
By the way. I read the link you sent, and holy moly I would have went nuts if my bus turned around like yours did! I would have been inconsolable. Good for you for not having a total meltdown.
Click to expand...
If I wasn't in the Bubble I probably would have lost my sh..., stuff, but heck, I was on vaca and figured worse things could have happened.
 
xdan0920

xdan0920

Think for yourselfer
Original Poster
So, it just dawned on me that my last day is the 1st day of MNSSHP.

I'm wondering if the MK will be in full Halloweem regalia on the 13th. I've never seen the parks in person in Halloween season. Fall/Halloween is my favorite, so I'm really hoping it will be.

Any insights?
 
Bob

Bob

Bo0bi3$
Premium Member
xdan0920 said:
So, it just dawned on me that my last day is the 1st day of MNSSHP.

I'm wondering if the MK will be in full Halloweem regalia on the 13th. I've never seen the parks in person in Halloween season. Fall/Halloween is my favorite, so I'm really hoping it will be.

Any insights?
Click to expand...
Decorations started going up on 1 Sept last year so I bet that you've got a good chance at seeing MK all decked out.

http://www.wdwmagic.com/events/mick...ear's-magic-kingdom-halloween-decorations.htm
 
xdan0920

xdan0920

Think for yourselfer
Original Poster
Changes folks. Big big changes.

Sunday at the Magic Kingdom, that morning breakfast is switched from the Wave to the Grand Floridian Cafe. I mean, just look at these two pictures. Where would YOU rather spend a morning?

The Wave
image.jpg


or

Grand Flo Cafe
image.jpg


No contest, right?
 
JourneysEnd

JourneysEnd

Well-Known Member
xdan0920 said:
Speaking of Saturday....

Before I go into anymore details, I have a question for any frequent Uni visitors. Is there an appreciable difference in crowd levels on a Saturday compared with a Monday?

I'd prefer to do US on our first full day, this way I don't spend the WDW portion of my trip looking forward to seeing Potter. However, if the crowds are much smaller on a Monday, then I'll make that sacrifice. It would require switching a bunch of ADRs and FPs, but I didn't get into any awesome restaurants anyway because of dumb free dining.

So I'll pause here and wait for some responses regarding crowd levels.
Click to expand...
May be too late to answer your question, but Monday is much less crowded at USO.
 
xdan0920

xdan0920

Think for yourselfer
Original Poster
Ok, I've completely changed everything.

Thanks to another thread I found out that USO and MK are both doing Christian rock festivals on Saturday the 12th. Therefore I will be avoiding both those parks like the plague.

So my trip will now start at DHS on the 12th. Then hop to Epcot for lunch at Tutto Gusto and Dinner at Le Chefs.

I have FP booked for Toy Story, Tower of Terror and Star Tours. The last of which opens at 12:25. That should get us to the international gateway by 1:15 and into lunch by 1:30. Dinner is set for 5:15. Gonna have to do a light lunch to make the early dinner, but that's probably for the best considering Tutto's price points. After dinner a slow circuit of the WS, maybe grab a table at Spice Road for drinks and to watch Illuminations, then it's over to Jelly Rolls. Can't stay out too late though, early wake up call to meet the boy who lived.
 
xdan0920

xdan0920

Think for yourselfer
Original Poster
So, I'm back.

September was not the slow season. USO was packed to the gills. Magic Kingdom was slammed. Epcot was busy, but manageable.

Overall we had a fantastic time. Lots of eating, drinking, and generally taking it slow. I didn't take many pictures, as I am more of a live in the moment type of guy, but I'll share what I have, and hopefully my prose will transport you in ways a photograph never could! or not, as I am a pretty poor righter. ;)
 
xdan0920

xdan0920

Think for yourselfer
Original Poster
Day 1.

We arrived at MCO at 9:45. We were booked on DME, but we decided to grab our own bags, as it was nearly 10pm, and we didn't want to wait for Disney to deliver. The baggage carousel was quite fast though, and we were on the bus in what felt like no time flat. Sweet!!! The bus however, was pretty full, and as we pulled away from MCO the driver gave us the order of stops, and wouldn't you know it, we were 4th of 4. So we settled in for the long ride. And long it was, it took about 75 minutes from leaving the airport to drop off at Bay Lake Tower.

I did online check-in, so we didn't have to stop at the front desk, we headed right to our room on the 11th floor. #8123. The view was great, but the finishes in the room left A LOT to be desired. The closet doors were busted up. The shower faucet didn't work properly. The shower curtain was using hooks that didn't fit around the curtain rod, so that was a constant nuisance. And the noise, wow, the noise. This hotel must have the thinnest walls in WDW outside of the All-Star resorts. I could hear everything from everywhere. The positives of the room were pretty limited, and aside from the location, I can't think of any reason to reccommend BLT.

Anyway, here's the view.

IMG_0001.JPG


We just went to bed on night one.The first real day of vacation was coming fast.
 
xdan0920

xdan0920

Think for yourselfer
Original Poster
Day 2

Today the plan was DHS then take a boat to Epcot then head to Jelly Rolls. The general outline of the plan survived, but there was some changes.

So, to start the day, we headed down to the bus stop around 8:30. The Contemp has those fancy bus board schedules. It's a wonderful little device and really takes the edge off of waiting for a bus. We found the board to be accurate within 3/4 minutes, which is pretty solid IMO. Anyway, we hopped on a pretty full bus, which then got fuller at our second stop, GF. We finally made it to DHS, and we had FP booked for Star Tours, then TSMM then ToT.

Started the day with a trip to the Trolley Car Cafe, aka Starbucks. The line to order was qucik and easy, the line for pickup took about 10 minutes though. Place was pretty mobbed. But the Iced Coffee was 1000% worth it. I also got a Ham and Cheese Croissant that was passable, but given a do-over, I would have headed to Starring Rolls for food instead.

Our first stop was Star Tours. I love this queue, and I love this ride. However, I think I may be the unluckiest person ever in regards to ST. We always always get the same sequence. Vader comes onto the lauch bay, then we wind up doing pod racing, then we wind up under water with Jar Jar. Always. Anyways, great ride.

Next stop was TSMM. This ride needs updating. Why can't they simply change out the games? They are screen based, all software. Just make up some new stuff. Next was ToT, but we had an hour to kill.

Let me just say this about DHS, there is almost nothing worth doing to kill time between those 3 attractions. The park is completely devoid of attractions right now. We struggled to find anything at all to do, and wound up at the Tune-in Lounge at 11am for drinks in order to pass some time.

I love Tune-in. They have a pretty respectable beer selection, a full bar, and the theming is top notch.
IMG_0048.JPG


I had a Kona Longboard, Megan(my wife) had a Mimosa. Both were delicious, and it only ran us about $19 +tip. What a deal!

So after drinks, we used our ToT FP. We got stuck in line next to an incredibly annoying, unsupervised pre-teen. This kid had zero chill factor. I eventually had to ask him to reel it in. He frowned about it, but he did calm down a bit. Dang Kids, ruining WDW.

Since we used up our 3 FP, it was time to skeedaddle. We left the park and started toward the boat launch. About halfway to the dock, we decided it was too hot, and the wait would be too long, so we hopped on the Uber app, and got a ride to Epcot. Cost $6 and it was totally worth it.
 
xdan0920

xdan0920

Think for yourselfer
Original Poster
So, first stop at Epcot was the Fp+ kiosks near innovations. Um, heres the deal, there is jack squat to do in Epcot these days. All the FP were gone for Soarin and TT, even Mission Space was a very late window. So we skipped that. Honestly, none of the attractions at Epcot are must dos for us. It wasn't so bad to just skip them.

Anyways, that means it was lunch time. I had been looking forward to this moment for weeks, if not months. Tutto Gusto here we come.

For those that don't know, Tutto Gusto is tucked into the Italy Pavilion right before the entrance to Tutto Italia. It's pretty small, but usually not too busy. There are cute couches for sitting, or more typical high top tables, or some normal boring tables. Can't really go wrong with any, though, given the option, i'd ask for the couches. They are more tucked away, and give a little better ambiance to the whole experience.

Now is the point where I wish I took more photos. We ordered a charcuterie board. They have a bunch pre-selected, but you can mix and match to your hearts content. We wound up going with Asiago cheese, Proscuitto, and Bruschetta. All three items were spectacularly good, but the Asiago was out of this world. Whatever combination you decide to go with, my advice would be to include the Asiago.

For drinks I had the all Whites flight. Three generous 2oz pours, all good, none spectacular. Megan had the all Bubbles flight pictured below. She was very impressed.
IMG_0053.JPG


So, that was all we got, and the bill ran us about $80 after tip. A little steep, but honestly, everything in WDW is a little steep. This was delicious, well themed, and a great lunch if not a great value. I'll be back for certain.

While we were eating, the skies opened up though. And with no attractions worth doing, we decided to beat feet to the ESPN Zone to catch some college football. We hung out here for about an hour, not really anything to report.

The weather started to improve, so we decided to take a swim break before heading back to the BoardWalk for dinner and a night at JellyRolls.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom