Hello all!
My family and I just returned from our wonderful trip to Disney this past week! We stayed at the Bay Lake Tower for the second time and this time, nothing really disappointed. On our last trip, our keycards were all messed up and they didn't give us two rooms side by side, but this time, everything was seamless and worked fine. They've replaced the locks on the doors to simply require you to wave your keycard in front of them and then the door opens.The rooms were clean and frunishing were just as nice as they were 3 years ago, but the fixtures in the bathroom were wearing (the floating shelf for towels was getting weak and leaning forward and the toilet paper holder looked as if it had fallen off of the wall and been reattached a few times). I really love how basic double rooms at the BLT come with a kitchenette--we were able to store milk, coffee creamer and some basics for breakfasts in the room with ease.
The crowds were on the lower side of medium---we purposely scheduled the trip for the week after the big holiday season rush and before the marathon. As we were leaving on Friday, most of the runners had trickled in and you could feel a more congested resort area. We followed the advice of www.easywdw.com's crowd forecast and everything worked out great!! On Sunday evening after our flight arrived and we checked into the BLT, we hit up MK after a lovely first monorail ride and during the EMH, we walked on BTM three times, walked on Ariel, and did a short 15 minute wait for SM. On other days, we arrived at each park about 15 minutes prior to opening and comfortably FastPassed some rides and walked on others.
The BEST advice we followed was visiting MK mid week, on Wednesday, when it would be the least crowded. We walked right on Peter Pan and other favorites in the back of the park. Because Splash is closed, it seemed as though lots of people went straight to Tomorrowland for their first rides--and we rode BTM many times before a line formed, and it wasn't even that long.
We did single rider for Test Track because the line never got below 45 minutes. The update to test track is okay, you get to customize your ride by choosing your car and priorities on a computer screen prior to boarding---however, the directions are vague and they don't explain that you must scan your car prior to boarding when waiting in the queue to actually make your car appear in the ride--my sister and I found ourselves telling people waiting to board in our car "scan your card here".
New Little Mermaid ride---well, this is the most disappointing this to say about the trip: we were not impressed. The queue is amazing with gorgeous and entertaining details. Also, the animatronics and the design of the ride is impressive too--with bright colors and lots to look at. BUT, you just go through the ride on a clamshell on a slow, one-level track....the ride uses a scheme that is 30 years old and no different than the Winnie the Pooh and old Snow White ride. With so much money, time, and resources used for this ride, you'd figure the ride would just be more innovative. I'm sure little kids will enjoy seeing Ariel, but we were so thankful we walked right on this ride---it took 5 minutes just to walk thru the empty queue--I cannot imagine waiting a long time for this ride and the queue suggests that they are expecting large crowds and waits for this ride. Bummer...
Dining:
Gaston's Tavern---we were all sort of grossed out by the description of the apple brew and didn't even try it. Two of us had the pork shanks. The menu at this venue was puzzling....I guess DW doesn't want a ton of people eating here because I couldn't imagine a pork shank appealing to the masses. And, besides that, there weren't many choices. BOG was impossible to get into for dinner this week (even when trying a month ago for reservations) and we didn't attempt for quick service lunch.
Plaza Restaurant--we ate here for the first time ever, and during the mid day parade. It was great! We had sandwiches, the Rueben was terrific on marble rye and the club sandwich was enjoyable too. We also go to witness the mayor of Main Street coming in to congratulate the 100th visitor of the day with a free dessert and we thought it was really cute.
Tokyo--We ate at the regular table service (non hibachi) restaurant at the Japanese pavilion in Epcot. Overall, the meal was good, but the tuna sashimi in the Bento box tasted a little off. The room provides a wonderful view of the world showcase lit up at night and after dinner, we were able to watch Illuminations easily. In years past, it's been so crowded, that it was tough to get a good view, but this time, it was easy. I had the mandarin orange martini for a drink and it was tiny and way too sweet, I didn't order a second one. The miso soup was some of the best I've ever had though!
Yak and Yeti (Animal Kingdom in Asia near Everest)--another restaurant we've never been to and it was really great!! We had a wonderful lunch there that really filled us up. The seafood curry and tamarind chicken received great reviews from our party. Also, my mom loved her seared tuna salad and my Asian chicken salad was great too---the salads were huge! We also had a really great waitress.
Sushi bar at Polynesian resort--after the MK on Tuesday night, my sister and i headed over to the Polynesian for some sushi. This place was amazing!! We had the Hawaiian Poke salad, which was like tuna tar tar on top of wontons, and the Volcano, which was a pyramid of tuna rolls with spicy shrimp salad all over it (like a volcano erupting) and it was delicious AND the fish tasted better here than the sushi at the Japanese restaurant in Epcot.
Other things---the visit was great overall. All of the cast members were helpful and cheery. None of the rides broke down or stopped when we were on them (as they have in the past) and the wait times weren't that bad--for rides with infamously long lines, we were smart to use FastPass and/or get to them as soon as the park opened (Toy Story Mania and Aerosmith specifically).
My family and I just returned from our wonderful trip to Disney this past week! We stayed at the Bay Lake Tower for the second time and this time, nothing really disappointed. On our last trip, our keycards were all messed up and they didn't give us two rooms side by side, but this time, everything was seamless and worked fine. They've replaced the locks on the doors to simply require you to wave your keycard in front of them and then the door opens.The rooms were clean and frunishing were just as nice as they were 3 years ago, but the fixtures in the bathroom were wearing (the floating shelf for towels was getting weak and leaning forward and the toilet paper holder looked as if it had fallen off of the wall and been reattached a few times). I really love how basic double rooms at the BLT come with a kitchenette--we were able to store milk, coffee creamer and some basics for breakfasts in the room with ease.
The crowds were on the lower side of medium---we purposely scheduled the trip for the week after the big holiday season rush and before the marathon. As we were leaving on Friday, most of the runners had trickled in and you could feel a more congested resort area. We followed the advice of www.easywdw.com's crowd forecast and everything worked out great!! On Sunday evening after our flight arrived and we checked into the BLT, we hit up MK after a lovely first monorail ride and during the EMH, we walked on BTM three times, walked on Ariel, and did a short 15 minute wait for SM. On other days, we arrived at each park about 15 minutes prior to opening and comfortably FastPassed some rides and walked on others.
The BEST advice we followed was visiting MK mid week, on Wednesday, when it would be the least crowded. We walked right on Peter Pan and other favorites in the back of the park. Because Splash is closed, it seemed as though lots of people went straight to Tomorrowland for their first rides--and we rode BTM many times before a line formed, and it wasn't even that long.
We did single rider for Test Track because the line never got below 45 minutes. The update to test track is okay, you get to customize your ride by choosing your car and priorities on a computer screen prior to boarding---however, the directions are vague and they don't explain that you must scan your car prior to boarding when waiting in the queue to actually make your car appear in the ride--my sister and I found ourselves telling people waiting to board in our car "scan your card here".
New Little Mermaid ride---well, this is the most disappointing this to say about the trip: we were not impressed. The queue is amazing with gorgeous and entertaining details. Also, the animatronics and the design of the ride is impressive too--with bright colors and lots to look at. BUT, you just go through the ride on a clamshell on a slow, one-level track....the ride uses a scheme that is 30 years old and no different than the Winnie the Pooh and old Snow White ride. With so much money, time, and resources used for this ride, you'd figure the ride would just be more innovative. I'm sure little kids will enjoy seeing Ariel, but we were so thankful we walked right on this ride---it took 5 minutes just to walk thru the empty queue--I cannot imagine waiting a long time for this ride and the queue suggests that they are expecting large crowds and waits for this ride. Bummer...
Dining:
Gaston's Tavern---we were all sort of grossed out by the description of the apple brew and didn't even try it. Two of us had the pork shanks. The menu at this venue was puzzling....I guess DW doesn't want a ton of people eating here because I couldn't imagine a pork shank appealing to the masses. And, besides that, there weren't many choices. BOG was impossible to get into for dinner this week (even when trying a month ago for reservations) and we didn't attempt for quick service lunch.
Plaza Restaurant--we ate here for the first time ever, and during the mid day parade. It was great! We had sandwiches, the Rueben was terrific on marble rye and the club sandwich was enjoyable too. We also go to witness the mayor of Main Street coming in to congratulate the 100th visitor of the day with a free dessert and we thought it was really cute.
Tokyo--We ate at the regular table service (non hibachi) restaurant at the Japanese pavilion in Epcot. Overall, the meal was good, but the tuna sashimi in the Bento box tasted a little off. The room provides a wonderful view of the world showcase lit up at night and after dinner, we were able to watch Illuminations easily. In years past, it's been so crowded, that it was tough to get a good view, but this time, it was easy. I had the mandarin orange martini for a drink and it was tiny and way too sweet, I didn't order a second one. The miso soup was some of the best I've ever had though!
Yak and Yeti (Animal Kingdom in Asia near Everest)--another restaurant we've never been to and it was really great!! We had a wonderful lunch there that really filled us up. The seafood curry and tamarind chicken received great reviews from our party. Also, my mom loved her seared tuna salad and my Asian chicken salad was great too---the salads were huge! We also had a really great waitress.
Sushi bar at Polynesian resort--after the MK on Tuesday night, my sister and i headed over to the Polynesian for some sushi. This place was amazing!! We had the Hawaiian Poke salad, which was like tuna tar tar on top of wontons, and the Volcano, which was a pyramid of tuna rolls with spicy shrimp salad all over it (like a volcano erupting) and it was delicious AND the fish tasted better here than the sushi at the Japanese restaurant in Epcot.
Other things---the visit was great overall. All of the cast members were helpful and cheery. None of the rides broke down or stopped when we were on them (as they have in the past) and the wait times weren't that bad--for rides with infamously long lines, we were smart to use FastPass and/or get to them as soon as the park opened (Toy Story Mania and Aerosmith specifically).