freckles04
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2012
Hi all! I wanted to write up a mini report for anyone who might want to read how things went for us on a winter Disney trip. It was my first trip with extended family, first winter trip, and first time flying down & using the Magical Express. Trip members consisted of: myself, my DS10, my parents, my sister, brother-in-law, and my darling niece who is 5 years old. We live on opposite ends of the country and don't see each other often, so this was a family reunion sort of trip as well!
We stayed 1/20-1/25 at Pop Century, in 3 different rooms on 3 different reservations, with 6 day base tickets and regular dining plan. I am not a fan of the dining plan but we booked with the Stay/Play/Dine promotion.
On Disney's Magical Express
We have always made the 14 hour drive to Disney World, so our flight which was <2 hours was a treat. After we landed at 1:20PM, a bus was ready and waiting when we arrived and we waited about 15 minutes before it departed. It stopped at Art of Animation first and then Pop Century where we got off. It then continued on to Animal Kingdom from there. Our luggage still had not arrived around 4:30PM but to my relief it was all there when we returned from Hollywood Studios later that evening.
Checking our luggage in upon our departure could not have been easier. We left it with bell services who tagged it and brought it to the airport for us and we then picked it up at baggage claim at our home airport. It was completely hassle-free. I know this service is not available with every airline but we flew Southwest.
On Magic Bands
This was our second trip using Magic Bands but they were completely new to the rest of my party. They worked just fine except for park entry. Every day at least one person's got the blue light and needed to be reset by a cast member with an iPad. It wasn't a horrible inconvenience, more like an annoyance. Otherwise, they worked just fine for opening the room door, charging, photos, and FP+. Even my niece who just turned 5 quickly understood the Mickey to Mickey concept. My dad who is 78 had the most difficulty getting it to scan correctly.
On the Dining Plan
The only reason we had the dining plan was because of the Stay/Play/Dine promotion and I really missed the freedom of paying out of pocket! Our table service credits got messed up somehow and by our 4th day we noticed that my sister and her family were out of credits and the rest of us had too many. We don't know how it happened but the server at Tusker House pointed this out to us as she thought it was odd. Guest Relations at Animal Kingdom was able to fix it for us, but it took about 45 minutes.
On FP+
We like FP+ but changing on the fly was difficult as the app was very slow. It worked some better using my 4g network than the park Wifi. In the mornings, if we knew a change would be needed, it wasn't difficult to find different times. But the later the day got, the more we would get "Sorry, no more times available for this experience" etc. I guess that's true of legacy FP as well.
On the new ADR cancellation policy
We absolutely hate this new policy and often felt stressed trying to make ADR's. When it's just my little family on a trip, getting to reservations is pretty easy. It is difficult when going as a larger group when everyone moves at a different pace, or maybe you find you're just exhausted and would rather grab something at the resort for dinner, well... too bad now. Decide you'd rather sleep in than make that breakfast ADR after all? Too bad. The FP+ and ADR's together were overwhelming and my DS10 and I have already discussed skipping ADR's altogether next trip. We will just do counter service and if we feel like a table service we'll make an ADR on the fly for whatever is available. I get the reason for the new policy, however Disney is losing money from my family over it.
On Disney in January (brrr!)
The crowds were just incredible. Walkways could still get congested at times but for the most part it was amazing. Wait times were great compared to our summer and fall trips. There were plenty of spots at the railings open right before Illuminations although it was so cold we couldn't stand still so we didn't stay for it.
The weather was cold. The first day was very pleasant with a high of 68. We had highs in the 50's the rest of our trip. The mornings were very cold and with two jackets, gloves, wool socks, and a hat, I was shivering. Hot Hands in my coat pockets saved the day. (Note: I put these in my carryon luggage and had to step aside for an extra search! They contain iron and make the sensors go off. They did allow me to keep them in the carryon once they realized it was only Hot Hands). We shed layers during the warmer part of the day but I still wore my North Face fleece almost the whole trip without getting too warm. Florida to me means shorts and sun and so even though the crowds were fantastic, I don't plan to return in January.
On Meeting Elsa & Anna
We went to Epcot on a recommended day per EasyWDW, Wednesday January 22. Crowds were indeed low. I read here on the Disboards to head straight to Norway at 9:00 and line up, even though the meet & greet doesn't begin until 11:00. We arrived at Rope Drop and headed straight for Elsa & Anna's M&G area. By the time we made it back there, we were already placed in the 12:00 group vs. 11:00. Those arriving shortly after were put in even later groups. My dad was a great sport and held my niece's place in line for 3 hours while we rode rides. According to the cast member at Elsa & Anna if we had waited much longer to get in line we would have had a 5-6 hour wait and so I was very glad I knew this strategy from the Disboards. My one minor bummer about the M&G was that neither Anna or Elsa commented to my niece about her beautiful handmade Anna's coronation day dress (the green one). My mother sewed and hand-painted it. It was stunning and she was the only little girl I saw wearing an Anna dress that wasn't the blue skirt with the pink shawl. My niece would have been thrilled to get a comment from the princesses over it.
Just a side note on Epcot: we did Turtle Talk with Crush for the first time and IMO this is now a must-do for us. Neither of the kids were picked for questions but it didn't matter, Crush is so funny. I would enjoy this attraction even on a solo trip because it's just too cute.
On the Little Things
Some of our most fun moments were from the little things. We stopped to watch little shows like the one with Jack Sparrow in Adventureland or interact with Push the talking trash can. The African band outside of Tusker House was amazing and they saw my son bustin' a move in the audience and invited him to dance in the middle of the crowd and even blessed him for his birthday. Even though he moaned and groaned about doing Enchanted Tales with Belle, he got picked to be the Beast and was just tickled and gave his best roar. Those special moments made Disney for us!
If I think of any more thoughts, I'll add them. Thanks for reading!
We stayed 1/20-1/25 at Pop Century, in 3 different rooms on 3 different reservations, with 6 day base tickets and regular dining plan. I am not a fan of the dining plan but we booked with the Stay/Play/Dine promotion.
On Disney's Magical Express
We have always made the 14 hour drive to Disney World, so our flight which was <2 hours was a treat. After we landed at 1:20PM, a bus was ready and waiting when we arrived and we waited about 15 minutes before it departed. It stopped at Art of Animation first and then Pop Century where we got off. It then continued on to Animal Kingdom from there. Our luggage still had not arrived around 4:30PM but to my relief it was all there when we returned from Hollywood Studios later that evening.
Checking our luggage in upon our departure could not have been easier. We left it with bell services who tagged it and brought it to the airport for us and we then picked it up at baggage claim at our home airport. It was completely hassle-free. I know this service is not available with every airline but we flew Southwest.
On Magic Bands
This was our second trip using Magic Bands but they were completely new to the rest of my party. They worked just fine except for park entry. Every day at least one person's got the blue light and needed to be reset by a cast member with an iPad. It wasn't a horrible inconvenience, more like an annoyance. Otherwise, they worked just fine for opening the room door, charging, photos, and FP+. Even my niece who just turned 5 quickly understood the Mickey to Mickey concept. My dad who is 78 had the most difficulty getting it to scan correctly.
On the Dining Plan
The only reason we had the dining plan was because of the Stay/Play/Dine promotion and I really missed the freedom of paying out of pocket! Our table service credits got messed up somehow and by our 4th day we noticed that my sister and her family were out of credits and the rest of us had too many. We don't know how it happened but the server at Tusker House pointed this out to us as she thought it was odd. Guest Relations at Animal Kingdom was able to fix it for us, but it took about 45 minutes.
On FP+
We like FP+ but changing on the fly was difficult as the app was very slow. It worked some better using my 4g network than the park Wifi. In the mornings, if we knew a change would be needed, it wasn't difficult to find different times. But the later the day got, the more we would get "Sorry, no more times available for this experience" etc. I guess that's true of legacy FP as well.
On the new ADR cancellation policy
We absolutely hate this new policy and often felt stressed trying to make ADR's. When it's just my little family on a trip, getting to reservations is pretty easy. It is difficult when going as a larger group when everyone moves at a different pace, or maybe you find you're just exhausted and would rather grab something at the resort for dinner, well... too bad now. Decide you'd rather sleep in than make that breakfast ADR after all? Too bad. The FP+ and ADR's together were overwhelming and my DS10 and I have already discussed skipping ADR's altogether next trip. We will just do counter service and if we feel like a table service we'll make an ADR on the fly for whatever is available. I get the reason for the new policy, however Disney is losing money from my family over it.
On Disney in January (brrr!)
The crowds were just incredible. Walkways could still get congested at times but for the most part it was amazing. Wait times were great compared to our summer and fall trips. There were plenty of spots at the railings open right before Illuminations although it was so cold we couldn't stand still so we didn't stay for it.
The weather was cold. The first day was very pleasant with a high of 68. We had highs in the 50's the rest of our trip. The mornings were very cold and with two jackets, gloves, wool socks, and a hat, I was shivering. Hot Hands in my coat pockets saved the day. (Note: I put these in my carryon luggage and had to step aside for an extra search! They contain iron and make the sensors go off. They did allow me to keep them in the carryon once they realized it was only Hot Hands). We shed layers during the warmer part of the day but I still wore my North Face fleece almost the whole trip without getting too warm. Florida to me means shorts and sun and so even though the crowds were fantastic, I don't plan to return in January.
On Meeting Elsa & Anna
We went to Epcot on a recommended day per EasyWDW, Wednesday January 22. Crowds were indeed low. I read here on the Disboards to head straight to Norway at 9:00 and line up, even though the meet & greet doesn't begin until 11:00. We arrived at Rope Drop and headed straight for Elsa & Anna's M&G area. By the time we made it back there, we were already placed in the 12:00 group vs. 11:00. Those arriving shortly after were put in even later groups. My dad was a great sport and held my niece's place in line for 3 hours while we rode rides. According to the cast member at Elsa & Anna if we had waited much longer to get in line we would have had a 5-6 hour wait and so I was very glad I knew this strategy from the Disboards. My one minor bummer about the M&G was that neither Anna or Elsa commented to my niece about her beautiful handmade Anna's coronation day dress (the green one). My mother sewed and hand-painted it. It was stunning and she was the only little girl I saw wearing an Anna dress that wasn't the blue skirt with the pink shawl. My niece would have been thrilled to get a comment from the princesses over it.
Just a side note on Epcot: we did Turtle Talk with Crush for the first time and IMO this is now a must-do for us. Neither of the kids were picked for questions but it didn't matter, Crush is so funny. I would enjoy this attraction even on a solo trip because it's just too cute.
On the Little Things
Some of our most fun moments were from the little things. We stopped to watch little shows like the one with Jack Sparrow in Adventureland or interact with Push the talking trash can. The African band outside of Tusker House was amazing and they saw my son bustin' a move in the audience and invited him to dance in the middle of the crowd and even blessed him for his birthday. Even though he moaned and groaned about doing Enchanted Tales with Belle, he got picked to be the Beast and was just tickled and gave his best roar. Those special moments made Disney for us!
If I think of any more thoughts, I'll add them. Thanks for reading!
