Sarahleigh
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2010
First things first! Disney's Magical Express. We love the convenience of Magical Express & use it every time. We are no strangers to long waits after flight landing and were not surprised to find long lines at MDE on a Saturday morning but it was less than 5 minutes after getting in line and we were on our way to AKL Kidani Village! This is where we ran into our only problem with the new Magic Band technology. One member of our party scanned their band and it only showed 4 out of the 6 of us listed on our reservation but they just waved us on. At the 2nd scan before boarding the bus same thing! The lady kept insisting we were on 2 separate reservations but we weren't. We were all in a 2 bedroom villa. Oh well, they waved us on again so no big deal. 
We spent 6 nights in our 2 bedroom villa at Kidani village and loved everything about it! Being 6 adults it was the perfect size for us! Me, DH, sister and brother in law shared the bedroom with 2 queen beds while my parents had the master bedroom and each couple had their own bathroom with our own closets and plenty of space. LOVED IT! The kitchen was very convenient for making our own meals although since we were on the dining plan it wasn't very often. We used it mostly for breakfast. Our only dislike was the walk to The Mara over at Jambo house. I know there's the shuttle going to and from the separate lodges and the ability to hope on any park bus to get to Jambo but we often just walked it.
The first 2 days we had perfect weather! I think it was in the low 80s and low humidity! Exactly how we liked it! Our 3rd day was such a total wash out we ended up leaving HS and going back to the room and hitting up DTD at night once the rain let up! But then it just got COLD! I think Tuesday's high was 48 degrees and even coming from Michigan it was cold.
By Thursday it was back into the 60s. We just added extra layers and kept on going!
There is a lot of construction in in MK, AK & DTD but we never found it to be too bothersome or distracting. I like to see Disney keeping things fresh and updated. I think the hub expansion is needed BADLY!
Our first night in the parks was a Saturday and we chose MK. I know they always say Saturdays at MK are the worst but being our first day I felt like we just needed to start at MK. Had I known how the night was going to turn out I probably would have tried a different park. We figured we'd just go with the flow and make it work but HOLY MOLEY it was crowded! Touring plans had predicted a 2 and actual turned out to be a 7. And it sure felt like it. Wait times were long and navigating through the crowds was challenging & Main Street was nearly impassable in spots. The CMs directing traffic were barking orders left and right to keep moving but sometimes there was no where to go. We had just finished dinner at Crystal Palace and had stopped in front of Casey's Corner to try and figure out the best way to get across to Fantasyland while the MSEP was going on and an older gentleman CM came up to us and yelled "If emergency vehicles and paramedics mean anything to you, you guys will move it!" I might add that we were not standing in front of any emergency vehicles but apparently the path they keep open just in case. So I understand the need to keep an open path for emergency vehicles but I believe there would be a nicer way of going about explaining so. Anyways, after that I looked at my husband and said lets forget it and get out of this park when the CM said "That's fine. Goodbye!" I was in shock at the way he had said it. This was not the way we had planned to start our trip but luckily it was uphill from there.
While it continued to be more crowded than we had anticipated with the new FP+ system we were able to get on all our favorites rides with nearly NO WAIT! I am actually a fan of the new system. I hated all the extra planning required 60 days out but in the end it definitely worked out for us.
Our last night (11/20)we attended MVMCP and we loved it! We are not into the special parades, fireworks or characters but even during a sold out party we were able to walk on just about anything! We rode Space Mountain 4 times in a row without a wait and we even ate at Casey's Corner during the holiday Wishes fireworks and still found the crowd on Main Street much more manageable than the Saturday before! The free hot chocolate during the party was a definite plus with the cold weather we had!
We LOVED The Osborne Lights! I couldn't get enough of them! We actually made a special trip back to HS just to see them one night. These are definitely a not to miss attraction for any Christmas trip!
I was slightly underwhelmed by the Christmas decorations in the park. I had gotten myself really excited to see Disney during Christmas but never found myself really in awe of any of it.
This was our first trip eating regularly at table service restaurants because we've always been on the quick service plan. We ate at the following:
Crystal Palace dinner: While I did not eat while there because I wasn't feeling well I guess no one in my party was overly impressed.
Tusker House lunch: while still another buffet I enjoyed it very much and everyone else in the party said it was better than Crystal Palace! Character interaction was great even when we were a party of all adults!
Garden Grill dinner: Super yummy! All the food was good and the server even brought us broccoli & a family size portion of mac n' cheese after mentioning the "kid friendly platter" again to our adult only party and we asked for it so that was a nice added bonus we didn't expect. Character interaction again was great!
Boma breakfast: FANTASTIC! Probably my favorite meal. So much so that we actually attempted to eat there again on our check out day but there was too many people waiting so we had to pass.
Sci-Fi lunch: was so-so. It's definitely more of something to do for the experience and not the food. I will say the oreo shake, cucumber salad side dish and the sci-fi candy bar I had for dessert was pretty good though
Via Napoli: I could take it or leave it. Hubby liked his pizza but I chose the lasagna Verde and felt like I was eating just cheese and spinach. The actual noodles were scarce. One thing I found odd that I didn't expect is that the pasta dish and the pizzas come from two different kitchens so I had my food almost finished before my husbands pizza had arrived. The gelato was super yummy though! I had never tried it before and really enjoyed it!
Overall another good vacation for the books and now I'm home and suffering from Post Disney Depression and ready to start planning another trip but I think we'll wait for all the new stuff to be finished!
We spent 6 nights in our 2 bedroom villa at Kidani village and loved everything about it! Being 6 adults it was the perfect size for us! Me, DH, sister and brother in law shared the bedroom with 2 queen beds while my parents had the master bedroom and each couple had their own bathroom with our own closets and plenty of space. LOVED IT! The kitchen was very convenient for making our own meals although since we were on the dining plan it wasn't very often. We used it mostly for breakfast. Our only dislike was the walk to The Mara over at Jambo house. I know there's the shuttle going to and from the separate lodges and the ability to hope on any park bus to get to Jambo but we often just walked it.
The first 2 days we had perfect weather! I think it was in the low 80s and low humidity! Exactly how we liked it! Our 3rd day was such a total wash out we ended up leaving HS and going back to the room and hitting up DTD at night once the rain let up! But then it just got COLD! I think Tuesday's high was 48 degrees and even coming from Michigan it was cold.
By Thursday it was back into the 60s. We just added extra layers and kept on going! There is a lot of construction in in MK, AK & DTD but we never found it to be too bothersome or distracting. I like to see Disney keeping things fresh and updated. I think the hub expansion is needed BADLY!
Our first night in the parks was a Saturday and we chose MK. I know they always say Saturdays at MK are the worst but being our first day I felt like we just needed to start at MK. Had I known how the night was going to turn out I probably would have tried a different park. We figured we'd just go with the flow and make it work but HOLY MOLEY it was crowded! Touring plans had predicted a 2 and actual turned out to be a 7. And it sure felt like it. Wait times were long and navigating through the crowds was challenging & Main Street was nearly impassable in spots. The CMs directing traffic were barking orders left and right to keep moving but sometimes there was no where to go. We had just finished dinner at Crystal Palace and had stopped in front of Casey's Corner to try and figure out the best way to get across to Fantasyland while the MSEP was going on and an older gentleman CM came up to us and yelled "If emergency vehicles and paramedics mean anything to you, you guys will move it!" I might add that we were not standing in front of any emergency vehicles but apparently the path they keep open just in case. So I understand the need to keep an open path for emergency vehicles but I believe there would be a nicer way of going about explaining so. Anyways, after that I looked at my husband and said lets forget it and get out of this park when the CM said "That's fine. Goodbye!" I was in shock at the way he had said it. This was not the way we had planned to start our trip but luckily it was uphill from there.
While it continued to be more crowded than we had anticipated with the new FP+ system we were able to get on all our favorites rides with nearly NO WAIT! I am actually a fan of the new system. I hated all the extra planning required 60 days out but in the end it definitely worked out for us.
Our last night (11/20)we attended MVMCP and we loved it! We are not into the special parades, fireworks or characters but even during a sold out party we were able to walk on just about anything! We rode Space Mountain 4 times in a row without a wait and we even ate at Casey's Corner during the holiday Wishes fireworks and still found the crowd on Main Street much more manageable than the Saturday before! The free hot chocolate during the party was a definite plus with the cold weather we had!
We LOVED The Osborne Lights! I couldn't get enough of them! We actually made a special trip back to HS just to see them one night. These are definitely a not to miss attraction for any Christmas trip!
I was slightly underwhelmed by the Christmas decorations in the park. I had gotten myself really excited to see Disney during Christmas but never found myself really in awe of any of it.
This was our first trip eating regularly at table service restaurants because we've always been on the quick service plan. We ate at the following:
Crystal Palace dinner: While I did not eat while there because I wasn't feeling well I guess no one in my party was overly impressed.
Tusker House lunch: while still another buffet I enjoyed it very much and everyone else in the party said it was better than Crystal Palace! Character interaction was great even when we were a party of all adults!
Garden Grill dinner: Super yummy! All the food was good and the server even brought us broccoli & a family size portion of mac n' cheese after mentioning the "kid friendly platter" again to our adult only party and we asked for it so that was a nice added bonus we didn't expect. Character interaction again was great!
Boma breakfast: FANTASTIC! Probably my favorite meal. So much so that we actually attempted to eat there again on our check out day but there was too many people waiting so we had to pass.
Sci-Fi lunch: was so-so. It's definitely more of something to do for the experience and not the food. I will say the oreo shake, cucumber salad side dish and the sci-fi candy bar I had for dessert was pretty good though
Via Napoli: I could take it or leave it. Hubby liked his pizza but I chose the lasagna Verde and felt like I was eating just cheese and spinach. The actual noodles were scarce. One thing I found odd that I didn't expect is that the pasta dish and the pizzas come from two different kitchens so I had my food almost finished before my husbands pizza had arrived. The gelato was super yummy though! I had never tried it before and really enjoyed it!
Overall another good vacation for the books and now I'm home and suffering from Post Disney Depression and ready to start planning another trip but I think we'll wait for all the new stuff to be finished!
