*~PrincessBelle~*
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2009
Just back from a short somewhat solo trip August 12-16th with an (unplanned) split stay between POP and POFQ. Some quick background on this trip
I have been accepted as a cast member in the Canada Pavilion for a one year contract beginning November 1st and was getting far too anxious and couldnt wait that long to head back to the world so planned a short stay for myself. I originally planned to go solo but actually spent a lot of time hanging out with a current cast member who is now working in the Canada Pavilion (who I met at the Disney interviews back in the spring). She was also kind enough to offer up her family and friends discount for my rooms so didnt end up paying rack rate for POP or POFQ .
Transportation: On this trip I was expecting the worst for bus service since it was supposed to be crowded and busy in the summer but I got really lucky. In addition to that almost all of the bus drivers I had were so much fun almost all of them singing, playing wheels on the bus, and getting the crowd pumped up to be heading for the parks. It really does make a world of difference when the bus drivers make the trip to/from the parks fun Didnt wait more than 15 min for the ME bus to leave despite only having about 4 other families on board. First stop was my resort POP then went on to AKL Kidani Village. At POP I pretty much walked on a bus right away or waiting no more than 5 minutes for one to show up same was true when leaving the parks or DTD. At POFQ the bus service was a bit slower with waiting almost 15-20 minutes (although they are supposed to run every 20 minutes anyway any sooner is just a nice perk) for busses to all parks. The longest wait came when leaving DHS at 10:00 (when the park closed at 11) the wait was about 40 min before a bus came however when we left we saw there was a car accident right outside DHS and about 10 disney buses were stuck in the traffic not able to move so not disneys fault at all. ME back home came on time and only made one other stop at Old Key West before heading back to MCO
Crowds: This was the BIGGEST shocker for me you always hear horror stories about summer crowds but I couldnt believe how quiet the parks seemed..almost as quiet at September or in the spring (after Easter of course). I arrived at MK and walked on Space Mountain at 4:30 pm and didnt wait more than 15 min for anything (didnt ride TSM though) and didnt even really use FPs..except to ride Peter Pan. I was even able to make last minute (day before) ressies for Ohana and Crystal Palace as well as make a walk up ressie at California Grill more on my dining experiences below. The only significant crowds I experience was the mass exodus of people at the end of Fantasmic but that is to be expected and cant ever really be avoided.
Weather: This was somewhat of a concern before leaving since everyday was forecast rain now im quiet familiar with the afternoon passing shower you often get in Florida in the afternoon but I only saw rain once. The Friday night it poured as we were walking to CP for dinner but only lasted about 10 minutes. Saturday it spit on and off but never actually rained same with Sunday and Monday. I didnt even get to use any of the Ponchos I brought from home! It was hot as heck but not unmanagable. A strategic stroll through the gift shops here and there and stops at Aloha Isle for a cool treat really helped.
Resorts: Originally I was booked at POP in a preferred room and got a ground floor room in the 50s building. The cast members and service all around was great. The theming was fun and colorful. The pool area was nice and quiet and relaxing. The CS options in the food court were plentiful as well. The rooms were clean but small. I did know this going in and thought I was prepared but you pretty much open the door and the one bed is literally right there. I was just one person in the room so it was comfortable enough to be in to change, nap, and sleep. Well maybe not the sleep part the first two nights I didnt sleep very well due to hard beds (in my opinion only other my find them suitable) and paper thin walls. I could hear when someone moved in the other room let alone when they ran the water to have a shower, flush toilets, baby crying etc. I figured I would tough it out for the next two nights because I did like all other aspects of the resort until I took a visit to POFQ and fell in LOVE. I had my reservation moved over to the new resort (still able to retain my discount) and was placed in building 6, 3rd floor room facing the walkway. The room was GORGEOUS. I love the new décor since the refurb. The rooms look so elegant and they are very spacious (compared to the value). The double sinks would be a big bonus too had my husband been staying with me. The CS food options were good but not as plentiful as POP but as a trade off they do have beignets which yes I did eat for breakfast on 2 mornings. Service overall was superb and the pool (while not themed to my liking with that weird dragon around it) was very relaxing and quiet. The boat ride to downtown Disney was very relaxing and morning strolls around the resort were very peaceful and short since the resort is to compact (another bonus). I loved everything about this resort and felt immediately relaxed and in my element here it was just very me. I wouldnt hesitate to stay here again and would even pick this over Poly or WL next time.
Dining: I had a great experience with TS restaurants this time around. The first night we ate CP in MK. We were seated late - but we did check in late due to getting stuck on a ride. The characters here were phenomenal the interaction was way better than at Chef Mickeys ( I didnt think Pooh would ever leave our table!) and found the food options on the buffet to be better as well. The next day I had an afternoon ressie at the Garden View Tea Room at the GF which I would do again in a heartbeat. Service here was impeccable and we were even seated early. I had the grand tea and the finger sandwiches, tea, champagne, and trifle were to die for. Being born in the UK and growing up around traditional English foods I was pleasantly surprised to find that the trifle actually tasted like a proper English trifle (so hard to find in North America). I think Ill be making this one a regular TS dining experience on future trips. I also had a chance to dine at California Grill solo. Here I found the CMs at the check in to be somewhat rude and not as welcome towards a solo diner. They tried on numerous occasions to stick me at the sushi bar but was adamant that I wanted a table the view is part of the reason I want to dine there! In the end I was seated at a quiet table right by the window overlooking MK. Gorgeous. My waitress more than made up for my bad experience downstairs and really looked after me and went above and beyond to help and make me feel comfortable. The food (as always) was amazing and I left feeling far too full. The last TS I experienced was Ohanas for breakfast. Another great all you can eat TS meal with hot food, and amazing character interaction. Pluto was the best and didnt want to leave our table. We never felt rushed and enjoyed the characters more than once each. I
Parks: On this trip I visited every park except for AK. I actually made it a point to not do any rope drop (a very hard task for a commando rope dropper) and only enjoyed the parks in the evenings and during evening EMH. This strategy paid off on this occasion and had little no wait for anything only using a FP once for Peter Pan in MK. I enjoyed Wishes twice, illuminations, and fantasmic. I even had a chance to ride two new attractions Star Tours (I had ridden previously before the refurb) which I loved although made me a little motion sick as well as Journey into the imagination with Figment (very cute!).
Miscellaneous: There were a lot of pregnant woman in the parks this time around - and mean at least 7-8 months preganant or looked like they were about to pop. I did worry because there is so much walking and the heat & humidity was just killer although im sure all these woman know their tolerances and know when to take breaks etc. Just surprised that's all. Also saw a lot of unhappy parents (which the heat can get to anyone) but the one mom I saw denied her son water when we had been standing in the hot sun waiting for a bus kind of upset me... she did drink plenty of water herself when standing there while he cried that he was hot and wanted water... no big tour groups were spotted...
I know this ended being a little longer than I thought but will post again later in a proper TR with pics and more details. Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any questions!
Transportation: On this trip I was expecting the worst for bus service since it was supposed to be crowded and busy in the summer but I got really lucky. In addition to that almost all of the bus drivers I had were so much fun almost all of them singing, playing wheels on the bus, and getting the crowd pumped up to be heading for the parks. It really does make a world of difference when the bus drivers make the trip to/from the parks fun Didnt wait more than 15 min for the ME bus to leave despite only having about 4 other families on board. First stop was my resort POP then went on to AKL Kidani Village. At POP I pretty much walked on a bus right away or waiting no more than 5 minutes for one to show up same was true when leaving the parks or DTD. At POFQ the bus service was a bit slower with waiting almost 15-20 minutes (although they are supposed to run every 20 minutes anyway any sooner is just a nice perk) for busses to all parks. The longest wait came when leaving DHS at 10:00 (when the park closed at 11) the wait was about 40 min before a bus came however when we left we saw there was a car accident right outside DHS and about 10 disney buses were stuck in the traffic not able to move so not disneys fault at all. ME back home came on time and only made one other stop at Old Key West before heading back to MCO
Crowds: This was the BIGGEST shocker for me you always hear horror stories about summer crowds but I couldnt believe how quiet the parks seemed..almost as quiet at September or in the spring (after Easter of course). I arrived at MK and walked on Space Mountain at 4:30 pm and didnt wait more than 15 min for anything (didnt ride TSM though) and didnt even really use FPs..except to ride Peter Pan. I was even able to make last minute (day before) ressies for Ohana and Crystal Palace as well as make a walk up ressie at California Grill more on my dining experiences below. The only significant crowds I experience was the mass exodus of people at the end of Fantasmic but that is to be expected and cant ever really be avoided.
Weather: This was somewhat of a concern before leaving since everyday was forecast rain now im quiet familiar with the afternoon passing shower you often get in Florida in the afternoon but I only saw rain once. The Friday night it poured as we were walking to CP for dinner but only lasted about 10 minutes. Saturday it spit on and off but never actually rained same with Sunday and Monday. I didnt even get to use any of the Ponchos I brought from home! It was hot as heck but not unmanagable. A strategic stroll through the gift shops here and there and stops at Aloha Isle for a cool treat really helped.
Resorts: Originally I was booked at POP in a preferred room and got a ground floor room in the 50s building. The cast members and service all around was great. The theming was fun and colorful. The pool area was nice and quiet and relaxing. The CS options in the food court were plentiful as well. The rooms were clean but small. I did know this going in and thought I was prepared but you pretty much open the door and the one bed is literally right there. I was just one person in the room so it was comfortable enough to be in to change, nap, and sleep. Well maybe not the sleep part the first two nights I didnt sleep very well due to hard beds (in my opinion only other my find them suitable) and paper thin walls. I could hear when someone moved in the other room let alone when they ran the water to have a shower, flush toilets, baby crying etc. I figured I would tough it out for the next two nights because I did like all other aspects of the resort until I took a visit to POFQ and fell in LOVE. I had my reservation moved over to the new resort (still able to retain my discount) and was placed in building 6, 3rd floor room facing the walkway. The room was GORGEOUS. I love the new décor since the refurb. The rooms look so elegant and they are very spacious (compared to the value). The double sinks would be a big bonus too had my husband been staying with me. The CS food options were good but not as plentiful as POP but as a trade off they do have beignets which yes I did eat for breakfast on 2 mornings. Service overall was superb and the pool (while not themed to my liking with that weird dragon around it) was very relaxing and quiet. The boat ride to downtown Disney was very relaxing and morning strolls around the resort were very peaceful and short since the resort is to compact (another bonus). I loved everything about this resort and felt immediately relaxed and in my element here it was just very me. I wouldnt hesitate to stay here again and would even pick this over Poly or WL next time.
Dining: I had a great experience with TS restaurants this time around. The first night we ate CP in MK. We were seated late - but we did check in late due to getting stuck on a ride. The characters here were phenomenal the interaction was way better than at Chef Mickeys ( I didnt think Pooh would ever leave our table!) and found the food options on the buffet to be better as well. The next day I had an afternoon ressie at the Garden View Tea Room at the GF which I would do again in a heartbeat. Service here was impeccable and we were even seated early. I had the grand tea and the finger sandwiches, tea, champagne, and trifle were to die for. Being born in the UK and growing up around traditional English foods I was pleasantly surprised to find that the trifle actually tasted like a proper English trifle (so hard to find in North America). I think Ill be making this one a regular TS dining experience on future trips. I also had a chance to dine at California Grill solo. Here I found the CMs at the check in to be somewhat rude and not as welcome towards a solo diner. They tried on numerous occasions to stick me at the sushi bar but was adamant that I wanted a table the view is part of the reason I want to dine there! In the end I was seated at a quiet table right by the window overlooking MK. Gorgeous. My waitress more than made up for my bad experience downstairs and really looked after me and went above and beyond to help and make me feel comfortable. The food (as always) was amazing and I left feeling far too full. The last TS I experienced was Ohanas for breakfast. Another great all you can eat TS meal with hot food, and amazing character interaction. Pluto was the best and didnt want to leave our table. We never felt rushed and enjoyed the characters more than once each. I
Parks: On this trip I visited every park except for AK. I actually made it a point to not do any rope drop (a very hard task for a commando rope dropper) and only enjoyed the parks in the evenings and during evening EMH. This strategy paid off on this occasion and had little no wait for anything only using a FP once for Peter Pan in MK. I enjoyed Wishes twice, illuminations, and fantasmic. I even had a chance to ride two new attractions Star Tours (I had ridden previously before the refurb) which I loved although made me a little motion sick as well as Journey into the imagination with Figment (very cute!).
Miscellaneous: There were a lot of pregnant woman in the parks this time around - and mean at least 7-8 months preganant or looked like they were about to pop. I did worry because there is so much walking and the heat & humidity was just killer although im sure all these woman know their tolerances and know when to take breaks etc. Just surprised that's all. Also saw a lot of unhappy parents (which the heat can get to anyone) but the one mom I saw denied her son water when we had been standing in the hot sun waiting for a bus kind of upset me... she did drink plenty of water herself when standing there while he cried that he was hot and wanted water... no big tour groups were spotted...
I know this ended being a little longer than I thought but will post again later in a proper TR with pics and more details. Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any questions!
My DH and I hope and pray that someday we will work there as well. I hope it's a wonderful experience for you! And thank you for the observations. I just can't wait until our vacation in October...it can't get here fast enough!
im the only one who's name tag reads st.thomas, ON Canada
I hope you LOVE it
