allie_to_you
A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes...
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2006
Just back from our trip to Disney World. We were there for 8 days and while not everything went perfectly, it was overall a great trip. Just some thoughts/observations from our trip
1. Magicbands We were happy with this change. Since we stayed off-site, we pre-purchased our magicbands from the Disney store and had them in just a few days. I was worried that they would be flimsy or feel like they were going to fall off, but they felt quite sturdy and were pretty comfortable to wear. I decorated mine using fingernail polish and it was super cute. We liked not having to reach for our park tickets or memory maker card for our photopass pictures and ride photos.
2. FP+ After all the negative things I had read about FP+ before we left on our trip, I was highly prepared to dislike this new change. But, for us at least, it was pretty easy. We made all our fast passes at 30 days out and had absolutely no issues getting everything we wanted. In the parks, it was pretty easy (except for the times when the app was acting screwy) to make changes to the time or attraction. We only ever utilized the FP kiosks a couple times. By the times our 3 were used up, we had either already done everything we wanted or there wasnt anything left worth standing in the kiosk line for. The only real negative thing I guess Id say about the FP+ system is that it made our days feel a bit more regimented. We had to stop and think about where our next FP was going to be so that we werent clear across the park at another attraction when it came time for our current FP. After even a part of a day at the park, you tend to be a lot more tired than you realize especially your feet.
3. Restaurants We went to quite a few restaurants this trip, some of which were new for us
a. Coral Reef: This was a new one to us. Its a beautiful restaurant, and the view into the big tank is nice, but the food was bland and the service only so so. Not one well do again most likely
b. Ohana breakfast: Loved it. We had never done this one before this trip because we had always felt, by the description, that it wouldnt be enough food for the price. We came away SOOOOO full though. No, it wasnt the variety that you find at a buffet, but it was still very good and filling and all you can eat. Plus, getting to see Lilo & Stitch was pretty cool and we were glad they had a photopass photographer there to get pictures of you with Stitch
c. Ohana Dinner: Weve done this one several times before and always really enjoy it. My only complaint is that the chicken wings, while good, tasted different than the yummy wings weve had in years past. The bread pudding of course, as always is to die for.
d. 50s Prime Time Café: Weve never done this one before but we LOVED it. It was so cute and our waiter was really fun. Great food and atmosphere
e. Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party: We did this a few years ago but enjoyed it again this year. It was quite cold this night, so we were freezing on the balcony by the water, but we had a fantastic view and the desserts were good. We got there about an hour before Wishes started and had some coffee and desserts. Since it was so cold though, we didnt want to just sit around, so it was nice to be able to leave and then come back after a while for more desserts and to see the show and know that our table was still ours and hadnt been touched.
4. Crowds Holy cow! We planned our trip for the week in January that we did using both Touringplans and EasyWDW. Both had the crowds being at very low, but our first weekend was during the ½ and full marathons, which made traffic and the crowds a nightmare. Even once the races were over, it was still quite a bit more crowded than we expected it to be.
5. Construction At MK, the construction near the hub wasnt so bad that we even really took too much notice of it. Thankfully, we got some good pics in front of the castle before the ugly crane went up to take down all the castle lights.
At AK, the construction wall are EVERYWHERE and they felt very obtrusive and ugly. In fact, we only ended up going to AK one day. It was cold the day we went, so we barely saw any animals and we just didnt feel like we enjoyed AK this year like we have in the past.
At HS, on our first day, they had most of the panels off the tip of the scorcerers hat. A few days later, they had a good chunk of the top of the hat off. It was a bit of an eyesore and you could really see how dingy the hat was looking when you were up close
1. Magicbands We were happy with this change. Since we stayed off-site, we pre-purchased our magicbands from the Disney store and had them in just a few days. I was worried that they would be flimsy or feel like they were going to fall off, but they felt quite sturdy and were pretty comfortable to wear. I decorated mine using fingernail polish and it was super cute. We liked not having to reach for our park tickets or memory maker card for our photopass pictures and ride photos.
2. FP+ After all the negative things I had read about FP+ before we left on our trip, I was highly prepared to dislike this new change. But, for us at least, it was pretty easy. We made all our fast passes at 30 days out and had absolutely no issues getting everything we wanted. In the parks, it was pretty easy (except for the times when the app was acting screwy) to make changes to the time or attraction. We only ever utilized the FP kiosks a couple times. By the times our 3 were used up, we had either already done everything we wanted or there wasnt anything left worth standing in the kiosk line for. The only real negative thing I guess Id say about the FP+ system is that it made our days feel a bit more regimented. We had to stop and think about where our next FP was going to be so that we werent clear across the park at another attraction when it came time for our current FP. After even a part of a day at the park, you tend to be a lot more tired than you realize especially your feet.
3. Restaurants We went to quite a few restaurants this trip, some of which were new for us
a. Coral Reef: This was a new one to us. Its a beautiful restaurant, and the view into the big tank is nice, but the food was bland and the service only so so. Not one well do again most likely
b. Ohana breakfast: Loved it. We had never done this one before this trip because we had always felt, by the description, that it wouldnt be enough food for the price. We came away SOOOOO full though. No, it wasnt the variety that you find at a buffet, but it was still very good and filling and all you can eat. Plus, getting to see Lilo & Stitch was pretty cool and we were glad they had a photopass photographer there to get pictures of you with Stitch
c. Ohana Dinner: Weve done this one several times before and always really enjoy it. My only complaint is that the chicken wings, while good, tasted different than the yummy wings weve had in years past. The bread pudding of course, as always is to die for.
d. 50s Prime Time Café: Weve never done this one before but we LOVED it. It was so cute and our waiter was really fun. Great food and atmosphere
e. Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party: We did this a few years ago but enjoyed it again this year. It was quite cold this night, so we were freezing on the balcony by the water, but we had a fantastic view and the desserts were good. We got there about an hour before Wishes started and had some coffee and desserts. Since it was so cold though, we didnt want to just sit around, so it was nice to be able to leave and then come back after a while for more desserts and to see the show and know that our table was still ours and hadnt been touched.
4. Crowds Holy cow! We planned our trip for the week in January that we did using both Touringplans and EasyWDW. Both had the crowds being at very low, but our first weekend was during the ½ and full marathons, which made traffic and the crowds a nightmare. Even once the races were over, it was still quite a bit more crowded than we expected it to be.
5. Construction At MK, the construction near the hub wasnt so bad that we even really took too much notice of it. Thankfully, we got some good pics in front of the castle before the ugly crane went up to take down all the castle lights.
At AK, the construction wall are EVERYWHERE and they felt very obtrusive and ugly. In fact, we only ended up going to AK one day. It was cold the day we went, so we barely saw any animals and we just didnt feel like we enjoyed AK this year like we have in the past.
At HS, on our first day, they had most of the panels off the tip of the scorcerers hat. A few days later, they had a good chunk of the top of the hat off. It was a bit of an eyesore and you could really see how dingy the hat was looking when you were up close
And that the January crowds were bigger than normal. We have done most of our Disney trips in the month of January and always enjoyed low to non-existent crowds. DD and I went in September and it was fairly busy then, and I went once in March (spring break) and it was extremely busy. Hoping for low crowds while we're there. 
) On the Friday we were there, we were walking to Splash Mountain and we saw a sea of teenagers in blue Tshirts coming for the ride from the other side. I told DD: 'Run for the line!!!' 
We noticed that the wait time posted had increased from 20 minutes just while we went through the ride.
