Just got back - My opinions - any questions?

[Jennasis]

Are there no longer kiosks in Town Hall?

 

[L&Lfan]

Do you mean Elsa looked like a man or her make up/wig looked like drag?

 

[Cormoran]

3 kiosks??!!!

Well if they don't have enough slots to accommodate 4th FP+ guests, they'll limit the amount of available Kiosks. Then guests can choose to wait in a longer SB line or wait in a long Kiosk line.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Did you have and ADR for the BOG lunch or did you walk up?

 

[capegirl]

Well if they don't have enough slots to accommodate 4th FP+ guests, they'll limit the amount of available Kiosks. Then guests can choose to wait in a longer SB line or wait in a long Kiosk line.

Crowd control Disney style!

 

[Suzanne74]

Do you mean Elsa looked like a man or her make up/wig looked like drag?

The make-up and wig made her look drag. She was obviously a girl. Funny thing was when there was a picture of the new parade online last year my 13yr old said, "that kinda looks like a man!" and then I take my 5yr old in at 7am last Thurs and I was like "yeah, she looks like a man." Maybe it was the same CM? It was not a good look.

 

[Suzanne74]

So there is no longer one outside Jungle Cruise, then?

I am not 100% sure on that. We never saw it but never went on Jungle Cruise either. When I went to Town Hall, I was told I can not get my 4th FP there (even though another CM told me otherwise) and that there are 3 kiosks. One in the breezeway going to Adventureland from Liberty/Frontier, another in Fantasyland and another in Tomorrowland. I was royally pissed off because I was directed to Town Hall and it was 90 degrees, we were heading out for a mid day break and I was not about to turn around and waste another 20 minutes of walking back and forth on top of whatever line I would encounter when I got there. So we just left at that point.

I am not sure if this is new because it was my first time but they have CM's holding the iPads and do the scrolling for you when it was really busy.

 

[Dr Gevil]

We also just got back from staying at BCV for the first time as owners. My responses in red

Just got back so I will try to answer any questions.

My opinions in a nutshell:

Lines were long - After about 2 hrs after park open, yes they were. Still were able to get a lot done with RD and well positioned FP's though.
FP+ is not the way I like to do Disney. I miss the old FP system FP+ works great for us now. Know what we want to do, and were even able to switch around times and rides. Was very surprised to pick a Wishes FP+ for the hub area day of. Nice to seat on grass, but I still like watching behind the castle the best.
There are now only 3 kiosks for FP+ in all of MK and the lines were 20-30min long. Used the kiosk in NFL couple of times after Wishes to get 4th+ FPs for BTMR and Tink M&G. Saved a lot of time beating the masses going to both after fireworks and Standby times rocketed.
Mama Melrose Fantasmic Dinner package is the best deal in town.
Fantasmic dinner seats are not dead center as people here said. We were 2nd section from right hand side. Still worth it because it was stand- room only by 7:45.
Liberty Tree Tavern lunch was 2nd best meal deal in town - and we had window seats to watch noon parade!
The day MK parade is much better than the last one Had FP to see FoF parade at 3pm one day. Ended up having great, shaded view from area right by Hall of Presidents instead for noon. FoF parade is great, recommend seeing it at least once. Was then able to swap out FP+ on phone for Space M later that evening.
TT and POTC seemed to be down more than running I guess we were lucky - both were running when we did them. Never ran into any ride issue outside getting stuck on HM for about 5 min one time.
Beach Club is wonderful - SAB was great! Absolutely agree. SAB was a big reason we bought there. Kids loved pool and pool games, esp. getting to do make your own Mickey tie-dye T-shirts poolside as an activity.
Beach Club concierge is not worth the extra money. CM's were not nearly as friendly as Poly
Beach Club busses to/from MK were awful. Again, we must have been lucky with the bus service to MK. Coming back back from AK was a little long with having to stop at Blizzard Beach for a pickup as well before going to YC/BC.
Beaches n Cream was great Enjoyed the food, service was on the slow side. Enjoyed getting the "minisink" with the Mickey pants.
Cape May Cafe was okay (did breakfast and dinner)Did the breakfast for the first time, food was good and my DD's loved seeing Minnie in her beachwear. Dinner there has been our traditional last night meal. Concierge did us a big favor by getting friends added to our ADR at the last minute (they decided to come to WDW/UOR for Spring Break at the last minute). Kids watched Big Hero 6 on the beach after while the adults kept watch at Hurricane Hannah's
The MSEP still gives me goosebumps.Agree.
Watching Wishes in the rain instead of wall to wall people is so much better than I thought.We were fortunate to enjoy the mid to upper 80's weather w/o seeing any rain during out trip (3/14-3/22)
The only night EMH that is worth it anymore is MK. Maybe Epcot if you want to enjoy WS Agree.
We now appreciate morning EMH more.
I was ticked off that the People Mover now closes during EMH.

Other notes -

BC is testing new online check in process. They email/text when room is ready. We got one at 12:30 saying room was not ready, got one at 2:30 saying room now was ready. We went straight to Epcot after arriving to BC, did FPs, went to room to relax/unpack before going to Via Napoli for dinner. Didn't need to stop at check in desk at all. Got concierge to print out paper parking pass as a souvenir, as they said they will no longer will printing them out - only MB's will work to get in resort parking in the future.

HDDR is still a great time. The stepsisters/Lady Tremaine at 1900 PF are a hoot as well.

We travelled with friends from home (different ones from the ones that joined at CMC dinner). Trick is to plan time apart from each other. We had a good mix of time together both in parks (doing things together and separately) and outside.

Got all our kids to do Jedi Academy - again another must do at least once. Glad I got in line one hr before park open, and that they had an AED in the building for the signups.

Rode Jungle Cruise for the first time in a long time. Forgot how great that ride can be, esp. when you get a fun skipper like we had. We had a 10 am FP for all 12 of us. Standby was listed as 10 min. We went standby, started to change to ropes in the queue as we were in it. Took about 15 min to get to boat. By the time we finished, stand by was up to 50 min. So we were able to change that to BTMR FP instead. That morning, my family (4) saw opening show and did PP, HM, BTMR x2, a couple of SotMK portals to finish Adventureland quest and JC by 10:30. Did Space M FP at 11 and rode people mover. Then headed back to SAB for pool time.

Looking forward to Jungle Cruise restaurant. And absolutely love the new Dole Whip location! Now if only people could get DW ordering down.

Skipped Downtown Disney due to all the construction, but I am really looking forward to Disney Springs once it's finished.

Memory Maker was great - between both families using it, we got over 500 photos.

Great trip - Spring Break was a blast! Next trip will be Xmas later this year, split between AKL and BCV. Can't wait.

 

[Suzanne74]

Loved your thoughts. Am disappointed about Beach Club Club Level. We are booked there in November. Should we just switch to a non club level water view room?

I am going to do a separate thread on that later. It was extremely busy and there was exterior construction above us as well. It just seemed loud and chaotic in and out of the lounge room. But I loved the Beach Club though. I don't think I would do CL there again.

 

[elaine amj]

I was there during Christmas week and honestly adjusting FP+ was the most annoying part of that system. My iphone 5 could not do switch-ups properly (I know some have smooth experiences on their phones and I was told Android often works better. Wish I had used DH's Galaxy) and I found going out of my way to the kiosks annoying (although CMs were helpful). I didn't mind FP+ but the app needs to work much, much better. Or the kiosk system has to work better. We never used 4th FP+. Once, we missed our 2nd FP+ and the app wouldn't work for me. By the time I found a kiosk in AK we missed our window to change it, so I was locked out and could not add another FP+ until I used up my 3rd one. I guess its all the quirks of the new system.

 

[Itinkso]

because I was directed to Town Hall

Bummer the CM gave you bad info. The most recent reports have stated two kiosks are in City Hall in addition to the other kiosks locations you confirmed.

Very nice, concise report. We'll be at YC next month!

 

[Tiggers82]

was there on the 17th and used the kiosks in Town Hall to get 4th FP.

 

[Suzanne74]

was there on the 17th and used the kiosks in Town Hall to get 4th FP.

Bummer the CM gave you bad info. The most recent reports have stated two kiosks are in City Hall in addition to the other kiosks locations you confirmed.

We were in MK on the 19, 21, and 24th and both the 21st and 24th (didn't need it 19th) were told the Town Hall kiosks are now just for new app set ups and initial 3 FP+. I even complained to another CM inside Town Hall that I was informed to come over here on the 21st and was told it is no longer a location. It was being said to other guests as well. On the 24th they had CM's outside of Town Hall even asking why you were going in and redirecting you to the Tomorrowland kiosk if you wanted a 4th FP. If you look on the Disney My Experience it will tell you the same. No longer a kiosk. Maybe some people are somehow getting them but even after complaining on the 21st I was redirected 2 times and then shunned from even entering on the 24th (I was honestly curious.) It wasn't a one time thing.

 

[Suzanne74]

We also just got back from staying at BCV for the first time as owners. My responses in red

Did you miss the torrential rain on 3/19?? It poured from 8:30 to 11:00pm. We watched Wishes in the rain and our FP+ for MSEP were toast because the parade was canceled

We were able to watch it another night though in Frontierland.

 

[Dr Gevil]

Did you miss the torrential rain on 3/19?? It poured from 8:30 to 11:00pm. We watched Wishes in the rain and our FP+ for MSEP were toast because the parade was canceled

We were able to watch it another night though in Frontierland.

I guess. We were at DHS that day. We left around 8:30, rode the boat to the Boardwalk to walk around for a bit. ESPN club was hopping with the NCAA tourney games. Sorry it was raining at MK that night.

 

[Itinkso]

Maybe some people are somehow getting them but even after complaining on the 21st I was redirected 2 times and then shunned from even entering on the 24th (I was honestly curious.) It wasn't a one time thing.

When you state "Town Hall" are you referring to the front section of Town Square Theater where the My Magic+ center is located? That's where guests can set up new MDE accounts.

City Hall is on the other side of Town Square and it's where the in park Guest Relations is located. Two FP kiosks have been reported to be in there.

 

[Suzanne74]

When you state "Town Hall" are you referring to the front section of Town Square Theater where the My Magic+ center is located? That's where guests can set up new MDE accounts.

City Hall is on the other side of Town Square and it's where the in park Guest Relations is located. Two FP kiosks have been reported to be in there.

The City Hall CM is the one that initially directed us to Town Hall. She never mentioned kiosks in there nor did we saw them. Not saying they were not there but it definately wasn't a kiosk area. That is why I was really ticked off about being shunned at Town Hall. Why would a CM from guest services send us to Town Hall with misguided info? If there really are kiosks in City Hall I will be even more annoyed!!

We did go to City Hall again at one point and they kindly added a universal FP for us after MSEP was canceled due to weather. They manually added it themselves for a future day at MK. That was pretty cool because most people have reported that they won't do that. We were really nice about and not confrontational like half the people at guest services were that night. Some VERY nasty folks in there. I think a smile goes a long way.

 

[Itinkso]

Why would a CM from guest services send us to Town Hall with misguided info? If there really are kiosks in City Hall I will be even more annoyed!!

Thanks for your reply. I'm going to check on this in a couple of weeks but I'll enter through the side door where the kiosks have been located in the recent past.

 

[RDawn]

Thanks for your thought & tips... Very good summary.

 

[ebonyeyes]

Great information! Thx