kwdw
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2010
Just finished my one night, two days, four park trip and while it was exactly what I needed, man, I did not realize how much the heat and sun would wear me down.
The good: I got plenty in without any park tour planning using no Genie at MK and Epcot, and with buying it for AK and HS. While crowds were high, by hitting lower profile attractions, I did a lot even though I skipped some headliners. Stayed at All Star Music and my room was in awesome shape, clean, looked pristine. Got a room early in the day on the top floor as I wanted. No problems with bus transportation - no super long waits. I will long hate paying for Genie+, but it does work. I got 5 LL’s without any real effort and if I had been staying later the day (had to leave park at 5), I easily could have gotten 2 more and I’m not an expert user.
The bad: Not enough shade! Full sun on concrete all day long means places in the parks are just miserable when the temps are in the mid-90’s. Toy Story Land is just awful. The walk to/from the bus stops to the entrance at HS is just designed to cause heat stoke in the summer. Sure, some benches are around but they are in full sun. Bus stops at the values with no shade canopies. Some trees, canopies, and more fans turned on (vs there but not running) could really help the summer experience. I was also really disappointed with my meal at Liberty Tree. Pot roast was all fat, turkey was weirdly shredded/dried out, and pork was boring. Sides, salad, and dessert and my server were great, but the meat was a let down. Learned that when you aren’t eating fried food, hot dogs, limiting your beef, or shellfish, your QS dining choices shrink a lot. Did love my chicken bowl at Satuli’s. For a theme park, QS choices aren’t bad, but I think Disney can and should do better. I spent WAY less on food than I expected because the choices just didn’t appeal. My diet has changed and sometimes I wasn’t willing to walk to places with better choices for me, I just needed to pick the closest air conditioned place to escape the heat.
The tip for those using Mears Connect: They mean it when they say to be at the stop 15 minutes early on your return. I was picked up 7-8 minutes early. Also, pay attention to text messages. I was waiting at the airport bus departure site, and got a text that it was going to be a van instead, which meant I was waiting in the wrong spot. I’m one who doesn’t always have my phone in my hand, so I was grateful I did! I waited about 5-10 minutes at the airport for the bus to leave and I was the fifth stop and it was just about an hour from arriving at Mears Check-in to arriving at my resort. On the return, I was “a stop in the middle” and from pick up to airport was about 45 minutes. I was literally at the airport 2:45 in advance of my flight. It was the most economical for me so I was fine with experience. The drivers want a tip but since I don’t carry cash, they are out of luck with me. The lack of Disney theming and fee are certainly less magical than the DME was, but my experience was decent.
Overall, I did really have a great trip, but I really think Disney should seriously think about the cooling power of trees. I realize they need big walking spaces, but they could do a lot to provide more shade without inhibiting crowd movement.
The good: I got plenty in without any park tour planning using no Genie at MK and Epcot, and with buying it for AK and HS. While crowds were high, by hitting lower profile attractions, I did a lot even though I skipped some headliners. Stayed at All Star Music and my room was in awesome shape, clean, looked pristine. Got a room early in the day on the top floor as I wanted. No problems with bus transportation - no super long waits. I will long hate paying for Genie+, but it does work. I got 5 LL’s without any real effort and if I had been staying later the day (had to leave park at 5), I easily could have gotten 2 more and I’m not an expert user.
The bad: Not enough shade! Full sun on concrete all day long means places in the parks are just miserable when the temps are in the mid-90’s. Toy Story Land is just awful. The walk to/from the bus stops to the entrance at HS is just designed to cause heat stoke in the summer. Sure, some benches are around but they are in full sun. Bus stops at the values with no shade canopies. Some trees, canopies, and more fans turned on (vs there but not running) could really help the summer experience. I was also really disappointed with my meal at Liberty Tree. Pot roast was all fat, turkey was weirdly shredded/dried out, and pork was boring. Sides, salad, and dessert and my server were great, but the meat was a let down. Learned that when you aren’t eating fried food, hot dogs, limiting your beef, or shellfish, your QS dining choices shrink a lot. Did love my chicken bowl at Satuli’s. For a theme park, QS choices aren’t bad, but I think Disney can and should do better. I spent WAY less on food than I expected because the choices just didn’t appeal. My diet has changed and sometimes I wasn’t willing to walk to places with better choices for me, I just needed to pick the closest air conditioned place to escape the heat.
The tip for those using Mears Connect: They mean it when they say to be at the stop 15 minutes early on your return. I was picked up 7-8 minutes early. Also, pay attention to text messages. I was waiting at the airport bus departure site, and got a text that it was going to be a van instead, which meant I was waiting in the wrong spot. I’m one who doesn’t always have my phone in my hand, so I was grateful I did! I waited about 5-10 minutes at the airport for the bus to leave and I was the fifth stop and it was just about an hour from arriving at Mears Check-in to arriving at my resort. On the return, I was “a stop in the middle” and from pick up to airport was about 45 minutes. I was literally at the airport 2:45 in advance of my flight. It was the most economical for me so I was fine with experience. The drivers want a tip but since I don’t carry cash, they are out of luck with me. The lack of Disney theming and fee are certainly less magical than the DME was, but my experience was decent.
Overall, I did really have a great trip, but I really think Disney should seriously think about the cooling power of trees. I realize they need big walking spaces, but they could do a lot to provide more shade without inhibiting crowd movement.
