>No split stays for us. I detest living out of a suitcase, so I completely unpack when we get to a hotel. The time needed to unpack, repack, move, unpack again, and then repack for the trip home would make me cranky.
>Character meals were fun when the kids were little. In Disney, time=money. We could spend 90 minutes or so standing in line in MK to see the Pooh Guys, or we could do it in the a/c at Crystal Palace. Had to eat anyway, so this seemed like a good way to double-up, saving time and energy. HOWEVER... now that "the kids" are 23, 26, and 30, we don't do character meals anymore!
>I always rent a car. I was sucked into the Disney transportation system for a while when ME was still running, but now that I need to pay for RT airport transportation, I'd rather have the flexibility of a car. We can ALWAYS get home faster at park closing if we drive ourselves, and the Very Last Thing I want to do after being on my feet for 12 hours in a theme park in the heat/humidity is to stand in line for 30 or more minutes waiting for a bus- packed in shoulder-to-shoulder with hot, sweaty, tired strangers. Car also lets us make grocery runs, eat off-site, etc. Just works better for us.
>Don't really care where we stay, although AKL/Jambo is my very favorite. We do deluxe when I can rent DVC points (stayed at AKL, BWV, OKW, SSR). I also like POFQ and CSR (CSR is where we are staying this month... love the resort now that they've redesigned it) but have had VERY happy trips while at POP, ASMu, and ASMo. Do I prefer deluxe? Sure, but the extra $$$ in my pocket buy other experiences!
>No rope drop for us. We are night owls and you can't burn the candle at both ends. We try to be out of the room by 10am-ish and will stay pretty late in the parks (and then maybe go out somewhere after). We always schedule an ADR for dinner, but often not until 8pm, and frequently off-site or at Disney Springs. We need the a/c and rest after a long day in the sun!
>Didn't like the QS at Pandora; found it to be incredibly salty. I loved Nomad Lounge when nobody knew about it. You could walk in any time, sit at the bar, laugh and joke with the bartenders, in the cool, peaceful setting. Now? Too many people, too many kids, too noisy, too rushed.
>Park passes. We used to buy as many days as we could afford, one park per day, but that was back when passes were good forever; none of this silly date-specific stuff. Mostly now I will buy a 2-day park hopper. We usually go to MK and AK during the day and then hop over to Epcot for rides and supper. The Studios doesn't do too much for me. I don't know the Star Wars properties so much of that area is "meh" for us, can't ride roller coasters or big-drop rides, so DS means we go to Beauty&the Beast (which I LOVE), Indy, maybe MMRR and TSM.