Winter Weather Escape to WDW and the WL ~ A January 2014 Trip Report

[JoBird]

Just checking to make sure I'm all caught up and didn't miss an update from you.

I'm ready to slap Mother Nature square across her mouth. She is a nasty little thing this year and needs an attitude adjustment.






Glad you got a credit!!!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Just checking to make sure I'm all caught up and didn't miss an update from you.

I'm ready to slap Mother Nature square across her mouth. She is a nasty little thing this year and needs an attitude adjustment.






Glad you got a credit!!!

Nope, you didn't miss anything!! I'm going to try to get an update up either later today or tomorrow!

You are right - what is Mother Nature's problem anyway??? SO tired of cold and snow. Where is spring????????? It better warm up in the next month or so or I am going to be freezing my tail off at the soccer field!!

 

[JoBird]

Drew's first soccer practice was supposed to be tonight.



Yeah like that's gonna happen in the snow.

Okay I guess I'll just find something to occupy my time until an update comes.
I think there's a wall in my dining room I haven't studied yet. Maybe I'll do that today. Cabin fever!!!!!!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

wow - looks like they had the pool pretty much to themselves!

I can't believe all the issues you had - now with a power outage to the floor as well? I would fully expect them to try to do something for you - move you to a different wing at least if not upgrade category ... just to show they were really trying - moving 2 doors down to "maybe" have hot water is not very much. I would expect that anywhere in Disney but especially at a Deluxe, with what they charge that is crazy that they didn't do more

Glad you at least got a call and got the credit - obviously doesn't do much to fix the issue while you were there but at least it is something. Would have thought they would have offered something for credit on a future trip (like a weekend on them or something) to try and get you back and leave you with a better impression.

Congrats on hitting 1 year with your agency and that is so great how many families you have booked - 72 for August alone sounds like a ton!

I really hope your pixie dust works and the pool and everything is open at the Poly come August. That is one resort we are considering switching to for our August trip if/one room only discounts come out. But if the pool is down and the grand ceremonial house in shambles and the monorail on a limited schedule, not sure if it is really worth it.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Wow, and the power goes out too! What a mess. Good thing at least that they called you and made it "right". I agree, though, the time to make it right is when you're experiencing the problem. I can't imagine if that would be a first-time visitor, who may not ever go back. What a shame!

Congrats on your one year of TA work - looks like you're doing it right!!!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Drew's first soccer practice was supposed to be tonight.



Yeah like that's gonna happen in the snow.

Okay I guess I'll just find something to occupy my time until an update comes.
I think there's a wall in my dining room I haven't studied yet. Maybe I'll do that today. Cabin fever!!!!!!!

We usually start spring soccer in early April. And it's usually cold!!!!

Still working on that update...

wow - looks like they had the pool pretty much to themselves!

The pool was pretty empty that day!!

I can't believe all the issues you had - now with a power outage to the floor as well? I would fully expect them to try to do something for you - move you to a different wing at least if not upgrade category ... just to show they were really trying - moving 2 doors down to "maybe" have hot water is not very much. I would expect that anywhere in Disney but especially at a Deluxe, with what they charge that is crazy that they didn't do more

It was crazy!! I couldn't believe they just didn't care to make things right when we were there.

Glad you at least got a call and got the credit - obviously doesn't do much to fix the issue while you were there but at least it is something. Would have thought they would have offered something for credit on a future trip (like a weekend on them or something) to try and get you back and leave you with a better impression.

Congrats on hitting 1 year with your agency and that is so great how many families you have booked - 72 for August alone sounds like a ton!

Thanks!

I really hope your pixie dust works and the pool and everything is open at the Poly come August. That is one resort we are considering switching to for our August trip if/one room only discounts come out. But if the pool is down and the grand ceremonial house in shambles and the monorail on a limited schedule, not sure if it is really worth it.

Thanks, me too!! It's not looking good though. I had a CM tell me the other day that the pool is closing in August. First one to actually admit it. She had no date though.

Wow, and the power goes out too! What a mess. Good thing at least that they called you and made it "right". I agree, though, the time to make it right is when you're experiencing the problem. I can't imagine if that would be a first-time visitor, who may not ever go back. What a shame!

Congrats on your one year of TA work - looks like you're doing it right!!!

It was a mess!!

Exactly what I kept thinking -- what if this was one of my clients and it was their first WDW trip??

Thanks!

Wow, you are going to Disneyland in 2 days!!!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

After we were done getting the run around at the front desk we went back up to the room. DH took a very short cold shower!! And then we were off to MK for the evening. We took the bus figuring it would be quicker and warmer than the boat, and we were right! No other stops and to MK in about 4 minutes!

DS12 had wanted to get one of the new Glow with the Show hats. They light up with Wishes and Fantasmic and we were planning to see both this trip! So, we went into the Chapeau thinking that surely the hat store would have them. We looked all over and didn’t see them, so I finally asked a CM and she said that as far as she knew they were all sold out of them and that all of the stores in MK were. She said the only possibility would be on one of those carts they roll out at dark with all the light up stuff on them.

He was bummed! 

We headed up Main Street to get our picture taken with the castle and a lovely crane.

Not sure what was going on there, but there was a crane directly behind the castle. It wasn’t even over with the Mine Train construction.

MK was pretty crowded. I expected this, it was EMH that night. We normally avoid the parks that have EMH, but this was added AFTER we made our plans and we just left it as it was in order to not mess with the rest of our plans.

Our first FP was from 3-4pm and was for the Jungle Cruise.

Big line there, so glad we had the FP. Otherwise we would have skipped it. The FP line was pretty much empty, so we breezed right through it and got on the ride right away.

Next we had planned to ride POTC with no FP. There is never a line there! But, what do you know, there was today!!! And a long one. I don’t even remember what the wait time was, maybe an hour. It was crazy. People everywhere.

So, we decided to pass on POTC. It was a bit early for our next FP for BTMRR for 4-5 pm, but we headed up that way anyway.


Continued in next post....

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Continued...


No one was riding Splash today – closed for refurb.

And as it turned out – no one was riding BTMRR either.

As we approached it we noticed a large crowd and CM’s standing there. It was temporarily down due to technical difficulties…..

So we waited it out there for a bit to see what was going to happen. As it got closer to 4:00 we decided to see if we could change our FP. Figuring we wouldn’t be able to because we weren’t able to the day before and MK was super busy today. But, we were able to!! We got it switched to POTC and walked right over there and into the FP return line. Which was pretty long, but moved fairly quickly.

After POTC we walked back over to BTMRR to see if it was running yet and it was. 40 minute wait…. DS14 really wanted to ride it, even though I tried to talk him out of it and told him that we could ride it on Wednesday when we came back to MK. He wasn’t hearing any of it. He wanted to ride it now!! DS12 didn’t really want to ride it at all, so him and DH set off exploring while DS14 and I waited in line. It was a miserable long wait, but in the end it was a good thing we did it – we didn’t get to ride it on Wednesday because it was pouring all day!!

After our ride we met back up with the rest of the family and it was time for our HM FP around 5pm.

Guess I didn’t take any ride photos.

We started to think about dinner. Thought about CHH and PVH, but nothing was sounding good to me. My stomach was doing okay, I was just a bit afraid to eat. DS14 suggested Cosmic Ray’s, which was the one place I said before the trip that I did not want to go to!! But when he said it I thought that I really could go for a grilled chicken sandwich, and I knew they had them. So, off we went.

It was loud and crowded in there as always! Hard to find a table. People and strollers everywhere, blocking any room to walk. Just how I remembered it!

DS12 and I went to the Chicken Bay and DS14 and DH went to the Burger Bay. I got my grilled chicken sandwich and cucumber salad and chocolate gelato (only because we were on the DDP, not because I wanted it - and I didn’t even eat it!!), DS12 got chicken nuggets, fries, and chocolate cake. DH got the BBQ pork sandwich, fries, and chocolate gelato (which he didn’t end up eating either) and DS14 got a hot dog, fries, and chocolate cake.

Everything was very good. The kids each had a little of our chocolate gelato to go with their cake. DH sampled the gelato and said it was good, but very strong.

Up Next: Tomorrowland

 

[cstorm65]

Nice update! How much longer are you all going to have to take cold showers???

Nice to know changing FP+ times is still possible in the park and that a little of the flexibility they claim to be present actually is there. If that continue the system may end up being ok!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Nice update! How much longer are you all going to have to take cold showers???

Nice to know changing FP+ times is still possible in the park and that a little of the flexibility they claim to be present actually is there. If that continue the system may end up being ok!

Thank you! Luckily that was the last of the cold showers!!

Yes, it was very convenient to be able to change our FP's right there. Still can't figure out why we couldn't change them the day before, several hours prior. Hopefully things will continue to improve with the new system.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I would've been so bummed if I missed BTMRR. I LOVE that ride!!
We haven't eaten at Cosmic Rays since our first trip lol. We'll have to go back. I guess we're just never in Tomorrowland around lunch.
That was great you were able to change your FP time. I've found out that we'll be getting MB soon!! Yay!!!!!
Supposedly by the end of March. Crossing my fingers so we can book FP+ before our Easter week trip.
I really hate how long the lines are now at HM and POTC!!! Before FP+ you never waited for those rides. Never mind need a FP. I HATE FP+

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[rusafee1183]

Glad to hear the cold showers are ending. That is just ridiculous.

Cosmic Rays looks really good! I think we have only eaten there once and it was forever ago. We almost always go to Pecos Bill or Casey's Corner when we are at MK.

And I don't know what is going in with POTC, but the last few trips we have experienced HUGE waits. I think we have just chosen bad weeks for crowds, but I really hope to not have insane crowds this time. I am surprised at how many ADR's are still available for our week (Le Cellier!!? Really??!)

I am hoping that's a sign of small crowds for us

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[JoBird]

That stupid crane. It's there to take down the Christmas lights, as well as do a little touch up painting.
Have you read all about the new walkways going in, in front of the castle and the land of scrims and walls that will be up for 18 months? Yeah. Not happy about it at all. I'm so sick of the Magic Kingdom being messed the heck up. It's just always demolished; never just NORMAL. When the CMs start calling it the Tragic Kingdom, yeah, there's a problem.


So glad you stood in line for BTMRR. Sounds like it was the best plan. I don't understand all the lines at POTC. That has always been just a walk on for us. It's so messed up.

Your food at Cosmic Ray's looked really good. Haven't eaten there in awhile but I always liked the rotisserie chicken they had.

Hope your DS finds some Glow with the Show ears!

 

[JoBird]

Oh and I forgot to say that our experience has been that Sunday nights are awful at the MK no matter if there's an EMH or not. Maybe because people are just traveling in and have to see the castle on their "first" day? But yeah-- the EMH's make it horrific!!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I would've been so bummed if I missed BTMRR. I LOVE that ride!!
We haven't eaten at Cosmic Rays since our first trip lol. We'll have to go back. I guess we're just never in Tomorrowland around lunch.
That was great you were able to change your FP time. I've found out that we'll be getting MB soon!! Yay!!!!!
Supposedly by the end of March. Crossing my fingers so we can book FP+ before our Easter week trip.
I really hate how long the lines are now at HM and POTC!!! Before FP+ you never waited for those rides. Never mind need a FP. I HATE FP+

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

DS14 and I really like BTMRR too!

I just read about AP holders getting MB's soon! Great news!!

Glad to hear the cold showers are ending. That is just ridiculous.

Cosmic Rays looks really good! I think we have only eaten there once and it was forever ago. We almost always go to Pecos Bill or Casey's Corner when we are at MK.

And I don't know what is going in with POTC, but the last few trips we have experienced HUGE waits. I think we have just chosen bad weeks for crowds, but I really hope to not have insane crowds this time. I am surprised at how many ADR's are still available for our week (Le Cellier!!? Really??!)

I am hoping that's a sign of small crowds for us

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

We usually go to Casey's AND Pecos!! Casey's for the kids and Pecos for us. But this time Casey's was closed and we were a bit tried of Pecos.

POTC was back to it's usual short lines when we went to MK later in the week.

Wow, that's great. Hope you have low crowds!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Wow, your MK day sounded just like ours on this last trip. It wasn't EMH when we were there though! That bites that they added EMH after you had already made your plans. I hate it when they make calendar changes after they are released. Glad you were able to change your FPs around though, but that is why I think 3 a day just isn't enough. I really hope they are going to make some changes to that rule.

Glad your food was good at CRs. We've only eaten there once and I don't remember a thing about it. We actually ate somewhere new this time in MK... Tomorrowland Terrace. I got the chicken/broccoli alfredo pasta and it was really good! Everyone else liked their food too. There was plenty of seating (all outdoors though) and it was pretty peaceful. We will definitely eat there again.

As for the glow ears... my DD bought some back in October and we could never figure out what the 'glow with the show' part was??? They didn't look any different when the show was running than they did at any other time. I still don't know if we got a messed up pair or if I'm just missing something??? Did your DS every get any? If so, did yours do something different during the shows?

That crane was there during our trip too. Sure doesn't make for pretty castle pictures. It looked like they were retiling the roof or painting it or something like that. I think that's a pretty common thing in Jan/Feb. I've seen that crane in many other TRs during that time of year. I have to say the many refurbishments that were going on during this last trip made me not want to go back to WDW in the winter anymore. We've never experienced that much of it in the fall.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

That stupid crane. It's there to take down the Christmas lights, as well as do a little touch up painting.
Have you read all about the new walkways going in, in front of the castle and the land of scrims and walls that will be up for 18 months? Yeah. Not happy about it at all. I'm so sick of the Magic Kingdom being messed the heck up. It's just always demolished; never just NORMAL. When the CMs start calling it the Tragic Kingdom, yeah, there's a problem.


So glad you stood in line for BTMRR. Sounds like it was the best plan. I don't understand all the lines at POTC. That has always been just a walk on for us. It's so messed up.

Your food at Cosmic Ray's looked really good. Haven't eaten there in awhile but I always liked the rotisserie chicken they had.

Hope your DS finds some Glow with the Show ears!

I didn't even think of that -- taking down the Christmas lights. Good grief. You would think they could lower the crane during the day. It's not like they were doing anything. It was just there!!

I did read about the walkways. And thought -- are you kidding me??? Seriously. MK has been a mess for SO long now. Give us a break!! Just when the Mine Train and Fantasyland are going to be complete, they are going to break into this?!

I think BTMRR was so long because it had just opened back up. Plus it was busy at MK that day. It's usually not that bad of a wait.

Cosmic Ray's was pretty good, surprisingly!

Oh and I forgot to say that our experience has been that Sunday nights are awful at the MK no matter if there's an EMH or not. Maybe because people are just traveling in and have to see the castle on their "first" day? But yeah-- the EMH's make it horrific!!

It was crowded!! But, we expected it.

Wow, your MK day sounded just like ours on this last trip. It wasn't EMH when we were there though! That bites that they added EMH after you had already made your plans. I hate it when they make calendar changes after they are released. Glad you were able to change your FPs around though, but that is why I think 3 a day just isn't enough. I really hope they are going to make some changes to that rule.

As for the glow ears... my DD bought some back in October and we could never figure out what the 'glow with the show' part was??? They didn't look any different when the show was running than they did at any other time. I still don't know if we got a messed up pair or if I'm just missing something??? Did your DS every get any? If so, did yours do something different during the shows?

That crane was there during our trip too. Sure doesn't make for pretty castle pictures. It looked like they were retiling the roof or painting it or something like that. I think that's a pretty common thing in Jan/Feb. I've seen that crane in many other TRs during that time of year. I have to say the many refurbishments that were going on during this last trip made me not want to go back to WDW in the winter anymore. We've never experienced that much of it in the fall.

They change the park hours so many time once they release them!! Half the time I forget to keep looking and then I'm surprised later!

DS did end up getting his ears!! They are super cool. They light up and change to the shows. Colors change to match the show. They go dark during some parts, etc. You should return yours, they must be messed up.

Stupid crane!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

ugh, that's a bummer that they added the EMH after you had your plans set - glad to see that you were able to get on some things with FP and even able to change the one, that's good. I still feel like the whole FP+ will be so much better once they get all the kinks out - just that they are upsetting a lot of loyal fans with how rocky and long the roll out is taking

I understand the need for the crane - but really wish they could take it down during the day or theme it better or something ... just such an eyesore

When I see how long the plans for the Hub expansion are it makes it even harder to believe how they were able to build the entire Magic Kingdom in like less than four years (plus the contemtorary, polynesian and the monorail system)

 

[mickeyplanner]

Shelly, it looks like they changed the flowers to purple and yellow just days after we left...they were still red and green.

We also ran into the same problem with not being able to find Glow with the Show Hats. In a way I was glad because when we saw Fantasmic, there was a man near us that had them on and the woman sitting next to me kept asking him to take them off because they were limiting her view. He kept explaining to her that they were part of the show. She was getting really upset and them kept moving closer to me and my family. I thought she was going to end up on my lap with my DS.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

ugh, that's a bummer that they added the EMH after you had your plans set - glad to see that you were able to get on some things with FP and even able to change the one, that's good. I still feel like the whole FP+ will be so much better once they get all the kinks out - just that they are upsetting a lot of loyal fans with how rocky and long the roll out is taking

I understand the need for the crane - but really wish they could take it down during the day or theme it better or something ... just such an eyesore

When I see how long the plans for the Hub expansion are it makes it even harder to believe how they were able to build the entire Magic Kingdom in like less than four years (plus the contemtorary, polynesian and the monorail system)

I agree, I think in the end the FP+ will be a good thing. It's mostly positive now. They just need to work the kinks out.

That's exactly what I was thinking - they weren't working on anything that day so why not lower the crane??

I hadn't thought about that. It does seem like an excessive amount of time for them to expand the hub/walkways in front of the castle.

Shelly, it looks like they changed the flowers to purple and yellow just days after we left...they were still red and green.

We also ran into the same problem with not being able to find Glow with the Show Hats. In a way I was glad because when we saw Fantasmic, there was a man near us that had them on and the woman sitting next to me kept asking him to take them off because they were limiting her view. He kept explaining to her that they were part of the show. She was getting really upset and them kept moving closer to me and my family. I thought she was going to end up on my lap with my DS.

Really? That's funny! Amazing how quickly they can do certain things and others take forever.

Oh no!!! A Fantasmic/Glow with the Show brawl. People need to relax!! I hope you were still able to enjoy the snow!