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Post by a1000monkeys on Jan 5, 2024 13:49:29 GMT -5
We just returned from an 8 night trip last night. Our trip was Dec 27-Jan 4th. It was our first NY trip to WDW in at least 5 years.
We stayed in a BWV 2br standard view but I was unable to extend my reservation past Dec 31 and changed rooms to a Boardwalk 2br for the last four nights.
I believe I couldn't extend my standard view room because they were taken out of service for renovations. On our move in day I asked the front desk to let us know as soon as our room was available. No sooner than after bell check took our bags away and we starting leaving our room for the parks, I got a text our room was ready about 10:20a.
So we went back to the bell desk to request that our bags be brought to our new room. We go rooms 2003 and 2005 in the Crest of the Wave building and had a straight on view to Spaceship Earth. Even better, it was remodeled room. So much nicer, brighter and with more plugs than the old rooms. I think my only complaint about the new rooms is that there are no locks on the bathrooms which is annoying since there are two doors to enter the bathroom. Also, the pull down bed is smaller than the old pull out sofa bed. Other than that it was a fantastic renovation. So much brighter and I loved the Disney art touches.
The trip was myself, DW, DS19 (home from his first quarter of college), DD16 and DS15. My parents who are in their late 70s joined us for 7 nights. This turned out to be a mistake.
Our flight form SFO went off without a hitch and I think we landed 15 minutes early. OTOH, my parents flight from BDL was delayed multiple times and they didn't end up getting to BWV until after 2a. Their trip started off on a bad foot and didn't improve much from there.
I really just wanted my mom to come but my step-father decided to come too. He is definitely not a Disney person and has gotten more curmudgeonly with age. We prefers to spend his time reading with the cable "news on the background 24/7. He was a major buzz kill the whole trip, complaining about that everything was fake, why are there adults at a children's park (this was Epcot mind you), its too crowded and too expensive. He would come out for a couple hours then want to retreat back to the room and drag my mother back with him.
I spent a huge amount of time trying to plan activities I thought they would enjoy and it was all for naught. It would have been better if they did not come at all.
He did however love the Voices of Liberty Dicken's Carol Singers and the bird show at Animal Kingdom. That was about it though and he still doesn't understand why I like going to Disney.
On the plus side, despite the crowds were able to get a decent amount done with their DAS passes and some planning. On our AK day we were able to have lunch at Tusker House, do the Safari, Lion King show, see the Harambe acrobats, the bird show, Finding nemo show and its Tough to be a Bug with very little waiting or down time. And the park was absolutely packed that day. Safari line was 3 hours. Flight of Passage was 5.5. hours.
Shout out to whomever recommended Gold Mobility Scooters. They were great and high quality scooters. Unfortunately it was tough to navigate through the heavy crowds and my parents were not good drivers and did not speed up when there were gaps so inevitably a group would wander directly in front of them and then stop. Apparently being in a scooter renders you invisible to everyone else. also, nobody walks in a straight line. I think the scooter definitely made some of the park time more tolerable for them but my step-father was embarrassed to ride one and angry that due to more recent health problems that he needed one.
more to come . . .
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Post by helenabear on Jan 5, 2024 14:40:11 GMT -5
I am really sorry to hear that family made this trip not as fun as it should have been. I do completely understand the scooter issue. When my aunt was struggling to walk well, we moved her over to one so she wouldn't need to bring her wheelchair what she was needing more and more in her everyday life. I loved my aunt a lot. I even made sure her last trip was amazing for her and she was highly grateful. Course at the time we didn't realize it would be the last one but we thought it was going to be one of her last. Anyway her and her scooter drove me freaking nuts. She had one at home and she had wheelchairs to use too. She was not new to this and it was awful in many cases I was not frustrated with her but how hard it was to do simple things with one.
I hope you manage to have some fun throughout the trip in spite of the Debbie downers
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Post by a1000monkeys on Jan 5, 2024 16:37:44 GMT -5
We actually did have a good time, but mostly that was when my parents decided to stay behind. I think they expected a more relaxing by the pool type experience. However, the weather was too cold for the pool and I don't think they appreciated how long it takes to get in and out of the parks for an afternoon break.
I think our best days were the 30th, 31st and 1st. We hit the parks late morning for lunch and entertainment and then headed back to the room for an afternoon nap. The evenings were much more manageable, especially without having to navigate the parks with my parents.
It was much less crowded than I expected at Magic Kingdom on the evening of the 30th. We arrived just as the 6:30 fireworks were ending an lot of people headed towards the exits. We went through the backstage entrance to Tomorrow Land where a DJ was getting the crowd pumped with music that was way too loud. We did the People Mover then Carousel of Progress, walked by the state show in front of Cinderella's Castle and then had dinner at Skipper Cantina which was excellent though my lamb was more rare than medium rare.
After dinner we checked out the DJ party in Frontier Land, it wasn't crowded at all. Then hit Country Bear Jamboree which always makes me laugh and then worked our way back to Tomorrowland and walked on Indy Speedway. Then it was time for boarding group for Tron. I was annoyed that it was an hour wait after we checked in. The "virtual" line felt very real. Ride was fun but not worth an hour wait.
We then wandered around and took photos. Around 11:30ish we started making our way in front of Cinderella's castle. I got a text alert on my phone that the only viewing areas available for fireworks were from Fantasy land or Frontier Land but I didn't think it was crowded at all and we walked up an had great views just to the right of the castle. We probably could have gotten a lot closer. Compared to the 8p show for Happily Ever After on Jan 3rd, the pre-NYE show felt about 50% less crowded. The pre-NYE fireworks show was incredible.
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Post by a1000monkeys on Jan 5, 2024 19:19:20 GMT -5
NYE we ambled into Epcot around 11a. It was already crowded and many people were already drunk. Scootering through drunken crowds was a challenge.
We had lunch a Le Cellier. It was good. Our check was about half as much as the cost of Tusker House. We are done with buffets. Lousy value.
We rode Living with Land, saw the Canada Far and Wide show (not good for my Step Father's vertigo), Soarin (over California version) and Planet Earth. After that they were ready to head back but the kids wanted to stop by the lounge for a free soda. It was about a 15 minute wait for the lounge but when we go up there, there were tons of open seats. Not sure why there was a wait.
After that it was back to BWV for a nap. While getting ready to head back out we had a pretty good view of the 6:30 Epcot fireworks from our BWV balcony.
Expecting large crowds, we decided to forgo the scooters to walk to our dinner at Biergarten. We tried to get to the last showing of the American Experience but just missed it. We were seated fairly quickly at Biergarten. I do love this restaurant and the show but it's just too expensive for my light eating family. I wish they would switch to a la carte.
I had a grabbed a DAS for Ratattouie early in the day. During dinner I get a text alert that the ride was down and it could be replaced by any other ride EXCEPT for Test Track, Soaring, Frozen ever After, so basically any ride you may actually want to go on. As we approached France on our way back, I noticed the ride just reopened. My mom wanted to go but my step father did not. She hemmed and haw for a bit but he threw a tantrum and stormed off. She used her DAS pass to get us in line but then she left. Apparently they fought for a bit about it afterward. They need therapy.
Rattatouie was a big disappointment. I thought it would be more immersive but it relied too much on screens. Definitely not worth more than a 20 min wait. It’s also awkward how it is jammed in that narrow area behind France.
After my parents left we decided to wander up around World Showcase. It was less crowded then I the last time I remember for NYE. When we got up to Future World it was nearly empty. We explored the Ways of Water with Moana which was stunningly gorgeous especially with SpaceShip Earth lit up behind it. We got some great photos. We walked onto Nemo and explored the nearly empty aquarium area. We then had Figment all to ourselves. It was almost eerie how empty the park was. Meanwhile not more than 200 feet away in WS people were waiting in 30 minute bathroom lines.
Around 11:30 we headed back to WS to watch the NYE fireworks. People had been camping around the WS showcase lagoon for hours. When we approached an area near the railing around Morocco, the people that had been camping there for hours got pretty defensive, immediate standing up and spreading out, trying to protect "their space." The view was bit obscured by a tree anyway so we headed over to Japan. I love the view of Spaceship Earth through the Tori gate. We watched it from about 50 feet from the railing closer to the store and had a great view and there was plenty of space. Not sure why people camp out for so long.
The fireworks show was amazing. From there it was slow shuffle out with the crowd to the International Gateway. The line for the gondolas was massive. I'm glad we were able to walk home.
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Post by goofydad13 on Jan 6, 2024 11:57:33 GMT -5
It has been years, but loved the fact we could just walk back to BWV the last time we did NYE. Sorry about the FIL putting a damper on things, relatives can be hard.
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Post by Brian5581 on Jan 6, 2024 17:06:43 GMT -5
So sorry about your stepfather, glad you were able to enjoy regardless. Sorry we missed meeting up, though definitely understandable with family.
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Post by helenabear on Jan 6, 2024 17:18:53 GMT -5
Sorry about your grumpy dad. Pity he can just sit by the pool since it was cooler out. I agree with you on Ratatouille. It's cute, but it's not phenomenal. We almost did a day trip just do an AP preview. When the weather looked like it was going to be crappy, we opted just to skip it and stay home. Fortunately we had Southwest points left over from covid cancelations (2 trips booked during the shut down) so we didn't lose anything on airfare. I rode it a couple months later by myself and I thought it was cute but I was so glad we saved our Southwest points for later.
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Post by MinnieMom on Jan 6, 2024 17:33:51 GMT -5
Glad to hear you had a good time in spite of FIL! Navigating around the crowds sounds like it was the way to make a trip during a busy time a lot more fun. That's awesome!
Helenabear - I made the Ratatouille preview. I'm glad I did, as I have not ridden it since. It's a cute concept and a nice addition to Epcot. But it's not worth paying more for a FP or waiting more than 20 minutes for me now. Overall I think the runaway railway in HS is a better trackless ride. And neither compare to Rise of the Resistance IMHO.
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Post by helenabear on Jan 6, 2024 17:48:03 GMT -5
Glad to hear you had a good time in spite of FIL! Navigating around the crowds sounds like it was the way to make a trip during a busy time a lot more fun. That's awesome! Helenabear - I made the Ratatouille preview. I'm glad I did, as I have not ridden it since. It's a cute concept and a nice addition to Epcot. But it's not worth paying more for a FP or waiting more than 20 minutes for me now. Overall I think the runaway railway in HS is a better trackless ride. And neither compare to Rise of the Resistance IMHO. We would have missed out on time with my brother too so it was definitely worth it in the end for us to cancel. I was able to get a VQ my next trip while waiting on my plane to take off. The trip after that they were still doing the VQs as well I think? I know it was just my son and myself on that one. It I have no clue what they were doing by the time my spouse rode. We only go on if there's not a huge long wait. I totally agree with you about MMRR. I really love that one! Rise? I thought it was pretty awesome the first ride, but subsequent ones? It's lost some of its coolness factor with us. We even took our friend who is a massive Star Wars fan when we could after the whole covid closure, and he really liked it but said it wasn't his favorite ride either. I'm not sure what makes MMRR better for multiple rides to me. |
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Post by Adelard of Bath on Jan 6, 2024 20:45:51 GMT -5
I'm not sure what makes MMRR better for multiple rides to me. I'm going to say it's the squid playing the trumpet. That's my favorite thing about it! Also love the easy to miss sign that shows a line of people on an escalator that says "The Great Moving Ride" |
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Post by a1000monkeys on Jan 6, 2024 22:21:31 GMT -5
My parents also liked MMRR more than ROTR but mainly because they knew nothing about the newer Star Wars movies and had no idea what was going on.
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Post by robinb on Jan 7, 2024 12:25:25 GMT -5
Sorry about your mom and step-father. Your story reminds me of my own mom Jan and her partner Bob. My mom *loved* WDW even before we my husband and I caught the Disney bug in 1997. Bob ... did not. Bob's idea of a good time was finding a place in the sun to sit down and have a cigarette or 20. I remember one trip at Pop where they stayed at the resort for 2 days straight (her watching Fox News and him smoking outside the door) thinking that they were saving money until I mentioned that it would cost them about $20 each to go into the parks because that's how the ticketing worked back then.
Once in the parks, my mom would drag him from one smoking section to another and he really didn't want to do much of anything else except to bitch about all the things your step-father did ... 20 years ago! We went on many WDW family trips with my mom, Bob and my sister's family, both in the regular resorts and through DVC. Bob's nickname became "Mr. Grumpy" and we learned to work around his grumpiness and my mother's night-owl tendency to not get up until noon. It took a couple of trips but we finally realized that their vacation was important too and we incorporated what *they* wanted to do: sleeping in, stopping for a ciggie, slower rides (Pirates, Pan, etc), meeting up for meals and letting them do their thing other time. Bob was still grumpy but my mom was happier so that made all of us happier. I have lots of good memories to go with the bad. It was a PITB at the time for people who were park commandos but now that they've both passed I wouldn't trade even the most grumpy day for the world.
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Post by a1000monkeys on Jan 7, 2024 15:11:58 GMT -5
To add insult to injury, we all brought home an unexpected free souvenir: Covid. Ugh.
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Post by helenabear on Jan 7, 2024 15:47:13 GMT -5
Hope everyone is well soon!
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Post by a1000monkeys on Jan 7, 2024 19:17:00 GMT -5
On Jan 1, we slept in. DS19 decided to stay behind so he can apply for housing for next fall. The housing situation is pretty bad all UCs but its seems especially acute at UC Santa Barbara and finding housing is pretty competitive.
We walked while my parents scootered to Hollywood Studios. It was crowded but not jam packed. Once we entered I grabbed a DAS pass for ROTR with a 80 minute return time. We hit the 12p Indy stunt show and then hit ROTR. While in line I grabbed another DAS for MMRR with about a 75 min return time. After ROTR we grabbed a Ronto Wrap. I tried to explain the Star Wars land to my parents but it was lost on them. They likely last saw some or all of the original Star Wars trilogy when it was in the theaters and haven't seen any other Star Wars stories since.
I got an alert that MMRR was down and we could selected another experience. We considered TSMM but I think it would have been too much for them as they don't like the 3D glasses. We had a reservation for Oga's Cantina in another hour. I would have cancelled but it was too late. My parents decided they would prefer to head back. As we started to leave the land, I noticed MMRR was back up so we headed there so we could all ride it. I think they somewhat enjoyed it. From there it was a straight shot for them to scooter back to BWV.
DW, DD and DS and I headed over to Oga's. After we checked in we still hadn't been called back after 15 minutes and we really weren't feeling like going anyway so I asked if they could just remove me from the list and not charge me as a no-show. They did and we headed back to BWV for a nap. I really only got the reservation at Oga's so my parents could see it but they would not have been impressed. Now that I have been a few times, the novelty has faded and I don't feel the need to ever go back.
My parents decided not return to the park for dinner and went to Il Mulino's by themselves. The five of us went back to HS and it was really emptied out. Rides has pretty short waits. Star Tours was a complete walk on. We had dinner at 50's Prime Time. My kids remember that as the restaurant where the waitstaff were mean to them. Someone must of complained because there was no talk of keeping your elbows off the table or finishing your vegetables. Rather the waitstaff just kept referring to us as "kiddos." I still enjoy the vibe because it reminds me of my grandma's house when I was young.
DW and I shared the special which was shrimp and grits which was actually very good.
After dinner we were able to hit a few more rides before the park officially closed at 9:00. We then wandered over to the second Fantasmic show at 9:30. A bit weird there is a gap between park closing and the show starting. The theater was less than half full and we got great seats right in the middle about 15 minutes before show time. DW said she liked this version better than the DL version. I prefer the DL version but only with the dragon which I'm not sure will ever come back after it caught fire last year. After the show we shuffled out and caught the last boat to BWV.
It was a pretty good night.
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