What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

Disney Vacation (7 Viewers)

We are going this weekend for a family Christmas stay. I swear we go more in December than we do the other 11 months combined. 

Anybody done trail’s end recently? I remember it being ok last time but it’s been a while. We were thinking of stopping there before we......rent a golf cart to look at lights around the wilderness campground. 

At Christmas time my wife is the Will Ferrell elf character come to life. 

 
Not on the fancier end of the spectrum, but the crew working San Angel Inn restaurant in EPCOT last night was top notch.  On top of being just completely responsive, cordial, and open with descriptions/recommendations for my wife who is generally limited to chicken quesadillas in Mexican fare, they comped us our drinks (including one each to go, beer for me and sparkling wine for wifey).  All around enjoyable evening there.

 
That one guy said:
Not on the fancier end of the spectrum, but the crew working San Angel Inn restaurant in EPCOT last night was top notch.  On top of being just completely responsive, cordial, and open with descriptions/recommendations for my wife who is generally limited to chicken quesadillas in Mexican fare, they comped us our drinks (including one each to go, beer for me and sparkling wine for wifey).  All around enjoyable evening there.
Click to expand...
I've been there twice and enjoyed it both times. I know the DIS podcast savages it pretty hard, but my experience is similar to yours.

 
ffmail4me said:
Just got back from a 2 week vacation in Orlando (we stayed at a Marriott resort NOT at Disney) and had 7 day Hopper Plus Passes. I will NEVER buy those passes again. Here is why:

1. Fast Pass is basically USELESS if you want to ride the newer/bigger attractions (Aerosmith Rollercoaster, Avatar, etc.) as they aren't available. Why? Because if you are staying on a Disney resort, you can book ahead up to 2 months out. So literally there is nothing left. I guess Disney does this to encourage people to stay on their properties, but it really sucks

2. Crowds. It doesn't matter when you go. The last 2 weeks kids were not out of school in Orlando. Weather wasn't even that great. Its before the holiday. Didn't matter, you are going to wait and wait and wait. I did wait 75 minutes to ride the new Avatar ride (got to the Park BEFORE it opened and that was still my wait time) 

3. Everything is even more expensive now. Parking is $25. Food in the parks is absurd. 

Yeah, I paid it, and I can afford it because we've been very blessed in our business the last few years. But I feel like I get terrible bang for my buck. 

Rant over. The 6' rat has taken THOUSANDS from my wallet over the last decade, but no more. :)
Click to expand...
Come to Disney Anaheim instead, as 1 and 2 are really not a problem there.  They don't have that screwed up FP system and I hope they never do.  Using the app to link everyone's FP and being able to get them throughout the day is amazing.  And it can get crowded but nowhere near what Orlando gets.  I couldn't believe we had to wait 2 hours for Pirates for example.  Pirates in Anaheim doesn't even have a FP option because the line is never that long.  Also, all the equivalent rides are better here except for Splash Mountain.  

It's just as expensive though.  Can't escape that.  

 
Looking for a good breakfast place (not a buffet).  Olivia's (in the Old Key West Resort) pops up on a few lists.  Nothing in this thread though.  Anyone have any feedback?

 
Scoresman said:
Come to Disney Anaheim instead, as 1 and 2 are really not a problem there.  They don't have that screwed up FP system and I hope they never do.  Using the app to link everyone's FP and being able to get them throughout the day is amazing.  And it can get crowded but nowhere near what Orlando gets.  I couldn't believe we had to wait 2 hours for Pirates for example.  Pirates in Anaheim doesn't even have a FP option because the line is never that long.  Also, all the equivalent rides are better here except for Splash Mountain.  

It's just as expensive though.  Can't escape that.  
Click to expand...
Lines were huge when we went to Disneyland. We actually left the Peter Pan line because it took so long. 

 
Capella said:
We are going this weekend for a family Christmas stay. I swear we go more in December than we do the other 11 months combined. 

Anybody done trail’s end recently? I remember it being ok last time but it’s been a while. We were thinking of stopping there before we......rent a golf cart to look at lights around the wilderness campground. 

At Christmas time my wife is the Will Ferrell elf character come to life. 
Click to expand...
:hifive:  We’re meeting up finally, right? 

 
Capella said:
Going to the Christmas party?
Click to expand...
No. I’m in Daytona tonight. I’ll be there Saturday in MK and Sunday in DHS. Staying at Port Orleans FQ. Lunch at Grand Floridian and Dinner at Kona Cafe (I know) on Saturday and lunch at Brown Derby on Sunday.  PM me if you’re around and interested.  I will most likely be wearing a dark green Christmas sweater long sleeve T with dinosaurs all over it on Saturday.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Osaurus said:
No. I’m in Daytona tonight. I’ll be there Saturday in MK and Sunday in DHS. Staying at Port Orleans FQ. Lunch at Grand Floridian and Dinner at Kona Cafe (I know) on Saturday and lunch at Brown Derby on Sunday.  PM me if you’re around and interested.  I will most likely be wearing a dark green Christmas sweater long sleeve T with dinosaurs all over it on Saturday.
Click to expand...
We might be at HS Sunday. Not sure yet. Today is MK and tomorrow Epcot. 

 
Yesterday and today have to be just nasty down there.  Torrential downpour with some nasty wind all day yesterday, today cold and quite gusty with fits of rain every hour or so.  Still on the fence if I wanna even brave SeaWorld tonight for one last go-round with the kiddo, thankfully AP blackout dates remove Disney from consideration

 
Update: Space Mountain open.  Up to 145 minute wait.  Lolz.

FP+ time came and went.  Crazy wait now.  Really only have 4 things left today.  We got here at rope drop (7 am with Extra Tragic Hours) and heading to lunch at 1.  Might come back later, but not sure right now.  It’s warming up and the droves are returning.

Waiting in line for Jungle Cruise.  I like all the Christmas stuff they added.   :thumbup:

 
Last edited by a moderator:
think we will go disney world dec 6-11 next year.  School may get pissed but i dont care.  Ill put up with their complaints to avoid prison time.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Weather is great here. 

Christmas party was great last night. Not very packed. Took the kid in to see Mickey and Mickey spent like 20 minutes with him. Got on the floor with him, walked around with him, took him to his “wardrobe” and helped him pick out clothes. It was wild. Kid just kept saying Mickeymickeymickey over and over. 

 
rascal said:
think we will go disney world dec 6-11 next year.  School may get pissed but i dont care.  Ill put up with their complaints to avoid prison time.
Click to expand...
Why would you tell the school. I have kids gone all the time for a week. I never know and dont care. 

 
@Capella, you here today at HS?  Slinky Coaster is 💰 and we only waited 30 minutes.  Now the wait is ridiculous.  Glad we came at rope drop yesterday at MK and today here.  Wearing the dinosaur Christmas shirt today.  Trying to get an earlier lunch at Brown Derby, but everything looks full.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Osaurus said:
@Capella, you here today at HS?  Slinky Coaster is 💰 and we only waited 30 minutes.  Now the wait is ridiculous.  Glad we came at rope drop yesterday at MK and today here.  Wearing the dinosaur Christmas shirt today.  Trying to get an earlier lunch at Brown Derby, but everything looks full.
Click to expand...
Tonight at 6 I believe. Going to meet a friend to see the Bucs get thrashed at 1. Gonna be there later?

 
Just got back after a great trip. One comment on the fast pass system. The new system has devalued the park hopper.  As we know, you can only book FPs for one park at a time, and then when you cycle through them, you can get another. Problem is, that your are rarely able to get a tier 1 FP same day, so although you can go to multiple parks writh the hopper, you  are very limited of what you can ride. Not sure it’s worth bumping from the $140 daily pass to $200 price point. Of course, you save with the multi-day passes, but this is more a comment about the single park FP system.

 
Slinky dog is awesome. Now my favorite ride at Disney. There were early magic hours when we went to DHS that day. Although we only beat regular opening by about 15 minutes, it made world of difference for the Slinky queue. You definitely don’t have to arrive right at the opening of magic hours to take advantage of that perk.

 
JackReacher said:
Just got back after a great trip. One comment on the fast pass system. The new system has devalued the park hopper.  As we know, you can only book FPs for one park at a time, and then when you cycle through them, you can get another. Problem is, that your are rarely able to get a tier 1 FP same day, so although you can go to multiple parks writh the hopper, you  are very limited of what you can ride. Not sure it’s worth bumping from the $140 daily pass to $200 price point. Of course, you save with the multi-day passes, but this is more a comment about the single park FP system.
Click to expand...
We went to Disney for 9 days in August. We paid for the park hopper passes. We didn't park hop a single time. So yeah, that's money I just pissed away. 

 
TheFanatic said:
We went to Disney for 9 days in August. We paid for the park hopper passes. We didn't park hop a single time. So yeah, that's money I just pissed away. 
Click to expand...
i guess its all in how you tour....we never do a single park in a day, unless there is some special event or some non-park thing we are doing for 1/2 a day. We do summer too, so you have to go back and get out of the heat each day. Plus, there are certain parks, MK in particular that we really enjoy more at night. So we will hit the other parks in the AM and then finish off at MK. 

 
as a DVC member who stays at BLT and has enjoyed the FW from the Top of The World Lounge often...this makes me not happy. 

Disney Vacation Club members now have access to an exclusive dining package at Disney’s Contemporary Resort that includes dinner at The Wave and reserved fireworks viewing at the Top Of The World Lounge. The package requires one DVC member and up to five additional guests per party. The cost is $59 per person, and includes a prix-fixe meal to enjoy before being escorted up to Top Of The World Lounge to enjoy the fireworks. During the show, complimentary beverages and dessert will be provided.

Dates for the package begin January 14, 2019 and run through June 30, 2019 (Blackouts apply on Valentine’s Day, Easter weekend, and Mother’s Day Weekend). No discounts or dining plans are accepted for this package.

Additionally, the future of Top Of The World lounge access for DVC members is still unclear. The official DVC website lists Top Of The World lounge access ending December 29, 2018.
Click to expand...
I cant see how this could fully close access for DVC members NOT buying this package....I cant see how a meal package like this'll sell out every night and be popular enough to fill that lounge. But its interesting to see there is a dated end to the lounge access  

 
glvsav37 said:
as a DVC member who stays at BLT and has enjoyed the FW from the Top of The World Lounge often...this makes me not happy. 

I cant see how this could fully close access for DVC members NOT buying this package....I cant see how a meal package like this'll sell out every night and be popular enough to fill that lounge. But its interesting to see there is a dated end to the lounge access  
Click to expand...
I didn't think these things could make you unhappy???  You always seem to roll with it man!  

We've only ventured into the Top of the World Lounge one time and we didn't really care for it.  I blame the weather though.  It was about 40 and windy.  I think everyone ditched their usual spots and ventured in.  There was nowhere for us to sit or stand really.  

Based on our one experience, I can see how they'd like to monetize it.  Nonetheless, its shocking to see them pull away a significant perk of being a DVC member.  

 
glvsav37 said:
i guess its all in how you tour....we never do a single park in a day, unless there is some special event or some non-park thing we are doing for 1/2 a day. We do summer too, so you have to go back and get out of the heat each day. Plus, there are certain parks, MK in particular that we really enjoy more at night. So we will hit the other parks in the AM and then finish off at MK. 
Click to expand...
This being our first trip to Disney as a family (I went about 25 years ago in college), there's too much to see at pretty much every park for us to only spend a half a day at one. Maybe when we go back, and a lot of stuff won't be new, but for our first trip, we needed more days at some of the parks, not half days. 

 
TheFanatic said:
This being our first trip to Disney as a family (I went about 25 years ago in college), there's too much to see at pretty much every park for us to only spend a half a day at one. Maybe when we go back, and a lot of stuff won't be new, but for our first trip, we needed more days at some of the parks, not half days. 
Click to expand...
Even if you do the same park all day, I still recommend people to take a break.  All day at one park is a lot for Disney vets - if this is your first trip in a while I definitely would build in a break.  What glvsav and others like myself do is hit up a different park after that break.  Just seems to work out better in most instances.

 
AAABatteries said:
Even if you do the same park all day, I still recommend people to take a break.  All day at one park is a lot for Disney vets - if this is your first trip in a while I definitely would build in a break.  What glvsav and others like myself do is hit up a different park after that break.  Just seems to work out better in most instances.
Click to expand...
Yeah, we learned that the hard way. We should've taken breaks in the heat of each day. My wife is one of those people that wants to get the absolute most out of every single day and many days stayed with the older boys while I went back to the hotel with my folks and the two younger ones. She basically stayed from rope drop to close on many days. When we go back, it will be breaks at mid day. 

 
TheFanatic said:
We went to Disney for 9 days in August. We paid for the park hopper passes. We didn't park hop a single time. So yeah, that's money I just pissed away. 
Click to expand...
Doesn't Park Hopper always also give you the addition of free water park admission?

I know we got it the last time we went.  We just deleted a day of theme  park admission for a more laid back water park/Disney Springs day in the middle of the vacation.

We only used the Park Hopper once (jumped over to Hollywood when the lines for Slinky/Tower and Aerosmith) were like 20/10/10 min.....but there's defnite value in it for the "One Park - Hotel break - Different Park" concept. 

 
AAABatteries said:
Even if you do the same park all day, I still recommend people to take a break.  All day at one park is a lot for Disney vets - if this is your first trip in a while I definitely would build in a break.  What glvsav and others like myself do is hit up a different park after that break.  Just seems to work out better in most instances.
Click to expand...
With you 100% when it comes to taking an early-afternoon break and then visiting another park. That’s how we schedule all our days. It’s just that on our most recent trip, we were never able to score anything decent for our evening park after we cycled through our AM FPs. Maybe it was because the parks were packed, but we always had to wait the lines in the PM for the tier 1s.

 
Breaking News!! 

Free Dining is back for 2019,info here . 

as usual, dont always get sucked into the dining offer, there also may be a room discount that will save you more in the end. But for those who are waiting for FD to book their vacations....here you go. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Booked last night. 

July 12-22

1st 3 days at the Hard Rock at Universal (express pass baby)

rest at Bay Lake Tower 1 Bedroom

Everyone, update your notebooks

We will be on the tail end of our WDW Annual Passes, so no cost for tickets. Plus we are changing gears and downgrading to the quick-serve (2QS, 2 Snacks and the refill mugs) dining plan so that we don't feel the need to be in a restaurant every day and all the rushing/planning that goes with it. We will pick 3-4 ones we want to dine in and with the Tables in Wonderland card, just pay out of pocket. Been collecting discounted Disney Gift cards from BJs and plan on using those for the meals. 

 
glvsav37 said:
Breaking News!! 

Free Dining is back for 2019,info here . 

as usual, dont always get sucked into the dining offer, there also may be a room discount that will save you more in the end. But for those who are waiting for FD to book their vacations....here you go. 
Click to expand...
Since when do they offer it during the peak of the season. Seems odd

 
AcerFC said:
Since when do they offer it during the peak of the season. Seems odd
Click to expand...
noticed that...chatter says that 1. summer season booking is down, 2. end of the year is expected to pop with SWland opening bookings. 

1 and 2 are somewhat related IMO as people are really waiting to go once SWland opens and are holding off their vacations until a more concrete announcement.

As someone who just booked a summer trip, this isn't making me feel great. I know how free dining pulls people out of the woodwork like crazy, but I wonder if free dining is worth visiting in the dead heat of summer.  

 
glvsav37 said:
noticed that...chatter says that 1. summer season booking is down, 2. end of the year is expected to pop with SWland opening bookings. 

1 and 2 are somewhat related IMO as people are really waiting to go once SWland opens and are holding off their vacations until a more concrete announcement.

As someone who just booked a summer trip, this isn't making me feel great. I know how free dining pulls people out of the woodwork like crazy, but I wonder if free dining is worth visiting in the dead heat of summer.  
Click to expand...
Hint: it’s not

 
The Ref said:
Hint: it’s not
Click to expand...
IDK....I hear the site was crashing and 2 hour phone waits this AM. I know its not worth the heat, but gotta get that free cheeseburger son!!

Just sucks b/c i can only travel the summer and now this brings out the free-food zombies in addition to the heat. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Booked for 9/21-9/28.  Hopefully none of the rest of you people will be on fall break.  And I may cancel - have a 3 day hold right now and still deciding if I want to pull the trigger.  Would probably be our last trip before my oldest graduates.  😢

 
AAABatteries said:
Booked for 9/21-9/28.  Hopefully none of the rest of you people will be on fall break.  And I may cancel - have a 3 day hold right now and still deciding if I want to pull the trigger.  Would probably be our last trip before my oldest graduates.  😢
Click to expand...
I'll be there solo that time for a conference! Plus, its assumed that its the last weekend that Illuminations will be, with the change over happening Oct 1 

Conf dates are 28-29th...and I usually add a few days on either side,

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Avoiding Disney parks for 3 years until Mrs. O gets the itch again.  Friends usually come down in the Fall and always snag reservations at California Grill so I’ll do that, but that’s about it.

 
I thought I read in this thread earlier that they were consolidating ticket options going forward including annual passes.  I thought I read that the Gold passes were going away.  They haven't...we just renewed ours.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Courtjester
Board Games--I know there is another thread but I can't find it
Replies
18
Views
464
Wildcat
Wildcat
ghostguy123
What's a good short vacation destination (solo)?
2 3 4
Replies
160
Views
4K
nirad3
nirad3
Senor Schmutzig
Chicago Winter Sports Trifecta Coming Up! - Help wanted
Replies
2
Views
270
Senor Schmutzig
Senor Schmutzig

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 8 (members: 0, guests: 8)
Top