Disney World Review

Well, I know I already have one Disney World post, but this one is more just general notes for me on things that worked and things that didn't.

1.  One sit down lunch was wonderful, something I'll be doing on all subsequent trips to Disney.  It took over an hour, but it was amazing.  Just sitting down, away from the crowds, in an air conditioned environment was energizing.  And enjoying something other than the typical burger or chicken sandwich was a nice change of pace.

2.  My Disney Experience, with FastPass+, was beyond cool.  I could book my fast passes before hand, so rather than bouncing around the park, we could be more organized.  I could see the wait times in the app and adjust my passes accordingly.  Shoot, the thing will work as a compass and take you to the nearest bathroom!

3.  The Magic Bands are genius.  Honestly, I still feel a bit naked not wearing one.  It was the key to our room, our entry to the park, and it controlled our Fast Pass entrances.  You can even set them up so you can pay with them.

4.  Did you know some of the lines at Disney World have built in time killers?  We waited 40 minutes for Pooh, but T played the entire time.  It worked really well.  And the line for Space Mountain has a giant video game.  I tell you, Disney is a well oiled machine.

5.  Staying on a Disney property has me spoiled.  I don't know if I can go back!  Not paying for parking should be taken into consideration.  $17 a day down there.  Wowzers.

6.  A backpack, with supplies such as a water bottle and snacks, worked well.  There were plenty of places to fill up the bottles, and staying hydrated is important.  I had those 99 cent rain ponchos in there as well, so when the rains came, we were prepared.  I also took some zip lock bags to hold my wallet and phone, and a pair of sandals for the water ride.

7.  I say this every time, but a down day is nice.  Our fifth day was very relaxing.  We spent just a few hours in Magic Kingdom, then shopped, swam and packed up for the return trip.

Well, that's it for this short entry.  Enjoy!

Disney World

I realize my children, along with one  particular sister in law, are probably the only people that will read this entire thing, but so be it!  This will be a work in progress as our vacation progresses.

Day one was a travel day.  We left for the airport around 8:30 am.  We paid a bit extra to have 4 of our party of 10 board early, and that was a stroke of genius!  We were all able to sit together.  Well, except for Grandpa, who chose to sit alone.  Well, not so much alone as with strangers.  But, on a somewhat related note, I have not witnessed a Grandpa vs. Grandma argument yet on this trip!

We did use the Disney Magical Express, and their luggage service.  My first clue that something was amiss was when I noted most of the tags were for "Unknown Elquist".  When we went to board the shuttle, that's when we found out our Magic Bands were non functional.  They assured us they could straighten it up at the hotel.

No.

The desk clerks said to come back at 9 in the morning, that their wholesale department would have to negotiate with Travelocity in order for our reservations to get fixed.  And when we got to our rooms, no luggage.  There we were, no Magic Bands and no luggage.  It was a dark time.  However, luggage showed up around 1:40 am, so that was a good sign.

Cut to 9:00 am in the morning.  That's when we met Todd, the most amazing Disney worker EVER!  He saw me there with my 10 bands, a look of despair on my face.  Todd went to work!  In about 15 minutes, our bands were good, we had 10 "Family Reunion" pins, 10 "First Time Visiting" pins and 10 bonus Fast Pass tickets for use in Epcot.  I've never wanted to hug another man quite like Todd.  Love is a strong word, but I think most of the family is feeling a little for Todd!

After a questionable start, the day took off from there.  We went to Epcot.  We first rode Spaceship Earth, which Traven described as "the best ride ever".  He did feel the Romans were actually Lamanites, but at least I know he listens in Primary.

Next was Nemo.  Same ride as Disneyland, but no submarines.  But at the end, there is this whole real aquarium.  Again, Traven was a big fan!  Toad fish = ugly, that's all I've got to say.

Soarin' was identical to Disneyland, which is fine.  Never mess with perfection.

We also rode Living with the Land, which Grandma loved.  This is a very green ride, with lots of talk about how we can grow things differently to help the earth.  It pretty much sails through greenhouses.

We ate lunch in "The Land" building.  The turkey sandwich was good, and some went with Chinese, which was also ok.

Our family favorite for the day was next.  Test Track!  I thought it would be more like Radiator Springs, but it was a lot more thrill ride than that.  Lots of speed and turns.  AWESOME.

Mission Space was next.  We split half and half for Orange and Green.  Orange was amazing.  Disney, how do you make me feel like I'm pulling several Gs on blast off.  Seriously, I could feel my face sucking back!  What an incredible, unique experience.

We next rode Ellen's Energy Adventure, which added up to nap time for several of us.  Not me and Traven mind you.  We continued our day long conversation!

Two hours.  That was the line to meet Anna and Elsa.  Um, no thanks.

Maelstrom was the most overrated, boring ride I've experienced.  Big disappointment.

The whole countries thing in Epcot is not a big win for me.  But others in the family loved it.

The short 3 Cabbelleros ride was fun.  It felt a bit like Small World.

Dinner was at Mexico, which was basically chicken tacos for all.   Again, it was good.

Traven and Jason bailed to go swim, and the rest of us watched Illuminations.  Great show.  There's a freakin' giant globe that comes out, lights up and has all sorts of effects.  It's literally the size of a small planet.

All in all, for a day that started with a feeling of doom, it was a great day!  More to come.......

DAY TWO:  Hollywood Studios

We started the day with Tower of Terror.  Just different enough here to have you a bit more in suspense, a bit more nervous, all adding up to a bit more fun!

We followed that up with the Rock and Roller Coaster.  Sweet mother of monkey milk, that was a fast, exhilarating ride.  Aerosmith music blasting, going 0 to who knows what in the blink of an eye, corkscrews, twists, dives, turns - WOW.  Loved it!

We hit a bit of a snag here, with some health issues and the temperatures.  Combine that with Braden accidentally giving T his bedtime pill, and T needing a Benadryl, we were in for some grumpiness.  But we persevered and had fun.

Beauty and the Beast was a very nice production, and I'm told Little Mermaid was as well.  We loved the Indiana Jones stunt spectacular.  Some of us even took in Muppet Vision 3D, which is a classic.  Alyssa took Traven on the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" playset, and took him to meet Phineus and Ferb as well as Mike and Sulley.  Oh, and we even got a photo with a green army man.

We paid a kings ransom for lunch at Mama Melroses, but it was worth it.  The pace was slower, there was no crowd and we just had about an hour to relax and enjoy some incredible food.  We did the Fantasmic Lunch!, which came with appetizers, entrees and two dessert plates.  Unlimited drinks and bread were included as well.  And VIP seating for Fantasmic!

As a bit of a Disney fan, I find it amazing that this was my first Fantasmic! performance. They do it in a stadium here, with seating kind of like you'd find at Sea World.  We were smack dab in the middle.  It was like World of Color meets a fireworks show, with a bit of parade tossed in.  We simply loved watching Mickey's imagination run wild, then the villains trying to take it over.  But in the end, Mickey triumphs (oh sorry, spoiler alert!), a ton of characters come out on the steam boat, fireworks erupt and I left feeling like it was a highlight for this trip!

Oh snap, I forgot at least two!  The Great Movie Ride was fun, as we got to see highlights from several films.  I'm a bit shocked that some of us did not recognize Ridley and a face sucking alien, but I did!

The backlot tour was LAME.  Hard pass on that one next time.

Oh, and of course Toy Story Midway Mania.  Rock solid, identical experience to California Adventure.

DAY THREE.  First off, a couple of lessons learned.  First off, the wait times can be deceiving.  Jungle Cruise said 15 miutes - we were in line around 70.  Second, Stich's Escape is far and away the worst ride in existence.

Today was a day with a lot of rides in common with Disneyland.
Peter Pan felt identical.
Small World was similar, but did not have the built in Disney characters.
Pirates was about 50 percent shorter.  Lame.
They have two Dumbos, both identical to Disneyland.
The train has three stops and is much shorter.
 Buzz Lightyear was identical.
The Tomorrowland Speedway was pretty much the same as Autopia.

It was a nice pleasure to see the Country Bears again.  I loved it.  Still funny after all these years.

Aladdin was a fan favorite, in particular for Kaylee.

The People Mover was awesome!  What a great, simple ride to kill a few minutes.

Mickey's Philharmagic was a lot like Muppet Vision, but was still cool.

Nighttime was amazing.  Electric Light Parade, followed by the show on the castle.  How they make the castle look like a movie screen is unreal.  And they've already factored in some new family favorites, such as Tangled and Frozen.  Traven was signing "Let it Go" at the top of his lungs.  And "Wishes" fireworks had some of the same music as the original in Disneyland, but was somewhat shorter.  Still it was a magical end to the day.

By the way, as soon as one raindrop came down tonight, people started scurrying.  It was odd to say the least.  I mean, it wasn't even a proper storm!

Lunch was at the Tortuga Tavern.  I had a taco salad.  It was nice to basically build my own.  Dinner was at the main cafe by the Speedway.  Bacon cheeseburger.  Yum.  I think it's the Starlight Cafe?

The Magic Bands are finally working like a charm.  We had to fix Eric's / Grandpa's at Hollywood yesterday.

DAY FOUR.  Today, it rained.  We had about every type of rain you can imagine.  Sprinkles, down pours, wind driven - we had it all going on.  This made for a wet day, but the lines were pretty much not there.

We arrived at Animal Kingdom around 9, and jumped right on the Primeval Whirl twice.  It's like the old Wild Mouse at Lagoon, but with some spinning tossed in.  We then rode some sort of Dumbo-esque Dino ride, which was still fun.  After that, Finding Nemo the Musical was next.  It was well done.  I don't think I'd drop everything to do it again, but I'm glad we went.

Ah, next was Dinosaur, which sent Traven into a screaming fit.  Honestly, he was screaming like he was near death.  I think the rest of us liked it, but not poor T!  We did the Whirl again, then went to Expedition Everest.  Well done Disney!  This is another winner.  Fast, twists, backwards, dark - it had it all working.  Loved it!  We then did the Khali River Rapids, which is not on par with Grizzly Rapids.  We finished off our rain soaked adventure with the safari, which I think most of us enjoyed.

Tonight, we had some go to downtown Disney, while some returned to Hollywood.  We were able to get in two trips to the Tower of Terror and a ride on the Rock and Roller.  Finished off our adventure with some pretzels and called it a day.  On day four, this was a good day to have less to do and be at a slower pace.  I think we are wearing out the Grandparents.

DAY FIVE.  Today was a nice and slow day.  This is good, because Magic Kingdom was beyond  crowded.  Like, you almost couldn't move in spots there were so many people.  We did Splash Mountain, which to me seemed a bit longer and better than at Disneyland.  We then lost Traven's MagicBand, which was ok since we are on day 5.  Probably, if I did this again, I might not let Traven wear his own band.  We then did Haunted Mansion, which seemed a bit longer as well.  It definitely has a different look on the outside.  We then journeyed to Space Mountain, which it turns out I am not a fan of.  Grandpa took Traven on the Speedway again, and Traven, Grandpa and I went on the Astro Orbiter.  That ride actually soars above the park, which was pretty awesome.  You ride an elevator up to get on the ride.  We then split up, with Traven, Alyssa and I going to the Pooh ride.  The line was long, but there were things for T to do the whole time.  He had a blast.  Drumming, spinning things, moving bees along a line, playing a touch screen thing, etc.  It was great for him.  We then came back, with Traven, Jason, Braden and Alyssa swimming.

All in all, a great trip.  The MagicBands are very convenient, once they are up and working.  FastPass+ with My Disney Experience is wonderful.  They need to let you reserve more than 3 attractions a day.  Oh, and staying on Disney property is the way to go.  I think I'd try a meal plan next time as well.  Probably have an extra rest/laundry day.

I can't believe it's over.  I can't wait to gather up our photos and relive the magic over and over again.  I really treasure these times, having all the kids together.