Stephicakes’ overall trip report 6/30-7/7

[stephicakes]

Hi folks!

My family was in the World last week and this is an overall review – more detailed reports can be found under the forums “Accommodations” & “Dining”. We stayed at the Beach Club Villas and rented 2, two bedroom villas for our party of 15 people. Mostly rainy for the first few days & very crowded all week…

Getting there:
I’ll start with getting to our resort upon arrival at MCO. Magical Express was walk-on for us around noon and in no time we were on our way! I love the movie that plays on the bus and entering through the Disney World gate for the first time. There is nothing like hearing the bus driver say, “Folks… Welcome to Disney World!”. Good times Our ME bus stopped at Caribbean Beach, Boardwalk, Beach Club, and Yacht Club in that order. We had a grocery service deliver groceries to the resort and they were there waiting for us and were kept cool in the Bell Service refrigerator. We also ordered 2 scooters through Apple Scooter for MIL & FIL and had a WONDERFUL experience with them. Ordering the scooters online was easy and they also were waiting for us at Bell Services. The scooters were in great condition, kept a charge, and were very fast. I would HIGHLY recommend them. We really enjoyed the “tap to pay” aspect of our KTTW cards – so easy & fast with the PIN #. We saw that technology everywhere – resorts & parks. And it did seem faster entering the parks with the RFID technology. However, the only park that seemed to have some confusion on which line to get into for which card was AK. People just had no idea where to go even with CMs directing the process. But all the other parks seemed fine. We also had no problem activating our APs at the International Gateway and purchasing our TIW card there as well. Weather was rainy the first few days but always warm and was very doable with a poncho. But it did close down our resort pool a few times and we found ourselves leaving the parks early a couple times because of it, but we managed to have good timing dodging it when out & about. Overall, the weather was what we expected and we were prepared. Overall we had a great stay.

Parks/Crowd Level:
Being a holiday week, the parks were EXTREMELY busy. We have gone many times but this was by far the busiest I have ever seen the parks. We choose that week because it worked out with all the families’ schedules, but I won’t be going back again during that time. We definitely tried to be patient and just ‘go with the flow’ and knew it would be crazy, but I enjoyed my time at the parks a lot less than normal - just too many people. Can anyone say “Brazilian tour groups”? All the groups we encountered were well-behaved, but they were out en masse! I just feel that you miss so much because you’re so hurried to get everywhere trying to cram everything in. I enjoy a much slower pace in order to take in all the details and atmosphere, but I found myself just wanting to get out of the parks sometimes. At some points it was near impossible to get scooters through the crowd. Often, two of us would have to walk shoulder-to-shoulder just to make a pathway for the scooters behind us. MK was closed at some point due to max capacity on the 4th – we were not there but saw a sign on our way back to our resort from DD. Also, if you didn’t have a game plan on how to attack the rides with FPs, you may be out of luck. I saw newbies trying to navigate the parks for the first time with maps in those crazy crowds! I felt bad for them – they probably missed so much. Some people don’t mind crowds, but it is not for us. We will stick to off seasons from now on. However we always enjoy WS no matter how crowded and we finally got to watch “Off Kilter” near Canada. They were great!

Rides:
We were able to ride most of the E ticket attractions with FPs. But some rides we skipped altogether because of the crowds & wait times. On PotC, I did notice the ‘mermaids’ in the water and heard their song, but you definitely have to look closely and I may have missed it if I had not read about it here. The mermaid skeleton on the beach was also a neat touch. We rode VoTLM (Voyage of The Little Mermaid) for the first time and I thought it was really well done. The queue is amazing and it was nice and cool in the shaded caves. I thought the storyline flowed nicely contrary to rumors that it does not. But I will agree that it could use some “filler”. I didn’t like the fact that I could see the track or the ceiling clearly throughout the ride. It felt almost too new & polished. Does that make sense? Maybe some seaweed hanging from the ceiling could help camouflage the wires, etc. We also enjoyed the new TT. I actually like the ‘new age/Tron’ feel of it. Of course I will miss the old ride, but this was not bad at all. Despite technical difficulties designing our car (screen froze up and we only had 15 seconds to design one), our car did better than the other group of folks in our vehicle. The only downside was the continuous loop of the same music playing in the queue but it is better than the older clanking & screeching they used to play. You would think they could have a little more variety in the loop. I also thought the props used in the queue could use a dusting – why spend money on stuff like that and not keep it clean? I guess I just tend to notice things like that.

CMs:
Never once did we experience a rude or impatient CM. Of course some seemed exhausted, but they are only human – it was hot & overcrowded. Even despite the large crowds, all CMs that we encountered were as friendly as always. There is nothing like getting that friendly wave of the white Mickey hand as you enter a park in the morning!

Side note about Urgent Care: One of my nephews has a severe seafood allergy and had to visit “Central Care” after passing by a restaurant that was steaming shellfish. Even breathing in particles causes a reaction and starts to close up his throat. After some initial Benadryl (wasn’t bad enough for his EpiPen), a trip to Central Care was needed for some prednisone. They took a taxi there after learning that Central Care can send a car for you but it may take twice as long (of course you can call for an ambulance if need be). Central Care gave them a free ride back to the resort and accepted their UHC coverage. They were pleased with the service at Central Care.

Check out my detailed reports in “Accommodations” and “Dining”!

[KylesMom]

Stephi, notwithstanding the crowds, I am so glad you enjoyed your trip! While my family has traveled in late June and right after the 4th, we were never actually there on the holiday to have to deal with the magitude of masses! I was especially happy to hear that the tour groups weren't obnoxious and that the CMs were as bright and friendly as they should be. Thanks for sharing!!!

[faline]

What a large group you traveled with! Glad you all had a good time!

[WDWCrazyKaren]

I'm sorry about your nephews experience. I'm glad it was made so easy for your group. Even with the crowds (and from what I hear-the heat), I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, and it sounds like everyone came back without black eyes from other family members! That is a big group, with so many family dynamics running. Good for you!

[vizsla]

Thanks for the report.

[January-2007]

Thanks for reporting.

[garthbarth1]

Great trip report!! Also glad to hear your nephew was OK! Question...I have never heard of the mermaids in the water and their song/or the skeleton on the beach in POTC? Would love to hear more about it to look for it when we go in October! Thanks!

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the Report!

[stephicakes]

Great trip report!! Also glad to hear your nephew was OK! Question...I have never heard of the mermaids in the water and their song/or the skeleton on the beach in POTC? Would love to hear more about it to look for it when we go in October! Thanks!

I know there were a couple threads discussing them not long ago... You have to look really quick or else you could miss them. Right after the Blackbeard/Davey Jones projection on the “mist” waterfall, look into the water and you can see mermaid projections “swimming” in the water and hear their song. Then there is also a mermaid skeleton added to the rocks/shipwreck scene shortly after. I thought it was cool

[emerzmom]

Thanks for your great trip report! I used Apple Scooter for my DM on our last trip. We had never needed a scooter before this trip. I thought they were terrific. We also experienced some times when the scooter could not get through the crowd. My poor DM could not navigate easily from her sitting position on the scooter.
Sounds like overall it was really fun!

Julie