Stupid Disney and Their Deals

msteelers · Post by **msteelers** » Thu May 26, 2016 9:48 am

miltonite wrote:
msteelers wrote: We are heading up tomorrow. We will spend tomorrow at the Jambo House resort, relaxing. Then Saturday it's off to Animal Kingdom to check out their new night stuff.
Don't get your hopes too high, when we were there they were still not having it. They are apparently having trouble with the show and are taking more time to get it figured out and working properly.

The Rivers of Light got pushed back, but it's been replaced with a Jungle Book show. It's set to open Saturday. Plus they have the safari at night.

miltonite · Post by **miltonite** » Thu May 26, 2016 10:02 am

Looks like out trip was a week too early. We missed Soarin, Toy story Mania 3rd track and the jungle book show. Looks like we might need to have another trip sooner than 2 years after all.

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Thu May 26, 2016 4:54 pm

We go in August, and other than Big Thunder Mtn and Dinosaur being closed for refurbishment when we are there, I think we should be good.

Plus it's Disney, if you don't have fun I think they shun you or something.

sgoldj · Post by **sgoldj** » Thu May 26, 2016 9:08 pm

KKBlue wrote:miltonite, very excellent! Thanks for the pictures too!

sgold, are you going to all the parks? How many people? How long are you going for?
Believe this might become a PM instead

Checking into the Coronado on Sunday...7 day stay, just me and th wife. We took kids last time (1997) now the youngest is 30, so we said..BYE.

KKBlue · Post by **KKBlue** » Thu May 26, 2016 10:49 pm

Agree with msteelers (not only bc of the George Harrison avatar) about must see. My advice is to enjoy your time and be casual. For example, when you are at the Wave in the Contempory (hint) ask the bartender for suggestions. We typically resort hop on our last day pulling up a seat here and there to experience the many parts of this magical world.

Maybe at Coronado (we are staying there in December bc of stupid Disney & their deals) think to ask diffrrent cast members about some favorites. One of the many things they do right is take time to talk to guests.

Make sure you have your Disney app downloaded, helpful in many ways seeing how it's been a few years since you visited.

miltonite · Post by **miltonite** » Fri May 27, 2016 12:30 am

Dinner at Ohana, the table service at the Polynesian resort was very good. The food was fantastic and there was a guy there walking around with a Ukulele playing almost the entire time. The view from the windows was overlooking Magic Kingdom.

Ride wise there is nothing I rode and didn't enjoy. If you need restaurant suggestions I can help there.

KKBlue · Post by **KKBlue** » Fri May 27, 2016 8:07 am

Tks for the Polynesian resort rating. We are going to eat at all different places in December and was looking at nom-ing here, now I believe we will. Reservations open up for us in a few weeks and I'm getting my game plan in order.

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Fri May 27, 2016 10:50 am

Be Our Guest is still the hardest to get so be ready and waiting. Can't wait to try it out in August.

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Fri May 27, 2016 6:23 pm

Octavious wrote:Be Our Guest is still the hardest to get so be ready and waiting. Can't wait to try it out in August.

When are you there in August?

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Fri May 27, 2016 9:01 pm

Last week until the 2nd of September.

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Sat May 28, 2016 7:39 am

Octavious wrote:Last week until the 2nd of September.

ahh... We leave on the 18th. 9th to the 18th, so looks like we miss each other.

miltonite · Post by **miltonite** » Mon May 30, 2016 12:45 am

I think next time we need to coordinate a little better than we can have an Epic OO Disney Meetup! Where the Octopus meets the Mouse, maybe we can call it "Meetup in the House of MOOuse". (Just a working title)

KKBlue · Post by **KKBlue** » Mon May 30, 2016 9:31 am

OMG! OMG! This would be crazy!
Hey, dreams DO come true!

Picturing tables at Beirgarten with OOers swaying with liters. Crush getting heckled with epic comebacks from OO's in the crowd. Storm troopers being asked questions they can only walk away from. Boat loads of OOers continuing pirate talk all the way to the Haunted Mansion. Oh, oh, and all getting together at Animal Kingdom to have a picture taken with an octopus. (Smoove, I'll hold your hand so your not scared).

msteelers · Post by **msteelers** » Tue May 31, 2016 10:43 am

We had a blast up at Disney this weekend. We have spent a ton time over the past several months in the parks thanks to our annual passes, and we have been wanting to spend more time in the resorts. Our original plans were to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge Friday night after work, spend as much time exploring as we could, and then head over to Animal Kingdom Saturday afternoon. Well, we ended up skipping work Friday so that we could head up a day early.

We managed to book a room at a really good price for the Caribbean Beach Resort, which we both really liked. It's the biggest resort on property and does a good job capturing the feel of the Caribbean. There are several beaches scattered throughout the property, with lounge chairs and hammocks. There's an island in the middle of the resort that has a playground, and small trails with benches in the shade overlooking the water. We got there late Thursday night, grabbed a drink by the pool and then lounged in the hammocks for a couple of hours.

After we checked out Friday morning we ended up driving over to Disney's Boardwalk to explore for a little bit, then we went over to Disney Springs. I can't believe how much Disney Springs has changed. And I say that as someone who goes there every few months. We walked out of the garage and I almost didn't recognize the place. The new shops are really nice, and we spent a good chunk of time just walking through the new area. Most of the store fronts are still empty, so once they fill up it will be easy to burn an entire day at Disney Springs.

Once we left there we ran over to check into our room at the Jambo House in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. This has been the resort that I've been looking forward to seeing the most ever since they first opened it back in the day. Despite looking forward to this for almost 20 years, the resort somehow managed to exceed my expectations. This might have been due to the room upgrade we received. We paid for a basic room with a view of the pool or parking lot. But we somehow ended up in a room blocked off for Disney Vacation Club members, with a full view of the Savannah and all of the animals. We spent hours sitting on our balcony. At one point there were 4 giraffe's, antelope, donkeys, cattle, and several other birds and animals all right outside our window. It was simply amazing. Still, even for guests that don't have views of the animals from their room there are plenty of trails around the resort that provide up close views of the animals. I think even if we didn't receive the room upgrade we would have been satisfied with our room.

Neither of us wanted to leave Saturday morning and go to the park, but we had nowhere else to go after we checked out. We tried to stick around Animal Kingdom to see the new night stuff, but it was such a hot day and the park was so crowded that we bailed before it got to be fully dark. The Jungle Book show is getting some very poor reviews, and I've heard mixed things about the safari ride at night. We did it at dusk, and I think most of the animals had already been called inside. But the rhinos, hippos, and lions were all much more active than during the daytime. Walking out of the ride most people seemed to be saying it was the best safari they had taken at the park. Still, I don't think I'll be heading back to Animal Kingdom until Pandora opens up, and the Rivers of Light is ready to go.

sgoldj · Post by **sgoldj** » Tue May 31, 2016 10:54 pm

Back from Victoria & Albert's. A great yolo experience.

Bakhtosh · Post by **Bakhtosh** » Wed Jun 01, 2016 3:55 pm

miltonite wrote:We returned home yesterday. My fitbit says we walked over 64 miles on the 6 days. We had a blast.
This was my sister's boyfriend's first trip. We rode everything. He absolutely hated Tower of Terror. Work tomorrow is going to be rough.

I hated Tower of Terror, too. Not my cup of tea.

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 3:58 pm

Bakhtosh wrote:
miltonite wrote:We returned home yesterday. My fitbit says we walked over 64 miles on the 6 days. We had a blast.
This was my sister's boyfriend's first trip. We rode everything. He absolutely hated Tower of Terror. Work tomorrow is going to be rough.
I hated Tower of Terror, too. Not my cup of tea.

My wife and I LOVE the Tower of Terror... and this is after getting stuck in the ride during a lightning storm!

KKBlue · Post by **KKBlue** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 4:27 pm

Ah... no.
You get to win the Tower of Terror award, Punisher.

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 4:52 pm

Punisher wrote:
Bakhtosh wrote:
miltonite wrote:We returned home yesterday. My fitbit says we walked over 64 miles on the 6 days. We had a blast.
This was my sister's boyfriend's first trip. We rode everything. He absolutely hated Tower of Terror. Work tomorrow is going to be rough.
I hated Tower of Terror, too. Not my cup of tea.
My wife and I LOVE the Tower of Terror... and this is after getting stuck in the ride during a lightning storm!

I bow to you. I can't get my kids to ride that at all. They are all young, but still....

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 1:20 pm

It was actually pretty cool. The lightning storm started a few people before we got on. everything was working fine, then our group went in and went up to where they start the twilight zone story, then got about 10 feet from where your car goes into the drop part of the tower and stopped and all the lights went out...We thought it was part of the story at first, but about a minute in, we realized there was something wrong. We were in the dark for about 2-3 minutes then some partial lights came on, then a couple minutes later all the lights came on (so we could see all the "magic" behind the scenes) and then someone came on a loud speaker letting us know that there was a temp power issue and they were working on it. I'd say we were stuck for about 10 minutes or so total, then our car was moved into the drop and we had one up and down drop, then back to the ground.
They let us out, apologized and said that we could go again if we wanted to wait for the reset, so we did... It seems that they can control the number of drops and such and ended up giving us an extended ride with at least double the amount of normal drops... all while the storm was still going on outside.. it was pretty cool..

We have a habit on getting stuck on rides down in Orlando. Stuck on Jurrasic Park on 2 different occasions and one of the dragon rollercoasters as well.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 1:40 pm

I had my first Disney experience at Disneyland last summer. We were staying with local friends and they have a 9 year old daughter that had been dying to go on Tower of Terror for years, but nobody in her family or her friends would go with her. Being the sport that I am, I said I would go with her. Apparently before the trip she asked her mom if she thought her mom's friend (my wife) would go with her and she said no, but that I might so she has been waiting weeks to ask me if I would go with her. Keep in mind, I have never met this child before and we aren't family. When we get to their house from the airport, this little girl runs up to me without any introductions and says "Will you go on the Tower of Terror with me?" "ummm... sure?"

It was one of the few rides we did without a fastpass, just the way it worked out so it was me and a 9 year old girl in line for an hour to ride this thing. It was a blast. If anything it was shorter than I would have liked, but still well worth it. Better than that stupid space mountain.

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 3:07 pm

coopasonic wrote:I had my first Disney experience at Disneyland last summer. We were staying with local friends and they have a 9 year old daughter that had been dying to go on Tower of Terror for years, but nobody in her family or her friends would go with her. Being the sport that I am, I said I would go with her. Apparently before the trip she asked her mom if she thought her mom's friend (my wife) would go with her and she said no, but that I might so she has been waiting weeks to ask me if I would go with her. Keep in mind, I have never met this child before and we aren't family. When we get to their house from the airport, this little girl runs up to me without any introductions and says "Will you go on the Tower of Terror with me?" "ummm... sure?"

It was one of the few rides we did without a fastpass, just the way it worked out so it was me and a 9 year old girl in line for an hour to ride this thing. It was a blast. If anything it was shorter than I would have liked, but still well worth it. Better than that stupid space mountain.

An hour isn't that bad. I think the worst we had was a 2.5-3 hour wait one time...

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 3:53 pm

>2 hours would be grounds for never returning. Rare is the experience that is worth that. Now that I say that, it was probably longer than an hour. I just remember it being forever. I am not really a small talk kind of guy and there just aren't a lot of things I have in common with a 9 year old girl. Once we were done talking about My Little Pony and the new LEGO Friends stuff, it was awkward.

KKBlue · Post by **KKBlue** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 7:59 pm

Punisher wrote:We have a habit on getting stuck on rides down in Orlando. Stuck on Jurrasic Park on 2 different occasions and one of the dragon rollercoasters as well.

Repete...

dragon rollercoaster, stuck

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 10:28 pm

coopasonic wrote:>2 hours would be grounds for never returning. Rare is the experience that is worth that. Now that I say that, it was probably longer than an hour. I just remember it being forever. I am not really a small talk kind of guy and there just aren't a lot of things I have in common with a 9 year old girl. Once we were done talking about My Little Pony and the new LEGO Friends stuff, it was awkward.

Was it awkward because you brought up the topics?

The only issue we had with the wait is that the rides lines are very tight and it gets very hot.
We generally chat with the people next to us in these cases...especially if we happen to "accidentally" over hear an interesting topic.... Like My Little Pony and Legos..

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 10:29 pm

KKBlue wrote:
Punisher wrote:We have a habit on getting stuck on rides down in Orlando. Stuck on Jurrasic Park on 2 different occasions and one of the dragon rollercoasters as well.
Repete... dragon rollercoaster, stuck

It wasn't too bad. we got stuck on the way up and only for about 10 minutes... I am expecting the day when we get stuck at the top or bottom of a loop though...

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Sat Jun 11, 2016 1:50 pm

Thinking of going in October, but just reading that 2.5-3 hr wait time already has me reconsidering. Is that with or without Fastpass? Does Fastpass really make a difference anymore if seemingly everyone uses it?

I went 2-3 times in high school with the band, so I am completely out of the Disney loop.

Party consists of:
me
my wife (who will likely hang out at the resort as she hates lines, and would never, ever ever ever wait for ANYthing for 3 hours in line).
My 3 kids (11, 9 and 5)
My wife's brother and family, which has 2 kids, aged 10 and 4.

We really get along well with them and have done stuff together in the past, so I am actually looking forward to it.

Must do's?
Best place to stay in park for first timers?
With that range of kids (4-11), anyone got some insight for parks and or rides that accomodate fun for all? I don't foresee us doing any or much Disney princess stuff, for instance, since only the 4 YO girl is into that, and the other 4 kids would hate it.

Thanks!

Now to determine whether to fly or drive...

Oh, and finally, what should I be booking asap (other than hotel) this far out?

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Sat Jun 11, 2016 10:13 pm

You can book food 180 days in advance. That's only really key if you are trying to get Be Our Guest Dinner. Otherwise you should be fine for most places. Fast pass you can start reserving 60 days prior if you have a hotel reservation. And A LOT of people don't take advantage of the fast pass. One of the reasons they changed the original system was that asshats like me would be able to game the system and run around willy nilly.

I haven't tried the new system yet this will be my first year. I'm not going during a busy time so I'm not sure how much it matters.

IF you want to do the Not So Scary stuff I would book that sooner than later though. They do sell that out especially in October. For some reason they are doing it September 2nd so I get to do it wayyyy before it's really appropriate to do so. And it's cheaper. Win win... I did the Christmas one once and it was well worth the steep price. I don't think I ever left Disney feeling like I didn't get my monies worth.

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Sat Jun 11, 2016 11:33 pm

Any thoughts on resort? Wilderness, Animal Kingdom, Boardwalk Villas or Port Orleans Resort (FQ)?

Those are the top rated on TripAdvisor currently (Grand Floridian is first, but probably not exciting for kids there)

Chaz · Post by **Chaz** » Sun Jun 12, 2016 5:49 am

Fastpass definitely makes a difference. I think the longest wait I've had using one was 10-15 minutes, and that was only because some of the older lines had their fastpass queues retrofitted to the original queues, and have to drop fastpass people into the main line way before the loading area. I'd say most rides are set up better than this, and the wait is under 10 minutes easily. I'm similarly allergic to long lines, and the system basically fixes that. Plus, playing fastpass tetris using the app while you're in the park is kind of a fun mini game to play.

msteelers · Post by **msteelers** » Sun Jun 12, 2016 8:01 am

2-3 hour wait times are unusual. You really only see those on the most popular rides, and even that is during the crazy times of year, like summer and holidays. Fastpass lines are much shorter. The reason why they are able to stay short is they limit the number of fastpasses at each ride, and they limit the number of fastpasses each guest receives.

I've stayed at Animal Kingdom, Port Orleans, and Caribbean Beach resort. All were fantastic and I would recommend any. I don't think you can go wrong with a resort. Find out your budget, and then compare all the resorts you can afford to stay at. I usually compare the resorts based on price, theming, food, and the pool. You can get all that info online.

October is a great month to go. It's usually nice weather, and the crowds are light. The only exception is the week of Columbus Day. That has turned into a very busy week for Disney over the past few years. Avoid it if you can.

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Sun Jun 12, 2016 8:30 am

If you are willing to splurge on the high price hotels, I HIGHLY recommend the Poly. Monorail though the hotel AND you can walk to the ticket and transportation center. Everyone should do it once in their life if you can afford it.

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Sun Jun 12, 2016 9:04 am

Great info, thanks guys! Helps a lot.

KKBlue · Post by **KKBlue** » Sun Jun 12, 2016 9:05 am

Carpet_pissr wrote:Thinking of going in October...

We (as a husband and wife duo) have used travel agents for all of the past visits. This time I'm trying a new agent for our trip in December. With a group I highly suggest getting an agent because they are helpful to bounce ideas off of and recommending things as well as making reservations. For the epic April vacation with my brother's kids, I borrowed many travel books and boned up on all things Universal and WDW. I enjoy planning events and ended up being SUPER AMAZING in my brother's brood's eyes (including the adults)!

Start asking your family now for what they would like to do, places to eat, rides, and characters. The more help you have with what the likes are, the more successful and smoother the planning will go. Please do give yourself time and book sooner than later for your own personal advantage and mental well being.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Sun Jun 12, 2016 9:06 am

Carpet_pissr wrote:Does Fastpass really make a difference anymore if seemingly everyone uses it?

Despite the meme posted earlier, having a fastpass is useful even if everyone has one. It's not just getting into a different queue. It's scheduling a time to get into that different queue and as was mentioned, they limit how many can get a fastpass for each time slot. There's more to it, but I'm not the pro. We were guided by a local pro season pass holder and it was great.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Sun Jun 12, 2016 11:24 am

Carpet_pissr wrote:Any thoughts on resort? Wilderness, Animal Kingdom, Boardwalk Villas or Port Orleans Resort (FQ)?

Those are the top rated on TripAdvisor currently (Grand Floridian is first, but probably not exciting for kids there)

We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge last year and it was fantastic. Water taxis to get to MK was awesome and the Lodge itself was really, really nice. The kids loved the bunk beds and pool. They started some construction when we were leaving (May 2015), so you might want to ask about that.

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Mon Jun 13, 2016 10:22 am

FYI.
Unlimited FastPass LifeHack..

Prior to the trip, break someone's leg, then have then use a wheelchair the entire time. It is usually best not to break your leg.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Thu Jun 30, 2016 6:50 am

But it can always be worse.

All that for an attraction that is, in fact, only average — at least when it comes to getting the most bang for your buck, or ride time for your wait time.

Lines for Frozen Ever After continue to be epic, but the ride itself only lasts about five minutes, which puts is squarely in the middle of the pack of Disney rides.

The longest ride at Walt Disney World is the Carousel of Progress, which clocks in at 20 minutes and 45 seconds. The shortest is the Barnstormer, a small roller coaster for children, which is just one minute and three seconds, according to WDW Info, a Disney travel planning site. (Rides are defined here as theme park attractions in which visitors are physically moved, rather than a show or walk-through experience.)

The average Walt Disney World ride lasts just under seven minutes, and the median is exactly five minutes.

Some of the rides with the longest durations have among the shortest waits, while some of the most popular rides are over in an instant.

The average wait time for the 11-minute-long Splash Mountain ride is about two hours during peak season, according to TouringPlans, another Disney travel site. And the average wait time for the two-minute, 45-second Peter Pan’s Flight during peak season can be 2½ hours. Touring Plans doesn’t yet have estimates for the Frozen ride.

http://nypost.com/2016/06/29/people-wai ... ozen-ride/

msteelers · Post by **msteelers** » Thu Jun 30, 2016 9:20 am

I'm shocked that a "new" ride featuring extremely popular characters at one of the busiest theme parks in the world would experience long lines. What a scandal.

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Thu Jun 30, 2016 12:52 pm

They have fast passes available for that ride. You have to be batshit insane to try and just wait in line for that one. There are only like 8-10 rides in Epcot in the first place.