Jeeves is a Furry (Disney World Advise Thread)

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 3:00 pm

Taking the kids to Disney at the end of August, looking for some advice. We are staying onsite at Old Keywest Resort. We did the meal plan and fast pass. We are planning on hitting Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. One day each. We are debating one of the water parks instead of Animal Kingdom, but my daughter probably won't be able to do many of the rides at a water park. Looking for any advice; what to see or skip, what to eat, which attractions to Fast Pass... We get to use 3 Fast Passes a day, only one on the most sought after attractions.

rass · Post by **rass** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 3:13 pm

I think turdryan is down there now.

Going down ourselves during the early November break in school.

We skipped the meal plan because I'm convinced it isn't worth it unless you're definitely going to have at least 2 sit down meals a day.

I haven't gotten a handle on the new fast pass/magic bracelet thing yet. Is there really have a limit on the number of fast passes per day?

Brontoburglar · Post by **Brontoburglar** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 3:16 pm

I feel like I need to start saving for these future vacations now

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 3:17 pm

For someone who lives relatively close, we rarely go to Disney. I guarantee EPCOT will be your favorite though. Try and drink your way around the countries. I don't think there's alcohol at any of the other parks. Also, Orlando in August tends to be miserable, so you may be begging for a water park by noon on day 1. I'd bet there's enough there, even for a little one (lazy river, smallish attractions, etc.).

Turdryan is down here now.

We saw some of those magic bracelet things when we were there for a camping trip in March. Not sure what all you can do with that, but I think it is one more way for big brother to track your whereabouts.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 3:19 pm

Split one of those up if you have the hopper pass. Go to Animal Kingdom early, go back to the resort and relax from like 1-3, then head over to Epcot, do the Future thing first and then head over to the countries for food, drinks and fireworks at the end of the night. Then you have an extra day to hit up Blizzard Bay and Downtown Disney.

If you're going to do any character dinners...the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Review in the Fort Wilderness resort. All you can eat and drink and I can't recommend it enough. Just a fun night. One of those things where they throw the food at you.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 3:19 pm

I think the meal plan is worth it, personally. The prices are pretty high if you're paying cash.

I think the waterpark will have plenty to do for kids of all ages...how old is the daughter you're concerned about? I'd recommend it over Animal Kingdom for no other reason than it will be hotter than balls in Late August...I assume you have some Zoos around you now that you can get 85% of the experience, only missing the couple of rides that any kid who you are concerned about not being able to do the waterpark couldn't do anyway.

And Epcot will absolutely be on of the grownups favorites, but our kids were bored to tears. They were 8 and 5 at the time. If you have the parkhopper epcot in the Am and something else in the afternoon would be OK.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 3:23 pm

Jerloma wrote: One of those things where they throw the food at you.

And they didn't even charge extra for the cheese!

rass · Post by **rass** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 3:25 pm

govmentchedda wrote:For someone who lives relatively close, we rarely go to Disney. I guarantee EPCOT will be your favorite though. Try and drink your way around the countries. I don't think there's alcohol at any of the other parks.

I think we ended up in EPCOT on the same day last time I was down there (three years ago November). Saturday of the Food & Wine festival was pretty hellish.

Syb, we ended up doing a 1/2 day an Animal Kingdom and then spent the rest of that day back at the Magic Kingdom (so we did get the Park Hoppers). We did a whole day each at the MK, EPCOT and HS. No water parks (pool at the hotel was enough). There should be at least one park each day that opens early for people staying in the resort hotels, and that was pretty much how we determined our schedule. We definitely should not have done EPCOT on that Saturday, for the aforementioned reason. I felt like half of Orlando was there.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 3:27 pm

rass wrote:
govmentchedda wrote:For someone who lives relatively close, we rarely go to Disney. I guarantee EPCOT will be your favorite though. Try and drink your way around the countries. I don't think there's alcohol at any of the other parks.
I think we ended up in EPCOT on the same day last time I was down there (three years ago November). Saturday of the Food & Wine festival was pretty hellish.

Syb, we ended up doing a 1/2 day an Animal Kingdom and then spent the rest of that day back at the Magic Kingdom (so we did get the Park Hoppers). We did a whole day each at the MK, EPCOT and HS. No water parks (pool at the hotel was enough). There should be at least one park each day that opens early for people staying in the resort hotels, and that was pretty much how we determined our schedule. We definitely should not have done EPCOT on that Saturday, for the aforementioned reason. I felt like half of Orlando was there.

Hotel pool is a great point...we used that a lot. We were at Port Orleans and it was basically a mini water park.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 3:38 pm

Jerloma wrote:Split one of those up if you have the hopper pass. Go to Animal Kingdom early, go back to the resort and relax from like 1-3, then head over to Epcot, do the Future thing first and then head over to the countries for food, drinks and fireworks at the end of the night. Then you have an extra day to hit up Blizzard Bay and Downtown Disney.

If you're going to do any character dinners...the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Review in the Fort Wilderness resort. All you can eat and drink and I can't recommend it enough. Just a fun night. One of those things where they throw the food at you.

I've heard the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Review is great. We had dinner at the restaurant in the same building as the Review when we were there back in March, and it was quite good for a Disney buffet. You likely need reservations for the review.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 3:40 pm

rass wrote:
govmentchedda wrote:For someone who lives relatively close, we rarely go to Disney. I guarantee EPCOT will be your favorite though. Try and drink your way around the countries. I don't think there's alcohol at any of the other parks.
I think we ended up in EPCOT on the same day last time I was down there (three years ago November). Saturday of the Food & Wine festival was pretty hellish.

Syb, we ended up doing a 1/2 day an Animal Kingdom and then spent the rest of that day back at the Magic Kingdom (so we did get the Park Hoppers). We did a whole day each at the MK, EPCOT and HS. No water parks (pool at the hotel was enough). There should be at least one park each day that opens early for people staying in the resort hotels, and that was pretty much how we determined our schedule. We definitely should not have done EPCOT on that Saturday, for the aforementioned reason. I felt like half of Orlando was there.

Your memory is better than mine, but yes, about three years ago in November, my wife and I were at EPCOT. We'd spent the day at Magic Kingdom with the kids, and handed them off to the grandparents. The Food & Wine fest was still packed at about 7 or so, but the sample sizes for drinks and food made it perfect to walk and eat and drink. Sadly, I don't think you'll be there during that festival.

vandwagon · Post by **vandwagon** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 3:55 pm

But if you don't go to Animal Kingdom you may miss what we saw - the hippo coming over to the glass, taking a huge dump and using its tail to send the shit flying in all directions. It was hilarious and disgusting at the same time.

We did a short day at Animal Kingdom on our last day and saw enough to be happy. Didn't get to go on the safari thing though, which would have been cool. I'd split that with something else as recommended above.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 10:18 am

vandwagon wrote:But if you don't go to Animal Kingdom you may miss what we saw - the hippo coming over to the glass, taking a huge dump and using its tail to send the shit flying in all directions. It was hilarious and disgusting at the same time.

Did you happen to post a video of that on Youtube? I laugh every time I see that.

My son is 8, daughter is 5. I went to Disney numerous times as a kid, always in August, as that was the only time my father could get vacation days. We drove down in the old Impala station wagon with vinyl seats you had to peel yourself off of. Always a horrible trip, but we'd go down to visit my grandparents. Spending time in Century Village, their enormous retirement community, and I understood why so many of the residents kept dying. I was praying for the sweet release of death after 2 days.

My parents are along for the trip. My father has been pushing this trip for years. He says the trip is for him, because he wants to see the kids enjoy Disney while he has his health. They are doing a lot of the planning, as they went last year with my sister's family and learned what worked. I always loved EPCOT as a kid, and my son is obsessed with maps, his globe, his Atlas and learning about foreign countries. He is extremely excited for the countries portion. My daughter may not be as into it though.

Our resort has 3 pools with several water slides, so I'm thinking that will be enough water fun. My mom is allergic to chlorine, and my dad isn't into the water parks, which is why we are passing. They said they don't mind, that they would go to a different park that day. They are paying for a lot of the trip, so I can't do that to them. I'm thinking we do a shorter day at Animal Kingdom, and spend some time at the pool that day. My wife isn't too happy about the Animal Kingdom as 2 of her friends said it isn't as good as the Great Adventure safari, which we have done the last 2 years. I can't imagine Disney isn't significantly better than Great Adventure. Animal Kingdom has a white water rafting ride, so that should ease the lack of water park.

We don't have the park hopper. My parents didn't like it for some reason. Our meal plan is one sit down meal, one counter meal each day. Apparently you have to book sit down dinners more than 2 months in advance, otherwise you can only get shitty times like 4:00 or 8:00. We have a bunch of buffet lunches in the parks, so that should be a nice air conditioned break. The bracelets seem to take care of everything, including serving as the door key to the resort villas, paying for meals, park entrance...

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 10:31 am

The last time we went, Alex was 5 and although she didn't reach the bar for most cool rides, Everest, the big roller coaster at Animal Kingdom has a much lower bar than most and she qualified so that was a big deal. We went on that like 8 times. The other ride that she made the height for that you wouldn't think was Tower of Terror at MGM but it was a little scary even for my demon-spawn.

rass · Post by **rass** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 10:36 am

My oldest (5 at the time also) went on Tower of Terror with me and found that scary enough that she refused to do Everest the next day.

Animal Kingdom is definitely more than just the safari (which was OK, though I haven't done Great Adventure's in years so can't compare).

As for the parents, my mom's feet were shot by the fourth full day of all day walking around and she ended up skipping EPCOT. I still feel bad about that.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 11:28 am

rass wrote: As for the parents, my mom's feet were shot by the fourth full day of all day walking around and she ended up skipping EPCOT. I still feel bad about that.

Should have gotten her a stroller. My dad keeps telling me we need a stroller for my daughter. We'll see how the first day goes.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 4:04 pm

You need it.

rass · Post by **rass** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 4:44 pm

Last month we did our first trip (weekend at the boardwalk) with the kids without a stroller. The kids were fine despite a lot of walking, but we missed it ourselves just as a place we could throw shit and not have carry it ourselves.

The then three year old (shhh, we told DW she was two) needed a stroller three years ago (we brought one). The then five year old was fine without one, but she was never a napper.

testuser2 · Post by **testuser2** » Thu Jul 31, 2014 3:26 pm

We just went with the 4 and 8 year old this spring. Both boys. We did a meal plan and stayed at the Port Orleans riverside.

The kids liked magic kingdom the best. What we did was book some fast passes early in the morning for the other parks, pool, then magic kingdom. The fastpasses are nice. Make sure you reserve them a day ahead of time and use the app on your phone. The app gives you wait times that are pretty accurate. Another note on the fastpasses. If you book something where your youngest can't go tell the guy at the gate and they will give you extra passes to use on the ride. This way each parent can ride with the older kid.

Epcot
-4 year wasn't interested at all expect for the test track. That ride was really good. One of the favorites.
-Make sure you do this with your oldest https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attra ... adventure/ It's a scavenger hunt through the countries. It does one country at a time and it's pretty interactive.
Fastpasses for Test Track and Maelstrom.

Magic kingdom
-Might want to make a reservation for the sit down in the castle. We didn't, but it's my nieces favorite.
-Another good scavenger hunt https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attra ... dventures/
Fastpasses for Peter pan and some roller coasters. Space ranger is good for all ages.

Hollywood studios
-Not much here. You might be able to take the boat to downtown disney.
Fastpasses for midway mania, tower of terror and star tours

Animal kingdom
-Make sure you get a fastpass for the safari
Fastpasses for safari, everest

Downtown
-A good option for meal plans. You can use your sit downs just about anywhere. We did the Dino place.
-There is also a big arcade. We did that the one day it was raining and the 8 year old had a blast. The 4 year old was bored.

PM me if you want to chat on the phone about it. Make sure you use the sit downs and book your fastpasses a day ahead of time. I ended up having the 4 year old ride my shoulders nearly the entire time. The scavenger hunts are good when the parents want to relax and have a drink. We just followed him around and got to relax.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Thu Jul 31, 2014 3:36 pm

Hollywood studios
-Not much here. You might be able to take the boat to downtown disney.
Fastpasses for midway mania, tower of terror and star tours

Aerosmith?

testuser2 · Post by **testuser2** » Thu Jul 31, 2014 3:58 pm

Jerloma wrote:
Hollywood studios
-Not much here. You might be able to take the boat to downtown disney.
Fastpasses for midway mania, tower of terror and star tours
Aerosmith?

I'm not sure why we didn't do it. Might be that it was a popular ride and we had to choose between Aerosmith and TOT. The 4 year old is also short and we didn't want to use all the fastpasses on rides he couldn't go on.

Jerloma · Post by **Jerloma** » Thu Jul 31, 2014 4:09 pm

It's good. It's basically a faster Space Mountain but the initial acceleration is like 0-60 in 2 seconds.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Thu Jul 31, 2014 9:24 pm

testuser2 wrote: PM me if you want to chat on the phone about it. Make sure you use the sit downs and book your fastpasses a day ahead of time. I ended up having the 4 year old ride my shoulders nearly the entire time. The scavenger hunts are good when the parents want to relax and have a drink. We just followed him around and got to relax.

Thanks for all the great tips. We are still a month out, so I'm not in Disney mode yet. That agent P scavenger hunt will be great. My kids love Phineas and Ferb, so hopefully that will hold my daughter's interest. I'm a little worried about her getting bored at EPCOT. I think she will love the Figment ride, if that is still there. We are eating lunch in the Norwegian restaurant, as they have princesses roaming in there. We couldn't get any princess meals other than that.

When you say to book the fast passes the day before, are you saying not to book them earlier, or just not to wait until the day of?

rass · Post by **rass** » Fri Aug 01, 2014 5:58 am

On data and MagicBands.

testuser2 · Post by **testuser2** » Fri Aug 01, 2014 8:07 am

The Sybian wrote:When you say to book the fast passes the day before, are you saying not to book them earlier, or just not to wait until the day of?

Definitely don't do it day of. There won't be any good times available. We were fine if we booked by 5pm the day prior. The sit down's were weeks in advance, but we didn't do all of them. We thought that we would then be able to book places we found while we were there. Unfortunately, the good ones were mostly taken. The fallback was downtown Disney.

We did find a good sit down in Hollywood Studios for a breakfast buffet. It had characters(mcStuffins, Jake, etc...) I'm not sure if your kids get up early.

Prepare yourself for the gift shops. Every ride ends in one. I ended up taking a backback with some drinks and snacks. We mailed a box full of juice boxes, pretzels, goldfish, etc... to the resort a week before we left.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Fri Aug 01, 2014 9:46 am

testuser2 wrote:
The Sybian wrote:When you say to book the fast passes the day before, are you saying not to book them earlier, or just not to wait until the day of?
Definitely don't do it day of. There won't be any good times available. We were fine if we booked by 5pm the day prior. The sit down's were weeks in advance, but we didn't do all of them. We thought that we would then be able to book places we found while we were there. Unfortunately, the good ones were mostly taken. The fallback was downtown Disney.

We did find a good sit down in Hollywood Studios for a breakfast buffet. It had characters(mcStuffins, Jake, etc...) I'm not sure if your kids get up early.

Prepare yourself for the gift shops. Every ride ends in one. I ended up taking a backback with some drinks and snacks. We mailed a box full of juice boxes, pretzels, goldfish, etc... to the resort a week before we left.

My parents want to book the fast passes now. Wasn't sure if there was a reason not to book so far in advance. We are doing a lunch buffet at Hollywood & Vine, which seems to have the same characters. My kids never sleep past 7:15,

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Tue Aug 12, 2014 6:53 am

You should totally go. It's fun.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Tue Aug 12, 2014 8:48 am

Ryan wrote:You should totally go. It's fun.

I'll take that under consideration.

rass · Post by **rass** » Sat Sep 06, 2014 11:53 am

I guess I was late getting to my email, because a little less than two hours ago I notification that we could start booking fast passes, and the GD meet the Frozen sisters thing is already full up. Walt as my witness, I am not standing in line for 3 hours for that shit and if necessary will use all of my parental persuasive powers to convince them it's a horrible idea.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Wed Sep 17, 2014 7:14 am

rass wrote:I guess I was late getting to my email, because a little less than two hours ago I notification that we could start booking fast passes, and the GD meet the Frozen sisters thing is already full up. Walt as my witness, I am not standing in line for 3 hours for that shit and if necessary will use all of my parental persuasive powers to convince them it's a horrible idea.

I think the FP+ are reserved and distributed separately from the old-style fastpasses. If that's true, you can still get to the park as early as possible and head for the kiosk to get one at some point during the day if your schedule allows.

Funny story - our boys really wanted to meet them so we got the fastpass. We breeze right in to the back of a 3 or 4 family line. Immediately, Nate says he has to poop. He can't hold it. This had happened a couple times in the park already so we know he meant it. I went over to the girl who swiped us in and asked her what our options were. You'd think this kind of thing happens all the time but I could tell she was scrambling for a solution. She went over to the guy who was working with the princesses (not the photographer but the other guy) and he came over, took our names, told us to go and come back and tell the fastpass people what had happened when we returned.

Then he leaned over to me and whispered, "It's going to be a different Anna and Elsa when you get back - is that going to cause a problem?" I told him our kids hadn't made eye contact with a character yet, and wouldn't care anyway.

So we're gone for easily 20 minutes. We get back, go right in without a problem, and not only are they the same Anna and Elsa, but nobody else is in the room. They had clearly waited for us. We get introduced as a "very special family" (code for "here comes Cute Diarrhea Boy") and they spend tons of time taking pictures and making jokes. They even took pictures together, which I later found out is completely not possible under normal circumstances. Also, Anna was super cute.

And if you've read this far, let me leave you with the knowledge that we stayed at the wonderful Wilderness Lodge, a DELUXE RESORT AT WALT DISNEY WORLD IF THERE EVER WAS ONE.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Wed Sep 17, 2014 7:20 am

Jasmine at Epcot was smoking hot. Like, I had trouble forming sentences when she came to our table and my wife made fun of me for a while, and in fact, to this day if she thinks about it.

rass · Post by **rass** » Wed Sep 17, 2014 7:39 am

Ryan wrote:I think the FP+ are reserved and distributed separately from the old-style fastpasses. If that's true, you can still get to the park as early as possible and head for the kiosk to get one at some point during the day if your schedule allows.

I was hoping that was true in general. Making it work for that particular attraction will still probably be dicey.

As for the rest of your story, I would have forced in a horrible "Let It Go" joke at some point. Congrats on being a better man.

AB_skin_test wrote:Jasmine at Epcot was smoking hot. Like, I had trouble forming sentences when she came to our table and my wife made fun of me for a while, and in fact, to this day if she thinks about it.

We saw a very cute Jasmine when we were last down there, too.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Wed Sep 17, 2014 8:09 am

Our winner was Tinkerbell. I could rank them all but I'm not gonna.

Post by **Sabo** » Wed Sep 17, 2014 8:26 am

All this talk about hot Disney actresses reminded me of this gem from Texts from Last Night:

i went to disney world today with my friends, met snow white, then saw her later at a bar. she is naked next to me in her bed, passwed out. when you wish upon a star...

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Wed Sep 17, 2014 9:19 am

If you are going to plan a trip, the last week of August is the perfect time to go. Almost no lines at all. In many cases, the line started after the FP line merged, so it was completely pointless. The only 2 lines we had to wait more than 10 minutes was the Toy Story shooting gallery ride in Hollywood Studios and the Test Track at EPCOT. Both were worth the wait, especially Test Track. I was very surprised how much my daughter loved enjoyed designing the car. I have to say, her design was pretty badass. Everything built for speed and power, and she was extremely proud that she made "the most powerfullest car." She brought that up frequently for several days.

I was pretty disappointed in our selection of Princesses. Cinderella was cute, Ariel was pretty hot, but the wig was really bad. Snow White scared the crap out of me and my Dad. She was heavily doped up on something, talked in a way over-the-top sugary voice, and her face looked green. I hope it was just bad makeup. Before she was far enough away from our table, my father said a bit too loudly "I'd fucking kill myself." That was the Princess Lunch in Norway. Some of the waitresses were extremely hot. The hostess had an Inuit/Native American look about her. Norway does have Inuits (according to the internet), but I guess she could have been part Asian or something. Either way, I really liked her look.

The Disney service fell short of expectations. When you stay in a resort, they pick up your bags and say they will be in your room within 3 hours. We landed at 1:00 pm, and my parents were in the Villa around 11:00am. We get back from the Magic Kingdom around 8:30 pm, our bags aren't there. We call resorts baggage people, nobody answers for 10 minutes. Call front desk who connect us to the baggage people, phone rings for another 10 minutes. Call the front desk again, and speak to the female Jamaican version of Goodell. It was mostly due to a lack of eating, but I completely lost my shit. After 5 or 10 minutes on hold, she tells me we have to give them 3 or 4 hours to deliver the bags. I tell her it's been 7 hours. She then puts me on hold and tells me that they delivered the bags, but the room wasn't ready yet, so they were waiting for us to check in. I told her my parents were in the room 2 hours before I landed, so no, the room was ready. She tells me they found my 4 bags and will send them over immediately. We then argue over how many bags I have. I insist we only have 3, but clearly I am wrong. Finally, she snaps and says, "well you are getting 4 bags." Thanks, I'm sure the owner of that bag will be thrilled. We wait outside so the bag dude doesn't wake up the kid. After 30 minutes, my wife goes in and calls. The same woman picks up, and rudely tells my wife, "I just spoke to your husband and told him we have your 4 bags." When my wife says we have been standing outside waiting for them, she says "I didn't know you wanted us to deliver them." By the time we get our bags, it is 9:30. We walk to the front desk, and my wife goes off, asking them to make it right. The guy insists he can't do anything. My wife bitches that we still haven't eaten, as we are trying to get this sorted out. Then tells us the restaurant closes in 10 minutes. But wait right here, the manager will be with you in 30 minutes. "But the only place to get food here closes in 10 minutes?" "That's right, but the manager will only be another 30 minutes or so." In the end, they gave us 3 unrestricted Fast Passes for any attraction, good for the next day only. Get to the park, and nope, they never gave us the FPs. Get them the next day, try to use them at the 7 Dwarves Mine Shaft, "sorry, they don't work on this ride."

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Wed Sep 17, 2014 10:01 am

Ryan wrote:
rass wrote:I guess I was late getting to my email, because a little less than two hours ago I notification that we could start booking fast passes, and the GD meet the Frozen sisters thing is already full up. Walt as my witness, I am not standing in line for 3 hours for that shit and if necessary will use all of my parental persuasive powers to convince them it's a horrible idea.
I think the FP+ are reserved and distributed separately from the old-style fastpasses. If that's true, you can still get to the park as early as possible and head for the kiosk to get one at some point during the day if your schedule allows.

Funny story - our boys really wanted to meet them so we got the fastpass. We breeze right in to the back of a 3 or 4 family line. Immediately, Nate says he has to poop. He can't hold it. This had happened a couple times in the park already so we know he meant it. I went over to the girl who swiped us in and asked her what our options were. You'd think this kind of thing happens all the time but I could tell she was scrambling for a solution. She went over to the guy who was working with the princesses (not the photographer but the other guy) and he came over, took our names, told us to go and come back and tell the fastpass people what had happened when we returned.

Then he leaned over to me and whispered, "It's going to be a different Anna and Elsa when you get back - is that going to cause a problem?" I told him our kids hadn't made eye contact with a character yet, and wouldn't care anyway.

So we're gone for easily 20 minutes. We get back, go right in without a problem, and not only are they the same Anna and Elsa, but nobody else is in the room. They had clearly waited for us. We get introduced as a "very special family" (code for "here comes Cute Diarrhea Boy") and they spend tons of time taking pictures and making jokes. They even took pictures together, which I later found out is completely not possible under normal circumstances. Also, Anna was super cute.

And if you've read this far, let me leave you with the knowledge that we stayed at the wonderful Wilderness Lodge, a DELUXE RESORT AT WALT DISNEY WORLD IF THERE EVER WAS ONE.

You're really trying to screw me, aren't you?

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Wed Sep 17, 2014 12:21 pm

The Sybian wrote:Call the front desk again, and speak to the female Jamaican version of Goodell.

Jahdell

rass · Post by **rass** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 8:35 pm

rass wrote:I guess I was late getting to my email, because a little less than two hours ago I notification that we could start booking fast passes, and the GD meet the Frozen sisters thing is already full up. Walt as my witness, I am not standing in line for 3 hours for that shit and if necessary will use all of my parental persuasive powers to convince them it's a horrible idea.

Happened to check the Fast Pass+ plus listings again this weekend, and there was availability for the Meet Anna and Elsa thing. Nice on me. Flying down Wednesday AM.

rass · Post by **rass** » Tue Nov 11, 2014 12:34 pm

Ryan wrote:Our winner was Tinkerbell.

Yup. Us too.

Most enjoyable encounter was probably Princess Tiana. Her companion "Naveen" was fantastic, and kept up a genuinely hilarious conversation with my youngest while books were being signed and pictures were being taken.

We did everything we wanted to do except for the new Dwarves coaster (no FP+ and I never saw the line below 40 minutes, and luckily the Goofy Barnstormer coaster was accessible and while short, a lot of fun) and the AK safari (my fault, I didn't realize it was a priority for my wife and FP+'d the rapids instead, which was unnecessary since we were able to ride them 3 times in row).

My wife came down with a 12 hour or so stomach issue our first full day which we assume at this point was food related since no one else got sick, so maybe avoid the iced coffee at the JFK Terminal 8 Starbucks, and/or the Pina Coladas at All Star Movies and/or the sangria at the Hoop Dee Doo Review.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Tue Nov 11, 2014 10:05 pm

rass wrote:
Ryan wrote:Our winner was Tinkerbell.
Yup. Us too.

Most enjoyable encounter was probably Princess Tiana. Her companion "Naveen" was fantastic, and kept up a genuinely hilarious conversation with my youngest while books were being signed and pictures were being taken.

We did everything we wanted to do except for the new Dwarves coaster (no FP+ and I never saw the line below 40 minutes, and luckily the Goofy Barnstormer coaster was accessible and while short, a lot of fun) and the AK safari (my fault, I didn't realize it was a priority for my wife and FP+'d the rapids instead, which was unnecessary since we were able to ride them 3 times in row).

My wife came down with a 12 hour or so stomach issue our first full day which we assume at this point was food related since no one else got sick, so maybe avoid the iced coffee at the JFK Terminal 8 Starbucks, and/or the Pina Coladas at All Star Movies and/or the sangria at the Hoop Dee Doo Review.

Did that stomach issue come with a hangover the next morning?

You didn't miss much on the Dwarves Mine coaster. It was like a less fun version of Thunder Mountain with lots of Dwarf dolls all over the place. We skipped the AK safari, as we have been to Great Adventure twice and heard the Disney one isn't much different. The rapids were fun, and we went 3 times in a row as well. We FPed the 10 minute line, then there was no line, so we kept going. The last time, my Mom got absolutely drenched. Like several full bathtubs dumped from above her. We all got it pretty bad, but she was by far the worst. Felt bad, as she didn't dry off the rest of the day. I think Disney really missed the mark on Rapids. The ride is supposed to show the horrors of over logging in Tibet, or wherever the river is supposed to be. They line the river with a bleak landscape and chainsaw noises, but the ride is so short, you are only focused on the rapids. Best ride I went on is Expedition Everest next to the rapids. Yet another runaway train ride, but way better than Thunder Mountain.