CSchex
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2012
Our group of 9 traveled to WDW for our first ever Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (on Oct 31st). We also stayed for 4 days afterward. Our group consisted on myself, my husband, our 2 boys (12 & 16), my sister, her girls (10 & 3) and my parents. We had a great time. Here is a short review:
The Good:
MNSSHP - Awesome! We loved it! We all dressed up and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The ride lines were short, trick or treating was fun - especially the trails - which had multiple stops. The fireworks were amazing, what a great show!
Port Orleans Riverside - this is our favorite moderate hotel, we stayed near the West Depot, which is usually the 1st stop to be picked up, and the 1st to be dropped off. This usually means you will get an empty bus, so we always got a seat. Bus service was pretty good, also. The longest I remember waiting was 10 minutes.
Late hours at the MK - We stayed for the extra magic hours on Nov. 1st (12 am - 2am) also the hours were extended on Nov 3rd to 11 pm. After the fireworks and the parades, the park was pretty empty. Most rides were walk ons and we were able to get a lot done!
7DMT - Loved it! It is short, but great! I hated the molded seats when I sat down, but then I realized, they kept my husband from sliding into me when we turned. Also, this is such a smooth ride compared to Thunder Mountain (which is my favorite).
Fantasia Gardens Mini Golf - What fun! We had a great time here, we used our free vouchers from the 2 rooms we stayed in, which allowed 4 people to get in free. Who knew mini golf was so fun? We had a family challenge and my husband swore he would win! (He didn't, but he came really close)
Disney Quest - absolute Heaven for my 2 game loving boys!
'Ohana - spot on with the food, absolute deliciousness, and a view of the fireworks, also!
Artist Point - divine food in a beautiful setting. Just go!
Cape May - All you can eat crab legs in a fun setting. Yes, it's busy, loud and packed. We love it! The mini desserts are delicious, especially the creme brulee and flourless chocolate cake.
Be Our Guest Lunch - wonderful, we had a fastpass for lunch and although we had to order at the kiosk (after ordering online), it was great. The tuna salad was so good, my husband ate 2! (It's not really a large portion) The potato leek soup is amazing!
Epcot Food & Wine Festival / Eat to the Beat Concerts - Wow! This was an amazing day! Steaks & soup in Canada for a snack credit and then a concert! 38 Special was great, by the way! Lots of people, but the lines moved really fast.
The Chase Lounge at F&W - this is a great idea, and you can get in with a Chase Disney Credit or Debit Card. Free drinks, super clean bathrooms and low crowds here. A place to stop and rest.
The Bad:
Pirates of the Caribbean - this ride malfunctioned every single time we tried to ride it. The first time we were the next to get on the boat, and we had to leave (after a 20 minute wait). The second time, we were on the boat and we had to wait 25 minutes during the halloween party. We were stuck in the room where the skeleton is driving the boat. Boring!! The third time we tried, it was just closed. We did get a paper voucher to use as a fastpass for a different ride both times. We used those for the Mine Train or Space Mountain - after a while it became a joke, my husband would say - 50 minute wait for the Mine Train? I guess we better go try to ride Pirates again.
MDE app - Oh, where do I even start! I had read the reviews on here and lots of bad experiences. Before our trip, I always used a computer to change our fastpasses. We tried to change once during our trip and messed everything up! Do not try to copy on the app - it will tell you "You're all set!" but you may not have the same fastpasses as the person you tried to copy! After the first day, we didn't even try to change, if we missed something, we missed it and that was that.
Pin number purchases/ redemption of Dining Plan - I love the dining plan, I really do. Mostly because we go during "free dining", so what's not to love. Well, it seems we found out. We had trouble all week long using our pin numbers. We had to have ours reset multiple times. And if you get 1 persons reset in a room, you better reset them all. We didn't find this out, until our boys seperated from us once and went to buy some snacks. They had no money, because we believed that they would use the snack credits, and as a back up, the room charge. Well, none of those worked that day!
Dance Parties - This was the worst of all. Dance parties are held in front of Cinderella's Castle multiple times during the day. 1000's of screaming children dancing wildly to Taylor Swift songs - no thank you! It made getting through these areas virtually impossible, and then when you were allowed to cut through, you had to be careful not to run into anyone when they were flailing around....oh I mean dancing.
Bus drivers who try to pack too many people into the bus - We only ran into this once. We had a driver who insisted on using all available space. He must have worked at the Haunted Mansion before! We were seated, but he packed so many people into that bus, I felt sorry for the children standing (crushed between strangers, sometimes) Most of the little ones were holding on to their parents for dear life. I cannot stand on a bus, because I have problems balancing. I will gladly wait until the next bus to be able to sit down. More than once I was told loudly "you'll either stand here or stand on the bus" by the bus drivers. I thought this was rude.
The Crystal Palace - we usually eat here once during our stays, but they really need to up their game. The food is just meh... We left this time and my husband said he wouldn't return, there are too many other good choices.
The last thing is that I miss at the exit of the Magic Kingdom when cast members used to wave at you (sometimes while wearing a large Mickey Mouse "hand") and tell you "see you real soon!" It made leaving the park a little easier, and made you want to come back. They don't do this anymore.
The Magical:
The Cast Members - Disney does such a good job training their cast members at the parks. Everyone we encountered was wonderful. My youngest lost his hat on the Barnstormer, and even though they could not retrieve it, they gave him a voucher to choose a new hat. It's the little things like this that really help make our vacation. He was upset one moment and happy the next.
If you've made it to the end - thanks so much for reading my review!
The Good:
MNSSHP - Awesome! We loved it! We all dressed up and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The ride lines were short, trick or treating was fun - especially the trails - which had multiple stops. The fireworks were amazing, what a great show!
Port Orleans Riverside - this is our favorite moderate hotel, we stayed near the West Depot, which is usually the 1st stop to be picked up, and the 1st to be dropped off. This usually means you will get an empty bus, so we always got a seat. Bus service was pretty good, also. The longest I remember waiting was 10 minutes.
Late hours at the MK - We stayed for the extra magic hours on Nov. 1st (12 am - 2am) also the hours were extended on Nov 3rd to 11 pm. After the fireworks and the parades, the park was pretty empty. Most rides were walk ons and we were able to get a lot done!
7DMT - Loved it! It is short, but great! I hated the molded seats when I sat down, but then I realized, they kept my husband from sliding into me when we turned. Also, this is such a smooth ride compared to Thunder Mountain (which is my favorite).
Fantasia Gardens Mini Golf - What fun! We had a great time here, we used our free vouchers from the 2 rooms we stayed in, which allowed 4 people to get in free. Who knew mini golf was so fun? We had a family challenge and my husband swore he would win! (He didn't, but he came really close)
Disney Quest - absolute Heaven for my 2 game loving boys!
'Ohana - spot on with the food, absolute deliciousness, and a view of the fireworks, also!
Artist Point - divine food in a beautiful setting. Just go!
Cape May - All you can eat crab legs in a fun setting. Yes, it's busy, loud and packed. We love it! The mini desserts are delicious, especially the creme brulee and flourless chocolate cake.
Be Our Guest Lunch - wonderful, we had a fastpass for lunch and although we had to order at the kiosk (after ordering online), it was great. The tuna salad was so good, my husband ate 2! (It's not really a large portion) The potato leek soup is amazing!
Epcot Food & Wine Festival / Eat to the Beat Concerts - Wow! This was an amazing day! Steaks & soup in Canada for a snack credit and then a concert! 38 Special was great, by the way! Lots of people, but the lines moved really fast.
The Chase Lounge at F&W - this is a great idea, and you can get in with a Chase Disney Credit or Debit Card. Free drinks, super clean bathrooms and low crowds here. A place to stop and rest.
The Bad:
Pirates of the Caribbean - this ride malfunctioned every single time we tried to ride it. The first time we were the next to get on the boat, and we had to leave (after a 20 minute wait). The second time, we were on the boat and we had to wait 25 minutes during the halloween party. We were stuck in the room where the skeleton is driving the boat. Boring!! The third time we tried, it was just closed. We did get a paper voucher to use as a fastpass for a different ride both times. We used those for the Mine Train or Space Mountain - after a while it became a joke, my husband would say - 50 minute wait for the Mine Train? I guess we better go try to ride Pirates again.
MDE app - Oh, where do I even start! I had read the reviews on here and lots of bad experiences. Before our trip, I always used a computer to change our fastpasses. We tried to change once during our trip and messed everything up! Do not try to copy on the app - it will tell you "You're all set!" but you may not have the same fastpasses as the person you tried to copy! After the first day, we didn't even try to change, if we missed something, we missed it and that was that.
Pin number purchases/ redemption of Dining Plan - I love the dining plan, I really do. Mostly because we go during "free dining", so what's not to love. Well, it seems we found out. We had trouble all week long using our pin numbers. We had to have ours reset multiple times. And if you get 1 persons reset in a room, you better reset them all. We didn't find this out, until our boys seperated from us once and went to buy some snacks. They had no money, because we believed that they would use the snack credits, and as a back up, the room charge. Well, none of those worked that day!
Dance Parties - This was the worst of all. Dance parties are held in front of Cinderella's Castle multiple times during the day. 1000's of screaming children dancing wildly to Taylor Swift songs - no thank you! It made getting through these areas virtually impossible, and then when you were allowed to cut through, you had to be careful not to run into anyone when they were flailing around....oh I mean dancing.
Bus drivers who try to pack too many people into the bus - We only ran into this once. We had a driver who insisted on using all available space. He must have worked at the Haunted Mansion before! We were seated, but he packed so many people into that bus, I felt sorry for the children standing (crushed between strangers, sometimes) Most of the little ones were holding on to their parents for dear life. I cannot stand on a bus, because I have problems balancing. I will gladly wait until the next bus to be able to sit down. More than once I was told loudly "you'll either stand here or stand on the bus" by the bus drivers. I thought this was rude.
The Crystal Palace - we usually eat here once during our stays, but they really need to up their game. The food is just meh... We left this time and my husband said he wouldn't return, there are too many other good choices.
The last thing is that I miss at the exit of the Magic Kingdom when cast members used to wave at you (sometimes while wearing a large Mickey Mouse "hand") and tell you "see you real soon!" It made leaving the park a little easier, and made you want to come back. They don't do this anymore.
The Magical:
The Cast Members - Disney does such a good job training their cast members at the parks. Everyone we encountered was wonderful. My youngest lost his hat on the Barnstormer, and even though they could not retrieve it, they gave him a voucher to choose a new hat. It's the little things like this that really help make our vacation. He was upset one moment and happy the next.
If you've made it to the end - thanks so much for reading my review!
