A WDW Redemption
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Bman · 02-08-2017, 06:47 PM

This story actually goes back to last March. My family (wife and son) and I had a less than perfect trip to WDW. There were several less than Disney - like encounters with CM's, the Beach Club was in need of refurbishment, etc. I wrote an email to WDW guest relations telling them that my family and I were saddened that WDW just wasn't what it used to be - especially since we figured that we wouldn't be able to go back to WDW as a family for a long time, if ever. I received an amazing email from a gentleman in guest relations. I won't go into details, but we were given an offer that allowed us to make an unexpected return trip to WDW.

To say that this trip was different from the disappointing trip would be an understatement. To begin with, we stayed at the Grand Floridian. So, yeah... The BC is battered, most of the staff doesn't smile or say hi, and the maid service can be seen hanging out in linen storage room with the door open. The GF is elegant, beautiful, in excellent repair and the staff is friendly, professional and sincere in their service. Everyone was smiling and happy and seemed genuinely happy to be there and to help us. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Day 1: We arrived midday on Friday (2/3). We got to the GF, got checked in and told the CM at the desk about our special deal. She told me that we owed a lot of money for the room. I then told her about the special deal and she excused herself, came back a minute later and told me that all was well and apologized for the scare. She then informed me that she had also added the 2 extra fast passes per person per day to our magic bands. That was part of the deal, too and she took care of it right there. We gave our carry on bags to the bell staff and took off to meet friends at DHS. (The room wasn't ready yet but we were told they would text us when it was.)

The buses were a real problem with our last trip. We had to wait 55 minutes once for the MK bus to show up at the BC. This time we had to wait 10 minutes for our DHS bus. Oh the horror! ;-) We met up with our friends at DHS (they're bigger Disney geeks than we are) and had ourselves a wonderful time. Rides were ridden (Toy Story x2), RRC, ToT, Star Tours, Move Ride), dinner was eaten (Brown Derby) and the Star Wars fireworks were watched. Holy Cow, those fireworks! If you haven't seen them yet, do so. Like yesterday. Ever want to be in the middle of a Star Wars space battle? Yeah, go see it. That was our first day and it was good. Oh, and yes; they texted me the room number when it was ready. It was right next to the boat launch and a short walk to Gasperilla.

Day 2: Magic Kingdom day! We like all of the parks but we LOVE TMK. It probably stems back to all of the wonderful memories of trips when our son was young. He was 4 1/2 when we first went to WDW and we've been six times now over the last 12 years. I remember watching him watch Spectro-Magic, seeing him shout with glee the first time that he saw Mickey, watching him bow to Cinderella (at age 6) when we dined in the castle or salute Buzz (age 8) before getting his autograph. Yep, there are a lot of great memories that have been made at that park. We did our normal thing: we waited at the rope (now at Adventure Land) until the opening ceremony was over and bolted to BTMRR. We had to wait again for a few minutes as the CM's made the walk to the rides but it didn't take long. We rode BTMRR, Splash, and BTMRR in a row without waiting in line before people started to filter into the back of the park. We then rode HM with about a 15 minute wait. Not bad.

By that time our friends were in the park and it was time to meet up with them and start using the FP's that we reserved. Space Mountain, HM again, Splash and BTMRR again, PotC, Buzz Lightyear, Seven Dwarves were all ridden during the day. My family saw the day time parade for the first time and it was AWESOME. Story time with Belle was cool and watching the kids was adorable (my 16 year old son dealt with it and enjoyed looking at Belle). This was the first time that we'd been to WDW with friends and it really added to the experience. They're more into Disney experiences than we are and they got us to slow down a bit and enjoy some of those experiences like the day time parade and the Belle story time and the new muppet show in Liberty Square.

We had lunch at Be Our Guest (good food, bad set up for ordering) and dinner at the Jungle Skipper Canteen. You'll love this place if you like the JC. We liked the food and loved the service. It was a nice, relaxing meal and then out for more rides and then, of course, my favorite: Wishes. I'm a grown man but I still get moved by Wishes. The music, the story, the fireworks, it's the very best. What to do after Wishes? Shopping for the girls and one last ride of Space Mountain for the boys. That is an awesome day!

Day 3: This was father/son day. My wife and our friends went to Universal to do the Harry Potter thing. My son and I aren't Potter fans so we went to Epcot. Man, the place seemed empty. We're used to being there in June and Feb was great. We rode TT and Soarin'. I really liked the old Soarin' but the new one is even better. After that it was dad and son just tooling around Epcot checking everything out and spending time together. Fish & Chips for lunch, wandering around and enjoying the day. We used our last FP for Spaceship Earth and then headed back over to TMK. Rides were ridden, food was eaten and I just enjoyed a beautiful day with my son. Oh, did I mention that we had extra FP's? Yep, those things came in handy for those rides with the long lines. :-)

We were joined by the wife and friends for dinner at Citricos. We wanted Victoria and Albert's but waited too long to made reservations. Having said that, Citricos was AWESOME. The food, wine, the view of the fireworks, the service, it was all wonderful. I highly recommend it.

Day 4: Animal Kingdom - we got there in time for rope drop and headed for EE. We were just getting into the standby line when a CM asked us if we wanted a FP. Sure! So we went through the FP line and then my son and I went through the single rider line. I love that ride but twice in a row like that was enough. Not for the 16 year old, he went through the single rider line again. after that we enjoyed watching apes and took the Maharata Jungle Trek and saw some beautiful animals, including a tiger. We went on the safari ride, more beautiful animals and then lunch at Flame Tree which was good. We then went on the dinosaur ride and decided that it was time for a nap at the resort (wife) and more fun at TMK (son and I). That afternoon was crazy busy at TMK. They say that Monday's are the worst days at TMK but we hoped that it wouldn't be so bad since it was Feb. It was bad, like June/July bad. The son and I rode a couple of rides but we got tired of fighting the crowds so it was time to head back to GF and just chill a little bit. We did that until it was time to meet our friends at Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner. Dinner was great - good food and good conversation - and we were talking about going to Disney Springs the next day when we decided to extend our park tickets one more day since our flight wasn't until 4:00 PM the next day. It only cost $16 per person to extend our tickets but pro tip: you have to have all three magic bands and you have to do it before the park closes. I got the bands and took off to guest services while everyone else got a good spot for Wishes. I got back at the start of the projection show and then we watched Wishes. I never get tired of Wishes. :-)

So then it was time to go to the resort, right? Not with two of those extra FP's that hadn't been used! My son and I took off the Space Mountain and got there in time to ride it again. We walked out with 15 minutes before park closing. Time enough to get to Seven Dwarves? Yep! We took off and got there with time to spare. We got one last ride on that coaster and it was 9:00 PM, closing time, as we walked out. We took a nice stroll to the front of the park, walked onto the boat to the GF and were in our room in no time. What a day!

Day 5: Our last day. Quite possibly our last day for a decade. Yep, bittersweet. We had a great breakfast at the GF Cafe and headed over to the park. We got there at a good time and my son and I headed to the HM (wife wanted to shop a little). This was a first: we got to the ride and were among the first 7 or 8 people there. We wound up in just the right spot so we were the first people to walk into the boarding area and we were the first people of the day to ride the HM. A few more rides, including Space Mountain (again) and PoTC then lunch at the Diamond Horseshoe and one last FP that was used on the Jungle River Cruise. All we had time for after that was a little more shopping and then the monorail ride back to the GF, DME and home. Before that, though, we stood together as a family in between the park dedication plaques and looked up Main Street at the castle one last time. We just looked at it for a bit. We didn't say anything but I was remembering when my son bowed to Cinderella in that castle, and how he saluted Buzz over in Tomorrowland, our how he played in Donald Duck's play ship in the back of the park or how sat in awe and watched the parade. Just over there. I truly hope in my heart of hearts that he gets to experience all of those moments and more at WDW when he's a dad. I took a deep breath and told him that I hope that some day he brings his own kids here some day. He looked surprised and said "Yeah, dad. Of course I will."

So that was it. This trip redeemed WDW for us and proved that the magic is still alive and well. It bookended 12 years of Disney magic and fun for us. We can't go next summer or the year after that because of planned commitments and then he'll be off to college. We may go back when he's in college but it won't be the same because he won't be a child anymore (he's only technically one now). So this was the end of an era for us. It was beautiful, it was fun, it was funny, it was... Magical. We are so grateful to WDW and that wonderful CM in guest relations who made it possible with that amazing offer and we hope that everyone here has as many wonderful experiences as we've had.

Grammy Grumpy · 02-08-2017, 07:02 PM

So very glad the WDW "magic" has been recaptured! And I hope that when your son brings his kids to WDW you and your wife are there to enjoy it with them. Seeing the parks through the eyes of children is the best!

gremlinkid73 · 02-08-2017, 07:09 PM

So glad everything worked for you.

Timon_HakunaMatata · 02-08-2017, 07:20 PM

We are so used to the magic of Disney, than when it is missing it feels like you have really lost something. We don't expect it anywhere else but Disney really.

I am glad that you were able to recapture the magic. And I hope that you do get to go again soon. Unexpected trips are always the best!

Her Dotness · 02-08-2017, 07:26 PM

Delighted to learn that our Disney home exceeded your expectations.

Citricos is our second favorite restaurant at WDW. We've never been disappointed there by either the food or service. Only our #1 and WDW's, the spectacular V&A's, does it better.

I warn you, though, the "Disney red roof inn" secretively worms its way into your minds and hearts. Good luck being satisfied with any other resort once the GF works its magic on you! We were recently "forced" by it to buy into the GF villas.