Can WDW Save the Birthday Trip Report? - Page 3 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
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Moving on with the current of the years.
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To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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It's really too bad that the service at AP has gone down. I'm sure it's not all the servers, but the fact that you got one who wasn't up to signature dining service and the CLQ certainly did as well, doesn't speak well for the training or oversight that's happening right now. Glad the food is holding up, but it takes more to make a signature experience.
A couple of things I wanted to add about our room location is that we discovered we were above Whispering Canyon. We kept hearing shouts and laughter and carrying on and we wondered where it was coming from. And then we realized we were above Whispering Canyon - it just added to the fun of that location. We'd crack up, hearing everybody having a hilarious time!
We also discovered we had a Magic Kingdom fireworks view - how fun was that! And it was just a standard view. We heartily recommend this location.
Rich hadn’t been to the Magic Kingdom since we moved back to the Orlando area and because we were staying at WL, it was the perfect park choice for the day.
Rich made a pot of coffee in the room, but we skipped breakfast in the hotel, figuring we’d find something in the park. We showered and got dressed and walked down to the boat dock – arriving by boat is our favorite ride.
We didn’t have good timing this morning, though, and we had to wait a long time for the next boat to arrive and was it hot! Finally, our boat arrived and off we went to the MK.
The crowds were very light, which was a good thing, but here, again, I was a bit confused by the low crowd level. The last time we lived in Florida, the parks were busy all summer long. But that was before the downturn. We thought things were recovering but probably not to those levels. We do know that WDW is hiring like crazy and they’re bursting at the seams at Team Disney and have plans to move to a new building this fall.
We walked down Main Street, waved to the Mayor, and then popped into the Main Street Bakery to see about some breakfast. This is one of our traditional stops. But the line was long and after that amazing meal at Artist Point last night, we weren’t really hungry yet. So we ventured toward Adventureland.
Our first ride is always POTC. And it was a blast, but we can't help but miss the DL version - so much longer, the 2 drops instead of just 1 and the Blue Bayou. But we love Pirates so we'll take it any way we can get it. Then we headed for BTMR. We prefer the one at WDW over the one at DL because of the padded seats. But, boy, was it a rough ride. And when the ride was over, some folks got out on the right side. I thought the exit was to the left, but when Rich nudged me to go right, I followed. And then the CM had to tell us all we were supposed to get out on the other side. Ha!
We’d considered riding Splash next but my head was all dizzy and I needed to sit down and recover. The funny thing is, when we were on BTMR, I kept saying stuff like, “I’m too old for this” and “At 40, I could no longer ride the big coasters and now I can’t even ride the small coasters.” A single rider in front of us, probably about the same age, turned around and smiled.Riding with her hands in the air, I'm sure she was quite proud of herself.
Haunted Mansion was next and we were wishing that DL had this new stairs version. But the good news is, the holiday version at DL is the most awesome of all. So, there’s a trade-off.
We meandered into Fantasyland and checked to see the wait time for Peter Pan. It was 40 minutes so we skipped it. We won’t wait for more than 20 minutes for that ride. Guess we found out where the crowds were – lol!
It was fun peeking into the new Fantasyland construction as we walked by – looking forward to that being finished.
We made our way to Tomorrowland to ride the People Mover, one of our favorite rides that DL doesn’t have anymore. But, first, we realized we were hungry, so we stopped at the ice cream cart. I had a Mickey bar and Rich had a container of mini ice cream bites. We sat down and enjoyed our breakfast. We definitely recommend ice cream for breakfast at WDW in the summer.
On to the People Mover. Ah, we had the entire set of cars all to ourselves. And so we chatted and rode and wished we could ride this all day long. This was simply the best! Eventually, the ride came to an end so we moved on to Carousel of Progress, one of our favorites, too.
I missed this so at DL when it first moved to WDW years ago. And Rich first rode it at the New York World’s Fair. We don’t ride it every time, but it seemed like the right thing to do as a gentle reminder of the benefits of “Progress” in our world that seems to change every day.
By this time, we were hungry for lunch. So we walked back through Main Street to Frontierland to grab a burger at the Pecos Bill Café. We’ve always loved the grilled onions in the condiment bar, but, alas, no more grilled onions—chopped raw onions only.
But while perusing the condiment bar, a CM decided she must mop the floor right in front of us, leaving it nice and slippery. We thought that was another Disney oddity. Then when we were sitting outside, the dad in the family next to us decided he must feed the birds. The sons kept telling him he shouldn’t do it. But then that same CM encouraged dad to feed the birds and even take pictures. Sheesh!
(I don't think they were from the U.S. We noticed a lot of Spanish being spoken, perhaps South Americans. Perhaps this is holiday time for them?)
Well, by now, this was enough fun for us and it was quite hot and we were looking forward to an afternoon swim at the WL pool, one of our favorites.
While there are pros and cons for WDW and DL as far as the “Magic Kingdom” goes, we always miss DL when we’re at WDW. It’s our home park. What we love most about WDW, though, are the resorts and the wide open spaces.
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I can understand constantly comparing MK to DL-- and mostly coming up short! Aside from Pirates, which is SO much better at DL, it's Fantasyland that gets to me at DL. I just love all the older rides-- Storybook Canal Boats and dear old Toad-- so much at DL. I've only been there once, 20 years ago, but I still think of those rides when I'm at MK. I'm finally visiting DLR again-- next week! I hope to ride Toad again and again!
Great morning at MK. I don't know why people insist on feeding the birds. #1 it is not good for them and #2 it makes them bug you while you try to eat. Such a mess.
I have reached the point where I find Space Mountain rather rough and not terribly enjoyable, but I still ride the other coasters.
The PeopleMover is a wonderful ride to relax, but I think Disney could plus it a bit without a huge investment. You used to be able to see the cars in SM, but now you see a lot less after the most recent refurb unless the attraction is down and the lights are up.
CoP is a favorite of mine, too, since I saw it in Flushing Meadows.
We often breakfast at Main Street Bakery, and have at times treated it like an attraction and gone there right after 'rope drop'! One must have one's priorities.
I am very happy that the Citrus Swirl has reappeared in Adventureland. I prefer this to the Dole Whip. Though a Mickey bar is always in order!
I can understand constantly comparing MK to DL-- and mostly coming up short! Aside from Pirates, which is SO much better at DL, it's Fantasyland that gets to me at DL. I just love all the older rides-- Storybook Canal Boats and dear old Toad-- so much at DL. I've only been there once, 20 years ago, but I still think of those rides when I'm at MK. I'm finally visiting DLR again-- next week! I hope to ride Toad again and again!
Yes - Fantasyland is far better at DL!! I've reconciled some of the differences between DL and WDW imagining that the things missing from the MK at WDW appear elsewhere in a similar form. For example, the Friendship Boats from the Epcot Resorts to the International Gateway remind me of Storybook Land Canal Boats - but an adult version.
How exciting to be going to DL after 20 years - I hope you'll write a trip report! But check out Pooh - it's where Country Bears used to be. We really love that location and that version. And we love Toy Story at DCA far better cuz the line is outside instead of that basement-like feel at Studios. And Soarin at DCA is so fabulous because it was built to be Soarin and not a retrofit! Now ToT doesn't have the horizontal movement at DCA that it does at Studios - just vertical. Anyway, just a few things to watch for.
Say hello to the cool and outrageous Mr. Toad for me.
I have reached the point where I find Space Mountain rather rough and not terribly enjoyable, but I still ride the other coasters.
The PeopleMover is a wonderful ride to relax, but I think Disney could plus it a bit without a huge investment. You used to be able to see the cars in SM, but now you see a lot less after the most recent refurb unless the attraction is down and the lights are up.
CoP is a favorite of mine, too, since I saw it in Flushing Meadows.
We often breakfast at Main Street Bakery, and have at times treated it like an attraction and gone there right after 'rope drop'! One must have one's priorities.
I am very happy that the Citrus Swirl has reappeared in Adventureland. I prefer this to the Dole Whip. Though a Mickey bar is always in order!
The last time we rode Space Mountain was the last ride we rode at WDW right before we moved away last time. Can't do that one anymore. But Big Thunder? My heart is broken.
And once we discovered Dole Whip floats, no more Swirls for us. But we usually have to choose between a Mickey Bar, a Dole Whip, or a FAB! At DL, FABs (usually a glass of wine) are so close by, they usually win out. Ha!
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But, boy, was it a rough ride. And when the ride was over, some folks got out on the right side. I thought the exit was to the left, but when Rich nudged me to go right, I followed. And then the CM had to tell us all we were supposed to get out on the other side. 
Ha!
<--- Disney Fantasy 2016!
Liz 
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