And we weren't alone.
From all reports, this is one of the busiest months for Disney. One day, while at EPCOT, I overhead a Disneybot say that they were expecting 51,000 people. That was the same day that we spent 2-1/2 hours in line for the GM Test Track. Even though the sign said 60 minutes. I will tell you two good things about standing in a line for that long:
1) I was able to read about 200 pages of a novel.
2) I met a wonderful family from the UK.
But after 2-1/2 hours, I didn't get any enjoyment from the ride. In fact, I hated it.
There was no respite from the crowds. Except for these:
At Hollywood Studios. Check out the "Writers Cafe." It is a nice, quiet coffee shop across from Planet Pizza. And you can find a Hidden Mickey in the store.
At EPCOT World Showcase, spent about an hour at a table across from the Outpost, an area between China and Germany. Got a couple of ice creams and just watched the world go by. Very relaxing.
Stayed at Coronado Springs. $10 per day for internet. Internet connection is by the phone even though there is a drop by the table. Talked to management and they are addressing this. Like all the other resorts. Food service is okay. Expensive. Costs about $40-$60 to feed four at lunch or dinner. And you should add $12 for a refillable cup, so that you get unlimited coffee and soda.
Read Frommers before leaving and requested a "preferred room" as shown in the guide. It made a lot of difference. Close to bus stop and not too far from the central area. Plus, a "quiet pool" was just down the stairs and the laundry wasn't too far, either. I recommend everyone do a little research on rooms at whichever resort you book. We had to wait for the room to be cleaned, but it was worth the wait.
The main pool, The Dig Site, is very nice and the water is heated. Towels, bar, food, arcade, water slide, and kid pool are all in that one area. Our room was near one of the "quiet pools" which allowed us more flexibility as to where we wanted to hang out. No towel service at the quiet pools, though, so be sure to ring housekeeping to get additional towels.
Laundry is the same as any other resort: $2 for washer, $2 for dryer and $1 for detergent and dryer sheets. One run through the dryer was sufficient.
Food service is interesting at the Pepper Market. You get seated and then given a card. You have to wander through the food area to decide what to have, and once you reach a decision, the card gets stamped with your order. That is your "bill." They automatically add 10% as a service charge. "To go" orders are not charged the 10% fee. The food is okay. A special resort cup can be bought for $12 that allows for unlimited refills of soda and coffee. It is worth it, provided you aren't too far from El Centro.
A nice room, serviceable. Refrigerators are in all rooms. TV is basically all Disney owned stations (ESPN, Disney Channel, ABC). I think that the resorts should have a channel playing Disney movies. After all, you are hit with all of the characters at every park. Might as well hit us up with the movies while in the room. If you go to the upper channels, like 96, you can enjoy older Disney cartoons. We usually were watching that channel.
As we spent the week, I kept wondering how to cut costs. You will need to have access to a car to get to cheaper food/groceries and beer and wine. Might even think about asking if anyone else would like a trip to the grocery or package store. Something like Turtle runs at Lotusphere. I did end up walking to a local grocery, but it is a hike from Downtown Disney. I wouldn't want to make that trip loaded down with groceries.
Staying on site, you have access to the free Disney Transportation (bus, boat, monorail). There is no published bus schedule as they say that the buses run every 20 to 30 minutes to each destination but I think that the reality is different. Many times we witnessed back to back busses to the same destination. (case in point: 3 straight Animal Kingdom busses have stopped but no other destination. I can see that people are waiting for Downtown Disney) Then, when the appropriate bus arrived, it was either full (no more passengers) or SRO. Remembering to bring a book made the rides more pleasurable.
From Coronado Springs, it was about 15 minutes to Magic Kingdom. 10 minutes to Hollywood Studios, 10 minutes for EPCOT. Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney were the longest rides, somewhere in the 20 minute range, depending on traffic.
Animal Kingdom - the Everest ride is outstanding. The dinosaur ride was pretty good. Didn't do a lot because of the crowds. Fast Pass was sold out within a few hours of opening.
EPCOT - 2.5 hours for GM Test Track. We did Fast Pass for Soarin', which was really good. Spent most of the time walking around the World Showcase.
Magic Kingdom - Fast Pass for Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain.
Hollywood Studios - Fast Pass for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Got to the park somewhere around 10 or 11, and the pass was for 7:45PM. The ride has an excellent start but beyond that, it was "okay." However, I will say that it has personality.
The weather was excellent, and overall it was a great trip. I think that I have posted all of the pictures on Flickr.
Technorati tag: disneyworld
Comment posted by Charles Robinson04/01/2008 09:00:01 AM
I've only been to Disney once outside of Lotusphere, back in 2006. I think the longest line we hit was for lunch at Epcot, and that was about an hour. They really need to either limit the tickets they sell or increase capacity at all their restaurants. The dining situation at every Disney park is atrocious.
This year after Lotusphere we went to Animal Kingdom on Friday. We were staying at the Dolphin, and I noticed the same issue with the shuttles. We waited for nearly 40 minutes and in that time we saw shuttles for everywhere but Animal Kingdom. The bus was packed and we barely managed to squeeze on. The first thing we did was go to Everest to get a Fast Pass, and lo and behold there was no wait! I think we also did some dinosaur ride that twirls you around like mad, and we ate at one of the sit down restaurants in the Tibetan area. The food was surprisingly good, but not worthy of a 45 minute wait.
You never let us know how the presentation for Spring Break 2009 turned out.
Comment posted by Gregg Eldred04/01/2008 01:58:18 PM
Homepage: http://www.ns-tech.com/blog/geldred.nsf
@Charles - interestingly, two of us presented on renting a house in the Virgin Islands. Since there was so much information, we decided to take some time to think about the choices and get better budgetary numbers. All I know is that my kids loved the idea of the Virgin Islands.
One of the choices was a house in Charleston. I am not discounting the location, but it will be hard to compete with locations further south.
Comment posted by Charles Robinson04/01/2008 02:59:48 PM
Homepage: http://cubert-codepoet.blogspot.com
No offense taken. I'm not so city-proud that I can't see the allure of other destinations.
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