We're back! Still not quite "settled in" due to the craziness we came home to--funerals, x-rays, and house closings! Oh my! All that to say, it may take a few weeks before I'm able to "unpack" all the information I want to share with you. So, this trip report will be an abridged version.
First, let me say that we, as always, had a great time and were a little sad to come home. Crowds were quite manageable, and we never waited more than about 20 minutes for anything. Of course, part of that was because we simply refuse to...if a line was longer than that, we'd either pull a Fastpass for later or simply skip it. We didn't miss any attractions on our "must do" list, and rode most of our favorites multiple times. We had a particularly good morning at the Studios with our friends, the Spivey family, where we were able to ride Toy Story Midway Mania at opening with no wait and again later with a FP. We basically walked on to nearly every major attraction there, with the exception of Tower of Terror and Rock N Rollercoaster, for which we chose FP, since none of the kiddos wanted to ride either of them. It was fun to start our trip with friends, but we didn't see much of them the rest of the week, as our schedules didn't quite synch. Still we "bookended" our time at WDW with them, as we left Epcot together after Illuminations on our final night in the Parks.
We were also able to spend quite a bit of time with my cousin Camille, a WDW Cast Member. It was great fun to see her, and we miss her already! And having a CM friend or family member does have its perks. Aside from the obvious Park entry (which we only took advantage of one day, since we had purchased our tickets through the YES programs), we were treated very well by some of her CM friends. (We heard things like, "Why don't you
not wait in that line, and instead take these Fastpasses.") And one of the highlights of my trip is always a visit to the Cast Connection store, where you can find discounted merchandise and even food. My daughter and I got the most adorable Mickey ponchos for only $5.99! So very cute--and they have ears! (Can't locate the photo at this time, but I'll be sure to share it later.)
I'll do a full post on the Art of Animation Resort. The short version of my review is that I LOVED being in a brand-new room. The theming was perfect for our girly-girls, and this Resort seems to be a step up from the other Value Resorts. But I do wonder how it will fare over the next 5 years. Some of the decor doesn't seem to be especially durable.
We had hoped to catch a preview of Enchanted Tales with Belle, but to no avail. We even had a CM tip as to where to be and when, but nothing materialized. Bummer. Still, the new castle walls were gorgeous, and we agreed that the new Dumbo setup with the "play while you wait" area is a stroke of genius! I did have one complaint about the new Storybook Circus area: the Casey Jr. Splash area, with it's many fountains, gets you wet...really wet. And some parents--particularly those from other cultures that don't share our modesty standards--were undressing their children down to their underwear. I'm not talking toddlers here, people--big kids...some as old as 7 or 8. Seriously. I heard one CM tell a mother (in line for Dumbo) that she would need to put a shirt on her daughter (about 6, if I'm correct) before they would let her ride. But, other than that, this underwear-fest was largely being overlooked. Call me a prude, but I just want to put it out there: People of the world, we here in America like to keep our clothes on in public. Even when we're hot. Even when we're wet. And especially if we're over the age of 2. Thank you for complying!
Both our YES programs were great as usual, but I think my oldest daughter probably soaked in more actual learning at hers. (Youngest daughter had a rather disruptive/ill-behaved little boy in hers that seemed to require most of our instructor's energy...definitely detracted from the learning.) I highly encourage homeschool families to take advantage of these programs! We have done Wild By Nature, Ocean Discoveries, and Synergy in Science so far.
A couple of random observations, or rather confirmation of observations we've made previously: Our family does not enjoy Animal Kingdom. We swore we would not go this year, but we talked ourselves into it so that we could eat at Flame Tree BBQ. After riding Kali River Rapids twice, we had to "kill time" to wait for the restaurant to open. Not really worth it, when there are so many other good eateries around the World. The other observation: Disney transportation is slow. In nearly any case, we can get from any part of the World to any other part in our own car much faster than using any form of Disney transportation. We spent the better part of one afternoon traveling from one Park to the other, when we could have done it in our car in less than 20 minutes. Lesson learned--or, rather, re-learned.
Finally, we didn't have many new dining experiences (mostly hit our old favorites), but we did dine at the Rose & Crown on our final evening and were able to view Illumination from their private, roped-off area. Sadly, the weather was less-than-cooperative. :( Still, we donned our ponchos and carried on. We were seated indoors, but even so were let into the private area just before the fireworks began. And, perhaps because of the bad weather, we were nearly alone in there! I'll offer a more complete review of the restaurant itself in a later post.
That about covers the Cliff's Notes version. I hope to carve out some time soon to give you more--and include lots of photos!
