lauritagoddess
Doin' the Plush Rush
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2006
We just got back from 8 days in WDW. It was an interesting trip. We stayed at the Contemporary which was the first resort we stayed in 8.5 years ago. My DS was only 3 when we first stayed and now is a 12 year old who's starting to tower over me, and it was fun to see the comparison.
This was our second time using FP+. The first time was last year when it was being tested and we were able to use FP+ as well as pull paper fastpasses. I've been reading the boards for months and was wondering how it was going to play out. From our experience, FP+ was great for MK. We've traditionally been rope drop people and our first day we did make it to MK at rope drop. I had scheduled our first FP+ for about 10:00. We did a bunch of rides in Fantasyland at standby and then started our FP+ rides. We had 7DMT, Peter Pan and Buzz. After that, we managed to pull a 4th and 5th FP+ for the Speedway and for Pooh. We could have pulled more, but it was just too hot at that point and we left the park. It actually enhanced our experience by being able to walk on the rides and to keep pulling the FP+. Our other MK day was similar. I was also able to switch around some times and experiences through the app on the fly which was good. Our experiences with Epcot and HS was different. With the tiering in those parks, FP+ was less of a big deal. For both of our Epcot days our Tier 1 FP+ was Soarin'. I scheduled the FP+ at about 9:30 for both days with the plan that we would get to Epcot at Rope Drop and ride Soarin' on standby and then again with the FP+. This only worked one day as the first Epcot day while we were on the ride apparently one of the sides went down so when we came out after riding standby they said that even with the FP+ that we would have a wait so we just skipped the second ride. But then after you have your Tier 1 ride down, there's pretty slim pickings. Just to get FP+ booked, I booked the Nemo ride and Figment one day, and Nemo and the Epcot Character Spot another. It was actually helpful for the character spot since that did get a wait, but we really didn't need the FP+ for the other rides. We had the same experience in HS where we booked TSMM and did the standby and then early FP+ for TSMM. But with the tiering, it was harder to decide what to do for there other FP+. We also didn't find that the queues were that affected on most rides or attractions because of FP+, with the one exception of Muppetvision. There was actually a backed up standby line there and when the pre show room was filling up, it was wall to wall people and the theater itself was almost completely filled which I've never seen before. I can't speak for AK since we wound up scrapping our AK day because my DS was sick. All in all, I really liked FP+, but the tiering issue in Epcot and HS is a problem.
One of the highlights of our trip was meeting Talking Mickey in MK. We love meeting characters anyway, but this was really special. Whoever plays Mickey really went out of their way to make it special. Mickey did card tricks and joked around and was a lot of fun. I was glad we had a FP+ for this because the line was very long otherwise, but I can see why it takes so long because of the amount of time spent.
One of the not so great parts of our trip was the heat. This was the sixth time we've been to WDW in August so we are far from being unprepared for what the heat is like, but ohmigod, it was sweltering. This was beyond hot. Our first day in the parks last Sunday, it was 97 with a real feel of 114. It got cooler in the middle of the week, but it was still relentlessly hot. We didn't let it stop us, but it did make some things harder. With the resort monorail not running until 8:30, on our first MK day we walked to MK along the walkway from the CR. That was the only time we did it. Even early in the morning, we were dripping sweat by the time we got there. It also was an issue at Downtown Disney which I'll touch on further below.
I knew about all the construction at Downtown Disney, but for some reason my brain never processed that only the Marketplace bus stop was open. We normally go over to DD in a lot of the evenings, especially since my DS loves DisneyQuest. But to walk all the way over from the bus stop at the beginning of Marketplace all the way to the end of the West Side in that heat was awful. We only wound up going a couple of times. We definitely would have spent more time there if the other bus stop was still open.
I had been concerned about the monorail but it turned out to be not that big a deal. Except for the first MK morning where we tried walking from CR, we just waited for buses if we were going to the parks before the monorail was running. There were buses to MK and to Epcot, although we noticed the Epcot buses were rare, most were buses to the TTC that also did a run to Epcot. But they were plentiful and it wasn't an issue.
Also on the not so great side was that my DS got sick on the trip. He had what first seemed like a cold, but after a few days he started running a high fever. I asked at the front desk about seeing a doctor and thought we'd have to wind up going to a clinic, but was given a flyer for a in-hotel doctor service East Coast Medical http://www.themedicalconcierge.com. They had a doctor at our room in about 4.5 hours after I called. The doctor was incredibly thorough and professional and diagnosed what I had already suspected was a sinus infection. Unfortunately, although he carried meds with him, the antibiotics he had are ones my son's usually resistant to. He had to write a prescription instead. The front desk faxed it to Turner Drugs who deliver directly to the hotel. It was too late that day for the delivery, but it was there by 10:00 the next morning. If you have a need for a doctor, I would highly recommend this service and the pharmacy.
All in all, it was in some ways a challenging trip because of the illness and heat, but it was a lot of fun.
Edited to add - I had the weirdest experience on Friday night at the CR. I was bringing the prescription to the front desk for them to fax. We were staying in the South Garden wing and when I was walking outside to get into the tower I heard howling like a wolf. I heard someone else ask what that was and someone replied "It was Peter Pan" which seemed bizarre. But then just as I was about to enter the lobby, Peter Pan came running up behind me. He followed me in and told me he wasn't following me, he was following my shadow, and then ran to the escalator and went up to the 2nd floor. It was just so surreal. When I told my son about it he said "Peter Pan is a creeper", lol.
This was our second time using FP+. The first time was last year when it was being tested and we were able to use FP+ as well as pull paper fastpasses. I've been reading the boards for months and was wondering how it was going to play out. From our experience, FP+ was great for MK. We've traditionally been rope drop people and our first day we did make it to MK at rope drop. I had scheduled our first FP+ for about 10:00. We did a bunch of rides in Fantasyland at standby and then started our FP+ rides. We had 7DMT, Peter Pan and Buzz. After that, we managed to pull a 4th and 5th FP+ for the Speedway and for Pooh. We could have pulled more, but it was just too hot at that point and we left the park. It actually enhanced our experience by being able to walk on the rides and to keep pulling the FP+. Our other MK day was similar. I was also able to switch around some times and experiences through the app on the fly which was good. Our experiences with Epcot and HS was different. With the tiering in those parks, FP+ was less of a big deal. For both of our Epcot days our Tier 1 FP+ was Soarin'. I scheduled the FP+ at about 9:30 for both days with the plan that we would get to Epcot at Rope Drop and ride Soarin' on standby and then again with the FP+. This only worked one day as the first Epcot day while we were on the ride apparently one of the sides went down so when we came out after riding standby they said that even with the FP+ that we would have a wait so we just skipped the second ride. But then after you have your Tier 1 ride down, there's pretty slim pickings. Just to get FP+ booked, I booked the Nemo ride and Figment one day, and Nemo and the Epcot Character Spot another. It was actually helpful for the character spot since that did get a wait, but we really didn't need the FP+ for the other rides. We had the same experience in HS where we booked TSMM and did the standby and then early FP+ for TSMM. But with the tiering, it was harder to decide what to do for there other FP+. We also didn't find that the queues were that affected on most rides or attractions because of FP+, with the one exception of Muppetvision. There was actually a backed up standby line there and when the pre show room was filling up, it was wall to wall people and the theater itself was almost completely filled which I've never seen before. I can't speak for AK since we wound up scrapping our AK day because my DS was sick. All in all, I really liked FP+, but the tiering issue in Epcot and HS is a problem.
One of the highlights of our trip was meeting Talking Mickey in MK. We love meeting characters anyway, but this was really special. Whoever plays Mickey really went out of their way to make it special. Mickey did card tricks and joked around and was a lot of fun. I was glad we had a FP+ for this because the line was very long otherwise, but I can see why it takes so long because of the amount of time spent.
One of the not so great parts of our trip was the heat. This was the sixth time we've been to WDW in August so we are far from being unprepared for what the heat is like, but ohmigod, it was sweltering. This was beyond hot. Our first day in the parks last Sunday, it was 97 with a real feel of 114. It got cooler in the middle of the week, but it was still relentlessly hot. We didn't let it stop us, but it did make some things harder. With the resort monorail not running until 8:30, on our first MK day we walked to MK along the walkway from the CR. That was the only time we did it. Even early in the morning, we were dripping sweat by the time we got there. It also was an issue at Downtown Disney which I'll touch on further below.
I knew about all the construction at Downtown Disney, but for some reason my brain never processed that only the Marketplace bus stop was open. We normally go over to DD in a lot of the evenings, especially since my DS loves DisneyQuest. But to walk all the way over from the bus stop at the beginning of Marketplace all the way to the end of the West Side in that heat was awful. We only wound up going a couple of times. We definitely would have spent more time there if the other bus stop was still open.
I had been concerned about the monorail but it turned out to be not that big a deal. Except for the first MK morning where we tried walking from CR, we just waited for buses if we were going to the parks before the monorail was running. There were buses to MK and to Epcot, although we noticed the Epcot buses were rare, most were buses to the TTC that also did a run to Epcot. But they were plentiful and it wasn't an issue.
Also on the not so great side was that my DS got sick on the trip. He had what first seemed like a cold, but after a few days he started running a high fever. I asked at the front desk about seeing a doctor and thought we'd have to wind up going to a clinic, but was given a flyer for a in-hotel doctor service East Coast Medical http://www.themedicalconcierge.com. They had a doctor at our room in about 4.5 hours after I called. The doctor was incredibly thorough and professional and diagnosed what I had already suspected was a sinus infection. Unfortunately, although he carried meds with him, the antibiotics he had are ones my son's usually resistant to. He had to write a prescription instead. The front desk faxed it to Turner Drugs who deliver directly to the hotel. It was too late that day for the delivery, but it was there by 10:00 the next morning. If you have a need for a doctor, I would highly recommend this service and the pharmacy.
All in all, it was in some ways a challenging trip because of the illness and heat, but it was a lot of fun.
Edited to add - I had the weirdest experience on Friday night at the CR. I was bringing the prescription to the front desk for them to fax. We were staying in the South Garden wing and when I was walking outside to get into the tower I heard howling like a wolf. I heard someone else ask what that was and someone replied "It was Peter Pan" which seemed bizarre. But then just as I was about to enter the lobby, Peter Pan came running up behind me. He followed me in and told me he wasn't following me, he was following my shadow, and then ran to the escalator and went up to the 2nd floor. It was just so surreal. When I told my son about it he said "Peter Pan is a creeper", lol.
but the services that were provided right to your resort room seemed great 
I didnt know they had doctors that would come right to your room.
Was this the hottest it has been on one of your trips ? High 90's I can imagine would be like being in a sauna !
I totally understand.
