Walt Disney World and Disneyland(s) Discussion

[Protozaius]

I love Everest and I don't think the immobile Yeti really takes away from the attraction since you only glimpse him for about 2 seconds. But I do have to agree with Coheteboy about the head-banging. As much as I enjoy the coaster and especially the themeing and narrative of the ride experience, it does jerk your head around quite a bit. I really love the ride but I have skipped it on days when I'm already feeling some neck pain.

Per my wife, who is a Disney travel agent, Rapunzel is out in the Magic Kingdom. She thinks her location is near the castle but you can ask the Cast Members when you get to the park and they can give you at least an idea of when she's out.

I rode Everest twice before I actually saw the Yeti. I blinked at the wrong time.

When I went to the Magic Kingdom during the winter holidays in 2010, Rapunzel had an area to the right of the castle devoted to her meet and greet with her and Flynn Rider. I don't know if it's still the case. It was VERY popular with a wait of an hour or more.

 

[Kamandi]

If you can afford the upgrade do it. The All Star Resorts are only good if you are on a strict budget, actually Pop Century is a better budget hotel IMHO... newer hotel more direct bus lines.

Thanks. I just spoke with Disney and they've moved us to Pop Century.

 

[smitty]

I've stayed at both and just prefer to be closer to the stuff going downstairs on the BW itself. It can get a bit loud for a while at night, but it doesn't bother me. If CS meal options are a consideration you may want to lean toward YC though.

Thanks! Not sure of the abbreviation, what are CS meal options? And are the meal deals even worth it?

 

[crows]

I was actually talking with my wife about this the other day. I know they wouldn't want to close Everest, since it's now the biggest draw in the park (or tied, anyway).

But while some of the machinery for the Yeti is probably within the ride itself, couldn't they work on it off-site? They could just put a duplicate static Yeti (to save money on the dupe) with the strobes on the ride (which they do anyway) while actually working to fix him. Or even not as attractive but still functional, just remove the Yeti and work on it? At least then people would still have the coaster.

I read they're planning on adding another Yeti or two throughout the ride, to make up for the lack of "A" functionality. But when they're airing that Animal Kingdom special on (I think) the Discovery Channel 3 times a day, bragging that it's the most advanced animatronic ever, despite it not working correctly for years, it kind of reeks of false advertising.

They cannot remove the Yeti because is too big, there is nowhere that can be removed, someone that works there told me, they would have to take the mountain apart,

 

[cokebabies]

I was thinking about staying at the Yacht Club. I know the hotels are next to each other. Is the Boardwalk better?

Well Beach Club and Yacht Club are the two that are directly next to each other. I'm not a big fan of the Boardwalk, but I know lots of people love it. I think the fact that clowns freak the ____ out of me doesn't help.

But the sand bottom and whirlpool aspects of Beach / Yacht Club's pools are amazing.

 

[crows]

I love Space mountain, Aerosmith roller coaster and I love Everest, I love doing those rides always. In Hollywood studios there are not a lot of rides like that, so I only go for that and tower of terror, I love animal Kingdom, everything there looks great, doesnt have a lot of rides but i love going there. the one i go the least is Epcot

 

[Protozaius]

When I'm at WDW I find myself at Epcot more at night... having dinner at one of the GREAT restaurants in the World Showcase. I LOVE the Biergarten in Germany!

 

[YoNoSe]

Thanks! Not sure of the abbreviation, what are CS meal options? And are the meal deals even worth it?

CS = Counter Service (as opposed to Table Service, sit-down meals).
My wife and I usually get annual passes if we know we can get two trips in a year but for most people who book packages I think the biggest advantage is that Disney often offers Free Dining when you book a package. In that case it's totally worth it.

When I'm at WDW I find myself at Epcot more at night... having diner at one of the GREAT restaurants in the World Showcase. I LOVE the Biergarden in Germany!

We LIVE in World Showcase. We fantasize about retiring in Florida just so we can hit WS every weekend.

Though I am very disappointed that the Biergarten stopped serving Spaten Optimator. It's my favorite and it was amazing to get my favorite beer in my favorite place.

 

[Coheteboy]

When I'm at WDW I find myself at Epcot more at night... having diner at one of the GREAT restaurants in the World Showcase. I LOVE the Biergarden in Germany!

When I'm at WDW I find myself at EPCOT more anytime.

 

[cokebabies]

Yeah, we wind up in Epcot a lot, if only because most of our dinner reservations tend to be there.

Biergarten and Le Cellier are so good. But I'm sad Le Cellier took my favorite thing off the menu (the maple pork loin).

 

[Kamandi]

We're about to reserve our sit downs, do we (or should we) reserve the counter service meals as well?

We're planning to eat at:
House of Blues (SD)
Princess Breakfast (Akershus Royal Banquet Hall)
Lotus Blossom Cafe
Planet Hollywood (SD)
Casmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
Tony's Town Square (SD)
Toy Story Pizza Planet Arcade
SciFi Dine In Theater Resteraunt (SD)
Columbia Harbour House
Happily Ever After Princess dinner at Grand Floridian (SD)
Raglan Road Pub (SD)

Do any of those suck? Am I missing something good?

 

[cokebabies]

We're about to reserve our sit downs, do we (or should we) reserve the counter service meals as well?

We're planning to eat at:
House of Blues (SD)
Princess Breakfast (Akershus Royal Banquet Hall)
Lotus Blossom Cafe
Planet Hollywood (SD)
Casmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
Tony's Town Square (SD)
Toy Story Pizza Planet Arcade
SciFi Dine In Theater Resteraunt (SD)
Columbia Harbour House
Happily Ever After Princess dinner at Grand Floridian (SD)
Raglan Road Pub (SD)

Do any of those suck? Am I missing something good?

I think personal preference matters to much to say x place is amazing and x place is awful. So I'll steer away from recommending sit downs.

There haven't been too many restaurants that I've been really disappointed with. Probably the only one that springs to mind is 1900 Park Fare. I thought the buffet was horrible, and the character selection was much better for little kids. I know nitpicking characters at a dinner, when it was just two adults, sounds ridiculous. But at least I like pictures with stuffed characters. I'm not into pictures with "real" characters at all.


My favorite CS is Sunshine Seasons in The Land. Great entree selection (even though I get the beet salad every time) and amazing dessert selection.

Harbour House is good. Nothing amazing food-wise, but the theming is well done. Same with Cosmic Ray's - decent burger toppings bar, and some other misc. food. But as long as Sonny Eclipse is rocking out, it's one of my favorite CS places.

 

[ozzfan84]

Yak and Yeti was a great one we only just discovered last summer. Needless to say, it was the first one we booked for this summer. I also love Coral Reef and San Angel. For Hollywood Studios, Mama Melrose's.

 

[YoNoSe]

We're about to reserve our sit downs, do we (or should we) reserve the counter service meals as well?

We're planning to eat at:
House of Blues (SD)
Princess Breakfast (Akershus Royal Banquet Hall)
Lotus Blossom Cafe
Planet Hollywood (SD)
Casmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
Tony's Town Square (SD)
Toy Story Pizza Planet Arcade
SciFi Dine In Theater Resteraunt (SD)
Columbia Harbour House
Happily Ever After Princess dinner at Grand Floridian (SD)
Raglan Road Pub (SD)

Do any of those suck? Am I missing something good?

I haven't tried many of those but of those I have -

House of Blues - ate there on an early trip and remember enjoying it.

Cosmic Rays - very straightforward park food - burgers, chicken fingers, etc. Good for grabbing something but not anything I'd look forward to.

Tony's - the only really bad dining experience I've ever (poor service, luke-warm food) but in their defense it was the 40th anniversary and the park was a madhouse.

Pizza Planet - we literally walked in and walked out. Not nearly as cool as it should be with a built-in Toy Story theme. Never tried the food but I am a New Yorker and a bit of a pizza snob.

Sci-Fi - wonderful atmosphere, I could sit in there all day. I wish they had a bar. We have never been wowed with the entrees but the appetizers are good.

Raglan Road - we just ate there on our last trip and we loved it. The food was great, the entertainment was pretty amazing, and a nice beer selection. Hearty food and drink.

As cokebabies says, personal preference is a huge factor but some of my favorites are Ohana (in the Polynesian resort), Le Celier (in Canada), Crystal Palace Winnie the Pooh character breakfast (the puffed French toast is awesome), chips and guac at the Tequila bar inside Mexico, bangers and mash (and Boddington) at the Rose and Crown (if you sit outside and eat late you can watch Illuminations from your dinner table).

I have to stop because I'm getting hungry.

Yak and Yeti was a great one we only just discovered last summer. Needless to say, it was the first one we booked for this summer. I also love Coral Reef and San Angel. For Hollywood Studios, Mama Melrose's.

I've only got the counter service from Yak and Yeti but it's very tasty and the portions are generous. Also, Flame Tree Barbecue has a nice pulled pork sandwich.

So hungry now....

 

[cokebabies]

Also, Boma is RIDICULOUSLY good.

 

[crows]

see Epcot is great for eating, but i dont really like eating at the parks, so I rarely go to Epcot, when I go to the parks I just fill my backpack with a bunch of turkey sandwiches, hot dogs and chips, then I go eat somewhere else afterwards like Chilli's or something

I spend most of my time at Animal Kingdom or Magic K

 

[cokebabies]

Slightly off topic, but close enough:

For those that have done the Harry Potter stuff at IOA - how much do you miss by not doing the normal queue for the main HP ride versus what you see on the single rider's line?

I'm asking because my wife can't do motion simulators, but wants to see as much of the stuff as possible. I just want to know what she'd be missing by not waiting in the normal queue (as opposed to waiting in single rider with me then leaving last minute).

Just trying one more time to see if anyone has any feedback.

 

[YoNoSe]

Just trying one more time to see if anyone has any feedback.

Have not done potter yet.

 

[Anthos]

I'm thinking about doing a Halloween trip sometime in mid October. Does anyone know if there are other things to do for Halloween in Disney besides the the Mickey not so scary Halloween party? My daughter's six and I think she's still too young for the universal attractions but what else does Disney have to offer?

 

[Coheteboy]

We're about to reserve our sit downs, do we (or should we) reserve the counter service meals as well?

We're planning to eat at:
House of Blues (SD)
Princess Breakfast (Akershus Royal Banquet Hall)
Lotus Blossom Cafe
Planet Hollywood (SD)
Casmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
Tony's Town Square (SD)
Toy Story Pizza Planet Arcade
SciFi Dine In Theater Resteraunt (SD)
Columbia Harbour House
Happily Ever After Princess dinner at Grand Floridian (SD)
Raglan Road Pub (SD)

Do any of those suck? Am I missing something good?

I'm kinda thinking that you could find a better substitute for House of Blues. That place exists elsewhere and though it's adequately good, it's not unique to Walt Disney World. If you end up seeing a show there, I think it would add to the experience but I wouldn't actively seek it out to eat there.

I loved SciFi Dine In. Great unique experience.

I loved Columbia Harbour House.

I didn't do the Pizza Planet but it doesn't seem all that it's cracked up to me from the outside. I mean... it's just pizza. lol.