Trip Report for
November 2014 Written by Jeff C.
Summary
Number of people: 4
(2 adults, 2 children (ages 17 and 14))
Dates: 11/01/2014 -
11/04/2014
Travel: United
Airlines, Disney's Magical Express, Resort Monorail, Resort Bus, Cab
Accommodations:
Disney's Polynesian Resort
Parks: Magic Kingdom,
Disney's Hollywood Studios, Universal's Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios
Florida
Restaurants: Crystal
Palace (MK), Kona Café (Poly), Fairfax Fare (DHS), Hollywood and Vine (DHS),
Captain Cook's (Poly), Fast Food Boulevard (USF)
High Points
Disney's Magical
Express
Big Thunder Mountain
Railroad in the dark
Walking just behind
the Electrical Parade
MagicBand PhotoPass
integration
Wandering Oaken's
Frozen Snowground photo-ops.
Star Wars - The
Adventures Continue
Mickey Bar almost
immediately followed by Dole Pineapple Whip
Harry Potter-themed
attractions and areas
Low Points
FastPass+
Did not get to ride
the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Lots of construction
detours
Ticket prices
everywhere
Forced to pay for a
park-to-park ticket for Universal
Incorrect wait times
at Universal
Exorbitant prices on
food and merchandise at Universal
Details
Prepare for a
whirlwind tour of WDW and Universal Studios.
Departure from Dulles
(IAD) around 2:30PM was uneventful, but we caught a tailwind and arrived over
30 minutes early. Fortunately, this did
not cause a problem with Disney's Magical Express which got us to the Polynesian
Resort with no trouble.
The Poly is
undergoing extensive renovations, so much of the lobby is blocked off. I was able to obtain a few construction
photos. The interior shots are blurry
because I had to move quickly when doors were opened by workers. A guy pushing a wheelbarrow saw what I was
doing, so I exited the area quickly.
I had checked in
online which saved perhaps three minutes over waiting in line. Our room was ready and our luggage would be
delivered automatically. It was 5:30PM.
I had a FastPass for
the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train for 6:00PM and an ADR for the Crystal Palace just
off Main Street for 7:00 PM.
Unfortunately, we didn't get through the turnstiles until 6:30PM because
the other members of my party don't understand that it takes time for the
monorail to get from the Polynesian to the Magic Kingdom. I traded my 7:00PM FastPass for a 10:00PM
Pirates of the Caribbean slot and figured I would go standby for the Mine
Train.
We arrived at the
Crystal Palace slightly early and waited outside in the balmy 50-degree
weather. We hit one of the coldest cold
snaps Florida had had in a while. The
benefit of that is the Crystal Palace serves free hot cocoa while you wait and
it's some of the richest, tastiest hot cocoa on Earth. The park was doing a brisk business in beach
towels which were being used as blankets by guests.
The all-you-care-to-eat buffet was covered by our dining plan. Otherwise, it would have been $42 per person. Note: I tend not to take photographs of food. The variety and quality of food there was very good although some found the dishes overly spicy. I added more spice to mine. The Winnie the Pooh characters were not too intrusive.
After dinner, my wife
was too tired from the trip to continue.
It was 8:30PM. That is one of the
chief advantages of being on property.
She went back to the Polynesian while the girls and I went to Space
Mountain with a FastPass.
PhotoPass is now
linked to MagicBands for rides and park photographers.
My kids insisted on
Stitch's Great Escape even though it is my least favorite. I honestly think they've toned down the
attraction a little. We got a photo on
the Tomorrowland bridge near the castle which is another reason to take
advantage of the pros in the park. I
have very few photos with me in the picture because I'm usually the one taking
them. We tried standby for the Mine
Train. 60-minute wait. That would have interfered with the FastPass
for Peter Pan which, once again, had a deceptively long standby line.
The new Fantasyland
looks great. The new castle structures
break up the open space well. We also
had to visit the Rapunzel-themed restrooms I have heard so much about. Yes, they lived up to their hype. No, I did not take pictures inside the
restrooms. Not breaking theme anywhere
is one of those details I look for in a theme park.
Because we were so
close to Liberty Square, we went standby for the Haunted Mansion specifically
to see the new ride queue which I enjoyed very much. We got stuck just prior to boarding our Doom
Buggy and I saw an empty wheelchair in the load area when they restarted. I assumed we would be stopping again when
that guest was departing. I was
right. We were stuck in the graveyard
scene long enough that the kids memorized most of the lyrics to "Grim
Grinning Ghosts." By the time we
got off, Wishes was underway, but I really wanted to look at the new Haunted
Mansion gift shop, Memento Mori. Though
small, it was packed with HM merchandise including the one item I've sought for
years, an HM tie with the wallpaper pattern.
It cost $40, but it was one of the few things I bought for myself.
The window for the
PoTC FastPass had opened, but we really didn't need it. The kids had never seen the Jack Sparrow
version of the attraction. I like his
inclusion, but his audio-animatronic figure is so far advanced that he makes
the other ones look very old by comparison.
Wandering though Adventureland, the Jungle Cruise had immediate
boarding. I still say the narration on
Jungle Cruise gets more adult-themed at night.
Sometimes the skippers deliberately act a little ruder (all in fun).
Splash Mountain was
closed due to the cold weather. The
standby line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was 20 minutes which gave enough
time to appreciate the queue decorations and theming. I am under the impression that Big Thunder is
far better at night.
Then, we had to make
a decision. Did we try to go back to the
Mine Train? It was a long walk and the
second performance of the Electrical Parade was starting. We tried to move quickly, but we had to
circle the hub the long way around.
Oddly, we ended up in the parade following the eagle at the end. Then, the confusion began. We tried going on the pathway between the
Castle and Tomorrowland. A maintenance
worker was telling people not to go that way because they would be turned
back. The parade was over, so the Castle
entrances had re-opened. We went that
way and tried to cross the courtyard.
There, we encountered a perimeter defense of cast members telling us the
area around the Mine Train was closed and may not reopen that evening. Soon after, the rumors of a fire began
circulating. That was confirmed by the
news media. Apparently, embers from
Wishes caught part of the exterior on fire.
That was our cue to
do some shopping and leave. The park was
open until midnight and it was an EMH night until 2:00AM when the clocks got
set back to 1:00AM for Eastern Standard Time.
I had scheduled the vacation to get that extra hour of sleep and we were
going to take advantage of it. We
returned to the Poly around 12:30AM.
11/02/2014
Because the main pool
is also undergoing renovation, we were offered free admission to Blizzard
Beach. The temperature around sunrise
was 45 degrees. Blizzard Beach was
closed as a result. We hadn't planned on
going, so it was no loss.
I went down to
Captain Cook's for a refillable mug of coffee while wearing a t-shirt, shorts
and sandals. I'm originally from New
England, but a Michigander thought I was nuts.
I also had an ADR for the Kona Café at 8:30AM. DHS opened at 9:00AM and would close at
7:30PM with EMH to 9:30PM. I got my
customary Tonga Toast. I know some
people think it's overrated, but it's my first choice. I got my first of several Polynesian Resort
hidden Mickeys at the Kona Café in the carpet. Two others were in the lobby in
a wall hanging and the carpet.
My older daughter and
I shared a pot of French-pressed Kona coffee.
She really wanted a bag to bring home. I had seen that a bag of 100%
Kona was $40, so I asked our server how many pounds were in the bag. The answer was 12... ounces.
I put out a
Mousekeeping tip envelope for the maid.
My wife questioned why I didn't just leave a bigger tip on the last day
instead of spreading them out. Many
people know that if you leave a little bit each day, the maid puts some extra
effort into making more elaborate towel animals. One of ours was unrecognizable.
The first bus to
arrive at the Poly was bound for DHS. I
took that as a good sign. We arrived
around 10:00AM. We did the family photo
in front of the sorcerer's hat knowing that it will be removed soon.
Our first FastPass
was for the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster in the afternoon. DHS has a tiered FastPass system, so I
couldn't also get Toy Story Mania or Tower of Terror. This was frustrating to say the least. After picking up some trading pins, we tried
to go standby on Toy Story Mania. The
wait was already up to 110 minutes. We
bypassed that and went to Wandering Oaken's.
That was a huge hit for a number of reasons. Even though it's temporary, it's very well
themed. The adjoining Frozen Snowground
is a good place to take Christmas card photos using the Aurasma app on the
iPhone. It will insert characters from
Frozen into your own photos without having to use PhotoPass.
I do not do a lot of
pin trading, but I brought three duplicate pins I've received from prior
trips. They were typically included with
a resort package with one for each guest.
When we were buying a stuffed toy Sven the reindeer for my younger
daughter, I noticed the register worker had two different styles of monorail
pins.
I traded two of mine
to her and one more to another register worker for a Beaker pin. My girls then came up with an idea. They both wanted Doug the dog from Up, but it
was only available as a two-pin set with grumpy old Carl. They wanted sets to trade away the Carl pins
for something else. So, it was back to
the Sorcerer's Hat.
We went standby for
The Great Movie Ride which I call The Meh Movie Ride. The wait was only 20 minutes and, by the time
we finished, we could get to the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. I can no longer ride it due to a medical
restriction concerning a prior retinal detachment. The G-forces are too high. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster is great, but it's
not worth blindness.
At that end of the
park, the other big attraction is Tower of Terror. Standby was 50 minutes and would remain that
way for the rest of the day. It was time
for a late lunch anyhow. Eating lunch at
2:00PM avoids most of the crowds. Three
of us went to Fairfax Fare. My older
daughter is a strict vegan, so she used multiple snacks on the dining plan at
Anaheim Produce which proved a great option for vegans.
This is where my
impression of the new FastPass+ system went downhill fast. I already didn't like having to pick
attractions two months in advance. I
didn't like that the Mine Train FastPass slots were all taken between midnight
and 5:00AM 60 days before my arrival. I
didn't like that I had to ping the My Disney Experience website every day for
weeks hoping for a cancellation to get a Mine Train FastPass. I already said that the two-tier system at
DHS blocked going on Toy Story Mania. At
2:15PM, the FastPass window for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster closed. I thought that if one of my three FastPass
selections has been used, I can then pick a new one. I could not.
I asked a cast member about this and was informed that I have to use all
three FastPass selections before picking an additional one. Of course, by the time the third window closes,
either all slots are allocated or the park itself is closing. They told me that I should have put all my
selections earlier in the day. But, the
standby line is usually short enough at that time, so having a FastPass doesn't
make much difference.
I already sent a
letter of complaint to parks management and they set up a case number I can use
on my next trip to obtain Priority Entrance Passes from Guest Relations that I
can use as desired with no time window restrictions. That's the Disney difference.
That was a
lowlight. Now, a highlight. We went standby to Star Tours – The
Adventures Continue and, by the time we finished, our FastPass window had
opened for a re-ride. I don't mind the
loss of the attraction's original version; everyone enjoyed the second ride on
the new version even more than the first.
Why? Well, because... *** SPOILER
ALERT*** ... my younger daughter was the rebel spy.
I had a FastPass for
Muppet*Vision, but the standby line was only 5 minutes. I cancelled the third FastPass and
immediately tried to get another one for anything in the park. No luck.
Everything had been allocated for the day and no one wanted to stay for
EMH.
Dinner was at
Hollywood and Vine. The buffet was good
and plentiful. My vegan daughter had
multiple plates of salad, fruit and other vegetables. Protein always proves to be a problem at
restaurants for her. The desserts are
really good here too.
After dinner, we made
one last attempt at Toy Story Mania.
65-minute wait. So, we walked
back to see if there was anything available for The Legend of Captain Jack
Sparrow. Everything was taken, but
starting at 7:45PM they would do first-come-first-served for EMH guests. We opted to listen to Mulch, Sweat and Shears
instead while we exited the park.
Fantasmic! had just
started while we were walking to the bus.
I prefer the Disneyland version as it is integrated into the park rather
than being held in a separate venue.
11/03/2014
Temperatures would
soar into the low 70s this day. I have
been in Florida in July and August. This
was the first time ever in November. I
have to say that I believe touring theme parks in cooler weather is
superior. You can always put on a
coat. If it's 98 degrees and 98%
humidity, there's not much you can do except maybe stay inside.
Breakfast was at
Captain Cook's which was oddly quiet. We
put our refillable mugs to good use. My
younger daughter discovered that she can cool her hot cocoa with creamer and make
it even more decadent. Here's a
tip. If you have a refillable mug,
counter service meals include a beverage.
We stocked up on expensive soy milk and orange juice. The food was standard fare for counter
service at a resort, but my younger daughter was upset that all the breakfast
meats were pork-based. We found out
later that the turkey bacon in the children's meal could be substituted for any
meat.
Universal would open
at 9:00AM, but Islands of Adventure would close early at 6:00PM instead of
7:00PM for some reason. The plan was to go to IoA first and then switch to
USF. We had to take a cab. With 4 people, it was cost-effective. I budgeted $50 including tip each way. That was spot on. I asked the cast member in front of the Poly
to hail a taxi. He asked where we were
going and I whispered, "Universal."
His jaw dropped and he had a stricken look on his face. Then, he said, "Just make sure you go on
all the Marvel rides. We get a cut of
that now."
We got through the
turnstiles right about 10:00AM. Some
couple to our right was trying to get in using a Disney World pass. I thought they were kidding and then I
thought they were trying to scam their way in.
No, they just didn't know that Universal is not Disney. This trip would finally allow me to directly
compare and contrast the two.
There are numerous things
I don't like about Universal. The entire
concept of Express rubs me the wrong way.
The more you pay, the shorter you wait except for Harry Potter
attractions which don't use Express. I
don't like the whole locker system. Why
can't they just have a mesh bag with a firm closure on top so loose articles
are secure on the ride? The fact that
you have to pay for a park-to-park ticket to see all of the Harry Potter-themed
attractions is a cynical, venal tactic on Universal's part. I don't like when merchandise and food have
no prices listed forcing you to ask how much.
Finally, Universal has no concept of what an accurate wait time is. I even had the app. The app's time matched the times posted at
the rides themselves. But, a 5-minute
wait was closer to a 20-minute wait. A
20-minute wait could be 30 minutes or even an hour.
Interestingly, my
kids first choice in IoA was the Incredible Hulk Coaster. I couldn't ride it because of the G-forces,
so my wife and I held all the loose articles and waited and waited and
waited. The kids enjoyed it. It may have been their favorite of the trip.
Then, came the long
walk to the back of the park to get to Hogsmeade. Both kids appreciated the look of Seuss
Landing on the way over, but neither wanted to do anything there. They also bypassed The Lost Continent. The focus was on Harry Potter for the
day. Both kids rode both tracks on
Dragon Challenge while the parents tried to do some Christmas shopping. I had been warned that the stores were small
and cramped. This proved accurate. Plus, the line for wand lessons was
inexplicably long.
I will say that the
workers in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter are very knowledgeable about the
stories and even play with guests in a similar way that cast members do at
Disney. When I asked why there were no
wands marked "Argus Filch," the worker replied, "Because, he's a
Squib and can't perform magic. And,
you're the first person to have ever asked me that." I told another that I wanted to buy a cloak
of invisibility. She said that they just
got in a shipment, but no one had seen them.
Well played.
The theming in the
Harry Potter sections of the park is very immersive right down to signs that
say "Lift" instead of "Elevator" and "Public
Conveniences" instead of "Restrooms." But, does Moaning Myrtle have to be in the
men's bathroom giggling and commenting "Not much to get excited about
here."? Out in the main plaza, we
had to sample the butterbeer which is like cream soda with a hint of
butterscotch. The pumpkin juice was
okay, but ridiculously overpriced.
The standby line for
Forbidden Journey was about 30 minutes which was just about the right length to
take in the elaborate queue. The locker
area here was especially crowded and the lighting was very dim. They also broke theme. Would it have been so difficult to make it
look like a Quidditch team's locker room or to have the touch screens help you
cast a wizard lock spell on your compartment's door? The ride itself was excellent combining many
elements from the films.
After taking in a another
bit of the live performances given by Madame Maxime's students from Beauxbatons
Academy of Magic, we headed over to the Hogwarts Express.
The immersive theming
here extended even to the rental lockers in Hogsmeade Station which is a
logical place to have such storage. I
had been told ahead of time that the trip was not very impressive, but I
thought it was exceptionally well executed.
I was not able to make the return trip from King's Cross Station because
we ran out of time. My younger daughter wanted
to buy a time turner, but they were sold out everywhere.
Diagon Alley was just
as well themed and immersive as was Hogsmeade although it felt smaller. It does, however, have a fire-breathing
dragon.
We only took a quick
assessment before exiting to look for lunch.
This is another place where Universal fell flat. I had meticulously mapped out every vegan
option available everywhere in both parks.
To Universal's credit, the Magic Neep in Hogsmeade had delicious-looking
watermelon pieces, but my daughter wanted the crudité plate allegedly at the
Duff Brewery. They hadn't served that
there in years, but a website still listed it.
We settled on Fast Food Boulevard which has a Simpsons theme. Oddly, Lisa's Teahouse of Horror is not vegan
even though the character is. Once
again, prices weren't readily posted. We
got three meals, a fruit cup, and vegetables with hummus for a mere $54. The food was standard theme park fare
although I've heard it's vastly improved over whatever Fast Food Boulevard
replaced.
There's another odd
feeling here. Much of the Simpsons is
steeped in cynicism. It's one thing for
Krusty Burger to serve the addictive and nutritionally questionable Ribwich on
the show. It's quite another to serve it
for real. The same goes for giant Lard
Lad donuts. I also saw an obvious thematic break in that the Springfield sign
is surrounded by palm trees.
Our final push into
Diagon Alley would have to include Escape from Gringotts.
The standby time was
excessive, but the single rider option was only 20 minutes. My wife stayed behind to avoid using lockers
yet again. Single rider doesn't let you
see much of the elaborate queue, but it did save a lot of time. The ride was great and the kids wanted to go
again. So, my wife and I traded sitting
duty. I was able to take in a
performance by Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees. I appreciated the background music from the
films near Gringotts as well. You can't
go wrong with a John Williams soundtrack.
One of my favorite
places in Diagon Alley is the side street of Knockturn Alley. The dark arts store, Bourgin and Burkes, is
essentially hidden away here. I thought
that was well done. Plus, some of the
workers here try to spook you.
The successful use of
the single rider line for Gringotts inspired the kids to try it again for the
Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit in the Production Central area of USF. This would prove to be a very unwise
decision. The single rider wait time was
20 minutes. It was more like an
hour. My wife and I suspected that they
had ridden once and immediately got back into line without us seeing them. That was not the case. It was Universal's completely inaccurate
estimates again. That mistake basically
cost us the rest of our time before the closing of IoA. It precluded taking the return trip on the
Hogwarts Express and entering track 9 3/4 through the wall at King's Cross
Station.
With tired feet, we
exited at USF, walked back to the cab stand and returned to the Polynesian for
dinner at Captain Cook's. It's known
mostly as a breakfast place, but the counter service dinners here were surprisingly
good. We had curried meatballs, udon
noodle soup and Polynesian chicken salad.
A particular dessert item was something I had been hankering for all
trip, my customary Mickey Bar. I put it
in the refrigerator in our room while we ate dinner. We still had more snacks on our meal plan,
therefore I suggested we could share a Dole Pineapple Whip from the new
Pineapple Lanai. I'm not too thrilled
that they moved the Pineapple Whip machine out of Captain Cook's, but
apparently some people kept sticking their heads under the outlet. I guess I have no one but myself to blame for
that one.
While walking back to
the Great Ceremonial House, I hadn't noticed my Mickey Bar had melted more than
expected in the fridge. It fell off the
stick. Fortunately, my "save the
Mickey Bar" instincts came into play and I snatched it out of the air with
my left hand which still held the wrapper.
It was messy, but I still got to eat it.
After that, I obtained the Pineapple Whip and returned to the room. My younger daughter tried it for the first
time and declared it absolutely delicious.
"Why didn't you tell me about this before?" she asked. I've talked about it numerous times over the
years including during that brief, glorious time when a Hawaiian-themed ice
cream parlor opened in our hometown and served it. I mourned when that shop
closed.
11/04/2014
It's departure
day. I had one glitch with
MagicBands. I received notification that
the credit card on file for the room didn't match the one associated with the MagicBands. That's because I had been issued a new card
the week before our arrival. I had
updated it online, but that didn't seem to get into the hotel system properly. The staff corrected it promptly.
We had one more
breakfast at Captain Cook's. My younger
daughter got her Mickey Waffle and turkey bacon. I tried the breakfast burrito. It's kind of odd they put home fries in it
instead of just serving them on the side.
The others had oatmeal. We had to
hurry. Our Magical Express bus was due
out at 10:40AM. I had to call United to
pre-pay the baggage fee on my first checked bag. I wrote a complaint letter to
the airline about that fee later.
I handed over the one
big bag at resort airline check-in. At
10:43AM, the bus arrived. By 10:44AM, we
were on our way. When they give you a
pick-up time, they mean it. The bus trip
back to MCO was uneventful although it did give me time to think about what
resort I may want to try next time. The
leading candidate is the Yacht Club.
At the airport there
were the inevitable tears and pleas to stay at Disney World forever. Then, my kids and wife told me to get on the
plane.
Written by Jeff C.
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