OK, so got back from a looong week at Disney. A couple observations:
-Magic Kingdom is pretty disappointing nowadays. The whole thing feels very dated, and the attempts at updating seem very forced, e.g. the "updated" Pirates of the Caribbean ride just sticks Barbosa on the boat and Jack Sparrow is sitting in a chair at the end of the ride.
-Where are all the f*cking characters? Junior wanted desperately to meet the Disney princesses. When I was a kid, you couldn't walk five feet without tripping over them. Now, you've got to pay $100 for a meal for three to be able to see any of them. Total ripoff. There aren't any characters even walking around the parks anymore, it's all scheduled autograph sessions that you stand in line for.
-Rides were surprisingly doable. Over the course of the weekend, we only waited longer than 20 minutes for one ride (Tower of Terror). We did get lucky in that the GF got a hand-written cut-in-line fast pass for waiting forever for one of the transportation buses (over an hour), and so we cheated Space Mountain with that one. Use the Fast Passes strategically, and don't wait until the end of the day to get them for the good rides. Between 12-3 PM, fast passes for the good rides were "sold out" for the day.
-The resorts are worth the money if you can afford it. Junior and the GF spent two full days at the pool. For an extra $20/night you get a free continental breakfast (skimpy but better than nothing), and free beer, cheese, crackers in the evening. I got my $'s worth in Heinekens. Bus transportation is pretty good with some exceptions, and saves you the $15 for parking at each park. Also, by booking tickets through the hotel, you get a discount on par or better than you can find online, and they also gave us free admission to one of the water parks. For three people, that's $180 savings right there, and I think we had a better time at Typhoon Lagoon than anywhere else.
-If you've got young kids, go to Hollywood Studios (we ended up skipping Epcot). I had no idea that this was the old MGM. Plenty of chances to meet cast and characters, and most of the attractions are movie/live based performances, so the line moves in HUGE chunks. With a couple of exceptions (Rockin' Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror), most of the other rides are on a continuous loop, so they too move quickly (Haunted Mansion, etc.). You can actually do everything worth while in this park in a single day, and most of the lines are air conditioned along the way.
-Bring water shoes/sandals and Dollar Store rain ponchos. Lesson learned.
-We had some friends go to Animal Kingdom. We were told to get there EARLY, otherwise, most of the animals go into hiding as soon as it gets hot out.
-Make dinner reservations. If you're going to eat at the parks, some of the restaurants are booked solid 6 months in advance. Lines were ABSURD. At Downtown Disney, we waited over an hour to get into the T-Rex themed one. About 5 minutes from the resort area there is a main stretch of road that has a billion restaurants on it, from cheap stuff to nice places (we ended up eating at an Outback one night, and Bonefish Grill another). Eat there instead of at the parks or resorts.
-Ride the Star Wars ride at Hollywood Studios. It's freakin' sweet. Also ride the updated Space Mountain. It's also freakin' sweet. Skip the Jack Sparrow ride at Hollywood Studios. It's the worst POS I've ever stood in line for. You STAND in a room, and only about 1/3 of the room can see what's going on. It's just a bunch of lights on the wall, and a Jack Sparrow hologram standing on a boat for the rest of it (think the recent Tupac "live" concert, those kinds of holograms). I was pissed.
If we end up going again, we will likely do a water park and Universal, and skip the Disney parks. If you've got older kids, let them run around the water park and just float around the lazy river all day (man, I must be getting old). Junior is right on the cusp of being tall enough to ride just about anything (she's over 48 inches, and on the cusp of being able to ride almost anything, one good growth spurt ought to do it.) She's a thrill seeker, and wants to ride anything scary/fast, so even at 6 years old, she found a lot of the rides to be on the boring side. Even though the lines may be a bit worse, I think the stuff at Universal will be more her speed.
