re: WDW and Disney Cruise line aboard Disney Dream (pics and reviews now included)

Now we're on to Sunday, which was our last full day in the parks. All of our FP+ were scheduled that night (Everest, Rivers of Light and Navi River Journey) so the morning plan was to get in and do what we could before the waits got long, go to Geysar Point at Wilderness Lodge for drinks and lunch, head to the Magic Kingdom to meet some of my family that arrived that day for a picture and possibly a parade or attraction then again head back to the resort for a nap and a swim and get ready for a long and late night.

I think we ended up only doing Everest and Primevil Whirls before my daughter was already sick of standing in lines and quite honestly I was getting a little pissed. Pandora opens with an INSANE opening weekend, Disney markets it as #VisitPandora yet when we go do other attractions in Animal Kingdom they are staffed at 50% jacking up wait times. I get it, I understand profit margins but when a park is impacted with this kind of influx on a holidat weekend you can at least operate all attractions at maximum capacity for a couple of days. There is not reason I had to wait 25 minutes for Primevil Whirl when I should have been done with it in 10 minutes.

Deep breath....and move on.


The only pic I have of the morning was so I could anger tweet @DisneyParks. Record crowds in this park and this is what you give guests.





On to Geysar Point which is AWESOME. I was afraid it was going to be hot but it wasn't. Plenty of fans to keep things cool, plenty of shade and you can either sit at a regular table or a coffee table that has a love seat and patio furniture type chairs around it. Full bar and you can order food from there OR you can order from the quick service location next door and they will bring it to your table when it's ready (which is what we opted to do since our AP discount would not have been good on bar purchases).


When it comes to theming Wilderness Lodge is right there with Animal Kingdom Lodge. Gorgeous resorts.


https://s9.postimg.org/x916y25tb/IMG_1503.jpg












Huckelyberry Punch was outstanding.












One warning...do not leave your food unattended. Birds were sitting in these rafters and diving in like Kamakazis stealing peoples fries and such. I thought it was hilarious.



Boat ride from Wilderness Lodge to Magic Kingdom passing the Contemporary and Bay Lake Tower.




Nothing really to see from Magic Kingdom because literally all we did was take pics on Main Street with my family and ride Its a Small World with them.

After MK and another swim (I'll save you guys more pics of my legs, drinks and the pool in the background). we went to see Pandora at night and I don't want to post too much detail for a couple reasons. 1 - pics do not do it justice from a visual standpoint. 2 - beyond the visual effects Pandora has at night, it sounds different, it feels different. Its hard to explain but it doesnt even quit feel like a theme park. Its without question the most immersive theme park environment Ive ever been in (I have NOT been to Harry Potter though).

The bio illuminescent lighting on the ground is so cool. If you're kids have anything fluorescent to wear they will get a kick out of how it looks and how much attention they will get.

River of Light - gorgeous show. Absolutely beautiful.








Navi River Journey. Again, very pretty. Its a basic water/dark ride. No falls like Pirates. As calm and as slow as Small World. The boats are small (two rows that can fit 4 but only if it's two adults and two kids) that will either fit two or three people. Alot of depth here but not alot going on. I won't call it boring and I think it's a must do for anyone heading to the parks I don't think it's a must do on every trip. My advise would be to do this at rope drop (or standby) and us eyour FP+ on Flight of Passage.







Lighting effects on our shoes.






The last post will have our departure day where we spent the morning back in Pandora and I'll include my take on some of the food from Satuli Canteen, drinks from Pongu Pongu and merchandise from Windtraders.

Great write up! Thinking about doing that very WDW/Cruise possibly next year to change up our cycle. Went on a 7 day Fantasy last year and had a great time along went to WDW this past Mardi Gras ( Packed House! ) but my biggest concern would be all the rushing around in the parks/cruise.

Thanks for the info.

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went to WDW this past Mardi Gras ( Packed House! )

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How are crowds Mardi Grad week? this is when we are looking to go next. I know it's popular for Louisiana, but how bad does it get? Presidents Day weekend is weekend after so no overlap there.

quote:

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How are crowds Mardi Grad week? this is when we are looking to go next. I know it's popular for Louisiana, but how bad does it get? Presidents Day weekend is weekend after so no overlap there.

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Its better when Presidents is later but Disney is pretty busy during mardi gras week. Its not bearable and has a few advantages. The weather is usually pretty nice and the crowds during mardi gras week are usually really good in the morning. An 8:25 am arrival for a 9 am opening would give you tons of success early on. Make your FP+ starting at 11.

What I like to do (most of the time)
Eat in the room or on the way out
8:25 am arrival
9-11 tour using Standby
11 am first FP+
11:30 lunch
then I time my next two FP+ back to back from 11:30 - 12:30 and 12:30 -1:30. I try to pick those to close to each other so I can do one about 12:15 the other as soon as I get off the first one. After you scan your magic band to enter the queue for your third FP+ then try to start adding additional.

Outside of Magic Kingdom additional FP+ are not that great in quantity but can be found. I don't suggest planning to use all your FP+ early ty try and get more at places like Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Instead, think quality over quantity and plan your FP+ when the standby waits are longer and you need those FP+.