WDW Oktober 2009 Englisch

Marcus.ka kennt diverse Charaktere beim Namen
Jetzt merke ich doch gerade, dass ich meinen Trip Report nie hier ins deutsche Forum gesetzt habe. Und da ich gerade in einem anderen Post hierauf verlinke, ist es mir eine Ehre, diesen TR auch hier zu posten.

Er ist allerdings in Englisch. :giggle:

This will be more or less a comparison Trip Report. As many of you know I have been 2 or 3 times to DLRP in the past years. :lmao:
And after many years of dreaming about it, it was finally time to go to Walt Disney World.
Although I was very much looking forward to this trip I was also a little bit afraid because I have heard so much about WDW, and about the unimaginable size of the whole resort, and about the real Magic you can experience there, and about the more than friendly and helpful CM’s.

On Monday, 28 September we flew to Miami and had 4 wonderful days in this magnificent city.
And on Friday, 2nd October we drove to Orlando. After a four hour drive we finally saw the entrance I was looking forward to for so long.



In all we had 9 full days and two half days at the resort which was enough time to explore everything for the first time and to do everything we wanted. Including all rides, shows and parks. We also have been one day to the two Universal parks which was also a great experience. It was so cool to do a E.T. and Simpsons ride. E.T. was THE movie of my childhood and the waiting line was even better than the ride itself. It was such a magical experience to be in the forest where E.T. has landed. And the flight over the city with E.T. in my bicycle was such a great moment.





Here is what we did on the several days:

Friday, 2nd October we visited Epcot but only from 6:45pm until the park closed at 9pm.
Saturday, 3rd October we did the Universal Studios.
Sunday, 4th October we have been to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and we ate at Mama Melrose’s Ristorante.
Monday, 5th October we visited the Magic Kingdom and we ate at the Plaza Restaurant.
Tuesday, 6th October we did the Animal Kingdom and we ate in the evening at our resort at the Port Orleans Riverside and afterwards we did “some” shopping at Downtown Disney.
Wednesday, 7th October we visited Typhoon Lagoon and we ate in the evening at the Grand Floridian Café :wizard:and afterwards we have been for a few hours at the Magic Kingdom.
Thursday, 8th October we visited again the Disney’s Hollywood Studios and we had a very cool dinner at the 50’s Prime Time Café.
Friday, 9th October we had our only full day at Epcot and we had a luxurious dinner at Les chefs de France.
Saturday, 10 October we had our second full day at the Magic Kingdom and for dinner we visited Pooh and his friends at the Crystal Palace Restaurant.
Sunday, 11 October we did the highlights of the Studios again. In the afternoon we relaxed at one of the many pools in our resort. And then we had dinner at the Boma Restaurant at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
On Monday, 12 October (our last day) we said Goodbye in the morning to the Magic Kingdom and in the afternoon we had to drive to the airport. :sad1:

As you can see we have been to all parks and to one water park. We visited two of the Deluxe Hotels, had time to relax at the pool and we also have done some shopping. So if someone would ask me I would say 8 days are enough for a good first impression of WDW.







Here is what I think about Walt Disney World:

General:
OK it is big, but not as big as I thought. Everyone was always only talking about how big it is, and so I was prepared to see an even bigger resort.

No, Miss Piggy was also not bigger as I thought she would be! :lmao:



Hotels:
The first two nights we spend at the All Star Music and the other 8 nights at the Port Orleans Riverside. If you know me from the DLRP board you might know that I like to spend some more bucks for a better hotel. But this was not the case at WDW. We were more satisfied with the ASM than with the POR. We have spent so many nights at DLRP and we never had a room that was nearly this dirty than the two connecting rooms we had at the POR. We had the impression that no one has been in these two rooms for months.
We complained about this but it was the same the next day. And so we collected the M&M’s that lay on the carpet, and we also dusted the rooms our self.
And Mousekeeping also did nothing with our towels at the POR but they did at the ASM. We had lovely animals in the window when we arrived.
And it is also not worth to pay extra for the water view at the POR. If we should return I would have no problem to spend the holiday at a value resort. The rooms are big enough, and you even have several pools.
But this was the only downside we had at all at WDW!
The rest of the vacation was more than perfect. Everything went very smooth and we had not even the smallest problem. I was a little concerned because I booked this trip via the UK to benefit from the good currency rate and to get the free Dining Plan. And I also was a little bit concerned because I have never done ADR online before, but as I said we did not have one problem during all of our days at WDW.

Our building at the Port Orleans Riverside



Food:
The food was also excellent and a little bit better than at DLRP, except for the breakfast. Breakfast is very good at all DLRP hotels, but not at WDW. OK the people in the US have a different type of breakfast as we in Europe anyway.
But what we had at the restaurants for Lunch and Dinner was just great. The best meals we had were at the Grand Floridian Café and at the Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Fast Food on our first evening; of course we tried German food.


The Dessert Platter at the Grand Floridian



What was better at WDW:

•There are many things better at WDW for example so cool things like the Photopass or the coin machines.
•Also everything looked brand new. I was really surprised. We don’t have that at DLRP and this is also something I don’t expect because with so many visitors in the parks it is acceptable if an attraction or a single building does not look brand new. But everything just looked as if it would have been refurbished recently. (But it is also likely that I did not pay so much attention to all the details because there was so much new to see every day. And while we are at DLRP we know everything and can spend more time on details.) ;)
•Better was also that the waiting times were usually shorter than what has been announced. For a picture with the princesses the waiting times was announced as 40 minutes and we waited not more than 20. And this was also the case for many attractions. If you see a waiting time of 40 minutes at DLRP than you have to wait 40 minutes.
•Although I think that POTC are much better at DLRP I have to say that Jack Sparrow (who appeared three times during the ride) is just out of this world. He looked so real that I thought: “Maybe a poor CM has to stand inside the attraction some hours a day!” :lmao:
•Better was also that three rides had a better story. These three were Rock ‘n Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror and Snow White.
•And much better were also the waiting times at counter service restaurants. If you want to have an ice-cream or a fast food menu then you have to wait for at least 10 minutes at DLRP even if there are only 2 people ahead of you. At DLRP I have sometimes the impression that the CM there all have their first day. This was totally different at WDW. Everything went very smooth and fast. But why is there such a big difference between these two resorts?


What is better at DLRP:

•Although the Magic Kingdom is a very, very beautiful park the Disneyland Park Paris is more beautiful. For example the whole Mainstreet and especially Fantasyland looked like fake at WDW. The train station and many buildings look really cheap at the MK compared to the DLP. We in Europe know the real things and so everything was done much better at DLRP.
•Much better is also that you don’t have to book everything 6 month in advance just to find out that 50% of the restaurant is empty once you are there. I don’t want to think 6 month in advance about which park I will visit and which restaurant I would like to eat at. At DLRP I can be more spontaneous.
•As you all might know there are many attractions that are much better at DLRP: BTM, POTC, Phantom Manor, Space Mountain, Peter Pan, IASW and many more.
•Better are also the parades. I liked the parade at the MK but this one can not be compared to the great new parade at the DLP with the added smells and lights. And also Fantillusion is much much better than Spectromagic.
•And the Halloween decoration is much much better at DLRP. The whole Mainstreet and Frontierland are completely decorated. At WDW there were only some decoration elements at Mainstreet.

I think it is out of question which park the more beautiful castle has:




If it would only be warm enough in Paris to have a Water Park.



CM’s:

I was really looking forward to the CM’s at WDW. I heard so much about them. I know that the CM’s at DLRP are friendly and helpful but now I know what many of you mean.
People from the US are in general friendlier and more open minded as most of us Europeans. I also loved the people in Miami. In these two weeks in the US I had more small talks and I smiled to more unknown people than in 2 years in Europe.
Don’t get me wrong, Europeans are also friendly and helpful but in a different way.
I was also surprised about the number of CM’s working there. There is a CM everywhere. At DLRP there is sometimes only one CM at the entrance, one at the loading area and one at the exit. But at WDW there were much more of them.
What was also a big plus is that all CM’s give you so much useful information. You just say "Good Morning" and short after you have enough tips for your day at the parks.
I was a little bit shocked about how many old CM’s (over 60) we saw. I mean it is good to have such a wide variety of ages but on the other hand it is sad that people over 60 or even 70 have to work for their living.
We also did not wear any “What are you celebrating?” batches because we as Europeans found it strange if all CM’s are greeting you with “Happy Birthday” the whole day long. This is also something that would not work at DLRP because we are different. I would be annoyed if all CM’s would great me all day long and I have to be thankful. But all this worked great at WDW.
Another example: We saw a very nice CM at Peter Pan she was waiving a kiss on the hand to every airship. This was a very magical moment but I think in Europe workers would not want to do it, and Unions would argue that this is mortifying. But again this worked great and added a lot of Magic at WDW.

What a belle Belle



Things they forgot to build/install or were missing at WDW: ;)
The arcades at Main Street USA
The color at IASW
The cellar and the first floor inside the castle
The hotel at the entrance of the Magic Kingdom
The restaurant inside POTC
The elevator at Haunted Mansion
The droops at POTC and BTM
:lmao:

Nemo Ride at Epcot


Nemo, his Dad and Dori LIVE!



Highlights of the Highlights OR Tears in my eyes moments: :cloud9:

•There were some moments when I had tears in my eyes: The first moment was off course when we entered the Magic Kingdom for the very first time.
•The second time was when I saw Philharmagic for the first time. If I could have one WDW attraction at DLRP it would be this one. I would queue for it for more than two hours just to see it. It is just perfect. 101% Disney. Perfect 3D animation, very funny (I just loved Donald in there), cool effects and perfect music.
•The third time was when I saw Wishes for the first time. I have never seen this Fireworks Show before. And I just loved it. Especially the Tinker Bell Moment. :tink:
•Another huge highlight was Fantasmic. Wow, what a show. Something you can only see and expect to see from Disney.
•And my favourite tears-in-my-eyes moment was our short visit at the Grand Floridian Hotel. I am a huge fan of the Disneyland Hotel Paris and I never thought that there would be a more beautiful hotel. I just loved it, loved it loved it. 50 percent of the lobby where on refurbishment but that didn’t bother me. I just ignored it and soaked up the atmosphere and wandered through the lobby. And after our dinner at the Grand Floridian Café we walked to the Monorail. And on our way out of the hotel the pianist was playing “What’ll I do”. I was in heaven (and in tears once again).


I was shocked about:

That there is a moving staircase at POTC and a real elevator at TOT. This destroys the theme in my eyes.
And I was also shocked about the loading area at the Haunted Mansion. There is no order and with so many people waiting to be boarded, there was such a noise that the whole spooky feeling was missing.




Conclusion:

Yes, WDW is more magical. I know now what you all mean. This is a totally different experience compared to DLRP. I love DLRP because there I have the feeling to be at home because it is my “resort”. And I also love WDW because you can spend there 2 weeks without getting bored. There is so much to do and see. And with the great currency rate this was a cheap trip for us. We booked via the UK and so we only paid 86€ per day for our room, the tickets and the DisneyDiningPlan.
And the prices for everything (food, merchandise) are the same as in DLRP. A T-Shirt costs 19€ at DLRP and 19$ at WDW. But with the great currency rate (1€ = 1.45$) everything was much cheaper for us compared to DLRP. I know now how much everything is for US guests at DLRP.

Looking back I can not believe that I have been there! And I can not believe how fast the time went by.

Before we went I did not think that both MK and DLP Paris would be so different (rides, shows, setting,) I thought it would be more or less the same. Now I know better and now I also know that…

All your Wishes can come true!
:tinker:




 
Flounder Er ist wieder da
Teammitglied
Danke für den tollen Bericht! Hattest Du ihn im Original bei den DISBoards gepostet?

Cheers,
Flounder
 
Lara1982 Mod in spe
Vielen Dank für den tollen Bericht! Ist mal ein etwas anderer Reisebericht (und nicht nur weil er auf englisch ist:icon_mrgreen:) und sehr interessant zum Lesen!!!! :)
 

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