When securing FastPass+ reservations 30 days out, I was a little shocked that I was unable to secure a FP+ for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.  I tried for it at midnight for everyday of our trip and was unable to get the FP+.  What I found especially odd is that I made a FP+ reservation for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train for July 3rd at a little less than 30 days out with no problem (though it was a very late and undesirable FP+ return time).  But for this obscure week in August, I was unable to get the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train for any time on any day.

The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was at the top of Max's list of attractions in Magic Kingdom, so I knew that the only way to ride it without waiting for over an hour was to rush there first thing in the morning.

I suppose we arrived early enough that they weren't running the monorail.  Instead, they had ferry and bus transportation from the Transportation and Ticket Center to the park.

There is still construction on the over-water bungalows at the Polynesian which are part of the latest addition the Disney Vacation Club.  They block the view of the Grand Floridian from the Transportation and Ticket Center, and I don't like it!  You can view more photos of the over-water bungalows and read more about my dislike of the obstructive DVC addition in my Independence Day Trip Report.



We arrived to Magic Kingdom right in time for the park opening show... but not soon enough to go ahead into the park before the show.

January 2, 2014 - Magic Kingdom + See You Real Soon

It was another rainy morning.

January 1, 2013 - Animal Kingdom + Magic Kingdom

I had planned for us to take our time getting to the parks today since we were going to be out late celebrating the New Year the night before. I didn't book any of our FP+ reservations until the afternoon. It's been a long time since we've done Animal Kingdom in the afternoon/evening. We'll usually arrive at Animal Kingdom first thing in the morning and leave in the early afternoon.

When we arrived at Animal Kingdom, crowds were low. I checked my My Disney Experience app, and it said that Kilimanjaro Safari had a 0 minute wait. Our first FP was for Kilimanjaro Safari in an hour! So I changed it to Dinosaur which had a 70 minute wait (probably because it had been raining and Dinosaur is indoors). This was the first time that I made a FP+ change while in the park using the app, and it was really easy.

The wait for Kilimanjaro Safaris turned out to be a little more than 0 minutes... it was around 10, but we weren't complaining. Right after the rain seems to be one of the best times to go on the safari because the animals that are usually sleeping or hiding come out to play. We've had the good fortune of doing the safari right after the rain maybe twice before.

Our guide was great - she was really knowledgeable about the animals. I've done the safari so many times that I always appreciate a guide who switches things up and can tell me things I haven't already heard. Unfortunately, the four rows behind us in the vehicle consisted of a large party of completely obnoxious Spanish-speaking people (I promise, guys, I don't get annoyed by all Spanish-speaking people! I actually almost minored in Spanish and took a language immersion program where I was only allowed to speak in Spanish for six weeks). They thought it was really funny to all say, "Ooooohhhhh," really loud at absolutely nothing, and they also kept trying to stand up. At first, the guide didn't seem to mind, but she quickly got annoyed by their frequent, "Ooooohhhhh," and said, "I'm not sure if they are actually fascinated by something, or if they just like making noise." And that of course made the teenagers who could speak English very happy, and they encouraged the rest of the group to be even louder. I was upset because our guide was really good, but they were being so rude that she stopped sharing so much information.

Monday was Rachel's Birthday!

Now, you might remember from another thread that Rachel had requested two things for her birthday - a birthday breakfast and to spend the day at Magic Kingdom.  Because of the free dining promotion which had been offered at this time, character dining was impossible to get.  And MNSSHP was held at MK that night when meant we wouldn't be able to spend the evening there.

I played the ADR game, checking everyday, and character breakfasts eventually opened up.  I was holding a 7 AM ADR for Chef Mickey's and a 10 AM ADR for 'Ohana which Rachel had to choose between.  She chose 'Ohana, so I canceled Chef Mickey's, and a few minutes later, she changed her mind!  Of course, Chef Mickey's was long gone.

On Sunday, I was making our FP+ reservations for the next day and decided to check out ADRs just for kicks - and what do you know!  Availability for 8:45 AM at Crystal Palace!  I immediately booked and canceled 'Ohana.

Our ADR was technically before the park opened, but the buses to MK were running behind that morning (assuming, considering two MK buses showed up back-to-back and there were a lot of people waiting), so we didn't get to MK until after it opened.

Rise and shine!





Can I wake up every morning with this view? Please???

ESPN Club

Rachel I had done the unthinkable by going to Disney over fall break - skipping a home game! We knew we had a pretty good place to watch it, though.

So did everyone else. Check out the line outside!



ESPN Club at Disney's Boardwalk is the best place at Walt Disney World to watch football (or any sports game).  The restaurant has over 100 screens showing games on 35 different channels.  Even the bathrooms have televisions, so you never have to miss out on a minute of the game!

About a month before her birthday, Rachel texted me and told me that she thought she wanted to go to Walt Disney World to celebrate her birthday which is during fall break. That's all it took to get me planning! Within a week, we booked at the Beach Club Resort, I started making dining reservations (a painful process, due to the free dining package which had been offered during that time, but one which all worked out in the end!), and I ordered our Magic Bands!

The week before the trip was AWFUL for me! I pulled two all-nighters... not because I was procrastinating or being inefficient, but because that was how much work needed to be done and what was expected from me by my professor. So I absolutely worked up until the last possible minute... and I passed out in the car on the way down there!

I forget where we stopped, but it was about an hour outside of Disney. My dad booked a Marriott Courtyard for the night. We arrived around 11PM, but we had to get up early the next morning because I had made us early Cape May Café reservations... oops?

Beach Club Resort

We got to the Beach Club at 7:50 AM - right in time for our reservations! However, the guy manning the door really wanted us to check in first. He took us straight to the check-in desk. I had completed the online check-in, but for some reason none of our information saved!!! We had to redo everything.  We were also working with a CM who was "Earning Her Ears," and it was a little frustrating. There were several times when I wanted to ask if her supervisor could just do this. I think it was her first day on the job because she had no idea what she was doing, and her supervisor kept having to show her how to do things.

When my dad came back from parking, I went to check us in at Cape May, and we left him at the check-in desk when our buzzer went off for us to be seated.

Cape May Café was also a little rocky on the customer service. Our waitress just wasn't very "Disney," plus we had a really bad experience with Donald Duck. Rachel had been joking that she was going to ask Donald Duck to Mallard Ball (an ADPi event), so when Donald came to our fingers, she asked him to do Pi fingers. He shook his head no and was just really rude about it. And then he wouldn't pose with me and Rachel - just put his hands on his hips while we stood awkwardly behind. It was like he wanted us to take his picture, not a picture with us. We understand why Donald might not be able to do Pi fingers - they probably don't want the characters making hand signs that guests request because who knows - that could be a gang sign? Or maybe Donald's "girlfriend" was affiliated with another sorority, and he didn't feel right doing the Pi fingers. Either way, there was a cuter way to say no. We watched Donald circulate the room, and he'd just walk up to each table and stand there.... not wave to the kids, not make kisses or act duck-like. Clearly, Donald was having a very bad day.

But when Donald emerged from the room after his break, he was full of life, strutting around the restaurant and being typical silly Donald. I guess he just needed "coffee"?

Hey, Goofy!

Hello, everyone!  Just back from a fabulous weekend getaway to Walt Disney World!  I wanted to do a Magic Band review separately from my regular trip report just because it's such a hot topic in the Disneysphere.

We stayed at the Beach Club Resort which was one of the resorts selected for October testing.  We booked through Travelocity, and knowing that BC had been selected for Magic Band testing, I immediately went online to Disneyworld.com and added our reservation to my MyDisneyExperience profile.  If you've booked at a Disney resort which is testing (or may soon be testing) Magic Bands through an online booking agent, I wrote a tutorial on how to link that reservation to your MyDisneyExperience account.

After linking that reservation, because the resort had already been selected for October Magic Band testing, I was immediately given the option of ordering and customizing our Magic Bands.  By "customizing" Magic Bands, I mean changing the color and the name written on each band.  If you do not customize your band, then it will be grey.  You also have a very short period of time between being told that you've been invited for testing (if you booked further in advance than we did, you'll receive an invitation to test Magic Bands) to customize your bands.  I also wrote a tutorial on how to customize your Magic Bands through MyDisneyExperience.

The bands seem to be overnighted, as we received ours the day after they shipped.  It's very important that if you booked through an online booking agent such as Travelocity, Expedia, Hotels, etc. that you change your shipping address from their office address to your own home address.  If not, your bands will be sent out into Neverland.  If you do not order your bands before the customization and shipping date, they will be grey, and you will get them when you check into the hotel.

Okay, now time for the fun part...

We decided this year that we would use annual passes.  We had already purchased two annual passes in the past few years to get room discounts which we just hadn't activated yet.  I was able to add one of those will call APs (the one purchased in 2012) to MyDisneyExperience, but I was unable to add the will call AP purchased in June 2011 to MyDisneyExperience.  And then we ended up waiting to purchase the other two APs when we got to WDW.

You cannot purchase annual passes at the resorts.  It must be done at a theme park.  So the morning we arrived, we went to guest relations at Hollywood Studios to purchase and activate our APs.  We had all APs added to our Magic Bands, but were also given a physical card.  You must show your annual pass card in order to get a discount - for some reason, even though the system knows that the ticket on your band is an AP, it will not automatically apply the discount.  I'm sure this could be something that is programmed to automatically add in the future which would speed up transactions.

For curiosity's sake, we did try getting FPs with our AP cards after entering the park with our Magic Bands.  It worked!  My guess is that the card is linked to both, and you could enter the park with either the Magic Band or the card, and it knows that you're in the park, so the annual pass is activated - not just the band or just the card.  I'm sure they could change this, and they might change it in the future.

Review time -

MAGIC BANDS

What we LOVED about Magic Bands:

The convenience and speed of transaction.  It's so nice not having to dig your wallet out of your bag to purchase something or to have to dig for your room key at the end of the day.  Really, the convenience has spoiled us!  I can't wait for them to add this to cruise ships and for competitors to start trying this out.  Disney is leading the future here, I'm convinced!

That the Magic Bands could be worn in the pool.  My sister and I usually go to the pool together with no pool bag - just cover-ups, towels, and a room key.  We'll hide our room key inside our cover-ups while we go swim.  Not anymore!!!!!  The fact that we can wear our Magic Bands in the pool and hot tub is awesome!!!

What needs improvement:

This was mainly a Food & Wine Festival issue, and it wouldn't be a problem if I wasn't spoiled by the convenience of Magic Bands.  Whenever I purchased an adult beverage from F&W, they asked to see my ID (understandable).  I then had to dig through my bag to find my wallet and hand them my ID - completely ruining the convenience of the Magic Band and slowing down the line.  I know I'm not the only young adult visiting F&W.  There are several solutions to this, and I don't know if it should be approached as a F&W solution or a Magic Band solution.  For example, F&W could issue wristbands confirming that young-looking guests are indeed the legal drinking age.  As for Magic Bands... they have my freaking FINGERPRINT - I think there's something that could be done to confirm that I'm legal.

People are still a little confused getting inside the park.... and it might be the lack of turnstiles that confuses them (really - it's so weird to see no turnstiles!).  But it's not clear when you should put your finger on the scanner.  I approached it as once the Mickey head lights up white, put your finger on the scanner, and then it will spin a white circle around your finger and then turn Mickey green.  However, my parents and others seemed to be waiting longer to start scanning their finger.  I think people could be getting in a lot faster if they just start scanning their finger sooner, but there aren't really clear instructions on how to do it.

FastPass+

What we LOVED about FastPass+:

It's awesome to not have to worry about being in the park early before the FastPasses run out.  I had good luck with making us FP+ reservations the night before (not so much the day of).

One day, we went to AK in the morning, and I made our FP+ reservations for Epcot that afternoon - something we would have never been able to do with regular FP.  We were able to benefit from the light crowds of getting to the park early while still getting FPs for another park.

What needs improvement:

It's annoying that Disney gives you different "options" and that you have to "change" them to get exactly what you want.  Why can't you just see all of the available times up front?  Disney is trying to get people to do certain things by not showing them everything available.  I guess that this might work in my favor for now, since I realize that all you have to do is click "change time" to see all of the available times for the attraction that day.

I'd really like the option to double or triple-up on FPs for one attraction... or just choose one or two FPs.  For example, for Epcot, I only really wanted to FP Soarin' and Test Track.  I would've loved to FP Soarin' twice.  But I had to choose three different FPs, so I got another FP that I ended up not using..... this is a WASTE because someone else might have wanted that FP, but I kept them from getting it.

It would be nice to be able to get FPs in different parks.  Maybe this is something they'll add later.

I found a GLITCH in the system:

Well, I think for it to be a true glitch, it has to work every time, and I don't know if it does or not because I only did it once.  Anyway, I somehow got FOUR FP+s for Magic Kingdom.... TWO for Space Mountain (attached as an image below).  How did this happen?  I was trying to change the times for FP+s because I made them for the afternoon, but Rachel wanted them earlier.  Well, at one point, there was a "system error" when I was trying to change the time for Space Mountain.  I shut the app down and opened it back up... and learned that I now had two Space Mountain FP times - one for the time I had, and one for the time I was changing it to.  The four FPs showed up on my MyDisneyExperience account, as well as my dad's.

My Disney Experience App

I don't think it's the most user-friendly.  I had a difficult time understanding where to see my FP+ reservations after I made them (under "My Reservations" or "Plans"), and I think there are a lot of redundancies.  However, that being said, I installed this app on my mother and my father's phones.  My dad was having a difficult time using the app... griping, griping, griping.  And then I look over at my MOM (who has all of 5 apps on her phone) who is quietly looking at our FP+ reservations... something that I hadn't even figured out how to do yet.  My non-techy sister was also really good with the app.  Though she didn't have it on her phone, she would take my phone or my mother's phone and look over the app.  This makes me wonder if it actually is very user-friendly... to the non-technology person and just overly simple to everyone else.  It's probably blatantly obvious and I was just overlooking everything.

Overall My Disney Experience

My initial concerns which were shut down after testing:

That the Magic Band would be uncomfortable.... not at all!  The Magic Bands are super lightweight and don't feel sticky on your skin.  I also kept mine a little loose so that it could slide around on my wrist and wouldn't be uncomfortably stuck.

That we wouldn't be able to get FP+ reservations unless we planned months in advance.... not true.  While I didn't have that much good luck with day-of FP+ options (disclaimer: this was at 10AM when regular FPs were also being quickly dispensed... TSM was already well into the evening, and I was able to make a FP+ reservation for TSM for that evening.  It was quite on-par with regular FP that day), I had good luck getting FP+ that I wanted when booking the night before.  The only point when this wasn't the case was the night before Epcot when the park had morning EMH - FP+ was distributed well into the afternoon, the first one available at 4:30PM.

That FastPass+ will make us all theme park commandos.... nah.  You're only making three FP+ reservations per day.  Will you know what park you're going to be in that day?  Probably.  Do you know what you would FP for that park that day?  Probably.

Final thoughts:

I loved having Magic Bands and FP+.  I'll admit - I was one of the original skeptics when the "rumor" first hit the Disneysphere.  But after my initial skepticism and a lot of the rumors proving to be false (that you would have to PAY for Magic Bands/FP+, that you got more FP+ options based on your resort tier, that the bands actually tap into your brain and play a continuous "it's a small world" inside your head.... okay, I made that one up), I became intrigued by the Magic Bands and all of the benefits they could bring to a Disney vacation.  Will I be nostalgic for the old FP system?  Heck yeah!  My poor dad didn't know what to do with himself, not having to run for FPs (he eased his anxiety by becoming huffy with people who were slow to scan their bands in the FP+ line... fellow Disney park-goers, my family is very sorry!).  But we're in the middle of PROGRESS here and this is awesome!

So I'm going to leave you with a quote by the man behind the mouse who started it all (and a man whose thoughts and ideals the Disneysphere continues to debate about 40+ years after his death):

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.

 - Walt Disney

It's been a while since I've last posted, and we're now less than two weeks out from our Disney vacation and Magic Band testing!

Our Magic Bands came the day after Disney shipped them - I was surprised by how quickly they appeared on our doorstep.




The bands are labeled on the box, and the name is printed inside of the band (I'm assuming for security issues).  There is also an ID printed inside of the band.  They are noted as non-transferable (just like Disney park tickets).

When Magic Bands are first added to your My Disney Experience account (you will first need to add your Disney resort reservation to your account), they show up as basic grey.  Unless you go in to customize your Magic Bands, everyone in your party will get a grey band.



In the grey panel on the right-hand side of the screen, click on "Manage Magic Bands."

So, I dropped the ball on Cruise Month.  BUT I have some very exciting cruise-related news which I'll announce soon.  In the meantime...


If you click on "My Disney Experience," it will take you here: