Trip Report Oct 18-24

[Zillerzap]

Just got back from a week at WDW and the Boardwalk Resort. The boardwalk has replaced the Polynesian as my favorite resort. The convenience of transportation to both EPOCT and the Studios is definitely a plus. We used bus transportation to the MK twice and never waited more than 20 minutes (10:30 - 11:00 am). We did see multiple AK busses come by while we were waiting for the MK bus which is a plus if you are going there. The busses are now dedicated from Boardwalk, so no more going to the Swan & Dolphin, or Yacht & Beach on the way to the parks. This was a nice perk. The only issue in talking to other resort guests was busses to Disney springs were averaging about 30-45 minutes between each other.

The Halloween Party is our favorite, and was a lot of fun. I had the pleasure of going to the Mickey's Halloween Party this year at Disneyland and comparing the two I prefer MNSSHP better solely based on more guests and cast members interact with each other and enjoy the costumes that each other wear. Other than that, both are great experiences and highly recommended. I ate too much at the Food and Wince festival, partly due to the fact that in previous trips I was running in the Wine and Dine 1/2 marathon, but not this year, so I was able to sample a lot more without worrying about maintaining a proper running diet.

One thing I did notice was that since this was a non-free dining plan week, it was very easy to get dining reservations, and that the restaurants we ate at had open tables and were taking walk ups with the longest wait time we heard of was 45 minutes for walk ups at the Crystal Palace. We never waited more than 10 minutes after checking in for our reservation.

The only disappointment of our trip was that we found out when we were walking around the parks was that Disney no longer trades Vinylmations at any of the parks or in Disney Springs. We usually have our kids pick out 2 or 3 of the random sets as a good way to end the night. Unfortunately we got some duplicates. In the past we could go and trade at either D-Street, Mouse Gear, or the Frontier Outpost. We were informed that the only place to trade is at Disney Stores outside of WDW. I really hope Vinylmations are not going to be a thing of the past.

[wewantsdaredhead]

Great info!
Ya know, I am such a cheapskate that I cannot bring myself to pay for any hard-ticket event, but I mostly hear good things about them. I might have to bite the bullet and just do it one time. Maybe surprise my lovely Bride.

That's great about the dining plan. When its a "free week" you cant get into even the most obscure places. My sister is there right now on a Free Dining Plan and when she was booking she couldn't find anything! I told her to try some of the resort restaurants and to be persistent. She got some of what she wanted but not everything.


I hope for your sake that vinylmations aren't going away either--I never got into them, but I know those of you that did, really like them. Lets hope!

[Amy]

Interesting to hear about the open tables and easier to get dining reservations! Sounds like you were able to take full advantage of the food kiosks at the F&W too I sure hope to get down there someday to sample some of them myself

I haven't heard as much about the VM anymore now that they have been out a few years. That is too bad they don't have trading anywhere on property anymore though ~ I can see how that would be fun for the kids.

[horizons1]

Great review. I'm glad to hear Boardwalk now has a dedicated bus. That loop of five hotels was a bit much.

Also, interesting to know that reservations were easy to get. How do you know if it is a "free week" or not? Is there a schedule somewhere?