16 of us just returned from our trip (9/25-10-1) and I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you might have. First a huge thank you to all of you here that provided us with so much information. It was increduibly useful to us. I'm going to try and provide only the info I haven't found in previous posts.
First, the last week of September was a great time to visit. The parks were empty, never used a fastpass, walked on most rides, and never waited more than 7 minutes (Dumbo).
BCV was great. Check in for the first time ever was done in less than 30 minutes for all of us. We stayed in 2 2-BRs and had requested they be NS and next to each other. We got both.
Because there were 16 of us, we had a magical gathering number. While we didn't do any MG activities, we were told that the MG parties are first on the list in assigning rooms. That was told to us by the MG person that called us a week out to confirm our ressies.
While planning for our trip, we decided we wanted a family photo and we hired a photographer to meet us. I'm not sure if the boards allow me to give out his name or not but he couldn't have been better. Very accomodating, reasonably priced, and the pictures are terrific. I have his info and can give more details to anyone interested.
We also used wegoshop.com for delivering groceries and they were also great. Will use them again in a second.
This was our first time attending the Halloween party and we were pleasantly surprised.
We arrived at 6pm for the party and were let right in. Free stroller rentals. The cast members gave us a wristband and trick-or-treat bag and directed us down the left side of Main street and then left toward Adventureland. Right side of Main Street was for the people exiting the park.
Parades were at 8 & 10pm, fireworks at 9:15.
Overall we were very impressed and thought the party was a good value. There were a ton of cast members handing out candy. Characters for pictures and autographs were all over. 5-6 villains were in front of the castle for autgraphs/photos after the fireworks.
We never waited more than 7 minutes for any ride we wanted to go on. Most we walked on. The park was like this all week however so can't be sure if it was due to the attendance allowance for the party or the time of year.
The parade was neat but not all that unlike the regular parade. A couple of additons that were fun.
The firworks were awesome. Great music, great narration, great display. About 15 minutes long and the best we've seen there. Again, our first time at the Halloween Party so we can't compare it to previous versions.
A couple of nitpicks but it is truly nitpicking. 99% of BCV and the staff was first rate.
Had to call housekeeping 3 times to ask for the same thing.
Last nitpick is just a personal preference and that is about SAB. Our 4 year old and 3 year old loved the waterslide at BWV and spent the better part of the day using it last visit while we waited at the bottom of the slide to catch them. Not possible at SAB. The waterslide at SAB requires a much longer walk, actually exiting the pool area to use the slide. It also requires (our preference for safety reasons anyway) the parents to walk them. Short opinion is it is just not as user friendly and our kids didn't enjoy it as much as we hoped. To them any waterslide is good one and a user friendly one is better.
Any questions?
First, the last week of September was a great time to visit. The parks were empty, never used a fastpass, walked on most rides, and never waited more than 7 minutes (Dumbo).
BCV was great. Check in for the first time ever was done in less than 30 minutes for all of us. We stayed in 2 2-BRs and had requested they be NS and next to each other. We got both.
Because there were 16 of us, we had a magical gathering number. While we didn't do any MG activities, we were told that the MG parties are first on the list in assigning rooms. That was told to us by the MG person that called us a week out to confirm our ressies.
While planning for our trip, we decided we wanted a family photo and we hired a photographer to meet us. I'm not sure if the boards allow me to give out his name or not but he couldn't have been better. Very accomodating, reasonably priced, and the pictures are terrific. I have his info and can give more details to anyone interested.
We also used wegoshop.com for delivering groceries and they were also great. Will use them again in a second.
This was our first time attending the Halloween party and we were pleasantly surprised.
We arrived at 6pm for the party and were let right in. Free stroller rentals. The cast members gave us a wristband and trick-or-treat bag and directed us down the left side of Main street and then left toward Adventureland. Right side of Main Street was for the people exiting the park.
Parades were at 8 & 10pm, fireworks at 9:15.
Overall we were very impressed and thought the party was a good value. There were a ton of cast members handing out candy. Characters for pictures and autographs were all over. 5-6 villains were in front of the castle for autgraphs/photos after the fireworks.
We never waited more than 7 minutes for any ride we wanted to go on. Most we walked on. The park was like this all week however so can't be sure if it was due to the attendance allowance for the party or the time of year.
The parade was neat but not all that unlike the regular parade. A couple of additons that were fun.
The firworks were awesome. Great music, great narration, great display. About 15 minutes long and the best we've seen there. Again, our first time at the Halloween Party so we can't compare it to previous versions.
A couple of nitpicks but it is truly nitpicking. 99% of BCV and the staff was first rate.
Had to call housekeeping 3 times to ask for the same thing.
Last nitpick is just a personal preference and that is about SAB. Our 4 year old and 3 year old loved the waterslide at BWV and spent the better part of the day using it last visit while we waited at the bottom of the slide to catch them. Not possible at SAB. The waterslide at SAB requires a much longer walk, actually exiting the pool area to use the slide. It also requires (our preference for safety reasons anyway) the parents to walk them. Short opinion is it is just not as user friendly and our kids didn't enjoy it as much as we hoped. To them any waterslide is good one and a user friendly one is better.
Any questions?
