Day 7 - Disney Springs and Flight Home
- Slept in a little - Since we were not going to a park we slept in a little. It was nice not to rush first thing.
- Breakfast at Contempo and Wave - Yummy - Lisa ordered breakfast while I finished packing and then we went up to eat. The kids got food from Contempo Café and Lisa and I got food from the Wave. It was delicious.
- Raining a lot; no Disney springs - Our plan was to go to Disney Springs and walk around before it was time to go to the airport, but right after breakfast it started pouring rain outside. We decided to ditch those plans and just hangout around the hotel.
- Shopped in the hotel some more - We walked around the hotel and did some more last minute shopping.
- Waited for bus - We waited for the bus and it felt like it was never going to show up. The kids were pretty crazy.
- Grady was a little crazy running around
- Bus got there and we loaded no problem; Grady fell asleep almost to airport
- Unloaded bus and successfully transferred sleeping Grady to stroller; had helper haul our luggage to SW check in
- Got through security no problem, Grady woke up at security - We also had lunch while we waited to board our plane. The Magical Express always arrives extremely early so you have to wait for your flight.
- Another good flight with the kiddos - I couldn't believe how well our kids did on the flights. Grady sat with us again and Ellie sat with my parents. They both did their thing and were occupied the entire flight.
- We made it back safely to the frozen tundra of Kansas City. The "feels like" temperature was 77 when we left Florida and -23 degrees when we got home - We landed and there was snow everywhere and it was really cold. My truck almost didn't start too. We made it home no problem and had Jose Peppers Mexican food for dinner. Yum!
Overall Trip Thoughts - We had a great trip. Here are some takeaways from it.
- Like Disneyland better - Before this trip we had been to Disneyland 4 trips in a row. We were really looking forward to comparing Florida to California and California won. The weather is much better in Anaheim. The resort setup is much easier to get around in California. All of the transportation to and from the parks takes a long time and if you were to park hop to another park it does not get easier than going across the esplanade from Disneyland to DCA.
- Bakery/sweets were not great; Merchandise was terrible - We are hoping these were due to COVID, but the bakery and sweet treats were terrible on this trip. We actually avoided them compared to having too many at Disneyland. The merchandise selection was very limited all over the resort. We had a lot of trouble finding unique souvenirs compared to Disneyland. This could have been COVID related.
- Tough getting to and from places due buses etc - We have been spoiled in California (especially staying at the Grand Californian) because everything is so close together. Everywhere we went took a long time to get there. The bus system was very frustrating. We wondered if fewer buses were running due to COVID.
- Crowd much larger than expected; no interest in going when capacity is up; made us really miss and respect MaxPass even more - This may have been the biggest problem with this trip. We had read many reports and talked to friends that had just been to Disney World about how low the crowds were. We even started tracking wait times and they were very low. When we got there it was a shock. After being home for almost a year because of the pandemic, there were a lot of people at Disney World. In places there were too many and we felt uncomfortable. There was no Fast Pass and I'm not sure if that was good or not. We really missed MaxPass in California, which is the best Disney Fast Pass system.
- Kids did great overall; some typical kid struggle but much more smiles and laughs than frustration and anger; Both kids were better than expected; some sleeping issues, but a lot better than last trip and arguably better than at home - We really enjoyed ourselves with the kids. Overall they did great. It made it easier because Grady could do almost everything that Ellie could and he did great on all of the rides. We were not sure how he would react to different rides. We knew how Ellie deals with it, but didn't know about Grady. They both did great and even meals were not a big problem. I was impressed at how well they did at the few sit down restaurants because we hadn't eaten out in almost a year and they are crazy at home at mealtime.
- Hotel was good - good location; room needed some TLC; main concourse could use a refresh - I was super excited to stay at the Contemporary Resort and it did not live up to my expectation (nor the price). The transportation was not easy except going to the Magic Kingdom. We got a great price on this room, but there is no way I would pay full/regular price for this hotel.
- Monorail is looking old; really missed the route to Epcot - Growing up, my brother and I loved the monorail. We recited the warning every time we got on. But this trip, the monorail is a skeleton of what it used to be. It smells funny, it looks rough and needs a complete refresh. The route to EPCOT was down due to COVID and that really caused an issue in our transportation options.
- Parks were good, but not great; all parks need more rides for all ages to do (especially AK and HS); the older areas seemed MUCH older compared to newer areas (not as noticeable in DL); Epcot was a disaster with construction - Not much more to say here. Again, growing up we went to Disney World every year and it was during the Eisner Era so there was something new every time. At this point, a lot of those new things at the time are older, but they have not been maintained as well as Disneyland has been. The brand new Galaxy's Edge fits into Disneyland seamlessly. Oppositely, Hollywood Studios in Orlando looks like there is a new part and an old part. I noticed this in quite a few areas across the resort.
- Ellie was mostly really good on trip; great helper when we needed her - Ellie really does great on vacation. She fits well in our routine and is great helping with her brother.
- Magical Express was ok; not as nice as our chauffeur service in. LA (but it’s included in hotel reservation)
- App was kind of a pain; could never find what I wanted as easily as needed; logged out several times - The Disney World app tries to put a lot of information in to one location. This is a good idea, but they have not figured out the best way for guests to access all of the information in the app. I didn't notice until the last day that there was additional hotel room info. This is also not info nor screens you can access before you leave on your vacation.
- Different info from different sources (hotels) - Our night adventure from the Polynesian to the Contemporary was a real problem. All resorts should have the same information. The next day we found there were multiple ways to get back even though when we were at the Poly we were told there was no easy way back. To me this is a communication and training issue.
- Food - not enough options in MK; not enough options for level of current capacity; quick service menus were very similar - Overall food was a real let down on this trip. There were a couple meals we enjoyed, but overall the food was ok and the sweets and treats were bad. Our previous trips to Disney World were amazing from a food perspective and something major has changed. I don't know if this is COVID related or they have made some major changes that have dramatically decreased the quality of food. We enjoyed the Brown Derby, The Wave, Satu'li, and Whispering Canyon. These were good meals. The rest of our trip was decent at best.
- Kids did GREAT on the plane. Best flights with kids yet. - The highlight of the trip was our kids. We loved watching our kids enjoy the Disney parks. It was fun to see Grady ride some bigger rides and to see Ellie ride some new thrill rides to compare to Disneyland. I love that they enjoy riding all types of rides and for the most part don't have issues riding new rides.
