Trip Reports
02-20-2007, 08:37 PM
John Singh - September 2002 - All Star Sports, Polynesian Resort
Time of Year: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, Holiday Season
Travel Method: Personal Car, Plane, Autotrain, Rental Car, Shuttle Service
Resort: ASSR, PR
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Frequent
Comments: John provides this report overture, "I realize this trip report is long, but then again it was a long (a full week) trip! :-) More than anything, I wanted to offer some thoughts on the Deluxe Magic Plan and concierge service. I hope my trip report will shed light on these areas. All things considered, I highly recommend a plan like Deluxe Magic for those who are willing to spend a little more -- it is well worth the cost (and the months of budget-conscious living we experienced to do it)!"
John Singh -- September 2002 -- Walt Disney World (ASSR, PR)
WHO: John Singh, 36, and Jeff Watson, 34, both from L.A.
WHEN: Sept. 9-16, 2002
WHERE: All-Star Sports (Room 3485) and Polynesian (Room 3511)
HOW: Disney's Deluxe Magic Plan
WHY: Because We Like It!
After a fantastic visit to Walt Disney World last September, we decided just after Christmas that we would plan another trip for the same time. In 2001, we stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for Jeff's first-ever WDW trip. But this time, we decided we'd do things a little differently:
We wanted to have a "first-class" trip all the way;
We planned to have more time to relax and enjoy non-park activities;
As the trip came closer, John began contemplating the idea of moving to Orlando permanently (he's in corporate communications, in case anyone knows of anything - heheh!) so we wanted to program some time outside of WDW to look at houses and maybe even go on a job interview!
To satisfy all of the requirements, John first cashed in some frequent-flier miles and booked a first-class ticket on Delta from Los Angeles to Orlando. The trip date was set: Sept. 16. Now we needed to look at lodging.
This is where things get interesting (I hope) for regular Mouseplanet/trip report readers, because we made the decision to purchase the Deluxe Magic Plan. Much more about this in a minute.
Lastly, John did indeed land a job interview, so we decided to leave a day earlier than originally planned so we'd have time to look at some houses - just in case things went well on the interview. (No, in the end he didn't get the job, which was with a non-profit agency.) A friend of John's from WDW (John worked at Disney in Burbank for nine years) arranged a special cast-member rate at the All-Star Sports, which would allow for the first evening to be spent house-hunting without the expense of a room at a deluxe resort.
** ARRIVAL **
The flight from Los Angeles arrived right on schedule at 3:45, and despite a minor glitch when renting the car, we were at Disney-MGM Studios by 5 p.m. Ever since the ride opened, John's favorite tradition has been to race immediately upon landing to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror! Thanks to an arrangement by a friend at Disney, we had four one-day passes waiting for us, allowing us to spare the expense of tickets for a half day.
We were stunned by sparse crowds! We thought last year was lightly attended, but Sept. 9 was a virtual ghost town at Disney-MGM Studios. PERFECT for us, then! We rode Tower, then ran over to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, which had the unexpected side effect of making Jeff nauseous (something that didn't happen last year!). We even had time to eat a turkey leg and take some photos before leaving at 6 p.m.
I won't bore you with the details of the house-hunting ... but we were back on property by 8:30 p.m. After a quick check-in at the completely empty lobby of the All-Star Sports Resort, we found our room and debated whether to go off property for our dinner. Instead, we opted to try Jiko, where we had not dined last September.
What a dinner! An hour and $96 later, we were wandering the grounds of the DAK Lodge to see a few things we had missed on our last trip, then it was back to the room for a good night's rest - tomorrow, Sept. 10, was looking to be a busy day!
On Tuesday, Sept. 10, we woke up early, checked out of the All-Star (serviceable, certainly, but to echo the "Unofficial Guide," if you're going to save money to go to WDW, you should save a couple of hundred more dollars for a nicer room) and drove to the Polynesian.
When we arrived, the feeling of special service was overwhelming. A valet drove us to the concierge building (Hawaii) in a small cart. When we arrived at 9 a.m. we were pleased to discover that, although our room wasn't ready, the concierge staff made several phone calls to find a room that was prepared and waiting for us.
Evelyn, one of the concierge staff members, spent about 20 minutes explaining the details of our stay and, in particular, of the Deluxe Magic Plan. In a nutshell: We would receive 30 meal coupons for our five days at the resort (we stayed on additional night "off the plan"); they could be used in any combination, with one coupon subtracted for each meal. With the exception of Victoria & Albert's, no restaurant was off limits, and the meals could be ordered as follows:
BREAKFAST - One "appetizer" (yes, there are appetizers for breakfast!), one entrée, one non-alcoholic beverage, one coffee or tea. Breakfast buffets are also included.
LUNCH & DINNER - One appetizer, soup or salad, one entrée, one non-alcoholic beverage, one coffee or tea, one dessert.
Additionally, the plan included unlimited use of recreational facilities at no charge, and one special item - we chose admission to Cirque du Soleil "La Nouba," where tickets go for $72 each!
Evelyn also provided us a nicely printed copy of our personalized itinerary - which, needless to say, we had already requested and made "complete" by blocking out each activity (including rides and attractions) we wanted to do throughout the day.
The plan includes the Ultimate Park Hopper Length-of-Stay pass, which doubled as a room key. Our request for a third-floor, Magic Kingdom-view room was honored ... and then some, because we may have had the single most spectacular view imaginable! When we entered our very large room and opened the curtains, Cinderella Castle lay straight ahead over Seven Seas Lagoon. To the left were the Grand Floridian and the Wedding Pavilion, and to the right was a breathtaking view of the Contemporary Resort and Monorail. Nearby, the top of the Wilderness Lodge could be seen amid the trees.
During our stay, Cinderella Castle was undergoing a rehab, and a rather unsightly construction crane was visible over the castle. Every cloud has a silver lining, of course, and in this case it was the fact that much of the gold leafing that was taking place was done during the evening, requiring extra lights on the castle's main spire. That resulted in a wondrous, unforgettable illumination that made the castle seem to glow from the inside. Beautiful!
The rather lengthy (and informative check-in) had unfortunately made us late for our scheduled "Hidden Treasures of World Showcase" tour, and the concierge staff was very sensitive to that! (All tours except the 7-hour Backstage Magic tour are included on the Deluxe Magic Plan.) To our great surprise and delight, Evelyn called our room to say she had notified the Disney Institute that we were on our way and arranged for another concierge cast member, Rose, to drive us to Epcot in a van!
The tour was phenomenal and informative - just one fact I'll share, that surprised even me (and I thought I knew it all after such a long time at Disney!): On the World Showcase side of the Future World fountain is a large, inlaid Epcot (or, rather, EPCOT Center) logo; it's almost impossible to make out from ground level. In the very center of the logo is a circle, and if you stand in that circle you are standing in the geographic center of all of Walt Disney World!
Although it was long and VERY hot, the tour was well worth doing.
We were so exhausted after nearly four hours of walking and standing in the Florida sun that we scuttled plans to go to Typhoon Lagoon and instead had our first "plan" meal at Le Cellier that afternoon. One of the servers laughed and said, "You're slowing down with each course!" Almost immediately we realized that the Deluxe Magic Plan was going to give us a LOT of food during the next five days!
That evening, following massages at the Grand Floridian Spa (which needs refurbishment rather badly), we returned to Epcot for an amazing dinner of cheeses and seafood - not to mention desserts! - at Les Chefs de France, followed by Illuminations. We also decided to check out the Boardwalk area, which was nice but the added "cover charge" at Jellyrolls seemed unnecessary. Alas, we ended up having to take bus transportation back to the Polynesian, which took more than an hour; I hadn't been on the bus system at WDW in 10 years or so, and I feel badly for people who rely on it as their primary mode of transportation! (That's not an elitist comment - Disney needs to improve its transportation. You can't help but imagine that if Walt had lived just a few years longer an enormous Monorail infrastructure would have been designed for the property.)
Mickey greeted us bright and early the next morning, and we decided to have a quick breakfast at Kona Café before heading to the Magic Kingdom. But we realized that no meal on the Deluxe Magic Plan would be quick! Love that Tonga Toast!
The morning was spent at the Magic Kingdom. Crowds were extremely light again, which meant our plans to spend two or three hours riding Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear and Winnie the Pooh needed to be changed - we had done them all (plus Big Thunder) within 90 minutes! We were scheduled to be at the Hall of Presidents around 10:45 a.m., but meandered a bit and arrived shortly before noon. At exactly 12 p.m., Disney had planned a moment of silence throughout the parks to commemorate the anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, and the Hall of Presidents proved to be a very fitting place to observe the moment. It was nicely handled.
Lunch was at Liberty Tree Tavern - the first time for both of us. It was a delicious lunch, and our server, Russell, kept reminding us that we should take advantage of all of the courses and enjoy ourselves as much as possible!
After returning for a bit to the Polynesian, we made our way to the Contemporary for the most remarkable experience - parasailing! Because of "the plan," we were able to get our own boat with two people to assist us. There are hardly words to describe the parasailing experience ... one of the most memorable 15 minutes of my life! The royal treatment by the Sammy Duval folks would have cost us $461, but thanks to Deluxe Magic we got away with a simple "thank you"! Dinner that evening was at Restaurant Marrakesh, which does indeed have exotic and tasty food, though neither of us felt it was quite as noteworthy as some guidebooks report.
Thursday, Sept. 12, began with the uniquely prepared breakfast "buffet" at 'Ohana, and we had the characters almost to ourselves! (Make a note for character breakfasts - go as late as possible, and you'll have plenty of face time.) The rest of the morning and afternoon were spent driving to St. Petersburg for John's job interview. We got back to WDW around 6:30 p.m., and drove immediately to Disney-MGM Studios, where we arrived with just enough time to make our priority-seating time at the Hollywood Brown Derby. Another fantastic meal! It was also where we experienced our only "plan" glitch, as our server wasn't familiar with all of the nuances of the dining plans and charged us for bottled water. (The concierge happily reversed the charge later.) It was another long meal with a wonderful surprise at the end - a $100+ check that we didn't need to pay!
We capped off the evening with a showing of Fantasmic - and faced the first real crowds of the trip. The number of people watching Fantasmic amazed us! Alas, the show itself was a bit of a disappointment, as it really does pale in comparison with the indescribable magic of Disneyland's Fantasmic. After the show, we spent a couple of hours at Pleasure Island, people-watching at Mannequin's (for us, it's always a pleasure to see same-sex couples dancing in a "straight" club!) and enjoying the zaniness of the Adventurer's Club.
You can bet we were up for sleeping in the next morning! Instead of a sit-down breakfast, we opted for some breakfast-style snacks in the concierge lounge ... where food and drinks are available virtually around the clock. After a lazy morning, we went to the marina to have our first experience on the Water Mouses (Water Mice?!) - the zippy little speedboats that always dot the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. What a rush! We spent more than an hour on the boats ... we were under no pressure to return them at any time, as the plan allows you to keep them out as long as you'd like. Then it was lounging by the pool followed by lunch with a cast-member friend of ours.
After lunch, we headed to Typhoon Lagoon, which is definitely more beautiful than Blizzard Beach ... but also much more sedate. Within a couple of hours, we had ridden every slide AND flowed along the Lazy River. (A decided lack of crowds helped!) After returning to the hotel to change, we drove to the Wilderness Lodge for dinner at Artist's Point. Each dinner seemed to get better and better, and Artist's Point was definitely a high point of our dining adventures - the salmon and the "mixed grill" were both extraordinary. Dinner was leisurely ... until we realized we might be late for our showing of Cirque du Soleil. We're glad we weren't: La Nouba is mesmerizing.
Saturday was the busiest day we experienced, probably thanks to day visits by locals, both at the parks and the resorts. We spent the morning at Animal Kingdom, where we were rather turned off by the garish addition to Dinoland, but enjoyed the Festival of the Lion King. The high point was being in a raft with two older couples; it seemed they wouldn't much enjoy Kali River Rapids, but got absolutely drenched (as did we) and squealed with laughter for the entire ride.
Animal Kingdom is easy to see in a few hours, so we drove to Disney-MGM Studios, where we had lunch at the 50's Prime-Time Café. Sue was our "mom," and she was a blast. Astutely, she knew that two people (or even a group) who had been with each other 24 hours a day might have significant lulls in the conversation, so she gave us "pop quizzes" in history and geography - and John stumped her with a Disney-related question! (If you want to know what that question was, e-mail him at jjsingh@aol.com.)
We couldn't resist more Water Mouse rides that afternoon, but a 5 p.m. thunderstorm cut short our fun. Jeff decided to go to the Disney Institute spa (which he reported was a "ghost town") for a 30-minute massage while John stayed behind to do laundry and relax.
In the evening, we went to the Magic Kingdom for Spectromagic - which was a bit of a nightmare. A light rain continued to fall and the streets were jam packed, since the parade only runs once a week. As miserable as the parade viewing experience was, the parade itself is always terrific. After, we went to our special viewing area for Fantasy In the Sky, which provided a fabulous view of the castle. (The Illuminations viewing area, by the way, was an absolute bust - it was jammed with people and wasn't in a particularly good spot.) Dinner that evening was a nearly two-hour affair at the California Grill - sushi, shrimp flatbread, beef filets, Grand Marnier crepes and an apple tart. Yum!
It was another long night (the Monorail was closed after leaving the Contemporary - the cab ride to the Polynesian cost $7), so the morning was again reserved for sleeping in. We brought breakfast from Capt. Cook's back to our room and then tried to go to Fort Wilderness to spend a couple of hours canoeing. What a nightmare! The canoe rental facility is difficult to find, and when we got there we were told that canal construction meant canoes had to be kept in the small lake. No thanks! We turned around and spent what seemed forever waiting in the heat for a bus back to the parking lot. But an afternoon at Epcot erased the bad memories. Lunch was at the Coral Reef Room. Two points of interest here: 1) The menu features PIRANHA! Not the most appetizing fish, to be honest, but how could you resist ordering it to say you've eaten piranha! And 2) the Coral Reef Room is one of the few facilities that still has souvenir matchbooks, which seem to have disappeared in the past few years thanks to the effective ban on smoking.
We returned to the Polynesian after lunch for another excursion on the addictive Water Mice, then went back to Epcot for our last night. (By the way, we had originally planned to switch to the Yacht Club for the final night, but we were so in love with the Polynesian that we changed our plans - the concierge desk handled everything for us.)
Dinner was at Alfredo di Roma. We had planned to dine just long enough to see the 8:15 p.m. Tapestry of Dreams parade, but that passed us right by - literally, as we were seated at a window table that looked out onto the corridor of the "Doge's Palace" and to the World Showcase promenade.
Our Alfredo's server, Steffania, knew exactly how to order for us, maximizing our meal plan for a deluxe dinner that was truly astounding. We had an enormous meat-and-cheese platter, fried calamari, the mozzarella-and-tomato salad, followed by a salad apiece, then the main course of veal (prepared differently for each of us), then sinfully rich desserts. Neither of us drinks much alcohol, and the dinner was eaten with only bottled water ... but still came out to a whopping $198 - and we never opened our wallet!
Leaving Walt Disney World the following day was tough. The trip was absolutely magical in the best Disney sense. A friend at Disney arranged for park passes for us for the final morning, which meant we were able to drop by both Epcot and Disney-MGM Studios for some shopping before returning to the Polynesian for an hour's worth of swimming. (Tip: The concierge lounge and facilities are open to guests until midnight of their check-out day, meaning you can take advantage of the food and facilities even after you've checked out!)
By the time we left for the airport, John was a bit misty-eyed at leaving. But the room, the experiences and especially the memory of the delicious meals will stay with us for a very, very long time.
**FINAL OBSERVATIONS**
We're not rich! In fact, for the last six weeks, John's been unemployed. But we scrimped and saved and really planned for this trip because we wanted to experience the Deluxe Magic Plan. Boy, are we glad we did!
The concierge service at the Polynesian was worth the extra cost. While concierges at WDW may not be quite as "necessary" as in, say, New York, having someone available to make all of our dining and recreation arrangements was a tremendous convenience. Even when we finally arrived, anything we needed changed, added or taken care of was just a phone call or quick visit away. (Not to mention the wonderful concierge lounge at the Polynesian.)
At the end of the trip, we calculated what we would have spent had we traveled "a la carte." What we found was actually a bit of a surprise: The plan DID INDEED save us money ... and a considerable amount! Had we paid for each element of the trip "a la carte," we would have spent about $600 more than we did for the plan.
More than that, we're certain that if we had been required to open our wallets at every meal or for every piece of recreation, we wouldn't have experienced half of what we did. Eating as and having as much fun on the water as we did would have added up - but since it was paid for in advance, we were able to take advantage of these perks to our heart's content!
A plan like Deluxe Magic or the Grand Plan, however, really should only be used by adults who have been to Walt Disney World at least once. Families won't realize the maximum value, because kids won't want to have two or three sit-down meals every day or spend time outside of the parks boating, golfing, playing tennis or going horseback riding.
But the Deluxe Magic Plan was truly money well spent for us. If we do it again, we are going to try to schedule even more time outside of the parks.
Moreover, the plan gives you a LOT of food! Be prepared to eat. And eat. And eat. Choose your restaurants carefully to get you the most bang for the buck. (After all, even though it seems "free," you DID pay for the meals.) Enjoy the sit-down restaurants that might normally be out of your range.
There's no doubt that the Deluxe Magic Plan (which will be renamed in 2003 to "Disney's Dream Maker Plan - Gold") was a great choice. We were definitely worried that the plan might not pay for itself. But when we added up all of the meals, the recreation, the Cirque du Soleil tickets and the Ultimate Park Hopper passes, along with the per-night cost of the hotel room, we were very happy with the results. Here's hoping this trip report will help others who are considering purchasing a special plan for their next trip to Walt Disney World!
One final note: Full information on the plans can be found at the disneyworld.com reservations website. Before purchasing our vacation, I spent several hours evaluating the various costs and plan options, something the website makes it very easy to do!
John Singh
Time of Year: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, Holiday Season
Travel Method: Personal Car, Plane, Autotrain, Rental Car, Shuttle Service
Resort: ASSR, PR
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Frequent
Comments: John provides this report overture, "I realize this trip report is long, but then again it was a long (a full week) trip! :-) More than anything, I wanted to offer some thoughts on the Deluxe Magic Plan and concierge service. I hope my trip report will shed light on these areas. All things considered, I highly recommend a plan like Deluxe Magic for those who are willing to spend a little more -- it is well worth the cost (and the months of budget-conscious living we experienced to do it)!"
John Singh -- September 2002 -- Walt Disney World (ASSR, PR)
WHO: John Singh, 36, and Jeff Watson, 34, both from L.A.
WHEN: Sept. 9-16, 2002
WHERE: All-Star Sports (Room 3485) and Polynesian (Room 3511)
HOW: Disney's Deluxe Magic Plan
WHY: Because We Like It!
After a fantastic visit to Walt Disney World last September, we decided just after Christmas that we would plan another trip for the same time. In 2001, we stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for Jeff's first-ever WDW trip. But this time, we decided we'd do things a little differently:
We wanted to have a "first-class" trip all the way;
We planned to have more time to relax and enjoy non-park activities;
As the trip came closer, John began contemplating the idea of moving to Orlando permanently (he's in corporate communications, in case anyone knows of anything - heheh!) so we wanted to program some time outside of WDW to look at houses and maybe even go on a job interview!
To satisfy all of the requirements, John first cashed in some frequent-flier miles and booked a first-class ticket on Delta from Los Angeles to Orlando. The trip date was set: Sept. 16. Now we needed to look at lodging.
This is where things get interesting (I hope) for regular Mouseplanet/trip report readers, because we made the decision to purchase the Deluxe Magic Plan. Much more about this in a minute.
Lastly, John did indeed land a job interview, so we decided to leave a day earlier than originally planned so we'd have time to look at some houses - just in case things went well on the interview. (No, in the end he didn't get the job, which was with a non-profit agency.) A friend of John's from WDW (John worked at Disney in Burbank for nine years) arranged a special cast-member rate at the All-Star Sports, which would allow for the first evening to be spent house-hunting without the expense of a room at a deluxe resort.
** ARRIVAL **
The flight from Los Angeles arrived right on schedule at 3:45, and despite a minor glitch when renting the car, we were at Disney-MGM Studios by 5 p.m. Ever since the ride opened, John's favorite tradition has been to race immediately upon landing to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror! Thanks to an arrangement by a friend at Disney, we had four one-day passes waiting for us, allowing us to spare the expense of tickets for a half day.
We were stunned by sparse crowds! We thought last year was lightly attended, but Sept. 9 was a virtual ghost town at Disney-MGM Studios. PERFECT for us, then! We rode Tower, then ran over to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, which had the unexpected side effect of making Jeff nauseous (something that didn't happen last year!). We even had time to eat a turkey leg and take some photos before leaving at 6 p.m.
I won't bore you with the details of the house-hunting ... but we were back on property by 8:30 p.m. After a quick check-in at the completely empty lobby of the All-Star Sports Resort, we found our room and debated whether to go off property for our dinner. Instead, we opted to try Jiko, where we had not dined last September.
What a dinner! An hour and $96 later, we were wandering the grounds of the DAK Lodge to see a few things we had missed on our last trip, then it was back to the room for a good night's rest - tomorrow, Sept. 10, was looking to be a busy day!
On Tuesday, Sept. 10, we woke up early, checked out of the All-Star (serviceable, certainly, but to echo the "Unofficial Guide," if you're going to save money to go to WDW, you should save a couple of hundred more dollars for a nicer room) and drove to the Polynesian.
When we arrived, the feeling of special service was overwhelming. A valet drove us to the concierge building (Hawaii) in a small cart. When we arrived at 9 a.m. we were pleased to discover that, although our room wasn't ready, the concierge staff made several phone calls to find a room that was prepared and waiting for us.
Evelyn, one of the concierge staff members, spent about 20 minutes explaining the details of our stay and, in particular, of the Deluxe Magic Plan. In a nutshell: We would receive 30 meal coupons for our five days at the resort (we stayed on additional night "off the plan"); they could be used in any combination, with one coupon subtracted for each meal. With the exception of Victoria & Albert's, no restaurant was off limits, and the meals could be ordered as follows:
BREAKFAST - One "appetizer" (yes, there are appetizers for breakfast!), one entrée, one non-alcoholic beverage, one coffee or tea. Breakfast buffets are also included.
LUNCH & DINNER - One appetizer, soup or salad, one entrée, one non-alcoholic beverage, one coffee or tea, one dessert.
Additionally, the plan included unlimited use of recreational facilities at no charge, and one special item - we chose admission to Cirque du Soleil "La Nouba," where tickets go for $72 each!
Evelyn also provided us a nicely printed copy of our personalized itinerary - which, needless to say, we had already requested and made "complete" by blocking out each activity (including rides and attractions) we wanted to do throughout the day.
The plan includes the Ultimate Park Hopper Length-of-Stay pass, which doubled as a room key. Our request for a third-floor, Magic Kingdom-view room was honored ... and then some, because we may have had the single most spectacular view imaginable! When we entered our very large room and opened the curtains, Cinderella Castle lay straight ahead over Seven Seas Lagoon. To the left were the Grand Floridian and the Wedding Pavilion, and to the right was a breathtaking view of the Contemporary Resort and Monorail. Nearby, the top of the Wilderness Lodge could be seen amid the trees.
During our stay, Cinderella Castle was undergoing a rehab, and a rather unsightly construction crane was visible over the castle. Every cloud has a silver lining, of course, and in this case it was the fact that much of the gold leafing that was taking place was done during the evening, requiring extra lights on the castle's main spire. That resulted in a wondrous, unforgettable illumination that made the castle seem to glow from the inside. Beautiful!
The rather lengthy (and informative check-in) had unfortunately made us late for our scheduled "Hidden Treasures of World Showcase" tour, and the concierge staff was very sensitive to that! (All tours except the 7-hour Backstage Magic tour are included on the Deluxe Magic Plan.) To our great surprise and delight, Evelyn called our room to say she had notified the Disney Institute that we were on our way and arranged for another concierge cast member, Rose, to drive us to Epcot in a van!
The tour was phenomenal and informative - just one fact I'll share, that surprised even me (and I thought I knew it all after such a long time at Disney!): On the World Showcase side of the Future World fountain is a large, inlaid Epcot (or, rather, EPCOT Center) logo; it's almost impossible to make out from ground level. In the very center of the logo is a circle, and if you stand in that circle you are standing in the geographic center of all of Walt Disney World!
Although it was long and VERY hot, the tour was well worth doing.
We were so exhausted after nearly four hours of walking and standing in the Florida sun that we scuttled plans to go to Typhoon Lagoon and instead had our first "plan" meal at Le Cellier that afternoon. One of the servers laughed and said, "You're slowing down with each course!" Almost immediately we realized that the Deluxe Magic Plan was going to give us a LOT of food during the next five days!
That evening, following massages at the Grand Floridian Spa (which needs refurbishment rather badly), we returned to Epcot for an amazing dinner of cheeses and seafood - not to mention desserts! - at Les Chefs de France, followed by Illuminations. We also decided to check out the Boardwalk area, which was nice but the added "cover charge" at Jellyrolls seemed unnecessary. Alas, we ended up having to take bus transportation back to the Polynesian, which took more than an hour; I hadn't been on the bus system at WDW in 10 years or so, and I feel badly for people who rely on it as their primary mode of transportation! (That's not an elitist comment - Disney needs to improve its transportation. You can't help but imagine that if Walt had lived just a few years longer an enormous Monorail infrastructure would have been designed for the property.)
Mickey greeted us bright and early the next morning, and we decided to have a quick breakfast at Kona Café before heading to the Magic Kingdom. But we realized that no meal on the Deluxe Magic Plan would be quick! Love that Tonga Toast!
The morning was spent at the Magic Kingdom. Crowds were extremely light again, which meant our plans to spend two or three hours riding Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear and Winnie the Pooh needed to be changed - we had done them all (plus Big Thunder) within 90 minutes! We were scheduled to be at the Hall of Presidents around 10:45 a.m., but meandered a bit and arrived shortly before noon. At exactly 12 p.m., Disney had planned a moment of silence throughout the parks to commemorate the anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, and the Hall of Presidents proved to be a very fitting place to observe the moment. It was nicely handled.
Lunch was at Liberty Tree Tavern - the first time for both of us. It was a delicious lunch, and our server, Russell, kept reminding us that we should take advantage of all of the courses and enjoy ourselves as much as possible!
After returning for a bit to the Polynesian, we made our way to the Contemporary for the most remarkable experience - parasailing! Because of "the plan," we were able to get our own boat with two people to assist us. There are hardly words to describe the parasailing experience ... one of the most memorable 15 minutes of my life! The royal treatment by the Sammy Duval folks would have cost us $461, but thanks to Deluxe Magic we got away with a simple "thank you"! Dinner that evening was at Restaurant Marrakesh, which does indeed have exotic and tasty food, though neither of us felt it was quite as noteworthy as some guidebooks report.
Thursday, Sept. 12, began with the uniquely prepared breakfast "buffet" at 'Ohana, and we had the characters almost to ourselves! (Make a note for character breakfasts - go as late as possible, and you'll have plenty of face time.) The rest of the morning and afternoon were spent driving to St. Petersburg for John's job interview. We got back to WDW around 6:30 p.m., and drove immediately to Disney-MGM Studios, where we arrived with just enough time to make our priority-seating time at the Hollywood Brown Derby. Another fantastic meal! It was also where we experienced our only "plan" glitch, as our server wasn't familiar with all of the nuances of the dining plans and charged us for bottled water. (The concierge happily reversed the charge later.) It was another long meal with a wonderful surprise at the end - a $100+ check that we didn't need to pay!
We capped off the evening with a showing of Fantasmic - and faced the first real crowds of the trip. The number of people watching Fantasmic amazed us! Alas, the show itself was a bit of a disappointment, as it really does pale in comparison with the indescribable magic of Disneyland's Fantasmic. After the show, we spent a couple of hours at Pleasure Island, people-watching at Mannequin's (for us, it's always a pleasure to see same-sex couples dancing in a "straight" club!) and enjoying the zaniness of the Adventurer's Club.
You can bet we were up for sleeping in the next morning! Instead of a sit-down breakfast, we opted for some breakfast-style snacks in the concierge lounge ... where food and drinks are available virtually around the clock. After a lazy morning, we went to the marina to have our first experience on the Water Mouses (Water Mice?!) - the zippy little speedboats that always dot the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. What a rush! We spent more than an hour on the boats ... we were under no pressure to return them at any time, as the plan allows you to keep them out as long as you'd like. Then it was lounging by the pool followed by lunch with a cast-member friend of ours.
After lunch, we headed to Typhoon Lagoon, which is definitely more beautiful than Blizzard Beach ... but also much more sedate. Within a couple of hours, we had ridden every slide AND flowed along the Lazy River. (A decided lack of crowds helped!) After returning to the hotel to change, we drove to the Wilderness Lodge for dinner at Artist's Point. Each dinner seemed to get better and better, and Artist's Point was definitely a high point of our dining adventures - the salmon and the "mixed grill" were both extraordinary. Dinner was leisurely ... until we realized we might be late for our showing of Cirque du Soleil. We're glad we weren't: La Nouba is mesmerizing.
Saturday was the busiest day we experienced, probably thanks to day visits by locals, both at the parks and the resorts. We spent the morning at Animal Kingdom, where we were rather turned off by the garish addition to Dinoland, but enjoyed the Festival of the Lion King. The high point was being in a raft with two older couples; it seemed they wouldn't much enjoy Kali River Rapids, but got absolutely drenched (as did we) and squealed with laughter for the entire ride.
Animal Kingdom is easy to see in a few hours, so we drove to Disney-MGM Studios, where we had lunch at the 50's Prime-Time Café. Sue was our "mom," and she was a blast. Astutely, she knew that two people (or even a group) who had been with each other 24 hours a day might have significant lulls in the conversation, so she gave us "pop quizzes" in history and geography - and John stumped her with a Disney-related question! (If you want to know what that question was, e-mail him at jjsingh@aol.com.)
We couldn't resist more Water Mouse rides that afternoon, but a 5 p.m. thunderstorm cut short our fun. Jeff decided to go to the Disney Institute spa (which he reported was a "ghost town") for a 30-minute massage while John stayed behind to do laundry and relax.
In the evening, we went to the Magic Kingdom for Spectromagic - which was a bit of a nightmare. A light rain continued to fall and the streets were jam packed, since the parade only runs once a week. As miserable as the parade viewing experience was, the parade itself is always terrific. After, we went to our special viewing area for Fantasy In the Sky, which provided a fabulous view of the castle. (The Illuminations viewing area, by the way, was an absolute bust - it was jammed with people and wasn't in a particularly good spot.) Dinner that evening was a nearly two-hour affair at the California Grill - sushi, shrimp flatbread, beef filets, Grand Marnier crepes and an apple tart. Yum!
It was another long night (the Monorail was closed after leaving the Contemporary - the cab ride to the Polynesian cost $7), so the morning was again reserved for sleeping in. We brought breakfast from Capt. Cook's back to our room and then tried to go to Fort Wilderness to spend a couple of hours canoeing. What a nightmare! The canoe rental facility is difficult to find, and when we got there we were told that canal construction meant canoes had to be kept in the small lake. No thanks! We turned around and spent what seemed forever waiting in the heat for a bus back to the parking lot. But an afternoon at Epcot erased the bad memories. Lunch was at the Coral Reef Room. Two points of interest here: 1) The menu features PIRANHA! Not the most appetizing fish, to be honest, but how could you resist ordering it to say you've eaten piranha! And 2) the Coral Reef Room is one of the few facilities that still has souvenir matchbooks, which seem to have disappeared in the past few years thanks to the effective ban on smoking.
We returned to the Polynesian after lunch for another excursion on the addictive Water Mice, then went back to Epcot for our last night. (By the way, we had originally planned to switch to the Yacht Club for the final night, but we were so in love with the Polynesian that we changed our plans - the concierge desk handled everything for us.)
Dinner was at Alfredo di Roma. We had planned to dine just long enough to see the 8:15 p.m. Tapestry of Dreams parade, but that passed us right by - literally, as we were seated at a window table that looked out onto the corridor of the "Doge's Palace" and to the World Showcase promenade.
Our Alfredo's server, Steffania, knew exactly how to order for us, maximizing our meal plan for a deluxe dinner that was truly astounding. We had an enormous meat-and-cheese platter, fried calamari, the mozzarella-and-tomato salad, followed by a salad apiece, then the main course of veal (prepared differently for each of us), then sinfully rich desserts. Neither of us drinks much alcohol, and the dinner was eaten with only bottled water ... but still came out to a whopping $198 - and we never opened our wallet!
Leaving Walt Disney World the following day was tough. The trip was absolutely magical in the best Disney sense. A friend at Disney arranged for park passes for us for the final morning, which meant we were able to drop by both Epcot and Disney-MGM Studios for some shopping before returning to the Polynesian for an hour's worth of swimming. (Tip: The concierge lounge and facilities are open to guests until midnight of their check-out day, meaning you can take advantage of the food and facilities even after you've checked out!)
By the time we left for the airport, John was a bit misty-eyed at leaving. But the room, the experiences and especially the memory of the delicious meals will stay with us for a very, very long time.
**FINAL OBSERVATIONS**
We're not rich! In fact, for the last six weeks, John's been unemployed. But we scrimped and saved and really planned for this trip because we wanted to experience the Deluxe Magic Plan. Boy, are we glad we did!
The concierge service at the Polynesian was worth the extra cost. While concierges at WDW may not be quite as "necessary" as in, say, New York, having someone available to make all of our dining and recreation arrangements was a tremendous convenience. Even when we finally arrived, anything we needed changed, added or taken care of was just a phone call or quick visit away. (Not to mention the wonderful concierge lounge at the Polynesian.)
At the end of the trip, we calculated what we would have spent had we traveled "a la carte." What we found was actually a bit of a surprise: The plan DID INDEED save us money ... and a considerable amount! Had we paid for each element of the trip "a la carte," we would have spent about $600 more than we did for the plan.
More than that, we're certain that if we had been required to open our wallets at every meal or for every piece of recreation, we wouldn't have experienced half of what we did. Eating as and having as much fun on the water as we did would have added up - but since it was paid for in advance, we were able to take advantage of these perks to our heart's content!
A plan like Deluxe Magic or the Grand Plan, however, really should only be used by adults who have been to Walt Disney World at least once. Families won't realize the maximum value, because kids won't want to have two or three sit-down meals every day or spend time outside of the parks boating, golfing, playing tennis or going horseback riding.
But the Deluxe Magic Plan was truly money well spent for us. If we do it again, we are going to try to schedule even more time outside of the parks.
Moreover, the plan gives you a LOT of food! Be prepared to eat. And eat. And eat. Choose your restaurants carefully to get you the most bang for the buck. (After all, even though it seems "free," you DID pay for the meals.) Enjoy the sit-down restaurants that might normally be out of your range.
There's no doubt that the Deluxe Magic Plan (which will be renamed in 2003 to "Disney's Dream Maker Plan - Gold") was a great choice. We were definitely worried that the plan might not pay for itself. But when we added up all of the meals, the recreation, the Cirque du Soleil tickets and the Ultimate Park Hopper passes, along with the per-night cost of the hotel room, we were very happy with the results. Here's hoping this trip report will help others who are considering purchasing a special plan for their next trip to Walt Disney World!
One final note: Full information on the plans can be found at the disneyworld.com reservations website. Before purchasing our vacation, I spent several hours evaluating the various costs and plan options, something the website makes it very easy to do!
John Singh