2012 was a good Disney year here at Nerds and Wonderland. Between my 3 trips to the World with CP and my side visits while visiting Florida for business, we logged a total 23 days in the parks -not bad for New England residents!  2012 was an interesting year to spend so much time in the parks. Between New Fantasyland, the reopening of Test Track, and a few Disney bucket list items completed, there was a lot to see and do. Here are a few of our favorite things from the year – as well as a few things we didn’t like:

Yay!

The new Big Top Souvenirs, a surprisingly pleasant shopping experience.

New Fantasyland

As I sit here in chilly New England behind a desk, it’s easy to mount an intellectual and economic critique against New Fantasyland. Largest expansion in WDW’s history? I don’t buy it. For all of this effort, we get a new restaurant, an expanded Dumbo and a water play area, quick service snack location, and some meet and greets? On paper, it doesn’t justify the displacement of classic attractions or the egregious outlay of money. That said, when you see it in person…it’s special, I have to admit.  While the food at Be Our Guest didn’t bowl me over, it’s a marked improvement over much Magic Kingdom food, and the themeing of the restaurant both inside and out is flawless.  Under the Sea is, to me, a fitting nod to the classic Disney dark ride of yore (that it’s a carbon copy from California is a gripe for another day).  Storybook Circus is immersive and cheerful and feels like a part of the park that should have been there all along. Big Top Souvenirs is easily one of Disney’s most successful themed retail locations. Do I think New Fantasyland is all WDW needs in the way of capital investment? Far from it. But I’ll take the expansion as a good first step, and a reminder of the skilled marriage of design and whimsy that Imagineering is capable of giving us.

Wilderness, now with less tacky.

An Updated Wilderness Lodge

If you’ve ever spent any time on the disboards.com website, you might have come across this classic thread about ugly Disney bedspreads. One of the worst offenders on the list came from the Wilderness Lodge, a resort whose public spaces I’ve always loved, but whose rooms I’ve abhorred. Western-themed Motel 6 quality bedspreads and cheesy wallpaper borders never did it for me, especially when I was being asked to pay Deluxe rack rates to stay there. This year the Wilderness Lodge rooms underwent an extensive refurbishment, removing all the tacky while still retaining some Disney charm. Yes, the rooms are smaller than at other Deluxes, but we found our room to be comfortable, nicely appointed, and (mostly) befitting the Deluxe price tag. The public areas and many amenities can’t be beat, either, especially if you’re like us and enjoy easy access to the Magic Kingdom.  I have a feeling we’ll be back to the Wilderness Lodge for another Christmas trip, but we might just make it our resort of choice. Unless…

Coming up: DVC at the Grand Floridian

DVC Might Make Sense After All

I’m the first to admit my long-held skepticism about the Disney Vacation Club, indeed about timeshare opportunities just generally. On our September trip, however, a guide convinced us to take a DVC tour – quite honestly, we mostly did it because they were willing to throw in a $100 gift card for an hour of our time.  I went in with a steely resolve to ask our guide all the hardball questions I could think of, confident I could break him down and prove it wasn’t a good deal. I…was wrong. Our guide – in addition to being friendly and low pressure – was incredibly knowledgeable, and was more than willing to spend an hour and a half with us breaking the numbers down on paper. Every question we had was deftly answered. Although we haven’t purchased yet, I’m not only prepared to say DVC is a good deal for us, but a better deal for us to buy through Disney than through resale. Clearly your mileage may vary (if you mostly want to stay at Value resorts, for instance, you probably won’t get your money’s worth out of DVC), but if you’re at all on the fence about checking it out, don’t be – you might be like us and be pleasantly surprised.

Grilled pork tenderloin and goat cheese polenta, Califonia Grill.

Alternatives to Signature Dining

2012 gave us many Disney adventures in eating. Between Food and Wine,  using the Tables in Wonderland card, trying out the Deluxe Dining Plan, and staying club level twice, we’ve played around with numerous ways to eat well and still save money.  Our most surprising – and pleasing! – find has been several wonderful meals that are significantly cheaper (and often tastier) than  those requiring you to out the big bucks for a signature meal. Our hands-down favorite is Via Napoli, for just about every reason imaginable. The service has been impeccable. The appetizers, pizza, desserts, and drinks we’ve had have been delicious and very fresh. The portions are ample and easy to share, and with Tables in Wonderland, we’ve had meals here to remember for a fraction of the price we’ve paid for signature meals.  Our runner-up favorite restaurant is The Wave, a hidden gem at The Contemporary that is a great option for breakfast or dinner. The menu is inventive, the ingredients local and fresh, and the price is definitely right.  When we combine these new finds with our old favorites (The Plaza, Kona Cafe for breakfast), we find we can eat well without utterly breaking the bank.

Look – real audio animatronics! Also, if you squint really hard, you can see REAL BACKSTAGE EPCOT. (Call Perez Hilton!)

Epcot’s UnDISCOVERed Future World Tour

I have written about this more extensively here, but it deserves a second mention – this tour was excellent. I consider myself a pretty knowledgable Epcot fan, but I learned plenty of new tidbits and saw lots of great things on this tour.  Unlike tours at the Magic Kingdom, I think you get a far more extensive backstage experience at Epcot. There’s no lunch served on this tour, but the reserved IllumiNations viewing area is a nice perk. Don’t think twice: do this tour and let me know what you think.

Nay.

Standing around at the Jungle Cruise.

Magic Kingdom’s Keys to the Kingdom Tour

On the subject of behind-the-scenes tours, let’s talk about the letdown that was KTTK.  It may have been our lackluster guide, but I can’t imagine a better guide could have completely salvaged this snooze fest. While the tour might appeal to complete Disney neophytes, for anyone with a bit of park knowledge it may just be a bore. Most of the information given on the tour I had already read in books or online, and the backstage aspects of the tour were pretty underwhelming.

This is what $400+ per night gets you at the Contemporary.

Highway Robbery on the Monorail Line

As part of our September trip we spent a few nights at the Contemporary in celebration of my birthday.  I’ve long loved the Contemporary and still love its history, its amenities, and its restaurants, but I can’t get behind the rack rates.  For upwards of $400 a night, Disney really ought to maintain higher housekeeping and maintenance standards in the rooms than they are currently doing.  We had a similar problem at the Polynesian last December, leading me to the conclusion that the monorail resorts just aren’t for me – at least right now. I’m curious to see how the Polynesian’s room refurbishment turns out, but for now, I’ll be sticking with the Wilderness Lodge, BoardWalk, and Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Creme brulee (good), mango shooter (good if you like disgusting things), tiramisu (excellent), peanut butter chocolate tart (dry and disappointing)

Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party

I know I am in a tiny minority on this one, but we’ve now done the Wishes dessert party twice and have been twice disappointed. While the fireworks view is indeed nice, the lackluster desserts and crowds of unruly children (and adults!) left me a bit grumpy. There are a lot of other things I could do with fifty bucks, and it’s not that hard to watch Wishes elsewhere and get a good view.

Shiny but lacking substance.

Test Track 2.0

Maybe I need more than one ride on Test Track to form a more nuanced opinion, but my first impression was a decided “meh.” The design activity at the beginning only serves to lengthen lines, especially as it isn’t well incorporated into the actual ride. While I’ll grant that the TRON-like aesthetics are very sharp, I find myself missing the cohesive storyline that framed Test Track 1.0. Given that 2.0’s track is exactly the same as the first Test Track, I found myself reminded more than I’d like of better days on a better ride.

Declining by degrees, perhaps.

Out With the Old, In With the New

This is really a topic for a much longer post, but the long story short is that it’s hard to watch Disney chase after first-time visitors so aggressively while neglecting a very dedicated and generous base of annual passholders, Florida residents, and repeat visitors.  Uninformed first-time visitors mean visitors who are likely to make uninformed (and thus more expensive) choices about tickets, accommodations, and food, and so I do understand why this is an attractive market segment. But for a company whose goodwill is built on the positive childhood memories of so many of us, relegating repeat visitors to second-class citizens stings a bit. More than a bit.  As passholder prices go up, discounts go down, and park show/quality noticeably declines, it becomes harder and harder to justify the spending of hard-earned dollars at a place that would rather I be a first-time visitor from Latin America than a 100th-time visitor from the Midwest. The impending implementation of FastPass+ is only the most recent example in a long and disappointing line of changes that prioritize the new visitor over the old.