Excellence in Execution

I recently participated in the Mighty Men of Mouse spring Disney attraction draft. Each of 15 teams drafted elements of a 2-day trip for @Litemandhyde’s family, which consists of Brian, his wife, a 5-year-old daughter, and an infant son. Each team had to draft 12 Disney World attractions or experiences, 6 meals, and 1 resort. Once drafted, an item could not be drafted by another team. The teams also had $1,000 to spend; each meal and the basic studio room at a resort were essentially “free,” but room upgrades and any attraction or experience cost (e.g., cost of a tour) had to be paid for by this $1,000. The actual rules were more complex, befitting a contest organized by an attorney and featuring several attorney participants.

Full draft results here. Round-by-round recap of my draft is here. Pretty fly for a Jedi's team summary is here. This post explains my goals and analyzes the results.

Goals:

1.  Focus on the daughter. It’s a two-day trip; we’re not doing anything the daughter can’t do. What kind of selfish drafter would choose to spend 1 of his 2 nights at Victoria & Albert’s while the daughter languishes back at the hotel room watching cartoons with a stranger?

2.  Go heavy on attractions. 2 main reasons for this: (1) In this draft, there would be more attractions and fewer restaurants and resorts than were drafted in the previous MMOM draft. I bet at least some who used the results of that draft won’t sufficiently appreciate the differences. (2) I know naps are important, but on a 2-day trip we’re going to be spending as much time as possible touring instead of lounging around a room or waiting for the 5^th course at V&A to arrive.

3.  Celebrate Diversity. I wanted to get a bunch of different kinds of attractions, paying special attention to shallow categories (e.g., nighttime spectaculars, parades).

4.  Get a good pool, but the actual room isn’t that important. Based on what we know about Brian and family from the podcasts, a good pool is essential. And so the two resorts sharing Stormalong Bay were 1 and 2 on my draft list. But 2 days isn’t really long enough that a family starts getting stir-crazy in small quarters. The room is place to sleep, nap, and shower. If I need some chill-out time, I can go hang out by the pool.

Results:

How well did I execute my plan? Well, I ended up with a pretty darn good draft—but as the title of my recap post indicates, I failed to get a good meet-and-greet with a princess. I stuck to my heavy attraction plan, and my six first picks were all attractions. Of those six, three (Splash Mountain, Festival of the Lion King, Muppet*Vision 3d) were specifically mentioned by Brian or his daughter in a positive light. And of the other three, one may be the most popular ride in the World (judging by waiting times - Toy Story Midway Mania), one was one of only two parades taken and was complimented on the most recent E-Ticket Report (Festival of Fantasy), and I’m fairly certain the daughter would enjoy the other, getting the works at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

I also like the diversity in my draft. I got:

a.    thrill rides (Splash Mountain, Mission Space)

b.    boat rides (Splash Mountain, Friendship Boats)

c.    interactive rides or experiences (Toy Story, Agent P, Bibbidi Bobbidi)

d.    a parade (Festival of Fantasy)

e.    live shows (Festival of Lion King, Cirque du Soleil),

f.     a playground (Boneyard – have you ever overestimated how much time your kids would want to spend at a playground at Disney?)

g.    a nice air-conditioned theater show (Muppet*Vision 3D)

h.    sweet souvenirs for the whole family (MMOM T-shirts) 

Artist's Rendition

I did not get a nice story-telling dark ride, unless you count Splash Mountain, and I didn’t get any meet-and-greets. Brian listed meet-and-greets as his lowest priority, and I thought other teams wasted picks at the end of the draft taking greets with some of the minor characters. Still, my biggest regret was not taking Meet Ariel at Ariel’s Grotto when still available in the tenth round. I make up for it by shelling out for the premium Castle Package at Bibbidi Bobbidi, though, and the daughter isn’t going to have to spend any time crying as she waits for the adults to get back from a ride or experience she can’t do—no Dolphins in Depth tours or Victoria & Albert’s here.  

My second biggest regret was not getting a nighttime spectacular. But I took Cirque du Soleil, which is a pretty great way to end a night and which I thought was particularly valuable in this format. This show is universally praised, though I don’t personally know anyone who has actually seen it—it’s expensive and there’s so much else to do while you’re at Disney World. But in this draft, there isn’t much else to do (because other teams have drafted so many other options), and I hope Brian appreciates the chance to do something different.

I’ve never seen the pool at Kidani Village, but touring plans gives it 4.5 stars, which places it behind only Stormalong Bay and ahead of resorts like Bay Lake Tower and Polynesian. Of the other resorts with 4.5 star pools, arguably only the Grand Floridian (drafted twelfth overall) is a superior resort, though I’d also prefer Wilderness Lodge (#2 overall pick). Animals are fun, and I was happy to get Kidani in the seventh round. I upgrade to a spacious 807 square foot 1-bedroom villa for Brian and family.

As for dining, I hope Brian's family is like my family and wouldn’t want to have more than one table service meal per day. And though I waited a long time, I still got one fun sit-down dinner at Raglan Road and one fancyish dinner at Boatyard. Boatyard was a great value in the 14^th and from early reviews appears to have great food and atmosphere, and its high prices shouldn’t be a factor in this draft format. I know the daughter likes Pizza Planet, and the rest are places I’d like to take my family.

In the end, my diverse collection of experiences overcomes any shortcomings of the draft, and I bet Brian would be delighted with this itinerary.