Well 1st of all it rained for like 4 days. 1 day it rained all day. That's not by any means a fault of Disney's, but all the same it really did put a damper on many of our plans. Of all my past trips to Disney at this same exact time of year we never had not even 1 day of rain. This trip more than made up for it. It wasn't just a passing shower or thunderstorm...it was all day gloomy steady and pouring rain ! UGH ! Ok beyond that...rides we waited in line for either closed, such as test track. Got fast passes. Waited 3 hrs for our time. Went back and fast pass line was slammed. Waited yet another hour and 10 min...our turn next, CLOSED! Ok, again b/c of rain but they couldn't even offer you another fast pass for the next day?!!! Haunted Mansion broke down twice. 1st nite at MK was stuck for 20 while inside waiting to board. We got out of there and never rode it b/c I am claustrophobic !!!!!!!! Next day DH and DGD go back and it breaks down while they are riding it! Splash Mtn. kept stopping in the middle of the ride, not briefly but for like 10 min at a time, 3 different times! And nonetheless right before the big drop! They sat and waited quite a bit again...ruined the whole excitement of the ride. Winnie the pooh broke down while in line too. Now the lines for rides were not short by any means. We would not have even been able to ride Toy Story if some kind man didn't hand us his 3 fastpasses. I have never had to deal with such crowds at Disney! Every big ride had such a long wait ! Ridiculous. We hardly rode anything all week esp. compared to other years. In the past most rides, even the "main" ones were only a 20-25 min wait ! This is no longer a moderate time of year. It was sooo crowded at times we just went back to the resort. Droves of cheerleader competitors and their friends and families, local schools had their class trips. Too many of them IMO ! Parks were filled with so many teens it was like an invasion....not kidding!
I talked to a manager at the front desk at POLY and told him my complaints. He totally agreed with me. Said that this was usually a really good time of year to visit the parks, even him as a local and an employee "used" to love this time of year to bring their families. He then said what is happening is Disney has recognized all their "slower" times and has been trying to fill in all the gaps over the entire year by either offering the general public discounts or esp. by giving tremendous discounts to the competitors, dance, cheerleaders, sports etc. Not only to the competitor their self, but to any one who travels with them. He told me they get some really great deals. So now Disney will try and fill the place to capacity all year long!
It was just too crowded for us. Wait lines extreme, everywhere you went crowds were uncomfortable. I have been there only 6 times before, but this was the worst I have experienced. We always had the perfect trip up until now. Our last trip before this was in 08. It was great. Low wait times, walk up to most any restaurant, character or not and get seated within 5-10 min. w/o adr's ! The free dining plan has ruined that. And if people figure it out, the dining plan is NOT worth it. At least not for a family of 3. Maybe those with lots of kids I haven't figured that out yet, but for us Disney would have gotten even more of our money. They make it sound so spectacular but we would have lost money on that and yet you have to practically order what they tell you. No thanks !
Bad Disney experience for us. So bad DH says no more! With spending almost $9000. we could have had a few vacations elsewhere without all the hassle we had to go thru. I really looked forward to this trip, esp staying at the POLY and all the money spent we should have left with smiles on our faces....It really has been a disappointment!
Maybe he just needs to calm down a bit but it really wasn't a good trip, esp considering the cost $$$$ ! He feels our money would have been better spent elsewhere Parks were a disaster ! IMO anyway...
Just too bad it's about to change.
Disney is going to ruin a good thing IMO. There's so much undeveloped ground there...why ruin the resorts as they are. DVC is not going to make things better at these resorts that's for sure. Build elsewhere ! Say goodbye to quiet peacefulness of the POLY. I'm so glad I got to experience it before they ruin it.
Cute, cute, cute!
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