First Experience Yesterday

MattsPrincess · May 24, 2015

Overall, we had a good time. One day at MK. Were pulling up on the ferry as they started letting people in at 9am. Took a mid-day break to eat and have a drink at Poly. Stayed until after 1am close.

Really liked the Magic Band thing. We felt like it made everything really easy and convenient.

The crowds felt unbearable at times. Even a little before the 1am close time, Peter Pan was still 40+ minutes and SDMT was over an hour. I knew it would be crowded, but I guess I was expecting it to die down at least a little bit after the fireworks or 11pm parade. Nope.

I walked away a little disenchanted, feeling like we didn't get to do very much at all. However, we're still planning to give the MNSSHP a try in September.

LaurenT · May 24, 2015

The Saturday of memorial day weekend. A 9 on Josh's crowd calendar in one of the parks he expressly recommends you avoid. Even the recommended parks would be crowded, Magic Kingdom was understandably packed.
Also, the veterans say that wait times are inflated late at night. If the posted time says 40, it was probably closer to 20.

TwizzleMouse · May 24, 2015

Def go in Sept and experience MNSSHP. IDK if you have any other MK days planned for that trip, but wait times are fantastic that time of year (our fave to go then). Also, as far as this recent trip was concerned, which a PP pointed out because it was a holiday weekend and it was MK, it was crazy busy.

mom2rtk · May 24, 2015

LaurenT said:
The Saturday of memorial day weekend. A 9 on Josh's crowd calendar in one of the parks he expressly recommends you avoid. Even the recommended parks would be crowded, Magic Kingdom was understandably packed.
Also, the veterans say that wait times are inflated late at night. If the posted time says 40, it was probably closer to 20.

Just a typical June Saturday. 3 of the 4 Saturdays in June are rated 9. The other is 8.

Saturday is probably always "not recommended" in the MK because it has PM EMH.

midnightlouise · May 24, 2015

Oh yeah, Memorial Day weekend is a killer! We were there for the holiday weekend a few years ago and it was brutal. Totally feel that pain. But the good news is that even with the party, it should be a lot less hectic this fall. Crossing my fingers for you!

larryz · May 25, 2015

More importantly, OP, where did you get your drink at the Poly... Trader Sam's?

MattsPrincess · May 25, 2015

Lol, yeah we sat out on the patio at Trader Sam's. Had a mojito, a tiki tiki tiki tiki tiki rum, and a headhunter sushi roll.

Lisa loves Pooh · May 25, 2015

MattsPrincess said:
Overall, we had a good time. One day at MK. Were pulling up on the ferry as they started letting people in at 9am. Took a mid-day break to eat and have a drink at Poly. Stayed until after 1am close.

Really liked the Magic Band thing. We felt like it made everything really easy and convenient.

The crowds felt unbearable at times. Even a little before the 1am close time, Peter Pan was still 40+ minutes and SDMT was over an hour. I knew it would be crowded, but I guess I was expecting it to die down at least a little bit after the fireworks or 11pm parade. Nope.

I walked away a little disenchanted, feeling like we didn't get to do very much at all. However, we're still planning to give the MNSSHP a try in September.

Crowds were predicted to be quite high yesterday. We were at AK yesterday and--holy sea of people! I am not a crowds person. And had that been my first experience, I would have been disenchanted. While I don't plan by the crowd calendar, I do preview the free ones just to get an idea if what to expect for the park and day we chose.

Knowing crowds would be bad, knowing We would be arriving late--I knew what to expect and could roll with it. We did end up leaving early as if was hit and we hit all we planned. (9am-2ish PM, hit EE, Kali, Dinosaur, lunch, Triceratops Spin, and Primevil Whirl. Part of our group arrived about 15 minutes before we did and hit Safari. We had to skip those plans.)

Just an FYI, the Halloween party can also become disenchanting. We have had a great time doing the parade, trick or treating, and rides. We arrive at 4 for a head start. We skip the characters as those lines are quite long and take up valuable time. Just not possible to do all the festivities and rides in one night. Make sure you read up on other experiences and suggestions that will help you to maximize what you would like to do.

Jadyreen1282 · May 25, 2015

Lesson learned. We never go during peak. Never will. Remember this day.

mom2rtk · May 25, 2015

Jadyreen1282 said:
Lesson learned. We never go during peak. Never will. Remember this day.

We are "never go in peak season" people. But we're about to go to the MK on one of those non-recommended Saturdays in June. When you live half way across the country and find that you'll be in the area, sometimes you find yourself doing things you wouldn't ordinarily have chosen. :beach:

ArwenMarie · May 25, 2015

Ugh, I so dislike those days where you feel like you got nothing done. It's not even about being ignorant about crowd levels, we've gone on high crowd days and came out feeling like we had a good time and then other days, for a myriad of reasons, just don't come together right.

Hopefully your next trip will be better!

Josh Hendy · May 25, 2015

Ever since at least 2004, the Unofficial Guide has recommended visiting at slower times of the year but they said if you choose to visit at a very busy time, "don't worry".

The Disney folks ... feeling bad about those long, long lines and nearly impossible touring conditions on packed holidays, compensate their patrons with a no-less-than-incredible array of first-rate live entertainment and happenings.

Is that still the case? Would you use the terms "incredible" and "first rate" ? Other than an extra scheduled parade and fireworks show per day, is there really such a dazzling array of "happenings"?

villainj · May 25, 2015

We are lucky to have been able to go in the "non-busy" times of the year. That is what makes things like Food and Wine fest so appealing is that you can actually enjoy it! But as far as rides go, new rides like mine train will always be busy, that is just part of it.

joannamet · May 25, 2015

That's when PH is worth it. When the crowd starts to affect the fun we hop to Epcot and stroll WS. Get our mojo back.

MattsPrincess · May 25, 2015

This trip was very last minute (decided to go two days ahead of time!) so I'm sure that had a lot to do with it to. We met several characters and rode at least 7 rides. I'd have liked to ride SDMT and Buzz, and to have met Minnie, but beyond that no regrets. Knowing we had no planning ahead of time (except FP+) I wasn't expecting a LOT, just was hoping crowds would thin out towards the end of the night. I was also told by a few on here that since it was the day after the 24 hour party, the morning would/should be pretty low, but it wasn't.

I think my main complaint, honestly, was the attitude of the other guests. Lots of very unhappy and inconsiderate people. Including a handful of very brash/ruse CM's. Cest la vie. We have every intention of going back, just with a little more warning from here out! lol

LumosQ102 · May 25, 2015

Its funny, we were in WDW for Memorial Day last year and don't remember it being that bad, a little busy sure but not unmanageable. Are the crowds that much larger this year?

larryz · May 25, 2015

Josh Hendy said:
Is that still the case? Would you use the terms "incredible" and "first rate" ? Other than an extra scheduled parade and fireworks show per day, is there really such a dazzling array of "happenings"?

(Walt Disney) World's best lumberjack show in Epcot, eh.

kandb · May 25, 2015

Just curious OP, when you go to a park for a day, do you buy single day tickets for your family? I just wonder, if we went as a family for "the day" it would cost us around $550 (family of 5). I couldn't imagine paying that much for a crowded hot park with long lines, even if it is Disney.

MattsPrincess · May 25, 2015

We did get just single day tickets, but it's just the two of us. We spent a little over 200 on the tickets. We're also on the road to deciding if we want AP's or not, so we were using this as a learning/recon day.

klitteral2009 · May 25, 2015

We just returned from a short last minute trip over the holiday weekend and I must say we had a different experience entirely! Although crowds were large, I definitely wouldn't call them unmanageable. Now we were two adults (kids stayed at home this trip) and were able to do as we pleased with PH's, but we spent the majority of the day Saturday (after the 24hr event) in the MK and did everything we wanted. We even returned after our dinner reservation and changing clothes, to close MK on Sunday at 3 and it was like a ghost town almost! Same for AK and Epcot. We did stay away from DHS as I didn't even want to try and navigate that madness for one ride but overall it was great! Of course YMMV because we all tour differently and have different expectations as far as what's expected.

First Experience Yesterday

A Most Peculiar Mademoiselle

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Mouseketeer

Invented the term "Characterpalooza"

steady rollin' woman

Rogue Five

A Most Peculiar Mademoiselle

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

Invented the term "Characterpalooza"

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

Earning My Ears

DIS Veteran

A Most Peculiar Mademoiselle

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Rogue Five

DIS Veteran

A Most Peculiar Mademoiselle

Mouseketeer

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