Just back - some observations.

We were there last week. Did Mon-Fri, DHS-MK-MK-AK-EP. I posted another thread about staying on script for info about the order of the parks, but generally we stuck with Josh's tips from easywdw.

1. We love this time of year. For those who don't think there's still slow times, try going the first week of Feb. There were some cheerleaders, but frankly, they were kinda fun, and we never felt like they bogged things down. We saw posted Mine Train waits of 20 minutes. I gotta think that's pretty uncommon during the busy times. For the record, we also saw posted IASW waits of 40 minutes, so anything is possible, but we never waited for anything more than 20 minutes, and rode everything major multiple times.

2. CMs - I'd read some things about them before leaving, so I was paying attention. There were some that were indifferent, some should not have had roles in things like ETWB or Crush cuz they plain couldn't "act", but for every one like that, we found several that were just awesome - big waves, comments to our girls in their strollers like "look! a carriage of princesses!", great characters, waitresses, photographers, etc. My general comment on CMs is that they are plain awesome.

3. BOG Early Morning - This is just magical. Such a neat atmosphere. And with the 8:30 reservation we had, we still got let into the park at 7:45, got to the restaurant by 8:00, food by 8:15, and out by 8:35. No rush required. We explored the castle, read some neat facts about it while waiting for food, thoroughly enjoyed the meal, and this earned us 3 trips on Mine Train with zero wait.

4. Crystal Palace Meal - Also great. If you're fam is into Winnie, it doesn't get better. Food here is mediocre, but the experience is great. My nephew told Tigger he could jump higher than him, and, well.....I'll leave the fun experience to you, but if you go, give it a whirl.

5. Staying off site - we were at Windsor Hills. This place is a good option. So much room for our group of 7, 3 kids and 4 adults. It took 30 minutes from when the shuttle showed up each morning, until we were at the park entrance. It was 1/4 the price of on-site. Had a private pool, and also a huge community pool with slide, game room, private pirate movie theater, fitness center. The owner we had obviously didn't love his unit like it was his home - the paint was a bit sloppy in places, and the carpet was nailed down a bit weird on the steps, but it was clean, modern, and convenient. We'll do this again for sure.

6. Compared to DLR - I really keep looking for a reason to say one is better than the other, but I can't do it. If I were forced at gunpoint, I'd probably choose DLR, but its dependent on what you're looking for. Nothing is as immersive and completely separate from reality as WDW. For that, I love it. I like DLR for the convenience of getting there, the easier walking, the density of rides, the originality, Carland, and Toon Town. But WDW's unique parks, Disney Springs, resorts, and transportation options are amazing. We'll continue to visit both places.

7. FP+ - okay, its obvious that this is making standby lines longer. HM had waits all day. IASW had waits. Living with the Land even had a wait. I mean, there's no questioning those things. However, I really liked FP+. I like not having to have an FP runner. I like knowing what my day is gonna look like well in advance. I like adding the extra FPs - we never lacked for FPs. I like managing things from the app. And we were totally fine not getting them until 30 days out. Granted, it was low time, so surely that played into it. But I was generally happy with it. I think if they make it so you don't have to depend on the kiosk for extras, it'd be a lot better.

8. Memory Maker - are you kidding? This is worth every penny. The videos you get and the photos automatically uploading to your phone. The great magic shots. Man, we just thought it was awesome. We bought magic bands, and were glad we did. That combo of bands and MM is the way to go. We loved grabbing the photographers and doing silly photo shoots. We got amazing pics. The ride pics and character pics are priceless. If you're on the fence - let this tilt you over - get it!

ETA 9. Wishes viewing - we found that the sidewalks and bridges AROUND the Hub were packed tight. But the streets and center of the hub were easily navigated and great viewing spots were abundant. I wanted to grab some of the people packed in like sardines, and tell them to come stand with us! On our second night, we viewed from Fantasyland. Awesome experience for your 2nd viewing. We laid on the ground (yep, sure did) with our heads facing the castle. Talk about immersion. We had no idea the fireworks were shot off from the two locations, and this spot gives you a whole new perspective (albeit with some ash in your eye - lol). Both locations were great, and we didn't hold spots at all - just showed up a few minutes before and enjoyed the shows.

I'll think of other stuff and add to this later. Enjoy

We used to always go the first week of Feb and it was always very slow. It is a fabulous time to go. I like the cooler temps as opposed to the heat and crippling humidity of the summer.

Love hearing about BOG, we may try the early morning breakfast next trip!

100% agree wih #6, after being a lifelong WDW goer and going to DL for my first time last august. You just can't compare them, they are apples to oranges, in all the best ways!

I love hearing such a positive review! Thanks for your thoughts - sounds like you and your family had a great trip!

Thanks for a great review! Happy to hear you had a great trip! I'm no fan of BoG, but I do love 7DMT and I think I will try that early AM ADR on my September trip. And this has pushed me over the edge for Memory Maker as well.

Thanks for sharing.

Our kids LOVED getting the magic shots!

Glad to hear about MM. We're doing it this trip. It's about what we pay for family photos and we only get 10 digital images. I think we'll get a lot more with MM!

Our upcoming May visit to the World will be the fourth time in a row that we've used the Memory Maker.
We get hundreds of pictures during the week long stays.
Not only is it worth every penny but, I actually get to be in the pictures!!!!!!

This is great, thank you! We have an early ADR at BOG...really hoping they don't change the park opening time from 9am-8am but I'm not holding my breath! It would be awesome if it stays the same though and we can sneak a ride or two in before the masses.

We are also staying off site for the first time (going with extended family who wanted to share a large house). Did you find the days long? Did you go back for a mid day break? We usually always take 2pm-5pm off to go back for naps/swim but it sounds a lot more complicated to do when staying off site. I'm only really worried about one MK day, when we want to do BOG for breakfast and then see wishes at night. Might be a long exhausting day!

Minniemoo15 said:

This is great, thank you! We have an early ADR at BOG...really hoping they don't change the park opening time from 9am-8am but I'm not holding my breath! It would be awesome if it stays the same though and we can sneak a ride or two in before the masses.

We are also staying off site for the first time (going with extended family who wanted to share a large house). Did you find the days long? Did you go back for a mid day break? We usually always take 2pm-5pm off to go back for naps/swim but it sounds a lot more complicated to do when staying off site. I'm only really worried about one MK day, when we want to do BOG for breakfast and then see wishes at night. Might be a long exhausting day!

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There were some days when we could have used the break, but didn't want to pay for the shuttle to do the extra trip. So, instead we slowed way down and did Philharmagic, Carousel of Progress, Train ride around the park, etc. We typically did this around 2 pm right up until 4 or so. Then we'd hit a ride, and have dinner. By the time dinner was over, our family was ready to rock the evening!

ETA: If we'd been a smaller group with one car that we'd driven, the mid-day breaks would have been a breeze. But since we didn't drive, we were kinda stuck unless we paid for the shuttle again. So we had to take our breaks in-park, if you know what I'm sayin'.

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like a great vacation. Glad there were so many positives.

If I had known how expensive it would be to purchase individual photos, I definitely would've paid the $150 for Memory Maker before leaving. I figured I may buy a handful of pictures, but had no idea they'd be $15 each just to be able to download! Next time I will purchase in advance, for sure.

Great fun!!!

Excellent report. Thanks. And I just wanted to point out one thing:

starjazz said:

1. For those who don't think there's still slow times, try going the first week of Feb. There were some cheerleaders, but frankly, they were kinda fun, and we never felt like they bogged things down. We saw posted Mine Train waits of 20 minutes. I gotta think that's pretty uncommon during the busy times.

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starjazz said:

2. I like adding the extra FPs - we never lacked for FPs.

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Unfortunately, #2 follows from #1. The larger standby waits are something that is a constant every day of the year. Unfortunately, those can only be truly avoided by way of extra FPs on slower days. The rest of the time when crowds are bigger, guests have no choice but to endure many of those longer lines that FP+ hath wrought. This is what causes most of the complaints. On slower days when one can get Fast Passes "on demand" for immediate use, it is the greatest thing since sliced bread. But on more crowded days when pickings are slim, everyone must get in standby waits that are longer than they remember from previous trips and they get bummed.

JimmyV said:

Excellent report. Thanks. And I just wanted to point out one thing:
Unfortunately, #2 follows from #1. The larger standby waits are something that is a constant every day of the year. Unfortunately, those can only be truly avoided by way of extra FPs on slower days. The rest of the time when crowds are bigger, guests have no choice but to endure many of those longer lines that FP+ hath wrought. This is what causes most of the complaints. On slower days when one can get Fast Passes "on demand" for immediate use, it is the greatest thing since sliced bread. But on more crowded days when pickings are slim, everyone must standby waits that are longer than they remember from previous trips and they get bummed.

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I think if I were going during a busier time, I'd be more inclined to dislike FP+. However, I think if you went early and knocked out half of the e-ticket rides in the morning before the huge crowds showed up, and then utilized FP+ in the afternoon when its a zoo, you'd still have good success. Once your 3 are up in the afternoon, I'd be doing the lesser attractions (which is what we did anyway, because they often are good for relaxing), then dinner, the shows, and then the late night rides again with presumably lower wait times. Or I'd be more into mid-afternoon swim breaks to avoid crowds. But I feel ya - we go during this time of year because we know it affords smaller lines, and for us, that is a very important factor.

starjazz said:

Once your 3 are up in the afternoon, I'd be doing the lesser attractions (which is what we did anyway, because they often are good for relaxing)..., the shows,

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Since the more crowded times often correspond to the hottest times, we employ the "go to shows" strategy to get us out of the heat. Even though the big theater shows (like Lion King and Nemo) accept FP, you rarely need one, and they make for great options in the afternoon heat.

Generally agree with most except for #7. Attractions have fixed capacity. It doesn't matter if you get on with a FP+ or a Standby, capacity doesn't change. It wasn't the function of FP+ that changed the standby lines it was the usage of FP+ vs legacy FP. I just read a report that the number of folks using FP+ who never used legacy FP is a big number. The reason there were superusers of the legacy FP system was because the average guest was not using it and there were plenty of FP to get throughout the day. Now that the average guest is using FP+ naturally the lines will shift. AND there is no denying that attendance has grown every year and much bigger crowds affect lines.

Sounds like you had a great trip!

Awnry said:

If I had known how expensive it would be to purchase individual photos, I definitely would've paid the $150 for Memory Maker before leaving. I figured I may buy a handful of pictures, but had no idea they'd be $15 each just to be able to download! Next time I will purchase in advance, for sure.

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I agree that its not overly clear before you go. There's another thread asking about Memory Maker. One other thing I enjoyed was adding borders and zooming in or out on my pics. I could make several different printables from one photograph, and thought that was pretty cool.

Glad you had a great time. Is the weather warm enough to swim? We are all fishes and need pool time. Lol

I'm a photographer (amateur ) so I don't do MM, don't like "staged" shots.

Great report!