At Disney World Now - Observations

[bryanb]

Well, I made it to Disney World. After spending a few days cheering on family in the Disney Duals wrestling competition (at the ESPN Wide World of Sports), I'll be spending a few days in the parks with family and then solo.

If anyone has any questions, I'm happy to answer! Just a few thoughts for people who are planning to come soon:

• Safety and Security - I did have some second thoughts flying out right when the recent violence happened in Orlando. It's such a messed up world we live in. But coming to Disney, I have to say that I do feel safe even among large crowds. The security presence is visible and in full force. Bag checks are actually pretty thorough, but they have more staff on hand than I've seen before, so wait times have been pretty short.
• Crowds - They aren't as bad as I thought they might be for the early summer season.
• Disney Hollywood Studios - I caught the last performance of the Symphony in the Stars fireworks spectacular, before they switch to a new show on Friday. It was my first time seeing it and it was amazing!
• Disney Springs - This is a really nice mall now, feels completely different than it did from even a few months ago. I'm a bit disappointed that they advertise that it's open "late after the parks." We decided to leave Magic Kingdom at midnight and snack at Disney Springs based on this advertisement. It turns out that after midnight, the place is nearly abandoned. Most restaurants close at 10, 11, or 12. Only Splitsville and Raglan Road continued to serve later, but even their kitchens closed early. The fresh new bus plaza at Disney Springs just opened, and it's a lot bigger and more efficient than the last one.

 

[Shellyb84]

Well, I made it to Disney World. After spending a few days cheering on family in the Disney Duals wrestling competition (at the ESPN Wide World of Sports), I'll be spending a few days in the parks with family and then solo.

If anyone has any questions, I'm happy to answer! Just a few thoughts for people who are planning to come soon:

• Safety and Security - I did have some second thoughts flying out right when the recent violence happened in Orlando. It's such a messed up world we live in. But coming to Disney, I have to say that I do feel safe even among large crowds. The security presence is visible and in full force. Bag checks are actually pretty thorough, but they have more staff on hand than I've seen before, so wait times have been pretty short.
• Crowds - They aren't as bad as I thought they might be for the early summer season.
• Disney Hollywood Studios - I caught the last performance of the Symphony in the Stars fireworks spectacular, before they switch to a new show on Friday. It was my first time seeing it and it was amazing!
• Disney Springs - This is a really nice mall now, feels completely different than it did from even a few months ago. I'm a bit disappointed that they advertise that it's open "late after the parks." We decided to leave Magic Kingdom at midnight and snack at Disney Springs based on this advertisement. It turns out that after midnight, the place is nearly abandoned. Most restaurants close at 10, 11, or 12. Only Splitsville and Raglan Road continued to serve later, but even their kitchens closed early. The fresh new bus plaza at Disney Springs just opened, and it's a lot bigger and more efficient than the last one.

I've been wondering about the crowds, if they will be lower due to recent events.

Thanks for the thoughts - Have fun!

 

[bryanb]

I've been wondering about the crowds, if they will be lower due to recent events.

Thanks for the thoughts - Have fun!

It's a good question. I'll bet that a lot of people prepaid for their trips. It's possible that some might have cancelled or rescheduled. I'm guessing there has been a drop in locals coming to the parks. Add that to the fact that it's been ridiculously hot the last few days, according to CMs who say that's even by Orlando standards.

Also, I think Disney had predicted a decrease in tourism this summer already. There are far fewer Brazilian groups scheduled to come this year (probably due to the economy over there), and some hotels aren't as full as they would normally be at this time of year.

I'm guessing recent events might have some effect, but it's just speculation as it seems like there are lots of factors going on.

 

[Shellyb84]

It's a good question. I'll bet that a lot of people prepaid for their trips. It's possible that some might have cancelled or rescheduled. I'm guessing there has been a drop in locals coming to the parks. Add that to the fact that it's been ridiculously hot the last few days, according to CMs who say that's even by Orlando standards.

Also, I think Disney had predicted a decrease in tourism this summer already. There are far fewer Brazilian groups scheduled to come this year (probably due to the economy over there), and some hotels aren't as full as they would normally be at this time of year.

I'm guessing recent events might have some effect, but it's just speculation as it seems like there are lots of factors going on.

I was thinking the same thing about less locals coming in.

I've been checking the weather (is it weird that I check the weather in Orlando pretty much everyday? ), and it's been cooler down there than here in Atlanta!

 

[Klayfish]

We're heading down tonight. Are you running into lots of Brazilian/South American tour groups? Please, nobody take offense...I have no problem with them being there except for they can clog up a standby queue when they all descend on a ride.

How much of HS is closed off now? Does it make for a pain getting around?

 

[doctorintheTARDIS]

We're heading down tonight. Are you running into lots of Brazilian/South American tour groups? Please, nobody take offense...I have no problem with them being there except for they can clog up a standby queue when they all descend on a ride.

How much of HS is closed off now? Does it make for a pain getting around?

I went in January and was surprised by HOW MANY of them there were. As someone who has been going that time of year for the last 23 years... it was so perplexing. I don't ever remember seeing large tour groups all together like that in disney (mostly, I'm guessing, because of the language barrier).
I almost cried when we had a fast pass for space mountain and I was in a hurry to catch something else (I'm not sure what it was at this point) and a group of 200+ people got in front of me. The fast pass line was now the same as the stand by line -___-

 

[wilkeliza]

We're heading down tonight. Are you running into lots of Brazilian/South American tour groups? Please, nobody take offense...I have no problem with them being there except for they can clog up a standby queue when they all descend on a ride.

How much of HS is closed off now? Does it make for a pain getting around?

Just got back on Monday. We had 1 big group that seemed to be in the same park as us every day. They were very very respectful but you are right they did tend to get in line all at once. Seemed more like a big reunion tour group than the typical teen groups. Brazilian super greeters were out and about which is a sign that the groups are there but I'll admit I did not notice them at all.

 

[Accident]

I've been wondering about the crowds, if they will be lower due to recent events.

Thanks for the thoughts - Have fun!

The crowds are higher than they were a few weeks ago and it's ramping up. I think it's going to be a light june though as the discount would suggest since they never do summer discounts.... I'm sure the recent events has some people shying away or nervous enough to move when they want to come.

 

[brooke789]

I was thinking the same thing about less locals coming in.

I've been checking the weather (is it weird that I check the weather in Orlando pretty much everyday? ), and it's been cooler down there than here in Atlanta!

When we drove home on Sunday the temp continually arrived all the way to SC. We ended up at 102. It never got that hot at Disney!

We're heading down tonight. Are you running into lots of Brazilian/South American tour groups? Please, nobody take offense...I have no problem with them being there except for they can clog up a standby queue when they all descend on a ride.

We saw our first BTG. They were no problem other than making the line long. We walked to Splash right at 9am (after 8am EMH) last Friday and the wait ended up being 20 minutes. I wouldn't have gotten in the line (or even headed that way) if I'd realized what had happened. It was basically all one group!

 

[disneyduonj]

Just got back on Monday. We had 1 big group that seemed to be in the same park as us every day. They were very very respectful but you are right they did tend to get in line all at once. Seemed more like a big reunion tour group than the typical teen groups. Brazilian super greeters were out and about which is a sign that the groups are there but I'll admit I did not notice them at all.

What's a super greeter?

 

[Shanti]

I think it's going to be a light june though as the discount would suggest since they never do summer discounts.

They actually had strong resort discounts last summer, as well.

 

[wilkeliza]

What's a super greeter?

Super greeters are from Brazil and are highered just during the high Brazilian tour group times. They speak Portuguese so there is no argument on understanding rules or getting help. They ate the CMs in green polos with the Brazil flag embroidered on them.

 

[bryanb]

We're heading down tonight. Are you running into lots of Brazilian/South American tour groups? Please, nobody take offense...I have no problem with them being there except for they can clog up a standby queue when they all descend on a ride.

How much of HS is closed off now? Does it make for a pain getting around?

I've noticed a few tour groups, but haven't seen any mega groups. I'm sure they're around but all well behaved.

To be honest, I didn't explore too much of Hollywood Studios, just went through from the Fantasmic and Tower of Terror areas to the lakefront. The crowds seemed to be fairly sparse, which was a bit surprising. Maybe the afternoon lightning had scared off enough people and they didn't come back.

 

[bryanb]

I haven't been good at taking a lot of pictures to share, but yesterday every park was giving away Shanghai Disney buttons. Today, the new Soarin attraction opened at Epcot and it has a different ending than the Shanghai version on YouTube!

 

[WEDWDW]

They speak Portuguese so there is no argument on understanding rules

Unless they are talking to the Spanish-speaking Argentina Tour Groups who aren't "excited" about "taking orders" from a Brazilian!lol

 

[SqueakyMouse]

Dd and I have been here since last Saturday (6/11). Crowds have definitely fluctuated throughout the week. Of course, the 10-2 window is by far the busiest (and hottest!). Temperatures also have fluctuated, with most of the week being terribly hot and humid. (Our consolation was that it was even worse at home!) However, the past 2 days have been much more pleasant. Security seems to be a bit uneven, too. Sometimes we've had extremely thorough bag checks; and, other times, our bags haven't been checked at all. It doesn't appear to be influenced by the particular park or the time of day. (We hop around the parks throughout the day.) I will say that the "random selection" to go through the metal detectors has not seemed too "random". (I'll post about this separately) Still, it only takes a couple of extra minutes at most. Fortunately, we haven't seen any tour groups. By early evening, we've been able to walk onto all but the very most popular rides. We've also been able to get FPs for popular attractions on the day experienced (although we've sometimes had to check a couple of times). One word of warning: we've frequently had difficulty accessing MDE to add FPS, ADRs, etc. It's been a common complaint of other guests around us.