Here since Mon evening- crowds not bad (so far)

[jina]

thanks to whoever posted last summer about the parks not being bad the week before the 4th. We went last Aug during the mid-August week which started the 9am regular open, then a few days before Xmas, then for tinkerbell 1/2 weekend in May, and now. This visit we have done so much with the 8am regular open and even the evenings have been fine compared to our other visits. We have 1 1/2 more days so maybe the crowds will start but I am so glad we picked this week for our summer visit.


Here is what we've been able to do so far.

Mon-- dinner at Jazz Kitchen then over to DCA for an art class (Sully) then dancing at mad T before back to hotel to shower and sleep- we came from 2 days of camping on big sur w limited access to water so showering was a higher priority than rides :-;

tues- regular open at DL- through gates at 7:56, at rope right at 8. Did PP AP preview (thanks to disboards poster!) then I grabbed Indy FPs while DH and DD went to BTMRR- we rode it twice- nearly walk on. Then did POC, HM, Splash and Pooh. Time for Indy Fp return but it's down. Did treehouse. Indy still down. Did island. Indy back up-'did Indy. 10 min Late for 11:20am Carnation adr- no problem they have not started lunch service yet. Got 10 min browsing at Emporium before buzzer went off. Nice lunch then some Nuttles for me, ice cream for DD and DH next door. Back to hotel to do a load of laundry and play. Decided to do dinner off site then bed.

Wed (yesterday)- through gates at 7:56, at rope during intro announcement. On first astro boasters ride the star tours, buzz and nemo. Stood in Autopia line for 3 min which was not moving so we bailed- was 9am so went to toon town. No wait to meet Pluto and Goofy. Did roger walk on, visited all the houses except Micky (we are doing scavenger hunt tour tomorrow which is supposed to include it) then hung out and ate snacks (fresh mango from fruit stand was soon good). Then DD5 wandered around going on all the play vehicles while DH and I watched and relaxed. The on the toontown coaster 4x walk on. Then sttodm3 min at storybook boats which was not moving (looked like 30 min wait) so we bailed.' Did carousel, Pinocchio and walked through castle. First visit since DD has progressed to 1st grade reader so she loved reading all the story plaques! Then grabbed Indy FP while DD and DH went on treehouse-'then lunch at BB. Got there 15 min early for 11:30 adr and got nice waterside table. Then Indy FP window opened but it was down again. Dd and DH went to emporium to buy some stuff we had scouted out tues while I went to city hall to get our FPs exchanged for today (did not know if we would indeed make it back yesterday). While paying at emporium there was a fire alarm so were evacuated for 5 min. When we came back to finish transaction Czm offered,U.S. 20% discount for coming back but we said thanks but we already get that for our premium AP- so then she gave us the 35% CM discount instead. Then back to hotel to swim and nap.

Back at parks at 5:30- wanted to do parade and fireworks. Went to DCA- DD and DH saw tail end of parade as I got soarin FPs. Then walked to PP via GRR path and met parade at Ariels. Walked along parade to Goofy's sky school, walk on, then dinner at garden grill just as parade ended. No wait. Sat down to,eat just as live band started. Then jumpin jellyfish and the swings then Ariel, all walk on. Then grabbed GRR FP on way to Soarin FP return, then GRR, then to DL at 8:35 for,parade and fireworks. Will post more about,that on the fireworks strategy thread but to summarize-'we winged it and it was fabulous.

Hoping DD will be ok with 8am open at DCA as she got to bed 2hr late last night but worst case we'll leave early or try for another nap- most of our nap time was DH or me-'she only napped yesterday. She prefers to play all day and go to,bed early but really wanted to do the parade and fireworks. By the end she could not stop yawning and we took turns carrying her limp 45lb body back to the hotel.


All in all the perfect trip so far. Today is DCA regular open, Carthay lunch then maybe back to DL to use the Indy fPs which btw were all put on my AP so,they are close to being able to do FP+ test it seems. Not sure if we will return tonight but have the scavenger hunt tour tomorrow then the long drive back to NorCal. Nice way to end our special AP year as they expire next month.

 

[rwhistler92]

Sounds fun. What is the scavenger hunt tour?

 

[jhoannam]

Wow, you go a lot accomplished. What was the longest wait you saw?

 

[chickapin parterre]

what time are you leaving the parks to head back to lodging???

 

[AZpharmacist]

Thanks for sharing that this week is slow. We have a trip booked for Sept but I want to go again next July for DD's 3rd bday. I was worried about going in the summer but the week before the 4th sounds awesome. Plus it's my anniversary. Thanks again! You guys are getting so much done. Sounds like fun

 

[jeeperwy]

I guess I would have a little different view of "slow". Yes, if you get there at opening or MM you can get quite a lot done but by noon the crowds seem to be in full force. And unless you have fast passes that you got earlier forget about doing much at night without at least a 30 minute wait (even for pirates, buzz etc...).

 

[HappiestHaunt]

I agree. We are here now and make sure we get there at opening and find we can hit a lot of rides with little wait. No MM needed! But it does require getting here for rope drop and taking advantage of the opening hours with reduced crowds.

 

[jina]

Sorry - first time I've been able to post since doing this original one. We drove home yesterday.

The tour is "Discover the Magic" which is only on Fri-Sun I believe. It actually wasn't a scavenger hunt - instead it was a "treasure hunt" where we had to go from place to place collecting clues. DD5 absolutely loved it. The sweet spot is probably ages 5-10 (and their family members of course). I won't spoil the fun if anyone wants to go but there are plenty of reviews out there that detail every step. We were done right at 12:30 and were able to hit the road by 1:30 pm for our drive back to NorCal (which btw was the easiest drive ever through LA -just a few of the regular slowdowns/merges on I-5) - glad July 3 was a holiday.

The longest wait we saw (but did not do) was RSR which was at 60 min when we did our FP return Thurs around 1pm. I think I do recall seeing MouseWait show Space mountain at like 90 min at one point but as that's the only ride DD5 won't do I wasn't paying much attention.

Agreed with the poster that by noon the crowds are in full force but it still wasn't as bad as Christmastime or what we experienced May 8.

We always went at rope drop (8am) then stayed until our lunch reservations which were at 11:30. We were done with lunch around 12:30 and then had time for one more ride (usually a FP we had grabbed before lunch) or some shopping - then back to the hotel around 1:30 or 2.

We'd go back around 4-5pm and again the crowds were ok, not ridiculous - we took advantage of going on things during parades.

Most rides seemed to have 20-40 min waits in general between 10am-1pm. We weren't there after that so I'm not sure how the 1-5pm lines were.