How Was 24 Hours at MK and DL?

[SgtClaymore]

A little foggy but cleared out by 7ish then was gorgeous the rest of the day!

 

[DulcetDiscord]

That explains why the line for the peoplemover was so LONG last night! But I'm guessing their 24 hour plan failed, because when I rode it at 2am they weren't letting people stay on, you had to get off and get back in the line.

My mom and I arrived around 8:30pm, the parking lot was MADNESS. The CMs were trying to guide people to empty spots in rows that had previously been filled because there were no empty rows. I spotted an open on near the end of a row and we backed into it. It was much faster than following the line.

It took us almost an hour to get from the parking lot to Liberty Tree Tavern, where we had 9:15 dinner reservations. The park was much more crowded than we expected, they were diverting traffic from main street to the back stage area (which smells like garbage!) because of the crowds waiting for the 10pm parade.

On our way to dinner we passed the Sorcerer's sign up line by the Christmas shoppe. It was ridiculously long, 3x longer than the line for Tiana and Naveen, who were greeting guests a few feet away.

After dinner we rode Haunted Mansion, posted as a 35 minute wait, we waited about 25. Met a guy in the line who was going for a World record. Said he was trying to ride it at least 60 times, was on ride #40, and other than lunch and dinner that was all he and his group had been doing since the park opened at 6am. (He was also dressed up!)

Everywhere we went we saw lines for the Sorcerer's game, so we decided to skip it. We mostly wandered the park hitting our favorite attractions (although we never did make it over to pirates) and shopping a little bit. We bought the t-shirts and waited a hour and fifteen minutes to meet Mickey and Minnie in their PJs. I told Minnie I liked her bow and she nose-kissed me.

Had Casey's hot dogs after the meet and greet, and enjoyed a little of the dance party in front of the Castle. They were changing the Castle's colors with the music, so it did the whole rainbow in like 20 seconds. That was pretty cool.

We hit Peter Pan at 4:30, waiting only 10 minutes (which was awesome!), although it was posted as 20, and by then we were tired and didn't have anything else we needed to do, so we bought some things we'd been considering and headed out.

There were still a lot of people there as we left around 5:15am.

Overall we had a lot of fun. It was way more crowded than we thought it would be, and the crowd did ease up, but it didn't dissipate after the parades like it does on event or EMH nights, which also surprised us.

There were only t-shirts and the hats (which were gone by the time we went shopping, but we didn't care, they weren't that cute) but NO PINS! This was another thing that surprised us, because Disney does pins for EVERYTHING, and we figured we could pick one up for our collection of "events we attended" pins.

Several of the cast members we talked to said that Disney was absolutely NOT expecting the crowd they got. One cast member said her friend had been working over at 1900 park fare but was called over to the Kingdom because they didn't have enough people! Another person told us that the creators of the event were only given a $40k budget to work with! (I'm not sure that's true, but if it was it would explain the lack of pins.)

 

[SuzyQue]

We left POR shortly after 7:00 pm in our rental car and didn't make it to Main Street until after Wishes started. The line for the monorail at TTC was down the ramp almost out the gate so we headed for the boat (they had 2 running).

After watching Wishesfrom in front of the train station it took us FOREVER to get to the hub. Just before we got to the hub cast members were doing their darnedest to get a 2-way traffic flow going but weren't having a lot of luck.

We headed toward Space Mountain which had a 50 minute wait so we jumped on Carousel of Progress which hasn't been open the last umpteen times we've been there. Then we couldn't even FIND the end of the line for the People Mover so we headed to Casey's for our hotdogs and I have NEVER seen that place so packed (we normally go the end of January beginning of February).

The only thing we walked on was Splash Mountain and that was during the Electric Light Parade. POTC was down the first time we went by but we did ride it later. We did get to do everything we wanted and had a GREAT time, but I was still floored at how crowded it was. When we walked up Main Street to leave at around 2:30 am it was still packed. And as we left people were still streaming in. I'm so glad we got to attend, something I will never forget.

 

[EvoldicA]

I enjoyed my 24 hours at MK. I got to meet a lot of awesome people from DIS. (and Touring Plans) I'm definitely glad I arrived early though I missed rope drop due to the fog. (I drove to MK from home... 2 hours after being awake from 1pm the day before!) I got on pretty much all the rides I wanted with little to no wait in the AM then when the park started getting crowded. I decided to play the sorcerers game for a while until those lines started getting out of control. I was then just enjoying the park by walking around, snacking, and enjoying all the shows and such you can do without waiting in a line. I met up with Mrs D and some others around 10:30pm at pirates, and no point in repeating what she said since I was there for most of that. The scavenger hunt was a blast!

~Bill

PS: Yes I would do it again... without driving 2 hours and not sleeping the night before. :b Hopefully I won't have to wait 4 years.

 

[MouseEarsForAll]

That sounds great, everyone!

 

[safetymom]

http://www.disunplugged.com/2012/03/01/one-more-disney-day-leap-day-2012-at-the-magic-kingdom/

 

[MouseEarsForAll]

http://www.disunplugged.com/2012/03/01/one-more-disney-day-leap-day-2012-at-the-magic-kingdom/

That's really neat! The People Mover ride is always better with friends!

 

[DanniDeer]

DBF and I left home around 8:30, stopped by MK around 9:30 to get the commemorative ears [the normal ones with OMDD embroidery] and it didn't seem busy at all.

But we were headed to AK for the day! it was so dead. we walked on to Everest 3 times, then a 4th with fastpasses. ten minute wait for the safari. got lunch off property, and headed to MGM to kill time. his brother and sister-in-law finally made it to Orlando around 4:30, we checked in to POP and took a nap before heading over to MK for the night around 7:30.

IT. WAS. PACKED.​

we are so spoiled with being able to go while it's never busy, that we were kind of thrown back.

there were lots of parents keeping their small kids out way too late, and lines were long, but we had a great time. We rode Snow White for my first, and more than likely last time, walked on to Splash, pin traded, stuffed our faces with Casey's around 1:30. We rode Small World with no wait at like 2:45 and I fell asleep. We called it a night, admitting defeat to the last 3 hours, and were in bed at POP by 3.

woke up yesterday for check out at 11, took the bus over to MGM and spent the day doing TSM with a 20 minute wait, and 3 of the drawing classes, and were back home by 4pm!
​

 

[MouseEarsForAll]

That's funny, I was not expecting it to be packed at all! Glad you enjoyed yourself!

 

[cigar95]

Touring Plans had predicted a 2.4 day, with the comment that they did not expect the OMDD to have a substantial effect on the crowds.

By the end of the day, their number had been revised to a 10!

I know that Disneyland had a capacity closure, but I didn't hear any such thing for MK. (Driving past DL on the way home from church Wednesday night I noticed that I-5 was backed up big time headed to DL, and this was about 8:50 PM!)

 

[uksaint]

We had a blast. Got to MK about 6.30am - rode mostly everything we wanted - got pics with Mickey and Minnie in PJ's - took a break for a late breakfast at Ohana (awesome!) - then back to MK. Crowds were not too bad until mid-afternoon then it got increasingly crazy until about 10pm.

Minor disappointments - lack of commemorative merchandise (only the T-shirts which were not that impressive) and Sorcerors game was a nightmare - played in spurts during the day but eventually gave up - it took away some of the fun seeing everyone elses game played out in front of you for 15/20 mins at each station while you waited in line - by the time you had your turn, the surprise element was gone.

We eventually left around midnight, but had a great day - most people seemed to be in high spirits even though lines were long and in the evening, just walking from place to place could be a challenge. There were definite rumors flying around that Disney had seriously underestimated the expected crowd level, but if so, they did a pretty good job of coping.

 

[MouseEarsForAll]

We had a blast. Got to MK about 6.30am - rode mostly everything we wanted - got pics with Mickey and Minnie in PJ's - took a break for a late breakfast at Ohana (awesome!) - then back to MK. Crowds were not too bad until mid-afternoon then it got increasingly crazy until about 10pm.

Minor disappointments - lack of commemorative merchandise (only the T-shirts which were not that impressive) and Sorcerors game was a nightmare - played in spurts during the day but eventually gave up - it took away some of the fun seeing everyone elses game played out in front of you for 15/20 mins at each station while you waited in line - by the time you had your turn, the surprise element was gone.

We eventually left around midnight, but had a great day - most people seemed to be in high spirits even though lines were long and in the evening, just walking from place to place could be a challenge. There were definite rumors flying around that Disney had seriously underestimated the expected crowd level, but if so, they did a pretty good job of coping.

Yeah, can't believe it was so crowded! It was the middle of the week!

 

[Micca]

If they do this again in 2016 we are going to do the WDW/DLR same-day trip.

 

[MouseEarsForAll]

If they do this again in 2016 we are going to do the WDW/DLR same-day trip.

Didn't do it this year?

 

[disneylooper]

According to WDW Lines at 11:45pm EST, Space Mt is currently 48 min wait, everything else under 25. At DL, It's around 8:45pm PST, Space Mt 58 min, Star Tours 48 min, Indiana Jones 45 min, PP 30 min, all else under 25.

We were at the Magic Kingdom and it was very crowded at night. Even the People Mover had a line. The Carousel of Progress had a good crowd. It was much more crowded than I thought it would be. The weather was perfect, I think a lot of locals came out.

 

[Experiment_626]

Touring Plans had predicted a 2.4 day, with the comment that they did not expect the OMDD to have a substantial effect on the crowds.

By the end of the day, their number had been revised to a 10!

Yeah; I saw Len Testa near Space Mountain at around 9:30pm.He appeared to be doing something with Touring Plans' "Lines" app, but I didn't want to crowd him and look over his shoulder. If he hadn't seemed so busy, I would have tried to meet him.

Can't really blame them for getting it wrong — there was no precedent for this, and I got the distinct impression that the crowds were much higher than what Disney expected as well.

I think WDW got the crowds close to what the company was expecting for Disneyland, and Disneyland was even more crowded than that.

SSB

 

[scrapper2k]

We were there as well. We started the day at HS for the emh and it seemed crowded but we rode tsm three times with 10 minute waits so that says a lot. We rode tot and rnr four times each and saw three shows then left for MK. City Hall had plenty of pins left, I'm not sure what they were hoarding them for. I was not surprised at the big crowds even if Disney was. They did have plenty of cms about and they were all in great moods. The park seemed really crowded but thinned out after the midnight msep. We rode our favorites multiple times except for SM which we did once with a fastpass. (The machines were not operating to our chagrin). We stayed til 6:15 and took the ferry back. There were very few cars in the lot.

It was sooo amazing and special. Mickey and Minnie in pajamas was a highlight for us as were all four pooh characters in the same shot. We didn't wait on line for the dwarfs, I regret that now. We got back to our room at 7, showered, ate and packed, then returned to Epcot until we had to go home that night. I would definitely do it again!

 

[MouseEarsForAll]

Awesome!!! Now I wish I had been apart of that...If they do it in 2016, I might not be able to make it. So, hello 2020!!!

 

[MouseEarsForAll]

Where is the DISer who went to WDW and DL on Leap Day?!

 

[Just_Trish]

My DD (18) and I went and had A BLAST! We arrived at 5:50 am, just as the welcome show was getting underway. We had no problems staying awake (we're crazy night owl types and never sleep much) and we finally left at 6:15 the next morning after sitting on Main Street eating warm cinnamon gooey rolls!

I don't think we waited more than 25 minutes for anything, at all, the whole 24 hours. We rode stuff non stop until around noon, then stuck to shopping, eating, pin trading, taking pics, and show-type attractions until early evening, then started riding again. It was crowded but not unbearable. The crowd seemed to ebb and flow at times, with a huge decline in young children after midnight. Just the fact that there weren't strollers all over made it seem less crowded!

The dance party was so fun and seemed to energize the crowd.

Did anybody see the guy with the sign "I've been awake for ___ hours" ?! He was a hoot and I got a pic of him at 4 hours and at 15 hours he was looking pretty rough...never saw him again after that and wondered if he made it the whole 24! LOL!

I pray they do this again next Leap Day, but regardless, my DD and I made a pact we will always spend Leap Day at MK whether they are doing a special event or not. A new tradition!