Memorial Day weekend--HOW WAS IT FOR EVERYONE???

[rcraw45425]

We never did get to ride TSM, but no biggie for us. THe line stayed at about 90+ minutes for our entire 4 days there. The funniest thing I heard was on Saturday as wewaited for our ADR at Sci Fi, a family tried to walk up and the husband came out saying I managed to get us a table.... for tomorrow afternoon I then heard the seater repeatedly telling people to come back after 10PM tha tnight and they MIGHT have a table for them!

 

[sumertime]

There was a 1/2 hour wait to get the fp?

Yeah, that was crazy. But seriously, the wait to see Buzz/Woody and the FP line were some of the longest we waited on the entire trip. The FP line was backed up all the way to Little Mermaid, but it moved pretty quickly.

We walked into MK and was able to find a spot right when the light parade was starting, and same for the block party the next day. We got a seat at Fantasmic (was on the edge) about 30 minutes before it started. We were even able to get into Ohana's without a ressie when we decided not to venture out to Cape May since it was raining a bit.

 

[rcraw45425]

Yeah, that was crazy. But seriously, the wait to see Buzz/Woody and the FP line were some of the longest we waited on the entire trip. The FP line was backed up all the way to Little Mermaid, but it moved pretty quickly.

We walked into MK and was able to find a spot right when the light parade was starting, and same for the block party the next day. We got a seat at Fantasmic (was on the edge) about 30 minutes before it started. We were even able to get into Ohana's without a ressie when we decided not to venture out to Cape May since it was raining a bit.

the rain on Saturday was a downer wasn't it? We missed our Cape May reservatio ndue to the rain, wound up eating some appetizers in the CL, then finally ventured out to EPCOT after 7PMand ate CS in the Land, then used our 8:30 FP for Soarin' that we had got at 2PM!

 

[gigimom4]

We ate at CR on Monday, when did you see her? I know the girls went over to HS on Monday afternoon and didn't realize it but Lee Dewize was apparently there.

We got there around 12:45 ordered and had to go outside to find a table and when I made it out there my dd was telling me under her breath she was at the table next to us. By the time I sat down they (her baby and BF) were starting to get up and leave-there was a CM with them but they were throwing all their trash away and I'm pretty sure the BF had a birthday pin on? They put the baby in the stroller and walked toward space mountain!

 

[rcraw45425]

We got there around 12:45 ordered and had to go outside to find a table and when I made it out there my dd was telling me under her breath she was at the table next to us. By the time I sat down they (her baby and BF) were starting to get up and leave-there was a CM with them but they were throwing all their trash away and I'm pretty sure the BF had a birthday pin on? They put the baby in the stroller and walked toward space mountain!

your daughter's reaction reminds me of DD when we were at TOT and the HSM kids came up and wanted to ride. The movie had just started and they were hot. Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, all of them except Zack & Vanessa. We were about to bard and were aske to move to another elevator. WHen we got off they were looking at a photo, then were wisked through a door. DD finally was able to say who it was she was young and awestruck!

 

[mmtravel]

Got there Friday night, checked into BWV, dinner at Kouzzina which was fun and different, then up really early for SWW on Saturday. Ran straight to TSM during EMH (wow, lookit me with all the abbreviations), waited on FP line while DS and DH rode, then got in line and rode with DS. Then we began the Star Wars march: didn't much care about FPs for celeb autographs (I'm sure the guy who draws Clone Wars is very talented but I don't need to wait an hour in the blazing sun for his autograph). DS was in 11am Padawan Mind Challenge which was a blast (DH was 3rd in line for signup), had pictures with Storm Trooper Donald, Leia Minnie, Leia, and a bounty hunter whose name I forget. Watched the parade, lunch at Sci Fi (also heard the desk telling people they might have availability after 10pm, and saw people irate because they weren't organized enough to make reservations), then back to the hotel just in time to miss the big storm. Relaxed for a few hours, then to Epcot for dinner at Teppan Edo and left the park after closing, with almost no lights on (really weird!).

After breakfast at Cape May Cafe on Sunday, we left the area to visit family at the beach, checked into AKV in the afternoon, then hit MK on Monday AM - BLAZING hot and we only made it 3 hours before coming back to the hotel room to pass out. We had grand plans of hitting AK that day but they all fell apart.

Also ate at Jiko (Sun night) and Sanaa (Mon night)- both delicious.

Don't get me wrong, crowds were big, but we were there during Easter week 2009 and MK was closed down two of the days we were there - so we know from crowds. Just like any busy time - the key is having a plan and making good use of Fastpasses.

Thanks to everyone who gave us such great advice and maybe I can help with SWW questions (especially with kids under 10!).

 

[TaylorsDoDisney]

We are still here but had a good time this weekend. Friday at the MK was awesome. Saturday at Epcot was busy but the crowds were manageable. The afternoon was rained out but we are headed back tomorrow.

Sunday at AK was fairly busy but manageable also. Hot Hot Hot.

Monday we went to Sea World. I figured it was be ok if it was crowded and it was. We just watched all the shows and did not ride anything.

Tuesday at DHS was pretty ok. We did all of the attractions with the exception of the back lot tour. Missed it by a few minutes.

It's been hot as rip but we are from Alabama so we are used to it. Tonight was really nice. We had a pretty bad storm this afternoon (great for a nap)but the humidity was gone for the evening. We went to Sea World and walked on Manta and Kraken twice. It was really good there today.

Tomorrow we head to Epcot and then back to DHS and MK on Saturday.

We had a plan each day and did very well. It has been crowded but manageable. We did not go to DHS on a weekend. We will see how Saturday goes.

 

[lllGurulll]

Just back yesterday. I will say this. It was not near as bad as Touring Plans crowd calendar said it would be.

 

[MaggieMoo'sMom]

Just back yesterday. I will say this. It was not near as bad as Touring Plans crowd calendar said it would be.

I know! All that worry for nothing. I am laying in the bed at the Poly, knowing that I am loading the car when I get up. I don't wanna go! (whine, whine) Our trip has been wonderful. I thought it was much more manageable than when we came in October, but it may be that I was just
much more prepared this time.

 

[rcraw45425]

, lunch at Sci Fi (also heard the desk telling people they might have availability after 10pm, and saw people irate because they weren't organized enough to make reservations), then back to the hotel just in time to miss the big storm. Relaxed for a few hours, then to Epcot .

Were you stalking me? Sounds like you were sitting across from us on the wall at Sci Fi! I heard that same comment from a CM about after 10PM, also, the person next to me trying to get in as a walk in says.....I got us a table.....for tomorrow night! That Saturday storm was a doozie! We left DHS after lunch, around 1:30 and snagged a standing room only boat to EPCOT, took forever. I had checked the touring plans app on my BB, saw taht Soarin' still had FPs for around supper time. By the time we made it to EPCOT and up there, DH got 4 for 8:27PM! We rode Spaceship Earth again and caught the monorails back to the CR. We were on our floor by4PM. Kids crashed in the bedroom, DH on the sofa and I hit a chair. Th rain started soon after, really weird looking out toward the GF and unable to see it for the rain! Girls and I hit the lounge around 5:30 so graze a bit, DH fussing that he's going back to EPCOT regardless and plans to eat CS. He continues to harp about how we're filling ourselves up (on veggies & ranch & chicken fingers!) and he's going back to EPCOT. WE get back to EPCOT at 7:30ish, head up to the Land and eat CS (a little dried out looking, but I had good salmon and creme' brulee'), then hit the FP line for Soarin'. With the crowd from that, we were in the monorail line at a little after 9, saw the Illuminations fireworks from the monorail station there. With the crowd we were back at CR by around 10.

 

[rcraw45425]

This past weekend was pretty busy IMO, but I agree with others about being manageable with the utilization of FPs. I booked our trip in late Feb/early March and between myself and the CRs IPO I managed to get all of my ADRs, even though it took some finagling. We arrived earlier than I had hoped for on Thursday and were able to make our 6:45 Kona seating, food was good as usual. Friday, lunch was Pecos Bills, pretty bad this time thanks tot he wheat buns . We tried to move our dinner ADR around only to find nothing available, we thought we were going to wind up missing our 1900 PF ressie, but managed to make it. DH and I enjoyed the food, the girls stuck to chicken fingers and mashed potatoes . Saturday we had Sci Fi for lunch, so we wound up cancelling our Cape May ADR partially due to the storms. Ate CS in the Land that evening. Sunday we had lunch at AK in Restaurantosaurus, actually pretty decent, I had a burger and a very good cheesecake. Dinenr that night was Nine Dragons, very good as always, I had the special with the General Tso's chicken (yummy) DHs steak & shrimp was "eh". Bill would have been way too high though , over $130! Monday we were planning to head back over to EPCOT to do "Behind the Seeds" (thankfully I had not booked it yet), only the resort monorails went down an dthey said they were bringing buses for everyone. We wound up walking to MK, did a lot of stuff before noon, then had Cosmic Rays. (missed Crystal Bowersox, who was seen by another DISer eating lunch there). rode a few more things but the heat/humidity was incredible, we went back to CR around 1:30, DH and I crashed, the girls went back over to DHS alone. By the time the got there they had time to ride GMR and TOT and search (in vain) for a SWW shirt (since the didn't get back over there on Sat & Sun due to the rain), then they made it back to the hotel in time to go to the Poly for our 'Ohana reservation. Food was good, chicken instead of turkey now , new mustard sauce replaced the chimichurri sauce, we were unable to finish our Bread Pudding! Rain started again in sheets as we were waiting for the monorail, so we headed back to CR. It stopped for a bit so the girls went back over to MK (walked 'cause it was faster) so they could ride a few things (10PM closing) and take care of their last minute purchases for themselves and friends. Rain threats caused the MK to start Wishes about 10 minutes early, so they were on the monorail "home" during the fireworks. We had 16 snack credits and 4 CS credits left, so we headed to DTD after checkout and had lunch at Cookes (I had a good chicken mushroom pie) and they used the snack credits for sweets and rice krispie treats. Even though DDP save us a few $$$$ DH still hates it, says he feels compelled to eat. (as our snacks quckly dwindle away! )

 

[Timestop]

We got back yesterday. Yes it was crowded but thanks to FP strategy we never waited in line longer than 30 min for anything. The biggest way the crowds hurt us was probably that EMH didn't really help much as far as wait times. And certainly I thought the best day was Epcot on Saturday with no EMH (plus some rain). So, if I ever go during holidays or traditionally busy times, I may avoid EMH. Arriving at rope drop paid off so much better.

So, Epcot on Saturday was our best day, we pretty much didn't have to wait for anything, even character greetings in WS. We met Belle when France was doing their show, for example, and she was great. We got caught in the rain around Mexico so we just went on the Donald ride and got something at the glass store there. We were going to come back a few days later too, so we REALLY got to take our time, but we still covered almost every major ride and half the WS.

MK on Sunday was the worst as far as crowds. We did use a good strategy though (which threw out our original plan). At rope drop after getting a SM FP we were able to jump on everything at Fantasyland and got all of those rides done. The mountains fill up quickly but these rides don't, even though they WERE 50 minutes the rest of the day (Peter Pan, Snow White, etc.). Then we spent most of the day in Frontierland/Adventureland and night in Tomorrowland and with the FP's we were ok. We ate a 30 min wait for Jungle Cruise and that was the longest we waited. Haunted Mansion we were surprised had no FP opportunities, but when EMH started we were able to jump right on. However, everything else during EMH the lines remained pretty long and we just used it to meet more characters until we about fell on our faces from exhaustion by 2 am. Chip and Dale were great (I asked which one ended up with Gadget. They looked at each other in some kind of panic until finally, Chip rubbed his knuckles on his chest. I knew it! Then I said well Dale must have gotten Clarice then, and he just shrugged. But DW preferred Dale so he felt better. )

Monday was a break day for us. We slept. A lot. Then explored Boardwalk.

Tuesday at Epcot was far more crowded than Saturday, somehow (maybe EMH?). At rope drop we jumped right into the Character Spot so we never had to wait long for Mickey. Luckily we covered most of what we wanted before, so we mostly took our time wandering WS. Aladdin was awesome here. Even though there was a decent line and it was just DW and I, he really gave us quite a bit of time and laughs. He and Saturday's Belle were the two best characters on our trip, and it seems to me we got most if not all of them!

Wednesday DHS wasn't any less packed than Tuesday at Epcot. Aren't people going home yet??? We still got to do most of what we wanted without much wait thanks to FP, except Indiana Jones, which we missed, and the American Idol finale, which we missed by seconds. I also don't get the TSM craze. It was mildly amusing, but to have the same kind of wait as TOT and Aerosmith blows my mind. BatB was amazing.

One final note. I have a gluten food allergy and I didn't get sick once. They bent over backwards for me. I am glad I spoke to special diets though, as it made CS easier since I knew in advance what they could do and what I could ask for. The Swan hotel offered gluten-free pancakes and waffles for breakfast.

Overall I'm very happy with the trip. Next time we will try harder to avoid these holiday crowds but it really didn't hurt us that much thanks to the DIS. We got everything out of it we were looking for, and more

 

[turningleaf]

Just back yesterday. I will say this. It was not near as bad as Touring Plans crowd calendar said it would be.

+1. We were esp dreading MK on Saturday, which was a level 9, but it wasn't as crowded as I was expecting. I think it helped that we were there at rope drop and on our way out at noon. The big thunderstorm started as soon as we got back to our hotel! We were on a 2 day MK touring plan, so maybe the difference was we did not start out in Fantasyland that day.

 

[ChocoKat]

Memorial day weekend was outstanding for us!
We had a wonderful time.
Saturday we hit MK before opening for CP with first timers and they saw/did everything they wanted to do, they loved it all, even when it poured by the middle of the day, we made it back for Spectro and Wishes and got to ride even more stuff.
We stayed all the way until the kiss goodnight.
The character greeters got to meet all their favorites including faeries, Mickey, Minnie, princesses, etc.
The thrill seekers got to ride all the mountains even when SM kept breaking down
One of my little nieces even got to pull the sword from the stone at Fantasyland!

DH and I had an amazing time at SWW even with the crowds.

They can't wait to go back
I think we were ahead of crowds and did wonderfully with FP's, we didn't feel crowded, rushed or hot (but we are Floridians, so this heat is nothing to us), it was a magical weekend and we all had a ball.

 

[burberryplaid]

We got back on Wednesday..didn't think it was too bad at all. Friday we did Typhoon Lagoon..everything went quickly, no big waits. On Saturday we went to AK..rode Everest twice, did the safari, and Nemo before 12. On Sunday we went to Epcot around 1PM after lunch at Beaches and Cream...very manageable there. We stayed in World Showcase but managed to do everything we wanted. We stayed for Illuminations then went to the Magic Kingdom for EMH. It was busier here but still did BTMR, Haunted Mansion, Snow White, TTA, Pooh, and Buzz by 12:30. We wanted to get one last ride on Space but the wait was over an hour and we were dragging at this point. Overall, I say don't be afraid to go over Memorial Day weekend. If you have a good touring plan and utilize fast passes you'll manage.

 

[Nole95]

Arrived last Sunday on 5/30 for our stay at the Wilderness Lodge. We had three GAD vouchers to use.

Monday MK. Tuesday AK. Wednesday Epcot. Thursday HS. Friday MK.

Never waited more than 10 minutes for any ride due to good planning. We were seated within 5 minutes for every ADR we had, and they were all between 6 and 6:30pm.

There were crowds, but getting there for RD was the key, and taking afternoon breaks was also good.

Anyone else get caught in the crazy monsoon on Wednesday night at Epcot right as Illuminations was starting. Wind, driving rain and hail all added to the fireworks. I am surprised things were not delayed by that nasty weather.

 

[Lindamary123]

We just came home this morning at 1AM (we drove). We had a fantastic time; we were there 7 nights. We did not do a lot of running around this trip, mostly swimming and taking it easy. The crowds did not bother us and we still did some of our fav rides. I was not able to walk as much as I thought ( I am still recovering from a broken leg from Dec.) but I did pretty well.
Our highlight was seeing our DS who is working at the college program. He was able to have off four days which was great and stay with us. We then saw his show a few times and he did a great job! He is a tour guide at the great movie ride. It was hard leaving but he will be home in Aug. and we will stay for a few days before we take him home.
We took a backstage safari tour which was so cool. We were able to go into the hippo barn and see one very close in his stall. It was a bit scary since he was so big but very cool!
Oh and thank you Bamatigger for the advice on the kennels. We brought our two dogs and used the Epcot kennel. We were very happy with their care; the staff was wonderful and it was nice to see and walk them every day. I know we will bring them again.

Linda

 

[kimgg]

We had a great week for our first ever visit! It started off rocky - our plane ride was pretty turbulant due to weather Saturday afternoon - kept descending and going back up - I don't really like flying anyway so it made me very nervous. It also made us late arriving ,

When we arrived at our resort we were told to hurry to our ADR at DHS Mama Melrose since they would only hold a table 15 mins. We get on the bus - no time to look around - and it started POURING as soon as we pulled up to DHS. The driver let us off at the closest stop - we had 3 ponchos for 4 of us so my husband got absolutley drenched. I was shocked but hey, it was my first trip to DISNEY so I chose to enjoy it. My sons thought it was fun and we traipsed through DHS to our ADR. It def cooled things off but then when we just barely made it for our ADR we were freezing in the air conditioning all wet. I tried to make myself look presentable but don't think I did a good job. The food was awesome but our waitress was the only 1 we had all week who was not that great - she was slow and hard to understand. But after we finished the rain had slowed (still raining though) but the crowds had cleared (as had all the SW characters, but we were coming back the next day) so we rode Star Tours, TOT, Rock N Roller Coaster with no waits. To me, the rain was worth it to have the place so cleared out! No problem getting in to Fantasmic right before it started.

Sat was more crowded but we had our first of four days of GAD FP's so we got to ride everything we wanted, still no waits. Had to watch the SW Hoopla from back in the crowd holding on to our kids standing on guard rails but it was SO funny and good even though I don't normally like SW myself the music was so good and I loved it.

Monday we went to Epcot and it was HOT but not that crowded to me. We never got to ride the space ride in the Big Ball, not sure what it is called b/c it was not a GAD FP ride and didn't want to wait but rode Sourin' twice, Test Track twice, Mission Space, it was all good. Ate at Garden Grill while it rained. Got a great spot for Illuminations which I thought was much better than Fantasmic.

Animal Kingdom on Tues, hot and crowded but never waited longer than 25 mins and that was for Medieval Whirl of all things. Rode Everest and Safari w/ FP's and Dinosaur had next to no wait in the morning. Went to Boma and it was good but desserts not as good as I had expected.

MK was Wed and Thurs and still thought crowds were fine. Only thing I did not get to ride that I wanted to I think was Dumbo!

We went to Ohana on Wednesday and it was soooooooooo good! I thought I was going to die I was so full. I hate bread pudding normally but theirs was to die for! Loved it! We watched Wishes from Ohana on Wed and from train station platform on Thursday - great spot!

Went back to DHS for our mini half day on Friday, got to go to Indiana Jones which we had missed on previous weekend, saw part of the parade again, went thru One Man's Dream and finished buying souvenirs.

I wanna go back! I think Memorial Day was perfect to go w/o having to miss (much) school (last 2 days) and the heat was bad but nowhere as bad as it will be later in the summer. I also used Lines from UG and while not perfect it helped. Take a water fan squirt thing w/ you!

 

[live4christp1]

We arrived back home late Friday night.

Overall it was a good week. Had at least one storm/rain shower a day but all was good. Took my dad along and rented a scooter for him.....he enjoyed it.

We arrived on Friday May 28th. Went to DTD and Disney Quest. A huge down pour had come through so DQ was packed.

Busch Gardens on Saturday. Wasn't to crowded. Pretty good shower came through between 4 & 5.....we sat inside the tiger viewing area and the kids had dippin dots while we waited it out.

Sunday was DHS for Star Wars Weekend. Got there about 8:00 AM. Boba Fett joined in the pre opening show. Did get DS in the Padawan Mind Challenge.....first heat. This was our 3rd SWW and this year we only could squeeze in one day at DHS so we had discussed with DS that we were only waiting in line for characters he had not seen before (you can spend all day just doing characters) so we got Jango, Jedi Mickey with the new R2-MK (we had Jedi Mickey but did his line for the droid), Storm Trooper Donald & Darth Goofy. We also did Sulley from Monsters Inc when coming off the Back Lot tour as there was no line. We ended up doing all the attractions at DHS except Indiana Jones, Lights, Motor Action & Play House Disney Live. We went to the second showing of Fantasmic which did not fill up.

Monday we did Epcot, did most everything here with 2 extra rides on Mission Space at the end of the evening followed by a Spaceship Earth as we exited the park at 8:55....didn't stay for Illuminations.

Tuesday was Animal Kingdom. Completed everything here except Festival of the Lion King & Flights of Wonder. DS rode Everest 5 times. 2 times early on with FP's once with DH and once with the 3 of us. Then DH & I took turns riding with him about 30 minutes before park closing......virtually a walk on all 3 times.

Wednesday we did Blizzard Beach until 3:00ish. Nice relaxing day. Returned to resort and spent more time in the pool. Grilled out steaks right before a bad storm rolled through.

Thursday was Magic Kingdom and we were able to knock out most everything here. Didn't ride the train, the Storytime with Belle we went to was canceled due to weather. Couldn't squeeze in Big Thunder Mtn.....probably could have late that evening but didn't want to travel all the way back there for the 10th time that day. (the rain hit us when we were first in Frontierland and shut down a bunch of rides.....so threw our timing off).



NOTABLES:

The Candy Artist (Miyuki) in Japan still chooses children/adults to select something to make but you no longer get to take candy with you. My kids didn't understand why......as they had gotten them in the past. Still fun to watch especially if you've never seen it before (my dad had not) but I won't get there 30 minutes before hand and stand and wait again.

Counter Service - I had always been impressed with how efficiently Disney's counter service locations operated and never had to wait very long at all. Sort of an assembly line where the tray went from person to person and had proper items added. This year almost every location was struggling......it seemed like they were lost and didn't quiet know what to do......sometimes there were a few working and lots of helpers just standing around. Had to check my tray and request items that had been left off on more than one occasion. The only place that didn't seem to be having a problem was Flame Tree at Animal Kingdom.....excellent food and service as always.

 

[mousiemom]

our 7 nights @ pop was great too! we've been so many times that we've learned not to go to a park on sat. especially if it falls in w/a holiday. the longest line we waited in was 20mins. we utilitzed fp as well and started at the parks @ rope drop. the only emh we did was AK on wed. and it was fine. it was very hot so we've decided to not go back during the hot months. we are used to the hot weather cause we live in mobile, but when you've been to disney during the colder months, it's so much nicer. oh, i finally had a grand marnier slushie, an italian magarita and fiesta magarita! they were all de-licious but the gm was our favorite!! can't wait to go back in dec.!