What was going on at WDW Last Week??

[DisneySOS]

As to possible lack of 'homework' I don't know them personally so can't comment in that regard, but I dont agree Disney does a good job of letting people know by email, mail or what have you. Other than the numerous Incredible booklets I've gotten over the past several months I've had no mail from them and emails I've gotten weeks after the 180 dining and 60 day FP marks. Communication is not Disney's strong feature.

I'm sorry to hear that, I've had a very different experience. I notice I receive more mail than email.
I do think the planning that goes into a Disney vacation is pretty crazy & I have both friends & family members that balk at even attempting to go there. I like to research every vacation we take but Disney is by far the most stressful beforehand.

Funny story - when I was talking about my trip at work my boss had no idea WDW consisted of 4 different parks! He couldn't understand why I planned on spending as many days there as with my family in Florida later in the week.

 

[dlavender]

My boss returned from his trip a few weeks ago and commented that "it was a complete scam." I asked him why he felt that way, he said "I spent $7000 and we didn't ride anything". They stayed at the GFR, and they meandered around, hitting up parks around lunch time, getting frustrated, and then leaving. He clarified that they did have their 3 FP's for each day, but that's all they basically did. I explained to him RD, staying late, how to maximize FP's, and he said that is crazy talk. I think Disney does communicate the FP + concept pretty well, but to get the most out of the experience, as we know, takes a little more planning and research. I think Disney will start offering more FP's to those that spend the 7 large like my boss does, or else they will lose them to other destinations. The complete WDW experience isnt for everyone.

 

[dkrauss]

October is just a crowded month now.

October is now right in the teeth of: Free Dining, MNSSHP, and Food & Wine.

Its become the perfect storm................add to that HS has been so in the news about whats NOT THERE anymore that I would imagine its pushed people away to other parks on one level..............and added to the wait times of the rides/attractions that are still left.

This could be the new normal for a while .............at least until StarWars and ToyStory upgrades.........

Doug

 

[dkrauss]

My boss returned from his trip a few weeks ago and commented that "it was a complete scam." I asked him why he felt that way, he said "I spent $7000 and we didn't ride anything". They stayed at the GFR, and they meandered around, hitting up parks around lunch time, getting frustrated, and then leaving. He clarified that they did have their 3 FP's for each day, but that's all they basically did. I explained to him RD, staying late, how to maximize FP's, and he said that is crazy talk. I think Disney does communicate the FP + concept pretty well, but to get the most out of the experience, as we know, takes a little more planning and research. I think Disney will start offering more FP's to those that spend the 7 large like my boss does, or else they will lose them to other destinations. The complete WDW experience isnt for everyone.

Sounds like you boss didn't do much research......

Doug

 

[dlavender]

Sounds like you boss didn't do much research......

Doug

That's basically what I was telling him, while pretending to agree with him in a way that it wouldn't be uncomfortable at the annual revue...lol

 

[Kristine316]

Ok, so obviously there was some exaggerating from the co worker.. Frustration usually brings a little embellishment to how awful things truly are.

Maybe there wasn't the amount of planning involved that so many on this forum understand and relish in. If you aren't a WDW vet often times you just do not get the planning that goes into a WDW vacation.

In my opinion all the planning is utterly ridiculous.. Not saying those who plan are ridiculous, not at all because it is absolutely necessary for the most part. I am simply saying the fact you have to plan like this for a resort vacation is the utterly ridiculous part. I can see why many are turned off from the entire WDW experience!!

Sometimes these threads turn into a superiority complex from some.. I mean calling someone "incompetent"... Really??

Some people seem to want to jump on the Disney defense bandwagon no matter what.. Some people it seems do this in any thread that shows the least amount of disappointment or complaint directed at Disney.
From complaints about price increases, to people coming back from a trip frustrated, there are certain posters who feel the need to defend Disney like it's their own child. Goodness.

 

[nanalisa]

I wonder if it was boss' first time. I think a lot of Disney virgins think the crowds are overwhelming while the more experienced guest is saying "wow, we've got the place to myself!" Some people won't listen to advice (my brother) or about the great info you can garner from the DIS (again, my brother.) So when they come back and ask why they didn't know about resort discounts, fast passes, ADR's, I don't have a lot of sympathy. And I'm not one of those who think Disney can do no wrong, I just know that for a successful trip, you have to do a lot of homework.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

The parks were busy, yes. However no where near a peak week in July busy. Most of the days I was there were 6s and 7s, and that is what it felt like.

Touring Plans has reported that MK hit level 10 crowds on 3 days so far in October, which is pretty much unheard of. In comparison, the whole month of July had 6 level 10 days in MK.

 

[JimmyBean42]

October is now right in the teeth of: Free Dining, MNSSHP, and Food & Wine.

Its become the perfect storm................add to that HS has been so in the news about whats NOT THERE anymore that I would imagine its pushed people away to other parks on one level..............and added to the wait times of the rides/attractions that are still left.

This could be the new normal for a while .............at least until StarWars and ToyStory upgrades.........

Doug

October has gotten so busy in the past few years that they actually don't offer Free Dining that much for the month anymore. This year the only days in October it was offered were the 1st-2nd and 25th to 31st. Which I found odd b/c I figured the 25th to 31st timeframe would still be particularly busy. We were there last year 17th-25th and while it was busier than we were used to (we typically go late Nov. / early Dec.) it wasn't jam packed. Based off everyone's complaints about the price increases maybe the new normal will be lower crowds with the higher prices? Time will tell on that one.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

parks were way crowded like 120 minutes plus wait times on rides for EVERYTHING / always!

This is definitely an exaggeration. I don't recall seeing 120 minute waits for anything, but there's no way it should be that high for anything outside of Test Track, Soarin, TSM or maybe Mine Train or Anna/Elsa m&g. But yes, October is a busy time. Heard a number of persons last weekend talking about their arriving for their school system's fall break.

 

[dlavender]

Ok, so obviously there was some exaggerating from the co worker.. Frustration usually brings a little embellishment to how awful things truly are.

Maybe there wasn't the amount of planning involved that so many on this forum understand and relish in. If you aren't a WDW vet often times you just do not get the planning that goes into a WDW vacation.

In my opinion all the planning is utterly ridiculous.. Not saying those who plan are ridiculous, not at all because it is absolutely necessary for the most part. I am simply saying the fact you have to plan like this for a resort vacation is the utterly ridiculous part. I can see why many are turned off from the entire WDW experience!!

Sometimes these threads turn into a superiority complex from some.. I mean calling someone "incompetent"... Really??

Some people seem to want to jump on the Disney defense bandwagon no matter what.. Some people it seems do this in any thread that shows the least amount of disappointment or complaint directed at Disney.
From complaints about price increases, to people coming back from a trip frustrated, there are certain posters who feel the need to defend Disney like it's their own child. Goodness.

I think that there is a large group of people that will book their vacation through the Disney website, follow the prompts to set up their FP's, and assume all is set. On its face it does seem like it should be that simple. You wouldn't really know that you needed to put a lot more effort into it unless you have already failed once at meeting your expectations of the vacation.

 

[jimandami]

October has gotten so busy in the past few years that they actually don't offer Free Dining that much for the month anymore. This year the only days in October it was offered were the 1st-2nd and 25th to 31st. Which I found odd b/c I figured the 25th to 31st timeframe would still be particularly busy. We were there last year 17th-25th and while it was busier than we were used to (we typically go late Nov. / early Dec.) it wasn't jam packed. Based off everyone's complaints about the price increases maybe the new normal will be lower crowds with the higher prices? Time will tell on that one.

We were there there the 25th-Nov 2nd last year and didn't find it to be terribly crowded....I think one of the biggest culprits is the new "fall break" that many schools are offering. It seems they are usually early to mid October.

 

[Julylady]

I also had a co-worker at WDW last week! She planned this trip because her daughter age 9 had begged to go to Disney since she was a toddler. Coworker was excited about going and even bought plane tickets at 9 months, but her husband really fought against the trip to the point of refusing to make hotel reservations, buy tickets, etc. until the 60 day mark (he told her he thought the prices would drop as they got closer to the trip). I told her at 58 days that every day she delayed the likelihood of a nice trip diminished. She and her husband had a "come to Jesus" talk that weekend. She came back on Monday with a reservation at Pop and 3 fast passes a day. He had admitted to her that he didn't want to go to Disney and was hoping to talk her and their daughter into just traveling around Florida for that entire week (grrrr.....). She refused to cave and the Disney trip was on.

She reported they had a great time, even the husband for the most part. She said the parks were much busier that she thought they would be. She didn't mean so much in terms of waits or lines, but just the number of people in the park. They live in a very rural area and avoid places with lots of people like malls and parades so this was really a stretch for them. I asked her if she thought they would ever go back and she said she would if she would be guaranteed a time of year when the parks would be much less crowded. I explained that there used to be times like that, but that Disney has done a great job with special events and promotions so that the parks would always be busy. She sighed and said then they probably won't go back.

She didn't do more than the minimum planning ahead of time. I showed her the EasyWDW site which recommends which park on which day which she followed to the letter, she made FPs for the most popular rides, she made only 3 dining reservations for the entire week and ate counter service the rest of the time. She rented a car on my advice since her husband didn't like the idea of taking the bus which worked out well for them.

My point is, that with a minimal amount of advanced planning even a novice visitor with a reluctant spouse can have a terrific vacation full of family memories that will last forever. She has worn her new WDW sweatshirt every single day this week!

 

[ArwenMarie]

October is now right in the teeth of: Free Dining, MNSSHP, and Food & Wine.

Its become the perfect storm................add to that HS has been so in the news about whats NOT THERE anymore that I would imagine its pushed people away to other parks on one level..............and added to the wait times of the rides/attractions that are still left.

This could be the new normal for a while .............at least until StarWars and ToyStory upgrades.........

Doug

Yeah, it's become a very desirable month to go with all of those things. And the better weather compared to the summer. I think with many kids starting school in August, it's also not as big of a deal to pull them out in October after they have adjusted and all that.

 

[Prose]

Around here, schools go back end of July and we get a 2-week fall break.....lots of folks go to Disney at this time.

 

[I'mfarfaraway]

One of my husband's co-workers just came back from WDW and this was a summary of his trip. Anyone else have similar experiences that went last week??

6 days @ Animal Kingdom (& Split stay at Allstars the last day or two days) & said My Experience was not good & parks were way crowded like 120 minutes plus wait times on rides for EVERYTHING / always!

HE said My experience worked well only on deducting meals BUT checking in & have the bands work on the room entry was a mess as well as you could not make fast passes on the go, my experience tried to tell you that you had to delete everyone & then you could not get new fastpases after that. He also said that you could not do Fast passes at more than one park but only at the park you were at (so he didn’t understand if you had a park hopper & set something up at another park for later) He said checking in & the first day they were at customer service a lot like an hour (which was great but they are overwhelmed with too many people having same problem) & also that the bands would stop working for room entry so if you left the room that the band would not work & you had to go downstairs at hotel resort again to get it reset to get back into your room!

We just got home last night after a 8 day stay. The weekend was crowded, I expected that, the rest seemed ok to me. Our magic bands worked perfectly. If you wanted a fourth fastpass you needed to go to a kiosk or your concierge. We encountered no problems on our trip.

 

[maxiesmom]

I also had a co-worker at WDW last week! She planned this trip because her daughter age 9 had begged to go to Disney since she was a toddler. Coworker was excited about going and even bought plane tickets at 9 months, but her husband really fought against the trip to the point of refusing to make hotel reservations, buy tickets, etc. until the 60 day mark (he told her he thought the prices would drop as they got closer to the trip). I told her at 58 days that every day she delayed the likelihood of a nice trip diminished. She and her husband had a "come to Jesus" talk that weekend. She came back on Monday with a reservation at Pop and 3 fast passes a day. He had admitted to her that he didn't want to go to Disney and was hoping to talk her and their daughter into just traveling around Florida for that entire week (grrrr.....). She refused to cave and the Disney trip was on.

She reported they had a great time, even the husband for the most part. She said the parks were much busier that she thought they would be. She didn't mean so much in terms of waits or lines, but just the number of people in the park. They live in a very rural area and avoid places with lots of people like malls and parades so this was really a stretch for them. I asked her if she thought they would ever go back and she said she would if she would be guaranteed a time of year when the parks would be much less crowded. I explained that there used to be times like that, but that Disney has done a great job with special events and promotions so that the parks would always be busy. She sighed and said then they probably won't go back.

She didn't do more than the minimum planning ahead of time. I showed her the EasyWDW site which recommends which park on which day which she followed to the letter, she made FPs for the most popular rides, she made only 3 dining reservations for the entire week and ate counter service the rest of the time. She rented a car on my advice since her husband didn't like the idea of taking the bus which worked out well for them.

My point is, that with a minimal amount of advanced planning even a novice visitor with a reluctant spouse can have a terrific vacation full of family memories that will last forever. She has worn her new WDW sweatshirt every single day this week!

I would tell her that if she can, September is a great time to go. From the pictures I have seen, the parks were all but empty.

 

[GaryDis]

I refuse to eat at H&V in the middle of the afternoon to get a F!. HBD is one of our must do's and they go fast during holiday's and spring break.

From what I can tell, the F! FP+ reserved seating is nearly as good as the dining package section, adjacent to the center section. Sure, I'd consider getting the dining package too, for the better seating, but I wouldn't go crazy to try to get it. If I were you, I'd just book the HBD ADP, and get the FP+ when the time comes. Or at least book the ADP now as back up, and read one of the blogs/WDW news sites to find out when the F! dining plan is available instead of knocking yourself out on the phone.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I am here now and having magic band issues. After two trips to the resort desk over 2 days and finally can get into my room with the magic band but still unable to charge to my room.
Here's hoping the third time is the charm.

In midday, waits for rides have been long in the parks I have done so far. Luckily I was prepared for it but it is getting annoying sometimes. I am taking a break from the parks tonight and hopefully after a good nights sleep, I can refrain from wanting to smack the next person who either runs over my heel with a stroller or stops dead in front of me - both happened in Epcot today more than once since everyone is on their phones all time thanks to my disney experience.

I'm off to see if can get my magic band fixed for charging....

 

[angel0321]

We were also there all last week. Similar to others, we saw 60-90 minute wait times on some rides, and MK was pretty busy on non-MNSSHP days. So, yes, October has increased in how many visitors it is attracting compared to prior years.

However, we had NO problems with mobile MDE, either in updating/exchanging FP+ or changing up ADRs when there was availability. Sometimes we had to "restart" the wireless connection in the park or at the resort on our phones, but the app was working just fine. Not sure how tech-savvy the friend is, but I'm not tech-savvy at all, and I managed all our plans with MDE.