6 days!!!! And it's our first time ever :)

[ortegah]

And the secret is still alive and well! Our kids have NO IDEA still.

Okay so for anyone who's recently gotten back and anyone really...what last minute details do I need to know?

I'm so excited!!!

 

[lynninpa]

Have a wonderful adventure!

 

[DisneyGirl625]

6 days here too!!

 

[ortegah]

Thanks!

 

[lynninpa]

Where are you staying? And where are you from?

 

[ortegah]

We're staying offsite in a house we're renting and we're from Baltimore, MD. There's 9 of us so it was much cheaper to stay offsite. Next time we go (we're already planning a next time and we haven't even been there once yet! lol) we'll probably stay onsite.

The kids are all so excited about going to our campground...I hope they're not disappointed when they find out we're actually going to Disney

 

[4eyedbuzzard]

And the secret is still alive and well! Our kids have NO IDEA still.

Okay so for anyone who's recently gotten back and anyone really...what last minute details do I need to know?

I'm so excited!!!

We just got back and ALL the parks are VERY CROWDED (not just me, everybody including the CM's agreed) pretty much every day. Onsite lodging is pretty much sold out just to give you an idea, and it isn't 'cause they're discounting the rates. We also stayed off-site in a villa with pool and had a very nice trip, but it was crowded and we worked hard at figuring out when and where to go to get the most enjoyment - 1 to 2 hour ride lines aren't my idea of fun. (For those staying on-site I'd recommend using the evening EMH's to their full advantage especially toward closing, and the am EMH's - but less so).

The temperatures are 20° cooler at night, and the lines thin out a lot the later you stay. Use fastpass whenever possible especially during the day when they are available. They are a MUST. The FP ticket will show you when to return and when another one is available. The goal is to ALWAYS try to have a FP for some attraction in your hand. Get the next one when the one you have matures BEFORE going on the currently available attraction. That way you'll be ahead of the waiting curve. Send "runners" (the fastest walkers) to get FP's for everybody for the next attraction.

Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon: Go early if you want a shady spot and if you want to go on the big slides at BB. The wait for Summit Plunge was over 90 minutes by 11 am, 45 minutes for Slush Gusher. We had done most of the slides we wanted by 1 pm and went back to our villa and got changed and went to MK for the evening. TL slides were less crowded, but the wave pool was wall to wall people. GO EARLY TO THE WATER PARKS and leave at 1 to 2 pm and go to MK for the evening.

Epcot: An absolute zoo. Standby's for Soarin and Test Track were over 90 minutes shortly after the park opened and FP's were gone by 11 am. We got FP's for Mission Space and rode Maelstrom in Norway and Spaceship Earth while waiting. We then tried to ride TT by going in the single rider line. The line simply didn't move and then the ride broke. Soarin had a 135 minute standby wait at this point - 1pm( it was over 2 hours for most of the day). We did Nemo standby(40 minutes). Then we went and got ice cream and saw some of the lesser attractions. TT was broken off and on throughout the day - the thing is less reliable than an Edsel. Everyone waiting for it was pretty miserable. We decided to skip it. Some things just aren't meant to be. We waited 60 minutes standby for Soarin towards the end of the evening (this was our worst wait for the entire trip which is actually pretty darn good for an off-site non-EMH guest this time of year), saw the light show and left. Not the best day, but we went on everything we wanted except TT. IMO, WDW needs to extend Epcot's normal hours. Even with extended attraction hours until 9 pm it isn't enough given the crowd levels. GO REALLY EARLY and run for a Soarin FP and then go right over to TT. Otherwise you'll wait hours as the FP's will likely be gone by 11:00 am or so.

MGM: We went early and rode both Tower of Terror and Aerosmith on FP's with approx 40 minute to 1 hour return times. Not too bad. We rode Star Tours standby with about a 30 minute wait in between, and then Great Movie Ride which is awful and not made any better by the CM "actors" who accompany the ride. We left and returned for an ADR at Hollywood and Vine. Not worth even 1/2 what they charge. Now I DO NOT want to hear from the WDW-blinded-by-pixie-dust-crowd that H&V is known to be a poor restaurant. WDW should provide a predictable and reasonable level of quality commensurate with price at ALL its dining establishments. As a paying customer I deserve that. H&V is worse than any CS restaurant. If they can't get it right they should subcontract it out to Denny's - it would be a vast improvement. Later that evening Fantasmic got "lightening/rained out". We decided not to go back for it. All said, other than ToT and Aerosmith RRC, which can be ridden in an hour at rope drop, MGM isn't somewhere I'll likely ever go again. The shows and parade are okay, but on a hot day the park gets tedious. GO EARLY OR LATE. Midday is terrible.

AK: The line to Expedition Everest at AK was over an hour just after rope drop on a non-EMH day. It seems EVERYBODY is going very early to all the parks. We started by sending a runner to EE for FP's, while waiting standby for the Safari. After the Safari our EE FP matured and we got another FP for KaliRiverRapids. We then rode EE and Dinosaur(standby wait was 30 minutes), while waiting for the KRR FP's to mature. We then got FP's for TTBAB and rode KRR. We had to do some backtracking to make it all work but we avoided the 75 to 90 minute standby lines and saw most of the attractions. GO EARLY and still be prepared for a long day and a lot of walking. AK doesn't stay open very late except for pm EMH's.

MK: We went early one day and left(went swimming at our pool villa) after riding Big Thunder Mountain RR(FP) and Pirates(40 minute wait). Too hot and too crowded and Splash Mountain was closed for tech problems. Lines were 70 minutes+ at most attractions by 10 - 10:30 am. We went back that evening around 5, got a FP for Space Mountain and rode Indy and Buzz standby while waiting along with the spinning coaster (name forgotten). We then watched the parade and went back, rode SM and walked right on again with less than a 5 minute wait after 10:30pm. The next day we went to Blizzard Beach in the am and then to MK after 5 pm. We rode Dumbo, Peter Pan, Small World, Pooh, etc with combo's of FP and some 20 to 30 minute waits, and then headed over and walked on Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain three times each between 10pm and 11pm. No lines at all toward closing. I'd recommend going to MK LATE on a non-EMH evening. Our two evenings there were the highlight of our trip. Watching the fireworks from Splash Mountain as it comes into it's outside part was absolutely magical. GO LATE, or GO EARLY, LEAVE, and RETURN LATER, but don't miss MK at night.

Edit - I left out a few "filler" attractions and shows here and there - we went on pretty much everything but used the less popular attractions with < 15 minute standby waits in between some of the "biggies". We also ate a few CS meals during the almost daily late-afternoon thunderstorms. When we saw them starting to come in we either got in a queue for an inside attraction like hall of presidents or carosel of progress, etc or got a CS restaurant table and watched the poncho crowd run for cover.

 

[ortegah]

Wow! Thanks for such a detailed analysis!!! I'll be sure to share this info with my family

 

[Schucraig]

Have a great time!

 

[GGOOFY1]

Have a great trip....we will be down there the same time you will...I'll be the GOOFY one turning 50

 

[ortegah]

Well happy birthday!!!

 

[Mrs Grumpy]

How exciting!! Have a great trip!