Disney127
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2009
- Messages
- 727
Just wanted to jot down a few thoughts before we fly home today after 10 days in the parks. We flew Alaska from Calgary to SNA on Dec 23rd - took a taxi to BWPPI - total time from getting our luggage to checking in was just one hour. Great way to start our vacation. First few days, we would do rope drop at the parks.
Security lines were long in the mornings but we found that they moved pretty fast. It was the heaviest on Christmas Day - we got thru within 15 mins. They randomly select people to go thru the metal detectors. As the week progressed, they opened up a few more lines. Lots of security/police/canine unit present.
Ticket lines were long in the mornings especially with first time entries. We found DL to be way busier than DCA. No issues with long lines after the big morning rush. We expected crowds during this holiday time but was still surprised by so many people. Seems like there were lots of new visitors.
We used FastPass for all the rides that we really wanted to do, like Hyperspace Mountain, Star Tours and Indy. Never had to line up for Space Mtn FP before but Hyperspace Mtn was very popular. They would usually run out by noon. The DL App was very useful to us. Over at DCA, RSR was still popular but FP was still available around 10 or 11 am. To us, the FPs in DCA seems to last longer than those in DL. There were long lines for some of the rides in DL - saw Hyperspace at 150 mins on some days and Star Tours at 60-90 mins. Lines would get longer as the day goes on. Heard/saw a few people who would arrive around noon and started looking at their map and then deciding to go on one of the popular rides - not sure if they had to line up or if there were any FPs left. Indy and Big Thunder were down for a bit on some of the days we were there. Overall, we rode all the rides in both parks, some many times over, by using FP and being in the parks at rope drop.
Star Wars - seems to be quite popular! LOL. Saw lots of people wearing SW shirts and carrying light sabers. We liked meeting Darth Vader, Chewbacca and Bona Fett at Launch Bay. Lots of displays to look at. Even DD14 is now a fan after seeing the Path of the Jedi many times over. Hyperspace Mountain and Star Tours were fun to ride.
Parades/fireworks/Fantasmic - there seems to always be a parade in DL. The Christmas parade was on twice a day, PTN was on twice a day, Fantasmic was on twice a day. With all the parades, Main Street seems to be always busy. We saw each parade once and always found a spot near the washrooms close to the Alice in Wonderland ride. We also did the Blue Bayou Fantasmic package on Christmas Day - it was worth it to us to have a good view and some space to sit down, even if it was just a foamie cushion. After seeing Fantasmic once, we stayed away from Adventureland and Frontierland during Fantasmic showings, these areas were very crowded with people. The cast members did a good job of trying to direct the flow of traffic. We watched the fireworks a few times from IASW and the end of Main Street. A few nights, the fireworks were canceled due to the wind. We knew that fireworks can be canceled at anytime, so we made sure that we saw them early on in our trip. In DCA, we always enjoy the Pixar parade.
We made at least one dining reservation a day during this trip - glad that we did this because we saw a lot of people being turned away who don't have reservations. It was also nice to have a place to sit and have dinner and recharge. We tried Carnation Cafe for the first time and enjoyed the food. We also did the Carthay WOC lunch and Ariel's WOC dinner. We enjoyed Ariel's more this time plus the WOC section was closer up front than the Carthay section. Also, had dinner twice at Big Thunder Ranch BBQ - spoke to a few cast members who are also sad that they are going to close this restaurant in a few days. We also tried PCH Grill Buffet on New Year Day, we liked the variety of food offer there - will probably go back again on upcoming trips.
We spent New Year Day in DL in the morning - left around noon as the crowds increased. Went back to the room for a few hours and then headed to DCA. Was expecting more people there but it didn't feel that busy - to us, it seemed lighter than the other days. Had dinner at Ariel's where we got to see the Winter Dreams WOC show from the outdoor seating area and then had preferred section for the Celebrate WOC at 10:15. After the show, we noticed that there were hardly any lines for the rides so we took advantage of this and walked onto Soarin'. We did the countdown in the area in front of California Screamin'. At midnight, fireworks went off and there was a water show with dance music welcoming the new year. We were glad that we choose to bring in the new year in DCA, we weren't sure about how crowded DL was but after seeing all those people lining up for parades and fireworks, we thought we should stay away from DL this night. Also, over in DCA, we did see some of the 9 pm NYE fireworks that went off in DL but heard that the midnight ones were canceled.
Weather and crowds - we wore long sleeved shirts with a hoodie and jeans in the day time and added another jacket in the evenings. Also, having a scarf helped keep us warm. We found the wind to be quite chilly even though we are from Calgary. Like I mentioned before, we were expecting crowds but there were a lot of people in DL. We would spend mornings in DL and head over to DCA in the afternoons. In the evenings, we would be in DL if there was a show or parade that we wanted to see, otherwise we would be over in DCA. Downtown Disney was a very busy place too. There didn't seem to be as much decorations as other years. Missed the garland over Main Street and the Christmas tree in Paradise Pier. Also missed the Jingle Jamboree, this was always a fun place to meet the characters and a great place to get away from the congestions in the parks. Having patience was the key for us, we were in no rush for the rides or restaurants. This helped a lot especially with the big crowds.
We won't be back until July so we made sure that we saw Mickey's Magical Map and Aladdin one more time before they are gone. We ate at BTRBBQ twice before they are gone. We visited the goats at the Jamboree before they are gone. We rode the Columbia, played on Pirates Lair, saw Fantasmic and rode the DL Railroad before they go down. And rode Soarin' a few times before they change it.
We had a great trip like always. Our touring style is pretty laid back and we spend quite a few days in the parks so we usually get to do all that we want to do plus more. In March, we are going to visit WDW again, will need to plan a little more but looking forward to something different. But we are already counting the days till we are back at DL - this will always be our second 'home'.
Security lines were long in the mornings but we found that they moved pretty fast. It was the heaviest on Christmas Day - we got thru within 15 mins. They randomly select people to go thru the metal detectors. As the week progressed, they opened up a few more lines. Lots of security/police/canine unit present.
Ticket lines were long in the mornings especially with first time entries. We found DL to be way busier than DCA. No issues with long lines after the big morning rush. We expected crowds during this holiday time but was still surprised by so many people. Seems like there were lots of new visitors.
We used FastPass for all the rides that we really wanted to do, like Hyperspace Mountain, Star Tours and Indy. Never had to line up for Space Mtn FP before but Hyperspace Mtn was very popular. They would usually run out by noon. The DL App was very useful to us. Over at DCA, RSR was still popular but FP was still available around 10 or 11 am. To us, the FPs in DCA seems to last longer than those in DL. There were long lines for some of the rides in DL - saw Hyperspace at 150 mins on some days and Star Tours at 60-90 mins. Lines would get longer as the day goes on. Heard/saw a few people who would arrive around noon and started looking at their map and then deciding to go on one of the popular rides - not sure if they had to line up or if there were any FPs left. Indy and Big Thunder were down for a bit on some of the days we were there. Overall, we rode all the rides in both parks, some many times over, by using FP and being in the parks at rope drop.
Star Wars - seems to be quite popular! LOL. Saw lots of people wearing SW shirts and carrying light sabers. We liked meeting Darth Vader, Chewbacca and Bona Fett at Launch Bay. Lots of displays to look at. Even DD14 is now a fan after seeing the Path of the Jedi many times over. Hyperspace Mountain and Star Tours were fun to ride.
Parades/fireworks/Fantasmic - there seems to always be a parade in DL. The Christmas parade was on twice a day, PTN was on twice a day, Fantasmic was on twice a day. With all the parades, Main Street seems to be always busy. We saw each parade once and always found a spot near the washrooms close to the Alice in Wonderland ride. We also did the Blue Bayou Fantasmic package on Christmas Day - it was worth it to us to have a good view and some space to sit down, even if it was just a foamie cushion. After seeing Fantasmic once, we stayed away from Adventureland and Frontierland during Fantasmic showings, these areas were very crowded with people. The cast members did a good job of trying to direct the flow of traffic. We watched the fireworks a few times from IASW and the end of Main Street. A few nights, the fireworks were canceled due to the wind. We knew that fireworks can be canceled at anytime, so we made sure that we saw them early on in our trip. In DCA, we always enjoy the Pixar parade.
We made at least one dining reservation a day during this trip - glad that we did this because we saw a lot of people being turned away who don't have reservations. It was also nice to have a place to sit and have dinner and recharge. We tried Carnation Cafe for the first time and enjoyed the food. We also did the Carthay WOC lunch and Ariel's WOC dinner. We enjoyed Ariel's more this time plus the WOC section was closer up front than the Carthay section. Also, had dinner twice at Big Thunder Ranch BBQ - spoke to a few cast members who are also sad that they are going to close this restaurant in a few days. We also tried PCH Grill Buffet on New Year Day, we liked the variety of food offer there - will probably go back again on upcoming trips.
We spent New Year Day in DL in the morning - left around noon as the crowds increased. Went back to the room for a few hours and then headed to DCA. Was expecting more people there but it didn't feel that busy - to us, it seemed lighter than the other days. Had dinner at Ariel's where we got to see the Winter Dreams WOC show from the outdoor seating area and then had preferred section for the Celebrate WOC at 10:15. After the show, we noticed that there were hardly any lines for the rides so we took advantage of this and walked onto Soarin'. We did the countdown in the area in front of California Screamin'. At midnight, fireworks went off and there was a water show with dance music welcoming the new year. We were glad that we choose to bring in the new year in DCA, we weren't sure about how crowded DL was but after seeing all those people lining up for parades and fireworks, we thought we should stay away from DL this night. Also, over in DCA, we did see some of the 9 pm NYE fireworks that went off in DL but heard that the midnight ones were canceled.
Weather and crowds - we wore long sleeved shirts with a hoodie and jeans in the day time and added another jacket in the evenings. Also, having a scarf helped keep us warm. We found the wind to be quite chilly even though we are from Calgary. Like I mentioned before, we were expecting crowds but there were a lot of people in DL. We would spend mornings in DL and head over to DCA in the afternoons. In the evenings, we would be in DL if there was a show or parade that we wanted to see, otherwise we would be over in DCA. Downtown Disney was a very busy place too. There didn't seem to be as much decorations as other years. Missed the garland over Main Street and the Christmas tree in Paradise Pier. Also missed the Jingle Jamboree, this was always a fun place to meet the characters and a great place to get away from the congestions in the parks. Having patience was the key for us, we were in no rush for the rides or restaurants. This helped a lot especially with the big crowds.
We won't be back until July so we made sure that we saw Mickey's Magical Map and Aladdin one more time before they are gone. We ate at BTRBBQ twice before they are gone. We visited the goats at the Jamboree before they are gone. We rode the Columbia, played on Pirates Lair, saw Fantasmic and rode the DL Railroad before they go down. And rode Soarin' a few times before they change it.
We had a great trip like always. Our touring style is pretty laid back and we spend quite a few days in the parks so we usually get to do all that we want to do plus more. In March, we are going to visit WDW again, will need to plan a little more but looking forward to something different. But we are already counting the days till we are back at DL - this will always be our second 'home'.
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