Cando86
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2008
- Messages
- 918
We got back from an amazing trip a few days ago. I know when I was planning our trip, some of the "just back" threads were really helpful for me so I wanted to make sure I did one also with our observations.
First, of course, the inescapable topic of FP+
I loved it. I was really nervous about it after reading some of the reports. I was afraid it would seriously affect wait times for ride that normally have shorter waits during the day. I was afraid we'd be doing a lot of waiting around for our FP time. Neither of these proved to be true. However, it's important to note we went during a "slower" time (January). I loved arriving at rope drop, riding some of the bigger rides and then knowing we had FPs for them for later in the day. There was no mad rush to try to get paper FP and I really liked this aspect. Regarding 4th FPs...again, remember we went during a slower time. However, when we went to the FP kiosks to get a 4th FP later in the day almost everything was available in the MK with the exception of SDMT and Anna and Elsa. We didn't try for a 4th in Animal Kingdom but Hollywood Studios and Epcot were a different story likely due to the fact that each has only a handful of big rides that everyone wants a FP for. With the way we planned to tour the parks, though, we really didn't have time for a 4th FP in these parks so it really didn't matter. We did end up getting a Fantasmic FP in HS because we figured we might as well get something and it ended up being a silly choice. It said we could arrive between 6:25 and 6:45 for the 7pm show and we arrived around 6:40 and they were directing everyone to one small area as they were the only seats left. So the FP really didn't do much except maybe guarantee us a seat had we arrived later? But it didn't get us a "better" seat or anything. One last thing...we routinely used our FPs 5 minutes before the start time and it worked every time.
MagicBands
Were awesome. Loved having everything on the one band. It was very simple and we ran into no problems at all with them the whole trip which I was really pleased with. We also linked two separate credit cards to our bands and it worked great. I had read reports of linking different credit cards and just one being charged but this did not happen.
Touring plans and recommended parks
We followed EasyWDW's recommended parks and this seemed to help a lot. I read some reports on the Disney Facebook group I belong to where people were reporting heavy crowds at the parks we were not at due to the "not recommended" status. So, it seemed like these recommendations were on point and accurate. We did not wait longer than 20 minutes for anything and that 20 minutes was for the O Canada show! I used the predicted wait times on Touring Plans and they were pretty accurate if not a little higher than what we actually experienced.
Cast members and "the magic"
I'm torn on how to report on this. On one hand the great CMs we encountered *were* great. Funny, helpful...they had the "Disney touch" you expect at the World. However, they were few and far between. I was pretty shocked at some points. There definitely seemed to be that magic touch missing in some cases. It honestly did not ruin our trip at all but I definitely noticed it. Most of our servers, including our Cali Grill server where we expected a bit more, felt like a server you'd get at your local dining establishments. Which is fine, except I think at WDW there is a level of service expected that exceeds beyond that and has been in place for many years. Just my observations.
We had a FANTASTIC trip! Be Our Guest was probably our favorite meal of the entire trip. We tried 'Ohana for the first time and LOVED it. Enchanted Tale with Belle was very cute and we just happened to stumble upon doing this...it wasn't in our plans. The Animation Academy at HS was one of the highlights of the trip! If you want to be the rebel spy on Star Tours, sit down immediately and look ahead. Most people are fumbling with their seat belts/bags/etc and they need to get a picture immediately. I read this tip on these boards and we were picked as the rebel spy multiple times! Construction was noticed but did not take away from our experience at all. I'm excited for what the future holds in the parks!
First, of course, the inescapable topic of FP+
I loved it. I was really nervous about it after reading some of the reports. I was afraid it would seriously affect wait times for ride that normally have shorter waits during the day. I was afraid we'd be doing a lot of waiting around for our FP time. Neither of these proved to be true. However, it's important to note we went during a "slower" time (January). I loved arriving at rope drop, riding some of the bigger rides and then knowing we had FPs for them for later in the day. There was no mad rush to try to get paper FP and I really liked this aspect. Regarding 4th FPs...again, remember we went during a slower time. However, when we went to the FP kiosks to get a 4th FP later in the day almost everything was available in the MK with the exception of SDMT and Anna and Elsa. We didn't try for a 4th in Animal Kingdom but Hollywood Studios and Epcot were a different story likely due to the fact that each has only a handful of big rides that everyone wants a FP for. With the way we planned to tour the parks, though, we really didn't have time for a 4th FP in these parks so it really didn't matter. We did end up getting a Fantasmic FP in HS because we figured we might as well get something and it ended up being a silly choice. It said we could arrive between 6:25 and 6:45 for the 7pm show and we arrived around 6:40 and they were directing everyone to one small area as they were the only seats left. So the FP really didn't do much except maybe guarantee us a seat had we arrived later? But it didn't get us a "better" seat or anything. One last thing...we routinely used our FPs 5 minutes before the start time and it worked every time.
MagicBands
Were awesome. Loved having everything on the one band. It was very simple and we ran into no problems at all with them the whole trip which I was really pleased with. We also linked two separate credit cards to our bands and it worked great. I had read reports of linking different credit cards and just one being charged but this did not happen.
Touring plans and recommended parks
We followed EasyWDW's recommended parks and this seemed to help a lot. I read some reports on the Disney Facebook group I belong to where people were reporting heavy crowds at the parks we were not at due to the "not recommended" status. So, it seemed like these recommendations were on point and accurate. We did not wait longer than 20 minutes for anything and that 20 minutes was for the O Canada show! I used the predicted wait times on Touring Plans and they were pretty accurate if not a little higher than what we actually experienced.
Cast members and "the magic"
I'm torn on how to report on this. On one hand the great CMs we encountered *were* great. Funny, helpful...they had the "Disney touch" you expect at the World. However, they were few and far between. I was pretty shocked at some points. There definitely seemed to be that magic touch missing in some cases. It honestly did not ruin our trip at all but I definitely noticed it. Most of our servers, including our Cali Grill server where we expected a bit more, felt like a server you'd get at your local dining establishments. Which is fine, except I think at WDW there is a level of service expected that exceeds beyond that and has been in place for many years. Just my observations.
We had a FANTASTIC trip! Be Our Guest was probably our favorite meal of the entire trip. We tried 'Ohana for the first time and LOVED it. Enchanted Tale with Belle was very cute and we just happened to stumble upon doing this...it wasn't in our plans. The Animation Academy at HS was one of the highlights of the trip! If you want to be the rebel spy on Star Tours, sit down immediately and look ahead. Most people are fumbling with their seat belts/bags/etc and they need to get a picture immediately. I read this tip on these boards and we were picked as the rebel spy multiple times! Construction was noticed but did not take away from our experience at all. I'm excited for what the future holds in the parks!
