kataEbi
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2013
- Messages
- 74
Just thought I'd share some thoughts/comments. I, out of the blue, surprised the girlfriend with a quick trip down for a few days.
Details on me: Been dozens of times over ~25 years. Most recent was just over a year ago.. VERY casual DISer. Wake up whenever, get to the park, do what we want, breaks for dinner, etc.
ANYWAY!
MagicBands: Absolutely love it. I didn't carry keys, wallet, anything for three days. (I did first day, just in case, found it to be pointless) -- Had everything tied to them.. room key, credit card, etc. Never once ran into an issue at all with them at any place on property. Rides, dining, rooms.. all perfect.
FastPass+: Now.. this is the week following Memorial Day. A trip that I planned A WEEK before going, and really had no trouble at all with this.
--We decided each MORNING what we were going to do, popped onto the computer, set up FPs, and headed out. NOW -- The casual part.. we were doing this at ~9am each day OF. We didn't get some of the best times, but never ran into a "ride not available" for anything at any park.
We usually got to the park by 10:30-11.. Hit a ride or two.. grabbed lunch by 1-2.. then most of our FP stuff would be around that time.
Kinda mixed on how I feel about it.. it's convenient to use the app, changing things around, look for new times, etc.. but I can see where those who were masters of the old FP system are cringing. It definitely caters to the more casual or first-ish-timers to the park. The app/smartphone integration is key though. Without it, it would be awful to manage. The kiosks and stuff only at certain spots is terrible.
It does feel more like a FAST pass though. Compared to the last when we used the old FP's.. i seem to remember they eventually just merged you into the line with everyone else at a certain point.. this time they were right up to the boarding on most rides.
Crowds: Really weren't horrible. EasyWDW had 8's most days and that was pretty accurate. We were lucky and got a quick rain shower a couple days that we were able to take advantage of (see below) The sunny days were typical: About 60min wait for Mountains, TestTrack, etc... 80 for Soarin, 7DMT. Typically about 90 degrees, which does feel a lot warmer on that asphalt, especially back at Fantasy where there's a billion people crammed between Small World and PeterPan.
All of this tapered off after about 5pm. 5-9p was the best time to jump on stuff, everyone doing dinner, waiting for fireworks, etc. We jumped onto SplashMtn as the MSEP was starting and waiting all of about 10 minutes. -- Also the post-fireworks. MK was open til midnight, got some great rides in then too. Such an awesome sight to see, the park that late.
--Story Time--
Wednesday, started at EP.. did a few rides. Checked wait times at AK. They were kinda low, so we thought we'd jump over and knock them out before dinner. We get on the bus at EP and it starts POURING RAIN. POURING. By the time we arrive at AK (20min).. the rain has all but stopped, and there are 239849283592 people lined up for busses and another 31434327 running for the busses as we're headed into the park. -- We hit Safaris, Everest, and Dinosaur, all three.. queue and all... in almost exactly 1 hour. -- No waits anywhere. It was great.
--------------------------
Anyway, all-in-all a pretty positive experience for us. Unlikely for us to go back anytime soon with a potential move out of FL.. and swallowing the spike of non-FL resident and additional travel/flight, will probably keep us away. Just becomes too expensive for what you get, especially in the busier season.
Details on me: Been dozens of times over ~25 years. Most recent was just over a year ago.. VERY casual DISer. Wake up whenever, get to the park, do what we want, breaks for dinner, etc.
ANYWAY!
MagicBands: Absolutely love it. I didn't carry keys, wallet, anything for three days. (I did first day, just in case, found it to be pointless) -- Had everything tied to them.. room key, credit card, etc. Never once ran into an issue at all with them at any place on property. Rides, dining, rooms.. all perfect.
FastPass+: Now.. this is the week following Memorial Day. A trip that I planned A WEEK before going, and really had no trouble at all with this.
--We decided each MORNING what we were going to do, popped onto the computer, set up FPs, and headed out. NOW -- The casual part.. we were doing this at ~9am each day OF. We didn't get some of the best times, but never ran into a "ride not available" for anything at any park.
We usually got to the park by 10:30-11.. Hit a ride or two.. grabbed lunch by 1-2.. then most of our FP stuff would be around that time.
Kinda mixed on how I feel about it.. it's convenient to use the app, changing things around, look for new times, etc.. but I can see where those who were masters of the old FP system are cringing. It definitely caters to the more casual or first-ish-timers to the park. The app/smartphone integration is key though. Without it, it would be awful to manage. The kiosks and stuff only at certain spots is terrible.
It does feel more like a FAST pass though. Compared to the last when we used the old FP's.. i seem to remember they eventually just merged you into the line with everyone else at a certain point.. this time they were right up to the boarding on most rides.
Crowds: Really weren't horrible. EasyWDW had 8's most days and that was pretty accurate. We were lucky and got a quick rain shower a couple days that we were able to take advantage of (see below) The sunny days were typical: About 60min wait for Mountains, TestTrack, etc... 80 for Soarin, 7DMT. Typically about 90 degrees, which does feel a lot warmer on that asphalt, especially back at Fantasy where there's a billion people crammed between Small World and PeterPan.
All of this tapered off after about 5pm. 5-9p was the best time to jump on stuff, everyone doing dinner, waiting for fireworks, etc. We jumped onto SplashMtn as the MSEP was starting and waiting all of about 10 minutes. -- Also the post-fireworks. MK was open til midnight, got some great rides in then too. Such an awesome sight to see, the park that late.
--Story Time--
Wednesday, started at EP.. did a few rides. Checked wait times at AK. They were kinda low, so we thought we'd jump over and knock them out before dinner. We get on the bus at EP and it starts POURING RAIN. POURING. By the time we arrive at AK (20min).. the rain has all but stopped, and there are 239849283592 people lined up for busses and another 31434327 running for the busses as we're headed into the park. -- We hit Safaris, Everest, and Dinosaur, all three.. queue and all... in almost exactly 1 hour. -- No waits anywhere. It was great.
--------------------------
Anyway, all-in-all a pretty positive experience for us. Unlikely for us to go back anytime soon with a potential move out of FL.. and swallowing the spike of non-FL resident and additional travel/flight, will probably keep us away. Just becomes too expensive for what you get, especially in the busier season.
