Back from WDW & Fort Wilderness

[youngsbcamper]

We just got back last night from WDW & camping at Fort Wilderness. We had a good time, except it was VERY crowded. If you didn't get to the parks that opened Early & get fast passes by 11:00 am you didn't get one for the day. At Epcot's Soarin it was a 2 hr. wait during the day, so we went back during Extra Magic hrs in the even. & still waited 45 min. Test Track was a wait also, but worth it. DS loved it! I missed Mission Space because we wanted to ride Soarin. There was no way you could have done all of WDW in 6 days! It was so crowded & they were working on the Fast Passes all week, so certain days certain very popular rides there were no fast passes. We loved the campground what little we saw of it. We managed to see Chip & Dale at one of the nightly campfires. But, it was around the same time that MK did fireworks & the parade. So, we only saw them 1 time, because we tried to do the extra magic hrs in the evenings so we could do a few things. The busses seemed to take forever also. We got to the bus stop to go to Typhoon Lagoon at 3:00pm. We arrived at 4:15pm. UGGGGH! We only had 1 hr. 45 min. before they closed. The man appologized for taking so long, he mummbled something about them retiring that bus next year. I think it should've already been retired! Maybe there is a better time of year to go. I asked 1 of the bus drivers & he said it was pretty much like this all the time! My feet were so swollen last night, it reminded me of when I was pregnant. So, here I am at work today exhausted w/a mountain of laundry waiting on me at home! I couldn't find my weiner dog this morn. & there he was in the middle of the pile, LOL!

 

[okeydokey]

We were there last week too and one day at Epcot we had fast passes for Soarin, the stand by line said 120 minutes. However, when we got on to where we could see the people in the stand by line, there was not one single person in it. Nobody at all. Strange.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I have never seen the standby lines take as long as the posted sign says.

 

[auntie]

I think you are correct in regards to the actual wait times. We had the same thing happend to us at Soarin'. I actually asked the attendant if there really was a wait of that long..since we didn't see ANYONE. He told us to come back in an hour..then there won't be a line at all. EMH's. We decided to go in anyway...and there was NO ONE in there. We went right in as soon as the group in there exited. I should say...my family went right in...Mom is afraid of heights..so I waited for them! Believe me..there wasn't anyone coming in either. They must see that wait time and figure they will forget about it. This was right before the EMH would have kicked in..right before the Memorial Day weekend. In fact...there were also some very ticked off people when Magic Hours did go into effect, as the Energy Pavillion and several others were NOT open. Only the big thrill rides remained opened.

 

[stacktester]

Dont'cha just love trying to get back in the groove after a trip. I was at the fort last week too and we did Epcot EMH Tuesday I think it was. The wait for Soarin was to the front where u enter. It took us about 45 minutes to ride. The CM's were like zombies. I thought it could have moved quicker. We went to TT afterwards and that was not too long a wait. By the time we rode TT EMH was over though. I drove over to Epcot because if you ever want to see the biggest cluster&$@% in the world try riding the bus back to the fort. I would walk over before I would get on that bus.

EMH at the MK on Friday night was great though. Had a fp for BTM RR from earlier that day and we did SM with no wait. Almost all the rides were open. I agree with that driver who said it's always this way. It's just the norm.

 

[Colson39]

Yea, the standby lines are always based on the wait of about 15-20 minutes before, so they are never totally accurate. We have never had to wait the total time either, in fact, last trip we were with a friend who had never been on Soarin. Fastpasses were for hours and hours later, so she said she wanted to wait in the standby line (90 minute wait).

We were on Soarin in about 35 minutes

Crowds aren't ALWAYS like they are right now either, this is summer peak season for Disney. There are plenty of other times throughout the year (Jan/Feb, September/Oct) which have a tendency to have lower crowds. But in the end, it's really a matter of luck. You can have a major holiday weekend with decent crowds and what is supposed to be a slow weekend have long lines everywhere.

 

[cyberdeb]

My last trips to WDW were at the end of October/beginning of November 2001and end of September/beginning of October 2002. I have to say they were great times to go. It wasnt so hot and humid and was for the most part comfortable sleeping without air conditioning in our pop up. Our last trip in 2002 we never waited more than 10 minutes in any line and those that we did wait for were for character autographs. Rockin Roller Coaster, ToT and Space Mountain were walk right on. We got off and went right back on many times. I wouldnt go there during peak season for that very reason. My grumpy husband would never make it waiting in lines. I really hate crowds!!! I know, i am heading to DL next week during peak season and DW next June but only because i have to attend a conference for work in the area and i cant possibly be that close to any Disney Park and not stop in for a few days.