DVC perk (updated report)

[valeriekc]

I had posted about how upset I was regarding the sneak preview of Expedition Everest for DVC members this weekend being combined with annual passholders previews.

Well we just got back after riding EE on Saturday and Sunday both.
1st off the ride is completely awesome and would make Walt Disney proud.
The theming, landscaping, historical and geographical references are perfect.
The technology is very impressive as well, smooth ride with lots of innovative track switching features, efficient starts and stops and the only ride I know of in WDW where you can board in the front and get the feel from the back of the train during the ride (and vice versa).

As for the crowd being too big....well I was right, it was a mob scene! However with use of fastpass and arriving early we got to ride several times both days...waits for standby today over 130 minutes!!!

It would have been so much better had they limited the ride to DVC members for the 1st weekend as it started out.
But it was certainly a lot of fun.

We did luck out and rode on one of the 1st trains early on Saturday morning and then went through the new "Serka Zong Bazaar" and were able to purchase both the limited annual passholder and DVC member opening day pins ( after they had been reportedly sold out on Friday).

So all in all things worked out and we are glad we went...I will tell you that several castmembers talked about the ride working so smoothly that they "off the record" reported a mid to late February unofficial opening with the ride being available until the official date around April which is the Earth Day theme that Animal Kingdom really likes to embrace.

This ride is going to completely change the way people plan their days with the 4 parks in mind, it will draw many folks to this park they may have never considered. (but that was Disney's plan anyway)

So there's my two cents

 

[dianeschlicht]

Darn! We have always enjoyed Animal Kingdom and the fact that it was less crowded than the other parks! I'm glad it looks like the ride will be open for us in March too!

 

[bobbiwoz]

Wow! Our family who will join us at the BCV in May will get ME, we're coming in on Thursday night, and first thing on Friday, we'll be off for AK and EE! Usually we meet friends/family at the airport, but this time they're on their own!

Bobbi

 

[CarolMN]

Thanks for the report. I can't go back until December, so all the great reports on this are really making me homesick!

Best wishes -

 

[Fonzy13]

Count me in as someone DISAPPOINTED the ride is so great.

I love the fact that Animal Kingdom is never really crowded and that I can walk on anything (except Kali River Rapids). All well.

(For all those out there who took me to be too serious, I am not actually disappointed the ride will be a success. That would be absurd.)

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

We've already decided the first thing we're going to do during our upcoming visit in March/April is head straight for the FP machine as it may be our only way to get on the ride without waiting in line forever!!!

 

[G8RFAN]

For us, AK is second only to MK for us. The ride will definitely bring more folks, but as long as they make enough chicken and ribs at the Flame Tree so they don't run out, I'm all good. I was very impressed with the attention to detail and the little stickers and leaflets place in areas to add to the realism. The queue was very well executed and should easily handle normal level crowds. I wonder how long before they decide to put dampers in those brass bells tho.

 

[Steamboat Bill]

I arrived at AK on Saturday at 8:45am thinking the park opens at (am...to my surprise they opened at 8am....we immediatly went to EE and got fast passes for 9:40 and then got in the fastpass line again and got more at 10:00. They only asked to see my tickets and I did not have to enter them in the fastpass machine (horray).


The EE was awesome....and I rode it twice with minimal wait. If you got there around noon...forget the wait was long....

 

[TinkGirl]

We were there at 8:30 a.m. Thursday. What a sea of people marching through AK!. We took the right turn to try to walk to EE through Dinoland and got turned back. That turn probably cost us half an hour. My husband and I rode it 8 times, and our kids were encouraged by the CM's to go for 10. They did. Wow! Did you notice you can see all the big landmarks from the other parks as you climb up the mountain? Very cool.

 

[jennz]

We were there Thursday around 1:30 and the wait wasn't bad, only 30 minutes in the stand by line. We ended up not riding though - DD saw it and said "NO WAY!" It looks very fun. I'm hoping it'll be open this week, heading back down and want to ride! I didn't realize there were PINS for sale - totally missed that. We did get our freebies though.

 

[TinkGirl]

You had to pick up a special pin ticket in the line. We took one, not understanding what it was--thought it was for the freebie. It turned out to be a ticket to buy the special passholder pin. We wanted to buy the DVC one, but they said they gave out all the tickets for that and wouldn't sell it to us.