Had a great day at MK yesterday!

[DaisyJ]

DH and I had a great day at MK yesterday. We arrived at 9am opening and security and getting through the gates took about 20 minutes. Ugh. That part is a disaster and so inefficent. Disney could do so much better at that entry point.

With smart use of FP + on a solid 8-9 crowd day, we were able to ride 13 rides from 9am-10pm, only 2 were stand by, eat a qs lunch, ts dinner (Skipper Canteen was by far the best meal on property) and watch Wishes. We even scored a miraculous same day SDMT about 6pm for 9:05pm!!

Bathrooms were a disaster and I never saw an attendant in any of them. Weather has been gorgeous all week, sunny and temps near 90.

We discovered WDW is so much more fun without kids.

There was an older gentleman at lunch who asked me if people actually have fun at Disney World? He said they had been there since opening and hadn't ridden anything. It was their first trip and I asked if they had made fastpasses and he said they did. He seemed unsure, though. I told him today was a busy day and stand by lines were going to be long for most of the day. I sure hope they got to ride some attractions.

 

[shanethesaint88]

sounds like some good and some bad. Not surprising on such a crowded day! I hope the good outweighed the bad for you though. 13 rides on that busy of a day is pretty impressive! I feel bad for that older gentlemen. I think there are some people who go to Disney world and don't understand how it all works and they have a miserable time. It's sad. But anyway lol glad you had somewhat of a good time besides the crowds! I think the crowds are increasingly becoming a problem. Might be time for a 5th theme park...lol

 

[DaisyJ]

sounds like some good and some bad. Not surprising on such a crowded day! I hope the good outweighed the bad for you though. 13 rides on that busy of a day is pretty impressive! I feel bad for that older gentlemen. I think there are some people who go to Disney world and don't understand how it all works and they have a miserable time. It's sad. But anyway lol glad you had somewhat of a good time besides the crowds! I think the crowds are increasingly becoming a problem. Might be time for a 5th theme park...lol

It is spring break, so I was expecting crowds. I was sick of all those people by the end of the day! I did feel sorry for that gentleman and his party, but his daughter and young grandkids were with him, so I didn't want to butt in and offer advice.

 

[erc]

I had been tempted to engage other random guests with "Do you read Disboards?", because I am curious how many people used Disboards as part of their planning and preparation. Besides the Unofficial Guide, Disboards is how I knew what to expect. If you haven't done any research I can understand how overwhelming it must be once you get to the parks.

 

[MommaBerd]

Skipper Canteen was by far the best meal on property

We discovered WDW is so much more fun without kids.

Agreed and AGREED!!!

Glad you had such a great day!

 

[goofy4tink]

Yesterday was our 'heading home' day, but not until after lunch. My friend and I had three FPs booked, and then she was given 3 more at a DVC event!. We got to MK at 9:15, rode SDMT, People Mover (no FP, obviously!), Little Mermaid (no FP), Buzz, BTMRR, HM. We had a FP for PoC but the FP line was long and after about 8 mins in that line, I got the dread email about making a new FP due to PoC no longer being available!!! So, we walked away from that one. We left the park at about 11:30, with 2 FPs remaining. But, the crowds were miserable, so we decided to cut our losses and just relax at the CR for a bit before we had to leave.
We did find that the crowds were high the entire week we were there. Between the to be expected spring break people, there were a ton of music groups!!!

 

[erc]

We did find that the crowds were high the entire week we were there. Between the to be expected spring break people, there were a ton of music groups!!!

Yes, and many of them staying at ASMu. Seemed like all of Ohio and Illinois was there. Left yesterday also at 8:15 AM and the MK bus queue took up nearly the entire queue area so knew MK was going to be packed.

 

[goofy4tink]

Yes, and many of them staying at ASMu. Seemed like all of Ohio and Illinois was there. Left yesterday also at 8:15 AM and the MK bus queue took up nearly the entire queue area so knew MK was going to be packed.

There were some at Movies as well!!! I got stuck in the middle of a marching band group over the weekend!!! When I was offered a snack, it brought me right back to my dd's marching band days in high school, 5 yrs ago. Just like chaperoning the band bus!!!! Dear God!! But, at least most of the music kids I saw were pretty well behaved. Much better than the Dec groups!!!

 

[erc]

But, at least most of the music kids I saw were pretty well behaved. Much better than the Dec groups!!!

Exactly my impression. Typical rambunctious teenagers, but very polite and friendly.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

This maybe a bit OT, but I wonder what Disney is going to do to ensure a positive experience for guests now that crowds are consistently higher than they have been in recent years. I know they are paying attention and are trying, because the new security process for MK will help. But I'm curious to see what else they will do.

 

[dis4beth]

My daughters high school marching band will be there April 17-22 (our spring break). Do you happen to know what parade the kids marched in? The itinerary from her school has them marching at 6:30pm but I don't find any parades at Magic Kingdom at that time. Is it possible there is just a "parade" of marching bands from all over at that time?

 

[MerMermaid79]

My daughters high school marching band will be there April 17-22 (our spring break). Do you happen to know what parade the kids marched in? The itinerary from her school has them marching at 6:30pm but I don't find any parades at Magic Kingdom at that time. Is it possible there is just a "parade" of marching bands from all over at that time?

We were there last week and the marching bands were all over the place. There was a parade of bands around 11ish I would say(3 bands), then another one right before the 3PM parade (again 3 bands) and I believe there was another set of 3 bands in the evening around 6ish(which we did not see) - hope this helps!!

 

[RetroCOTfan]

Exactly my impression. Typical rambunctious teenagers, but very polite and friendly.

Band kids FTW.

As a former band kid and the proud dad of a drum major, I may be a little biased.

 

[dis4beth]

We were there last week and the marching bands were all over the place. There was a parade of bands around 11ish I would say(3 bands), then another one right before the 3PM parade (again 3 bands) and I believe there was another set of 3 bands in the evening around 6ish(which we did not see) - hope this helps!!

That does help, thanks! We have dinner reservations at Be Our Guest at 7:35pm so we'll be doing the mad dash through the park over there after she changes out of her uniform. No way am I giving up that ressie!

 

[MerMermaid79]

Skipper Canteen was by far the best meal on property

Totally agree!!

 

[shanethesaint88]

I had been tempted to engage other random guests with "Do you read Disboards?", because I am curious how many people used Disboards as part of their planning and preparation. Besides the Unofficial Guide, Disboards is how I knew what to expect. If you haven't done any research I can understand how overwhelming it must be once you get to the parks.

You would be suprised my how many people show up with no knowledge or planning. When I worked at Disney you found this more often than not. I'll never forget one day an older gentleman came up to the parking tram at Epcot asking if this would take him across the parking lot to Magic Kingdom. He had no idea how big this place was. Then when the Cast member explained to him about how all 4 parks are spread out and you would have to take various modes of transportation to get there, his face lit up in surprise and said there are four parks!!??? He had no idea. A lot of people just show up lol

 

[shanethesaint88]

This maybe a bit OT, but I wonder what Disney is going to do to ensure a positive experience for guests now that crowds are consistently higher than they have been in recent years. I know they are paying attention and are trying, because the new security process for MK will help. But I'm curious to see what else they will do.

Hopefully build a 5th theme park. Honestly it isn't even about I want them to build a 5th theme park anymore. I honestly think they need to, to help with the crowds. The parks are busting at the seems

 

[lovethattink]

Sounds like you accomplished a lot!

The bathrooms seem to always be a disaster. I remember going in the early 90's and amazed at how clean they always were.

 

[DaisyJ]

My daughters high school marching band will be there April 17-22 (our spring break). Do you happen to know what parade the kids marched in? The itinerary from her school has them marching at 6:30pm but I don't find any parades at Magic Kingdom at that time. Is it possible there is just a "parade" of marching bands from all over at that time?

Yes, that is exactly what it is. My daughters band marched with 2 other bands alone at 9:50. There was another parade later in the afternoon we saw.

 

[joannamet]

I love reading posts from people who have a great Disney Day!