Haw was Vets Day/Soap weekend?

[awatt]

I would love to hear ny reports/coments on this past weekend,in particular how were the crowds at MK and MGM on Vets/Soap weekend. We are booked for this time next year. Thanks!

 

[GADzilla]

We left on Saturday, but by Thursday morning the parks were PACKED (almost to mid-summer proportions, but not quite) because of the Super Soap garbage and the large "Jersey Week" crowds. For the most part it was manageable with FastPass and careful planning, but I'll make sure never to visit on this week again.

Gregg G. -

 

[BobBrazeal]

I was at MGM for about half a day yesterday. It was much more crowded than it has been the last month or so but being super soap weekend, that was to be expected. Seems that most of the super soap folks are there for that one purpose and so are mostly in lines for autographs and photos. It may have affected the attraction lines at some attractions but for the most part, it seemed that the waits were no different yesterday than they were last weekend.

The parking lot was full so I was expecting the crowd. ToT was a walk on, RnR was 20 minute wait, standby lines at WWTBAM were no more than 40 people and Great Movie Ride was a 25 minute wait which it has been for several weeks now. Lines for food and drink were noticably longer. Seemed to me that most of the soap crowd were really there for that and nothing else. I found a spot for the 4:30 parade at 4:10 and I was out of the sun and right up front! Wasn't a problem at all.

If you don't want the streets full then I'd avoid super soap weekend but if you don't mind that, the ride / show waits seemed to me to be about the same. Others may have experienced otherwise but I didn't have any trouble at all.

 

[Diane D]

We just got back last night from a short trip....Thurs. 11/7 - Sun. 11/10. We usually visit in June or July and were expecting the crowds to be smaller than what we're used to. But we also thought the crowds this past weekend were just about as big as the summer crowds. MK was packed on Saturday. From others' suggestions about avoiding MK on Saturdays, we knew to expect it to be busy but we really did expect it to be as crowded as it was. We were at the Studios yesterday and the crowds were huge again, mostly I'm sure because of the Super Soap Weekend. We did not go there for that and really wished we would have hit that park on Friday instead of Sunday. I think I would try to avoid this week again also!

 

[Greg K.]

We were there from 11/1 - 11/10. The first week was great (despite all those Jersey-ites!) and the parks were all comfortably cluttered with people, but not PACKED. Many rides had short waits; using Fast Pass, you could do almost everything efficiently.

The Soap Weekend was another story. Saturday and Sunday at MGM were JAMMED. That's the bad news. The good news is that most were there to ogle the stars and snap pictures and get autographs. Who cared about rides when there were TV stars around? Rock-n-Roller Coaster was a five minute wait on Saturday!! I walked on and did it twice.

 

[LKS]

We spent Saturday at Epcot doing the Food and Wine festival and I found that just fine. We had been for 10 days in June, and we found it much LESS crowded in Future World and about the same in the World Showcase. We bought one-day tickets and walked through security with no wait at 9am, and that was a first for us too. Actually, only the lines for the food booths were a wait - we walked into every show, had a 5 minute wait for Maelstrom and for the first time in my life there was no wait at the Patisserie in France. The worst booth was Canada and that was about 20 minutes wait. We also found great seats for Illuminations about 20 minutes before it started and we were not crushed by rude latecomers as we usually are. All in all, it was a great success.

 

[Mary Ellen]

We 'stumbled' upon the first Super Soap Weekend. NO problem, as others have mentioned, the soap fans were in line for 'soap events' not rides. Wouldn't have a problem going again during this time.

We also 'stumbled' upon 'Jersey week' another year. We won't make that mistake twice.

I can't imagine the two combined.

 

[gepetto]

Monday MGM wasn't crowded at all. We went to AK on Saturday and MK and Epcot Sunday and the crowds weren't bad.

 

[sramille]

I was there 11/7-11/11 to do SSW and other Disney stuff. Friday we went to MK,AK and Epcot. MK was decent in the morning, but the crowds were getting noticeably larger by about noon. We walked on AE and tried SpM, but it was closed. Used a FP for Splash. Walked into the Tiki Room. Waited about 20 mins in front of the park for a picture with Mickey in front of the train station. There were all sorts of characters about.
The AK was perfect. Walked on the safari and into ITTBAB.
Epcot was pretty crowded. Tried to get to TT, but it was a 60 min wait and no FP left. Tried to go to Body Wars, but it wasn't open. Waited about 15 mins for HISTA. Stayed for ToD and Illuminations.
I was in MGM all day Sat and Sun. On Sat, we waited about 10 minutes for RnR and walked on ToT. Waited about 10 minutes for the Backlot Tour. Watched the 4:30 parade, but didn't have a very good view. On Sunday, we decided to get FP for RnR although the wait was only 20 mins. When we returned, the FP line was the longest I've ever seen it, ended up waiting 20 mins anyway. I'm guessing that the ride must have shut down for a bit.
On Monday, we went back to AK around noon....it was packed! Didn't seem to impact the attractions too much though. Had about a 10 min wait for Dinosaur, walked on Primeval Whirl, and walked into Tarzan Rocks. The safari was a 25 min wait so we did FP which still took about 10 mins.

 

[mrsltg]

MK on SAturday was ridiculous! The wait time for Jungle Cruise was 45 minutes at 5:30pm! Everything was running close to an hour for wait times in the evening. The rest of the week was so-so (11/4-11/10). We won't be coming back the first week in November!

Oh well... live and learn!

Erin

 

[Dopey Sharon]

We were there from the 4th to the 11th and won't go that week again. Saturday, we went to Epcot, MGM and Magic Kingdom and found each park crowded, especially the Magic Kingdom. I thought the crowds would thin out after the 9pm parade, but I was wrong. We ended up leaving around 10.

 

[Minnie02]

I was there 11/5 - 11/12. Here's what we did and crowds:

11/5 Tues - downtown disney (it was so hot and humid we decided to skip doing a park)

11/6 - Wed - MK - Got to park a little after 9 am - pooh had a 15 minute wait - along with almost everything. Stayed for the 3 pm parade then went POFQ then to Epcot -saw TOD then left- DD did not feel good so we did not stay long. Not crowded at either park.

11/7 - Th - MGM - stayed all day and saw Fantasmic. This is the first time I spent the entire day in one park. DD decided she wanted to do the Hollywood and Vine character breakfast so we got a time of 10:15 am (did not make a previous ps). We walked in the shops awhile then had breakfast and hit the rides/attractions. The average wait was 20 to 30 minutes. Not too bad at all. Star Tours had a 25 minute wait - (which I did not mind - I like the que - so much to see!) but when we got to get on they only had one shuttle working out of four! I don't understand why they did not have at least two running - I guess they like to make you wait!! Not too crowded.

11/8 Fri - off day

11/9 Sat - Epcot - not crowded. AKL break. AK for 4:00 parade - not too bad - Chef Mickey's for dinner then to MK for FIS and 9pm Spectro. We just sat on a curb on Main St on the circle - did not go in the park. The parade started at the circle so we did not hit a crowd at the buses either - we were one of the first ones out of the park after the parade. Not sure if MK was crowded because we did not go in the park!

11/10 Sun - MK MOBBED!!!! I thought Sunday was the least busiest day at MK - Even it's a small world had a wait!!! It was very hot too! Back to AKL for pool break then to Epcot - again MOBBED! Got to world showcase and stayed about five minutes between the crowds and the heat I felt like I couldn't breathe!

11/11 Mon - MGM - not crowded at all walked right on RnR at 9:30 am. Went to AK - slightly crowded and HOT!! CM said AK is the hottest park in the summer because of the foliage it is more humid and the coldest in the winter. Did a few things then back to AKL - decided to call it a day. We were going to go to Epcot but did not feel like dealing with people in the heat! I have a much higher tolerance for crowds when it is cooler out - heat + crowds = extremely annoyed for me!!!!

11/12 went home

I think it was soo crowded on the weekend because it was a three day holiday plus super soap weekend. Earlier in the week was fine - even though all of us jersey-ites were there!!! I was there last year for the same week and it was not crowded at all - of course this was right after 9/11.

 

[rugratsmom66]

We were there from 11/7 to 11/13. I've found that during the first two hours you can get alot done if you plan things out. We get a Fast Pass first thing for one ride and then stand in line for another. The waits weren't two bad until around 11:00 AM

Friday - went to AK in the morning and then MK in the afternoon - the longest we waited was 20 minutes but we used Fast Past for eveything we could.

Saturday - went to MGM first thing and did the rides and it wasn't too bad but by 11 AM it was so crowded that you couldn't even walk. The waits for food at the stands were about 45 minutes so we left for MK. MK was crowded but at least you could get around. We used Fast Past and were able to get all the rides done that we wanted to. I thought the crowds would thin after the 7 PM fireworks but they didn't. The popular rides had 60 minute wait times. Ugghh!

Sunday - we didn't even attempt to go to the parks - just hung around the pool and then shopping at Downtown Disney which was fairly crowded.

Monday and Tuesday - The crowds thinned considerably and we had a very enjoyable time at Epcot and MGM.

Note to self - definately never go to Disney during Super Soak weekend again!

 

[Disneyluver4Life]

I am a Soap Fan and I will tell you this that I spent the whole weekend in Mgm and I have to say that if I wasnt there for the soap stars, I would have NEVER went into Mgm. Yes, I must admit the attraction lines were not long but the crowds and sometimes the streets would be at a hault. I hate it when your unable to even move. Sometimes I felt sandwhiched in between people. If you have kids in a carriage I wouldnt suggest Mgm on those two days , but thats my opinion!!

 

[joyful1nh]

We were there Sat - Tues. You can see and do a lot with very careful planning and execution -- but not a good time to go if you want to wing it!

Sat -- We arrived impossibly late at the MK so we FP'd Peter Pan & Pooh. While waiting for one we went on the Riverboat -- no wait. Then we went to Tom Sawyer Island, again no wait. Used our FPs and walked on with no waits (there was a break in there waiting for the 2nd one to become active.) About 3 or so the crowds became unbearable so we went back to the Poly for some R&R & a nap. Had 6:00 PS at the Plaza, then watched fireworks & FP'd Space Mtn. Then took DD on several consecutive Barnstormer rides (no lines, no waiting) -- rode Pirates (again no lines) during Spectro, caught the end of Spectro, back to Barnstormer and then to Space Mtn with FP's. Then IASW (no line) and the Tomorrowland Speedway (no line). Then the park closed on us!

Sun -- Epcot day. Again got a late start. Moderate crowd. Did food things, FP'd TT and got a "surprise bonus" FP on I Shrunk. Short lines at all the WS attractions as everyone was too busy eating!

Mon -- MK a.m. and Epcot p.m. 10 min for Splash, 15 for BTMRR, FP'd Haunted Mansion, early lunch (11:30) with no wait, FP'd Jungle Cruise, walk in to Tiki Room. FP'd the Land at Epcot, walked onto Spaceship Earth...

Tues -- MGM light crowd. Walked onto ToT 3x. RnR 10 min. Star Tours 10 min. FP'd Little Mermaid. Then had to go catch plane

 

[susy]

You can read my trip reports- Brown's last Hurrah

We were at MK on sat- nov9 and It was very manageable- we got there VERY early- first riders on space mountain.
We did pooh, pan, HM, splash had a 5minute wait at 10am, got a FP for TM (stand by was 10 min), Tom sawyer, got FP for JC, 5 minute wait for Pirates adn walked into Hall of Pres. . It was crowded, but we had a great time ! On sun went to ak- no waits for anything. Got a FP for the safari because we did it last.

If you don't HAVE to travel at this time, I would opt for a slower time.

 

[pollyanna]

Funny...I went the first week in Nov because i thought it WAS a "slower" time....didn't know about "Jersey weeK". The only park that was impossibly crowded was MK. We left the park right after our marvelous Gourmet lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern.

I was tired of playing "dodge the carriage/stroller/electric scooter" game.

 

[awatt]

Thanks for this VERY useful info. We will be rescheduling to a less busy time.

 

[pollyanna]

One other thingg...Fantasmic was another thing we walked out of....standing room only a half hour before it began.

 

[Poohbear123]

See my Pictures to Prove it! They are on the All My Children thread on the Community Board! I found this years SSW to be VERY Mangageble--however, I did not stay past 4:00pm. My SSW Partner and I, Christine, got there first thing in the morning, and left about 3:00 each day, not very crowded at ALL! However, we also made the mistake and went to MK late Sat. night! BIG Mistake, but we manged with Fast Passes! Stayed till 9:30 and left, the park was open till 11 that night! It needed to be! Yes I am going again NEXT year! Gotta get MORE pics of Soap Stars--see my tag!