Here and Dissapointed

[damiel]

We are Disney vets, I had it down pat but I am nervous with all of the changes. Is there a thread on FP+ strategies? I feel so lost. I don't know how a first time visitor does it? With ADR's, FP+, Magic Bands, Early entry.... I think most first time visitors miss a lot of the experience trying to figure it all out. Thank God for the DIS Boards.

 

[bshawcrew]

I'm really sorry you are having a frustrating time. Maybe you are trying too hard to forget about your work and it's causing you to compare the feeling? We are all creatures of habit - so try to do Disney without thinking about the way you do work.
I hope tomorrow will bring a day full of pixie dust for you.
Oh, and rope drop really does work well for us - every single time.

I will admit, that made me giggle. No, I've not got work on the brain. But when I have to plan so much it does FEEL like work.

Yes, we've been using our 3 fast passes. Are done with them by noon. But we have a 3 year old with us so have to do the afternoon break thing. I usually get our 4th for that afternoon. In the past we could have hopped on a few more non headliners on the way out the door but that's no more.

It's like success now is to ride the big rides once in our trip and if we are lucky we can maybe get some smaller ones in. Previously, success was riding the headliners multiple times and the non headliners were a given.

There also seems to be an INSANE amount of people here this week and I have been at some of the busiest times of the year.

Thanks everyone. Despite it all I'm still contemplating upgrading to APs and making some smaller trips just to see if we can make it work or if Disney is a thing of our past.

 

[dance2874]

I just wanted to say there were 2 HUGE cheer competitions at Disney the past 2 weeks in a row and a race event this past weekend as well. I would expect crowds to go down considerably as the week goes on as the last competition ended Sunday night.

 

[lwyrwood]

We are Disney vets, I had it down pat but I am nervous with all of the changes. Is there a thread on FP+ strategies? I feel so lost. I don't know how a first time visitor does it? With ADR's, FP+, Magic Bands, Early entry.... I think most first time visitors miss a lot of the experience trying to figure it all out. Thank God for the DIS Boards.

Last year was my first trip to WDW and we were clueless. Been to Disneyland many times but that's a whole different ball of wax. This time I found the boards and it will be an entirely different/more enjoyable WDW experience.
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Me DD17

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[kathy884]

We stay offsite, and the report of standby lines had me nervous / did I even want to go to Orlando. Anyway, what I've been doing (and a lot of people might not find this appealing at all or like touring this way), is getting a subscription to touringplan.com and plugging in my arrival time and wish list of attractions and using the optimize feature to see what projected wait times were. // And I play with it a bit. Add and subtract attractions. // If my park days look good, I book the trip. If not I skip it.

This convinced me to go ahead and go the week before Christmas week when DS is done with his college finals.

Might not be worth it at this point, but wondering if touringplan.com suggestions would help you lower line waiting time. That's the major purpose of the plans. Could be worth a try? A subscription is just $13 for a year.

 

[JennyDrake]

I was there Fri-Mon and I can assure you that cheer groups were NOT the problem. We hardly saw them even at MK phase 2 on Monday. No large tour groups either just families galore.

 

[amg35]

I was there Fri-Mon and I can assure you that cheer groups were NOT the problem. We hardly saw them even at MK phase 2 on Monday. No large tour groups either just families galore.

But still, a phase 2 closing would be the reason for the long lines, yes? I'm not sure what phase 2 means, but it sounds pretty crowded!

Oh well, we'll just ride the people mover over and over.

 

[DebbieB]

But still, a phase 2 closing would be the reason for the long lines, yes? I'm not sure what phase 2 means, but it sounds pretty crowded!

Oh well, we'll just ride the people mover over and over.

Copied from another thread:

There are four stages to park closing:

Stage 1 - The parking lot entrance is closed. You can only access the park if you are using Disney Transportation.

Stage 2 - The ticket windows are all closed (and the automated Ticket Vending Machines are turned off). Unless you already have a ticket you cannot get in.

Stage 3 - Only people with Annual Passes or current Resort IDs will be allowed in.

Stage 4 - Nobody is allowed in.

Note - having restaurant reservations in a park, even with written proof, will not override a stage closing for you.

Also, if you are staying at a Disney owned and operated Resort and have a ticket, you are guaranteed entry into A park. Not necessarily the one you want (unless you want to go into AK). And if you have entered and left a park and do not have a hopper you may not get into anything.

If it was a phase 2 close, it had to be very crowded.

 

[anniemae]

just curious as why it is so crowded now? April breaks are over, and school is not out yet anywhere. I figured it would not be overly crowded this time of year.

We are not rope drop or planning people either. I am kind of nervous for our next trip.

It seems Disney is more crowded than ever.

 

[JeremyGNJ]

just curious as why it is so crowded now? April breaks are over, and school is not out yet anywhere. I figured it would not be overly crowded this time of year.

We are not rope drop or planning people either. I am kind of nervous for our next trip.

It seems Disney is more crowded than ever.

Waits don't look all that long right now. 7:50pm Tuesday

Soarin: 45 min
Test Track: 65
Space Mountain: 30
Big Thunder: 45
Splash Mountain: 50

Long, but not crazy for this time.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Maybe I just don't know how to make it work. Or maybe it's the way we usually do Disney. I came with a positive attitude after weeks of planning our fast passes. We are not rope drop people, but find now we need to be. But I think the most frustrating for us are the standby lines. We have stood in lines for up to an hour in the past to ride headliners, but always had our fillers, the things we could always walk on to fill time. HM, POTC, IASW, etc. But now they all have outrageous lines. I don't know. Feeling a little bummed and now wishing we had chose to cruise or something. And we are 1-2 x a year visitors. I see alot of people now saying they love FP + so maybe we just haven't learned how to make it work yet. It just feels strangely like my job. Lots of planning and time management to fit all the desired tasks in. Sigh, gonna try a different strategy tomorrow.

@bshawcrew

Do the parks seemed crowded? Are the walkways crowded or do they seem empty and yet the lines for rides are long even though there are not many people in the parks?

Have you been to the three non-MK parks?

How crowded(or not) do *they* seem?

 

[Kitten<3Duck]

Waits don't look all that long right now. 7:50pm Tuesday

Soarin: 45 min
Test Track: 65
Space Mountain: 30
Big Thunder: 45
Splash Mountain: 50

Long, but not crazy for this time.

Yeah. This seems about right. That's what's so confusing to me about all the complaints. The wait times seem identical to what we've encountered all the past years. Who knows.

 

[bshawcrew]

@bshawcrew

Do the parks seemed crowded? Are the walkways crowded or do they seem empty and yet the lines for rides are long even though there are not many people in the parks?

Have you been to the three non-MK parks?

How crowded(or not) do *they* seem?

We are in MK now enjoying the backside while the craziness is up front. Tonight, no, it doesn't feel overly crowded, at lest not back here. We have been to HS and Epcot and yes, they were crowded, but nothing like MK has been. As stated, Weve been Disney people for 16 years, going at least once a year, sometimes 2, and have never seen it like it has been so far. At least tonight is enjoyable.

 

[bshawcrew]

Oh, tonight, since 6, we've ridden HM, Splash, Peter Pan ( fast passes) and did standby for IASW and Mermaid, so tonight is going better.

 

[cccory]

I am worrying about the same thing. Too much planning to keep it enjoyable. I was planning FP+ for the afternoon, figuring the morning crowds won't be too bad and getting on rides would be easier. But now I am reading book all your FP+ in the morning, so you can get the 4th, 5th, 6th. Is this the way to do it?
It sounds like just roaming around the parks and riding some of those filler rides are not going to be the thing to do. It sounds like we will be spending more time at the resort/swimming. Which isn't a bad thing, just different.

 

[disneyhousewife]

I hope your trip gets better!

 

[margaret07013]

I am here with my family right now and I will have agree that FP+ have changed parks for better and worse. I went last year so that's my reference point. I have two small children ( 2 and 4 ) and we are able to make it manageable by using "baby swap privileges" and RD and going against "crowd calendars" suggestions ( it works for May during low season if there is one in Disney ) and also against some logic about FP+ selection.

For those looking for advice / suggestion - look at and ask those who are " similar " to your party --- it's one thing to read a report from young couple with no children - it's a different story for a family with 2 strollers and 2-3 small children.

We had good first two days with 2 small children and 2 strollers - on Monday in MK we did 9-10 attractions with little or no wait time and 8 in Epcot. Yes, there is some planning and logic behind it and you have to re-think everything from a different view. Example - would you waste ( that's what initially I thought at first ) FP+ for night time parade spot or take FP+ for any Fantasy ride? ( assuming you want both experience ) I decided to take FP+ for the parade spot and simply did 2-3 rides after dinner as walk ons while majority of people camped out on Main Street for 1-2 hrs for good spot.

So for the " price " of one wasted FP+ selection we did 2-3 rides in Fantasyland when the weather was "nice" and had perfect parade spot.

 

[d-r]

Yeah. This seems about right. That's what's so confusing to me about all the complaints. The wait times seem identical to what we've encountered all the past years. Who knows.

8:00 at night on a Tuesday in early May, those are crazy long wait times to me.

 

[BlueFairy]

...
Yes, we've been using our 3 fast passes. Are done with them by noon. But we have a 3 year old with us so have to do the afternoon break thing. I usually get our 4th for that afternoon. In the past we could have hopped on a few more non headliners on the way out the door but that's no more.
…

I wonder if you have always toured with a little one. Is this a new addition to your group? Or have the child's preferences changed as they are getting bigger?
I ask because DH and I have found that our Disney days just don't work the way they did with no children or even just one toddler. Touring adults can zip here and there, wait for fastpasses, and child swap all day long. We haven't been able to do that since oldest DD reached the age of having her own opinions about rides. It has been a huge adjustment, especially for me, since I am the geek in the family who wants to run commando through the parks all day.
Anyway, just wondering if a change in touring style for your family happens to coincide with the intro of FP+.
Or maybe not . . .

...

For those looking for advice / suggestion - look at and ask those who are " similar " to your party --- it's one thing to read a report from young couple with no children - it's a different story for a family with 2 strollers and 2-3 small children.

We had good first two days with 2 small children and 2 strollers - on Monday in MK we did 9-10 attractions with little or no wait time and 8 in Epcot. Yes, there is some planning and logic behind it and you have to re-think everything from a different view. Example - would you waste ( that's what initially I thought at first ) FP+ for night time parade spot or take FP+ for any Fantasy ride? ( assuming you want both experience ) I decided to take FP+ for the parade spot and simply did 2-3 rides after dinner as walk ons while majority of people camped out on Main Street for 1-2 hrs for good spot.

So for the " price " of one wasted FP+ selection we did 2-3 rides in Fantasyland when the weather was "nice" and had perfect parade spot.

This . . . I am seeing people with touring strategies and wonderful suggestions that just won't work for a single mom trying to keep track of 2 young kids. I won't be able to devote my attention to an app while keeping track of them. Or ride mountains in the morning before the lines get long. It's going to take a whole new way of thinking and looking at the park from their perspective.
I do think paying the "price" of a FP+ for MSEP may turn out to be the way to go for us.

 

[ajwolfe]

Yeah. This seems about right. That's what's so confusing to me about all the complaints. The wait times seem identical to what we've encountered all the past years. Who knows.

I feel this way about a lot of these types of posts. We usuallyl travel in the less busy times and it's nothing to encounter these types of waits in the afternoons/early evenings.