bryanb
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2013
- Messages
- 1,871
Greetings from Walt Disney World! I've been here since June 10. I haven't had a lot of park time, since we're here for the AAU Wrestling Disney Duals, a youth tournament at ESPN WWoS. But we have enjoyed an afternoon at Typhoon Lagoon, an evening at Animal Kingdom, and a few hours at the Magic Kingdom.
Here are some thoughts and planning tips so far:
Crowds: During the time I've had in the parks, crowds have been manageable. At night, the rains have kept the temperature comfortable and the throngs of guests manageable. Even Pandora has been walkable in the evenings. (I haven't tried the morning crush of rope drop. That's probably less fun.)
Construction: So much road construction right now. According to a few cast members, it's causing traffic jams and causing problems with certain bus routes, especially when it rains. We've seen the busses run far behind the usual schedule to Disney Springs. Make sure you plan to leave an extra 20 minutes earlier than usual if you have ADRs. From Pop Century, busses were so late that people were taking Uber or missing their dinner start time. From Magic Kingdom at night, we sat in traffic for an extra 15 minutes. The bus lanes eventually came in handy and we zipped along after that.
Pandora: To be honest, I disliked Avatar the movie. But the design of this land is great, and it completely transforms after sunset into a different experience. I recommend scheduling time to see Pandora during the day and at night. A most stunning moment came as the sun set behind the big floating mountain, and dozens of people stopped for a moment as brilliant light pour around the rock and bathed the dripping waterfalls in deep orange. I don't know if this happens every day. I'll try to upload a photo but they don't do the moment justice.
At night, the land is very dark, by the way. Several guests commented on how hard it was to see compared to most of WDW theme parks. I'm sure this was necessary to make the lighting effects pop. But do watch your step!
We rode the Na'vi River Journey toward the end of the night. The posted time was 30 minutes, but the wait was only 20 minutes. The line moves very fast on this ride, even though it looks long. To be honest, it wasn't worth the wait (for me). Flight of Passage, on the other hand, is spectacular and intense and fun. I wish I could go on this again and again. It is absolutely a FP+ priority, on multiple days if you can.
Happily Ever After: Great show and a worthy successor to Wishes. Right now, it's not fully dark when the show starts, but it's not an issue. There's a lot going on with both the projections and the fireworks, which makes me feel a bit less focused. I'm sure a few repeat viewings in the coming years will solve that. I think some people will always miss Wishes... and I hope the Wishes theme song makes a reappearance in some future Disney show.
If anyone has questions, feel free to post and I'll try to answer! Our competition wrapped up today so we're ready for some leisure tomorrow. It's a great time to be here!
Here are some thoughts and planning tips so far:
Crowds: During the time I've had in the parks, crowds have been manageable. At night, the rains have kept the temperature comfortable and the throngs of guests manageable. Even Pandora has been walkable in the evenings. (I haven't tried the morning crush of rope drop. That's probably less fun.)
Construction: So much road construction right now. According to a few cast members, it's causing traffic jams and causing problems with certain bus routes, especially when it rains. We've seen the busses run far behind the usual schedule to Disney Springs. Make sure you plan to leave an extra 20 minutes earlier than usual if you have ADRs. From Pop Century, busses were so late that people were taking Uber or missing their dinner start time. From Magic Kingdom at night, we sat in traffic for an extra 15 minutes. The bus lanes eventually came in handy and we zipped along after that.
Pandora: To be honest, I disliked Avatar the movie. But the design of this land is great, and it completely transforms after sunset into a different experience. I recommend scheduling time to see Pandora during the day and at night. A most stunning moment came as the sun set behind the big floating mountain, and dozens of people stopped for a moment as brilliant light pour around the rock and bathed the dripping waterfalls in deep orange. I don't know if this happens every day. I'll try to upload a photo but they don't do the moment justice.
At night, the land is very dark, by the way. Several guests commented on how hard it was to see compared to most of WDW theme parks. I'm sure this was necessary to make the lighting effects pop. But do watch your step!
We rode the Na'vi River Journey toward the end of the night. The posted time was 30 minutes, but the wait was only 20 minutes. The line moves very fast on this ride, even though it looks long. To be honest, it wasn't worth the wait (for me). Flight of Passage, on the other hand, is spectacular and intense and fun. I wish I could go on this again and again. It is absolutely a FP+ priority, on multiple days if you can.
Happily Ever After: Great show and a worthy successor to Wishes. Right now, it's not fully dark when the show starts, but it's not an issue. There's a lot going on with both the projections and the fireworks, which makes me feel a bit less focused. I'm sure a few repeat viewings in the coming years will solve that. I think some people will always miss Wishes... and I hope the Wishes theme song makes a reappearance in some future Disney show.
If anyone has questions, feel free to post and I'll try to answer! Our competition wrapped up today so we're ready for some leisure tomorrow. It's a great time to be here!
