Here now...some thoughts

[Paigesmom2013]

Hi. We're having a fun time at WDW. Got here Saturday, staying a Pop with DH, DD5 and DD2.5. Just some ,long random thoughts:

--Went to AK Sunday and it felt very crowded. Bag check was long. We got a slow start, so like everyone says, Arrive Early! My family got a kick out of Devine, Pocahontas was great, Lion King was good. Glad we Fastpassed Safari. I felt like we needed to keep moving in the afternoon, so we skipped the Nemo show. My big snafu: It's Tough to be a Bug. I knew not to go on it, but the short wait tempted me. Kids were freaked out and now keep asking if every ride is like that!

Epcot Monday was dead. We didn't need our Nemo fastpass so I switched it to Spaceship Earth on our way out. We FP Test Track and still got to design a car (a waste of 4 minutes if you ask me.) Went on Figment (uh, what?) Our longest wait was probably for Mulan in World Showcase but not too bad. We kinda breezed thru World Showcase since the kids were getting bored.

MK on Tuesday was most recommended and it still felt a little crowded to me. Our big snafu was waiting 40 minutes for Pooh only to have it break down. One CM said we could come back and get in front of the line. The next one said no. Oh well. We had lunch ADR at BOG. So glad we preordered!! We checked in then paid while people were waiting in the hot sun. It took maybe 5 minutes for them to bring our food. Belle was cute show, mostly if you have kids. Had FP for that, PP and Elsa Anna. The standby line was an hour in the morning, 30 mins after lunch. IASW was a 25 minute wait, which is a little ridiculous to me. But I refuse to FP that ride. The parades were good, Wishes and the castle show. We got a spot on Main Street by Casey's Corner around 530 (7MSEP and 8pm Wishes) and ate there. Dad held our spot while we met Tinker bell at City Hall. One tense moment: the people next to us almost got in a fight when a really tall guy stood in front of them before Wishes. It didn't come to blows but I was on guard in case...

 

[Paigesmom2013]

Oh, hubby lost Magic Band sometime during Wishes. The conceriege desk at Pop got him a new one, no problem. Grey just like the one he had.

 

[mshanson3121]

I have to admit, I always find it amusing to see people comment on how crowded and "long" the wait times are, and then see them saying "25" minutes is long. When we were there in June/July, IASW had a 60 minute wait, AE were always 90+ etc... So, I'd consider the wait times you saw great, lol. But I know it's perspective and for this time of year you don't expect big crowds and longer waits.

 

[Paigesmom2013]

Well, my last trip was September 2013, so that trip was mostly walk on everything. I also share from the point of view of having young kids. Even a 15 minute wait is tough for toddlers.

I'd never come here during holiday breaks or summer. We just wont. Because we don't need to. I'm also getting perspective about what 4 and 5 crowd level days feel like. This is probably as hot and as crowded as we'd enjoy! But we're having a great time!

 

[walker0829]

I learned the hard way last year not to start the trip with something that might freak the kids out. DS4(3 then) rode Splash Mountain and his face in the pic was not one of joy. Needless to say it made him a bit jittery for some of the other rides.

Of course now that he's 4, he's all of a sudden big enough to ride them without being scared this year(so he claims).

 

[Quellman]

I find it interesting you don't care for the car design part. For me, that is the best part of the experience. In fact- I go to the exit, design my car there without the time limit, and load that into the ride before boarding. What totally boggles my simple mind, is why does it seem the score ranking screen at the end of each 'test' never seems to work and is down. Takes the fun out of a now generally boring ride.

Sounds like you had a good plan for fireworks. That is a must with kids that young. We watched Star Wars fireworks outside the park because we knew it would be best for our 2.5 year old.

 

[capegirl]

One tense moment: the people next to us almost got in a fight when a really tall guy stood in front of them before Wishes. It didn't come to blows but I was on guard in case...

I have witnessed some ugly Wishes/ parade dramas. I will admit to having 'mean thoughts' about people who walk up at the last minute and block the view, but so far I have managed to keep my emotions in check. I've wished that a trap door would open up under these offenders, and they would be jettisoned to the far reaches of the parking lot.

 

[KaSe]

Sounds like you had a good plan for fireworks. That is a must with kids that young. We watched Star Wars fireworks outside the park because we knew it would be best for our 2.5 year old.

Where do you recommend watching the Star Wars fireworks outside the park? We want to do this, too & I'm just wondering where the best place is to do it.

 

[Quellman]

Where do you recommend watching the Star Wars fireworks outside the park? We want to do this, too & I'm just wondering where the best place is to do it.

There are a couple of spots you could try. One near the Bus transportation information booth. This is a lighted area but easy to hear the music. The other is along the walking path on the way to the boardwalk (which we chose). It was a good location for viewing though the music was sometimes tough to hear (since we were so close to the buses). These locations are still valid since right now the show is all arial with no ground or light projections on buildings.

 

[eileen2664]

Also here now and totally agree. Our last trip was June of 09, so it's obviously been awhile. But I think the crowds are heavy, not so much the ride wait times as we've zipped right through for the most part (even TSM which said 60min Tuesday, was really only about 20), but the people tripping over each other everywhere. I cannot imagine coming mid-summer or any other busy time, my family simply doesn't have that much patience.

We made the mistake of *not* preordering BOG lunch (though we did have ADRs). Terrible decision, we waited forever just to order (once we ordered the food was ready in no time). I thought the sandwiches were ok but dh and ds didn't seem to like theirs, I think they were so annoyed by the wait that anything short of steak and lobster wouldn't have impressed them.

We didn't see Tough to be a Bug this trip, no one wanted to. But my now, 14 year old son, loves to tease us about our first trip here when he was 4, very first park, very first ride...... Tower of Terror...... I don't know what we were thinking, we are terrible parents. He refused to go on it this week. At least we've gotten a little smarter in the last 10 years and started a little slower with 5yo ds, though he's a bit of a daredevil, Splash Mountain is his favorite.

 

[KaSe]

There are a couple of spots you could try. One near the Bus transportation information booth. This is a lighted area but easy to hear the music. The other is along the walking path on the way to the boardwalk (which we chose). It was a good location for viewing though the music was sometimes tough to hear (since we were so close to the buses). These locations are still valid since right now the show is all arial with no ground or light projections on buildings.

Cool! That's kinda what I was thinking -- good to know I was on the right path, so to speak. (LOL) Thanks for the info.

 

[TXStormtrooper]

I find it interesting you don't care for the car design part. For me, that is the best part of the experience. In fact- I go to the exit, design my car there without the time limit, and load that into the ride before boarding.

Sorry to hijack the thread... I didn't know you could do this!! Very excited to learn this before our upcoming trip in May. We ran out of time on our last trip, and designing the car was my son's favorite part, too!

OP... thank you for the post and update!