I am officially Disney done.

[Abigail Broughton]

I am at this moment on the last train out of Orlando leaving Disney 3 days early from our magical vacation due to Irma. I feel very lucky to be away from the storm. My husband wanted to stay at the Yacht Club and wait it out but I was too scared. First let me say the Yacht Club is amazing! We had room 2091. The view was perfect. From out second floor balcony we could see the beautiful boardwalk with the lighthouse the wedding gazebo and all the goings on of people walking and boats coming and going. We could see the boardwalk and last night I poured myself a glass of Pinot Grigio and watched the fireworks from HS. The mousekeeping was amazing I have more than enough H2O to last a long time. The smell of the resort the beauty of the dark wood and New England charm was delicious. I loved to walk to the BC for shopping, Beaches and cream and the pool was breathtaking. We had a character breakfast at Cape Mae that was terrific and the location of walking in and out of Epcot we loved. We visited the Swan and took advantage of all the YC offered. The concierge staff and all customer care including bell service couldnt help enough. Listen when I tell you the YC is a must stay resort. Now for the un-fun of Disneyworld. Let me just say I planned this vacation for well over a year. Every minute and every moment to hopefully make it just right for our family's needs. What you can not be prepared for no matter how meticulously planned is how ridiculously busy every single park is everyday.Too much too busy. We planned rope drop one morning at AK we headed directly to the safari which was amazing we saw a lioness or Nala welcoming us as she stood at the top of a rock and Mufasa at the bottom sunbathing in the cool morning dew. The guide said he had never seen her this way. Amazing however, the crowd at opening was awful. We actually saw a skooter run over a dad pushing his stroller just trying to get to Pandora. After getting off the safari the wait time for Navi River Journey with a fp was 60 minutes. It was very hot very early and even trying to meander through to enjoy the sights and smells was terrible. Not magical. This was how we felt at each park. We enjoyed a treat of MK garden view dessert party. Not worth it. The crowds around us were relentless. Please remove your mickey ears so others can enjoy the show. Or parents at the moment the show begins standing directly in front of you with a little one on their shoulders. Too much. My advice, fireworks viewing table at Ohana is even more relaxing and magical than at MK in front of the castle. Am I sinical an dissapointed? Yes. What happened to Disneyworld? I most definitely have lost my magic. I told my family next year a beach cottage just minutes from our home pet friendly and we will bring our Disney movies. I welcome your comments.

 

[GPC0321]

I'm sorry you didn't have a good time.

Disney is definitely a tough place for people who don't like crowds. We went over Easter last year, which is supposed to be one of the most crowded times. It really didn't bother us that much, other than having to stand on the crowded buses when traveling between the parks and our resort. And that wasn't horrible, just less-than-ideal.

Your experience at Animal Kingdom is to be expected because Pandora is still so new. Hopefully that will settle down in a few years.

Likewise, the new fireworks at Magic Kingdom are a draw, and because of the castle projection part of the show, more people are going to crowd into that area to watch than in the past when they may have been satisfied seeing it from further back or in another section of the park or even outside of the park. I know it's annoying for people to put their little ones up on their shoulders, but at the same time, imagine being a 3-foot tall child in a sea of 5-6 foot adults trying to watch fireworks.

And has Food and Wine started? That could be a reason that Epcot may have been very crowded.

Not sure about Hollywood Studios, except that it's a smaller park anyway with only a few headliners, so everyone in the park is basically trying to do: Tower of Terror, RockNRoller Coaster, or Toy Story Midway Mania. Hopefully when Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land open up, guests can be spread out in that park a bit more, as well as maybe evening out the crowds across all of the parks once they all have "must see/do" new stuff.

But, there's nothing wrong with taking a break from it all. Burn-out is a real thing, and if your experience was more stressful than enjoyable, it makes perfect sense to save your money and do something more relaxing.

 

[Abigail Broughton]

Thank you for your comment and I admire your ease of the commotion. We were there in 2013 and it was a completely different experience. So much has changed. I will forever love Disney and believe me we had amazing magical moments. We chose to have our daughters princess makeover and gown shopping at the GF. Not only was her moment so grand at the spa she also was part of the Cinderella and Prince promenade parade. Although I have no plans of returning I hope to still give my experience and advice to family and friends to make their vacation wonderful.

 

[loves to dive]

Crowds anywhere can be very upsetting, I live in a college town and we avoid going to town on football weekends because there is just too much stress. Disney, or anywhere for that matter, have no control over how people will act. It's unfortunate but a fact. Heck, I live in Georgia, while in the technical hurricane path we will probably only get heavyish winds and some rain. You would have thought the sky was falling at the gas station, I had to wait 1/2 hour for gas then a truck pulling a trailer over twice it's length thought it was a good idea to get in line, thus blocking traffic for anyone trying to leave because it stuck out over 3 other lanes. It got ugly - fast. We aren't out of gas, prices have risen but there is plenty of gas here, the only reason I went to the gas station was I was almost out and needed it to get home. Was it the fault of the gas station that people couldn't act a little civalized? Nope, it was the people's fault. You put a lot of people in one area and it's bound to not be pretty. Can Disney control the fact that it's crowded? I guess sell less tickets but if you are one of those people who can't get tickets are you going to be happy? I'm guessing not. Sorry it was less than magical in the parks, it sucks but you just have to either grin and bear it or not go. Sounds like you made the right decision for you and your family to go elsewhere.

 

[Abigail Broughton]

Thank you for commenting. I certainly do not have blame towards Disney for their brilliance in marketing Disney and their parks. It just was much more than I prepared for. As far as the parent with the child on their shoulder. I get it, I have small children too. My husband and I toik turns with the hip hold to be courteous and the little person on the parents sholder was not too little more like 8+. Again I say we did have very magical moments. The many bows my daughter receuved from the cast members during a Main Street parade when she was dressed as a princess. Very thankful.

 

[Hopefully]

This is the Dining Review Forum. I am confused by your post

 

[ncc1701]

OP sorry you had to leave early and the vacation didn't live up to to your expectations. Nothing wrong with taking a break from WDW. My one suggestion if you do go back is not to try to plan every moment . Rude people exist at many places , the crowds at WDW just multiply it. Just plan a some must do's and if the parks get to be too much head back to the resort and chill. DH and I used to be all day park people but now just go in the AM , do some rides have lunch and go back to our resort when we have had enough.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Disney World is the number one vacation destination in the world. Its going to be busy. You didn't realize that? Sorry.
You went in the first week of September. Its going to be hot hot hot. You didn't realize that? Sorry.
You planned down to the minute leaving no room for error. Its setting yourself up for failure. You didn't realize that? Sorry.

I am not trying to seem mean just realistic here.

At least you have realized now that a Disney World vacation may not be the best for your family and you can enjoy a nice relaxing trip at a cottage with your pet too.

 

[Rhody73]

Disney World is the number one vacation destination in the world. Its going to be busy. You didn't realize that? Sorry.
You went in the first week of September. Its going to be hot hot hot. You didn't realize that? Sorry.
You planned down to the minute leaving no room for error. Its setting yourself up for failure. You didn't realize that? Sorry.

I am not trying to seem mean just realistic here.

At least you have realized now that a Disney World vacation may not be the best for your family and you can enjoy a nice relaxing trip at a cottage with your pet too.

I see where you have made over 30 trips. We have been 20 times. I know when my wife and I go, we can go "offseason" and get the Florida resident prices. So we are able to go to one park, be assured good weather and pay 1/2 price to get in. But if I had a family going during the normal season, I can see where a lot of the "magic" is gone. It is a major investment for young families and it can be difficult with the crowds. When I hear young couples complain I wish they could have experienced Disneyworld in the 1985-2005 years when we felt it was "magical" and very doable both cost and crowd wise with some advanced planning.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I see where you have made over 30 trips. We have been 20 times. I know when my wife and I go, we can go "offseason" and get the Florida resident prices. So we are able to go to one park, be assured good weather and pay 1/2 price to get in. But if I had a family going during the normal season, I can see where a lot of the "magic" is gone. It is a major investment for young families and it can be difficult with the crowds. When I hear young couples complain I wish they could have experienced Disneyworld in the 1985-2005 years when we felt it was "magical" and very doable both cost and crowd wise with some advanced planning.

Just to give you an idea of my travels last time I went was over Labor Day weekend just a week and a half ago. Also I often go with my sister who is a teacher so we go during peak and several times in the heat.
So my post was coming from a place of dealing with the same "issues".

 

[Rhody73]

Just to give you an idea of my travels last time I went was over Labor Day weekend just a week and a half ago. Also I often go with my sister who is a teacher so we go during peak and several times in the heat.
So my post was coming from a place of dealing with the same "issues".

But are you bringing children and paying full price? My point was a lot of young families plan for a few years, may be limited picking weeks that fit work and school, and pay a large amount. I have a neighbor with 2 small children who struggles w hot weather. So he pulled his kids out of school in May so he could avoid the summer crowds and heat. They went during the week Florida broke some of their heat records of near 100. So despite planning, some trips are impacted by things you can't control. As somone who has been going to Disney for 40 years, I used to think it was the greatest vacation you could choose. With the costs and crowds today, I can see where some families have mixed reactions.

 

[momplus3]

One reason it was probably very crowded during your trip was the "free dining" special. Because this special is so limited now, the times when it is offered are jam packed. The last time we went in September was in 2009 for our wedding. We had free dining but on our 2nd MK day, BTMR was a walk on almost all day. My sons rode it 4 times in a row without getting off.

 

[Stasieki]

I was there same week - came back Saturday as well. I don't know if I hit the right parks at the right times, but I didn't find it busy. Except for the hub during fireworks. That is pretty stressful. Wed, Thrs and Fri were very low crowds in my opinion. Saturday and Sunday were pretty busy, but I expected that and we went to the park with extra magic hours.

 

[Bethislucy]

Was this during the week following labor day?

 

[Spencer Wright]

I certainly understand your sentiment. I returned in late August and while he had an amazing trip, I left with some of the same concerns. The crowd size is of course nothing new, however I found guest behavior to have seriously deteriorated. I live the vast majority of my life in Philadelphia and near touristy areas and never get almost knocked over by people or hit my strollers.

I was literally almost knocked over three times. And I'm 6'2" and have really good balance from doing Pilates and similar exercise. The heat also exacerbates these issues.

However, WDW is still immaculate in my opinion and you can't do much better in terms of having a door to door experience where every detail matters.

For myself personally, I am taking a WDW break next year and may try either a Disney or Royal Caribbean cruise.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

We stayed at CR from the 7th to the 18th. Irma came and went. No problems. No crowds. All in all best vacation ever. But crowds or not we always have a blast at Disney World.