I'm back, and what I noticed in the parks vs what I read here

[loves to dive]

Sounds like you had a good time and it was nice to see the DLR/DW comparison. The rain is going to happen all summer and fall, I stopped wearing tennis shoes years ago because of it. We always took 3 pair and with the humidity even that was never enough because it would take longer than a day for them to dry. I do have a number of sandals (Clarks, Tevas) that are comfortable and I can jump in rain puddles and they dry right up. I'm from Georgia and get cold easy so I actually think the pools are chilly at 82. Of course, I also wear a 5 mil wet suit when we dive in 80 degree water when every one else is just wearing skins. They took the alarm clocks out of all the resorts not too long ago, I agree it's a shame, I too wake up in the middle of the night and without my reading glasses can not see a watch, cell phone works for me. I've actually gone through the non bag line and had my phone and a poncho in a cargo pocket and they checked my pockets and patted me down (before metal detectors). I didn't mind and actually joked with the security guard about it.

 

[Shadowcat70]

I must be out of the loop... they don't have alarm clocks anymore? Is it because just about everyone has a cell phone they can set an alarm on?

 

[burberryplaid]

Your experience at Test Track was similar to ours a year and a half ago...I'm all set with Test Track!

 

[si-am]

I must be out of the loop... they don't have alarm clocks anymore? Is it because just about everyone has a cell phone they can set an alarm on?

We didn't have a clock in our room at Pop last November. It was annoying. I don't mind using my phone for an alarm, but I like to check the clock as I'm getting read in the morning!

 

[wendow]

That's fascinating about the ears. I wonder why that is.

That is an interesting observation. I wonder if it is b/c WDW is more of a vacation destination for first/one-time guests and DLR is more a locals, 'repeat customer' sort of place?? Maybe people just don't make the purchase of ears since they may not wear them ever again. My family wears ears at WDW but we go annually.

 

[oceanmarina]

Our experience at Ohana was the same last summer (although we were there for breakfast) seated 40 minutes past ressie time and slow service... This is the first trip in forever thAt we are skipping it. I'll have to get my stitch fix somewhere else!

 

[ArwenMarie]

That is an interesting observation. I wonder if it is b/c WDW is more of a vacation destination for first/one-time guests and DLR is more a locals, 'repeat customer' sort of place?? Maybe people just don't make the purchase of ears since they may not wear them ever again. My family wears ears at WDW but we go annually.

That could be. They're not inexpensive!

 

[Sarahleigh]

So if they don't have alarm clocks is there at least an outlet near the bedside table that will allow us to charge our phones overnight and still have them near the bed to check the time?
I'm debating on whether or not I should pack my alarm clock from home, but if there was a way to have my phone charging and near the bed I think I'll skip the alarm clock.

 

[Shanti]

Ears -- A lot of people wear them at DLR, but I saw very few at WDW. Maybe it was the heat, or the fact that in WDW most people had hats and visors...

Yes, definitely. The Mickey ears offer no sun protection, so they're impractical at WDW in July.

Shoes -- Some people suggested fancy walking sandals and other suggested tennies...The one day that it rained horribly, our shoes were soaking so it was a good thing we had a second pair, although they did dry pretty quickly.

I don't know why anyone would recommend either fancy sandals or tennies for WDW unless they didn't understand you were going in summer. I always wear & recommend supportive waterproof sandals, such as Tevas, which are great to walk long distances in and no problem when wet.

You have to go prepared for summer weather in Florida (heat, sun & rain), just like you'd go prepared for winter weather in Colorado (cold, ice, snow). We're from frequently drought-ridden Texas, so enjoyed the daily rain that came & cooled things off each afternoon, and kept "the World" so beautifully green and lush. Plus, one thunderstorm chased the crowds out of Blizzard Beach, really improving our day there.

Frozen Ride -- We used one of our "premium" FPs for this and it was a disappointment. Short and very random. Didn't really tell a story but was just random singing and not exciting at all. Should have used the FP for Test Track!

Agreed. I didn't think the ride was worth the hype, either. And I'm a Frozen fan.

The crowds were so low this July in the theme parks- quite a contrast from last year.

 

[Shanti]

I must be out of the loop... they don't have alarm clocks anymore? Is it because just about everyone has a cell phone they can set an alarm on?

So if they don't have alarm clocks is there at least an outlet near the bedside table that will allow us to charge our phones overnight and still have them near the bed to check the time?
I'm debating on whether or not I should pack my alarm clock from home, but if there was a way to have my phone charging and near the bed I think I'll skip the alarm clock.

You can set a wake-up call via the resort phone.

Yes, there are plenty of outlets & docks for mobile devices in the resorts we stayed at during our split stay this summer.

You can also turn the resort tv on, which is auto-set to a channel that displays the time, weather, theme park hours, etc.

 

[Shanti]

I know it is summer, and the water will be warm, but a life guard at the Beach Club says that Disney heats the pools to 82 degrees all year round. Who knows if that's true. I will say that we stayed one night off property at a Hampton Inn before our Disney reservation and I thought the water was a bit cooler.

The pools are heated year round...in the summer the daily temps push that temp above and beyond what the thermostat sets. The pool was delightfully cool in May, but I bet notsomuch right now.

We were at Stormalong Bay (at Beach Club/Yacht Club) last week and the pool water was not bathtub warm at all. Very cool and refreshing, in contrast to the toasty hot tubs...

 

[old feller]

We didn't have a clock in our room at Pop last November. It was annoying. I don't mind using my phone for an alarm, but I like to check the clock as I'm getting read in the morning!

We tuned the tv to the wdw channel while we are there and it shows the time.It also shows info for each park that day.

 

[picklethings]

Great report! We just got back as well, and had many similar experiences, but a few differences.

We were asked to go through metal detectors almost every time. We had 7 "entries" into the parks, and I think between my husband and me (our kids are young), we went through the detectors 11-12 times. It was really quick, not a problem. Bag check never took us more than a few minutes.

We never waited more than 15-20 minutes in line, which I think was due to being there at rope drop and having an efficient touring plan ready. Once, we did decide to do 7DMT standby and waited 45 minutes, but we didn't really have anything else we wanted to do, so chose to stand in line.

We had clocks in our room at AoA.

We saw no tour groups our first day, but saw many the other days. Lots of chanting, and linked arms. My daughter and I got caught in the middle of a linked chain, and didn't budge- the girls looked at us like we were crazy and finally broke the link so we could all pass. We only saw the street-wide arm link once (at AK), thankfully.

 

[SaintsManiac]

The only reason I know about the clocks is because of all the time I spend reading the resort board. I can't even remember if we had one at POR in December. Just not something I noticed.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I'm kind of glad they got rid of the clocks. I felt like they were never dusted properly.

 

[si-am]

We tuned the tv to the wdw channel while we are there and it shows the time.It also shows info for each park that day.

That channel was not working in our room the whole time we were there! It was all scrambled.

 

[JulieNMM]

There were plenty of outlets for plugging in phones and such. DH has a CPAP so slept next to the nightstand where he could plug in his machine so I got stuck next to the wall and my phone was far away so I couldn't see it to find out the time easily. We did turn on the TV to the WDW channel and that was helpful. And speaking of phones, I used mine a lot during the day, to check wait times, and to take pictures (and then to look at the pictures, the kids liked doing that while waiting for rides and food) and often felt like I was about to run out of battery. So a portable phone charger, or carrying your charger, is recommended.

 

[momimouse27]

What is the talk of all the chains and chanting? In all my trips I've never experienced this. Is this something new that kids are doing or have I just missed it somehow?

When we went in November last year, every female I passed was wearing the holiday green sequined Mickey ears headband with a red bow. I don't think I've ever seen that many adults wearing mickey ears. Well, by day 2 I wanted a pair of those darn things and had to go looking for them. I finally got a pair the next to last day of our trip. I am not an ear wearer, never have been, but I wore the heck out of those!

 

[JulieNMM]

The chains and chanting had to do with the Brazilian Tour Groups (BTGs) or large groups of teenagers with few chaperones from South America. And the lack of ears at WDW that I saw must have been due to the hot weather. I know that I had sunglasses and a visor and adding ears to that was too much for my head to handle!

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm kind of glad they got rid of the clocks. I felt like they were never dusted properly.

I always unplug mine.