Blue32
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2012
- Messages
- 1,564
This was our 2nd trip as a family to DLR. This was our first visit during the summer season and we loved it! I was a little nervous about crowds but I received reassurance from many DIS members that summer in many ways can be the best time to visit. We were there from June 8th-June 13th and took off Wed. June 11th from the parks to visit a SoCal beach.
Crowds
Yes, there were crowds. But we never thought it was terrible. Our previous visit was the week after Thanksgiving in 2012 so it was quite a bit busier than that fall trip. But as so many have said, the early morning hours are great for getting on rides and we made it for RD every day and got a lot done before lunch. Wait times also drop in the evening on many rides, but on most nights we were busy watching the night time shows(WOC,Magical,Fantasmic!).
Grad Nights
We had 2 Grad Nights on our trip, Tuesday and Friday. To be honest, I didn’t notice that much difference in the crowd levels. On Tues. we spent the day in DCA, took a break at our hotel and watched WOC that evening. I did not notice anymore groups of teens than on any of the non-Grad Nights. On Friday night the park was busier and we did notice more Grads that night in DL. I noticed no “nasty” behavior. We did eat at the BB that evening and did have several loud boats go by, but we did not let it wreck our dinner.
Hotel
We stayed at the Del Sol Inn for the 2nd time. The real draw for us here is the kids room with bunk beds and the short walk. Our girls (8, and 5) sleep in bunks at home and we find it much easier for them to get the rest they need when they are in their own space. If not for those kids rooms, would probably stay somewhere else. This place is showing its age a bit.
Dining
We ate some of our favorites and tried many new places this time and we honestly enjoyed just about everything we ate at DLR. We really like the CS options. In fact, I enjoyed a lot of the things I ate at CS locations as much as my meal at BB. We especially liked Plaza Inn, Flo’s, Rancho, Boardwalk Pizza/Pasta, Paradise Garden Grill, and Corn Dogs! Our go to snack was the Churro. Great mid-morning treat to hold you over until lunch!
Random thoughts and things I learned:
I need to lose some weight and possibly get some shoes with more cushion! My feet took a real beating this trip. I thought I had some good broken in walking shoes, but maybe it’s time for a change in footwear for DL and time to shed a few pounds.
My youngest daughter did not need a stroller! She is 5 and never uses one any other time but we planned on bringing one just in case because she really needed it on our last trip. We actually forgot to bring it and she did great with all the walking. We were glad because pushing a stroller through those crowds would not have been fun.
We finally rode IJA and we all loved it! It was closed our last trip so all could not wait to ride it. Even my timid girls loved this ride. They are warming up to the thrill rides more. This was a great one to grab a FP before our hotel break because the return time was usually at least 3 or 4 hour out by afternoon.
We really enjoyed Mickey and the Magical Map and the Tangled show in the Royal Theater(really quite funny). We meant to see the Beauty and the Beast show as well but never made it happen.
We saw Magical and Fantasmic! for the first time. Seeing tink fly multiple times was cooler than Wishes and the Dumbo flight was also pretty neat. Fantasmic! was great. This was my kids favorite show. My wife still enjoyed WOC more and I am still split. I love the music and emotion of WOC but the pyro and use of the ships(especially the Columbia) in F! was so cool.
The ride on BTMRR is great and smoother now. I thought they were getting the effects to work more frequently on the final lift hill but we rode this ride 6 times in our 5 days and never saw the full effect. I only know this because I watched it on youtube after I got home.
We got some smoke on the first ride and none at all the rest of the week.
An hour early at the the turnstiles is enough to be first in line for the 8am openings but 45 min. was usually not. Because of the late nights, we never used our MM but did not really miss it. We did most of FL on our first day(Sunday) and got on PP quickly and then did Dumbo, Matterhorn and the other dark rides before heading to Toontown at 9.
We made it 1st in line to the Anna/Elsa meet in greet line on Monday! Yes …..I ran a little bit(shame). I guess my punishment was we only got to meet Anna. Bummer. My kids were disappointed a little bit but not upset.
Got on the 1st StoryBook boat after the 6:30 parade. We watched by the Alice bathrooms and then booked it over to the Canal boats following the last float. I love this tip!
RSR FP are lasting a bit longer. IMO it is not that hard to get 2 sets of FP if you are toward the front of your turnstile. Just get to the Rope on the left side(Wide Left anyone?) and you should get a pretty early return. I got 8:40-9:40 and then actually waited until about 10 to grab my 2nd set because I wanted a later return and I think it was still like 6-7 pm. I’m pretty sure FP’s lasted past the 3 hour mark on the days I was there. It probably helps that they no longer let you line up early for FP.
The FL dark rides are so much better at night. I may never want to ride them during the day again! I am assuming because my eyes were already adjusted to the dark. I could see so much more detail than I ever saw before when riding them during daylight hours. We lined up for PP on our last night during Magical at the rope in FL by Toad and had to wait until the show was over and then for the safety check but then got walked to the ride and we walked the mostly empty queue to get on right away. By the time we were getting on the ride the line was probably already 30 min. long.
I will end this report now. I have rambled on too long. A big thanks to the DIS members that continue to provide valuble info. for planning out our trips! We will be back for sure….probably IN SUMMER!
Crowds
Yes, there were crowds. But we never thought it was terrible. Our previous visit was the week after Thanksgiving in 2012 so it was quite a bit busier than that fall trip. But as so many have said, the early morning hours are great for getting on rides and we made it for RD every day and got a lot done before lunch. Wait times also drop in the evening on many rides, but on most nights we were busy watching the night time shows(WOC,Magical,Fantasmic!).
Grad Nights
We had 2 Grad Nights on our trip, Tuesday and Friday. To be honest, I didn’t notice that much difference in the crowd levels. On Tues. we spent the day in DCA, took a break at our hotel and watched WOC that evening. I did not notice anymore groups of teens than on any of the non-Grad Nights. On Friday night the park was busier and we did notice more Grads that night in DL. I noticed no “nasty” behavior. We did eat at the BB that evening and did have several loud boats go by, but we did not let it wreck our dinner.
Hotel
We stayed at the Del Sol Inn for the 2nd time. The real draw for us here is the kids room with bunk beds and the short walk. Our girls (8, and 5) sleep in bunks at home and we find it much easier for them to get the rest they need when they are in their own space. If not for those kids rooms, would probably stay somewhere else. This place is showing its age a bit.
Dining
We ate some of our favorites and tried many new places this time and we honestly enjoyed just about everything we ate at DLR. We really like the CS options. In fact, I enjoyed a lot of the things I ate at CS locations as much as my meal at BB. We especially liked Plaza Inn, Flo’s, Rancho, Boardwalk Pizza/Pasta, Paradise Garden Grill, and Corn Dogs! Our go to snack was the Churro. Great mid-morning treat to hold you over until lunch!
Random thoughts and things I learned:
I need to lose some weight and possibly get some shoes with more cushion! My feet took a real beating this trip. I thought I had some good broken in walking shoes, but maybe it’s time for a change in footwear for DL and time to shed a few pounds.
My youngest daughter did not need a stroller! She is 5 and never uses one any other time but we planned on bringing one just in case because she really needed it on our last trip. We actually forgot to bring it and she did great with all the walking. We were glad because pushing a stroller through those crowds would not have been fun.
We finally rode IJA and we all loved it! It was closed our last trip so all could not wait to ride it. Even my timid girls loved this ride. They are warming up to the thrill rides more. This was a great one to grab a FP before our hotel break because the return time was usually at least 3 or 4 hour out by afternoon.
We really enjoyed Mickey and the Magical Map and the Tangled show in the Royal Theater(really quite funny). We meant to see the Beauty and the Beast show as well but never made it happen.
We saw Magical and Fantasmic! for the first time. Seeing tink fly multiple times was cooler than Wishes and the Dumbo flight was also pretty neat. Fantasmic! was great. This was my kids favorite show. My wife still enjoyed WOC more and I am still split. I love the music and emotion of WOC but the pyro and use of the ships(especially the Columbia) in F! was so cool.
The ride on BTMRR is great and smoother now. I thought they were getting the effects to work more frequently on the final lift hill but we rode this ride 6 times in our 5 days and never saw the full effect. I only know this because I watched it on youtube after I got home.
We got some smoke on the first ride and none at all the rest of the week.An hour early at the the turnstiles is enough to be first in line for the 8am openings but 45 min. was usually not. Because of the late nights, we never used our MM but did not really miss it. We did most of FL on our first day(Sunday) and got on PP quickly and then did Dumbo, Matterhorn and the other dark rides before heading to Toontown at 9.
We made it 1st in line to the Anna/Elsa meet in greet line on Monday! Yes …..I ran a little bit(shame). I guess my punishment was we only got to meet Anna. Bummer. My kids were disappointed a little bit but not upset.
Got on the 1st StoryBook boat after the 6:30 parade. We watched by the Alice bathrooms and then booked it over to the Canal boats following the last float. I love this tip!
RSR FP are lasting a bit longer. IMO it is not that hard to get 2 sets of FP if you are toward the front of your turnstile. Just get to the Rope on the left side(Wide Left anyone?) and you should get a pretty early return. I got 8:40-9:40 and then actually waited until about 10 to grab my 2nd set because I wanted a later return and I think it was still like 6-7 pm. I’m pretty sure FP’s lasted past the 3 hour mark on the days I was there. It probably helps that they no longer let you line up early for FP.
The FL dark rides are so much better at night. I may never want to ride them during the day again! I am assuming because my eyes were already adjusted to the dark. I could see so much more detail than I ever saw before when riding them during daylight hours. We lined up for PP on our last night during Magical at the rope in FL by Toad and had to wait until the show was over and then for the safety check but then got walked to the ride and we walked the mostly empty queue to get on right away. By the time we were getting on the ride the line was probably already 30 min. long.
I will end this report now. I have rambled on too long. A big thanks to the DIS members that continue to provide valuble info. for planning out our trips! We will be back for sure….probably IN SUMMER!
!)
I'm looking forward to my youngest DS4 not needing a stroller anymore! And I'm totally going to try to get two RSR fastpasses when we are there next month. Thanks for sharing that!
