AMusicLifeForMe
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2016
- Messages
- 4,311
Hi everyone. I just got back from a very fun week at Walt Disney World. My Dad and I arrived one December 23rd with one night at All-Star Sports. We added one night to our trip since we decided to take a cruise on the Disney Magic (If you want to know more about our experience on the cruise, let me know). The next 7 nights were spent in a DVC Deluxe Studio at the Polynesian Resort. I just want to give a couple of points about our vacation to Disney World.
1. Crowds were not bad at all. On the boards building up for this trip, all I saw was that "the crowds during this week are horrible. The crowds are the worst all year." In my opinion, that was not the case. A lot of people I talked to said that they thought the crowds were down. Now your big attractions had the 60+ minute lines. In some cases, two hours. I want to compare the crowds to Disneyland crowds. Disneyland always has the 60+ minute waits on the big attractions. I only thought of two times where the crowds were bad. One of those times was a random night in the Magic Kingdom (Not Christmas or New Years). The other day was New Years Eve at EPCOT, but I was expecting it. I was also still able to walk around EPCOT. It also took my Dad 15 minutes to walk from the Illuminations Fastpass+ area to the park exit, and we got right on the next monorail. I was expecting the walk to take longer. So overall, crowds were normal to me.
2. FASTPASS+ is turning into a normal line. There were several experiences in FASTPASS+ lines where I said, "Really? This is a fastpass line?" The rides I said this on were Expedition Everest, Rock 'N' Rollercoaster, Jingle Cruise, and the Haunted Mansion. For those rides, I waited 20+ minutes in the Fastpass line. Now, while the stand-by line was considerably longer, at least the wait wasn't to long. The lines also moved quickly. The CM's I talked to about this said that Disney added more fastpasses during this week which is why the fastpass lines were longer. I also don't understand why there are rides at Walt Disney World that even have a fastpass? Some rides definitely need it, but not every ride needs it. I'm mostly thinking about those "continuous loading" attractions like the Little Mermaid and Haunted Mansion.
3. The food we had on this trip was very good. Flying Fish is now my favorite restaurant on Walt Disney World property outside of Victoria & Albert's. I have been to Flying Fish twice now since they reopened, and the meals have been amazing. I have had the scallops dish both times. I'm not normally a scallops eater, but that dish is delicious. We also really enjoyed Teppan Edo. If you are looking for a nice place to get a snack or a drink, the Nomad Lounge is a very relaxing place in Animal Kingdom to relax. There was no one there, and at one point I thought I wasn't in a Theme Park. I'll be interested to see what the crowds are like at this location when Pandora opens.
4. Take advantage of sit down shows or longer attractions on busier days. For example, my Dad and I would plan our fastpasses for the big rides at Magic Kingdom like Big Thunder, Seven Dwarfs, Splash Mountain, or Space Mountain. Outside of those attractions, we liked to do the Tiki Room, Country Bear, Hall of Presidents, Mickey's Philharmagic, Carousel of Progress, and the People Mover. Those were very relaxing attractions to take a break in the middle of the day. We would use the same strategy in the other parks as well.
5. All of the entertainment was easy to get a spot an hour or earlier before the show. I'm mostly talking about the Christmas Parade, Fireworks, and several of the musicals on Disney property. I had only one issue where I wasn't able to get into a Festival of the Lion King show 15 minutes before showtime. I came back for the next show and was able to get in. The other exception was New Years Eve. I saw people getting a spot for the midnight show at 2 p.m. at EPCOT. If you want to see the New Years Countdown from where they usually have the fastpass viewing at, they changed the procedure this year I heard. They cleared that area after the 6 p.m. Illuminations. After that, they reopened the area for people to come in and sit for the midnight show. I watched the 6 p.m. Illuminations from where the entrance would be into that area, and I was able to get a spot easy for the midnight show. They opened the area around 7:15 p.m. I will say that I was able to walk right in to a Candlelight Processional with Jodi Benson narrating with good seats. My Dad and I also did the dining package for Jodi Benson and Cal Ripken Jr, and we had great seats for those shows right in the middle and under the covering. We got in line an hour and a half before both times though.
6. I will plan on staying on the monorail loop or at the Boardwalk around big holidays from now on. I was really happy to be on the monorail loop. On days like Christmas and New Years Eve, we took the monorail early in the morning to EPCOT. The traffic trying to get into the Magic Kingdom went for as far as the eye can see past where the monorail turned for EPCOT. I would have not liked to be on one of those buses those mornings from another resort. At the beginning or end of any of the park days, the monorail was so easy to get on. Also, staying at the Polynesian Villas, the walk to the TTC was easy if we wanted to go to EPCOT. You save time walking to TTC instead of taking the Resort Monorail all the way around to the TTC. I also mentioned the Boardwalk area, because the resorts there are not a long walk away from the International Gateway of EPCOT. My Dad and I like to spend the 4th of July and New Years Eve now at EPCOT, because those firework shows are just amazing. I know I won't like waiting for a bus on those busy days.
If you have any questions about anything else that I didn't cover, ask in the comments. I will try my best to answer.
1. Crowds were not bad at all. On the boards building up for this trip, all I saw was that "the crowds during this week are horrible. The crowds are the worst all year." In my opinion, that was not the case. A lot of people I talked to said that they thought the crowds were down. Now your big attractions had the 60+ minute lines. In some cases, two hours. I want to compare the crowds to Disneyland crowds. Disneyland always has the 60+ minute waits on the big attractions. I only thought of two times where the crowds were bad. One of those times was a random night in the Magic Kingdom (Not Christmas or New Years). The other day was New Years Eve at EPCOT, but I was expecting it. I was also still able to walk around EPCOT. It also took my Dad 15 minutes to walk from the Illuminations Fastpass+ area to the park exit, and we got right on the next monorail. I was expecting the walk to take longer. So overall, crowds were normal to me.
2. FASTPASS+ is turning into a normal line. There were several experiences in FASTPASS+ lines where I said, "Really? This is a fastpass line?" The rides I said this on were Expedition Everest, Rock 'N' Rollercoaster, Jingle Cruise, and the Haunted Mansion. For those rides, I waited 20+ minutes in the Fastpass line. Now, while the stand-by line was considerably longer, at least the wait wasn't to long. The lines also moved quickly. The CM's I talked to about this said that Disney added more fastpasses during this week which is why the fastpass lines were longer. I also don't understand why there are rides at Walt Disney World that even have a fastpass? Some rides definitely need it, but not every ride needs it. I'm mostly thinking about those "continuous loading" attractions like the Little Mermaid and Haunted Mansion.
3. The food we had on this trip was very good. Flying Fish is now my favorite restaurant on Walt Disney World property outside of Victoria & Albert's. I have been to Flying Fish twice now since they reopened, and the meals have been amazing. I have had the scallops dish both times. I'm not normally a scallops eater, but that dish is delicious. We also really enjoyed Teppan Edo. If you are looking for a nice place to get a snack or a drink, the Nomad Lounge is a very relaxing place in Animal Kingdom to relax. There was no one there, and at one point I thought I wasn't in a Theme Park. I'll be interested to see what the crowds are like at this location when Pandora opens.
4. Take advantage of sit down shows or longer attractions on busier days. For example, my Dad and I would plan our fastpasses for the big rides at Magic Kingdom like Big Thunder, Seven Dwarfs, Splash Mountain, or Space Mountain. Outside of those attractions, we liked to do the Tiki Room, Country Bear, Hall of Presidents, Mickey's Philharmagic, Carousel of Progress, and the People Mover. Those were very relaxing attractions to take a break in the middle of the day. We would use the same strategy in the other parks as well.
5. All of the entertainment was easy to get a spot an hour or earlier before the show. I'm mostly talking about the Christmas Parade, Fireworks, and several of the musicals on Disney property. I had only one issue where I wasn't able to get into a Festival of the Lion King show 15 minutes before showtime. I came back for the next show and was able to get in. The other exception was New Years Eve. I saw people getting a spot for the midnight show at 2 p.m. at EPCOT. If you want to see the New Years Countdown from where they usually have the fastpass viewing at, they changed the procedure this year I heard. They cleared that area after the 6 p.m. Illuminations. After that, they reopened the area for people to come in and sit for the midnight show. I watched the 6 p.m. Illuminations from where the entrance would be into that area, and I was able to get a spot easy for the midnight show. They opened the area around 7:15 p.m. I will say that I was able to walk right in to a Candlelight Processional with Jodi Benson narrating with good seats. My Dad and I also did the dining package for Jodi Benson and Cal Ripken Jr, and we had great seats for those shows right in the middle and under the covering. We got in line an hour and a half before both times though.
6. I will plan on staying on the monorail loop or at the Boardwalk around big holidays from now on. I was really happy to be on the monorail loop. On days like Christmas and New Years Eve, we took the monorail early in the morning to EPCOT. The traffic trying to get into the Magic Kingdom went for as far as the eye can see past where the monorail turned for EPCOT. I would have not liked to be on one of those buses those mornings from another resort. At the beginning or end of any of the park days, the monorail was so easy to get on. Also, staying at the Polynesian Villas, the walk to the TTC was easy if we wanted to go to EPCOT. You save time walking to TTC instead of taking the Resort Monorail all the way around to the TTC. I also mentioned the Boardwalk area, because the resorts there are not a long walk away from the International Gateway of EPCOT. My Dad and I like to spend the 4th of July and New Years Eve now at EPCOT, because those firework shows are just amazing. I know I won't like waiting for a bus on those busy days.
If you have any questions about anything else that I didn't cover, ask in the comments. I will try my best to answer.
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