Just Back 2/24-3/1 - My Two Cents

[antmaril]

A little background. I am 62 years old and have been to WDW approximately 15 times. My late husband and I took our DS many, many times when he was little and even as a teen. Since my husband passed, I have been several times with friends. I have never been between Christmas and New Year's, nor have I been at Easter. We went a couple of times in the summer, but mostly at non-peak times.

I chose last week because I thought the crowds would be pretty low. EasyWDW predicted threes and fours. I always chose a "recommended park".

It felt VERY crowded to me. I was surprised by how many people were there. I stood in line for rides that haven't had a line in years. For example, "It's a Small World." That has been a walk on for years now. Not this time. And, the Transit Authority (People Mover) used to be an easy walk on - again, not this time. I really don't have an explanation for it, but it sure was way more crowded than I was expecting. A family in the BC Club Lounge yesterday said there were "a billion" people in the Magic Kingdom yesterday.

MB's worked fine. When there was a glitch, it was remedied in a matter of seconds. We had hoppers and it would have been nice to schedule FP+ at more than one park each day, but maybe that is coming.

We were upgraded to Club Level at The Beach Club, so that was fantastic.

Weather was great compared to Michigan and we enjoyed the warmth and the sun.

Cast members were all very nice to us.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Congrats on getting that upgrade at the BC!! We got one a few years ago also and looooved it! I am sorry to know your husband has passed, this makes me feel very sad that you are no longer taking magical trips together but it brought a smile to my face to know you are continuing to take trips with friends, yea you!

It sounds like it is very busy down there these past few days. I would have felt disappointed going into it thinking the parks were predicted to be low crowd numbers and then BAM!

Good for you on making the very best of your trip. I am glad you were able to go and hope you made some lasting memories.

 

[antmaril]

Congrats on getting that upgrade at the BC!! We got one a few years ago also and looooved it! I am sorry to know your husband has passed, this makes me feel very sad that you are no longer taking magical trips together but it brought a smile to my face to know you are continuing to take trips with friends, yea you!

It sounds like it is very busy down there these past few days. I would have felt disappointed going into it thinking the parks were predicted to be low crowd numbers and then BAM!

Good for you on making the very best of your trip. I am glad you were able to go and hope you made some lasting memories.

Thank you. You are very kind.

My friend went to the Magic Kingdom on her honeymoon in 1974 and hadn't been back in almost 40 years. It was fun to show her around.

Yes, that upgrade at the BC was sweet

 

[redsbe]

Also wondering if the improving economy, terrible winter weather in the eastern US over the last two months, plus start of spring breaks, are all driving up visitors to WDW in recent weeks, and sure to continue throughout March and into April and Easter.

 

[lugnut33]

Here since last Sunday and I think what is making it so busy are a combination of factors.

First it's just more busy due to the amount of people taking trips. I saw that Disney Transportation has seen a 13% increase in ridership. That tells me the resorts are busy. CM told me at check-in that the All Star resorts have been running 95%+ capacity for months. Fox News won't say it but the economy recovered long ago.

Second, FP+ is meeting it's goal of spreading people out. Since people are only riding attractions once they are forced to ride the less popular ones.

Third, it feels very busy due to FP+ lines spilling out of the attractions causing lots of congestion.

 

[redsbe]

I travel several times via airflights from January to April each year, two weeks ago the main parking garage at the airport, which holds thousands of cars, was completely full and closed - was diverted to a secondary lot. First time in at least a decade that has happened to me. One piece of evidence of increased travel in recent weeks.