WendyWhy
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2011
- Messages
- 224
This board is the most amazing resource- wanted to say thank you to all the veterans who contribute- esp Wonkakid for his tips for getting to PP and the experts who posted the Maxpass thread! Here's hoping my little update can help someone else!
GCH/spring break crowds -GCH was a total splurge and totally worth it for the EMH during this time of Monstro-sized crowds. I actually can't imagine how we could have fit in everything without it. The crowds in the AM were very manageable as long as you got there about thirty min before the start of EMH. By 1pm - it was difficult to walk, crowds were shoulder to shoulder. We were there Tues at DL, Weds at DCA, and Thurs at DL (no hoppers for us - we never hop) - the crowds were the absolute worst on Tues and Weds. Today (Thursday) at DL they were bad but still manageable. On our DCA day, the wait for LMAUA was 30 min by midday (we walked on in the AM but the littlest insisted on riding again), and the FP return line at 4:30 for RSR stretched all the way down to Luigi's. Having a hotel close by for an afternoon break when the crowds were the heaviest was a lifesaver.
EMH at DL - we managed to be at the front of the gates when the park opened and beelined to PP to walk on - then rode Dumbo and Teacups before splitting up so the youngest could ride Nemo while the older kids went on Matterhorn and then Buzz, but then met up and we all did Buzz all together. After that we had a short wait for Autotopia at regular park open and then headed w fast passes to IJ (Maxpass).
On our second EMH morning at DL - we went to Alice first, then split off again w the big kids going on Matterhorn and Star Tours, the little one did Dumbo, Teacups and Buzz. The big kids had wanted to do SM but it was already a 30 min wait and didn't want to give up half of EMH for one ride! About 5 min before regular park open we got in the already long line for Storybook Land Canal Boats - luckily they had two boats going but still a long wait! After that, headed w fast passes to IJ which we like hitting up early because of all the breakdowns - and of course it did break down just as we buckled in (only a 10 min delay)
EMH at DCA - everything is so spread out, it felt like we were running the whole morning! We walked on RSR - by the time we walked off, it was a 35 min wait. (Fastpasses for RSR gone by 10:30). Walked on TSMM and Incredicoaster- littlest one got to ride Jessie's Critter Carousel. Then we all walked onto Soarin and then headed w fastpasses to Guardians (never rode that before -had always passed on ToT - so so terrifying, one and done for me!)
Maxpass - it worked about 60% of the time for me - but I guess it's my phone (iPhone 6) - because it never gave my DH any trouble. I had to delete and restore the app a few times but it was definitely a godsend- would have been unimaginable without it. Just the idea of sending a FP runner through those crowds - yikes! We also got two different sets of multi-experience FPs when IJ went down and when SM went down - those were so so useful. It was definitely worth the 10-15 min delays!
Food and Wine Festival at DCA - almost everything we tried was really good. We loved the pork belly banh mi, Harris ranch burger w chimichurri, Parmesan wings, deconstructed musubi, and strawberry floats. The only thing we weren't crazy about was the strawberry frushi - I thought it would be more like the Thai mango and sticky rice dessert but it was not...It was fun trying a bunch of small things and because we eat quickly it wasn't a huge deal that there weren't tables. By the time we could have found one and sat down, the food would have been gone and time to move to the next booth!
Thanks for letting me share and relive our little trip!
GCH/spring break crowds -GCH was a total splurge and totally worth it for the EMH during this time of Monstro-sized crowds. I actually can't imagine how we could have fit in everything without it. The crowds in the AM were very manageable as long as you got there about thirty min before the start of EMH. By 1pm - it was difficult to walk, crowds were shoulder to shoulder. We were there Tues at DL, Weds at DCA, and Thurs at DL (no hoppers for us - we never hop) - the crowds were the absolute worst on Tues and Weds. Today (Thursday) at DL they were bad but still manageable. On our DCA day, the wait for LMAUA was 30 min by midday (we walked on in the AM but the littlest insisted on riding again), and the FP return line at 4:30 for RSR stretched all the way down to Luigi's. Having a hotel close by for an afternoon break when the crowds were the heaviest was a lifesaver.
EMH at DL - we managed to be at the front of the gates when the park opened and beelined to PP to walk on - then rode Dumbo and Teacups before splitting up so the youngest could ride Nemo while the older kids went on Matterhorn and then Buzz, but then met up and we all did Buzz all together. After that we had a short wait for Autotopia at regular park open and then headed w fast passes to IJ (Maxpass).
On our second EMH morning at DL - we went to Alice first, then split off again w the big kids going on Matterhorn and Star Tours, the little one did Dumbo, Teacups and Buzz. The big kids had wanted to do SM but it was already a 30 min wait and didn't want to give up half of EMH for one ride! About 5 min before regular park open we got in the already long line for Storybook Land Canal Boats - luckily they had two boats going but still a long wait! After that, headed w fast passes to IJ which we like hitting up early because of all the breakdowns - and of course it did break down just as we buckled in (only a 10 min delay)
EMH at DCA - everything is so spread out, it felt like we were running the whole morning! We walked on RSR - by the time we walked off, it was a 35 min wait. (Fastpasses for RSR gone by 10:30). Walked on TSMM and Incredicoaster- littlest one got to ride Jessie's Critter Carousel. Then we all walked onto Soarin and then headed w fastpasses to Guardians (never rode that before -had always passed on ToT - so so terrifying, one and done for me!)
Maxpass - it worked about 60% of the time for me - but I guess it's my phone (iPhone 6) - because it never gave my DH any trouble. I had to delete and restore the app a few times but it was definitely a godsend- would have been unimaginable without it. Just the idea of sending a FP runner through those crowds - yikes! We also got two different sets of multi-experience FPs when IJ went down and when SM went down - those were so so useful. It was definitely worth the 10-15 min delays!
Food and Wine Festival at DCA - almost everything we tried was really good. We loved the pork belly banh mi, Harris ranch burger w chimichurri, Parmesan wings, deconstructed musubi, and strawberry floats. The only thing we weren't crazy about was the strawberry frushi - I thought it would be more like the Thai mango and sticky rice dessert but it was not...It was fun trying a bunch of small things and because we eat quickly it wasn't a huge deal that there weren't tables. By the time we could have found one and sat down, the food would have been gone and time to move to the next booth!
Thanks for letting me share and relive our little trip!
