Just Back (4/9 - 14th)

[Andy S]

Got back Saturday night after a week trip (5 days at the park). If anyone was at the MK last Thursday you might have seen us in light blue shirts that said RD2FW5X (Rope Drop to Fireworks 5X).

Impressions of the week:
- Crowds were pretty insane at every park all week, but definitely manageable with rope drop, late nights, naps in between, and SDFP.
- FEA isn't a great ride, but still a "must-do" in my opinion with younger kids - worth a rope drop run or a FP if you can get it.

- Tough to be a Bug is still terrifying - we took our 3yo (bad choice) I cannot overstate how much of a PG-13 show this is.

- 7am arrival at MK is plenty early for offsite guests, especially on a EMH day. No crowds lined up at the rope until at least 7:30am. Still, I LOVED the new open procedure (much more relaxing to walk Main St, get a Starbucks breakfast and hang out watching the sunrise over the castle). Plus, the new opening show is an upgrade IMHO.

Pixie Dust moments:
- A castmember brought us up to the front row of FofTLK show at AK and both our kids got to participate in the show
- Highlight of the week: after hurrying through a Restaurantasaurus burger and rushing to the RoL FP entrance only to find the last 2 rows open, a cast member asked "Would you Mind Sitting in the very 1st row?" Uhhh..no! Ushered us right to the front, and we got to have our 1st experience with a terrific new nighttime show with no heads in front of us

Biggest disappointment:
- The seating procedure for ADR's needs improvement. We waited over a half hour to get seated at SciFi in HS and we ended up missing the SWGS. Every time I've had a sit down meal at Disney it's taken way too long to get seated and ends up wasting a lot of time that could be better spent elsewhere. When they expect us to book 6 mos in advance, that sort of deviation from the reservation time is pretty frustrating.

 

[DeterminedOne]

Thanks for sharing. That's cool you got to sit up front and kids got to participate in FofTLK. Aside from the wait, how was Sci-Fi?

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Glad you had a fun time. I've always had 20-30 minute waits at Sci-Fi. So many that I now plan for that and if I get in earlier, it's like whoo hoo!

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

We were there from 4/10 to 4/14 and had a similar experience in the parks. They were really crowded - level 10 crowded - but we walked on most every ride by using rope drop, good touring plans, prebooked FP+, SDFP and single rider lines. The longest wait we had during the whole trip was 25 minutes in the single rider line for Test Track at 1:30 in the afternoon on Wed. 4/12.

We also had a Sci-Fi ADR that evening at 7:25. Our experience at Sci-Fi was the exact opposite of yours. We were actually seated at 7:13 - 12 minutes early! We were done in time to get a spot for SWGS 40 minutes before the show started.

 

[JerseyJanice]

 

[AngelDisney]

Thanks for sharing! It sounded you had a wonderful time at one of the busiest times of the year.

Sci-Fi is not the worst. Once we waited almost 1.5 hours with an 8:00 pm ADR at California Grill. I almost fell asleep while waiting. Wishes was at 10 pm and we got to see it during dinner. It was ridiculous!

 

[Jason2015]

Completely agree on ADRs. My family of five was at AK on 4/3 and arrived for our 6pm dinner on time. Waited 40 minutes to get seated, watched another party of 5 that arrived with an ADR after ours get seated before us. We weren't exactly happy so we inquired. We were told that Disney preassigns the tables and if the party at your table is taking longer than usual you wait instead of doing what every other restaurant does and seats according to arrival time and table size. It was fusterating and we had to rush so we could make our RoL fast pass.

 

[FelisLachesis]

Completely agree on ADRs. My family of five was at AK on 4/3 and arrived for our 6pm dinner on time. Waited 40 minutes to get seated, watched another party of 5 that arrived with an ADR after ours get seated before us. We weren't exactly happy so we inquired. We were told that Disney preassigns the tables and if the party at your table is taking longer than usual you wait instead of doing what every other restaurant does and seats according to arrival time and table size. It was fusterating and we had to rush so we could make our RoL fast pass.

I think if your host was Pinocchio, that nose would've been growing. How are people allowed to ask for things like a patio table at Rose and Crown for Illuminations, or a fireworks view table at Ohana for Wishes? If the tables were preassigned, the hosts would have always said "sorry, we can't honor table requests" clean across the board.

Something stinks, and it's not coming from Kilimanjaro Safaris.

The only place I've ever seen preassigned tables is the Wishes Dessert Party. When we went in, there was a table setting with our family name on it.

 

[DaisyNY]

Good to know about Sci-Fi...I thought I left enough time to eat and get to our TSM FP...may try to get a later time. We've never eaten at Sci-Fi and wanted to experience it this trip!

 

[DisneyFive]

Now I'm curious. Where are your naps spots if you were in the parks from open till close?

Dan

 

[dillydally13]

No tough to be a bug? I went to it years ago (before kids) and thought it was cute. I was hoping to bring the kids this trip. Now I'm wondering about the 2 year old

 

[mi*vida*loca]

No tough to be a bug? I went to it years ago (before kids) and thought it was cute. I was hoping to bring the kids this trip. Now I'm wondering about the 2 year old

My kids have never been scared on tough to be a bug. They've been on it at 2 and 3 years old and many times after. I think it depends on the kid.

 

[ryukage]

Biggest disappointment:
- The seating procedure for ADR's needs improvement. We waited over a half hour to get seated at SciFi in HS and we ended up missing the SWGS. Every time I've had a sit down meal at Disney it's taken way too long to get seated and ends up wasting a lot of time that could be better spent elsewhere. When they expect us to book 6 mos in advance, that sort of deviation from the reservation time is pretty frustrating.

It seems like the more relaxing the restaurant, the slower the turnover of tables. Be Our Guest is pretty bad in this regard too. I've been lucky of late, but I'm pretty sure that's because it's usually just my wife and I.

It stinks that you missed your Star Wars show, but if you don't get a good position to see it, it becomes questionable whether the show can be enjoyed for anything beyond the music.

 

[ryukage]

No tough to be a bug? I went to it years ago (before kids) and thought it was cute. I was hoping to bring the kids this trip. Now I'm wondering about the 2 year old

The combination of darkness, loud noises and being attacked by giant insect MONSTERS!!!!! tends to make it a harrowing experience for little ones. My niece (3yo IIRC) was frightened for the entirety of the show between the butterflies (moths?) as stage curtains at the beginning and end of the show.

 

[KBoopaloo]

No tough to be a bug? I went to it years ago (before kids) and thought it was cute. I was hoping to bring the kids this trip. Now I'm wondering about the 2 year old

Tough to Be a Bug is the one show I won't go on after being terrified of it years and years ago at 25. LOL If your kids startle easily I would not recommend it.