Just back 7/31 to 8/5 what worked

[carson1963]

We used the early morning extra magic hours with great success. 25 year old son was our runner for fast passes. We would get a second one when the time said we were allowed to. We did find we could use the fast pass all day. We had one for 9:30 am to 10:30 am for Space mountain and used it at 9:00 pm that night. CM looked at it funny at first and then realized it was for pm not am and said have a good time. Many people suggested going back to the room to rest our swim in the middle of the day but we found it was better to stay in the parks. Once we were done swimming and back in the room the 8 year old wanted to stay in the room and watch TV. One year old granddaughter had first haircut at Harmony Barber Shop what a great experience. 8 year old granddaughter had hairgel and glitter put in her hair at barbershop for $7.50 (one of the best Disney values out there). We had the free quick service dining plan and really enjoyed it. We made the effort to go to downtown disney for Wolfgang Pucks, CSR for Pepper Market and Wilderness Lodge for Roaring Forks. We enjoyed all our quick service meals except the one at Pop Century. The food at Pop seemed to be poor quality since the last time we were there. Only one who enjoyed anything there was the 8 yr old and her tie-dyed cheesecake. Only ran into a few tour groups with about 20 people in a group. Longest wait was 30 minutes for the Disney fairies. With fast passes managed to wait 10 to 20 minutes or walk on for everything else. It was hot heat index of 107 one day but we did well. Used snack credits for dole whips, freezy's and smoothies and that kept the troops happy. Being in and out of airconditioning for rides and shows helped greatly. We also would remember our soldiers with no aircondition, 140 degrees and full gear (my son in law was one of them) and the urge to whine would pass. Purchased a photopass at discount before going and managed to get 423 really nice pictures. When we told the photographers it was a prepaid CD they took lots of extra time and shots. Great Trip and we would go again in August.