Just back ask away

[java]

Just home from a GREAT week in Disney. We stayed GF and hit all the parks and almost all the rides....Anyone with questions ask away. I will say the crowds were not as bad as I feared and we only met up with the Brazilian travel groups one night(and boy were there alot of them!!!) It was HOT HOT HOT and Disney was not blasting the air like they usually do- so on several rides we were hot. Favorite ride I think is TOT.... the themeing just always blows me away. Already planning the next trip.

 

[peanutgirl]

I am glad you had a great time. Did you do any EMH mornings?

THANKS

 

[java]

Yes!! the mornings were the way to go. In MK we were able to hit Space mountain Buzz twice, Pooh and the tea cups and ride the carousel before the park opened. Then easily walked onto Peter Pan and the Haunted Mansion then onto Big Thunder and Splash(with a lunch stop in between) all that done by noon- with baby swaps!(so some rides the kids rode twice in a row)
We did one evening EMH at Epcot and it was a disaster so we did not do it again- oh wait we did one at MK too. They had eliminated fast pass at night due to problems and the waits for the big rides were longer than during the day! We did get to see Turtle Talk but that was it!

 

[peanutgirl]

Did you do AK morning EMH?

THANKS for the quick reply

 

[java]

No we did AK on a regular AM (weather fears about Dennis made us change water park day to earlier in trip so missed the AK one) And we went right at opening- walked onto Safari and Dinosaur as well as Triceratop Spin no waits...We always find that AK doesn't really get crowded until around noon.

 

[Marilyn Mc]

What exactly made evening EMH a disaster? I'm trying to decide on morning or evening EMH.

 

[zen1]

Did you see a lot of 50th Anniversary Merchandise around the parks and resorts? And what kind of things did you see?

I am trying to make out a shopping list, of the things I want to get( when I go this Sept.).

Thanks!

 

[java]

It was the crowds. In the evenings the non-resort guests can still be in the parks just not on rides(that was what we saw anyway) And it seems that more people can stay up late then get up early on vacation. Also the fast passes where working in the MK in the morning EMH but not in the evening EMH- according to one CM the problem was that if they kept the machines turned on there was no way to determine who was getting fast passes so that when the after hours started there would people holding fast passes that they could not use. Now there is something to say for riding Big Thunder Mountain at night. but I would say do the AM. We also have younger children so night didn't work great.... I took the older two only to the evening EMH- which was a treat but the crowds were terrible. At Epcot Soarin had waits around 90 minutes during the day- with fast passes available until around 5... at the EMH the wait was 70 minutes.

 

[java]

The only 50th thing that I bought was the car topper with the gold ears.... that was cute and only $4. although I suspect the glitter won't last too long. They didn't have as much stuff as I would have thought. I am really reaching to think of stuff. They had the gold ears but you had to search. They had some cute T-shirts..but none that I HAD to have. We did buy some of the cool pins they had(DS had to have them) but I really can't think of much else that I saw. The big thing they were showing off was the monrail.oh I think they had a 50th anniversary Train as well. It is a realy cool large scale remote control set- with the Monorail hotels as well- cute but you would need to add a wing onto your house to show it off.

 

[MSC]

We just went in June. The 50th thing that we got was a photo album. Cheap, @ 16.00 or so. Nice way to remember that it was the 50th anniversary when we are looking at the pictures a few years down the road.

They have a lot of 50th themed picture frames and ceramics, etc. But even that stuff would be subtle, like maybe just a banner on it that says "The Happiest Celebration on Earth." So the 50th stuff doesn't hit you over the head with the gold and themeing always. So I bet you saw a lot more stuff than you realized!

 

[jacksmom]

We are leaving the end of the month! Do you have any advise for dealing with the heat? Did you take a mid day break? If so, was the resort pool crowded at this time? Thanks!

 

[java]

AAh the heat! Well first thing if you have any stroller age children is to buy the clip on fan from one step ahead. That was a lifesaver for our young ones- kept them actually cool! I got a great tip from these boards..put a washcloth in ice overnight - then put it i n a ziploc with some more ice and bring to the park- just a quick wipe of the face and you get total refreshment. Whenever we got too hot we saw an indoor attraction- like Philarmagic. We did take breaks at the hotel and the pools were good then- more crowded at night IMHO. The water parks hit capacity when we went at around 11AM(2000 people and you felt like you were touching them all- my OCD was discovered on that day) Also AK seems to be the hardest park to stay cool at- lots outside and not tons of shade-
Oh and one day our car outside temp gauge said it was 104!!

 

[jacksmom]

Thanks! We will definetaly try the washcloth in the baggie!