Just Back from Disney

[farfaraway]

A few observations from our trip in early June. I found it to be more crowded than the last time we went, and it was around the same time of year. Yes, there were South American tour groups there and I didn't have any problems with them. I like the magic bands. I'm torn on the new FP system. I like being able to choose 3 FP ahead of time. However, unless your FP are in the morning, getting a FP for a popular ride later on is difficult or non existant. 7DMT is ok, it's not worth waiting more than 30 min. IMO. It's a step below BTMRR and is a smooth ride. We even saw Anna and Elsa without a FP. Check ahead of time to see how long they will be there that day, and try going near firework or parade times, that's when the times seem to drop. However, we were extremely lucky because most wait times were at least 2 hrs. long. We had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back.

 

[Kevin_W]

Interesting - we just got back as well and I found the crowds to be much lower than I had expected. This was our first ever June trip, so perhaps I was just mentally preparing for the worst.

I really, really liked the magic bands. Everything from opening the room door, to entering the park, to exiting the park without turnstile (much easier when carrying a sleepy child), to not having to fish for a photopass card was very smooth.

Overall, I liked the FP+ system, although I wish Disney had more kiosks, particularly in Frontierland, since that is the park you are most likely to be selecting a 4th, 5th, etc. My wife really enjoyed it, since it meant no running back and forth across the park collecting fastpasses. Perhaps we lost a couple overall rides in the park as a result, but the reduced mileage on the feet was worth it.

 

[csmith041177]

Thanks for the report. I am really looking forward to seeing the SDMT and the FP+ for myself in September.

 

[apicozzi]

Interesting how people's perceptions of crowds can differ! We just got back on Friday from 6 nights. After having read the boards for weeks prior to the trip, I was expecting the parks to be PACKED. I was pleasantly surprised to find that (in my opinion) park traffic was light. I typically visit WDW in September/October or March, and this was our first time visiting in June so not sure if I was just expecting the worst. We had ADRs and FP+ booked prior to the trip, but while in the parks I found it very easy to get into restaurants for lunch or dinner if we decided to switch plans. We were able to book a 7:35 reservation for Le Cellier on our last night, which surprised me because I've always heard it was hard to get! Ride wait times also seemed relatively normal, although I did notice that rides like POTC and HM had higher than "normal" wait times (35 minutes +/-).

Agree with your comments on 7DMT - I would not wait a long time for it. I had a FP+ on our third day - the standby time was 90 minutes and it only took us 5 minutes with the FP, which was mainly the time to walk through the queue.

Hope you enjoyed your trip as much as we did!

 

[mslhb]

Interesting - we just got back as well and I found the crowds to be much lower than I had expected. This was our first ever June trip, so perhaps I was just mentally preparing for the worst.

I really, really liked the magic bands. Everything from opening the room door, to entering the park, to exiting the park without turnstile (much easier when carrying a sleepy child), to not having to fish for a photopass card was very smooth.

Overall, I liked the FP+ system, although I wish Disney had more kiosks, particularly in Frontierland, since that is the park you are most likely to be selecting a 4th, 5th, etc. My wife really enjoyed it, since it meant no running back and forth across the park collecting fastpasses. Perhaps we lost a couple overall rides in the park as a result, but the reduced mileage on the feet was worth it.

I agree with this. We were there from 6/1-6/6 and it was less crowded and much less hot/humid then I expected. A couple of days almost felt cool! We followed the easywdw calendar to pick parks and did rope drop or close to is pretty much every day. I think I was just mentally prepared for VERY CROWDED and living on the sun heat so I was pleasantly surprised!

 

[JennyMP03]

I also just returned yesterday and had prepared for the worst, especially for Star Wars weekend with Mark Hamill. It was busy, but comparatively speaking, the crowds all week were lighter than I'd braced myself for.

 

[ckelly14]

Was there from June 1-8th, and I agree that the crowds lighter than expected or experienced in the past except Feb 2013. Probably around 6-7 for most of the parks, closer to what touring plans was predicting compared to the 9/10 easyWDW was listing. Really liked FP+ and MB's. Probably our best trip yet. Hit Harambe nights on our final night!

 

[Kevin_W]

I agree with this. We were there from 6/1-6/6 and it was less crowded and much less hot/humid then I expected. A couple of days almost felt cool! We followed the easywdw calendar to pick parks and did rope drop or close to is pretty much every day. I think I was just mentally prepared for VERY CROWDED and living on the sun heat so I was pleasantly surprised!

6/2 and 6/3 felt pretty cool, but by the end of the week (particularly just after you left - 6/7-6/8) the heat was brutal!

 

[Kara315]

Yes, there were South American tour groups there and I didn't have any problems with them.

Were the tour groups small? or the really big ones you hear about in January/July?
We went last year, the last week of may/early june and didn't see any. Always been worried about running into the really big groups you hear about from some people in July, and now I keep seeing more people say they see them in June...even early June. Wonder if they are starting to come throughout the whole year and not just July/January.

 

[Marvin1968]

We just got back also
The tour groups seemed small and didn't bother us

We found it very hot!! Because we usually go in the early spring or fall.

We weren't prepared for the heat, so we ended our days earlier than usual to give the kids and us a break at the pool.

It also seemed very crowded to us for the same reasons above.

The funny part was that we went to Star Wars weekends on Friday the 6th and hollywood studios was so empty because all the crazies (no offense) staked out their parade spot as soon as park opened. So there were no lines for characters, rides and darths maul.

However, once the parade ended, it got crowded.

We road the mine train twice using fast pass, we loved it.

Anna and Elasa fast pass took 10 minutes if that.


BOG lunch fast pass (no invite) went perfect.

 

[soxfan040713]

I also just got back (6/2-6/6), best weather I've ever seen at Disney, literally no rain whatsoever. It was hot the last few days but considering it was at the end, it was much easier to deal with. PERFECT weather at night. As far as crowds, I felt MK was a madhouse especially on Thursday, the others were not bad at all, I never saw any major attraction (other than 7DMT) with a wait time over 60 minutes, most were in the 30-45 range all week. All in all, one of the best trips of my life

 

[soxfan040713]

And regarding FP+, I actually really like it 10x better than the old slips of paper. That being said I HATEEEEEEE the fact that you have to physically be in the park if you want an additional 4th, 5th, etc., rather than being able to request a FP through the app. Pretty much prevents you from taking a break at the resort in the afternoon if you want FP's at night since most of them will be gone if you wait until you actually visit that park at night.

 

[Dizznee Freak]

We were there from June 1-7 as well and also found the crowds to be somewhat light. We FP+ some of the rides but were able to standby on almost everything else. I have seen WDW at its packed worse during Christmas so I have a gauge to use and it was very manageable.

 

[handicap18]

We were there June 3-8. Pleasantly surprised with the crowds. Busy but very manageable and that was with me riding a scooter around the parks. Friday at DHS I was prepared for a mad house. Got there at 7am and was 2nd in line to get in. I guess it was crazier 2 hours later when DW showed up with the rest of our crew.

Didn't have any problems with the FP+ system. It was nice to be able to change times on my phone when needed to. Would be even nice to add the 4th FP on the phone too.

Magic Bands are awesome. Only issue I had was getting into the pool. Mine didn't work but the kids did. Go figure.

 

[Meriweather]

We also just got back.. Were there from 5-31 to 6-7.
We were there in Jan, so the crowds seemed heavy to me. Mornings were great though and then they picked up during the afternoon.
The weather was great from Sat-Tues. Wed it turned too hot for me!! And I live in AZ. Of course, I am not out walking around all day in it.

I agree SDMT is not worth a long wait. It is cute and a super smooth ride, but VERY short. So glad we had a FP.
We decided to go to DHS Sat, before leaving for the airport. Light crowds in the morning.
People staked out their parade spots over 2 1/2 hours before! No way I was going to sit in the sun that long, so I couldn't see much.

I like the MB and the FP isn't too bad. We never used FP before except for TSMM. But it was fine. I like how easy they are to change. Just wish you could book your 4th from the park you are in and not the one you are going to for the 4th pass.