Just Back from June 22-July 2--the good and the ok.

[dzneelvr]

Let me start off by saying that I don't believe anything at WDW is "bad". We try new things each trip and some we enjoy more than others. Here's our spin:

Resort: ASMo Mighty Duck Section. Our perpetual favorite and no issues here. we thought the buses were running much more often than past trips. the pool was very clean and quiet in before-noon hours. Mousekeeping was efficient--we got extra pillows and extra towels very promptly after a phone call. Food court was good and I found that by ordering the kids portion--my temptation to overeat was absent
Transportation--we used Happy Limo for a stretch to/from Sanford. Great as usual. Limos were spotless, on time, and the one was brand new which was an extra treat. sodas and movies provided.
Parks: Magical! Character interactions frequent and all over the parks until about 5pm each day. We happened to be at an EPCOT park opening and were able to slide over to the Character Connection with the characters--got Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Chip and Dale, and Pluto all within 10 minutes in air conditioned comfort. We did have some rain showers that chased away some character time slots (never did get Power Rangers at MGM), but that's to be expected.
Dining: The Disney Dining Experience Card (20% off) was a great buy for us. We saved upwards of $250 with no hassle. will definitely do it again. All food was wonderful at our choices. We did Prime Time, Tony's, Biergarten (twice), Ohanas (twice; the new menu is fabulous ), Plaza in MK, Le Cellier (great new menu! loved it), Mexico counter service (where we had a front row seat for Illuminations), Mama Melroses, Toy Story. I did partake of a couple frozen cocktails during the trip--they were $7 but very filling and great taste (Pina Colada in MGM back lot, Margarita in Mexico). There are more stations to get cocktails and beer in each park.
Tours: now that DD turned 16 we did the Keys to the Kingdom Tour in MK and DS wanted to do Segway Tour in EPCOT. Loved them both!! KTTK is an eyeopener and one we probably wouldn't repeat unless it was years from now. The Segway Tour however, may be one we do each trip as it is a hoot cruising around the World Showcase prior to it's opening.
Fireworks: got to see Wishes twice, once weather didn't allow Tinker Bell and once it did. Illuminations same as past trips. Motor cars in MGM basically the same as was the day parade in MK. Our guide in KTTK said they will be changing the MK one as that is about 5 years old. Spectromagic was same as in past years as well. hopefully they will change that with the new celebration theme coming up.
Last but not least, we lucked out and were able to go through the enhanced POTC twice on July 1 during it's soft opening. Our tour guide on the Backlot Tour in MGM happened to mention that ..."today is the soft opening, so it you want to see it, the attraction is scheduled to be open until 11pm." We were SO excited. After finishing up some MGM stuff, we headed over and only had a 20 minute wait at 8:30pm, so we did it twice. The Johnny Depp character is very realistic and the entire attraction has been freshened up. Captain Jack appears 3 times in the ride and there is a fabulous effect you ride through at the very beginning, which I won't spoil by being too detailed. It was good, but certainly not mindblowing--maybe I had geared it up in my head too much with all the promotions. The narration in some parts of the ride are still hard to hear and I hope they fix that up like they've done in the Haunted Mantion.
All in all a wonderful trip.

 

[TAKitty]

Thanks for your post! I love to read the quick overviews. I am anxious to ride the new POTC in a couple of weeks!

What did you think of the crowds?

 

[KathyRN137]

Thanks!

 

[dzneelvr]

Not once during our stay were any parks "at capacity" which was unusual. We avoid MK on Fri-Sat-Sun and go to EPCOT and MGM instead. MK middle of the week and same with AK.The capacity of the resort definitely picked up about Thursday, due to July 4th. Space Mountain in MK, Expedition Everest in AK, and Soarin in EPCOT are impossible to get on without a FP and those are gone by mid- afternoon so Get a FP the minute you walk into those parks for those attractions because you won't get a second chance.

 

[Disney owl]

Great report

 

[scanne]

What time did you get dinner at Cantina de San Angel to snag those spots for Illuminations??

 

[x_tinkerbelle_x]

Hey I just got back too from my June 22-July 2nd Disney Vacation!! I have to say the POTC ride was fun as usual but I thought it shouldn't taken them that long to do that. First off there were already people in the spots where Captain Jack Sparrow appeared in and secondly I just think they were making everyone all anxious about both the ride and movie opening up on the same day!! That's just my opinion anyway I have to say Expedition Everest was AWESOME!! I rode on it a total of five times on my vacation!! I don't think there is a ride at Disney that's better than that!! Well can't wait to go again!!

 

[dzneelvr]

scanne: we tried to get last-minute ressies at the Cantina but they were full so we went to the next best thing, their counter service along the lagoon. As it happened a long rain storm had ended leaving several tables under the canopy empty and wet. as the CM came around to squeegy off the tables, we helped her dry ours off. It was one of those lucky moments, otherwise I'm sure those tables would've been already taken!! If you want to do the dinner inside Mexico, try to end it by 8:20 or 8:30pm to give you time to claim some spots along the rail.

 

[mousiemom]

Whenever we do this, we get @ cantina's @7:30 and we get someone in our party to get a table outside by the lake. We have our nachos and margaritas and have the best seats to illuminations @ 9:00. Last Jan., when we went it was too crowded but a lot of people have the same idea.
Good luck!

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your report ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[Mcbruns]

Thanks for your post! I love to read the quick overviews. I am anxious to ride the new POTC in a couple of weeks!

What did you think of the crowds?

We just got back Sunday. It was crowded - but bearable. We got to most of the parks early and went towards the back of the park. We got right on many rides before 10:30 am. Also used Fast Pass and EMH. I would do late June / early July again.

 

[iteachlit]

We just got back Sunday. It was crowded - but bearable. We got to most of the parks early and went towards the back of the park. We got right on many rides before 10:30 am. Also used Fast Pass and EMH. I would do late June / early July again.

I also thought the crowds were not that bad. I have been there at the end of July, and these crowds (and the heat) were not quite as bad.

By carefully using Fastpass and planning our routes around the parks, we were able to hit almost everything we wanted. The kids (5 & 7) loved It's a Small World, so we rode it twice. We practically walked on both times. Jungle Cruise was a 5 minute wait (we got to the park at about 11 a.m.). FP for Splash Mountain and Peter Pan; both standbys there were about 60 minutes. BTMRR had a 20 minute wait; we skipped it. Dumbo was about a 25 minute wait. Did standby for Buzz; we were on in about 20 minutes.

We had very similar experiences at the other parks. Long waits for Soarin' (worth it) and Test Track (not worth it, IMHO). Other rides were little or no wait. We literally walked on SSE with no queue wait at all. The Land was 20 minutes.

At MGM, Star Tours had a 10 minute wait. Walked into Muppets. Used FP for Tower and Coaster. Got a front row seat (on the curb) for the parade 20 minutes before it began.

Longest wait at AK was the safari, but I neglected to check the Fastpass because we had a long wait for EE FP. We waited about one hour to ride the safari. When our EE FP rolled around we walked right on. Did a stroller swap and walked right back on the ride. Yay!

All-in-all the crowds were not as bad as what we expected.