JUST BACK! Happy to answer your questions...

[TreeOfLife]

We just returned last night from a wonderful trip to Disney and Universal Studios.

Security checks: A fiasco. I asked a CM what they're trying to find and her reply was:" M&M's, have any?... You know what we're looking for" So I lifted my shirt at that time and showed her that she missed my fanny pack. I told her I could have used it to hide whatever she was looking for in my camera bag instead. She was speechless. In fact, people without bags go through a quick line where they're not even checked... Somebody should tell them that the stores sell duct tape and baggy jeans, in case they did not know about all the places where thugs hide M&M's...

Transportation: Excellent! At least at the AKL.

Resort: Amazing! Great children activities, soemthing always going on, Santa and characters met with children on Christmas eve at the lobby. Cast members were enthusiastic and friendly.

The pins: Fun thing to do with kids, although I had to remind a CM in Epcot that she did not own the pins on her lanyard, as she initially refused to trade for some supposedly special pins with my son. Other than that, it was a very fun activity to share with CMs.

The crowds: I have to say I was happy to see the AK fuller that I ever saw it before. The crowds were bearable, we followed the advice and recommendations to avoid the can of sardines effect and it worked out very well...

Weather: Not bad at all! we pretty much walked around in T-shirts and sandals. Oh I saw some CMs wearing gloves when I wore my toes out on a pair of sandals but northeners should have no complaints about the weather. We even went to Blizzard Beach where, as of 1:00 PM, the number of guests in the park had been under 170 that day! It was heaven. I assumed the locals weren't visiting the water park.

So, any questions I can answer them while everything is still fresh on my mind!

 

[hockey mom]

Wow I would love to hit BB with only 170 there. Sounds like a great time.

Did the CM hand over the pin because that is the second time I have heard of that happening and I thought they had to trade you?

 

[TreeOfLife]

Did the CM hand over the pin because that is the second time I have heard of that happening and I thought they had to trade you?

Let's see.. It was shortly before Illuminations in Epcot and a CM named Lola or something like that was picking up garbage. When we pointed out the pins we wanted she said "no, not those, those are special pins". They were Timon and Pumbaa safety pins. She did not like the ones from the DS that my son offered and until I reminded her that the pins weren't hers, she did not want to trade. Eventually she did, and even after I said sorry for taking those away she gave us this dirty look.

I think some of those CMs take most of those special pins we didn't even know were special at all! Heck my son likes Pumbaa because he farts in The Lion King and therefore, likes all his pins too...

 

[disney4us2002]

Did you stay at Univ or drive there from AKL? How were the Univ crowds? We want to try Univ next Christmas week but the TA says unless we stay onsite and use FOTL we won't get to ride much. What was your experience? Did you try any park on Christmas day? If so, how bad were the crowds?

Thanks for any tips.

 

[TreeOfLife]

<<Did you stay at Univ or drive there from AKL? >>
Oh no, we stayed at HRH. The walk to the parks is stunningly beautiful!

<<How were the Univ crowds? >>
Busy. Some wait times were neurotic. Shrek's, for example, was up to 105 minutes even after 5:00 PM. We loved having Express passes that allowed us to wait a maximum of 20 minutes in that same line! Universal has done a great thing in creating a line just for this pass. It was fun to walk right on to your seat in your attraction, made us feel like VIPs.

<<We want to try Univ next Christmas week but the TA says unless we stay onsite and use FOTL we won't get to ride much. What was your experience? Did you try any park on Christmas day? If so, how bad were the crowds? >>

Again, the parks were busy but definitely those express passes made a huge difference. We visited IOA for the first time on Christmas day and Universal later on. I saw lines where you can buy those Express passes, free if you are a resort guest, so you may be able to work it around.
My kids loved IOA, I didn't like it much. Found it too difficult to get around. I posted a note about it on their boards. But the rides were fun, once you figured out where the heck the entrance was!

Tips... I'd say definitely stay onsite but if you can't, buy those Express passes! Both parks have a special line for those people and on attractions where the lines merge at the entrance to the ride, the express pass holders are allowed to come into the rooms and sit first... It is very nice!
The food at the HRH was very nice. Get the All Access membership and you'll really come in first before anyone else in line. So, overall, Universal is very busy but thanks to their perks you can get to see and do so much in a mere two or three days, even during the busiest season!... And without sweating a drop.

 

[jcemom]

Glad to hear AKL transportation was good...did you use it to go to all the WDW parks? We will have a car, but thought it would be nice for DH to not have to worry about driving to the parks. Would you choose the AKL buses over driving yourself to the parks?

 

[TreeOfLife]

AKL's buses were on time, comfortable and quick. We used them solely to get around the parks. I was happy with them, only closer to Christmas they started to get fuller.

But on X-Mas eve there were several standees. Now that I htink about it I think they were people who'd eat at Boma's, hoping from the parks.

I recommend you using their buses.

 

[kilee]

Just a comment on your dealings with security. It still amazes me that a corporation like Disney hasn't invested in metal detectors yet.

I also love it when I'm dressed for summer and the locals are in layers!!

 

[jcemom]

Thank you!

 

[crusin'minnie]

What is the can of sardines effect? And how did you avoid it?

 

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by TreeOfLife
We just returned last night from a wonderful trip to Disney and Universal Studios.

Security checks: A fiasco. I asked a CM what they're trying to find and her reply was:" M&M's, have any?... You know what we're looking for" So I lifted my shirt at that time and showed her that she missed my fanny pack. I told her I could have used it to hide whatever she was looking for in my camera bag instead. She was speechless. In fact, people without bags go through a quick line where they're not even checked... Somebody should tell them that the stores sell duct tape and baggy jeans, in case they did not know about all the places where thugs hide M&M's...

The fact that someone can sneak a fanny pack into WDW -- or that they find it necessary to prove to security that they could sneak it in if they wanted to ... well, that says more about the person with the fanny pack than about Security, IMO. Because I'm thinking you didn't try that tactic at the airport. You did it at WDW because .... well, I'm not sure why.

Obviously, you felt Disney Security overall was adequate, or presumably you wouldn't have entered the park with your family. How were the bag checks at Universal?

 

[TreeOfLife]

Comical reply, searcher...

The fact that someone can sneak a fanny pack into WDW -- or that they find it necessary to prove to security that they could sneak it in if they wanted to ... well, that says more about the person with the fanny pack than about Security, IMO.

I agree. Had I been a terrorist it definitely would have spoken much louder and said far more about Disney's Security checks. Had I been a psychotic looking for trouble beyond a mischief at the gates... oh my!

Because I'm thinking you didn't try that tactic at the airport. You did it at WDW because .... well, I'm not sure why.

Don't compare what is being done at the gates with what is being done at the airports... The whole point is, if you're going to do a search, do it well. At the airport, I'd been arrested if I'd tried to sneak anything in. At WDW, anyone can strap a gun to their legs and go right through the lines of guests without bags... A no brainer.

Why at WDW? To show my party and the security guard what I thought about it altogether. In fact, a research team CM had the chance to ask me a few questions exiting Blizard Beach and I did share my opinion with him about the inadequacy of those searches. He reacted like he's heard it before, took notes and told me he'd pass the comment along. I felt I was not bringing on a new issue.

Obviously, you felt Disney Security overall was adequate, or presumably you wouldn't have entered the park with your family. How were the bag checks at Universal?

Yes, I have been visiting Disney for the last 13 years. I felt only annoyed by those searches this time, not any safer. In terms of that feeling of security, those do not make me feel any different that I did ten years ago. In fact, I feel less safe because now I experience how easy it could be for any sociopath to hide a weapon in his clothes or even under his shirt and fire it up inside... Unrestrained!

Bag checks at Universal were just as ridiculous. In fact, I mentioned to a guard inside in a blue uniform that he looked far more credible than those at the gates. He just smiled, said "Don't say that..." and went about his business.

I think not even they believe that what they're doing is effective against a terrorist attack or keeps the parks safer at all. Peeking into a bag without a clue about what you are looking at, not even knowing if there's a bomb or a weapon in the camera you allowed in... Come on!

Were those methods effective, they'd be used at the airports and government buildings instead... An attack in Vegas is a far greater threat and still... they don't look into people's bags.

 

[WDSearcher]

Glad you found the reply comical, TOL. Always happy to amuse.

Originally posted by TreeOfLife
In fact, I feel less safe because now I experience how easy it could be for any sociopath to hide a weapon in his clothes or even under his shirt and fire it up inside... Unrestrained!

But, again ... even though you feel "less safe," you still had no problem bringing your family into the park.

There have been lots of stories on the news about people who have managed to get guns, knives, razor blades, box cutters, and other contraband onto airplanes since 9/11, even with tightened security. Even a thorough search with metal detectors and x-rays doesn't catch everything. And yet, you don't seem to have an issue with airport security.

On the flip side, there are no reports of people being caught with any of the above weapons at WDW since 9/11 (all the sociopaths were caught at the airport, perhaps?). But you feel less safe at Disney than ever before.

I guess I just don't understand the logic. At any rate ... I'm sorry to have eaten up part of your thread with this. I'll move on ....

 

[TreeOfLife]

You want me to confess that I feel safer because strangers peek at my bags. Sorry, I can't say that. Again, in terms of security I think the parks are offering an open invotation for a maniac to go farther than I'd ever gone.

They aren't effective, they're a game and it is by either a miracle or just plain lack of interest that those parks have not been attacked, not because Joes and Janes are peeking in bags without having a clue about what the heck they look at.

I felt the same way in Universal. I visited both parks before 9/11 and will continue to do so in the future. I just hope that neither wastes my time in searches, or I'll be tempted to play a little "peek a boo missed here too" sometime again

Just do it well, if you want to do searches, or do like in Vegas: Keep living!

 

[luvsTink]

::looking around, seeming lost::

seems I somehow happened onto the debate board.

::scampers off::

 

[MHopkins2]

TOL, I couldn't agree with you more about the "security" checks. I don't mind waiting an hour at the airport, because those checks could conceivably stop a tragedy. But waiting five minutes for the totally useless "search" at WDW parks bugs me to no end. Either make it effective or don't bother, please.

 

[crusin'minnie]

Can someone please tell me what is the can of sardines effect? And how do you avoid it?

Thank you!

 

[PattiPB]

Ummm, eeerrrr, could we please leave Vegas out of this! LOL!!!

Patti

 

[TreeOfLife]

Can of sardines effect? LOL...

I guess it is packing people up like sardines in a can. I only saw the AKL buses filled like that on X-Mas eve. And like I said before, I think it was because so many people came to eat at Boma's. The AKL buses are very comfortable, hardly got packed up...

How to avoid it? Read the information about selecting where to go and when. Use ee mornings, take a break in the afternoon and you'll be ahead of the game over those who are trying to see it all in a day and are wiped out by 5:00 PM... I guess we must have done well when I hardly perceived an overwhelming amount of crowds. But again, I was happy to see the AK busier this time.

luvsTink, PattiPB: I have to say that was the cutest...

Didn't mean to start a debate on the security thing, merely share my impression and experience about the devilish prank I pulled on the security CM... Thankfully it is all it was, but beware!

 

[da disney fans]

I was at Disney last week, and I didn't find anything amiss about the security checks. I had my backpack thoroughly searched, and the same went for the other people around me. Call me naive, but I just don't think of Disney as a place that people are going to sneak weapons into.

Oh well. It stinks that we're such a paranoid society that even Disney can have the fun sucked out of it.