Just back! Here is what I learned

[alonola]

Hi all!

Just back from a week vacation with DG (Dear Girlfriend ). I'm 24 she is 23 (so I can't tell how much the following will be effective to people with young children. Sorry )

1. DO NOT BE CONCERED ABOUT CROWD LEVELS in October!!! When I was there, some hotels were at full capacity, the Magic Kingdom was visited by 60,000 people (twice the amount they are used to in October), and still I have managed to do all the following in one day: Soarin', Test Track, Mission Space, Splash Mt., Big Thunder Mt., Space Mt., Buzz, Stitch and some minor attractions. I found the park to be more alive when there were people. I was at the Magic Kingdom also before MNSSHP and the park was almost empy. It seemed kind of sad to me.

2. BE AT THE PARK AT THE OPENING!! I got to Epcot, MGM and AK at park opening and here is what I managed to do:

Epcot (Wednesday): Soarin', Test Track, Mission Space - WALKed ON all of them. Did them all by 10:10!
Animal Kingdom (Thursday): Kalimangero Safari, Kali River Rapids (3 times in a row), Dinosaur - same as Epcot - walked on tehm all, and finished by 10:00. Kali River Rapids opens only at 9:30!

MGM - Tot twice (walked on), Rock n' Roller coaster - waited for 10 minutes.

3. BE AT THE PARK AT THE OPENING!! I can't stress it enough!!

4. The stand by line display time is not always accurate! We saw a 30 min wait for Space Mt., and said "what the heck, we have nothing beter to do". From the moment we got to the entrance of the building to the time I was seated and buckling up was no more then 7 minutes.

5. Go to MNSSHP. There are no lines. You get loads of candy. Come with a custom!!!!! ( I was a pirate . I saw someone dressed as a FastPass. What a great Idea!!).

6. Use FastPass.

7. Soarin, Mision Space, Dinosaur, Stitch's Great Escape - not that big of a deal (sorry disney guys). Do not wait more than 15 min for them. They don't worth the wait.

8. Do no miss: Test Track, Rock n' Roller Coaster, ToT, Kali River Rapids, Discovery Island Trails, boat ride to the Magic Kingdom, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, BTMR, One man's dream at MGM (the story of Walt Disney), CyberSpace Mt. at Disney Quest. Don't miss Disney Quest at any case.

Any questions?

(P.S: BE AT THE PARK AT PARK OPENING!!)

 

[LiteBrite]

But what time should we get to the park?

 

[HappyMommy2]

So would it be all right if we just get to the parks an hour or so after opening?

Glad you had a great trip! We were there last week and I agree with everything you said! I felt like the crowd levels were just right--as long as we got there at opening (which we DID!), things were very manageable. It was busier than I expected, but I agree that busy can be more fun than empty--we used to live in California and would visit DL on, say, a weekday in January and it would be SO empty that it was a bit sad!

Thanks for the report and tips. We will have to try Disney Quest next time!

 

[Eloi]

7. Soarin, Mision Space, Dinosaur, Stitch's Great Escape - not that big of a deal (sorry disney guys). Do not wait more than 15 min for them. They don't worth the wait.

I don't agree here. Soarin' and Dinosaur have been 2 of the fave attractions of our family of 4. They're well worth the wait. Mission Space was also very good. I gotta say that you're right about Stitch though. Very average ride, not in the same league as the others...

 

[huskies90]

I don't agree here. Soarin' and Dinosaur have been 2 of the fave attractions of our family of 4. They're well worth the wait. Mission Space was also very good. I gotta say that you're right about Stitch though. Very average ride, not in the same league as the others...

Attractions are individual opinions. Some folks love Stitch's Great Escape. Personally, Dinosaur is my favorite attraction in all the parks.

 

[HappyMommy2]

Ooohhh, didn't notice you were unimpressed by Soarin' and Mission: Space--those were two of our favorites. Obviously the ride preferences really do vary by individual. For example my DH loves Kiliminjaro Safaris and I wouldn't mind if we skipped it every time.

 

[eclectics]

But what time should we get to the park?

But it is the truth. It's such a pleasure not to have to wait on line!

 

[figment7413]

6. Use FastPass.

Okay - we will be there at park opening! We were already planning on doing that, but so glad to know it is effective! What is the deal with fastpass - I saw on another post that if you put your ticket in to get a fastpass, and the wait is less than 15 minutes, to just stay in line and "save" your fastpass for another ride. Are you limited to the number of fastpasses you can have per day or something? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I haven't been to WDW since 1988!

TIA!

 

[aquaticmom]

Hi all!



7. Soarin, Mision Space, Dinosaur, Stitch's Great Escape - not that big of a deal (sorry disney guys). Do not wait more than 15 min for them. They don't worth the wait.


I have to disagree about Soarin, I think it is well worth the wait, it is such an awesome ride. We rode it twice on fast pass. When we got there at 11:00 our fast pass was for 3:00 and when we got off we fast passed again and our return was 7:50 - 8:50.

 

[joanb]

Don't wait for the Stitch "ride"-we just didn't like it-at all!

 

[Cinderella94]

Yeah-gotta agree with you all about the Stitch ride. I hated it, my 7 year old brother on the hand loved it. I dunno, but I for one don't like getting burped chili dog breath on, but hey. What can ya do

Cinderella

 

[He's Dead Jim]

6. Use FastPass.

Okay - we will be there at park opening! We were already planning on doing that, but so glad to know it is effective! What is the deal with fastpass - I saw on another post that if you put your ticket in to get a fastpass, and the wait is less than 15 minutes, to just stay in line and "save" your fastpass for another ride. Are you limited to the number of fastpasses you can have per day or something? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I haven't been to WDW since 1988!

TIA!

The Fastpass you get is for that ride only. So you can wait on line if you want to after you get your fastpass, but you'll only be able to use the fastpass on that ride. But then you run the risk of not being able to get another Fastpass for a more crowded ride (Only one Fastpass every 2 hours).
When you get your Fastpass there will be a note that tells you when you can get another one - sometimes, if you're lucky, you're note will say you can get another Fastpass right away...Last I heard they were only doing that in Epcot though.

 

[misslissa]

About Kali River Rapids: Did you get wet? Did you wear a bathing suit? Did you have to lug around extra clothes?!?!?!

I want to know!!!

I've been on a ride similar to this one before and I am wondering if it is worth it 'cause I don't want to have it be an inconvenience.

 

[angel's momma]

About Kali River Rapids: Did you get wet? Did you wear a bathing suit? Did you have to lug around extra clothes?!?!?!

I want to know!!!

I've been on a ride similar to this one before and I am wondering if it is worth it 'cause I don't want to have it be an inconvenience.

We had 2 very different experiences on Kali. We rode it 9/27 back to back (CM offered to let us back through the fast pass line as we were exiting because there wasn't any line) - we were barely even damp. Since this was the first time we had ever ridden this ride we were a little confused - similar rides at amusement parks leave you drenched. Rode it again with my parents on 10/6. Told them we were barely even damp the previous week. Of course, we ended up absolutely soaked! And remained that way for the rest of the day. Asked the CM about the difference & he told us that the first day was a very slow day & the ride is run at a slower speed, thus not as much splashes.




And I have to comment about being at the park at opening. Yes, I know it works, we did it last trip. But we had really good luck this trip using the PM EMHs (with the exception of Epcot which really needs to add some fast passes). I couldn't believe how many rides we rode at MK's late night. We also didn't seem as tired this trip since we weren't getting up quite as early.

 

[clkelley]

We had 2 very different experiences on Kali. We rode it 9/27 back to back (CM offered to let us back through the fast pass line as we were exiting because there wasn't any line) - we were barely even damp. Since this was the first time we had ever ridden this ride we were a little confused - similar rides at amusement parks leave you drenched. Rode it again with my parents on 10/6. Told them we were barely even damp the previous week. Of course, we ended up absolutely soaked! And remained that way for the rest of the day. Asked the CM about the difference & he told us that the first day was a very slow day & the ride is run at a slower speed, thus not as much splashes.

I only ride Kali when it's raining and I'm in my rain suit and water sandals anyway!! I just don't want to take the chance of walking around the park wet.

Carol

 

[Demon Llama]

I agree with you on Stitch's Great Escape, but the other three? Mission:Space I can understand. It's awesome if your stomach can take it. But Soarin' and Dinosaur RULE. I'd pass up Kali River Rapids or One Man's Dream ANY DAY before I pass on those awesome rides!

Just my opinion!

 

[henrylovespooh]

I totally agree about getting to the park at opening. By getting to the parks at opening, we got to see every major character without a long wait. Most parks have characters at the opening and we quickly got pictures and then went on rides. Two weeks ago at MK, we walked on everything at Fantasyland. While I really do enjoy the Peter Pan and Pooh rides, when I am walking by them at 3 p.m. and see the wait is 45 minutes, I just shake my head. It's cute, but not worth a 45 minute wait.

One thing I also learned is that if you have Park hopper passes, it really pays to go to MK on a day they don't have Spectro and Wishes. It was empty - even after noon! We could walk on most everything and lines for the rollercoasters were only 20 minutes on the sign. Then we could go to Epcot or MGM at night.

 

[bytheblood]

When we were there in June, we had to wait 85 minutes for Soarin. I loved it, but I would not wait 85 minutes again. I think anything over 45 minutes for Soarin is too much for my liking.

 

[alonola]

Kali River Rapids - We got REAL WET!!! Come prepared! It is GREAT!

 

[alonola]

Hi all again,

Each parks opens at 9:00 (except for EMH). At any case, they let you into the park about 20-30 minutes earlier, however, there is rope after the turnslits which isn't droped until 9:00. At 9:00 a big bus with all the characters comes, and there are CMs escorting you to the attractions. There is a group of CMs for each major attraction. For example, at Epcot, there was one for Soarin', one for Test Track and one for Mission Space. At MGM there were to freaky guys from ToT and tow guys to Rock n' Roller Coaster. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PASS THE CMS. They are there to prevent people from running all over each other.

At any case, I think it is best if you get to park about 30 min before opening.

As for Mission Space - it was awsome, but after doing Cyberspace Mountain at Disney Quest you'll understand what I mean.

We will be happy to answer any more questions.