Just back! Lots of fun!

[llij]

We just got back from Disney a few hours ago and had a very nice trip! This isn't our first time visiting WDW, but it was our first time going in the summer.

Just a few comments:
1 - It was crowded but we never had a problem with the crowds. The key was getting to the park when they opened. Head for your favorite attraction to ride and make good use of Fastpass. We never waited more than 15 minutes for any ride all week.
2 - We also avoided EMH (with the exception of Epcot one morning). On Tuesday morning we went to MK and it was not crowded at all! They had their EMH evening the night before so the park was great on Tuesday morning. We walked on everything until about 11:30 a.m.
3 - It was HOT!! Of course, being almost 6 months pregnant...I am going to say it was HOT! Overall, I didn't think that the heat and humidity was much different than where I live. The only difference is that I don't spend hours walking in a park at home. Over the week, I only felt that 3 days were brutal and the rest were fine. When battling the heat, what worked well for us was to go to parks when they opened, leave after lunch and then go back at dinner time. It rained a few times and that cooled things off and make the parks very pleasant!
4 - We drank a ton of water, used cool neck bandanas and a misty fan, and swam a lot! That really helped with the heat.
5 - I saw a TON of tour groups and many of the "infamous" Brazilian tour groups that have been mentioned on these boards. They were fine and we never saw anyone behaving badly or cutting in lines, etc. Everyone looked like they were having a blast!
6 - CM's were great! I give them extra 'kudos' for working hard with the big crowds and the heat!
7 - Soarin' is very popular and a great ride! The fastpasses were gone by noon! We rode it three times on Monday. We headed straight there when the park opened got a FP then immediately got in the standby line to ride (10 min. wait). We rode it a short time later with the FP and then got another FP for later. It was great!
8 - We stayed at the WL and as usual, had a great stay there.

All in all, going during the summer isn't as bad as I thought it would be. The crowds were very manageable from my perspective. I do prefer to go during Oct through December, but that is only b/c of the humidity. I wouldn't turn down a trip in the summer though!

That is all I can think of for now....I'm so pooped! If you have any questions, just ask!

 

[crow11ad]

I am glad you had a great time. We can't wait to ride Soarin in Oct...

 

[MidgeD79]

I'm glad you had a good time. we always go in the summer because I work for the schools. If you prepare and plan things like the heat and humidity shouldn't suprise you.

 

[CuteKatCar]

Welcome home, Jill (sorry you have to be there and not at WDW anymore ). So glad to hear someone with lots of positive reviews.

How were the parks when you went back in the evening?

Anna

P.S. Is that a Boston Red Sox hat and a Yankee hat? That must be interesting!!!!

 

[llij]

Hi CuteKatCar!

Yes, that is a Red Sox hat and a Yankee hat that you see! My DH and I have a lot of fun with the rivalry!

As far as the parks in the evening, when we went to MK in the evening it was a little crowded but I didn't think it was bad at all. There were long waits for the 'headliner' attractions but since we had already hit them earlier we didn't bother with them unless we wanted to use FP. We walked on Pirates, HM, Mickey's Philharmagic, IASW, etc. We thought Epcot in the evening was great for strolling the World Showcase. If you wanted to ride Soarin' in the evening the waits were about 80-100 minutes and FP's were long gone. TT was a long wait as well. Most of Future World closes at 7:00 so we just had a great time taking in the atmosphere at the WS. The rains helped clear out the parks a little too in the evening. Last night after a rain storm we got a great spot for Illuminations only 15 minutes before it started. I never thought that would ever happen but it did! We never did go back to MGM in the evening as we are going back to WDW in September and will do Fantasmic then. With me being pregnant, I didn't feel like sitting in the bleachers for too long and I didn't feel like doing the dinner package again.

 

[CuteKatCar]

Thanks, Jill. I'll have to make sure we do the headliners in the morning. I haven't heard too much about the evenings.

Anna

P.S. Tell your husband that was a sweet win the Yankees pulled off today!! (I guess you could figure that if I'm from NJ, I'm a Yankee fan ). Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!!

 

[llij]

Hi Anna,

Yes, he is happy about the Yankee win today!

I forgot to mention that we didn't go to parks during their evening EMH. Since we tend to get to parks when they open, staying late for EMH would have driven us over the edge! I have to say that the weather is very nice in the evenings though!

Thanks for the well wishes on the pregnancy. I was worried about being this far along at WDW, but it worked out great. I may not be so lucky in September as I will be huge at that point!

 

[FromVatoDisney]

Jill, Welcome back to Northern Virginia, where, let me assure you, it was brutally hot much of the time you were gone -- and -- this ain't Disney!! So you were in the right place.

Your experience is very similar to ours -- overwhelmingly positive -- right down to managing the crowds and heat and staying at the WL!!! So glad it was all wonderful!

 

[LadyDulcinea1]

So glad to hear you had a great time!

Good luck with your pregnancy!

 

[llij]

Jill, Welcome back to Northern Virginia, where, let me assure you, it was brutally hot much of the time you were gone -- and -- this ain't Disney!! So you were in the right place.

Your experience is very similar to ours -- overwhelmingly positive -- right down to managing the crowds and heat and staying at the WL!!! So glad it was all wonderful!

Thanks!
I heard that it was so very hot here last week! It sounds like it was cooler in Disney than it was in Virginia so I'm glad I went! I'm currently suffering from Disney withdrawals now. I should be swimming in the WL pool instead of doing laundry!

 

[momof2disprincesses]

I should be swimming in the WL pool instead of doing laundry!



I whole-heartedly agree!

 

[ZIPBAGS]

Jill,

I am also in a mixed marriage...I am a Yankee fan...the wife a Met fan.
We also have two older girls(10 & 7) and have a younger son (2 1/2). Good luck. The boy is definitely different than the girls.
Glad you had a great trip. We are also going to the WL in 3 1/2 weeks. Cannot wait!!

 

[KarenB]

I wonder if we crossed paths a few times? We were at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge July 23-28. We also had a terrific time and I totally agree with your list of comments!

Glad you had a great vacation,
Karen

 

[jimmiej]

Hey, thanks for the good report. DW & I are planning a July trip next year. Glad to hear you had a good trip.

 

[llij]

Zipbags - Have a great trip! I love the WL! Each evening I loved hanging out in the lobby just sitting, relaxing and taking in the sights and sounds. I also hear that having a little boy will be quite a change for me! I kept seeing all the little girl princess stuff at the parks and mourned the fact that those days are over for me.... I'm excited about having a little guy though! Looks like we will be into pirates and Buzz Lightyear from now on!

KarenB - Maybe we did run across each other! I was looking for lime green all week, but alas, I didn't run into anyone. We were in the pool a lot last week! My six year old was constantly going down the slide screaming her head off. I always knew when she was going down! I had lime green mickey ears on my back pack too! How did you like the villas? I would love to stay in a villa one day!

JimmieJ - Have a great trip next summer!

 

[mmccan]

We lust got back on Saturday, and I agree the key was to get to the parks at opening. Tues morning (the day after EMH evenings in MK) we had breakfast at Crystal Palace and did not get out of breakfast until after 9:30 and I was worried that the park, esp. fantasyland would be swamped but we were pleasantly surprised. We went and rode everything in fantasyland (somethings twice) and most of Tomorrowland before we left around 12:30 or 1:00 when the crowds were really getting bad and it was getting really hot. By using fastpass that morning we only waited about 15 minutes for anything!!!! It was great. Then we came back in the evening and grabbed fastpasses for BTMRR and while we waited we walked onto Pirates, had a 10 min. wait for Jungle Cruise, saw the swiss family treehouse, and rode magic carpet rides twice. Then found a nice spot to watch the fireworks from liberty square. Then we walked towards main street and waited for alot of the crowds to clear and had a front row seat for the late parade (while enjoying ice cream and fries from Caseys mmm mmmm)
This was our first trip with kids in the summer so we just took it slow and had lots of fun and lots of swim time.

 

[llij]

Hi mmccan! We were at MK on Tuesday too! Around 10:00 in the morning I remember seeing the wait for Dumbo was so short that my DH and I were in shock! We jumped in line and rode it with the girls with only a 10 minute wait. In all my years at MK, I have never been able to ride Dumbo that late in the morning with such a short wait. It was amazing!

Glad to hear that you had a great day at the MK!