Heluvsme
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2007
- Messages
- 1,271
We just returned from 7 nights at The World, had a great time, stayed off site so only had 30 days out for FP+'s, but it all worked out!
First off, I am an old-habits-die-hard kinda girl, so I still follow most of Tour Guide Mike's tips and park touring techniques. I know there are a lot of changes, but they still work!
I had read about the concern regarding the cleanliness, especially the restrooms, so I paid extra attention and honestly, they were very clean! In all 4 parks I can say I didn't encounter one that I thought had been neglected.
We rode everything, except Kali at AK, and never waited longer than 15-20 minutes. We used our FP+'s, we timed Rope Drops and late nights, and used what we've learned over the years regarding crowds/parades/rain to our advantage. For the first time we were at AK at night, it was very cool. The lighting was beautiful, and not having the sun beat down on us was a nice change. We rode the KS at 8:30 pm, and the lighting mimicked dusk....cool effect, but I think I like the morning safari a little better. The animals were out, but my middle-aged eyes had a hard time making out the silhouettes
. We did not see the Jungle Book show, but I had a chance to look at the seating and venue earlier in the afternoon, it looked nice! The Tree of Life was gorgeous at night, and the fireflies lighting up the scenes was a nice touch. Also, a nice plus, we hadn't made an ADR for this day, but Yak and Yeti (Table Service) were taking walk ups--- best meal of the entire trip!
We were able to ride Soarin (California) at Epcot. We love this ride and can't wait to see the new Soarin around the world next time we go. Epcot is our favorite park and I will say it was so scorching hot this particular day. We always go in the summer so we are very used to the heat, but this day, Friday last week, the humidity/heat/no breeze at all was very intense. Still though, we saw all we wanted and did all we wanted to. My daughter and I have a little tradition....after riding Test Track standby (rope drop, straight to TT, wait was maybe 6-8 minutes), we walk over to WS and grab breakfast in France while my DH and son go to Sunshine Seasons and grab a cold drink and wait for us. It was wonderful... Not a lot of people go over there, the pastries are to die for, but boy does it add steps on the Fitbit.
.
We were there during Ts Colin, and truly it just felt like typical Central Florida downpours that happen every afternoon. I know on the coast they had it worse, but in Orlando it wasn't terrible. We simply either waited it out and left an hour later to get to the parks, or we went to the attractions that were still operating. One day was a MK day for us so we did Philarmagic and PoTC during the worst of it, then grabbed the best overloaded burritos at Pecos Bill's! HUGE and yummy!
Cast members were all pleasant, we didn't encounter any of the negativity I'd read about recently.
The Rope Drop day at MK was a strange experience for us though.... I have never, in 24 years of coming here, experienced a bag check line like this. It backed up to the ramp that exits from the Monorail. It was HUGE! Now, don't get me wrong....I'm grateful for all of the security, and for keeping everyone safe, this isn't commentary on that at all, I'm just saying I had never seen anything like it before. Everyone seemed fine with it, didn't hear grumbling, and folks had their bags unzipped and ready to go so it was a smooth process. It added about 40 minutes, however! They were randomly pulling folks out to go through the metal detectors, but again, it all moved smoothly. We got off the Monorail at 7:15 for an 8:00 rope drop, we were able to walk right in at 7:55, headed straight back to Peter Pan and waited about 15 minutes, but that was what we wanted, that queue is the best!
Great trip! I would advise anyone going to follow some old school touring plans, they still work! Midday breaks are essential, rope drops and late nights are your friends, and rainy days can work to your advantage!
First off, I am an old-habits-die-hard kinda girl, so I still follow most of Tour Guide Mike's tips and park touring techniques. I know there are a lot of changes, but they still work!
I had read about the concern regarding the cleanliness, especially the restrooms, so I paid extra attention and honestly, they were very clean! In all 4 parks I can say I didn't encounter one that I thought had been neglected.
We rode everything, except Kali at AK, and never waited longer than 15-20 minutes. We used our FP+'s, we timed Rope Drops and late nights, and used what we've learned over the years regarding crowds/parades/rain to our advantage. For the first time we were at AK at night, it was very cool. The lighting was beautiful, and not having the sun beat down on us was a nice change. We rode the KS at 8:30 pm, and the lighting mimicked dusk....cool effect, but I think I like the morning safari a little better. The animals were out, but my middle-aged eyes had a hard time making out the silhouettes
. We did not see the Jungle Book show, but I had a chance to look at the seating and venue earlier in the afternoon, it looked nice! The Tree of Life was gorgeous at night, and the fireflies lighting up the scenes was a nice touch. Also, a nice plus, we hadn't made an ADR for this day, but Yak and Yeti (Table Service) were taking walk ups--- best meal of the entire trip!We were able to ride Soarin (California) at Epcot. We love this ride and can't wait to see the new Soarin around the world next time we go. Epcot is our favorite park and I will say it was so scorching hot this particular day. We always go in the summer so we are very used to the heat, but this day, Friday last week, the humidity/heat/no breeze at all was very intense. Still though, we saw all we wanted and did all we wanted to. My daughter and I have a little tradition....after riding Test Track standby (rope drop, straight to TT, wait was maybe 6-8 minutes), we walk over to WS and grab breakfast in France while my DH and son go to Sunshine Seasons and grab a cold drink and wait for us. It was wonderful... Not a lot of people go over there, the pastries are to die for, but boy does it add steps on the Fitbit.
. We were there during Ts Colin, and truly it just felt like typical Central Florida downpours that happen every afternoon. I know on the coast they had it worse, but in Orlando it wasn't terrible. We simply either waited it out and left an hour later to get to the parks, or we went to the attractions that were still operating. One day was a MK day for us so we did Philarmagic and PoTC during the worst of it, then grabbed the best overloaded burritos at Pecos Bill's! HUGE and yummy!
Cast members were all pleasant, we didn't encounter any of the negativity I'd read about recently.
The Rope Drop day at MK was a strange experience for us though.... I have never, in 24 years of coming here, experienced a bag check line like this. It backed up to the ramp that exits from the Monorail. It was HUGE! Now, don't get me wrong....I'm grateful for all of the security, and for keeping everyone safe, this isn't commentary on that at all, I'm just saying I had never seen anything like it before. Everyone seemed fine with it, didn't hear grumbling, and folks had their bags unzipped and ready to go so it was a smooth process. It added about 40 minutes, however! They were randomly pulling folks out to go through the metal detectors, but again, it all moved smoothly. We got off the Monorail at 7:15 for an 8:00 rope drop, we were able to walk right in at 7:55, headed straight back to Peter Pan and waited about 15 minutes, but that was what we wanted, that queue is the best!
Great trip! I would advise anyone going to follow some old school touring plans, they still work! Midday breaks are essential, rope drops and late nights are your friends, and rainy days can work to your advantage!
