Just Back, Some Observations.

[bytheblood]

Thank you for posting your observations and opinions about your trip.

That CM was a bit unfair about the whole monorail thing.

I totally agree with you about food being over-priced. I think the rest of the cost for Disney is fair, but I have had better turkey sandwiches than the $35 plate I paid for in WDW.

 

[Crazy Kanga]

I talked briefly with friend of mine who just got back last night and she said she would never go to WDW again during spring break. I had a feeling that it was gonna be bad due to the way they had bumped up the hours so much. When I saw that they had Fantasic! scheduled for three shows in one night I knew that they must be expecting HUGE crowds and I warned her. I am worried about my June trip being like this. I really hope not, but just in case my butt will be at the parks at least 30 min prior to opening especially on morning EMH days. Another poster earleir this week said she did this and was able to do a lot of rides between 8-10am.

 

[danny1649]

Are always welcome on the Dis,thank you for sharing your recent experience. Danny

 

[civileng68]

I talked briefly with friend of mine who just got back last night and she said she would never go to WDW again during spring break. I had a feeling that it was gonna be bad due to the way they had bumped up the hours so much. When I saw that they had Fantasic! scheduled for three shows in one night I knew that they must be expecting HUGE crowds and I warned her. I am worried about my June trip being like this. I really hope not, but just in case my butt will be at the parks at least 30 min prior to opening especially on morning EMH days. Another poster earleir this week said she did this and was able to do a lot of rides between 8-10am.

Yeah, it was so bad this week that even though my wife and I's anniversary falls during this week, from now on we are thinking about celebrating it a week or two later. It's not going to be the same but, let me give you an example of what we dealt with.

We sleep in until about 10:30. My wife cannot get up early on vacation. We like to relax to so we dont rush to rides.

In the first three days of our trip, we never got to do Splash Mountain, Space Mountain or Buzz lightyear.

I refuse to stand in line for an hour or more when I'm on my vacation. It wastes the day away. I try to get FP's and if I dont get them, I wont wait or I'll go right at the end of the night.


On another note: Something that hurts FP's that I think should be looked into is, I noticed some dads with little kids, who obviously were not going to ride Space Mountain (not that little kids wont, but these werent) getting fast passes (4 of them to be exact) obviously all for himself (his wife was pregnant). Now, even if he were to give them to someone, chances are there are many people using there childrens' FPs for their own rides, again, keeping paying visitors from getting them.

 

[plutospup]

Thanks for the info on Innoventions. I never thought much of the video games in the past. Hopefully, they will be able to plan better use of that space in the future.

 

[Aidensmom]

Leaving the park at night on a crowded night is Mayhem, considering the wait for a ferry is far too long (and then they never even filled the top decks), and the wait for a monorail is far too long. Then when you reach the TTC the wait for a tram is also miserable. Something should be done to ease this.

I must agree with this, this was the worst part of our entire day when we were there on the 18th. I was pleasantly surprised however by the kindness of a couple of guests....

It was just me and my 3 year old son, who was in his stroller and very tired and whiny and just ready to go home. We finally got up to the front of the line to get on the monorail, and I was being courteous and trying hard not to hit anyone with the stroller, so everyone took advantage of that and was jumping in front of us. ( I know a lot of people complain about people with strollers, but it goes both ways.) There was room on the monorail for about 2 more people, and a couple of women next to us made way for us to get on and blocked the way of other people, causing themselves not to be able to get on that monorail. Though I expressed my thanks, they will never know how much appreciation I have for that gesture.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Spring Break is bad enough, but add easter into that mix...
I thought about going to Epcot today, and decided best to hold off. Next weekend will probably still be busy. But this weekend...
I think NYE is still too fresh in my mind.
Last weekend was not too bad. We were at WDW and USO. It was busy, as I expected. But do-able. This weekend. Not so sure I wanna know!

 

[Got Quattro?]

a good reason why NOT to go during peak season! I hear Christmastime is even worse.

ha ha....I spent new years eve in epcot for the 1999-2000 event.

got there at 8:00am and left at 1:00am.

did not do a single ride that day. the entire world showcase , I mean every where there was a patch of concrete, was sholder to sholder all day long.

we ate a snack here or there, and had some wine in a few places.

basically just walked around all day like zombies waiting for midnight

 

[Worfthedog]

Just thought I'd mention that quite a few of the effects in the stunt show are hit and miss at the best of times (particulary the guy on fire). We have seen this show in Paris maybe a dozen times and something is missing or fails most times.

Still pretty exciting anyway, a must see!

Paul.

 

[LoraJ]

I hope it calms down when we go there in two weeks. The last two times I have gone were in September and I am so SPOILED by being able to just jump on rides without waiting more than 5 minutes in line.

I am also very worried about the PS situation. My boyfriend and I can never decide where to eat until the day of. We never had a problem in September, except for once at Epcot when it was early entry day. We went to Le Cellier and they said they couldn't take anymore walk-ins, only PS. Yet I was able to make a PS on the spot for 45mins from the time we arrived.

Maybe I should email him the menus and get the ball rolling. We do have a PS for the first night though.

 

[NeverEnufWDW]

1 - If you don't want to deal with strollers then don't go to WDW. Try Vegas.

2 - If you know its going to be crowded and don't take a few minutes out of your hectic schedule to make a P.S.....then tough luck.

3 - If you think that park food is too expensive, then plan ahead so you don't have to eat there.

Sorry, but I have no sympathy for people who whine about things they have control of.

 

[civileng68]

1 - If you don't want to deal with strollers then don't go to WDW. Try Vegas.

2 - If you know its going to be crowded and don't take a few minutes out of your hectic schedule to make a P.S.....then tough luck.

3 - If you think that park food is too expensive, then plan ahead so you don't have to eat there.

Sorry, but I have no sympathy for people who whine about things they have control of.

Not to sound snotty, but I just find it amusing that some can't complain about something they pay good money to experience.

Guess you wont be complaining about gas when it hits $3.00 per gallon, because you have the option of walking, right?

Sorry, I can take the criticism, but then again, I think we all have the good right to complain about it.

Listen, Im aware that I'm still going to pay the food prices no matter what they are, which is why they are so high. Supply and demand thing. I wouldnt pay that much in my home town for a 32 oz, drink, so they dont charge it, but because I will pay it there, they charge it. My whole thing is I hate it, and said so. No harm done.

 

[rhiansmom]

On another note: Something that hurts FP's that I think should be looked into is, I noticed some dads with little kids, who obviously were not going to ride Space Mountain (not that little kids wont, but these werent) getting fast passes (4 of them to be exact) obviously all for himself (his wife was pregnant). Now, even if he were to give them to someone, chances are there are many people using there childrens' FPs for their own rides, again, keeping paying visitors from getting them.

What is the difference between one person going four times or four people going one time? The four tickets to the park were purchased the same as everyone elses.

 

[civileng68]

What is the difference between one person going four times or four people going one time? The four tickets to the park were purchased the same as everyone elses.

Well I see your point. And while I speak of this, please note, the dad or any other person is doing nothing wrong. they are doing what they have been allowed to do and its something that most would do. What I'm saying is, on super busy times, i feel that the FP in general is a bad thing on CERTAIN attractions where there are two completely seperate ques, down to the attraction, such as Space Mountain.

I mean there many be no real solution to the long lines, but at first glance I figured that if they could move some of the super long line to the FP line that is empty it may cut the wait time down.

 

[luvtoall]

Thanks for taking the time to post your opinions. I really like reading others ideas. It helps me form my own thoughts... thanks again for posting.

 

[DMRick]

I mean there many be no real solution to the long lines, but at first glance I figured that if they could move some of the super long line to the FP line that is empty it may cut the wait time down.
******
But it wouldn't cut the wait time. Even if the FP line stays empty all night..the same amount of people are getting on the ride. If you let people go on both sides, everyone will still wait the same amount of time. If you are the 100th person, it doesn't matter if they split the line in two. YOu still have to wait for 49 in one line and 50 in the other to get on the ride.

 

[jellydisney]

I also meant to mention that I think Innoventions is now a complete waste of space.

I wholeheartedly agree!!! There is no new technology, it's all advertisements. The video games are games that came out TWO years ago, like Kingdom of Hearts. And everything else is just some kind of advertisement disguised as a "game"... like the insurance game where you put out fires in your home. Ugh.

 

[jellydisney]

1 - If you don't want to deal with strollers then don't go to WDW. Try Vegas.

2 - If you know its going to be crowded and don't take a few minutes out of your hectic schedule to make a P.S.....then tough luck.

3 - If you think that park food is too expensive, then plan ahead so you don't have to eat there.

Sorry, but I have no sympathy for people who whine about things they have control of.

Haha... have you been to Vegas recently? There's just as many kids there as at Disney.

And we made plenty of PS this week, but we didn't make one for every single meal, and that's the problem. When it's this busy, if you didn't make a PS for every breakfast, lunch, and dinner, then your only option is counter service. I've never before seen Disney restaurants turn walk ins away until this week.

I have no comment about the expensive food. I expect it to be expensive.

 

[sk!mom]

1 - If you don't want to deal with strollers then don't go to WDW. Try Vegas.

Since the OP is getting flamed I wanted to offer some support. After our trip last June, I also was flamed for posting the comment that stollers and ECV's were creating complete gridlock in the parks at times. I understand that small children need strollers and people with disabilities need ECV's but it is to the point that I think Disney needs to address the situation. Maybe have pedestrian only lanes so that those without strollers can walk without stoller pushers running up on them, or possibly wider walk ways for everyone, maybe reassess traffic patterns and try to improve the flow of traffic, or even reconsider the capacity of each park taking into account how much more crowded all the strollers make things.

I know that I wasn't suggessting that Disney outlaw wheeled assisstance or that people who need it stay away- just that the parks have become very congested and traffic doesn't flow. Add this to the list of topics that people get really uptight about when you mention it.

 

[civileng68]

I wholeheartedly agree!!! There is no new technology, it's all advertisements. The video games are games that came out TWO years ago, like Kingdom of Hearts. And everything else is just some kind of advertisement disguised as a "game"... like the insurance game where you put out fires in your home. Ugh.

The video games are simply advertisement as you said. The game they had this time was Disney's Haunted Mansion and Finding Nemo, both Disney games. HOping some of us go buy those games and make them more money.