Just Back - some thoughts

[Matty_Disfan]

Can you tell us more about this??? Which direction was the parade going the night you did this? Where were you exactly when this happened and about what time???

Ok so when the night-time parade starts (which is now Main Street Electrical Parade) they have the path/road from Liberty square into Frontierland mapped out with white tape to show where you can sit and wait, and where you can walk until the parade starts. As soon as the parade begins on mainstreet (9:00pm or so) boogie down the road to Splash. Once you get into that corner of the park you are home free. As the parade winds by, Splash and BTMRR go ghost-town. Some riders exit and wait and watch the parade, but no new riders can access this part of the park. This night the parade was going from Main Street to Frontierland. The parade takes about 20 min to go by.

 

[Matty_Disfan]

You can still come and go to this area. It's not completely blocked off, there's a little walk way by the water that takes you to Liberty Square and the rest of the park.

I think it was closed because of the refurb on Liberty Belle dock.

 

[Matty_Disfan]

Thank you for all the info.

Mickey/Minnie line was short.. what about the Princesses? Did you FP or wait? When we were there in December we waited so long to meet the Fairies so we HAVE to see the princesses this time according to my 3 year old.

Princesses had a similar wait time. No need at all to FP it. We had met all the princesses at the Storybook Breakfast so we just met the main mouse and his consort.

BTW- at the Storybook Princess Breakfast we got Belle, Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora and Ariel. Quite a haul, I had thought at least one of the big ones would be subbed out by Jasmine etc. (the second tier princesses).

 

[Matty_Disfan]

OH I'm so glad to hear that about Akershus. We are taking my DD there for lunch on her birthday (it will actually be on the DAY of her 4th birthday) and I can't wait. she loves the princesses.

About what time did you guys leave during the day for naps/swim? and what time did you head back? I'm planning on doing this because DD will only be 4 and she'll get tired out but I'm trying to figure when the best time would be without seeming like we are cutting our morning off but also not ending up back at night for two hours or something

Akershus: It is so good, and since we only planned 2 months out Cindy's was not an option. My brother and his kids did Cindys but they did not have a good time because their ADR was for 8:30pm and their 6 year old melted down. I do not hesitate at all recommending this character meal.

Naps-swim: get out by 1:00pm. You'll be at your resort before 2pm and aslpeep by 3;00pm, awake by 4:30pm and back at the parks or at dinner for 5:30pm. Having said that our best day was when we left AK by noon. It seems crazy but it is such an investment in your sanity. Our worst day in the parks was when we stayed at DHS (which we renamed Disney's Hell-i-wood Studios) till 3:00pm and got tired, hot and melted down.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Thanks so much. Wonder how it will go if both of them have long standby lines to begin with.

So glad you had a magical trip!

 

[happygirlagain]

When we went in 2005 we had a DS3 and DD9, by the 5th day DD was sharing our stroller with DS. We were fine with that because we did not have to carry her, and she was much happier to stay longer in the parks. One of the stroller wheels broke on the 7th day, but we got Pixie dust and the stroller rental gave us a free day rental when they couldn't fix the wheel (it was after 3pm). The next day we paid (which we tried to do the day before, but PIXIE DUST happened) for a double stroller and it was wonderful for them both. (DD9 was only 50 lbs at the time so she was small)
When we go this year, we will have our stroller for DS9, makes the kid and parents happy.

Naps and swim time are wonderful, refreshing breaks for both kids and adults.

Our mickey head inside clear balloon lasted from Thanksgiving to April and my DH finally got tired of it on the patio and deflated it. And it went thru being treated like a ball (bounced on cement) and punched like a punching bag. But DS LOVED that balloon. So worth the money to have a kid happy and remembering the trip because of it.

 

[skifast22]

Great report! I agree with the OP opinion of toy story mania. For us, its not even a must do anymore. The ride is fun, just not worth the long wait times or FP craziness in the morning. The only reason we rode it last time was by catching during the last half hour of evening EMH. Got to ride it 3 times with no wait :thumbsup

 

[KatieCollette]

TSM is overrated. There, I said it. I liked it, I really did. It was fun but it was simply not worth the rush at RD or the massive standby lines people seemed willing to embark on. 80 min by noon? Who would stand in line for that long without feeling like they had just been fooled into wasting their time??? Luckily we FPed it but still felt like we had missed out on other fun things planning our RD and morning strategy around it.

I thought I was the only one that thought this! While fun, not worth the huggge wait even with FP.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Thanks for the info! This is what the DIS boards are for - to share experiences and advice!

I totally agree about TSM and most of what you said with exception to the stroller remark. We have been happier without the stroller than with it. Our last time using it was when our daughter was 4 and our son was 5 and even then we barely used it. We are all happier without having to drag it with us and keep track of it. BUT it all depends on the kids and the family!

 

[mpetti]

Glad you had a great trip. Thanks for all the info.

 

[raidermatt]

One big factor on the stroller thing is whether your child(ren) takes naps and if so, will you be leaving for the naps.

We stay in the parks so the stroller is the only way to get the naps in. Works perfectly. But if we were going back to the hotel for the naps then the stroller wouldn't be that big of a deal.

 

[TLinden16]

I'm going to move this to our trip report board.