Just back from a week; our very first trip. Stayed offsite at Summerfield Suites LBV, very pleased with accomodations.
The crowds seemed quite managable. It did seem that levels were building dramatically starting Friday 6/27.
My top suggestion: Get to the park early! I can't believe how few people actually did this. At MK on Tuesday, we arrived about 8:00 for a 9:00 opening. Mickey and his friends do a little opening show up on the train platform. I would swear that everyone there at the rope drop fit between the turnstiles and the wall in front of the train station. We literally walked on to Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and the Indy Speedway. We rode Peter Pan and Small World before moving to Splash Mountain for a 10-15 minute wait. We got FP for Thunder Mountain first, so were able to walk right on to it. After about noon, those two rides all had 50-60 minute waits. Also, by being early we were able to get lunch at 12 with zero wait in line. It felt great to be ahead of the crowds.
Other suggestions:
* Use FastPass. Works like a dream!
* Forget Goodlings market at Crossroads. Go north on Apopka-Vineland about 1/2 mile to a very nice Winn-Dixie with regular prices!
* Did I mention to get to the park early?
* Pace yourself. We only did two parks (MK Tues. and MGM Thurs.) during our stay. With both parks, however, we opened and closed the park. During the off days, we swam, visited Downtown Disney, saw a movie, played minature golf, etc. We deciced to save the other parks for another visit. I saw a lot of people, obviously cranky, going non-stop on a commando mission and generally not having fun. For us, the slower pace just worked better (and was easier on the wallet!)
The crowds seemed quite managable. It did seem that levels were building dramatically starting Friday 6/27.
My top suggestion: Get to the park early! I can't believe how few people actually did this. At MK on Tuesday, we arrived about 8:00 for a 9:00 opening. Mickey and his friends do a little opening show up on the train platform. I would swear that everyone there at the rope drop fit between the turnstiles and the wall in front of the train station. We literally walked on to Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and the Indy Speedway. We rode Peter Pan and Small World before moving to Splash Mountain for a 10-15 minute wait. We got FP for Thunder Mountain first, so were able to walk right on to it. After about noon, those two rides all had 50-60 minute waits. Also, by being early we were able to get lunch at 12 with zero wait in line. It felt great to be ahead of the crowds.
Other suggestions:
* Use FastPass. Works like a dream!
* Forget Goodlings market at Crossroads. Go north on Apopka-Vineland about 1/2 mile to a very nice Winn-Dixie with regular prices!
* Did I mention to get to the park early?
* Pace yourself. We only did two parks (MK Tues. and MGM Thurs.) during our stay. With both parks, however, we opened and closed the park. During the off days, we swam, visited Downtown Disney, saw a movie, played minature golf, etc. We deciced to save the other parks for another visit. I saw a lot of people, obviously cranky, going non-stop on a commando mission and generally not having fun. For us, the slower pace just worked better (and was easier on the wallet!)
