Just Back

[meeko_33785]

Just back from WDW. It was a great trip but I'm feeling pretty tired after three straight days in the park. If anyone has any questions, I'd try my best to answer them. Crowds were bigger than I've seen them in a while. Wasn't too bad at EPCOT, but the other parks (especially MK) were crowded. It was also pretty hot and it rained every day in the afternoon. Any questions?

 

[snuggles]

Welcome home!

 

[danny1649]

How did Fast Pass work for you?

 

[billybaruch1]

How hot was it? How much did it rain?

Were the crowds bigger than at the same times in prior years?

Did you have a magical feeling? Where did you stay?

Thanks.

 

[meeko_33785]

I didn't do FastPass too much. I used it once at Tower of Terror. Had enough time to see Beauty and the Beast, and see some of the shops on Sunset before the window opened. If you get to the parks early and do the bigger rides then, you should be able to see them with little to no wait so you won't even have to bother with FastPass for the most part. The only exception I saw was Test Track, which had about a 45 minute to an hour opening at opening and ran out of Fastpass by about 3 pm. Definatly grab a Fast Pass early if you want to do that one.

It rained every evening so just about every day something got rained out. It wasn't too big of a problem since mostly it would only rain for an hour or so. The only exception was MGM which had the rain start at about 4pm and rained continuously for the rest of the evening.

The crowds were the biggest I've seen in the parks since pre-9/11/01. EPCOT wasn't too bad crowd-wise, but the other three were very busy- Magic Kingdom especially. Did EMH and left the park some time between 10:30 and 11 and by then people were piling through the gates in droves. It was terrible, but the morning wasn't bad at all. Pretty managable crowds until about 10:30 or so.

I stayed at Port Orleans Riverside which I enjoyed. I'd stayed there 4 times before and thought it was just as good as always. Didn't spend too much time there, but I would definatly recogmend doing the boat cruise to Downtown Disney they have. It's very relaxing. Also, there's also a carriage there in the evenings that you can rent for half an hour and ride through the resort in. Didn't have time to give it a try, but it looked like fun.

And the magic is definatly in the parks. It's hard to explain the feeling from WDW, but I can assure you that the parks still have what makes them great. Everything was so wonderful I don't think Disney could have done anything to make it any better. It was a great trip.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

Welcome back!

Getting right to business .......

Did you meet/see any characters you haven't met before???? Did you see some characters whom you consider to be rare? Any Princes out? Was Brer Fox anywhere to be found?

Just wondering! Thanks!

<img src="http://home.att.net/~disneysue/hugsmall3.gif">

 

[meeko_33785]

Yes, with the help I got, I did manage to find a few new characters. Not all of them of course, but just enough that I was both very pleased and also enough that I had a reason to go back (after all, if you find them all, it's not fun anymore). I was very happy to find Jane from Tarzan at the exit of the Animal Kingdom. She's a favorite of mine and it was so great to find her. She was also so nice and very much in character. Other characters I saw looking for and found included Mulan (inside Innoventions at EPCOT), Brer Bear (at the exit of Splash Mountain), Bert, Mr. Penguin, and Meg (at the Sorcerer's Hat), Max (at Town Square at MK) and Flik (with Atta at the Tree of Life). I did find a few Princesses. Snow White and Aurora were with Mulan at Innoventions at EPCOT, and Snow White was also at the Sorcerer's Hat at MGM. Didn't spot Cinderella, but I wasn't really looking for her. No sign of Belle or Jasmine either (although Aladdin and the Beast were both out). No Brer Fox but all the other Brers were out. And speeking of characters, I saw a new outfit for Donald while at AK. He was dressed as a Dinosaur over by the Chester and Hester's shop. Very cute.

 

[KMH1]

I just wanted to thank you because I used your guide to the characters to create a special autograph book for this past trip...I used clip art to make a sticker of over 120 characters and we managed to collect over 60 autographs between July 22-27. The characters really got a kick out of their "special" pages.

That dinosaur outfit is the one Donald wears during the Breakfastasaurus character breakfast he hosts at AK.

These are the characters we found: Aladdin, Alice, Ariel, Atta, Baloo, Beast, Belle, Big Al, Brer Bear, Buzz, Captain Hook, Chip, Cinderella, Cruella, Daisy, Dale, Donald, Dopey, Eeyore, Flik, Foulfellow, Friar Tuck Genie, Geppetto, Gideon, Goofy, Gov. Ratcliffe, Green Army Man, Jafar, Jane Porter, Jessie, Kermit the Frog, Launchpad McQuack, Lilo, Liverlips, Mad Hatter, Max, Mickey, Minnie, Mr. Penguin, Mr. Smee, Perla, Piglet, Pinocchio, Pluto, Pooh, Prince John, Princess Aurora, Princess Jasmine, Queen of Hearts, Rafiki, Robin Hood, Snow White, Snow Witch, Stitch, Suzy, Terk, Tigger, Timon, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Wendell, White Rabbit, and Woody.

Thanks again!

 

[HugsForEeyore]

<i>Posted by KMH1:</i>

I used your guide to the characters to create a special autograph book for this past trip...I used clip art to make a sticker of over 120 characters and we managed to collect over 60 autographs between July 22-27. The characters really got a kick out of their "special" pages.

Wow! That is exactly what we did!!! For my last January trip, I did lots of research, trying to find out what characters were at least theoretically possible to meet. I got a list of 108 or so. Then I found clip arts of all the characters (except Country Bears and Bert, they don't seem to have any!), and bought two autograph books, and placed roughly one character clip art per page. When we hit the parks to meet characters, the characters loved seeing their pictures! Gov. Ratcliff flipped through the whole book, and so did Perla! Gives the characters something to comment on! We got 72 autographs. In May, I got an additional 13.

Meeko_33785 - Thanks for the response! I never thought to check out Innoventions for characters! I don't think I ever seen a character in Future World, except on the Holiday Bus.

The characters I still need (that seem possible to find) are Green Army Man, Bullseye, Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Jane!

<img src="http://home.att.net/~disneysue/hugsmall3.gif">

 

[KMH1]

We had a blast with our autograph books! Some of the characters added some cool touches, for instance, Snow White kissed her page and lots of them drew arrows pointing to their picture.

Kermit and Miss Piggy were out at the Studios in July...we kept missing Piggy though. The Green Army Men were EVERYWHERE at the Studios too. Jane was outside of AK, but Bullseye doesn't sign or stamp (no hands!). We did finally get a picture with him at Goofy's new show at the MK though. The characters aren't supposed to pose for pictures, but he just happened to be trotting by and we coerced him to stop.