Well, what can I say - I was warned that the crowds would be crazy by people on this board, and guess what - they were!!
I have never seen wall-to-wall people that I saw this trip - I've been to DW 13 times before - summer, Thanksgiving, Spring Break in April, May, and early September, and I just couldn't believe the # of people. You couldn't move!! I will NEVER go to DW this time again. I tried to go with an open mind. Granted the decorations are beautiful; every hotel has beautiful themes with the grounds decorated beautifully. Cast members very friendly at Boardwalk and at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Saw lots of different animals on the savannah. BOMA was great New Year's eve for dinner. Played miniature golf, went to Downtown Disney shopping and for lunch at Bongo's. Great time there.
Weather - Chilly!! If you're heading down there in the next few days, bring sweatshirts, pants - I didn't put a pair of shorts on the whole 6 days I was there. No one, except small children, were in the pools...brrr....
MGM on New Year's Eve was a nightmare. People trying to get to TOT while people were exiting Fantasmic. Wheelchairs and Motorized Scooters were bumping into people walking, kids getting separated from parents in the throng. I was pushed back against a wall watching all this is disbelief...why Disney doesn't do a better job of traffic control. The area around RockNRoller Coaster and ToT is so narrow there is literally no where to move. Two men almost came to blows - one was trying to walk up the path with a person in a wheelchair, the other was coming down with kids. People started making nasty comments - it was awful. And I put the blame squarely on Disney. Little Mermaid show shut down at 9:00, but the park was open until 1:00 - Cast member said "sorry" you'll have to find somewhere else to go. Many parents were outraged. They shut down the shows people want to see, but keep all the stores opened until 1:00. How many Mickey items do we need after all? I spent a total of 45 minutes at MGM, and took the bus back to my hotel. What a waste...
Magic Kingdom closed twice while we were there at 10:00AM. Fast passes ran out very early in the day...I spent one day at MK 7 hours - went on: Snow White, FP for Winnie the Pooh, waited 45 minutes for Haunted Mansion, saw Country Bear Jamboree, saw the Spectromagic parade, and left. You couldn't get on anything....even "Small World" had 60-minute wait!!
The only thing that saved this trip was my husband left for 1 1/2 days with my 15 yo son and his friend and checked into Universal's Hard Rock Hotel - did front of the line pass to both IOA and the original park. They went on everything as many times as they wanted, and had an absolute ball. They both said Disney "Stunk" this trip. It took too many hours of the day to get on too few rides.
So, learn from me, if you're thinking of spending a fortune for a family trip in DW next Dec. 25 or so...We spent almost $1000 for Annual Passes for myself, husband and son, and we definately didn't get our money's worth. Why doesn't Disney have a "Resort-only" day for guests to do the parks? We get no privileges staying on-site now. And, I'm sorry, paying close to $3000 for 6 days with everything just to enjoy the "decorations" is a little too much. Let's admit it: You go to Disney to ride the rides, see the shows, and feel like you accomplished something when you spend the day there. Go to Universal, stay on the property, and get better bang for the buck!!
I have never seen wall-to-wall people that I saw this trip - I've been to DW 13 times before - summer, Thanksgiving, Spring Break in April, May, and early September, and I just couldn't believe the # of people. You couldn't move!! I will NEVER go to DW this time again. I tried to go with an open mind. Granted the decorations are beautiful; every hotel has beautiful themes with the grounds decorated beautifully. Cast members very friendly at Boardwalk and at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Saw lots of different animals on the savannah. BOMA was great New Year's eve for dinner. Played miniature golf, went to Downtown Disney shopping and for lunch at Bongo's. Great time there.
Weather - Chilly!! If you're heading down there in the next few days, bring sweatshirts, pants - I didn't put a pair of shorts on the whole 6 days I was there. No one, except small children, were in the pools...brrr....
MGM on New Year's Eve was a nightmare. People trying to get to TOT while people were exiting Fantasmic. Wheelchairs and Motorized Scooters were bumping into people walking, kids getting separated from parents in the throng. I was pushed back against a wall watching all this is disbelief...why Disney doesn't do a better job of traffic control. The area around RockNRoller Coaster and ToT is so narrow there is literally no where to move. Two men almost came to blows - one was trying to walk up the path with a person in a wheelchair, the other was coming down with kids. People started making nasty comments - it was awful. And I put the blame squarely on Disney. Little Mermaid show shut down at 9:00, but the park was open until 1:00 - Cast member said "sorry" you'll have to find somewhere else to go. Many parents were outraged. They shut down the shows people want to see, but keep all the stores opened until 1:00. How many Mickey items do we need after all? I spent a total of 45 minutes at MGM, and took the bus back to my hotel. What a waste...
Magic Kingdom closed twice while we were there at 10:00AM. Fast passes ran out very early in the day...I spent one day at MK 7 hours - went on: Snow White, FP for Winnie the Pooh, waited 45 minutes for Haunted Mansion, saw Country Bear Jamboree, saw the Spectromagic parade, and left. You couldn't get on anything....even "Small World" had 60-minute wait!!
The only thing that saved this trip was my husband left for 1 1/2 days with my 15 yo son and his friend and checked into Universal's Hard Rock Hotel - did front of the line pass to both IOA and the original park. They went on everything as many times as they wanted, and had an absolute ball. They both said Disney "Stunk" this trip. It took too many hours of the day to get on too few rides.
So, learn from me, if you're thinking of spending a fortune for a family trip in DW next Dec. 25 or so...We spent almost $1000 for Annual Passes for myself, husband and son, and we definately didn't get our money's worth. Why doesn't Disney have a "Resort-only" day for guests to do the parks? We get no privileges staying on-site now. And, I'm sorry, paying close to $3000 for 6 days with everything just to enjoy the "decorations" is a little too much. Let's admit it: You go to Disney to ride the rides, see the shows, and feel like you accomplished something when you spend the day there. Go to Universal, stay on the property, and get better bang for the buck!!
