Just got back tonight from Disney

[drumflower]

It was packed to the tilt! Almost every ride one hour after opening had 1/2 to 1 hour wait time. Even the Hall of Presidents had a full room! It was nuts. Plus the wait time just to get your extra magic hours wristband in all the parks in all the lines were at least a 1/2 hour wait. They need to come up with a better solution. When we went to Epcot on a late hours night, we arrived at 5pm and had to wait 1/2 hour in line just to get through the security line and through the gate! It was busy like at the begining of the day! Hopefully this was because of Mardi Gra and SuperBowl! I don't know what was going on this last Sat., but a lot of rides had problems with breakdowns, Buzz Lightyear, Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh. I will start my reviews ASAP. I have lots to tell. I had a great time! Any questions?

 

[bengalbelle]

Did you ride any rollercoasters ?

 

[Bunny/2]

I agree with Drumflower. The crowds were terrible. Waited in line for Dumbo 45 min. only to be sent away when ride went down. All roller coaster rides were at least 50 min. long. Got a fastpass for Buzz lightyear then that ride went down! The fast pass was good for the rest of the day. So needless to say they ran out of fastpasses. Thunder mountain was posted 45 min. wait - they lied - it was 65 min. we were late for our dinner at Crystal Palace. This is the time of year we always like to go because it is manageable. It wasn't this time. It was very obvious there was not enough help on hand. I was very disappointed to see the restrooms with trash everywhere. I hope this was because of super bowl and Mardi Gras. I've already checked dates for next year when we take our next set of grandchildren. The weather was great. Wore shorts all week except Fri. Don't want to see any lines for awhile HAHA

 

[drumflower]

I agree with Drumflower. The crowds were terrible. Waited in line for Dumbo 45 min. only to be sent away when ride went down. It was very obvious there was not enough help on hand. I was very disappointed to see the restrooms with trash everywhere. I hope this was because of super bowl and Mardi Gras.

I hate to say it, but I too saw how dirty the park seemed to be. Now maybe it was because I was waiting in line so long that I noticed more but even the rides were dirty. On the Winnie the Pooh ride, you could see dust everywhere! There was gum all over the sidewalks and things just didn't seem as clean as before. Now I am going to get on my flame proof suit, lol . We visited Universal Studios for 2 days and it was clean everywhere and everything looked new. I didn't have to wait in line for anything since we stayed on site and we walked onto all the rides. The crowds were there too but we didn' t wait in line much at all. I still will always love Disney but my family really had a lot of fun at Universal Studios even when the temps were in the 50's!

 

[drumflower]

Did you ride any rollercoasters ?

I must say I faced my fears for the first time! Since our vacation started at Universal, I did Spiderman ( words can't discribe this one, but it is great!), and the Mummy. I rode Spiderman 3 times! 2nd and 3rd times with my eyes open! I was doing fine and was being brave and all then I went on the Back to the Future ride! I thought I was going to lose myself on that one! I was all hot and sweaty during it and thought I was going to faint! I couldn't wait until that ride was over. It took me over a hour to feel right again.
Now my kids were also facing there fears too. They wanted to do Splash Mountain. We did it and I thought I was going to die at the end! But the kids loved it and wanted to do it again! Thank goodness the lines were too long and the rest of the week was way too cold! When we first started to board, they wanted to put us in the front of the log! But lucky for me a family really wanted to trade with us! I would probably do this one again next time.
I did Thunder Mountain Railroad and loved it! I did Dinosour and loved it! Not as scary as I thought it would be ! lol In fact I was a little disapointed it wasn't scary enough for me! lol It was fun! I would have tried Space Mtn. but the waits were just too long and trying to walk around with all the people was just nuts. Most of the fast passes were gone by noon too!
I do feel great for facing my fears! I bought a magnet for each ride!

 

[Kallison]

I just don't think there is a time when Disney isn't crowded anymore. We went 01/21-01/26 -- it was a lot more crowded then I thought it would be. EMH in the evening was a ghost town though, we really enjoyed our late nights out in AK and MGM. For wristbands if there is a long line in the front of the park, just walk back further. In MGM we got ours at RNR, no wait at all. In AK there was no wait in the front of the park, we had to go there because DS forgot his room key. Guest Services called our room and flagged us through.

 

[macfamily]

Ack! Oh please, don't let it be like that in three weeks!

 

[jjohnson]

Did you end up doing the Dining Plan?

 

[drumflower]

I deceided not to do the dining plan. I kept my room discount and just ate what and where I wanted. It was actually cheaper for us. I had a lot of great meals! I am planing on doing a lot of dining reviews soon! My kids got sick the last 2 days and now I think I am getting what they have.

 

[Poohbear123]

Feb. used to be slow...not anymore I guess. I will try in March!?

 

[danny1649]

Glad you had a good time.

 

[drumflower]

. For wristbands if there is a long line in the front of the park, just walk back further. In MGM we got ours at RNR, no wait at all. In AK there was no wait in the front of the park, we had to go there because DS forgot his room key. Guest Services called our room and flagged us through.

I remember reading this advice before I left and I tried, but EVERY line was huge. I asked some of them how long they have been waiting and they said like 20-30 minutes and they still had quite a few people in front of them. I saw this at every park in every line. I thought maybe if I waited a little longer, the lines might go down, but they didn't, even up to normal closing time. I deceided it wasn't worth the wait.

 

[jjohnson]

I deceided not to do the dining plan. I kept my room discount and just ate what and where I wanted. It was actually cheaper for us. I had a lot of great meals! I am planing on doing a lot of dining reviews soon! My kids got sick the last 2 days and now I think I am getting what they have.

Hope you feel better

I've been captive in my house for a week. Everyone got the flu & strep

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

I'm glad you had a good time despite the crowds

 

[Big V]

We just returned yesterday too! We were there for two weeks and the first week was a lot less crowded than the second week was. On Sunday, Jan. 30th we went to Epcot and it was really quiet there. On Tues. Feb. 1st, we went to Magic Kingdom and the crowds were low then too. On Sunday, Feb. 5th we went to Animal Kingdom and it was packed! I talked to a CM and he said they called in extra help at noon because it was so busy! On Thursday the 10th, we started out in Magic Kingdom and rode Buzz, Tea Cups, Snow White's Scarey Adventure Big Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and watched Mickey's Philharmagic all in just 2 and a half hours. Then we headed over to Epcot at 11:30 and got FastPasses for Test Track that were for 3:45. We ate at Le Cellier at 1:00 and walked around the World Showcase and did the Mexico ride as a complete walk on and just shopped around until our Test Track FastPass came up. Did Test Track and then headed back ove to Magic Kingdom and it was PACKED over there. Got a Mickey Bar and some popcorn and found a spot to watch Wishes and then headed out with the rest of the people at closing time! It was a long day, but we had fun!

 

[coasterville]

What happened to the off season?

I went from Feb 5-1 expecting light crowds. Well from Sat-Wed I'd say the parks were fairly busy.

Full shows, 40+ minute waits, etc.

I'd agree that they need to do something with that wristband distribution. At Epcot they were not manning the wristband distribution point outside Mexico and instead were sending everybody to Innoventions Plaza. Well, that line was just outrageous. Lukcy for us they did have a CM come by on a segway and point out that the distribution point by The Land was deserted. We saw some ride CM's who were willing to let people just flash their room key and they were allowed to ride.

Much different situtation at MGM Studios, as they had the distrubtion point at ABC theater open at 4pm and we snagged our bands while no one was there. We saw the long lines at the point accross from Fantasmic exit though. Though, it was so cold at MGM that I had a coat on, and the wristband was not visible under the coat and no ride CM asked to see one....

I asked a Guest Services CM why they couldn't just pass out wristbands at the front gate, and they said that it would be a guest comfort issue, that the plastic wristbands can get sweaty.

Sunday through Wenesday were comfortable days, but Thurssay and Friday were a bit cool. We were scheduled to do Spirit of Aloha on Thursday, but they cancelled and refunded due to cold weather.

 

[Poohbear123]

I just heard there were a lot of Cheerleaders there for Competition, that could explain the crowds too.

 

[drumflower]

I didn't see very many cheerleaders or dancers except for our plane. But then again it would be like finding a needle in a haystack!

 

[Tinkerbellfan144]

Glad you had a good time despite the crowds. I hope the crowds thin by the 1st week of March.

 

[Sandyincanada]

Welcome back, Drumflower!

We are still in Orlando and yes, it is busy, grrrrr. Island of Adventures wasn't too bad on Thurs but MGM/Epcot were very busy on Friday and I was pretty shocked at some of those bathrooms as well. The one near Test Track was disgusting, I was very surprised. Universal was pretty busy today, we rode everything easy enough first thing in the morn but fast passes for The Mummy were sold out by noon.

We usually go in Jan, this is much much busier.

Glad you had a good time, hope you feel better soon.