Just Got Back Trip Recap and Helpful Tips

[UKmum]

Thought I would report on my experience with Jedi training this week (we were also here last week and this week has been much quieter). When we got to the parks on Monday 24th at 11, all the slots were gone. On Wed 26th, we got to the park at 8.10, hung about and jumped first in line when they opened the breakfast turnstiles up to all guests. They opened the park at 8.35. We were second in line and got the show we wanted at 11.40 (and a fastpass for our group!). When we returned at 11.10 there were still some slots in the 6.30 show. I was really anxious about how it worked out but in the end it was fine.

 

[Duck143]

Gotcha. Yes, it is very unusual. We go in the summer and they don't even fill that early. Heck, they didn't fill that early during SWW. At least not on a regular basis. Maybe they had to pull some shows that day?

I'M not sure how many shows they had, but they cut thst line saying there were no more allowed and a heard the CMs surprised by how crazy it was as well.

 

[Duck143]

Yes, sorry you didn't know. It is officially 5 min before, 15 min after. Not "at the discretion of a CM, or anything like that. The readers will turn green within that window. It's one of those things that folks around here often take for granted that everyone posting/reading here knows. I know we use the grace period times a lot. Works like a champ

I had NO idea lol. We ran like crazy to make it on time. Now I know and it will help my next trip!

 

[Ensusieasm]

We have BOG PPO for a 9am opening. Wanted to get there early enough for the 745 entrance into the park. We are thinking about driving from our resort instead of taking the bus. Now I am concerned we will have trouble getting to the MK gates from the TTC. What time did you arrive at the parking lot? My day is also an EMM morning so I would imagine they would have something running.

If your BOG ADR is 9am. You won't get in at 7:45 unless normal park opening that day is 8am. If the park opens at 9 you will get in with everyone else at about 8:50.

 

[1lilspark]

I remember back in May my sister and I did a tour and she even asked when we were booking if we'd be able to make it that early into MK since we're locals driving from home and not coming from a resort... got to ttc monorails were not starting till 10am either line ferry not at the loading dock no busses. They finally moved a ferry over and we made it with seconds to spare

 

[twoolle]

If your BOG ADR is 9am. You won't get in at 7:45 unless normal park opening that day is 8am. If the park opens at 9 you will get in with everyone else at about 8:50.

MK opens at 9am that day. Our ADR is a little after 8 (PPO).

 

[twoolle]

Thanks for your recap - really enjoyed reading it.

I'm curious how you managed the logistics of a large group, especially with staying offsite. Any tips around managing little ones, your brother, and your parents? My next trip is with my family (2 teens), and my brother, my sister in law, and my 3.5 yr old niece. I'm nervous about naps, downtime, how to manage time together and time apart, etc etc.

We have done 2 large family trips. HS is a good park to tour together. Plus it is small and if you need to meet up with someone that makes it easier. And there are lots of shows you can plan to do together. The other 3 parks are big and hard to tour together but you can always do a meal together and then evening entertainment. We did Biergarten at Epcot for dinner then Illuminations. And maybe schedule a down day together for the pool. hDDR is a good day for this and lots of fun with a big group. Just some thoughts!

 

[Corbinator]

It's in Italy


It's very rare for it to be full by 20 min after opening, anymore. Used to but after the revamp last year it is very unusual. They increased the number of shows and doubled the number of kids in the show. Most days there are spots for a couple hours. It's possible OP misunderstood what she witnessed. It could be the shows that fit that kids schedule were full, and others were still available. No idea, just a guess

True. However... I just wrote this on another thread. We went to HS this Tues and they opened early. At 8:30ish they started letting people in instead of 9 and if you weren't immediately on the left side going to sign ups you might have missed it. People expecting to be admitted at 9 would have been really late. We were on the right side going to RnR (our kids aren't into SW yet so they didn't even know about Jedi training) but the fastest mass of people was definitely headed over to the sign up. The two families in front of us (we were third in our line) we're already dressed for it and saying "good luck, hope you get in" to each other. This isn't even included people who may have gone in for Ppo.

 

[AngiTN]

True. However... I just wrote this on another thread. We went to HS this Tues and they opened early. At 8:30ish they started letting people in instead of 9 and if you weren't immediately on the left side going to sign ups you might have missed it. People expecting to be admitted at 9 would have been really late. We were on the right side going to RnR (our kids aren't into SW yet so they didn't even know about Jedi training) but the fastest mass of people was definitely headed over to the sign up. The two families in front of us (we were third in our line) we're already dressed for it and saying "good luck, hope you get in" to each other. This isn't even included people who may have gone in for Ppo.

Good point. Folks don't often realize that 99% of the turnstiles at a parks gate will open about 15 to 20 min before publicized park opening time. And sometimes even earlier the 15 min. Rides don't always open early, guests are often held at internal ropes but sign ups like with JTA do start that early

 

[nursejackie]

The monorail schedule is so annoying at times. We go mid/late December and even though it's some of the busiest times and EMH is 7am, we all have to get on the ferry some mornings. You are right - it does take ages to load/unload and it seems like an age until it docks on the other side. I don't go to Disney to ride a ferry, I go to ride the monorail, WE LOVE THE MONORAIL.

 

[moesy4]

Op, a cm told us epcot closed to capacity one day the week you were there, so I am not surprised it filled up that quickly. We did EMM that morning and when we got back at 10:40 to begin jta, they still had slots for the latest shows. This was this past Saturday so a slower time.

I am going to write a separate review on emm, but Disney's communication on transportation is pretty pathetic. We were staying at the fort and asked no less th an 5 people at check in or running the busses and had no clear answer as to whether we would have a way to get to the parks. We ended up getting up super early so that of there wasn't a bus, we could uber. It worked out, but no one should have to stress about that.

 

[Duck143]

Op, a cm told us epcot closed to capacity one day the week you were there, so I am not surprised it filled up that quickly. We did EMM that morning and when we got back at 10:40 to begin jta, they still had slots for the latest shows. This was this past Saturday so a slower time.

I am going to write a separate review on emm, but Disney's communication on transportation is pretty pathetic. We were staying at the fort and asked no less th an 5 people at check in or running the busses and had no clear answer as to whether we would have a way to get to the parks. We ended up getting up super early so that of there wasn't a bus, we could uber. It worked out, but no one should have to stress about that.

Our week was so busy! Did you find your week more manageable with the crowds? It is awful how much we all stress over transportation that we have no control over!

 

[Duck143]

Thanks for your recap - really enjoyed reading it.

I'm curious how you managed the logistics of a large group, especially with staying offsite. Any tips around managing little ones, your brother, and your parents? My next trip is with my family (2 teens), and my brother, my sister in law, and my 3.5 yr old niece. I'm nervous about naps, downtime, how to manage time together and time apart, etc etc.

We didn't really have time for naps. A couple of the days, we slept in a bit and headed to the parks a little later. Most of the time, we just went through the whole day until after dinner. My older son fell asleep in the stroller in Epcot while we had wine at the Garden in England. That was a nice treat. I was the only booking plans for everyone in my party. I found it more manageable to do all the planning for everyone with their input of course. I booked some fancier and later dinners for my brother and my parents and booked us 4 for character dinners. I did have to split the FP+ to get enough for 6 (my 2 yo doesn't get one) and sometimes I split the ADR's 4 and 3 with almost the same time slot, because 7 was difficult to get for certain places. I hope that helps and feel free to ask anything more specific!

 

[moesy4]

Yes thank goodness, there were only two times that we really felt the crowds and that was when we were trying to leave the parks at 7:15 on a party night this past weekend which I am sure was sold out and then Hollywood studios yesterday midday. Other than that, I thought all parks were busy, but not crowded if that makes sense. With rider swap, fp, and evening emh we never waited more than 15 minutes and rode everything at least once.

 

[Duck143]

Yes thank goodness, there were only two times that we really felt the crowds and that was when we were trying to leave the parks at 7:15 on a party night this past weekend which I am sure was sold out and then Hollywood studios yesterday midday. Other than that, I thought all parks were busy, but not crowded if that makes sense. With rider swap, fp, and evening emh we never waited more than 15 minutes and rode everything at least once.

I wish our week hadn't been crazy busy. Someone even bumped so hard into my 2yo Son that he almost fell down in a mob. I wonder what the difference in the popularity of the weeks?

 

[moesy4]

What were your exact dates, I didn't see them in your post....I know many, many areas including ours are switching to a balanced calendar so they get a week or even 2 off for fall break. I believe there were also a couple of Jewish holidays in there. I heard many people choosing that break for lower temps and rumor of lower crowds which didn't happen. Last week most schools were back in session so things quieted down, although I haven't looked at touring plans to confirm.

 

[Duck143]

What were your exact dates, I didn't see them in your post....I know many, many areas including ours are switching to a balanced calendar so they get a week or even 2 off for fall break. I believe there were also a couple of Jewish holidays in there. I heard many people choosing that break for lower temps and rumor of lower crowds which didn't happen. Last week most schools were back in session so things quieted down, although I haven't looked at touring plans to confirm.

We were in the parks from Oct. 17th until the 24th. I want to plan another trip for us all to go back in a couple of years, but I have to try to choose a less crowded week. At one point my brother said he would never go back to Disney again (that was the day they were in Epcot and the park got shut because it was too crowded).

 

[moesy4]

Here is the tp actual crowds on a scale of 1 to 10 for that time period...1 being slowest and 10 being insane. You can see it droped dramatically after the weekend of the 23rd. The first number is overall, second is mk, next is epcot, next is hs, last is dak

 

[Duck143]

Here is the tp actual crowds on a scale of 1 to 10 for that time period...1 being slowest and 10 being insane. You can see it droped dramatically after the weekend of the 23rd. The first number is overall, second is mk, next is epcot, next is hs, last is dak

Thanks! I'm definitely going to do a ton of research before choosing a week for next time! I thought I had for this trip, but I got caught offguard by the crowds!

 

[moesy4]

Yeah, I think October has been historically low and I think all the crowd predictors were off, I don't think you could've helped it this trip! Still stinks though.