Just Got Back

[blizzard]

We had a wonderful time at Disney World. Talked to a few cast members and they did say that things were picking up a little bit again. This was my third trip in late Sept/early Oct, and I have to say that this was by far the lightest crowds I've seen at this time of year.

The only rides we found fast pass to be useful were Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Test Track, Pooh, and Peter Pan. Every other major ride was a walk on except for Buzz Lightyear, which we would have got Fast Pass for except they weren't giving them out for some reason (25 min. wait). We got to stay on Splash Mountain and ride twice in a row without getting off too. Makes a great family picture when you get a log to yourselves.

The movie at the Canadian Pavilion definitely needs updating. It's really embarrassing. The scenery shots are great, but the dialogue and people shots show their age. The copyright on the movie is 1982. There was an arial shot of Vancouver, and I couldn't figure out why it didn't look quite right. Then I realized that all the land development of False Creek for Expo 86 wasn't in the shot.

We did have a great time though, and Illuminations was the best one I've seen.

Any specific questions, fire away!

 

[wendyr]

Were they searching bags as people entered the parks? If so, were they letting people bring in food?

 

[sammi]

Welcome home blizzard! Glad to hear that you had a great time!

 

[#1 Disney Fan]

Welcome back blizzard!

 

[blizzard]

They were searching bags on the way into the parks. We didn't bring food with us, so I can't say specifically whether they were turning people away with food, however I didn't see anyone being turned away, nor did I see any bins or anything like that for anything confiscated. I think they were only concerned with looking for weapons or anything like that. They did ask for photo ID once too, I think at Blizzard Beach, so bring it along too. The search was thorough but quick, and they had enough security that the lines moved fairly quickly to get into the parks.

Also most evenings when we were driving back to our resort, they wanted to see a room key at the security shack before allowing us in. The parking permit was not enough, so you may want to have that handy as well when driving in. They also wanted to see our reservation sheet on our first arrival.

When flying on 2 of our flights, they wanted photo ID before boarding. Also in Orlando you had to show your boarding card as well as photo ID before going through security.

I would highly recommend that you carry photo ID with you everywhere, so if you don't have a driver's licence or passport, see if your province will issue a non-driver licence as ID. I think most will.

Security was tight but not unbearable.

 

[wendyr]

Blizzard, thanks for the reply about security.

Another question: how did you handle converting $Cdn to $US?

 

[Timon]

Welcome back! Sounds like you had a good time!
Which airline did you fly? And did you have a tougher time getting through customs at the airport this time?

 

[Baboo]

Welcome back!

 

[blizzard]

We flew with Air Canada through Toronto. The planes were pretty much on schedule.

Customs and Immigration was pretty easy. We have passports, and had birth certificates for the kids. They did check the passports and entered the numbers into the computers, but most of the times I've been across, they do that anyway. I have crossed where they've only glanced at the cover of my passport and not opened it, but not this time. I don't think we looked like we would fit any kind of terrorist profile either, and were all born in Canada.

For the money thing, we had some US cash saved up from previous trips, but did hit the ATM once while there also. Most things we charged to our room and then had a credit card for express check out. We talked to one cast member down there who was from Canada (working in Innoventions) and he mentioned that at some point a few days after Sept 11, that the Canadian dollar was at 80 cents compared to the US dollar and he said he transferred about $15,000 to US currency. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about, but I don't remember seeing the dollar that high, and I try to keep up with the exchange rate. He also said that he couldn't transfer the money back to Canada for 3 months because of laws preventing currency speculation. I wish we could have transferred a bunch of money at 80 cents!

 

[MickeyCanada]

Welcome back! Glad to hear you had a great time.

Re: Canadian Pavillion

My DH and I also walked out of the CDN pavillion embarassed. We were told by one of the CM's that they are looking for a new sponsor. DH wrote a letter to the CDN government regarding this film. Will let you know if he gets any kind of response. Maybe we should have all Canadian's write to them, maybe they will make a change.

Re: CDN $

Also, I have a hard time believing that the CDN dollar was that high. We were there until the 16th of September, and the rate of exchange was still 1.56.

Re: Attendance

My friend that works at OKW told us that already in September before the attack attendance was down 26% from last year. I know that before everything happened the parks were very quiet, but after they were even quieter.

 

[CindyAnn]

Welcome back, Blizzard. It sounds like you had a good trip!