Mini Trip Report

[sippican]

Some very quick thoughts:
We arrived today. For the first time our loop request was not honored, but they did upgrade us at no charge! We asked for the 1700 loop, and got the 800 loop. We did ride through a few loops and they seem full. Honestly, we don't see a big difference at all n this loop, in fact, the site we are on just barely fits our slideouts width-wise. The concrete pad is nice as is the picnic table but not sure it's worth the exta $ to us. No complaints at all, we usually like just about any site here.
The MK was very crowded compared to other mid-week times we've visited. Is it a vacation break somewhere? The overflow parking lot looks full too. The My Disney app on my phone was not working very well, although we had made Fast Pass arrangements, we kept getting error codes. (It is the first time we've used it.) We couldn't remember the time windows but the CMs let us on the rides anyway. The CM at City Hall told ue there were too many people using the app at the same time. So much for modern technology! We'll try again tomorrow. Although we had linked our credit card to our Magic Bands, they wouldn't let us charge, so another trip back to Town Hall to fix that.
There are beautifully decorated sites up on the 100 loop, as usual.
So after a bumpy start, we are happy to be looking forward to a new day, comfy in our home away from home.

 

[tina.tina]

Thank you so much for posting about your experience.

Just fyi, easywdw has this week at a crowd level of 7 and next week is 8s and 9s. We went in April 2011 and crowd levels were at 8s and 9s for most of the time we were there. I hope you get to enjoy the Flower & Garden festival at Epcot!

We found early mornings (not EMHs) to be perfect for our touring style. I know other people prefer evening EMHs but I wanted to keep my kids on an early morning schedule for school.

I can just imagine waking up before dawn at FW, enjoying the sunrise and the birds. I did this at Pop but that's a whole other kind of experience. We're planning/hoping for a trip next year!

 

[super_camper]

The My Disney app on my phone was not working very well, although we had made Fast Pass arrangements, we kept getting error codes. (It is the first time we've used it.) We couldn't remember the time windows but the CMs let us on the rides anyway. The CM at City Hall told ue there were too many people using the app at the same time. So much for modern technology! We'll try again tomorrow. Although we had linked our credit card to our Magic Bands, they wouldn't let us charge, so another trip back to Town Hall to fix that.

We had the same problem with charging privileges and had to link the card again once we got there. The CM that helped us said it's common so I think this may be by design.

As for them letting you onto an attraction outside of your fastpass time I wouldn't count on it. I was quite surprised how many people were turned away during our trip for trying to enter outside of their window. One guy entering Soarin was less than 10 minutes and no way would they let him pass!

 

[Teamubr]

Is it a vacation break somewhere?

There are quite a few schools around StL that are on break this week. My DS isn't out until the week before Easter, but that is unusual around here.

I'll bet the crowds are a combination of spring break and the Flower show. We've been down for that in the past and it seemed "Summer" busy.

j

 

[sippican]

Getting ready to head to Downtown Disney for dinner.
Fast Pass worked well in AK this morning, except Expedition Everest went down for over an hour. AK didn't seem quite as crowded. We realized another factor in the guest load may be the March Madnees Tournement in Orlando; noticed lots of team shirts.
When we rented our golf cart yesterday, it ran very rough and didn't seem to take a charge so we brought it back. They assured us it was just fine and to ignore the charge indicator (which was at the bottom). So today during our looping ride - it died completely. We finally were able to flag down some other "cart explorers" who generously gave us a lift. I think this may seal the deal for us to get our own!
While looping we noticed the Fort is very full. Many sites had two or even three cars on them. We also concluded, that although the premium sites may be a bit longer, and have wider pads, there are many that would be a very tight fit for our RV. DH is very fussy about having no branches of bushes up against the awning or slides, so we'll stick to our favorite 1700 loop when possible.
On another note, we encountered quite a character today. When we left at 9:00 AM we noticed a man sitting in the 900 bus shelter drinking from his "broken paper bag". As we were returning with our new cart around 4:00 he was still there and struggled to get up to cross towards the Meadow. We stopped the cart and watched him topple over backwards at the edge of the road. He asked us for a ride to his site, which we declined. He seemed fine, other than needing a long sleep-it-off period. When Security finally came they indicated they knew him. We've decided the Fort is pretty much like any other little city!
Wish us luck for tomorrow - at least we were able to use our charge card today.
Still having a blast.

 

[bama_ed]

Sounds like you're having fun, sippican!

An upgrade is nice.

One question I have is instead of using the app to make same day FP+ reservations, I've heard that the parks (at least MK) have some FP+ stations located around that you can use as well. Have you tried these? Can one person make a FP+ for the whole party? Since FP+ only lets you get three set up initially, I'm talking about after you've used the first and second already that day in the park and want to try to schedule some more.

I'm learning this still so any advice you can provide will be news to me.

Have a great dinner tonight at DTD.

Bama Ed

 

[Disbug]

... same day FP+ reservations, I've heard that the parks (at least MK) have some FP+ stations located around that you can use as well. Have you tried these? Can one person make a FP+ for the whole party? Since FP+ only lets you get three set up initially, I'm talking about after you've used the first and second already that day in the park and want to try to schedule some more.

I'm learning this still so any advice you can provide will be news to me.

Bama Ed

Hi, Bama Ed! We just got back from a stay and have experience with this so I will answer until sippican chimes in!
1) Yes there are Kiosks located around the parks. Finding them can sometimes be a challenge because some of them are temporary and mobile!
2) One person can make the FP+ reservations for everyone in your party as long as they are linked to your My Disney Experience account in advance.
3) We were unable to get more than the original 3 FP+ when we came back to the same park that night.

We had FP+ but wanted to make some changes so we got in line for the FP+ Kiosks... OMG! The line was as long as a ride. To make matters worse somehow I missed the entrance and was in the exit so by the time I got up to the front... I had to go out and over to the correct line. (This was by Mickey's Philharmagic... the exit just said FP+ and looked like the entrance!) We were unable to get more than 3 FP+ for the day. I too, am hoping for extras as the test period goes on. But for our visit, there were no extras.

Have a great trip at the end of the month! We will be back at the Fort for October.

 

[sippican]

Yes, as Disbug says.
In some places they are not even kiosks, but manned stations (CMs with tablets). The lines were long. We tried to get additional FPs on the app, without luck.
The system was working back in November, as my son used the App all day long to change FP and add them.
I recommend you set up your three before the trip then plan accordingly. Off to Epcot.

Also, FYI, the monorail has been down sporadically for maintainence. We were not aware until we got to the boat dock ans there was a sign posted. Wednesday it was down from 11:30 am - 7:30 pm.

 

[super_camper]

Sounds like you're having fun, sippican!

An upgrade is nice.

One question I have is instead of using the app to make same day FP+ reservations, I've heard that the parks (at least MK) have some FP+ stations located around that you can use as well. Have you tried these? Can one person make a FP+ for the whole party? Since FP+ only lets you get three set up initially, I'm talking about after you've used the first and second already that day in the park and want to try to schedule some more.

I'm learning this still so any advice you can provide will be news to me.

Have a great dinner tonight at DTD.

Bama Ed

Epcot had FP+ stations two weeks ago, the biggest of them was near the entrance right behind the big ball. I WOULD NOT count on using these, I couldn't believe the line up. I actually stopped and counted the people in line, it was 84.

 

[sippican]

We had a fantastic meal at Raglan Road in downtown Disney last evening! Truly one of the best ever here.
Ended up in FP lines twice at Epcot today. One ride went down, and we were unable to reschedule or cancel and add another. Basically, they seem to have a lot of glitches in the system right now, the lines at the FP stations were long, but moved very quickly. We also noticed that the actual FP lines at the rides moved very quickly, almost no wait at all. My advice, reserve FP before your trip, stick to your choices and you'll be good to go in the parks. You will get only the three for the day. They did say that was 3 per park, so you may want to consider park hopping to get more mileage out of the FP system. It's a Friday night and the Fort seems pretty full. The parking lot is packed except for a few openings way over to the side where the RVs and trailers are left.
We were so amused when we headed for the site in the golf cart to discover that a bird had started a lovely nest in the storage compartment by the steering wheel! Poor thing, she'll be very frustrated if she tries that every day! No wildlife sightings other than feathered ones: a couple of turkeys strutting around and a beautiful male cardinal who sings his heart out at our site,
The Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot is lovely. We enjoyed the concert by The Orchestra (ELO) today.
Enjoying listening to the singing from the campfire at the meadow tonight through the open windows, as the crickets chirp in the dark. We will be heading down to the beach to watch the fireworks in a while. Honestly, being able to return to the Fort after the hustle and bustle of the parks just adds to our whole Disney experience and makes it that much more enjoyable.
Heading out in the AM.