Need your feedback if you've just returned (First week of June)

[VickiVM]

We're in the early stages of planning our trip for next June. Our strategy is to go immediately after school lets out. For us, in 2004, our school year ends on Thurs. May 27, so we will pull out of the driveway early Friday morning for a (hopefully) check in of Saturday, May 29th.

If you've just returned from visiting last week, please give me your feedback on crowds, ride wait times, weather, and any other pertinent factors. Our children will be 5, 7 and 10 and are not into the heavily attended thrill rides. But we do succumb to the occasional meltdown that goes along with the heat and crowds. So I'm hoping the hours will be extended than what we experienced last Oct. to give us that opportunity to break in the middle of the day.

So if you have a comment - good, bad or indifferent, I'm interested in hearing from you.

THANKS!!

 

[G's mommy]

Just back from a 4 night stay, June 3-7. I thought the crowds were thin for summer. The only big waits we saw were for Test Track (the normal hour) and about 50 mins for Splash and 35 min for Big Thunder in the middle of the day. Oh yea, and Peter Pan of about 40 mins. Pooh was closed for rehab, probably pushed lots of people to Peter Pan, I don't know. We were on Dumbo within 10 mins while Peter Pan was at 40 mins, go figure. Other than than those, most rides had short wait times or were walk ons. We did do 1 e-ride night on Tuesday, June 3rd. This is great if your kids are into the big rides, skip it if they are not. We had very short wait times, under 10 mins for all the mountains.

The weather was very hot, overcast and humid most days and rain everyday. It would rain around 3:00 or 4:00 and even had some rain in the evenings. That was a nuisance. Bring ponchos and trudge on as best as you can. One minute the sun is shining and it's 90 degress and the next minute it's pouring rain and 70.

I thought the hours were short for summer. MK closed at 7:00 except for one night when they had Spectro and fireworks scheduled for 9:00. Of course, it was pouring rain that night, so we missed it this trip. AK closed at 5:00 everyday, MGM 9:00 I think and Epcot 9:00. The short hours at MK were disapointing. It almost forced you to do an e-night just to get to stay in the park past dark. The e-nights were from 7:00-10:00.

All-in-all, it was a good trip and I would go again this week as opposed to later in the summer. We normally arrive on New Years Day and stay about 5 days. It can be very cold that time of year, but not much rain. It's a toss-up I guess.

 

[Praise2Him]

We left the day school got out (Friday, May 23) and were there until Sunday, June 1. The crowds were not bad at all and the weather was perfect - mostly cool in the mornings and night, very warm during the day - no rain at all! The hours were short, with parade & fireworks only a couple of times during the week. We did do our first e-night and enjoyed it.

 

[bom_noite]

We were there from May 31 to June 4th and had a great time. Since the kids here get out early, we plan to make this our annual trip week:

Weather: Pretty much perfect. 25 minutes of rain during the 5 days. We are from Atlanta and are somewhat used to the hot weather - but - it just did not seem that hot to me at all. Low humidity and the cloud cover made it very enjoyable.

We had our mid-day melt-down too. That tells us it is time to head back for our mid-day break. When we got back (at about 4) it was 10 degrees cooler. All in all, I realized we got lucky. I expect hotter weather next year.

Attendance: Down, very much down. We went over for a visit to the Coronado and a bellhop was kind enough to drive us out to the pool. I commented on the crowds and he told me they were at 45% occupancy. He said it was their slow time - but - when you figure that one whole moderate resort (Port Orleans Riverside) has been closed - that shows you that WDW is really hurting for business. I do not expect it to be that slow next year (I hope for the economey's sake it is a lot more crowded!).

We only went to one park (MGM) and even with a mid-day break (and dinner at the Hollywood and Vine) we were able to do everything - we missed 2 shows - that was it! But, thanks to the Fastpath we were able to ride Rock'n Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror twice.

Restaurants were still busy - but, we had priority seating.

One thing I noticed was that everyone there was either from the UK or Australia (I travel to the UK 5 times a year and their economy is much healthier).

I would expect this for the same time next year.

 

[Praise2Him]

bom_noite, that reminds me...we stayed at the YC and a CM told us that the BCV were at 99% capacity, but the YC/BC were only about 30 - 40% capacity.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

We were just there this last week starting last Sat. Went to MGM that afternoon and walked onto Star Tours. Got to MK Sunday at 8am and did 5 things the first hour. Saw NO crowds in World Showcase the 2 times we went. Went through futureworld with ease. Did 2 hours of MK before we left Thursday from 8-10 too, did lots. The ONLY crowd we saw was Wed. evening during the only rain of our visit. It was at MK and a Spectro night. My kids had never really seen lines there before(due to our expert early MK approach and fastpass ), so they were amused. We did not stay for Spectro though, watched the fireworks from our room at CR. We plan to go next year at this time, but be aware it will be Memorial Day weekend during that time! Mem. Day was earlier this year. That will affect it perhaps.
We were lucky with crowds and weather, only the Wed. evening rain.

 

[bom_noite]

Praise2Him: Your numbers are very interesting. When Disney give away 7 days for the price of 4 (a 43% discount) it tells you times are hard. And - they are offering this discount during a traditionally heavy travel period.

But, from a business perspective it leads me to two very separate conclusions:

DISNEY SHOULD INVEST HEAVILY IN DVC:
I can make a real argument why WDW is investing heavily in the DVC. We are new members (bought in at the BCV). I have heard and read that the BCV sold much quicker then expected. It obviously makes business sensce for Disney to invest in properties that guarantee attendance. If sales are brisk at Saratoga, then, I see them finishing off the other planned resort quickly (near the golf courses) and start another asap.

DVC IS HURTING HOTEL SALES:
On the flip side, in a down economy the DVC is also hurting WDW. While hanging around BVC I met a couple who bought points off Ebay for $6.50 a point (they got a 7 night stay in a Studio for $650). The alternative would be to pay $903 in a moderate resort (Coronado, Caribbean or Port Orleans).

The DVC has been around for 10 years now. Obviously, some of the folks who invested early are now bored of going to WDW every year and are selling their points and only going once every 2 or 3 years. As more people hear of this option it will cut in to Hotel Stays.

I saw today a story that they planned to open Pop Century's resort in December. While I have not read the article I would assume that this means that the All Stars is doing good and the WDW economists see the market picking up later in the year. I hope they are right!!!!!!!!

 

[keithomas]

Crowds were definitely lighter than this time last year. Early in our week stay lines were almost non-existant. Later in the week, the big attractions had 30-60 minute waits, but the Fastpass return times were sometimes shorter than the standby wait with people choosing to stand in line!!!!!

The daily rains started on the 3rd for us. There was a brief t-storm at AK on Tuesday about noon. Wednesday was the worst with almost 4 hours of rain at the MK from about 4-8 pm. We had gone to BB that morning and had just arrived before it hit. Sorry to those that wanted to see Spectro and left, because after 8 pm it really cleared out and was very nice for the parade with pretty light crowds, too! (thanks to Mother Nature!). Before the storm, though, that was the most crowded day by far....anywhere. People were leaving by the thousands while we sat and stood at the corner by the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor. After Wednesday, the rains were brief afternoon storms for the most part.

I highly recommend Chef Mickey, the Princess Storybook breakfast if you have little girls, and the Plaza Restaurant. We also tried the Sci-Fi this trip and it was good too.

 

[SuzEm]

My daughter and I just got back. We were there from May 28-June 8 and had a wonderful time. Very low crowds, much less than our last trip in November 2000. We were lucky as far as the rain and either missed it, or got to the park just as it was letting up. We went to MK for Spectro and FW on Wed. 4th late in the day and it let up after we had been there about an hour, got to see the parade and FWs. It started raining on us at MK Friday evening just as we were leaving, hopped to Epcot and saw Illuminations, it wasn't raining there, but started a very light rain as we were leaving there. We did E night Tuesday 3rd and had a blast. I thought the temperature was great, not that hot, and we usually had a nice breeze blowing. However, when we left on Sunday 8th, it was already very steamy in the morning; so I think the hotter June weather pattern was starting. I would definitely go again this time of year, maybe try to get there a little earlier in May if possible.

 

[safetymom]

I was just there. 5/31 to 6/6 MK was not crowded. I have pictures of Main Street at 4 PM on a Sunday and it looks deserted.

I don't know that it will be like that next year but it sure was nice for us.

 

[Micca]

We were there for a long weekend 5/29-6/2. AK seemed pretty light on Thursday afternoon(it was around 2pm when we arrived at the park). Friday morning at MK was deserted. Crowds were building by early afternoon but it was moderate at worst. It got a bit warm in the day, but the nights were fantastic.

I think things could be a lot different a year from now. If we go another year without any serious terrorist attacks, and no more war, you might expect the travel biz to pick up. I would make only tentative plans until the first part of 2004.