Never again over a holiday

[snarfblatt]

We have been here all week (6 days total) and today was our best day. My .02 below for what it's worth.... Feel free to ask questions

The crowds today were the best. people were nice, small and soo soo much better then the last two days.
MK on Thanksgiving was NUTS!! Soo many people. We had to leave at 2. Crowds were just too much.
Plus we saw way more security out and abut this trip, actually having to deal with people. One member of our party actually commented to the guard that we've never seen them out before much less having to deal with guests and even he said people have been in rare form.
Came back to our resort Tuesday night to 7 OC sheriffs and one very pepper sprayed man cuffed in the back seat...

We loved POFQ! Small and quiet. Busses ran efficiently.
Ate in the food court once, I thought it was ok, DH refused to eat there again...better places in the parks to eat he said.

Everything I read about getting back from DTD was correct! Took 1.5 hours to go from DTD to Epcot.

Absolutely loved the Fantasmic package, not necessarily the show. Mama Melrose was our best meal of the trip and Kevin was a top notch waiter!!!!!!!
The ease of not waiting in line made it worth it, too bad the show wasn't as great as I anticipated.

Crystal Palace was our worst meal food wise, with Biergarten being our worst service-- so so disappointed because that is one of our favorite places to eat.
Unexpected surprise was Casey's. DH commented that was one of the best QS of the trip.


My boys loved using the night vision goggles at AKL... Which is truly a beautiful resort! May have to save extra hard to stay there next time WOW!!!!

Star Tours has 45 different scenario combinations so don't just ride it once and walk away.

LOVED Osborne lights!! Boy, if that doesn't get you in the holiday spirit I'm not sure what will. Having done that and the MVMCP I would save my money and just go see the lights..

I will be interested to sit down with our receipts now and see if the dining plan really helped us. We ate a wide variety and used all TS, all QS and have 11 snacks left
We probably could have moved our 9 yr old to the adult plan. Depending on the location the kids meals was not enough. So if you have a hearty water keep that in mind.

Splash mountain was down on Thanksgiving but open the 3 other times we were there
Could hear them testing Test Track, so sad we are missing it
Not a fan of the new Dumbo que.. I guess I can see the point to a point...

loved the interactive que for space mountain and haunted mansion.

Longest wait was for Expedition Everest at 70 min ( our choice to wait.... Our sons #1 request) otherwise the next was Thunder Mountain at 45 min, most everything else was 20 min or less or fast pass.

 

[snarfblatt]

And the biggest thing is .....I cannot Thank all of you enough!!!!!!


You had so many amazing tips that really really helped make this trip truly awesome for my family

I loved being able to share a tip here or there on the busses or in line and just see the excitement and joy in people's faces.


I know that there are so many different opinions about everything from dining to show, to rides to even shopping on here but the bottom line is really just making sure everyone has the most Magical Time possible and for that I am so grateful!!!!

 

[mickyzzzzz05]

Sounds like a great trip even with the crowded conditions. My husband and I were just talking about the 2 trips we made that included being at WDW over Christmas. It was over 10 years ago but it was crowded then. I am sure it is more so now! We still enjoyed our time there and it sounds like you did too. We are in agreement with you though - we would try to avoid the actual holiday there if at all possible!

 

[TChrist05]

Yes....it sounds like a real great trip. Sorry you did not enjoy Fantasmic--it is one of our favorite parts of our trips to the world. The fireworks at the end(when everyone else is running to the exits) are our favorite part. We leave next Friday for MVMCP on Friday and then 7 nights on the Fantasy!

 

[gwmort]

We were in MK on Thanksgiving too, crowds weren't bad for us and Splash mountain was running when we finished our day with it.

We started at DHS, got DD signed up for JTA and fast passes for TSM, did Great Movie Ride and One Man's dream, met Wreck it Ralph and Vanellope, used TSM fast passes, went to get some for star tours, had a quick lunch, then JTA and Star Tours and headed for MK.

Got to MK around 3:00, it was very crowded then (to put in perspective they had to add extra ropes for the line for the people mover for gosh sakes). We had an early Thanksgiving dinner at LTT which was a little backed up, but after dinner the crowds were really thinning out.

We did pirates with a 15 min wait, then BTMRR standby with a 40 min wait, story time with Belle for about a 30 min wait. Then we had fastpass for Space Mtn, after which the crowds were almost gone. We went to storybook area and were the only guests in the tent with all 4 characters, walked on dumbo, then walked on the new ariel ride and finally walked on Splash Mtn with no wait at all (was around 11:30 then).

 

[amypetecar]

Our family is here now and did animal kingdom on thanksgiving. The crowds were very manageable. In fact its the 2nd time we have visited AK on t-day. Both times had moderate crowds. Wed was crowded at epcot and friday was very crowded at the studios. That said, we showed up at park opening both days and were fine knocking out the headliners with minimal waits first thing. Even toy story mania stand by was 25 minutes when we got in line at 930am...... Later posted a 120 minute wait by around noon.

 

[nolanboys]

We just got home and found the crowds very manageable. We were at MK thanksgiving morning. Rode what we wanted and headed out by 12:30. I was nervous about doing the holiday, but wouldn't hesitate. We were there 8 full days, but only did the parks for 6. It was nice. Some down time made it much more relaxing. Did BB on Wednesday which was great. No one was there and the kids had a blast.

 

[Sphinx610]

We have been here all week (6 days total) and today was our best day. My .02 below for what it's worth.... Feel free
Ate in the food court once, I thought it was ok, DH refused to eat there again...better places in the parks to eat he said.

Everything I read about getting back from DTD was correct! Took 1.5 hours to go from DTD to Epcot.
OMG me too, that was nuts

Absolutely loved the Fantasmic package, not necessarily the show. Mama Melrose was our best meal of the trip and Kevin was a top notch waiter!!!!!!!
The ease of not waiting in line made it worth it, too bad the show wasn't as great as I anticipated.


Loved mama Melrose's too! I loved Fantasmic so much! Hubby not as much tho; DS6 loved DD2 a little creeped out by villian section but overall we liked Fantasmic!

LOVED Osborne lights!! Boy, if that doesn't get you in the holiday spirit I'm not sure what will. Having done that and the MVMCP I would save my money and just go see the lights..

I LOVED this!!! It was amazing. Literally "get up and dance" amazing.Even the humbug hubby was into it =D

Splash mountain was down on Thanksgiving but open the 3 other times we were there

[COLOR="rgb(255, 0, 255)" ]was up Friday [/COLOR][/COLOR]

Not a fan of the new Dumbo que.. I guess I can see the point to a point...
[COLOR="rgb(255, 0, 255)"]Didn't have to wait in the cue really but loved it as we walked through. was kind of awesome. There's a playground where you can grab a beeper and wait your turn!!!

 

[mfd25wife]

I have loved it here over the holidays, except yes we did leave MK on Thanksgiving. That park was crazy busy that day. The crowds have not been bad at all this week except that day and yesterday at AK. AK was not busy early, but in the middle of the afternoon, it ended up packed. The safari even jumped to a 90 minute wait time.

OCSO was at both MK and EPCOT this week, but I had not heard why.

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

Glad you had a good trip and thanks for the report.

I went to HS on Monday night for Osborn Lights and thought the crowds were very thick - avoided WDW the rest of the week. From someone who goes regularly at all different times think I will be avoiding Thanksgiving week - just not worth it IMO.

If you ever want to ride EE again without a long wait - see if the single rider line is open - if it is usually a shorter wait - but you do have to split up your party into singles.

I too love AKL - definitely one of my favorite resorts - !!! Honestly I have found booking a standard room at AKL is not so much more than booking a moderate - totally worth it - and there is always the chance of a random upgrade.

 

[fla4fun]

Do you mind if I ask what route you took from DTD to Epcot? I know the DTD buses take longer, but it's never taken me that long. I just take the BC or BW bus and walk in via IG.

I agree that holidays are very busy times to visit. Sometimes I go but don't go to the parks (I did that for three days over July 4th this year), but mostly I avoid holidays if possible. I really feel for the people who don't have much flexibility about when they visit WDW.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Nice review.

Which do you think were your most valuable several tips?

And the biggest thing is .....I cannot Thank all of you enough!!!!!!


You had so many amazing tips that really really helped make this trip truly awesome for my family

I loved being able to share a tip here or there on the busses or in line and just see the excitement and joy in people's faces.


I know that there are so many different opinions about everything from dining to show, to rides to even shopping on here but the bottom line is really just making sure everyone has the most Magical Time possible and for that I am so grateful!!!!

 

[ols386]

Agree. I think Casey's is the best QS at Disney World.

Love the hot dog nuggets.

 

[rudetreehill]

SO glad you had a good time despite the crowds.

When it comes to holidays (or summers) at the World, I'm like a virgin nun and sex: Never done it, never will.

One of my favorite times of year, however, is to arrive the Saturday after Thanksgiving for a week. The crowds vanish, and it's generally a fantastic time to visit. In fact, planning to hit the World during that period in 2013 with my extended family.

Meanwhile, what is the DEAL with buses from Downtown Disney? I mean, I have never, ever NOT had to wait at least an hour. They have to know this is a problem! I'd think you wouldn't want word spreading of this, seeing as it might leave folks thinking twice about going... and if I'm Disney, I want to ENCOURAGE people to go to Downtown Disney and spend their money!

Richard/Tralfie

 

[snarfblatt]

At DTD we waited 30+ minutes for the contemporary/ poly bus. Got to the contemporary and then took the Epcot monorail. So nothing out of the ordinary...just took forever. We even commented about it to a very talkative bus driver one afternoon and he even said getting out of DTD is a pain.

 

[flea1267]

*****Absolutely loved the Fantasmic package, not necessarily the show. Mama Melrose was our best meal of the trip and Kevin was a top notch waiter!!!!!!!*****

We had Kevin as our waiter at Mama Melrose back in June, he totally rocked!!!!

 

[soccerdad72]

At DTD we waited 30+ minutes for the contemporary/ poly bus. Got to the contemporary and then took the Epcot monorail. So nothing out of the ordinary...just took forever. We even commented about it to a very talkative bus driver one afternoon and he even said getting out of DTD is a pain.

We were there (at POFQ) last week as well (17th through the 21st) and our worst bus trip was also from DTD. Same basic route as yours, except we were going to the Poly for dinner at Kona Cafe. Seemed like it took forever. Thankfully, we built in a lot of extra time.

 

[MHSweb79]

At DTD we waited 30+ minutes for the contemporary/ poly bus. Got to the contemporary and then took the Epcot monorail.

Why not just take the boat back to POFQ and wait for an Epcot bus there? Or walk to the nearest Saratoga Springs bus stop? The DTD bus service has a terrible reputation and frankly, it may have something to do with people trying to park there for free and getting free transportation to the parks - if Disney made it too convenient, there wouldn't be any parking for DTD customers!

We never take the bus to DTD when we are staying at POFQ- the boat is very quick and pleasant. Also, it's really not that far- you could probably walk back in less time than it takes to wait for a bus.

 

[Missytara]

The DTD bus service is fantastic coming back from a resort and then catching the water taxi back to the resort. Infamously, it is not the best method to try to get to a resort, or a park through a resort.

 

[MrsJD]

We were there last week also. Found the parks to feel crowded but the wait times were bareable. We went in with no plans and a group of 6. HUGE mistake. all in all an OK trip but I much prefer February and a smaller travel group.

We were at Epcot t-day and it was not too bad crowd wise. the dinner at sunshine seasons was delicious. I didn't get enough time in WS and that was sad, but I think my DD had fun and that was my goal.