Davey Jones II
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2008
- Messages
- 2,475
First of all, I want to thank the Disboards community for helping me plan this wonderful trip. You guys were a tremendous help!
We (me and g.f., no kids) flew in from Montreal, Canada (painless three hour direct flight) and did ten days at WDW and three at Universal. We loved Pandora -- not just FOP. The land is really beautiful at night, and captures the feeling of "nature, but alien at the same time." That's a tricky balancing act. I thought Na'vi River was a beautiful and moving celebration of nature and biodiversity. Too bad it's so underrated (imho) or maybe that's just in comparison to the mighty FOP. In any case, kudos to Disney for hitting a home run with this new land. It augurs well for Toy Story Land, Star Wars, and the other upcoming goodies. By the way, check out the previews at Walt Disney Presents. I spoke to the CM who was fielding questions there, and (I don't know if this has been reported yet) he said that Star Wars Land will only premiere at WDW in late 2019, not in the usual timeframe for new attractions (Spring/Summer). Sorry if that's bad news for some of you.
We didn't make any rope drops, but made excellent use of the "ride headliners just before closing time" strategy. It never failed us! On our first day, we rode TSM three times in the last hour of park operation. On day two, we got in line for 7DMT around 6:30 (party day) and I think we waited twenty minutes or so that time. Day three, we got in line for Na'vi a half hour before closing time, when the posted wait was 70 minutes. We got on the boat in ten. Then we rode again (posted wait 30 min.) and it was basically a walk on at that point. Late in the trip, I also got in line for FEA at 8:30, and was on the boat in about 30 min. I think the posted wait was 75 min. That was probably a little longer than usual at that hour, just because of the crowds for the food and wine fest. I saw the tail end of Illuminations after doing the ride (which dazzled me; too bad g.f. couldn't make it that night. Love those AAs!).
I got the feeling that the DHS rides break down the most...or maybe it just seems that way, since there are only four of them! We went to DHS three times during our first week, and TOT seemed more problematic every time. Early in the week, two elevators weren't working. Then it was three! The most terrifying thing were the intimidating 160-180 min. posted wait times. Thankfully, I had booked three fast passes for that ride, but even those took 20-30 min. because of the diminished capacity.
On our second day at DHS, we balked at the triple digit TOT wait times and got in line for TSM, only to have it break down after a half hour in line. We complained at Guest Services and got two bonus fast passes, one for each ride. "The squeaky wheel gets the grease" became a theme on this trip. We were woken up twice by clueless luggage people calling our room in the middle of the night (after we left a "do not disturb" sign on our door, and specifically told the front desk that we'll pick up the luggage in the morning). We complained, and got one night free (we were staying at All Star Sports). G.F was hoping for a free breakfast!
Another time, we got into a horrific two-hour line for the Safari (posted wait 50 min.), with a zillion maddening switchbacks, and missed our Dinosaur fast pass as a result. Our misery was compensated by two new fast passes at AK, plus a Soarin' fast pass at our second park of the day. We are accustomed to sometimes surly customer service at home, so when we go to Disney, we are still impressed. They take care of their guests. If something didn't work for you, tell them (nicely). Most of the time, they will make it right.
Speaking of fast passes, they were (with the exception of TOT) blazingly fast. We even breezed onto FOP. I can see the merits of booking your FPs early in the day, a strategy which I didn't use enough. By the time we would look for a fourth one in late afternoon, the pickings were usually slim. I did manage to get Fantasmic! as a fourth FP, which is useful because I knew I didn't have to show up an hour in advance to get a seat. I managed to snag one pretty close to the water, and behind some kids (I'm not tall, so it always helps to sit behind someone shorter than me!).
We also enjoyed the new goodies at Universal (this was our first Orlando trip in three years, so there was quite a lot that was new to us). Kong was much better than I expected; impressive 3D surrounding you on all sides, and a great buildup with the creepy queue and Skull Island facade. The Kong AA at the end is state of the art. Race Through New York is fun and free wheeling. Maybe our favorite addition is Raptor Encounter, a wicked meet and greet with a lifelike raptor animatronic. Take videos, not just pics!
Overall, a fantastic trip, despite the occasional sleep deprivation (me) and coming down with a chest cold halfway in (g.f.). We got to do (almost) everything we wanted. Ten days sounds like a lot when you're trip planning, but for us, it was just (barely) enough. WDW has so much to offer as it is -- I can hardly imagine how great it will be when all the new goodies will be completed! Ten days may seem short then!
We (me and g.f., no kids) flew in from Montreal, Canada (painless three hour direct flight) and did ten days at WDW and three at Universal. We loved Pandora -- not just FOP. The land is really beautiful at night, and captures the feeling of "nature, but alien at the same time." That's a tricky balancing act. I thought Na'vi River was a beautiful and moving celebration of nature and biodiversity. Too bad it's so underrated (imho) or maybe that's just in comparison to the mighty FOP. In any case, kudos to Disney for hitting a home run with this new land. It augurs well for Toy Story Land, Star Wars, and the other upcoming goodies. By the way, check out the previews at Walt Disney Presents. I spoke to the CM who was fielding questions there, and (I don't know if this has been reported yet) he said that Star Wars Land will only premiere at WDW in late 2019, not in the usual timeframe for new attractions (Spring/Summer). Sorry if that's bad news for some of you.
We didn't make any rope drops, but made excellent use of the "ride headliners just before closing time" strategy. It never failed us! On our first day, we rode TSM three times in the last hour of park operation. On day two, we got in line for 7DMT around 6:30 (party day) and I think we waited twenty minutes or so that time. Day three, we got in line for Na'vi a half hour before closing time, when the posted wait was 70 minutes. We got on the boat in ten. Then we rode again (posted wait 30 min.) and it was basically a walk on at that point. Late in the trip, I also got in line for FEA at 8:30, and was on the boat in about 30 min. I think the posted wait was 75 min. That was probably a little longer than usual at that hour, just because of the crowds for the food and wine fest. I saw the tail end of Illuminations after doing the ride (which dazzled me; too bad g.f. couldn't make it that night. Love those AAs!).
I got the feeling that the DHS rides break down the most...or maybe it just seems that way, since there are only four of them! We went to DHS three times during our first week, and TOT seemed more problematic every time. Early in the week, two elevators weren't working. Then it was three! The most terrifying thing were the intimidating 160-180 min. posted wait times. Thankfully, I had booked three fast passes for that ride, but even those took 20-30 min. because of the diminished capacity.
On our second day at DHS, we balked at the triple digit TOT wait times and got in line for TSM, only to have it break down after a half hour in line. We complained at Guest Services and got two bonus fast passes, one for each ride. "The squeaky wheel gets the grease" became a theme on this trip. We were woken up twice by clueless luggage people calling our room in the middle of the night (after we left a "do not disturb" sign on our door, and specifically told the front desk that we'll pick up the luggage in the morning). We complained, and got one night free (we were staying at All Star Sports). G.F was hoping for a free breakfast!
Another time, we got into a horrific two-hour line for the Safari (posted wait 50 min.), with a zillion maddening switchbacks, and missed our Dinosaur fast pass as a result. Our misery was compensated by two new fast passes at AK, plus a Soarin' fast pass at our second park of the day. We are accustomed to sometimes surly customer service at home, so when we go to Disney, we are still impressed. They take care of their guests. If something didn't work for you, tell them (nicely). Most of the time, they will make it right.
Speaking of fast passes, they were (with the exception of TOT) blazingly fast. We even breezed onto FOP. I can see the merits of booking your FPs early in the day, a strategy which I didn't use enough. By the time we would look for a fourth one in late afternoon, the pickings were usually slim. I did manage to get Fantasmic! as a fourth FP, which is useful because I knew I didn't have to show up an hour in advance to get a seat. I managed to snag one pretty close to the water, and behind some kids (I'm not tall, so it always helps to sit behind someone shorter than me!).
We also enjoyed the new goodies at Universal (this was our first Orlando trip in three years, so there was quite a lot that was new to us). Kong was much better than I expected; impressive 3D surrounding you on all sides, and a great buildup with the creepy queue and Skull Island facade. The Kong AA at the end is state of the art. Race Through New York is fun and free wheeling. Maybe our favorite addition is Raptor Encounter, a wicked meet and greet with a lifelike raptor animatronic. Take videos, not just pics!
Overall, a fantastic trip, despite the occasional sleep deprivation (me) and coming down with a chest cold halfway in (g.f.). We got to do (almost) everything we wanted. Ten days sounds like a lot when you're trip planning, but for us, it was just (barely) enough. WDW has so much to offer as it is -- I can hardly imagine how great it will be when all the new goodies will be completed! Ten days may seem short then!
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