Davey Jones II
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2008
- Messages
- 2,475
Oct. 14-25, with g.f. and five family members. It was a wonderful trip. As the official trip organizer, I put in countless hours to make sure all these people didn`t have to endure too many long waits...
Crowds: Yes, they came back in force in October. But I used every trick in the book (thank you, Disboard experts!) and we managed to dodge the worst lineups, and actually caught a few light crowds at certain parks (a quick shout out to Touring Plans, which helped a lot -- no, I don`t believe that crowd calendars are useless. BUT, the closer to the actual trip, the better their info!).
Zero Early Magic Hours: I convinced my group to forgo the panoply of EEMH, and go for late evening/near closing time, instead. It worked beautifully, including getting in line for Na`vi River ten minutes before closing time, and sitting on the boat in 7 minutes. I also jumped into the queue for SDD at 9:57, and was on the coaster five minutes later! Perhaps the best was when, after the park got rained out for an hour or so, we got in line for FOP near closing time, and got through the winding queue in 12 minutes! Maybe that`s a record, I don`t know. But the rain invariably cleans out the crowds.
Galaxy`s Edge: Honestly, I don`t understand all the complaints. Maybe it helps that all the grousing meant that I came in with somewhat lowered expectations. Maybe it also helps that I and my brother were co-pilots in 2/3 trips on MFSR.
In any case, I, and my group, loved the new land. It looks fabulous, especially at night, and is a giant photo op waiting to happen. Everything just screams "Star Wars." We didn`t do any of the add-on experiences, not even the Cantina, but loved touring the (huge!) land and taking copious pics. And MFSR is a blast, at least in the pilot`s seat, although being gunner was fun, too. Best of all, we usually waited only 20 or 25 minutes in line, riding in the evening, of course. We didn`t use the single rider line, although it looked short and is probably recommended when the posted wait time is 45 min. +.
Oh, and maybe this is just me, but we had almost as much fun trashing the Falcon (extensive damages means you owe money to Hondo) as dodging most of the obstacles (after our first flight, Hondo owed us money).
Of course, the land isn`t complete. Yes, for those of you who will soon experience ROTR, I salute you...
Last-minute view for the parade: If you`re arriving late for the FOP parade and frantically looking for a decent viewing spot, you can get a pretty good one right in front of Pecos Bill in Frontierland. I discovered that by accident when we went into the restaurant to eat, and suddenly I realized that the outside seats were empty, and I could have the parade pass right in front of me. Maybe the air conditioning kept everyone inside, but, most of the time, this will be a very useful go-to spot when the entire parade route looks packed. And we got a nice video of the dragon breathing fire three times!
New nighttime fireworks at Epcot: Definitely worth checking out, very nice show with lasers and fireworks. You won`t see all the lasers unless you`re closer to WS, but, as long as you`re close to the lake, you`ll get most of the show.
Halloween Parties: We didn`t do any this year, but every visit to MK was on a party day. As the strategy dictates, lines and crowds were pretty reasonable on those days. The lightest crowd day, however, was on a Tuesday when the MK was slated to close early for some corporate event. 7DMT was usually posted at under an hour when we passed by that day.
Speaking of that headliner, we got in line one day for 7DMT at 2:05, just after the parade started. We were on the ride in 35 minutes. So there you go, that`s another way to ride it without a horrific wait.
The Rebel Spy...was I, twice! I`ve been waiting for that, and complaining about it, ever since the new Star Tours debuted. I was also picked as part of the show at Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor.
I will post more later, but I welcome any questions about our experience. And thanks again to the many diligent Disboard posters who answered my pesky questions and helped me plan this family odyssey.
Crowds: Yes, they came back in force in October. But I used every trick in the book (thank you, Disboard experts!) and we managed to dodge the worst lineups, and actually caught a few light crowds at certain parks (a quick shout out to Touring Plans, which helped a lot -- no, I don`t believe that crowd calendars are useless. BUT, the closer to the actual trip, the better their info!).
Zero Early Magic Hours: I convinced my group to forgo the panoply of EEMH, and go for late evening/near closing time, instead. It worked beautifully, including getting in line for Na`vi River ten minutes before closing time, and sitting on the boat in 7 minutes. I also jumped into the queue for SDD at 9:57, and was on the coaster five minutes later! Perhaps the best was when, after the park got rained out for an hour or so, we got in line for FOP near closing time, and got through the winding queue in 12 minutes! Maybe that`s a record, I don`t know. But the rain invariably cleans out the crowds.
Galaxy`s Edge: Honestly, I don`t understand all the complaints. Maybe it helps that all the grousing meant that I came in with somewhat lowered expectations. Maybe it also helps that I and my brother were co-pilots in 2/3 trips on MFSR.
In any case, I, and my group, loved the new land. It looks fabulous, especially at night, and is a giant photo op waiting to happen. Everything just screams "Star Wars." We didn`t do any of the add-on experiences, not even the Cantina, but loved touring the (huge!) land and taking copious pics. And MFSR is a blast, at least in the pilot`s seat, although being gunner was fun, too. Best of all, we usually waited only 20 or 25 minutes in line, riding in the evening, of course. We didn`t use the single rider line, although it looked short and is probably recommended when the posted wait time is 45 min. +.
Oh, and maybe this is just me, but we had almost as much fun trashing the Falcon (extensive damages means you owe money to Hondo) as dodging most of the obstacles (after our first flight, Hondo owed us money).
Of course, the land isn`t complete. Yes, for those of you who will soon experience ROTR, I salute you...
Last-minute view for the parade: If you`re arriving late for the FOP parade and frantically looking for a decent viewing spot, you can get a pretty good one right in front of Pecos Bill in Frontierland. I discovered that by accident when we went into the restaurant to eat, and suddenly I realized that the outside seats were empty, and I could have the parade pass right in front of me. Maybe the air conditioning kept everyone inside, but, most of the time, this will be a very useful go-to spot when the entire parade route looks packed. And we got a nice video of the dragon breathing fire three times!
New nighttime fireworks at Epcot: Definitely worth checking out, very nice show with lasers and fireworks. You won`t see all the lasers unless you`re closer to WS, but, as long as you`re close to the lake, you`ll get most of the show.
Halloween Parties: We didn`t do any this year, but every visit to MK was on a party day. As the strategy dictates, lines and crowds were pretty reasonable on those days. The lightest crowd day, however, was on a Tuesday when the MK was slated to close early for some corporate event. 7DMT was usually posted at under an hour when we passed by that day.
Speaking of that headliner, we got in line one day for 7DMT at 2:05, just after the parade started. We were on the ride in 35 minutes. So there you go, that`s another way to ride it without a horrific wait.
The Rebel Spy...was I, twice! I`ve been waiting for that, and complaining about it, ever since the new Star Tours debuted. I was also picked as part of the show at Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor.
I will post more later, but I welcome any questions about our experience. And thanks again to the many diligent Disboard posters who answered my pesky questions and helped me plan this family odyssey.
Last edited:
