First off don't believe what you read about the parks being empty. THEY WERE PACKED. I doubt it was as busy as summer season but the parks were elbow to elbow people. Our wait times averaged 15 min to 1 hour depending on the attraction. Most shows were full.
Transportation out of the parks was a consistent problem. Buses were running very slow for Riverside every park we went to. They seemed to wait until there was a line long enough to fill 4 buses before they got a clue and called for more buses. It took us 2 hours to get home from MK on Sat Nov 10th. That was the worst.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
The parade was great and the attractions were OK. Flights of Wonder was good and we really enjoy the Bugs life show. Overall it's OK for a park but don't expect a zoo. I enjoyed the experience but I would not pay to see it again. I'd rather save my money and go to my local zoo for an animal experience.
MK
It was great. All the changes and cut backs didn't affect my enjoyment at all. I will say though that cutting the outdoor entertainment left the place feeling a bit "dead". The only place I say characters in MK was at character meals and Mickey was at his house. That's about it.
EPCOT
By far my favorite park. I could have spent 3 full days there easy. If I had it to do again I would not wait a hopper day on Animal Kingdom and use it for Epcot instead. I do wish they'd show more honest a view of some of the countries though instead of just the tourist image of them. I will say the food was incredible, plenty of outdoor entertainment. Even though the place was packed both days we were there and we did not get to see everything it was a fabulous experience and Illumination moved me to tears.
MGM
It was an interesting park. The shows were good. Characters were out most of the day near "The hat". The parade was really neat. Fantasmic blew me out of the water. The place was definately packed and some of the wait times were long. Fantasmic filled up about 45 min before show time.
PO-RIVERSIDE
Holy cheese whiz this place was packed. It was difficult to get priority seatings at Boatwrights and the food court was insane with people. The buses every morning for every park were standing room only. Be advised, at every single park Riverside is the farthest drop off and pick up from the entry gates. Also, we were in Bayou, 36,37,and 38. Every room had maintainance issues, the quiet pool closed for refurbishment and the building were getting roof work. IMHO the place was just not well kept up and the best thing they could do would be to close that area of the resort and take care of all the issues. Next time we go we plan to see what Carribean Beach is like.
Overall I'd say if you have a trip scheduled don't let all the rumors get you down. We had a lot of frustrations but it did not really stop us from having an incredible vacation. We did not get to see and do everything, there was just not enough time. The crowds were bigger than we anticipated and that cause most of our frustrations. Eventually we just adopted the "summer season attitude" and went with the flow. We really had a great time.
Transportation out of the parks was a consistent problem. Buses were running very slow for Riverside every park we went to. They seemed to wait until there was a line long enough to fill 4 buses before they got a clue and called for more buses. It took us 2 hours to get home from MK on Sat Nov 10th. That was the worst.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
The parade was great and the attractions were OK. Flights of Wonder was good and we really enjoy the Bugs life show. Overall it's OK for a park but don't expect a zoo. I enjoyed the experience but I would not pay to see it again. I'd rather save my money and go to my local zoo for an animal experience.
MK
It was great. All the changes and cut backs didn't affect my enjoyment at all. I will say though that cutting the outdoor entertainment left the place feeling a bit "dead". The only place I say characters in MK was at character meals and Mickey was at his house. That's about it.
EPCOT
By far my favorite park. I could have spent 3 full days there easy. If I had it to do again I would not wait a hopper day on Animal Kingdom and use it for Epcot instead. I do wish they'd show more honest a view of some of the countries though instead of just the tourist image of them. I will say the food was incredible, plenty of outdoor entertainment. Even though the place was packed both days we were there and we did not get to see everything it was a fabulous experience and Illumination moved me to tears.
MGM
It was an interesting park. The shows were good. Characters were out most of the day near "The hat". The parade was really neat. Fantasmic blew me out of the water. The place was definately packed and some of the wait times were long. Fantasmic filled up about 45 min before show time.
PO-RIVERSIDE
Holy cheese whiz this place was packed. It was difficult to get priority seatings at Boatwrights and the food court was insane with people. The buses every morning for every park were standing room only. Be advised, at every single park Riverside is the farthest drop off and pick up from the entry gates. Also, we were in Bayou, 36,37,and 38. Every room had maintainance issues, the quiet pool closed for refurbishment and the building were getting roof work. IMHO the place was just not well kept up and the best thing they could do would be to close that area of the resort and take care of all the issues. Next time we go we plan to see what Carribean Beach is like.
Overall I'd say if you have a trip scheduled don't let all the rumors get you down. We had a lot of frustrations but it did not really stop us from having an incredible vacation. We did not get to see and do everything, there was just not enough time. The crowds were bigger than we anticipated and that cause most of our frustrations. Eventually we just adopted the "summer season attitude" and went with the flow. We really had a great time.
