Somewhat disenchanted after trip

[SplashMtnCrew]

Sorry to hear about all the troubles on your trip. The first time we went to WDW was in Aug 2003 ~ we vowed to never do that again. If summer is the only time we can go, we don't go. Just can't stand the heat and crowds, that is in no way a vacation to us Winter is the time for us. I know everyone has to do what their schedules allow w/work, school and etc. but we are able to go in Jan, thankfully.

 

[DLBDS]

This is when TGM comes in handy! If you sign up, all you need is his Least Crowded Parks Charts. Then you'll know which days are best to go to each park!

TourGuideMike:
www.tourguidemike.com

 

[eliza61]

I know this won't be a popular post here, but I am a disney fan too....we were actually considering DVC until this trip. It's just hard to feel the magic when everything is crowds and waiting and knowing there are things you won't get to see and do b/c of the wait. Is it just me? Is it significantly less busy at other times a year? Maybe I am expecting too much?

I think you did. Any time you go to disney in the middle of the summer season you must expect that the waits for rides are going to be at least 60 minutes. Every school system is closed. Any holiday period ( Christmas, spring break, Easter, June, July, early August, President weekend) the parks going to be pack. Yes, September and October are less packed along with parts of Jan, feb and March. That is why a lot of folks pull their kids out of school.

 

[Davey48]

WE learned OUR lessen the 1st time we went to Disney. My kids were 4 and 2 1/2 yrs old and the HEAT,CROWDS, and SHORT TEMPERS were too much for us....the little one could not deal w/ the heat and got tired easily but we went many times after this ( kids were older ) when it was not so hot and crowded and it was much more fun!!

 

[stina]

We go every other year in early September - usually 2nd week of September post-labor day. Lines are nonexistant and weather is hot but enjoyable. I didn't realize how spoiled we were until we did a short trip one May during flower & garden, OMG! It was wall to wall people and I remember walking around Epcot and it was like gridlock. We couldn't get ANYTHING to eat, there were no seats at any sit down restaurants and the lines for counter service were even astronomical. I couldn't believe how much I hated it and I can see why those who make their first WDW trip during the busy season become disenchanted quickly. I can't emphasize enough what a different experience WDW is when you don't have to wait as much. Sure there will always be some things to wait for, even in the slow season, and there are still people around, but it's so much more manageable, you can plan to do what you want when you want to with very little delay. Most of the large rides like Space Mountain Everest and Tower of Terror we didn't have to wait for, we could walk right on. It's a dream come true. However, we do not have kids so I understand that some parents are hesitant to take kids out of school.

 

[HannahFan72]

I'm sorry you didn't have a fantastic trip!! I hope you do get to try again at a less busy time, but if not, I hope you took tons of photos and maybe in a few years, you'll just remember the fun family time and not so much of the lines

 

[daisyduck123]

Is it significantly less busy at other times a year?

Yes!

We go for about 9 days every year in early May...never wait more than 5-10 minutes for a ride.

This year, we decided to go for 10 days in the summer (just got back last Sunday) & we knew the lines would be horrible compared to what we're used to...so we decided to make this mainly a "swimming" trip & we stayed at BCV..so we had access to the best pool (IMO) on WDW property.

That's how we plan to do it from now on:
May (we'll make it a "park" trip & hit the parks a lot)
summer (we'll make our "swimming/resort" trips)

**BTW, DVC...

 

[Ozymoe]

We have gone in the summer, but we are pros and know exactly what we are doing. It is busier then, but we were actually pleasantly surprised at the manageability of a summertime Disney vacation.

Two things are a must...first, you MUST get up early and be there a half-hour before the park opens...then you must ride the rides that are the most popular that have no fast passes...and secondly, you must maximize your use of fast passes...plus, change the schedule if you see a chance to get on a ride with a minimum wait.

 

[smidgy]

the first 2 times we went (with kids) was early June , as SOON as the boys were out of school. we had fun.. it was hot... lines were long.. but we felt lucky to be there and, in retrospect, a 15 year olds perpetual "sean penn" sneer is a lot easier to deal with that a 4 year olds melt down.(and at that time, there WAS no fast pass)
well, we fell in love with the place, but we go in off season (since we no longer have kids) but if my kids were not in high school, I would pull them out and go in off season. (once they are in high school, that is no longer an option)

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

You went at the worst time of year...besides school week vacations. Also, Pooh and Peter Pan are always a longer wait because they cannot hold nearly as many people at other rides. Was Splash and Space Mountain long waits, too?

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I agree with the term torture when referring to going to WDW during July! They would have to pay me for that experience. We only go during "off" times and just take the kids out of school for a few days. It is so worth it.

 

[kathie859]

It must have been difficult with the crowds, the heat, and trying to have a magical time with your kids.

At least until the kids get older, I'd try to take off season trips to WDW. Until my kids got so involved in school, athletics, etc., we wouldn't step a foot in WDW in the summer. Ditto for Christmas week. Did it once--once was enough

Now all are grown and now we're doing the same thing with the Grandkids--at least until school, athletics, etc. take over their lives. Of course, I'm happy to steal time away with DH--I still think WDW can be a very romantic place to be

 

[Lovinlifesooomuch30]

the first 2 times we went (with kids) was early June , as SOON as the boys were out of school. we had fun.. it was hot... lines were long.. but we felt lucky to be there and, in retrospect, a 15 year olds perpetual "sean penn" sneer is a lot easier to deal with that a 4 year olds melt down.(and at that time, there WAS no fast pass)
well, we fell in love with the place, but we go in off season (since we no longer have kids) but if my kids were not in high school, I would pull them out and go in off season. (once they are in high school, that is no longer an option)

The Sean Penn snear is cracking me up !!!! my oldest daughter will be turning 15 in October. She LOVES disney but anything that doesn't involve her friends and her cell phone are just not tops on her list.

We are thinking of going next summer which will be our first summer trip. I agree that it will be easier with the youngest being 8 at that time then when they were younger.

 

[BigGreen73]

We just got back from DisneyWorld yesterday. Overall we had a good time, there were definitely good parts and fun parts but it was just soooo crowded. I guess what my main problem was was the lines for all the rides/attractions. I have 2 small children and we really didn't go on that much because often the wait was 50+ minutes .....and that was for rides like Pooh's Honeypots and Peter Pan! Our last afternoon/evening there we didn't go on anything, just ate dinner, walked around and left b/c the waits were so long and I just can't see waiting that long with little kids. Yes we did use fastpass when we could.

I know this won't be a popular post here, but I am a disney fan too....we were actually considering DVC until this trip. It's just hard to feel the magic when everything is crowds and waiting and knowing there are things you won't get to see and do b/c of the wait. Is it just me? Is it significantly less busy at other times a year? Maybe I am expecting too much?

This is why we avoid the summer Months and go to WDW during the first couple of weeks in May. The crowds are average and the average wait is 10-45 mins for rides.

 

[sconnell]

It's funny. Our family is getting better at it. We were in the MK on Sunday, August 5th. We had breakfast at O'hana (great btw), then we walked up just as they were opening. We walked (not ran) to Fantasyland and did almost EVERYTHING in Fantasyland before the first hour. This order: Pooh, Dumbo, Snow White, Peter Pan, Small World, PhilharMagic. That was probably 45 minutes. The only non-walk on was Dumbo, and from when we walked up, we were the 2nd group, so not long.
We have a 5 year old that got to ride Splash and BTMRR for the first times and rode them 2 times each. We rode POTC 2 times. Jungle Cruise, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Tiki Room, Swiss Family Treehouse, Played on Tom Sawyer Island (shot every single rifle, lol), Buzz, Laugh Floor, TTA, CoP, Goofy's Barnstormer, Donald's Boat, shopped, had nice meals and were gone before Spectro. lol.
I guess it's all in how you do it.

 

[yagexpression]

Truly, you went to Disney at one of the most crowded times possible. I would honestly not even consider going in the summer - too busy = no fun. There are definitely much slower and more enjoyable times, i.e. September, first 2 weeks in December and many other times. I wouldn't give up on Disney yet, but maybe spend some time researching the best time to go crowd and weatherwise. Besides getting great information here, I highly recommend the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.

Good luck.

We've been to WDW twice in Sept. during labor day weekend and the crowds were sparce. It was a very odd feeling being able to walk right onto a ride w/o waiting. We'd joke, oh no, a 5 minute wait, is it worth it?

 

[ksumn1]

I think your expectation were a little high. Our 1st trip with me, DH and my
3 yr old DD was at the end of August 2002. We knew it was going to be hot, kinda crowded and we knew we weren't going to be able to do everything. We toured commando sytle and it got old really quick. It was less crowded than we thought, and after a major meltdown on day 2 we decided to take it a little slower. We had fun, and saw most of our must do list. We only went for 5 days.

FF to our next trip in June 2006. We now have me, DH, DD7, and DD3. We made a must see list, keeping in mind that we needed to be there at park opening, utilize FP whenever possible and planned only 1/2 day at the parks. We also added on and made our trip 7 days, 8 nights so we had more time to do everything. Even with the crowds we had more fun, less stress and did more rides. I was more prepared, too. I used TGM's least crowded parks info, but I also was more spontaneous. If the park got crowded, we tried another one. Or went to the resort, swam and then had a leisurely dinner. Still Disney, still fun, but more relaxing.

I think you need to be realistic. WDW is magical, but a million other people think so too. Our next trip we plan on going in October or early December to really go when it's less crowded.

Just look at it this way...now you have a excuse to go back. Your goal is to have more fun next trip than this time!!!

 

[Birdiegirl]

We spent 7 and 8 days in Disney each of the last two summers and had a really good time. My kids are older, but taking them out of school is a no go for us as my wife is a teacher and could not take the time off. We had plenty of water, used our disney rewards dollars to make sure we had lots and brought a refillable water bottle with a charcol filter to eliminate the bad taste from the local water. We also used Tour Guide Mike for planning our trip and his advise really worked.

Guzzi were in the same boat and can only go during the summer (non school days). We have reservations for June 2008 and are traveling with a 5yr old, 7yr old and a teacher. We'll have to look into the charcoal filter (never even thought about the local water tasting funny). I had read elsewhere that places will give you free water too.

We just got back from Disneyland and it was also extremely crowded. Being Disneyland veterans, we used a few tricks we've learned over the years and on the boards to manage crowded times. We managed to never wait more than 30 minutes for anything (and that was just for the new Nemo Subs - the normal wait for us was 20 minutes or less). I think it's possible to do it, you just have to make a plan and stick to it (this applies to the WDW parks as well). We entered the park at opening each morning and went to a different land first each time. You can hit almost any ride with very minimial waits if you go early enough. The park opened at 8:00 a.m. each day. We were surprised to find absolutely no line at Mr. Toad just after 9:00 a.m. In fact, we thought the ride was closed because no one but the operators were there. We jumped right on.

Also in the mornings, we visited the big rides that have Fastpass. If the lines were 20 minutes or less, we rode. If they were already long, we would get a Fastpass and look at the next time we could get another one (for example, your Fastpass return time might be in 3 hours but the ticket might say you can get another Fastpass in 2 hours). Whenever we were able, we would get a Fastpass for a big ride but not use it during the window. What some people don't know is that the ending time on the Fastpass doesn't matter. You can use it anytime during the day as long as it's after the initial time (for example, if your Fastpass says return between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m., you can use it from 2:00 p.m. until the park closes - it doesn't expire after 3:00 p.m.). We saved all of our Fastpasses for later when the lines really got long. We returned to our hotel around 4:00 for a break and went back to the park at 7:00 p.m. All of the lines for the major rides were over an hour but we had a whole stack of Fastpasses that we'd gathered in the morning. We rode Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, Autopia and Buzz Lightyear and Splash Mountain using our Fastpasses. I read about this stragegy over on the Disneyland board and it was excellent advice!

The other thing you can do is wait until just before the park closes. We were able to jump on almost anything during the last hour. I know this is very difficult if your kids are young (ours are 12 and 8 and able to do it). The Matterhorn had a wait of over an hour most of the day and we waited 15minutes after 11:00 p.m. We also used Early Entry one morning and got in at 7:00 a.m. By the time we made it to the Nemo Subs, the line was only 30 minutes (I say only because it averaged 2-3 hours most other times).

I would still rather go at a less crowded time. Summer at DL or WDW is bound to be crowded. But, with a few strategies, it's possible to shorten your wait times considerably.

Thanks Luvbunny we didn't know that about the fastpasses and getting them early then going to relax at the hotel and coming back sounds like a great plan. It's good to know that there is a way to make it work even during peak times. Do you purchase fast passes for individual rides?

We were at Disney World last week. This was our 1st trip. I found that the "Unofficial Guide to Disney World" was a huge help.

The first day we went to Epcot, my husband made out our touring plan based on the book. We had done all of the popular, hard to get into rides by noon. The longest wait was soarin (even with a fastpass) but worth it. We then ate lunch and relaxed while walking through the countries.

The 2nd & 3rd days were a whole different story. We started Sat. with touring plan but my husband's parents, sister, brother inlaw, & kids joined us. They weren 't interested in the touring plan so it went out the window. We only saw maybe a third of MK and AK. I feel like we spent most our time walking in circles. (We still enjoyed the parts we saw and even got dream passes at AK.)

Getting there at opening and the touring plan made things much easier for us and I feel like we saw so much more of the park. Bythe way, I did notice that many times when we waited in line on Sat. & Sun. that the waits weren't really as long as posted.

Thanks Weldon1 we need to buy the "Unofficial Guide to Disney World"! Sounds like the way to go. What are dream passes?

We have gone in the summer, but we are pros and know exactly what we are doing. It is busier then, but we were actually pleasantly surprised at the manageability of a summertime Disney vacation.

Two things are a must...first, you MUST get up early and be there a half-hour before the park opens...then you must ride the rides that are the most popular that have no fast passes...and secondly, you must maximize your use of fast passes...plus, change the schedule if you see a chance to get on a ride with a minimum wait.

Thanks Ozymoe ~gotta get the traveling group up early.

It's funny. Our family is getting better at it. We were in the MK on Sunday, August 5th. We had breakfast at O'hana (great btw), then we walked up just as they were opening. We walked (not ran) to Fantasyland and did almost EVERYTHING in Fantasyland before the first hour. This order: Pooh, Dumbo, Snow White, Peter Pan, Small World, PhilharMagic. That was probably 45 minutes. The only non-walk on was Dumbo, and from when we walked up, we were the 2nd group, so not long.
We have a 5 year old that got to ride Splash and BTMRR for the first times and rode them 2 times each. We rode POTC 2 times. Jungle Cruise, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Tiki Room, Swiss Family Treehouse, Played on Tom Sawyer Island (shot every single rifle, lol), Buzz, Laugh Floor, TTA, CoP, Goofy's Barnstormer, Donald's Boat, shopped, had nice meals and were gone before Spectro. lol.
I guess it's all in how you do it.

Thanks Sconnell we have a 5 and 7 year old traveling with us and hope it works out for us as well as it did for you. Thanks for the info.


I guess its really best to plan out your vacation ahead of time and be well prepared. At least to have a good itinerary and to be knowledgeable about fast passes and our other options. I'll be checking back for more good advice during the hot busy months. Not really much attention to those of you who advise not to go during these peak times as this is not much of an option for us at this time.

 

[CrystalPalace]

Hi there, so sad to hear that you were disappointed with your vacation here at WDW. The summer is always the worst time to come to the parks, and this year the record breaking heat made everything so much worse. The best way to see the parks when crowds are immense is to be there right when the park opens, always use the fast pass machines when you can, and take a break in the middle of the day, go relax by the pool. If you stay in one of our resorts then use our extra magic hours that changes from day to day. But best advice for you, is come in the fall, or January. Let the kids go back to school, and let this relentless heat subside. And hopefully you had at least a few memorable moments while visiting WDW.

 

[MisMikiNikiLynne]

Sooo sorry your trip didn't go as planned. One must remember that it is the busy part of the summer, just as and before kids are going back to school. Also one must keep in mind that early mornings are best as the day wears on it gets more and more crowded. Usually after the parade many families will leave the park, but not always. Please give Disney another chance, you never know, nxt time you may be the only one in line for any ride that you wish!