Thoughts from a WDW regular on first DLR trip

[TexasErin]

The only complaint we have about FP+ is it causes rides that used to be walk ons to have a little bit of a wait - like figment and spaceship earth. We all agreed that it was nice not to have to run around to gather fp's. We had the most luck getting additional fp's for magic kingdom. We rode Big Thunder Mountain last night at 9:30 with one.

We loved the mine train! We rode it twice! I did book ahead of time so used fp's both times. It is a really smooth ride. I lucked out and got last minute fp for my little girl to meet Anna and Elsa, but I can't imagine anyone seeing a 3 or 4 hour wait and getting in the line!

The rain has at least made it cooler!

I'm super excited to get to try out the Mine Train and to see Fantasyland with all of the walls down. I thought it was amazingly beautiful even though it wasn't completed when we were there last June. Especially the Tangled bathroom area, lol.

It would be nice not to have to run around to get FPs. I just with the other parks didn't have tiers. That's cool that you were still able to get FP for Big Thunder that late. We love to ride it after dark!

 

[TexasErin]

Thank you for the great review! I really enjoyed it. We, too, are WDW regulars but are considering planning a trip to DLR. Can you give me a little idea how the crowds compare to WDW? I'm wondering if I'm crazy for considering this for a summer trip.

I'm glad you enjoyed my report! I didn't find the crowds that much different, although the narrower walkways still make it hard to walk at times- especially the area around Pirates since the queue is almost entirely outside. The only real disappointment that we had crowd-wise was one 7 a.m. EMH at DL. I thought that I had read that 7 am EMHs would be pretty empty. This was definitely not true that morning. However, we didn't get there until around 7:10 am and then had a long line to enter. By the time we got to Peter Pan, the line was like 35 minutes. We didn't get anything else done that EMH; granted, it was our fault that we weren't lined up prior to 7 am. Otherwise, I really thought the waits were comparable to WDW for the most part, given that we usually go the same dates each year give or take a day.

 

[TexasErin]

I know you didn't ask me but I want to weigh in anyway

After having gone many times without FP+, and now twice with it here are my thoughts:

Pros:
-if your only doing a half day at the parks
so say you only want to do an afternoon/evening at the parks. In this case, FP+ is a lifesaver. You have 3 scheduled FP that are locked in, so you know you can walk into the parks at 5 pm and have no wait for Soarin.

Cons:
-the tiers.
Lets take Epcot for example. In the past, we were always able to arrive at rope drop, go straight to Soarin, ride it, grab a FP and then get a FP for Test Track later.

Now we have to choose which ride we want a FP for. And good luck getting a second for a top tier. We were there in late May and tried to schedule our first 3 FP for as early as we could so we could try to get more. Not possible, by the time we were ready for our 4th (1130 with a park opening at 9) only things left were Captain EO and Figment.

Also, WDW has lost its mind and has now included Living with the Land and Great Movie Ride as Tier 1s. Living with the Land is actually one of my BF's favorite rides, and I'm so afraid being a tier 1 is going to ratchet up the ride wait times...which leads me to my next con...

-Increased wait times
Its a real thing. All the days we were at Epcot (including weekdays) Spaceship Earth was never below 30 minutes. This ride used to be a walk on except for maybe around 11 to noon.

Living with the Land always had about a 10-15 minute wait, where as I have ridden that boat too many times to remember and never had more than a 5 minute wait.

Pirates of the Caribbean is never listed below 20 minutes now after about the first hour of park opening. We used to ride that several times in a row without waiting all the time.

-changing ride times

Sometimes this is doable. However, lets say you have a popular FP for like Soarin or Anna and Else meet and greet. Something comes up...someone isn't feeling well, your lunch goes too long...too bad, you won't be able to change the time and you'll just have to lose the FP.


Hmm, I guess I really don't like FP+. Its kind of funny because I really love the magic bands and everything else about them, just not FP+. Having your ticket on the band and access to your credit card is pretty convenient. It was great to be able to swim with it so you didn't have to worry about your room key being lost/stolen. I love the wait time app.

That's disappointing to hear about FP+. I figured the tiers would really throw a wrench into Soarin' and Test Track. We love both of those rides and usually try to do them multiple times each trip. We always did the same thing with Soarin' and Test Track.

 

[KCmike]

Erin, great report. I was a WDW vet who went back in 2007 and now consider my home resort to be DL! We love the weather, ride concentration, and all of the nostalgia. It really feels like a storybook when you enter DL's mainstreet USA! Plus the kids love doing all the other stuff in California like San Diego and the Hotel Del Coronado, Monterey, San Fran, and Yosemite. It's like two vacations in one. I still love WDW and the pure resort feel too. Glad you made it over to DL.

 

[disneymath]

We returned early Tuesday morning (three hours late due to flight delays- ERRGGGHHH) from a 10-day trip. We had a really great time!

Hotels: We stayed at DLH for the first three nights in the Frontier tower and then a week in a studio at VGC.

Great report ... Hope you can help a fellow WDW vet understand a mid-stay hotel transfer at DLR. Is it like at WDW where CMs will transfer your luggage or did you have to do it yourself? We're headed down in August and will be switching to VGC after two nights at the DLH ... any logistical tips would be appreciated!

 

[TexasErin]

Erin, great report. I was a WDW vet who went back in 2007 and now consider my home resort to be DL! We love the weather, ride concentration, and all of the nostalgia. It really feels like a storybook when you enter DL's mainstreet USA! Plus the kids love doing all the other stuff in California like San Diego and the Hotel Del Coronado, Monterey, San Fran, and Yosemite. It's like two vacations in one. I still love WDW and the pure resort feel too. Glad you made it over to DL.

Thanks, Mike! We had such a great time at DLR. Although we love WDW, I would love to be able to get the family to agree to primarily choosing DLR. I have a feeling that if we have a really rainy trip next year at WDW, that might just happen, lol. I also love all the things you mentioned about it!

 

[TexasErin]

Great report ... Hope you can help a fellow WDW vet understand a mid-stay hotel transfer at DLR. Is it like at WDW where CMs will transfer your luggage or did you have to do it yourself? We're headed down in August and will be switching to VGC after two nights at the DLH ... any logistical tips would be appreciated!

Thank you! Yes, it did work like WDW. We called bell services after we had everything packed. They came in a few short minutes and loaded up our luggage. I checked into VGC around 10 am, hoping maybe our room was ready. It wasn't ready so we went and played in the parks. They texted me when the room was ready. We rode a few more rides and then decided to check out our room; I just called bell services from our room and they were brought up in maybe 10-15 minutes. It was very easy! Have a great trip!

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

FastPass So Called "Plus" as it was when we were there in early May was big time lame-o.

Its basically solidified what was mild "we show to go CA sometime" into "lets got AS SOON AS WE CAN and skip WDW until they figure out what in the world the are doing..."

I think they may eventually figure it out, but I think they are laughing at us right now. Living with the Land going up against Soarin and TestTrak for Tier 1...

Tiers stink!

 

[disneymath]

Thank you! Yes, it did work like WDW. We called bell services after we had everything packed. They came in a few short minutes and loaded up our luggage. I checked into VGC around 10 am, hoping maybe our room was ready. It wasn't ready so we went and played in the parks. They texted me when the room was ready. We rode a few more rides and then decided to check out our room; I just called bell services from our room and they were brought up in maybe 10-15 minutes. It was very easy! Have a great trip!

Great ... one less thing to sort out! Thanks for the reply!