WDW Commando Club

[AirGoofy]

I am not afraid (well maybe a little about the rabbit it's got really big teeth) I don't worry about crowd levels, I don't even check on them, it's something you can't control, if you lay out a good plan and be flexible to change it at any given time, for example at RD it is wise to do A,B,C since it's not busy but after that when most will do D,E & F I might do H,I & J on the list then hit X,Y & Z and backtrack later on or hit those rides on a EMH at night, I'll be the 1st one to say if you follow they crowd your going to get frustrated and loose a lot of time, if you think out of the box and go against the grain and take the path less taken you can knock a lot off the list and beat the crowd, everything you skip you hit later when everyone already did it and the lines are shorter or use FP

Oh, I know to avoid the crowds'. And certainly, starting at the back of the park and working forwards is a solid strategy. What i was referencing was that the "preferred/recommended" parks for smaller crowds were still at high level. And, they were recommending leave the park by the early afternoon as a strategy. I don't find that an acceptable strategy.

I also managed to be in MK on a Monday(?) on a Columbus Day weekend when MK unpredictedly hit park capacity. Around 3:00 PM, CMs looked frazzled, i could hear them trying to call in extra staff, park hours/ parade times were changed via the PA system. It was crazy. Fortunately, I had stocked up on FP under the old strategy. It was so crowded, that it was single file to exit the park from Sleepy Hollow around 8:00 PM. I managed that one day, but don't plan to ever try that daily for a week. I wish you th best of luck.

 

[Disney Commando]

Oh, I know to avoid the crowds'. And certainly, starting at the back of the park and working forwards is a solid strategy. What i was referencing was that the "preferred/recommended" parks for smaller crowds were still at high level. And, they were recommending leave the park by the early afternoon as a strategy. I don't find that an acceptable strategy.

That's what they recommend, that's insane It does work to get away from the crowds though but sounds like the quitter way out, I guess if you want to hang out at the resort most of the day it's o.k. other then that it doesn't make much sense

I also managed to be in MK on a Monday(?) on a Columbus Day weekend when MK unpredictedly hit park capacity. Around 3:00 PM, CMs looked frazzled, i could hear them trying to call in extra staff, park hours/ parade times were changed via the PA system. It was crazy. Fortunately, I had stocked up on FP under the old strategy. It was so crowded, that it was single file to exit the park from Sleepy Hollow around 8:00 PM. I managed that one day, but don't plan to ever try that daily for a week. I wish you th best of luck.

Now this sounds much more reasonable, look for opportunities and when you see the chance take it

 

[Xclusive2WDW]

This post is a few days late, sorry about that:

Sorry that this happened to you Trish, maybe when it all over you can let us know how it happened & how we can avoid it happening to us.

- Commander-make sure you give her the "Commando test" to verify her commando rank & serial number -just kidding!

So my little "adoptive" grandson was born today! Emerson Mark David Walker, the Mark David is after my husband, his first trip to WDW will be in Dec/13. - (with Mom,Dad,DSis(6) DSis (5) Dbro (3) & the Mudducks) so I'm off to get a new ticker since he's here now!

I don't know why it didn't qoute Phoenix, but I just wanted to say how I hope all will be ok and I am sorry about all the hacking stuff, but glad you were able to clear it up (even if it was a pain).

Mamudduck congrats on the new grand baby That means the Dec trip is on? woohoo, now all I have to do is get mom to put her time off time in (haha, I just re-read that).

Cool! Should be a fun time to go there! And it will probably be during Epcot's Flower & Garden festival which seems really beautiful!

Except for Christmas and Halloween, I have never seen any other festivals/holidays in WDW! And my october trip in 2000 didn't even coincide with the Food & Wine festival (at least I didn't remember any booths besides those of the Millenium Village as part of the millenium celebration).

I need to find a way to visit during both F&G and F&W (with MNSSHP)!
And to squeeze a visit during Star Wars weekends as well! (less likely, because as much as I love SW, I hate hot weather and to leave Brazil in late fall/early winter for the really hot Floridian early summer would be tough!)

I hate not having any Disney trips to plan in the foreseeable future! I'm loving planning my Honeymoon in South Africa though!

RedoschiGood to see you my Commando brother. I see I will have to go back over to the TR this weekend. South Africa sounds wonderful!

 

[redoschi]

Your future wife is a lucky women to have a guy that likes to travel and is willing to go places

So I got to know How did the Commando Club's advice pan out for you, I know that everything will not happen every time or sometimes goes outdated since they are always changing, but to strengthen our group do we need to improve in any areas, I feel I would not be a good leader if we need some improvement in a certain area and never ask or try to improve something for the good of the club. So basically I guess the question here as a club How are we doing

Thanks! I love to travel and she does as well, even though she isn't as much a commando planner as myself, she lets me do the planning first and make suggestions later!

I guess the Club is working pretty well, but I'll look back on the suggestions I picked up here to give a better "review"!

One thing I noticed and I'd like to warn all of you who are bringing first timers: DON'T let MK to be the last park you visit!

We had a car for the first few days and therefore did all offsite parks first and when we started doing Disney parks we did MK last (due to avoiding most crowded days and wanting to do a full day at each park when we first visited it).

With this they thought that MK was mainly for children, and except for some rides, they didn't feel really thrilled about the park.

 

[MaMudduck]

We're getting married in September 5th and leave for a 12-day trip to South Africa. We'll do both some days near the Kruger Park for safaris and the rest in Cape Town to see, among other things, penguins, whales and sharks.

Actually South Africa is a little bit further away than WDW. If you consider the first flight from Sao Paulo in both these trips (our WDW in January and the Honeymoon in September) we have a flight to Miami with 4070 miles and a flight to Johannesburg with 4626 miles. Cape Town is actually a little bit closer than Miami (about 3900) but there aren't any non-stop flights from Sao Paulo to Cape Town!

Congrats!- I was actually born in South Africa (I'm 4th generation SouthAfrican) but my parents immigrated to Canada when I was 4yrs old, something I always question them on in the middle of a Canadian winter what were they thinking.
My hubby & I are thinking of going to S.A. in Mar'14- but that will be up to the Fairy-Travel Godmother and lots of "gold"pixie dust.

 

[MaMudduck]

One thing I noticed and I'd like to warn all of you who are bringing first timers: DON'T let MK to be the last park you visit!
We had a car for the first few days and therefore did all offsite parks first and when we started doing Disney parks we did MK last (due to avoiding most crowded days and wanting to do a full day at each park when we first visited it)

With this they thought that MK was mainly for children, and except for some rides, they didn't feel really thrilled about the park.

Yes I totally agree! I think that anyone's first visit to ORLANDO, must be to MK first, MK is where it ALL started (e.i. Disneyland) and is the basis for all amusement parks, I think that it puts the Disney magic into everything else. Then after you've seen the original, going off-site is good but then MK always seem "magical"

 

[AirGoofy]

One thing I noticed and I'd like to warn all of you who are bringing first timers: DON'T let MK to be the last park you visit!

Agreed.

As a child through teen years, we vacations in Florida during Spring Break on the beach. When I was in 8th grade, I asked to go to Disney World. We went to Epcot when in 1987 on a Saturday and I remember walking thru the countries, riding horizons (I think - where Mission Space used to be), and that's about it. Fast forward to 2000, when DW and I were married, and she wanted to Disneymoon there. I thought that Disney wasn't very fun at all, but I'd give it a try. As we pulled into the MK and I saw Cinderella's castle, I felt the magic. For me, it didn't start with a mouse - it started with a castle.

 

[Disney Commando]

Agreed.

As a child through teen years, we vacations in Florida during Spring Break on the beach. When I was in 8th grade, I asked to go to Disney World. We went to Epcot when in 1987 on a Saturday and I remember walking thru the countries, riding horizons (I think - where Mission Space used to be), and that's about it. Fast forward to 2000, when DW and I were married, and she wanted to Disneymoon there. I thought that Disney wasn't very fun at all, but I'd give it a try. As we pulled into the MK and I saw Cinderella's castle, I felt the magic. For me, it didn't start with a mouse - it started with a castle.

I remember my 1st trip to WDW when I was 7 in 1976, The only resorts were Contemporary & The Poly and it was really hard to get into them, my father knew someone who was friends with someone who worked for Disney that got us in, We drove there in our 72 Country Squire Station Wagon cream colored with wood grain on the side All the rides & shows needed a ticket to do and MK was the only park, we stayed a week but found other stuff to go to such as Gatorland only it was a lot smaller back then, and we visited Cypress Gardens with the glass bottom boats ( I duo believe that is now Legoland), Then every trip to WDW more and more was added, the next trip Epcot was being built it was open but limited, I remember them building where the Seas attraction where Nemo now is, only a few countries were built, Next trip Epcot was pretty much done but nothing like it is today.

Then there is a 20year period of time till my next trip 2003 on our Honeymoon, boy was I surprised to see how things changed, I didn't know what to make of it, so much to do and see, my wife made the plans for that trip since I haden't been there for a long time and she was there a few times with her parents who have a timeshare near by, after that trip it seemed my whole life changed when we got home, I had to have more and figure out how to do more, that was the last time my wife planned a trip, A Commando was reborn and has been improving on trips and has been seeing and doing more then ever

Continuing forward on my son's 8th Birthday in August it will be his 10th trip to WDW And he is quite the little Commando, Maybe someday we might have done everything there is to do and see at WDW, stayed at all the resorts and ate at all the restaurants, but that day has not yet come, and with the way they keep adding to WDW I can't see it happening anytime soon, so until that day we will keep marching to the beat of the different drum (The Commando's) and continue our quest to find new adventures at WDW

 

[Xclusive2WDW]

Here Here

 

[juliebug1997]

It is usually the first and the last we visit. This time, we'll be starting at Epcot for our dinner at the Garden Grill. Can't wait to see Chip and Dale!

We just decided to go ahead and go this summer to celebrate the end of my chemo before my second surgery. I think we're going to take it a little slower. We are doing Dining with an Imagineer and I want to see if we can see characters at all four parks in one day (thank you, Kenny the Pirate, for the idea). We'll see what we come up with.

 

[MaMudduck]

It is usually the first and the last we visit. This time, we'll be starting at Epcot for our dinner at the Garden Grill. Can't wait to see Chip and Dale!

We just decided to go ahead and go this summer to celebrate the end of my chemo before my second surgery. I think we're going to take it a little slower. We are doing Dining with an Imagineer and I want to see if we can see characters at all four parks in one day (thank you, Kenny the Pirate, for the idea). We'll see what we come up with.

Hi Julie
I'm glad you're going to WDW to celebrate, I pray that WDW will be relaxing & rejuvenating before your surgery and healing to your body after.

 

[MaMudduck]

I remember my 1st trip to WDW when I was 7 in 1976, The only resorts were Contemporary & The Poly and it was really hard to get into them.
All the rides & shows needed a ticket to do and MK was the only park,
Then every trip to WDW more and more was added, the next trip Epcot was being built it was open but limited,
Then there is a 20year period of time till my next trip 2003 on our Honeymoon, boy was I surprised to see how things changed, I didn't know what to make of it, so much to do and see, after that trip it seemed my whole life changed when we got home,
A Commando was reborn and has been improving on trips and has been seeing and doing more then ever
Continuing forward on my son's 8th Birthday in August it will be his 10th trip to WDW And he is quite the little Commando, Maybe someday we might have done everything there is to do and see at WDW, stayed at all the resorts and ate at all the restaurants, but that day has not yet come, and with the way they keep adding to WDW I can't see it happening anytime soon, so until that day we will keep marching to the beat of the different drum (The Commando's) and continue our quest to find new adventures at WDW

I love hearing everyone's story!
Mine is so much like yours!
I went the first time with my parents in the summer of 1976 (I was alittle older than you). We were staying at Daytona beach and just did a 2 day trip into Orlando (I think we stayed at the Days Inn??? overnight) I remember so well as a 13yr standing in front of the castle and saying (out loud) "I want to live here!" - I didn't mean in Florida, I meant IN WDW! which only was MK.
The following year '77, we stayed 4 days at the Poly- that set the hook, I then became a total Disney freak from that time on! As a 20yr. my girlfriend & I went to Disneyland, and then 2 yrs after DH and I got married we went to WDW ('88)and there was only MK & Epcot. I think that's why DH still loves EP the best.
Fast forward---2002- we finally had enough money to take DD (6) to my happy place and then it's been almost an annual event since. (although I don't always take DH & DD together)
and I know I've trained my DD (18 now) to be a total Commando in all areas when it comes to travel.
I feel the same way...maybe someday I'll have seen everything, stayed in all the resorts & eaten in all the restaurants but I can't image that will ever happen.
(don't tell hubby this...)but if DH kicks-the-bucket before me, I'm definitly going the LIVE IN WDW!

 

[Phoenixrising]

Ok, I'm about to date myself. I remember going to DL some time in the late 60's and staying at a goofy hotel that had a friendly alien theme, I think it was far enough away that we drove to the parks. We then drove across Canada & USA the summer of 1973. When our family went to Magic Kingdom was alot of construction going on during the summer of 1973. I remember staying at the Fort Wilderness campgrounds, and taking a ferry to the parks. I remember we also went to Busch Gardens and had a great time there. Fast forward to 2009, when we decided to drive down to DL for 15 days. We had a great time, and drove up the California coast on the way back. The main reason was that I had always wanted to see the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and this was our opportunity to see it. In 2010 DH decided I needed a break from the kids, and let me go fly down to DL solo. Had an awesome time, and a needed break from the kids. We then drove down to DL again for 14 days in Feb/11, this time a surprise trip for the kids. This time the driving went smoother and we made better time getting down there. That trip DS8 got the flu 2 days before we left, and didn't discovered it for what it was, when it flared up bigtime 2 days into the trip. Safe to say that DS8 didn't enjoy the trip as much as he could have. I was given an opportunity to head back to DL for a quick trip late Sept/11, and we surprised the kids by flying down, their first flight. It was a Commando trip, but the kids loved the trip and was kind of a make up trip for the one that DS8 was sick during it. Fast forward to now and I'm heading back to DL in Nov, as DH has once again let me run away from home for 6 days. The kids still remember the trips we took, and are just as much of a Disneyaholic as I am. DH not so much so, but he lets me do all the planning, then he enjoys it once we are there.

 

[Disney Commando]

It is usually the first and the last we visit. This time, we'll be starting at Epcot for our dinner at the Garden Grill. Can't wait to see Chip and Dale!

We just decided to go ahead and go this summer to celebrate the end of my chemo before my second surgery. I think we're going to take it a little slower. We are doing Dining with an Imagineer and I want to see if we can see characters at all four parks in one day (thank you, Kenny the Pirate, for the idea). We'll see what we come up with.

Glad to see you back, & hope you are felling well That is a strategy I haven't thought of seeing characters in all 4 parks in one day, but thinking about it , it really sounds like a great plan

I love hearing everyone's story!
Mine is so much like yours!
I went the first time with my parents in the summer of 1976 (I was alittle older than you). We were staying at Daytona beach and just did a 2 day trip into Orlando (I think we stayed at the Days Inn??? overnight) I remember so well as a 13yr standing in front of the castle and saying (out loud) "I want to live here!" - I didn't mean in Florida, I meant IN WDW! which only was MK.
The following year '77, we stayed 4 days at the Poly- that set the hook, I then became a total Disney freak from that time on! As a 20yr. my girlfriend & I went to Disneyland, and then 2 yrs after DH and I got married we went to WDW ('88)and there was only MK & Epcot. I think that's why DH still loves EP the best.
Fast forward---2002- we finally had enough money to take DD (6) to my happy place and then it's been almost an annual event since. (although I don't always take DH & DD together)
and I know I've trained my DD (18 now) to be a total Commando in all areas when it comes to travel.
I feel the same way...maybe someday I'll have seen everything, stayed in all the resorts & eaten in all the restaurants but I can't image that will ever happen.
(don't tell hubby this...)but if DH kicks-the-bucket before me, I'm definitly going the LIVE IN WDW!

Would we all be able to come visit you in Golden Oaks

Ok, I'm about to date myself. I remember going to DL some time in the late 60's and staying at a goofy hotel that had a friendly alien theme, I think it was far enough away that we drove to the parks. We then drove across Canada & USA the summer of 1973. When our family went to Magic Kingdom was alot of construction going on during the summer of 1973. I remember staying at the Fort Wilderness campgrounds, and taking a ferry to the parks. I remember we also went to Busch Gardens and had a great time there. Fast forward to 2009, when we decided to drive down to DL for 15 days. We had a great time, and drove up the California coast on the way back. The main reason was that I had always wanted to see the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and this was our opportunity to see it. In 2010 DH decided I needed a break from the kids, and let me go fly down to DL solo. Had an awesome time, and a needed break from the kids. We then drove down to DL again for 14 days in Feb/11, this time a surprise trip for the kids. This time the driving went smoother and we made better time getting down there. That trip DS8 got the flu 2 days before we left, and didn't discovered it for what it was, when it flared up bigtime 2 days into the trip. Safe to say that DS8 didn't enjoy the trip as much as he could have. I was given an opportunity to head back to DL for a quick trip late Sept/11, and we surprised the kids by flying down, their first flight. It was a Commando trip, but the kids loved the trip and was kind of a make up trip for the one that DS8 was sick during it. Fast forward to now and I'm heading back to DL in Nov, as DH has once again let me run away from home for 6 days. The kids still remember the trips we took, and are just as much of a Disneyaholic as I am. DH not so much so, but he lets me do all the planning, then he enjoys it once we are there.

I remember you talking about that trip, and why you bring tons of meds just in case, your lucky that the DH and kids let you go on solo trips

 

[Phoenixrising]

DH doesn't mind sending me on solo trips, as I just drove him and 3 union members to YVR, to catch a flight to Toronto, Ont for 4 days for a seminar this morning. It's a habit that the union members leave their vehicles here, then I drive them to the airport since we live so close to the airport. He's also flying to Baltimore later this year for another training course with the union. I'm primary caretaker of the kids, and he knows how much they can drive me crazy even at the best of times. The kids are not happy with my solo trips, but they know that I'll bring them back some special gifts from the parks. They may not like it, but they accept it, as they've got no choice in the matter where I choose to spend my time away from them. They usually put in their requests in what they want me to bring back, and for most part I honor their requests. I tend to pack very light when traveling, but the meds I go all out on, as you never know if someone is going to get sick, as it's easier to have everything on hand than attempting to find what you need at your destination. Even with that trip we had to get some good decongestants for his ears, as they were so inflamed he couldn't go swimming. Found something holistic that cleared up the ears in less than 24 hrs, but that was a nasty bug he had.

 

[redoschi]

What great stories everyone!

My first time was in 1989 when I was 5. As you know I'm from Brazil and it is just a bit harder to get there!

I spoke no English at the time and that trip was what got me hooked on the language and the culture! I returned and started doing English classes with my mom's cousin who is an English teacher.

My father was already a big disney fan. He visited with friends in 74 and went with my Mom in 82 a year after their marriage in a delayed honeymoon (because of work they only took a long weekend off after the marriage) when they did a 40-day trip to the US visiting NYC, WDW, Las Vegas and California (if I remember correctly from what they told me!).

Back to me, since that first trip we returned about once every five-six years, 1994 with my sister and then 2000, with a smaller trip of me and DSis with our grandparents in 98.

In 2000 I was already making most of the planning, but it was in 2007, when we would introduce WDW to both my DGF (DFi now) and my DSis's DBF (DH now), that I discovered the DISBoards and unleashed my commando power and did plan everything for a great vacation!

Now that I have certainly gotten DFi hooked on Disney, I hope we'll be able to afford some more trips down to road!

 

[juliebug1997]

Hi Julie
I'm glad you're going to WDW to celebrate, I pray that WDW will be relaxing & rejuvenating before your surgery and healing to your body after.

Glad to see you back, & hope you are felling well That is a strategy I haven't thought of seeing characters in all 4 parks in one day, but thinking about it , it really sounds like a great plan

Thank you both! I made it through the four hard sessions and am now three deep into twelve "easy" sessions. So far, I feel pretty good, although I did have to be in the hospital with a fever for 36 hours. We caught it early than some do and I've learned so much.

 

[Disney Commando]

A couple things that have been bothering me since I read it on the WDW news & blogs. And will effect most of us

1 - Why is it that starting 3/31 - 8/26 MK will not have EMH on Friday nights, I lost at least 2 hours of touring time, they did bump the closing time on Fri to 11pm in August so it's only a hour, but I'm still losing 2 hrs since they knocked EMH's down to 2 hours, plus in the summer the parks are open later anyway so by the time it hits August who knows what gains and losses of hours this will really effect

2 - Parking Garages in DTD I'm not debating that they need more parking, the question I have is are they going to charge for parking, like most parking garages do, For myself since we always take our car with us to the resort, on DTD days when we do most of our shopping we take the car to DTD, it only makes sense instead of lugging everything we bought on the bus.

I wonder how many people park at DTD catch a bus to a resort and hit the parks to save on parking, I know it happens I see it all the time at Sesame Place in PA

 

[AirGoofy]

A couple things that have been bothering me since I read it on the WDW news & blogs. And will effect most of us

1 - Why is it that starting 3/31 - 8/26 MK will not have EMH on Friday nights, I lost at least 2 hours of touring time, they did bump the closing time on Fri to 11pm in August so it's only a hour, but I'm still losing 2 hrs since they knocked EMH's down to 2 hours, plus in the summer the parks are open later anyway so by the time it hits August who knows what gains and losses of hours this will really effect

2 - Parking Garages in DTD I'm not debating that they need more parking, the question I have is are they going to charge for parking, like most parking garages do, For myself since we always take our car with us to the resort, on DTD days when we do most of our shopping we take the car to DTD, it only makes sense instead of lugging everything we bought on the bus.

I wonder how many people park at DTD catch a bus to a resort and hit the parks to save on parking, I know it happens I see it all the time at Sesame Place in PA

You know they like to play around with the park hours. We can make ADRs in a couple weeks and I'm hoping they will be accurate enough to predict the MNSSHP so I can get BoG. As for DTD, we used to drive over as well. Now, we just haul the stuff back on the boat or the bus. I imagine a lot of people grab the free parking there. Maybe they will offer FL resident parking passes like APs or free parking for resort guest with their parking sheet.

 

[redoschi]

2 - Parking Garages in DTD I'm not debating that they need more parking, the question I have is are they going to charge for parking, like most parking garages do, For myself since we always take our car with us to the resort, on DTD days when we do most of our shopping we take the car to DTD, it only makes sense instead of lugging everything we bought on the bus.

I don't think Disney will charge for parking at DTD.

Most malls and outlets in the US don't charge for parking (unlike in Brazil where almost all of them do! ), even Universal's Citywalk doesn't charge for parking after a certain time to allow people to come eat, drink and shop.

Disney wants people to enjoy DTD even if they don't go to the parks. Of course, there is the problem that, even though there are no direct buses from DTD to the parks, people can get to a hotel and from there to a park. We did this several times last trip instead of using Pop Century as our hub: AK to DTD through Port Orleans, DTD to AK through Saratoga Springs and Epcot to DTD through the Boardwalk.

What they might do is this: charge a smaller parking fee compared to the parks and allow people who parked at the parks to park for free and of course resort guests should be able to park for free at DTD just like they do at the parks.