cinderbellasmom
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2012
Just got back from our family vacation in Disneyland with 16 people and I must honestly say, next time time it will just be the 3 of us. Although fun was had, there was a lot of frustration on my part in the logistics of trying to make sure 16 people had the greatest time. My husband, daughter and myself went in 2012 & 2014 and loved every minute so I looked forward to sharing this trip with family that had both never been or had not been in almost 2 decades. Fall is our favorite time of year as it is my husband's birthday on Halloween and we just genuinely love the parks in the fall.
This trip was so different from the previous 2 and unfortunately, different in a bad way. Because my family counted on my previous trips and meticulous planning I was often looked to for guidance while in the parks. This trip seemed busier crowd wise than in years past. Waits were much longer, crowds were bigger, the Halloween party (although not sold out) was much more crowded than I anticipated. The reason being, I assumed, was the closure of the biggest people movers i.e. the railroad, the Mark Twain and the Columbia. I was also shocked and disappointed at the quiet, total closure of Critter Country with no real prior warning.
Another issue that was new to me was, Disney's guests with disabilities guidelines. My adult brother is severely autistic- loud noises, confined spaces, large crowds and overstimulation can all be tremendously difficult for him to deal with. We tried the first few rides without a pass to see if he would be OK but the situation quickly proved to be difficult for him. Again, because I had recently visited the parks I was brutally honest with my mother about my concerns for my brother telling her the park was in no way like it was back in 1989 which was the last time they visited. I was hoping the pass would at the very least allow him and my mother to bypass lines to afford him the ability to enjoy without a prior meltdown in line. Unfortunately, that's apparently not how the system works. You have to preplan every ride through a CM at a kiosk who says they are your virtual line waiter and give you a window to return- much like a fastpass. But like with fastpass, there is indeed waiting involved. Sure, it might be 20 mins vs 75 mins but when your disability makes it almost unbearable to be in the line, 20 mins is an eternity! What's the point? He still had to do that which we where trying to prevent! And every CM's interpretation of the policy was different.
My other HUGE frustration was the "new" Photopass Plus. I paid $69, just like in 2014 however, this time it no longer came with the Goofy's Kitchen pics! I also could count on one hand how many Photopass Photogs I saw in the parks! I loved the idea that what little I did have I could share on social media but I wanted tons of pics of the whole group and that didn't happen. I kept checking the app to see where photogs where stationed and always came up short.
I don't want to imply that we didn't have fun because we did- watching that first time magic was a wonderful sight to see! The weather was beautiful, the park stayed open later than in previous years, we got plenty of exercise and soaked up the fun & sun!
This trip was so different from the previous 2 and unfortunately, different in a bad way. Because my family counted on my previous trips and meticulous planning I was often looked to for guidance while in the parks. This trip seemed busier crowd wise than in years past. Waits were much longer, crowds were bigger, the Halloween party (although not sold out) was much more crowded than I anticipated. The reason being, I assumed, was the closure of the biggest people movers i.e. the railroad, the Mark Twain and the Columbia. I was also shocked and disappointed at the quiet, total closure of Critter Country with no real prior warning.
Another issue that was new to me was, Disney's guests with disabilities guidelines. My adult brother is severely autistic- loud noises, confined spaces, large crowds and overstimulation can all be tremendously difficult for him to deal with. We tried the first few rides without a pass to see if he would be OK but the situation quickly proved to be difficult for him. Again, because I had recently visited the parks I was brutally honest with my mother about my concerns for my brother telling her the park was in no way like it was back in 1989 which was the last time they visited. I was hoping the pass would at the very least allow him and my mother to bypass lines to afford him the ability to enjoy without a prior meltdown in line. Unfortunately, that's apparently not how the system works. You have to preplan every ride through a CM at a kiosk who says they are your virtual line waiter and give you a window to return- much like a fastpass. But like with fastpass, there is indeed waiting involved. Sure, it might be 20 mins vs 75 mins but when your disability makes it almost unbearable to be in the line, 20 mins is an eternity! What's the point? He still had to do that which we where trying to prevent! And every CM's interpretation of the policy was different.
My other HUGE frustration was the "new" Photopass Plus. I paid $69, just like in 2014 however, this time it no longer came with the Goofy's Kitchen pics! I also could count on one hand how many Photopass Photogs I saw in the parks! I loved the idea that what little I did have I could share on social media but I wanted tons of pics of the whole group and that didn't happen. I kept checking the app to see where photogs where stationed and always came up short.
I don't want to imply that we didn't have fun because we did- watching that first time magic was a wonderful sight to see! The weather was beautiful, the park stayed open later than in previous years, we got plenty of exercise and soaked up the fun & sun!
