Just back -- 1/26 - 2/4

[bladiator]

Welp, another successful trip to the World is in the books. This was my family's 2nd since getting our APs (the first trip was Nov/Dec). My thoughts:

• We traveled with our cousin and his wife and baby. I had a lot typed here but deleted it because it was non-pertinent information. Suffice to say, I learned that I need to go to Disney World with people that share my WDW vacation mindset. I don't know how to get to that point without actually trying a trip with someone, but I'll be more careful in the future (and I told my wife that perhaps we just would travel alone from now on).
• Crowds just make no sense. I have never seen crowds like this in Jan/Feb. TP showed 2s and 3s through the middle of the week, and each day it came back and said that it was a 6 or 7 after the day was over. I even saw TP show that there was a 10 crowd on the last Saturday at AK (predicted as a 7).
• FPs were still essentially available as long as you are willing to spend some time doing the refresh on your phone. I rode everything I wanted (almost as much as I wanted). Spent a mid-week day at HS and rode RnR, TSMM, and TOT 3 times a piece, and could have done more had we wanted to. Babies made it a little more difficult due to sleeping and/or rider swapping. Even the few FPs I booked ahead of time, I just ended up moving earlier as soon as some came available (and they always did).
• Changes to Star Wars fireworks since our last trip in September of 2016: Thumbs down. Less fireworks, and what happened to the lasers shooting out over the crowd? I kept looking down from the fireworks when I'd see something new appear on the screen in my peripheral vision, only to be like "oh, it's just a still shot of some random character". Definitely a letdown compared to its original version.
• HEA is growing on me. The grassy spot in front of Casey's Corner is amazing. Even someone with bad eyes like me can appreciate what is happening on the projections from there. I still like Illuminations the best, but it's starting to definitely show that nostalgia is a big part of that.
• As much as I like FOP, I have to say that I still think Soarin' is my favorite. My cousin and his wife felt the same way. And none of us had to wait in a 3 hour line to do FOP, so that wasn't the issue. There's just something calming about Soarin' (at least, that was their perspective being first timers). For me, there is obviously a feeling of nostalgia here as well. Even if it has the leaning tower of Paris.
• Although I didn't see it on the website before going, all Joffrey's locations are still 20% off with an AP. That was a beautiful discovery.
• The EPCOT Festival of the Arts: Meh. The food kiosks didn't really excite me, and although the art was interesting, I wasn't going to buy any of it. It definitely is not the draw that a F&W festival is.
• Ate at Tokyo Dining for the first time. My wife and I had a plate of food at Morocco so we shared a plate here. So $30 later, we shared a small sad chicken breast with some sad sauce on it, 2 short pieces of asparagus and 3 little different colored cauliflower heads. I've felt the pain of Disney World pricing before but this was the most glaring event I've ever witnessed. I've never seen that much clean white plate when paying $30 before.
• People are amazingly sweet to little children at WDW. I think everyone is just in a better mood and expect to see kids there. Our baby gets more attention from well meaning strangers there than we could have ever imagined. It's very heart warming.
• Got to ride Splash the day it opened (2/2). Grabbed some FPs (the same day as usual) and I couldn't believe the stand-by line as we walked past it. I have never seen that many people standing in line for anything. Probably because the other long ride queues are all inside separate from the FP line. The whole outside waiting area was full.
• Pandora at night is pretty cool. I wouldn't take a trip there specifically for that, but because an FP brought us down there near closing time, it was a nice distraction while we waited with babies.
• Saw my first super freak-out at WDW. Was in the room with the dresser at Enchanted Tales and one kid was like ... MADE to be the beast. I mean, he had a #BEAST T-Shirt and everything. Probably about a 10-11 year old boy. When they did the roar part, he was obviously waiting for this moment his entire life and had easily the best roar ever. The CM picked a timid little girl to play beast and gave this kid Maurice's part. He sat down with his little "prison bars" prop, but eventually (about a minute later) he stood up and threw it at the wall behind him (where I was -- I was a suit of armor ... ALWAYS), and then sat down in front of his mom. And THEN -- wow. He started screaming. Like, REALLY REALLY SCREAMING. Eventually the girl that was the beast didn't want to be beast anymore, and the CM gave it to this kid. I know the kid was in the wrong .. I mean, I am a huge proponent of well-developed kids and being able to accept not getting everything you want and everyone was SUPER embarrassed in that entire room, but -- I put 20% of this on the CM that didn't make the obvious right choice. I mean, come on... #BEAST dude.
• After the Beast incident, any temper tantrum we witnessed, we looked at each other and said "#BEAST"
• Near the end of the park day, I got an FP for FOP and in our group of 16 spots there were FOUR not being used! I understand if there is a single spot open and you don't have a single rider, but two of them were spots number 1 and 2!!! HOW DO YOU NOT USE THE FIRST TWO SPOTS???? When I watch the CMs at the point where they are directing riders into the first video chamber, they're tip tappity tapping on their little iPad as if they're doing advanced calculus and sending 2 people into the room every ... 30 seconds maybe? I think that the CM at the front of the RnR line needs to give them all a master class on ride efficiency. Above all: don't let the guy that's been waiting in a 2 hour line hear about the empty spots.

 

[heidijanesmith]

Thank you for your review!

 

[hllb]

Welp, another successful trip to the World is in the books. This was my family's 2nd since getting our APs (the first trip was Nov/Dec). My thoughts:

• We traveled with our cousin and his wife and baby. I had a lot typed here but deleted it because it was non-pertinent information. Suffice to say, I learned that I need to go to Disney World with people that share my WDW vacation mindset. I don't know how to get to that point without actually trying a trip with someone, but I'll be more careful in the future (and I told my wife that perhaps we just would travel alone from now on).
• Crowds just make no sense. I have never seen crowds like this in Jan/Feb. TP showed 2s and 3s through the middle of the week, and each day it came back and said that it was a 6 or 7 after the day was over. I even saw TP show that there was a 10 crowd on the last Saturday at AK (predicted as a 7).
• FPs were still essentially available as long as you are willing to spend some time doing the refresh on your phone. I rode everything I wanted (almost as much as I wanted). Spent a mid-week day at HS and rode RnR, TSMM, and TOT 3 times a piece, and could have done more had we wanted to. Babies made it a little more difficult due to sleeping and/or rider swapping. Even the few FPs I booked ahead of time, I just ended up moving earlier as soon as some came available (and they always did).
• Changes to Star Wars fireworks since our last trip in September of 2016: Thumbs down. Less fireworks, and what happened to the lasers shooting out over the crowd? I kept looking down from the fireworks when I'd see something new appear on the screen in my peripheral vision, only to be like "oh, it's just a still shot of some random character". Definitely a letdown compared to its original version.
• HEA is growing on me. The grassy spot in front of Casey's Corner is amazing. Even someone with bad eyes like me can appreciate what is happening on the projections from there. I still like Illuminations the best, but it's starting to definitely show that nostalgia is a big part of that.
• As much as I like FOP, I have to say that I still think Soarin' is my favorite. My cousin and his wife felt the same way. And none of us had to wait in a 3 hour line to do FOP, so that wasn't the issue. There's just something calming about Soarin' (at least, that was their perspective being first timers). For me, there is obviously a feeling of nostalgia here as well. Even if it has the leaning tower of Paris.
• Although I didn't see it on the website before going, all Joffrey's locations are still 20% off with an AP. That was a beautiful discovery.
• The EPCOT Festival of the Arts: Meh. The food kiosks didn't really excite me, and although the art was interesting, I wasn't going to buy any of it. It definitely is not the draw that a F&W festival is.
• Ate at Tokyo Dining for the first time. My wife and I had a plate of food at Morocco so we shared a plate here. So $30 later, we shared a small sad chicken breast with some sad sauce on it, 2 short pieces of asparagus and 3 little different colored cauliflower heads. I've felt the pain of Disney World pricing before but this was the most glaring event I've ever witnessed. I've never seen that much clean white plate when paying $30 before.
• People are amazingly sweet to little children at WDW. I think everyone is just in a better mood and expect to see kids there. Our baby gets more attention from well meaning strangers there than we could have ever imagined. It's very heart warming.
• Got to ride Splash the day it opened (2/2). Grabbed some FPs (the same day as usual) and I couldn't believe the stand-by line as we walked past it. I have never seen that many people standing in line for anything. Probably because the other long ride queues are all inside separate from the FP line. The whole outside waiting area was full.
• Pandora at night is pretty cool. I wouldn't take a trip there specifically for that, but because an FP brought us down there near closing time, it was a nice distraction while we waited with babies.
• Saw my first super freak-out at WDW. Was in the room with the dresser at Enchanted Tales and one kid was like ... MADE to be the beast. I mean, he had a #BEAST T-Shirt and everything. Probably about a 10-11 year old boy. When they did the roar part, he was obviously waiting for this moment his entire life and had easily the best roar ever. The CM picked a timid little girl to play beast and gave this kid Maurice's part. He sat down with his little "prison bars" prop, but eventually (about a minute later) he stood up and threw it at the wall behind him (where I was -- I was a suit of armor ... ALWAYS), and then sat down in front of his mom. And THEN -- wow. He started screaming. Like, REALLY REALLY SCREAMING. Eventually the girl that was the beast didn't want to be beast anymore, and the CM gave it to this kid. I know the kid was in the wrong .. I mean, I am a huge proponent of well-developed kids and being able to accept not getting everything you want and everyone was SUPER embarrassed in that entire room, but -- I put 20% of this on the CM that didn't make the obvious right choice. I mean, come on... #BEAST dude.
• After the Beast incident, any temper tantrum we witnessed, we looked at each other and said "#BEAST"
• Near the end of the park day, I got an FP for FOP and in our group of 16 spots there were FOUR not being used! I understand if there is a single spot open and you don't have a single rider, but two of them were spots number 1 and 2!!! HOW DO YOU NOT USE THE FIRST TWO SPOTS???? When I watch the CMs at the point where they are directing riders into the first video chamber, they're tip tappity tapping on their little iPad as if they're doing advanced calculus and sending 2 people into the room every ... 30 seconds maybe? I think that the CM at the front of the RnR line needs to give them all a master class on ride efficiency. Above all: don't let the guy that's been waiting in a 2 hour line hear about the empty spots.

We were not able to get any additional FPs for TSMM, which was a bummer. Really glad I had prearranged that one. On the FoP ride, it's possible there was something wrong with those two seats. That's likely why they had to skip them.

 

[Jen4400]

Crowds just make no sense. I have never seen crowds like this in Jan/Feb. TP showed 2s and 3s through the middle of the week, and each day it came back and said that it was a 6 or 7 after the day was over. I even saw TP show that there was a 10 crowd on the last Saturday at AK (predicted as a 7).

We were also there from 1/26 to 2/4. I have to agree with you on the crowds. It became a game for us to guess and check the predicted/actual crowd levels every morning on TP from the previous day. We were still able to do most of what we wanted and just rolled with the crowds, but I won't be relying on any predictors in the future.

 

[pitpat]

great writeup. when do you suggest grabbing a spot in front of Casey's? 45min-1hr before?

 

[mickeychickie]

Great review - thanks!

 

[bladiator]

great writeup. when do you suggest grabbing a spot in front of Casey's? 45min-1hr before?

We were only there probably 30 minutes prior on a pretty light day, and my wife showed up even right as it was starting and there was plenty of room. I would imagine that on a heavy day that 45 minutes would be acceptable. I don't mind standing on the back fence while most of the people there were lounging on the grass.

 

[bladiator]

We were not able to get any additional FPs for TSMM, which was a bummer. Really glad I had prearranged that one. On the FoP ride, it's possible there was something wrong with those two seats. That's likely why they had to skip them.

Would have never even thought of that as a possibility on the seats. Makes sense!

When looking for TSMM FPs do you try to get one at a time? That's what I ended up doing every time to find any.

 

[Claudia1]

I’m at MCO, waiting to board our flight home and I agree about the crowds. We were were at AK on Saturday and it was like opening-day type crowded. Caught us by surprise.

 

[bladiator]

I’m at MCO, waiting to board our flight home and I agree about the crowds. We were were at AK on Saturday and it was like opening-day type crowded. Caught us by surprise.

Oh man, you had to brave that? What were you able to do that day in that kind of surprise crowd?

 

[hllb]

Would have never even thought of that as a possibility on the seats. Makes sense!

When looking for TSMM FPs do you try to get one at a time? That's what I ended up doing every time to find any.

No, I probably should have tried smaller groups, but with 5 of us, that's uber annoying LOL. We rode Buzz like 4 or 5 times, and TSMM once.

 

[hllb]

I’m at MCO, waiting to board our flight home and I agree about the crowds. We were were at AK on Saturday and it was like opening-day type crowded. Caught us by surprise.

*shudder*....CL 10.....nope......though we were there on CL 7 and 8 days. The CL 7 was our touring day for AK (the other day, we were there for the Wild Africa Trek so park crowds were fairly irrelevant). I was surprised that the CL 7 day felt OK. Walking around was tougher just because the walkways were so crowded, but the wait times weren't bad and we still could easily get FPs (I think we rode Everest 3 or 4 times that day)

 

[samantha3590]

I had a similar situation on FOP except there were 6 spots available!! It made no sense. This was at 230 in the afternoon with a 3+ hour wait

 

[Wubar]

Would have never even thought of that as a possibility on the seats. Makes sense!

When looking for TSMM FPs do you try to get one at a time? That's what I ended up doing every time to find any.

I would venture this is exactly why those numbers weren't being loaded. There was a malfunction with the VR on my wife's bike when we rope dropped FoP, so we had to exit and wait for the next cycle. When we came back about 90 min later to use our FP+, there were 3 empty slots in our "loading chamber".

 

[bladiator]

No, I probably should have tried smaller groups, but with 5 of us, that's uber annoying LOL. We rode Buzz like 4 or 5 times, and TSMM once.

But if you just spend 5 minutes concentrating on those FPs, the dopamine hit when you get them all lined up is SO amazing! =)

On that day when we rode it 3 times, I got FPs for a group of 4 each time. And the wait times that bypassed were 115, 80, and 110. So with the 15-20 minutes I spent finding those FPs, we bypassed over 5 hours of stand-by. That might have more exciting than the actual ride! LOL.

 

[Wubar]

Would have never even thought of that as a possibility on the seats. Makes sense!

When looking for TSMM FPs do you try to get one at a time? That's what I ended up doing every time to find any.

Must really be the luck of the draw and the time of year. We only spent one day at DHS during our January trip, but even after my wife and son rope dropped TSMM (I was off to RnRC and ToT), then we all used a FP for it late morning, we still were able to find 2 additional FPs for it later that day, so we rode it multiple times. Of course, we were only a party of 3, but I didn't have to resort to the "find 1 FP, and then find additional FPs that overlap that first FP time slot" method once.

 

[bladiator]

Must really be the luck of the draw and the time of year. We only spent one day at DHS during our January trip, but even after my wife and son rope dropped TSMM (I was off to RnRC and ToT), then we all used a FP for it late morning, we still were able to find 2 additional FPs for it later that day, so we rode it multiple times. Of course, we were only a party of 3, but I didn't have to resort to the "find 1 FP, and then find additional FPs that overlap that first FP time slot" method once.

I don't usually start with the 1 FP thing, but if I refresh 5-6 times and don't see ANY times come up (no matter how late) then I go directly to 1FP at a time.

 

[Claudia1]

Oh man, you had to brave that? What were you able to do that day in that kind of surprise crowd?

We did our Fastpasses that were made 60 days out. We had FoP so we didn’t try 5o change anything. The FP line at Everest was long, too. It was extremely crowded but it didn’t feel like a 10. 8 or 9 but not a 10. The crowds must have been clustered.