drcmk
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2002
My husband and I have been to WDW 8 times (and DL once) in the past 30 years, staying on site 5 times, so we are not Disney novices, but we have never traveled during the winter holidays before. It wasn't my first choice, but the only time my whole party could go to see SWGE. We did everything we wanted to do and had a great time, but there were frustrations and I would not choose to go at this time of year again.
Rides/Attractions: We had FP in the afternoon at AK on our SWGE day, but otherwise FP in the ams. We arrived at rope drop every day and left at park closing (never saw our resort in the daylight until our check-out day). The first hour or two in the mornings in every park was pleasant enough, but by noon all FP of interest were gone and stand by times were long even for rides that usually generate little interest (Tom Sawyer Island?). We lucked out a few times by getting a Multiexperience FP when a ride we had chosen but weren't really interested in (because so few were available) broke down during our window. We often felt in the early afternoons like we had to find ways to kill time until an ADR because there were no attractions to ride with less than an hour to wait. FP lines usually began well before the tap point and even after tapping in were quite a bit longer than we recalled from past visits (20+ minutes).
General Crowds/Atmosphere: There were lots of people, lots of big groups, lots of wheels of every kind. This made walking around very difficult. Disney had to devote literally acres of space in every park to stroller parking. It was hard to see where lines for specific rides/restaurants ended since most were well outside the attraction itself. For example the line for Philharmagic wound all the way to Small World, at about 1:00 pm. Dozens of CMs were employed to hold up signs telling people to stay to the right on walkways and where lines ended. Of course, there were groups of people that tried to dodge in and out of the foot traffic, which is both dangerous and rude. But most people were considerate. In SWGE especially, since I'd never seen it before, I felt like I couldn't get a feel for the park itself because I was surrounded by people.
Food: We had at least one ADR per day. This was a good strategy and worked beautifully for us. We never waited more than five minutes or so to be seated. Friends who were visiting independently at the same time had to wait 30+ minutes to be seated for ADRs (mostly in Disney Springs), so maybe we were just lucky. Table service meals were relaxed and pleasant. Counter service was not. We mobile ordered at Rosie's All American and stood among a huge throng of people waiting for hot dogs for nearly 40 minutes--while people who ordered at the cash registers got their meals in ten or fifteen minutes. I won't use mobile ordering again. Counter service places that have usually been quick and easy for us (Sleepy Hollow) took 40+ minutes to get food. Usually it was the kind of situation where families had to hover around people who were seated, hoping they would get up to vacate a table. Sometimes we ate counter service meals leaning against walls (empty wall space was also difficult to find) because of a lack of tables. World Showcase was the exception. Although the lines looked daunting (and I was about to abandon my plans to eat and drink around the World), they all moved very quickly and we had a lovely time sampling food and drinks from counter service and carts in nearly every country for one long afternoon.
CMs: It was often hard to find one when I had a question or needed help. They were working very hard and all CMs seemed to do a good job. I only ran into one that was outright testy. Most seemed to be gritting their teeth to get through the day, in as polite a way as possible. I felt bad for them. On our first visit with kids, in 2001, I remember what a letdown it was to return to real life because every CM treated us like royalty and the people I interacted with at home did not. I don't need to be treated like royalty, but the interactions with CMs were very different this trip. Utilitarian.
Resort: An oasis, for us. I assume Coronado Springs was full, but it never felt crowded or harried.
Transportation: Bus drivers worked very hard to get as many people on busses as possible and seemed genuinely distraught when they had to leave people behind. We were never on a bus that was not SRO. There were times we waited for 40 minutes for a bus. Monorail was also very full every time we took it, but those seemed to be mostly running regularly.
Rides/Attractions: We had FP in the afternoon at AK on our SWGE day, but otherwise FP in the ams. We arrived at rope drop every day and left at park closing (never saw our resort in the daylight until our check-out day). The first hour or two in the mornings in every park was pleasant enough, but by noon all FP of interest were gone and stand by times were long even for rides that usually generate little interest (Tom Sawyer Island?). We lucked out a few times by getting a Multiexperience FP when a ride we had chosen but weren't really interested in (because so few were available) broke down during our window. We often felt in the early afternoons like we had to find ways to kill time until an ADR because there were no attractions to ride with less than an hour to wait. FP lines usually began well before the tap point and even after tapping in were quite a bit longer than we recalled from past visits (20+ minutes).
General Crowds/Atmosphere: There were lots of people, lots of big groups, lots of wheels of every kind. This made walking around very difficult. Disney had to devote literally acres of space in every park to stroller parking. It was hard to see where lines for specific rides/restaurants ended since most were well outside the attraction itself. For example the line for Philharmagic wound all the way to Small World, at about 1:00 pm. Dozens of CMs were employed to hold up signs telling people to stay to the right on walkways and where lines ended. Of course, there were groups of people that tried to dodge in and out of the foot traffic, which is both dangerous and rude. But most people were considerate. In SWGE especially, since I'd never seen it before, I felt like I couldn't get a feel for the park itself because I was surrounded by people.
Food: We had at least one ADR per day. This was a good strategy and worked beautifully for us. We never waited more than five minutes or so to be seated. Friends who were visiting independently at the same time had to wait 30+ minutes to be seated for ADRs (mostly in Disney Springs), so maybe we were just lucky. Table service meals were relaxed and pleasant. Counter service was not. We mobile ordered at Rosie's All American and stood among a huge throng of people waiting for hot dogs for nearly 40 minutes--while people who ordered at the cash registers got their meals in ten or fifteen minutes. I won't use mobile ordering again. Counter service places that have usually been quick and easy for us (Sleepy Hollow) took 40+ minutes to get food. Usually it was the kind of situation where families had to hover around people who were seated, hoping they would get up to vacate a table. Sometimes we ate counter service meals leaning against walls (empty wall space was also difficult to find) because of a lack of tables. World Showcase was the exception. Although the lines looked daunting (and I was about to abandon my plans to eat and drink around the World), they all moved very quickly and we had a lovely time sampling food and drinks from counter service and carts in nearly every country for one long afternoon.
CMs: It was often hard to find one when I had a question or needed help. They were working very hard and all CMs seemed to do a good job. I only ran into one that was outright testy. Most seemed to be gritting their teeth to get through the day, in as polite a way as possible. I felt bad for them. On our first visit with kids, in 2001, I remember what a letdown it was to return to real life because every CM treated us like royalty and the people I interacted with at home did not. I don't need to be treated like royalty, but the interactions with CMs were very different this trip. Utilitarian.
Resort: An oasis, for us. I assume Coronado Springs was full, but it never felt crowded or harried.
Transportation: Bus drivers worked very hard to get as many people on busses as possible and seemed genuinely distraught when they had to leave people behind. We were never on a bus that was not SRO. There were times we waited for 40 minutes for a bus. Monorail was also very full every time we took it, but those seemed to be mostly running regularly.
