Just Made it Back!

[Lelandmm]

We were in Kissimmee from Sun Dec 6 through Sat Dec 12.
We got the Military Park Hopper tickets and visited the parks Mon-Fri Dec 7-11.
Mon Dec 7 we hit Magic Kingdom.
Frontierland and Adventureland were pretty slow, but when we made it around to Fantasyland and Tomorrowland it started getting crowded.
Tues Dec 8 was Hollywood Studios, Wed Dec 9 was Animal Kingdom and Epcot, Thurs Dec 10 Epcot and Magic Kingdom, and then Fri Dec 10 was Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.

The #1 thing I learned from this trip is:
MCO is a terribly crowded airport!!! Security there is different than at any other airport I have flown through.
Make sure you get there Very Early.

The #2 thing I learned from this trip is:
AVOID the car rental company Payless. They are scam artists!
They added $350 to the rental fee as a "deposit". They gave us a dirty car, gave us a smaller car than what we had reserved, and tried to charge us for gas even though we were at full.

We stayed at the Wyndham Cypress Palms in Kissimmee. Thumbs WAY UP!!!
Very Nice Staff!!! Very nice accomodations!

The parks were OK. I expected them to be less crowded. But there was some cheering and football thing going on and the place was loaded with middle schoolers.

There were some very lacking areas in the food service arena. But I have contacted Disney to let them know. Hopefully, I get a response.

A very tiring trip, but very good!

[BluewaterBrad]

Thanks for sharing!

[KylesMom]

It was good to hear that you had a great trip. Gauging from other reports, the parks seem more crowded than usual this time of year.

Your observations about MCO are right on - especially when traveling on the weekend. We make sure we're at the airport plenty early to catch our homeward flight on Saturday!

Unfortunately, another member recently posted about the shoddy service from Payless. I'm sorry that happened to you!

Thanks for sharing!

[Lelandmm]

The lines at MCO were pretty darn bad. I've never seen anything close to that except once at MDW.
We always get to the airport very early with my dad, he has a pacemaker and cannot go through the metal detector. So his screening takes FOREVER.

I am writing Payless a LONG letter detailing them on my experience. The car, the bait and switch, the terrible service. With a company like that, I doubt it will go anywhere, but I will try!

I just hope to forwarn others, esp those traveling with children in car seats, to stay away from Payless!!!!
The grandparents in front of us were picking up their grandkids. The were going to try to get 3 car seats on the back seat of a Toyota Yaris!!! Of course, Payless offered to upgrade them, at double the price!!!
What bait and switchers!

I'm glad we have places to trade tips!

I would like to eventually go back a trip with just my Fiance and I, no seniors, no kids and then go back with the neice and nephew.
I'd like to compare and see how the 3 go.

[faline]

Despite the glitches, you had a very ncie trip!

I was there for part of the same time and found the crowds manageable but higher than in other December time frames. Of course, the free dining may have had something to do with that!

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the Report!

[milhouse]

Hey - I was at the same parks on the same days. You might have seen me, I was the one yelling at my kids. I found the crowds during the week pretty manageable. We went back to the MK for dinner on Sat Dec 12th and it was a zoo compared to the weekdays. I think it had a lot to do with the late hours that night. We went to the MVMCP on Friday night and were surprised at the large crowds. We decided it would have been better to go on Tues or Thurs.

We had a real good experience with National rent a car. The drop off is right outside the TTC parking lot with a shuttle back to your hotel. Drop off took me 15 minutes. Just great.

[Lelandmm]

I guess the reason I thought the crowds were bad, as I had read in several places that this week was one of the least crowded. So we get there and its packed. I can't imagine going there in the summer!
We have the passes to other parks, and since we are local, if the crowds get too bad, we just go home. I'm not standing in line for something I've already been on 1,000 times, and I live 30 minutes from!

One thing I did notice was alot of "just walking around people".
When we got in lines for rides, they typically weren't bad. Some rides there wasn't even a need for the FP. The regular line was just as short!
But yet, there were mobs of people everywhere. Trying to get from ride to ride was a nightmare. But when we got there, all those people were not there.
The shows of course were always full or close to it anyways.

My next trip will probably be just my fiance and I. Or maybe it will be the big family trip with my sis and her family and our dad.
With the kids being school age, I am super afraid of when we will be able to go!