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Last-minute and Low-key March 14-19 Trip Part 3
Parks and Crowds: It was CROWDED! I’ve been in March before, but the crowds have never been like this. There were lots of teen/college spring breakers, some cheer/dance groups, some band groups, lots of international visitors, young families—you name it, they were there! Thankfully, I don’t recall it ever taking us that long to get through security, even when there were crowds, but I also don’t bring a bag into the parks anymore.
It was so crowded that wait times for the big rides were sometimes three hours or longer. This seemed to have a negative impact on FP+ wait times, as well. When the stand-by entrance to Space Mt. was 180 minutes, we waited 25 minutes with a FP!
Rides and attractions that I have rarely or EVER seen waits for had them this trip—People Mover, Carousel of Progress, JIYI, the Disney World RR; rides that usually have short waits sometimes approached an hour—Spaceship Earth, Small World, Living with the Land.
We can usually deal with the huge throngs of people well because we know the parks inside and out. Since it was just the two of us, it was easy to zip around and stay flexible with our plans. It does get tiresome being around so many people after a few days, though. I also noticed this trip that there was A LOT more drinking going on at EC than I’ve ever noticed before. It seemed like everyone we passed had a drink in his or her hands!
The morning that we arrived at EC for EMH was crazy! After we went through security, the line to get into the park was wrapped all the way around the ticket booths. People were cutting in line right and left, mostly because they didn’t know where the end of the line was, and it was being fed into from so many different directions. It seemed extremely disorganized, and they didn’t have enough Magic Band scanners open for the number of people in line.
Between early mornings, late nights, and FP+, we saw and did pretty much everything we wanted. We didn’t get to ride RnRC or TSM more than one time like usual, but at least we got on them both! I will again sing the praises of the single rider line at EE because we were able to ride that multiple times with short waits.
I must say that we encountered incredibly rude people who talked loudly during almost all of the theater shows/movies we went to on this trip. Come on people—you’re not at home and other people are trying to immerse themselves in the experience which is difficult to do when you’re yammering throughout the whole show!
Side story #2: We were in the single rider line on EE one day, and there were two teenage girls in front of us and as we are wont to do when standing close to others for a while, I had been listening to their conversation. One of the girls was obviously very nervous to ride and kept saying things like, “I’m going to hold your hand the whole time!” which I thought was odd since they were definitely going to be split up.
As they got to the front of the line, the one girl was given the signal to get in the queue for one of the back cars as a single rider. When the CM turned her back, the scared friend darted into the ride queue right behind her friend.
As soon as the CM walked over to me to put me in the queue, I told her that the one girl had not gone where directed. I am a rule follower, so I hate when people think that the rules do not apply to them or try to cheat the system. I didn’t get to see what happened, but my DH told me that the CM pulled the girl out of the queue and she ended up not riding. Sorry, not sorry. You should have waited in the stand-by line like all the other people!
I loved all the new offerings we experienced on this trip, namely the Rivers of Light show at AK; the Star Wars fireworks show at DHS; and The Muppets Present…Great Moments in American History. All were delightful, especially the Muppets!
Side Story #3--It never fails that when we are at WDW, we run into someone we know from home. This time, we were in the Living Seas when I heard someone yell our last name. It turned out to be one of our old neighbors who have since moved to Iowa. We had fun visiting with them and went on our separate ways. Until we ran into them at Be Our Guest another day. And then AGAIN before the Lion King show at AK another day. What are the odds?? It truly is a small world!
Side Story #4—During our trip last June, we went to the Hoop Dee Doo, and one of the young men in the show “Jim” was, shall we just say, quite memorable. We got to see him perform again that trip as he is also a member of the Voices of Liberty. The two teenage girls in our group (okay, and me) were quite taken with “Jim” and his lovely voice (and looks).
Now American Adventure is one of my absolute favorite attractions, and I love to hear the Voices of Liberty sing, so, of course, we headed there this trip. Sadly, I knew right away that “Jim” was not with the Voices of Liberty today, but we still very much enjoyed the singing.
Because I really love AA and we had no child complaining about going again, we went back for another show on our last day at EC. Guess who was singing today? That’s right, “Jim.” I told my daughter that if we saw him again, I would ask him what his real name is because we just know him as “Jim” from the Hoop Dee Doo. In addition to the great video we got of him serenading the little girl sitting next to me, I was able to talk to him after the show, and the great mystery was finally revealed—his name is Jordan.
I do wish they would update the final movie clip of AA; sorry, Lance, but you need to go! I can't imagine that with today's software/editing capabilities that this would be very difficult?
Final Thoughts: The MCO airport was an absolute zoo when we flew out on Sunday. The security lines were the longest I’ve ever seen, and by the time we got through, it was almost time to begin boarding our flight! It didn’t help that the family in front of us was apparently completely clueless as to what is acceptable to bring through the line—two full water bottles, full-size bottles of baby lotion, shampoo were all confiscated from them.
All in all, it was a fantastic trip. My DH and I enjoyed the time together, and despite the crowds and un-Florida-like weather, we made the most of it. I’m so thankful that we get to visit WDW. Sorry for the randomness of my report, but thanks for reading.
Mar 2017 ASMU
2016 OKW
2014 BCV
2013 WLV
2012 POFQ/ DCL!!
2009 POFQ; Sept. DL
2007 POFQ; Dec. DL
2004-3X CSR, Pop Century, POFQ/Poly
2002 YC
1999 BW Villa
1996 Dixie Landings
1994 GF
1992 & 93 CBR
1989 GF
1985-89 Lived in CA; many DL trips
1971-1984 CR, Poly, & FW several times
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I know spring break is known for being crowded but everyone seems to be reporting mob scenes worse than Christmas time, what's up with that I wonder. I'm glad you still enjoyed yourselves. Looking forward to reading more.
- Lynn -
INTERCOT Staff: Theme Parks, DVC
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Wow!! The crowds sound incredible!! Glad you were still able to enjoy your time in Disney. Thanks for reporting!!
Linda aka: Faline
INTERCOT Staff: Vacation Planning,Trip Reports and Disney Camping
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If we had gone to wdw when it was that crowded on our first trip I would never have gotten Dh to go back. I am glad in spite of everything you still had a great time. Unfortunately I think manners are going out of style. Please, excuse me, thank you, and your welcome are words that can turn someone's day around. Enjoyed reading your report, thanks for taking the time to post it.
TRACEY
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I need to finish my report but I'm with ya, esp Friday the 17th was one of the busiest days I have ever seen in the parks. We also got to do pretty much what we wanted, but didn't get to do anything twice. I wonder if the guy you are talking about is the same one that I think is pretty darn cute in VoL. He's downright swoonworthy.
Janet, aka JanetMegan
Scrapbooking-There is a fine line between a mental illness and a hobby.
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