WDWFRK
03-25-2009, 07:08 PM
The Holy-Cow-Was-It-Crowded! Trip Report
Who: Me 37
DH 38
When: Saturday March 14- Friday March 20
Where: Port Orleans French Quarter,
Building 6, Room 6221
DH and I haven’t taken a trip with just the two of us for a long time, so we decided to leave the kiddo at home this time and make it an adults only trip. Because of bafflingly-high airfares, vouchers, and frequent flyer tickets, we ended up on different flights to Orlando very early on Saturday morning. It all worked out really well as we arrived within ten minutes of each other.
When I went down to the Magical Express counter, it was teeming with people; in fact, the entire queue was full! That should’ve been my first clue as to how busy the week would end up being, but, hey, the weather was gorgeous and I was on my way to Disney World for the first time since January 2007. (Okay, there was a trip to Disneyland in between, but that doesn’t count ;)!)
Since it was Spring Break time, I did figure that the crowds would be a little heavier than we’ve become accustomed to, but in no way did I expect this many people! Disney’s buy 4 get 3 free plan really seems to have worked. It was crowded all week long with wait times at the most popular rides at 90-120 minutes and Fastpasses gone for the day by early afternoon. One night, the Magic Kingdom was open until 2:00a and it was still crowded when we left around midnight!
This threw a wrench into some of my plans, but we worked around them by avoiding EM hours, park hopping more than I had intended, and escaping to the wide open spaces of Epcot which just never seems to be as crowded as all the other parks. As far as I’m concerned, let people keep thinking that there’s nothing to do at Epcot!:secret:
I did not keep my usual meticulous, ride-by-ride notes this time, so I really just wanted to offer up some random observations about our trip, which we thoroughly enjoyed despite the masses of people.
•Magical Express rocks! This is such a convenient service, and everything worked exactly as it was supposed to. We also had a nice surprise because we were not charged any baggage fees for our return flight since we were on United. I’m not sure if that goes for all other airlines or not.
•Even though we could usually only get our hands on one or two Fastpasses a day, I still think it is an absolutely ingenious system. There is nothing better than breezing past all the poor schleps waiting in a 90-minute standby line! Each morning we would decide which E-ticket ride we really wanted to experience and would get a FP for that one, so over the week we were able to get on everything at least once, except ToT (which was fine with me). I actually waited in FP lines at Toy Story Mania and EE for almost 10 minutes!!! We like to take breaks in the afternoons, so by the time we got back to the park in the evening, there were no FPs left. Soarin’, Toy Story Mania, and EE seemed to be the hottest dashes in the morning. DH even witnessed two women get in an argument about who was in front of whom in the FP line at Soarin’!
•On that same note, whoever came up with the idea for a single rider line also deserves some high praises! Expedition Everest and Test Track have really efficient single rider lines; RRC, not so much. Be forewarned, however, as the single rider line at EE did not open as soon as the ride opened, and I still don’t understand why. Staffing maybe? That threw my brilliant plan for the morning off a bit, but we just went and rode Dinosaur and by the time we came back, it was open and we rode EE twice in 30 minutes.
•We could not have had more perfect weather! It was about 80 degrees every day with just a few late afternoon clouds that kept it from getting too hot. I do always like to keep a light jacket with me all the time since they keep the restaurants and theaters pretty cool. (I appreciate our good weather even more since we had a blizzard come through town yesterday and today is a snow day! )
•We thoroughly enjoyed all of our dining experiences—both sit down and quick service. We had lunch at Le Cellier, the Brown Derby, and the Plaza Restaurant (a first for us). We had dinner at Narcoosee’s and although the same bottle of wine that I buy at my local grocery store for $13 cost $55, it was a really nice meal. We never felt rushed or like we were being herded in and out of the restaurants like we have in the past, so kudos to our servers.
•We have always had great experiences at POFQ in the past, but I have to say that I was really disappointed in the mousekeeping/state of our room this time. I’m usually not too particular but there were a few things that even I took notice of. Upon our arrival, we had a half-empty bottle of shampoo waiting for us and there was a ring of scum around our bathtub which remained all week. They also kept removing bottles of shampoo from the bathtub that we were still using! The beds were barely made each day and two bags of mousekeeping trash sat outside on our balcony for two days. There were some damp spots on the carpet as well. I was also more aware of noise from other rooms this time and was awakened each night by toilets flushing. I really like the size and design of POFQ, but it might be time to try out another resort on our next trip.
•New rides/refurbs: Toy Story Mania was really fun and a nice addition to DHS. I loved the changes to the Haunted Mansion. We used to really enjoy the ride in Mexico, but I thought the changes were really lame. I like the updates in Spaceship Earth because the story seems more cohesive now and the interactive screen is fun. However, I really miss the old ride soundtrack, especially during the Renaissance scenes! Thank goodness for Live365 Disney stations! I don’t remember there being updates to the movie at the end of American Adventure, but there are now scenes from 9/11 and more recent history. BTW, everyone should always try to catch a performance by the Voices of Liberty; they always bring me to tears. The Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor was cute, but not what I would call a must-see.
And one final note…
Always the worrier, I couldn’t help but think about the people who were maybe visiting Disney World for the first time when it was so very crowded. I want everyone to enjoy themselves and love Disney as much as I do! It’s easy to let those crowds and waits put a damper on your fun, and tempers seem to flare much more quickly in those situations. I can’t stress enough how important it is to know the layout of the parks and what attractions you want to see before you show up at the gates! Having some idea of where you’re going can save so much time.
Thanks for reading and please let me know if you have any questions! :mickey:
Who: Me 37
DH 38
When: Saturday March 14- Friday March 20
Where: Port Orleans French Quarter,
Building 6, Room 6221
DH and I haven’t taken a trip with just the two of us for a long time, so we decided to leave the kiddo at home this time and make it an adults only trip. Because of bafflingly-high airfares, vouchers, and frequent flyer tickets, we ended up on different flights to Orlando very early on Saturday morning. It all worked out really well as we arrived within ten minutes of each other.
When I went down to the Magical Express counter, it was teeming with people; in fact, the entire queue was full! That should’ve been my first clue as to how busy the week would end up being, but, hey, the weather was gorgeous and I was on my way to Disney World for the first time since January 2007. (Okay, there was a trip to Disneyland in between, but that doesn’t count ;)!)
Since it was Spring Break time, I did figure that the crowds would be a little heavier than we’ve become accustomed to, but in no way did I expect this many people! Disney’s buy 4 get 3 free plan really seems to have worked. It was crowded all week long with wait times at the most popular rides at 90-120 minutes and Fastpasses gone for the day by early afternoon. One night, the Magic Kingdom was open until 2:00a and it was still crowded when we left around midnight!
This threw a wrench into some of my plans, but we worked around them by avoiding EM hours, park hopping more than I had intended, and escaping to the wide open spaces of Epcot which just never seems to be as crowded as all the other parks. As far as I’m concerned, let people keep thinking that there’s nothing to do at Epcot!:secret:
I did not keep my usual meticulous, ride-by-ride notes this time, so I really just wanted to offer up some random observations about our trip, which we thoroughly enjoyed despite the masses of people.
•Magical Express rocks! This is such a convenient service, and everything worked exactly as it was supposed to. We also had a nice surprise because we were not charged any baggage fees for our return flight since we were on United. I’m not sure if that goes for all other airlines or not.
•Even though we could usually only get our hands on one or two Fastpasses a day, I still think it is an absolutely ingenious system. There is nothing better than breezing past all the poor schleps waiting in a 90-minute standby line! Each morning we would decide which E-ticket ride we really wanted to experience and would get a FP for that one, so over the week we were able to get on everything at least once, except ToT (which was fine with me). I actually waited in FP lines at Toy Story Mania and EE for almost 10 minutes!!! We like to take breaks in the afternoons, so by the time we got back to the park in the evening, there were no FPs left. Soarin’, Toy Story Mania, and EE seemed to be the hottest dashes in the morning. DH even witnessed two women get in an argument about who was in front of whom in the FP line at Soarin’!
•On that same note, whoever came up with the idea for a single rider line also deserves some high praises! Expedition Everest and Test Track have really efficient single rider lines; RRC, not so much. Be forewarned, however, as the single rider line at EE did not open as soon as the ride opened, and I still don’t understand why. Staffing maybe? That threw my brilliant plan for the morning off a bit, but we just went and rode Dinosaur and by the time we came back, it was open and we rode EE twice in 30 minutes.
•We could not have had more perfect weather! It was about 80 degrees every day with just a few late afternoon clouds that kept it from getting too hot. I do always like to keep a light jacket with me all the time since they keep the restaurants and theaters pretty cool. (I appreciate our good weather even more since we had a blizzard come through town yesterday and today is a snow day! )
•We thoroughly enjoyed all of our dining experiences—both sit down and quick service. We had lunch at Le Cellier, the Brown Derby, and the Plaza Restaurant (a first for us). We had dinner at Narcoosee’s and although the same bottle of wine that I buy at my local grocery store for $13 cost $55, it was a really nice meal. We never felt rushed or like we were being herded in and out of the restaurants like we have in the past, so kudos to our servers.
•We have always had great experiences at POFQ in the past, but I have to say that I was really disappointed in the mousekeeping/state of our room this time. I’m usually not too particular but there were a few things that even I took notice of. Upon our arrival, we had a half-empty bottle of shampoo waiting for us and there was a ring of scum around our bathtub which remained all week. They also kept removing bottles of shampoo from the bathtub that we were still using! The beds were barely made each day and two bags of mousekeeping trash sat outside on our balcony for two days. There were some damp spots on the carpet as well. I was also more aware of noise from other rooms this time and was awakened each night by toilets flushing. I really like the size and design of POFQ, but it might be time to try out another resort on our next trip.
•New rides/refurbs: Toy Story Mania was really fun and a nice addition to DHS. I loved the changes to the Haunted Mansion. We used to really enjoy the ride in Mexico, but I thought the changes were really lame. I like the updates in Spaceship Earth because the story seems more cohesive now and the interactive screen is fun. However, I really miss the old ride soundtrack, especially during the Renaissance scenes! Thank goodness for Live365 Disney stations! I don’t remember there being updates to the movie at the end of American Adventure, but there are now scenes from 9/11 and more recent history. BTW, everyone should always try to catch a performance by the Voices of Liberty; they always bring me to tears. The Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor was cute, but not what I would call a must-see.
And one final note…
Always the worrier, I couldn’t help but think about the people who were maybe visiting Disney World for the first time when it was so very crowded. I want everyone to enjoy themselves and love Disney as much as I do! It’s easy to let those crowds and waits put a damper on your fun, and tempers seem to flare much more quickly in those situations. I can’t stress enough how important it is to know the layout of the parks and what attractions you want to see before you show up at the gates! Having some idea of where you’re going can save so much time.
Thanks for reading and please let me know if you have any questions! :mickey: