Aurora
06-13-2011, 03:54 PM
Back from a weeklong trip, driving from Chicago both ways. I'll post a more detailed report, but here is a quick overview:
Four days total driving (two days each way), five days in Orlando. One day at Universal, three days at Disney theme parks. Hope not to drive next time; just takes up too many days.
All parks were very crowded. Wait times were uniformly higher for this time of year than the historical numbers reported by Unofficial Guide.
LOTS AND LOTS of families with mobile small and older school-age children. Even saw VERY small children walking on their own without a stroller. Did not see many large groups -- only a couple Brazilian groups. There were people with strollers and on scooters but fewer than we've encountered in the past. Vast majority of crowds made up of families.
For the first time ever, we avoided parks with extra magic hours in the morning as suggested by Unofficial Guide. Bad idea. Got to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios on two different non-EMH days before official opening and they were mobbed. On next trip will go back to morning EMH days.
Crowds were so large that MK opened at 8 a.m. on Friday without an EMH, but Disney didn't post this on Internet before trip. Was posted on park hours handout at resorts. Because of this, it had the effect of an EMH since not many people knew about it and the parks were nearly empty for that first hour, then the crowds descended.
Disney Marketplace was so crowded on Saturday evening that, according to sister and her family, moving around was difficult. Actually what sis said was "you couldn't move."
Other than crowds, we had a good time. We were prepared to deal with the heat and long days, and we swam at the resort pools nearly every day. Midday breaks were easy because of long open hours at the parks. My 15-year-old DD and I stayed late at MK on Friday night for EMH and pooped out at about 2 a.m. Watched fireworks from top of Bay Lake Tower, which was amazing.
More soon...
Four days total driving (two days each way), five days in Orlando. One day at Universal, three days at Disney theme parks. Hope not to drive next time; just takes up too many days.
All parks were very crowded. Wait times were uniformly higher for this time of year than the historical numbers reported by Unofficial Guide.
LOTS AND LOTS of families with mobile small and older school-age children. Even saw VERY small children walking on their own without a stroller. Did not see many large groups -- only a couple Brazilian groups. There were people with strollers and on scooters but fewer than we've encountered in the past. Vast majority of crowds made up of families.
For the first time ever, we avoided parks with extra magic hours in the morning as suggested by Unofficial Guide. Bad idea. Got to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios on two different non-EMH days before official opening and they were mobbed. On next trip will go back to morning EMH days.
Crowds were so large that MK opened at 8 a.m. on Friday without an EMH, but Disney didn't post this on Internet before trip. Was posted on park hours handout at resorts. Because of this, it had the effect of an EMH since not many people knew about it and the parks were nearly empty for that first hour, then the crowds descended.
Disney Marketplace was so crowded on Saturday evening that, according to sister and her family, moving around was difficult. Actually what sis said was "you couldn't move."
Other than crowds, we had a good time. We were prepared to deal with the heat and long days, and we swam at the resort pools nearly every day. Midday breaks were easy because of long open hours at the parks. My 15-year-old DD and I stayed late at MK on Friday night for EMH and pooped out at about 2 a.m. Watched fireworks from top of Bay Lake Tower, which was amazing.
More soon...