I would advise against going on Veterans Day Weekend. For the record, we were at MK at RD/morning/afternoon and EPCOT on the late day/evening/closing on Saturday, November 10. We were at AK for RD, then HS on Sunday, November 11, and then went to closing of MK that evening.
So, first let me explain. I hate to every use the word expert. In short, whenever you say you are an expert, eventually someone will come along that will make you look like an idiot.
So, what I will say is two years ago we tried to count up how much time I spent in the Orlando area on vacation over my life. We stopped counting once we reach 400 days. That may sound like a lot, but if you figure that I first went to Disney in 1979, averaging a 9 day vacation each year gets you really close to that number. Then when you consider that I have lived in Charlotte for the past 8 years and averaged one week long trip a year, as well as three or four long weekends per year, you get the idea. We have been there at every time of the year, and have had almost every type of accommodations. From DVC to renting a house. Stayed at several different time shares, were concierge level at the Polynesian, and several times at the All Stars. Often I stay off-site at Hilton properties as I am a Diamond member there.
So, when asked by a family member if we could meet them in Disney that weekend, we quickly planned our third trip to Disney since July. No big deal, we left after school on Friday, and drove back home Monday. The kids did not even miss any school.
Having said all of that, this past weekend was the craziest that I have ever seen the parks. Keep in mind, I have been there at Thanksgiving (never did do Christmas week).
From what I can ascertain, this weekend was the perfect storm of the last days of the Food and Wine Festival, Jersey Week, Veterans Day and the filming of the Christmas Specials.
No matter what, we can always find a way to have fun at Disney, and this trip was no exception. However, there were a few things that I saw that were somewhat concerning. Magic Kingdom was packed, almost to a point that I was starting to think it was a safety concern. Back by Peter Pan they had the cast members with the keep right signs. Surprisingly that extended all the way to liberty square. Every ride had a line that approached at least an hour, with the popular ones like the mine train at one point being 150 minutes.
I do not have an issue with alcohol, and I have seen in the past people that have taken the drinking around the world in Epcot a little too literally. However, this trip that seems to have gone up an order of magnitude. As one family member stood on line in Germany for 20 minutes to get a beer, the group of men behind him were yelling and chanting the entire time. Again, think the Brazilian tour group type chants, but on steroids. However, at least they were just having a good, albeit loud, time.
As the crowd levels picked up, I would also say the amount of yelling and cursing also went up. Again, not a prude, and I can talk like a truck driver with the best of them, but I try to watch my language around children. That being said, as more “rides” are added to the countries area of EPCOT, the more children that are there. Again, the entire Norway pavilion has effectively become the Frozen ride. I guess my though was I was missing the old Pleasure Island days. This crowd in that area would have been no issue. However, inside a theme park, I just think it was the wrong place.
But again, this weekend was the busiest I have ever seen, with the exception of Thanksgiving.
I have been concerned about where Disney has been going after the past couple of visits. I attribute a bit to an improved economy, with more people having a few more disposable dollars to do these types of trips. Let’s all be honest, EPCOT is probably one of the most expensive ways to get a buzz on. I guess in part the wine and food festival I thought I would see more people eating food all over, which I think is a great thing. For some reason, in my head I thought we would see a few groups of people on a “Girl’s Getaway”, walking around sipping wine. Obviously, that is not what we saw.
My two younger kids are teenagers, my oldest in her twenties. I am not really worried about them seeing something, we do not keep them living in a bubble. My oldest is actually a paramedic, so we continuously talk as a family about alcohol and drug abuse, the dangers, and what actually happens. Sadly, she sees the effects on a daily basis. So, I am not concerned that my children may see what the effects of too much alcohol will do. I am not afraid that they will hear someone drop the f-bomb, we actually have a joke of was it congregated properly or used as a verb, adverb or adjective.
But, the difference is, we are at Disney. The place that we are supposed to be able to drop our guard a bit. Something about a family friendly environment. If EPCOT is going to become more of an adult park, I don’t have an issue with that. There is a park of me that But I think the extensive amount of drinking does not quite go with the family friendly atmosphere. Years ago I loved going to Rosie O'Gradys, and I loved Pleasure Island. It is too bad both are now gone. I am just not sure that this type of environment can easily co-exist with Arendal, Nemo and Figment.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand that Disney is a company, and a successful one at that. Their main objective is to make money for their stockholders. The Food and Wine Festival brings in a lot of people, especially at a traditionally slower time. By the time it starts most schools in the US are about to if not already started. And it ends just as the Holiday Season is about to start. Disney will do what they can to maximize the amount of money they make, but they have to be careful they do not alienate, and thus lose too many customers (and thus revenue) in the process.
