heather913
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2016
We got back yesterday from our first Disney World trip!!! I am not sure I'll have time for a full trip report, but these boards were SO helpful when I was planning & I wanted to share a few things I learned.
Early Morning Magic - Such a great experience! There were NO lines even though the event was sold out. The food was delicious. We were not rushed and we all really enjoyed this experience. It was worth the upcharge.
2 things I didn't realize.
1) You aren't let into the park until 7:45 (actually, it was closer to 7:50 for us). I thought we would be let in a little sooner to get back to Fantasyland a little closer to 7:45 than 8, which is when we got back there. 2) I am not sure if this is new, but the food was not available until 9. We didn't plan to eat until 9:45, but my dad had planned to run in & grab some coffee earlier. I read previous reports of people eating before 9, so this may be a new change, or it may have just been this day.
Getting to Epcot for a PPO breakfast was a nightmare. Nobody seemed to know what was going on. The concierge at BLT & the bus drivers were telling us the Epcot monorail didn't start until 8, but in actuality it was going at 7:20. Next time we will just plan to take an Uber & not deal with the monorail that early.
I used Touring Plans to make a plan, and their times were incredibly ambitious. I made the plan so we could cut things out as we went and I am glad I did. There was no way to get all of the things done that it said we could get done, even with setting the walking pace at its slowest. I also greatly underestimated the amount of time it takes to walk through the crowds. The parks were SUPER crowded, but we had a great touring plan with lots of flexibility built in & we were able to get in everything we really wanted to do.
Rides go down. A lot. Frozen & Test Track were both down during our Fast Pass windows for them. I planned Frozen for our second day and it ended up coming up before we left the park so we were able to ride. Test Track we did on our last day and it was stressful hoping it would come back up. It did come up, but it required us to take another trip back to Epcot in the evening when I would have rather been at the pool. When we go again, I'll make sure to plan our "must-do" rides early in the week.
I am glad we purchased the Memory Maker. Worth every penny. we have tons of great shots.
I'll add more as I can remember. I am still recovering from vacation mode!
Early Morning Magic - Such a great experience! There were NO lines even though the event was sold out. The food was delicious. We were not rushed and we all really enjoyed this experience. It was worth the upcharge.
2 things I didn't realize.
1) You aren't let into the park until 7:45 (actually, it was closer to 7:50 for us). I thought we would be let in a little sooner to get back to Fantasyland a little closer to 7:45 than 8, which is when we got back there. 2) I am not sure if this is new, but the food was not available until 9. We didn't plan to eat until 9:45, but my dad had planned to run in & grab some coffee earlier. I read previous reports of people eating before 9, so this may be a new change, or it may have just been this day.
Getting to Epcot for a PPO breakfast was a nightmare. Nobody seemed to know what was going on. The concierge at BLT & the bus drivers were telling us the Epcot monorail didn't start until 8, but in actuality it was going at 7:20. Next time we will just plan to take an Uber & not deal with the monorail that early.
I used Touring Plans to make a plan, and their times were incredibly ambitious. I made the plan so we could cut things out as we went and I am glad I did. There was no way to get all of the things done that it said we could get done, even with setting the walking pace at its slowest. I also greatly underestimated the amount of time it takes to walk through the crowds. The parks were SUPER crowded, but we had a great touring plan with lots of flexibility built in & we were able to get in everything we really wanted to do.
Rides go down. A lot. Frozen & Test Track were both down during our Fast Pass windows for them. I planned Frozen for our second day and it ended up coming up before we left the park so we were able to ride. Test Track we did on our last day and it was stressful hoping it would come back up. It did come up, but it required us to take another trip back to Epcot in the evening when I would have rather been at the pool. When we go again, I'll make sure to plan our "must-do" rides early in the week.
I am glad we purchased the Memory Maker. Worth every penny. we have tons of great shots.
I'll add more as I can remember. I am still recovering from vacation mode!
