trip report good and bad

[Always Dream]

Hi All,

I spent Oct 27 to Nov 1 at the World with my 70 year old mother. It was her first time and my ~5th.

I'll start with what we liked:
1. All Star Movies. Reasonably priced, clean, cheerful, and we got our requested Dalmations.
2. Buses: never waited more than 15 minutes even when we left at park closing.
3. The quick service dining plan. It was A LOT of food. We threw some out at every meal. When possible we got a dessert that was wrapped or a pastry and used it for breakfast in the morning.

What we didn't like:
1. FP plus. Really I hate it. Who wants to schedule months in advance? Please don't tell me that's not necessary b/c if you want full choice of times it is. Even booking that far out we got an inconvenient time for the Seven Dwarfs Train. AND if you're travelling with someone who has never been before you don't know what they're going to like or tolerate.

I also really felt that FP plus created lines. For example, at about 10:30am on Thurs morning we wanted to hit Small World before a FP, and the standby line was 25 minutes. I couldn't believe it, 25 min for small world an hour and a half after park opening on a weekday in October. I also found that Adventureland filled up much more quickly than it used to.

All in all I got on a lot fewer attractions than I used to.

2. My mom's magic band didn't work to get in the park or use our dining credits. We must have had it "fixed" 7 times. Every time it happened they made my mom try it over and over again even though we told them it wasn't working. The procedure at park entrance seems to be to make the guest try about 15 times before summoning help. On our forth day I finally got quite assertive and irritated and walked up and said "this has been a problem our entire trip. Can you please call for help now?" b/c I was so tired of wasting time.

3. Pushy/rude people at fireworks and parades. So many kids on shoulders.

4. The Dwarf Train. I liked what there was of it but it was shockingly short. Honestly just as you start to get into the theme it is over. Not worth a wait in line or a FP.

 

[Suvadoo]

I'm sorry you didn't like FP+, but I agree with you. It's really frustrating that Disney has created lines at rides, like small world, where the waits were usually 10 minutes.
Your mom's magic band malfunction must have been really annoying. I wonder if they would've replaced it if you had asked, and would it have made a difference?

 

[OasterP]

Glad you enjoyed the hotel and the busses! And I agree - I think with the desserts even the QS plan is a lot of food!

Sorry you didn't like FP. That is so crazy about IASW!! We definitely got lucky because thanks to it being next to Peter Pan and my sons "second favorite" next to Peter Pan, we rode it a ridiculous number of times. And luckily we walked right on every time (or I think one time had an actual five minute wait). I definitely wouldn't have wanted to wait 25 minutes for it!

I hope overall you and your mom had a great time!! That's amazing you got to do that. My dad is in high mid (or so) 70's, and I'd love to take him but he could never get around, and not even sure he'd be able to make the trip - such great memories!!

I'm really glad you liked the ASM - I've thought about trying it out some time just for the Toy Story theming for my son. Though we are already set to stay at Pop next Sept, so who knows if he'll still be interested after that.

 

[ORMom2Four]

Yes, I agree about fastpass +. I like linking it to bands, but wish you could do it at the park on the day you want to do the ride like "the olden days"

I think though that the long lines we are seeing is because there is such a large amount of people visiting the World now. Seriously, the crowds are crazy and I have never seen an October so crowded! Did everyone get on and suggest October is the least busy time to go--and now everyone goes during this month? lol

We have also noticed a TON of kids on shoulders, and I don't understand this. It is rude. We have two 4 year olds (twins) and I would never think of putting them on shoulders and blocking the view of everyone behind us!

 

[Suvadoo]

We have also noticed a TON of kids on shoulders, and I don't understand this. It is rude. We have two 4 year olds (twins) and I would never think of putting them on shoulders and blocking the view of everyone behind us!

I try to chalk off the shoulder thing to people being oblivious to the guests around them. I use the same excuse for people suddenly stopping in front of me. Both drive me crazy but if someone puts their child on their shoulders and it blocks my view, I will tell them and usually they move behind me.