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- Jul 4, 2007
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I have been going to WDW off and on for 45 years (shortly after it opened). Since there was only the Magic Kingdom and the term "E-Ticket" actually meant something. As a Florida-resident, it's been fairly easy for me to visit. But this was my first trip back in 5 years.
We did EPCOT, Magic Kingdom & Animal Kingdom. I thought that mid-week school day visits would not be terribly crowded. Perhaps by today's Disney standards, it wasn't, but I was amazed by the size of the crowd and the sheer number of strollers. Perhaps it was the Food+Wine Fest at EPCOT, the Veteran's Day holiday or just good weather that drew them out.
In earlier visits, I would have scoffed at the idea that any single park requires two days... not anymore. In light of the crowd, it is more important than ever to book Fast Passes at the earliest opportunity (7AM, 30 days before or 60 days if at a WDW resort) - be sure to sign out and sign back in. After 10AM, most Stand-By lines at the parks became quite long - at least 50 minutes - 210 minutes (3.5 hrs) at Flight of Passage (Pandora). I can't imagine anyone waiting that long.
For table service dining, reservations should be made months earlier. That said, counter service while crowded was still relatively fast, and the food, well, better than Universal (IMHO). You need to be selective at the Food+Wine Fest to get the good stuff, and be prepared to sample some clunkers. I found pre-loading a gift card to be useful.
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas: Quite pricey for what it is, but IMHO, it was a good-spend to do once - free cookies and beverages, fake snow on Main Street, the Castle nicely lit up, a nice parade and really good fireworks - if your into that sort of thing.
IMHO, the crush of humanity notwithstanding, its still possible to have a good time.
.
We did EPCOT, Magic Kingdom & Animal Kingdom. I thought that mid-week school day visits would not be terribly crowded. Perhaps by today's Disney standards, it wasn't, but I was amazed by the size of the crowd and the sheer number of strollers. Perhaps it was the Food+Wine Fest at EPCOT, the Veteran's Day holiday or just good weather that drew them out.
In earlier visits, I would have scoffed at the idea that any single park requires two days... not anymore. In light of the crowd, it is more important than ever to book Fast Passes at the earliest opportunity (7AM, 30 days before or 60 days if at a WDW resort) - be sure to sign out and sign back in. After 10AM, most Stand-By lines at the parks became quite long - at least 50 minutes - 210 minutes (3.5 hrs) at Flight of Passage (Pandora). I can't imagine anyone waiting that long.
For table service dining, reservations should be made months earlier. That said, counter service while crowded was still relatively fast, and the food, well, better than Universal (IMHO). You need to be selective at the Food+Wine Fest to get the good stuff, and be prepared to sample some clunkers. I found pre-loading a gift card to be useful.
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas: Quite pricey for what it is, but IMHO, it was a good-spend to do once - free cookies and beverages, fake snow on Main Street, the Castle nicely lit up, a nice parade and really good fireworks - if your into that sort of thing.
IMHO, the crush of humanity notwithstanding, its still possible to have a good time.
.
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