Thoughts/Observations about Visit

We just got back from WDW on Saturday and I thought it would be nice for those of us who have visited recently (last couple of weeks) to provide others our thoughts and observations about the latest things in the parks. So here we go.

General Thoughts/Observations:
(1) I thought that moving Transportation to the Resorts would improve the operation of the buses. Perhaps I am being too premature, but I find the same issues still exist:

• Too many/too few buses to the parks/DTD from resorts. It was either feast or famine - no buses for over 30 minutes, they all showed up at once, or 3 buses in a row for a park, but a long wait for the park we wanted to go to.
• Can someone PLEASE teach the drivers how to drive? Nothing more maddening than to be on a bus that is going 25 mph in a 45 mph zone or the bus driver constantly accelerating and deaccelerating in little traffic. I expect a bumpy ride on KS in DAK, but not on the bus going to the park.
• Was worried that taking a bus to DTD would be a nightmare, but Friday PM (before 6:30) the traffic wasn't bad at all. Our plan to take the boat from Port Orleans to avoid the traffic nightmare caused us once again to run the 100 yard dash to make our dining reservation on time (we allotted 1 hour) earlier in the week.
• If I repeat a previous thread, I apologize in advance. There is only one boat landing in DTD at Pleasure Island - directions are written on the wall surrounding Paradisio and are hard to read in the dark.

(2) FastPass+ is awesome for planning our day. Since we are on vacation, it is nice to be able to get FP for the rides we want in each park and not have to get up at the crack of dawn. I repeat, we are on vacation, i.e., want to sleep in. I had no problems with MB either and received notification when Splash Mountain wasn't working (again) during our FP time. Sad to see that the changes to FP+ start tomorrow, but will be in place for our May trip.

Now to each park:
Magic Kingdom. Get a FP+ for the Festival of Fantasy parade. The FP viewing area is right in front of the Castle (facing it, so the sun is to your back). There were few FP holders and they let us in early, so I got a spot right in front of the Castle to take some amazing video, especially of Maleficent. If you've not seen the new parade, sorry, this is going to be a spoiler. She breathes fire right in front of the Castle which made for an awesome shot. Glad that the water is back in the moat and the repainted Castle is nice. Unfortunately, the wall around the renovations for the hub block what I consider prime viewing for Wishes - right outside Crystal Palace.

Animal Kingdom. Rode one of the new trucks and it was still rather bumpy - made for some interesting video. Also did the Backstage Safari tour and if you've not done it, you should. Our group guide confirmed the nighttime Safari ride and said they were working on the details. Maybe I will finally see the cheetahs and lions - both no shows each time we rode KS last week.

Nothing new for either DHS or EPCOT. Other than Soarin' is really getting old. Since this is FLORIDA, why not one more relevant to WDW than DL?

And finally, Disney, if you are listening, your app is still glitchy in both the resort and the parks and I have better wifi at home. So hire some really GOOD techies and get it fixed, especially since you market the hell out of it (and if I get ONE more e-mail about signing up for MDE, I will puke).

So how did your most recent visit go?

 

[FlaggNL]

Great thoughts and observations! We will tell you ours later this year but you had a great trip??

 

[KingdomofDreams]

Thanks for posting. It's fun to occasionally read a trip report, but with all the current changes and construction at the World, it's great to get current updates on how things worked, what the areas looked like, how it's impacting guests, and get some potentially helpful hints/ideas.

We're going mid-summer and this will be our first experience with FP+ and MDE apps etc., not to mention dealing with (what seems to be) such wide-spread construction. I already know we'll avoid DTD this trip. We've never spent much time there, so it won't really affect our overall experience. We'll just wait till it's completed in what... 2016?... to check out the completed area.

 

[LAKid53]

Great thoughts and observations! We will tell you ours later this year but you had a great trip??

I always have a great time, in spite of the seemingly on-going construction, transportation delays, etc. Disney always brings out the excited little kid in me, much to my daughter's embarrassment at times.

 

[LAKid53]

Thanks for posting. It's fun to occasionally read a trip report, but with all the current changes and construction at the World, it's great to get current updates on how things worked, what the areas looked like, how it's impacting guests, and get some potentially helpful hints/ideas.

We're going mid-summer and this will be our first experience with FP+ and MDE apps etc., not to mention dealing with (what seems to be) such wide-spread construction. I already know we'll avoid DTD this trip. We've never spent much time there, so it won't really affect our overall experience. We'll just wait till it's completed in what... 2016?... to check out the completed area.

In spite of what others on this site have said about FP+ (and I too was a naysayer), we've had no issues. And you get an alert if due to ride problems, your FP is delayed - and Disney allows you to go anytime outside your window in that instance. The ability to truly plan your day (sleeping in in our case) and still get on the popular rides is a great advantage. And now that you can do more than 3 AND park hop makes my AP an advantage again (besides the discounts and free parking). I will warn you that the MDE app can be slow and glitchy. Sometimes it works on the bus, in the park, sometimes not. The wifi in the resorts isn't the fastest (why Disney?) either. I got tired of the "we are having problems accessing the data" error message of the app, so I just put our FP+ times and dining reservations in the calendar on my phone, with notifications. Sure made it easier this trip.

Enjoy your trip and make sure you bring plenty of sunscreen. I forgot and felt the skin on my neck getting nice and crisp while filming the FoF parade. Why anyone goes to WDW in August I will never understand.....that was our first trip and last one during that time of the year. You'd think I'd know better - I've lived in Florida for decades.

 

[Gig 'Em Mickey]

I haven't been around the boards in a couple years since my last trip. We are heading back in December. What do you mean by transportation being moved to the resorts?

 

[LAKid53]

I haven't been around the boards in a couple years since my last trip. We are heading back in December. What do you mean by transportation being moved to the resorts?

There was a report that to make Disney transportation (the buses) more efficient, operation would move under the Resorts. I quite frankly haven't noticed any improvement.

 

[Gig 'Em Mickey]

Thanks. Our last couple trips we haven't had any trouble with the buses at all. They seemed to run very efficiently for us. Of course we were only going between the parks and pop century, but they worked for us while staying there.

 

[FlaggNL]

I always have a great time, in spite of the seemingly on-going construction, transportation delays, etc. Disney always brings out the excited little kid in me, much to my daughter's embarrassment at times.

You think exactly the same as we do! Going to DLP a couple of times a year brings back the teenager inside us and the thought of being in WDW next October brings back that feeling even more and more..... And I guess Sacha (17) can be embarressed some times as well