Final trip to WDW, what to expect?

[DisneyDad3566]

My daughters and I are coming to Disney later this month and this is our 9th (and mostly likely final trip) as they get started with college this year and next. This trip (originally scheduled for Oct 2016) was cancelled when Matthew hit and I re-booked it for this month (May 2017). Who would have guessed we'd have a hurricane interrupt one plan followed by a severe drought on the other...

We're doing a split stay, AKL and PVR. I know there's a lot of construction & maintenance projects and I'm trying to pick routes (I'm renting a car) to miss as much of the road construction as possible (i.e. we're coming in on Western Way to AKL since I don't think there's any major projects in that direction except for the CSR rehab).

My other concern is with how the overall landscape looks on property with it being so dry. If you're there or recently returned, what are your thoughts about the conditions (weather/construction) and should I really lower my expectations on the "wow" and "magic" factors you feel while at WDW...? Thank you!!

 

[Much-Pixie-Dust]

I was there 3 weeks ago and landscaping looked great everywhere. We rent a car too and only place we noticed construction was going to Disney Springs and it was noticeable to see but it didn't back up traffic at all. You may see smoke from a wildfire. I have read a couple of reports about them being in the vacintiy. We were there 10 days and never saw or smelled one or its effects. Have a great trip!!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

I returned home yesterday. There is no major evidence of the drought on property and Epcot is simply stunning with the Flower and Garden Festival. The grounds on the resorts I was at were well manicured and green.

World Drive is under construction as you near the MK tollbooths. This caused only slight delays in travel. If you use the monorail from the Poly to get to MK and Epcot you won't be impacted by it. The other road construction is at Victory Drive/Wide World of Sports. If you arrive at AKL via Western Way you will miss this construction.

Don't worry...there is still plenty of "wow" and "Magic". Have a great vacation!

 

[DisneyDad3566]

I was there 3 weeks ago and landscaping looked great everywhere. We rent a car too and only place we noticed construction was going to Disney Springs and it was noticeable to see but it didn't back up traffic at all. You may see smoke from a wildfire. I have read a couple of reports about them being in the vacintiy. We were there 10 days and never saw or smelled one or its effects. Have a great trip!!!!

Sounds like our trip in 2008 when there were a few wildfires; what we thought was fog in the mornings turned out to be smoke, but it cleared each day after a few hours. Thanks for the heads-up about Disney Springs, it's good to know it's not causing traffic issues!

 

[DisneyDad3566]

I returned home yesterday. There is no major evidence of the drought on property and Epcot is simply stunning with the Flower and Garden Festival. The grounds on the resorts I was at were well manicured and green.

World Drive is under construction as you near the MK tollbooths. This caused only slight delays in travel. If you use the monorail from the Poly to get to MK and Epcot you won't be impacted by it. The other road construction is at Victory Drive/Wide World of Sports. If you arrive at AKL via Western Way you will miss this construction.

Don't worry...there is still plenty of "wow" and "Magic". Have a great vacation!

It's good to know there's still plenty of "eye candy" and that Western Way is a good alternative for coming in. These posts have eased my anxiety..., thanks!!

 

[epcotisbest]

View from our first floor patio at SSR, where everything was nice and green two weeks ago. Of course, the sprinklers came on regularly, but we went resort hopping to several places and everything seemed nice and green. Saw some reports of the drought and wildfires on local news, but did not smell any smoke anywhere except when coming home and there was some smoke smell at the Georgia Welcome Center on I-75 from the Okefenokee fire.

 

[DisneyDad3566]

View from our first floor patio at SSR, where everything was nice and green two weeks ago. Of course, the sprinklers came on regularly, but we went resort hopping to several places and everything seemed nice and green. Saw some reports of the drought and wildfires on local news, but did not smell any smoke anywhere except when coming home and there was some smoke smell at the Georgia Welcome Center on I-75 from the Okefenokee fire.

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Awesome pic, thanks for sharing! I'm officially excited again!!