This was an unplanned last minute trip for my wife and I. Our work schedules just opened up on Wednesday May 30 and I spent several hours on Thursday May 31 trying to get reservations. After a couple of calls an opening on property became available along with Air Flights.
Stayed at Saratoga Springs. Absolutely beautiful resort. Only thing that baffeled us at this resort was the checkout at The Artist's Palette food court. It shares the same checkout counters as the store located with it. It is tight and congested area.
Was really impressed with the new attractions "The Living Seas With Nemo and Friends" at Epcot, "Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor" at the Magic Kingdom, and "Finding Nemo - The Musical" at the Animal Kingdom. Each was done well and worth checking out. Was surprised that NO Photography was permitted at Monsters, Inc - Laugh Floor and Finding Nemo - The Musical.
Crowds were definitely up but most lines were shorter than their posted wait times. The longest lines we found were at Splash Mountain (90 Min), Soarin (120 Min) Rock 'n' Roller Caster (70 Min) and Kilimanjaro Safari (90 Min). Think the Safari was extral long because they are only using the left cue as the right que was under rehab.
As for using old FastPasses, we had 4 FastPasses from Expediton Everest from last summer that we didn't get to use because Expedition Everest shutdown that day due to a storm. Asked the CM if I could use them and he informed us that we couldn't. Not a big deal the Standby was listed at 25 minutes and it only took us 20 minutes.
As for the Evening Extra Magic Hours, the crowds seemed large. In fact the Magic Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom were so crowded we decided to leave early rather than fight the crowds.
The highlight of our trip was that we found out a cousin of mine was at WDW with her daughter and two grand daughters the same time as us. We got to meet up and spend some great time together.
A great last minute trip. Got to "Stop and Smell the Roses"
One major positive is the new finger scanners for the Park Tickets and Annual Passes. Definitely a major improvement of the old Bio Metric scanners.
Not sure when the next trip will be, but I hope it is soon.
Joe
Stayed at Saratoga Springs. Absolutely beautiful resort. Only thing that baffeled us at this resort was the checkout at The Artist's Palette food court. It shares the same checkout counters as the store located with it. It is tight and congested area.
Was really impressed with the new attractions "The Living Seas With Nemo and Friends" at Epcot, "Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor" at the Magic Kingdom, and "Finding Nemo - The Musical" at the Animal Kingdom. Each was done well and worth checking out. Was surprised that NO Photography was permitted at Monsters, Inc - Laugh Floor and Finding Nemo - The Musical.
Crowds were definitely up but most lines were shorter than their posted wait times. The longest lines we found were at Splash Mountain (90 Min), Soarin (120 Min) Rock 'n' Roller Caster (70 Min) and Kilimanjaro Safari (90 Min). Think the Safari was extral long because they are only using the left cue as the right que was under rehab.
As for using old FastPasses, we had 4 FastPasses from Expediton Everest from last summer that we didn't get to use because Expedition Everest shutdown that day due to a storm. Asked the CM if I could use them and he informed us that we couldn't. Not a big deal the Standby was listed at 25 minutes and it only took us 20 minutes.
As for the Evening Extra Magic Hours, the crowds seemed large. In fact the Magic Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom were so crowded we decided to leave early rather than fight the crowds.
The highlight of our trip was that we found out a cousin of mine was at WDW with her daughter and two grand daughters the same time as us. We got to meet up and spend some great time together.
A great last minute trip. Got to "Stop and Smell the Roses"
One major positive is the new finger scanners for the Park Tickets and Annual Passes. Definitely a major improvement of the old Bio Metric scanners.
Not sure when the next trip will be, but I hope it is soon.
Joe
