So, I’m back after 6 days in Orlando and I thought I’d offer up my experiences and observations as a small way to pay back all the great info I’ve gotten here. I’m not going to bore anyone with too much of the day to day tedium of the trip.
Overall
We were there from Thursday 1/17 and essentially returned Monday 1/21. (over Martin Luther King weekend). The itinerary was Friday: MK, Saturday: Universal, Sunday: Hollywood Studios /AK, and Monday: Epcot.
The crowds were heavier than I expected. If you’re familiar with the Touring Plans site and how they rate them I’d say around 6, possibly 7. But, as context, we only visit in January and the last WDW visit was in 2004. I could be wrong about the relative crowd level.
Use a touring plan. Although we felt a bit rushed early in the morning, we got to ride what we wanted early and then could take it easier the rest of the day.
We stayed off site and rented a townhouse through All Star Vacation Homes. A very nice 3br/3ba house with kitchen and washer/dryer. Highly recommended. With taxes, various fees, and travel insurance we paid $900 for 4 nights. We were less than 5 minutes from World Drive.
Friday: Magic Kingdom
Arrived about 20 minutes prior to rope drop. Went straight to Space Mtn. and walked on. By 11:30 we had done Space Mtn, Buzz, Teacups, Peter Pan, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Small World, Haunted mansion, and Thunder Mtn. We only used a Fastpass for Peter Pan and everything else was walk on. By the time we got round to Jungle Cruise it had a 30 minute wait so we skipped it. We later did COP and TTA. While riding TTA through Space Mtn. the lights we all up and we could see both tracks all the way up (sorry no pics). It had broken down. We returned with a FP around 4:00 and it was closed for the day. The crowds were pretty heavy, for me anyway, and I will avoid MLK weekend in the future.
Saturday: Universal
We went to Universal last year over MLK week end and it was pretty empty then. This year was very busy by comparison. We were able to do most of IoA (got there at opening) with no waits and went over to US. Shrek and Jimmy Neutron had 20-30 minute waits. Mummy was up to 30 minutes. Jaws was 30+ and MIB was about 45. Disaster was up to 50 minutes. Last year the waits were about half of this if not walk-on. IMHO, Spiderman is the best ride in any Disney or Universal park.
Sunday: Hollywood Studios/AK
Got there prior to rope drop and did ToT as walk on and got RnR FP. We eventually made it to Star Tours and once we were all loaded everyone in that ship got Dream Fastpasses for the day. Awesome! We eventually got back to RnR to ride twice with FPs and another ride on ToT. Ate lunch at 50’s Prime Time Café, and no it hadn’t closed yet as scheduled.
We tired to do AK but it was too late to ride anything as FPs were all gone and waits were 50-60 minutes. Learned that park hopping with the intentions of doing E-Ticket rides is a crap shoot at best.
By this time my wife got sick and had to be taken to Celebration Hospital with pneumonia. Spent 2 days there and she’s home and doing fine. FYI, this is a fairly new hospital. It's located on the southern side of Rt. 192 just east of I-4. The "H" hospital signs on Disney property direct you there. My wife, a nurse, gave it a big thumbs up for care and she's pretty picky.
Monday: Epcot
I dropped the kids (16 and 13) off there as we didn’t want them hanging around the hospital. They rode Sourin’ (FP) and Test Track. They had fun and I eventually took them to the airport.
In Conclusion
Up until the visit to the hospital we had a great time. Though, the crowds were at the limit we would want to experience again. I can’t imagine going at peak times. Even using a touring plan and ending up with short waits, I just wouldn’t want to wade through the crowds at peak time. No ride is worth 45+ minutes in line, especially if you’ve done it before.
I realize now that a trip to Disney is like an Everest Expedition. To do it successfully it needs significant planning, a big outlay of dollars, and stamina. When we do it again we will build in days off after every 2 days in the parks. Getting up and going that early takes its toll after a couple days.
When we go to Universal again we will get an Express Pass. This crowd-proofs your visit. We like to do some of the rides multiple times and the lines this time made it difficult.
Park Hopping. I wouldn’t consider Park Hopping at busy times with the intention of actually getting to do what you want at the second park. I think you must plan for one park a day so to get there when it opens. Then Park Hop if you want to see something that’s not high demand at the second park. Otherwise the extra $40+ per ticket is not worth it.
Also, feel free to PM or post any questions. I'll be happy to answer them.
Overall
We were there from Thursday 1/17 and essentially returned Monday 1/21. (over Martin Luther King weekend). The itinerary was Friday: MK, Saturday: Universal, Sunday: Hollywood Studios /AK, and Monday: Epcot.
The crowds were heavier than I expected. If you’re familiar with the Touring Plans site and how they rate them I’d say around 6, possibly 7. But, as context, we only visit in January and the last WDW visit was in 2004. I could be wrong about the relative crowd level.
Use a touring plan. Although we felt a bit rushed early in the morning, we got to ride what we wanted early and then could take it easier the rest of the day.
We stayed off site and rented a townhouse through All Star Vacation Homes. A very nice 3br/3ba house with kitchen and washer/dryer. Highly recommended. With taxes, various fees, and travel insurance we paid $900 for 4 nights. We were less than 5 minutes from World Drive.
Friday: Magic Kingdom
Arrived about 20 minutes prior to rope drop. Went straight to Space Mtn. and walked on. By 11:30 we had done Space Mtn, Buzz, Teacups, Peter Pan, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Small World, Haunted mansion, and Thunder Mtn. We only used a Fastpass for Peter Pan and everything else was walk on. By the time we got round to Jungle Cruise it had a 30 minute wait so we skipped it. We later did COP and TTA. While riding TTA through Space Mtn. the lights we all up and we could see both tracks all the way up (sorry no pics). It had broken down. We returned with a FP around 4:00 and it was closed for the day. The crowds were pretty heavy, for me anyway, and I will avoid MLK weekend in the future.
Saturday: Universal
We went to Universal last year over MLK week end and it was pretty empty then. This year was very busy by comparison. We were able to do most of IoA (got there at opening) with no waits and went over to US. Shrek and Jimmy Neutron had 20-30 minute waits. Mummy was up to 30 minutes. Jaws was 30+ and MIB was about 45. Disaster was up to 50 minutes. Last year the waits were about half of this if not walk-on. IMHO, Spiderman is the best ride in any Disney or Universal park.
Sunday: Hollywood Studios/AK
Got there prior to rope drop and did ToT as walk on and got RnR FP. We eventually made it to Star Tours and once we were all loaded everyone in that ship got Dream Fastpasses for the day. Awesome! We eventually got back to RnR to ride twice with FPs and another ride on ToT. Ate lunch at 50’s Prime Time Café, and no it hadn’t closed yet as scheduled.
We tired to do AK but it was too late to ride anything as FPs were all gone and waits were 50-60 minutes. Learned that park hopping with the intentions of doing E-Ticket rides is a crap shoot at best.
By this time my wife got sick and had to be taken to Celebration Hospital with pneumonia. Spent 2 days there and she’s home and doing fine. FYI, this is a fairly new hospital. It's located on the southern side of Rt. 192 just east of I-4. The "H" hospital signs on Disney property direct you there. My wife, a nurse, gave it a big thumbs up for care and she's pretty picky.
Monday: Epcot
I dropped the kids (16 and 13) off there as we didn’t want them hanging around the hospital. They rode Sourin’ (FP) and Test Track. They had fun and I eventually took them to the airport.
In Conclusion
Up until the visit to the hospital we had a great time. Though, the crowds were at the limit we would want to experience again. I can’t imagine going at peak times. Even using a touring plan and ending up with short waits, I just wouldn’t want to wade through the crowds at peak time. No ride is worth 45+ minutes in line, especially if you’ve done it before.
I realize now that a trip to Disney is like an Everest Expedition. To do it successfully it needs significant planning, a big outlay of dollars, and stamina. When we do it again we will build in days off after every 2 days in the parks. Getting up and going that early takes its toll after a couple days.
When we go to Universal again we will get an Express Pass. This crowd-proofs your visit. We like to do some of the rides multiple times and the lines this time made it difficult.
Park Hopping. I wouldn’t consider Park Hopping at busy times with the intention of actually getting to do what you want at the second park. I think you must plan for one park a day so to get there when it opens. Then Park Hop if you want to see something that’s not high demand at the second park. Otherwise the extra $40+ per ticket is not worth it.
Also, feel free to PM or post any questions. I'll be happy to answer them.
