I just returned last Wednesday from a 12 day trip to the World and just thought I would post some of the highlights of the trip as well as comment on some of the issues which have been discussed recently on these boards. First, I would like to say overall it was a great trip. We usually go around this time every year and while it was crowded, I do not think it was nearly as bad as in years past. The wait times were very manageable for the most part with only Toy Story Midway Mania and Soarin' exceeding the 100 min. mark and those waits are avoidable if you utilize Fastpass wisely. We experienced a total of seven evening EMH with only two of them (one Epcot and one Magic Kingdom) being ridiculously crowded. Two of them (one Magic Kingdom and one Hollywood Studios) were ghost towns and the other three were reasonable with regards to crowds. With the crowds a little bit lighter than normal, we had no problem getting into places to eat. While we had made reservations well in advance for Via Napoli, Le Cellier, Tusker House, and Captain's Grille, we had no problem getting a reservation with little or no notice for Kouzzina by Cat Cora and Les Chefs de France, though with the exception of Le Cellier, we probably could have walked into the other three places as they were not very crowded. Even the quick service places, with the exception of Pizza Planet and Pecos Bill, had very little lines compared to previous years. Even when we played golf at Lake Buena Vista, there was nobody else around. Best of all, we only saw one tour group during our entire stay and it was on the last day there.
I read a thread shortly before I left about people complaining the parks, especially the Magic Kingdom, were very unclean and that Disney was not keeping up with daily maintenance. I have say this is very inaccurate. The Magic Kingdom was spotless and all of the parks were well kept with no garbage lying around. The only fault I could find is while most of the bathrooms were clean, a few of them were a bit on the dirty side and could use a bit more cleaning. Other than that everything looked good.
Most of the attractions were working properly but a few of them had some issues. A few things I noticed:
Splash Mountain - The attraction is by no means anywhere as bad as people on these boards were making it out to be, but there are some noticeable problems which Disney should address.
(1) Brer Roadrunner is missing (only someone who had rode Splash Mountain many times would pick this up)
(2) The sound was going in and out in the scene with the turtle drummer and harmonica player. Other than that everything prior to the Laughing Place was working normally.
(3) The Laughing Place and beyond is where the issues are. The jumping fountains weren't working, nor were the turtles balancing themselves on the fountains with their shells. The last gopher was not lit and the vultures sound prior to the final drop was out half of the time. In the last scene the paddle boat was not rocking back and forth and half of the animatronics were not working (this scene was pretty bad show on Disney's part and is the only real big problem with the attraction).
Also, for those who thought the lap bars on Splash Mountain would hinder the ride experience (I was one of those people), they do not. The ride attendants do not even check the lap bars (they only tell you to lower them) and it is very easy to make it look like they are down.
TTA - Out of the 12 days we were there, this continually broke down and was closed several times.
Space Mountain - Surprisingly Space Mountain was only down once on our first day and was running at half capacity part of another night.
Test Track - Experienced many technical issues and was down several times.
Pirates of Caribbean - Experienced some down time.
Great Movie Ride - Technical difficulties several times.
Also, a lot of people were complaining about It's Tough To Be A Bug looking like crap. I have to say every effect, including Hopper, was working perfectly and that the show was the best I have ever seen it. They must have worked out any problems they had which is probably why they canceled the refurbishment.
Enchanted Tiki Room - Absolute garbage and a major disappointment.
I think that about covers everything for now. I apologize for making it so long. Again, overall, despite some minor issues, it was a great trip and I can't wait to return to the World again.
I read a thread shortly before I left about people complaining the parks, especially the Magic Kingdom, were very unclean and that Disney was not keeping up with daily maintenance. I have say this is very inaccurate. The Magic Kingdom was spotless and all of the parks were well kept with no garbage lying around. The only fault I could find is while most of the bathrooms were clean, a few of them were a bit on the dirty side and could use a bit more cleaning. Other than that everything looked good.
Most of the attractions were working properly but a few of them had some issues. A few things I noticed:
Splash Mountain - The attraction is by no means anywhere as bad as people on these boards were making it out to be, but there are some noticeable problems which Disney should address.
(1) Brer Roadrunner is missing (only someone who had rode Splash Mountain many times would pick this up)
(2) The sound was going in and out in the scene with the turtle drummer and harmonica player. Other than that everything prior to the Laughing Place was working normally.
(3) The Laughing Place and beyond is where the issues are. The jumping fountains weren't working, nor were the turtles balancing themselves on the fountains with their shells. The last gopher was not lit and the vultures sound prior to the final drop was out half of the time. In the last scene the paddle boat was not rocking back and forth and half of the animatronics were not working (this scene was pretty bad show on Disney's part and is the only real big problem with the attraction).
Also, for those who thought the lap bars on Splash Mountain would hinder the ride experience (I was one of those people), they do not. The ride attendants do not even check the lap bars (they only tell you to lower them) and it is very easy to make it look like they are down.
TTA - Out of the 12 days we were there, this continually broke down and was closed several times.
Space Mountain - Surprisingly Space Mountain was only down once on our first day and was running at half capacity part of another night.
Test Track - Experienced many technical issues and was down several times.
Pirates of Caribbean - Experienced some down time.
Great Movie Ride - Technical difficulties several times.
Also, a lot of people were complaining about It's Tough To Be A Bug looking like crap. I have to say every effect, including Hopper, was working perfectly and that the show was the best I have ever seen it. They must have worked out any problems they had which is probably why they canceled the refurbishment.
Enchanted Tiki Room - Absolute garbage and a major disappointment.
I think that about covers everything for now. I apologize for making it so long. Again, overall, despite some minor issues, it was a great trip and I can't wait to return to the World again.
