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Q.

I have seen many of the negative comments about the current state of WDW and I have to say that up until now I thought they were exaggerations. I never thought I would see conditions in the Magic Kingdom like I did this weekend.

Sadly, the Magic Kingdom was in deplorable condition. Not only did I notice the peeling paint and wallpaper that has been mentioned by others previously, but the place was absolutely filthy. Trash littered the sidewalks and queues and was overflowing from trashcans. Tomorrowland was in particularly bad condition and the entire land smelled of vomit. The walls in the line to Splash Mountain were covered in chewing gum, and there was rubbish floating in the waters on Small World.

Add to all of this the hordes of unsupervised and unruly school groups, the women walking around in bikinis and bras(!) and the unsmiling and disinterested Cast Members, and it was no better than your average carnival atmosphere.

I wrote a letter to Disney today that I thought I would never have to write. I told them that due to the conditions that I found this weekend, I am very seriously considering canceling my 12 night reservation at the Fort Wilderness cabins for this January. I am not willing to pay Disney prices for a Six Flags vacation.

I have been reading with interest all of the reports of the decline of the Disney theme parks, but until I experienced it for myself I couldn't believe it was true. Sadly, some of the magic is now gone for me. I truly hope that the future will bring some much needed changes. Otherwise, I just cannot justify spending the thousands of dollars necessary for a trip to the World.

Thanks for listening!

A.

I was very disappointed to read your note. Frankly, it's the first negative one I've had in several weeks. Hopefully, you caught the park at a bad time and things will be addressed quickly.

In any case, thanks for the warning. I'll share your note with other readers soon.

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Q.

Brian, I'm still trying to plan our 7 days in June and I'm not sure if I have this right ---

• during Fantasmic - are the rides open ? I know the shows don't go that late.
• during Illuminations - I understand Future World closes earlier but can you "do" any of the worlds?
• during parades at MK - are ALL the rides still open ?

We've always done the "event" (i.e. "Fantasmic") at the time rather than utilize the time elsewhere but without early entry, I'm really trying to maximize the "crowd less" times! (Think there are enough "quotation marks" in that sentence ?!) Since I've never been loose in the parks while most of the crowd is busy, I don't have a good feel for how this works.

Thanks for being my personal information guru and by the way, your site is excellent. I don't appreciate it enough until I look at other sites which pale in comparison. The first thing I do daily on the computer is check out what's new on MousePlanet and my favorite is your E-mails on Mondays !

Hope all is well with you!

A.

Thanks for your kind comments about MousePlanet... and my little piece of the site. It's always encouraging to hear such nice things from our readers. I really do appreciate it!

Now, getting to the issue you raised...

One thing that almost always holds true is that attractions are open until posted closing times. There are rare exceptions, but in general, Disney holds closing times to a pretty tight standard, due in part to the night time entertainment that requires at least some level of darkness.

So... you can be be fairly sure that as long as a park (or in Epcot's case, a part of a park since Future World closes early) is supposed to be open, the attractions and shops will remain open, also.

So, your idea is a very sound one. The times when parades or night time shows are running is an excellent time to catch the other attractions because, as you surmised, a large portion of the park's attendance is tied up.

Now, during the less busy times of the year, when the parks close earlier, Fantasmic, IllumiNations, and so on may run right at park closing time. Then, you'll be lucky to catch an attraction or two that might run a bit long, but in general, you'd make a better choice to either head for the buses (or monorail) and avoid the post-park closing rush (unless, of course, you want to enjoy the show yourselves).

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Q.

My questions are these:

1. What are the crowd patterns at the various parks as far as busiest on which days? I know I read this somewhere and now that I'm looking for it I can't find it.
2. How does Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party affect crowd level at MK during the day? Should we avoid MK on days when Mickey is having his evening party?
3. We are staying at All Star Movies Resort, would you happen to know which days and time the Character Caravan visits this resort?

That covers all my questions for now at least. Thank-you for your help!

A.

Doh, doh, doh... you've hit on the one question (your first) that I have tried to avoid for years. To quote myself: 

"I have tried to avoid answer that question ever since I first put the WDW Trip Planning Guide on the web back in 1996.  The reason for my reticence is that, unfortunately, there is no great answer to that question.  There are just too many variables to consider."

However, with the changes to Early Entry (it's no longer available to WDW resort guests) and the reduction or park hours, this issue is more important to visitors than ever before and especially so for visitors that are only going to be vacationing for a few days.

So, I've bitten the bullet and done it.  My page, "Developing a Daily Game Plan," in MousePlanet's WDW Trip Planning Guide, has now been modified to include a whole section on the issue.  I've put in my own detailed analysis on how crowd levels fluctuate from day-to-day within a given week and how they change throughout any given day.  I've also tossed in a chart that summarizes the whole discussion.

I can't provide a more detailed answer than what I've just added to that page... so read up and you'll know everything I pretend to know myself.  ;)

On to questions number two and three...

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party doesn't significantly affect crowd levels during the day that the park runs. The main issue there, though, is that the park closes so much earlier on those days so that the park can be cleared out for the party-goers. You may want to consider visiting the Magic Kingdom during the morning that the party is running, and go to another park during the evening.

The Character Caravan comes to the All Star Movies Resort on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. The characters can be found in the lobby from 8-8:30am and again from 9-9:30 am on those days.

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Q.

Two interesting things:

1. We went to the Polynesian Resort for a drink on Tuesday night around 10:45pm and found about 20 people out by the lagoon. At 11:00, the full fireworks show played at the Magic Kingdom. Mind you, the park closed at 6!  Have you ever heard of this? Some Polynesian cast members that I spoke with said the park was not open for a special event, but that this was just Disney's way of making up for how early the park closed. Did I miss this somewhere - I had never encountered this before - perhaps I've been missing it for years!
2. We had parked at the Studios and taken the bus to Epcot for IllumiNations.  When I walked out of the International Gateway and walked over to the Boardwalk, I stopped for a drink, and found out that... There was no way to get back to the Studios! We talked to a half dozen cast members all of whom assured us that there was NO combination of busses we could take to get back to MGM and that we just had to walk.  It wasn't far, and it was a pretty walk I had never done, but WOW. We were exhausted and laden down with packages and there was no transportation back to the car. I remember the days when you could abandon you car anywhere on property and count on being able to get back to it even after PI closed! We used to do it all the time!

Anyway, good to see the crowds (sort of.)  Keep up the good work.

A.

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Q.

• We also got the three little animals made from hand towels with ribbon & stick on stars. Also got a larger one on our bed one day. Passed the maid's cart & they had trays of them all made up.
• I spoke to a cast member and was told that Pop Century may open fall 2002 if business was good.
• Magic Kingdom was very busy on Saturday.
• We had stayed at the Lodge previously & they had boats which went directly from there to the Magic Kingdom. It was great. Now they share this route with Fort Wilderness and it stinks. Due to a lot of people coming out of the park one night we waited 45 minutes to get on a boat and back to the Lodge. The Lodge is great but would not stay there again because of the transportation situation.
• We also went shopping at Downtown Disney one day & decided to go to the Magic Kingdom from there. The buses from there only go to the hotels so we decide to go to the Contemporary & walk to the park. While waiting for our bus we saw four Coronado Springs buses come in & leave. Ours took 35 minutes to get there. I questioned the driver & he told me that the hotels are charged for the Disney bus service & as a result have a say about bus numbers & frequency. I thought buses were to run no more than 20 minutes apart. Do you have any information on this?
• For people going to the Magic Kingdom, if you don't have any bags, strollers etc. you don't have to go through the bag check line. There is a spot between the check in tables where you can walk right in. This was not the case at the Studios or Epcot.
• Also, I went to Epcot and asked several cast members about the special viewing area for the annual passholders for the Illumination fireworks show and was told they discontinued the AP viewing area. I also went to the AP lounge in the Land at Epcot. It's very nice & has a very friendly staff, however I got a diet Coke at the soda dispensing machine, that was lukewarm and weak in flavor. In order to get a soda you have to get a paper cup put it under the dispenser and push a button with your selection. The cups are not that large and there is a warning not to push the button twice because the soda will overflow the cup. One push of the button fills the cup half way. All in all a little disappointing but at least they are trying to do something for annual passholders.

A.

On the issue of bus frequency, I do know for a fact that the various hotels contract with Disney Transportation for services (each part of WDW is a separate cost center which is responsible for it's own financial performance).  I would imagine that Coronado Springs, with almost double the number of rooms as the Contemporary, has decided that more frequent bus services is warranted.

On the special viewing area for IllumiNations, WDW seems to change the rules on that frequently.  Right now, I know that AAA members are eligible for the viewing area if they book their vacation package through AAA.  Also, Disney Club members are eligible, too, but note that this is not a documented Disney Club perk (so it may be rescinded at any time).  In any case, only 40 people are permitted in the area.  So if you're a Disney Club member or a AAA member that booked through AAA Travel and want to take advantage of this you should stop by at guest relations as early as possible in the day to request permission.

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Q.

One thing we learned that was not clear to us before. They allowed (even insisted at Splash Mountain) ONE person from your party can take all the tickets and get the fast passes for your whole group. A minor detail but it makes a difference in a larger group, especially if you have some people who move more slowly from place to place. It helps to be able to send a runner with all the tickets to accomplish this job.

Also, we had no problem using our old admission tickets from the 80's (of course, they never expire), but they did have us exchange them for the new ones, with magnetic strips. We did not know in advance that we would have to take the time to do this.

A.

Yes, there are small crowds. You find them in late January - early February, then again in late August, then again in mid September through early October, then again after Thanksgiving until mid December. If you spent fifteen to twenty minutes in lines in late March (that would be my guess) then the lines are typically five minutes to walk-on in those even quieter times.

I'm glad you enjoyed using Fastpass. I'll have to make a note about having one person handle the Fastpass duties. That's how I've always handled it, but you're right... it's not obvious to do it that way until you've learned the ropes. By the way, the reason why you had to turn in your old tickets is that the magnetic strips are required for Fastpass. It's a good point, though, that that is necessary.

Incidentally, I recently updated the MousePlanet WDW Trip Planning Guide's "All About Fastpass Page."  If you're not familiar with how Fastpass works, the page could clear everything up for you.

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Q.

Has Disney added fees for transportation from park to park?  Since I am not staying on property how does that affect me? I will most likely be renting a car and I'm having a hard time making up my mind whether I should use it within WDW or not. I really don't want to move the car from parking lot to parking lot. I know that Epcot and Magic Kingdom are linked by monorail but how is Animal Kingdom linked to these to parks or to MGM?

A.

There is no fee for using the transportation system at the present time, but only holders of Disney resort IDs or park hopper passes are eligible to use the transportation.

Animal Kingdom and the Studios (and Downtown Disney, the other minor parks, resorts, etc.) are all linked into the transportation system via bus.

Here's another "Incidentally."  I recently updated the MousePlanet WDW Trip Planning Guide's "How to use the Walt Disney World Transportation System Page."  If you want to bone up, or if you just want to see some fun pictures of the WDW transportation fleet, check it out.

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Q.

Does that sound like it would work?

A.

When you "exited that way, and took a bus from the Boardwalk to our resort" I'm sure that you actually took a couple of buses.  There is no direct route from the Boardwalk to any of the other WDW resorts because all bus routes lead through Downtown Disney (or one of the other transportation hubs).

Since you're staying at a Disney resort and will therefore have a Disney parking permit, you can drive over to the Boardwalk and just leave your car there.  However, you should remember that the Epcot resorts and the Magic Kingdom resort parking lots are not large enough to handle all of the vehicles that folks (even WDW resort guests) may want to park there to visit the parks.

That's what the big parking lots are for.

So, to be fair to the resort, I'd suggest that you have a meal or do some shopping at the resort to legitimize your parking there.  (That's what my family and I do when we park at one of those resorts.  I don't hesitate to spend some time in the park, too, but I believe that spending some money at the resort via a meal or shopping "validates" the parking.)

As an alternative, since Disney now charges for valet parking at all of the Deluxe resorts, you could park via valet parking. 

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Q.

My other thought is, can we park in the valet parking all day at the resort with the temporary permit without trouble?

Thanks for your site. There's a lot of great info here!

A.

If you pay the valet parking, you can leave your car as long as you want -- even without that temporary pass. The temporary passes are only for those folks that are using self-parking.

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Q.

A.

There are several tours that you may want to check into that you can read about here.  I've done several Disney tours in the past, and thoroughly enjoyed every one of them. I highly recommend them... but they are pricey. :)

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Q.

I am excited to hear Figment and the original song are returning to the Journey Into Imagination ride. Although I never actually got to ride the second version I have heard horrible things about it. Do you know if the Imagineers recycled most of the ride or started over? I have a feeling it is going to be the old ride with Figment thrown in.

Also, any idea on if e-ride nights will be available in September?

A.

E-ride nights for May were actually cancelled, so although June dates are still on the books, I don't know what's going to happen there.

My best suggestion to all WDW resort guests would be to confirm E-Ride status (if you intend to buy tickets) when you check in.

Journey is, indeed, a very minor change of the 2nd version of the ride. Figment will be more prominent, but none of the fantasy of the original attraction will be brought back. It should be open early Summer (probably in June).

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Q.

My fiancé and I are WDW regulars - we try to go at least twice per year. This year we are getting married and spending the first week of our honeymoon at the World. (Yacht Club) My question has two parts:

1. The first week in December is our favorite time to go (for many obvious reasons) so we don't know what to expect in terms of crowds June. Rather than the 5-10 minutes that we usually wait in line for Space Mountain should we now expect to wait ˝ hour, hour, longer? Should we just stay in the room?
2. The Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is going on until June 2nd (the day we arrive) is it worth skipping our normal arrival day itinerary to head over to Epcot? Do they really take everything down right away?

Thank you again for your help. Even though I have read 95% of the WDW travel guides every year to the past 5 or 6 years, I enjoy reading your articles and find something new all the time. Thanks Brian!

A.

June crowds will be much greater than in early December, but are not overwhelming like they are later in the Summer or during Christmas week. I think the half hour expectation is about right, although the e-tickets may be a bit more. I wouldn't stay in my room just because of the crowds, though... Unless you're looking for an excuse, in which case... yep, the crowds will be horrific... just plan on hours of waiting in line. ;)

You'll still see some of the Flower & Garden festival stuff up, but most of the extra topiary and the special display gardens and so on will be torn down fairly quickly. If it was me, and I was cutting it that closely (and I was a garden nut like my wife), I'd make Epcot my first stop just to see what I could see.

Q.

I think we will rearrange and visit Epcot the first day. We generally drop our bags and run to MK for lunch at the Starlight Cafe. From there, I think we will just hop on the monorail and head to World Showcase.

We make a habit of going to Fantasia Gardens each trip (we prefer the gardens, not the fairways -- too hard) - do you prefer this or Winter-Summerland?

Also, do you have a recommendation for how early we should get to Italy for the special AP area for Illuminations? Is there any sign telling us where to "check-in?"

Sorry for all of the questions...

A.

You don't need to get to the AP area in Italy too early. There's plenty of room. When you get there, just go to the roped-off area (across from the pavilion on the lagoon shore) and tell the CM. They'll check off your name from their list (don't forget to get on the list earlier in the day at Guest Relations!!!!!) Ten minutes before show time should be plenty of time, but confirm that when you make your reservations at Guest Relations.

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Q.

A.

The Polynesian is a pretty large resort. Walking time from one end to the other would easily take a good fifteen minutes or so with two little ones (closer to ten if the kids are in a stroller). There are advantages and disadvantages to every building in the resort.

If it was me, and I had two kids, I'd be trying to get a room near the quieter pool -- perhaps in Tokelau (which would also be mostly a garden view building) so that afternoon breaks can include a quick dip, but it's easy to get back to put the kids down for a nap. Tahiti is a great building, too, since the walk over to the TTC is a short one from there.

Regarding the view from a room, I'm a firm believer in paying for the view for a special occasion (such as a honeymoon, anniversary trip, etc.), but otherwise I just don't think it's worth the extra money to see something out of a window whose curtains are going to be pulled for privacy most of the time. Of course, getting that view at no extra cost would be worth asking for... :)

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Q.

Anyway, I heard the buses are a 'hassle' from OKWR and we were considering renting a car for the week. What do you suggest? We like to go back to the pool in the afternoon and then return to the parks in the evening and we know we are spoiled with the monorails at Poly.

Please give us your opinion.

A.

There was a very bad time, back in 1998-99, when the bus service at OKWR was pretty bad. Due to complaints by owners they have added more buses to the routes and things have improved significantly.

Personally, I think the buses are just fine. The monorail is ok, too, but in my experience (having only stayed at the Polynesian one time), the buses are a pretty close alternative. Given the extra space and amenities in the OKWR rooms versus the Polynesian, I think it's a good trade.

In general, I would never drive a car over to the parks to avoid the OKWR buses -- except during very busy times when I'm going over for the evening and want to avoid the park-closing rush. Of course, the same "rush hour" is strongly felt on the monorail, too, so again... it's a trade off.

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Q.

A.

I think the islands at the parks are one of those things that are just so different that it's hard to compare. At WDW, for example, there's actually a restaurant on the island... something you won't see at Disneyland. Both have lots of places for the kids to play.

Next time I'm down at WDW I'll take a longer look. :)

Q.

A.

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Q.

A.

I'll get started on a Mexico Pavilion Tour and see what interior photos I can add from my growing collection. :)

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Q.

Thanks for your help!

A.

You need to get the AP discount when you book the reservation. If there are no discounts for the time of your trip available now, then you may want to book "as is" and then either change those reservations or book new ones and cancel the old when/if the discounts become available.

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Q.

Thanks!

A.

There are two pages you may want to know about. First, is the list of regular updates that covers all of MousePlanet. The second page, covers MousePlanet's WDW content only.

As far as updates to the "static content," (the trip planning guides, WDW Restaurant Resource, etc.)... there is no record kept. I just try to keep things as up-to-date as possible all the time (although I'm way behind on the WDW Trip Planning Guide updates right now. :(

Click here to see some awesome WDW pieces that have run on MousePlanet recently!

Click here to check out the rest of Brian's Archive, including all of the previously published "Notes From the World" pieces!

I've always gotten email about the WDW Trip Planning Guide, but since we added the feedback form to the site several months ago, the number of questions has increased dramatically!  I do my best to answer each and every question personally, but I've noticed that a lot of the questions are asked again and again.  The question that one person asks might very well be the question that someone else is wondering about.  Thus this page!

So...I'll post reader email and feedback every once in a while, because the question someone else asks might be the same one you're thinking about yourself!