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Janet Bates -- November 2003 -- Walt Disney World (PR)Dates of Travel: November 15 – 22, 2003 Travelers
Introduction We took advantage of the Winter Dream Maker package which included:
Cost: $2,136.00 Based on published rack rates this package appeared to save us about 25 – 30%, which we felt was a good deal. The lanyards and pins were of marginal quality – we saved one of the pins and tossed the lanyards. We chose the EPCOT legends photo – it was fun and something I would never have paid extra for. A Great Time to Go! The crowds were extremely manageable on the weekends to non-existent during the week. And, the weather was wonderful with low humidity for Florida and temperatures in the upper 70’s to low 80’s. We had one day of rain, but no thunderstorms, so it was easy to do the parks with our trusty ponchos. About the crowds This appears to be a choice time to take the toddlers and pre-schoolers to WDW. We mainly saw young families with young children. The upside to this was that the “thrill” rides such as Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n Roller Coaster and Mission Space had short lines on the weekend and no lines during the week. The downside is that there were strollers everywhere and some massive temper tantrums going on – but those were generally easy to get away from. Crowd patterns Saturday, November 15 at Magic Kingdom Light crowds. Wait times for major rides was only 15 to 20 minutes in the standby lines. The lines for the Fantasyland rides were longer 30 to 45 minutes. These tend to load slowly and with the pre-school crowd, these of course are the most popular. Sunday, November 16 at MGM Very light crowds. We walked on to Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster throughout the morning and into the afternoon. We showed up at Indiana Jones five minutes before show time and three sections were completely empty. We walked into the Sci-Fi diner at 11:55 and got seated immediately for lunch without priority seating. There were many empty seats at the 1:15 Beauty and the Beast show. Sunday evening at EPCOT This was the final night of the Wine Festival and the crowds were rather large in World Showcase. We had priority seating at the Rose ‘n Crown at 7:40 and got seated about 8:15 pm. The service was extremely slow, but that gave us choice seats for Illuminations as we had requested an outside table. Monday, November 17 at Magic Kingdom The crowds were similar to Saturday. In many cases Fast Pass wasn’t even offered and wait time for everything except Fantasyland was 5 minutes at most. Monday evening at MGM We went to see Fantasmic on the dining package at Hollywood and Vine. The restaurant was not full the entire time we were there (5-6:15) and people were able to just walk up and get seated immediately. We arrived at Fantasmic about 6:30 and about 1/3 of the dining package seating was full. For general seating, people were able to arrive 5 minutes before show time and find seats in the end sections. No one was in the standing room only section. Tuesday, November 18 at EPCOT There was no one there! We felt alone most of the time. We walked right on to Mission Space. At lunch we were literally the only people in the Sushi Bar at Japan. There were maybe 15 people at the China movie. The highlight of the day was seeing MICHAEL EISNER himself being escorted by someone else in a black business suit. It was about 1:00 pm right in front of the Rose n’ Crown. Wednesday, November 19 at Magic Kingdom in the Rain Again…no people. It was an all-day light rain with temps in the 60’s. We tossed on the ponchos and walked onto to every ride in the park. There were no lines anywhere – we walked on to Dumbo, Pooh, Peter Pan, Snow White, the Carousel, the Tea Cups, Jungle Cruise, Magic Carpets, and Astro Orbiter. At Splash Mountain we were the only people in our car and most of the cars running were empty. When we got to the unloading spot, the cast member told us we could just stay put and ride again if we wanted. It was a blast, because we have never done most of the Fantasyland rides because the lines were too long for a short 90-second carnival ride. We did every ride in the park except the Tree House and Tiki Birds (because we weren’t interested) had lunch and saw the afternoon parade in about 6 to 7 hours. Needless to say, the Fast Pass stations were covered up. Thursday, November 20 at Animal Kingdom The crowds were light. The standby line for the Safari was about 25 minutes and Fast Pass was running. We walked onto the Primeval Whirl in mid-afternoon with no wait and the wait for Dinosaur in mid-afternoon was about 10 minutes. Lots of empty seats at Tarzan Rocks. Even with light crowds, this park always seems crowded to me as the walk ways are small and the strollers just overwhelm the place. Thursday night at Magic Kingdom We returned to watch the Wishes Fireworks show. The crowds were light with lots of empty space around the hub to see this great new show. In our opinion Wishes is a “must-see.” Friday at MGM and the Magic Kingdom The Thanksgiving crowds were starting to arrive. We noticed lots of school groups of 12-14 year olds and lots more families. Waits were now running up to 30 minutes at some rides and the Fast Pass stations were open at some rides but not all. Saturday, November 22 at MGM We had about 90 minutes to kill before leaving for the airport. We arrived at MGM about 9:15 and the crowds were building fast. Tower of Terror went out of service and Rock ‘n Roller Coast took the crowds. Waits were starting to run up to an hour. We had to bail out of line so we could make our flight. The Thanksgiving traffic seemed to be in full force. It was time to leave. Advice: Avoid the Magic Kingdom on Friday – Monday. It appears to be the most crowded on those days. Try it Tuesday – Thursday for the lightest crowds. Do MGM on Sunday! I have had wonderful experiences there several times – even at traditionally busier times – on Sunday. Restaurant Experiences Dinners:
Transportation Experiences We always rent a car. Always. I just can’t see spending hours of my vacation waiting for buses. If you’ve never been to WDW you need to be aware of the “hub” system: Downtown Disney is a bus hub and theme parks are bus hubs. Disney buses DO NOT take you from hotel to hotel. For example, if you are staying at the Boardwalk and you want to go to the Luau at the Polynesian, you have to take the Boardwalk bus to a theme park or Downtown Disney and then transfer to a Polynesian bus to get to the Luau. It can easily take one hour and frequently can take up to 90 minutes. When the theme parks close early, the only hub in the evenings is Downtown Disney. We overhead a horror story of one family who tried to get from the Boardwalk to the Polynesian for the Luau. They tried to take a bus to the Magic Kingdom so they could then take the monorail to the Polynesian. Unfortunately, because the Magic Kingdom was set to close for the evening in about 45 minutes, the buses from the Boardwalk to the MK weren’t running any more. They ended up totally missing their pre-paid Luau and had an evening of waiting and immense frustration. Cars a are good deal in Orlando. Budget for one. Janet Bates janet.bates@comcast.net Mail a Comment to Janet Bates |
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