100AcreWood
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2005
I always enjoy reading threads from people who have just returned from their trip so I wanted to add one too.
This was our first trip to WDW in three years. Our kids are 7, 9 and 13 now. Our biggest surprise was how nostalgic our 13 year was during the trip. She wanted to recreate pictures we had taken of her when she was small and she dragged us through the character lines more than our two younger kids.
Here are my thoughts.
1. Fastpass + wasn't as awful as we expected. We did miss getting 6 fastpasses per day like in years past. My recommendation to people using this system for the first time is to plan out your day so your fastpasses aren't scheduled to make you zig zag through the park. We only managed to get a 4th pass on two days and not for main rides. The only thing that irked me was the number of times we had to stand in a line just to get to the FP+ entrance of a ride. It seemed like people were showing up at the beginning of their fastpass times often.
2. Memory Maker was great. We made an effort to get pictures but it didn't take a lot of time. We left with 329 pictures in our account.
3. We usually go in October. The crowds were a little bigger but not too bad. Our last day (yesterday) was very busy in MK. We were anxious to leave because the lines were much longer.
4. The saddest thing we saw was a little boy about 3 who was being carried into Pirates. He was so upset and scared. We felt bad for him and then seconds later we saw him on his hands and knees crawling as fast he he could to get out of the line. He was so fast! You could see the fear in his little face and his adrenaline had kicked in. I hope the rest of the day went okay for him. We thought about that a lot.
5. I hate to dwell on this, but I don't know why people see a parade coming and decide it's okay to shove their children in front of your children. Happens every time.
6. Pin trading was great. I think the vinylmations are on their way out. I didn't see many.
7. We were on the hunt for Stitch. My ds is a huge fan. We asked about him in MK but the CM said he no longer signs autographs in the parks - only at O'Hana's. We were happy to see him at HS though. We stood in line and 10 minutes later his "handler" said Stitch would only be there for another 10 minutes. We panicked. It seems so silly but he is the one character my ds wanted to see. Anyway, this wonderful family in front of us told us to go before them. They said chip and dale was coming out to replace Stitch and they were good with getting their autographs instead. What a kind gesture! We had a great interaction with Stitch and the family behind us ended up seeing him as well.
Overall a good trip. I was hoping to find some cool inside out stuff in the parks but we didn't see a single inside out item.
This was our first trip to WDW in three years. Our kids are 7, 9 and 13 now. Our biggest surprise was how nostalgic our 13 year was during the trip. She wanted to recreate pictures we had taken of her when she was small and she dragged us through the character lines more than our two younger kids.
Here are my thoughts.
1. Fastpass + wasn't as awful as we expected. We did miss getting 6 fastpasses per day like in years past. My recommendation to people using this system for the first time is to plan out your day so your fastpasses aren't scheduled to make you zig zag through the park. We only managed to get a 4th pass on two days and not for main rides. The only thing that irked me was the number of times we had to stand in a line just to get to the FP+ entrance of a ride. It seemed like people were showing up at the beginning of their fastpass times often.
2. Memory Maker was great. We made an effort to get pictures but it didn't take a lot of time. We left with 329 pictures in our account.
3. We usually go in October. The crowds were a little bigger but not too bad. Our last day (yesterday) was very busy in MK. We were anxious to leave because the lines were much longer.
4. The saddest thing we saw was a little boy about 3 who was being carried into Pirates. He was so upset and scared. We felt bad for him and then seconds later we saw him on his hands and knees crawling as fast he he could to get out of the line. He was so fast! You could see the fear in his little face and his adrenaline had kicked in. I hope the rest of the day went okay for him. We thought about that a lot.
5. I hate to dwell on this, but I don't know why people see a parade coming and decide it's okay to shove their children in front of your children. Happens every time.
6. Pin trading was great. I think the vinylmations are on their way out. I didn't see many.
7. We were on the hunt for Stitch. My ds is a huge fan. We asked about him in MK but the CM said he no longer signs autographs in the parks - only at O'Hana's. We were happy to see him at HS though. We stood in line and 10 minutes later his "handler" said Stitch would only be there for another 10 minutes. We panicked. It seems so silly but he is the one character my ds wanted to see. Anyway, this wonderful family in front of us told us to go before them. They said chip and dale was coming out to replace Stitch and they were good with getting their autographs instead. What a kind gesture! We had a great interaction with Stitch and the family behind us ended up seeing him as well.
Overall a good trip. I was hoping to find some cool inside out stuff in the parks but we didn't see a single inside out item.
He is a consistently great character to meet, my kids love him too.
About the little boy and the Pirates ride, I see so many times where parents just force their kids to go on rides, just because their tall enough or "mainly" the parents want to go on it. I have been in line many times and overhear a parent outright telling their poor kid a lie about the ride. The worst was TOT, the dad was telling his boy that its not dark and that it is no different then a regular elevator
