nighttowll
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2013
I promised in another thread, I’d report on the crowds now that we are getting into mid August, and they are beginning to drop off, so I decided it would be easiest to do a little mini trip report.
We went Monday the 13th. There were only two of us, two sisters, both adults, no children. We had an hour and a half drive, so up at 4:50 am for early entry to avoid I4 rush hour in Orlando. We made good time and arrived to a completely empty parking garage at 7:06. I think we might have been the first car in the lot. After a quick bathroom break, we were outside the US gates at 7:25. There were maybe 10 people in each line at this point in front of us. They opened the gates at 7:40. There still wasn’t a huge crowd, maybe 2 to 3 hundred people total. The crowd barely stretched back to the ticket booths with lots of space between lines.
Once in the park, we headed straight back to Gringotts first. I think we had the very first ride of the day and were off the ride by 8:07. We did a quick walk around the gift shop, then headed over to ride Mummy. This was a walk on as well, and we were off by 8:22. Front row center on both rides; made me really happy. Next, we headed over to see if Transformers might be running early, but sadly it was not. At 8:25, it was just too early, so we headed toward Despicable Me, the only other ride open.
My sister doesn’t like this ride as she says even the stationary seating makes her sick, so she went to look for a birthday gift for a friend in the gift shop while I rode. I got lucky with the timing. The preshow to the preshow was just finishing up as I arrived, so I was able to walk straight into the second preshow room and was off the ride by 8:40. It is important to note, I did the stationary seating. I’d never have been able to walk up and on doing the regular seating. The standby wait was already up to 45 minutes, 30 minutes before official park opening.
After riding, I joined my sister in the gift shop for a quick look around. It was funny because after who knows how many trips, she only now realized that the gift shop is the fair at the end of the ride. She was so excited to tell me she had figured that out while waiting for me. I guess she’s never looked up before. We found a minion jump drive we thought would be perfect for our friend’s birthday, and I did my talk myself out of buying a shirt ritual. I really like the minion shirts with them driving to Orlando, so I always have to stop and debate getting one, but I really don’t need one and don’t think the cut will fit me right anyway.
We went Monday the 13th. There were only two of us, two sisters, both adults, no children. We had an hour and a half drive, so up at 4:50 am for early entry to avoid I4 rush hour in Orlando. We made good time and arrived to a completely empty parking garage at 7:06. I think we might have been the first car in the lot. After a quick bathroom break, we were outside the US gates at 7:25. There were maybe 10 people in each line at this point in front of us. They opened the gates at 7:40. There still wasn’t a huge crowd, maybe 2 to 3 hundred people total. The crowd barely stretched back to the ticket booths with lots of space between lines.
Once in the park, we headed straight back to Gringotts first. I think we had the very first ride of the day and were off the ride by 8:07. We did a quick walk around the gift shop, then headed over to ride Mummy. This was a walk on as well, and we were off by 8:22. Front row center on both rides; made me really happy. Next, we headed over to see if Transformers might be running early, but sadly it was not. At 8:25, it was just too early, so we headed toward Despicable Me, the only other ride open.
My sister doesn’t like this ride as she says even the stationary seating makes her sick, so she went to look for a birthday gift for a friend in the gift shop while I rode. I got lucky with the timing. The preshow to the preshow was just finishing up as I arrived, so I was able to walk straight into the second preshow room and was off the ride by 8:40. It is important to note, I did the stationary seating. I’d never have been able to walk up and on doing the regular seating. The standby wait was already up to 45 minutes, 30 minutes before official park opening.
After riding, I joined my sister in the gift shop for a quick look around. It was funny because after who knows how many trips, she only now realized that the gift shop is the fair at the end of the ride. She was so excited to tell me she had figured that out while waiting for me. I guess she’s never looked up before. We found a minion jump drive we thought would be perfect for our friend’s birthday, and I did my talk myself out of buying a shirt ritual. I really like the minion shirts with them driving to Orlando, so I always have to stop and debate getting one, but I really don’t need one and don’t think the cut will fit me right anyway.
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