So we went to Disney World during Christmas (21-30) and had an absolute blast. I was worried about the crowds and long waits as I read how busy this time of year is. I was also worried about how much I would enjoy the trip because I had only been once as a young child and wasn't sure how I would enjoy DW as an adult.
Well, let me tell you, I had the time of my life. It is my favorite vacation so far in my life and I have been on some really good ones. I became a kid again! And we had absolutely no issues with long lines or insane crowds. Don't get me wrong, it was crowded. There were tons of people every where but planning in advance helped all of that out. We had all of our dining reservations and the biggest thing of all is we quickly figured out how to take advantage of FPs.
The trick was to have all of our FPs booked early in the day (we managed that by being up 60 days before and booking them at a furious pace, we managed to get every single thing we wanted). When we scanned our magic band for the 3rd FP we were on the app as we walked through the line and had another one booked. We booked whatever we could do in the next hour. This allowed us to do all sorts of things multiple times. I am not exaggerating when I say that over our 9 day trip we never waited in any line for more than 35 minutes. 90% of the lines we got in were with FPs which meant 10 minute waits or less. The longer waits were for rides without a FP that were short.
It CAN be done, ladies and gentlemen. Also, we had tickets to MVMCP on the 22nd and the amount of rides we got in that evening before the parades and everything began was incredible. I think we did Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Small World and Peter Pan all between 4-7 PM. We literally walked on to Pirates. That was all without having FPs.
Of course, we had no kids so we could book it as fast as we needed to and could make changes on the fly. If we were walking across the park to a FP that we weren't thrilled with then we had the app open and tried to get something better. It often happened. We even managed to get SDMT twice in one day by refreshing like crazy.
My favorite park, by far, was Magic Kingdom. Followed by AK and HS in a near tie. Epcot was way way at the bottom for me. It doesn't really feel like Disney to me and there was just so much open space and tons of walking for, in my opinion, not a very big pay off.
Oh, and Flight of Passage was the most incredible experience ever. I can't even put it into words so I won't try. You MUST do it.
It was a truly magical vacation and I have never been more impressed by a company. The resort was amazing (Port Orleans Riverside). The buses were so reliable and prompt. The cast members were all amazing and so nice. It was just...magical. Already planning our next trip!
So anyway, if you are afraid to go during a so-called "busy" time, please know that it can be done and it can be extremely enjoyable so long as you utilize the tools at your disposal. I passed a ton of people who clearly had no clue about fast passes and even heard one person mentioning that you had to buy them. Also saw a ton of people at the kiosks while using their cell phones.
Edit: If this should be in Trip Reports then please move. I just mainly wanted to let people know to not be intimidated by so-called busy times or level 10 days.
Well, let me tell you, I had the time of my life. It is my favorite vacation so far in my life and I have been on some really good ones. I became a kid again! And we had absolutely no issues with long lines or insane crowds. Don't get me wrong, it was crowded. There were tons of people every where but planning in advance helped all of that out. We had all of our dining reservations and the biggest thing of all is we quickly figured out how to take advantage of FPs.
The trick was to have all of our FPs booked early in the day (we managed that by being up 60 days before and booking them at a furious pace, we managed to get every single thing we wanted). When we scanned our magic band for the 3rd FP we were on the app as we walked through the line and had another one booked. We booked whatever we could do in the next hour. This allowed us to do all sorts of things multiple times. I am not exaggerating when I say that over our 9 day trip we never waited in any line for more than 35 minutes. 90% of the lines we got in were with FPs which meant 10 minute waits or less. The longer waits were for rides without a FP that were short.
It CAN be done, ladies and gentlemen. Also, we had tickets to MVMCP on the 22nd and the amount of rides we got in that evening before the parades and everything began was incredible. I think we did Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Small World and Peter Pan all between 4-7 PM. We literally walked on to Pirates. That was all without having FPs.
Of course, we had no kids so we could book it as fast as we needed to and could make changes on the fly. If we were walking across the park to a FP that we weren't thrilled with then we had the app open and tried to get something better. It often happened. We even managed to get SDMT twice in one day by refreshing like crazy.
My favorite park, by far, was Magic Kingdom. Followed by AK and HS in a near tie. Epcot was way way at the bottom for me. It doesn't really feel like Disney to me and there was just so much open space and tons of walking for, in my opinion, not a very big pay off.
Oh, and Flight of Passage was the most incredible experience ever. I can't even put it into words so I won't try. You MUST do it.
It was a truly magical vacation and I have never been more impressed by a company. The resort was amazing (Port Orleans Riverside). The buses were so reliable and prompt. The cast members were all amazing and so nice. It was just...magical. Already planning our next trip!
So anyway, if you are afraid to go during a so-called "busy" time, please know that it can be done and it can be extremely enjoyable so long as you utilize the tools at your disposal. I passed a ton of people who clearly had no clue about fast passes and even heard one person mentioning that you had to buy them. Also saw a ton of people at the kiosks while using their cell phones.
Edit: If this should be in Trip Reports then please move. I just mainly wanted to let people know to not be intimidated by so-called busy times or level 10 days.
