There is apparently no longer a “slow” time of year at the Happiest Place on Earth. My wife, daughter, son-in-law, their three toddlers and I spent a week there in early October. The tour books rated that an “off” season. I would hate to see the busy season. Crowds were huge all week long. The economy must be good because great hordes of people seem to be able to afford expensive vacations. And Disney is expensive. A columnist once described it as “a giant vacuum cleaner aimed at your wallet”.
That said, I was stunned at how friendly, courteous and considerate most everyone seemed to be, despite crowded waiting lines in hot sun. In those conditions it’s inevitable that you’re going to get smacked by ladies purses, get the back of your shoe stepped on, or get jostled and/or cut off by somebody crossing the lines. There was always a quick “Please excuse me” and an empathetic smile. It’s contagious. I found myself being much more polite than my usual curmudgeonly self. Many went out of their way to make room for our little toddlers so they would have a better view of the parades and fireworks, or skooch over on the bench so we would have a place to sit. People of all races and creeds working together for the benefit of all. What a concept!
How long would you wait in line to get on a ride at Disney World? What’s the absolute longest you would wait? Would you wait 4 hours? That was the waiting time for the Avatar ride in Animal Kingdom. Fortunately we had a Fast Pass for that attraction. Lots of dirty looks from those poor souls in line as we walked past them. I’ve been trying to think of something….anything…for which I would stand in line for four hours. I haven’t come up with anything yet. (By the way, the ride was outstanding…but not four hours outstanding.)
Those Fast Passes are definitely the way to go. Get as many of them as the system will allow. Guard them, protect them, cherish them, love them as your own. They will save your experience.
It’s possible to have too much money. Occasionally while waiting in line we would see a family come in through a side door at the last minute, and immediately be ushered in to a front row seat. A man in line in front of us told us those people had purchased a private tour of the park at a cost of $15 thousand per person! For a family of four, that would be $60 thousand dollars!
I love reading the funny t-shirts people wear to the park. One woman’s read “I wear the ears”, while her husband’s read “I buy the beers”. Another had a picture of the seven dwarfs with the inscription “I’m Grumpy. Deal with it”.
Please…no more photos framed so that the subject appears to be holding up the big silver ball in EPCOT. It’s been done and it’s kinda lame.
No matter how meticulously you budgeted for your Disney trip, at some point you will have thrown your credit card out there so often you’ll have absolutely no idea how much money you’ve spent.
My wife Sharon thought it would be fun for all of us to wear identical t-shirts. At first I thought it was a bit silly but it actually became useful as it helped Disney ushers recognize we were all in the same party and keep us together…no small feat in these crowds.
Going in, we told ourselves we would save money by visiting a grocery store outside of the Disney property, loading up on food, and eating meals in the hotel room. Yeah, that never happened. In the morning we wanted to start early to beat the crowds to the parks. By evening we were too tired and sweaty to make the trip. If you have similar ambitions, do the shopping before you get there.
Oh, and about that beating the crowds thing….you can’t do it. There will be as many folks in line at 7am as there will be at 2pm. Might as well sleep in and take your time.
Disney is constantly replacing old attractions with new ones, but a few of the classics remain and thankfully so. Even after all these years, I still can’t get enough of “It’s a Small World”, “Pirates of the Caribbean”, and Space Mountain.
I get why children would be ecstatic to have their picture taken with the Disney movie princess characters, but I was stunned by the number of adults who wanted to be photographed with them.
Speaking of the princesses, I see now why they have to go to school to learn how to do this. I was fascinated to observe how they have mastered the subtle art of over-emoting with hand gestures and smiles and photographic poses and acting….well….like a princess. What they do is not easy and requires talent and poise.
In general I would say the food was good, however I paid twelve dollars for a massive foot long hot dog that looked and tasted more like a piece of PVC pipe.
As I lifted and carried and held toddlers through long lines in blistering hot weather I told myself I would never do this again. But by the time we got home I was thinking I can’t wait to go back.