reddening's thread of DISNEY PARKS gossip

the kiosks were new and a bit of a mixed bag last time I was there because they had to have cast members operate them for you, so you were very likely to run into a case of old timer trying to interact with new technology. Some cast members knew all the short cuts and how to game the kiosk but others just didn't get it. It's probably improved since then.

Yeah, all the tech stuff gets better all the time. The kiosk cast was all young last week, and very helpful. We did a lot of fast pass swapping. If we had a fastpass for, say, Haunted Mansion later in the day, but the line was short, we would just wait in the line then use the fastpass for something else later.

Also, again, rider swap was awesome and easy. My older daughter and I used the fast pass for Space Mountain while my wife waited with our younger daughter (who doesn't like dark rides). We zipped through the line and onto the ride in now time, then popped out, tag-teamed, and left the kids waiting while she and I more or less immediately went on Space Mountain. So mechanical delay aside, I basically got to ride it twice in 10 minutes. All you have to do is tell a cast member when you head in.

With fast pass or rider swap, how are you not taking another patron's place in line?

It all goes pretty smoothly. It's not that you're taking someone's place so much as a feeding in from a second, faster line. So you wait in the regular line, and then every set amount of time they send in a batch of the fast pass holders. Keep in mind that fast pass is free and available to everyone, first come, first served (they're usually claimed if not months in advance than certainly early in the day). Ride swap, it's not a regular thing, or at least not too apparent. Just a person here or there. It makes it fairer for folks stuck babysitting or waiting with old folks or whomever, so they don't have to spend an hour sitting there, then another hour waiting in line themselves. You could say the assumption is they have been waiting in line with their family in spirit.

I should note they no longer have handicapped access lines, because too many assholes were pretending to be in wheelchairs and stuff to skip the line. But for all its elaborate design, WDW seems remarkably handicap accessible, from buses to rides. I should look for blog posts from folks in wheelchairs. I'm curious what they think.

If anything, the proliferation of scooters and strollers are the only things hampering the flow of things, but both are probably necessities. I saw mostly elderly and impaired (casts and crutches) young folks using scooters, which is only fair, because walking 10 to 15 miles a day can be tough on anyone.

it also should be noted that guests are limited to 3 fast passes per day, so you can't just load up on them like crazy.

One change I liked on my most recent trip was how rides like Haunted Mansion, Winnie the Pooh, and Harry Potter at Universal all had fun little interactive things for the kids to do throughout the line so that they don't get bored just standing around.

another thing we did on the last trip which was new-ish to me was going to Innoventions at Epcot. I hadn't gone in there since the 80s so had no idea what to expect. Usually we'd skip it but it sounded like there would be some activities that my 11-year-old son might like, and indeed he loved it. There's tons of interactive games and activities to do in there. It's maybe a little dull for an adult, but being the indulgent parent that I am, we ended up spending hours in there.

Yeah, Space Mountain has video games to play while waiting in line.

Thanks for the explanation. I was thinking about how pissed I'd be if I was waiting at the bank and a fast pass patron bumped ahead of me, but that's not how it is at all, I guess.

Sisney figures -- correctly -- that everyone will wait in line eventually.

OK, computer problems solved, Fastpasses obtained, etc!

Question: if we have a flight out of Orlando at 7:15pm on the last day, how long can we stay in the park? I have zero sense of the time involved in getting from place to place inside Disney. Our luggage will presumably be in the hotel so I guess this means I need to know how much time it takes to go park -> hotel -> airport.

Are you staying in a Disney resort?

Yep.

Also I don't really understand how this food thing works -- on that last day I really don't want to spend time having a full sit-down meal in the middle of the day, but will I literally not be able to obtain food for myself and my children if I don't reserve something?

there's plenty of counter service at the parks too

Disney rewards those who plan ahead, so planning ahead gets you the greatest benefits and flexibility. Ergo, a lot of the better sit down places/character spots are more or less booked weeks or months in advance. However, there are a number of what they call quick service spots that are fine in a pinch, with sandwiches, pizza, etc. Not the best food, but good enough. There are also what they call 'snacks,' which range from bananas to decadent sundaes. You can get these anywhere.

There's a Disney reservation line which can probably help you find a place to eat, if you're worried. But no, you will be able to obtain food of some sort, just not necessarily the best food or at the most coveted spots. Epcot could be an exception, because there are a ton of places to eat, and even in 2014 the sushi place or awesome Moroccan place does not pack them in as much as the pizza place. (The pizza place is very good, btw.)

If you are in a resort, in many cases they handle the bags for you via their magical express or whatever they call it That is, you don't see your bags again between the resort and your destination airport. So ideally, you check your bags at the resorts and hit the parks for another few hours. The airport is maybe 30 minutes away, so a 7:15 flight gives you lots of time (again, if you plan it).

planning ahead gets you the greatest benefits and flexibility.

I get that it offers benefits but how "flexibility?" This is exactly what's freaking me out. I'll be there with a 9-year-old and a 4-year-old -- even at home I don't know exactly what time they're gonna feel like eating! And now I have to make this decision eight weeks out.

Make a few reservations ahead of time for places you really want to check out but be realistic about how much you're going to want to plan around specific mealtimes. There are hundreds of places to eat around WDW, so no one's going to go hungry. I'd recommend that you buy the Unofficial Disney World Guide book that's put out every year. That thing is a godsend for planning your trip and it'll hopefully help alleviate some of the freaking out. Checking some of the WDW message boards should help, too. There are a lot of obsessives out there who I'm sure can precisely answer any questions you have.

I kinda can't stand things being too regimented so I just go to WDW in the spring or fall when all of the kids are in school and mostly wing it. Which seems to work out fairly well, although that obviously means that I haven't made it to any of the really top-shelf restaurants yet.

Oh yeah there really is no wrong way to do it, just better ways. I highly recommend a couple of the podcasts,too, since at the least you learn so much.

No children will starve regardless. Like a cruise you may all actually put on weight.

By flexibility I meant it is much better to have dining reservations, or fast passes, and not need to use them, then need to use them, and not have them. Nothing you plan for is binding, and it is very easy to change strategies on the fly. That's how a lot of the apps help, with lists of wait times and what not.

My wife really liked this one: http://wdwprepschool.com/

Really useful, so worth a scan of the blog or facebook site, at the least.

There is a free app called WDW Lines that is updated more or less in real time, too.

As WDW prep sums up, "most people don’t plan ahead of time and they end up missing out and wasting a lot of time during their trip." That's really what it's about. There is so much to do, like going to Los Angeles or New York or Chicago or any other big city, that if you go in with no plan there is a chance you'll get overwhelmed and miss out on something you wanted to do, since you'll spend so much time in line, or wandering around, or whatever. But just because the best or most popular restaurants get booked early does not mean there are not a hundred other options, at least when it comes to food. Rides, you can always get on anything, but fast passes speed things up significantly.

Also, if you are going with a 9 year old and 4 year old, consider bringing a cheap little umbrella stroller even if the 4 year old doesn't use one anymore. Last time we went one kid was 8 and the other 5, and it was a little tough on the younger one. This year they were 10 and 7, and both were troopers, but no joke, we really did walk at least 10 miles a day, at most 15 or so. We also brought a bunch of our own snacks, granola bars and stuff. Just to have handy.

Unless you've been several times, spontaneity + Disney don't mix, trust me.

I second the nod for The Unofficial Guide. Even I flip through the latest edition when published in August.

If you've got your heart set on a restaurant, make the reservation anyway around the time your kids usually eat.

My favorite forum: http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=12

Yeah, I should note that, although I tend to wing it when I'm actually in the parks, it's an informed winging it, as I go every 2-3 years on average and know the place like the back of my hand by now, and I also tend to do a lot of reading up ahead of time to get a feel for what things are like this year. I would likewise not recommend my approach for beginners, and especially not at Christmastime.

Also, I know this probably doesn't apply to you, eephus, but I can say from experience if you're alone or in a very small party, it's totally possible to get a walk-in seat at a lot of these restaurants that recommend reservations.

We've always planned trips during the slowest points of the year. Last week was at worst a 6/10 on the crowd scale. I can only imagine winging it at Christmas, which is peak capacity. They even do the occasional phased closing to keep things remotely manageable. As one site stressed, " those staying at Disney Resorts are guaranteed access to a Disney World theme park, but this does not mean that you will be able to get into the park of your choice, nor does it mean that you will enjoy yourself in an extremely crowded park." Hence, having a plan, and getting places early. As I overheard someone say around 10am at Magic Kingdom, "it's amazing how much you can get done if you get here early!" Amazingly, I think some people don't realize this, or don't know. I see people floating in the hotel pool, planning to hit a park after lunch. That's folly to me. Early bird gets the worm, as always.

I have been in the Magic Kingdom on New Year's Eve.

It reminded me of that scene in Blood Meridian when the cowboys see wave after wave of Indians rapidly approaching.

Four days!

We are here! No parks yet, we came in around dinnertime, got dinner, took the kids swimming, went to bed because we are planning to be up at 6 in order to storm the gates of Magic Kingdom for Magic Hour at 7am tomorrow. Observations:

1. The Dolphin hotel looks a lot like that hotel in Pyongyang.
2. I expected big crowds but the place is kind of empty. In front of a Santa display made out of chocolate, a trio of close-harmony singers was caroling to no one.
3. The "character dinner" meant that Goofy and Pluto alternated wandering in, going from table to table, and getting pictures and exchanging high fives with each group of kids. To me it seemed half-hearted and sad. My 9-year-old did not give a fig about it but my 4-year-old loved it -- too much so, in fact, she wanted to follow Goofy around from table to table and get in other people's pictures.
4. It's weird to me that there are lots of people smoking in the outdoor areas. I guess I didn't think of Disney as a place where people smoked.
5. Altogether, I am still nervous about tomorrow. But we're with my sister's family who go twice a year and we're basically going to just do whatever they think we should do. We have FastPasses for Thunder Mountain, Tales with Belle, and Buzz Lightyear tomorrow, and a lunch reservation. My brother-in-law and I have a pact to see the Hall of MFing Presidents, which no one will ever go to with him.

Two questions.

1. Because my sister has passes, this is not an expensive trip for us, which means that I am willing to spend some money to make the trip better. Are there obvious ways to do this? (One thing: we are renting a stroller for the 4-year-old as some above suggested.)
2. My daughter (the 4-year-old) has no particular thing for princesses but really likes Olaf. Can we see Olaf? I can't find any mention of it.

i got my photo taken with Chip at the character breakfast. i was 27 & we were there with my 5 yo niece :)

my general recommendation is dont b nervous abt tomorrow! dont get too hung up on plans...if it's fun hang out longer, if it sucks move on, rest when you get tired ( or go to a fun sitting down thing) & if you're completely & utterly over it, concede. i mean, with kids thats easier said than done. but it's a huuuge place. just enjoy each bit as it comes.

we planned to take my niece through all of epcot. we made it as far as england where mr veg & niece who were v tired of walking, promptly fell asleep on a park bench while the fake beatles played. nb it was fking august & like walking around in a crockpot :(
but we still had a fun day!

the Dolphin is a favorite of conventioneers, therefore there's more smoking.

I never reported back on my trip two weeks ago. May do it tomorrow.

I was in the Magic Kingdom for 16 straight hours yesterday, ask me anything

I was at the MK for eight hours two Saturdays ago; we crawled to the Contemporary's lounge.

in the ongoing war for supremacy between disneyland and walt disney world, disneyland is definitely winning the category of "total guests infected with a virulent disease."

No Disney work for Jenny McCarthy for a long time - I hope I hope - Jenny gets twitter hijacked

I'm going to Disneyland in March, will I get measels?

or even better, will I get a sweet discount on tickets and lodging?

The answers lie behind this door:
http://www.disunplugged.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Club33-02.jpg

http://rlv.zcache.com.au/keep_calm_and_focus_on_infection_mousepad-rf482a31c1b854831aa3c1d1aa52a02ba_x74vi_8byvr_324.jpg

one of the measles carriers is from our town, reddening! there was an article in the RG yesterday about all the places he went, warning people.

haha well shit, that measles guy and i go to the same grocery store. i'm going to be SO PISSED if i get the disneyland measles without even getting to GO to disneyland!

It is a small world after all.

At least it's not a small pox world. Yet.

Haven't posted much on here as I should. Went to Disneyland yesterday for one final visit before my move -- my pass officially runs through late November, though, so I may sneak down as I can for a later visit in mid-November as various friends are planning on the Avengers Half-Marathon. A couple of friends were able to join me for most of the day but I ended up doing Toy Story's Midway Mania by myself and then having a (perfectly wonderful) meal at the Carthay Circle to wrap things up, along with chatting with some friendly folks visiting from Portland in the lounge beforehand.

Which made the appearance of this from Rich Juzwiak well timed:

http://gawker.com/alone-in-disney-world-1693714369

And if you missed Rich and Caity Weaver's amazing EPCOT food/drink experience from earlier:

http://bestrestaurant.gawker.com/the-best-restaurant-in-the-world-is-disneys-epcot-them-1700655297

goin to Disneyland on the 27th. We had planned this trip and totally forgotten about all the Star Wars crap, I assume the park is going to be pretty nuts/crowded but too late to back out now!

I think you'll be OK. In the LA area, there will be dozens of other places to bump into crowds gathered to see people in storm trooper costumes. If anything Disneyland will be controlled chaos, taking into consideration that Christmas time is probably peak crowd volume regardless of Star Wars.

yeah I've never been there over the Xmas break, don't really know what to expect

http://www.themeparkinsider.com/art/2015/dl24crowd.jpg

I have heard anecdotal accounts that the crowds have gotten worse at Disney World in general, and/or that crowd management has gotten worse?

We went to Yellowstone over the summer, and I guess it was the third summer in a row with record crowds. 3.8 million people this year, with more this past September than any other time recorded. Disney probably reflects similar trends. Just saw this: "With 19,332,000 guests, Magic Kingdom was once again the most visited theme park in the world, seeing a 4 percent increase from 2013." So yeah.

I'm pretty familiar with how to handle the crowds at Disneyland - get there when the park opens, immediately go on whatever rides are top priority before the park fills up. After that, stake out which land has the most rides with the shortest lines that everyone wants to go on, go on those. Then get lunch and do something that's not popular/doesn't typically have huge lines (the Mark Twain/whatever they call the island now, the Tiki Room, etc.) By mid-afternoon the park is at peak capacity (due to the overlap between families that got their early and younger/childless folks who arrived later) so you're not going to get on much of anything very quickly - good time to either do some shopping or just wander around Toontown or something like that. As the sun goes down, families with younger children will start to leave, so the crowd starts to thin out a little bit - try to get in on any rides you've missed over the course of the day until the parade/fireworks. the end.