Anyone "JUST" back??

[swim-mom]

With the free dinning plan being offered, I am concered with the crowds. I leave on the 18th till the 26th, staying at OKW..............HELP

If you were just down their, can you share your experience.

Thanks for putting my mind at ease or making me worse!

 

[DMKEDM]

We were at OKW 8/29-9/3...crowds at the parks were pretty light...(the weather was "brutal"--hot and steamy--but lines for rides were totally manageable--20 minutes or so at most, including the "headliners," except for Soarin' which was 40 minutes)--we only used FastPass once (for Peter Pan in FantasyLand at MK)...lines for counter service meals were no longer/worse than usual and we ate those at "usual" times...had minimal experience w/table service...ate at Olivia's when we arrived (around 1:30 8/29...no trouble at all getting in for a table of 5...the restaurant was close to full, but no waiting line and no delay in getting seated or served...we did a last minute ADR (at 11 the same day) at MGM and had little choice...we could not get in to any table service restaurant for dinner; we did get a table for 5 at Prime Time for 1:45; could have split up our group into tables of 2 (which they told us would likely not be near one another) at Sci Fi...that was all that was available (we loved Prime Time, so no problem)...

So, my impression of WDW during free dining over Labor Day weekend (and a couple of days before) is that table service restaurants are slammed, but the parks themselves are great, crowd-wise...and altho the weather absolutely stank, we did not care--we were at Disney! We loved our trip...

 

[Grenlo]

Hi

We just got back from OKW. Have to say the resort was great, just right for a relaxing time and the buses don't take as long to do the loop as I have seen some folks say - 10 minutes tops. You are right that there do seem to be a lot of people on the Disney Dining Plan and that can make for longer waits to buy food, not just in OKW but elsewhere too.

The problem seems to be that if you were just buying something to eat you would know what you wanted, but with the Disney Plan because you can have a snack, dessert and a drink there is a lot of time taken up asking what the choices are and then selecting from all the options available - including asking everyone else in the party what they want to add to their order! We weren't on the plan and so found this very frustrating at times, especially as we knew what we wanted. Also, when folks are coming to the end of their stay and want to use up their snacks etc (we stood behind someone who was ordering 12 different snacks and drinks to take with them which took about 10 minutes to order). However, on a good note, at OKW they have just installed a self service drinks area at Goods to Go so rather than have to wait to get your mug refilled by a cast memebr who may also be taking orders for food, you can just go up and refill.

Also, you may have heard that Disney has changed the refillable mugs to a standard throughout for the year of a Million Dreams design - so you can (unofficially) use it at any other resort - great for when you may be pool hopping!

Hope you have a great stay at OKW - we certainly did and will be re-booking to go back again next summer. Next visit - Port Orleans Riverside for Christmas and the New Year - can't wait.

 

[tjkraz]

The "free" dining is only available to those booking Disney-owned resort rooms and there is a limited supply of said rooms. Nothing Disney can do will change the fact that September is a very low demand time for guests who would stay off-site or for locals visiting the parks.

Expect most restaurants to be buys, but ride wait times will still be very minimal as is the case for this time of the year.

 

[zalansky]

We were there Labor Day weekend through last Friday. Labor day weekend, the crowds were jam packed, well, at least MK was!

But as soon as Monday passed, they were empty! We walked on and off all the rides at MK last Thursday. Our longest wait was for Snow White, ten minutes. Walked right on Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz, carousel.

Because of the free dining however, the restaurants were always busy. We were not on free dining but did have the dining plan and I foolishly left one night open without an ADR. There was barely anything to choose from anywhere, until after 9pm!

Have fun - it will be great.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I've only got one day after yours-I got back Saturday, 9/8. Splash Mountain had a 5 minute wait in mid-afternoon, Buzz Lightyear was practically a walk-on. For low crowds, it was the perfect time to go. How busy were resturaunts? It was strange-some resturaunts were packed-Boma was really backed up, 1900 Park Fair/GFC was loud, hectic, tables very close together so servers and characters were bumping into everyone. Yet other resturaunts-YCG, Citrico's lunch (GFC) were very quiet and taking walk-ins. Neither resturaunt was more than 1/4 full when I was there. And the manager of B&C said that there were no big crowds after Labor Day, come to think of it, plenty of open seating there too. And although Cape May Cafe CB probably wasn't quite a walk-in, it wasn't very busy, several empty tables, no line of people-I had a great time there-and great food too!

 

[zalansky]

Simbas mom - we ate at and have ADRs for the following:
Boma (VERY CROWDED)
Mama Melrose (very crowded too)
Kona Cafe (had to wait and then also crowded)
Crystal Palace (yuck crowded)

The only one not crowded was Cape May cafe for breakfast!

We ended up eating at Turf Club the one night we did not have ADRs. It was not very crowded, about half full.

 

[DisneyMomJen]

We just got back from 8/26 - 9/7 trip. The crowds were not too bad and then after Labor Day everything was empty, except restaurants. We had ADRs one night Labor Day week at Kona Cafe and had a HUGE wait. We also were at ESPN another night and did not have any wait. We won Dream Fast Passes for Epcot the Wednesday after Labor Day. I was so excited, but we did not even need to use them. Everything except Soarin was a walk-on. A couple of CM's said that September tends to be slow, especially the first two weeks. Have Fun!

 

[HGLightlyj]

I was at DW 9/3 - 9/6. I reserved first seating at the following: Dinner at Spoodles and Boma and lunch for Coral Reef. They were all packed. Busiest I have ever seen restaurants for this time of year.

 

[swim-mom]

Thanks everyone for your help

I am looking forward to leaving on Tuesday!!

Hoping for the best

 

[3DisneyKids]

We were there for the last week of August when Free Dining was going on. We found that the TS restaurants were pleasant at lunch, with minimal crowds (busy, sure, but not loud or chaotic at all). We also did early dinners...4:45 or 5pm and that proved to be wonderful. We were just leaving at arounf 6:30-ish and there were MOBS waiting for their tables.

 

[aclov]

I just got back on Thursday with two of my friends. We stayed at Saratoga for 4 nights. The crowds in the park were not bad, we went on Mt. Everest (AK) and Tower of Terror (MGM) two times. What was crowded was the restaurants. I'm definately glad that I had ADR's, especially Planet Hollywood was packed. The resort wasn't too crowded, plenty of chairs by the pool. The buses were almost empty.

 

[melissalee1220]

Today is 9/15 and I just got back late on 9/13.....still unpacking!!

First and foremost, it was HUMID. Each and every afternoon/evening had some sort of brilliant thunderstorm. The lines weren't too horrible, no mosquitos, and an overall good time. Take advantage of those early and late hours and relax at the hotel pool during the hot times!

Oh, and we really enjoyed the two water parks due to the humidity. Have fun!