August 2011

[ronnmel]

Sorry my bad, I guess I'm still tired. I meant to say Space Mountain.

Haha, makes more sense now.

 

[ronnmel]

I started my trip report, hope to see some of you there!
Zombie Apocalypse and Pixie Dust

 

[lovethattink]

I agree about the Pepper Market. I much prefer the traditional cafeteria style restaurants. The servers didn't do much and yet you are expected to give them a tip. As far as ignoring you, I found the dessert counter was the worst for that.

I loved the activities that they had also.

We had one server who was particularly good! After a super hot day in the park we were thirsty. Between cherry coke for dh and I and water for ds, he was back and forth with drinks so many times. We gave him an additional tip. He was wonderful. Called ds by name. We remembered him from March. He owns a little store in Kissemmee that sells fresh produce from Plant City. But other than him, we got one refill from other servers then they disappeared.

I started my trip report, hope to see some of you there!
Zombie Apocalypse and Pixie Dust

Going to check it out.

 

[Madisonsmom45]

We just got back Sunday afternoon from 10 fabulous days at POR...I can't wait to get home again.......Of course next August is only a year away...

 

[lizzyb]

For those of you interested, I have started my dining reviews
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2793904

 

[mcd2745]

Just curious, but we now have gone the same week the last two years - the end of August into Labor Day weekend. For those of you who have also gone at least the last two years in late August...did you think the crowds were higher this year? I certainly did. They were still very managable and very few attractions had significant waits, but I definitely think crowd levels were up a little over last year.

And from the old "take it with a grain of salt" department...while dining in one of the restaurants (I don't remember which one - possibly was Liberty Tree Tavern), I clearly overheard the waiter telling the table next to us (it was a different waiter than ours) that this was just one of the slowest summers overall for WDW in a long time. I have a hard time believing that one...but maybe we'll get a clue as to whether or not that was accurate when the next quaterly earnings are reported.

 

[Stan Solo]

Just curious, but we now have gone the same week the last two years - the end of August into Labor Day weekend. For those of you who have also gone at least the last two years in late August...did you think the crowds were higher this year? I certainly did. They were still very managable and very few attractions had significant waits, but I definitely think crowd levels were up a little over last year.

I'm wondering about the last two weeks of August as well. This year we went on our first trip ever on the last week of August going into September. We felt that the crowds were quite manageable and were less then we expected. Next year we are going a week earlier (the second last week of August).

Will it be crazy busy August 19-24 of 2012?

Star Wars Celebration starts in Orlando on the 24th and Star Wars fans from all over the world will be heading to Orlando that week. How much will that affect the crowds that week? Any thoughts?

 

[lovethattink]

I'm wondering about the last two weeks of August as well. This year we went on our first trip ever on the last week of August going into September. We felt that the crowds were quite manageable and were less then we expected. Next year we are going a week earlier (the second last week of August).

Will it be crazy busy August 19-24 of 2012?

Star Wars Celebration starts in Orlando on the 24th and Star Wars fans from all over the world will be heading to Orlando that week. How much will that affect the crowds that week? Any thoughts?

I will be at Celebration VI!!!! Most will probably stay near the convention center. I have the Orlando Hilton booked, but am thinking of switching to a Disney resort.

Schools around here start AFTER the 18th, usually a week apart. So it won't be as crowded as early August.

The crowds Aug 26 to 29th were definately smaller than the weeks before, since more kids were in school. But I thought July was particularly crowded at the parks!! Didn't seem like numbers were down to me.

Just curious, but we now have gone the same week the last two years - the end of August into Labor Day weekend. For those of you who have also gone at least the last two years in late August...did you think the crowds were higher this year? I certainly did. They were still very managable and very few attractions had significant waits, but I definitely think crowd levels were up a little over last year.

And from the old "take it with a grain of salt" department...while dining in one of the restaurants (I don't remember which one - possibly was Liberty Tree Tavern), I clearly overheard the waiter telling the table next to us (it was a different waiter than ours) that this was just one of the slowest summers overall for WDW in a long time. I have a hard time believing that one...but maybe we'll get a clue as to whether or not that was accurate when the next quaterly earnings are reported.

I think Irene may have played a roll. Perhaps people cancelled vacations?

For those of you interested, I have started my dining reviews
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2793904

Thanks, will check it out!

 

[disneykris2001]

We were at POFQ from August 28 - September 4. This was our first late August trip and I found the crowds to be bigger than I expected. From what I read on the Disboards and other websites, I really thought the crowds would have been lighter. Then when Irene hit, I thought it would be smooth sailing with no waits for rides, attractions or restaurants. I was wrong. Most restaurants were "reservation only" and most rides/attractions usually had at least a 30 min wait without fastpass. Thankfully I had ADRs for all of our Free Dining Meals! On Thursday night, the Magic Kingdom was absoulutely insane. After the Electrical Parade and Wishes, it took us two hours to get back to our hotel. The busses were packed, the ferry lines were all the way to the monorail ramp. People were shoulder to shoulder everywhere. Fortunately, Friday and Saturday were a bit less crowded and the weather finally improved. All in all we had a fabulous vacation!!!

 

[mcd2745]

I'm wondering about the last two weeks of August as well. This year we went on our first trip ever on the last week of August going into September. We felt that the crowds were quite manageable and were less then we expected. Next year we are going a week earlier (the second last week of August).

Will it be crazy busy August 19-24 of 2012?

Star Wars Celebration starts in Orlando on the 24th and Star Wars fans from all over the world will be heading to Orlando that week. How much will that affect the crowds that week? Any thoughts?

We were at POFQ from August 28 - September 4. This was our first late August trip and I found the crowds to be bigger than I expected. From what I read on the Disboards and other websites, I really thought the crowds would have been lighter. Then when Irene hit, I thought it would be smooth sailing with no waits for rides, attractions or restaurants. I was wrong. Most restaurants were "reservation only" and most rides/attractions usually had at least a 30 min wait without fastpass. Thankfully I had ADRs for all of our Free Dining Meals! On Thursday night, the Magic Kingdom was absoulutely insane. After the Electrical Parade and Wishes, it took us two hours to get back to our hotel. The busses were packed, the ferry lines were all the way to the monorail ramp. People were shoulder to shoulder everywhere. Fortunately, Friday and Saturday were a bit less crowded and the weather finally improved. All in all we had a fabulous vacation!!!

Funny. Looks like you were both there the same week (as was I), but have opposite opinions with regards to crowd levels. As I said earlier, I think crowds were still very managable but were a little more than last year. Or, maybe, I just did a better job last year of picking which day to go to which park.

We were at MK the same Thursday night you're talking about (we did Typhoon Lagoon earlier in the day and got to MK for a 6pm dinner ADR at Crystal Palace), and yes...it was VERY crowded. I was surprised how crowded it was. Maybe it was because it was open until 10 that night and was only open until 9 the rest of the week. And part of the problem with people trying to leave after park closing was that the monorails were not running AT ALL. That's why the ferry line was so huge.

As to the question of what it's like a week earlier, it's probably a little more crowded but you'll still have a lot of states who have gone back to school by that point (particularly Florida) so it won't be as bad as, say, the first week of August. and if free dining hasn't started yet, that should help as well.

 

[Stan Solo]

I will be at Celebration VI!!!! Most will probably stay near the convention center. I have the Orlando Hilton booked, but am thinking of switching to a Disney resort.

Schools around here start AFTER the 18th, usually a week apart. So it won't be as crowded as early August.

Thanks I was wondering about when school stared in FL. This makes me feel much better I was starting to think maybe we should do Disney after C6. Hey maybe I'll see you there.

We have POP booked AUG 19-24 to go to the parks, the Econo Lodge (1/2 mile from the convention center) booked 24-27. If we can get a pin or a good price before we book our flights we would like to stay at POR from the 27-29 for some R&R before we go back to work/school after labor day. DD will be starting grade 12 next year .

 

[lovethattink]

Thanks I was wondering about when school stared in FL. This makes me feel much better I was starting to think maybe we should do Disney after C6. Hey maybe I'll see you there.

We have POP booked AUG 19-24 to go to the parks, the Econo Lodge (1/2 mile from the convention center) booked 24-27. If we can get a pin or a good price before we book our flights we would like to stay at POR from the 27-29 for some R&R before we go back to work/school after labor day. DD will be starting grade 12 next year .

I'm a newbie to the celebration. I started a thread a couple months ago. Any insight you can give me would be great!

My son is a senior this year. Didn't include him on the resies for C6 because we don't know where he's going for college.

 

[Stan Solo]

I'm a newbie to the celebration. I started a thread a couple months ago. Any insight you can give me would be great!

My son is a senior this year. Didn't include him on the resies for C6 because we don't know where he's going for college.

Sorry LTT but this will be my first big convention so I'm not all that sure what I'm infor myself. During C5 The Force Cast (a podcast I listen to each week) were there and went in with a "no fan left behind" atatued and did some great great shows from Orlando. The shows they did are still available for free download at theforce.net or iTunes. YouTube is also a great source of information from C5.

 

[mcd2745]

It's amazing I tell ya. I feel like it was only yesterday it was the beginning of the summer and we still had a couple of months to go before our trip. I can't believe that we've already been back for almost 2 weeks - and that we're halfway through September as well.

 

[lizzyb]

It's amazing I tell ya. I feel like it was only yesterday it was the beginning of the summer and we still had a couple of months to go before our trip. I can't believe that we've already been back for almost 2 weeks - and that we're halfway through September as well.

I know. It took soo long to get here and then it was gone soo fast!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

My TR is up! I hope you will all join me there!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2802584