Here now...personal observations

[Shanti]

You instructed them to overcook the meat.

No. Medium-cooked meat should not be tough or chewy. It should be tender, with a broad band of pink inside.

 

[taaren]

I agree about MaxPass. Being used to the 3 FP's at WDW (plus whatever dinky FP's you can get there same-day), I was awed last month at being able to FP headliner after headliner at the Disneyland parks. I saw people waiting in the long standby lines and couldn't help wondering why more people wouldn't spend just $10 per person for a vastly improved touring experience.

I think this depends on how often you go, what your goals are. I'll be using Maxpass for the first time this weekend trip (flying out late tonight after work), looking forward to it based on everybody's reviews.

However, we're the type that get Deluxe AP's every other year, and I'm DVC so we stay on site about half the time and do somewhat longer trips. Therefore on my DVC trips we go in for EMH, hit the 5+ rides that are important to us in the morning with little to no lines, grab some FPs on the way out of the park and then settle in for enjoyment of the resorts and what is for us the main feature, the snacks. If MaxPass included a way to skip the beignet, ice cream, churro, and Food & Wine Festival lines I'd probably buy it every time. But we've never not gotten in as many rides as we've wanted with Extra Magic Hours plus getting regular fastpasses in the afternoon and evenings (we probably only do another 5-6 rides after those first 3 hours, half of which are the short-line ones like Mater's etc, but that's all we want). And so in a trip that is 3 days or more, we've ridden all of our favorites at least 4 times, all the rides we enjoy but don't love/absolutely need to go on 1-2 times.

This weekend we only have Sunday/Monday in the park and are staying off-site at my other timeshare since I'm out of DVC points for a bit, so MaxPass will be awesome with no access to EMH and the resort being a little farther away. Also having it be $10 is a different proposition for 2-3 people for 1-2 days than it is for a family of 5+ for multiple days (our last configuration, its fun to bring friends for the kids, etc, but it adds up! Snacks/meals can be and frequently are shared, MaxPass can't).

Personally I thought the 3FP+ in combination with the EMHs at WDW worked great, different system for a different style of touring. I'd love to see FP+ here as an option but I guess the technology is oddly proprietary to each coast.

To the OP: Totally get what you mean about Xmas Disneyland, I think Spring and Fall pre-Halloween are my favorite now for the combination of weather and not having it be all about the holidays. Born and raised Maui girl, but somehow still the heat of summer at DLR wilts me and the kids. My friends and I regularly talk about how we miss seeing the regular haunted mansion, Space Mountain, and just plain old Disney decor as opposed to the holiday themed stuff since the best time to travel for us tends to be when all of that is up (most of my friends and family's birthdays seem to fall during these times so is most often when we get to Disney).

 

[BadPinkTink]

I saw people waiting in the long standby lines and couldn't help wondering why more people wouldn't spend just $10 per person for a vastly improved touring experience.

I will not be buying Max Pass on my next visit in June 2018. I am from Europe and data roaming on my phone plan is astronomical. I always turn off data roaming when in America and only use free WiFi. The free WiFi in Disney is not reliable.

I have no issue in the past getting whatever Fastpass I need, and I dont see why I should have to pay for something which can be obtained for free.

 

[Shanti]

I will not be buying Max Pass on my next visit in June 2018. I am from Europe and data roaming on my phone plan is astronomical. I always turn off data roaming when in America and only use free WiFi. The free WiFi in Disney is not reliable.

I have no issue in the past getting whatever Fastpass I need, and I dont see why I should have to pay for something which can be obtained for free.

Different strokes. However, getting FPs by hand is not really comparable to MaxPass, because MaxPass requires no travel. We made FPs for one park while in the other, and for attractions while on opposite sides of the park, while waiting to be seated for meals or while in line for other attractions. That saves a lot of time, energy and frustration, and makes time for more rides.

 

[LTiffany]

No. Medium-cooked meat should not be tough or chewy. It should be tender, with a broad band of pink inside.

I agree that it should not be tough or chewy, but I stopped asking for meat medium because it doesn't have pink in the center at most places when you do. Especially prime rib. I ask for medium rare so there's some pink. That said, we won't go to Steakhouse 55 anymore. The have consistently overcooked our meat.

 

[BrookeMQ]

I will not be buying Max Pass on my next visit in June 2018. I am from Europe and data roaming on my phone plan is astronomical. I always turn off data roaming when in America and only use free WiFi. The free WiFi in Disney is not reliable.

I have no issue in the past getting whatever Fastpass I need, and I dont see why I should have to pay for something which can be obtained for free.

I agree with your first comment. That is tough.

The second statement... yes you can do it for free. But the times you get to pull will not be as good as the ones on max pass. And you will waste time running from station to station. But it is a matter of preference. There were only two of us who went on the trip so for $20 i felt it was worth it. If i had a huge family i may have felt otherwise.