Originally Posted By irishfan Or anyone who has been to the resort over the past week or two. My sister has just informed me she's booked a last minute trip to DLP, arriving this Sunday for two nights, staying at Hotel New York. It's been ten years since I was last at DLP during summer peak season, so I'm having trouble with advising her regarding, what to do, and when to do it. How were the crowds? How long were the queues? Did the crowds thin out a lot in the later evening? Any info, tips and advice will be much appreciated.
Originally Posted By u k fan Let me see. I will say that the weather was so so when I was there so that probably affected the crowds, but all of the parades and Wishes were very well attended. We were able to get a good spot for Fantillusion in Town Square about 20 minutes before showtime. I would recommend finding a good spot for Wishes at the same though as Main Street became swamped from after Fantillusion until Wishes started. We watched Fantillusion from outside the Fire Station then used Discovery Arcade to get up to the hub for Wishes and we were able to get a good spot in the middle of Main Street level with the Mickey Meet n Greet area. The crowds did definitely thin in the evenings, but understandably you wouldn't know it from a walk down Main St. We didn't bother with a lot of attractions, but the longest wait for anything we actually did was for Buzz which was about 40 minutes. That was at 8:30 ish in the evening. At the same time SM:M2 was 20 mins. Let's see First thing in the morning we rode Snow White, Pinnochio and the Carrousel in about 20 mins. Then we FastPassed Peter Pan and rode Dumbo with a 20 min wait. After Peter Pan, POTC was about a 10-15 min wait (or would have been if it hadn't gone down). Compared to some peak seasons the queues seemed quite reasonable. BTM and Buzz were the worst offenders. At Midday BTM was 55 mins (we didn't ride it this time). In the afternoon Flying Carpets was a 20 min wait as was RnRC. The TV tour was one of the biggest lines that day at around 30 mins (so not worth it, we didn't bother). We walked onto the Tram Tour in the middle of the afternoon. The Animation Tour was a walk in too. In early evening we got straight onto the next rides of The Teacups, Casey Jr. and the Storybook Canal Boats. Other than IASW that's about all we did. One tip: Do not believe the information boards re queue lengths they were VERY wrong on more than one occasion! And not in the good way! We watched the Princess Parade over dinner at Walt's, but Main St was very busy. We didn't have trouble getting the table we wanted though. We also had no problems getting into our choice of sittings for a Character Breakfast at The Plaza Gardens. Neither the Sequoia or the NY had both restaurants open and the ones that were open were evenings only (6 or 7 onwards). We had an early dinner (5-6ish) at Annette's and were seated on arrival without reservations, though they were steady and opened the upstairs while we were there. On another note, there were some bargains in the shops this time! All in all although I tend to avoid the summer it wasn't a bad trip crowd wise. I was served very quickly in all of the fast food places we visited (Bella Note, Pizza Planet, Cowboy Cookout, Captain Hook's Galley), being able to get up on Hook's ship was a nice surprise as I haven't done that for ages. I will say here and now for the record that I was VERY impressed with the frontline CM's I spoke to. Without exception they were some of the nicest, friendliest and Disneyest of CM's I have encountered. I truly believed they cared if we had a Magical Day or not. I even saw a CM chastise someone for climbing where they shouldn't have been! If I think of anything else I'll let you know!!!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo "Compared to some peak seasons the queues seemed quite reasonable." That's been my experience too. Half terms, Christmas and Easter, and especially Halloween week have always had crazy crowds. But I have found the summer is quite manageable (except the weekends - 3 hrs for BTM????). I don;t know if it is because the holidays season is longer, or if it is because the parks are open later, but if you plan and tour smart (like UKFAN did e.g. Fantasyland or BTM 1st thing), then you can cope.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo "We watched the Princess Parade over dinner at Walt's, but Main St was very busy. We didn't have trouble getting the table we wanted though. We also had no problems getting into our choice of sittings for a Character Breakfast at The Plaza Gardens. " Now you're talking. You have done well young paduan.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo "Neither the Sequoia or the NY had both restaurants open and the ones that were open were evenings only (6 or 7 onwards)." This is crazy in the summer, especially as all 4 of those restaurants are amongst the best value and quality. I am sorry to hear this.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo "I will say here and now for the record that I was VERY impressed with the frontline CM's I spoke to. Without exception they were some of the nicest, friendliest and Disneyest of CM's I have encountered. I truly believed they cared if we had a Magical Day or not. I even saw a CM chastise someone for climbing where they shouldn't have been!" This is great news. I have noticed they seem to be getting better and better. And I am really pleased to hear them enforcing the rules!!! How was maintenance? Have they addressed any of the major pot holes? How does the newly refurbed exterior of the DLH look? Were all the waterfalls and fountains still working (much to my surprise, they were in May). Great to read your trip report buddy, we need to hook up and talk. Sadly, I've done 1500 miles this week and have 5 deadlines (some weekend working for me), but we need to catch up.
Originally Posted By u k fan They were still working on the DLH while we were there and to be honest you could only tell subtle differences between the 2 parts. Once it's all done though I think it will look great. They seem to be using a lighter colour this time or maybe it's just the years of dirt that are being lost! I can't say that I remember much about the fountains etc. I think the fountain in front of Studio 1 was going and I think that they all were, but i don't remember sorry! As for other maintenance I can't really say I noticed anything, but the park did look good. Also, it was character heaven. I saw some characters I hadn't seen for years including my fave, Clopin!!!
Originally Posted By irishfan Speaking of Maintenance, between Sept 2006 and June 2007, there will be nearly 30 attraction refurbishments. DLP should be looking in top shape for it's 15th birthday year. Also, one of these refurbishments will be the Molly Brown, which is great to hear.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Where'd you see this Irishfan? We are looking at putting together a big LP meet for the 15th next year. If you are back in Europe, it'd be great to see you there.
Originally Posted By irishfan Refurbh info can be found here: <a href="http://www.dlrpmagic.com/guides/resort/practical/scheduledclosures/" target="_blank">http://www.dlrpmagic.com/guide s/resort/practical/scheduledclosures/</a> Would love to make the big LP meet next year. I may actually be back in Europe in 2007 for an extended period, and if thats the case I'll definetly be planning a trip to the resort.
