Originally Posted By sjhym33 Talked to a friend at EPCOT today who told me that wait times for Soarin have been up to 240 mins in the standby line. Test Track has been pretty close to that and ever Spaceship Earth has been over an hour during the day. I guess I will wait a couple of days before heading to the park.
Originally Posted By Labuda Good idea, sir! And WOW to the amazing amount of patience people have. Not me! The only ride I stood in a standby line for while at WDW during non-EMH hours last week was Toy Story Mania, and that's something -em and I went right to and got in line for when the park opened. Turns out that was about 30 minutes, but no worries - wasn't bad at all. Everything else I bypassed during the daylight hours when in the parks if they weren't walk-ons and I instead did them at night. For example, I saw IASW at 40 minutes during the day - NO WAY! Waited until near fireworks time and walked right onto it, then headed over to BTMRR and Splash, then walked on Pirates and then the JC when leaving the park. Only EMH wait I had was Soarin' and that was MAYBE 15 minutes - I got lucky. During that same EMH I walked on to Figment (not a shock) and Nemo (again, not a shock) and SSE - whereas during the DAY, SSE had a full line. No thank you!
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 I heard the same thing. Had friends who went to EPCOT last night and found it packed and were told Studios were just as bad. They went to MK instead and had a great time. Said it was like 'a busy saturday night' but not like NYE. Of course, I don't wait for anything at WDW unless I'm entertaining others (well, I always am doing that but ...) ... If I really want to do something, I might ... might be willing to wait 20-30 minutes.
Originally Posted By piratedeb413 When I was there on Dec. 19th Soarin' was up to 75 minutes and Test Track was 2 hours.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Those are pretty typical waits for those attractions, Deb. I never do Soarin in FLA without a FP or during EMH. TT I only do single rider line ... did it three times week before you and never waited more than 10-15 minutes.
Originally Posted By disney pete would flip if i had to wait 240 mins for any of the rides biggies or not,i like to get a lot done in the parks with times like that you would hardly ride anything.
Originally Posted By Sara Tonin They'd have to have a lot more entertainment in the line for me...I just couldn't wait that long for anything. That said I still haven't ridden Soarin'.
Originally Posted By leobloom I'm trying to understand the mentality of someone who would line up for Soarin' with a posted wait of 240 minutes. Even if you thought the wait was exaggerated, you're still willing to wait, what, three hours for a five minute ride? I'd rather just find somewhere to sit and people watch. I can't imagine anyone feeling happy after waiting in a line for three or four hours. Of course, I've never waited in the stand-by line for Soarin' even on a normal day. FP is the only way I'll ride that one.
Originally Posted By barboy ///I'm trying to understand the mentality of someone who would line up for Soarin' with a posted wait of 240 minutes./// I will 1 up you: I'm trying to understand the mentality of those who have choices of traveling dates(which is the vast majority of people) but yet stupidly plan vacations to WDW around Christmas and New Years. Parents tell their extended family and workmates that they will spend holidays at WDW; kids brag to their friends at school where they get to go for Christmas--- everything looks great 'on paper' until the real fun begins. These families eagerly come from great distances to get to Orlando only to find that what looks like half of the globe has descended on WDW/Universal/greater Orlando area. And like mindless drones these families pay peak prices for their hotels but that isn't what frustrates Dad the most--- he has very quickly become irate over waiting in long lines for rides, restrooms, buses/parking, snack carts and gift shops and his whining kids aren't helping his mood either. For those of you finding yourselves queuing up for park toilets 10 or more antsy people deep more often than not during your stay and you see 4 hr. waits for something like Soarin' then chances are you have chosen a very foolish time to visit WDW.
Originally Posted By mousermerf You have to look at the crowds for what they are. Look at the photos. At Epcot, there's a surprisingly low number of children-to-adults on NYE. Second, look for Backpacks. The people with Backpacks came prepared, this isn't their first rodeo. Most of the folks with backpacks (of which you'll notice there's many) have done this before or came knowing what to expect. Subtract all those people and their traveling companions (why bring two backpacks when one will suffice for a small group?) and then look at the park total. It's busy, but really not that bad.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo The big issue is here in the UK. It is almost illegal in some counties to take your kids out of school to travel. The Feb and October breaks are only one week, which is too short to fly 3000 miles. So that leaves 6 weeks in the summer (hot and hurricane season as we have late summer off), Christmas and Easter. I know the UK accounts for a small number of the visitors, but that is a part of it. That said, when we took the kids before they started school in Nov/Dec, waits for Soarin' were still at 90 minutes.
Originally Posted By barboy ///The people with Backpacks came prepared, this isn't their first rodeo./// good point
Originally Posted By Labuda "I'm trying to understand the mentality of those who have choices of traveling dates(which is the vast majority of people) but yet stupidly plan vacations to WDW around Christmas and New Years. " Easy there... some of us do it knowing full well what we're going into and plan accordingly. This trip (I spent Christmas at WDW) was absolutely wonderful and, honestly, the most relaxing Disney vacation I've ever had. Christmas was especially nice - I slept in, watched basketball all day, then had dinner in Epcot with a friend, went to ESPN Club and watched most of the 3rd and 4th quarters of the Vikings/Chargers game, then went back into Epcot and did everything I wanted during EMH on my way back to my hotel. Nice, relaxing day and week. Christmas Eve was really nice, too - got up early, did some park action, then went to the hotel for a rest, then the MK where I did a couple of things, and then the Pirates & Pals fireworks voyage - wonderful way to spend the night before Christmas.
Originally Posted By barboy "almost illegal" to travel with one's own children outside of gov't selected times of the year in certain UK zones....what does that mean? ....."Illegal" as in criminal?
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA I wouldn't wait 240 minutes to meet Walt Disney. There, I said it.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo barboy, here is an excerpt from the guidance in our area: Family Holidays During Term Time The Law The law says that parents/carers do not have a legal right to take their child out of school for holidays in term time. However, schools can allow parents/carers to take their child out of school providing there are special circumstances for the request and an application is made in advance by the parent/carer with whom the child normally resides. Only in exceptional circumstances will more than 10 school days absence be granted in any school year. If you take a holiday without the school’s permission or if your child fails to return by the agreed date, this will be recorded as unauthorised absence and noted on your child’s records. If your child has not returned within 10 days of the expected date of return, then the school may take your child off roll, after consultation with the Local Authority. The school may also ask the Education Welfare Service to consider a Penalty Notice. The Penalty Notice is £50 if paid within 28 days or £100 if paid after 28 days but within 42 days. If you do not pay a Penalty Notice, you will be prosecuted in Court. What schools can do Each school has a policy on granting term-time holiday. When deciding whether to allow time off, the school will consider; •If there are special circumstances for the request •The time of year you want the holiday •How long the holiday will be and how much it will disrupt your child’s education •Previous similar requests •Your child’s attendance record Schools will take into account government guidance when considering what are special circumstances. Holiday requests for the following reasons are not considered to be special circumstances; •Availability of cheap holidays •Availability of desired accommodation •Poor weather experienced in school holiday periods •Overlapping with beginning or end of term What parents/carers can do You should request time off for your child as soon as possible and always before the holiday. However please do not expect the school to grant your request unless there are special circumstances. It is important to carefully consider the implications of taking your child out of school during term time. There are 190 statutory school days a year; so there are 175 other days (weekends and school holidays) available for holidays which would not have a negative effect on your child’s education. By taking your child on holiday in term time you may be giving them an unspoken message that school doesn’t matter. Some children find it difficult to renew friendships with other pupils when they return to school. If the school grants a holiday in term time due to special circumstances, please discuss with the Headteacher how you will help your child to catch up with the missing hours of education lost (50 hours for a full 10 days holiday) Especially avoid taking your child out of school; •Close to or during examinations •When valuable group work with other pupils is taking place that cannot be repeated •If your child needs help in certain subjects to access all the education support that is offered •During the induction week when your child transfers from one school to another and needs to familiarise themselves with the new school layout •During the first year in a new school when pupils may experience problems settling in Where Can you contact Us? For further details please click here. Alternatively you can contact your schools for the telephone number of your Education Welfare Officer.
Originally Posted By FenwayGirl The schools in our town here in Massachusetts are very strict also. Luckily we have a 3 day week every MLK week, so we usually go that weekend..
Originally Posted By barboy Exp. Everest and Pirates should trump 4th grade English and math ---- fun first then comes boring and in many cases pointless schooling, I say. I am so glad that I didn't grow up in today's UK and US and that I live in a place where for the most part I control my own destiny due to limited gov't interference.
Originally Posted By piratedeb413 Just want to make it clear.....I did NOT wait 75 minutes for Soarin' nor 2 hours for TT. The only reason I went the week before XMAS was I wanted to catch Splash Mountain before it closed down today...those Dec. crowds are just too much for me. I did ride Soarin' the night Epcot had Magical Hours.
