Disney World in February (now maybe Universal) (1 Viewer)

[That one guy]

Embassy Suites.  The wedding was at the Dr. Phillips Center.

Cool.  Makes sense but I was unaware they rented space out there for such events.  My office is in the building right next door to Embassy.  I thought you guys were staying at or close to the attractions, otherwise I’d have suggested hitting up White Wolf (just north of the downtown district) for breakfast before heading home.  

 

[The Commish]

Was wondering how this went.  We were at Busch Gardens and it was the fullest I've ever seen it in the 3-4 times we've been, so I figured Disney was slammed.

 

[PlayaHata]

By the way, we met Mary Poppins and that girl might have been the greatest actress ever. I felt like she was really Mary Poppins.

On a side note, I feel like I learned I have a new fetish after seeing all of these hot girls dressed as Disney princesses.  

I still remember Megara from when we took our kids years ago.  I think I enjoyed meeting her as much as my kids did LOL.

 

[Capella]

We are going to MK Saturday. Expecting it to be mega-packed. Kid has been asking to go to “Mickey castle” for a while now though. 

 

[TheIronSheik]

Cool.  Makes sense but I was unaware they rented space out there for such events.  My office is in the building right next door to Embassy.  I thought you guys were staying at or close to the attractions, otherwise I’d have suggested hitting up White Wolf (just north of the downtown district) for breakfast before heading home.  

No.  The amusement park was always the secondary part of the trip.  We stayed an extra day just so we could do that.  We thought about trying to stay more but we didn't want to have our daughter out of school for too long.  So we just decided to stay one extra day and do one park.  

 

[TheIronSheik]

Was wondering how this went.  We were at Busch Gardens and it was the fullest I've ever seen it in the 3-4 times we've been, so I figured Disney was slammed.

It was insanely packed.  A give a little more breakdown either later today or tomorrow.  I was out sick Tuesday and Wednesday and then missed Thursday and Friday for the trip.  So I'm trying to catch up on a week's worth of missed work.

But, yes, it was crazy busy.  

 

[glvsav37]

I still remember Megara from when we took our kids years ago.  I think I enjoyed meeting her as much as my kids did LOL.

very underrated costumed character 

 

[TheIronSheik]

very underrated costumed character 

I actually thought she was the hottest Disney character ever.  Was disappointed to see the voice actor was no where near as hot as the sketch.

 

[JaxBill]

I was talking to a coworker who was with his cheerleader daughter for the National competition at WDW/Wide World of Sports this weekend. He has gone to this competition several times before and said the crowds and traffic were the worst he has seen it.

 

[TheIronSheik]

I was talking to a coworker who was with his cheerleader daughter for the National competition at WDW/Wide World of Sports this weekend. He has gone to this competition several times before and said the crowds and traffic were the worst he has seen it.

I wonder why.  I mean, there were times when we would be walking and we'd come to a complete stop because of a human traffic jam.  No one could move.  Honestly, it reminded me of being at the Eagles Championship parade.  Wall to wall people with no room to breathe.  

 

[Capella]

I wonder why.  I mean, there were times when we would be walking and we'd come to a complete stop because of a human traffic jam.  No one could move.  Honestly, it reminded me of being at the Eagles Championship parade.  Wall to wall people with no room to breathe.  

Economy is up. People have money. 
 

my wife is on a Disney Facebook group. Lot of people on there complain about the prices of the park and think ticket prices should be slashed. Can you imagine how many fn people would be at the park everyday if they did that? If anything they need to keep raising the damn things. 

 

[AcerFC]

We in the Disney thread have known for a while that there really isnt a down time anymore.

Your best bet is to go the last few weeks of August when Southern schools go back or the first few weeks of September when Northern schools go back

You will find it less busy in the summer these days because people wised up. They will take their kids out of school and not wait on lines AND have it be 90+ in Florida sun

 

[TheIronSheik]

We in the Disney thread have known for a while that there really isnt a down time anymore.

Your best bet is to go the last few weeks of August when Southern schools go back or the first few weeks of September when Northern schools go back

You will find it less busy in the summer these days because people wised up. They will take their kids out of school and not wait on lines AND have it be 90+ in Florida sun

It wasn't so much we were hoping for a downtime.  It was just that it was so packed.  And from what we've been hearing, a lot of people (regulars included) have been talking about how busy this past weekend was.

 

[AcerFC]

It wasn't so much we were hoping for a downtime.  It was just that it was so packed.  And from what we've been hearing, a lot of people (regulars included) have been talking about how busy this past weekend was.

Yeah, but you hear that every single time someone goes including from  cappy who has been there a million times. There is no sense in wondering why, it just is at this point. 

 

[belljr]

It wasn't so much we were hoping for a downtime.  It was just that it was so packed.  And from what we've been hearing, a lot of people (regulars included) have been talking about how busy this past weekend was.

we used to go in the winter and the crowds were awesome....except the one time we accidentally went Presidents day weekend -  just walls of people

 

[TheIronSheik]

Yeah, but you hear that every single time someone goes including from  cappy who has been there a million times. There is no sense in wondering why, it just is at this point. 

Fair enough.  I'm not bothered by it.  Was just wondering if anyone knew why the crowds were so big this weekend. 

 

[glvsav37]

Fair enough.  I'm not bothered by it.  Was just wondering if anyone knew why the crowds were so big this weekend. 

there are a bunch of reasons. 

1st off, I checked the crowd forecast and it had MK around a 5-6 for you. (1 lowest, 10 busiest). But did look at the average wait times and it did seem like they were higher than expected. Averaging 40min/per 

There is no official school holiday right now, but i'm finding people are more willing to take their kids out of school. Rather risk a week of school, then pay a ton of money in summer and bake and (expect to) wait on longer lines

There are more DVC (Disney Vacation club) members then ever before, and its growing. DVC room availability fluctuates greatly, so it is possible that there were some good availability. 

There is a rather decent resort/ticket package promotion going on now

The new Star Wars stuff is drawing people. And they have to go somewhere else on other park days.

The Festival of the Arts is happening in Epcot, so people plan trip around that....and see above. 

Other people are avoiding Epcot b/c it is very torn up with construction right now. 

But the biggest reason is that there is more resort rooms than the parks can physically handle. They keep building and are not stopping. A new mega-resort opened about 2 weeks ago, so people were coming down to stay there while its new. 

 

[TheIronSheik]

there are a bunch of reasons. 

1st off, I checked the crowd forecast and it had MK around a 5-6 for you. (1 lowest, 10 busiest). But did look at the average wait times and it did seem like they were higher than expected. Averaging 40min/per 

There is no official school holiday right now, but i'm finding people are more willing to take their kids out of school. Rather risk a week of school, then pay a ton of money in summer and bake and (expect to) wait on longer lines

There are more DVC (Disney Vacation club) members then ever before, and its growing. DVC room availability fluctuates greatly, so it is possible that there were some good availability. 

There is a rather decent resort/ticket package promotion going on now

The new Star Wars stuff is drawing people. And they have to go somewhere else on other park days.

The Festival of the Arts is happening in Epcot, so people plan trip around that....and see above. 

Other people are avoiding Epcot b/c it is very torn up with construction right now. 

But the biggest reason is that there is more resort rooms than the parks can physically handle. They keep building and are not stopping. A new mega-resort opened about 2 weeks ago, so people were coming down to stay there while its new. 

Yup.  There wasn't a single non-babyish ride that didn't have an hour wait time.  I think we only waited in 3 actual ride lines.  Haunted Mansion was just under 2 hours.  Space Mountain was 2 and a half.  Even the princess meet and greets were 45 minutes.  Honestly, the whole idea of everyone getting 3 fast pass rides was brilliant by Disney.  That made the day.

 

[TheIronSheik]

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of marriage, it was the age of foolishly going to Disney...

This was a trip for a family wedding.  We decided to try and use the least amount of vacation days and miss the least amount of school while still squeezing in as much as possible.  I knew it would be taxing, but thanks to the help of the FFA, it was all pulled off beautifully.  And while it might have seemed smooth on the surface, the duck feet were paddling furiously underwater from start to finish.

On the flight to Orlando, we barely got seats and they split us all up.  Our flight was filled with high school cheerleaders.  I was in a middle seat completely surrounded by loud, obnoxious high school girls amped up on what I could only guess was a combination of Red Bull, speed and cocaine.  From that point on, everything we did was just waiting in a big line.  I messed up my back the day before the flight and pinched the nerve pretty bad.  So when we got to the hotel Thursday night at 10pm, I was ready to just lie down and rest.  And when I woke up Friday morning, I knew I was in trouble.  Usually walking or laying down helps my back.  But there was nothing that would stop the pain.  Standing in place is the worst thing for it and I knew the next 48 hours was going to be nothing but that.  

We left for the wedding at 4 and partied until 11pm.  We were about 5 blocks away from the hotel and they were supposed to have a shuttle to take us back and forth, but apparently the hotel dropped the ball.  So we had to fend for ourselves.  I pulled up the Uber app and it said the pick up/drop off for the place we were at was 2 blocks away.  But with my in-laws, they couldn't walk more than 20 feet.  So a nightmare ensued. My daughter and I had to walk 2 blocks and get an Uber, but then she showed up at the wrong spot, so we had to walk another block.  When we finally got in, she literally drove us a block and a half.  Also, during our walk, a nice friendly lady called me a disgusting pig from her car.  I can only assume she thought my daughter was my date.  Either that, or my looks have faded much faster than I realized.  My inner voice was trying to convince me it was the latter.

We got to bed around 1am and were back up at 6am to get ready for Mickey.  Surprisingly, we got to the park with no issues.  Parked right near the front, walked down and no line for the tickets.  Walked down to the boat and got right on.  Not very crowded and we left as soon as we boarded.  It unloaded us and we walked up to the castle and waited maybe 15 minutes before the mice came out and put on a neat little show.  When the gates opened, we made our way back to the Thunder ride.  When I was a kid, we waited in line for an hour for this ride before it was closed for issues.  The one ride I never got to ride.  As we got to the line entrance, a park guy told us it was shut down.  So we walked from there to the Dwarves ride.  When we got to the line, it said 90 minutes and we thought, "Oh well.  It is what it is."  And we waited, all the while joking around and having a fun time.  After 90 minutes, we hopped into the cart and the sat there for about a minute.  Then they told us to get back in line.  So we disembarked and waited some more.  Finally they announced the ride was broken.  It was like a cruel joke.  

We got our extra fast pass and decided to get something to drink.  As we walked to find a refreshment stand, we came across Mary Poppins.  She was awesome.  Telling the kids how to stand properly and how to look at the camera.  My wife and I literally began to tear up and we had to laugh because we weren't sure why.  Daughter loved it.  You could literally see her go from 16 to 8 years old in a flash.  We waited in line for a drink and when it was our turn, the guy told us the soda machine broke.  We all got waters and laughed at our bad luck.

At this point, the park was still not wall to wall.  It was crowded, but nothing crazy.  We went and met Belle which we waited about 20 minutes for.  Then we met Ariel with a fast pass.  At this point, I could barely walk.  My leg shaking from pain.  But we soldiered on with opiods and Aleve.  After lunch, we hit PotC and this is when we first started noticing the crowds.  The line for this was a little under 2 hours.  When we got off, you could barely walk anywhere.  We finished the day riding Thunder, Haunted Mansion, and Space Mountain with fast pass.  Just walking between rides took an hour or so.  It was crazy.  

We got to the castle a little over an hour before they started and it looked about as packed as the Eagles championship parade.  You couldn't move, just wall to wall people.  Fireworks were awesome and when they ended we bolted for the exits.  Getting out of the park was difficult, but we got on the boat with no issue and off of the boat, too.  We even got to our car and had not a single car in front of us to get out.  That part was amazing.  Of course, as I said earlier, they shut down 4 for an accident and it turned a 20 minute ride into a 90 minute ride.  Just more waiting in line in Orlando.

Going home was a nightmare, just like coming.  We almost didn't have seats until two people opted for the flight voucher, giving us all seats on the flight.  A nightmare.  Overbooking is ridiculous and someone should file a class action lawsuit.

In the end, all of the issues were worthwhile.  My daughter loved it and it was just as magical as they claim.  Would we go back?  Not a chance in hell.  We love parks and go once a year at least to one around us.  I don't mind waiting a little bit for a ride, but if I'm in line for more than 20 minutes, I'm not happy.  No ride is worth that long of wait.  Disney is because it's Disney, but it's a one time thing in my eyes.  Don't need to experience PotC a second time. 

One side note, when I rode SM as a kid, there were like asteroids and things inside there that moved and you felt like you were going to run in to.  But this time, it was just a ride in the dark.  That wasn't as cool and I thought it was kind of dumb when you think about the rides and presentation of Disney.  When did this change?

 

[AAABatteries]

there are a bunch of reasons. 

1st off, I checked the crowd forecast and it had MK around a 5-6 for you. (1 lowest, 10 busiest). But did look at the average wait times and it did seem like they were higher than expected. Averaging 40min/per 

There is no official school holiday right now, but i'm finding people are more willing to take their kids out of school. Rather risk a week of school, then pay a ton of money in summer and bake and (expect to) wait on longer lines

There are more DVC (Disney Vacation club) members then ever before, and its growing. DVC room availability fluctuates greatly, so it is possible that there were some good availability. 

There is a rather decent resort/ticket package promotion going on now

The new Star Wars stuff is drawing people. And they have to go somewhere else on other park days.

The Festival of the Arts is happening in Epcot, so people plan trip around that....and see above. 

Other people are avoiding Epcot b/c it is very torn up with construction right now. 

But the biggest reason is that there is more resort rooms than the parks can physically handle. They keep building and are not stopping. A new mega-resort opened about 2 weeks ago, so people were coming down to stay there while its new. 

This is why I don't understand the resistance of building a 5th park - they keep building resorts and they did the huge DD makeover.  Make a damn Marvel park already

 

[fruity pebbles]

Felt pretty much the same as you. My daughter loved it and I hated it but I acted like I loved it the entire time for her. We’ve been best friends ever since we got home, almost sense she knew I hated it but put on a Disney face for her. I honestly don’t know how the fanatics do it. Woman I work with goes 3-4 times a year from the Northeast. Her and her husband, they have no kids. The music has to stop at some point doesn’t it? How long do people spend $110 a ticket to stand in line all day?

 

[That one guy]

This is why I don't understand the resistance of building a 5th park - they keep building resorts and they did the huge DD makeover.  Make a damn Marvel park already

They recently purchased something close to 300 acres of property...maybe it’ll happen?

 

[TheIronSheik]

Felt pretty much the same as you. My daughter loved it and I hated it but I acted like I loved it the entire time for her. We’ve been best friends ever since we got home, almost sense she knew I hated it but put on a Disney face for her. I honestly don’t know how the fanatics do it. Woman I work with goes 3-4 times a year from the Northeast. Her and her husband, they have no kids. The music has to stop at some point doesn’t it? How long do people spend $110 a ticket to stand in line all day?

To be fair, I loved it, too.  But as a one time thing.  We went in with the mindset that it wasn't just about rides.  it was also about everything there visually.  The fireworks, the characters, the feeling of being in a magical place...  all of that was truly amazing.  But now that we've experienced it, we'll be just fine going to HersheyPark in the summer and riding each roller coaster 10 times in a day.

 

[Capella]

This is why I don't understand the resistance of building a 5th park - they keep building resorts and they did the huge DD makeover.  Make a damn Marvel park already

Can’t. Universal has marvel rights East of the Mississippi for most of the main characters. 

 

[Capella]

Felt pretty much the same as you. My daughter loved it and I hated it but I acted like I loved it the entire time for her. We’ve been best friends ever since we got home, almost sense she knew I hated it but put on a Disney face for her. I honestly don’t know how the fanatics do it. Woman I work with goes 3-4 times a year from the Northeast. Her and her husband, they have no kids. The music has to stop at some point doesn’t it? How long do people spend $110 a ticket to stand in line all day?

Locals usually go for a few hours at night. We tend to go to Epcot or animal kingdom, have dinner and watch fireworks or ride a few rides. 4-5 hours tops and then back home. 
 

I know some people who come up from the north multiple times a year and go. Pretty much their only vacations. That I don’t get. But to each their own. 

 

[Osaurus]

To be fair, I loved it, too.  But as a one time thing.  We went in with the mindset that it wasn't just about rides.  it was also about everything there visually.  The fireworks, the characters, the feeling of being in a magical place...  all of that was truly amazing.  But now that we've experienced it, we'll be just fine going to HersheyPark in the summer and riding each roller coaster 10 times in a day.

Dutch Wonderland down? 

 

[TheIronSheik]

Dutch Wonderland down? 

Dutch isn't a real amusement park.  HP is a top notch, world class park.  Very nice selection of roller coasters, a couple of them ranked in the best in the world.

 

[Osaurus]

Dutch isn't a real amusement park.  HP is a top notch, world class park.  Very nice selection of roller coasters, a couple of them ranked in the best in the world.

Yes. I am aware. Maybe Digger Land for a change of pace?

 

[glvsav37]

Dutch isn't a real amusement park.  HP is a top notch, world class park.  Very nice selection of roller coasters, a couple of them ranked in the best in the world.

I can second this...HP is a really great coaster park. We are there 2 or so times a year, its within a few hours of us. My son usually has a hockey tournament there each fall.

 

[Osaurus]

I can second this...HP is a really great coaster park. We are there 2 or so times a year, its within a few hours of us. My son usually has a hockey tournament there each fall.

It was a joke. I’m originally from Philly.

 

[TheIronSheik]

We also throw Dorney and Great Adventure in the mix.  And we've gone out to Kings Island, which I love.

 

[TheIronSheik]

Yes. I am aware. Maybe Digger Land for a change of pace?

I don't know that one.  I was expecting Sesame Place to be the followup. 

 

[Osaurus]

I don't know that one.  I was expecting Sesame Place to be the followup. 

Ah yes. The Oxford Valley mall area. That was our “fancy mall” but usually it was strictly Woodhaven  :X  or Neshaminy.  

 

[belljr]

Yes. I am aware. Maybe Digger Land for a change of pace?

 

[belljr]

To be fair, I loved it, too.  But as a one time thing.  We went in with the mindset that it wasn't just about rides.  it was also about everything there visually.  The fireworks, the characters, the feeling of being in a magical place...  all of that was truly amazing.  But now that we've experienced it, we'll be just fine going to HersheyPark in the summer and riding each roller coaster 10 times in a day.

I  Hershey - we go every year....  I mean we are down to basically 1.5 days but its our tradition

Excited for the new coaster this year

 

[belljr]

How does Universal still "keep the Marvel land"?

That is starting to look dated also

 

[Osaurus]

Diggerland USA. Maybe it’s run by the Mafia  being in NJ and whatnot.

 

[belljr]

Diggerland USA. Maybe it’s run by the Mafia  being in NJ and whatnot.

oh i know it - my kid loved it and its super expensive to have a party there...

 

[Bull Dozier]

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of marriage, it was the age of foolishly going to Disney...

This was a trip for a family wedding.  We decided to try and use the least amount of vacation days and miss the least amount of school while still squeezing in as much as possible.  I knew it would be taxing, but thanks to the help of the FFA, it was all pulled off beautifully.  And while it might have seemed smooth on the surface, the duck feet were paddling furiously underwater from start to finish.

On the flight to Orlando, we barely got seats and they split us all up.  Our flight was filled with high school cheerleaders.  I was in a middle seat completely surrounded by loud, obnoxious high school girls amped up on what I could only guess was a combination of Red Bull, speed and cocaine.  From that point on, everything we did was just waiting in a big line.  I messed up my back the day before the flight and pinched the nerve pretty bad.  So when we got to the hotel Thursday night at 10pm, I was ready to just lie down and rest.  And when I woke up Friday morning, I knew I was in trouble.  Usually walking or laying down helps my back.  But there was nothing that would stop the pain.  Standing in place is the worst thing for it and I knew the next 48 hours was going to be nothing but that.  

We left for the wedding at 4 and partied until 11pm.  We were about 5 blocks away from the hotel and they were supposed to have a shuttle to take us back and forth, but apparently the hotel dropped the ball.  So we had to fend for ourselves.  I pulled up the Uber app and it said the pick up/drop off for the place we were at was 2 blocks away.  But with my in-laws, they couldn't walk more than 20 feet.  So a nightmare ensued. My daughter and I had to walk 2 blocks and get an Uber, but then she showed up at the wrong spot, so we had to walk another block.  When we finally got in, she literally drove us a block and a half.  Also, during our walk, a nice friendly lady called me a disgusting pig from her car.  I can only assume she thought my daughter was my date.  Either that, or my looks have faded much faster than I realized.  My inner voice was trying to convince me it was the latter.

We got to bed around 1am and were back up at 6am to get ready for Mickey.  Surprisingly, we got to the park with no issues.  Parked right near the front, walked down and no line for the tickets.  Walked down to the boat and got right on.  Not very crowded and we left as soon as we boarded.  It unloaded us and we walked up to the castle and waited maybe 15 minutes before the mice came out and put on a neat little show.  When the gates opened, we made our way back to the Thunder ride.  When I was a kid, we waited in line for an hour for this ride before it was closed for issues.  The one ride I never got to ride.  As we got to the line entrance, a park guy told us it was shut down.  So we walked from there to the Dwarves ride.  When we got to the line, it said 90 minutes and we thought, "Oh well.  It is what it is."  And we waited, all the while joking around and having a fun time.  After 90 minutes, we hopped into the cart and the sat there for about a minute.  Then they told us to get back in line.  So we disembarked and waited some more.  Finally they announced the ride was broken.  It was like a cruel joke.  

We got our extra fast pass and decided to get something to drink.  As we walked to find a refreshment stand, we came across Mary Poppins.  She was awesome.  Telling the kids how to stand properly and how to look at the camera.  My wife and I literally began to tear up and we had to laugh because we weren't sure why.  Daughter loved it.  You could literally see her go from 16 to 8 years old in a flash.  We waited in line for a drink and when it was our turn, the guy told us the soda machine broke.  We all got waters and laughed at our bad luck.

At this point, the park was still not wall to wall.  It was crowded, but nothing crazy.  We went and met Belle which we waited about 20 minutes for.  Then we met Ariel with a fast pass.  At this point, I could barely walk.  My leg shaking from pain.  But we soldiered on with opiods and Aleve.  After lunch, we hit PotC and this is when we first started noticing the crowds.  The line for this was a little under 2 hours.  When we got off, you could barely walk anywhere.  We finished the day riding Thunder, Haunted Mansion, and Space Mountain with fast pass.  Just walking between rides took an hour or so.  It was crazy.  

We got to the castle a little over an hour before they started and it looked about as packed as the Eagles championship parade.  You couldn't move, just wall to wall people.  Fireworks were awesome and when they ended we bolted for the exits.  Getting out of the park was difficult, but we got on the boat with no issue and off of the boat, too.  We even got to our car and had not a single car in front of us to get out.  That part was amazing.  Of course, as I said earlier, they shut down 4 for an accident and it turned a 20 minute ride into a 90 minute ride.  Just more waiting in line in Orlando.

Going home was a nightmare, just like coming.  We almost didn't have seats until two people opted for the flight voucher, giving us all seats on the flight.  A nightmare.  Overbooking is ridiculous and someone should file a class action lawsuit.

In the end, all of the issues were worthwhile.  My daughter loved it and it was just as magical as they claim.  Would we go back?  Not a chance in hell.  We love parks and go once a year at least to one around us.  I don't mind waiting a little bit for a ride, but if I'm in line for more than 20 minutes, I'm not happy.  No ride is worth that long of wait.  Disney is because it's Disney, but it's a one time thing in my eyes.  Don't need to experience PotC a second time. 

One side note, when I rode SM as a kid, there were like asteroids and things inside there that moved and you felt like you were going to run in to.  But this time, it was just a ride in the dark.  That wasn't as cool and I thought it was kind of dumb when you think about the rides and presentation of Disney.  When did this change?

Sending this post to my wife to explain why I'm not spending thousands of dollars to stand in line.

 

[glvsav37]

Felt pretty much the same as you. My daughter loved it and I hated it but I acted like I loved it the entire time for her. We’ve been best friends ever since we got home, almost sense she knew I hated it but put on a Disney face for her. I honestly don’t know how the fanatics do it. Woman I work with goes 3-4 times a year from the Northeast. Her and her husband, they have no kids. The music has to stop at some point doesn’t it? How long do people spend $110 a ticket to stand in line all day?

pretty common reaction to disney. 

IMO, a lot of the draw for multiple Disney vacations is familiarity. You know what you are going to get, you know the property, you know there is safety there unlike reports you hear of issues in Cancun and such. If you know the ins and outs, WDW makes it very convenient. 

Also, they have so many resorts that you can get a different experience and flavor each trip. 

But the biggest thing that the heavy repeat guests do that 1st timers or casual guests don't is that we dont rely on traditional park touring as much, but there a bunch of other things to do. Like right now, there is a huge event going on in Epcot now called Festival of the Arts. They have very well know artists and celebrities there doing signings and art classes and you can buy a bunch of unique things.  In the fall is Food and Wine where they have food from all over the world to sample, and famous chefs do classes, and even ESPN set up tailgate parties on weekends for football with grills going. Then add in things like specialized tours where you can go backstage and see things normal guests would not, you can feed the rhinos at Animal Kingdom, or have a lunch with an Imagineer and hear stories about how attractions were conceived.. 

IDK if I mentioned it here, but in our last trip we didnt touch a theme park until after 3pm. We stayed at the resort and enjoyed their amenities. 

As for cost, most repeat visitors have annual passes. My DVC passes that get me into every park, anytime, plus water parks was $550/per person. I do 2 trips on average of 14days each within the year, and a 2-3 day conference in orlando, so my per day cost works out to be about $25. 

I mean its all relative, and personal. My kids are getting older so we are doing different things. This summer were are going somewhere non-disney, but the following summer we are going to visit Hawaii and stay in the Disney resort there, plus make a stop over in Cali and visit Disneyland. My kids have never been, so it will be Disney, but different. 

Once my kids are grown and my wife has retried from her teaching job, we are looking forward to doing short, adult only trips to WDW with friends and doing more of the adult things. 

 

[AAABatteries]

Can’t. Universal has marvel rights East of the Mississippi for most of the main characters. 

I threw Marvel in at the end - I don't really care what the 5th park would be but I think it's time for them to seriously consider it.  It's been 22 years.  It Is Time.  /rafiki

 

[AcerFC]

I threw Marvel in at the end - I don't really care what the 5th park would be but I think it's time for them to seriously consider it.  It's been 22 years.  It Is Time.  /rafiki

One of their big problems at this point is what would go into a new park. They have expanded into Pandora, Toy Story Land, Galaxy Edge, Tron coaster, Fantasy land and now Epcot is getting a massive face lift

If they would have not expanded and just made the new park Pixar, Galaxy Edge and Pandora it would have been the perfect 5th park. Now taking away Pandora from AK does still leave that in a deficit so maybe replace Pandora with something else. 

 

[Osaurus]

They should just have a park where you just wait in line after line as a training exercise for the other parks. No attractions, just queues.  

 

[TheIronSheik]

They should just have a park where you just wait in line after line as a training exercise for the other parks. No attractions, just queues.  

Can you use fast pass on this?

 

[That one guy]

They should just have a park where you just wait in line after line as a training exercise for the other parks. No attractions, just queues.  

https://youtu.be/WjrPN5PbCcE

 

[Osaurus]

Can you use fast pass on this?

Naturally 

 

[AAABatteries]

One of their big problems at this point is what would go into a new park. They have expanded into Pandora, Toy Story Land, Galaxy Edge, Tron coaster, Fantasy land and now Epcot is getting a massive face lift

If they would have not expanded and just made the new park Pixar, Galaxy Edge and Pandora it would have been the perfect 5th park. Now taking away Pandora from AK does still leave that in a deficit so maybe replace Pandora with something else. 

I should link to my 7 park suggestion that I've posted a few times in the main thread.  Short version - Star Wars, Hollywood, Animal Kingdom, Marvel, EPCOT, Magic Kingdom and Pixar Place.

They could easily create something and just replicate existing rides from around the globe - just need to have a name for it.

 

[Osaurus]

They should take all the top tier rides from each park and make a park out of them. Call it Fasspass Land.

 

[TheIronSheik]

I should link to my 7 park suggestion that I've posted a few times in the main thread.  Short version - Star Wars, Hollywood, Animal Kingdom, Marvel, EPCOT, Magic Kingdom and Pixar Place.

They could easily create something and just replicate existing rides from around the globe - just need to have a name for it.

Hell, all they need to do is build cool rides and then they can name it Crap Land for all intents and purposes.  If the rides are good, people will go.  Call it Roller Coaster Land, build 20 roller coasters, and proclaim the park the Roller Coaster Capital of the World.  #SuckItSandusky.  (and that's a Cedar Point reference, so relax Happy Valley.)

 

[TheIronSheik]

One other funny story I almost forgot:

When we got to the gate on Thursday at Philly, it was just us and one other person at the gate.  A lady in her 30's was sitting directly behind my wife and I.  My daughter across from us.  After sitting there for about 10 minutes, the lady behind us leaned forward in her seat while talking on the phone and tried to pull her bag closer to her.  As she went to pull, she ripped the loudest fart I've ever heard in a public place.  Immediately, my eyes went wide from shock.  Without even looking, I could feel my wife making the same deer-in-the-headlights pose.  

That's when my daughter yells from across the aisle, "You guys look like you saw a ghost.  Both of you made that weird face and your eyes got really wide."  For as loud as the fart was, apparently the white noise of the airport didn't allow for the sound to travel very far.  But even though my daughter did not hear the lady, the lady had to have heard my daughter.  At this point, I was fighting back laughter, because I felt bad for the lady.  I'm guessing she didn't mean to fire a shot from her blunderbuss, and I'm sure she was mortified.  I could feel her embarrassment. But at the same time, tears are rolling down my face as I fight back laughter.  

My daughter once again yells, "What's so funny?"  I try to slyly wave her off and it turns into a bad sitcom of her saying predictable lines like, "Am I supposed to know what you waving your hand means?  Why are you laughing so hard?"  I finally pull myself together for a second and it feels like it's over.  I was able to quell the laughter uprising from within.  And at that point, my wife who I have not looked at since the canon fired, makes a slight snorting noise.  I had been avoiding looking her direction because I knew if I saw her even smiling, I'd begin laughing uncontrollably.  And it had worked... right up until that small snort.  At that moment, I could feel the laughter start to come back.  I knew I wouldn't be able to hold it back this time, so I panicked.  I stood up and in my mind, I saw myself say to my family, "Excuse me, everyone.  I'm going to the bathroom and will be right back."  But instead, I stood up and said, "I...", and then I lost it.  But because I was trying to talk, it came out sounding like a raspberry.  For all intents and purposes, I basically just stood up behind the lady and just made a bunch of farting noises with my mouth.  

Or course, this turned me into a laughing hyena.  Without saying anymore, I just walked away with tears coming down my face from laughing so hard.  I ended up having to stay in the bathroom for about 10 minutes trying to get control of myself.  And when I did, I had to text my wife and tell her not to laugh when I came out.  She agreed, but as soon as I walked out of the bathroom, we made eye contact and it started all over again.  So I did a U-ey and walked around the airport for another 10 minutes.

When I finally returned, the lady had gotten up and moved to a different section.  Thank God.  I felt bad for the woman, but she did a good job hiding her shame.  Either that, or she doesn't care who hears her toot her own horn.  My cheeks hurt the rest of the night from laughing so hard.  Face cheeks.