Pack your big suitcase of patience and ponchos! Feb 14 - 18 | President's Day Weekend

[Ohiostatefan606]

Also meant to say, we're headed in May, and staying at CBR for the first time. Planning to request Jamaica, where you were located. It'll be my and my son for two days, and then hubby will join us for the last three. He's not a Disney guy at all. But we're hoping showing him Galaxy's Edge, Epcot countries and Guardians, and then Pandora will be enough to entertain him!

My husband is also not a Disney guy. He goes because I love it and so does my son. My hubby has learned to love it. Even though there are thousands of people, it is just the 3 of us. Together, all day. No laundry, dishes, emails, work stuff, just family time. He also likes the rides. You have the big highlights on your list, he should be good. Don't miss Everest!!

 

[Ohiostatefan606]

Oh, Magic Kingdom with your 7:30 am Early Entry. I haven't been up this early at Disney since we had to be inside HS to get a virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance!

One of the many reasons we love CBR is the Skyliner and not having to take a bus. Not battling buses every day, makes it easier when you have to! Before we went to bed, we have the park bag on the table, sunglasses, magic bands, breakfast bars, phone charger, etc. We basically look at it, and put in the bag. Why not actually pack it? Fewer questions as to where something is, we can see it going in the bag!

We are up, almost ready, it is about 6:25 am. The MDE app says the bus will arrive at the Jamaica stop at 6:35. Holy cow, you've never seen 3 people move so fast! We hustle across the parking lot, there is a bus that has pulled in, but is just sitting there. My son makes a quick beeline for the bus stop. We make it! The bus also waited another minute or 2 and few more people arrived. We stop at Aruba, the bus is now full. Off we go.

My hubby and I are discussing Tron, 7Dwarfs and Space Mountain. We "think" we will be at the MK gate before 7, but if not, we agree, we will stop walking for the 7:00 am VQ drop.

Off the bus and in line at MK. LOTS of people lined up, but it is pretty calm. It is about 6:55am. My son gets out his phone for the official countdown, my husband and I are in the MDE app and on the VQ screen, party members are preselected. I look around, it is a sea of people staring at their phones. My son quietly counts down, we press the mandatory refresh, both my hubby and I see the button for VQ and..... he beats me to it! We get a boarding group! I will say this was calmer than the Rise VQ years ago. At HS, you would hear people cheering and other people groaning because they didn't get a boarding group. Not sure how my hubby does it, but he always manages to get a boarding group.

Now more waiting. About 7:15 they open the tap styles. We were way over to the left, which is super helpful. if they open more tap lanes, it will be over to the left, so you can often get through faster.

Once again, I successfully get through security without the metal detector going off!

 

[Ohiostatefan606]

Boarding Group 14. I don't know how he does it.

 

[Jsharp13]

My husband is also not a Disney guy. He goes because I love it and so does my son. My hubby has learned to love it. Even though there are thousands of people, it is just the 3 of us. Together, all day. No laundry, dishes, emails, work stuff, just family time. He also likes the rides. You have the big highlights on your list, he should be good. Don't miss Everest!!

Thank you for the encouragement! As those sons get older we can see how valuable that exclusive family time is! And yes, Everest for sure! I wish RnR was open when we were there but I'm guessing still refurbed.
Also so cool that you son is managing those VQs!

 

[Ohiostatefan606]

Before we entered MK, we had our VQ for Tron, and bought ILL for Tron 2:00ish and 7DMT 3:00ish, also selected Space Mountain. I had to wait and do some modifying for SM, but got it set for 12:30 - 1:30 pm

Keep in mind, it is Friday of President's Weekend. We are expecting it to be busy, so our goal was to fill our afternoon with LL and ILL.

So far so good!

We have lunch reservations at The Plaza at 11:35 am, so just need a little space after eating before we hit the roller coasters!

 

[Ohiostatefan606]

It is a beautiful morning. People are walking briskly and we are heading to Space Mountain. Lots of people going to 7DMT. We know the Early Entry drill, we stay together and whoever is in front gets us scanned by a Cast Member and tell them 3 in our party. We walk towards Tomorrowland and discover we are getting stopped just before we finish crossing the bridge. So we are still not past Laugh Floor.

In previous years, we could walk all the way to Space Mountain and get lined up in the outside queue.

The CM's keep appearing and form a straight line across the bridge, they tell the crowd they will walk us to Space Mountain . Now, of course the people in the back can't hear this, so they try to get all the way to front by using the walkway by Stitch. The CMs stop them, but then they are basically cutting in front of all of us that were at the front of the line.

To be honest, the fast walking, some running, people now trying to get into the queue line outside, appears to be a safety issue. Personally, letting people all the way to the line and entering the queue line is safer and for those that were there first, you get in line first. We really didn't have to wait that long, but it's the massive crowd walking together, that I just don't understand.

 

[Ohiostatefan606]

Morning pictures

 

[Ohiostatefan606]

We finish SM and think we might loop. No way, the line is 30 minutes and we still have time before the park officially opens. We walk over to Buzz, which is basically a walk on. We manage one last ride before park opening, Astro Orbiter. Despite the rocky line-up for SM, we did a lot in 30 minutes!

So far we've only really encountered the standard clueless people that stop in the middle of the walkway, or simply don't look and just step right in front of you. That all changes with Astro Orbiter. We ride up in the elevator and they tell us to walk into the left loading space. There are others in this space. The CM asks the people in front of us to step forward. They basically ignore the CM. There are more people arriving and need to fit in our space. CM asks again, they take about 1/2 a step. My husband has had enough, he takes a couple full steps and is definitely invading their personal space, but well, that is what Disney expects. The CM comes over and basically looks right at them, and tells them to move forward, there are other guests that have to fit in the space.

We finish the ride, you have to pick an exit and get on one of two elevators. We get on the elevator and wait and wait. There are 6 people in their party. The other elevator has already gone down, and back up with new riders, and we are waiting for them to get to the elevator. Honestly, their lack of consideration for other people was truly astonishing. They are not only holding up the elevator, they are holding up the entire ride. I just took a deep breath and had to let it go. Do you have that big suitcase, pull out your patience, your are going to need it!

My hubby is eyeing the line at Joffreys... The line really isn't "that long", we actually get in line. And then look to see what boarding group is being boarded for Tron. They are on BG 13, we are 14. Despite the fact that we have an hour, we head over, once again, abandoning my hubby's coffee fix!

TRON! Even if you don't get a BG or buy a LL, go over and just enjoy the space. There are benches to sit on and you can watch the ride come through.

We loved TRON. You do wonder if you are really secured on the ride, (you are), but it is just so different. Grateful we were able to secure a BG. There is a nice bathroom close to the ride and a water bottle refill station!

 

[Ohiostatefan606]

Great photo op as you board the ride. You can access this space after you ride as well!

 

[Ohiostatefan606]

Hubs is getting cranky. Needs coffee. He is not tolerating my request for pictures, so we skip Tron photos (I'll get them later) and we walk back towards Joffrey's. The line is loooong. We decide that Starbucks upfront can probably make coffee faster because they have more people working. Not sure if it's faster, but it was a nice walk.

We grab coffee and decide to walk to It's a Small World. Some wait times are increasing, but Small World says 15. It was a 15 minute wait. I assure you, I was the only one that wanted to ride this.

I have my alarm set on my phone for Genie+ times. Park opened at 8:00, so at 10:00 I grab Big Thunder, and plan to watch and modify, but I notice that Haunted Mansion times are disappearing, so I swap it out and have HM for 4:50 - 5:50 pm.

We try to not crisscross the park, but things happen. Big Thunder was next on our list, because the time wasn't horrible. Maybe 30 minutes. But it goes down! We pivot and head to Pirates because it only has about a 15 minute wait. We finish with Jack Sparrow and Big Thunder is still down. Hmmm, over to the Tea Cups with a follow-up plan to ride the PeopleMover and then lunch!!

We check-in for our reservation at The Plaza and get a nice window seat, we can see the Castle. So far we are feeling rather accomplished with our rides and at noon, I grab Big Thunder for the afternoon around 4:00!

We are sitting at lunch and there are our Astro Orbiter friends. With all their stuff on the floor out in the walkway. I just sip my sangria and check my plans for the afternoon. Our friends leave and my husband looks at me and of course I have to ask what. Our Astro Orbiter friends have left and their table from lunch looks like a bomb went off. So maybe it is just me, when I get up from a table I push my chair in. I also don't unload all the trash from my back-pack onto the table. (think snack wrappers, tissues, hand wipes, paper cups from other Disney locations). I try to be more considerate of the people working and the people around me. I just sip my sangria and wonder if I can get a to-go cup. (that's a no, we asked )

 

[cheryllarsen]

What fun!

 

[cheryllarsen]

Thanks for posting! I enjoyed the read.

 

[Ohiostatefan606]

We had a great morning!
- Space Mountain
- Buzz Lightyear
- Astro Orbiter
- Tron - VQ
- It's a Small World
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Tea Cups
- PeopleMover
And I've been stacking up our afternoon!
- Space Mountain
- Tron
- Seven Dwarf Mine Train
- Big Thunder
- Haunted Mansion

 

[Ohiostatefan606]

After lunch, we headed over to Space Mountain. In the morning we road the Omega side, the afternoon, we rode Alpha. It might be my age, but wow, I feel like I am getting thrown around and things are going to hurt when we are done riding!

We have just a little bit of time before our ILL for Tron. My son still likes the Speedway. The posted wait was 20 minutes, pretty accurate. I ended up not driving, my son drove my husband around the track.

We headed over to Tron. In the morning, there was no line, no wait. The afternoon was a different story. They were running empty cars when we arrived. Both the Boarding Groups and ILL lines were huge. We just waited and waited. Slowly things started to move. I had heard that often the lines in the afternoon can be crazy. That was true! (Still worth it!)

We had time to fill before 7DMT, so off to Dumbo. The wait said 25 minutes. We get into line and arrive at the playground. They hand us a pager and tell us to go in. In all the years we've been to Disney, we have never had to wait in the playground. Honestly, I was ready to leave the line. If you have small kids and want to play, have at it. But to make 2 adults and a 15 year old sit in there is a bit much. I would rather just stand in line. We did wait, but if they are using the playground as part of the queue the next time we are there, we are skipping it. Yea, that suitcase of patience, wasn't big enough for this one.

 

[awrites]

Nice! I admire your use of Genie+. I wasn’t entirely new to it (had used in Disneyland in 2022) but I never felt I got very effective use out of it at DW. I was never able to book an early enough time to use our LL before the “2 hour after park opening” booking window, and attempts at modifying only got me in trouble (return window often switched to a later time instead of the earlier I’d selected and I wouldn’t notice soon enough on the final booking screen. )

We did also have a party of 5, which may’ve made things harder, and with a 4yo we weren’t staying till park closing (so harder to do much stacking into the evening). But I’m taking notes and hoping we have a better experience next time!

 

[Ohiostatefan606]

Nice! I admire your use of Genie+. I wasn’t entirely new to it (had used in Disneyland in 2022) but I never felt I got very effective use out of it at DW. I was never able to book an early enough time to use our LL before the “2 hour after park opening” booking window, and attempts at modifying only got me in trouble (return window often switched to a later time instead of the earlier I’d selected and I wouldn’t notice soon enough on the final booking screen. )

We did also have a party of 5, which may’ve made things harder, and with a 4yo we weren’t staying till park closing (so harder to do much stacking into the evening). But I’m taking notes and hoping we have a better experience next time!

Genie+ can take some time to get the hang of. I do a lot of modifying. But when you are trying to modify popular rides it can be challenging. And sometimes you just have to accept the time you get and work around it.

 

[Ohiostatefan606]

After Dumbo we head off to 7DMT, we have an ILL. Oh the line! We've seen this the last couple of years, the ILL is huge, so much so they have painted lines on the ground. We find the end and get in line. It really didn't take that long. Maybe 20 minutes. It such a fun ride and I love to sing along. That might be why my son always rides with my hubby.

After 7DMT we were supposed to ride Big Thunder. It had been down for quite a while, so the LL line was huge. Our LL for Big Thunder was automatically switched to an anytime selection because the ride was down during our window. This left us with a little open time. Not going to lie, sitting down for a few minutes sounded great. We carry a refillable water bottle, but something else to drink sounds good. We are sitting in Frontierland and my son and I walk off to get a Sprite. While we are walking, a Frontierland Hoedown breaks out. Lots of CMs and characters coming out of no where and.... CHIP and DALE!!! My son is about to lose his mind. We are trapped in the crowd and Chip and Dale are super close. What do I do? I stop and take pictures. My son finds an escape route and some place else to get a Sprite.


I am not winning any awards for mother of the year. But he is 15, not 2, so I'm not really torturing him that bad. I'm sure he'll be fine.

 

[Ohiostatefan606]

 

[Ohiostatefan606]

I did mention my hubby isn't a huge Disney guy. I think he is, and is trying to hide it. He does actually read up on new things happening at the parks and discovered, while not new, Club 33. He actually spent time researching this. What is it, how much does it cost and where are these secret locations.

We "sort of" looked while we were at Hollywood Studios, but didn't put that much effort into it. He did however have a great description of where Club 33 is located in MK. After Pirates and before lunch, we had just a little extra time. Yep, had to look for Club 33, and we found it! Just as you are about to cross the bridge out of Adventureland over to the hub. We even stopped for pictures! Sometimes, you have to invent your own fun!

 

[Ohiostatefan606]

You have the tap in location complete with camera, yes, we got super close to. Then we posed for a picture. The picture of the 3 of us, has Club 33 in the background. Such rebels! Not much of a secret now.