It still doesn’t feel like Fall has arrived in Central Florida this Fall and we are hitting October.  Soon the snowbirds will be filling Florida’s highways and the hectic holiday season will be in full swing.

I  thought I should give a new review for going to Orlando’s Super Theme Parks in the winter 2018-19 season with an orientation to the most common complaints I hear from visitors at WDW and Universal. Of course, I have some observations.

What I Dislike Most

 Constantly Increasing Ticket Prices is the largest complaint and this year there is a new problem for Floridians.  Beginning October 16 Walt Disney World will be selling date of visit tickets rather than tickets with seasonal prices.  Where this will get messy is the new tickets have narrower date usage rules.  Go to the Disney websites.

Will Opening Day Star Wars Mean $200 Park Tickets?

            Many of my Orlando friends buy several single park tickets so if friends come down for a day at WDW, my friends will have a ticket and just drive over to the park.  The new rules, however, really encourage Central Floridians to purchase year-round or seasonal passes. There will probably be a rush on the older ticket choices for the next two weeks.

Over-priced Low Quality Fast Food Places at all the Orlando parks.  While the prices at Table Service restaurants are high and most places have almost combined the lunch and dinner menus and prices, most table service places have decent Food.  At the fast food places quality food is rarely the option.

See That Second Floor on a Fast Food Place?: Peaceful

My choices as the best value fast food: Magic Kingdom: Columbia House and Pecos Bill; Epcot: Sunshine Seasons Food Court; Studios: Backlot Express; Animal Kingdom: Flame Tree Barbecue; at Universal: The Leaky Cauldron and Three Broomstick shows they spent money on more than just the rides at Harry Potter.

Universal’s Leaky Cauldron Is Great Theme Fast Food

Rising Parking Fees make me glad I have an annual pass.  I know people who breakfast at the Wilderness Lodge and the Dolphin in order to take a nice, peaceful boat ride into Magic Kingdom and Epcot rather than a packed tram and monorail.

In the world’s largest one-level parking: now two price parking

Mandatory Locker Policies upset a lot of people at Universal even when they have their pocketbooks safely nestled under their armpit.  They do have a lot of rides, one after the other, that flip you about unlike the tamer WDW rides.  WDW is pushy about this only at the water parks and water rides.

Access To The Best Rides is a serious issue for people who come to the Parks from across the world or have saved up their money for six months to visit.  The answer, of course, is the use at the earliest time of the Fastpass system, but even here you have the limitation of just three rides in two categories.

Thanks to Festivals August to May: No Slow Seasons

            How do you choose between Test Track, Soarin’, and Frozen if you have a family of different ages and tastes?  WDW online software is geared on the assumption your entire family wants to Fastpass the same rides.

Universal has the neat Express Pass but it excludes Harry Potter’s rides.  I will confess I loved it when it came as part of the package of staying at Portofino Bay.  My wife and I zipped through the Universal rides like we owned the place.  Considering the resort prices, maybe we did buy the place for the day.

Stinky Stinky Places:  At the end of a day of 50,000 visitors, including dirty diapers and sick kids, confined places filled with confined people will stink despite the huge maintenance crews at both WDW and Universal.   The monorail can get so bad when it is crowded, I gladly take the ferry boat.  Give me fresh air even in the Florida humidity.