After we drop him at the airport around 9:30 am, I drive to Disney World. We park at the Ticket and Transport Center pretty far out.
I berate myself for having forgotten to grab one of my children's handicap placards in our car parked at our home airport because we are parked out in the latter part of Simba (which is practically at the end of the tram line). However, we park and I get them out of the car. It is actually chilly, so I pass out the sweaters. The older two put them on. Dame Littlebit throws hers on the ground. I get her situated in the stroller. We had stopped taking the stroller into the parks, but given the current adult to child ratio, I wanted to have the platform of operations and a place to put children who refuse to walk. We get onto the tram after and I snuggle my cold 5 year old. At the ticket and transportation center, we transfer to the monorail and ride to the Magic Kingdom. We get there just in time to make the bus for Animal Kingdom. The crowds were pretty intense already and by that time it was almost 11 am. Well, because their disability access passes had expired, we had to wait in line to replace them and the use-stroller-as-a-wheelchair tag. Finally, we enter the park at about noon and after a couple changes of our FastPass+ times.
Things that made it easier: taking advantage of the ability to use stroller as a wheelchair. Using the disability access pass (though it was a downgrade from the Guest Assistance Card of previous years--now we have to wait for a comeback time) allowed us to be in "line" for one ride while experiencing another attraction or getting a snack.
Universal/Islands of Adventure vs. Disney
Disability Pass:
Disney: immediate access only if the ride wait time is less than 10 minutes. Policy strictly enforced.
Universal/IoA: immediate access if ride wait time is less than 30 minutes, but we had several experiences of being granted immediate access even with waits up to an hour or more.
Winner: Universal/Islands of Adventure. Last year, I would have said Disney, hands down, but the changes to the pass changed that.
Rider Swap System:
Sometimes members of the party are too small or otherwise do not wish to experience some attractions the other members of the party wish to experience. While a competent teenager or adult could find another way to amuse himself while the others experience the attraction--whether or not they wait in line together, an infant, young child, or person lacking mental competence must have supervision.
Disney: Ask for a rider swap ticket at the ride entry. When the rest of the party returns, the waiting person may utilize the fastpass line. Depending on the length of the fastpass line, the separation time could be anywhere from the length of time it takes to walk to the ride to half an hour or more.
Universal/IoA: Party waits together in line and just before boarding, let the employee know you wish to do a rider swap. The non-rider and waiting person are escorted to a small room by the loading dock with a TV playing a video of something relevant to the ride (such as the Spider Man ride playing Spider Man cartoons). As soon as the rest of the party returns, the waiting person is placed on the next available ride vehicle. The party is reunited within ten minutes from the time the waiting person gets relieved to be able to go on the ride.
Winner: I liked Disney because the child does not have to wait, but it means longer separation and longer time per individual ride. Because of the Universal/IoA system, I was able to experience a couple rides I wanted to by leaving my two younger children in the care of their older sister for ten minutes. So, I have to say Universal/IoA.
