Well, we got back this past Tuesday, and I have to say this really was my second favorite trip ever (#1 will forever be our first trip as DVC owners). Yes, it was hot as you-know-what; yes, we stood in way more lines than we ever have; yes, you can tell they need more CMs, and I saw waaaaay more Earning My Ears ribbons than I have collectively in all my trips.
That said, the boys had a BLAST running around on their own, we never had an issue with getting nosh when we wanted it (other than arguing over what exactly we were going to eat), F&W was completely amazing, and the only weather issue we had was (of course) on Blizzard Beach day, but even then it resulted in the park clearing out to the point that I plopped myself into a tube on the lazy river and NEVER. BUMPED. INTO. ANYONE. It was that empty.
All those stories about the lines moving quickly because there were no FPs? Completely true. I was shocked. I'd say maybe 10% of the posted wait times were accurate or longer, and all the rest were definitely shorter. The longest I waited in a line was 45 minutes for MMRR, and the longest the boys waited was 60 minutes for RNR. Not wonderful but not the end of the world, either. By the end of the trip we'd ridden everything we wanted to ride, including ROTR, MFSR, and FOP twice each.
So I count this as a roaring success. Hope everyone else had / is having / will have a magical time, too!!!