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Disney Vacation (5 Viewers)
- Thread starter DOVCommish
- Start date
El Floppo
Footballguy
Lol...just realized I'm the grownup standing behind the two girls there (headless, in light blue jacket)
we were supposedly only shooting stills and not video- but that's floppinha at 1:15 (blonde)
Punxsutawney Phil
Footballguy
I cancelled tickets I had purchased spring 2020, and haven't been back. I have still been to Orlando a few times, but I'm not going to the park if I have to wear a mask all day. Combine that with the new paid fast pass, and it's an easy skip for us. We usually arrived to the park early, hit one ride non-FP when lines were short, then use 1FP, eat, use the next FP, and leave by 2:00 to go to the hotel pool. 20min is about max we would ever be willing to stand in line for a bunch of rides we have done before.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
glvsav37
Footballguy
And the long list of exclusions and changes adds another.
Disney's Genie+ service (the $15 paid FP replacement) can no longer be purchased in advance for single day tickets. You must purchase it the day you are registered to attend. Now that might not seem like a lot, it's 1 more thing to do when getting ready for the day, plus when many of the top level attractions are selling out in minutes, speed is of the essence.
Granted you dont need G+ to buy the extra fancy rides (those are a whole other charge), so you can technically get them 1st and then buy and use G+ after that, but damn they are not making it easy. This is only on single day tickets, so IDK what % of guests this effects, but you cant tell me its anything but a punishment for not having a multiday ticket.
Disney's Genie+ service (the $15 paid FP replacement) can no longer be purchased in advance for single day tickets. You must purchase it the day you are registered to attend. Now that might not seem like a lot, it's 1 more thing to do when getting ready for the day, plus when many of the top level attractions are selling out in minutes, speed is of the essence.
Granted you dont need G+ to buy the extra fancy rides (those are a whole other charge), so you can technically get them 1st and then buy and use G+ after that, but damn they are not making it easy. This is only on single day tickets, so IDK what % of guests this effects, but you cant tell me its anything but a punishment for not having a multiday ticket.
Waingro
Footballguy
Don’t give up hope. Definitely do one last search the morning of.No need to brag!!!!!
I've given up. I may try again some day. I don't have any of those services that look for you though.
I was at MK recently and a Be Our Guest reservations had opened up when I checked that morning. This was a weekday where the park hadn’t sold out so that may have also played a role.
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Courtjester
The Town Drunk
We began researching our trip yesterday. We haven't been to Orlando in 28 years. We are planning on going late July (yeah I know bad time, but it is the only time we can all go). I am thinking of flying in Sunday and leaving the following Saturday. Is that a good time frame or should be add a day or two?
We would like to stay at Animal Kingdom. Expedia showed available rooms yesterday and now it shows sold out, so obviously need to book something this week for sure. Our criteria is the place has to be close to the parks because we want the "Disney experience" Does anyone have suggestions as to the best Disney hotel to stay at?
I know I also have to get on restaurant reservations because I bet I should have done that months ago.
We want to fit a day at Universal as our girls want to see Harry Potter World. I worry our time frame is going to make us have to miss something. Was thinking of splitting three days between MK/Epcot. One day Animal Kingdom, One day Universal. Is Hollywood Studios worth adding another day to the trip? Our daughters are 17 and 22 so I am not worried about them getting tired.
I am planning on a budget of 10k, but would got to 12k for everything. Is that a realistic amount or should I aim higher?
I feel like I am way late to the party trying to put this thing together, but we were originally going to do Hawaii and then I got this idea. Any help you all can provide would be appreciated. I will go back and read through the thread as much as I can.
We would like to stay at Animal Kingdom. Expedia showed available rooms yesterday and now it shows sold out, so obviously need to book something this week for sure. Our criteria is the place has to be close to the parks because we want the "Disney experience" Does anyone have suggestions as to the best Disney hotel to stay at?
I know I also have to get on restaurant reservations because I bet I should have done that months ago.
We want to fit a day at Universal as our girls want to see Harry Potter World. I worry our time frame is going to make us have to miss something. Was thinking of splitting three days between MK/Epcot. One day Animal Kingdom, One day Universal. Is Hollywood Studios worth adding another day to the trip? Our daughters are 17 and 22 so I am not worried about them getting tired.
I am planning on a budget of 10k, but would got to 12k for everything. Is that a realistic amount or should I aim higher?
I feel like I am way late to the party trying to put this thing together, but we were originally going to do Hawaii and then I got this idea. Any help you all can provide would be appreciated. I will go back and read through the thread as much as I can.
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glvsav37
Footballguy
Welcome to the madness of planing a WDW vacation.
resorts: If you want close to the parks, the AKL (animal kingdom lodge) was the furthest you can get. Really great resort, but "close" its not it.
There are 3 tiers of resorts: deluxe, moderate and value. If you were looking at AKL, you were in the deluxe category. I'm not sure what prices you were getting per night and how that fit into your max budget. But my 1st question is, how important is the resort to you?
If you want to be "really close" there are a few deluxe to consider:
Magic Kingdom Area: the main 3 here are the legacy resorts—Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian. All of them as as close to the MK as you will get, access via monorial or resort boat. Contemp and GF also have walking paths directly to the MK main gate. WE are big fans of the Contemp, its a great resort for kids b/c if the huge A frame design and the monorail running right through it. The monorail connects these 3 resorts in a loop and also you can easily transfer to the Epcot Monorail line, so you are getting easy access to both parks.
Also on the MK side is Wilderness Lodge which isn't as close, but reachable by boat, but you'll lose the Epcot monorail access (not really but to get it would be more hassle then worth). WL just refurbished their general guest rooms, and is a beautiful resort.
Over by Epcot, you have 2 deluxe resorts, Boardwalk and Yacht/Beach club (technically 2 resorts, but they share amenities and are attqached). Both are great, but I lean BC for the pool and restaurants. Regardless both are within walking distance to a back entrance of Epcot, and a boat ride to studios, again, that 2 for 1 park/resort location.
Now the game changer, enter the Skyliner. The Skyliner cable cars are a mode of transportation that rather new and It connects Studios and Epcot. Very easy and convenient. Why are they a game changer? Bc they have 2 moderate/value resorts on the line which make them 10x more valuable then any other mod/value resort b/c before now, that alt transportation access was reserved for deluxe resorts (think monorail line). Caribbean beach resort and Art of Animation both have SL stops. and you can literally be at each park within 10 mins—no buses, no crowds, door to door service.
I would suggest spending some time on youtube to research the resorts. There are hundreds of videos on each resort. This is a good one to watch as they rank all fo them. Once you have a few you like, dig deeper into whats avial and what fits the budget.
As for restaurants, you are not late. They dont need the 6 month advance booking any more. But that said, its harder then ever to get those reservations as staffing and supply chain issues have them really reducing capacity. Hopefully by July (I'll be there then too), things get better. I would look to mix in more quik service meals into your plans. 1. they have actually gotten a lot better, its not just burgers and dogs, 2. You can pre-order your meal and have it ready once you get there, and 3. you'll save a ton of park time vs sit down restaurants.
As for parks, "worth it" is really hard to justify. IMO, Epcot is really hard to justify right now b/c it is so under construction. They still have iconic rides like Soarin and Test track, but unless you plan on spending a lot of time in the countries, its hard to give this park a full day right now (and its one of my fav parks, but current situation has to be considered).
Studios has really risen on the popularity scale b/c of the recent additions of the Star Wars and Toy story lands. If you are into either of those then its really a must do...but right now, b/c of those, it is constantly the busiest park. So be ready for crowds, but the lands and rides are def worth the extra headache.
MK can easily fill a day to a day & 1/2. Not sure if you were planing hopper tickets b/c that changes how you structure your park days.
Now on to Universal. I'm a big UO (Universal orlando) fan. We spend part of each vacation there. However they are not stupid and they kind of have you by the balls with the potter stuff. See they put potter stuff in both theme parks, and one of the cooler attractions, the Hogwarts Express, can only be ridden if you have a hopper pass to go between both parks, bc technically you are leaving one park and checking into the other. So while there is a good amount in either park to wet the whistle of any HP fan, the whole experience would blow their minds. You can get a 2 park-1 day ticket for an upgraded cost. However if you do that, you would prob spend the whole day doing HP stuff with maybe 2-3 other experiences tossed in.
Hope that gets you off on the right step. Feel free to ask any more questions.
glvsav37
Footballguy
let me throw another thing to consider at you. If you are thinking about deluxe, you might want to consider picking up a DVC (Disney Vacation Club, the Disney timeshare) reservation that members are trying to rent out.
This site has confirmed reservations that you can just transfer the reservation to your family (I searched late July reservations, but feel free to plug in more specific dates).
Now...why DVC rooms? Well DVC rooms are all in Deluxe category resorts, and b/c the membership is based on a point system that expire after a certain time, members look to move them cheaper then what it normally takes to book a regular resort room. Also, DVC rooms have the same studio style rooms every other resort has, but also 1, 2 and 3 bedroom suites which IMO, are really really nice (we are DVC members and stay in 1 bedrooms with 2 kids aged 11 and 16). Anything 1 bedroom or higher will have a full kitchen, very large bathrooms (some have 2) and a full sized washer and drier inside the room which means you can pack 1/2 the clothes and do a load of laundry on the way out the door to the parks and have fresh socks the next day.
DVC rooms are a solid option v/c booking directly. And after a week, and everyone tiered and cranky (yes it happens at Disney) the studio room starts to get a little cramped. Those 1 and 2 bedroom give everyone enough space to spread out and relax.
If there are no confirmed reservations that fit your dates, you can always rent points outright at a site like this and use them to rent the room individually. If you want to PM me your dates and resort/room preferences, I can check the DVC booking site and see what is available.
AcerFC
Footballguy
Joe Mammy
Footballguy
We just returned from a couple days at the Dolphin Resort. We chose this one for the proximity to Hollywood Studios as my wife is a Star Wars geek who has been pining to go. Then we had to get the 2 day FL resident park pass. So we drove over to self parking at the Dolphin and then walked into Epcot (15 minutes) and arrived around 10:00am.
Park not very crowded yet. Since we came in the rear entrance we hit Ratatouille first which was the longest wait we had all day at 1 hour. Ride was ok. Next up we went to Test Track which was down last time we were here. The singles line got us both inside in 15 minutes, designed the car and were on board right away in the same car, she sat in front of me. I would do this one again, good speed and fun. We then hit Soarin' which was great, second time we've done it.
Then we walked back to the hotel and checked in and explored the property. This place is huge and very nice with gigantic pools, waterfalls, caves and grottos. Games everywhere for kids, expansive beaches and best of all- the #1 rated miniature golf course in the world rated by Golf Digest at the next door Swan. Called the Fairways Course, it is just like a real course with water hazards, bowl bunkers with carpeting instead of sand and a couple of the holes over 100' long! It was a sweet surprise I knew nothing about until we arrived. There is another putt putt next door with all the usual kiddy stuff and it was packed. We sailed through the pro course. Highly recommend this, I have not played putt putt since forever but loved this option ($14 at Disney is a deal).
Dinner at Il Mulino for an early dinner in the Swan and then we took the boat ride back to Epcot for Harmonious. Harmonious was simply the most dazzling light and firework show I've ever seen. There are alot of youtubes of it but they don't do it justice. The boat dropoff brought us right back to the rear entrance which was a short stroll to The Rose and Crown. Grabbed a couple pints and we easily found a great spot right next to the pub. It was an overwhelming show and we were both eyeballed out after.
Alarm at 6:00am yesterday. HS was scheduled to open at 9:00 but we could enter early at 8:30 as a Dolphin guest. We went down to the boat dock at 6:45, first boat was due at 7:00 and the first stop from the hotel is HS. We opted to walk instead of waiting for the boat as it was a beautiful morning. We arrived at the entrance a few minutes before the boat. They made us line up and then walked us down through security to the main gate. There were only 2 gals around early 20's in front of us. At 7:40 they let us in and it was a free for all to Rise of the Resistance. We were in the very first ride group with no wait. WHAT AN AMAZING RIDE! It combines aspects from many rides, has a story and you feel like you are deeply immersed in a Star Wars movie. We loved it so much we raced from the exit to the entrace for another dose and but they closed it for technical problems! ARrrrrrrgg!
So it was off to the Milenium Falcon ride and again we had no wait, it was about 8:20. We were both assigned the pilot spots, there is also navigators and engineers who sit behind you. I had a joystick to control right and left and my wife had one to control up and down. I absolutely loved this ride too but my wife hated it. She told me after that after the first 30 seconds she felt motion sickness and thought she was gonna spew all over the control panel. Fortunately she held on and we didn't crash. When you get broken up into groups of 5 or 6 try to maneuver to the first spots as these are the pilots. I looked behind me a couple of times while we were flying and it didn't look the others were having much fun.
We had been trying to get a reservation for Oga's Cantina but to no avail. But we walked up at around 9:00 when they opened and got right on the walk-in list and only waited a few minutes. Cool bar with drinks they will not modify, droid dj spinning funky SW tunes and the bartenders are all in character and try to encourage you to be too by calling you "traveler" and playing along.
When the bartender put the tab down in front of us I made a little Obi Wan finger salute and said, "these drinks are on the house." Bartender made the same finger salute back to me and said, "not in this galaxy." Ironically enough, my drink was called the "Jedi Mind Trick". Didn't work!
By 10:30 the park was packed to the gills. We had a nice lunch at the Brown Derby. Then went back to Batuu and heckled Kylo Ren as he strutted about with storm troopers in front of a parked Tie Fighter.
All in all a very fun 2 days but without the early rope drop entry there would have been much more just standing around in line.
Park not very crowded yet. Since we came in the rear entrance we hit Ratatouille first which was the longest wait we had all day at 1 hour. Ride was ok. Next up we went to Test Track which was down last time we were here. The singles line got us both inside in 15 minutes, designed the car and were on board right away in the same car, she sat in front of me. I would do this one again, good speed and fun. We then hit Soarin' which was great, second time we've done it.
Then we walked back to the hotel and checked in and explored the property. This place is huge and very nice with gigantic pools, waterfalls, caves and grottos. Games everywhere for kids, expansive beaches and best of all- the #1 rated miniature golf course in the world rated by Golf Digest at the next door Swan. Called the Fairways Course, it is just like a real course with water hazards, bowl bunkers with carpeting instead of sand and a couple of the holes over 100' long! It was a sweet surprise I knew nothing about until we arrived. There is another putt putt next door with all the usual kiddy stuff and it was packed. We sailed through the pro course. Highly recommend this, I have not played putt putt since forever but loved this option ($14 at Disney is a deal).
Dinner at Il Mulino for an early dinner in the Swan and then we took the boat ride back to Epcot for Harmonious. Harmonious was simply the most dazzling light and firework show I've ever seen. There are alot of youtubes of it but they don't do it justice. The boat dropoff brought us right back to the rear entrance which was a short stroll to The Rose and Crown. Grabbed a couple pints and we easily found a great spot right next to the pub. It was an overwhelming show and we were both eyeballed out after.
Alarm at 6:00am yesterday. HS was scheduled to open at 9:00 but we could enter early at 8:30 as a Dolphin guest. We went down to the boat dock at 6:45, first boat was due at 7:00 and the first stop from the hotel is HS. We opted to walk instead of waiting for the boat as it was a beautiful morning. We arrived at the entrance a few minutes before the boat. They made us line up and then walked us down through security to the main gate. There were only 2 gals around early 20's in front of us. At 7:40 they let us in and it was a free for all to Rise of the Resistance. We were in the very first ride group with no wait. WHAT AN AMAZING RIDE! It combines aspects from many rides, has a story and you feel like you are deeply immersed in a Star Wars movie. We loved it so much we raced from the exit to the entrace for another dose and but they closed it for technical problems! ARrrrrrrgg!
So it was off to the Milenium Falcon ride and again we had no wait, it was about 8:20. We were both assigned the pilot spots, there is also navigators and engineers who sit behind you. I had a joystick to control right and left and my wife had one to control up and down. I absolutely loved this ride too but my wife hated it. She told me after that after the first 30 seconds she felt motion sickness and thought she was gonna spew all over the control panel. Fortunately she held on and we didn't crash. When you get broken up into groups of 5 or 6 try to maneuver to the first spots as these are the pilots. I looked behind me a couple of times while we were flying and it didn't look the others were having much fun.
We had been trying to get a reservation for Oga's Cantina but to no avail. But we walked up at around 9:00 when they opened and got right on the walk-in list and only waited a few minutes. Cool bar with drinks they will not modify, droid dj spinning funky SW tunes and the bartenders are all in character and try to encourage you to be too by calling you "traveler" and playing along.
When the bartender put the tab down in front of us I made a little Obi Wan finger salute and said, "these drinks are on the house." Bartender made the same finger salute back to me and said, "not in this galaxy." Ironically enough, my drink was called the "Jedi Mind Trick". Didn't work!
By 10:30 the park was packed to the gills. We had a nice lunch at the Brown Derby. Then went back to Batuu and heckled Kylo Ren as he strutted about with storm troopers in front of a parked Tie Fighter.
All in all a very fun 2 days but without the early rope drop entry there would have been much more just standing around in line.
AcerFC
Footballguy
This is going to be long winded so I apologize. However, after discussing with my wife, I feel like it can help someone who has never been to Disney (stems from a conversation with my wife about how difficult navigating Disney plus Genie plus is for people that are not in the know. So here is how I was able to break my day down pretty successfully imo
Today was a Magic Kingdom day. I dont know why but the place (Disney in general) is packed with people. Today was a high 8, low 9 on the attendance scale for MK and I was very worried we were going to have to miss some top tier stuff.
I set the alarm for 6:55am so I could be ready to start booking Genie plus stuff at exactly 7am. My plan was to A) Purchase 7D Mine Train (which I did for $42) B) purchase Space Mountain (I did not because it was no longer a paid option) and C) Book The Jungle Cruise Lightning Lane since lines all week have averaged 90 minutes. Not being able to purchase Space Mt put me in a hole right away. I was able to select my time for 7D and I chose 5:05pm-6:05pm. I decided to go with a Space Mountain Lightning Lane over Jungle Cruise hoping I could nab Jungle Cruise next.
So by 7:02am, I had secured 7D (5:05-6:05) and Space Mountain (12p-1p). My next window for a lightning lane was 2 hours after the MK opened. MK opened at 9, so my next LL option opened up at 11am. We got in real late last night so I let the kids sleep in so we werent zombies. We finally left the hotel around 9:15 and headed over Caught a bus from Art of Animation. Was one of those perfect timings. We get to the bus as the bus rolls up and no one is really waiting.
We get inside and decide to make Pirates our first ride of the day. It wasnt walk on, but I would say we waited 20 minutes or so. At this point, we decide to do Haunted Mansion. Was about a 30 minute wait, but two main attractions down. We hit the 11am mark somewhere between these two and so I grab a Jungle Cruise for 8:20-9:20pm which is absolutely perfect since we have reservations for Jungle Skipper at 7:15 (really underrated place. We all enjoyed our meal). After Haunted Mansion, we decide to head to our Space Mt lightning lane. We decide to detour it to Carousel of Progress and then jump on Space Mt. It is about 12:40 and my daughter wants Joffreys coffee and my son is hungry so we get a quick lunch at Starlight Rays.
At this point, it is 1:00pm and time for a new lightning lane. After discussing with the family, we decide we want Splash Mt from 6:05-7:05. So at this point, it is 1:00pm and we have lightning lane for 7D (505), Splash (6:05) and Jungle Cruise (8:20). We decide to wait on the 25 minute line for Small World and then head over to The Little Mermaid ride. This was by far our longest wait of the day at around 45 minutes and I think it was mostly because it was raining and people jumped on the line to get out of the rain. My son wanted a Churro so we went down by Dumbo but churro place was closed bc of rain. So we jump on the Barnstormer which had a posted 25 minute wait. It wasnt even 3. We get off the ride and there is a big line at the Churro place which is just reopening. Grab a churro and head to Mickeys Philharmagic.
3:00 is coming up and we need to make a decision. Do we want to skip the line for Peter Pan at 9:30 or Big Thunder Mt. We opt for Peter Pan. So at 3pm, we were holding 4 lightning lane passes.
At 5:00 we jump in line for 7D. We then head over to do the Laugh Factory and Buzz when we notice that Buzz is a 55 minute. wait. I jump on to see if I can get a lightning lane and am able to grab one for 8:30 which works perfectly. Splash Mt at 6:05, Dinner at 7:15, Jungle Cruise at 8:20, Buzz at 8:30 and then Peter Pan at 9:30 to close out the night.
All in all a very successful day of using Genie plus with lightning lanes. People talk about not being able to do much with the crowds, but this shows that you can if you are prepared and have an idea of what to do. We were not able to do Big Thunder which my son called a mid conference roller coaster, or Winnie the Pooh which was down when we wanted to do it. We missed the People Mover this time around and we never really do anything that we can do at a random ride place like you go to at the beach (Dumbo, Mad Hatter, Carousel. Astro Orbiters). It was a little bit of a bum out that we missed the Tiki Birds but something tells me the show will be there the next time we go.
Epcot up tomorrow and I just noticed that they took Frozen off the individual LL list as well as Runaway Train in HS. Why would they do this. They are really messing up my plans.
Today was a Magic Kingdom day. I dont know why but the place (Disney in general) is packed with people. Today was a high 8, low 9 on the attendance scale for MK and I was very worried we were going to have to miss some top tier stuff.
I set the alarm for 6:55am so I could be ready to start booking Genie plus stuff at exactly 7am. My plan was to A) Purchase 7D Mine Train (which I did for $42) B) purchase Space Mountain (I did not because it was no longer a paid option) and C) Book The Jungle Cruise Lightning Lane since lines all week have averaged 90 minutes. Not being able to purchase Space Mt put me in a hole right away. I was able to select my time for 7D and I chose 5:05pm-6:05pm. I decided to go with a Space Mountain Lightning Lane over Jungle Cruise hoping I could nab Jungle Cruise next.
So by 7:02am, I had secured 7D (5:05-6:05) and Space Mountain (12p-1p). My next window for a lightning lane was 2 hours after the MK opened. MK opened at 9, so my next LL option opened up at 11am. We got in real late last night so I let the kids sleep in so we werent zombies. We finally left the hotel around 9:15 and headed over Caught a bus from Art of Animation. Was one of those perfect timings. We get to the bus as the bus rolls up and no one is really waiting.
We get inside and decide to make Pirates our first ride of the day. It wasnt walk on, but I would say we waited 20 minutes or so. At this point, we decide to do Haunted Mansion. Was about a 30 minute wait, but two main attractions down. We hit the 11am mark somewhere between these two and so I grab a Jungle Cruise for 8:20-9:20pm which is absolutely perfect since we have reservations for Jungle Skipper at 7:15 (really underrated place. We all enjoyed our meal). After Haunted Mansion, we decide to head to our Space Mt lightning lane. We decide to detour it to Carousel of Progress and then jump on Space Mt. It is about 12:40 and my daughter wants Joffreys coffee and my son is hungry so we get a quick lunch at Starlight Rays.
At this point, it is 1:00pm and time for a new lightning lane. After discussing with the family, we decide we want Splash Mt from 6:05-7:05. So at this point, it is 1:00pm and we have lightning lane for 7D (505), Splash (6:05) and Jungle Cruise (8:20). We decide to wait on the 25 minute line for Small World and then head over to The Little Mermaid ride. This was by far our longest wait of the day at around 45 minutes and I think it was mostly because it was raining and people jumped on the line to get out of the rain. My son wanted a Churro so we went down by Dumbo but churro place was closed bc of rain. So we jump on the Barnstormer which had a posted 25 minute wait. It wasnt even 3. We get off the ride and there is a big line at the Churro place which is just reopening. Grab a churro and head to Mickeys Philharmagic.
3:00 is coming up and we need to make a decision. Do we want to skip the line for Peter Pan at 9:30 or Big Thunder Mt. We opt for Peter Pan. So at 3pm, we were holding 4 lightning lane passes.
At 5:00 we jump in line for 7D. We then head over to do the Laugh Factory and Buzz when we notice that Buzz is a 55 minute. wait. I jump on to see if I can get a lightning lane and am able to grab one for 8:30 which works perfectly. Splash Mt at 6:05, Dinner at 7:15, Jungle Cruise at 8:20, Buzz at 8:30 and then Peter Pan at 9:30 to close out the night.
All in all a very successful day of using Genie plus with lightning lanes. People talk about not being able to do much with the crowds, but this shows that you can if you are prepared and have an idea of what to do. We were not able to do Big Thunder which my son called a mid conference roller coaster, or Winnie the Pooh which was down when we wanted to do it. We missed the People Mover this time around and we never really do anything that we can do at a random ride place like you go to at the beach (Dumbo, Mad Hatter, Carousel. Astro Orbiters). It was a little bit of a bum out that we missed the Tiki Birds but something tells me the show will be there the next time we go.
Epcot up tomorrow and I just noticed that they took Frozen off the individual LL list as well as Runaway Train in HS. Why would they do this. They are really messing up my plans.
AcerFC
Footballguy
One funny thing to add as I wait for 7 to book some LL. Our last ride was Peter Pan. They stopped it for a short time due to some kid throwing up on the ride. So LL people are coming strong. This one lady gets out of standby and starts asking the girl why 65 people from LL have gone and not one from standby. Now, it’s Peter Pan so I get her frustration waiting on a 90 min line at 9pm, but it’s 9pm. You haven’t caught on yet.
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AcerFC
Footballguy
Sorry, one more quick dislike on new genie plus. The old system (California) allowed you to swap your fast pass for a better time or even a better option that came up. Constant refresh of the app was always returning better choices. However, this new version does not allow that. In order to pick up a better time or new choice, you have to first cancel your booking. This obviously takes a second and can lead to you losing that shiny new option so tread carefully.
fred_1_15301
Footballguy
Yup I’m going at the end of the month. No clue how Genie plus works but a lot of useful info/links in this thread and YouTube. I’m going to be researching like hell the next couple weeks. It seems like the theme for a Disney trip is “being prepared”
AcerFC
Footballguy
I don’t mind posting something tonight for you guys. It is very simple.
3 hour lunch
Footballguy
Hitting Disneyland tomorrow- haven’t been to any Disney park in years (and never DL), trying to do both parks in one day, have never used Genie. Wish me luck. 
AcerFC
Footballguy
Ok, so it’s 10:30. My kids just woke up after a real long day at MK yesterday. And I just so happen to have lightning lane secured for Frozen, Test Track and Remis. At 12:30 when my next LL becomes available, I’ll get Soarin and in effect close out all of the major rides. Then we can spend the rest of the day using LL for all the little rides like Nemo, Figment and Spaceship Earth.
Tomorrow will not be as easy at HS. I have already alerted the Acer family that we will have to wait on long lines. No real way around it
Tomorrow will not be as easy at HS. I have already alerted the Acer family that we will have to wait on long lines. No real way around it
rodg12
Footballguy
I’ll be interested to see how HS works for you. When my wife and I went in October, we were able to us LL to secure everything we wanted plus ride Toy Story/Runaway Railroad/Rocking Roller Coaster/Tower of Terror additional times through standby and never had to wait in line longer than 20 min. Well except Rise of the Resistance at rope drop. That wait was a bit longer just because we went before the park opened.
Quite possible parks are busier now.
AcerFC
Footballguy
The parks are all at 8-10 on the scale right now which is crazy since Presidents week just ended and spring break hasn’t happened yet. No more off days any more.
My game plan is to do this. Grab a Rise of Resistance at 7am along with a Slinky dog FP. Be there at rope drop and go directly to Tower of Terror and Rock n roller. At my next LL opportunity, grab a Mickey and Minnie Train since we have never done it. Might have to talk to kids and see what the would be ok not riding. Then it will be Millennium Falcon ride for me. Then I expect to wait in line for Toy Story Mania and the rest. Best laid plans. Supposed to rain all day tomorrow so who knows what it will look like. We have ponchos and are on the skyliner if we really need to come back.
FreeBaGeL
Footballguy
I'm pretty pissed at Disney right now.
We sail on our first ever Disney cruise in about 3 weeks and I just found out that the Oceaneer Club (the childcare clubhouse) is reservation only right now.
For us the entire thing we were always sold on with Disney cruises was everyone said it's great, the Oceaneer Club is awesome and the kids actually love it and want to spend time there so you get lots of adult time. But now with reservations that's not possible, and by the time we realized it pretty much everything was booked up (we can only book late night after the kid's bedtimes or during shore excursions now).
It's not so much the policy that annoys me as it is that it was so poorly communicated. For such a big thing (it's the #1 selling point over other cruise lines for a lot of people) it should have been in big bold red letters on the booking page. But not only is it not there, it's not even mentioned on the Oceaneer's Club page of the Disney website, which just describes everything as normal.
The only place I could find it was buried down in one of the many post-booking emails they sent us, where it mentioned one sentence about Oceaneer's club reservation booking opening up 30 days before sail date. But I just brushed that off as it meaning for the under 3 year olds, which always required a reservation before.
Not to mention we have a bunch of adult activities (fancy dinner where kids aren't allowed, drink tastings, etc) that we now can't get childcare during so I'm assuming we'll just have to cancel them.
We sail on our first ever Disney cruise in about 3 weeks and I just found out that the Oceaneer Club (the childcare clubhouse) is reservation only right now.
For us the entire thing we were always sold on with Disney cruises was everyone said it's great, the Oceaneer Club is awesome and the kids actually love it and want to spend time there so you get lots of adult time. But now with reservations that's not possible, and by the time we realized it pretty much everything was booked up (we can only book late night after the kid's bedtimes or during shore excursions now).
It's not so much the policy that annoys me as it is that it was so poorly communicated. For such a big thing (it's the #1 selling point over other cruise lines for a lot of people) it should have been in big bold red letters on the booking page. But not only is it not there, it's not even mentioned on the Oceaneer's Club page of the Disney website, which just describes everything as normal.
The only place I could find it was buried down in one of the many post-booking emails they sent us, where it mentioned one sentence about Oceaneer's club reservation booking opening up 30 days before sail date. But I just brushed that off as it meaning for the under 3 year olds, which always required a reservation before.
Not to mention we have a bunch of adult activities (fancy dinner where kids aren't allowed, drink tastings, etc) that we now can't get childcare during so I'm assuming we'll just have to cancel them.
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fred_1_15301
Footballguy
Joe Mammy
Footballguy
A note about Genie- we went to Epcot and HS last week and we did not get it. I remember the days of fast pass. I looked at it as $60 for a quicker line or four 22 ounce pints? I chose the beer (which I still stood in line for). Maybe if they had fast beer passes I'd buy in.
I heard a guy walking by me in Toy Story saying, "Buzz Light Year? How about a Light Beer buzz?"
And there were many misconceptions among park goers. When we were in line for Soarin' we could see the Genies speeding along on the other side of a partition. The folks in front of us said, "can you believe they'd pay $15 for each ride? They must be rich!"
It's actually $15 per park but some rides are omitted.
I heard a guy walking by me in Toy Story saying, "Buzz Light Year? How about a Light Beer buzz?"
And there were many misconceptions among park goers. When we were in line for Soarin' we could see the Genies speeding along on the other side of a partition. The folks in front of us said, "can you believe they'd pay $15 for each ride? They must be rich!"
It's actually $15 per park but some rides are omitted.
glvsav37
Footballguy
This has been one of Disney's biggest problems, people don't understand the offerings. Even back to paper fastpass days, you had pockets of people who thought there was a charge for those. Enter the digital FP and people had no idea you needed to make selections 60 days out. No matter how much Disney "thought" they were holding your hand, it still was not sticking.
So what does Disney go and do? Make it even more complicated and confusing. G+. Lightning Lane, Enhanced Single rides Pay for this, but not this, get these, but not those, oh and dont forget, virtual queue...bla bla bla.
People dont want this much work on their vacations....they dont.
Capella
Footballguy
Last time I went was pre-covid but I think we had the same fears and never had a problem. My wife wanted to make reservations before the cruise but we always got him in there.
AcerFC
Footballguy
@moleculo @fred_1_15301
The first thing you will want to do is download the My Disney Experience app. On the day that you are going, you will click the 3 horizontal lines in the lower right hand corner. You will then click on tip board and change it to whatever park you plan on being in that day.
Starting at 7:00am (if you are staying on site), you will be able to make your first lightning lane choice, plus you will be able to buy an individual lightning lane option. Genie plus is an add on to your base ticket that will give you the ability to book rides and then be able to skip the lines for them. It will cost you an additional $15 per ticket per person, BUT, my longest wait in Epcot today was 20 minutes when almost every major ride had lines of 45-145 minutes the entire day.
So, the first thing to do is decide if you want to pay the additional money for Genie plus (line skipper). Whether you decide yes or no, you still have the option to pay for one to two rides per park in what is called an individual lightning lane selection. It cost me $10 for 7D (per person) and $11 for Remys. That also opens at 7am and sells out so if you want it, get it early. The nice part of this option is that you can choose your time.
OK, back to reserving your options. Once you click the tip board, there are two things for you to look at. One is the standby wait, and the other is the time that you can get a lightning lane reservation (skip the line). When you book at 7am, you will not be able to make another lightning lane choice until 2 hours after the park opens or until you use the lightning lane pass. This will be loaded on your magic band or ticket card. What I like to do is choose things that I know will sell out and book those early. Then as the day goes on, I will grab other things. For example, we did this for Buzz ride yesterday. I kept refreshing the app until I got a time we liked. It is definitely more work than you want to do on a vacation, BUT, if it stops you from waiting on a 45 minute line, it is well worth it.
That is it in a nutshell. Wake up early, book the major rides first and then adjust your day as you go. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you follow their genie advice. .It is pathetic and they should be embarrassed by it. Feel free to reach out for any other questions
The first thing you will want to do is download the My Disney Experience app. On the day that you are going, you will click the 3 horizontal lines in the lower right hand corner. You will then click on tip board and change it to whatever park you plan on being in that day.
Starting at 7:00am (if you are staying on site), you will be able to make your first lightning lane choice, plus you will be able to buy an individual lightning lane option. Genie plus is an add on to your base ticket that will give you the ability to book rides and then be able to skip the lines for them. It will cost you an additional $15 per ticket per person, BUT, my longest wait in Epcot today was 20 minutes when almost every major ride had lines of 45-145 minutes the entire day.
So, the first thing to do is decide if you want to pay the additional money for Genie plus (line skipper). Whether you decide yes or no, you still have the option to pay for one to two rides per park in what is called an individual lightning lane selection. It cost me $10 for 7D (per person) and $11 for Remys. That also opens at 7am and sells out so if you want it, get it early. The nice part of this option is that you can choose your time.
OK, back to reserving your options. Once you click the tip board, there are two things for you to look at. One is the standby wait, and the other is the time that you can get a lightning lane reservation (skip the line). When you book at 7am, you will not be able to make another lightning lane choice until 2 hours after the park opens or until you use the lightning lane pass. This will be loaded on your magic band or ticket card. What I like to do is choose things that I know will sell out and book those early. Then as the day goes on, I will grab other things. For example, we did this for Buzz ride yesterday. I kept refreshing the app until I got a time we liked. It is definitely more work than you want to do on a vacation, BUT, if it stops you from waiting on a 45 minute line, it is well worth it.
That is it in a nutshell. Wake up early, book the major rides first and then adjust your day as you go. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you follow their genie advice. .It is pathetic and they should be embarrassed by it. Feel free to reach out for any other questions
moleculo
Footballguy
So if the LL is $10 or $11 for one ride, but it's $15 for the while park all day, why would anyone just buy the one LL? I suppose it's so you can choose the exact time, whereas G+, you are at the mercy of the system?
glvsav37
Footballguy
There are 2 rides at each park that are not available on the $15 G+ system. Of course it’s not small world, it’s the biggies... rise of resistance, flight of passage, etc. in order to book those you need to pony up the additional $$.
however, you don’t need to buy the $15 G+ Access for those, you can just pay their individual price. But for someone visiting all day, they are banking on you buying both.
that said, parks like AK and Epcot (right now) where the overall amount of rides are limited, some people are passing on the $15 G+ and just buying the 2 individual rides there and about the rest of the day on standby for the other rides.
AcerFC
Footballguy
If they gave technical scores for navigating the rope drop for HS we would have gotten a 10. Gold medal effort.
Booked Rise at 7am (purchased) and then grabbed a Slinky dog. Both are out of lightning lane availability and it’s 9:08.
We are staying on site so we grabbed a skyliner and got in 30 mins early. Did Tower or Terror and then Rock n roller coaster all before 8:30. We then hoofed it double time to Mickey and Minnie which was still walk on due to not many people in yet. All said, all 3 done by 8:45 with Rise and Slinky in the Que. on the Millennium Falcon line right now (25 mins wait) and I anticipate grabbing a toy story mania lightning lane at 10:30. Great start to the day so far. Only downside is expected rain.
Booked Rise at 7am (purchased) and then grabbed a Slinky dog. Both are out of lightning lane availability and it’s 9:08.
We are staying on site so we grabbed a skyliner and got in 30 mins early. Did Tower or Terror and then Rock n roller coaster all before 8:30. We then hoofed it double time to Mickey and Minnie which was still walk on due to not many people in yet. All said, all 3 done by 8:45 with Rise and Slinky in the Que. on the Millennium Falcon line right now (25 mins wait) and I anticipate grabbing a toy story mania lightning lane at 10:30. Great start to the day so far. Only downside is expected rain.
AcerFC
Footballguy
AcerFC
Footballguy
We did indeed get toy story mania at 10:30. Best part was that is was at 11:30. So after Falcon which my daughter and I nearly pulled a second coaxium tin, we waited on the longest line of the weekend for a legacy lightsaber at Savis. That was perfectly ok since it was a downpour when we were inside. It actually lasted the entire time we were in there. When we were done it ended. We went to Andy’s lunch box to grab a snack and then did toy story mania. Grabbed a LL for Rock n roller since both kids wanted to do it again and everything else we had already done. I am shocked we were this efficient today. I was expecting a misery. Now we are watching Beauty and Beast show and then just hanging until Rise, slinky and rock n roller 2. Maybe head over to star tours and muppets after this.
AcerFC
Footballguy
Osaurus
Footballguy
It’s weird for sure. If only we could identify what is altering predictive seasonal weather.
Deranged Hermit
Not cool & Pissed
My daughter and I were at Disney Springs today and it was a #### show after 12:00 or so. By 5:00 it was shoulder to shoulder.
As an aside, Polite Pig and Boathouse are money. Absolutely delicious.
Osaurus
Footballguy
Been meaning to try both of these places, but it will be many years before I go to Disney again unless Mrs. O demands it.
3 hour lunch
Footballguy
Pretty packed in DL today but did almost everything we wanted to in 12 hours across the 2 parks. Enjoyed the walkability and a bunch of rides that DW doesn’t have. Genie works pretty smooth.
glvsav37
Footballguy
it's an epidemic.....everywhere. The fact that you cant call someone out on having an emotional support great dane just makes entitltled people more entitled to bring their "fur babies" in the name of "emotional support"
glvsav37
Footballguy
glvsav37
Footballguy
1 more step toward normalcy
in a video posted on TicTok, disney parks mention the Tumble Monkey's from Festival of the Lion King will be returning "this summer".
When the show opened after the pandemic, many scenes were cut for safety reasons where distancing couldn't be maintained. The moneys were the largest section of the show cut.
in a video posted on TicTok, disney parks mention the Tumble Monkey's from Festival of the Lion King will be returning "this summer".
When the show opened after the pandemic, many scenes were cut for safety reasons where distancing couldn't be maintained. The moneys were the largest section of the show cut.
ThreeThousand
Footballguy
One other tip - if you are booking your 7:00am LL you'll need to be fast. The whole world is booking them at the same time. You inevitably get a later return window confirmed than what you selected, and I don't know a way around this. My tip, though, is that Disney seems to release additional LL windows about 8-10 minutes AFTER 7:00am. So, if you book your LL at 7am and you want an earlier window or want to change it, check again at about 7:08-7:09am. We went in February and literally every day there was a better/earlier window available a few minutes later.
ThreeThousand
Footballguy
At Hollywood Studios if you can get a LL for Slinky and buy Rise of the Resistance, make sure you rope drop Tower of Terror first, and hit Rock N Rollercoaster next. They only have half of Tower of Terror working and a couple weeks ago it was easily the longest wait in the park (yes, even more than ROTR). I saw 180 minutes for Tower of Terror.
jb1020
Footballguy
Just leaving Universal. As a family that’s always done Disney there is a ton of things I liked more about UO, but I’ll give it a bit to set in.
So the express passes were awesome. I would not have wanted to do it without them. We actually got there Friday so spring break wasn’t really in full swing yet. Friday it was literally walking on the rides with them, but by Sunday it was a 15-25 minute wait using the passes. I’d say I was slightly disappointed, but overall you still felt like a rockstar.
You can’t put a price on the ease of everything on this trip. We stayed on property at Portifino Bay. Having everything they had to offer a 5 minute boat ride away was priceless. They destroy Disney here. Transportation was an after thought here.
The rides kicked ###. I’ll admit the screens got a little old after a day or two, but still fun.
Velocicoaster is as good as it gets. Rode it 3 times. Never waited more than 45 minutes.
Hagrids was pretty cool too.
Hope everyone on spring break is having a good one!
So the express passes were awesome. I would not have wanted to do it without them. We actually got there Friday so spring break wasn’t really in full swing yet. Friday it was literally walking on the rides with them, but by Sunday it was a 15-25 minute wait using the passes. I’d say I was slightly disappointed, but overall you still felt like a rockstar.
You can’t put a price on the ease of everything on this trip. We stayed on property at Portifino Bay. Having everything they had to offer a 5 minute boat ride away was priceless. They destroy Disney here. Transportation was an after thought here.
The rides kicked ###. I’ll admit the screens got a little old after a day or two, but still fun.
Velocicoaster is as good as it gets. Rode it 3 times. Never waited more than 45 minutes.
Hagrids was pretty cool too.
Hope everyone on spring break is having a good one!
glvsav37
Footballguy
glvsav37
Footballguy
Breaking News:
The Spirit of Aloha show at the Polynesian will now officially close for good and will be removed and replaced with a new Polly DVC tower. (art in the link). This is in the land area between Polly and Grand Flo.
This will massively change the face of the Seven Seas Lagoon Coastline. Also will make existing Polly DVC Members very happy as i'm sure they will now have 1, 2 and 3 bedroom accommodations whereas the existing DVC only had studios.
The Spirit of Aloha show at the Polynesian will now officially close for good and will be removed and replaced with a new Polly DVC tower. (art in the link). This is in the land area between Polly and Grand Flo.
This will massively change the face of the Seven Seas Lagoon Coastline. Also will make existing Polly DVC Members very happy as i'm sure they will now have 1, 2 and 3 bedroom accommodations whereas the existing DVC only had studios.
3 hour lunch
Footballguy
After having more time to think about our DL experience I think I prefer it to DW. Smaller, more walkable parks (and right next to each other); so many hotels within walking distance, the ability to knock out most things in 1 day and do other things instead of 4-5 park days. Part of it might be the fact that there were so many new rides for us and most of them fit the “exciting but still family friendly” niche where they’re super fun but I don’t have to worry about much motion sickness. Radiator Springs is great. So is RoR and I’m not even a Star Wars guy. Indians Jones, Matterhorn, Web Slingers all excellent.
