Disney Vacation (5 Viewers)

[fred_1_15301]

@AcerFC (or anyone else) - A couple questions for you as I gear up for  my trip next week:

1.  I understand that you can book one LL ride and one Genie+ ride at 7 am.  Then you have to wait until 2 hours after park opens to book the next LL or Genie+?  So what are you doing for those 2 hours? Just getting on standby rides?  Then when you book the 2nd Genie+ ride (2 hours after the park opens), do you have to wait another 2 hours to book the 3rd ride?

2. How does the magic mobile pass work when you have multiple people on one account (i.e. little kids)?  When I swipe my phone/watch, does it automatically swipe everyone in my family or do I have to swipe 4 times?  If the latter, would I have to go into my apple wallet app before I swipe each individual in my family?

 

[AcerFC]

@AcerFC (or anyone else) - A couple questions for you as I gear up for  my trip next week:

1.  I understand that you can book one LL ride and one Genie+ ride at 7 am.  Then you have to wait until 2 hours after park opens to book the next LL or Genie+?  So what are you doing for those 2 hours? Just getting on standby rides?  Then when you book the 2nd Genie+ ride (2 hours after the park opens), do you have to wait another 2 hours to book the 3rd ride?

2. How does the magic mobile pass work when you have multiple people on one account (i.e. little kids)?  When I swipe my phone/watch, does it automatically swipe everyone in my family or do I have to swipe 4 times?  If the latter, would I have to go into my apple wallet app before I swipe each individual in my family?

1. I think you know this, but I just want to clarify. The genie + selection is known as a lightning lane selection. Then each park has an additional 1 or 2 individual lightning lane options that you pay more for.  So making that crystal clear, you wake up at 7 to make your selections and do whatever you want. You can go back to sleep, you can get breakfast, you can go to the parks (which won’t open before 7:30) and ride whatever is open. When we went to Epcot, we had Remys, Frozen and Test Track all booked before we stepped into the park.  One you are in the park, you can ride standby or do anything you want. Try to find rides that have short lines. We ALWAYS go to Adventureland right after rope drop and get in Jungle cruise and Pirates.

Yes, you then have to wait until 11am to make your next selections UNLESS, you ride your 9am selection before that. Here is an example.  At 7am I get a Space Mountain LL for 2pm. At 9am, I grab a Haunted Mansion for 10am. Once I enter Haunted Mansion, I open up a LL availability. So let’s say at 10, I get Jungle Cruise for 3pm, I have to then wait until noon to make my next selection. BUT, at 10, if I am lucky enough to get Jungle Cruise for 10:30am, I can then make my next selection at 10:30. 
*** That was probably longer than it needed to be. Sorry. 
 

2. For gaining entry into the parks or any lightning lane Que, you will use your magic bands or you can get cards. Either one will work, but you need each individual to have one.

I have never used my phone as a ticket or for LL admittance so someone else might need to chime in. we have a ton of old magic bands so we just grab them and throw them in the bag.
 

I will note that the magic band did not work when we arrived at resort. My wife had to go to front desk. We were able to open our door with my phone. 

 

[fred_1_15301]

1. I think you know this, but I just want to clarify. The genie + selection is known as a lightning lane selection. Then each park has an additional 1 or 2 individual lightning lane options that you pay more for.  So making that crystal clear, you wake up at 7 to make your selections and do whatever you want. You can go back to sleep, you can get breakfast, you can go to the parks (which won’t open before 7:30) and ride whatever is open. When we went to Epcot, we had Remys, Frozen and Test Track all booked before we stepped into the park.  One you are in the park, you can ride standby or do anything you want. Try to find rides that have short lines. We ALWAYS go to Adventureland right after rope drop and get in Jungle cruise and Pirates.

Yes, you then have to wait until 11am to make your next selections UNLESS, you ride your 9am selection before that. Here is an example.  At 7am I get a Space Mountain LL for 2pm. At 9am, I grab a Haunted Mansion for 10am. Once I enter Haunted Mansion, I open up a LL availability. So let’s say at 10, I get Jungle Cruise for 3pm, I have to then wait until noon to make my next selection. BUT, at 10, if I am lucky enough to get Jungle Cruise for 10:30am, I can then make my next selection at 10:30. 
*** That was probably longer than it needed to be. Sorry. 
 

2. For gaining entry into the parks or any lightning lane Que, you will use your magic bands or you can get cards. Either one will work, but you need each individual to have one.

I have never used my phone as a ticket or for LL admittance so someone else might need to chime in. we have a ton of old magic bands so we just grab them and throw them in the bag.
 

I will note that the magic band did not work when we arrived at resort. My wife had to go to front desk. We were able to open our door with my phone. 

Yes I am aware of the Genie + vs individual lightning lane selections.  Still catching up on the lingo.  So my understanding is that at 7 am I can reserve 1 genie + ride and both of my individual lightning lanes?  Then, the rest of the reservations would be done at the park.  If that's the case, I'm thinking I'll reserve one on my phone while my wife reserves a second on her phone at the same time (talking about the 7 am reservations).  

How do you get. a magic band?  Just at the hotel front desk (I'm staying at a Disney hotel)?  Are they free?  

Thank you so much!  I literally woke up with a panic attack today thinking about this trip.  

 

[AcerFC]

Yes I am aware of the Genie + vs individual lightning lane selections.  Still catching up on the lingo.  So my understanding is that at 7 am I can reserve 1 genie + ride and both of my individual lightning lanes?  Then, the rest of the reservations would be done at the park.  If that's the case, I'm thinking I'll reserve one on my phone while my wife reserves a second on her phone at the same time (talking about the 7 am reservations).  

How do you get. a magic band?  Just at the hotel front desk (I'm staying at a Disney hotel)?  Are they free?  

Thank you so much!  I literally woke up with a panic attack today thinking about this trip.  

Honestly, I don’t think you need to have a double phone attack on it. I did it by myself and was able to get everything we wanted. I chose to purchase the individual LL option first and then go for the LL. 
Someone in here gave a great tip. For whatever reason, it seems like Genie books a bunch of reservations and then goes back to earlier times. I don’t know if it is worth the gamble, but it is an option if you want early times. 
Magic Bands can be bought at the parks. And I am sure they can be bought at the gift shop at your hotel. They are around $15 for the basic and $20 for special bands iirc. You can link them online or just go to the front desk and have them do it for you. 
If you don’t want to pay for the magic bands, the front desk will give you cards that you can use for your tickets and LL entry. 
Or, maybe someone here can help to see if you can use your phone. They are moving that way so I’m sure you can, I’ve just never done it so I can’t speak to it. 
 

ETA: They used to give the bands for free when you booked a vacation package so that is why we have so many of them. They no longer offer it for free, lucky you

 

[glvsav37]

Hear me out....WDW does not need as 5th gate to spread out crowds. 

Disney needs to build a theme park in South America. 

Now with all the multi-cultural entertainment and storylines they have (and have planned) they have a ton of IP content that could fill those parks. 

 

[PlayaHata]

Back home after a 2-year postponed Orlando spring break trip for my wife, me, and now 21yo son.  We did 2 days at Universal, 1 day at Magic Kingdom, and 1 day at Hollywood Studios.

Universal Studios - This was our first ever visit to Universal Studios.  We had a 2-day pass and also paid for the Express Pass.  This was the first week of spring break and the parks were packed, so the Express Pass was key to our enjoyment.  We spent a little time in both parks both days and took the Hogwarts Express train back and forth.  The HP areas were absolutely packed with wall-to-wall people.  It was honestly hard to get from A to B at times.  We didn't ride Hagrid's Motorbikes ride until the afternoon of day 2 since it's not offered on Express Pass for some reason and the line was insanely long.  The wait was just under 2 hours (140 minutes was posted when we got in line), but that one ended up being my favorite ride in the parks so I'm glad we did it.  Also maybe it's been mentioned already, but on one of our Uber rides, our driver pointed out where UO is just starting to build a 3rd park that will be called Epic near the convention center.  I don't think it's supposed to open until 2024 or even 2025 though.

Disney - We did have the Genie+ thing and it was OK, but as others have said, it is so much harder to understand than the Express Pass at UO.  Magic Kingdom was fine, we've been there a bunch of times, but my wife is a former College Program person so she wanted to see the 50th Anniversary stuff there.  None of the MK rides really stood out to me.  Honestly the highlight of MK was probably the fireworks show at the end of the night with the projections on the castle plus projections on all of the buildings up and down Main Street plus lasers.  For day 2, we visited HS to do the Star Wars stuff.  We didn't stay in a Disney Resort so we were there at 8:30 AM when it opens for all of the peasants.  All 3 of us tried getting Lightning Lane for RotR, but we either weren't fast enough or it was already filled up by the early admission folks.  We ended up walking straight to RotR and got in the standard line which already showed a 120 minute wait.  Luckily we got through in only 90 minutes and we walked past several times over the course of the day and the line was even longer later, so I'm glad we did it first.  We did get a Genie+ for Smugglers Run in the afternoon and so we got to do that too later in the day.  Both rides were neat in their own unique way.  My son got a Dark Saber so he was happy about that.  We also did the Toy Story carnival games ride in the evening which we had never been on before and I really liked it.  Only other thing I can think of is we had a Rondo's Wrap (sp?) at Dock Bay 7 outside of Smugglers Run for dinner and it was very good.  

 

[El Floppo]

Just saw this today, let us know if you're in it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eY-VRFq10k

we were supposedly only shooting stills and not video- but that's floppinha at 1:15 (blonde)

just found this one buried in a dailymail-uk article. it's basically the same video from above, but expanded with a little more of us, this time a split second of my face along with us hanging with Chewie. I didn't have any sound on mine. Start at 5:35 for us.

and it's strange- we were hired and paid daily rate for print... not video. didn't even know they were shooting video ("b-roll") at the time. according to my wife, that's a different and higher paid contract. floppinha's agent also had to fight Disney to get us over-time... the shoot went 11 or 12 hours instead of the maximum of 9 for floppinha's age. Disney had somebody actually call me to argue it... I was like- whatever, I don't know anything about the contract- call floppinha's agent. I'm surprised to be learning how cheap/sneaky Disney is with things like this.

 

[glvsav37]

More signs of returning to normalcy:

WDW set to remove "distanced character meets" by mid-April. 

Since we have returned from Covid, character meets have been designed to keep the character socially distanced 6-10 feet behind you. Experts expect a return to normal meets right after the Easter rush. 

 

[glvsav37]

If anyone if interested in the progress of UO's Epic Universe progress and attractions, def check out the Park Stop Podcast.

This one is about the coasters that will be there. They all look awesome IMO.

 

[glvsav37]

More signs of returning to normalcy:

WDW set to remove "distanced character meets" by mid-April. 

Since we have returned from Covid, character meets have been designed to keep the character socially distanced 6-10 feet behind you. Experts expect a return to normal meets right after the Easter rush. 

 Official Quote from Disney today:

“As early as April 18, we will start reintroducing traditional character greetings at Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts, as well as aboard Disney Cruise Line and at Aulani Resort in Hawaii. Very soon, Guests will once again be able to hug Mickey Mouse, get an autograph from Mulan, and share a laugh with Goofy. We know many of you have missed these special moments, and your Disney character friends have missed you, too!

During the past two years, we’ve taken a very gradual, intentional approach to health and safety protocols. Recent trends and guidance have provided opportunities for us to bring back some of our most beloved magic, like character greetings and dining experiences. While not all locations will be available immediately, we anticipate reopening in phases throughout the spring and early summer.”

 

[glvsav37]

All-Star Sports re-opened today and is the last of the Disney on-property resorts to reopen. 

 

[wlwiles]

I've read every one of @AcerFC's G+ explanation posts and I still don't fully understand it.  No disrespect to you Acer, its just that their new system is confusing as ####.  I want to see if I have this right. 

So you go into the G+ app to book your LL rides at 7AM.  You can book all three of them (3 for each person) all at 7AM?  And you can also pay and reserve the 2 individual LL rides at that time? Or only one of those can be booked at 7AM?  

Then you're not allowed to book any more regular LL passes until 9 AM?  Or not until you use the first LL pass?  Or is it "use the first one" or wait 2 hours, whichever is shorter?  

I swear this goes against every single thing I ever learned about customer service - make your product EASY for the customer to get/buy/access

 

[ThreeThousand]

I've read every one of @AcerFC's G+ explanation posts and I still don't fully understand it.  No disrespect to you Acer, its just that their new system is confusing as ####.  I want to see if I have this right. 

So you go into the G+ app to book your LL rides at 7AM.  You can book all three of them (3 for each person) all at 7AM?  And you can also pay and reserve the 2 individual LL rides at that time? Or only one of those can be booked at 7AM?  

Then you're not allowed to book any more regular LL passes until 9 AM?  Or not until you use the first LL pass?  Or is it "use the first one" or wait 2 hours, whichever is shorter?  

I swear this goes against every single thing I ever learned about customer service - make your product EASY for the customer to get/buy/access

You got most of it.  For Genie +, you're right that it's at 7:00am, but you can only book one (not 3).  Then, you can book another either two hours after park opens (so if park opens at 9:00, you can book another at 11) or after you've scanned into the LAST one you have booked, and every two hours after that.  Since you don't really get to pick the return times, if you're selecting high demand rides you will likely be getting return times in the afternoon.  So what worked best for us was book one at 7am, one at 11am, one at 1pm, one at 3pm (usually this one was a low demand ride with a short turnaround time).  Then when you tapped into the LAST one you booked (in this case, the 3pm ride) you can select another.  This gave us the 7am, 11am, 1pm rides late in the afternoons when the crowds were the worst.

For the individual LL rides you can book both of them at 7am.

Also FYI, there is a mad rush to book LL at 7am - we also found that if you didn't like your selection it seems like they opened more availability around 7:08am or 7:09am so keep checking. You can always cancel your original selection and rebook.

 

[Godsbrother]

I've been to Disney more than 2 dozen times and am a DVC member.   I am pretty disgusted with this whole Genie+ / Lightning Lane money grab and hassle. 

We are planning an adult trip with two couples in September and I don't plan on paying for either.  We'll just get to the parks in time for rope-drop and roll with that.  If an attraction has too long of a wait we'll just pass.

Next fall I'll be going with the grandkids again so I probably will give in and pay for Genie+ and LL but I still think it is a bunch of BS.

 

[fred_1_15301]

Completed a fairly successful 5 day Disney trip.  Few observations: 

1.  Service at the theme parks is absolutely amazing.  It’s amazing how well the ride attendants keep those lines moving.

2.  Genie plus is a nice to have and probably needed with young, whiny kids.  If I ever did Disney on my own (which would never happen), I would pass.  

3.  Although Genie plus is a nice to have addition, you are realistically only booking 5-6 rides max with it (unless you’re at the park from open to close).

4.  Staying at a Disney resort is huge for the early entry access.  Most of the parks actually let you in more than 30 minutes before the park opens.  We were able to rope drop Avatar and Remy’s for less than a 45 minute wait.  Would have been able to do the same for Star Wars but the ride was closed that morning.

5.  Food at the parks is expensive and mediocre (at least the food that we ate)

6.  If I ever do Disney again, I’m skipping out on Hollywood.  Totally unimpressed.  I was excited for ROTR but hugely disappointed.  I guess if I was a Star Wars nerd, I would have been more into it.  Just can’t believe I dished out $60 for that ride.

7.  Avatar, on the other hand, is probably the best ride I’ve ever been on.  We rope dropped that on our very first day at a theme park.  Then we paid to do it again.  What a way to kick off a trip!

8.  Epcot was a lot more fun for the whole family than I expected it would be.

9.  The rides at magic kingdom (outside of space mountain) are overrated.  I also regretted paying for seven dwarves.

10.  The whole system for booking through Genie plus/individual lightning sucks.  For any of the good rides, you are basically booking for hours in advance.  That would be fine if you didn’t have to wait 2 hours to make your next booking (and many rides just run out of bookings by early afternoon).  
 

11.  My major issue with purchasing individual lightning lanes is that they don’t allow cancellations.  When we booked 7 dwarves, we requested an 11:00 window.  When I actually got to the confirmation screen, it indicated a 12:00-1:00 return time.  Once actually confirmed, it gave me a 1:45-2:45 return window.  I get that there are probably a thousand people trying to book that ride at that time and #### happens.  But then they need to allow for cancellations.  We wanted to be out of the park by noon that day but were locked into that stupid ride.  
 

Overall a fun trip for all of us.  Unfortunately it has ended on a bad note - we had a 5:30 am flight leaving Orlando this morning that was cancelled.  No flights until tomorrow so we are now doing the ~ 15 hour drive from Orlando to Philly (with a 5 and 7 year old)

 

[AcerFC]

I've read every one of @AcerFC's G+ explanation posts and I still don't fully understand it.  No disrespect to you Acer, its just that their new system is confusing as ####.  I want to see if I have this right. 

So you go into the G+ app to book your LL rides at 7AM.  You can book all three of them (3 for each person) all at 7AM?  And you can also pay and reserve the 2 individual LL rides at that time? Or only one of those can be booked at 7AM?  

Then you're not allowed to book any more regular LL passes until 9 AM?  Or not until you use the first LL pass?  Or is it "use the first one" or wait 2 hours, whichever is shorter?  

I swear this goes against every single thing I ever learned about customer service - make your product EASY for the customer to get/buy/access

Sorry. I haven’t been on here in a few days. Looks like it was answered. And sorry if my posts were confusing. Main thing is that you can only pick 1, not three like three thousand said 

 

[glvsav37]

its official, Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind in Epcot will open on May 27th. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5ACZ6haz7Y&t=3s

 

[Don Quixote]

Just got back from a week in Disney World for kid's spring break. We spent a lot as a bit of Covid revenge trip (had a trip to DisneyLand scheduled for May 2020 before the world turned upside down -- still need to do that one, but did FL in the meantime). Also, I received several thousands of dollars in rewards from work that were only convertible into gift cards; so, I converted into Disney gift cards.  My thoughts, FWIW...

1. Upgraded to the Grand Floridian -- wife pushed for it and I gave in after she pulled the Austin Powers trick of asking me three times. Great hotel with lots of activities. Could see the Magic Kingdom fireworks from our patio. They also had a glow party by the pier many nights just before the fireworks that my kid enjoyed too. Spent a little time at the pool, but not too much as mostly went to the parks. Wish had some time to enjoy some of the other perks like the bar and restaurants there, but did not experience any restaurants on site besides the quick-serve place (Gasparilla's) and pool bar.
   
2. As traveling with a 6 year old, did the Lightning/Genie thing.  A member of my party also qualified for DAS. It mostly just lets you skips standing in the standby line (e.g., if the standby wait time is 60 minutes, you can check-in on the app, and then enter through the Lightning lane in 60 minutes). But the combination of the two at least kept time standing in line a bit more limited.
   
3. Took advantage of the early opening hours as resort guest as much as possible to knock stuff out. Travel agent suggested places to start that people did not run to as much, while she booked the Lightning/Genie (e.g., at Magic Kingdom, we kicked things off at Barnstormer, Dumbo, Pooh, etc., while agent Lightning'd the stuff that people ran to upon open).
   
4. Best meal: Space 220 Restaurant in Epcot. Really cool setup with large space wall behind you.  Food and drinks were pretty good too (cocktails had some fun presentations too).
   
5. That restaurant is outside the Mission: SPACE ride. Hated that ride and felt like I was going to pass out at one point. There are warnings about it, but there are warnings about most rides and did not realize how much they meant it. There is a less intense version, which I wish did in retrospect.  
   
6. I had not been to Hollywood Studios in about 20 years. Toy Story Land had some good stuff for the kid (he had a good time on Slinky Dog).  None of us really big into Star Wars. Galaxy's Edge was nice to look at it, and Rise of the Resistance a good ride, but crowds were a bit too massive. My son was pushing for a light saber after seeing people walking around with them, but realized while we were there that you apparently can't just buy a light saber (or at least I did not find any in the shops there) and need to book a reservation some time out at a place that makes custom ones.
   
7. Did Avatar: Flight of Passage for the first time. I think the coolest ride at WDW. My son was just barely at the height limit for it. A lot of rides have a limit in the 40-44" range, and glad he was able to enjoy everything that we rode this week.
   
8. We did spend for the fireworks dessert party on the terrace one night. I think I'd overall prefer to be on the ground in front of Magic Kingdom watching, but it did end up working in favor because it poured that night and at least were  able to watch under cover in the terrace.
   

 

[MAC_32]

Any idea if Legoland ever sells out? Will buy online, just don't want to buy day tickets til we're there. Too many plane issues lately.

 

[Deranged Hermit]

Impromptu trip to Florida this week. The job I'm running had some unexpected problems with some work the electricians are doing (or, in this case, not doing) so I have the rest of the week off. The wife is a teacher,  so she is also off. It's also pretty crappy, weather wise, in Delaware so we made the gut wrenching decision to lay by the pool in 87 degree paradise for a week.

Not sure if we're going to hit Disney,  but the wife is hinting at Epcot,  so that looks like it's in the cards at least. 

 

[Psychopav]

A member of my party also qualified for DAS. It mostly just lets you skips standing in the standby line (e.g., if the standby wait time is 60 minutes, you can check-in on the app, and then enter through the Lightning lane in 60 minutes). But the combination of the two at least kept time standing in line a bit more limited.

What does "DAS" stand for, and how does one qualify for it?

TIA

 

[Don Quixote]

What does "DAS" stand for, and how does one qualify for it?

TIA

Disability Access Services. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/disability-access-service/

It is different from mobility issues, as can be non-physical and more geared to something that makes waiting in traditional lines intolerable — from my understanding, this could be a result of things like a cognitive disorder, having a specific health condition that would be worse standing in heat, or maybe being on an immunosuppressant drug. You do have to register for it with a screening process.

Penalty if you are caught lying is a permanent ban from the park.

 

[Psychopav]

Disability Access Services. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/disability-access-service/

It is different from mobility issues, as can be non-physical and more geared to something that makes waiting in traditional lines intolerable — from my understanding, this could be a result of things like a cognitive disorder, having a specific health condition that would be worse standing in heat, or maybe being on an immunosuppressant drug. You do have to register for it with a screening process.

Penalty if you are caught lying is a permanent ban from the park.

Thanks for the info.  We have used this in the past just didn't know what it was called. It's probably not a new term, but my wife usually handles those types of things.

 

[Osaurus]

Any idea if Legoland ever sells out? Will buy online, just don't want to buy day tickets til we're there. Too many plane issues lately.

Highly doubtful 

 

[glvsav37]

Hey all, I know this thread has been quiet for a bit, but overall ,there is not much quality "vacation-related" disney news and I was not gonna drag the politics into here. Save that for the PSF.

But I'm 60 days out and am pondering this question: 

I have 1 night for a solid dinner/meal. It has to be a non-theme park restaurant as we will not be doing the parks that day. It will be 6 of us, 4 adults and 2 11-/10-year olds. I dont need a Victoria and Alberts experience, but def not a quick service or T-rex craziness. Staying at Saratoga, so Disney Springs is a solid option on location alone, but not opposed to grabbing an uber somewhere else on property. 

So if you had 1 night for a meal, where would you go? 

 

[Capella]

Hey all, I know this thread has been quiet for a bit, but overall ,there is not much quality "vacation-related" disney news and I was not gonna drag the politics into here. Save that for the PSF.

But I'm 60 days out and am pondering this question: 

I have 1 night for a solid dinner/meal. It has to be a non-theme park restaurant as we will not be doing the parks that day. It will be 6 of us, 4 adults and 2 11-/10-year olds. I dont need a Victoria and Alberts experience, but def not a quick service or T-rex craziness. Staying at Saratoga, so Disney Springs is a solid option on location alone, but not opposed to grabbing an uber somewhere else on property. 

So if you had 1 night for a meal, where would you go? 

Heard good things about Steakhouse 71. We are going Saturday so I can let you know then I suppose. 

 

[harryhood]

Heard good things about Steakhouse 71. We are going Saturday so I can let you know then I suppose. 

Steakhouse 71 was a great meal.  Lots to choose from and a great environment.  Not fancy if you don't want it to be.  Families of 6 taking breaks from the park, couples of 2 and everyone else in between.  Food is very good.  

 

[AAABatteries]

just found this one buried in a dailymail-uk article. it's basically the same video from above, but expanded with a little more of us, this time a split second of my face along with us hanging with Chewie. I didn't have any sound on mine. Start at 5:35 for us.

and it's strange- we were hired and paid daily rate for print... not video. didn't even know they were shooting video ("b-roll") at the time. according to my wife, that's a different and higher paid contract. floppinha's agent also had to fight Disney to get us over-time... the shoot went 11 or 12 hours instead of the maximum of 9 for floppinha's age. Disney had somebody actually call me to argue it... I was like- whatever, I don't know anything about the contract- call floppinha's agent. I'm surprised to be learning how cheap/sneaky Disney is with things like this.

I'm out

 

[Godsbrother]

Hey all, I know this thread has been quiet for a bit, but overall ,there is not much quality "vacation-related" disney news and I was not gonna drag the politics into here. Save that for the PSF.

But I'm 60 days out and am pondering this question: 

I have 1 night for a solid dinner/meal. It has to be a non-theme park restaurant as we will not be doing the parks that day. It will be 6 of us, 4 adults and 2 11-/10-year olds. I dont need a Victoria and Alberts experience, but def not a quick service or T-rex craziness. Staying at Saratoga, so Disney Springs is a solid option on location alone, but not opposed to grabbing an uber somewhere else on property. 

So if you had 1 night for a meal, where would you go? 

I love Ragland Road

 

[glvsav37]

I love Ragland Road

We are actually going there on this trip already. 

Backstory, my 16 y/o daughter got invited as a guest for her friends sweet-16 WDW vacation.  We (and the parents of the other guest) are tagging along as she has never been that far away from us, but will not be intruding on their plans--just be in the same zip code. However, the "Birthday dinner" will be at Ragland and we are invited to that. 

 

[Capella]

I regret to inform all of you that Genie Plus is amazing. It was a slower day at the park but we did 11 rides in 5 hours at MK and could have done 4-5 more but we were exhausted. Big big big big success. Get your credit cards out, if you come to the park and don’t use this you are a rube. We didn’t spend more than 5 minutes from scanning our magic band to getting on the ride. Peter Pan - 70 minute wait. We were in the boat thingy in 4. Haunted Mansion, 50 minute wait, walked right in. Jungle Cruise had a huge wait, we were on the first boat. It’s amazing and cost about the same price as one of their gross hamburgers.  

 

[Capella]

Steakhouse 71 was a great meal.  Lots to choose from and a great environment.  Not fancy if you don't want it to be.  Families of 6 taking breaks from the park, couples of 2 and everyone else in between.  Food is very good.  

Yes I had the hangar steak lunch. Most steaks at Disney are nuked gray but not only was this a perfect medium rare, it had a very good flavor. My wife had a club sandwich she loved. Onion rings were crispy but not greasy. Kid had PB&J wings which were unique. One of the better meals we’ve had on Disney property. 

 

[glvsav37]

I regret to inform all of you that Genie Plus is amazing. It was a slower day at the park but we did 11 rides in 5 hours at MK and could have done 4-5 more but we were exhausted. Big big big big success. Get your credit cards out, if you come to the park and don’t use this you are a rube. We didn’t spend more than 5 minutes from scanning our magic band to getting on the ride. Peter Pan - 70 minute wait. We were in the boat thingy in 4. Haunted Mansion, 50 minute wait, walked right in. Jungle Cruise had a huge wait, we were on the first boat. It’s amazing and cost about the same price as one of their gross hamburgers.  

glad you had a good experience with it. 

I've only used it on 1 trip (solo) and for me it took a bit of adjusting too. And while I wasn't ready to toot its horn as loud as you did, I could see its benefits. 

I do think though the bolded helped somewhat. Volume is volume and the rides can only move people so fast.
 

 

[fred_1_15301]

I regret to inform all of you that Genie Plus is amazing. It was a slower day at the park but we did 11 rides in 5 hours at MK and could have done 4-5 more but we were exhausted. Big big big big success. Get your credit cards out, if you come to the park and don’t use this you are a rube. We didn’t spend more than 5 minutes from scanning our magic band to getting on the ride. Peter Pan - 70 minute wait. We were in the boat thingy in 4. Haunted Mansion, 50 minute wait, walked right in. Jungle Cruise had a huge wait, we were on the first boat. It’s amazing and cost about the same price as one of their gross hamburgers.  

I agree with this but out of curiosity how many rides did you reserve via Genie Plus?  I made my first Genie Plus reservation at 7am on the dot for Space Mountain and the return time I got was 11:50.  At that point, we're basically screwed because the next reservation we can make is 2 hours after the park opens.  Assuming we go for another popular ride (e.g. Thunder Mountain), we're typically looking at a return time no earlier than 2:30.  So if we're hitting 11 rides, we're standing in line for several of them.  But yeah I completely agree that you pretty much have to get Genie Plus.  

 

[Capella]

I agree with this but out of curiosity how many rides did you reserve via Genie Plus?  I made my first Genie Plus reservation at 7am on the dot for Space Mountain and the return time I got was 11:50.  At that point, we're basically screwed because the next reservation we can make is 2 hours after the park opens.  Assuming we go for another popular ride (e.g. Thunder Mountain), we're typically looking at a return time no earlier than 2:30.  So if we're hitting 11 rides, we're standing in line for several of them.  But yeah I completely agree that you pretty much have to get Genie Plus.  

So I’ll try to explain this as easily as I can bc it seems wonky. We weren’t getting to the park till 3. So starting at 9 yesterday we were able to make our first reservation and then every two hours after. So 9, 11, 1, 3 we had booked four rides all starting after 3. A cast member had let it slip to me that LL will allow you to book a new ride when you tap your magic band onto the last ride you booked even if you have other standing reservations.  So the first thing we did is go to the ride we booked at 3, scanned in, booked another ride at 3:01. Then we worked backwards from there and cleaned up the earlier rides and were able to pick up other rides that were within a 60 minute window right after.
 

Now this may not work on busier park days which is what you were able to encounter. Or, going around 3 may be the sweet spot when people leave to go back to the hotels for some rest. We are locals so we don’t go early in the morning, but we are staying for 4 days in June with family flying in so we’ll probably be trying the early shift then. 

 

[fred_1_15301]

So I’ll try to explain this as easily as I can bc it seems wonky. We weren’t getting to the park till 3. So starting at 9 yesterday we were able to make our first reservation and then every two hours after. So 9, 11, 1, 3 we had booked four rides all starting after 3. A cast member had let it slip to me that LL will allow you to book a new ride when you tap your magic band onto the last ride you booked even if you have other standing reservations.  So the first thing we did is go to the ride we booked at 3, scanned in, booked another ride at 3:01. Then we worked backwards from there and cleaned up the earlier rides and were able to pick up other rides that were within a 60 minute window right after.
 

Now this may not work on busier park days which is what you were able to encounter. Or, going around 3 may be the sweet spot when people leave to go back to the hotels for some rest. We are locals so we don’t go early in the morning, but we are staying for 4 days in June with family flying in so we’ll probably be trying the early shift then. 

Thanks - that makes sense.  This is actually a much better strategy than going when the park opens.   I did so much research before our trip and nobody suggested this approach.     

 

[steelerfan1]

Hey all, I know this thread has been quiet for a bit, but overall ,there is not much quality "vacation-related" disney news and I was not gonna drag the politics into here. Save that for the PSF.

But I'm 60 days out and am pondering this question: 

I have 1 night for a solid dinner/meal. It has to be a non-theme park restaurant as we will not be doing the parks that day. It will be 6 of us, 4 adults and 2 11-/10-year olds. I dont need a Victoria and Alberts experience, but def not a quick service or T-rex craziness. Staying at Saratoga, so Disney Springs is a solid option on location alone, but not opposed to grabbing an uber somewhere else on property. 

So if you had 1 night for a meal, where would you go? 

Hi glvsav, not sure how far you wanted to go, but we’ve never had a bad meal HERE

granted, it’s been over a year since we’ve last been, but food for us has always been great.

 

[MAC_32]

We did every ride, including both Thunder and Space Mt twice, except for Pooh. Yes, get the genie plus. Drawfs standby first, back loading LL popular rides, then standby during the twilight hours is the play. 

 

[Osaurus]

I love Ragland Road

It's solid. 

 

[jb1020]

So I’ll try to explain this as easily as I can bc it seems wonky. We weren’t getting to the park till 3. So starting at 9 yesterday we were able to make our first reservation and then every two hours after. So 9, 11, 1, 3 we had booked four rides all starting after 3. A cast member had let it slip to me that LL will allow you to book a new ride when you tap your magic band onto the last ride you booked even if you have other standing reservations.  So the first thing we did is go to the ride we booked at 3, scanned in, booked another ride at 3:01. Then we worked backwards from there and cleaned up the earlier rides and were able to pick up other rides that were within a 60 minute window right after.
 

Now this may not work on busier park days which is what you were able to encounter. Or, going around 3 may be the sweet spot when people leave to go back to the hotels for some rest. We are locals so we don’t go early in the morning, but we are staying for 4 days in June with family flying in so we’ll probably be trying the early shift then. 

This is how I want to do Disney.   A return trip is being talked about.  I'm a little less enthusiastic, but more or less intimidated.  Kids are older now so its not about rising rides.  I'd absolutely love getting to the park at 3 and then riding everything you want.  Sounds amazing.  

 

[AcerFC]

So I’ll try to explain this as easily as I can bc it seems wonky. We weren’t getting to the park till 3. So starting at 9 yesterday we were able to make our first reservation and then every two hours after. So 9, 11, 1, 3 we had booked four rides all starting after 3. A cast member had let it slip to me that LL will allow you to book a new ride when you tap your magic band onto the last ride you booked even if you have other standing reservations.  So the first thing we did is go to the ride we booked at 3, scanned in, booked another ride at 3:01. Then we worked backwards from there and cleaned up the earlier rides and were able to pick up other rides that were within a 60 minute window right after.
 

Now this may not work on busier park days which is what you were able to encounter. Or, going around 3 may be the sweet spot when people leave to go back to the hotels for some rest. We are locals so we don’t go early in the morning, but we are staying for 4 days in June with family flying in so we’ll probably be trying the early shift then. 

The scanning and booking is not a secret. I wrote about it when I went in March. Has always been like that

 

[Capella]

The scanning and booking is not a secret. I wrote about it when I went in March. Has always been like that

Cool!

 

[Capella]

This is how I want to do Disney.   A return trip is being talked about.  I'm a little less enthusiastic, but more or less intimidated.  Kids are older now so its not about rising rides.  I'd absolutely love getting to the park at 3 and then riding everything you want.  Sounds amazing.  

Yea I think getting there early in the morning can be a losing bet. Everybody is looking to do that, then go poolside for a bit, then come back. We can just hit what we want after the crowd subsides and then get out of there. We planned to watch fireworks but were so worn out from walking to all the rides we went to dinner. 

 

[Deranged Hermit]

Hey all, I know this thread has been quiet for a bit, but overall ,there is not much quality "vacation-related" disney news and I was not gonna drag the politics into here. Save that for the PSF.

But I'm 60 days out and am pondering this question: 

I have 1 night for a solid dinner/meal. It has to be a non-theme park restaurant as we will not be doing the parks that day. It will be 6 of us, 4 adults and 2 11-/10-year olds. I dont need a Victoria and Alberts experience, but def not a quick service or T-rex craziness. Staying at Saratoga, so Disney Springs is a solid option on location alone, but not opposed to grabbing an uber somewhere else on property. 

So if you had 1 night for a meal, where would you go? 

Love The Boathouse. Raglan Road would be choice number two.

 

[Osaurus]

I often say Wine Bar George is underrated. It's definitely not a family place.

 

[glvsav37]

Big Genie+ changes coming for the summer, and apparently into 2023

"Starting on June 8, 2022, Disney Genie+ will only be available to purchase on the day of your visit to a Walt Disney World theme park, via the My Disney Experience app." 

currently you can have it as an add on you tickets at anytime. 

the press release also said: Disney also stated Genie+ is “subject to availability.” meaning they may limit the amount of available G+ daily subscriptions. 

 

[jb1020]

Big Genie+ changes coming for the summer, and apparently into 2023

"Starting on June 8, 2022, Disney Genie+ will only be available to purchase on the day of your visit to a Walt Disney World theme park, via the My Disney Experience app." 

currently you can have it as an add on you tickets at anytime. 

the press release also said: Disney also stated Genie+ is “subject to availability.” meaning they may limit the amount of available G+ daily subscriptions. 

Initially, that kind of sucks.  I like to pay everything months in advance and not think about buying stuff while I'm there.  Having to wake up and consider a $100 purchase every morning isn't high on my list.  

Whats the reasoning behind that you think?  Just to keep it from being overbought?  

 

[glvsav37]

Initially, that kind of sucks.  I like to pay everything months in advance and not think about buying stuff while I'm there.  Having to wake up and consider a $100 purchase every morning isn't high on my list.  

Whats the reasoning behind that you think?  Just to keep it from being overbought?  

these days who knows why they are doing anything they do? But I'm with you..there is so much pressure at 7am (I dont even get up that early at home, the F about it on vacation) to grab those special rides and now you need ot do another financial transaction on top of it, and ten go book more rides, is just stupid. 

 

[jb1020]

these days who knows why they are doing anything they do? But I'm with you..there is so much pressure at 7am (I dont even get up that early at home, the F about it on vacation) to grab those special rides and now you need ot do another financial transaction on top of it, and ten go book more rides, is just stupid. 

It seems like they would sell so many on the front end just by lumping in an extra $500 to a $7500 bill?  This one has me scratching my head.  

If they sell less, it can probably turn into a nice little perk for those that choose to get up and do it.  But like you said, if you don't plan on hitting he park til 3pm, will it make sense to buy?   Will you know what type of availability you have before you buy it?  

I do think we'll return March 2023 (maybe even before then).  Family DVC points are starting to pile up.  We use to fight over them.  Now there like 600 points that need to be used!  

 

[RG623]

Am I crazy for considering a Thanksgiving week trip?  Figured this was the lesser of two evils compared to the week between Xmas and New Years for overwhelming crowds. Anyone have any recent experience?