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Disney Vacation (4 Viewers)

We've got a trip coming up in May and while I had everything down to a science with fastpass etc in the past, this is our first trip since they changed to genie/lightning/etc.

This is also the largest we've ever done (3 families all with kids) whereas in the past it was just us plus a grandparent or two.

So any tips on optimizing the new system compared to the old? I've read the guides on how it works but not sure if there are still optimal routes and strategies for booking like w/ the FP system. None of the other families are big Disney people so they've essentially turned everything over to me to plan. Parks we're doing are MK and AK. Kids are 2, 6, 6, 8, 8.

We won't have any on-resort benefits as we're staying at our pimped out Star Wars house off property.
 
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We've got a trip coming up in May and while I had everything down to a science with fastpass etc in the past, this is our first trip since they changed to genie/lightning/etc.

This is also the largest we've ever done (3 families all with kids) whereas in the past it was just us plus a grandparent or two.

So any tips on optimizing the new system compared to the old? I've read the guides on how it works but not sure if there are still optimal routes and strategies for booking like w/ the FP system. None of the other families are big Disney people so they've essentially turned everything over to me to plan. Parks we're doing are MK and AK. Kids are 2, 6, 6, 8, 8.

We won't have any on-resort benefits as we're staying at our pimped out Star Wars house off property.
Contrary to popular opinion, I loved the new system. Dont get me wrong, I hated the cost and the amount of time I needed to spend on my phone. But, we got on a ton of rides over 4th of July week.

The big thing is knowing when you can get new FP's. If I remember correctly, you can stack FP's every 2 hours. So if its 10am and you make a FP for 2pm, you dont need to wait until that one is used in order to make a new one, you can grab another one 2 hours after you last one you made—even irf it is earlier then the 1st FP you booked. So keep tabs on what time you are booking them, set an alarm on your phone.

Also, as soon as you "tap in" at a FP entrance, you can make your next one. So tap in and start browsing next avail FPs ASAP.

I dont really have any direct strategies as far as do this ride 1st and that ride 2nd, just go with your gut and you know the popular rides. Don't use them for theaters or any other high-capacity rides/attractions.
 
We've got a trip coming up in May and while I had everything down to a science with fastpass etc in the past, this is our first trip since they changed to genie/lightning/etc.

This is also the largest we've ever done (3 families all with kids) whereas in the past it was just us plus a grandparent or two.

So any tips on optimizing the new system compared to the old? I've read the guides on how it works but not sure if there are still optimal routes and strategies for booking like w/ the FP system. None of the other families are big Disney people so they've essentially turned everything over to me to plan. Parks we're doing are MK and AK. Kids are 2, 6, 6, 8, 8.

We won't have any on-resort benefits as we're staying at our pimped out Star Wars house off property.
Contrary to popular opinion, I loved the new system. Dont get me wrong, I hated the cost and the amount of time I needed to spend on my phone. But, we got on a ton of rides over 4th of July week.

The big thing is knowing when you can get new FP's. If I remember correctly, you can stack FP's every 2 hours. So if its 10am and you make a FP for 2pm, you dont need to wait until that one is used in order to make a new one, you can grab another one 2 hours after you last one you made—even irf it is earlier then the 1st FP you booked. So keep tabs on what time you are booking them, set an alarm on your phone.

Also, as soon as you "tap in" at a FP entrance, you can make your next one. So tap in and start browsing next avail FPs ASAP.

I dont really have any direct strategies as far as do this ride 1st and that ride 2nd, just go with your gut and you know the popular rides. Don't use them for theaters or any other high-capacity rides/attractions.

Thanks.

Yeah I don't mind the cost at all. It's already expensive enough I don't mind a small extra cost weeding out the local line competition a bit. Time > money, in this case.

Mainly what I liked about the old one was, while it required a ton of planning upfront, if you put in the time to come up with a gameplan ahead of time you could pretty much avoid waiting in lines almost the entire day. Doesn't seem as possible to game things with the new system. Which I guess is good overall, but not as great for people like me that are willing to sit on a computer for 12 hours figuring out how to plan the whole day around to end up with a fastpass for virtually every ride, haha.
 
I'm not a fan of the Genie+ system at all. IMO, the old system wasn't broken so there was no need to fix it. Just another example of Chapek's failure as CEO.
I hate to be a downer but the constant nickel and diming is getting really tiresome. When my wife and I went a few weeks ago, everything was more expensive and smaller. We hit Epcot and every drink we bought went from 16oz cups to 12oz. In addition to that, the price went up 2-3 dollars since i was last there a year ago. Plus, I'm sure they are using lesser quality liquor. Same with Animal Kingdom.
Disney Springs wasn't as bad with size, but the price increase was still there. The third party restaurants seemed the same (Paradiso, Art Smith, Boathouse), so I'm thinking this is a Disney edict across the board.
Merchandise is the same. T-shirts were $30, up from 25. Pins were $15, up from 12. Mugs were up $3 . This was just stuff I personally bought.
I know this is nothing new that I'm telling you, it's just shocking that these price increases happened over just a one year time.
Anyway, I'm rambling. This is just stuff I'm getting off my chest
 
We go to Disney quite often but I have to say I found a new appreciation for it this weekend. We spent yesterday at Busch Gardens in Tampa, and while they certainly had more fun rides the place was an absolute sty. Trash everywhere, bathrooms had piss on the floor and smelled awful, 45 minute waits for hot dogs, no staff anywhere, bird crap ALL over the grounds. I mean everywhere. Just a thoroughly disgusting experience. I know it’s not apples to apples with Disney but it was really eye-opening.
 
Hey guys, random question about Universal but I've seen it being discussed in here. I'm going to be staying at Loews Royal Pacific Resort for a trade show 3/20 to 3/23. I just saw that they have an option for early park access and free express pass with park admission through them. I was thinking about heading over there a day early to check out the park since I'll be there anyway but not sure if it would be worth it?

Usually, I do alot more research for a real family trip but was just hoping to get some ideas here. I was last at Universal and the World of Harry Potter about 5 years ago with the family, a year or so after it opened. Was at Islands of Adventure like 20 years ago and loved the Hulk coaster and Spider-Man 3-D ride.

I need to start doing networking / conferency type stuff Monday afternoon / evening so I could fly in Sunday and hit the park(s) at rope drop on Monday morning for a half day or so.

Would you recommend bothering with checking the parks / rides out for a solo dude?
Which park would you prefer if you could only pick one for a half a day? Studios or Islands?

Through the hotel / conference:
1-Day One Park Ticket - $144.00
2-Park 1-Day Park-to-Park Ticket - $199.00
(Yikes!)
 
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Hey guys, random question about Universal but I've seen it being discussed in here. I'm going to be staying at Loews Royal Pacific Resort for a trade show 3/20 to 3/23. I just saw that they have an option for early park access and free express pass with park admission through them. I was thinking about heading over there a day early to check out the park since I'll be there anyway but not sure if it would be worth it?

Usually, I do alot more research for a real family trip but was just hoping to get some ideas here. I was last at Universal and the World of Harry Potter about 5 years ago with the family, a year or so after it opened. Was at Islands of Adventure like 20 years ago and loved the Hulk coaster and Spider-Man 3-D ride.

I need to start doing networking / conferency type stuff Monday afternoon / evening so I could fly in Sunday and:
1. Go to a park on an after 2pm pass on Sunday
2. Go to a park with the "early admission" on Monday morning for a while
3. Both

Would you recommend bothering with checking the parks / rides out for a solo dude?
Which park would you prefer if you could only pick one for a half a day? Studios or Islands?

Through the hotel / conference:
1-Day One Park After 2pm Ticket - $79.99
2-Park, 1-Day After 2pm Ticket - $121.99
1-Day One Park Ticket - $144.00
2-Park 1-Day Park-to-Park Ticket - $199.00
2-Park 2-Day Park-to-Park Ticket - $353.99
(Yikes!)

I was at Universal earlier this month with family. Stayed at the Loews Portofino and had the early hours. I honestly thought early hours were not all that great relative to Disney. They only have a small number of rides that are open for the early admission (just the high demand ones). Because there are only a certain number of places to go, I suppose if you are there right at the front of the gates when they open, you can get in ahead of folks, but really need to get there as early as possible to see any benefit from it. My wife still spent an hour and a half waiting for Hagrid’s motorbike even with the early admission. (Meanwhile, I spent an hour aimlessly wandering around with my son without much to do because he was too small for just about everything open — things like Suessland were not open early).

I guess that’s to say I’d probably do the half-day instead of the early admission, but that is just me (maybe you can get Velicoaster in with the early with everyone flocking to Harry Potter). If you are staying in resort property, you still may be able to get the express lane, which works on everything except Hagrid and Velicocoaster, I think.

If you like coasters, Islands of Adventure is probably the one that you’d want to do.

I’d probably be a bit bored just standing in lines for an hour-plus for a ride that lasts two minutes, but I’m not really into coasters.
 
Hey guys, random question about Universal but I've seen it being discussed in here. I'm going to be staying at Loews Royal Pacific Resort for a trade show 3/20 to 3/23. I just saw that they have an option for early park access and free express pass with park admission through them. I was thinking about heading over there a day early to check out the park since I'll be there anyway but not sure if it would be worth it?

Usually, I do alot more research for a real family trip but was just hoping to get some ideas here. I was last at Universal and the World of Harry Potter about 5 years ago with the family, a year or so after it opened. Was at Islands of Adventure like 20 years ago and loved the Hulk coaster and Spider-Man 3-D ride.

I need to start doing networking / conferency type stuff Monday afternoon / evening so I could fly in Sunday and hit the park(s) at rope drop on Monday morning for a half day or so.

Would you recommend bothering with checking the parks / rides out for a solo dude?
Which park would you prefer if you could only pick one for a half a day? Studios or Islands?

Through the hotel / conference:
1-Day One Park Ticket - $144.00
2-Park 1-Day Park-to-Park Ticket - $199.00
(Yikes!)
With the express pass, you can knock out so much in a 1/2 day. I do think it would be a stretch to do both parks mainly b/cx of the actual getting from park to park. They are close, but you are still looking at a 15-20 min walk including the turnstiles to get into the new park. The good thing though is that once you leave your resort (by boat or bus), you are technically through security and inside "the bubble", unlike Disney where you need to go through checkpoints at each park.

I dont think you will have a bad time at either park, it is just a matter of what you WANT to see. The Studio side is more older movie focused, whereas islands is more centered around Jurrasic, (old) Marvel and Potter. There are coasters in both and if I had to choose, I think IOA might have the edge b/c of the newer stuff and overall more exciting rides IMO. Express pass should get you on everything so you will have very minimal wait.


At UO you have:
• Rip Rocket: very fun coaster
• Minions: 4D movie, fun but if pressed for time I would skip
• Transformers: same ride as Spiderman on the IOA side. Very fun
• Jimmy Fallon: Fun 4d Ride if you are a JF fan, but IMO you won't have time
• Mummy: Really great indoor coaster with lots of physical experiences
• Fast and Furious: skip
• HP Escape from Gringots: Very solid coaster but it stops in spots to watch a 3D story video.
• Men In Black: Cute shooting game, fun but prob a 1 and done
• Simpsons: Simulator ride inside a big dome (user to be Back to the Future). Great ride but even with the express pass the wait is a bit long b/c of boarding reasons. Fun but see how it fits into your time
• ET: very old ride and while a classic, it's a meh for me.
Some good shows there too but IDK if they will fit in your time crunch

IOA:
• Hulk: you already know this one
• Dr Doom Free fall: Ok if you like those types of rides
• Spiderman: Classic but still great
I'll skip the Dr Suesse and Comic rides as they are not worth it for what you want to do.
• Kong: Really cool 3D/physical ride.
• Jurrasic River Adventure: OK big drop water ride. Kinda getting dated
• Velocicoaster: Newest coaster in the place and 110% worth it. And BONUS they just made it open to Express pass this week.
• Hagrids Motorbike: Another great coaster
• HP Forbidden Journey: IMO this is my fav ride there. I just love the mix of 3d, physical props, and the whole Kuka arm ride system.
• Posiden's Fuery: you won't have time, pass.

the wild card here is Hogwarts Express. If you have a 2 park hopper pass, you can hop on this ride and go from one HP land to the other HP land. This train is at the back of the park, so it saves you the walk back to the front and over to the other park. However, riding it means you are physically checking out of 1 park and into the other so you need that hopper (UO was pretty sneaky here).

The quickest way from the resort to the park (and back) is to hop on a surry bike. It'll cost you a few bucks, but its faster than the boat and pretty entertaining watching them run people off the pathway.

let me know if you need any specific info on the rides
 
I'm not a fan of the Genie+ system at all. IMO, the old system wasn't broken so there was no need to fix it. Just another example of Chapek's failure as CEO.
I hate to be a downer but the constant nickel and diming is getting really tiresome. When my wife and I went a few weeks ago, everything was more expensive and smaller. We hit Epcot and every drink we bought went from 16oz cups to 12oz. In addition to that, the price went up 2-3 dollars since i was last there a year ago. Plus, I'm sure they are using lesser quality liquor. Same with Animal Kingdom.
Disney Springs wasn't as bad with size, but the price increase was still there. The third party restaurants seemed the same (Paradiso, Art Smith, Boathouse), so I'm thinking this is a Disney edict across the board.
Merchandise is the same. T-shirts were $30, up from 25. Pins were $15, up from 12. Mugs were up $3 . This was just stuff I personally bought.
I know this is nothing new that I'm telling you, it's just shocking that these price increases happened over just a one year time.
Anyway, I'm rambling. This is just stuff I'm getting off my chest

This is more of an America thing than a Disney thing. We used policy to skip our last recession so everything is both more expensive and more crappy now in every industry and will stay that way until a big recession finally resets things back in favor of the consumer again.

As long as their biggest problem is that crowds are too big because too many people want to go to Disney no matter what it costs, they'll keep charging more for less.
 
Hey guys, random question about Universal but I've seen it being discussed in here. I'm going to be staying at Loews Royal Pacific Resort for a trade show 3/20 to 3/23. I just saw that they have an option for early park access and free express pass with park admission through them. I was thinking about heading over there a day early to check out the park since I'll be there anyway but not sure if it would be worth it?

Usually, I do alot more research for a real family trip but was just hoping to get some ideas here. I was last at Universal and the World of Harry Potter about 5 years ago with the family, a year or so after it opened. Was at Islands of Adventure like 20 years ago and loved the Hulk coaster and Spider-Man 3-D ride.

I need to start doing networking / conferency type stuff Monday afternoon / evening so I could fly in Sunday and hit the park(s) at rope drop on Monday morning for a half day or so.

Would you recommend bothering with checking the parks / rides out for a solo dude?
Which park would you prefer if you could only pick one for a half a day? Studios or Islands?

Through the hotel / conference:
1-Day One Park Ticket - $144.00
2-Park 1-Day Park-to-Park Ticket - $199.00
(Yikes!)
With the express pass, you can knock out so much in a 1/2 day. I do think it would be a stretch to do both parks mainly b/cx of the actual getting from park to park. They are close, but you are still looking at a 15-20 min walk including the turnstiles to get into the new park. The good thing though is that once you leave your resort (by boat or bus), you are technically through security and inside "the bubble", unlike Disney where you need to go through checkpoints at each park.

I dont think you will have a bad time at either park, it is just a matter of what you WANT to see. The Studio side is more older movie focused, whereas islands is more centered around Jurrasic, (old) Marvel and Potter. There are coasters in both and if I had to choose, I think IOA might have the edge b/c of the newer stuff and overall more exciting rides IMO. Express pass should get you on everything so you will have very minimal wait.


At UO you have:
• Rip Rocket: very fun coaster
• Minions: 4D movie, fun but if pressed for time I would skip
• Transformers: same ride as Spiderman on the IOA side. Very fun
• Jimmy Fallon: Fun 4d Ride if you are a JF fan, but IMO you won't have time
• Mummy: Really great indoor coaster with lots of physical experiences
• Fast and Furious: skip
• HP Escape from Gringots: Very solid coaster but it stops in spots to watch a 3D story video.
• Men In Black: Cute shooting game, fun but prob a 1 and done
• Simpsons: Simulator ride inside a big dome (user to be Back to the Future). Great ride but even with the express pass the wait is a bit long b/c of boarding reasons. Fun but see how it fits into your time
• ET: very old ride and while a classic, it's a meh for me.
Some good shows there too but IDK if they will fit in your time crunch

IOA:
• Hulk: you already know this one
• Dr Doom Free fall: Ok if you like those types of rides
• Spiderman: Classic but still great
I'll skip the Dr Suesse and Comic rides as they are not worth it for what you want to do.
• Kong: Really cool 3D/physical ride.
• Jurrasic River Adventure: OK big drop water ride. Kinda getting dated
• Velocicoaster: Newest coaster in the place and 110% worth it. And BONUS they just made it open to Express pass this week.
• Hagrids Motorbike: Another great coaster
• HP Forbidden Journey: IMO this is my fav ride there. I just love the mix of 3d, physical props, and the whole Kuka arm ride system.
• Posiden's Fuery: you won't have time, pass.

the wild card here is Hogwarts Express. If you have a 2 park hopper pass, you can hop on this ride and go from one HP land to the other HP land. This train is at the back of the park, so it saves you the walk back to the front and over to the other park. However, riding it means you are physically checking out of 1 park and into the other so you need that hopper (UO was pretty sneaky here).

The quickest way from the resort to the park (and back) is to hop on a surry bike. It'll cost you a few bucks, but its faster than the boat and pretty entertaining watching them run people off the pathway.

let me know if you need any specific info on the rides
This is awesome, thanks so much for taking the time!
 
Hey guys, random question about Universal but I've seen it being discussed in here. I'm going to be staying at Loews Royal Pacific Resort for a trade show 3/20 to 3/23. I just saw that they have an option for early park access and free express pass with park admission through them. I was thinking about heading over there a day early to check out the park since I'll be there anyway but not sure if it would be worth it?

Usually, I do alot more research for a real family trip but was just hoping to get some ideas here. I was last at Universal and the World of Harry Potter about 5 years ago with the family, a year or so after it opened. Was at Islands of Adventure like 20 years ago and loved the Hulk coaster and Spider-Man 3-D ride.

I need to start doing networking / conferency type stuff Monday afternoon / evening so I could fly in Sunday and hit the park(s) at rope drop on Monday morning for a half day or so.

Would you recommend bothering with checking the parks / rides out for a solo dude?
Which park would you prefer if you could only pick one for a half a day? Studios or Islands?

Through the hotel / conference:
1-Day One Park Ticket - $144.00
2-Park 1-Day Park-to-Park Ticket - $199.00
(Yikes!)
With the express pass, you can knock out so much in a 1/2 day. I do think it would be a stretch to do both parks mainly b/cx of the actual getting from park to park. They are close, but you are still looking at a 15-20 min walk including the turnstiles to get into the new park. The good thing though is that once you leave your resort (by boat or bus), you are technically through security and inside "the bubble", unlike Disney where you need to go through checkpoints at each park.

I dont think you will have a bad time at either park, it is just a matter of what you WANT to see. The Studio side is more older movie focused, whereas islands is more centered around Jurrasic, (old) Marvel and Potter. There are coasters in both and if I had to choose, I think IOA might have the edge b/c of the newer stuff and overall more exciting rides IMO. Express pass should get you on everything so you will have very minimal wait.


At UO you have:
• Rip Rocket: very fun coaster
• Minions: 4D movie, fun but if pressed for time I would skip
• Transformers: same ride as Spiderman on the IOA side. Very fun
• Jimmy Fallon: Fun 4d Ride if you are a JF fan, but IMO you won't have time
• Mummy: Really great indoor coaster with lots of physical experiences
• Fast and Furious: skip
• HP Escape from Gringots: Very solid coaster but it stops in spots to watch a 3D story video.
• Men In Black: Cute shooting game, fun but prob a 1 and done
• Simpsons: Simulator ride inside a big dome (user to be Back to the Future). Great ride but even with the express pass the wait is a bit long b/c of boarding reasons. Fun but see how it fits into your time
• ET: very old ride and while a classic, it's a meh for me.
Some good shows there too but IDK if they will fit in your time crunch

IOA:
• Hulk: you already know this one
• Dr Doom Free fall: Ok if you like those types of rides
• Spiderman: Classic but still great
I'll skip the Dr Suesse and Comic rides as they are not worth it for what you want to do.
• Kong: Really cool 3D/physical ride.
• Jurrasic River Adventure: OK big drop water ride. Kinda getting dated
• Velocicoaster: Newest coaster in the place and 110% worth it. And BONUS they just made it open to Express pass this week.
• Hagrids Motorbike: Another great coaster
• HP Forbidden Journey: IMO this is my fav ride there. I just love the mix of 3d, physical props, and the whole Kuka arm ride system.
• Posiden's Fuery: you won't have time, pass.

the wild card here is Hogwarts Express. If you have a 2 park hopper pass, you can hop on this ride and go from one HP land to the other HP land. This train is at the back of the park, so it saves you the walk back to the front and over to the other park. However, riding it means you are physically checking out of 1 park and into the other so you need that hopper (UO was pretty sneaky here).

The quickest way from the resort to the park (and back) is to hop on a surry bike. It'll cost you a few bucks, but its faster than the boat and pretty entertaining watching them run people off the pathway.

let me know if you need any specific info on the rides
This is awesome, thanks so much for taking the time!
no prob...I just checked and UO offers a convention rate on tickets and they also offer an after 2pm and after 4pm ticket. (FYI disney usually has these deals too for anyone going there on a convention)



Check with the resort, but your express pass Is a perk of the resort and may be good for every day that you are there, so if you can save on convention tickets, and mix in a night visit or 2 w/ the express pass then you are in great shape and can most def do both parks.
 
We are Disney World vets and are looking into possibly going to Disneyland in California for the first time late this summer. We typically do WDW over 6-8 days, with some break days built in. For those of you who are familiar with both, how many days is enough to do DL for first-timers? I was thinking maybe 3 days so we wouldn't feel like we had to hit everything in each park in one day each, but I also know since there are identical attractions to WDW, we may not feel like we have to hit everything.
 
no prob...I just checked and UO offers a convention rate on tickets and they also offer an after 2pm and after 4pm ticket. (FYI disney usually has these deals too for anyone going there on a convention)
One of the constraints I'm working against here is that I'll also be away for another trade show in Vegas the week before. Getting home late Friday night and then leaving early Sunday morning isn't going to be popular at home. The only way I could get over there is if I fly in Sunday night and go to the park early Monday morning. At least then I can take advantage of the hotel early entry. The 2pm option would be good if I could get in earlier but probably isn't in play for me and that's why I didn't mention it.
 
We are Disney World vets and are looking into possibly going to Disneyland in California for the first time late this summer. We typically do WDW over 6-8 days, with some break days built in. For those of you who are familiar with both, how many days is enough to do DL for first-timers? I was thinking maybe 3 days so we wouldn't feel like we had to hit everything in each park in one day each, but I also know since there are identical attractions to WDW, we may not feel like we have to hit everything.
We were at Disneyland for the first time about 3 years ago and I really liked it compared to DW. All of the main attractions you'd see in Disneyworld but closer together with less fluff since they have less space to work with. I think we had a 3 day park hopper (recommended since its so easy to go back and forth and we did several times for rides some days) and expected to spend some time there but also tour the rest of the area. Turns out we ended up spending about 3 full days there because we were enjoying it so much. But that included multiple rides on several attractions, you could spend less time if you only wanted to hit everything once. The new (at the time) Guardians of the Galaxy ride was our favorite and I must have gone on it about 7 times. I'm not that big into the fireworks and parades but the World of Color Dessert Party was a neat experience too.

We stayed at the Anaheim Hojo and it's literally across the street. We would just walk over to the gate in the morning and then walk back to the room at night. The gate goes to Disneyland on one side and California Adventure on the other, couldn't be any easier. Plus the Hojo had room options with separate rooms with a king for us and bunkbeds in a separate area separated by a door for the kids.

And now I want to book a trip back out to Disneyland, thanks alot... :kicksrock: ;)
 
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Heading there for the first week in May. First time the kids (7/5/3) will have been to worship at the altar of the mouse.
Scored reservations for Victoria and Albert's. Anyone been since it reopened after Covid?
 
We are Disney World vets and are looking into possibly going to Disneyland in California for the first time late this summer. We typically do WDW over 6-8 days, with some break days built in. For those of you who are familiar with both, how many days is enough to do DL for first-timers? I was thinking maybe 3 days so we wouldn't feel like we had to hit everything in each park in one day each, but I also know since there are identical attractions to WDW, we may not feel like we have to hit everything.
We hit DL for the first time last August. Three day park hoppers over the course of four days... I want to say it was Tuesday at DL, Wednesday at Cali Adventure, Thursday off and then Friday was split, morning CA until 2:00ish and back to DL around 5:00 til close. Those single park days also had a couple hour mid-day break to get out of the heat and rest at the hotel... I can't recommend this enough as we typically skip long breaks in Florida. Anaheim queues are mostly outside, where Orlando does a better job of getting people waiting inside with air.

We we're able to hit all of the premiere attractions multiple times, except for single trip through Rise as that is exactly the same as DW. There are little nuances that are different on the older rides... for example; DL Space Mtn is a two person wide cart instead of single file and Splash Mtn was a single wide instead of the double seat at DW. Pirate's is simply a better ride at DL.

Rope dropping in tandem with Genie+ helped secure those high demand rides. Rides breaking down were common, so extra lightning passes helped as well... we got to the point on Friday night where we still had several lightning passes to use and rode Big Thunder repeatedly to burn them.

If you go; Radiator Springs was our favorite, try to be in attendance for the lighting of the neon lights. And heads up in DL around the parades and fireworks, they nearly shut down cross park travel, so plan ahead for what area you want to be in while those activities are going on multiple times a night.
 
We are Disney World vets and are looking into possibly going to Disneyland in California for the first time late this summer. We typically do WDW over 6-8 days, with some break days built in. For those of you who are familiar with both, how many days is enough to do DL for first-timers? I was thinking maybe 3 days so we wouldn't feel like we had to hit everything in each park in one day each, but I also know since there are identical attractions to WDW, we may not feel like we have to hit everything.
We actually did it in one day last year, although I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that. It’s just a couple minute walk between parks, which is so nice. Depends on your crew, but more than 2 days seems like a lot to me. I agree with the Radiator Springs comment above- highly recommend the single rider line if you don’t mind splitting up for that one. It was cool seeing other “new” rides too like Indiana Jones and Matterhorn and other stuff not at WDW. Lots of hotels within walking distance of the parks as well.
 
Heading there for the first week in May. First time the kids (7/5/3) will have been to worship at the altar of the mouse.
Scored reservations for Victoria and Albert's. Anyone been since it reopened after Covid?
Have been the past few years with similarly aged kids. I would try to get chef Mickeys. Huge hit with that age. Maybe the hollywood and vine breakfast if they watch Disney Jr. They also have a dance party for Disney Jr. that 3 and 5 would love.

As far as the rides, you’ll probably be looking at a lot of “story” rides (Pooh, Pan, Mermaid, Nemo, etc). If you have girls, some of the princess meet and greets. My kids love the trackless coasters… ratatouille and Mickey and Minnie. Frozen ride at epcot. They will probably like the safari, but that's about it at Animal Kingdom.

With that age, I have been doing park open-1ish..... nap at resort..... park 6-close. The last hour they're open and right at fireworks time, we're always walking right on Peter Pan and Pooh and Small World all in that same area. Nobody sticks around late there or they're lining up for fireworks.

If you take the Skyliner to Epcot, you can enter at France and get directly on Ratatouille at open. I usually have that and Frozen within the first hour at Epcot and that way no pressure in the evening when mom wants to focus on wine.

HS is the hardest park with little ones IMO. All the stuff you want to ride will be a massive line or a kid will think it looks scary, or 1 kid is too short, etc etc. Toy Story World is worth it. If they like Star Wars, that is cool even to just walk around. Or you know, just cram them on Slinky Dog Dash and let the tears flow.
 
Heading there for the first week in May. First time the kids (7/5/3) will have been to worship at the altar of the mouse.
Scored reservations for Victoria and Albert's. Anyone been since it reopened after Covid?
Have been the past few years with similarly aged kids. I would try to get chef Mickeys. Huge hit with that age. Maybe the hollywood and vine breakfast if they watch Disney Jr. They also have a dance party for Disney Jr. that 3 and 5 would love.

As far as the rides, you’ll probably be looking at a lot of “story” rides (Pooh, Pan, Mermaid, Nemo, etc). If you have girls, some of the princess meet and greets. My kids love the trackless coasters… ratatouille and Mickey and Minnie. Frozen ride at epcot. They will probably like the safari, but that's about it at Animal Kingdom.

With that age, I have been doing park open-1ish..... nap at resort..... park 6-close. The last hour they're open and right at fireworks time, we're always walking right on Peter Pan and Pooh and Small World all in that same area. Nobody sticks around late there or they're lining up for fireworks.

If you take the Skyliner to Epcot, you can enter at France and get directly on Ratatouille at open. I usually have that and Frozen within the first hour at Epcot and that way no pressure in the evening when mom wants to focus on wine.

HS is the hardest park with little ones IMO. All the stuff you want to ride will be a massive line or a kid will think it looks scary, or 1 kid is too short, etc etc. Toy Story World is worth it. If they like Star Wars, that is cool even to just walk around. Or you know, just cram them on Slinky Dog Dash and let the tears flow.

Get in on Saturday. Have a resort room (Pop Century) and a suite at the grandparents' timeshare.
Sunday is an off day, have a dinner planned at Sanaa with my brother and his GF who live down there.
Monday is MK, have lunch at Crystal Palace.
Tuesday Epcot. Lunch at Space 220 and dinner at Akershus
Wednesday an off day. Dinner at Victoria and Albert's.
Thursday is MK, no dining planned at the moment.
Friday is HS and the Sci Fi Dine in for lunch.
Worried about too many dinners with the kids, especially if we arrive early. They might be wiped by 6:00 PM.
 
Pop Century is so much better now with Skyliner. 100% do Skyliner to Epcot and HS.

They’re going to love that trip. I never do Akerhaus or Space only because I strongly prefer eating in the countries. I try to do the kids meals/themes in the other parks. If you back off a reservation I would make it one of those and be flexible about when/where you eat at Epcot.
 
We've got 11 in our group. 6 adults, 5 kids (ages 8, 8, 6, 6, 2).

Dining reservations open for us tomorrow but it's looking like there are basically no places that take groups of 11. Do people just reserve as two separate groups for large parties?

Any recommendations on eating spots with a group that large on our park days (will likely be eating off resort otherwise) for lunch/dinner? MK and AK are the two we're hitting.
 
We've got 11 in our group. 6 adults, 5 kids (ages 8, 8, 6, 6, 2).

Dining reservations open for us tomorrow but it's looking like there are basically no places that take groups of 11. Do people just reserve as two separate groups for large parties?

Any recommendations on eating spots with a group that large on our park days (will likely be eating off resort otherwise) for lunch/dinner? MK and AK are the two we're hitting.
quite frankly, there are no restaurants in those parks that have accommodations for large parties. Both have pretty awful sit-down options overall, forget for a party as well.

My suggestions would be the 2 character buffets in both parks—crystal palace in MK, and Tusker House in AK. You would prob need to book 2 tables at the same of very close times and then ask the hostess to seat you together as best as possible. THe other option at AK is rainforest cafe, they are not nearly as popular nowadays and they have a very large space overall, so they could possibly accommodate your sized party.
 
We go to Disney quite often but I have to say I found a new appreciation for it this weekend. We spent yesterday at Busch Gardens in Tampa, and while they certainly had more fun rides the place was an absolute sty. Trash everywhere, bathrooms had piss on the floor and smelled awful, 45 minute waits for hot dogs, no staff anywhere, bird crap ALL over the grounds. I mean everywhere. Just a thoroughly disgusting experience. I know it’s not apples to apples with Disney but it was really eye-opening.
That's funny. I just bought season passes for busch gardens and going there after disney gave me such an appreciation for busch gardens. No genie system, in the park from my car in 5-10 minutes, the price of tickets so much cheaper.
 
How is Universal Orlando in relation to Disney? Wait times, cleanliness, food quality etc?
pretty much the same in many aspects, wildly different in others.

wait times will varry depending on when you go, but for the most part they are about the same. UO must have a very creative team who designs their queue, b/c it always seems like you are "there" and you turn the corner and there is "another room" lol. But TBH, I mainly only visit when we have the Express Pass upgrade through the resort and that program blows away any convoluted program WDW is running.

The Express Pass is a pretty expensive add-on, however, guests staying in one of their top 3 resorts get it as a free perk, and its 150% worth upgrading for. There is no scheduling, no app, no tap-ins like WDW...you just decide what ride to visit and walk on the ExP lane.

Cleanliness is fine, IMO Disney has slipped a bunch there, so UO is no worse.

Food quality Is prob a notch down from WDW. The parks mainly have quick service locations inside them. However where UO is better is that their stit-down locations are all in one main area (City Walk), right outside the parks, and there is no pre-reservation system like WDW. So just like at home, you walk up and get a table. It makes being a little spontaneous much easier than at WDW. I found the resort food awesome, and very low (to no) waits. The Royal Pacific had one of the best family restaurants we've been to on an Orlando vacation—it was an all-you-can-eat, made-to-order Wok and Noodle menu.

Other "betters" at UO that you didn't ask about:
• Overall location: UO property is much smaller than WDW. The 2 main parks are pretty much right next to each other, maybe a 5 min walk between them. So no need for buses or anything when going park to park. (Just like Disneyland)
• The 2 Potter lands are in the back of both parks, and if you have a hopper ticket, you can ride the Hogwarts Express train, which is an attraction in itself, and go to the other park. So no need to walk all the way back to the front of the park to hop.
• Both parks and City Walk are all within the same "security bubble." You get your bag checked (X-ray, not the slow open and look into bags method) leaving the resort or at the parking garages, and once inside it, you can got to any entertainment area freely. Unlike WDW where you get bag-checked at each park.
• I've only stayed at the closer, interior resorts, but getting to the parks is very easy. There is a relaxing boat taxi, you can walk, or there are these fun Surry Bikes that zip through the walkways (you just need to tip the driver).


The only real downside that I see is that if you have young kids or kids that do not enjoy thrill or dark rides, then there is not a lot for them to do there. There are a few kid rides but they wear out pretty quickly and won't keep them entertained for a full day.

If you have any other questions,s let me know
 
How is Universal Orlando in relation to Disney? Wait times, cleanliness, food quality etc?
pretty much the same in many aspects, wildly different in others.

wait times will varry depending on when you go, but for the most part they are about the same. UO must have a very creative team who designs their queue, b/c it always seems like you are "there" and you turn the corner and there is "another room" lol. But TBH, I mainly only visit when we have the Express Pass upgrade through the resort and that program blows away any convoluted program WDW is running.

The Express Pass is a pretty expensive add-on, however, guests staying in one of their top 3 resorts get it as a free perk, and its 150% worth upgrading for. There is no scheduling, no app, no tap-ins like WDW...you just decide what ride to visit and walk on the ExP lane.

Cleanliness is fine, IMO Disney has slipped a bunch there, so UO is no worse.

Food quality Is prob a notch down from WDW. The parks mainly have quick service locations inside them. However where UO is better is that their stit-down locations are all in one main area (City Walk), right outside the parks, and there is no pre-reservation system like WDW. So just like at home, you walk up and get a table. It makes being a little spontaneous much easier than at WDW. I found the resort food awesome, and very low (to no) waits. The Royal Pacific had one of the best family restaurants we've been to on an Orlando vacation—it was an all-you-can-eat, made-to-order Wok and Noodle menu.

Other "betters" at UO that you didn't ask about:
• Overall location: UO property is much smaller than WDW. The 2 main parks are pretty much right next to each other, maybe a 5 min walk between them. So no need for buses or anything when going park to park. (Just like Disneyland)
• The 2 Potter lands are in the back of both parks, and if you have a hopper ticket, you can ride the Hogwarts Express train, which is an attraction in itself, and go to the other park. So no need to walk all the way back to the front of the park to hop.
• Both parks and City Walk are all within the same "security bubble." You get your bag checked (X-ray, not the slow open and look into bags method) leaving the resort or at the parking garages, and once inside it, you can got to any entertainment area freely. Unlike WDW where you get bag-checked at each park.
• I've only stayed at the closer, interior resorts, but getting to the parks is very easy. There is a relaxing boat taxi, you can walk, or there are these fun Surry Bikes that zip through the walkways (you just need to tip the driver).


The only real downside that I see is that if you have young kids or kids that do not enjoy thrill or dark rides, then there is not a lot for them to do there. There are a few kid rides but they wear out pretty quickly and won't keep them entertained for a full day.

If you have any other questions,s let me know
That’s awesome, thanks man
 
We've got 11 in our group. 6 adults, 5 kids (ages 8, 8, 6, 6, 2).

Dining reservations open for us tomorrow but it's looking like there are basically no places that take groups of 11. Do people just reserve as two separate groups for large parties?

Any recommendations on eating spots with a group that large on our park days (will likely be eating off resort otherwise) for lunch/dinner? MK and AK are the two we're hitting.
I go with large groups often. The best thing to do is to have two people make reservations for parties of 6 at approximately the same time. Try to arrive at the restaurant 15-20 minutes before your first reservation and tell them you are actually a party of 11 and if they could sit you together or two tables next to each other. They will normally be able to do it, especially for restaurants that have long tables like Via Napoli and Biergarten.

The other thing you can do is call the restaurant directly and try to make a reservation for 11. The online system is just not geared for large parties.
 
We've got 11 in our group. 6 adults, 5 kids (ages 8, 8, 6, 6, 2).

Dining reservations open for us tomorrow but it's looking like there are basically no places that take groups of 11. Do people just reserve as two separate groups for large parties?

Any recommendations on eating spots with a group that large on our park days (will likely be eating off resort otherwise) for lunch/dinner? MK and AK are the two we're hitting.
I go with large groups often. The best thing to do is to have two people make reservations for parties of 6 at approximately the same time. Try to arrive at the restaurant 15-20 minutes before your first reservation and tell them you are actually a party of 11 and if they could sit you together or two tables next to each other. They will normally be able to do it, especially for restaurants that have long tables like Via Napoli and Biergarten.

The other thing you can do is call the restaurant directly and try to make a reservation for 11. The online system is just not geared for large parties.
Good advice. This is the method I use when my family goes with my parents and my brother's family.
 
How is Universal Orlando in relation to Disney? Wait times, cleanliness, food quality etc?
Glvsav’s post was great and in line with my recent experience at UO.

For meals, there are some limited character meal options, if that is what looking for, but not like Disney. I did a Marvel character dinner one night — it was alright — buffet-style. We found ourselves trying to figure out who some of the characters were, but some recognizable ones like Wolverine or Captain America.

Some of the food/dining in the parks at least cool to look at. There’s a Moe’s Tavern attached to a food court that can eat in (complete with Love Tester machine, and Duff Beer and Flaming Moe to drink — there’s also an outdoors Duff across the street from Moe’s.

Harry Potter has some butter beer to drink if that‘s your thing.

I did think their alcohol options inside the park (and just outside on the CityWalk) surpassed Disney. Jurassic area had some Psuedo Sue beer available. Also some stuff that Universal has licensed out to Carib Brewery to brew for Harry Potter or Jurassic theme (they also do the Duff Beer, but that’s the watered-down lager that would expect). Also a bit more options to grab cocktail inside the park.
 
How is Universal Orlando in relation to Disney? Wait times, cleanliness, food quality etc?
Glvsav’s post was great and in line with my recent experience at UO.

For meals, there are some limited character meal options, if that is what looking for, but not like Disney. I did a Marvel character dinner one night — it was alright — buffet-style. We found ourselves trying to figure out who some of the characters were, but some recognizable ones like Wolverine or Captain America.

Some of the food/dining in the parks at least cool to look at. There’s a Moe’s Tavern attached to a food court that can eat in (complete with Love Tester machine, and Duff Beer and Flaming Moe to drink — there’s also an outdoors Duff across the street from Moe’s.

Harry Potter has some butter beer to drink if that‘s your thing.

I did think their alcohol options inside the park (and just outside on the CityWalk) surpassed Disney. Jurassic area had some Psuedo Sue beer available. Also some stuff that Universal has licensed out to Carib Brewery to brew for Harry Potter or Jurassic theme (they also do the Duff Beer, but that’s the watered-down lager that would expect). Also a bit more options to grab cocktail inside the park.
thx for sharing. When it comes to eating at UO, we dont spend a ton of time doing it. We typically spend only 2-2.5 days there just before our WDW trips, so we try and prioritize rides. I'm sure fans of the franchises would appreciate Duff's or the HP dining, but we are content with a quick burger as we run between rides.

I do make time to visit Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville for a Cheeseburger in Paradise and I hear the GReek place inside of IOA is really good, like Zagat rated good, but the rest of my family isn't into greek food so we never go.

Your right though, the character meals cant shake a stick at Disney's. Years ago we did a Minion's one and the buffet seemed like it was in a catering hall, we stat at a table of 12, so with 8 other people we didn't know, and the characters just wandered in and out of the back room. The food was OK, but nothing I couldn't get at a regular hotel breakfast buffet.
 
My daughter turns 16 in May. She has requested a Disney trip for the family plus a friend of hers.
So we will be heading back soon. Just need to decide if it’s DL or DW. She really wants to hit up Haunted Mansion with Nightmare before Christmas theme. She also wants to do run Disney.
I have created a monster. Lol
 
We are booked for the end of May! Now i need a crash course in Genie, Plus, Lightning lane and Rope Drop. Dining reservations are 60 days out and ride reservations are day of. Si?
One piece of advice I do need now (so far) is transportation from the airport. Uber/Lyft are an option. No busses. I have no desire to take a bus and there isn't a dedicated shuttle to our hotel. Any suggestions?
 
We are booked for the end of May! Now i need a crash course in Genie, Plus, Lightning lane and Rope Drop. Dining reservations are 60 days out and ride reservations are day of. Si?
One piece of advice I do need now (so far) is transportation from the airport. Uber/Lyft are an option. No busses. I have no desire to take a bus and there isn't a dedicated shuttle to our hotel. Any suggestions?

I haven't been yet since the changes (I'm also going in May), but here's what I gathered from reading up on it.

Genie is free, and is just basically AI giving you tips and helping you plan your trip in the Disney app.

Genie Plus is an extra cost on your ticket, and functions similarly to the old fastpass. Some differences though. You make the genie plus reservations same day. You can make 1 at a time. You cannot make the next until either the time for your first reservation comes up or 2 hours pass since making the reservation, whichever comes first.

IE at 8am you make a 9am reservation for Space Mountain. Then at 9am you can make a reservation for another ride. Then at 9am you make a 3pm reservation for Thunder Mountain. Then at 11am (two hours after you made the reservation) you can make another reservation and still keep your 3pm Thunder Mountain as well.

Lightning Lane is another extra cost and is basically Genie Plus, except for the really desirable rides. IE you cannot book Guardians of the Galaxy with Genie Plus, you have to pay specifically for Guardians of the Galaxy Lightning Lane to have access to do a reservation for that ride.
 
We are booked for the end of May! Now i need a crash course in Genie, Plus, Lightning lane and Rope Drop. Dining reservations are 60 days out and ride reservations are day of. Si?
One piece of advice I do need now (so far) is transportation from the airport. Uber/Lyft are an option. No busses. I have no desire to take a bus and there isn't a dedicated shuttle to our hotel. Any suggestions?

I haven't been yet since the changes (I'm also going in May), but here's what I gathered from reading up on it.

Genie is free, and is just basically AI giving you tips and helping you plan your trip in the Disney app.

Genie Plus is an extra cost on your ticket, and functions similarly to the old fastpass. Some differences though. You make the genie plus reservations same day. You can make 1 at a time. You cannot make the next until either the time for your first reservation comes up or 2 hours pass since making the reservation, whichever comes first.

IE at 8am you make a 9am reservation for Space Mountain. Then at 9am you can make a reservation for another ride. Then at 9am you make a 3pm reservation for Thunder Mountain. Then at 11am (two hours after you made the reservation) you can make another reservation and still keep your 3pm Thunder Mountain as well.

Lightning Lane is another extra cost and is basically Genie Plus, except for the really desirable rides. IE you cannot book Guardians of the Galaxy with Genie Plus, you have to pay specifically for Guardians of the Galaxy Lightning Lane to have access to do a reservation for that ride.
Disney has made things so confusing for families just wanting to go on a vacation. You need a Disney PhD to make the most of Genie plus. Miss Magic Express too. Was nice knowing once you hit the airport everything was taken care of and you were on vacation.
 
We are booked for the end of May! Now i need a crash course in Genie, Plus, Lightning lane and Rope Drop. Dining reservations are 60 days out and ride reservations are day of. Si?
One piece of advice I do need now (so far) is transportation from the airport. Uber/Lyft are an option. No busses. I have no desire to take a bus and there isn't a dedicated shuttle to our hotel. Any suggestions?

I haven't been yet since the changes (I'm also going in May), but here's what I gathered from reading up on it.

Genie is free, and is just basically AI giving you tips and helping you plan your trip in the Disney app.

Genie Plus is an extra cost on your ticket, and functions similarly to the old fastpass. Some differences though. You make the genie plus reservations same day. You can make 1 at a time. You cannot make the next until either the time for your first reservation comes up or 2 hours pass since making the reservation, whichever comes first.

IE at 8am you make a 9am reservation for Space Mountain. Then at 9am you can make a reservation for another ride. Then at 9am you make a 3pm reservation for Thunder Mountain. Then at 11am (two hours after you made the reservation) you can make another reservation and still keep your 3pm Thunder Mountain as well.

Lightning Lane is another extra cost and is basically Genie Plus, except for the really desirable rides. IE you cannot book Guardians of the Galaxy with Genie Plus, you have to pay specifically for Guardians of the Galaxy Lightning Lane to have access to do a reservation for that ride.
Disney has made things so confusing for families just wanting to go on a vacation. You need a Disney PhD to make the most of Genie plus. Miss Magic Express too. Was nice knowing once you hit the airport everything was taken care of and you were on vacation.

It's really not any more confusing than fastpass, it's just new.

Though it was dumb to name Genie and Genie Plus so similarly when they really are totally different things.

But it's all as optional as ever. None of it is required.

Disney has always been a vacation where you can still enjoy it fine with no planning, but hardcore planners will have a leg up. Even 20 years ago before any of this stuff existed things were smoother for the folks that obsessed over the optimal route through each park and whatnot.
 
We are booked for the end of May! Now i need a crash course in Genie, Plus, Lightning lane and Rope Drop. Dining reservations are 60 days out and ride reservations are day of. Si?
One piece of advice I do need now (so far) is transportation from the airport. Uber/Lyft are an option. No busses. I have no desire to take a bus and there isn't a dedicated shuttle to our hotel. Any suggestions?

I haven't been yet since the changes (I'm also going in May), but here's what I gathered from reading up on it.

Genie is free, and is just basically AI giving you tips and helping you plan your trip in the Disney app.

Genie Plus is an extra cost on your ticket, and functions similarly to the old fastpass. Some differences though. You make the genie plus reservations same day. You can make 1 at a time. You cannot make the next until either the time for your first reservation comes up or 2 hours pass since making the reservation, whichever comes first.

IE at 8am you make a 9am reservation for Space Mountain. Then at 9am you can make a reservation for another ride. Then at 9am you make a 3pm reservation for Thunder Mountain. Then at 11am (two hours after you made the reservation) you can make another reservation and still keep your 3pm Thunder Mountain as well.

Lightning Lane is another extra cost and is basically Genie Plus, except for the really desirable rides. IE you cannot book Guardians of the Galaxy with Genie Plus, you have to pay specifically for Guardians of the Galaxy Lightning Lane to have access to do a reservation for that ride.
Disney has made things so confusing for families just wanting to go on a vacation. You need a Disney PhD to make the most of Genie plus. Miss Magic Express too. Was nice knowing once you hit the airport everything was taken care of and you were on vacation.

It's really not any more confusing than fastpass, it's just new.

Though it was dumb to name Genie and Genie Plus so similarly when they really are totally different things.

But it's all as optional as ever. None of it is required.

Disney has always been a vacation where you can still enjoy it fine with no planning, but hardcore planners will have a leg up. Even 20 years ago before any of this stuff existed things were smoother for the folks that obsessed over the optimal route through each park and whatnot.
I can't help but think that here's some sadist programmer watching the OCDers flitting from ride to ride based on an "algorithm" that was really just tossing darts at a Disney dartboard in between shots of 8 dollar whiskey sporting a Thursday morning hangover.
 
We are booked for the end of May! Now i need a crash course in Genie, Plus, Lightning lane and Rope Drop. Dining reservations are 60 days out and ride reservations are day of. Si?
One piece of advice I do need now (so far) is transportation from the airport. Uber/Lyft are an option. No busses. I have no desire to take a bus and there isn't a dedicated shuttle to our hotel. Any suggestions?

I haven't been yet since the changes (I'm also going in May), but here's what I gathered from reading up on it.

Genie is free, and is just basically AI giving you tips and helping you plan your trip in the Disney app.

Genie Plus is an extra cost on your ticket, and functions similarly to the old fastpass. Some differences though. You make the genie plus reservations same day. You can make 1 at a time. You cannot make the next until either the time for your first reservation comes up or 2 hours pass since making the reservation, whichever comes first.

IE at 8am you make a 9am reservation for Space Mountain. Then at 9am you can make a reservation for another ride. Then at 9am you make a 3pm reservation for Thunder Mountain. Then at 11am (two hours after you made the reservation) you can make another reservation and still keep your 3pm Thunder Mountain as well.

Lightning Lane is another extra cost and is basically Genie Plus, except for the really desirable rides. IE you cannot book Guardians of the Galaxy with Genie Plus, you have to pay specifically for Guardians of the Galaxy Lightning Lane to have access to do a reservation for that ride.
Disney has made things so confusing for families just wanting to go on a vacation. You need a Disney PhD to make the most of Genie plus. Miss Magic Express too. Was nice knowing once you hit the airport everything was taken care of and you were on vacation.

It's really not any more confusing than fastpass, it's just new.

Though it was dumb to name Genie and Genie Plus so similarly when they really are totally different things.

But it's all as optional as ever. None of it is required.

Disney has always been a vacation where you can still enjoy it fine with no planning, but hardcore planners will have a leg up. Even 20 years ago before any of this stuff existed things were smoother for the folks that obsessed over the optimal route through each park and whatnot.
It’s not required but it’s the only way to get much of anything done on a busy day at the park. I thought fastpass was much easier for the recreational visitor. Mainly because you could plan well in advance. You weren’t under a time crunch the morning of at 7 am. It was stressful when I went and I had a friend who is a Disney nut and gave me a list of tips. The last time I went it was probably the most stressful vacation I’ve been on. It was my 4th trip to the parks over the years and I don’t remember it being like that in the prior ones. Maybe just me.
 
We are booked for the end of May! Now i need a crash course in Genie, Plus, Lightning lane and Rope Drop. Dining reservations are 60 days out and ride reservations are day of. Si?
One piece of advice I do need now (so far) is transportation from the airport. Uber/Lyft are an option. No busses. I have no desire to take a bus and there isn't a dedicated shuttle to our hotel. Any suggestions?

I haven't been yet since the changes (I'm also going in May), but here's what I gathered from reading up on it.

Genie is free, and is just basically AI giving you tips and helping you plan your trip in the Disney app.

Genie Plus is an extra cost on your ticket, and functions similarly to the old fastpass. Some differences though. You make the genie plus reservations same day. You can make 1 at a time. You cannot make the next until either the time for your first reservation comes up or 2 hours pass since making the reservation, whichever comes first.

IE at 8am you make a 9am reservation for Space Mountain. Then at 9am you can make a reservation for another ride. Then at 9am you make a 3pm reservation for Thunder Mountain. Then at 11am (two hours after you made the reservation) you can make another reservation and still keep your 3pm Thunder Mountain as well.

Lightning Lane is another extra cost and is basically Genie Plus, except for the really desirable rides. IE you cannot book Guardians of the Galaxy with Genie Plus, you have to pay specifically for Guardians of the Galaxy Lightning Lane to have access to do a reservation for that ride.
Disney has made things so confusing for families just wanting to go on a vacation. You need a Disney PhD to make the most of Genie plus. Miss Magic Express too. Was nice knowing once you hit the airport everything was taken care of and you were on vacation.

It's really not any more confusing than fastpass, it's just new.

Though it was dumb to name Genie and Genie Plus so similarly when they really are totally different things.

But it's all as optional as ever. None of it is required.

Disney has always been a vacation where you can still enjoy it fine with no planning, but hardcore planners will have a leg up. Even 20 years ago before any of this stuff existed things were smoother for the folks that obsessed over the optimal route through each park and whatnot.
It’s not required but it’s the only way to get much of anything done on a busy day at the park. I thought fastpass was much easier for the recreational visitor. Mainly because you could plan well in advance. You weren’t under a time crunch the morning of at 7 am. It was stressful when I went and I had a friend who is a Disney nut and gave me a list of tips. The last time I went it was probably the most stressful vacation I’ve been on. It was my 4th trip to the parks over the years and I don’t remember it being like that in the prior ones. Maybe just me.

Ah, gotcha, Yeah fastpass wasn't necessarily any less confusing (moreso if anything, once you started combining rider swaps for bonus fastpasses, etc) but yes it was very nice to be able to do it ahead of time. I don't like the idea of having to do it the same morning.

One other side effect of having to do it the same morning is it makes it difficult to plan meal reservations, because before we could plan our general route through the park around where our fast passes were and know roughly where we were going to be around lunch time.

If they wanted more money they could've just started charging for fastpass, though I'm guessing it was an optics thing and they didn't want to hear people get upset about them charging for something that used to be free, so they had to create something new so they could sell it as "better".
 
We are booked for the end of May! Now i need a crash course in Genie, Plus, Lightning lane and Rope Drop. Dining reservations are 60 days out and ride reservations are day of. Si?
One piece of advice I do need now (so far) is transportation from the airport. Uber/Lyft are an option. No busses. I have no desire to take a bus and there isn't a dedicated shuttle to our hotel. Any suggestions?

I haven't been yet since the changes (I'm also going in May), but here's what I gathered from reading up on it.

Genie is free, and is just basically AI giving you tips and helping you plan your trip in the Disney app.

Genie Plus is an extra cost on your ticket, and functions similarly to the old fastpass. Some differences though. You make the genie plus reservations same day. You can make 1 at a time. You cannot make the next until either the time for your first reservation comes up or 2 hours pass since making the reservation, whichever comes first.

IE at 8am you make a 9am reservation for Space Mountain. Then at 9am you can make a reservation for another ride. Then at 9am you make a 3pm reservation for Thunder Mountain. Then at 11am (two hours after you made the reservation) you can make another reservation and still keep your 3pm Thunder Mountain as well.

Lightning Lane is another extra cost and is basically Genie Plus, except for the really desirable rides. IE you cannot book Guardians of the Galaxy with Genie Plus, you have to pay specifically for Guardians of the Galaxy Lightning Lane to have access to do a reservation for that ride.
Disney has made things so confusing for families just wanting to go on a vacation. You need a Disney PhD to make the most of Genie plus. Miss Magic Express too. Was nice knowing once you hit the airport everything was taken care of and you were on vacation.

It's really not any more confusing than fastpass, it's just new.

Though it was dumb to name Genie and Genie Plus so similarly when they really are totally different things.

But it's all as optional as ever. None of it is required.

Disney has always been a vacation where you can still enjoy it fine with no planning, but hardcore planners will have a leg up. Even 20 years ago before any of this stuff existed things were smoother for the folks that obsessed over the optimal route through each park and whatnot.
It’s not required but it’s the only way to get much of anything done on a busy day at the park. I thought fastpass was much easier for the recreational visitor. Mainly because you could plan well in advance. You weren’t under a time crunch the morning of at 7 am. It was stressful when I went and I had a friend who is a Disney nut and gave me a list of tips. The last time I went it was probably the most stressful vacation I’ve been on. It was my 4th trip to the parks over the years and I don’t remember it being like that in the prior ones. Maybe just me.

Ah, gotcha, Yeah fastpass wasn't necessarily any less confusing (moreso if anything, once you started combining rider swaps for bonus fastpasses, etc) but yes it was very nice to be able to do it ahead of time. I don't like the idea of having to do it the same morning.

One other side effect of having to do it the same morning is it makes it difficult to plan meal reservations, because before we could plan our general route through the park around where our fast passes were and know roughly where we were going to be around lunch time.

If they wanted more money they could've just started charging for fastpass, though I'm guessing it was an optics thing and they didn't want to hear people get upset about them charging for something that used to be free, so they had to create something new so they could sell it as "better".

Yeah, good point about the meal reservations. Whole thing seemed like a job vs a vacation. I don’t mind planning ahead of time but I don’t want to be under the gun every morning at 7 am hoping the itinerary works out. Then spending a good part of the day staring at my phone trying to plan the next destination. Parks were so packed it made Genie plus almost worthless. Hollywood Studios was downright ridiculous. Way too small an area to cram that many people in. Just wasn’t fun for me. Kids still had a good time and that’s what it’s all about but I cant do it again unless things change. I told them on the way back that we will be vacationing in other places. Think that’s my last Disney trip. Missed the Magical Express. I know the bus is basically the same but it’s not. It was nice staying at a Disney resort and they do everything once you get there. Was nice not having to grab your luggage. You just step off the plane and unto the bus. A lot of little things that have changed, not for the better imo and they added up.
 
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@fruity pebbles @FreeBaGeL

I have a love/hate relationship with the new system. The previous FP system was good, but my major gripe about it was that you had to have your itinerary set 2 months before you stepped foot on the property. It left little room for a spontaneous time and made you feel obligated to go to the parks bc you HAD to use that FP. Forget if it is raining, or you were out late the night before and wanted to sleep in, etc.

The new system takes a little getting used to, but once you are dialed in, it really works well. But the overall downside is that you are spending a lot more time on your phone then I would prefer. And of course the cost.

The old paper system was the best IMO. You got what you got and didn't get to caught up in "did I do it right?" "can I modify it?" etc.

And speaking of dining, I am old enough to remember the days where you just walked up to a restaurant and put your name on a physical list. Or, to be really futuristic, when in Epcot, they had kiosks where you picked up a phone and a real live agent appeared on TV screen and helped you pick your restaurant for that day. Jetsons Style!! lol :ptts:
 
Any transportation recommendations? I loath busses. Only did Uber/Lyft twice in San Francisco and it was a get us from A to B gig. I was wondering if there was a service that'd allow for a 30 minute food stock up enroute to the hotel. We did the stupist thing possible last time, years ago and got off the bus at the transport station and took the monorail to the Polinysain. Then hoofed the last quarter mile from there to the SOG
 
Any transportation recommendations? I loath busses. Only did Uber/Lyft twice in San Francisco and it was a get us from A to B gig. I was wondering if there was a service that'd allow for a 30 minute food stock up enroute to the hotel. We did the stupist thing possible last time, years ago and got off the bus at the transport station and took the monorail to the Polinysain. Then hoofed the last quarter mile from there to the SOG
Your best bet would be to arrange a private car service then. Or take the bus (even though you hate them) to the resort and then do a quick Uber and back to the stores. The resort will hold your luggage if you can’t check in yet, then you can go shop at your leisure. That might work out cheaper in the end even though it’s multiple trips.

If you need a good private car recommendation, I can give you my friend Cliff’s number and he includes a store stop.
 
Heading out to Orlando tomorrow for a huge family reunion trip. We essentially rented a compound. Will culminate in a 50th anniversary celebration dinner party for my inlaws with 40+ people. I am both excited and a little fearful (like many families, there are a lot of personalities that don't always get along).
 
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Yesterday and today are our first time back in the park since COVID.

That Star Wars and Marvel money hits different. The new attractions are unbelievable; Disney feels cool instead of just fun. I thought Rise of the Resistance was going to be the highlight, but then I followed that up with a Fuzzy Tauntaun at Olga's Cantina and THEN we rode Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind just now at EPCOT. I'm in awe.
 
Also, it felt very natural to use Genie, but maybe that's because I had spent hours and hours on touringplans for our previous trips. We did no advance planning besides making sure we were in the app at the right times to book our next ride.

It's the least structured we've been and maybe the most fun.

After we're done today I'll try to recall our two days off the dome for y'all.
 
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@AcerFC saying he created a monster in his daughter; I can relate. Our daughter is 20 and a sophomore in college, and going on her first Spring Break trip with her roommates. To Florida. But not to Panama City or wherever the Spring Break party spots are, but to WDW for four days. It will be her 6th time there, and I think her two roommates have been there more than that. She gets to stay in a deluxe for the first time (despite me being a FBG, I'm a teacher with 5 kids) at Old Key West, and they're doing one of the After Hours Parties at MK next week. She's beyond excited, and, consequently, my 18 year old son and 15 year old daughter are insanely jealous, and that's why we're trying to see if we can swing a Disneyland trip out west at the end of the summer.

Her roommates wanted to skip Epcot and she told them to suck it, as she hasn't done Ratatouille or GOTG:CR and those are on the top of her list. Splash Mountain has always been her favorite, so she's bummed about the closure there, and naturally wishes Tron opened a month earlier. They're flying into Sanford and getting a car service to property, so I just hope all the transportation goes off without a hitch.
 
Doing Disneyland back to back days in a little over a week. First time back since preCovid so first time with the new system too. 8th old is over the moon excited. Despite living just over an hour from the park we got a hotel close by so we can maximize the days. Looking forward to it.
 

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