Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping
Smugpugmug
IPA enthusiast
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2022
No issues getting one at 7 am. I got group 11 when I tried at 7 am. I wasn't staying at a Disney hotel and tried at my relative's home, so I wasn't reliant on Disney wifi. The 1 pm one stayed open for a couple of hours and ILLs were available the entire day.
Just back from a trip 1/29 - 2/3 with park days on Monday, Wed, and Thursday. We travelled as a group of 5, 3 adults and 2 children - just over 40" tall (so some attractions were not on our radar to visit).
We stayed at Boardwalk (Villas side through Disney, not DVC). We did Early Entry each morning, and visited 2 parks per day with a 1-2 hour break in the afternoon. It was surprisingly warm - I was expecting mid-70s but it was mid-80s so the afternoon time in AC was great.
Using a combo of EE, Hopping, Paid LL, and Genie+ stacking, we were able to do quite a lot, which included waiting for the adults to cycle through headliner attractions twice since the kids couldn't/wouldn't go - this could take 30-40 minutes despite using Single Rider/G+. We used G+, not rider swap, so 2 and then 1 adult (or vice versa). I realize this is one of the more expensive ways to tour...
Monday -
Early Entry Magic Kingdom:
Peter Pan
Prince Charming Carrousel
Haunted Mansion / Magic Carpets (both Standby, kiddos went on carpets)
Jungle Cruise (G+)
Pirates (G+)
Barnstormer (G+)
Dumbo (G+)
Lunch (mobile order)
Festival of Fantasy
Space Mountain (G+)
Buzz Lightyear (G+) - done by 2pm
Relax at hotel ~2:30-4:30pm
Hop to Epcot
Remy (G+)
Soaring (G+)
Guardians ($$)
Hung out until Harmonious snacking around the world...
Wednesday
Early Entry Animal Kingdom
Navi River Journey (Standby)
Everest (Standby)
Meet Mickey & Minnie (Standby)
Safari (G+)
Snack (and margarita...)
Festival of the Lion King (Standby)
Flight of Passage ($$)
Lunch
Relax at Hotel
Hop over to Hollywood Studios (started stacking LL after Safari at 9:30 AM).
RnRC (G+)
TOT (G+)
MMRR (G+)
TSMM (G+)
Skyliner over to Epcot
Enjoy Festival of Arts & Harmonious from 7:30-9pm.
Thursday
Early Entry Hollywood Studios
TSMM
Alien/Saucers
Slinky Dog (G+)
Frozen Sling Along
Start Tours / Muppets (in parallel - kids went to muppets)
Oga's Cantina Reservation (ended up waiting about 20 minutes to be called in)
MMRR (G+)
Lunch @ ABC Commissary
Relax at Hotel
Hop to Epcot
Remy (G+)
Soarin' (G+)
Guardians ($$)
Frozen (G+)
This trip was was taliored around the kiddos - since we had 3 adults it was a little easier to do the headliners for the adults.
I did not have my head buried in MDE all day - there was PLENTY of downtime while it was my turn to watch the kiddos, or during the zillion bathroom breaks. I did not use the "modify" option much - it didn't really help me pull in any return times. Got lucky around 1:45 every day when some LL were replenished for the folks hopping - this was at Epcot, mainly for Remy & Frozen.
We got to do most of the things we wanted to twice (MMRR, Remy, Soarin', Guardians). We recently went in September, and did not find the attractions in Galaxy's Edge interesting to us.
Other than the (astronomical) cost, I don't really have too many complaints. I got up around 5:45AM every day (much like a normal workday) so it wasn't a hassle to buy Genie+ or a lightning lane first thing in the morning. We got to the resort early on Sunday, so the kids had 2 pool days/afternoons, and we were able to check out Disney Springs too. We had to swap park days and that wasn't an issue at all - I was able to cancel/book park reservations on my phone with no problems. The AT&T cell service was outstanding - I did not use WiFi at all and mobile data was surprisingly fast & responsive.
Staying at Boardwalk instead of Swan/Swan Reserve saved about 2 miles of walking per day - generally ended up with about 10 miles/20k steps per day on park days. This was offset by not being able to use Marriott points and paying the eye-watering rates (and taxes!) for staying on property. Boardwalk Villas rooms were looking tired and in need of a refurb, which might be happening this year.
All in all, this will be our last visit for some time - now that travel is a bit easier, we'll check out some other destinations before considering Orlando again.
We stayed at Boardwalk (Villas side through Disney, not DVC). We did Early Entry each morning, and visited 2 parks per day with a 1-2 hour break in the afternoon. It was surprisingly warm - I was expecting mid-70s but it was mid-80s so the afternoon time in AC was great.
Using a combo of EE, Hopping, Paid LL, and Genie+ stacking, we were able to do quite a lot, which included waiting for the adults to cycle through headliner attractions twice since the kids couldn't/wouldn't go - this could take 30-40 minutes despite using Single Rider/G+. We used G+, not rider swap, so 2 and then 1 adult (or vice versa). I realize this is one of the more expensive ways to tour...
Monday -
Early Entry Magic Kingdom:
Peter Pan
Prince Charming Carrousel
Haunted Mansion / Magic Carpets (both Standby, kiddos went on carpets)
Jungle Cruise (G+)
Pirates (G+)
Barnstormer (G+)
Dumbo (G+)
Lunch (mobile order)
Festival of Fantasy
Space Mountain (G+)
Buzz Lightyear (G+) - done by 2pm
Relax at hotel ~2:30-4:30pm
Hop to Epcot
Remy (G+)
Soaring (G+)
Guardians ($$)
Hung out until Harmonious snacking around the world...
Wednesday
Early Entry Animal Kingdom
Navi River Journey (Standby)
Everest (Standby)
Meet Mickey & Minnie (Standby)
Safari (G+)
Snack (and margarita...)
Festival of the Lion King (Standby)
Flight of Passage ($$)
Lunch
Relax at Hotel
Hop over to Hollywood Studios (started stacking LL after Safari at 9:30 AM).
RnRC (G+)
TOT (G+)
MMRR (G+)
TSMM (G+)
Skyliner over to Epcot
Enjoy Festival of Arts & Harmonious from 7:30-9pm.
Thursday
Early Entry Hollywood Studios
TSMM
Alien/Saucers
Slinky Dog (G+)
Frozen Sling Along
Start Tours / Muppets (in parallel - kids went to muppets)
Oga's Cantina Reservation (ended up waiting about 20 minutes to be called in)
MMRR (G+)
Lunch @ ABC Commissary
Relax at Hotel
Hop to Epcot
Remy (G+)
Soarin' (G+)
Guardians ($$)
Frozen (G+)
This trip was was taliored around the kiddos - since we had 3 adults it was a little easier to do the headliners for the adults.
I did not have my head buried in MDE all day - there was PLENTY of downtime while it was my turn to watch the kiddos, or during the zillion bathroom breaks. I did not use the "modify" option much - it didn't really help me pull in any return times. Got lucky around 1:45 every day when some LL were replenished for the folks hopping - this was at Epcot, mainly for Remy & Frozen.
We got to do most of the things we wanted to twice (MMRR, Remy, Soarin', Guardians). We recently went in September, and did not find the attractions in Galaxy's Edge interesting to us.
Other than the (astronomical) cost, I don't really have too many complaints. I got up around 5:45AM every day (much like a normal workday) so it wasn't a hassle to buy Genie+ or a lightning lane first thing in the morning. We got to the resort early on Sunday, so the kids had 2 pool days/afternoons, and we were able to check out Disney Springs too. We had to swap park days and that wasn't an issue at all - I was able to cancel/book park reservations on my phone with no problems. The AT&T cell service was outstanding - I did not use WiFi at all and mobile data was surprisingly fast & responsive.
Staying at Boardwalk instead of Swan/Swan Reserve saved about 2 miles of walking per day - generally ended up with about 10 miles/20k steps per day on park days. This was offset by not being able to use Marriott points and paying the eye-watering rates (and taxes!) for staying on property. Boardwalk Villas rooms were looking tired and in need of a refurb, which might be happening this year.
All in all, this will be our last visit for some time - now that travel is a bit easier, we'll check out some other destinations before considering Orlando again.
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100AcreWood
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2005
We just returned last Sunday. My dh was adamant about not buying Genie + during the trip, talked to one travel agent on the flight and was suddenly convinced we had to buy it for every day. It was very useful for MK, and slightly useful for HS, but I thought it was a waste of money at EPCOT. We had perfect weather. Each day started out chilly but warmed up.
We were surprised to find the crowds just as bad as July, but not standing in line in the heat of summer was so nice. My ds14 said it was the most relaxed Disney trip we ever had. Partly due to Genie+ allowing us to get all the rides in at least once, the weather, and knowing we've been so many times there was no pressure if we missed a ride. We successfully joined the VQ for Guardians by using two phones at exactly 7am. We rope-dropped Remi using the International Gateway entrance and waited only 20 minutes to ride.
The best meal we had during our stay was breakfast in the French bakery at EPCOT. We did QS at every park.
We were surprised to find the crowds just as bad as July, but not standing in line in the heat of summer was so nice. My ds14 said it was the most relaxed Disney trip we ever had. Partly due to Genie+ allowing us to get all the rides in at least once, the weather, and knowing we've been so many times there was no pressure if we missed a ride. We successfully joined the VQ for Guardians by using two phones at exactly 7am. We rope-dropped Remi using the International Gateway entrance and waited only 20 minutes to ride.
The best meal we had during our stay was breakfast in the French bakery at EPCOT. We did QS at every park.
TioAdis78
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2019
After a couple days of post Disney rest, I’d like to offer my humble post trip observations:
-I was NOT ready to get as motion sick as I did on Cosmic Rewind; maybe it’s because it was the second thing I did on out very first park day at 10 am, but that was rough on me. Can’t even recall what song I got! Still glad I did it, but I’d think twice next time or leave it for further down the trip.
-As a parent of kids with a disability, I will always appreciate the accommodations they are willing to provide for my children. I did notice they are more thorough and stern in the questions they ask at Guest Services before they give you DAS or a red tag, which is fine to ensure only the people who really need it can get it.
-Maybe it was luck, but as nice as they always are, Cast Members were more kind and helpful and genuine than I had ever seen or experienced. I always try to be nice, but this time I followed my daughter’s lead, who is the gentlest person I know (takes after her mother) and always knew the right thing to say to the CMs to get a smile out of them.
-This was our first “non-running” trip, we were determined to take our time, not rush, and just enjoy being there. I didn’t know that sitting down at the tables outside Cheshire Cafe eating Cheshire cat tails while watching people go by could be so enjoyable.
As for Genie+, we only found a need for it at HS, to ride Slinky Dog. We decided not to run or wait in line for RnC or ToT, and just do the things we all enjoy together as a family, so thanks to DAS return times, we managed to get on Runaway Railway four times, my children’s favorite!
-I was NOT ready to get as motion sick as I did on Cosmic Rewind; maybe it’s because it was the second thing I did on out very first park day at 10 am, but that was rough on me. Can’t even recall what song I got! Still glad I did it, but I’d think twice next time or leave it for further down the trip.
-As a parent of kids with a disability, I will always appreciate the accommodations they are willing to provide for my children. I did notice they are more thorough and stern in the questions they ask at Guest Services before they give you DAS or a red tag, which is fine to ensure only the people who really need it can get it.
-Maybe it was luck, but as nice as they always are, Cast Members were more kind and helpful and genuine than I had ever seen or experienced. I always try to be nice, but this time I followed my daughter’s lead, who is the gentlest person I know (takes after her mother) and always knew the right thing to say to the CMs to get a smile out of them.
-This was our first “non-running” trip, we were determined to take our time, not rush, and just enjoy being there. I didn’t know that sitting down at the tables outside Cheshire Cafe eating Cheshire cat tails while watching people go by could be so enjoyable.
As for Genie+, we only found a need for it at HS, to ride Slinky Dog. We decided not to run or wait in line for RnC or ToT, and just do the things we all enjoy together as a family, so thanks to DAS return times, we managed to get on Runaway Railway four times, my children’s favorite!
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jessily
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2007
Just back from a trip 1/27-2/4 (4 park days + 1 day at Blizzard Beach). We used to go 2-3x per year, but hadn't been since December 2019. A few observations on things that were new to us:
- Genie+ worked great with the crowd levels. We were able to ride everything we wanted to and waits were almost all <5 minutes. At times it wasn't necessary, but with a 4 year old I was grateful to bypass even a 10 minute line.
- I liked the flexibility that Genie+ gave over the old FP+ system. We were able to swap our park reservations last minute, something we wouldn't have done if we had FP reservations in place back in the day. It was also nice to be able to stack a few Genie+ reservations for the evening after getting our early morning rides in.
- The new entry procedures are great, so much more organized than in the past. HS handled it best having separate lines for each ride (with a CM marking the end of the line). No stress there. The race for Mine Train was still chaotic, but getting into the park for early entry was a lot calmer than in the past.
- The new security procedures are great... if you don't have to get your bag checked. Our bag got flagged every time and it was frustrating to line up so early and then wait and wait for bag check while people poured into the park in front of us.
- GoTG was so much fun, best ride I've been on in a long time. I was worried about motion sickness (I'm generally okay with roller coasters, but not spinning rides), but it was easy to avert my eyes from the screen if needed and I had no issues. We easily got an early virtual queue spot on two days and paid to ride it once. Our first Epcot day (a Wednesday) ILL and virtual queue was available into the evening. Our second day (a Friday) I think they were gone by noon.
- We rope dropped Remy one day, weren't all that close to the front of the line and were off the ride just after 8:30. We rope dropped Test Track another day and weren't off the ride until after 9 (both from International Gateway).
- The new little kid's Frozen themed area at Blizzard Beach is adorable. The cast members at BB were amazing, some of the best we encountered during our trip.
- We found that we didn't use the park hoppers nearly as much as in the past (not a fan of the 2 pm rule). We'll likely skip it on our next trip if that rule is still in place.
- Ale and Compass breakfast (Yacht Club) was a surprise hit, and they have a Disney Visa discount.
- Topolino's breakfast was as great as everyone says. Wonderful food and service. We paid the same price to do the character breakfast at Crystal Palace a few days later and it was a stark difference from Topolino's.
- Genie+ worked great with the crowd levels. We were able to ride everything we wanted to and waits were almost all <5 minutes. At times it wasn't necessary, but with a 4 year old I was grateful to bypass even a 10 minute line.
- I liked the flexibility that Genie+ gave over the old FP+ system. We were able to swap our park reservations last minute, something we wouldn't have done if we had FP reservations in place back in the day. It was also nice to be able to stack a few Genie+ reservations for the evening after getting our early morning rides in.
- The new entry procedures are great, so much more organized than in the past. HS handled it best having separate lines for each ride (with a CM marking the end of the line). No stress there. The race for Mine Train was still chaotic, but getting into the park for early entry was a lot calmer than in the past.
- The new security procedures are great... if you don't have to get your bag checked. Our bag got flagged every time and it was frustrating to line up so early and then wait and wait for bag check while people poured into the park in front of us.
- GoTG was so much fun, best ride I've been on in a long time. I was worried about motion sickness (I'm generally okay with roller coasters, but not spinning rides), but it was easy to avert my eyes from the screen if needed and I had no issues. We easily got an early virtual queue spot on two days and paid to ride it once. Our first Epcot day (a Wednesday) ILL and virtual queue was available into the evening. Our second day (a Friday) I think they were gone by noon.
- We rope dropped Remy one day, weren't all that close to the front of the line and were off the ride just after 8:30. We rope dropped Test Track another day and weren't off the ride until after 9 (both from International Gateway).
- The new little kid's Frozen themed area at Blizzard Beach is adorable. The cast members at BB were amazing, some of the best we encountered during our trip.
- We found that we didn't use the park hoppers nearly as much as in the past (not a fan of the 2 pm rule). We'll likely skip it on our next trip if that rule is still in place.
- Ale and Compass breakfast (Yacht Club) was a surprise hit, and they have a Disney Visa discount.
- Topolino's breakfast was as great as everyone says. Wonderful food and service. We paid the same price to do the character breakfast at Crystal Palace a few days later and it was a stark difference from Topolino's.
TropicalDIS
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2016
Anybody who is there now know what is up with Haunted Mansion? Currently down for the second day in a row, and I believe it was down all day yesterday.
RoseBen009
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2020
My family of 4 and 2 grandparents visited Disney World from Jan 21st-26th (grandparents left on the 25th). We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter, which was lovely, and then our immediate family moved to Wilderness Lodge for the last night in order to take advantage of extra magic hours at Magic Kingdom the evening of the 25th. We had 4 day park hopper tickets for this trip.
We flew into MCO on Saturday afternoon around 2:30, got our rental car, and were driving past the Disney World sign at about 3:30. I was pleasantly surprised both of our rooms were ready when we arrived and that we were placed really close to each other (there was just one room in between us). I was also relieved that the rules had recently changed for parking at the resort, and we didn't have to pay extra to park the rental car! We relaxed for a bit and headed to Disney Springs for an early dinner reservation at Frontera Cocina. We planned on taking the boat over, but the line was SUPER long, and we knew we'd be waiting a few rounds to get on, so we ended up driving over. Disney Springs was a ZOO, but we got right in for our reservation and the food was sooooo good! I should note, we only ate outside this trip - we were trying everything in our power to avoid bringing home an unwanted souvenier (COVID) and Frontera was super accommodating. We walked around and shopped for a bit and then headed back to the hotel to get some rest before our Magic Kingdom day.
Sunday, Jan 22nd - Magic Kingdom - So I didn't realize this day was the LAST day for Splash Mountain! I did purchase genie + for all of us this morning which I felt was totally worth it (even though it's an annoying extra expense) and I had reserved a spot for Splash around 11-ish. We walked into the park right around 8:20 and made our way to Peter Pan's flight. The line was already crazy, and there were a TON of people hanging around that area being held back by cast members/ropes that were waiting to get into Frontierland for Splash! Because the line for PP was so crazy already, we headed to Small World and then got breakfast at Friars nook (the breakfast sandwich, coffee, and tots were good!). From there we did: Teacups, Dumbo, Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan's flight, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain (I sat it out bc I'm a ride wimp), and Seven Dwarfs mine train. The weather today was PERFECT! Sunny, maybe 74 degrees? The entire Frontier land was a ZOO, but with the genie + the fam was able to walk right onto Splash! I honestly can't remember which of these rides were genie + and which were standby, but all in all it was a successful morning! We headed back to POFQ, and relaxed for awhile before hitting up Epcot. We ate at the Regal Eagle (it was just alright IMO) and hit up Remy's and Test track (these were definitely genie +). My oldest daughter was BEGGING to go back to Magic Kingdom again to ride Pirates, so we did go back, exhausted, and rode Pirates along with Magic Carpets. We crashed hard that night!
Monday, Jan 23rd -This was our first time ever at Hollywood Studios, and boy was this park packed! It was a bit cooler today, probably 68 degrees or so, and this made it super pleasant to walk around. We didn't take advantage of early morning hours, and got there probably about 9:30. We started with Toy Story Mania (fun!), Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway (super cute), and then my oldest daughter and grandpa (the daredevils of the fam) did Rock and Roller Coaster. We put had put our names in at the Brown Derby Lounge before Rock and Roller Coaster, and shockingly got a text that there was a table available after only about 45 mins or so. The food here was excellent (cobb salad=YUM). We made our way back to toy story land and my husband and oldest daughter did Slinky Dog dash while the rest of us did Alien Swirling Saucers. We moved on to Galaxy's Edge (wow, just....wow this was amazing) and did Rise of the Resistance which completely blew me away - WHAT AN EXPERIENCE! We rode Millenium Falcon (this was a bumpy ride and gave my hubs some motion sickness) and then headed back to the hotel to chill for a bit. It was at this point I vowed to start exercising when I got back home because I could tell my body was already screaming at me, ha ha! We headed back to Magic Kingdom and my oldest and grandpa rode Space Mountain. We walked on Tomorrow Speedway, and then rode Seven Dwarfs during the fireworks. We finished off the night with Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise.
Tuesday, Jan 24th- Today was an exclusive Epcot day, and the park seemed really manageable ride-wise. I'm not sure that genie + was necessary, but I purchased it anyway and we did take advantage. I also snagged a spot for my oldest daughter, grandma, and grandpa for Guardians of the Galaxy at 7am on the dot. We arrived about 9:30am this morning and headed towards Frozen Ever After (I had made a lightning lane rez). Frozen was down so my genie + reservation was changed to an anytime pass. We made our way back to the Mexico pavilion and rode Three Caballeros (no wait). By the time we finished there, Frozen was back up so we headed over to Norway to ride it. I got the notification it was time for some of our party to ride GOTG, so we walked over to that area. GOTG was down, but we sat around for a bit and it was only about 10 mins until they began letting people in again. While the others rode GOTG, we headed back towards the Mexico pavilion and my younger daughter spotted Pluto doing meet and greets- we waited about 15 mins and then as we continued on, we saw Donald and stopped to say "hi" to him. It was ALWAYS crowded around the Mexico pavilion, but otherwise there was space to move around, which was nice. GOTG took a long time to get through, I want to say it was at least 45 mins or so? It could have been backed up from being down for a bit. By the time everyone met up, we started debating where to get food and landed at Spice Road Table at a lovely outside table along the lake. They have small plates here, and we ordered a variety of everything- all of it was FANTASTIC. It felt so nice to take a rest and eat something more healthy and not so heavy. We made our way over to Remy where partway through the ride it stopped suddenly! After 5 mins or so the lights came on and a couple cast members escorted us out. I've never been on a ride that shut down like that, so it was pretty exciting I must say! We made our way to the French Bakery for dessert (I had a cream w/raspberries and strawberries dish - DELICIOUS) and then headed back towards the front of the park. From here we went on Journey of Imagination and Soarin'. Hoooo boy, I'm not sure what happened this time around with Soarin', but I dang near had a panic attack on this ride. I think it was the heights thing - I kept feeling like I was going to slip out of that seat! I'd ridden before once or twice and done ok, but I just felt dizzy and sooo sick after getting out of there. We did a much needed relaxing ride on Living with the Land, and headed back to the Italy pavilion to see if we could snag an outside table at Tutto Italia - we lucked out and were seated within 10 mins. or so. Our food was very good here- I had the chicken parmesan. From here we tried going back to Remy, but it was still having issues, so we poked around the japanese pavilion shop (lots of cute stuff here) and headed to the front of the park to the creations shop. We finished the night on Spaceship Earth and shuffled our way back to the rental car and to POFQ.
Weds, Jan 25th -Man, we were TIRED in every way today. I very much realized this day the importance of scheduling rest days for Disney trips, but alas this was our last park day, so we pulled it together, packed up all of our suitcases to bring over to Wilderness Lodge, and headed to Animal Kingdom. It was our first time at this park. We arrived probably around 10:30ish. It was HOT out this day, and we were all kind of grumpy. On our way walking towards the entrance, we witnessed a probably 4-5 year old boy throwing up on the sidewalk - we watched as his mom grabbed his hand and led him into the park as soon as he finished puking
. We veered to the other end of security and made our way in. This by far felt like the busiest park. I'm not sure if it's the way the park is designed, but it just was packed full with people and there really didn't feel like any pathways gave you much room to spread out. The theming here is incredible! We started off on the Safari Trek, and then made our way over to Pandora, which was even more tightly packed with people! We had to wait quite a while, but eventually got an open outdoor table at Satu'li Canteen and I mobile ordered our food. I had the tofu bowl and for me it was just ok. We rode Navi River Journey, and at this point we all felt ready to move out of Pandora. We caught the bird show next, grabbed some frozen drinks at a stand, and sat in the shade for awhile. I got a notice that our room was ready at Wilderness Lodge, so we made our way to our room. Wilderness Lodge was beautiful, and our room was lovely. Although my entire body was sore at this stage in the game, my kiddos were begging to go swimming so we headed down to the pool. We decided to hit up Epcot for dinner, and then take the monorail to Magic Kingdom for the extra magic hours. We took the resort bus to Epcot (it stopped at Ft. Wilderness first), and walked over to England for fish and chips (delicious). We then went back to the French bakery for a brie and apple baguette (sooo good). We finally went to the Germany pavilion where my husband had a bratwurst and we all split a pretzel and the pretzel bread pudding (best thing I ate this whole trip). We rode Remy for a final time, went on Journey of Imagination, and then hopped on the monorail for Magic Kingdom. We were fading fast at this point, but were determined to go. We told ourselves we wouldn't stay the whole time (lies, haha), and made our way to Pirates. Next, my oldest and husband took a ride on Big Thunder Mountain. It started POURING while they were on the ride, and we all got soaked! We hadn't prepared for rain, and even though this day was really warm, we all felt chilled. Wow did the park CLEAR OUT after the rain! I have never, and probably will never again see the park this dead. It was pretty amazing, because we could walk down the paths and take pictures and there was just no one around. We took shelter in the Tiki Room, and then watched Country Bear Jamboree for the first time. We were the only people in there, and it was just so hilariously bizarre! I loved it, myself, and my kids were just totally weirded out, ha ha! It had stopped raining at this point, and we walked onto Haunted Mansion, walked around the Castle and Fantasyland, and just took in the emptiness and beauty of it all, and finished the night with Peter Pan's Flight. We hobbled down main street and took the boat back to Wilderness Lodge. It was 1am at this point, and we had to be up for our flight at 5:30!
Thursday, Jan 26th - I was dead woman walking this morning! One of my legs seriously refused to cooperate for a few minutes, and I was truly worried about being able to make it to and through the airport! But eventually, I was able to warm my body up enough to make my way out the door and to the rental car. MCO was slower than I'd ever seen it before, which was soooo nice seeing as how sleep depraived, sore, and tired we all were. Our flights went smoothly, and we were back home by 3ish. My body took about 4 days to recover and I took many naps over the weekend. SO many fantastic memories made!
I did not intend to have this be so long, so thank you for those who made it to the end!!!
And for anyone curious, in the end, my MIL (grandma) DID end up testing positive for covid the Monday after we all got back, which I believe she passed along to my husband as they shared a salad on Tuesday night before they left Disney
Husband tested positive on Tuesday and started isolating right away. Grandpa just tested positive today, and as of now, the kids and I (knock on wood) have not tested positive. Our immediate family masked at the airport, on the plane, indoors and in lines the whole time, and grandma and grandpa did not mask at all. I realize it's possible to really pick it up anywhere these days, and I do not regret our amazing trip!
We flew into MCO on Saturday afternoon around 2:30, got our rental car, and were driving past the Disney World sign at about 3:30. I was pleasantly surprised both of our rooms were ready when we arrived and that we were placed really close to each other (there was just one room in between us). I was also relieved that the rules had recently changed for parking at the resort, and we didn't have to pay extra to park the rental car! We relaxed for a bit and headed to Disney Springs for an early dinner reservation at Frontera Cocina. We planned on taking the boat over, but the line was SUPER long, and we knew we'd be waiting a few rounds to get on, so we ended up driving over. Disney Springs was a ZOO, but we got right in for our reservation and the food was sooooo good! I should note, we only ate outside this trip - we were trying everything in our power to avoid bringing home an unwanted souvenier (COVID) and Frontera was super accommodating. We walked around and shopped for a bit and then headed back to the hotel to get some rest before our Magic Kingdom day.
Sunday, Jan 22nd - Magic Kingdom - So I didn't realize this day was the LAST day for Splash Mountain! I did purchase genie + for all of us this morning which I felt was totally worth it (even though it's an annoying extra expense) and I had reserved a spot for Splash around 11-ish. We walked into the park right around 8:20 and made our way to Peter Pan's flight. The line was already crazy, and there were a TON of people hanging around that area being held back by cast members/ropes that were waiting to get into Frontierland for Splash! Because the line for PP was so crazy already, we headed to Small World and then got breakfast at Friars nook (the breakfast sandwich, coffee, and tots were good!). From there we did: Teacups, Dumbo, Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan's flight, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain (I sat it out bc I'm a ride wimp), and Seven Dwarfs mine train. The weather today was PERFECT! Sunny, maybe 74 degrees? The entire Frontier land was a ZOO, but with the genie + the fam was able to walk right onto Splash! I honestly can't remember which of these rides were genie + and which were standby, but all in all it was a successful morning! We headed back to POFQ, and relaxed for awhile before hitting up Epcot. We ate at the Regal Eagle (it was just alright IMO) and hit up Remy's and Test track (these were definitely genie +). My oldest daughter was BEGGING to go back to Magic Kingdom again to ride Pirates, so we did go back, exhausted, and rode Pirates along with Magic Carpets. We crashed hard that night!
Monday, Jan 23rd -This was our first time ever at Hollywood Studios, and boy was this park packed! It was a bit cooler today, probably 68 degrees or so, and this made it super pleasant to walk around. We didn't take advantage of early morning hours, and got there probably about 9:30. We started with Toy Story Mania (fun!), Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway (super cute), and then my oldest daughter and grandpa (the daredevils of the fam) did Rock and Roller Coaster. We put had put our names in at the Brown Derby Lounge before Rock and Roller Coaster, and shockingly got a text that there was a table available after only about 45 mins or so. The food here was excellent (cobb salad=YUM). We made our way back to toy story land and my husband and oldest daughter did Slinky Dog dash while the rest of us did Alien Swirling Saucers. We moved on to Galaxy's Edge (wow, just....wow this was amazing) and did Rise of the Resistance which completely blew me away - WHAT AN EXPERIENCE! We rode Millenium Falcon (this was a bumpy ride and gave my hubs some motion sickness) and then headed back to the hotel to chill for a bit. It was at this point I vowed to start exercising when I got back home because I could tell my body was already screaming at me, ha ha! We headed back to Magic Kingdom and my oldest and grandpa rode Space Mountain. We walked on Tomorrow Speedway, and then rode Seven Dwarfs during the fireworks. We finished off the night with Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise.
Tuesday, Jan 24th- Today was an exclusive Epcot day, and the park seemed really manageable ride-wise. I'm not sure that genie + was necessary, but I purchased it anyway and we did take advantage. I also snagged a spot for my oldest daughter, grandma, and grandpa for Guardians of the Galaxy at 7am on the dot. We arrived about 9:30am this morning and headed towards Frozen Ever After (I had made a lightning lane rez). Frozen was down so my genie + reservation was changed to an anytime pass. We made our way back to the Mexico pavilion and rode Three Caballeros (no wait). By the time we finished there, Frozen was back up so we headed over to Norway to ride it. I got the notification it was time for some of our party to ride GOTG, so we walked over to that area. GOTG was down, but we sat around for a bit and it was only about 10 mins until they began letting people in again. While the others rode GOTG, we headed back towards the Mexico pavilion and my younger daughter spotted Pluto doing meet and greets- we waited about 15 mins and then as we continued on, we saw Donald and stopped to say "hi" to him. It was ALWAYS crowded around the Mexico pavilion, but otherwise there was space to move around, which was nice. GOTG took a long time to get through, I want to say it was at least 45 mins or so? It could have been backed up from being down for a bit. By the time everyone met up, we started debating where to get food and landed at Spice Road Table at a lovely outside table along the lake. They have small plates here, and we ordered a variety of everything- all of it was FANTASTIC. It felt so nice to take a rest and eat something more healthy and not so heavy. We made our way over to Remy where partway through the ride it stopped suddenly! After 5 mins or so the lights came on and a couple cast members escorted us out. I've never been on a ride that shut down like that, so it was pretty exciting I must say! We made our way to the French Bakery for dessert (I had a cream w/raspberries and strawberries dish - DELICIOUS) and then headed back towards the front of the park. From here we went on Journey of Imagination and Soarin'. Hoooo boy, I'm not sure what happened this time around with Soarin', but I dang near had a panic attack on this ride. I think it was the heights thing - I kept feeling like I was going to slip out of that seat! I'd ridden before once or twice and done ok, but I just felt dizzy and sooo sick after getting out of there. We did a much needed relaxing ride on Living with the Land, and headed back to the Italy pavilion to see if we could snag an outside table at Tutto Italia - we lucked out and were seated within 10 mins. or so. Our food was very good here- I had the chicken parmesan. From here we tried going back to Remy, but it was still having issues, so we poked around the japanese pavilion shop (lots of cute stuff here) and headed to the front of the park to the creations shop. We finished the night on Spaceship Earth and shuffled our way back to the rental car and to POFQ.
Weds, Jan 25th -Man, we were TIRED in every way today. I very much realized this day the importance of scheduling rest days for Disney trips, but alas this was our last park day, so we pulled it together, packed up all of our suitcases to bring over to Wilderness Lodge, and headed to Animal Kingdom. It was our first time at this park. We arrived probably around 10:30ish. It was HOT out this day, and we were all kind of grumpy. On our way walking towards the entrance, we witnessed a probably 4-5 year old boy throwing up on the sidewalk - we watched as his mom grabbed his hand and led him into the park as soon as he finished puking
. We veered to the other end of security and made our way in. This by far felt like the busiest park. I'm not sure if it's the way the park is designed, but it just was packed full with people and there really didn't feel like any pathways gave you much room to spread out. The theming here is incredible! We started off on the Safari Trek, and then made our way over to Pandora, which was even more tightly packed with people! We had to wait quite a while, but eventually got an open outdoor table at Satu'li Canteen and I mobile ordered our food. I had the tofu bowl and for me it was just ok. We rode Navi River Journey, and at this point we all felt ready to move out of Pandora. We caught the bird show next, grabbed some frozen drinks at a stand, and sat in the shade for awhile. I got a notice that our room was ready at Wilderness Lodge, so we made our way to our room. Wilderness Lodge was beautiful, and our room was lovely. Although my entire body was sore at this stage in the game, my kiddos were begging to go swimming so we headed down to the pool. We decided to hit up Epcot for dinner, and then take the monorail to Magic Kingdom for the extra magic hours. We took the resort bus to Epcot (it stopped at Ft. Wilderness first), and walked over to England for fish and chips (delicious). We then went back to the French bakery for a brie and apple baguette (sooo good). We finally went to the Germany pavilion where my husband had a bratwurst and we all split a pretzel and the pretzel bread pudding (best thing I ate this whole trip). We rode Remy for a final time, went on Journey of Imagination, and then hopped on the monorail for Magic Kingdom. We were fading fast at this point, but were determined to go. We told ourselves we wouldn't stay the whole time (lies, haha), and made our way to Pirates. Next, my oldest and husband took a ride on Big Thunder Mountain. It started POURING while they were on the ride, and we all got soaked! We hadn't prepared for rain, and even though this day was really warm, we all felt chilled. Wow did the park CLEAR OUT after the rain! I have never, and probably will never again see the park this dead. It was pretty amazing, because we could walk down the paths and take pictures and there was just no one around. We took shelter in the Tiki Room, and then watched Country Bear Jamboree for the first time. We were the only people in there, and it was just so hilariously bizarre! I loved it, myself, and my kids were just totally weirded out, ha ha! It had stopped raining at this point, and we walked onto Haunted Mansion, walked around the Castle and Fantasyland, and just took in the emptiness and beauty of it all, and finished the night with Peter Pan's Flight. We hobbled down main street and took the boat back to Wilderness Lodge. It was 1am at this point, and we had to be up for our flight at 5:30!Thursday, Jan 26th - I was dead woman walking this morning! One of my legs seriously refused to cooperate for a few minutes, and I was truly worried about being able to make it to and through the airport! But eventually, I was able to warm my body up enough to make my way out the door and to the rental car. MCO was slower than I'd ever seen it before, which was soooo nice seeing as how sleep depraived, sore, and tired we all were. Our flights went smoothly, and we were back home by 3ish. My body took about 4 days to recover and I took many naps over the weekend. SO many fantastic memories made!
I did not intend to have this be so long, so thank you for those who made it to the end!!!
And for anyone curious, in the end, my MIL (grandma) DID end up testing positive for covid the Monday after we all got back, which I believe she passed along to my husband as they shared a salad on Tuesday night before they left Disney
Husband tested positive on Tuesday and started isolating right away. Grandpa just tested positive today, and as of now, the kids and I (knock on wood) have not tested positive. Our immediate family masked at the airport, on the plane, indoors and in lines the whole time, and grandma and grandpa did not mask at all. I realize it's possible to really pick it up anywhere these days, and I do not regret our amazing trip!
NashvilleMama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2013
I was EXHAUSTED for you reading this but also - what an amazing trip!! So many awesome memories! It's funny how things that some people complain about like rides breaking down and being "evacuated" or pouring rain are sometimes very best times that you'll always remember.My family of 4 and 2 grandparents visited Disney World from Jan 21st-26th (grandparents left on the 25th). We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter, which was lovely, and then our immediate family moved to Wilderness Lodge for the last night in order to take advantage of extra magic hours at Magic Kingdom the evening of the 25th. We had 4 day park hopper tickets for this trip.
We flew into MCO on Saturday afternoon around 2:30, got our rental car, and were driving past the Disney World sign at about 3:30. I was pleasantly surprised both of our rooms were ready when we arrived and that we were placed really close to each other (there was just one room in between us). I was also relieved that the rules had recently changed for parking at the resort, and we didn't have to pay extra to park the rental car! We relaxed for a bit and headed to Disney Springs for an early dinner reservation at Frontera Cocina. We planned on taking the boat over, but the line was SUPER long, and we knew we'd be waiting a few rounds to get on, so we ended up driving over. Disney Springs was a ZOO, but we got right in for our reservation and the food was sooooo good! I should note, we only ate outside this trip - we were trying everything in our power to avoid bringing home an unwanted souvenier (COVID) and Frontera was super accommodating. We walked around and shopped for a bit and then headed back to the hotel to get some rest before our Magic Kingdom day.
Sunday, Jan 22nd - Magic Kingdom - So I didn't realize this day was the LAST day for Splash Mountain! I did purchase genie + for all of us this morning which I felt was totally worth it (even though it's an annoying extra expense) and I had reserved a spot for Splash around 11-ish. We walked into the park right around 8:20 and made our way to Peter Pan's flight. The line was already crazy, and there were a TON of people hanging around that area being held back by cast members/ropes that were waiting to get into Frontierland for Splash! Because the line for PP was so crazy already, we headed to Small World and then got breakfast at Friars nook (the breakfast sandwich, coffee, and tots were good!). From there we did: Teacups, Dumbo, Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan's flight, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain (I sat it out bc I'm a ride wimp), and Seven Dwarfs mine train. The weather today was PERFECT! Sunny, maybe 74 degrees? The entire Frontier land was a ZOO, but with the genie + the fam was able to walk right onto Splash! I honestly can't remember which of these rides were genie + and which were standby, but all in all it was a successful morning! We headed back to POFQ, and relaxed for awhile before hitting up Epcot. We ate at the Regal Eagle (it was just alright IMO) and hit up Remy's and Test track (these were definitely genie +). My oldest daughter was BEGGING to go back to Magic Kingdom again to ride Pirates, so we did go back, exhausted, and rode Pirates along with Magic Carpets. We crashed hard that night!
Monday, Jan 23rd -This was our first time ever at Hollywood Studios, and boy was this park packed! It was a bit cooler today, probably 68 degrees or so, and this made it super pleasant to walk around. We didn't take advantage of early morning hours, and got there probably about 9:30. We started with Toy Story Mania (fun!), Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway (super cute), and then my oldest daughter and grandpa (the daredevils of the fam) did Rock and Roller Coaster. We put had put our names in at the Brown Derby Lounge before Rock and Roller Coaster, and shockingly got a text that there was a table available after only about 45 mins or so. The food here was excellent (cobb salad=YUM). We made our way back to toy story land and my husband and oldest daughter did Slinky Dog dash while the rest of us did Alien Swirling Saucers. We moved on to Galaxy's Edge (wow, just....wow this was amazing) and did Rise of the Resistance which completely blew me away - WHAT AN EXPERIENCE! We rode Millenium Falcon (this was a bumpy ride and gave my hubs some motion sickness) and then headed back to the hotel to chill for a bit. It was at this point I vowed to start exercising when I got back home because I could tell my body was already screaming at me, ha ha! We headed back to Magic Kingdom and my oldest and grandpa rode Space Mountain. We walked on Tomorrow Speedway, and then rode Seven Dwarfs during the fireworks. We finished off the night with Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise.
Tuesday, Jan 24th- Today was an exclusive Epcot day, and the park seemed really manageable ride-wise. I'm not sure that genie + was necessary, but I purchased it anyway and we did take advantage. I also snagged a spot for my oldest daughter, grandma, and grandpa for Guardians of the Galaxy at 7am on the dot. We arrived about 9:30am this morning and headed towards Frozen Ever After (I had made a lightning lane rez). Frozen was down so my genie + reservation was changed to an anytime pass. We made our way back to the Mexico pavilion and rode Three Caballeros (no wait). By the time we finished there, Frozen was back up so we headed over to Norway to ride it. I got the notification it was time for some of our party to ride GOTG, so we walked over to that area. GOTG was down, but we sat around for a bit and it was only about 10 mins until they began letting people in again. While the others rode GOTG, we headed back towards the Mexico pavilion and my younger daughter spotted Pluto doing meet and greets- we waited about 15 mins and then as we continued on, we saw Donald and stopped to say "hi" to him. It was ALWAYS crowded around the Mexico pavilion, but otherwise there was space to move around, which was nice. GOTG took a long time to get through, I want to say it was at least 45 mins or so? It could have been backed up from being down for a bit. By the time everyone met up, we started debating where to get food and landed at Spice Road Table at a lovely outside table along the lake. They have small plates here, and we ordered a variety of everything- all of it was FANTASTIC. It felt so nice to take a rest and eat something more healthy and not so heavy. We made our way over to Remy where partway through the ride it stopped suddenly! After 5 mins or so the lights came on and a couple cast members escorted us out. I've never been on a ride that shut down like that, so it was pretty exciting I must say! We made our way to the French Bakery for dessert (I had a cream w/raspberries and strawberries dish - DELICIOUS) and then headed back towards the front of the park. From here we went on Journey of Imagination and Soarin'. Hoooo boy, I'm not sure what happened this time around with Soarin', but I dang near had a panic attack on this ride. I think it was the heights thing - I kept feeling like I was going to slip out of that seat! I'd ridden before once or twice and done ok, but I just felt dizzy and sooo sick after getting out of there. We did a much needed relaxing ride on Living with the Land, and headed back to the Italy pavilion to see if we could snag an outside table at Tutto Italia - we lucked out and were seated within 10 mins. or so. Our food was very good here- I had the chicken parmesan. From here we tried going back to Remy, but it was still having issues, so we poked around the japanese pavilion shop (lots of cute stuff here) and headed to the front of the park to the creations shop. We finished the night on Spaceship Earth and shuffled our way back to the rental car and to POFQ.
Weds, Jan 25th -Man, we were TIRED in every way today. I very much realized this day the importance of scheduling rest days for Disney trips, but alas this was our last park day, so we pulled it together, packed up all of our suitcases to bring over to Wilderness Lodge, and headed to Animal Kingdom. It was our first time at this park. We arrived probably around 10:30ish. It was HOT out this day, and we were all kind of grumpy. On our way walking towards the entrance, we witnessed a probably 4-5 year old boy throwing up on the sidewalk - we watched as his mom grabbed his hand and led him into the park as soon as he finished puking
Thursday, Jan 26th - I was dead woman walking this morning! One of my legs seriously refused to cooperate for a few minutes, and I was truly worried about being able to make it to and through the airport! But eventually, I was able to warm my body up enough to make my way out the door and to the rental car. MCO was slower than I'd ever seen it before, which was soooo nice seeing as how sleep depraived, sore, and tired we all were. Our flights went smoothly, and we were back home by 3ish. My body took about 4 days to recover and I took many naps over the weekend. SO many fantastic memories made!
I did not intend to have this be so long, so thank you for those who made it to the end!!!
And for anyone curious, in the end, my MIL (grandma) DID end up testing positive for covid the Monday after we all got back, which I believe she passed along to my husband as they shared a salad on Tuesday night before they left Disney
Thanks for sharing in so much detail! Good luck with the sickness, that stinks to have as a take away.
RoseBen009
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2020
Thank you NashvilleMama! The kids and I never ended up testing positive, so looks like we lucked out and are in the clear!I was EXHAUSTED for you reading this but also - what an amazing trip!! So many awesome memories! It's funny how things that some people complain about like rides breaking down and being "evacuated" or pouring rain are sometimes very best times that you'll always remember.
Thanks for sharing in so much detail! Good luck with the sickness, that stinks to have as a take away.
RoseBen009
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2020
Right?! I will work my steps up before next time for sure! This was the first time we'd gone in late January-It was such a lovely time to go, wasn't it?
Smugpugmug
IPA enthusiast
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2022
My family and I (all adults) did a weekend trip from 2/10-2/12 and we only did Epcot as we wanted to do the Festival of the Arts. We stayed at the Polynesian, a first for all of us. I usually tell people to not go to Epcot on weekends as it's usually busy due to festivals but due to work schedules we didn't have a choice to do weekdays. Some quick thoughts about the trip:
- Genie+ isn't as useful at Epcot as MK or HS, but can be helpful if you have the extra budget. We decided to do Genie+ on Saturday and we managed to get Remy, Test Track, Soarin and Spaceship Earth. Frozen was sold out by 11 am but I bet if you "fiddle faddled", you could've grabbed it. We rope dropped Frozen so it wasn't a priority.
- I rode Guardians three times - 2 with VQ and 1 by ILL. I missed the VQ at 7 am on saturday but got it at the 1 pm drop without any issues. I was called back around 3 pm. In terms of wait time in the VQ, I waited around 55 minutes on saturday and around 10 on sunday. Also for the songs, I got Conga twice and Everybody Wants to Rule the World. So that makes 4 times that I've gotten Conga when riding this LOL
- Saturday was WAY busier than sunday. Like it was night and day in terms of crowd levels. We ended up leaving around 4 pm because it was just too much.
- The DVC lounge is really lame. It has a very sterile look to it and I'm 100% convinced they made the chairs as uncomfortable as possible so that people don't camp out there all day. The free soda was nice, though. I was also confused that we had to join a waitlist but when we went up there, there was NO ONE else there.
- Festival booth lines look long but they move relatively quickly. Booths that consistently had the longest waits were the ones in Mexico, France and Italy.
- The cheerleading groups were out in full force but they're not as bad as everyone makes them out to be. There was only 1 group that was really obnoxious (they did their cheer routine in the middle of the Soarin line) but other than that they're fine. If anything it was the other guests that were worse. I saw A LOT of rude behavior, worse than the behavior I saw at Universal last week.
- The Polynesian room was very nice. We were in Moorea on the 3rd floor. We had an awesome view of fireworks (minus those Bungalows). I didn't have any issues with the room itself. The biggest problem is that the walls are thinner than tissue. I was woken up on saturday and sunday by the screaming kids in the room next to us. I could also hear everything the parents said. We really liked being in Moorea as it was super easy to walk to TTC to get to Epcot.
- On friday we ate at Kona Cafe and it wasn't as good as when we went a few months ago. We were VERY rushed and the restaurant seemed to be understaffed. Food was just okay, nothing special. Funny enough Disney sent me a survey about this specific meal and I made a point to mention those things as well as the menu being limited.
- My sister and I went to Trader Sam's on friday and we waited 1 1/2 hours. Drinks and service were great and fun as always. It becomes extra fun when it becomes adult only at 8. We saw someone get the black pearl too!
Overall we had a good time, despite the few negatives. I still recommend not doing Epcot on saturdays if you can help it. If you have to do a weekend, go on sunday instead.
- Genie+ isn't as useful at Epcot as MK or HS, but can be helpful if you have the extra budget. We decided to do Genie+ on Saturday and we managed to get Remy, Test Track, Soarin and Spaceship Earth. Frozen was sold out by 11 am but I bet if you "fiddle faddled", you could've grabbed it. We rope dropped Frozen so it wasn't a priority.
- I rode Guardians three times - 2 with VQ and 1 by ILL. I missed the VQ at 7 am on saturday but got it at the 1 pm drop without any issues. I was called back around 3 pm. In terms of wait time in the VQ, I waited around 55 minutes on saturday and around 10 on sunday. Also for the songs, I got Conga twice and Everybody Wants to Rule the World. So that makes 4 times that I've gotten Conga when riding this LOL
- Saturday was WAY busier than sunday. Like it was night and day in terms of crowd levels. We ended up leaving around 4 pm because it was just too much.
- The DVC lounge is really lame. It has a very sterile look to it and I'm 100% convinced they made the chairs as uncomfortable as possible so that people don't camp out there all day. The free soda was nice, though. I was also confused that we had to join a waitlist but when we went up there, there was NO ONE else there.
- Festival booth lines look long but they move relatively quickly. Booths that consistently had the longest waits were the ones in Mexico, France and Italy.
- The cheerleading groups were out in full force but they're not as bad as everyone makes them out to be. There was only 1 group that was really obnoxious (they did their cheer routine in the middle of the Soarin line) but other than that they're fine. If anything it was the other guests that were worse. I saw A LOT of rude behavior, worse than the behavior I saw at Universal last week.
- The Polynesian room was very nice. We were in Moorea on the 3rd floor. We had an awesome view of fireworks (minus those Bungalows). I didn't have any issues with the room itself. The biggest problem is that the walls are thinner than tissue. I was woken up on saturday and sunday by the screaming kids in the room next to us. I could also hear everything the parents said. We really liked being in Moorea as it was super easy to walk to TTC to get to Epcot.
- On friday we ate at Kona Cafe and it wasn't as good as when we went a few months ago. We were VERY rushed and the restaurant seemed to be understaffed. Food was just okay, nothing special. Funny enough Disney sent me a survey about this specific meal and I made a point to mention those things as well as the menu being limited.
- My sister and I went to Trader Sam's on friday and we waited 1 1/2 hours. Drinks and service were great and fun as always. It becomes extra fun when it becomes adult only at 8. We saw someone get the black pearl too!
Overall we had a good time, despite the few negatives. I still recommend not doing Epcot on saturdays if you can help it. If you have to do a weekend, go on sunday instead.
nesser1981
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2011
We went January 27-Feb 4th.
Things of note, we averaged about 8 miles, 20,000 steps ish on park days, with the exception of Epcot, we were at just over 10 miles.
We got in late Friday evening, we stayed off property (I know, the horror! LOL! We've actually never stayed on property).
1/28
Up and ready to go by 7 Saturday for AK, it was about 10 minutes from our condo, we got coffee, parked by 7:30 and were through security waiting by 7:45 to be let completely into the park.
At 8 am exactly we grabbed ILL for Flight of the Avatar for 4:55-5:55, my SIL and Inlaws were also with us, theirs ended up being an hour after ours.
From there we went to the Safari, then very short wait, then Expedition Everest, maybe 15 minutes, headed to Dino land, Dinosaur had 40 minute wait, so we skipped that, also we did do the little Tricatops Twirl. Lunch at Flame Tree, Jungle Trek, back to Africa for the Lion King, then to Pandora. In-laws waited in line for the Navi River Journey (we've done, didn't want to wait in an 1 hr line). We got in line for our ILL for Avatar, dinner after, back to Dinoland for Dinosaur (30 minute wait now), then we did Expedition Everest again (10 minutes), back to Pandora to see it all glowing, left the park by 7:50 pm
1/29 - Break Day - Disney Springs (So crowded) We joined the Gideon's Virtual Queue, they said 3 1/2 hours, took about 2. It was hard to walk it was so busy at the springs.
1/30 - MK (we'd planned it for Tuesday the 31st, but the Cast Appreciation event was the night, park closed early, so we had to rearrange plans). We did did Genie +. 7 am SIL and I booked Space Mountain for 10:30 am (kept modifying it through the morning to get it closer to 11:30). We also got an ILL for 7 Dwarfs at 6:30 - 7:30 when we booked as soon as the park opened. Rope dropped Jungle Cruise, then Big Thunder, back to Pirates, dole whips and then off to Fantasyland before 11 am. Space mountain at 11:30, scheduled Buzz at noon w/ some stacking. Lunch, Tea cups was a longer wait than I would have liked, 15-20 minutes. Took the train from Fantasyland back to Fronteirland. LL for Haunted Mansion at 2:30, snack at Gastons, Little Mermaid (wait about 30 minutes, maybe our longest wait of the day). LL Winnie the Pooh, LL Barnstormer, Mine train finally came up, LL Big Thunder, headed home, on the monorail by 7:35.
1/31 - Epcot (not my most strategic planning day). We did manage to get the virtual queue for Guardians, it originally said call back would be around 4:30 pm, but it ended up being at 1. I also ended up getting Genie + because I wanted to do Remy and had the money in the budget since I'd planned to purchase the ILL for Guardians, this may have been our downfall. I purchased it at 7:07 am and the first Remy spot was 6:30-7:30 pm. Started the day strong , Journey into Figment, Nemo & Friends, then club cool, Mexico, Grand Fiesta, Norway, Snacks, China, Germany and Italy, just as we were approaching the America pavilion, our boarding group was called, my FIL was just behind us, we were group 80 and he was 85, so his text came maybe 20 minutes after mine, we start heading back. Ride GoG. Amazing! (Now here are mistakes are made!) We did LL Soaring and LL Living with the land, at 11 am, I also scheduled a LL for Test Track for 4:55-5:55. No good! Looking back, but I'm not as familiar with Epcot as the other parks, I haven't been in 11 years and I planned, but didn't think we'd do a ton of rides, this was all fly by the seat of your pants. So we do the land stuff, head back into world showcase, Canada first this time, fish & chips in Great Britain, breeze by France because we're coming back for our ride, Morocco, Japan, pretty much skip America and back around for Test Track and then mission space. We're heading back to France when I get a push notification that Remy is DOWN!!! Say what? That's our last thing of the day, we can literally go home after. We regroup, hubby and boys go back to china for shopping, I take daughter to Japan for shopping, it comes back up, Remy finally comes back up, so we go back, but my feet are toast! Even with blister pads, Hokas, etc, I'm dying. We ride Remy, see none of France, it was also so hot that day, we did very little snacking/drinking around the world as we'd hoped, we only looked at one of the festival food booths. We did ride space ship earth and I walked from France to the parking lot in my socks.
2/1- Break DAY!! Homecomin' for lunch and another stop at Gideons (no virtual queue this time, only 10 minute wait). Disney springs wasn't busy at all.
2/2 - Hollywood Studios Genie +all the way and rope drop! In-laws and SIL joined us for this outing too, instructions were at 7 am book Slinky Dog no matter what time you get, we'll figure it out. LOL! SIL & I with our families got 10:30 - 11:30, in-laws got 12:20-1:20. When park opened we booked ILL for Rise and got 6:55-7:55. And we're off! LOL! Started with Tower of Terror, it went down, so we waited in line 45 minutes probably, but it was nice out. Rode it, Rockin' Roller Coaster had a decent wait by then, so we went to Toy Story Land, did Slinky Dog, nice cast members let my in-laws join us a little early for their LL since there were just the two of them. Then we LL for Toy Story Mania, Swirling Saucers LL for 11:30-12:30, we waited a bit for that, then LL Indiana Jones noon show, got there by 11:45. Lunch, then Muppets, Star Tours, coffee and shopping break, then off to Batuu. Smugglers Run LL 4:55, then LL Mickey & Minnie Runaway Railway 5:10-6:10, then we had Oga's reservations at 6:10, after that we went right into our Rise and Fantasmic at 7:45 (FYI, 15 minutes isn't early enough, this was my first time seeing it, I'd also not be to HS since 2012). And we had a Rock & Roller Coaster LL for 7:40-8:40. I played around a lot throughout the day and got pretty good at stacking Genie + having 3 scheduled at once w/ my ILL for Rise.
2/3 - Last Day of Parks! We didn't get there until about 10:30 this day. MK was the plan and then we upgraded our ticket (for free thanks to major pixie dust from a cast member that recognized my husband & I both for being vets) to a park hopper so we could go back to HS since we felt so rushed at the end of the night. I got Genie + because we were so under budget for the trip, but it rained and I only used it for 3 rides, Big Thunder, Space Mountain, Small World (everyone wanted to be inside at that point, LOL!) We also did the Tree House, Tiki Room, and Dumbo. We'd had plans to do things we'd skipped on Monday, but the rain and everyone really wanted to go back to HS, we were good. Plus the People Mover was down until we were leaving. Ugh! Next time! We were cold and wet, we ran back to our Airbnb to get dry clothes and jackets. We made it to HS by 4:30, all the early LL were gone by the time we got there and because we upgraded our tickets, I couldn't schedule the Genie + until I actually got to the park. We really just wanted to look around, do some shopping and eat. We went back to Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story land, shopped and were home by 7:30. It was maybe 15 minutes from our condo.
2/4 - home!
Post trip thoughts, Genie + at MK and HS is amazing. Do you needed it elsewhere, probably not. We didn't have it at AK and did everything there we wanted to.
Budget for the ILL if you want to do those rides, it's just easier. I loved knowing those were in the bag and could get on with my day.
Also, Epcot was so busy and I don't know it was because of the festival or construction, I don't go often enough to know, but MK felt average compared to when I've been in the parks, AK felt less busy. HS wasn't bad, until you got to Fantasmic, that was insane! Give yourself like an hour if you want to get in there and settle in.
Things of note, we averaged about 8 miles, 20,000 steps ish on park days, with the exception of Epcot, we were at just over 10 miles.
We got in late Friday evening, we stayed off property (I know, the horror! LOL! We've actually never stayed on property).
1/28
Up and ready to go by 7 Saturday for AK, it was about 10 minutes from our condo, we got coffee, parked by 7:30 and were through security waiting by 7:45 to be let completely into the park.
At 8 am exactly we grabbed ILL for Flight of the Avatar for 4:55-5:55, my SIL and Inlaws were also with us, theirs ended up being an hour after ours.
From there we went to the Safari, then very short wait, then Expedition Everest, maybe 15 minutes, headed to Dino land, Dinosaur had 40 minute wait, so we skipped that, also we did do the little Tricatops Twirl. Lunch at Flame Tree, Jungle Trek, back to Africa for the Lion King, then to Pandora. In-laws waited in line for the Navi River Journey (we've done, didn't want to wait in an 1 hr line). We got in line for our ILL for Avatar, dinner after, back to Dinoland for Dinosaur (30 minute wait now), then we did Expedition Everest again (10 minutes), back to Pandora to see it all glowing, left the park by 7:50 pm
1/29 - Break Day - Disney Springs (So crowded) We joined the Gideon's Virtual Queue, they said 3 1/2 hours, took about 2. It was hard to walk it was so busy at the springs.
1/30 - MK (we'd planned it for Tuesday the 31st, but the Cast Appreciation event was the night, park closed early, so we had to rearrange plans). We did did Genie +. 7 am SIL and I booked Space Mountain for 10:30 am (kept modifying it through the morning to get it closer to 11:30). We also got an ILL for 7 Dwarfs at 6:30 - 7:30 when we booked as soon as the park opened. Rope dropped Jungle Cruise, then Big Thunder, back to Pirates, dole whips and then off to Fantasyland before 11 am. Space mountain at 11:30, scheduled Buzz at noon w/ some stacking. Lunch, Tea cups was a longer wait than I would have liked, 15-20 minutes. Took the train from Fantasyland back to Fronteirland. LL for Haunted Mansion at 2:30, snack at Gastons, Little Mermaid (wait about 30 minutes, maybe our longest wait of the day). LL Winnie the Pooh, LL Barnstormer, Mine train finally came up, LL Big Thunder, headed home, on the monorail by 7:35.
1/31 - Epcot (not my most strategic planning day). We did manage to get the virtual queue for Guardians, it originally said call back would be around 4:30 pm, but it ended up being at 1. I also ended up getting Genie + because I wanted to do Remy and had the money in the budget since I'd planned to purchase the ILL for Guardians, this may have been our downfall. I purchased it at 7:07 am and the first Remy spot was 6:30-7:30 pm. Started the day strong , Journey into Figment, Nemo & Friends, then club cool, Mexico, Grand Fiesta, Norway, Snacks, China, Germany and Italy, just as we were approaching the America pavilion, our boarding group was called, my FIL was just behind us, we were group 80 and he was 85, so his text came maybe 20 minutes after mine, we start heading back. Ride GoG. Amazing! (Now here are mistakes are made!) We did LL Soaring and LL Living with the land, at 11 am, I also scheduled a LL for Test Track for 4:55-5:55. No good! Looking back, but I'm not as familiar with Epcot as the other parks, I haven't been in 11 years and I planned, but didn't think we'd do a ton of rides, this was all fly by the seat of your pants. So we do the land stuff, head back into world showcase, Canada first this time, fish & chips in Great Britain, breeze by France because we're coming back for our ride, Morocco, Japan, pretty much skip America and back around for Test Track and then mission space. We're heading back to France when I get a push notification that Remy is DOWN!!! Say what? That's our last thing of the day, we can literally go home after. We regroup, hubby and boys go back to china for shopping, I take daughter to Japan for shopping, it comes back up, Remy finally comes back up, so we go back, but my feet are toast! Even with blister pads, Hokas, etc, I'm dying. We ride Remy, see none of France, it was also so hot that day, we did very little snacking/drinking around the world as we'd hoped, we only looked at one of the festival food booths. We did ride space ship earth and I walked from France to the parking lot in my socks.
2/1- Break DAY!! Homecomin' for lunch and another stop at Gideons (no virtual queue this time, only 10 minute wait). Disney springs wasn't busy at all.
2/2 - Hollywood Studios Genie +all the way and rope drop! In-laws and SIL joined us for this outing too, instructions were at 7 am book Slinky Dog no matter what time you get, we'll figure it out. LOL! SIL & I with our families got 10:30 - 11:30, in-laws got 12:20-1:20. When park opened we booked ILL for Rise and got 6:55-7:55. And we're off! LOL! Started with Tower of Terror, it went down, so we waited in line 45 minutes probably, but it was nice out. Rode it, Rockin' Roller Coaster had a decent wait by then, so we went to Toy Story Land, did Slinky Dog, nice cast members let my in-laws join us a little early for their LL since there were just the two of them. Then we LL for Toy Story Mania, Swirling Saucers LL for 11:30-12:30, we waited a bit for that, then LL Indiana Jones noon show, got there by 11:45. Lunch, then Muppets, Star Tours, coffee and shopping break, then off to Batuu. Smugglers Run LL 4:55, then LL Mickey & Minnie Runaway Railway 5:10-6:10, then we had Oga's reservations at 6:10, after that we went right into our Rise and Fantasmic at 7:45 (FYI, 15 minutes isn't early enough, this was my first time seeing it, I'd also not be to HS since 2012). And we had a Rock & Roller Coaster LL for 7:40-8:40. I played around a lot throughout the day and got pretty good at stacking Genie + having 3 scheduled at once w/ my ILL for Rise.
2/3 - Last Day of Parks! We didn't get there until about 10:30 this day. MK was the plan and then we upgraded our ticket (for free thanks to major pixie dust from a cast member that recognized my husband & I both for being vets) to a park hopper so we could go back to HS since we felt so rushed at the end of the night. I got Genie + because we were so under budget for the trip, but it rained and I only used it for 3 rides, Big Thunder, Space Mountain, Small World (everyone wanted to be inside at that point, LOL!) We also did the Tree House, Tiki Room, and Dumbo. We'd had plans to do things we'd skipped on Monday, but the rain and everyone really wanted to go back to HS, we were good. Plus the People Mover was down until we were leaving. Ugh! Next time! We were cold and wet, we ran back to our Airbnb to get dry clothes and jackets. We made it to HS by 4:30, all the early LL were gone by the time we got there and because we upgraded our tickets, I couldn't schedule the Genie + until I actually got to the park. We really just wanted to look around, do some shopping and eat. We went back to Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story land, shopped and were home by 7:30. It was maybe 15 minutes from our condo.
2/4 - home!
Post trip thoughts, Genie + at MK and HS is amazing. Do you needed it elsewhere, probably not. We didn't have it at AK and did everything there we wanted to.
Budget for the ILL if you want to do those rides, it's just easier. I loved knowing those were in the bag and could get on with my day.
Also, Epcot was so busy and I don't know it was because of the festival or construction, I don't go often enough to know, but MK felt average compared to when I've been in the parks, AK felt less busy. HS wasn't bad, until you got to Fantasmic, that was insane! Give yourself like an hour if you want to get in there and settle in.
NSL
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 13, 2008
I read so many helpful posts prior to our trip to Epcot, I thought it may be helpful for me to share our experience. We planned a last minute trip for a long weekend, Feb. 3-6. We only visited the park one day (Sunday). We chose to visit Epcot for the one day. I woke up bright and early to attempt GoTG virtual line reservations. I did everything I read to do including having my husband help! My goal was to get LL for Remy and the virtual line reservation for GoTG at the 7 AM time. I purchased the Genie+ when I woke up and I had GoTG and Remy marked as favorites. I know you were only supposed to do one, but with both of us working on it we went this route. I tried to take some notes as we went throughout the day, so hopefully I can share more tips. Cut to the chase -- we did get GoTG at the 7 am time. I am so sorry I didn't write down the boarding group number we got. Originally it said we would be called back at 2:20 -- that quickly started moving up after the park opened. I got the message at 11:16 that our boarding group had been called. I will cover that more later on.
My LL for Remy was 9:05. We were staying onsite so we were able to enter the park at 8:30. We left the GF at 7:30ish and arrived to Epcot via the monorail about 30-40 minutes later. Longer than I was anticipating. We were immediately able to walk into Epcot. Since this was the first time I had gone in this way, I didn't immediately go to the right as I should have and went the way of guests staying offsite. I quickly figured it out and we went towards the World Showcase in an attempt to ride Frozen. As we started that way, my husband said he wanted to ride TT so we went to get in that line instead. It ended up working out better because TT shut down later in the day (as usual). A couple minutes before 8:30 they opened up the line heading towards TT and then at 8:30 exactly, they opened up the TT line. We were out of TT by 9.
Next, we headed towards Remy since we could use the LL at 9:05. Once we scanned in, I immediately got on to reserve the next LL. This one was going to be for Frozen. My return time was somewhere around 1:30, but I was going to be able to book my next LL about 11:15. After riding Remy (which we loved!), we grabbed a bite to eat at one of the QS in France. After eating, we headed to Soarin. When I first looked it said the wait was 20 minutes, but by the time we actually got there it had jumped to 45. We went ahead and stayed. It was about 10 at that time. The line ended up only being 25 minutes, so I am glad we waited.
After riding Soarin, we went next to Living With the Land since it is right next to it. By this time it was 10:45. The wait said 20 minutes, but based on the experience at Soarin, we didn't think it would actually take that long. It didn't. We were on the ride in 10 minutes.
Next, we decided to walk over to Nemo. I also was able to make my next LL reservation and the only other ride that was a must for us was Mission Space. The line was never long for Mission Space but since we had already rode or had a LL reservation for all the rides that were a must for us, we made it for Mission Space. As we were standing in line for Nemo (which was only about a 10 minute line), we got the message saying we could go to GoTG. This was 11:16. We rode Nemo and then walked over there immediately after.
We arrived in the line for GoTG at 11:38. It took 28 minutes to get to the room where you start the experience. After we entered the room, it was another 22 minutes before we were in line for the actual ride. From the entrance to the ride to exit of the ride it took a little over an hour. I don't know what I was expecting, but that was longer than I thought it would be. Well worth it but longer. Since my Mission Space LL were sooner than what we would be done with this ride, I kept pushing it back. We walked there after getting off.
From there, we were able to ride Mission Space, get some lunch and head to Frozen at 1:30. After that, I kept getting LL for whatever I could. This was my mistake, but I didn't realize that you could only get one LL for each ride per day. Clearly, I read over that part. I guess I never thought I would have the time to ride a ride more than once. We normally visit at the busiest times of the year (summer and Christmas), so this was a very different experience for us. In the end we rode Soarin 2 times, Living with the Land 2 times, Mission Space 2 times, Frozen once, GoTG once, Remy once, Spaceship Earth once, TT once, and we walked around the World Showcase multiple times. My husband likes to continually visit Germany for a beer We ended the day in Canada with dinner at Le Cellier. It was an excellent day! If you made it this far and have any questions that I may be able to help with, please feel free to ask.
My LL for Remy was 9:05. We were staying onsite so we were able to enter the park at 8:30. We left the GF at 7:30ish and arrived to Epcot via the monorail about 30-40 minutes later. Longer than I was anticipating. We were immediately able to walk into Epcot. Since this was the first time I had gone in this way, I didn't immediately go to the right as I should have and went the way of guests staying offsite. I quickly figured it out and we went towards the World Showcase in an attempt to ride Frozen. As we started that way, my husband said he wanted to ride TT so we went to get in that line instead. It ended up working out better because TT shut down later in the day (as usual). A couple minutes before 8:30 they opened up the line heading towards TT and then at 8:30 exactly, they opened up the TT line. We were out of TT by 9.
Next, we headed towards Remy since we could use the LL at 9:05. Once we scanned in, I immediately got on to reserve the next LL. This one was going to be for Frozen. My return time was somewhere around 1:30, but I was going to be able to book my next LL about 11:15. After riding Remy (which we loved!), we grabbed a bite to eat at one of the QS in France. After eating, we headed to Soarin. When I first looked it said the wait was 20 minutes, but by the time we actually got there it had jumped to 45. We went ahead and stayed. It was about 10 at that time. The line ended up only being 25 minutes, so I am glad we waited.
After riding Soarin, we went next to Living With the Land since it is right next to it. By this time it was 10:45. The wait said 20 minutes, but based on the experience at Soarin, we didn't think it would actually take that long. It didn't. We were on the ride in 10 minutes.
Next, we decided to walk over to Nemo. I also was able to make my next LL reservation and the only other ride that was a must for us was Mission Space. The line was never long for Mission Space but since we had already rode or had a LL reservation for all the rides that were a must for us, we made it for Mission Space. As we were standing in line for Nemo (which was only about a 10 minute line), we got the message saying we could go to GoTG. This was 11:16. We rode Nemo and then walked over there immediately after.
We arrived in the line for GoTG at 11:38. It took 28 minutes to get to the room where you start the experience. After we entered the room, it was another 22 minutes before we were in line for the actual ride. From the entrance to the ride to exit of the ride it took a little over an hour. I don't know what I was expecting, but that was longer than I thought it would be. Well worth it but longer. Since my Mission Space LL were sooner than what we would be done with this ride, I kept pushing it back. We walked there after getting off.
From there, we were able to ride Mission Space, get some lunch and head to Frozen at 1:30. After that, I kept getting LL for whatever I could. This was my mistake, but I didn't realize that you could only get one LL for each ride per day. Clearly, I read over that part. I guess I never thought I would have the time to ride a ride more than once. We normally visit at the busiest times of the year (summer and Christmas), so this was a very different experience for us. In the end we rode Soarin 2 times, Living with the Land 2 times, Mission Space 2 times, Frozen once, GoTG once, Remy once, Spaceship Earth once, TT once, and we walked around the World Showcase multiple times. My husband likes to continually visit Germany for a beer
We ended the day in Canada with dinner at Le Cellier. It was an excellent day! If you made it this far and have any questions that I may be able to help with, please feel free to ask.Thank you for the review. I didn’t know GOTG was at Epcot and had thought it was at HS. Is this rollercoaster not for faint of heart? What would you compare it to against other Disney coasters? Thank you!I read so many helpful posts prior to our trip to Epcot, I thought it may be helpful for me to share our experience. We planned a last minute trip for a long weekend, Feb. 3-6. We only visited the park one day (Sunday). We chose to visit Epcot for the one day. I woke up bright and early to attempt GoTG virtual line reservations. I did everything I read to do including having my husband help! My goal was to get LL for Remy and the virtual line reservation for GoTG at the 7 AM time. I purchased the Genie+ when I woke up and I had GoTG and Remy marked as favorites. I know you were only supposed to do one, but with both of us working on it we went this route. I tried to take some notes as we went throughout the day, so hopefully I can share more tips. Cut to the chase -- we did get GoTG at the 7 am time. I am so sorry I didn't write down the boarding group number we got. Originally it said we would be called back at 2:20 -- that quickly started moving up after the park opened. I got the message at 11:16 that our boarding group had been called. I will cover that more later on.
My LL for Remy was 9:05. We were staying onsite so we were able to enter the park at 8:30. We left the GF at 7:30ish and arrived to Epcot via the monorail about 30-40 minutes later. Longer than I was anticipating. We were immediately able to walk into Epcot. Since this was the first time I had gone in this way, I didn't immediately go to the right as I should have and went the way of guests staying offsite. I quickly figured it out and we went towards the World Showcase in an attempt to ride Frozen. As we started that way, my husband said he wanted to ride TT so we went to get in that line instead. It ended up working out better because TT shut down later in the day (as usual). A couple minutes before 8:30 they opened up the line heading towards TT and then at 8:30 exactly, they opened up the TT line. We were out of TT by 9.
Next, we headed towards Remy since we could use the LL at 9:05. Once we scanned in, I immediately got on to reserve the next LL. This one was going to be for Frozen. My return time was somewhere around 1:30, but I was going to be able to book my next LL about 11:15. After riding Remy (which we loved!), we grabbed a bite to eat at one of the QS in France. After eating, we headed to Soarin. When I first looked it said the wait was 20 minutes, but by the time we actually got there it had jumped to 45. We went ahead and stayed. It was about 10 at that time. The line ended up only being 25 minutes, so I am glad we waited.
After riding Soarin, we went next to Living With the Land since it is right next to it. By this time it was 10:45. The wait said 20 minutes, but based on the experience at Soarin, we didn't think it would actually take that long. It didn't. We were on the ride in 10 minutes.
Next, we decided to walk over to Nemo. I also was able to make my next LL reservation and the only other ride that was a must for us was Mission Space. The line was never long for Mission Space but since we had already rode or had a LL reservation for all the rides that were a must for us, we made it for Mission Space. As we were standing in line for Nemo (which was only about a 10 minute line), we got the message saying we could go to GoTG. This was 11:16. We rode Nemo and then walked over there immediately after.
We arrived in the line for GoTG at 11:38. It took 28 minutes to get to the room where you start the experience. After we entered the room, it was another 22 minutes before we were in line for the actual ride. From the entrance to the ride to exit of the ride it took a little over an hour. I don't know what I was expecting, but that was longer than I thought it would be. Well worth it but longer. Since my Mission Space LL were sooner than what we would be done with this ride, I kept pushing it back. We walked there after getting off.
From there, we were able to ride Mission Space, get some lunch and head to Frozen at 1:30. After that, I kept getting LL for whatever I could. This was my mistake, but I didn't realize that you could only get one LL for each ride per day. Clearly, I read over that part. I guess I never thought I would have the time to ride a ride more than once. We normally visit at the busiest times of the year (summer and Christmas), so this was a very different experience for us. In the end we rode Soarin 2 times, Living with the Land 2 times, Mission Space 2 times, Frozen once, GoTG once, Remy once, Spaceship Earth once, TT once, and we walked around the World Showcase multiple times. My husband likes to continually visit Germany for a beer
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2010
I would recommend you look on the main TPAS board as there are MANY reviews of GotG there. The intent of this thread is for guests to share their recent experiences in the park.
Thanks for understanding!
At HS today. Got here around 815am. All big rides were down. Rise of the resistance, slinky dog, smugglers run and now rockin roller coaster!
Crazy waits because of this. I have rise for 820am but it hasn't been up yet today.
It's hard to plan rope drop when so much is down. We didn't even get on a rise yet. Just walking around the park enjoying the beautiful weather. We have lunch reservations and waiting for rise of the resistance.
Definitely annoying.
Crazy waits because of this. I have rise for 820am but it hasn't been up yet today.
It's hard to plan rope drop when so much is down. We didn't even get on a rise yet. Just walking around the park enjoying the beautiful weather. We have lunch reservations and waiting for rise of the resistance.
Definitely annoying.
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2010
All but rise up now but still very disappointing and now all headliners (Slinky, Toy Story, MMRR, RnR, ToT) are near 2 hour waits.
I feel badly for people who only have 1 DHS day and this happens, especially when the parks are busy due to long weekend attendance.Share this page
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