Is SWGE impacting your trip? Discuss your plans here!

[rteetz]

I am a hair’s breadth from cancelling our September trip. It’s just not turning out to be the trip we had envisioned.

Curious as to why.

 

[Runnsally]

With these very early openings, it sets the expectation that you need to get to the parks at a similarly early time or else risk difficult crowds/lines. Adds an extra layer of stress, especially when trying to provide as good an experience as possible for kids.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

With these very early openings, it sets the expectation that you need to get to the parks at a similarly early time or else risk difficult crowds/lines. Adds an extra layer of stress, especially when trying to provide as good an experience as possible for kids.

I have been at the most crowded times, and possibly the least crowded times. While I definitely prefer less crowds, it is not impossible to get around during busy times. First of all (positive thinking here) I would imagine the early days of the opening to be busy. But, 3 or 4 weeks in? Disney is way too expensive to plan a trip based on an attraction being half finished. I just wouldn't do it. We had already planned to go in September, so I'm going to make the most of it. My son, OTOH, wants to wait until it's fully open. Plus, with little ones, you will end up in some of the less popular areas. It may also be easier to get Slinky Dog. We went last year,, and for the first time, we braved MNSSHP on Halloween. It was a blast, and we did everything we wanted. I would do it again, and I am this year, but in September. Just get there early (doesn't have to be 6 am) and take a mid day break. Let the kids swim, rest, recharge, then go back in the evening. It works. Another of my mottos: Rain is my friend. Throw on that poncho and head out. It usually doesn't last long and it clears the park. We had reservations for EMM Toy Story, and while at dinner the night before, we had a downpour. After it dried up, we had a 20 minute wait for SDD and walked on AS, and TSMM twice. I canceled the EMM and saved us over 500.00. Go, and have fun! There's plenty to do, and places to go that aren't crowded.

Edit to add: I know with a trip such as this, you want everything to be perfect, but just don't stress. Some of our best moments last trip weren't planned, and the ones I planned and stressed over just weren't what I had hoped. You can't force fun. I asked the kids (ages 6 and 8) what their favorite thing was last year, and they said driving the car on the speedway at MK. Huh! Not even the Cinderella dinner. That probably came in 10th place, lol.

 

[Pucks104]

Curious as to why.

This trip is just the 2 of us as our children are grown. We were last at Disney 30 yrs ago. My DH has some health issues that make long lines unmanageable especially in the morning. He also works a more or less 2nd shift schedule so usually goes to bed about 3:00 am and gets up about 10:00am to head to work by 2:00ish then home about 1:00 am. 6:00 am is in the middle of his “night”. Even if I wake him to go get in line I doubt he will feel very good or enjoy the experience. Disney was always going to be a challenge though a traditional September crowd level felt doable especially if we could purchase some after hours events.
Then GE happened and I am afraid crowd levels will be undoable and that the early morning crowds will make lines terribly long unless one can be there amongst the earliest.

 

[rteetz]

This trip is just the 2 of us as our children are grown. We were last at Disney 30 yrs ago. My DH has some health issues that make long lines unmanageable especially in the morning. He also works a more or less 2nd shift schedule so usually goes to bed about 3:00 am and gets up about 10:00am to head to work by 2:00ish then home about 1:00 am. 6:00 am is in the middle of his “night”. Even if I wake him to go get in line I doubt he will feel very good or enjoy the experience. Disney was always going to be a challenge though a traditional September crowd level felt doable especially if we could purchase some after hours events.
Then GE happened and I am afraid crowd levels will be undoable and that the early morning crowds will make lines terribly long unless one can be there amongst the earliest.

Understandable. I would say though that even without SWGE crowds would still have been pretty decent. September isn’t what it used to be at WDW.

 

[Runnsally]

I have been at the most crowded times, and possibly the least crowded times. While I definitely prefer less crowds, it is not impossible to get around during busy times. First of all (positive thinking here) I would imagine the early days of the opening to be busy. But, 3 or 4 weeks in? Disney is way too expensive to plan a trip based on an attraction being half finished. I just wouldn't do it. We had already planned to go in September, so I'm going to make the most of it. My son, OTOH, wants to wait until it's fully open. Plus, with little ones, you will end up in some of the less popular areas. It may also be easier to get Slinky Dog. We went last year,, and for the first time, we braved MNSSHP on Halloween. It was a blast, and we did everything we wanted. I would do it again, and I am this year, but in September. Just get there early (doesn't have to be 6 am) and take a mid day break. Let the kids swim, rest, recharge, then go back in the evening. It works. Another of my mottos: Rain is my friend. Throw on that poncho and head out. It usually doesn't last long and it clears the park. We had reservations for EMM Toy Story, and while at dinner the night before, we had a downpour. After it dried up, we had a 20 minute wait for SDD and walked on AS, and TSMM twice. I canceled the EMM and saved us over 500.00. Go, and have fun! There's plenty to do, and places to go that aren't crowded.

Edit to add: I know with a trip such as this, you want everything to be perfect, but just don't stress. Some of our best moments last trip weren't planned, and the ones I planned and stressed over just weren't what I had hoped. You can't force fun. I asked the kids (ages 6 and 8) what their favorite thing was last year, and they said driving the car on the speedway at MK. Huh! Not even the Cinderella dinner. That probably came in 10th place, lol.

Agree with all of this, especially the part about setting the bar at perfection!

 

[Mambo Junkie]

This trip is just the 2 of us as our children are grown. We were last at Disney 30 yrs ago. My DH has some health issues that make long lines unmanageable especially in the morning. He also works a more or less 2nd shift schedule so usually goes to bed about 3:00 am and gets up about 10:00am to head to work by 2:00ish then home about 1:00 am. 6:00 am is in the middle of his “night”. Even if I wake him to go get in line I doubt he will feel very good or enjoy the experience. Disney was always going to be a challenge though a traditional September crowd level felt doable especially if we could purchase some after hours events.
Then GE happened and I am afraid crowd levels will be undoable and that the early morning crowds will make lines terribly long unless one can be there amongst the earliest.

Maybe you could move it up a bit? Before SWGE opens? This trip is just me and the husband as well. We are both 65, and he has had neck and knee surgery. We just go our speed and do what we like. Since I have been primary sitter for the 2 little ones, I have sat out many a ride for the little one to sleep or just because she couldn't go on it. I just enjoy being there although our last trip without the kids I did so much enjoy Space Mountain again. Also looking forward to ToT. We are doing a party night, too. We will see what happens.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Agree with all of this, especially the part about setting the bar at perfection!

Last year when we decided to cancel EMM the next morning, we decided to go to MK. While waiting for them to ride SDD I got fps for the next day for both SDMT and Peter Pan. We also only have 1 dining reservation going into this trip. It's always fun to check the day/night before and the next morning to see what's available. We are never disappointed. Truth be known, I really only want 1 fp this trip, for FOP. I'd love to get DH the new SW ride, but not counting on it. I'll probably get ToT but it's not necessary.

 

[Pucks104]

Maybe you could move it up a bit? Before SWGE opens? This trip is just me and the husband as well. We are both 65, and he has had neck and knee surgery. We just go our speed and do what we like. Since I have been primary sitter for the 2 little ones, I have sat out many a ride for the little one to sleep or just because she couldn't go on it. I just enjoy being there although our last trip without the kids I did so much enjoy Space Mountain again. Also looking forward to ToT. We are doing a party night, too. We will see what happens.

I have been looking at this though it comes at a substantial cost. Loss of free dining and $200 per airline ticket to make a change to different dates.

 

[FutureDisneyEventPlanner]

I'll be at Hollywood for one day of my trip a week after Galaxy's Edge opens. And I plan to be there in line before 6 am! I was grumpy about it at first but I'm hoping those 3 extra hours will help me get in not only the Star War's ride, but also Toy Story and my other favorites.

Also, I have the chance to say I got to see Galaxy's Edge a week after opening, which is pretty cool.

 

[Pucks104]

So DH and I are considering ditching Disney and flying into Orlando so we don’t have to change the flights and seeing other sights in Florida. We could rent a car and explore. We haven’t really spent time in Fla since childhood aside from the week at Disney in 1988. What would you do if you had a week and enough $ to pay for a week at the Yacht Club but were leaving Disney out of the equation?

 

[ballonewb]

I’m still trying to figure out why so many people are upset at swge impacting there trip. I’ve seen people complain about every aspect of it and I don’t understand. If you don’t want to deal with the crowds then don’t go. Pretty sure disney made decisions knowing they won’t make everyone happy but trying to make the best out of a new land that will be popular for years to come.

 

[Pucks104]

. If you don’t want to deal with the crowds then don’t go.
That’s exactly what we are thinking!

 

[yulilin3]

So DH and I are considering ditching Disney and flying into Orlando so we don’t have to change the flights and seeing other sights in Florida. We could rent a car and explore. We haven’t really spent time in Fla since childhood aside from the week at Disney in 1988. What would you do if you had a week and enough $ to pay for a week at the Yacht Club but were leaving Disney out of the equation?

Stay at universal and go to the parks with Express pass

 

[Tiggerlover91]

We booked a week long trip for the last full week in September, purposely hoping to visit before SWGE opened. With the addition of Extra Extra Magic Hours to handle the park attendance, I'm thinking we should cancel and re-book in early 2020. I don't want to feel compelled to be at the park at 6 am with a 7 and 4 yr old in order to get a few rides to work around the crowds.

Is this an overreaction or are others thinking about changing plans as well ?

You don't have to feel compelled about being at the park at 6am. If that's too hard to do with a 4 and 7 year old, then don't do it. Like I said to others, I will say to you...if you think you should cancel, then do so, but is it really necessary? Isn't modifying your plans MUCH easier than booking a whole new vacation and then more than likely having to pay more than what you are now? Understand in early 2020, DHS could still be nuts because of SWGE. I'm told this land opening is going to be even beyond what it was when Pandora opened in AK. Star Wars fans are a whole different ball game and they will continue to come until one, they get bored, or two something better happens someplace else. In the end the decision is yours no matter what the wonderful DISers say here. I just hope you don't cancel. As another poster said, if you have the means and time to go in September, then go.

I am a hair’s breadth from cancelling our September trip. It’s just not turning out to be the trip we had envisioned.

Why? The Star Wars opening? The extra, extra magic hours? I'm not trying to be rude. I suppose because I'm locked into certain times I can travel, when I decide to go...no matter what happens on Disney's end...I'm going. The ONLY thing stopping me from going to Disney is an emergency with my family. Help me to understand your situation a little better please?

 

[Pucks104]

You don't have to feel compelled about being at the park at 6am. If that's too hard to do with a 4 and 7 year old, then don't do it. Like I said to others, I will say to you...if you think you should cancel, then do so, but is it really necessary? Isn't modifying your plans MUCH easier than booking a whole new vacation and then more than likely having to pay more than what you are now? Understand in early 2020, DHS could still be nuts because of SWGE. I'm told this land opening is going to be even beyond what it was when Pandora opened in AK. Star Wars fans are a whole different ball game and they will continue to come until one, they get bored, or two something better happens someplace else. In the end the decision is yours no matter what the wonderful DISers say here. I just hope you don't cancel. As another poster said, if you have the means and time to go in September, then go.



Why? The Star Wars opening? The extra, extra magic hours? I'm not trying to be rude. I suppose because I'm locked into certain times I can travel, when I decide to go...no matter what happens on Disney's end...I'm going. The ONLY thing stopping me from going to Disney is an emergency with my family. Help me to understand your situation a little better please?

DH can’t change his week of vacation to earlier so September 16-23 is our vacation week. We booked our Disney trip in September specifically because SWGE was to open in late 2019 and we would not have to deal with those crowds. There is so much that we haven’t seen at Disney that SWGE wasn’t really something we felt we would even have time for so we decided to book before it opened. Now we are right in the middle of the first few weeks of SWGE. Disney’s expanding park hours as much as they have causes me to be even more concerned about crowds than if they had done nothing. The cost of personnel hours, extra ride maintenance due to longer hours of operation, extra food, security, etc. are business expenses that impact the bottom line and no business is going to spend that money unless they feel like they absolutely have to.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

DH can’t change his week of vacation to earlier so September 16-23 is our vacation week. We booked our Disney trip in September specifically because SWGE was to open in late 2019 and we would not have to deal with those crowds. There is so much that we haven’t seen at Disney that SWGE wasn’t really something we felt we would even have time for so we decided to book before it opened. Now we are right in the middle of the first few weeks of SWGE. Disney’s expanding park hours as much as they have causes me to be even more concerned about crowds than if they had done nothing. The cost of personnel hours, extra ride maintenance due to longer hours of operation, extra food, security, etc. are business expenses that impact the bottom line and no business is going to spend that money unless they feel like they absolutely have to.

Okay, I understand. Thank you! I think one of the sole reasons Disney expanded park hours to MK and AK was to alleviate some of the crowds at DHS. That place is going to be a hot Disney mess for who knows how long!! But that's to be expected. You are absolutely right that Disney will not spend it if they feel they don't need to, so the fact they are making the decision BEFORE they see how it goes in Disneyland says a lot. I know that we really can't compare the two...apples to oranges, but we'll have some idea what Disney World MAY be in for when their time comes.
I think you should still go. Had you planned to go to the Studios? If so, are you okay NOT going this trip. We haven't been in 18 years, so if it were me, I'd be okay missing the Studios one more year. But it's not me and it's not that easy for everyone unfortunately. I DO hope you still go and can just change things around so you can still enjoy your trip! GOOD LUCK!

 

[Kbosch]

I’m still trying to figure out why so many people are upset at swge impacting there trip. I’ve seen people complain about every aspect of it and I don’t understand. If you don’t want to deal with the crowds then don’t go. Pretty sure disney made decisions knowing they won’t make everyone happy but trying to make the best out of a new land that will be popular for years to come.

The people who are complaining are those who booked a trip at this time of year specifically to avoid the SW crowds. I moved my trip up by 6 months thinking I would be ahead of it since September is not "late fall". And while it's easy to tell people to just not go, I would think most people don't have hundreds of dollars to throw away when they've already bought non-refundable airline tickets.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

So DH and I are considering ditching Disney and flying into Orlando so we don’t have to change the flights and seeing other sights in Florida. We could rent a car and explore. We haven’t really spent time in Fla since childhood aside from the week at Disney in 1988. What would you do if you had a week and enough $ to pay for a week at the Yacht Club but were leaving Disney out of the equation?

I would stay at a Universal resort instead and take advantage of the Skip the Lines pass (with certain hotels) I can find enough to spend 3 days there. I would go to Sea World, which I love but rarely have time for, and probably go over to Tampa to Busch Gardens.

ETA: I don’t really enjoy Disney Springs any more so that would be out (for me) but I might have to go check out Epcot. Food and Wine is fun, just don’t go on a Saturday or Sunday. My big issue is transportation. I would probably Uber or Lyft. Assuming the strike is over.

 

[WaltsMartini]

Background: This will be my son's first (4) and my husband's second Disney trip. I LOVE Disney; my husband could care less. However, my husband does love having fun with our son, so this was supposed to be a trip to "ease him into it" and hopefully we can become an every year (or at least every other year) Disney vacation family.

Important info: My husband HATES crowds. I was going to rely heavily on utilizing FPs, play areas for my son (Tom Sawyer Island, Fantasyland splash pads, Boneyard) and nice dining experiences to be less ride/crowd heavy, and to be able to tour from 9 - 12 and then 4 - 7 to avoid the highest crowd times.

Original Plan: In January, I booked our trip for 9/11 - 9/15. Perfect for light crowds, a nice short trip to visit 3 of the 4 parks, including seeing Toy Story Land, which is my son's favorite movie. Plan was MK, AK, DS (1/2 day), Disney Springs in the evening, and then head home. We got BoG for our MK day and Tusker House for our AK day. Not too much, not too little, juuuust right.

and then: The big announcement - so much for a peaceful vacation, two weeks after the opening of Galaxy's Edge! I did lots of re-jiggering our plan. After much debate, I decided that we would just skip DS all together. We could still do MK, AK, and then another half day at MK, since I think my son will love it. We would avoid any EMHs, avoid MK on the Halloween Party. Still OK.

AND THEN: Found out this past weekend that there will be Extra Extra Morning Magic hours at MK and AK - so 7 am opening for us! We would have had NO problem getting to any of the parks by 8:30 a.m. for a 9 a.m. opening, and maybe even by 8 a.m. However, there is just no way I'm getting a 4 year old and my husband to a park for a 7 a.m. opening time. Not. Happening.

So should I move my trip? Due to work and other vacation commitments, the only other dates that really work for us would be 8/14 - 8/18. Crowds are projected to be higher overall during that time; however, we could visit DS and see Toy Story Land, and we would avoid the EMHs and still be able to be at the parks for opening.

The only other option would be to postpone entirely and try for the first week of January. However, I feel like that's a crap shoot - what if Disney opens the other Star Wars ride then? Then I'm right back in the same boat, AND I've delayed the trip another 5 months (I have not been to Disney in 6 years due to having kids - I am ready to get back to my happy place!)

What are your thoughts???