Just got back from a week at POR; my first time back since 2019. So many changes since my last visit and a lot of mixed feelings. Without further adieu:
Day 1 (Saturday): AK. I was super jet lagged this day and couldn't get up in time for the FOP fast pass my sister purchased. My sister managed the Genie+ on this trip and got up faithfully at 7am each Disney day, which was a little bit crazy to me as I could never do this on vacation. Her use of Genie+ absolutely made a difference as most rides were walk-ons for us, despite the parks being SO busy. The line for Everest was over 2 hours I believe and snaking well outside the ride pavilion but we were on & off in minutes with the ILL purchase. Got to go to Rafiki's on the train for the first time and it was so worth it, went on Bugs Life which is always so fun. Became so incredibly exhausted by the crowds that I went back to the resort to crash some more.
Day 2 (Sunday): Epcot. Y'all... I think this is my new favourite park. Guardians adds so much and the food, shopping, entertainment is all just top tier. My sister got us an ILL purchase for Guardians at 7am and then we joined a virtual queue at 1pm for a 2nd ride. Quite honestly I am getting old and this ride pushed my limits a little but I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who is up for it. On our 2nd ride, the ride failed at the very moment of launch, so we were sitting in suspense in the dark for about 10 minutes until we suddenly launched. There were MANY issues with rides breaking down on this trip which was a little ridiculous for the cost. Ate at Chefs De France which was the only Epcot food that was very disappointing. Portion was pitifully small, food was poorly cooked, and the only thing that impressed me about it was how quickly they got us in and out. Also did Soarin', Remy's, 3 Caballeros, and Spaceship Earth. Did not get to do the Land or Frozen unfortunately. Have never done Mission Space and never will!
Day 3 (Monday): Resort Day, went to Disney Springs and saw a movie and did Fantasia mini-golf which was fun but not special. If it had been warmer it would have been great to go swimming as I love the pools at POR.
Day 4 (Tuesday): Universal Studios!! My first time since 2000 I think? So many changes but nowhere near worth it for me. The rollercoaster made me feel awful, and every other experience was basically a screen with a storyline that i found impossible to follow. Just flashes and bangs (again I am getting old lol). On the other hand, The Mummy was fun but TOO tame. The locker set up was really cool and the quick service food as terrible as Disney's.
Day 5 (Wednesday): Hollywood Studios. Did ROTR which was definitely amazing but again seen thru the eyes of someone who had the privilege of an ILL purchase. Not sure I'd love it after a 2 hour wait and in every case I found all the parks were too busy to be enjoyed without proper use & payment towards the almighty Genie+. Smugglers Run was super fun as well but way too dependant on your party. We got hooked up with some very very old folks who were assigned as pilots and who had NO interest in piloting the ship. It made for a very rough ride but it was still pretty cool. Tower of Terror was another favourite (of course) but all in all this park remains my least favourite and without the clearest direction. Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway was a definite highlight as well, definitely recommend that to everyone.
Day 6 (Thursday): Magic Kingdom. No visit is complete without a visit to the Magic Kingdom, and as I get older I am really starting to appreciate the tamer rides all over again. My body can't handle too many thrills anymore and Space Mountain felt terrible to be honest - probably the worst ride of the trip. Got to go on Splash one last time and I so look forward to the refresh. I love Princess & the Frog & New Orleans so I think the retheme will be amazing (though I love the OG of course as well). Big Thunder Mtn was another highlight but I had never seen the line so long!! I had visited in January in 2017 and April in 2019 and what a contrast... I have never been at the parks this busy. I guess I can't say if they are busy since I don't go often enough, but to me... they seem SO SO busy and it absolutely affected my enjoyment unfortunately. Ate at Cinderellas Royal Table which was another huge disappointment, as the portions were again miniscule and the food was subpar at best (imo, my family liked theirs a little more than me). $70/pp!
Day 7 (Friday): Here is where things really derailed. This was meant to be an Island of Adventures day but after dinner at MK I came back to the hotel room and started to feel a tickle in my throat, and the next morning I felt I distinctly had a cold. Throughout this trip I had noticed A LOT of people coughing so perhaps it was inevitable, but there was no way I was fit to do anything but stay in the room and basically isolate myself as though I had covid. So we just stayed in and watched TV all day. Literally hundreds of dollars lost as we had purchased ultimate express passes for this day in advance (do not recommend, buy that the day of to avoid this circumstance). Overall I have to say travelling to Disney is not at all safe if you are worried about catching covid or any other illness as the whole time I felt VERY exposed to germs.
Day 8 (Saturday): Flew home. Half the people around me sounded sicker than me (one even having a full blown medical emergency on board) so I didn't feel too bad flying while ill. I have so far only been mildly ill so not presenting a lot of symptoms.
Summary: I still love Disney, and I will absolutely go back once and if the revenge travel calms down. I am an off-season Disney traveller and I was not used to the level of busy I encountered. I also have to say I felt like an absolute rube fool buying anything and everything at Disney. 6.25 for a Mickey bar? 5 bucks for a coke? And I'm Canadian so times it all by 1.3 at least and every day I was just bleeding money. And not like you are getting quality for the cost either!! The quick service food across the Disney bubble is appallingly bad for the most part (one notable exception being Connections Cafe at Epcot). I am also really disappointed with the new Disney class system that awards a different experience for those willing to pay an additional hundreds on top of the hundreds already spent for park admission. I'm really not sure I would have enjoyed my trip as much without Genie+ and ILL purchases and that just sucks. Finally, I really REALLY hope with the removal of Chapek we may see the return of Magical Express. I rented a car for the first time and boy oh boy, do I miss that bus. It really made going to WDW like an all inclusive vacation and I miss that.
Day 1 (Saturday): AK. I was super jet lagged this day and couldn't get up in time for the FOP fast pass my sister purchased. My sister managed the Genie+ on this trip and got up faithfully at 7am each Disney day, which was a little bit crazy to me as I could never do this on vacation. Her use of Genie+ absolutely made a difference as most rides were walk-ons for us, despite the parks being SO busy. The line for Everest was over 2 hours I believe and snaking well outside the ride pavilion but we were on & off in minutes with the ILL purchase. Got to go to Rafiki's on the train for the first time and it was so worth it, went on Bugs Life which is always so fun. Became so incredibly exhausted by the crowds that I went back to the resort to crash some more.
Day 2 (Sunday): Epcot. Y'all... I think this is my new favourite park. Guardians adds so much and the food, shopping, entertainment is all just top tier. My sister got us an ILL purchase for Guardians at 7am and then we joined a virtual queue at 1pm for a 2nd ride. Quite honestly I am getting old and this ride pushed my limits a little but I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who is up for it. On our 2nd ride, the ride failed at the very moment of launch, so we were sitting in suspense in the dark for about 10 minutes until we suddenly launched. There were MANY issues with rides breaking down on this trip which was a little ridiculous for the cost. Ate at Chefs De France which was the only Epcot food that was very disappointing. Portion was pitifully small, food was poorly cooked, and the only thing that impressed me about it was how quickly they got us in and out. Also did Soarin', Remy's, 3 Caballeros, and Spaceship Earth. Did not get to do the Land or Frozen unfortunately. Have never done Mission Space and never will!
Day 3 (Monday): Resort Day, went to Disney Springs and saw a movie and did Fantasia mini-golf which was fun but not special. If it had been warmer it would have been great to go swimming as I love the pools at POR.
Day 4 (Tuesday): Universal Studios!! My first time since 2000 I think? So many changes but nowhere near worth it for me. The rollercoaster made me feel awful, and every other experience was basically a screen with a storyline that i found impossible to follow. Just flashes and bangs (again I am getting old lol). On the other hand, The Mummy was fun but TOO tame. The locker set up was really cool and the quick service food as terrible as Disney's.
Day 5 (Wednesday): Hollywood Studios. Did ROTR which was definitely amazing but again seen thru the eyes of someone who had the privilege of an ILL purchase. Not sure I'd love it after a 2 hour wait and in every case I found all the parks were too busy to be enjoyed without proper use & payment towards the almighty Genie+. Smugglers Run was super fun as well but way too dependant on your party. We got hooked up with some very very old folks who were assigned as pilots and who had NO interest in piloting the ship. It made for a very rough ride but it was still pretty cool. Tower of Terror was another favourite (of course) but all in all this park remains my least favourite and without the clearest direction. Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway was a definite highlight as well, definitely recommend that to everyone.
Day 6 (Thursday): Magic Kingdom. No visit is complete without a visit to the Magic Kingdom, and as I get older I am really starting to appreciate the tamer rides all over again. My body can't handle too many thrills anymore and Space Mountain felt terrible to be honest - probably the worst ride of the trip. Got to go on Splash one last time and I so look forward to the refresh. I love Princess & the Frog & New Orleans so I think the retheme will be amazing (though I love the OG of course as well). Big Thunder Mtn was another highlight but I had never seen the line so long!! I had visited in January in 2017 and April in 2019 and what a contrast... I have never been at the parks this busy. I guess I can't say if they are busy since I don't go often enough, but to me... they seem SO SO busy and it absolutely affected my enjoyment unfortunately. Ate at Cinderellas Royal Table which was another huge disappointment, as the portions were again miniscule and the food was subpar at best (imo, my family liked theirs a little more than me). $70/pp!
Day 7 (Friday): Here is where things really derailed. This was meant to be an Island of Adventures day but after dinner at MK I came back to the hotel room and started to feel a tickle in my throat, and the next morning I felt I distinctly had a cold. Throughout this trip I had noticed A LOT of people coughing so perhaps it was inevitable, but there was no way I was fit to do anything but stay in the room and basically isolate myself as though I had covid. So we just stayed in and watched TV all day. Literally hundreds of dollars lost as we had purchased ultimate express passes for this day in advance (do not recommend, buy that the day of to avoid this circumstance). Overall I have to say travelling to Disney is not at all safe if you are worried about catching covid or any other illness as the whole time I felt VERY exposed to germs.
Day 8 (Saturday): Flew home. Half the people around me sounded sicker than me (one even having a full blown medical emergency on board) so I didn't feel too bad flying while ill. I have so far only been mildly ill so not presenting a lot of symptoms.
Summary: I still love Disney, and I will absolutely go back once and if the revenge travel calms down. I am an off-season Disney traveller and I was not used to the level of busy I encountered. I also have to say I felt like an absolute rube fool buying anything and everything at Disney. 6.25 for a Mickey bar? 5 bucks for a coke? And I'm Canadian so times it all by 1.3 at least and every day I was just bleeding money. And not like you are getting quality for the cost either!! The quick service food across the Disney bubble is appallingly bad for the most part (one notable exception being Connections Cafe at Epcot). I am also really disappointed with the new Disney class system that awards a different experience for those willing to pay an additional hundreds on top of the hundreds already spent for park admission. I'm really not sure I would have enjoyed my trip as much without Genie+ and ILL purchases and that just sucks. Finally, I really REALLY hope with the removal of Chapek we may see the return of Magical Express. I rented a car for the first time and boy oh boy, do I miss that bus. It really made going to WDW like an all inclusive vacation and I miss that.
