***Official August 2022 Thread***

Okay, you've all got such great plans, thought I'd share mine. I go quite often and my plans tend to be fluid. This is an annual MNSSHP long weekend Aug 26-29. Visiting my CM daughter and her CM bf who work at the Grand Floridian. I'll be staying at the GF in a 2 Bedroom Villa. Group of 7, leaving the husbands at home. Myself, my teen daughter, my adult niece and her kids, ages 10 and 6.
Day 1: Arrive Orlando. Head to the VGF and then to MNSSHP.
Day 2: Resort Day - sleep in, eat breakfast and lunch at the Villa. Spend the day at the pool, rent a pontoon, have a drink at Trader Sam's and/or Dole Whips at the Poly, resort activities and Movies Under the Stars for the kids, watch Enchantment from Gasparilla Grill. Dinner is TBD, but might be a Pizza Party at the Villa with Celebration Cake (because my niece is getting re-married in September and I'm doing a couple of "bachelorette party" touches). This is the first time we've ever planned for a full resort day, but in past trips we often found ourselves exhausted and saying that we wished we'd built in more pool / relaxation time. It's HOT in August.
Day 3: DHS Early Entry, lunch at Sci Fi, afternoon break, Hoop De Doo at 4pm, then boat over to the MK for Enchantment.
Day 4: TBD.

I wish I was more easy going and fluid - I am just a planner haha. We just joined DVC during the pandemic so maybe after we get used to going more often I will chill a bit.

Thats awesome you have CM kiddos! Hope they love their jobs! <3
 
Hey everyone~ just to chime in regarding Magic Bands. I went ahead and ordered them because they are sort of souvenirs for us. Even though we have perfectly fine bands, and they haven’t come out with new ones yet. One day I just felt the urge to order them for our upcoming trip. My advice if you feel this way~ don’t bother. They are as blah as they look online. I was excited to get the box, opened it, and felt, regret.

On a happier note, we just got a ressie for Ogas. I had forgotten about this one and when I did check- well you know-nothing available! I put in a request with TP 3 weeks ago and JUST got a text! We’ll be there at 11:20 am, but hey!
 
Jumping in with our plans…
Tuesday - Start G+ stack. Drive to Dolphin. Bus to MK. MK until party crowds build. Monorail to Epcot. Epcot front to back. Exit, and watch fireworks from Crescent Lake. Walk back to Dolphin. 10:30 lights out.
Wednesday - Walk to DHS. G+ a few rides and watch shows. Sky liner back to Epcot. Pool time. Bus to MK. Shows, G+ rides, fireworks, extended evening hours.
Thursday - Check out. Bus or drive to AK. G+ safari and watch shows. Hop wherever we want a few more rides before heading home.
I might swap DHS and AK, or we might need to rope drop Epcot if they push Frozen back to ILL. Hoping those there on August 8 can report back on the new G+ patterns.
 
I wish I was more easy going and fluid - I am just a planner haha. We just joined DVC during the pandemic so maybe after we get used to going more often I will chill a bit.

Thats awesome you have CM kiddos! Hope they love their jobs! <3
Hey, congrats on your DVC ownership! I am AP, but not DVC - I just lucked into the Villas this time with a CM discount. I'm looking forward to it! And yes, my CM daughter and her bf both started in the College Program pre-Covid, finished college remotely, then moved to Part Time/Full Time at Disney. She worked at Oga's and is now at the GF Royal Palm Club Level and loves it. I've never stayed RPC, but hope to some day.

As far as planning - I think planning can be great! I used to plan a lot when my kids were younger. Now I'm older, my kids are older and one works there. I go 4 or 5 times a year for shorter visits and have almost totally axed the "planning". We have to make park reservations of course, but other than that, we wing it. We've done a lot of cool stuff just "winging it". My "kids" are good at prioritizing parks and rides. We've had no problem picking up great dining reservations last minute. We try to do "something new" on every trip. This trip the "new" item is Hoop De Doo. I've done it long ago, no one else has. My daughters and I try to be mindful of "the value" of various items and pick and choose our "spend", which is kind of fun. My husband joins us once annually (his Disney limit) and when he goes, budget goes out the window - LOL.

Bottom line, for me, eliminating the "We MUST be at X place at a certain time" has made for some very nice, very fun and very laid-back trips. This particular trip, I'm bringing my adult niece and her 2 little kids, so I'm doing a little bit more planning than usual.
 


Hey everyone~ just to chime in regarding Magic Bands. I went ahead and ordered them because they are sort of souvenirs for us. Even though we have perfectly fine bands, and they haven’t come out with new ones yet. One day I just felt the urge to order them for our upcoming trip. My advice if you feel this way~ don’t bother. They are as blah as they look online. I was excited to get the box, opened it, and felt, regret.

On a happier note, we just got a ressie for Ogas. I had forgotten about this one and when I did check- well you know-nothing available! I put in a request with TP 3 weeks ago and JUST got a text! We’ll be there at 11:20 am, but hey!
Thanks for the info on the Magicbands. I have several for my family that we can re-use, but need to get some for my niece and her 2 kids. Our trip is late August, and I was hoping that MagicBand+ would be released in time for our trip. I've about given up on that. I may just go ahead and order 3 of the current stock, just to have something. Congrats on your Oga's reservation!
 
image.jpg

These are pictures of the cute packaging and our bands. I ordered the cream 50th, which is very pale. The gold almost looks like crumbs or dirt, and the castle is on the inside part. It actually is darker in the photo than IRL. It does come with a cute slider. I got olive green for DH, because the was nothing else. He looked at it and was like “humpth“. Guess we’ll be stopping at the store to replace that one 🤑
image.jpg
 
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I guess I'll share my plans too! It's so close now! We're going to likely do lots of pool afternoons, it's going to be HOT. I have hoppers, and I'm being pretty flexible right now for late day parks, but will lock in where the family wants to go the night before so I can start stacking Genie+. My older kids are more about AK and DHS than MK or Epcot, so many days may be back and forth between those two parks.

Aug 15 - Arrive at Boardwalk, head to Epcot for EMH and food festival
Aug 16 - Epcot morning again, pool afternoon, MNSSHP night
Aug 17 - DHS morning, Savi's lightsaber build, afternoon pool, 4pm Hoop-De-Doo for dinner, then MK EMH
Aug 18 - let the family sleep in after 3 late nights, then AK
Aug 19 - Cape May Cafe for breakfast, AK again, wherever we want for evening
Aug 20 - DHS again, Sci-fi for lunch, wherever we want for evening.
Aug 21 - Discovery Cove, do laundry to get us through the next week!
Aug 22 - Check in to the Star Cruiser!
Aug 23 - Batuu excursion, Oga's
Aug 24 - Check out of star cruiser, move over to Universal, go wherever my Harry Potter loving daughter wants first.
Aug 25 - more Universal, Mythos for lunch
Aug 26 - Volcano Bay, Toothsome for dinner
Aug 27 - More Universal
Aug 28 - More Universal, my feet are likely falling off at this point, maybe I'll stay by the pool and send the kids to the park.....
Aug 29 - Fly home and crash for a month. :)
 


Hi, can I ask my August people: do most of you plan to do Genie+? I am pretty smart, but very blonde as well, (HA!) and kind of don't understand the whole thing, especially Lightning Lane. Also, I couldn't tell you how to "stack" anything..... and as of right now, I am planning on not doing this. We were in WDW a year ago in June, and it was all fine and good; we did and saw most everything we wanted----I think the longest line was for Pirates at almost an hour. I guess I just don't "get" the whole concept of this, and furthermore, don't feel like paying more money to ride a ride(s). Just wanted to throw that out there, thank you for your time! We are getting close now :flower1:
 
Hi, can I ask my August people: do most of you plan to do Genie+? I am pretty smart, but very blonde as well, (HA!) and kind of don't understand the whole thing, especially Lightning Lane. Also, I couldn't tell you how to "stack" anything..... and as of right now, I am planning on not doing this. We were in WDW a year ago in June, and it was all fine and good; we did and saw most everything we wanted----I think the longest line was for Pirates at almost an hour. I guess I just don't "get" the whole concept of this, and furthermore, don't feel like paying more money to ride a ride(s). Just wanted to throw that out there, thank you for your time! We are getting close now :flower1:

Disney Tourist Blog has some very good, clear breakdowns of exactly how G+ works and the best ways to use it. Before you skip it entirely, I would suggest reviewing those. Personally, I expect we'll use it at HS and maybe MK, although we have a lot of park time there including deluxe hours and MNSSHP so maybe not. Don't forget, when you went in 2021, they were only using standby so all of a ride's capacity went to that line. Overall average wait in MK for June 2021 was 26 minutes; June 2022 that went up to 37 minutes, more than a third increase. That 10 minutes per ride can really add to your day.
 
Hi, can I ask my August people: do most of you plan to do Genie+? I am pretty smart, but very blonde as well, (HA!) and kind of don't understand the whole thing, especially Lightning Lane. Also, I couldn't tell you how to "stack" anything..... and as of right now, I am planning on not doing this. We were in WDW a year ago in June, and it was all fine and good; we did and saw most everything we wanted----I think the longest line was for Pirates at almost an hour. I guess I just don't "get" the whole concept of this, and furthermore, don't feel like paying more money to ride a ride(s). Just wanted to throw that out there, thank you for your time! We are getting close now :flower1:
We have purchased it for the whole trip. I would have loved to go day by day but love paying one price at once-so I clicked….fingers crossed
 
We purchased for the whole trip but are being joined by another party member who wasn't able to. Odds are he will get it on our MK and HS days. Maybe not if the lines are not astronomical.
 
Hi, can I ask my August people: do most of you plan to do Genie+? I am pretty smart, but very blonde as well, (HA!) and kind of don't understand the whole thing, especially Lightning Lane. Also, I couldn't tell you how to "stack" anything..... and as of right now, I am planning on not doing this. We were in WDW a year ago in June, and it was all fine and good; we did and saw most everything we wanted----I think the longest line was for Pirates at almost an hour. I guess I just don't "get" the whole concept of this, and furthermore, don't feel like paying more money to ride a ride(s). Just wanted to throw that out there, thank you for your time! We are getting close now :flower1:

We purchased it for the whole trip too (bought it before they took away that option). I know it's not as worth it at some parks, but I figure that August is really hot, so anything that helps limit time standing in line will help.
 
Our Itinerary: Family of 4, first time to Universal Studios, first time off-site in 20 years, split stay at Disney, looking to try The Chicken Guy and Polite Pig at Disney Springs - we used to only go to D'Luxe Burger and Wolfgang Puck Express a lot! (so sad it closed), first time at Disney without the dining plan, not using Genie+, very excited to go!

July 30th- early morning drive across border to Buffalo / shop at Kohl's (love the deals we get here) and have lunch at Olive Garden (this is a tradition) and evening flight; stay the night at Hyatt Regency at MCO airport
July 31st- early morning shuttle to Universal Royal Pacific Resort; day at Universal Parks (first time visitors) and supper at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium
August 1st- day at Universal; supper at Margaritaville
August 2nd- day at Universal; supper at Hard Rock
August 3rd- morning at Universal and get rental car and move off-site to Drury Inn for a couple of nights; ; evening at Old Town in Kissimmee
August 4th- shop at outlet malls / afternoon at Old Town and exploring area
August 5th- get groceries / room snacks and move to Port Orleans Riverside; return rental car and explore Disney Springs for the afternoon; 4:00pm Hoop-de-Doo for dinner
August 6th- AM Epcot; PM supper at Trail's End
August 7th- AM Magic Kingdom; early lunch at Crystal Palace; afternoon at resort; PM Treats and Seats Dessert Party @ Magic Kingdom
August 8th- resort day; morning at Disney Springs and supper at 'Ohana
August 9th- Animal Kingdom Day; lunch at Rainforest Cafe in Animal Kingdom; evening take boat to Disney Springs
August 10th- resort day; breakfast at 'Ohana and supper at Chef Mickey's
August 11th- Hollywood Studios; lunch at Sci-Fi Diner; Disney Springs and dinner at T-Rex
August 12th- Magic Kingdom; Dinner at Storybook Dining
August 13th- move to Beach Club; day at Epcot; lunch at Le Cellier; swim at Stormalong Bay
August 14th- Epcot; lunch at Beaches and Cream; swim at Stormalong Bay
August 15th- Epcot; late breakfast at Cape May Cafe; 5pm shuttle to MCO airport; spend night at airport and enjoy a late night swim on rooftop pool
August 16th- fly back to Buffalo and then drive over the border
 
Disney Tourist Blog has some very good, clear breakdowns of exactly how G+ works and the best ways to use it. Before you skip it entirely, I would suggest reviewing those. Personally, I expect we'll use it at HS and maybe MK, although we have a lot of park time there including deluxe hours and MNSSHP so maybe not. Don't forget, when you went in 2021, they were only using standby so all of a ride's capacity went to that line. Overall average wait in MK for June 2021 was 26 minutes; June 2022 that went up to 37 minutes, more than a third increase. That 10 minutes per ride can really add to your day.
Back in the day, I might have considered using it, BUT, I have literally no idea how it works, as it seems beyond convoluted to me. Couple that with the horror stories I'm hearing from those who have used it, about the whole thing being a waste of time and money - yeah, not exactly on the bandwagon for it. A huge thing for me is that I absolutely refuse to be on my phone on vacation all the time, that is nonsense. I think we'll take our chances in the lines, I'm hoping it will all work out---fingers crossed!
 
Back in the day, I might have considered using it, BUT, I have literally no idea how it works, as it seems beyond convoluted to me. Couple that with the horror stories I'm hearing from those who have used it, about the whole thing being a waste of time and money - yeah, not exactly on the bandwagon for it. A huge thing for me is that I absolutely refuse to be on my phone on vacation all the time, that is nonsense. I think we'll take our chances in the lines, I'm hoping it will all work out---fingers crossed!
This is exactly how my family and I are feeling. We are not getting Genie+ either. We have been many times so we don't have to do multiple rides. We will do rope drop and have a long trip, so I feel like we will take our chances too. Plus, the $15 / day per person (add on Canadian exchange rates) and it is a lot of money. If I paid it and only got 2-3 rides (as I am reading from some reports) I would be disappointed. I guess that if we change our minds we can add it here and there if necessary.
 
Haven't been since 2019, I remember there used to be hundreds of them. People are reporting there aren't as many now.
Not the same and not as heavily discounted, but there are many new magic bands available for sale on Mercari, including some limited editions. An alternative is to buy plain color and customize/buy magicband “skins” on Etsy.
 
Regarding G+, it really works best if you select the top tier rides first. As someone mentioned above, Disney Tourist Blog has great single day, single park itineraries where they highlight the options that are gone by two hours after park open. From my experience, these are:

MK: jungle cruise or Peter Pan,
DHS: slinky dog dash
Epcot: Remy’s

I don’t use G+ at animal kingdom, as it’s generally not necessary. If anyone wants more tips, happy to share. I just returned from a short weekend trip where I used G+ with park hopping, but it was also a pretty low attendance period between two epcot festivals so my experience may not be typical.
 
Hi, can I ask my August people: do most of you plan to do Genie+? I am pretty smart, but very blonde as well, (HA!) and kind of don't understand the whole thing, especially Lightning Lane. Also, I couldn't tell you how to "stack" anything..... and as of right now, I am planning on not doing this. We were in WDW a year ago in June, and it was all fine and good; we did and saw most everything we wanted----I think the longest line was for Pirates at almost an hour. I guess I just don't "get" the whole concept of this, and furthermore, don't feel like paying more money to ride a ride(s). Just wanted to throw that out there, thank you for your time! We are getting close now :flower1:
We feel exactly the same way and don't plan to use it either. With three late nights in different parks (EMH in Epcot, MNSSHP in MK and Moonlight Magic in AK) I think it would be a waste of money for us and also frustrating to use. Our last trip was Sept 2021 and this trip is end of Aug/early Sept. Lowest crowds of the year typically (knock on wood!) so we're also taking that into account.
 
I rang Disney (about our UK booking) back in late May and during the call discussed Genie+, I wasn't sure and the cast member didn't encourage me to purchase it, however she also failed to tell me the cut off for pre-purchase was fast approaching. The downside for UK ticket holders is even though I am only going in the parks for 10 days, I would have to purchase it for every day of my 14 day ticket. Anyway, I did some research and decided to purchase it, only to find it was too late.

After further research, I've decided to only purchase it for MK and HS days (5 altogether) if there are any left when I wake up, as I definitely won't be awake at midnight.
 
We were in WDW a year ago in June, and it was all fine and good; we did and saw most everything we wanted----I think the longest line was for Pirates at almost an hour.
My only concern with this comparison is that last June (I was there too!) there were only standby lines, so nothing stopped them from moving. Historically, stuff like fast pass slows down standby lines a lot, since they pause them regularly to let in those able to skip the line. I would guess lightning lanes would have a similar effect. A friend of mine used genie plus in May (of course crowds will be higher for us) and loved it - she rode a ton. I get the not wanting to be on a phone all day, but if you do the “stacking” in the morning for rides in the evening, if I’m understanding it correctly you’d only need to look at your phone every two hours or after tapping in to select your next ride. I purchased it for my whole trip - Aug 1-4 - and I’ll definitely report back on my experience!
 

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