Trip in April, questions

[kelmac284]

I haven't been to the World since 2016. Really hadn't planned on going during all this Corona mess but had a bunch of air credits from other cancelled trips so decided to go for a week in April. We skipped Easter week and thought if we went the week after we would be ok. Then I see there is a marathon when we are going. I thought they weren't doing races right now because of the pandemic? Is there a chance with the resurgence in cases it could be cancelled? If not how bad will it be? Also was wondering if we should even bother with magic bands. With no maxpass or really photo pass was wondering why we would even need one. Would love any and all suggestions from people who have been since the pandemic as we feel really lost compared to how we normally go. Thanks so much in advance.

 

[gharter]

We've gone for several years in April and the crowds were not terrible.
We have been there when one of the races was happening.
Didn't notice the crowds any larger.
The biggest downside was the race went through some of the parks and they had areas roped off for the runners, so it made areas more congested for park guests.
No idea if the races will occur in the spring or not. I'm guessing Disney doesn't yet either.

 

[kelmac284]

We've gone for several years in April and the crowds were not terrible.
We have been there when one of the races was happening.
Didn't notice the crowds any larger.
The biggest downside was the race went through some of the parks and they had areas roped off for the runners, so it made areas more congested for park guests.
No idea if the races will occur in the spring or not. I'm guessing Disney doesn't yet either.

Thanks! I can't help but wonder too though without maxpass how bad it will be. My mom uses a scooter so while she can most likely ride it through most of the ques I always worry about any possible standing etc. I am just so used to the "normal" way of going and I had just barely gotten used to the maxpass and magic bands and such in 16 since before that we hadn't been since 10. I feel so unprepared lol. Do you think there would be any reason to even get a magic band if there is no maxpass and prob no photo pass? I know you need it to get into the parks but I'm assuming we can use our actual ticket as well.

 

[kniquy]

I gone in april twice during marathon weekend. Really the marathon brings in people typically the thursday before, but honestly does not affect the crowds that much. If you really wanted to pick a prime week in April I would go for the last week of April - it is away from Easter, Spring break, New England vacation - so the crowds can tend to be a little lighter

 

[kelmac284]

I gone in april twice during marathon weekend. Really the marathon brings in people typically the thursday before, but honestly does not affect the crowds that much. If you really wanted to pick a prime week in April I would go for the last week of April - it is away from Easter, Spring break, New England vacation - so the crowds can tend to be a little lighter

Thanks unfortunately we are already booked for the 15th thru the 21st so we will just deal

 

[lanejudy]

Also was wondering if we should even bother with magic bands. With no maxpass or really photo pass was wondering why we would even need one.

Maxpass is at Disneyland. I think you mean FastPass+. Whether FP+ returns before April is anyone's guess. Also, while I haven't been since the re-opening, it's my understanding that there are Photopass photographers in the parks plus some ride photos.

But as the whether you need a magicband - it isn't required. If you are staying at a WDW resort, many people prefer one to use for their resort room access. If you wish to do any charging to the room you will need a MB. Otherwise, a hard plastic ticket can be issued for purposes of entering the parks and photopass (and FP+ if it's back). If you have been previously, your prior MBs will still work for everything except a couple of ride photos. Or you can buy one.

 

[kelmac284]

Maxpass is at Disneyland. I think you mean FastPass+. Whether FP+ returns before April is anyone's guess. Also, while I haven't been since the re-opening, it's my understanding that there are Photopass photographers in the parks plus some ride photos.

But as the whether you need a magicband - it isn't required. If you are staying at a WDW resort, many people prefer one to use for their resort room access. If you wish to do any charging to the room you will need a MB. Otherwise, a hard plastic ticket can be issued for purposes of entering the parks and photopass (and FP+ if it's back). If you have been previously, your prior MBs will still work for everything except a couple of ride photos. Or you can buy one.

Thanks. I think I will wait till it gets closer and see.

 

[DebLovesPooh]

I enjoy having magic bands for the convenience. But most of those conveniences are tied to staying on site. We wear them when we go to the pool so we don’t have to worry about room keys. We charge all of our expenses to the room and pay the balance with a gift card every couple of days. If I were staying off-site during these times, I wouldn’t get bands for just this trip.

 

[disneygirlsng]

April is Star Wars *Half* marathon weekend. An important distinction because halfs cause much less disruption to operations than actual Marathon weekend in January ( and us runners can get a little feisty when those get mixed up haha). As of now Star Wars is still scheduled, but of course that is subject to change. SW is also generally the lowest numbers of the 4 race weekends.

 

[LizzyDragon]

To add on about the SW races- runDisney cancelled the Jan/Feb races (marathon and Princess weekends) about four months in advance. If rD will need to cancel SW, I'm guessing the announcement will come in late Dec/early Jan. I suspect it will cancel, as I don't see social distancing requirements being lifted in the next six months.

 

[kanerf]

I wish that WDW would add the virtual queues to some of the other long-wait rides in the parks. It works well enough for Rise of the Resistance, so why not expand it?

 

[kelmac284]

Thanks so much everyone. I go so seldom and so much has changed. We decided to go ahead and get magic bands. I do have a question though when I go onto the disney site I still see our tickets and magic bands from 2016. It says they are active but I don't see how since we used all the days on our tickets. Also to make it even MORE confusing we bought a ticket for my dad that he never used because he got ill and couldn't come. I reasigned that ticket to myself and when I get my magic bands I wanted to asign that ticket to my magic band. How do I go about doing that? I know I can take my existing magic band off but I just wanted to make sure I assign the right ticket to the band. Also once I do that is that band then assigned on my disney experience? Sorry for all the crazy questions but I live in CA and Disneyland is my usual park so it gets confusing since we have maxpass not FP+ and we don't use magicbands etc. Also we decided to rent a car since I have heard that the buses are taking longer because of social distancing and my mom uses a scooter so we just thought it would be easier but I heard they charge to park at the resorts now. Anyone know what the current rates are? And do you still then get to park at the parks for free if you are a resort guest? TIA!!

 

[DebLovesPooh]

Tickets are assigned to a person on your account, not to the band. Bands are assigned to the person too. So if the ticket is assigned to you and the band is assigned to you, they will be connected to each other. Before I take a trip, I unassign all old tickets and bands and make sure only one ticket and band are assigned to me.

If you’re staying at Disney, parking at the parks are still free. I don’t know know much much parking at the resorts are, but I’m sure someone will chime in!

Deb

 

[kelmac284]

Ok that is what I thought. I guess my question is I have 2 tickets under my name showing active. I just added a ticket for my mom that I purchased but it is only showing one on there and I think it is the old one from 16. I deactivated both of our old magic bands (I bought new ones because our old ones were from 2016 before they had the removable batteries and I didn't want to risk that the batteries or RFID's were bad). I guess I will just try to link them and worst case if we get there we can re-do it.

Thanks for the help

 

[larsonb74]

We only ran into marathon issues once. IG wasn't accessible to get into Epcot so couldn't walk from BC. Had to take bus to the front entrance. Marathon didn't seem to impact crowds or anything else. Possibly room availability.

 

[disneygirlsng]

We only ran into marathon issues once. IG wasn't accessible to get into Epcot so couldn't walk from BC. Had to take bus to the front entrance. Marathon didn't seem to impact crowds or anything else. Possibly room availability.

If you were there for the marathon (the only marathon is in January), that race causes a whole lot more logistical issues than the other races.

 

[larsonb74]

I said marathon but it may have just been a regular race. Non-runner here. We were there in October for F&W when this happened.