Today marks the half way point of our trip! It has been wonderful and a much needed “re-set” for us. A few things I can share:
1) Housekeeping - I was under the impression that we would get a light cleaning every 3 days, but we have not had any housekeeping. I have been able to quickly reach out using the chat feature in the Bonvoy app to have coffee, towels, etc. delivered, and they are very quick to respond.
2) Buses are excellent (or we are just really lucky with our timing!) Seems every time we are heading to the bus stop, one is just pulling up. This was true for AK, MK, and Disney Springs. I was the most worried about DS because of hearing of people waiting a long time to go back to hotel, but again, ours pulled right up when we got to the stop.
3) Fitness center is great and I am always the only person or maybe one other person in the morning around 7:00.
4) Pools are not busy at all - in fact, the pool bartender at Splash told us they have been closing early due to lack of sales (have to hit $300 to stay open until 6:00).
5) Hotel definitely less busy during the week but even in the weekend, only seemed busy when we tried to catch an elevator after dinner.
6) Parks are wonderful in terms of crowds/wait times, and mask/distancing compliance. It is amazing how much you can get done with an early arrival and intelligent plan. We walked to HS twice and arrived around 9:00 and were the 5th and then the 2nd in line to get into the park and onto MMRR. Got boarding groups 2 and then 4 and rode all the headliners by 2:00 each day. We are not stay all day people as we value our pool and relaxing time so it is definitely manageable. HS is the most important to arrive early and go in with a plan. (I would suggest: MMRR, SDD, MFSR or MMRR, ToT, RnRC, then hit the other attractions in whatever order). AK you can arrive at any time and have little to no waits. MK we had breakfast at the Wave and then arrived around 10:30 and had 5 minutes at Splash, BTMRR, etc. EP also arrive whenever.
7) Our family (brother/sis in law and 4 kiddos) is also here at Kidani on their very first Disney trip. I was worried they wouldn’t feel the magic as much, but they are having an awesome time! So for anyone on the fence, I think it is still a good time to go, regardless of your prior Disney experience. We are AP who come down around 8-10 times a year and are having a blast with the low crowds and safety measures. And our nieces and nephews on their first visit are completely in love with the experience!