Final Thoughts...
Contemporary Resort
This was the big splurge of the trip, as for a standard trip, we wouldn’t have stayed in a Deluxe resort. But this trip was a special occasion for our DD. Am really glad we were able to stay here as it was so great being in walking distance to Magic Kingdom and right on the monorail for easy access to other parks. This resort too just felt really special.
I personally loved the room. It was spacious, kids got their own bed, and thought the theming was cute without being over the top. The theming made it something special over just a regular hotel. The view too was so pretty and Electrical Water Pageant was fun (although got a big annoying/comical after a few nights).
Another thing that I thought was nice was the open hallways where you could look over Chef Mickey’s or shops (we were at the shop side). It just made it more fun.
For anyone with Contemporary in their budget, I highly recommend it.
Genie+ (i.e., Lightning Lane)
This is a big controversial topic with different opinions, but we’ve experienced all three: FastPass+, MaxPass at Disneyland (plus paper FastPass) and now Lightning Lane.
FastPass+
Ok…so FastPass+ was nice in the sense that you knew your fast pass rides and times before you even got on your plane. It made it easier to come up with a touring plan, (and one that didn’t have you zig zagging across the park). Obviously, another big plus is that these bookings were free. I would say that for negatives:
- After booking your 3 headliners, it was hard to book a 4th Fast Pass. You were allowed to do so when you used your 3 Fast Passes, but nothing good was left by then. Plus, we often booked a hard to get FastPass such as Frozen Meet and Greet, which was in the evening, so the day was done.
- Aside from Magic Kingdom, the Fast Passes were tiered. So as an example, you couldn’t book one of both Test Track and Soarin. Not both.
MaxPass
We went to Disneyland when they first introduced MaxPass. On our first day, we went without it and used the paper FastPass. But then we tried it on our second day and purchased it everyday from then on. MaxPass was great as it let us get many fast passes per day. Plus, it let us ride things like Radiator Springs multiple times using the MaxPass. It also came with Photo Pass which was a bonus. It was also much better than using the paper Fast Pass as we would pull a ticket, where you would pull a time and then have to return an hour or so later (so not logistically efficient). With MaxPass, we could even be at DCA park and book one for Disneyland park (i.e. we had park hoppers)
For negatives:
- It cost money (I think it was $15/day/person)
- We were tied to our phones with booking the next one as soon as we used one
Lightning Lane
So now for Lightning Lane. I’ll first mention that we went during “low” peak times so our experience may not be the same as normal experience. But I will say that Lightning Lane worked really well for us. It let us ride every headliner once without a long wait. Some rides we even got twice since rides shut down a lot due to the weather or other issue and so our current Lightning Lane would convert to an anytime (i.e. could book a Lightning Lane again for that ride and then use the Anytime one for that same ride)
The negatives:
- It cost money ($15/day/person - this was before dynamic pricing)
- We were tied to our phones with booking the next one as soon as we used one, or the 2 hour mark. Plus, I would often need to check to remind myself when our next one was coming up (and what was booked)
- Lots of zig zagging since our bookings were all over the place.
- Very hard to come up with a touring plan beforehand.
- Can only book it once per ride (ignoring the Anytime ride)
We also used Individual Lightning Lane for Flight of Passage and Rise of the Resistance. Both really added up (added $196 CAD for the four of us two rides!). It was worth it to do once, especially with the long line for Rise of the Resistance (happened to be no line for us for FOP), but wouldn’t pay that again.
What’s my favorite? I’d probably say MaxPass. They are really the same thing but you can re-book the same attraction. But Lightning Lane is a close second. We were lucky too as we had it added to our package and current time, they announced dynamic pricing of $15 up to $22/day/person. Yikes.
Weather
Weather isn’t something controlled by Disney, but yet it’s a factor when planning a trip this time of year. Our Disneyland trip was also end of August, but California summer is different from Florida summer (very hot but not humid and no rain).
I mentioned earlier that we brought many things to help us with the heat and rain…UV umbrellas, cooling towels, compact water bottles, mini fans and sandals.
For our Disneyland trip, we used the cooling towels. These did wonders.
For Disney World, I found that the mini fans worked the best….and the really mini one was more powerful than the handheld one that sprayed mist. It had 3 speeds but the lowest was good. It also was so small that it fit in my fanny pack. (Yeah, I wore one. I know these aren’t overly stylish, but it was incredibly useful and held everything with 4 sections + 2 other inner pockets).
In case interested, this is the link on
Amazon. (I think we paid more for it but current price is a good deal!)
https://www.amazon.ca/ALACRIS-Handheld-Adjustable-Lightweight-Rechargeable/dp/B09W8HRXFD/ref=sr_1_10?crid=3J8AWFWVQ3A6X&keywords=mini+cooling+fans&qid=1665927706&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjk5IiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ==&sprefix=mini+cooling+fans,aps,83&sr=8-10
We also had a “pouch” for a water bottle that we also used at Disneyland. You can fill these at the water fountain and then they have a clip to wear. They roll up when not being used. I often used mine. Biggest issue with these wasn’t the bottle itself but water from the fountain tasted pretty bad (same issue if getting water from quick service in a cup). I also had hydration packs that we used a few times from QS water. Didn’t really need it but handy and flavored the water compared with plain water. I purchased 20 of them and I think I came home with 15 of them.
We also brought UV umbrellas. When we ventured out during storms/rain, we wore our ponchos + I found the umbrellas were handy. They were small too so didn’t take up much room in the backpack. DS also used it at Animal Kingdom when walking from one side to another to block out the hot sun.
Another recommendation For Disney World during rain season is sandals. Not the flip flop type but good walking shoe. I love Tevas and these were all that I wore, but everyone is different. Our kids switched between running shoes and sandals each day. When sandals get wet, no problem. When running shoes get wet, they stay soaked.
And last to mention…if you bring nothing else for rain season, bring ponchos. We had two versions from the Dollar store. The slightly better quality one worked best and we could re-use them during the trip, and tossed in the garbage before coming home.
Does Disney Still have Magic?
Absolutely! Things have changed since covid but just so glad we were able to go. Despite working around the weather (and the high cost), this trip was amazing! We got to all four parks once, with Magic Kingdom and Epcot twice and went on every ride that we wanted. Aside from a couple occasions, customer service was amazing and I don't envy them as it must be exhausting for them with covid and all. There were differences and similarities between our trip back in 2014 but both incredible trips. Not everyone can say they get this once in a lifetime trip, and yet we got it twice with our kids (plus Disneyland). Magic is definitely still there!