Just returned on Sunday from our trip to WDW. We had 6 days in the parks from Sunday to Friday. Also did Boo Bash this past Friday night. Not going to try to itemize since many before me have done so already and this will probably feel more like a random set of information.
For the most part, lines were glorious. The majority of rides were literally walk ons or at most 10-15 minutes. FOP was essentially a walk on, got to do it twice. Soarin was a walk on both days we were at Epcot. Rode Everest 5x in the single rider line, walk on every time. Rode MFSR 3x over two days, 2 of those being single rider that was basically walk on. The other day was on Friday when crowds were increasing for the holiday weekend so we waited maybe 25 minutes and I got to see the pre-show that you skip with single rider. Got ROTR both days we were at HS, that whole experience is just amazing. ROTR would have been a walk on in the evenings both days if it was allowed as there was no line after 6 or 7pm each day. Frozen Ever After had probably a 30 minute wait each day at Epcot, was really the only line at Epcot those days. Most everything at MK was walk on minus 7DMT and Peter Pan (still don't get why this always has a long line). ToT and RnRC were basically walk ons and MMRR was probably a 20-30 minute wait each time. We really enjoyed MMRR, had not been on it before.
F&W Festival was great, got to try lots of different items. We did several ADRs and enjoyed each of them. Wave breakfast at the California Grill (had never been up there before, views were breathtaking), dinner at Be Our Guest (super busy here but as a party of 2 we had our own table by the wall), fireworks dinner at Rose & Crown (highly recommend), lunch at Sanaa, dinner at Ohana, drinks at Oga's Cantina (wasn't super crowded around 1pm on Friday), Yak & Yeti (used Landry's membership to get a table as we hadn't made an ADR), and.....I feel like i'm forgetting one but can't think of it now.
Mask use indoors for rides, shows and restaurants all seemed at least 95% most of the time. Always some mask sniffers here and there but cast members would ask them to pull it up when they saw it. We would take our masks off outdoors unless in big crowds and felt we could social distance well most of the time. Haven't been on property since Sunday morning (not really around crowds since Saturday night at the Polynesian) and we're both feeling fine so far, God willing it stays that way (we're both vaccinated).
Heat - oh my Lord was it hot. We're from Houston, TX and that still seemed extremely hot to us. I wouldn't necessarily call us "commando" for how we do Disney, but we are the types to go to the parks shortly after opening and stay until they close. 2 days we had some major rain show up in the afternoon and made it very comfortable the rest of the day, but the rest were miserable. The cooling towels that are sold at just about every store and stand in the parks were a lifesaver. Highly recommend those. Also drinking as much water as possible. We brought a case of water with us and would drink 2 in the morning before we went to the parks and then I'd cary 2 in with me and then buy others the rest of the day. I also highly recommend the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer body mist 100+ spf sunscreen. I'm very fair skinned and will get sunburned if I just look at the sun and this stuff kept me from getting even a hint of a sunburn the entire trip.
MDE - my oh my is this app frustrating. It's been several years since we've been to the parks but I don't remember it being so glitchy in the past. Each time I would want to check ride lines, etc I would have to close the app and re-open it as the menus would be empty (iOS). Then at least 2-3 times on the trip it would log me out and I'd have to log back in and then be told there was "suspicious" activity and I had to reset my password. Very annoying.
Boo Bash - while this was fun I want to offer some recommendations.....this 3 hours is WAAAAAY too short. You have to decide before you go in, what's important to you. If you want to take advantage of the special photo pass, see the cavalcades, the HM characters and Cadaver Dan's? Make that your focus. You'll only be able to get in 4-5 rides maybe. I went into Boo Bash thinking "this is great, we'll see all this stuff and then ride everything". Nope. My wife would stay and watch the cavalcades and my goal was to ride the mountain trilogy and 7DMT. Got stuck on Splash for at least 20 minutes as the ride kept stopping, 7DMT was down all night long and I did BTMR and SM. Wife and I rode HM, JC, teacups, Buzz, POTC and the PM. And then the night was over. We did maybe 2-3 of the photo ops and I missed all the cavalcades (minus the dragon, which was cool and was breathing fire) and the cadaver dans. My wife and I had very different experiences that night
. Also, the longest lines of the night seem to be for getting the candy and free treats. It's cool to get that stuff, but waiting in long lines? I don't get that.
Happily Ever After - I think my wife and I each shed some tears every time we saw the show. Got to see it twice in person from the hub (which was busy but manageable) and then Saturday night from the beach at the Polynesian. I feel a little sad every time I see people say they watched it from a ride or from tomorrowland, etc as you're missing out on so much from the castle projections. I will dearly miss this show and hope the new one is along the same style.
Ok, I've rambled on long enough. If I think of anything else I'll post a follow up. Feel free to ask questions.
