Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[glocon]

We just got back from an incredible trip! May 7-13th.

Our strategy this time was to sleep in (except for waking up to make Lightning Lane reservations), have lazy mornings, swim in the afternoon and go the parks in the later afternoon/evening. This worked so well and I would say it had a lot to do with low crowds and a lot of genie+ availability. Had I not been able to snag the genie+ reservations we wanted throughout the day and still have a ton of availability once we were in the parks, this might not have gone as well.

Stayed at French Quarter - love the theming, love the size, LOVE the boat to Disney Springs. We shared busses with Riverside a lot, which is just a real bummer when trying to get to the parks. Food court was just okay - limited options and mobile ordering took a very long time for them to prepare.

Our schedule this time was something like this: sleep until our kids woke up naturally, slow morning of breakfast at resort or boat to Disney Springs for coffee/breakfast; swim in the afternoon; park in the later afternoon/evening. We never entered a park before ~2PM (often later) and were able to do everything we wanted with Lightning Lane.

Day 1 - Sunday 5/9 - Hollywood Studios
- arrived ~3PM, left about 8:30PM
- not in order, all with Genie+ - Rise of the Resistance w/ Individual Lightning Lane, Millennium Falcon, Slinky Dog (booked this one first in the morning), Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, Rockin' Roller Coaster. Also built a droid (walk up).

Day 2 - Monday 5/10 - Animal Kingdom
- arrived ~2:15PM left about 7:15PM
- dinosaur, everest, kite show, flight of passage ($LL), ate a sau'tili canteen, safari, gorilla falls trail, everest again (no genie + for second ride), boneyard, ice cream near everest - the Yeti Sundae is yummy!

Day 3- Tuesday 5/11- Magic Kingdom
- arrived ~3:00, left 11:30PM (closed at 11)
- in no particular order: peter pan, jungle cruise, big thunder mountain, splash mountain, buzz, speedway (4x throughout the evening), space mountain, people mover, pooh, dumbo x2, watched fire works from back or park, ate dinner while watching Mickey castle show, mine train (got in line a little before 11, waited maybe 15 minutes), ice cream & pretzel breaks!

Day 4 - Wednesday 5/12 - EPCOT
- arrived ~3:00, left ~9:00
- The construction in this park makes it so un-magical. Did not get that Disney feeling here at all this time!
- spaceship earth, walked world showcase and snacked, Frozen, 3 Caballeros ride, soarin, ate dinner and lingered because we met up with some local family but we could have done Living with the Land and Nemo had we just ate and moved on, Test Track

Day 5 - Thursday 5/13 - Hollywood Studios
- arrived ~3:00, left 9:00
- millennium falcon, ate at the star wars quick service, wandered around star wars to take photos & had blue milk (yuck), slinky, toy story mania, runaway railway, rockin' roller coaster. Had a LL for Tower of Terror but Rockin' Roller coaster had issues and we didn't finish until 9:05 (went in ~8:30), so that was a bummer.
- Bought a Mickey pretzel loungefly on the way out!

Day 6 - Friday 5/14 - Animal Kingdom
- arrived ~3:00, left ~5:45 (bus to airport at 7:05)
- looked at animals on the way in, everest, ice cream break for another Yeti sundae, safari, corn on the cobb, flight of passage ($LL)

We used Sunshine Flyer and had no trouble! Would use again.

Overall our best trip ever! We have found the right balance of parks and relaxing for our family. Can't wait to go back!

Sounds like an amazing trip!
Love the laid back vibe.
I always plan on trying that but just get too excited to get to the parks.
I really really want to try that next time!

 

[MickeysHouse224]

Sounds like an amazing trip!
Love the laid back vibe.
I always plan on trying that but just get too excited to get to the parks.
I really really want to try that next time!

It took a lot of self control on my end the first couple of days but then I settled into the routine and realized it was perfect!

 

[hunter1722]

I just go back a couple weeks ago (4/23-27) and have always been an avid rope dropper. With G+ and ILL you absolutely do not need to do this anymore. Not knowing how it would go, still rope dropped MK and rode PP, Space MT, Pooh, BTMT, HM twice, Pirates (G+), Dumbo, Mermaid... Genie+ stacked in evening for another PP, Pooh, HM, BTMT, JC. I could have gotten Space MT and ILL Dwarfs but didn't. Another night I stacked Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Soarin, Frozen, and ILL Remy all from 4-830p. I am so excited I can sleep in on trips now! Morning humidity in the parks is the worst!

 

[3gr8boys]

I just go back a couple weeks ago (4/23-27) and have always been an avid rope dropper. With G+ and ILL you absolutely do not need to do this anymore. Not knowing how it would go, still rope dropped MK and rode PP, Space MT, Pooh, BTMT, HM twice, Pirates (G+), Dumbo, Mermaid... Genie+ stacked in evening for another PP, Pooh, HM, BTMT, JC. I could have gotten Space MT and ILL Dwarfs but didn't. Another night I stacked Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Soarin, Frozen, and ILL Remy all from 4-830p. I am so excited I can sleep in on trips now! Morning humidity in the parks is the worst!

I really felt like Genie+ gave us options and control. We didn’t try to work in resort breaks, but we did approach each day differently- including a little extra sleep a couple of mornings without having to worry about lines.

ETA I expected my teen son to want resort breaks away from the chaos. I think it was not having to spend time in lines that made spending whole days in the parks fun.

 

[mickey916]

Here now and the my day tab isn’t working. Tip board works but can’t see any of my plans. Already reinstalled app and tried wifi and LTE. Planning for 8 people and can’t see what I’ve booked. Suggestions?

 

[MomOTwins]

Here now and the my day tab isn’t working. Tip board works but can’t see any of my plans. Already reinstalled app and tried wifi and LTE. Planning for 8 people and can’t see what I’ve booked. Suggestions?

Log in through an internet browser on disneyworld.com instead of the app.
Delete and reinstall the app while on wifi.

 

[hildarumpole]

Here now and the my day tab isn’t working. Tip board works but can’t see any of my plans. Already reinstalled app and tried wifi and LTE. Planning for 8 people and can’t see what I’ve booked. Suggestions?

During my trip 2 weeks ago the app was completely dysfunctional. Front desk at AKL called Tech Support and assisted in getting it slightly more functional. Had to uninstall app, reinstall, clear cache and restart the phone. Good luck.

 

[Lsdolphin]

Here now and the my day tab isn’t working. Tip board works but can’t see any of my plans. Already reinstalled app and tried wifi and LTE. Planning for 8 people and can’t see what I’ve booked. Suggestions?

Go to guest services they will look at your phone and help you...

 

[mickey916]

Go to guest services they will look at your phone and help you...

Guest services said known glitch they’re working on it. Chat said to update my phones ios which i did. Then they said to email tech support which i did and got a response that they’ll answer in 5 business days..not that helpful.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Guest services said known glitch they’re working on it. Chat said to update my phones ios which i did. Then they said to email tech support which i did and got a response that they’ll answer in 5 business days..not that helpful.

Did you call 1-407-939-4357? If you call that number in the morning (unfortunately each morning I believe) to have Genie+ added until the glitch is fixed.

 

[mickey916]

Did you call 1-407-939-4357? If you call that number in the morning (unfortunately each morning I believe) to have Genie+ added until the glitch is fixed.

I was able to add genie+ From my DHs phone and use the tip board to book rides to get around that glitch each day but today was a new glitch that just wouldn’t let the my day tab load. It worked fine yesterday but not today. My day tab finally loaded at 6:30 tonight. Hopefully won’t have any more issues as my family members with genie+ already loaded don’t have any more park days with us. Overall we managed okay but just added a little more stress to the day.

 

[William B]

I just go back a couple weeks ago (4/23-27) and have always been an avid rope dropper. With G+ and ILL you absolutely do not need to do this anymore. Not knowing how it would go, still rope dropped MK and rode PP, Space MT, Pooh, BTMT, HM twice, Pirates (G+), Dumbo, Mermaid... Genie+ stacked in evening for another PP, Pooh, HM, BTMT, JC. I could have gotten Space MT and ILL Dwarfs but didn't. Another night I stacked Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Soarin, Frozen, and ILL Remy all from 4-830p. I am so excited I can sleep in on trips now! Morning humidity in the parks is the worst!

What time did you usually start stacking your genie + rides? Did you get up at 7 to get the first one for the afternoon and then just do every 2 hours after opening from then on or did you wait until you got up and going and just took what was left and available at that point in time? Just trying to get an idea on how people are doing the stacking for afternoons and not ending up with something for in the morning?

 

[MickeysHouse224]

What time did you usually start stacking your genie + rides? Did you get up at 7 to get the first one for the afternoon and then just do every 2 hours after opening from then on or did you wait until you got up and going and just took what was left and available at that point in time? Just trying to get an idea on how people are doing the stacking for afternoons and not ending up with something for in the morning?

I woke up at 7 each morning and for most parks at that time I could get an afternoon ride. Then I either went back to sleep or snuck outside with my book. The only exception was Animal Kingdom, which I did have to wait for. I just checked now and then to see what the times were looking like and then started booking when they worked for us.

Hollywood Studios: Slinky Dog
Magic Kingdom: Jungle Cruise
EPCOT: Frozen

 

[gottalovepluto]

EDIT: jk. Apparently it was like a group of 50 being let in via the SR line

Single Rider is open on RAT this morning. Is that new? Swear it wasn’t running a couple days back when I did this ride…

 

[krybandt]

I had the same issue with not being able to add G+ on my iPhone in the mornings before 7sm and had to use my daughters phone. Then My Day didn’t work for a day but fixed itself.

Parks are clean and cast members have been just as friendly as i remember pre Covid. Our dvc room was ready at 11am on our check in day (did not get requested room area so you win some you lose some). Resort is clean, no issues except for minor maintenance ones. Again, friendly CMs and plenty of magic.

G+ has been a mixed bag. It was definitely worth it in MK. Didn’t get it for EP. AK was worth it but mainly because we park hopped afterwards. HS it feels more necessary but it’s been the most frustrating there because there aren’t many rides (this morning, 3 major ones were all down at various points in the first hour of opening) and the good ones go fast. We rope drop, leave by early afternoon and go back or park hop at night, so not being able to choose times is the worst part of G+. I’m glad we had it but not a fan.

Table service has been wonderful, quick service also good and we’ve used mobile order and it’s definitely saved time.

Crowds seem about what i remember for May, nothing crazy. Weather is hot. In the 90s but not as humid as July.

Anyway, I was a bit worried reading some posts about crowds and bad experiences and this trip has exceeded expectations. It feels like the Disney we love.

 

[jrsharp21]

Just got back from a 3 day trip for work conference at WDW that included some time in the park. I am not a fan of Genie+ and ILL, but one thing I did realize this time around is that G+ allows you to not have to spend the first half of your day in the parks if you don't want to and still get a lot done in the evening by stacking evening G+ reservations through out the day. On my park days, Sunday at DHS and Tuesday at MK, I didn't get to the park until around 4pm. I was able to ride pretty much all the big rides by stacking G+ and booking an ILL (ROTR). MK was open on that Tuesday until 1am for extra hours, but by 10pm I was walking around trying to figure out things to do and actually ended up heading back to the hotel earlier than I had planned. It definitely opened my eyes that I no longer needed to be in the park all day long each day. Looking forward to the next family trip where we may be able to test this out and go do some other things during the day and then hit the parks late afternoon until close.

 

[pigletto]

I can not even tell you what these positive reviews are doing for me. We are set to arrive on Saturday after 2.5 years of lockdowns and uncertainty. I really really want to enjoy this trip.

And though we have always been diehard rope droppers I am loving the idea of some time to sleep in and poke around for the day. Not having to be up and headed to a park every morning would be a lot more relaxing!

 

[3gr8boys]

I can not even tell you what these positive reviews are doing for me. We are set to arrive on Saturday after 2.5 years of lockdowns and uncertainty. I really really want to enjoy this trip.

And though we have always been diehard rope droppers I am loving the idea of some time to sleep in and poke around for the day. Not having to be up and headed to a park every morning would be a lot more relaxing!

Our April 2022 trip, hadn't been since April 2018, was magical. Thanks to avoiding lines with Genie+ and ILL, our park days were jam packed with rides, experiences, and enjoyable meals....and no pressure to RD every day (though we did for MK and HS). Enjoy your long awaited vacation!

 

[hunter1722]

What time did you usually start stacking your genie + rides? Did you get up at 7 to get the first one for the afternoon and then just do every 2 hours after opening from then on or did you wait until you got up and going and just took what was left and available at that point in time? Just trying to get an idea on how people are doing the stacking for afternoons and not ending up with something for in the morning?

7am for first 2 hrs later for next, and so on but we like Big Thunder, HM in the evening so those I had to wait around until 5pm and after to get evening times. Only PP and JC jumped to evening times quickly. The rest were issuing return within 1-2 hrs of the current time.

 

[starryagain]

We are wrapping up eight nights (5 at Beach Club Villas studio and 3 at Polynesian studio) and the end of our DVC annual passes. We were here in May 2021, October 2021, mid-January 2022, and now. General thoughts:

- Characters and some shows being back is HUGE vs January 2022. That was by far our hardest trip regarding lines. Also it just adds to the atmosphere.
- We didn't do G+ this time after using in October and January. Part of this is annual passholder privilege and not needing to get everything in, particularly at Magic Kingdom. But partially we just found it annoying to use and constricting.
- We got a ton in at deluxe extra hours at MK. All headliners except Jungle Cruise which I don't care for. Epcot hours were so so... I think they need to be later for impact. We did get in Test Track before Harmonious (30 minute wait), then Frozen (15 minutes), Remy (30 minutes).
- The old standard rope drop, long break, stay until close continues to work well. We rope dropped Rise 3x and never waited over 20 minutes.
- We got in two Guardians previews. It's a great ride but not as good as Rise.
- Resorts are better functioning than previous post coronavirus trips but still not on par with other luxury properties. Ridiculous that you can't call the front desk.
- Restaurants are also very improved regarding service vs January

We had a ton of fun but are happy to be going on a hiatus for a few years!