Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[lukemorenus]

If you’re comparing reviews from before the G+ changes in end of Feb and Remy with GOTG coming out you’re comparing G+ Apples to Oranges. Adding Space, Frozen, Remy, Everest & MMRR to G+ majorly increased the programs capacity.

Which means anyone going after 8/7/22 should be watching the situation closely. If those rides are put back under the ILL program, G+ will absolutely not be like it is now.

Yup... and we arrive on 8/7 !

 

[gottalovepluto]

Yup... and we arrive on 8/7 !

Guess we know who is reporting back on any changes first

 

[Bibbobboo2u]

Yup... and we arrive on 8/7 !

Guess we know who is reporting back on any changes first

Which I will greatly appreciate!!!! DH and I were "Genie-Pigs" on day one of the original launch of G+, and what a nightmare that was - still have flashbacks. At least we know the process much better now. I don't like the new game, but I want to know the rules so I can still play.

 

[elgerber]

Which I will greatly appreciate!!!! DH and I were "Genie-Pigs" on day one of the original launch of G+, and what a nightmare that was - still have flashbacks. At least we know the process much better now. I don't like the new game, but I want to know the rules so I can still play.

haha, we were Genie-pigs too. We didn't really have any problems with it, but it was nerve-wracking up to that first day, not knowing what to expect.

 

[Bibbobboo2u]

haha, we were Genie-pigs too. We didn't really have any problems with it, but it was nerve-wracking up to that first day, not knowing what to expect.

We and the CM's at SDD learned the hard way that you had to tap through both points before booking next LL. I was a little concerned when my band didn't read correctly at the 2nd tap point, but the CM said to just go on through. DH went to get lunch, and I went to get help. Four cast members and a manager near SDD were not able to fix the problem, so I stood in the long line at the blue umbrella, and they figured it out. We then had to go back through both tap points at SDD and go back to blue umbrella. We did get a couple of recovery LLs for the aggravation. One and 1/2 hours later, I was finally able to eat my cold vegan cheese sandwich from Woody's. Yummy!

 

[TheDailyMoo]

Look through my posts and you'll see I've really been hating on corporate Disney for a long time now. I've adored Disney for years, grown up on it, but I hate the current leadership...have been down big on their stock...hated all the changes they've implemented the last few years and the public decisions they've bungled.

Used to go to Disney World regularly with wife since the mid 2000s with last trip in 2017 before DS was born. Just got back from an 8 night trip with the family and I was expecting the absolute worst. I acknowledge that everyone's opinions on this topic are valid but I personally can wholeheartedly say that when it comes to the parks, the magic is not only still alive but perhaps even more so now than ever. This doesn't mean everything was perfect. This doesn't mean things didn't go wrong. This doesn't mean things were cheap or a great value. This doesn't mean certain things could be better. I'm talking about the magic of being in the parks and in the resorts. On campus let us say. If we can separate everything negative about what corporate Disney has messed up and just be "in the moment and in the magic" of the parks then I honestly don't see how the magic is gone.

I'd like to write up a whole review, probably in the trip report section, because I do have a lot to say, and a lot of criticisms and critiques as well. Again I think many of us are equating the magic with so many outside influences. But as a standalone concept of the magic...which might I add is such a nebulous and "outside the box" concept, I mean what the heck really IS the magic...it really is still all around and almost tangible. We felt the magic and I hope to expound more in a review. All my opinion of course.

 

[NatNicMum]

Back from a 9 day trip (6/25- 7/4/22) where we stayed at Saratoga Springs in a 1BR villa. As I learned so much from other people's experiences, I am sharing a few insights from this trip.

First off, I used to be a pretty seasoned WDW planner but this was the first trip post COVID so I was very nervous about all the changes and my ability to adapt. Luckily my fears were unfounded and we had a wonderful trip.

My little family is me, my husband and two teen daughters. As such, we went to parks in the evening and spent morning at the resort at the pool. We planned two days at each park and three at MK (one was our arrival day so we only spent a few hours at MK that day). We did not have park hoppers. We had Genie+ for length of stay and bought ILLs at all the parks except GOTG. We were able to get the VQ both days and the Extra EMH queue so we rode three times. Great ride!

Some observations:

1. Genie+ can work well if you are going in the evening and start reserving times in the morning. We were able to ride everything we wanted with only a little bit of planning. The park that was the hardest was EPCOT because Test Track and Frozen were gone before you could reserve a spot at 10:30. Since we had not ridden Remy we had prioritized it on the first EPCOT day. On the second EPCOT day, I just reserved Test Track and we did not ride Remy again. Genie + is definitely expensive but does save a considerable amount of wait time. Also, it is a buffer in case rides go down. If the ride is down during your ride time, you get a pass to ride it anytime for the rest of the day. We had quite a few rides down, some mechanical and some weather related so this was extremely helpful. I would have been very annoyed if I waited 60 minutes for Remy and then the line was evacuated with no recourse for riding later.
2. If you get Extra EMH, definitely try to use at Magic Kingdom. You will be able to go on multiple rides with little wait. I would not use this time at EPCOT again. Wait times still high and with fewer rides and more walking between rides, it just didn't work for us. (We did get the extra GOTH ride though so YMMV). Also, not being able to find a place to buy water was incredibly frustrating.
3. Busses were very good. They came often and were usually not full.
4. Food was excellent everywhere we went but prices were high. Sit down dinners for four were usually around $200. One dinner at California Grill was much more but I would do it again. we took advantage of snack carts for things like churros and spring rolls in the afternoons and avoided counter service meals at the Parks for the most part. They seemed crowded and finding seats looked like a challenge.
5. SSR is a great resort. We have always stayed here but with the room renovations, it is really nice. Pools were not crowded so spending mornings at the pool was a good plan. Plus, you avoided the possibility of getting the afternoon rain.
6. Cast members were very good. I saw some rude customers but not any rude CMs. We had one CM on Star Tours who was phenomenal. Recognized my daughter;s birthday and had the whole car sing Happy Birthday to her. We got to go to the Wookie Planet which was fun too. Love that ride and usually a walk-on.

All in all, it was a great trip. Kids want to go back next year but I think that with the current prices, we will give it two years., That will give me time to earn Reward dollars on the Disney Visa (we had $2,000 for this trip which helped with the sticker shock).

Thank you to everyone whose posts I have been reading for the past six months. You helped me tremendously.

Edited to add that "fiddle faddle" really did work. Once the really good rides/times were gone we would not reserve a ride and spend five minutes or so fiddle faddling and usually get a good option within the hour.

 

[onegai]

Yay! Glad you feel the magic is still at the parks and resorts and look forward to your trip report.

 

[cjlong88]

Glad you had a great time! So far we have visited in January and June this year. Both trips were amazing -- we definitely felt the magic, too.

 

[Erica Ladd]

You do have to have an opening to get these drops, they are not that magical. If you booked TT or Frozen earlier in the day, then this will not be an option. I do think TT and Frozen appear at both times. I had not watched for Remy in my research since we planned to get it at 7:00.

I just happened to read this at 2:46 and sure enough Remy and TT had return times of 3pm!!! No frozen but still! And at 2:49 TT was at 3:05 and Remy at 3:50 so that’s pretty good!!!

 

[Erica Ladd]

And darn it. Just looked now bc I missed 4:47 pm. And nothing special available. I’m gonna set a timer for tomorrow!!

 

[EPCOT-O.G.]

How are the crowd levels? I ask because I’ve been seeing and reading elsewhere things have tapered off since right before July 4 (with a surge in mid June). Wait times the last few days seem to have dropped too.
We’re going in early August and they haven’t expanded the hours starting then as compared to what they’ve done up through late July. Also seems there’s a ton of rooms available then (again, as compared to right now)

 

[lovethesun12]

How are the crowd levels? I ask because I’ve been seeing and reading elsewhere things have tapered off since right before July 4 (with a surge in mid June). Wait times the last few days seem to have dropped too.
We’re going in early August and they haven’t expanded the hours starting then as compared to what they’ve done up through late July. Also seems there’s a ton of rooms available then (again, as compared to right now)

I had to reschedule my trip to August and the dining situation definitely looks worse (trying to get reservations) than it did for my July trip. Wondering if maybe the Halloween parties are going to have an impact on crowds when I'm there.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I had to reschedule my trip to August and the dining situation definitely looks worse (trying to get reservations) than it did for my July trip. Wondering if maybe the Halloween parties are going to have an impact on crowds when I'm there.

The majority of dining g fills up 60 days out so I haven’t found it’s much of an indication of crowds.

I would recommend to keep watching, especially in the last 24 hours before you want a specific reservation. We were there in Feb when it was busy and had tried for certain dining reservations for weeks. The day before each of them we got them and we’re even able to move them around numerous times as new times opened up. People are changing plans up until the last minute.

 

[closetmickey]

Back from a 9 day trip (6/25- 7/4/22) where we stayed at Saratoga Springs in a 1BR villa. As I learned so much from other people's experiences, I am sharing a few insights from this trip.

First off, I used to be a pretty seasoned WDW planner but this was the first trip post COVID so I was very nervous about all the changes and my ability to adapt. Luckily my fears were unfounded and we had a wonderful trip.

My little family is me, my husband and two teen daughters. As such, we went to parks in the evening and spent morning at the resort at the pool. We planned two days at each park and three at MK (one was our arrival day so we only spent a few hours at MK that day). We did not have park hoppers. We had Genie+ for length of stay and bought ILLs at all the parks except GOTG. We were able to get the VQ both days and the Extra EMH queue so we rode three times. Great ride!

Some observations:

1. Genie+ can work well if you are going in the evening and start reserving times in the morning. We were able to ride everything we wanted with only a little bit of planning. The park that was the hardest was EPCOT because Test Track and Frozen were gone before you could reserve a spot at 10:30. Since we had not ridden Remy we had prioritized it on the first EPCOT day. On the second EPCOT day, I just reserved Test Track and we did not ride Remy again. Genie + is definitely expensive but does save a considerable amount of wait time. Also, it is a buffer in case rides go down. If the ride is down during your ride time, you get a pass to ride it anytime for the rest of the day. We had quite a few rides down, some mechanical and some weather related so this was extremely helpful. I would have been very annoyed if I waited 60 minutes for Remy and then the line was evacuated with no recourse for riding later.
2. If you get Extra EMH, definitely try to use at Magic Kingdom. You will be able to go on multiple rides with little wait. I would not use this time at EPCOT again. Wait times still high and with fewer rides and more walking between rides, it just didn't work for us. (We did get the extra GOTH ride though so YMMV). Also, not being able to find a place to buy water was incredibly frustrating.
3. Busses were very good. They came often and were usually not full.
4. Food was excellent everywhere we went but prices were high. Sit down dinners for four were usually around $200. One dinner at California Grill was much more but I would do it again. we took advantage of snack carts for things like churros and spring rolls in the afternoons and avoided counter service meals at the Parks for the most part. They seemed crowded and finding seats looked like a challenge.
5. SSR is a great resort. We have always stayed here but with the room renovations, it is really nice. Pools were not crowded so spending mornings at the pool was a good plan. Plus, you avoided the possibility of getting the afternoon rain.
6. Cast members were very good. I saw some rude customers but not any rude CMs. We had one CM on Star Tours who was phenomenal. Recognized my daughter;s birthday and had the whole car sing Happy Birthday to her. We got to go to the Wookie Planet which was fun too. Love that ride and usually a walk-on.

All in all, it was a great trip. Kids want to go back next year but I think that with the current prices, we will give it two years., That will give me time to earn Reward dollars on the Disney Visa (we had $2,000 for this trip which helped with the sticker shock).

Thank you to everyone whose posts I have been reading for the past six months. You helped me tremendously.

Edited to add that "fiddle faddle" really did work. Once the really good rides/times were gone we would not reserve a ride and spend five minutes or so fiddle faddling and usually get a good option within the hour.

Is “fiddle faddle” the same as refresh?

 

[Smugpugmug]

Is “fiddle faddle” the same as refresh?

Yes. Fiddle Faddle is Molly from Allears' nickname for refreshing the tip board. I call it fiddle faddle too because of her videos LOL

 

[Erica Ladd]

What’s the best way to refresh again?

 

[TheDailyMoo]

How are the crowd levels? I ask because I’ve been seeing and reading elsewhere things have tapered off since right before July 4 (with a surge in mid June). Wait times the last few days seem to have dropped too.
We’re going in early August and they haven’t expanded the hours starting then as compared to what they’ve done up through late July. Also seems there’s a ton of rooms available then (again, as compared to right now)

I hate crowds. Hate them. And I'm telling ya July 4th weekend and especially the few days before and after were really NOT bad at all. Like...I'm a complainer by nature lol. It wasn't bad. July 3rd fireworks at MK was out of control packed of course. July 4th at Epcot? Felt like a regular busy night with fireworks. Certainly didn't feel like July 4th. Sure I'd love to be the only one in the park but considering what I was reading about crowd levels I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe that's why I'm being so positive about the whole trip. Maybe I spent so much time reading all the complaints for two years that I completely expected the worst and I got what was really a great time. Going to finish up my trip report tonight. I have a lot to say about Genie+ and random thoughts about the bathroom soap being used in the parks...see I told you, I can find anything to complain about!

 

[Smugpugmug]

What’s the best way to refresh again?

The typical way of refreshing is to be on the tip board, so this page here:


You then hold the screen and pull down the tip board. It does take a second to load (depending on whether you're on wifi or not and your data provider) but it'll refresh and give you the current available selections.

A way I find better at the 7 am rush is to be on the screen of your preferred ride before 7. So if I wanted Slinky, I would be on this page before 7 am:


At exactly 7:00:00 (not before), click on the Lightning Lane icon and it will bring you to the tip board with Slinky at the top. I found this to be quicker than pulling down the screen at the 7 am selection process but YMMV. I did this for Remy when my parents were going to Epcot and wanted me to help with Genie+ and was able to get a 8:15 am return time.

 

[Erica Ladd]

Awesome! Just tried it and I see different times!! Does this work with choosing your experiences when at the parks? Meaning does it refresh your favorite rides and keep them at the top?