Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[T'Lynn]

How was Harmonious with the package vs. without? I'm debating booking Rose and Crown, but don't know if the view would be worth it. However, don't know how much I want to deal with trying to stake out a good spot otherwise.

As you know, the R&C view doesn't show the center circle. On our first night, we staked out a spot about an hour in advance right on the water in front of Italy so we could see the whole show in all it's glory. I learned that there is really only a couple times when the center is showing something that you'd miss from the sides. Usually whatever is in the center it displaying on at least one of the "taco barges"

On our last night we had the R&C package and it was a bit abnormal because it rained that day so we weren't seated on the lower patio, we were on the upper patio with the rain shields pulled down. Luckily it stopped raining just long enough for the whole show. It was really nice to have a covered spot with dinner and drinks to watch the show.

The package was great ... I don't think I'd do it again BUT I think it was a very cool experience to do once. As for the view, it was like watching a whole different version of the show from another angle and I didn't miss out on not being able to see the center.

All this to say, I do recommend anyone to book it! It was a very cool experience. If you end up with a rainy night like we did it was very much worth it to have a comfy spot and guaranteed good seat! I could see that there were still a lot of people lining up along the railings around the showcase so I think a lot of people still staked out a spot in the rain!

 

[starousse]

It's refreshing to see so many more people reporting that they're having a great time and getting a lot done in the parks.

 

[Lsdolphin]

AK is opening at 7:30am this week with early morning hours at 7-7:30...does anyone know if the Safari ride opens at 7:30 I know sometimes when park has opened at 8 am the Safari doesn’t open til 9:00 am?

 

[MinnierellaMama]

AK is opening at 7:30am this week with early morning hours at 7-7:30...does anyone know if the Safari ride opens at 7:30 I know sometimes when park has opened at 8 am the Safari doesn’t open til 9:00 am?

When we were there last week, it didn’t start running until 8:30 on our AK day. Not sure if that’s the norm or not…

 

[acpalmer]

AK is opening at 7:30am this week with early morning hours at 7-7:30...does anyone know if the Safari ride opens at 7:30 I know sometimes when park has opened at 8 am the Safari doesn’t open til 9:00 am?

If you click on the ride in Tip Board in the MDE app, it will tell you the hours that it is running. Today AK opened at 7:30 and the app says Safari is open from 8:15am to 7:00pm.

 

[pens4821]

Here now and hope to do a full report upon our return but wanted to just say that I read a lot of reports about magic being gone (mostly on Facebook) that made me very anxious before coming. I'm here tagging along on my husband's conference and then we have a family trip in May and I honestly was a little afraid that we'd have such an unmagical time that we might cancel May. Halfway through our trip and that's definitely NOT the case! The parks are clean, the cast members are friendly, other guests are courteous for the most part and magic is here. There are Photopass photographers readily available in all three parks we've been to so far. The food has been delicious and mobile order works great. Yes the parks are crowded and genie+ isn't great especially in HS but necessary to at least skip a few lines. Yesterday missed my 10 am window due to being in Muppets which set me 15 minutes behind so wasn't able to snag tower or RNRC. Lesson learned. Being offsite I was able to grab Rise though after refreshing a bunch. Totally worth it! So for those with upcoming trips, be assured it is possible to have a magical trip!

I'm just back home after a week long trip and it was our best ever at Disney!

Magic Kingdom: We did 2 full days and 1 half day and we rode and saw EVERYTHING. 7DMT 4x, Splash, Space, and BTMRR twice each. We used Genie+, stayed for the full EEH and never rope dropped. We ate at CRT, BoG, Skipper Canteen and Tony's and did a Enchanted Dessert package - it was awesome

Epcot: We stayed at Beach Club so we had quite a few partial days and one full Epcot day. We rode everything multiple times and watched Harmonious twice (one with a fireworks package) and everything was wonderful. We even got caught in a hug rainstorm and took shelter in Spaceship Earth! Space 220 Lounge was incredible. Garden Grill was one of the best dining experiences.

Hollywood Studios: We did one RD morning and one evening of LL stacking. We rode everything, most rides twice! Ate at HBD and Oga's after park close

Animal Kingdom: Did one afternoon (after lunch at Sanaa) and rode FoP twice and everything else once. Kite Tails was cancelled due to wind.

I did buy 7DMT three times because my DD just loves it so much. I bought FoP once and RotR twice. We added G+ to our package and used it every day and found it to be very useful. We waited twice in 45 minute lines but those were the only long waits we had.

Glad to read about how great it was for you. We felt the same way. So much gloom and doom here but we had a blast! Happy to see others reporting the same. Yeah, there were some things I’d have liked to change, but in the grand scheme it was an awesome trip.

 

[T'Lynn]

It's refreshing to see so many more people reporting that they're having a great time and getting a lot done in the parks.

Glad to read about how great it was for you. We felt the same way. So much gloom and doom here but we had a blast! Happy to see others reporting the same. Yeah, there were some things I’d have liked to change, but in the grand scheme it was an awesome trip.

It really was a great time but I know that I greatly benefitted from others having gone through trial and error. I think that will always happen when something changes and this time it has the added injury of a cost for something that used to be free.

While I didn't enjoy paying for it, I have to say that I really like the way Genie+ worked for me. I got to ride way more rides than I ever did before and as our plans evolved throughout the week I was able to make different selections each morning. It's not perfect but the system worked really well for us.

 

[scrappinginontario]

AK is opening at 7:30am this week with early morning hours at 7-7:30...does anyone know if the Safari ride opens at 7:30 I know sometimes when park has opened at 8 am the Safari doesn’t open til 9:00 am?

Normal start time for Safari is 8:15 regardless of park opening time.

 

[lynch34]

Here now and thoughts are:
Parks are broken. The wait times are insane. I can’t imagine the summer. Will be a total disaster.

Disney should be totally ashamed that they don’t run the trams in AL and MK. Im sorry but that is a total sham. Im fine but I walk by elderly and kids who are struggling before even getting into the parks and it’s so wrong.

Genie+ is unfortunate. You spend way too much time on your phone. You should be able to modify selection at the same time you cancel a selection.

Harmonious is great. My whole family loved it. Way better than Illumimations. Don’t understand hate of it at all.

Not to sound obnoxious but I can afford this trip
But Disney is clearly catering to the rich and super rich. This is not an experience most Americans could afford in a million years. It’s been trending that way for awhile but they don’t even hide it at this point. I’m going to choose to spend my money elsewhere and I can’t believe it’s gotten to this point.

Again - if you have summer reservations and can get out of them - I’d consider. It will be a disaster of epic proportions. The magic is gone.

 

[lynch34]

Oh and they are getting by on nostalgia. They are not investing in the parks. Every long time Disney goer should realize this. Talked to a DVC couple in line at Soarin yesterday and they said they’ve never felt less enthused by Disney.

I used to pay the big bill and almost feel as I got a bargain. Now I paid the obsence amount and feel as I am being taken advantage of.

 

[redboat45]

Oh and they are getting by on nostalgia. They are not investing in the parks. Every long time Disney goer should realize this. Talked to a DVC couple in line at Soarin yesterday and they said they’ve never felt less enthused by Disney.

I used to pay the big bill and almost feel as I got a bargain. Now I paid the obsence amount and feel as I am being taken advantage of.

They don't seem to want to invest in WDW besides throwing a new ride in here and there. They don't maintain the parks like they used to. They LOVE to invest is DisneyLAND though.

 

[lynch34]

I’d add one last thing - go investigate Universal, trips to other countries, states and then total up Disney. Disney will not come out favorable and the experience is borderline awful.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Here now and thoughts are:
Parks are broken. The wait times are insane. I can’t imagine the summer. Will be a total disaster.

Disney should be totally ashamed that they don’t run the trams in AL and MK. Im sorry but that is a total sham. Im fine but I walk by elderly and kids who are struggling before even getting into the parks and it’s so wrong.

Genie+ is unfortunate. You spend way too much time on your phone. You should be able to modify selection at the same time you cancel a selection.

Harmonious is great. My whole family loved it. Way better than Illumimations. Don’t understand hate of it at all.

Not to sound obnoxious but I can afford this trip
But Disney is clearly catering to the rich and super rich. This is not an experience most Americans could afford in a million years. It’s been trending that way for awhile but they don’t even hide it at this point. I’m going to choose to spend my money elsewhere and I can’t believe it’s gotten to this point.

Again - if you have summer reservations and can get out of them - I’d consider. It will be a disaster of epic proportions. The magic is gone.

trams are running at MK but the trams have never run to the handicapped parking area. that is not new and I have had to make that walk a number of times precovid

 

[Haley R]

trams are running at MK but the trams have never run to the handicapped parking area. that is not new and I have had to make that walk a number of times precovid

We were at MK last week and the trams were not running

 

[redboat45]

trams are running at MK but the trams have never run to the handicapped parking area. that is not new and I have had to make that walk a number of times precovid

yes that is correct because wheelchairs can't go on the tram.

 

[summerlvr]

We were at MK last week and the trams were not running

I was there the end of March and the MK trams were running, but not for early entry. Not sure what time they started, but they were running when I left mid day.

 

[Haley R]

I was there the end of March and the MK trams were running, but not for early entry. Not sure what time they started, but they were running when I left mid day.

We were there at night around 5-8 pm and didn’t see them running.

 

[bambialways4ever]

We were at MK last week and the trams were not running

We were at the TTC last Thursday and the trams were running.

 

[askias]

Just back from a 4/2-4/6 trip and honestly I think it was the best time we ever had at Disney. We flew in on Saturday, and went straight to Hollywood Studios. I had gotten up early and booked an ILL for ROTR (4-5) and we also had lightsabers at 4. On top of that we got a MFSR through Genie + at about 1:30. As many folks know, that was a deluge of a rain day, but that ended up being a blessing in disguise, as we were able to tack on Oga's at 8 and Mickey and Minnie's railway with a minimum of fuss. We got wet and our socks and shoes were soaked, but everyone was happy with our first day at Disney. We found ILL's and Genie + to be really convenient. We did MK on Sunday, and used Genie to book Peter Pan's Flight first thing, as well as add a Pirates in the middle of the day and a Jungle Cruise ride at night. I really liked being able to tell what was available in one place, with the mobile dining options added in. We used mobile dining for every single lunch in the park and it was super convenient. Our 3rd day took us back to Hollywood Studios, but we were clearly out of gas. After doing some light shopping and having our lightsabers shipped home, we called it an early day and went back to the room. Later in the afternoon, we hopped back to MK for another Peter Pan's Flight, but we did very little this day except shop. Finally, on the last day, we did EPCOT. This was the one day we did not do Genie +, although I did ILL Remy's adventure. After that we did a complete circuit of all the countries, had lunch, and then went back to the hotel for a siesta before going back to MK for another round of Pirates as well as the Tomorrowland People Mover. Then dinner and the fireworks which wrapped up our vacation. It's funny, I thought the 14 year old would be jaded about the whole thing, but she was funny and super into the planning of the trip and very engaged. We've taken her at 3 (WDW) and 6 (Disneyland), but it was super fun having her be an equal planner in the trip and really see the value in it. Hope all is well with others!

 

[Sugarshock]

We just came back from a fantastic trip 3/30-4/2! Some thoughts:

Old Key West - I had never stayed at this resort before and really fell in love with it! We had a hiccup where we did not get access to our room until 5:30 (Not a big deal, we were in the parks anyways), but everything else was perfect. The pool wasn’t crowded when we went, Olivia’s was great for dinner, and we can’t wait to go back.

EPCOT - 3/30 - We arrived late to EPCOT and still managed to do everything we wanted! We rode Frozen, Soarin’, Living with the Land, and Remy using Genie+/ILL$. Standby for Spaceship Earth was quick by the time we arrived. FLAG was excellent, the croissant at the France booth was our best if the fest!

Magic Kingdom - 3/31 - We opted to get there late and stay until close (11PM). We grabbed breakfast at Steakhouse 71 (so good!) and made our way into the park in time for the noon FoF. We managed to get Jungle Cruise, Pirates, HM, Mermaid, Space, and Buzz with Genie+. Crowds weren’t as bad as I was expecting; which was a pleasant surprise.

Hollywood - 4/1 - Genie+ at DHS was the most challenging, but we still had a lot of success. We got on ToT, Mickey and Minnie, Slinky, Star Tours, Toy Story Mania, and ROTR using G+/ILL$. We left at 5, so I have no doubt we could’ve done everything!

Overall it was a great trip, and I have the unpopular opinion of actually liking Genie+. I’m very much looking forward to our next trip in November.

Feel free to ask any questions you might have!