Rumors of Light (ROL discussion thread)

[rteetz]

I come with rivers of light news. The team doing rivers of light has been battling tech issues according to wdwmagic. This is why the previews are cancelled as they are going to cut it very close to make the opening date.

 

[KMWoolley]

I've heard of that, but she said that they had "fast passes" or at least didn't have to wait, for rides that were exempt from the Express pass - maybe HP stuff? Again, I'm not sure, are there rides that are exempt? I don't have much working knowledge of Universal - hoping we'll get there next trip!

When it comes to cash grabs, Disney is way behind Universal.
Express pass - One express pass entry to specific rides
Unlimited Express pass - Unlimited express entries but nearly doubles your admission tickets in price
Oh yeah, the busier the season, the more they Jack up the price

I have enjoyed Universal but their add-ons for express passes are obscene and make Disney look like allstars

 

[jlundeen]

I've heard of that, but she said that they had "fast passes" or at least didn't have to wait, for rides that were exempt from the Express pass - maybe HP stuff? Again, I'm not sure, are there rides that are exempt? I don't have much working knowledge of Universal - hoping we'll get there next trip!

yes, Harry Potter stuff is not included in Express Pass...

 

[jlundeen]

I come with rivers of light news. The team doing rivers of light has been battling tech issues according to wdwmagic. This is why the previews are cancelled as they are going to cut it very close to make the opening date.

THanks for the update! Every little bit of info is welcome here!!

 

[jlundeen]

When it comes to cash grabs, Disney is way behind Universal.
Express pass - One express pass entry to specific rides
Unlimited Express pass - Unlimited express entries but nearly doubles your admission tickets in price
Oh yeah, the busier the season, the more they Jack up the price

I have enjoyed Universal but their add-ons for express passes are obscene and make Disney look like allstars

I have often thought that Disney would eventually do a "pay for unlimited FP" offer too...probably has been looked at but not yet seriously considered. I would probably pay the price, if it was "reasonable". Don't ask me to say what that is, cause I don't know. But if you could get a "length of stay" option (or something equivalent for AP folks) that gave you unlimited FP, it might be worth it....

 

[TheFloatingBear]

I come with rivers of light news. The team doing rivers of light has been battling tech issues according to wdwmagic. This is why the previews are cancelled as they are going to cut it very close to make the opening date.

Thank you so much for the information - I truly appreciate it. I wondered if it was something like this - sad about the preview party news - it sounded so fun - but hopefully it will be ready to go by the opening date!

 

[ITALIANNYC]

When it comes to cash grabs, Disney is way behind Universal.
Express pass - One express pass entry to specific rides
Unlimited Express pass - Unlimited express entries but nearly doubles your admission tickets in price
Oh yeah, the busier the season, the more they Jack up the price

I have enjoyed Universal but their add-ons for express passes are obscene and make Disney look like allstars

Worth it, helps when you bring your family

 

[Kevin1986]

Had the worst cast member on the phone, Sharon! I called last night and got a wonderful CM who bent over backwards to find out about the club villain AP discount and she spoke to her manager and he said it will be available for 9:00 PM show on May 14th but the discounts have not been loaded yet... which is what my DIS peeps were reporting on here. I got Sharon today who didn't know what club villain was. She said she had to check her emails. Then she saying check the "AP website." I said no it would not be on there, that you have to take my confirmation number, change it to the AP rate and I get refunded 60.00. She said no, the AP rate is only good for tonight's and tuesdays. She said its not in April and May. I said well, I have May 14th booked. She said they did not extend it. She then said check the "AP website" again. Frustrating! I sent a letter to guest relations on her.

 

[Suzie3126]

Since there is no ROL news to discuss, I wanted to ask for some advice on one of my ADR's. I had scheduled my Fantasmic package for lunch at Hollywood & Vine months ago for my family of 4. When looking over my itinerary I realized that at lunch time they have the Disney Jr. characters and not Mickey, Minnie, & friends. Big oversight on my part. I spoke with my kids (DD8 & DS12) and they had no interest in the Disney Jr. character buffet. Of course at this point all the dinners were all booked up, but I managed to get 2 tables for 2, only 5 minutes apart. My question is, do you think there is any way I could get H&V to make that 1 table of 4? Or at least seat us in the same general area? Has anyone done something similar to this?

OMG, you just saved my life with this. I don't know how I didn't realize it. I had a dinner res for H&V but then Club Villain was available so I just bumped H&V to lunch without realizing. I'm doing this trip solo and would have felt like a TOTAL creeper at a Disney JR lunch! Managed to get Minnie's Seasonal for another night with minimal interruptions, so that's good. Thank you for pointing that out!!

 

[TheFloatingBear]

When it comes to cash grabs, Disney is way behind Universal.
Express pass - One express pass entry to specific rides
Unlimited Express pass - Unlimited express entries but nearly doubles your admission tickets in price
Oh yeah, the busier the season, the more they Jack up the price

I have enjoyed Universal but their add-ons for express passes are obscene and make Disney look like allstars

Interesting - I read a little about it as originally we were thinking Universal for this April trip, but hadn't made sense of it all yet before we decided to do Disney instead. The friends I was talking about had like a "unofficial" Universal (and Disney) tour - so with someone unaffiliated with Universal - and had access to everything - I had just been curious as I didn't know how that worked? Just on the (off) topic) of planners vs. non-planners and such!

 

[jeanico2000]

Not trying to compare Disney over Universal, but onsite guests at Universal (except those staying at Cabana Bay) automatically get front of the line privileges on most attractions + early entrance to 1 of the 2 parks. So not a cash grab if you are staying at one of their signature properties. We love Universal as much as we love Disney, minus the uber planning stress required by Disney, versus Universal.

 

[MMlovesDisney]

OMG, you just saved my life with this. I don't know how I didn't realize it. I had a dinner res for H&V but then Club Villain was available so I just bumped H&V to lunch without realizing. I'm doing this trip solo and would have felt like a TOTAL creeper at a Disney JR lunch! Managed to get Minnie's Seasonal for another night with minimal interruptions, so that's good. Thank you for pointing that out!!

Haha I'm glad I could help! I would have loved to do Club Villan also, but it's just not in the cards for this trip. Sounds like lots of fun though.

 

[belleincanada]

I find it ironic that there's a story and a picture of Tina Fey meeting Lady Tremaine and the step-sisters at the Castle in MK when you can no longer meet Lady Tremaine at Magic Kingdom. It's the stuff like that that really gets my goat! Trying to roll with the punches, but my DD9 really wanted to meet Lady T. after a couple of near misses the last trip - that's maddening!

Whaaaaat really?! We had such fun meeting her and the stepsisters only a year ago. They were one of our favourite character meets! Can you only meet Lady T at 1900 PF now?

 

[Ydnameht]

I've been lurking on this thread since the beginning and hoping for some real news to finally come our way. I woke up so many early mornings hoping I'd be able to snag a dining package if they ever appeared. I've even left a few comments on the Parks Blog joining in the requests for information. I'm 30 days out from our first park day now though and still they won't tell us hours or showtimes. So I've decided to just proceed as if we won't be seeing anything magical involving lights or water on our trip. Or seeing the nighttime safari. Or staying in the park past 6 PM.

Basically just trying to manage my expectations. This way if something miraculously materializes it will be an added bonus.

Of course, it's very easy to tell myself this and very hard to actually BELIEVE it.

 

[jlundeen]

I've been lurking on this thread since the beginning and hoping for some real news to finally come our way. I woke up so many early mornings hoping I'd be able to snag a dining package if they ever appeared. I've even left a few comments on the Parks Blog joining in the requests for information. I'm 30 days out from our first park day now though and still they won't tell us hours or showtimes. So I've decided to just proceed as if we won't be seeing anything magical involving lights or water on our trip. Or seeing the nighttime safari. Or staying in the park past 6 PM.

Basically just trying to manage my expectations. This way if something miraculously materializes it will be an added bonus.

Of course, it's very easy to tell myself this and very hard to actually BELIEVE it.

HA HA...we're at 28 days now...4 weeks from today we'll be there! So, I hear you! I hit that point about a week ago...still hoping, but not crazy about it anymore....I guess that's the last stage of grief, right? Acceptance?

 

[KMWoolley]

I have often thought that Disney would eventually do a "pay for unlimited FP" offer too...probably has been looked at but not yet seriously considered. I would probably pay the price, if it was "reasonable". Don't ask me to say what that is, cause I don't know. But if you could get a "length of stay" option (or something equivalent for AP folks) that gave you unlimited FP, it might be worth it....

That would keep me away. I have always admired how Fastpasses are for everyone and the 'perks' were add-ons that gave more value than just a ride, like MNSSHP and MVMCP. If they start to make the normal Fastpasses a charge, I'm done.....unless the wife says differently..... Hahahaha

 

[jlundeen]

That would keep me away. I have always admired how Fastpasses are for everyone and the 'perks' were add one that gave more value than just a ride like MNSSHP and MVMCP. If they start to make the normal Fastpasses a charge, I'm done.....unless the wife says differently..... Hahahaha

I guess I was thinking of it more like an OPTION - like the Water Parks and More option. It used to be that you could also select other options like "never expiring tickets" for a higher cost. This could be something like that - normal FP+ included in the regular ticket price, like today, but if you wanted to upgrade to "unlimited FP" option, you could...

Just my thoughts...who knows what the powers that be will come up with next.

 

[Anal Annie]

I come with rivers of light news. The team doing rivers of light has been battling tech issues according to wdwmagic. This is why the previews are cancelled as they are going to cut it very close to make the opening date.

Thanks for the update. I'm really hoping for a FP+ opportunity for this over a ROL dining pkg. as it would save us a lot of money. We're going June 4 so my FP+ window opens April 5th so I still have 10 days. Hopefully there will be news on the dining pkgs and FP's by then but so I'm just lurking all over the place hoping to be able to plan an AK park evening before I book up every day of our week with other things. Disney is making advanced planning REALLLLLY difficult tho with this new ROL & nighttime safari (and the lack of info.). I just want dates & park hours already so I can finish my planning for the rest of my week. I have tried to leave 3 days (evenings) open for AK but they're killin' me here!!

 

[KMWoolley]

HA HA...we're at 28 days now...4 weeks from today we'll be there! So, I hear you! I hit that point about a week ago...still hoping, but not crazy about it anymore....I guess that's the last stage of grief, right? Acceptance?

I hear you both and I'm also at 28 days.
I have a similar attitude. My plans are mostly set but some wiggle room.
I have ADRs on my AK day at Tusker (in case I can covert to dining pkg) and 'Ohana at 9:30 in case the AK nighttime doesn't come about.
No kids this trip so it's a little easier to plan and please....rum always soothes the nerves

 

[TheFloatingBear]

Whaaaaat really?! We had such fun meeting her and the stepsisters only a year ago. They were one of our favourite character meets! Can you only meet Lady T at 1900 PF now?

That is my understanding, but I could be wrong - I think I've seen it here and on Kenny the Pirate's website. I've heard that they are so fun - we were looking forward to it - the sisters are still there, I guess, but not mom! I guess if you ask, they say she has been "banished!"