It seems too hard, should I give up?

[PrestonatorSR]

Hello all

My empty nester wife and I have been eager to return to WDW this summer, where we typically connect with our cast member daughter for a few days to catch up and MOOCH off her park passes . But this summer, of course, is much different for many reasons discussed ad nausea on these boards.

One big thud for us spoiled parents is that our daughter's passes don't work the same as they did prior to the pandemic. So, long story short, we would have to foot (most of) our own bill for touring the parks. Certainly reasonable and understandable, to be sure. But that leads me to the question, is it worth it this summer?

We still like to go to the parks, but it just seems so chaotic still right now, based on some of the things I've read. Part of me thinks that despite our artsiness to return, we would be better off punting on summer and waiting until next year. I know people have written about this all over these boards, but here are the questions that just seem "too hard."

* How do we begin to figure out how to match up tickets between our purchased ones and our CMs limited # of passes? She would likely have to buy at least 2-3 days worth of passes, in addition to gate passes on a couple of days. We obviously want to be connected in ways that allow us to make FP reservations, etc., with ease.

* What are the parks likely to be like in mid July with the flowing capacity situation? (Other than Hades hot, as we well know from our many visits at that time of year.) How easy/difficult/soon would we need to nail down park rotation, etc.

* What's the overall vibe these days in the park?

Thanks for indulging my questions.

Best

 

[pjredhead]

Heat wold be a factor for sure.
We are leaving June 1 for Disney. I am glad we won't have to wear mask all the time.
You are lucky you can get discounted tickets. Go have fun You only live once.

 

[samara]

FastPass is not currently a thing, so you wouldn’t have to worry about lining those up. I didn’t think I would feel this way, but I am actually looking forward to our upcoming trip without FP. You would want to nail down your Park Reservations soon though - the first two weeks of July are already limited availability.

 

[PrestonatorSR]

FastPass is not currently a thing, so you wouldn’t have to worry about lining those up. I didn’t think I would feel this way, but I am actually looking forward to our upcoming trip without FP. You would want to nail down your Park Reservations soon though - the first two weeks of July are already limited availability.

Thanks, but actually I had forgotten there is NO FP, which to me is a DEFINITE problem. That's how we've mastered the parks for years. I'm not a big fan of enduring long standby lines all day long or getting up at the crack of dawn to compete for shorter wait times. The reality is, without FP, I suspect the major attractions will all be ridiculous waits we just won't do. And, in fact, even some of the minor ones are likely to have longer waits than what we would typically endure.

I'm not trying to be a negative Nate here, because like you, I know there are many people who actually seem to prefer no FP. And that's truly great, if you are comfortable and good with that! But for us, it just might be a deal-killer right there...bummer!

 

[wfjny]

Thanks, but actually I had forgotten there is NO FP, which to me is a DEFINITE problem.

We have been there 5 times since they reopened. Mostly long weekend type of trips. One week long trip.

I thought not having FP would be terrible. I was wrong. Our first two trips, lines basically did not exist. Lost some magic there, hardly any kids, no pre-shows, etc. But hey, learning to live in a pandemic.

I though not being able to park hop would be a killer. Our standard day was to go to a park early, leave by noonish, lunch, hotel, pool, shower, whatever, then hit another park in the evening. With the parks each open on 8 hours, we adapted, and went back to the same park a few hours later.

The lines with no FP seemed to move much quicker. I also agree with what others have said, most wait times listed were higher than the actual. But there were a few times the opposite was true. Waited 45 minutes for BTMR when it only showed 15 minutes.

I think with the relaxation of social distancing, and the increasing of capacity on the rides to 100%, things will be better. The lack of shows and basically “other things for people to do” will continue to have a negative effect on the ride lines until they return.

But as others have said, the inability to schedule everything was actually kinda nice. We did the park a bit more like it was designed, instead of zig-zagging from ride to ride. It was nice to slow things down a bit.

I realize a little different for us. We have been there so many times (DVC, AP, and just an 8 hour drive away), I am not concerned if I cannot get on a ride like Rise of the Resistance this time. I am not going to wait two hours to do a ride that we have done many times before. In that way we have been very blessed.

But I would say go for it...

We will be back June 1st...

 

[coolbrook]

Hi, We have a CM daughter as well. I have been to Disney three times since re-opening and will be there next week as well coming from Kansas City. The ability for my CM daughter to get in to the parks has decreased over the year to basically none now. The entire month of May CM were initially blocked out of all parks until a meager 4 days at Epcot became available last minute M-TH of last week. She was able to get an Epcot park pass for two of those days which was wonderful since one of her sisters was there from New York. The sister had to go ahead and purchase tickets though several weeks ago in order to be sure she could get in to the parks, and even then HS was not available.

My advice to you would be to buy tickets if you want to go this summer. Things may get back to normal this fall some time where we could count of getting in with CM passes again as capacity increases. Even if your daughter is suddenly un-blocked it would probably be last minute and only for Epcot.

For this trip next week we purchased tickets for our youngest who will be coming with us. My husband and I have AP's which we have now renewed because of this problem of no CM park availability, since we will be back in August and November this year.

Another challenge for trip planning this year is that it has been harder for our CM daughter to get vacation days approved and we often don't know until a week before our trip whether she will be able to spend days with us. Of the 6 days of our May trip only two of her requested days of were appoved. UGH! Very hard to plan time with her and ADR's to have meals with her, but we will make the best of it.

Good luck to you and your family! You can make it fun if you decide to go. It will just be different.

 

[coolbrook]

Block-out Dates (disney.com)
Check this calendar for when CM can get in to parks on their employee passes and guest passes.

 

[PrestonatorSR]

Hi, We have a CM daughter as well. I have been to Disney three times since re-opening and will be there next week as well coming from Kansas City. The ability for my CM daughter to get in to the parks has decreased over the year to basically none now. The entire month of May CM were initially blocked out of all parks until a meager 4 days at Epcot became available last minute M-TH of last week. She was able to get an Epcot park pass for two of those days which was wonderful since one of her sisters was there from New York. The sister had to go ahead and purchase tickets though several weeks ago in order to be sure she could get in to the parks, and even then HS was not available.

My advice to you would be to buy tickets if you want to go this summer. Things may get back to normal this fall some time where we could count of getting in with CM passes again as capacity increases. Even if your daughter is suddenly un-blocked it would probably be last minute and only for Epcot.

For this trip next week we purchased tickets for our youngest who will be coming with us. My husband and I have AP's which we have now renewed because of this problem of no CM park availability, since we will be back in August and November this year.

Another challenge for trip planning this year is that it has been harder for our CM daughter to get vacation days approved and we often don't know until a week before our trip whether she will be able to spend days with us. Of the 6 days of our May trip only two of her requested days of were appoved. UGH! Very hard to plan time with her and ADR's to have meals with her, but we will make the best of it.

Good luck to you and your family! You can make it fun if you decide to go. It will just be different.

Thanks, very helpful information!! Now, I kind of feel like we are in no-man's land. Feeling like the timing is a bit off, but daughter has worked hard to get several of the days off. Not sure if it would really bother her or not if we decide to bail on this plan. We are going to talk later today to gauge her vibe. (We are empty nesters and our older children are generally finding that spending time with mom and dad is generally passe . Our Disney CM daughter "seems" to like time with us, but she is also very polite, so she might just be trying to not hurt our feelings, lol. We'll talk it through and check her vibe...

Good luck with your upcoming trips!!

 

[Heather07438]

For people who have visited many times over the years, I think it’s an exciting time to go and visit historic pandemic WDW. It’s different but not all bad... and we’re finally at the point it’s likely week by week things return. The outlook is good! Nothing is guaranteed at this point but there’s just this chance to celebrate a summer like this one at the Most Magical Place on Earth.

 

[North of Mouse]

We have not/will not go for the foreseeable future for all the reasons you listed and more. Had ressies for April of '20 and cancelled when we saw what was bound to come even before they closed the parks.
We know what heat and masks are, plus having half or more of our usual experiences there, and we have no desire to be there - have lots of other places we can spend our time now.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the wearing of masks, we are very cautious, plus am understanding of the limited experiences there, but we don't want to see/experience it for ourselves. It would be such a damper for dh & I. We are 'long timers' from our first trips when MK was only park and we'll wait for the whole experience to return (hopefully - or close anyway).

So, it most definitely isn't worth it to us now.

 

[Markal]

My DH and I are going the middle of June. Yes we understand things are not what they once were, but we are OK with that. We know that we will be back so we are just going to be in our happy place. We too are empty nesters. It's way different going without your kids, but we still have lots of fun. Whatever you decide will be the right decision for you.

 

[LiteBrite]

Empty nester parents here (although not parents of a CM).

My point of view - do it. Spend that time with your daughter, however much of it you can get, it's all precious.

I agree with @Heather07438 - even if it's a more challenging time to visit than you're used to, it is historic, and God willing, we won't see anything like it again. If you go, you'll have a memory you won't get any other time.

And finally, we've been three different times during the pandemic, we're here right now, and we have thought each of these times has been totally worth it. It's all about your attitude, keep it positive and be creative and you can have a great trip.