A Touch of Disney 2021 Experience - Superthread - Read First Post for Updates - Updated with Full Menus

[theluckyrabbit]

Any TOD reports from today? Any experience with M&F -- has that situation improved at all, e.g. opening time? Any and all information is appreciated!

 

[DizneyMommy]

Could you buy additional foods from the tastings booths or were you limited to the five with entrance pass. Also, Knotts has an egg hunt too?

Yup, you can buy as much as you want! The egg hunt was a virtual scavenger hunt. You had to solve the riddle, find the next egg, and scan the QR code to get the next clue. There is a surprise at the end (it’s the Easter Bunny ;-) Mt 5 year old loved it and had so much fun. And it’s free! You even get a little button at the end.

 

[travelgirl06]

Yup, you can buy as much as you want! The egg hunt was a virtual scavenger hunt. You had to solve the riddle, find the next egg, and scan the QR code to get the next clue. There is a surprise at the end (it’s the Easter Bunny ;-) Mt 5 year old loved it and had so much fun. And it’s free! You even get a little button at the end.

Yay! We are going next week - glad to hear about the Easter egg hunt my girls will be thrilled (they loved finding the eggs around DL in prior years).

Sorry to hear about the crowds at Touch of Disney. We’ve been to DTD once since COVID and were annoyed with the lines to get in anywhere so have decided to wait until more is open and there is less general waiting... we are loving these Knotts festivals in the meantime though (did Halloween and Merry Farm!)

 

[DizneyMommy]

Yay! We are going next week - glad to hear about the Easter egg hunt my girls will be thrilled (they loved finding the eggs around DL in prior years).

Sorry to hear about the crowds at Touch of Disney. We’ve been to DTD once since COVID and were annoyed with the lines to get in anywhere so have decided to wait until more is open and there is less general waiting... we are loving these Knotts festivals in the meantime though (did Halloween and Merry Farm!)

We did Halloween too, but not Christmas. Cases were going too high and I was nervous, but the date we would have had was cancelled anyways. Knott’s has got it down and seems to get better every time, but I also grew up going to Mrs Knott’s for Easter dinner every year so this one was an absolute no brainer! They did not disappoint! Also try the boysenberry Cosmo if you drink. It was delicious! Our favorites were the beer cheese soup, the sausage on a roll, boysenberry pie of course, the popcorn with boysenberry butter, cheesecake, and the macaroon. Actually nothing at all was bad, we ate soooo much!!! And zero wait anywhere. I didn’t wait behind more than one person at any booth.

 

[DizneyMommy]

Yay! We are going next week - glad to hear about the Easter egg hunt my girls will be thrilled (they loved finding the eggs around DL in prior years).

Sorry to hear about the crowds at Touch of Disney. We’ve been to DTD once since COVID and were annoyed with the lines to get in anywhere so have decided to wait until more is open and there is less general waiting... we are loving these Knotts festivals in the meantime though (did Halloween and Merry Farm!)

We had money left over from the Disney event. We ended up buying way more extra at Knott’s. So there’s that lol

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Ok. We just got home and I have some hot takes. Overall, we had a good time and enjoyed our day. This post will be "tips for people who are actually going to this event."

If I was going tomorrow, here's what I'd do: Arrive at about 1:30 or 2. Seriously. Do this. (Disclaimers: We didn't do Carthay or Lamplight, and we weren't interested in staying into the evening just to drink and hang out - those might be exceptions). There's really no reason to be there when they "open." At 1:30, none of the mobile order windows were too far away (and you can even mobile order before you arrive unless you want to use your gift card voucher thing). You appear to skip the "entrance" hassle (unless there were hidden lines? We were near front of park for restroom a bit before 2, and didn't appear to be lines.)

If the "mobile order return" lines are crazy for the booths, try going to the marketplace cashier thing and then show your receipts at the booth. You can buy everything there at once and just hold your receipts until you want the food (just don't lose them!) Timing is more flexible, it's way easier than using gift cards on the app, and there are way shorter waits in our experience. They had crazy lines at the beginning, but died down by 3. This tip might not make sense now, but file it away because it will probably make more sense when you're there.

DCA was CLEARED OUT by about 5:30. I suspect it is quite ghost-town-ish at this point unless people left to go to DTD for dinner and came back? So that's something to aim for, I think.

At least on a Saturday, do NOT plan on leaving TOD to go to DTD unless you have a reservation somewhere. The line when we left at 6:15ish was horrifying. They were letting reservations and people parked in Simba through, but otherwise, that looked terrible.

Get the chicken wings. Perhaps several orders. You're welcome.

Realize that it is just the "festival" food, and so there's not really anywhere to have a "meal" unless you have a reservation. Also, Lamplight is only open upstairs, where it used to be Cove Bar. OH, and they listed a whole section of "vending carts" or snacks or something on the original description of this event that did not exist. There are no chimichangas, and, to the GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT of my pickle lover (see avatar), there are no pickles. Were pickles listed on the description? Yes, yes they were. Are there pickles? No, no there are not. Probably most people do not care, but my kid had a literal "Countdown to pickle" thing happening on her calendar, so that was unfortunate.

Strike up some friendly chats with character handlers to find out when and where they're appearing. Who we saw:
- Goofy and Max "fishing" at Pacific Wharf
- Joy and Sadness switching off at Emotional Whirlwind
- Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, and Daisy switching off at Silly Symphony Swings
- Chip and Dale looking for acorns just past the airplane in the Grizzly Peak area
- Donald waving from a balcony on the 3rd floor of the Grand - he's FAR away!
- The Miguel puppet (attached to a human) in the gazebo by Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta

Be prepared for lots of sun but also for it to get chilly. Plan for lots of walking.

Take advantage of Photopass! It's free! People didn't seem to be using a lot of them - remember, they're not allowed to ask you if you want a photo, so go up to them and ask. If you have a Disney Visa, there's one tucked over by Grizzly River Rapids, and they were legit excited to have someone show up.

If you want to do the games, the lines are a mess, so make sure you know what you're in line for. Also, no prizes (this seemed to disappoint some people there, but obviously they're not going to give them away for free all day?)

I'll post a couple of other more review-like thoughts at some point, but wanted to get the "tips" out there since I know some people are going soon!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

If the "mobile order return" lines are crazy for the booths, try going to the marketplace cashier thing and then show your receipts at the booth. You can buy everything there at once and just hold your receipts until you want the food (just don't lose them!) Timing is more flexible, it's way easier than using gift cards on the app, and there are way shorter waits in our experience. They had crazy lines at the beginning, but died down by 3. This tip might not make sense now, but file it away because it will probably make more sense when you're there.

DCA was CLEARED OUT by about 5:30. I suspect it is quite ghost-town-ish at this point unless people left to go to DTD for dinner and came back? So that's something to aim for, I think.

At least on a Saturday, do NOT plan on leaving TOD to go to DTD unless you have a reservation somewhere. The line when we left at 6:15ish was horrifying. They were letting reservations and people parked in Simba through, but otherwise, that looked terrible.

Get the chicken wings. Perhaps several orders. You're welcome.

Realize that it is just the "festival" food, and so there's not really anywhere to have a "meal" unless you have a reservation. Also, Lamplight is only open upstairs, where it used to be Cove Bar. OH, and they listed a whole section of "vending carts" or snacks or something on the original description of this event that did not exist. There are no chimichangas, and, to the GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT of my pickle lover (see avatar), there are no pickles. Were pickles listed on the description? Yes, yes they were. Are there pickles? No, no there are not. Probably most people do not care, but my kid had a literal "Countdown to pickle" thing happening on her calendar, so that was unfortunate.

Strike up some friendly chats with character handlers to find out when and where they're appearing. Who we saw:
- Goofy and Max "fishing" at Pacific Wharf
- Joy and Sadness switching off at Emotional Whirlwind
- Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, and Daisy switching off at Silly Symphony Swings
- Chip and Dale looking for acorns just past the airplane in the Grizzly Peak area
- Donald waving from a balcony on the 3rd floor of the Grand - he's FAR away!
- The Miguel puppet (attached to a human) in the gazebo by Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta

Be prepared for lots of sun but also for it to get chilly. Plan for lots of walking.

Take advantage of Photopass! It's free! People didn't seem to be using a lot of them - remember, they're not allowed to ask you if you want a photo, so go up to them and ask. If you have a Disney Visa, there's one tucked over by Grizzly River Rapids, and they were legit excited to have someone show up.

If you want to do the games, the lines are a mess, so make sure you know what you're in line for. Also, no prizes (this seemed to disappoint some people there, but obviously they're not going to give them away for free all day?)

Thank you for the tips!

 

[Kender]

I was hearing that the prizes stopped being given out after the first day. I'm not surprised, but I also get the disappointment after it made the rounds prizes were included lol!

I'm still looking forward to playing the games, though! I love boardwalk style games

Thanks for the tips, Skye!

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I was hearing that the prizes stopped being given out after the first day. I'm not surprised, but I also get the disappointment after it made the rounds prizes were included lol!

I'm still looking forward to playing the games, though! I love boardwalk style games

Thanks for the tips, Skye!

I don’t know if I believe there were prizes in opening day. The two people I know who went then said no prizes. I haven’t seen any pictures of people with prizes actually at the event. I feel like it was a rumor, maybe because they’re still up at the booth?

 

[Kender]

I don’t know if I believe there were prizes in opening day. The two people I know who went then said no prizes. I haven’t seen any pictures of people with prizes actually at the event. I feel like it was a rumor, maybe because they’re still up at the booth?

Maybe? I've definitely seen more than a few people say prizes were being given out, but I haven't seen picture proof that's for sure.

I could also see it having been a media event/stunt giving out the prizes day one as a little bit of Disney magic.

I'm going to be searching around more for sure. See if anyone posted proof they ever gave them out.

 

[PanchoX1]

They were giving prizes out. We got a bullseye, Eve, wally and one of Jessie critter friends. Only played 3 of the games.

 

[rentayenta]

Just wanted to thank everyone for the tips and hints! We are going this Thursday.

 

[amyg1975]

Does anyone know if Lamplight is serving their donuts?

 

[Laundress]

did Disney want your tickets printed out or was it ok to show it on your phone

 

[DonnerB]

did Disney want your tickets printed out or was it ok to show it on your phone

Used my phone without issue!

 

[DonnerB]

If I was going tomorrow, here's what I'd do: Arrive at about 1:30 or 2. Seriously. Do this. (Disclaimers: We didn't do Carthay or Lamplight, and we weren't interested in staying into the evening just to drink and hang out - those might be exceptions). There's really no reason to be there when they "open."

Piggybacking off of this with my experience:
We arrived at M&F at probably 11:25 and the lines of cars were still inside the structure. Got moving promptly at 11:30. We were in the first row of cars parked. Temp checks were a walk through, security lines were minimal, and by the time we got to the Esplanade right around noon, the lines at the ticket booths were only a few groups deep. We were inside by 12:15. Yes, this was too late to have a chance at a Lamplight mobile waitlist spot. We had a reservation at Carthay, so we weren’t too disappointed.

In mobile ordering throughout the day, I never saw the first available return window go more than 30 minutes out; most places had immediate availability. We never had trouble finding a table; although as a group of two we were fine with the smaller ones you had to stand at.

The PhotoPass photographers were great and we got a bunch of photos. My only regret is not trying harder to search out more characters.

I think I actually had more fun than I was expecting. The vibe was so different in the park with nobody really having anything to rush off to. A lot more adults than kids, just enjoying a drink or snack and the ambiance. Glad I could experience it this way, but hope we never have a reason to again, if that makes sense.

 

[Mathmagicland]

Piggybacking off of this with my experience:

Thanks very much for your post! Sounds like things have settled a bit.

 

[ej119]

Here's what I've captured of the Touch of Disney playlist curated for the event. I'll update as more videos are posted. I've also made this a public playlist on Apple Music.

• A Dream is a Wish (Reggae Version) - Shyam Moses
• A Spoonful of Sugar - Kacey Musgraves
• Bajo El Mar - Alejandro Sanz
• Circle of Life (Remix) - Disney Channel Circle of Stars
• Dig a Little Deeper - China Anne McClain
• Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat - Michael G & The Easy Star All-Stars
• Friend Like Me - Ne-Yo
• Get'cha Head in the Game - DCappella
• How Far I'll Go - DCappella
• I Wanna Be Like You - Imagination Movers
• It's a Small World - We Love Disney Artists
• It's All Right (feat. Celeste) - Jon Baptiste
• I2I - DCappella
• Let it Go - Rascal Flats & Lucy Hale
• Supercalifragilisticoespiadlidoso - La Santa Cecilia
• The Rainbow Connection - Gwen Stefani
• The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room - Los Lobos
• There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow - They Might Be Giants
• Todos Quieren Ser Un Gato - Esteman, Caloncho & Con Laferte
• Touch the Sky - Julie Fowlis
• Try Everything - Shakira
• Under the Sea - Squirrel Nut Zippers
• When You Wish Upon a Star - Glenn Miller

Honestly, I'm underwhelmed. I prefer the normal area music or the DCA Food & Wine Festival playlist.

And having a male singer cover "Let it Go" definitely gives the song a different tone.

 

[DizneyMommy]

I don’t know if I believe there were prizes in opening day. The two people I know who went then said no prizes. I haven’t seen any pictures of people with prizes actually at the event. I feel like it was a rumor, maybe because they’re still up at the booth?

Yeah, no. Opening day the games weren’t even open at 2pm when we went by. And not a single prize anywhere in the park the whole day. That didn’t happen.

 

[DizneyMommy]

It sounds like things settled down after opening day and they are getting the kinks ironed out. I’m glad to see that! I wish we hadn’t had to go on the first day due to our spring break schedule. We only saw 2 characters, no photopss photogs, and mobile windows of 1hr+ out all day with another 30-45 minute wait after checking in!