We had a wonderful time in AC yesterday. Got WS 56 which was called a little after noon. I managed to snag a 3:30 Pym’s test kitchen around 1 while we were in line for WS, so we ended up staying in AC for 4 hours in order to explore, eat, and because there is nearly constant entertainment. Disney clearly listened to the feedback about the lack of theme music and characters in SWGE, because there are characters and music everywhere - so much energy!
WS is Midway Mania meets Transformers, and very fun!
We saw at least 4 stunt shows - Dr. Strange, Dora Milaje, Spider-Man and the Black Widow/Black Panther - and they were very well done. The kids loved them! There is no schedule, as we were told by multiple CM’s - things just happen, but they happen very frequently! (Except perhaps the Dr. Strange show around 2:15, for whom we waited about 20 min but other people had been waiting for 2 hrs!)
We saw a ton of characters in AC, either wandering around, waving from the HQ, or posing for pictures: Spider-Man, Thor, Loki, Black Panther, Dora Milaje, Iron Man, Captain America, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man, The Wasp, Captain Marvel, Black Widow, Gamora and Star Lord (Quill).
Food: We had the chicken sandwich, giant pretzel and a salad at Pym’s, and they were all good, but hands down, the Shawarmas will be our go-to next time we visit. Delicious! And Shawarma Too by the Hyperion has shorter waits and more seating.
Bottom line: It pays to score that WS BG, and be give yourself some time (at least 2-3 hrs) to really enjoy AC when you get there.
A note about park hoppers: We missed our opportunity to get a noon ROTR BG by 4 min, because they called our WS BG at 12:04, and you can’t hold BG’s for both rides at the same time. The people in front of us had already used their WS, scored ROTR, and were thrilled to ride both in one day. We’ve ridden ROTR several times, so it wasn’t a big deal, and we also spent waaaaaay more time standing in lines than we’ve done since the 1990’s before FP was introduced. We park-hopped in the evening and were absolutely exhausted after 12 hrs in the park, more so than we’ve ever even, since we’re used to use FP/MP to minimize standing time. You know your own touring style, but if you can get into AC, you can actually fill a day at DCA now - no need to hop.