jguynn
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2015
It had been about 6 years since our last Disney vacation. Much different trip now that our girls are 17 and 13. Our 17-year-old was just there during spring break with her marching band, so she was a huge help with planning and navigating.
We were at Magic Kingdom for 2 days, 1 day each at Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Typhoon Lagoon.
Before the trip I was nervous from reading Disney reports online and on FB. Do yourself a favor and don’t pay much attention to them. Travel has changed everywhere since COVID. You cannot have the same expectations. The Disney magic is still there if you are realistic, kind, and patient.
Hotel: Disney Pop Century:
Our room was in the 80s area. We did the pre-check in and was assigned our room# before we got to the hotel. Was so nice not to have to go to the lobby and stand in line to check in. Used our phones all week to unlock our door. Took a few times to get the hang of it, but no issues. Had Garden Grocer deliver groceries to our hotel. We went to the luggage area to pick them up ourselves so we wouldn’t have to wait. Our room was clean and beds comfortable. We had light house keeping every other day which was expected. One evening we asked for more coffee pods, sugar, and creamer and they had it sent to our room within 30 mins. Food court at the hotel does the job, but food is not that great. All of the staff we encountered at the hotel was very nice and helpful. Enjoyed the theming around the hotel.
Transportation:
FAVORITE Skyliner!!!! Best form of transportation at Disney! We didn’t wait any longer to get on the skyliner than we did the buses. There was a huge line when we got there at 7:15 one morning but didn’t wait anymore than 10 mins. Nice views, cool breeze, quiet and relaxing. Downside that they do have to shut it down when there is bad weather which is understandable and for your safety.
I was impressed with the bus service. In the morning, they did a good job having plenty of buses coming in to take people to the parks. Previous trips we waited much longer, and it was less organized.
Genie/Genie+:
After during some research I only bought Genie+ for the 2 days we were at the Magic Kingdom and 1 day at Hollywood Studios. I found it very useful for the first day we were at the Magic Kingdom (used it 5 times), otherwise we didn’t find it that helpful. We did use Genie for the virtual queue for the Guardians of the Galaxy ride and was successful getting a reservation! Genie was useful with wait times and mobile ordering. Mobile ordering was so easy to use and nice you didn’t have to wait in a long line to order.
Rides:
We were up early each morning and arriving by the early magic hours. I don’t understand the reports where people were only able to ride 3 rides a day at each park. No, I don’t like getting up so early when on vacation, but this is a Disney vacation and the amount of money you spend, if you don’t get up and going then it is a waste of money. We rode all of the new rides, almost all of the old rides and some 2 and 3 times. We didn’t get to ride Splash Mountain or the water ride at Animal Kingdom because they were closed at the time for some reason. Did get stuck for about 5 mins. on the Peter Pan ride, but they got it working again. 5 maintenance people were waiting when we got off the ride. Did notice the rides having to stop for a couple of minutes more often, but most of the time it was because of letting handicap people on or off which was no big deal. Guardians of the Galaxy, family favorite ride! My husband and I were very nervous we were going to have motion sickness and we did take Bonine and were totally fine. Only ride we felt a little sick after was the Ratatouille ride because of the jerking motion.
Food:
Highlights:
Cape May- Breakfast buffet. So good and worth the price! Great service as well.
Beaches & Cream Soda Shop- Good sandwiches and ice cream.
Polite Pig (Disney Springs)- Good barbecue.
Earl of Sandwich (Disney Springs)- Great sandwiches as always.
House of Blues (Disney Springs)- Good food and service.
Pecos Bill (Magic Kingdom) – Good nachos, plenty of seating indoors with air conditioning.
Special Event: 50th Anniversary Magic Kingdom Fireworks Dessert After Party:
I wanted a special moment with my family to remember as this is the last Disney trip when our girls are still “kids”. We arrived about an hour early and got our wrist bands. We walked over to the viewing area. We were the 2nd group to arrive, so we chose our area and sat down. About 30mins before the start of the fireworks they had people packed in and we were told to move forward as much as possible and now had to stand. Would have rather sat for a while longer. We did have a good view of the fireworks/show and tinker bell flying by which was really cool. Afterwards we made our way to the dessert party. Had to navigate through the crowd but we made it and was escorted to a table right away. Got in the dessert line and got a sampling of all the desserts. They also had cheese cubes, bruschetta toast, and fresh fruit which was nice. My husband and I enjoyed a couple beers after a long day. It was a fun event to do once, but probably won’t do it again.
Parks and Cast Members:
I felt like the parks were staffed well. It didn’t seem much busier than previous trips. Wait times were as little as 10 mins, longest line was about 2 hours for us with an average of 30 mins. As far as cleanliness goes, there were not as many people picking up trash around the parks as in the past, but it was still clean for the amount of people there. I saw a lot of people not picking up after themselves and not putting trash where it goes, so can’t fault Disney for rude people. Bathrooms were clean. Never encountered a rude cast member. Had one or two cast members not paying close attention to the ride lines, but that was the only negative experience. After our dinner at Beaches and Cream we were outside the hotel deciding on our plan for the evening. A cast member walked up and asked us how our trip was going and chatted with us for a while.
Tips: It was hot during the day when we were there. I think the last day with the humidity it felt like 111! We knew it would be hot since it was June, but it was REALLY hot. Drink plenty of water, apply sunscreen every couple of hours and get a cooling towel. They do help and it was a life saver for our youngest who doesn’t do well in hot weather. Good walking shoes are a must! I don’t know how people walk around all day in cheap flip flops. The first couple of days of walking around all day/night, my feet and back hurt and I wore good shoes. Take at least 1 rest day during the week. Our rest day was at Typhoon Lagoon which is a favorite of ours. That allowed us to sleep in one day and we felt so much better after a relaxing day of doing the lazy river and riding the water slides. As I get older, I think our next trip will require 2 rest days.
Thanks for reading my trip report. Hopefully someone finds it helpful!
We were at Magic Kingdom for 2 days, 1 day each at Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Typhoon Lagoon.
Before the trip I was nervous from reading Disney reports online and on FB. Do yourself a favor and don’t pay much attention to them. Travel has changed everywhere since COVID. You cannot have the same expectations. The Disney magic is still there if you are realistic, kind, and patient.
Hotel: Disney Pop Century:
Our room was in the 80s area. We did the pre-check in and was assigned our room# before we got to the hotel. Was so nice not to have to go to the lobby and stand in line to check in. Used our phones all week to unlock our door. Took a few times to get the hang of it, but no issues. Had Garden Grocer deliver groceries to our hotel. We went to the luggage area to pick them up ourselves so we wouldn’t have to wait. Our room was clean and beds comfortable. We had light house keeping every other day which was expected. One evening we asked for more coffee pods, sugar, and creamer and they had it sent to our room within 30 mins. Food court at the hotel does the job, but food is not that great. All of the staff we encountered at the hotel was very nice and helpful. Enjoyed the theming around the hotel.
Transportation:
FAVORITE Skyliner!!!! Best form of transportation at Disney! We didn’t wait any longer to get on the skyliner than we did the buses. There was a huge line when we got there at 7:15 one morning but didn’t wait anymore than 10 mins. Nice views, cool breeze, quiet and relaxing. Downside that they do have to shut it down when there is bad weather which is understandable and for your safety.
I was impressed with the bus service. In the morning, they did a good job having plenty of buses coming in to take people to the parks. Previous trips we waited much longer, and it was less organized.
Genie/Genie+:
After during some research I only bought Genie+ for the 2 days we were at the Magic Kingdom and 1 day at Hollywood Studios. I found it very useful for the first day we were at the Magic Kingdom (used it 5 times), otherwise we didn’t find it that helpful. We did use Genie for the virtual queue for the Guardians of the Galaxy ride and was successful getting a reservation! Genie was useful with wait times and mobile ordering. Mobile ordering was so easy to use and nice you didn’t have to wait in a long line to order.
Rides:
We were up early each morning and arriving by the early magic hours. I don’t understand the reports where people were only able to ride 3 rides a day at each park. No, I don’t like getting up so early when on vacation, but this is a Disney vacation and the amount of money you spend, if you don’t get up and going then it is a waste of money. We rode all of the new rides, almost all of the old rides and some 2 and 3 times. We didn’t get to ride Splash Mountain or the water ride at Animal Kingdom because they were closed at the time for some reason. Did get stuck for about 5 mins. on the Peter Pan ride, but they got it working again. 5 maintenance people were waiting when we got off the ride. Did notice the rides having to stop for a couple of minutes more often, but most of the time it was because of letting handicap people on or off which was no big deal. Guardians of the Galaxy, family favorite ride! My husband and I were very nervous we were going to have motion sickness and we did take Bonine and were totally fine. Only ride we felt a little sick after was the Ratatouille ride because of the jerking motion.
Food:
Highlights:
Cape May- Breakfast buffet. So good and worth the price! Great service as well.
Beaches & Cream Soda Shop- Good sandwiches and ice cream.
Polite Pig (Disney Springs)- Good barbecue.
Earl of Sandwich (Disney Springs)- Great sandwiches as always.
House of Blues (Disney Springs)- Good food and service.
Pecos Bill (Magic Kingdom) – Good nachos, plenty of seating indoors with air conditioning.
Special Event: 50th Anniversary Magic Kingdom Fireworks Dessert After Party:
I wanted a special moment with my family to remember as this is the last Disney trip when our girls are still “kids”. We arrived about an hour early and got our wrist bands. We walked over to the viewing area. We were the 2nd group to arrive, so we chose our area and sat down. About 30mins before the start of the fireworks they had people packed in and we were told to move forward as much as possible and now had to stand. Would have rather sat for a while longer. We did have a good view of the fireworks/show and tinker bell flying by which was really cool. Afterwards we made our way to the dessert party. Had to navigate through the crowd but we made it and was escorted to a table right away. Got in the dessert line and got a sampling of all the desserts. They also had cheese cubes, bruschetta toast, and fresh fruit which was nice. My husband and I enjoyed a couple beers after a long day. It was a fun event to do once, but probably won’t do it again.
Parks and Cast Members:
I felt like the parks were staffed well. It didn’t seem much busier than previous trips. Wait times were as little as 10 mins, longest line was about 2 hours for us with an average of 30 mins. As far as cleanliness goes, there were not as many people picking up trash around the parks as in the past, but it was still clean for the amount of people there. I saw a lot of people not picking up after themselves and not putting trash where it goes, so can’t fault Disney for rude people. Bathrooms were clean. Never encountered a rude cast member. Had one or two cast members not paying close attention to the ride lines, but that was the only negative experience. After our dinner at Beaches and Cream we were outside the hotel deciding on our plan for the evening. A cast member walked up and asked us how our trip was going and chatted with us for a while.
Tips: It was hot during the day when we were there. I think the last day with the humidity it felt like 111! We knew it would be hot since it was June, but it was REALLY hot. Drink plenty of water, apply sunscreen every couple of hours and get a cooling towel. They do help and it was a life saver for our youngest who doesn’t do well in hot weather. Good walking shoes are a must! I don’t know how people walk around all day in cheap flip flops. The first couple of days of walking around all day/night, my feet and back hurt and I wore good shoes. Take at least 1 rest day during the week. Our rest day was at Typhoon Lagoon which is a favorite of ours. That allowed us to sleep in one day and we felt so much better after a relaxing day of doing the lazy river and riding the water slides. As I get older, I think our next trip will require 2 rest days.
Thanks for reading my trip report. Hopefully someone finds it helpful!
