DL Regular with Specific Questions for WDW Regulars! Any Help Greatly Appreciated!

[dieumeye]

I’m a Disneyland weekly visitor here in California, and I’ve done a lot of research on our upcoming WDW trip so I understand the differences, but there are a handful of random things that I just can’t figure out. I’d appreciate any advice from regulars to help me understand some things. (I’ve searched the boards and gotten a lot of answers to other questions already - thanks! - but these below I can’t figure out.)

FYI we’re staying a week at Boardwalk Inn in March 2020.

-Are Minnie Vans the fastest way to get around? We’re a party of 6. Based on a bunch of horror stories, I’ve written off the resort busses, and figure we’ll pay for the Minnie Vans as needed (cost be damned). But I’ve also read that the wait for Minnie Vans to arrive can be as long as waiting for the busses. What’s usual? If Minnie Vans are inconsistent, is renting a car a better option? I figure we will be waiting in lines enough as it is, so I want to be able to go where we need to go when we need to go without potentially waiting 20 or 30 minutes just for a ride to show up.

-Ive booked Magical Express. When can I expect to receive my luggage tags?

-I’ve ordered Magic Bands for my group (some free, some premium). When can I expect them to arrive?

-I’ve filled in all the pre-check in info so I can skip check in and go straight to my room. When should I expect to get the room assignment, or am I misunderstanding how this works?

-What is the seating arrangement in Minnie Vans for 4 adults + 2 kids that need car seats? Are the car seats in the 3rd row or the 2nd row? It matters because I’ve got some adults in our party that will have no trouble sitting in the second row, but might have difficulty crawling into the 3rd row. I asked this on a Minnie Van thread and literally got two opposite answers (one said car seats are always 3rd row, the other said they’re always 2nd row).

-How early do the parks actually open? Here at Disneyland, the gates open 15 to 30 minutes before the posted opening time and people are held at a rope at the end of Main Street. Is it the same for the parks at WDW? I am a rope drop person so I’m wondering what time I should actually show up at the gates for each park.

-I know Space 220 opens later this year. I see no option to book an ADR for it in March 2020. Is that because it’s already booked, or because it hasn’t opened yet? I figure we probably can’t get in, but if ADRs are going to open at a later date I‘d at least like to know we have a chance, slim as it may be.

-Will Hollywood Studios be doing Extra Morning Magic breakfast ever again for Toy Story Land? We’ve got Galaxy’s Edge here in California, so we won’t need to see that on our WDW visit. I’d rather not wait in a 60+ minute line for the few rides we want to experience (SDD, ToT, RnR), but since everything seems to be Tier 1, it’s tough to figure out how we’re going to do it without a really long wait since we can’t schedule/guarantee it with FP+. (Side note: having every ride except Star Tours be tier 1 seems kind of broken to me. Especially since I don’t see any scenario where Hollywood Studios is worth spending 2 park days.)

-Do travel agents get some kind of special access to hotels, ADRs, and FP+? This is more of a general curiosity. I ask because we just booked our trip a couple days ago, and we got the ADRs we wanted, even though I was prepared to not get any of them because we were booking a trip after the ADR window opened. My agent also has suggested it won’t be a problem to get the FP+ that we want… even though I’ve got FoP and SDD on my list. I trust her, I’m just curious.

-I also have a bunch of “how long does it take to get from A to B” questions as well, but I think I’ll consolidate those in a post on the transportation board.

Really appreciate any insight anyone can provide. And I’m happy to return the favor if anyone here is ever planning a visit to Disneyland Resort!

 

[hiroMYhero]

I’m a Disneyland weekly visitor here in California, and I’ve done a lot of research on our upcoming WDW trip so I understand the differences, but there are a handful of random things that I just can’t figure out. I’d appreciate any advice from regulars to help me understand some things. (I’ve searched the boards and gotten a lot of answers to other questions already - thanks! - but these below I can’t figure out.)

FYI we’re staying a week at Boardwalk Inn in March 2020.

-Are Minnie Vans the fastest way to get around? We’re a party of 6. Based on a bunch of horror stories, I’ve written off the resort busses, and figure we’ll pay for the Minnie Vans as needed (cost be damned). But I’ve also read that the wait for Minnie Vans to arrive can be as long as waiting for the busses. What’s usual? If Minnie Vans are inconsistent, is renting a car a better option? I figure we will be waiting in lines enough as it is, so I want to be able to go where we need to go when we need to go without potentially waiting 20 or 30 minutes just for a ride to show up.

-Ive booked Magical Express. When can I expect to receive my luggage tags?

-I’ve ordered Magic Bands for my group (some free, some premium). When can I expect them to arrive?

-I’ve filled in all the pre-check in info so I can skip check in and go straight to my room. When should I expect to get the room assignment, or am I misunderstanding how this works?

-What is the seating arrangement in Minnie Vans for 4 adults + 2 kids that need car seats? Are the car seats in the 3rd row or the 2nd row? It matters because I’ve got some adults in our party that will have no trouble sitting in the second row, but might have difficulty crawling into the 3rd row. I asked this on a Minnie Van thread and literally got two opposite answers (one said car seats are always 3rd row, the other said they’re always 2nd row).

-How early do the parks actually open? Here at Disneyland, the gates open 15 to 30 minutes before the posted opening time and people are held at a rope at the end of Main Street. Is it the same for the parks at WDW? I am a rope drop person so I’m wondering what time I should actually show up at the gates for each park.

-I know Space 220 opens later this year. I see no option to book an ADR for it in March 2020. Is that because it’s already booked, or because it hasn’t opened yet? I figure we probably can’t get in, but if ADRs are going to open at a later date I‘d at least like to know we have a chance, slim as it may be.

-Will Hollywood Studios be doing Extra Morning Magic breakfast ever again for Toy Story Land? We’ve got Galaxy’s Edge here in California, so we won’t need to see that on our WDW visit. I’d rather not wait in a 60+ minute line for the few rides we want to experience (SDD, ToT, RnR), but since everything seems to be Tier 1, it’s tough to figure out how we’re going to do it without a really long wait since we can’t schedule/guarantee it with FP+. (Side note: having every ride except Star Tours be tier 1 seems kind of broken to me. Especially since I don’t see any scenario where Hollywood Studios is worth spending 2 park days.)

-Do travel agents get some kind of special access to hotels, ADRs, and FP+? This is more of a general curiosity. I ask because we just booked our trip a couple days ago, and we got the ADRs we wanted, even though I was prepared to not get any of them because we were booking a trip after the ADR window opened. My agent also has suggested it won’t be a problem to get the FP+ that we want… even though I’ve got FoP and SDD on my list. I trust her, I’m just curious.

-I also have a bunch of “how long does it take to get from A to B” questions as well, but I think I’ll consolidate those in a post on the transportation board.

Really appreciate any insight anyone can provide. And I’m happy to return the favor if anyone here is ever planning a visit to Disneyland Resort!

Moved you to the Resort Board for assistance with your Resort questions.

Minnie Vans are discussed on the Transportation Board if you’d like to check there.

 

[dieumeye]

Moved you to the Resort Board for assistance with your Resort questions.

Minnie Vans are discussed on the Transportation Board if you’d like to check there.

Sorry for not posting on the correct board! Although I have looked at the transportation board and received inconsistent answers as my post indicates. Thanks!

 

[TinkSassy]

Magic bands and luggage tags will show up about a week or two prior to departure.

I’ve only used one Minnie Van so I’m not much help there. The buses are not as bad as some say. I use Minnie only on an extra early arrival or inconvenient path - like between two resorts.
Opening procedure is almost identical to DL.

Nothing open for Space 220 yet - I’m going in January and hoping they announce official opening by then. Right now it is just - coming soon. No ADRs have been made available.
To my knowledge agents don’t have any special access to FP though I have heard some hold ADRs in case they need them for clients. (Strictly rumor on that)

 

[TinkSassy]

Room assignment will be texted on arrival day when available. I usually get one on the bus either letting me know it will come when a room is ready or with the number - if no number immediately it will come on a later text

 

[dieumeye]

Room assignment will be texted on arrival day when available. I usually get one on the bus either letting me know it will come when a room is ready or with the number - if no number immediately it will come on a later text

I really appreciate the replies! I heard a lot about how stressful it is to book a WDW vacation, but so far I haven’t found it to be a problem (although potential FP+ heartbreak is still looming). Any idea on the following question:

-How early do the parks actually open?

Edit: just saw that you actually did answer this question! So I guess we’ll plan to arrive in time for gates to open 30 minutes prior to posted opening time. Thanks again!

 

[katherine52478]

We only use the Minnie van if we are exhausted leaving MK. We have had waits of up to 15 min but that was still preferable to the bus for us. To get to MK (we always stay at the Boardwalk area hotels), we take a regular Lyft to the Contemporary and walk the 10 min to park entrance. The security tent is located on the walkway and there is never any wait.

For Epcot and DHS, you should walk or take the Friendship Boats. You won’t need a Minnie van.

We take a Lyft to Animal Kingdom as they can drop you right off on the parking lot. Even closer than the resort buses let off.

The busses really aren’t THAT bad. I would take it from the hotel as that is pretty easy to do and they are relatively on schedule. We don’t like to take them home from the park as they seem to be very sporadic and very crowded.

We only have one child, who is 13, so we don’t need car seats. If car seats are needed, you might need a Minnie Van or Lyft XL.

For MK, they let you in around 30 min before opening time and you can walk up Main Street to the castle. For AK, I think it’s 30-45 min before and you walk up to the tree of life. From the Boardwalk to Epcot, you should be walking to the IG so they will let you in about 30 min before and hold you back there until opening time. I’m not sure about DHS.

If you ordered premium bands for your room, they should show up in a week or two after you ordered them (along with any solid colors you ordered with them). If you only ordered the free colors for your room, then they come 2 weeks before you leave.

Regular Disney hotel rooms have a check-in time of 3 pm. DVC is 4 pm. You may be lucky and get a room number early on your check in day, but don’t count on it. We usually do online check in but also check into the hotel front desk when we arrive to see if there are any rooms open that we might like. Sometimes they may need you to come to the front desk anyway, even if you do online check in.

They don’t really have a schedule for releasing special events like Early Morning Magic, After Hours, etc. There are threads on the Attractions board that have historical info on when tickets were released.

One thing to note is Disney World is HUGE, especially compared to Disneyland. Epcot and Magic Kingdom are about a 15 minute drive from each other and resorts and parks are very spread out. You will be doing a ton of walking, especially in Animal Kingdom and Epcot and depending on when you are going, it will be hot and HUMID! Make sure to pace yourself and leave time to travel around the parks and to and from your hotel and destination.

 

[dieumeye]

For Epcot and DHS, you should walk or take the Friendship Boats. You won’t need a Minnie van.

Good to know about the buses. I have read through literally years of posts and the overwhelming message is that they are wildly inconsistent and sometimes require waiting for 30 minutes or more!

As for the boat to DHS, what should I expect from Boardwalk Inn to DHS? Again, reading thru the boards I’m under the impression that it is NOT a good option to use if we want to arrive at the park in time for rope drop.

 

[bumbershoot]

Room assignment will be texted on arrival day when available.

“When available” being a very important part of it. Expecting a room ready text would have caused me a lot of frustration over the years its been available.

I’ve gotten ONE despite yearly split stay trips since it started.

One thing to note is Disney World is HUGE, especially compared to Disneyland.

Can’t be emphasized enough!!!


If you’re talking about the magical express bright yellow luggage tags that tell the people at the airport to grab your bags and put them on a truck to be whisked to your resort, I’ve bad those come about a week after I book DME. Others get them much closer to their trips.

If you booked a package and are also expecting the cute matching luggage tags that are simply souvenirs, those come literally with your magic bands.

 

[katherine52478]

From the Boardwalk, it’s about a 15 min walk to DHS and may be shorter if you cut through the pool area (there is a walkway that goes directly there).

We have taken the boat before but from the Swan/Dolphin so we are the last stop before DHS. We usually see a decent number of boats so I don’t think we have waited more than 10 min for one. But we don’t go to DHS too often on our trips. Not much there for us. We spend most of the time at Epcot and MK and for Epcot, we always walk.

 

[dieumeye]

From the Boardwalk, it’s about a 15 min walk to DHS and may be shorter if you cut through the pool area (there is a walkway that goes directly there).

We have taken the boat before but from the Swan/Dolphin so we are the last stop before DHS. We usually see a decent number of boats so I don’t think we have waited more than 10 min for one. But we don’t go to DHS too often on our trips. Not much there for us. We spend most of the time at Epcot and MK and for Epcot, we always walk.

Thanks for the info!! We are planning to walk to Epcot, and walking to DHS seems reasonable, but I think the boats might be fun as well. I’ve just read that they are crowded and slow first thing in the morning if you are trying to get to the park 30 minutes before opening for rope drop.

 

[dieumeye]

“When available” being a very important part of it. Expecting a room ready text would have caused me a lot of frustration over the years its been available.

I’ve gotten ONE despite yearly split stay trips since it started.

Can’t be emphasized enough!!!

If you’re talking about the magical express bright yellow luggage tags that tell the people at the airport to grab your bags and put them on a truck to be whisked to your resort, I’ve bad those come about a week after I book DME. Others get them much closer to their trips.

If you booked a package and are also expecting the cute matching luggage tags that are simply souvenirs, those come literally with your magic bands.

Thanks for the info! Good to know about the texts. I’ve never had a problem with it here at Disneyland, but I don’t actually stay very often because I am a local. We don’t arrive until 3 PM on our arrival day, so I’m hoping that we get a text by the time we’re actually at the resort. If not, I guess it’s not a huge deal to go to the check in desk.

And yes, I’m talking about the yellow luggage tags. Just want to be aware of when I should have them. Thanks again!

 

[apartment j]

We have used the Minnie Vans nine times with six people, two of them in car seats, one forward facing, one backward facing. The car seats have always been placed in the second row. This means that two people have to get in the back row. Those two people need to be skinny to fit through the passageway. One person can sit between the two car seats. One person sits up front with the driver.

As far as waiting for a Minnie Van, most of our waits have been 5-10 minutes but one time it took significantly longer, close to 30 minutes. When leaving a resort, the fastest choice is the Mears taxis which are already lined up and waiting at the resort entrances, but those do not usually have car seats. The valet has to place a phone call to get a vehicle with a car seat, and I believe it is only one car seat, not two.

 

[apartment j]

We almost always get a room ready text while on the Magical Express EXCEPT when we stay at Boardwalk Inn. We've stayed there 6 times in the past 3 years and we ALWAYS have to go to the front desk.

 

[apartment j]

If you get on the boat at BWI headed for HS, you then have to travel to the dock at Yacht Club/Beach Club, then on to the dock at Swan/Dolphin, then your third stop will be Hollywood Studios. It's the reverse for the return trip. The distance between the resort stops isn't far but it takes time to dock, unload passengers, take on new passengers, and get untied and moving again. Most walkers will get there faster than the boat.

 

[Babsy]

FYI: Check in starts at 3:00 pm for the Inn, but your room may not be ready until later than that.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I asked this on a Minnie Van thread and literally got two opposite answers (one said car seats are always 3rd row, the other said they’re always 2nd row).

If you go back and check that thread, you should determine that I referred to the more sensible (based on design) response

One thing to note is Disney World is HUGE, especially compared to Disneyland.

I
The entire DisneyLand resort would fit in just the Magic Kingdom parking lot.

Good to know about the buses. I have read through literally years of posts and the overwhelming message is that they are wildly inconsistent and sometimes require waiting for 30 minutes or more!

Buses typically arrive about every twenty minutes. How long the wait is depends on when the passenger arrived at the stop in relation to the previous/next bus departure.

Also, it would be highly unusual to see multiple posts "the bus came on time", "the bus came as we walked to the stop", etc. Consider how many negative reviews you've read in comparison to how many bus rides would have occurred in that same period.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We've used Minnie Vans since the year they were introduced and they are really hit or miss. On our trip this past August, we experienced our longest waits ever for Minnie Vans which surprised me as I had thought they had increased their fleet size and we went during a "low crowd" time. We stayed at BWV on that trip and I would literally schedule the Minnie Van pick-up as we walked to the bus stop. We took whichever came first (if you do this, make sure you cancel the Minnie Van if you take the bus!). The bus stop at BWI is right next to the porte cochere so, if you decide to ditch the bus and take the Minnie Van, it's a quick walk over to where the Minnie Van will pick you up. There are screens at the bus stop which will tell you the approximate time of the next bus and you can access that info as well on the MDE app on your phone, so you can make a pretty educated guess as to which mode of transportation would be best. Others can chime in on this, but I don't know if renting a car will make much of a difference. The buses and Minnie Vans have much closer access to the park entrances than private cars. In the case of MK, you have to park at TTC then take a ferry or monorail, so that doesn't save you any time at all. As others have said, walking to EP is fastest and we find walking to DHS is fastest too (the boat is nice as well). So, I personally, wouldn't rent a car just to drive to AK.

 

[hereforthechurros]

Minnie Van waits, once secured, haven’t been bad in our experience but securing one in the AM or at park closings will be tough. Bus transportation isn’t as awful as advertised. Also the last Minnie van I took was $42 one way. So cost be damned will add up quickly. Lyft or Uber costs 1/4 of that and gets you to the same place. Except at MK where they have to drop you at the TTC.

Magic bands ship 30 days out from check in.

Magic kingdom Main Street opens one hour before the park.I believe other parks open at the stated time, sometimes a few minutes earlier. I need to double check that.

Room ready text may not come at all sadly. Check in is at 3 or 4 pm at the resorts but check in is not guaranteed by this time. However, day of you can check my Disney experience to see if the room number has been assigned. Click on your reservation to see if room # is populated yet.

Some travel agents have access to discounted rooms but do NOT have special access to FPs to ADR reservations. First come first served on those regardless.

 

[apartment j]

Also the last Minnie van I took was $42 one way. So cost be damned will add up quickly.

I agree with this. We have had a few rides over $50 once the tip is included. Definitely worth it when you're tired or running late for an ADR, especially if you need the car seats, but not as a sole means of transportation. The bus works fine in a lot of situations. Plus, for the OP, walking is an easy option for two of the four parks, and there are so many food options walkable as well with Yacht Club, Beach Club, Swan, Dolphin, and World Showcase all walkable. You really only need the bus for Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Disney Springs. A lot of times the Disney Springs bus stops at multiple resorts. That can make the trip really long and in that case the Minnie Van is really worth it, although the drop off and pick up place at DS is a little inconvenient.