Going back after a long break!

[M SH]

I've been out of the game for a while! last time i was at WDW was during the first days of genie plus coming out.
Im going for a 1 week trip (September 6 - 13 - low season - fingers crossed); have park hoppers. staying in all star sports.
kind of just decided to book and go, so need some advice.

Does anyone have any tips to share for someone that haven't been keeping up?
any must-Dos / don'ts for rides, snacks, food, etc?

any tips for this new LL system? is it better to book always the earliest, to tap in and open up the bookings for other parks?
Does the refresh method work well with new system? Do i even need LL in September?
Does the LL multi pass let you book an attraction more than once like the old FP+ did?

which parks are better to go to in the morning vs park hop later in the day?

any tips on anything would greatly help as Im trying to catch up on things.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I've been out of the game for a while! last time i was at WDW was during the first days of genie plus coming out.
Im going for a 1 week trip (September 6 - 13 - low season - fingers crossed); have park hoppers. staying in all star sports.
kind of just decided to book and go, so need some advice.

Does anyone have any tips to share for someone that haven't been keeping up?
any must-Dos / don'ts for rides, snacks, food, etc?

any tips for this new LL system? is it better to book always the earliest, to tap in and open up the bookings for other parks?

If you plan to be in the parks early then normally an early LL to open tiers and hopping is recommended

Does the refresh method work well with new system? Do i even need LL in September?

You don't really 'need' it but it will save you time. Personal decision. We are going during the last 2 weeks of Aug and at this time do not plan to purchase LLMP>

Does the LL multi pass let you book an attraction more than once like the old FP+ did?

No. You may only ride an attraction once using LLMP.

which parks are better to go to in the morning vs park hop later in the day?

I would recommend going to MK on a party day then hopping elsewhere. Visiting AK in the afternoon often means lower crowds as the day progresses too.

any tips on anything would greatly help as Im trying to catch up on things.

There are many similar threads to yours that contain additional information. I would check the first 3 pages of this forum to look for threads that might provide info to help you.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I've been out of the game for a while! last time i was at WDW was during the first days of genie plus coming out.
Im going for a 1 week trip (September 6 - 13 - low season - fingers crossed); have park hoppers. staying in all star sports.
kind of just decided to book and go, so need some advice.

Does anyone have any tips to share for someone that haven't been keeping up?
any must-Dos / don'ts for rides, snacks, food, etc?

any tips for this new LL system? is it better to book always the earliest, to tap in and open up the bookings for other parks?
Does the refresh method work well with new system? Do i even need LL in September?
Does the LL multi pass let you book an attraction more than once like the old FP+ did?

which parks are better to go to in the morning vs park hop later in the day?

any tips on anything would greatly help as Im trying to catch up on things.

We’ve been regular users of the refresh method for years, but we couldn’t get anything good to come up last week. Not once.

However, additional lightening lanes drops occur on a regular basis and we were able to pull several of those each day, often with a less than 20 minute wait for the return time.

You may want to familiarize yourself with the Thrill Data website and be aware when those drops are scheduled. They do go quick so you have to be ready.

 

[holden]

I'd expect an easier time getting the LL you want in September. Kids are starting school, and that takes away a huge population competing for LL.

If it's within your budget, I'd get LLMP and LLSP (for the attractions you don't want to wait for). It will free up your day a bit if you aren't spending time waiting in long lines. Consider the LLPP if you'd like. My DD18 and I got them for DHS in February. We finished enjoying all attractions in about 4.5hrs. That gave us plenty of time to hop to another park and a basically a full day there.

My tips:
1. If you haven't been on GOTG, do it. Take a Bonine (or something similar) just in case. Pay for the LLSP. If you like it ride it again later at park closing.
2. Don't book a ton of table service restaurants. I find they dictate my day. For a week-long trip, I'd book maybe three TS reservations and just wing the rest of my dining. You can often find last minute availability on the app. You Enjoy the Food & Wine Festival too!
3. It will be extremely hot, so enjoy indoor dining/attractions when possible. Stay hydrated!
4. Don't believe any wait times posted close to park closing. We were on and off GOTG in 30 minutes one night when the posted wait time was 60 minutes. The pre-show alone in long, so we probably spent around 20 minutes actually standing in line (moving every few seconds). Park was closing at 9pm; we got in line around 8:50pm.

Have a great trip!

 

[M SH]

You may want to familiarize yourself with the Thrill Data website and be aware when those drops are scheduled. They do go quick so you have to be ready.

Interesting. There were definitely some drop times during FP+ days that I had memorized. I’ll have to do as you said and familiarize myself with thrill data.

If it's within your budget, I'd get LLMP and LLSP (for the attractions you don't want to wait for). It will free up your day a bit if you aren't spending time waiting in long lines. Consider the LLPP if you'd like. My DD18 and I got them for DHS in February. We finished enjoying all attractions in about 4.5hrs. That gave us plenty of time to hop to another park and a basically a full day there.

I was planning to just rope drop LLSP attractions or do then at park close, and just get the LLMP to keep things reasonable. LLPP (I assume you are talking about the premiere pass) is unreasonable for me. Otherwise I would have gone during a more tolerable time weather wise. I hope I don’t need it in September.

Thanks for all the tips. All seem reasonable and similar to what we had done before. My main dining must dos are boma and ohana. The rest I’ll just check day of availability or otherwise wing it with counter service which was always fine.