Going Back To WDW After A Few Years - What Has Changed?

[GBRforWDW]

Case in point - I have no idea what or even where Riviera is

Riviera is the newest DVC hotel. Inspired by European art.
It's over by Caribbean beach resort.

 

[_19disnA]

What is the park capacity now? Did you find it more crowded because the ride lines are spaced out more?

Our vacation was pre-covid so I can't comment on how that might have made things worse. My comments were in comparison to our prior visit many years ago (much like the OP), there were just far more people at the parks. I think Disney has tried raising prices over the years as a method of crowd control that hasn't worked. We just found it crowded AND expensive. Newer rides don't seem to have been designed with higher crowd levels in mind, so there were very long lines for the most popular rides. When Fastpass was available that wasn't really a solution, since you can only pre-reserve 3 rides per day. While you might be able to snag a few individual Fastpasses after using those up, we had no interest in standing in any 1-2 hr line no matter what the ride was.

 

[SeanWM48]

OP i can relate. i went 2 weeks ago for the first time since winter of '14. back then i'd gone the previous couple years in a row before the long break.

you're in for an adventure. there's enough new content from the last few years to remind you of your first time going. i was impressed over and over again by the latest rides and immersive theming. a new standard has been set by Disney. maybe i'm too easy to please on these trips but i found myself saying "i can't believe this" over and over again.