Here Now & Just Back - A Place To Share Your Recent Experiences

[disneyfan150]

The further one is from the center of the screen at Soarin', the worse the distortion is. And when I say worse, I mean horrendous. Unless you like your Eiffel Tower bent over to the side. Then it's fine.

So true! But it's not just the Eiffel Tower. Depending on how long the line is, I may just leave through the exit without even watching the show when we are at Epcot in June. We were on the last seat on the bottom row.

 

[Miffy]

So true! But it's not just the Eiffel Tower. Depending on how long the line is, I may just leave through the exit without even watching the show when we are at Epcot in June. We were on the last seat on the bottom row.

Definitely, @disneyfan150. Last seat on bottom row? Ack! We at least got a seat on the middle row, but hardly in the center.

If you RD Soarin', the wait is minimal. That's what we did, but you may want to RD TT instead.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Because you're supposed to feel as if you're hang gliding - no foot rests on hang gliders!

The dangling feet are very distracting.

 

[CarolynFH]

The dangling feet are very distracting.

Indeed they are - so much so that they appear on Soarin’ pins and t-shirts. They’re iconic!

 

[canyoncam]

So true! But it's not just the Eiffel Tower. Depending on how long the line is, I may just leave through the exit without even watching the show when we are at Epcot in June. We were on the last seat on the bottom row.

If I wind up in the bad seats I still stay and enjoy the flight with my eyes closed. I enjoy the music and scents just as well with my memory of the video. I know it’s to each their own though. I also tend to not push my requests. If I really want something it’s back row of BTMRR so that was trying thus last trip. Took six retries but at least that line was shorter.

 

[Princess Katelet]

The distortion on Soarin’ is incredible. I can’t believe a company like Disney gave the okay on that disaster. It’s an embarrassment.
They fully loaded the Thunder waiting area/rows and cut the line right before us. I knew that would mean we’d get the very back row of the next train and I can’t handle anything beyond the middle. The difference between the back and the middle to front is HUGE. I HATE the back and can’t walk away without a massive headache and overall painful experience. I told the CM I can’t do the back and asked if I could simply walk through the seat and leave/exit but still allow my (adult) daughter to stay in the row and ride and she just asked if I’d prefer the front. I said the front would be amazing and she gave it to us. She said it’s much easier to accommodate front requests than back requests. I was prepared though, to just bail entirely. I also asked this the moment she cut the line so she had nothing to do until the train came in and the people in their rows were able to board so I didn’t break her flow or grind her directing to a halt so I’m sure that helped.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

Do the penny machines at WDW still mostly take credit cards? Or do some take the quarters/pennies?

 

[CarolynFH]

The distortion on Soarin’ is incredible. I can’t believe a company like Disney gave the okay on that disaster. It’s an embarrassment.

I think this (new) Soarin’ was planned to be much better then got hit by the budget cuts related to the Great Recession. At least I hope so. I’d hate to think they designed it that way from the beginning. It’s so bad compared to the original that we can’t stand to watch it anymore.

 

[starryagain]

Nice low wait night at MK. But they shut down one side of Dumbo and that line was CRAWLING (we bailed after a few minutes)

 

[GBRforWDW]

Do the penny machines at WDW still mostly take credit cards? Or do some take the quarters/pennies?

I had a discussion about this a few months ago with someone else. I mostly found quarter/penny machines throughout the property and only a few credit card machines, while someone else mainly only saw the credit card and very few quarter/penny and we were there around the same time. You're probably still going to find a mixture.

 

[Mome Rath]

Do the penny machines at WDW still mostly take credit cards? Or do some take the quarters/pennies?

I was there about a week ago, and also saw a mixture.

 

[starryagain]

Finished my 8 day trip to the parks. My last trips were May 2016 and May 2017.

I rode more rides than I ever have before and waited far less in line. I think this was partially the luck of the draw with coronavirus restrictions easing while park capacity hadn't caught up. But honestly I think FP+ isn't good for serious riders. Which is a business decision for Disney. We never waited over 30 minutes and rode every headliner (mainly right before park close). Can't imagine that in previous years.

We had excellent service at restaurants except for Yak and Yeti which was just ok. Never waited more than 10 minutes past our ADR minus Yak and Yeti. Next time will stick to quick service at AK.

Buses remain meh. Next time I'm splitting my stay between an MK and an Epcot / HS resort to minimize bussing.

I did not miss the character meets much but I really missed the shows and night time spectaculars. Characters still have a good presence but the shows add so much and give people something to do. I hope more come back soon.

 

[webcreatrix]

Just back! My 18 year old daughter and I spent 5 nights at the Swan. We had a great time. Both vaccinated so not too worried about the elimination of masks for outdoors. We were relieved! We had hoppers for the first time ever and they came in handy when we slept in and missed HS rope drop. Two days, four tries, no RotR for me. Disappointing. That said, we had a great time. We hopped to MK that afternoon and did everything we wanted to. The weather was beautiful. We slept in a lot and didn't do too badly, except for HS.

F&G was our first festival and I was very much looking forward to it, but the lines seemed so long to snack here and there so we did actual dining both days we were in EPCOT. Walk up at Spice Road Table. Food was amazing! Last minute booking for La Hacienda, very relaxing.We loved mobile ordering and just winging it. Outside of a couple of rides at HS, most everything was 30 min wait max. It was glorious!

Then, we went to Universal which was crazy town. I can only imagine people arrived at Disney, couldn't get a park reservation and then ended up at IOA/US. We've been three times, but DD18 was looking forward to HP. The crowds were the worst we have seen in any given summer or during Halloween Horror Nights. I swore I'd never go to US again. DD hopes to try again with a friend in the off season. We rode three rides with Express Pass, but it was super crowded and overwhelming, not the well oiled Disney machine.

 

[kylenne]

Arrived this morning and was pixie dusted back into the main building at GF! DME line was short, but there was a bit of a wait to actually get on the bus…there were a ton of DVC folks. Lots of Saratoga.

Had lunch at GF Cafe at 1, hung around the resort, then walked to MK slightly before 5. I was hugely apprehensive about going without FP because I was such a master of the system, but color me converted... I had no real plan given that I had an ADR for BOG at 7:30, just hit up the Lines app to see what was acceptable and got on it. In my meandering I knocked out Pirates (30 minutes), Big Thunder (8 minutes), Haunted Mansion was basically walk on, Small World was like 10, Pooh was 20, and I only stopped because of dinner. When I got out Peter Pan was a walk on but I was travel day exhausted. Lines app was very accurate as well.

Tomorrow I plan to rope drop and finish off the rest of the park. But for the rope drop averse, I feel like you can get even more done in the late afternoon to evening hours than in pre COVID times and that imo is entirely down to no FPs. I was shocked by how much I enjoyed no FP. It was so much less stressful.

 

[neptuneflame]

All y’all’s posts have helped me so much, so I figured I’d share mine! We are here right now until Saturday morning. Split stay between BWV and SSR. Here’s my Day 1 and Day 2.

Day 1: arrived at BWV via car from TN around 4:30. I had thought we’d get in sooner and selected 2:00pm in online check in — got a room ready text at 2:06! (That made those last couple hours in the car take that much longer!) We got a snack on the Boardwalk, and returned to find some pixie dust for my daughter who turned 11 this week! A balloon and a note from Mickey. It was so sweet and unexpected. We then spent a beautiful evening swimming. This is our first time at BWV and BW was always a goal resort for us. It’s beautiful! And the room stays cold !

Day 2: HS and MK. We woke up bright and early to get the coveted RotR boarding group. I followed all the tips I’ve read in these threads and got BG 20!! I was literally shaking with adrenaline after I grabbed it! We got ready and walked over, arriving just before the turnstiles opened (around 8:15/8:20).

We headed straight back to SDD and waited about 30/35 min. Then we rode Saucers and our boarding group was called. I had spoiled myself for RotR so I knew with authority that we had the *perfect* ride! We then hit TMM, got lunch at Docking Bay 7, grabbed some blue milk, and rode ToT. We tried to get in line for MMRR, but it was down. We decided to get a midday rest in our room and then head to MK.

We headed to MK at 3 pm, got through the turnstiles quickly and then marathoned rides. HM, BTM x2, IASW (a surprisingly long wait), Under the Sea, Space, People Mover. My DS8 and I rode Pooh and Dumbo while DH and DD rode SDMT. It was hot but bearable and once evening hit the weather was downright beautiful.

I’m now lounging in our room feeling very tired lol! Cast interaction was on point all day. We got lucky with weather and buses today. There is definitely an enthusiastic vibe in the air. I’m a cautious person (proud Enneagram 6w7 here) and I felt pretty comfortable with the current protocols. It’s easy enough to put your mask on entering buildings and rides, and you’re not in close quarters for long. Most people are making an effort — I only saw one person deliberately and flagrantly break the rules. My children kept their masks on most of the day by choice. I think they are so used to wearing them at school, they have gotten used to it. As others have said, though, there is very little social distancing. It felt very strange to go from very few incidental interactions with strangers in the last year to 100s! But honestly, I am probably someone who just needs to rip that band aid off. YMMV.

 

[Castlequeen5]

We just got to Disney this evening. I know there were lots of concerns about DME, so I thought I’d share our experience. We arrived at the DME entrance at 8:31 and got on the bus at 8:37. There was a very short line and it moved quickly. We were assigned seats, and they did skip a row between each group. We arrived at AOA at 9:18. We were the first stop. They were headed to Pop next and then last to All Star Movies. We were on the normal DME bus, so we got to watch the Disney videos. I’m sure it completely depends on when you arrive, but we had a great experience!

 

[Castlequeen5]

Also I brought 4 magic bands with me and not one of them worked to unlock the door. Of course everyone else was at the pool. No doubt they’ll have to be reset at the front desk. BUT I used MagicMobile from my phone to unlock the door, and it worked like a charm! This is a fantastic new feature! We are staying all the way in the Little Mermaid section, and I didn’t have the energy to walk all the way back to the front desk. Ha!

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

Well I'm finally here now to see for myself. Staying at Gran Destino Tower and we really like this hotel.



Pros:
-The wait times are great. I was so worried without FastPass, but truly I have liked it better without it. I am a super planner and going on whatever we want, when we wanted was really fun. The only "long" waits in MK were Splash Mountain and 7DMT, which were 50-60 minutes. I don't even mind those times, we are just traveling with my nephews who are 4 and 8 and probably don't have the patience for that long.
-We are here Memorial Day Weekend and MK was not bad at all yesterday. We enjoyed ourselves and crowds were nothing compared to what we have seen at Disney in the past. We did not rope drop at all and got there about an hour after most would line up for rope drop. We didn't even have a line to scan our magic bands to enter!
-Animal Kingdom was great, we only had a 40 minute wait for Flights of Passage on Thursday!
-Not having to wear masks anymore outside is key for me in this FL heat
-Most CM's have been pretty great. Some are unpleasant, most are great.
-Best part of trip: It is still magical. I have loved being here and it still has that Disney feel for sure. It felt good to be walking around the parks and feeling some sense of normalcy.
-Normally we are a rope drop family: ride everything, do our FastPass and then head back to resort for pool time. This trip, because of the shorter lines, we stayed in the parks longer and rode more things which was a lot of fun.

Not sure if this is a pro or a con for some people: I am fully vaccinated and both my kids have their first dose (plus we had COVID) so I don't mind cramming together in lines. There is no social distancing. It feels very normal in that sense. People seem to follow the rules with the masks pretty well and I haven't seen any issues besides them telling people to pull their masks up in line occasionally.

Cons:
-The no daily housekeeping does suck and they came yesterday to do the "light cleaning" and didn't leave any more paper coffee cups (they no longer leave the two ceramic cups apparently). So I woke up to not being able to have coffee which was pretty annoying, but I headed down to Barcelona Lounge and grabbed something. Also, they don't leave the little notepad and pen in the room anymore, so if you want to leave a tip or write a note to Mousekeeping, ask for it at front desk or bring some paper and pen!
-Bus situation isn't great. We haven't had issues getting to the park, just getting back where the waits are extremely long and due to social distancing, you may have to wait for next bus after already waiting a long time. Luckily, my sister is here with us with a car so we've been able to drive to DHS and Disney Springs (didn't want to deal with parking at MK).
-ABC Commissary at DHS were so rude and abrasive about the whole mobile order situation. This is my first time back since COVID protocols so I did not know you have to check in when you actually get there, on the app. I thought I would just tell the CM I had arrived. So, they make you stand outside and wait for your food or squeeze into the entryway with everyone else waiting. Once I learned that I had to do that, all other QS Mobile Order was fine.
-MK QS options are limited in my opinion. The only actual good option is Pecos Bill which has a really nice menu still of healthier foods.
-Food options are the worst part of the trip. QS at our hotel is limited and we are tired of the 3 options by day 3. We were able to snag a couple TS reservations luckily. The whole prepackaged meal thing leaves the Mickey Waffles soggy. We still eat them, but definitely not nearly as enjoyable as "normal" Disney.
-Masks: it is very unpleasant to wear them in the outdoor virtual queues in the 94 degree heat. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It is confusing at times putting them on/off, on/off, especially with a 4yo and 8yo as you're trying to get in line "Where the heck did we put your mask" kind of thoughts. It sounds like the mask mandate may end soon so this may not be an issue soon enough, still wanted to mention it though since it was a big question of mine.

 

[kat_lh]

Festival of the Lion King is filling up well in advance of posted show times.

 

[armerida]

Festival of the Lion King is filling up well in advance of posted show times.

How early do you need to line up to get into the next show?