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

[UrsulaTime]

We actually had very good success stacking Genie for HS yesterday 3/12. We drove from TN and arrived at HS at 545 pm. We did the following LL…

MMRR (540-640)…booked at 1115 am, had to keep waiting for a time late enough since we were driving so could not book when our window opened at 1030. Posted wait 70, waited 10
Slinky (610-710)…booked about 30 seconds after 7 am. Posted wait 80, waited 5
TSMM (630-730)…booked as our 3rd LL at 130. Posted 35…waited about 10
Saucers (710-810)…booked at 4 (again had to wait a bit to get a later time, was eligible at 330), posted 30 and waited about 5
MFSR (820-900)…found this one at 730 by refreshing for about 10 min while waiting for Woodys Linchbox mobile order.
Did MMRR standby at 855 with an actual 10 min wait (posted 25).

So 5 Genie rides and a standby in 3 1/2 hrs was pretty good for me.

SO helpful. Thank you so much for posting both times (booking and boarding).
And, YEAH, that sounds like a pretty awesome 3 1/2 hours!

 

[UrsulaTime]

You actually brought something to my attention I hadn't thought of yet - I'll be getting LLs for my family of 5. But the system doesn't know that when I'm refreshing for availability yet. Is that why sometimes those times disappear? We have no way of knowing if a random time shows up to be booked maybe is just for one person or 10. For you, maybe it's okay that you try to add just one more person to your reserved LL, but I don't think that would be an option for me with my family. I haven't done this in practice just yet so it hadn't even occurred to me that the systems doesn't know how many you're booking for until you actually click on the time.

Waaaiiittt a second. ILL$ doesn't require party size information before showing times?
Because yeah, like you said, I would think that'd have an effect on the changing times.

I'm not an expert software developer so I'm sure there's a reason it's designed like that...but...

 

[Westerner]

You don't even need a reservation to display times on Tip Board. So it stands to reason that party size only comes into play when you try to book. And it's logical that it'll be harder to find LL availability for a party of 10 for the same return time than a party of 2-3 especially if new availability is being added in smaller chunks after the initial 7AM crush.

 

[Neverbeast]

You don't even need a reservation to display times on Tip Board. So it stands to reason that party size only comes into play when you try to book. And it's logical that it'll be harder to find LL availability for a party of 10 for the same return time than a party of 2-3 especially if new availability is being added in smaller chunks after the initial 7AM crush.

*weeps in party of 11*

 

[pens4821]

We are here this week and today was our first day in the parks. We had a good day, albeit very long. Left after 7 got back before 10. We bought genie but stacked for the evening.

Walked from yacht club to HS. The boat was just leaving the dock towards HS, and we still beat it at a very leisurely pace. We left the room a little after 7 and were walking into the park about 745. Went to tot where there were maybe 50ish people in front of us. They led us over maybe about 5-10 till but didn’t start the ride until 8. We got off there and went to rnrc and rode twice. Walked through the preshow both times. Second time maybe waited 5 minutes.

From there we decided to wait for mmrr. Posted 30 at 845 actual 35. We stopped for a drink and noticed that sdd was posted 70 at 940 and tsmm was 55 so just went to sdd. Actual wait was 65. We went to star tours and got in line at 11 posted 45 waited 30. Went to mama melrose for lunch.

Left and went to MK. We booked LL every two hours and had btm 2 (was down so we used it after POC), hm 225, poc 530, splash 630, buzz 745. At 7 when we could book another but there really want anything left. I saw a couple things but nothing of interest to us (dumbo,Aladdin,mad tea). I refreshed a couple times while eating at cosmic rays didn’t come across anything.

We also did hall of presidents when we first got there about 2, iasm at 330 (posted 35 actual 30), speedway after dinner (took about 10 minutes about 730) and 7d after our buzz LL. At 825 it was posted 75 but only took 30. We beat the fireworks crowd out of the park.

We are really pleased with our day. We got a lot done, more than I thought with the parks being sold out. We were busy through and tired. Maybe losing the hour of sleep helped us since the waits weren’t horrible until about 10. Having LL stacked for the night worked great. I probably won’t get it the next couple days as we are going epcot deluxe hours tomorrow and MK on Wednesday.

 

[HeartTink]

We are really pleased with our day. We got a lot done, more than I thought with the parks being sold out. We were busy through and tired. Maybe losing the hour of sleep helped us since the waits weren’t horrible until about 10. Having LL stacked for the night worked great. I probably won’t get it the next couple days as we are going epcot deluxe hours tomorrow and MK on Wednesday.

I am happy to hear that you got a lot done, even with the parks being sold out. We are going in a couple of weeks and there are sold out dates on our schedule as well. I am really interested in hearing how the extra evening deluxe hotel hours go for you. I am really hoping that we can use those to knock out a lot of rides. Have a great time!

 

[jbish]

I probably won’t get it the next couple days as we are going epcot deluxe hours tomorrow and MK on Wednesday.

Would you mind doing a little "on the ground" research during the evening deluxe hours? Curious if this is a thing:

I have seen a report that Deluxe guests can access the LL to bypass any "regular" guests that are still in line, but not sure that is definitely a thing.

Maybe not as needed tonight at Epcot, though it is a sold out day so I imagine it will be crazy busy all week. Definitely would be curious if this works at MK on Wednesday!

 

[leeniewdw]

We never had to wait for Skyliner, monorail, bus, or boat it was all on point this trip. For instance, after our HS night we walked out at 9:15 and was on the skyliner by 9:20.

This was our experience on 3/4 and 3/5 with Pop/Skyliner. We left Epcot about 5 minutes after the fireworks started and the people in our skyliner thing said they'd waited too long a different night and waited 90 minutes to get on! The next night we were on ToT at 9pm (we actually saw some little fireworks go off when the doors of the elevator opened at the top -- so cool) and were concerned we would get stuck waiting for the skyliner at DHS or the CBR transfer, but it was also fine. Again, we rode with people coming from EP to POP and they also said they'd waited too long one night and stood in line for 90 minutes. So just word of warning!

 

[Little E]

Hi All!

I did a spring break trip with my college kiddo (DS20) and his buddy. We stayed in two rooms at Pop from 3/6-3/11, and we had a wonderful time. Here are some things we experienced:

1. A little frustration with Genie+. It was our first time using this, and while I wound up buying it every day, we definitely didn't get our money's worth from it. It saved us some waiting in line, especially in conjunction with rope dropping, but we were not able to get a ton of stacked LL passes in the afternoons/evenings like lots of other folks on the Disboards report. Some things weren't available, and when they were, lots of times they clashed with our dining reservations, so we couldn't use them. I wished we had been able to request specific times for LL passes...perhaps that would have made stacking more possible for us? Also, it seemed really random to us as to when we could sign up for another pass. Some mornings when I logged on at 7 am, we were eligible for another LL pass around 9 am, and some days we weren't eligible for another LL pass until 11 am? I'm not sure what I was doing wrong to get such different times for re-upping on LL passes? Could anyone set me straight on this? I'm going on DS17's spring break at the end of the month, and I'd love to be able to use Genie+ more efficiently.

2. We were lucky enough to get an 11:30 am ressie at Space 220. WOW! Just wow! Daniel was our server, and he was fantastic. The whole experience from the "ride" into space to the food was phenomenal! Definitely our favorite dining experience.

3. Mousekeeping at Pop was hit and miss. When we checked in, I specifically asked which days we would receive mousekeeping services, so I would know when they were coming, when to tip, etc. The first time they were supposed to come, they didn't. I had to call in the evening to have them come and at least take our trash and towels. The second time they were supposed to come during our trip, again, they didn't. I had to call again to ask them to come; the housekeeper arrived quickly and she was lovely, so everything worked out, but it was a bit of a bummer to have to call and "request" services on the days we were due for service.

4. I can't stress enough how awesome the Skyliner is from Pop. We loved being able to jump on the Skyliner and get to two parks so easily. Even when the early morning lines were long, they moved quickly, and CMs were great.

5. Our preferred pool view rooms were OH SO LOUD. I had a preferred room last October as my first stay at Pop, and it was divine! I loved everything about how close my room was to the food court, the Skyliner, and the quiet pool. I was on an upper floor, and it was such a lovely, quiet place to retreat from the chaos of the parks. When I booked this trip, only the pool view preferred room option was available. We were RIGHT in the middle of the Hippy Dippy pool area, on the ground floor in rooms 5168 and 5169. We heard EVERY conversation of every group of people that wandered by our rooms day and night. One night, a group planted themselves at two tables right in front of our rooms and drank MANY bottles of wine into the wee hours of the morning. I heard their whole conversation the entire time they partied there. Additionally, they had kids that played "catch" LOUDLY with water bottles, right outside our rooms. Plus, the general noise from the pool made our experience in our rooms just...loud. This definitely hasn't soured me on Pop...I'm headed back to Pop with DH and DS17 and his buddy at the end of March for his high school spring break. But, I'm glad we have regular preferred rooms. Lesson learned. Never again will I book pool view preferred.

6. We saw kindness EVERYWHERE. We had only wonderful experiences with CMs, and while the parks were really crowded, we saw many instances of kindness between guests. From the little guy behind us in line at BTMRR who found my DS's dropped magic band, to the family ahead of us outside the Tangled bathrooms who helped reunite a lost little one with his family, to the folks we chatted up in lines, this trip has solidified my faith in humanity. People are kind and good, and it was awesome to see this at WDW.

7. One thing I forgot to add to my initial post...we LOVED mobile order, and I hope it never goes away. It was great to be able to mobile order while waiting in line, and being able to get food without horrible waits. I put all of our food budget on a Disney gift card, and I was able to use the gift card to pay for the mobile order; it was awesome!

If anyone has any questions about Pop or the parks, feel free to let me know! I'm glad to answer questions. And, if anyone has any advice about what I was doing wrong with Genie+, definitely let me know!

 

[k5xs]

Thanks for that report.

What days were you told you would receive mousekeeping service? What options were offerred?

 

[LisaRay]

Hi, we were there the same time you were. March 2-10th. At POP.
Funny you were in the 60's preferred pool view rooms because I said to my family many times I thought it would be fun to stay in that area and be so close to the pool etc.! LOL However, when I'm in my room I want quiet.
Our room was in the 70's but the farthest possible 70's room and my only request was 1st floor and we got 2nd floor so I was a little disappointed.

I agree about the skyliner I'm afraid of heights but we really liked it (1st time staying with it)
We too had some mousekeeping issues. They claimed they didn't service our room the day they were supposed to because we had our do not disturb sign out but we never once put that sign out.

And I agree about kindness we noticed the CM's were all great and majority of the guests we encountered in the parks and hotel were extra friendly.

 

[Little E]

@k5xs We checked in on Sunday, and we were told our mousekeeping would be every other day starting on Tuesday. I was told that housekeepers would dispose of trash, replace towels, soaps/shampoos, coffee supplies, etc, but that they would not make/change beds due to Covid. All of this was just fine with me. All I really wanted was to get fresh towels, have trash removed, and get resupplies with soaps and coffee stuff. So, that meant that we were due for services on Tuesday and again on Thursday. Tuesday was the day I had to break down and call in the evening, and Thursday I had to call again, but the housekeeper came quickly. Hope that helps!

 

[Little E]

@LisaRay So fun to know you were there when we were! I didn't make any requests about location at all...I would have GLADLY swapped rooms with you in the 70's area!

I'm also glad to know that you also experienced lots of kindness during your time at WDW. We all need a little kindness right now.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I can't stress enough how awesome the Skyliner is from Pop. We loved being able to jump on the Skyliner and get to two parks so easily. Even when the early morning lines were long, they moved quickly, and CMs were great.

I've wondered about this. We did a Caribbean Beach trip recently and loved loved loved the Skyliner, but we wondered how convenient it would really be if you were staying at a resort that required a transfer to get anywhere.

 

[k5xs]

@k5xs We checked in on Sunday, and we were told our mousekeeping would be every other day starting on Tuesday. I was told that housekeepers would dispose of trash, replace towels, soaps/shampoos, coffee supplies, etc, but that they would not make/change beds due to Covid. All of this was just fine with me. All I really wanted was to get fresh towels, have trash removed, and get resupplies with soaps and coffee stuff. So, that meant that we were due for services on Tuesday and again on Thursday. Tuesday was the day I had to break down and call in the evening, and Thursday I had to call again, but the housekeeper came quickly. Hope that helps!

Thanks.

I sure hope they get back to daily service soon. And I seriously question the Covid reasoning on bed-making. They make the beds between guests as is.

Glad you had fun. We're at Swan in early May and Pop in November.

 

[pens4821]

Would you mind doing a little "on the ground" research during the evening deluxe hours? Curious if this is a thing:

Maybe not as needed tonight at Epcot, though it is a sold out day so I imagine it will be crazy busy all week. Definitely would be curious if this works at MK on Wednesday!

Once the deluxe hours are near or started I’ll ask just to see what they say. I’ll ask both places.

 

[pens4821]

This morning the waits seemed to build faster. We got to HS about 730. Walked right in and we decided on sdd first today. We were on maybe the fourth train of the day. From there we went to rnrc which was posted 5 but waited 10-15. TOT was posted 50. When we got done with rnrc tot was posted 60 and it took 55.

By that time everything was over an hour. We walked to the muppets but the line for that was huge so we just sat around. Went to ABC for an early lunch about 1045. We had a rise ILL for 11-12. Of course it went down right about then so we sat around until it came on a little after noon. While we were there we got through but I heard one CM say to another well that didn’t last long then it was closed again.

We headed back to yacht club, got some beaches and cream to go, going to hit up the pool for an hour or two, then dinner, then epcot for deluxe hours.

The crowds seemed bigger today than yesterday. We were looking from 10-12 and the waits were quite long. Even alien swirl was over an hour and star tours was hovering around that. Yesterday they were too but we felt like they took a little longer to build. May have been the time change that through everyone off.

 

[HydroGuy]

We were going to stay at CBR and use the Skyliner and for several reasons ended up pivoting to Dolphin. Some questions...

1. I am reading some nightmare stories of 90 minute waits for Skyliner at certain times of day. Sounds like the OP did not have that? I assume when that happens it is at park closing and return to hotel and not opening?

2. Do you have to show proof of a resort res to ride them? We may want to pop on and ride one as they seem fun!

 

[scrappinginontario]

We were going to stay at CBR and use the Skyliner and for several reasons ended up pivoting to Dolphin. Some questions...

1. I am reading some nightmare stories of 90 minute waits for Skyliner at certain times of day. Sounds like the OP did not have that? I assume when that happens it is at park closing and return to hotel and not opening?

2. Do you have to show proof of a resort res to ride them? We may want to pop on and ride one as they seem fun!

We were there about 5 weeks ago. Used Skyliner often. Only once out of about 14 trips was the wait 90 mins and that was leaving Epcot final night, after fireworks and it had 2 20+ min shutdowns but that is not common. Other 13 times were little/no wait. Waited at Pop 15 mins once but line was constantly moving so didn't feel long at all.

Disney transportation is open to all. Onsite and offsite guests, anyone may use it.

 

[Mamiamjo]

This morning the waits seemed to build faster. We got to HS about 730. Walked right in and we decided on sdd first today. We were on maybe the fourth train of the day. From there we went to rnrc which was posted 5 but waited 10-15. TOT was posted 50. When we got done with rnrc tot was posted 60 and it took 55.

By that time everything was over an hour. We walked to the muppets but the line for that was huge so we just sat around. Went to ABC for an early lunch about 1045. We had a rise ILL for 11-12. Of course it went down right about then so we sat around until it came on a little after noon. While we were there we got through but I heard one CM say to another well that didn’t last long then it was closed again.

We headed back to yacht club, got some beaches and cream to go, going to hit up the pool for an hour or two, then dinner, then epcot for deluxe hours.

The crowds seemed bigger today than yesterday. We were looking from 10-12 and the waits were quite long. Even alien swirl was over an hour and star tours was hovering around that. Yesterday they were too but we felt like they took a little longer to build. May have been the time change that through everyone off.

Thanks for giving your daily updates, it really helps us get an idea of what to expect.
Can't wait to hear about your experience with Epcot Extended Hours tonight