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

[Ricguz]

It's been a year or so since our last visit, but since COVID we have found the food not as good. Some of our favorite dishes are no longer on the menu and I was told that it was due to staffing shortages that they had to remove a number of items because they couldn't have as many stations in the kitchen to make the different items.

If you have loved it in the past, you may find the food and menu limited and not as exciting as it once was. Maybe check it out before you decide. I checked and still seemed limited so I didn't book it for this trip.

I think that one day it might get back to where it was, but I had a similar experience the last time I was there as well and everyone voted to skip it this trip.

Thanks for your insight. I have seen the limited menu and although it’s certainly limited there are not that many restaurants that potentially better. Sci Fi has burgers, Mama’s Italian is just not that good, 50’s would be a decent choice but can’t get a fantasmic time, Hollywood and Vine is not on my list so I am left with HBD. I have an early reservation so I might be okay but I am certainly not that excited about it.

 

[JFox]

Just one observation after our Thanksgiving week...One ply TP!? Really!!

 

[DisneyNDecember]

Thanksgiving week trip here! We've been back for a few days and I've had some time to think about the trip. Overall, it was great and I'm glad we went. The only day I was taken aback by crowds was Monday at AK - I'd just never seen so many people there, but the same crowd at another park would've seemed normal for a holiday week. We had purchased Genie+ months ago for the trip and did not rope drop a single day, most mornings arriving 30 minutes after opening to avoid the crush. We used up everything we wanted to at Epcot and AK by lunch but it left us time to enjoy the parks. We talked to a lot of people who were turned off of buying Genie+ by the $29 price, and given that we had no trouble booking rides we wanted, the higher price seemed to accomplish what Disney was going for there. We also did not encounter any broken down rides, a first! We walked a minimum of 7 miles a day, more often 9. There's a lot of crisscrossing the park with Genie+. As the week went on we got better about strategizing, but it was still a lot of walking.

One big thing that stood out to me this week (especially when comparing it to 2020 and 2021) is both cast member and guest morale were so much better! We had so many great conversations with people on the buses and in lines. There was one photographer at MK who, while polite, just had that look on her face like she was having a rough day. We were the only ones there at the time, so we took a few minutes to chat and joke with her, and I wish you all could see the transformation - a few kind words really do work miracles sometimes.

Food. We had some of the best we've ever had, and some of the worst. Brown Derby was a huge disappointment. Server was great, but a lot of our food went uneaten. Tiffins and Hoop Dee Doo blew our socks off though! My husband is still raving about the fried chicken at HDD and the whole fish at Tiffins was amazing, my kids kept stealing bites.

We did not see a lot of visibly sick people in the parks. A few random coughs here and there.

Guardians of the Galaxy took us off guard. 3 of the 4 of us were struggling when we got off. Not to the point of being sick, but stumbled a bit for a while while our heads spun. None of us usually struggle with motion sickness. Someone threw up on the ride before us so they had to send that string of cars off to be cleaned. Later in the day a guest told us a woman collapsed in front of them after riding. It's a really cool ride, but that spinning bit at the end.... oof. I'll do it again, but maybe take some meds before.

This is really my favorite time of year to go and I'm looking forward to doing it again in a few years.

WOW. I am thinking more and more about skipping this ride. Your review probably just confirmed it for me.

 

[DisneyNDecember]

Like pp said it will automatically show up, but don't panic if it takes a minute. Our first day at 7:00 it kept trying to get me to buy Genie+ and I had to spend about a minute refreshing the screen before it would let me book rides. Every day after that it worked fine.

Thank you for that information. I too already have Genie Plus added every day to our vacation package and I was wondering this same question.

 

[Disneyhanna]

WOW. I am thinking more and more about skipping this ride. Your review probably just confirmed it for me.

I rode it yesterday after keeping away from spoilers and did fine, but I have only ever felt somewhat nauseous from Simpson’s at Universal. I think anyone who is even somewhat prone to motion sickness could struggle with this one. It was way longer than I expected. The stairs definitely seemed like an awful idea after. It was on the same level as Forbidden Journey at Universal for me, I can handle it just fine as long as I’ve eaten and am hydrated but I wouldn’t want to do it twice back to back. If it was like 70% of the length I think it would be much better motion wise. I could ride FoP 100x and probably feel great, I haven’t ridden Mission Space since I was a kid, and Star Tours is always fine for me as is Remy, though I probably wouldn’t do Star Tours twice in a row either.

 

[Ricguz]

I rode it yesterday after keeping away from spoilers and did fine, but I have only ever felt somewhat nauseous from Simpson’s at Universal. I think anyone who is even somewhat prone to motion sickness could struggle with this one. It was way longer than I expected. The stairs definitely seemed like an awful idea after. It was on the same level as Forbidden Journey at Universal for me, I can handle it just fine as long as I’ve eaten and am hydrated but I wouldn’t want to do it twice back to back. If it was like 70% of the length I think it would be much better motion wise. I could ride FoP 100x and probably feel great, I haven’t ridden Mission Space since I was a kid, and Star Tours is always fine for me as is Remy, though I probably wouldn’t do Star Tours twice in a row either.

I hear you. I can’t do arrowsmith, space mountain so I won’t try guardian. But tower and big thunder don’t bother me.

 

[Leigh L]

I can't do Rock n' Roller Coaster or Space, both are way too rough for me. Guardians feels far smoother than those two to me. It's become one of my favorite rides.

Nausea is a different issue though (I don't have that problem except for Hagrid's over at Universal during the backward part if I'm close to the front - then I have to close my eyes).

I did Simpsons once...waited three years and tried again last summer to see if I still hated it. Never again LOL. Mission Space was also one-and-done for me.

 

[DeeBee3]

I rode it yesterday after keeping away from spoilers and did fine, but I have only ever felt somewhat nauseous from Simpson’s at Universal. I think anyone who is even somewhat prone to motion sickness could struggle with this one. It was way longer than I expected. The stairs definitely seemed like an awful idea after. It was on the same level as Forbidden Journey at Universal for me, I can handle it just fine as long as I’ve eaten and am hydrated but I wouldn’t want to do it twice back to back. If it was like 70% of the length I think it would be much better motion wise. I could ride FoP 100x and probably feel great, I haven’t ridden Mission Space since I was a kid, and Star Tours is always fine for me as is Remy, though I probably wouldn’t do Star Tours twice in a row either.

Everyone has such a different reaction to GOTG that I am having a hard time deciding! Going in a few weeks and I really want to try, but I don't want to be sick all day after.

For me, I cannot do tea cups any more. Just too dizzy. Screens can throw me off but not make me nauseous. I can do roller coasters with no problem, so I don't know what to think.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Everyone has such a different reaction to GOTG that I am having a hard time deciding! Going in a few weeks and I really want to try, but I don't want to be sick all day after.

For me, I cannot do tea cups any more. Just too dizzy. Screens can throw me off but not make me nauseous. I can do roller coasters with no problem, so I don't know what to think.

Excluding Mission Space bc I haven’t ridden it in so long, Cosmic Rewind is definitely the biggest motion sickness risk ride at WDW right now (in my opinion). I didn’t think it spun so much as it was constantly rotating but not always the same way. This was my first time riding and I’m a huge Guardians fan and I was disappointed, it didn’t feel like a Guardians ride to me, but that may be the holiday overlay. It’s not a must do for me, Universal’s Velocicoaster and Hagrid’s still knock it out of the park for me. I still far prefer traditional coasters with no screens! I guess all that to say, if you choose to skip, I don’t think you’re missing that much.

To stay on topic, it looks like Genie+ is up to $20 today. They must have thought $17 was too cheap yesterday! We are taking a bit of a rest day with DS this morning, some pool time, and an Epcot evening without Genie+ so I will report back. I may try my hand at the 6pm Guardians VQ to see if a second ride changes my opinion.

HS last night was pretty empty, we got in about 7:30 and it was wayyy less busy than Friday night. We rode TSM at the same time as Friday and waited a fair bit longer this time as they seemed to be using just one track this time. Slinky was only a 50 minute standby at 7:34, wild. Wonder if it was lower crowds or everyone capping off their trip with Fantasmic or both. We are here two more days so we shall see if the lower crowds hold up before the early December folks start coming in.

 

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

I found if I focused on the screens too much on GOTG it got me a little nauseous. So I recommend to my friend/family that have motion sickness issues to focus on the ride, don’t look around at screens

 

[scrappinginontario]

Please take the GotG chat to one of the many threads discussing this attraction so that this thread comes back to the general topic of ‘Here Now and Just Back’

Thanks.

 

[jvalic33]

Thanks for your insight. I have seen the limited menu and although it’s certainly limited there are not that many restaurants that potentially better. Sci Fi has burgers, Mama’s Italian is just not that good, 50’s would be a decent choice but can’t get a fantasmic time, Hollywood and Vine is not on my list so I am left with HBD. I have an early reservation so I might be okay but I am certainly not that excited about it.

Well, in that regard, you are right. We did Mama's and really didn't like it at all. Last year we did 50s and really, no matter how much fun a place is, we are big foodies and we can't get past it. SciFi has creepy movies for the little ones and the food is cafeteria like to me.

If that is your issue and you can't step out of the park, I would definitely just leave it at HBD but don't order too expensive only because it isn't worth it. I never looked at prices in the past because the food used to really wow me....I'm thinking of you little crab fluffy things that I think they served in a glass (I forget what they were called) but I could order 10 of those and we would always all order a different appetizer because we found them all to be so good, but now I would probably split a few and just try them because their eh....and then maybe save room for mickey ice cream pops instead of dessert, because I remember being a little disappointed in that department whereas again, in the past, they were creative and we could never figure out just what to pick.

The only thing that could fix all of this is if Woody's BBQ opens up! That would be awesome and I'm trying to figure out how to fit that in if/when we find out it opens!

 

[PrincessJasmine88]

I looked at wait times and they still seem very high. I was hoping they would thin out after thanksgiving. I’m arriving Saturday

 

[Disneyhanna]

I looked at wait times and they still seem very high. I was hoping they would thin out after thanksgiving. I’m arriving Saturday

To me they seem so low! Except HS I guess which never has short waits these days MK will be higher as it’s a non MVMCP day sandwiched between two MVMCP days. I did HEA on this exact day in 2019 and it was wall to wall in the evening since there were regular fireworks. AK and Epcot looks pretty low, Remy is 45 right now at 11:30 and FoP is 65. And it’s BEAUTIFUL out today.

Interestingly enough the AP resort rates were available at almost every hotel for the next three days. I switched the dates to early December and they were all gone. Not to say hotel availability is a perfect indicator of crowds, but it certainly leads me to think crowds will pick back up again beginning December as word has gotten out about it being a good time to travel. But everything is harder to guess with the pandemic.

 

[lugnut33]

I am not going to let genie ruin my vacation.

I think I found the 2023 Disney Parks slogan.

 

[c0reyann]

Everyone has such a different reaction to GOTG that I am having a hard time deciding! Going in a few weeks and I really want to try, but I don't want to be sick all day after.

For me, I cannot do tea cups any more. Just too dizzy. Screens can throw me off but not make me nauseous. I can do roller coasters with no problem, so I don't know what to think.

I wore motion sickness glasses and they worked like a champ. Looked weird but I had NO issues after the ride and I can't do a lot of the 3D stuff without feeling icky after (like Forbidden Journey).

 

[pixiedust2u]

I wore motion sickness glasses and they worked like a champ. Looked weird but I had NO issues after the ride and I can't do a lot of the 3D stuff without feeling icky after (like Forbidden Journey).

Never heard of such a thing!

 

[Ricguz]

Never heard of such a thing!

You can get them at Amazon and reviews are good and the glasses work

 

[scrappinginontario]

Please take this thread back to discussing recent park experiences. Specific discussions re: GotG that are better suited for those threads will be removed from this thread.

 

[lynzi2004]

Thinking of a last minute trip to WDW over New Years. MK and HS are both sold out. Just making sure there hasn’t been any instances in this recent sold out thanksgiving week that parkhopping to a sold out park was prohibited?! We would start at Ak and EP which is fine with me so that we can do guardians virtual que and FOP, then hop to the other park in the evening.