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

[neverlandsky]

We were able to recoup what was lost yesterday evening, barely. After RnRC breakdown, we started walking back towards Galaxy Edge. Mickey and Minnie’s RR back open, yes. Used our ME LL pass. Then afterwards used ME LL Slinky Dog that was closed due to passing thunderstorm.

First time ever riding Slinky Dog, definitely get the appeal and long wait for it. It was worth it. Thank goodness for the evening cloud cover. It offered some relief from the heat.

Then onto Smugglers run after we got dinner at Docking7. First time riding that. It was a fun experience. Then onto RoTR, again great experience as it was our second time riding that.

Got off of RoTR and it was 8:45 pm. Looked to see if RnRC was opened again. It was. Booked it to RnRC. Used ME LL. Scanned in at 8:58 pm. 2 minutes before close. Phew

Note to others, be prepared for ride breakdowns. There’s be a ton our trip so far at every park. It’s not if they will happen, it’s when. Highly recommend to be flexible and adaptable.

Lots of crying kids when Mickey’s & Minnie’s Runaway Railroad broke down. Partly because they didn’t understand. Heartbreaking to see and hear. (((HUGS)) to all the littles.

With ride breakdown, CMs have IPads to scan Apple Watches, Card/Mobile tickets and Magic Brands. Everyone in party must be scanned in to receive ME LL with ride broken down. They were very efficient in evacuating everyone really fast.

With G+ if ride is temporary down during return window, ME LL automatically dropped. Thank goodness for that insurance policy otherwise we would have never been able to ride Slinky Dog.

Genie+ was 100% worth it for the day.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We were able to recoup what was lost yesterday evening, barely. After RnRC breakdown, we started walking back towards Galaxy Edge. Mickey and Minnie’s RR back open, yes. Used our ME LL pass. Then afterwards used ME LL Slinky Dog that was closed due to passing thunderstorm.

First time ever riding Slinky Dog, definitely get the appeal and long wait for it. It was worth it. Thank goodness for the evening cloud cover. It offered some relief from the heat.

Then onto Smugglers run after we got dinner at Docking7. First time riding that. It was a fun experience. Then onto RoTR, again great experience as it was our second time riding that.

Got off of RoTR and it was 8:45 pm. Looked to see if RnRC was opened again. It was. Booked it to RnRC. Used ME LL. Scanned in at 8:58 pm. 2 minutes before close. Phew

Note to others, be prepared for ride breakdowns. There’s be a ton our trip so far at every park. It’s not if they will happen, it’s when. Highly recommend to be flexible and adaptable.

Lots of crying kids when Mickey’s & Minnie’s Runaway Railroad broke down. Partly because they didn’t understand. Heartbreaking to see and hear. (((HUGS)) to all the littles.

With ride breakdown, CMs have IPads to scan Apple Watches, Card/Mobile tickets and Magic Brands. Everyone in party must be scanned in to receive ME LL with ride broken down. They were very efficient in evacuating everyone really fast.

With G+ if ride is temporary down during return window, ME LL automatically dropped. Thank goodness for that insurance policy otherwise we would have never been able to ride Slinky Dog.

Genie+ was 100% worth it for the day.

They have changed the DHS ME LL to include SDD? That’s a fairly recent change I believe. We had a couple of ME LL at DHS last year and SDD was not one of the options of where it could be used. Glad to hear it’s included now.

 

[mickey916]

They have changed the DHS ME LL to include SDD? That’s a fairly recent change I believe. We had a couple of ME LL at DHS last year and SDD was not one of the options of where it could be used. Glad to hear it’s included now.

I think it's only included if you were actually in line for Slinky and it breaks down, at least that's been my experience.

 

[itf]

We're back after two weeks and while we broadly had a good time, it's hard not to say that there are maintenance issues. The breakdowns this time were really noticeable, while we only had one ride evacuation we had a couple of mid-rise pauses with announcements, and a number of times early entry really suffered from a big attraction being down and driving people into longer lines elsewhere. Some rides were down for multiple hours - Tiana's one day, Frozen another. We even had ride breakdowns in the water park during H2O Glow.

When early entry worked it really worked - for example, when our Tron VQ was called before park open and we were able to walk on, or the day at DHS that we managed RnR, Tower and Runaway before park open.

Genie - not necessary in AK, barely necessary in Epcot, definitely necessary in the other two, but MK I found I was always on the backfoot, with my first LL tending to be mid-late morning even when I booked at 7, and things quickly backing up into the afternoon, whereas I tended to do fine at DHS.

Interesting to see how things have moved on in 2 years - Oga's actively dragging people in off the street, easy to get Rise as a paid LL.

 

[neverlandsky]

They have changed the DHS ME LL to include SDD? That’s a fairly recent change I believe. We had a couple of ME LL at DHS last year and SDD was not one of the options of where it could be used. Glad to hear it’s included now.

So got ME LL for Slinky Dog due to already having LL reserved for Slinky Dog.

 

[neverlandsky]

AK EE. Held on Pandora Bridge only for a few seconds. They opened 5 minutes early at 7:25 am. Did the following rides in order before 9am. Navi, Dinosaur, EEFM twice, & Safari. Kali River a little after 9 am. Headed to Satu’li Canteen to mobile order for 10 am opening.

Chilled out in Satu’li Canteen. Had ILL$ for AFoP 11:20 am. Out of the park by noon.

It was way too hot to stay at AK. Completely soaked on Kali and was completely dried 40 minutes later.

Pros: EE was the most beneficial at AK. Best QS out of all the parks.

Cons: Too hot. What little shade there was, people were huddled in it like Jack and Rose trying to share the Titanic debris to stay afloat.

 

[MIChessGuy]

In response to the comments about the ME LL that you get when a ride goes down, I would like to whine (again) about the one I got last month in EPCOT when Spaceship Earth was evac'd. The ME LL could not be used on Remy, Frozen, or Soarin'. Very weak. (Test Track was under renovation, but I suspect it would also have been excluded.)

 

[mickey916]

In response to the comments about the ME LL that you get when a ride goes down, I would like to whine (again) about the one I got last month in EPCOT when Spaceship Earth was evac'd. The ME LL could not be used on Remy, Frozen, or Soarin'. Very weak. (Test Track was under renovation, but I suspect it would also have been excluded.)

Yes, TT was also excluded. I was so excited when I got an ME LL (also due to SE going down) only to find it wasn't usable on anything I wanted to ride. I thought I'd at least be able to do Soarin'.

 

[HeiHei2018]

At AK now. We were in park at 3. It started raining, so we scurried into Tough too Be a Bug. Was pouring when we exited, and we ended up meeting Mickey and Minnie somewhat by accident. (Yay for emergency flip flops.) Rain stopped. We happened upon Doug and Moana. Then rode Triceratop. Finding Nemo Show at 4:30. Walked onto safari; it was feeding time. Now in line for Pandora, and doubting the advice that end of day means shorter wait. Posted 75 minutes, line fills covered area, 12 minutes so far. Will try to update.

 

[bluezy]

At AK now. We were in park at 3. It started raining, so we scurried into Tough too Be a Bug. Was pouring when we exited, and we ended up meeting Mickey and Minnie somewhat by accident. (Yay for emergency flip flops.) Rain stopped. We happened upon Doug and Moana. Then rode Triceratop. Finding Nemo Show at 4:30. Walked onto safari; it was feeding time. Now in line for Pandora, and doubting the advice that end of day means shorter wait. Posted 75 minutes, line fills covered area, 12 minutes so far. Will try to update.

I think the "get in line at the end of the night" strategy works best for rides that are in parks that have a later closing time (like 10:00-11:00) because more people have already left the park at that point. When a park closes at 6:00, I would think that a large percentage of guests are still in the park until closing time. Hopefully your wait is still less than 75 minutes. The good thing is, you wouldn't be able to go on any other rides at AK right now, so you're making good use of your time.

 

[Gary Stocker]

The good news is you're there.. within walking distance of Satuuli and Nomad Lounge...and I am very very jealous...when you exit the whole pandors at night will be commencing...enjoy for the rest of us!

 

[gottalovepluto]

The good news is you're there.. within walking distance of Satuuli and Nomad Lounge...and I am very very jealous...when you exit the whole pandors at night will be commencing...enjoy for the rest of us!

All of that closes at 6 and the sun doesn’t set until 8…

 

[gottalovepluto]

I think the "get in line at the end of the night" strategy works best for rides that are in parks that have a later closing time (like 10:00-11:00) because more people have already left the park at that point. When a park closes at 6:00, I would think that a large percentage of guests are still in the park until closing time. Hopefully your wait is still less than 75 minutes. The good thing is, you wouldn't be able to go on any other rides at AK right now, so you're making good use of your time.

Also depends on if FOP has a theater down

 

[HeiHei2018]

Day 2 was MK(on a party day) and Epcot. We were in the park at 7:50 (delayed because it took three buses to get an open ECV slot). We did Buzz, Astro Orbiters, People Mover, then LL for HM (walk on without LL), then walked on IASW and carousel. LL for BTMR (posted 15 min and looked at least that), walked on Pirates (had a LL, but pre booking forced a sixty minute stagger and we didn’t want to waste low wait time with shows). Then rolled through LL for rides that were walk on to save steps in the queue - Magic Carpets, Belle show (don’t think LL), Under the Sea, Dumbo, Barnstormer. Mobile ordered lunch at Cosmic Rays. Then walked on teacups, LL for Speedway (posted 15 minutes and probably was). From there, Laugh Floor and Philharmagic. We were cooked and left around 1:45. We had a 2:45 LL for JC and could have easily done that and Country Bears and Tiki Room if we weren’t planning to hop.

After hotel break and early dinner, we took bus to Epcot. We had pre booked LL for Frozen and Soarin in the morning. We used the third slot to book immediate LL for the walk on rides - SSE, Nemo, Land. Soarin was posted 30 minutes, which seemed accurate. We waited 10-15 minutes (I assume two shows) even with LL. Frozen at 8:00 had the longest line I have seen, posted 50 minutes. After a snack in Norway, we found a spot at the edge of world showcase for fireworks.

A heads up that Peter Pan was open but LL was not available at any point. Not sure if they all got snapped up or if it’s a soft reopening without LL.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Peter Pan opened a few days earlier than originally announced so possibly no LL for a few days?

 

[HeiHei2018]

Day 3, Part 1. Epcot/MK.
Bus to Epcot for EE. They let us through when we walked up at 8:27. Walked all the way to the loading area of Soarin. Met Figment when he came out at 9:02. Tapped into Pixar movie LL but did not stay. Pro tip: There are two tap points. Walked on imagination ride. Waited 15-20 minutes to meet Mickey. LL for Remy. Skyliner to HS. Met Olaf with short wait. LL for aliens. Lunch at docking bay. LL for MFSR. Walked into muppets. LL for MMRR. Way too hot, so headed out. We refreshed a bunch, but no LL for TSM or Slinky.
Gearing up for MK tonight.

 

[HeiHei2018]

Day 3, Part 2. MK. Arrived around 5:30.
Train from entrance to Frontierland. dinner at Pecos Bill. Country Bears (waited for next show, 10-15 minutes). LL Pirates, LL carpets, LL BTMR. Walked to Tiana meet, posted 15 minutes, waited at least that long. LL Barnstormer, LL Dumbo, walked on Dumbo. Watched fireworks. Walked on teacups, LL HM, walked on carousel, LL Pooh (multi experience because IASW went down), LL Buzz, walked on People Mover, started walking out at 10:57.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Day 3, Part 2. MK. Arrived around 5:30.
Train from entrance to Frontierland. dinner at Pecos Bill. Country Bears (waited for next show, 10-15 minutes). LL Pirates, LL carpets, LL BTMR. Walked to Tiana meet, posted 15 minutes, waited at least that long. LL Barnstormer, LL Dumbo, walked on Dumbo. Watched fireworks. Walked on teacups, LL HM, walked on carousel, LL Pooh (multi experience because IASW went down), LL Buzz, walked on People Mover, started walking out at 10:57.

Quick question as we leave tomorrow so still not sure how valuable LLMP will be when parks are 'quieter' than some times of the year. The attractions you used a LL for, any idea how long the waits were for those. Seems you had many walk-ons when you didn't use LL. Did you feel LLMP saved you a lot of time yesterday? Thanks!

 

[katyjeka]

Quick question as we leave tomorrow so still not sure how valuable LLMP will be when parks are 'quieter' than some times of the year. The attractions you used a LL for, any idea how long the waits were for those. Seems you had many walk-ons when you didn't use LL. Did you feel LLMP saved you a lot of time yesterday? Thanks!

Just wanted to say enjoy your trip! You work so hard on the boards its time for you to enjoy.

 

[HeiHei2018]

Quick question as we leave tomorrow so still not sure how valuable LLMP will be when parks are 'quieter' than some times of the year. The attractions you used a LL for, any idea how long the waits were for those. Seems you had many walk-ons when you didn't use LL. Did you feel LLMP saved you a lot of time yesterday? Thanks!

Our TIER 1 LL at Epcot saved us a ton of time, but you have to pull Remy in advance and Frozen early in the morning. Remy was ~60, Frozen 55, and Soarin 30. I was expecting lines to be shorter than posted waits, but that wasn’t what we observed. Lines for Slinky, TSM, FOP, and Seven Dwarves were all too long for our tolerance. We would have bought LLSP for SDMT, but they were already sold out by the time DD decided she wanted to ride. We got good value from our two days of LLMP because of hopping, but we were also a party of 2. We saved at least an hour at MK (mostly at BTMR and HM), but I didn’t love the stress of preset times that forced us to crisscross the park. If you can rope drop MK on a party morning, you probably don’t need LLMP. We enjoyed having it, but spent less than $100 total for the two days.