Just back from 7 nights at Disney (AKL Jambo), followed by 2 nights at USO, and wanted to report general observations. I already gave a detailed report on our MK day on Monday 6/7, see post 11,096 (Page 555). But general observations:
Mobile ordering is amazing - SO easy and convenient, and Disney has a great system for doing the oder first, then hitting the button when you want them to prepare it (i.e. you are there or just about there) and they make it very easy to change the window if you get behind schedule. We would order while driving back to the resort, click "here" when we were pulling in, and very soon be picking up food for hungry kids. Amazing to not have to wait in line. I appreciated it even more once we got to Universal - their mobile ordering is a hot mess. Easy to do on the app, but then you are forced into a very long line (30-45 minutes in places) with usually 1 window open and basically they are just preparing each order for the person who gets to the window. Defeats the whole purpose.
Overall we found lines the during last 1-2 hours before park closing were as short if not shorter than lines in the morning, making me question the overall rope drop strategy and whether it was worth it (with my husband and 3 boys sort of complaining about having to do it). I think if you have to do SDD it is probably worth rope drop, but everything else at Studios is a manageable wait late in the day (park closed at 8). But be advised that if you aren't at rope drop SUPER early it really isn't worth it at all, the crowds build so fast. At the end of the day at AK - 6:55 p.m., we waited only 35 minutes for FOP and it was pleasant walking out of an empty park after, and the last 1-2 hours of the day at AK there is no line for Everest to speak of, maybe 10 minutes. If I was doing this trip completely over, I might consider pool time and lunch at the resort most days or lunch at designated park and then parks in the afternoon until close.
The park reservation system is awful because it really limits your ability to be flexible. Later in the week we had MK reservations for a second day but the kids really just wanted to go to AK and of course we could not switch the reservation (I realize we could have entered after 2). Hope that system goes away next trip.
Had a great day at Blizzard Beach. I like the 11 a.m. opening there - nice to sleep in and be able to still get there for opening. It was not crowded at all, despite a hot week, compared to many other times we have been there in the summer. Most slides were walk ons and there was no line for Summit Plummet by 430 p.m. Closed at 6 p.m., we stayed until closing.
I was amazed at how slow bus boarding was (we only took bus once) and that they are still making a big point of spreading out groups and telling them where to sit, after you are crammed together in lines all day long in the parks and waiting in line for the bus crammed together. Same thing with some of the random spacing still going on in the rides - like Pirates the boats were launching half empty, spacing out rows after people are cramming together in line for 30 minutes. There is no distancing in the lines at all. The lines would be shorter if they were just filling the rides, and thus the situation seems counterproductive to safety (not to mention enjoyment).
Not having character interaction or preshows or other entertainment absolutely takes that "magic" element away for me. Going to the parks is still fun, but not same overall experience.
Epcot seems really tired and outdated right now. Were it not for my boys' desire to ride TT, we would not have needed to go this trip.
Disney Springs - especially on the weekend nights - was an absolute madhouse and nobody wearing masks except in stores. Long lines to enter the World of Disney and for
Lego. Early closures - 10 p.m. - meant that we could not finish our dinners and then get in line and get into the stores, unfortunately. We really enjoyed our dinner at Raglan Road - great food and entertainment. If you want to do Gideons, be there early. The virtual queue was 3 hours and closes typically around 630 to new entries. Insane for a bakery!
I won't tack on Universal again after a week at Disney, it is just too much and everyone was burnt out by the time we got there. I would do a separate Universal trip of 3-4 nights. Having Universal Express there is amazing, but there is no masking at all there and it was extremely crowded. It would have been awful without the express passes. I would not recommend doing a day trip to Volcano Bay from Disney. We tried it on Friday 6/11 and regretted it. Extremely long lines just to enter the parking garage, then you have to take a shuttle bus to the park. Park was a madhouse, terribly long lines for food and the electronic pass for lines is awful because you can only get one at a time, so you can't ride anything else - even if only a 10 min wait - without losing your place in a big line (which were 60-120 minutes each). Getting out of there then exiting the parking garage took about 2 hours. Never again.
That's about it. Fun trip, headed home exhausted. Did a ton, although not "everything". Next 7 night trip I plan to have just a 4 day ticket, 1 day per park until closing, and a down day between each. Consecutive park days with rope drops is not a recipe for success in my family.
that you’ll be able to stay late after sundown. DH and I were there last week and didn’t enter a park until 4 or later because of the heat, but we go frequently enough that we were happy with the few attractions we experienced.
