Indecision

[LMO429]

My husband wants to book a trip next month to give our youngest something fun and exciting after a long 18 months of pandemic and since we were there for the 25th celebration. We tentatively booked a trip at the end of next month to avoid pulling her from school and I’m starting my process of catching up on everything new since our last visit. I’m really on the fence about this trip! It’s more expensive, I see it’s fewer park hours, no fast passes, no Fantasmic….. I know I’m asking other die hard fanatics but is there any benefit in going now? The only perk I see is that ME is still offered. How can I sell this to my husband? Or me for that matter! I’m just not feeling the magic right now.

I think you should wait based on your response now try to feel the way you do in 90 to 100 degree temperatures I think you have your answer to wait a little bit.

 

[Blondie58]

My husband wants to book a trip next month to give our youngest something fun and exciting after a long 18 months of pandemic and since we were there for the 25th celebration. We tentatively booked a trip at the end of next month to avoid pulling her from school and I’m starting my process of catching up on everything new since our last visit. I’m really on the fence about this trip! It’s more expensive, I see it’s fewer park hours, no fast passes, no Fantasmic….. I know I’m asking other die hard fanatics but is there any benefit in going now? The only perk I see is that ME is still offered. How can I sell this to my husband? Or me for that matter! I’m just not feeling the magic right now.

Just returned after an eight day trip. Went with two friends who had never been to WDW so we found plenty to do. (Toured several DVC properties. Like the way they have open rooms at each resorts with DVC reps.) Had I gone with DH we would have probably missed our favorites more. Did not make the queue for Rise of the Resistance even with two tries. (Second try hit the second join button before we were locked out. As you know there are three Join Join Join you MUST hit in VERY RAPID succession.) No Fantasmic, no Indiana Jones, no Beauty and the Beast, no Star Wars marches on the street, no People of Hollywood, and no Star Wars stage show at Hollywood. Hollywood was a disappointment. However, Frozen was fantastic. No Birds of Flight due to rain, no street music, and a pared down Lion King show at AK. (And no night show at AK on the water.) EPCOT had the Flower and Garden Show which we loved but no tea tours or Garden Tour etc. We were pleased the fireworks had returned yet many of the countries were missing the authenticity we have become accustomed to. There is LOTS of construction all over the front portion of EPCOT. No Sounds of Liberty either at America. In MK: No Hall of Presidents, Tom Sawyer Island was not open, no parades, changed food venues and offerings (although Casey's did open during our visit), and no red white and blue fireworks. (We had scheduled over the 4th in hopes of this.) The EPCOT monorail is not open, there are no fast passes, and park hopping is far from the same. We despise mobile ordering and not being allowed to look at what we are ordering before hand at the QS places we tried and at some resort places. And there are no menues for TS dining. Not a fan of this at all. However, no bag checks was fantastic!! Going back in October with hopes that all mask mandates will be gone and more things will be open. And menues would be a nice feature to return. We wondered why there are no parades or stage shows?? You say Covid.................. thousands stood shoulder to shoulder watching fireworks. The mask thing does not make sense for those that are vaccinated. We talked to many employees that stated they hate mobile ordering too. And several gondola employees did not understand the mask mandate on gondolas as there is not one on the boats. We did not get it either. We hope to see the three fast pass system brought back. I hope you can get three for FREE and then pay after that. We did take Magic Express. To the resort was a 20 minute wait which was great. On the return trip they had to call a taxi for us as we waited 65 minutes and they were afraid we would miss our fight if we got on a ME bus and it had to make multiple stops. No room service for anything but when we called to ask for clean towels and more paper products we recieved them right away. We asked for extra garbage bags and bagged our own trash. No issue except the doors were locked to the trash rooms so we just left our trash by the door. This was a different trip for sure but we still had a nice time BUT look forward to a return to normal and a pause to blaming Covid for everything that has been taken away and not added back.

 

[auntlynne]

If a primary reason for this trip is for your daughter to get your daughter to WDW, how about asking her how she feels about visiting it with the current limitations?

 

[finedice]

We go every 1.5 - 2 years for 8-10 days with PH tickets. We were sooo dying to travel after covid once it was clear we would be able to this summer. Our DD just graduated HS in June, and this upcoming trip was to be a big grad present. When we bagan booking back in March, we saw the offerings at Disney and looked at the higher prices - we were pretty floored - no FP, no shows, few restaurants, few hotels to choose from, masks all day in the summer, etc.

We ended up booking the first half of our trip at USO and got a good rate on their best hotel (around 345 per night) for three nights with an AP ($450). We still balked at spending the second half at WDW, but found a good rate at a "Good Neighbor Hotel" (Hilton Bonnet Creek) (like $125/night). We weren't going to buy Disney tickets at all, but my addicted brain cells screamed "Feed Me!" and I did, but only 2 days of single park tickets. (still well over $800 for 3). We were content with a DHS day and a MK day. At that time, capacity was limited to 35%.

Since then, there have been at least 3 if not 4 capacity increases where bunches of park passes were dropped into the system. Now the lines have gone from pretty quick moving 20-40 minute waits - to a lot more than that. If I hadn't of broken down and bought those tickets, I most definitely would not do so now, without some sort of crowd alleviation. We leave Tuesday - I hope my perception is totally wrong.

 

[MomOTwins]

We've been three times in the last yea with different trip lengths and experiences: 9-days last August with half-days at the park and half-days at the pool; 2-days in October 2020 rope drop to close at the parks, and 6 days in March 2021 with a day in each park and a couple rest days. We are going next month. So I feel like I have an appropriate baseline of "Covid times" experiences to say this with a strong level of confidence.

Right now is not a good time if you are a once-every-couple-years or even once-a-year traveler. On a short trip, you won't get nearly as much done as much as you could with fastpass, and it is disappointing not being able to do favorites because the lines were too long, you just ran out of time in the day with all the line waiting, or rides were down for maintenance issues (which is increasingly the case lately). On a long trip, the waiting in long lines every day gets really, really. really old--we used to be awesome at rope dropping, riding a bunch before the lines built, then using our three fastpasses and taking a midday break before returning in the evening to beat the August heat. Now that goes more like "arrive at rope drop to an absolutely enormous pack of people, ride ONE thing (if you are lucky and the ride you choose isn't broken down) and then every other ride is an hour wait immediately thereafter, wait in long lines until lunch time and ride only 3/4 things, take a midday break, then come back to squeeze in just a couple more hours before the parks close early.

Still, we are going--why? Because we are celebrating two birthdays and an anniversary which we will enjoy just having a nice dinner at one of our favorite places at WDW; because we have DVC points to burn; and because we've gone enough this year that we won't mind if we just do a few things at each park and call it quits. But to OP's question, no there is really zero advantage to going now versus going next year when all the 50th anniversary festivities are in full swing.

 

[HopperFan]

My husband wants to book a trip next month to give our youngest something fun and exciting after a long 18 months of pandemic and since we were there for the 25th celebration. We tentatively booked a trip at the end of next month to avoid pulling her from school and I’m starting my process of catching up on everything new since our last visit. I’m really on the fence about this trip! It’s more expensive, I see it’s fewer park hours, no fast passes, no Fantasmic….. I know I’m asking other die hard fanatics but is there any benefit in going now? The only perk I see is that ME is still offered. How can I sell this to my husband? Or me for that matter! I’m just not feeling the magic right now.

Just got back. Very mixed feelings. I would say if you are going for that magical trip, once in a lifetime or only every 5+ years .... DON'T GO. Wait until next summer and then you get the benefit of the 50th Celebration. It's not just what you listed of the known things. I was very aware of all that was missing, I was painfully aware of the shortage of staff and the lack of smiles of those there (I get it, they are overworked and dealing with guests who want the old Disney), the crowds have increased considerably this summer (they aren't ready without opening more), less restaurant and dining is so much work, snack lines long, trash not picked up in areas usually cleaned at night ..... just an ongoing reminder of increased costs for less experience.

I've been missing my AP so bad in the last year (we didn't renew to book our Disneyland trip and it was covid-cancelled) ............. and after this week I am SO GLAD! I would have hated booking hotels and spending all that money for the current experience.

EX: Flower and Garden is a greatly reduced experience with less topiaries and flowers, less food options - obvious with closed kiosks, shuttered areas, walls ... honestly if I didn't know it was F&G I wouldn't have known anything special was happening. Bad enough I will be back during F&W (already have vacation club room booked) and have no plans to visit Epcot except maybe sneak in gateway for Mouse ride IF they open up AP again. If not I'll focus on Universal (we bought AP there) and maybe just 1 day at MK since more rides.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

Just finished my trip and it was as magical as ever. Nothing felt different for me. Then again I never really watched the parades but it was a wonderful time. Was worried about fast pass but ended up riding everything no problem. Had 2 rides over 60 mins. ( FOP 80 mins, Slinky 61 mins, both were on MDE at 100 min, lines app was much more accurate ) Most below 45 mins ( timed everything with stop watch on phone, as many lines feel longer than they actually are ) I’m sure that changes as more people go but the magic was felt. All the cast members were very nice and commenting on the pins worn. Some bathrooms and areas weren’t as clean as I would have hoped though. Hopefully you feel the same in the end if you go. Everyone will have different experiences in the end. I went in knowing some stuff wouldn’t be there and accepted that. Wasn’t going to complain about it. Just enjoyed my time

 

[bean]

I just got back yesterday. It was a tough trip if I’m honest. There’s no way it’s not at full capacity now. We’ve gone this week many years and this week was packed. If you’re an efficient fast pass user you’ll be very frustrated. So many lines. We did see some trash cans overflowing. There’s lots of mold growing under most of those hand sanitizer pumps. I happened to be sitting on the ground under one and after that happened to look It’s clear there’s a staffing issue. There really were no Covid precautions as far as distancing, crowds, etc so I’m not sure why there are no characters and full entertainment yet unless it’s for staffing/training. If you ever drive a car the no tram situation in summer heat is brutal. I was so excited to see live theatre with Festival of the LK but sad that it’s a shell of itself with no aerial acts or Tumble Monkeys.

 

[snikki]

If you are unsure I would wait. That's what we are doing. We go every 2-3 years and I had planned to go Halloween week this year but I pushed it back to November 2022. I can't go to my happy place for a half butt experience. It's not worth the money IMO. If we went multiple times a year then maybe I would go for it but we don't go often enough to justify the cost if everything we enjoy isn't there.

 

[Dug720]

And there are no menues for TS dining. Not a fan of this at all.

More and more restaurants are going to no menus unless you don't have a smartphone. It's not just Disney.

 

[HopperFan]

I just got back yesterday. It was a tough trip if I’m honest. There’s no way it’s not at full capacity now. We’ve gone this week many years and this week was packed. If you’re an efficient fast pass user you’ll be very frustrated. So many lines. We did see some trash cans overflowing. There’s lots of mold growing under most of those hand sanitizer pumps. I happened to be sitting on the ground under one and after that happened to look It’s clear there’s a staffing issue. There really were no Covid precautions as far as distancing, crowds, etc so I’m not sure why there are no characters and full entertainment yet unless it’s for staffing/training. If you ever drive a car the no tram situation in summer heat is brutal. I was so excited to see live theatre with Festival of the LK but sad that it’s a shell of itself with no aerial acts or Tumble Monkeys.

I know Custodial/Housekeeping is one of the unions they seem to have the most issues with. It's no surprise to me that they seem to be some of the last coming back .... and that the VERY few custodians we saw in parks looked like DCP and they were working hard - as there was plenty to do. (heard MANY of the DCP were surprised to get those jobs on arrival)

We saw 2 senior custodians in park doing absolutely nothing but talking, not even any "tools". I saw one in bathroom working hard but no way she would make impact with the mold all over the floor grout. I feel like it is a choice to not bring back sufficient CMs in that area - perhaps avoid a union requirement trigger they couldn't meet without open hotels. I've NEVER been where I didn't see custodians all over, it was more a shock each time we saw one. Made me sad I always bragged on how much cleaner those parks were over the others.

 

[undertheseas]

If a primary reason for this trip is for your daughter to get your daughter to WDW, how about asking her how she feels about visiting it with the current limitations?

Good question but I know she would only hear "WDW" and she'd jump all over it, without thinking of the negatives.

 

[undertheseas]

We leave Tuesday - I hope my perception is totally wrong.

I hope it goes well! I'll look for your trip review and we'll make a final decision around that time.

 

[jujubiee4]

We go every 1.5 - 2 years for 8-10 days with PH tickets. We were sooo dying to travel after covid once it was clear we would be able to this summer. Our DD just graduated HS in June, and this upcoming trip was to be a big grad present. When we bagan booking back in March, we saw the offerings at Disney and looked at the higher prices - we were pretty floored - no FP, no shows, few restaurants, few hotels to choose from, masks all day in the summer, etc.

We ended up booking the first half of our trip at USO and got a good rate on their best hotel (around 345 per night) for three nights with an AP ($450). We still balked at spending the second half at WDW, but found a good rate at a "Good Neighbor Hotel" (Hilton Bonnet Creek) (like $125/night). We weren't going to buy Disney tickets at all, but my addicted brain cells screamed "Feed Me!" and I did, but only 2 days of single park tickets. (still well over $800 for 3). We were content with a DHS day and a MK day. At that time, capacity was limited to 35%.

Since then, there have been at least 3 if not 4 capacity increases where bunches of park passes were dropped into the system. Now the lines have gone from pretty quick moving 20-40 minute waits - to a lot more than that. If I hadn't of broken down and bought those tickets, I most definitely would not do so now, without some sort of crowd alleviation. We leave Tuesday - I hope my perception is totally wrong.

Please report back how the trip went as you have legitimate concerns.

 

[bean]

I know Custodial/Housekeeping is one of the unions they seem to have the most issues with. It's no surprise to me that they seem to be some of the last coming back .... and that the VERY few custodians we saw in parks looked like DCP and they were working hard - as there was plenty to do. (heard MANY of the DCP were surprised to get those jobs on arrival)

We saw 2 senior custodians in park doing absolutely nothing but talking, not even any "tools". I saw one in bathroom working hard but no way she would make impact with the mold all over the floor grout. I feel like it is a choice to not bring back sufficient CMs in that area - perhaps avoid a union requirement trigger they couldn't meet without open hotels. I've NEVER been where I didn't see custodians all over, it was more a shock each time we saw one. Made me sad I always bragged on how much cleaner those parks were over the others.

Yes!! The lack of custodial staff was so evident. There were frequent times in restrooms where we would need to choose other stalls because toilets were very dirty or tissue was missing. I feel really bad for the DCP kids though. They seem to be given the brunt of a lot of things and it seems like capacity was raised very quickly without adequate training for them. One night mobile orders all went down. I didn’t get our food for two hours! at MK and there was no person that could tell people how to cancel. They had absolute piles of food and wouldn’t give it to anyone because they had no idea how to match it to orders. All of the poor DCP kids were being yelled at. It was absolute chaos. They all looked terrified. That was pretty much our week. It felt chaotic and I’m used to WDW running like a well oiled machine.

 

[Travelgrrl]

The price of Disney has gotten out of hand (hotel, yikes!) so that I haven't been feeling the magic either. We went from 100% of our theme park trips at Disney to 80% Disney and a sneak over to Universal Studios, to only buying Universal tickets (but staying at Shades of Green) and visiting Disney only for a couple Halloween parties, to the last trip which was 100% Universal, and staying there. (BC. Before Covid.)

We have a trip planned for December and it's going to follow that latter pattern. The cheap hotels at Universal are nicer for what you get than comparable ones at Disney, for a lower cost, the food is cheaper, and park tickets are certainly cheaper. (But - there are fewer parks. It's a trade off, for sure!) So we're staying onsite at Universal and having the bulk of our stay there - and only getting Disney tickets for the Christmas Party, in whatever form it will take.

And I AM excited! I used to think of Universal as a poor man's Disney, but planning and executing a Universal vacation is so much simpler, so much cheaper, and the rides are actually so much more exciting, that I've changed my mind. Maybe the magic is out there somewhere else, at least until things are 'back to normal' at Disney for you?

 

[Darcy03231]

We had plans to go last fall and canceled. We're waiting until at least next year to give time for Disney to return to a more "normal" experience. I refuse to pay a premium price and get a diluted experience. Also, another fact is the limited dining options. I've been following the just back reports and it seems that dining option remain very limited. I have food allergies so this is a deal breaker for me.

 

[cccory]

Disney is expensive and if you're just going for the parks, I wouldn't do it. There is so much to do at Disney, besides the park, and you still get that Disney magic. I remember taking our daughter, when she was little, and we didn't even do a park. We went to Disney Springs, swam and did activities at the resort, and did lots of other things at various hotels. It was a really fun and different Disney trip.