Is it worth going for half of the experience? Any thoughts?

[64ghs]

The lines have gone up significantly since aug 7th.

Yeah...I heard. Especially HS. Galaxy Edge hope it lives up to its hype. Nervous about Rise of Resistance though...

 

[64ghs]

Dining plan shouldn't figure in to the experience. Some come out ahead, some break even, some come out behind but enjoy the convenience. Unless there's free dining you're paying for your food either way.

Meet and greets, with kids, are another thing. As are shows and parades.

The flip side, a many have reported, is shorter lines for rides. This negates the shorted hours.

Yeah I like the convince of the dining plan, but my wife and I feel we may actually save money on this trip concerning food.

 

[64ghs]

We are still planning on our September trip. We have grown children, so characters and parades are not high on our list. Always enjoy seeing them, but won't change our trip much. Hard part for us is not being able to park hop. We stay at BCV and usually go to Epcot every day at some point. The limit to only one park will definitely change our trip -- and the shortened hours. I am hoping the trade off will be the limited park attendance leading to shorter lines. I am also just looking for some nice family time away from home. It is totally a personal decision.

Right?! We love the park hopper option. We will just have to creative with our planning. I guess.

 

[64ghs]

We are still going the first week of October. We are looking forward to seeing the little mini parades at MK and haven't been on the Gondolas yet...so we will plan to do that. We can't wait to check out the new horses stable at the campground. I was also able to get 2 restaurants for lunch that we haven't been able to get into on previous trips. We love the rides, so I think if we get to do lots of riding we will be happy. We are at the campground and planning to join in the festivities of decorating our site for Halloween. OP if you can, go over to the campground and rent a golfcart to tour the campground and see all the sites decorated for Christmas. It's partly what we are going to make of it...but do understand your concerns. Our teens are disappointed about no nighttime hours, but we will adjust.

Looking forward to staying at the cabins in Fort Wilderness for the first time. Got a golf cart reserved already. December 13-20.

 

[64ghs]

we go for 10 days EVERY august...hardest decision we've had through this...but we decided to cancel our 10 days at the Poly...we're supposed to be there right now. For the cost and limited experience, we just didn't think it was worth it

Yeah...I understand. That is how I was feeling too.

 

[64ghs]

It’s a very different experience, but I don’t think it’s half the experience. In some ways, I enjoyed my rescheduled July 2020 trip more than my 2019 trips, but it definitely wasn’t the same. It was a much more relaxed experience and while I had less time at the parks, I was still able to do a whole lot because of the lower crowds.

I’m planning on going back in September and I expect to have a good time. To go or not to go is a question that you’re going to have to answer on your own and just do what’s best for you and your family. Personally, I wouldn’t go in December this year because it will be at the height of cold and flu season and I’m not so sure what that’s going to look like.

I hope December isn’t like that....

 

[64ghs]

The masks are miserable for me. I'm not going back until no masks. Maybe if it's cooler weather, but I'm just uncomfortable.

I didn’t like the masks either...but I’m over it. It might not be too bad in December.

 

[westie55]

Is it worth it is a very personal opinion. My family just got back and we had an absolutely amazing trip despite covid. We will probably never see wait times like this again. It was nice piloting Millenium Falcon alone with my 5 year old. It was nice being able to ride Peter Pan and the Carousel again and again when my 3 year old cried he didn't want to get off. It was slower paced so we did things like eat dinner at the table in our villa at Riviera and have a family movie night. We didn't have to get up early every day to rush to the parks in order not to have crazy wait times. While we missed character meals, we still saw plenty of characters in the spontaneous cavalcades. There is still plenty to do even with all the cuts. Our 5 night trip was perfect. I kind of look at it like the trips when I was pregnant. Did I miss out on some things? Sure. But was it still worthwhile? Definitely. All the things I miss will be back someday but for me, the Disney magic was still there in droves and it made me happy to savor it again after having to cancel my trip so many times. I would go again in a heartbeat. I will always fondly remember this trip.

 

[Gehrig1B]

We will be going but we go often with out of state APs.

I am a bit different as I see the current lines and wait times as a negative. We like to think we have the Fast Pass game well tuned. I can’t remember the last time we got in a standby line of more than 20 minutes.

I also like the crowds, enjoy meeting people from around the world, and doing a little people watching. We are there every Christmas/NYE and the crowds don’t bother us at all.

 

[Darcy03231]

We are in the cancel group. Was supposed to go the 1st week of September. While I've been multiple times, we were taking a 6 y.o. and 1.5 y.o. for their first trip. Had everything booked, character meals every night, BBB, etc. With all the changes, shortened hours and mask requirement at full price I didn't think the trip was worth it. Also, DH is in a higher risk category and that played a factor as well. We're just going to wait to see how everything plays out over the next year.

For those still going, wait times are reportedly up. There's a good thread over on the Theme Parks boards for people who were just back. Sounds like the weekend of 8/8-8/9 was busier than what had been previously reported.

 

[LuvMyEAR]

We have been dreaming so long about our Nov 28th 2-week trip and it has been our mental Happy Place through some dark times. We have 8 day park passes and our plan was to go to start each park early one day, and then leave by mid-afternoon. On the other days, we’d do the reverse and arrive mid-afternoon and stay until closing. This works well for this traveller with declining stamina.

The reduced hours kill that plan! While it might seem that there are just enough open hours to enjoy, that isn’t the point. We love the early morning light for so many reasons and twilight into night has its own special magic. Fireworks are one of my absolute favourite things in WDW. We even had plans of where we would watch them on our non-park nights. Also, we love the water parks.


I really don’t think we will to decide, though, with COVID 19 being rampant.

 

[PamNC]

For me, it would still be worth it BUT:

1. I have been to WDW over 20 times so I've seen everything I've wanted to see - if I went everything would be more about the atmosphere.
2. I love fireworks so I'll miss those but I'm not a fan of the projection shows so I won't miss that.
3. We typically go in September so hours are usually reduced already.

That said, if you are a go-go-go person, now may not be the time. If it will break your trip if you don't get the parades and such then it's not the time to go.

It's a hard decision and I'm glad I don't have to make it this time around.

I with you on #2 - I like good old fashioned fireworks. I think they oversue projection nowadays. Like you, I've been so many times I think I would enjoy going now to experience a "different" Disney and shorter crowds. I guess it's a trade off. I haven't booked anything yet, but I'm working on it. I also want to go to ride Splash before they change it. And, I haven't done Galaxy's Edge or Toy Story ... I need a trip.

 

[Brett Wyman]

1. We are DVC
2. We are AP
3. We can drive

Because of these things were are happy to go with the reduced experience. We have experienced WDW to its fullest many times and will again. If we didn't go too often, had to purchase a hotel room and tickets, and FLY we definitely would NOT go.

 

[Darcy03231]

1. We are DVC
2. We are AP
3. We can drive

Because of these things were are happy to go with the reduced experience. We have experienced WDW to its fullest many time and will again. If we didn't go too often, had to purchase a hotel room and tickets, and FLY we definitely would NOT go.

In your situation I would go too. Part of me wants to book a trip just for me to experience the less crowded parks, but with having to fly, rent a room, buy tickets, etc. and DH being in a higher risk group, I have to be the adult and wait until there's a vaccine.

 

[taxmom04]

Just returned from a 2 day trip Sunday. Besides the masks, the reduced hours was really a bummer when you have a full sun/cloudless day in a park!

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

I'm not currently an AP holder and don't live in Florida - things that would make my decision a different one, I think. But as someone who has been going regularly to WDW since they opened, I don't mind waiting until I feel the value is there again. And by value I don't mean necessarily money. I just imagine myself in my everyday frustrations trying to get what I or my family need/want here at home, and then I imagine that same thing happening in WDW, where I definitely have certain expectations and also are paying to be there. I want to feel relatively carefree when I'm in my happy place, and trying to buy a meal, for example, and being told they're out of this, this, and this? I might as well be at home. For now. I sometimes have such a wave of homesickness come over me for WDW and it hurts.

 

[zebrastreyepz]

It's not worth it to me. There is nothing going on right now that I feel like I haven't done, haven't seen. The excitement, for me, is very diminished.

I quit watching current vloggers because I find the whole thing rather depressing right now.

Dining, characters, being in the park after dark, parades, fireworks, dessert parties are all VERY important to our family.

So we've chosen "no" until things return to what they were and if they never do, then that's that and I've made my peace with it.

What's in the parks now and in the resorts is not the Disney I love.

And my frugal side, which is strong with me, says that it is ridiculous to pay full price just to ride the rides. Disney is more than rides for our family.

As the folks have been reporting higher wait times since August 7th, I'm very glad I canceled our August trip. I for SURE will not go back until FP+ is back.

 

[StageTek]

I sometimes have such a wave of homesickness come over me for WDW and it hurts.

What in hell is the matter with us? I live 30 miles from Disneyland I get the same wave of homesickness for The World.

 

[64ghs]

Is it worth it is a very personal opinion. My family just got back and we had an absolutely amazing trip despite covid. We will probably never see wait times like this again. It was nice piloting Millenium Falcon alone with my 5 year old. It was nice being able to ride Peter Pan and the Carousel again and again when my 3 year old cried he didn't want to get off. It was slower paced so we did things like eat dinner at the table in our villa at Riviera and have a family movie night. We didn't have to get up early every day to rush to the parks in order not to have crazy wait times. While we missed character meals, we still saw plenty of characters in the spontaneous cavalcades. There is still plenty to do even with all the cuts. Our 5 night trip was perfect. I kind of look at it like the trips when I was pregnant. Did I miss out on some things? Sure. But was it still worthwhile? Definitely. All the things I miss will be back someday but for me, the Disney magic was still there in droves and it made me happy to savor it again after having to cancel my trip so many times. I would go again in a heartbeat. I will always fondly remember this trip.

Westie55 Thank you so much for your heart felt response. I believe you have convinced me to go no matter what. Thank you so much. The Disney magic will live on!

 

[StageTek]

Westie55 Thank you so much for your heart felt response. I believe you have convinced me to go no matter what. Thank you so much. The Disney magic will live on!

Nice that you made a decision that will work for you, 64ghs. So much will be different. But it's still Disney!