Newsies
Headlines don't sell papes.
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2013
Confession time! My expectations for this vacation were on the ground. Seriously, my expectations for Disney have never been lower. Recent reports about insane crowds, long wait times, poor dining reviews, and uncertain feelings about our resort and the Genie+ system all curbed my expectations for this trip before we embarked on our journey this time around.
So maybe this is the extremely low expectations talking, but... I have to say, we just arrived home from a very enjoyable week at the parks. This was my fourth vacation to WDW since the parks reopened back in 2020 and I can honestly say it was the best of the four. It's nowhere near the top of the list when it comes to our best trips EVER, but as someone who has been in a funk about the state of the Parks recently, I am really happy to say that we encountered more positives than negatives this past week. The Parks seemed cleaner than they've been the past three trips, were operating more efficiently/seemed more equipped to handle the crowds, our hotel blew my expectations out of the water, we encountered more friendly CMs than the past three trips, we were able to enjoy more entertainment offerings, in general we liked Genie+ (with some exceptions to the system), we had some great food, and we enjoyed the 50th celebration offerings.
Was everything perfect? No, Disney has a lot to work on re: crowd control, food quality, the Genie+/Lightning Lane system. But things went a lot better this trip than they did for us back in July 2021, and we'll talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of WDW's current state throughout the TR.
With that being said, welcome to the TR! We are the Newsies family from NJ!
We're a party of four and we've been going to the Parks yearly since 2014. In 2017, we became DVC members at the Polynesian resort and we are (fingers crossed) hoping to expand that with a second contract by the end of the year. We loooooove all things Disney and when we're not at the parks, we're watching various streamers and vloggers together. We find so much joy in traveling to Disney together!
On the far left of the photo is Dad, our chief of transportation/logistics coordinator. He loves Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, The Magic Kingdom, watching fireworks, and of course... all things GRUMPY! He's usually the first one awake in the morning to get the coffee brewing before our trip to the parks. If there's a souvenir in the parks that lights up, he WILL find it (and purchase it).
In the middle of the photo is Grace, my younger sister! Grace is a 20-year-old college student who loves all things Ratatouille! Her favorite park is Epcot and she also loves Slinky Dog Dash, the PeopleMover, and any type of sweet snack you can find at the Confectionery.
In the bucket hat is me! I'm Kaitlyn! I'm a 24 year old performance marketing associate for a company I absolutely adore. Previously, I completed two Disney College Programs at Walt Disney World-- I live and breathe all things Disney! I love Epcot, character hunting, Rock'N'Roller Coaster, and as I found out last week: drinking at Disney's Animal Kingdom. But more on that later.
Finally, we come to Mom, my best friend ever! Seriously, I don't know what I'd do without her. Mom loves visiting the Parks at night, but would rather sleep in and spend time at the pool in the morning! Her favorite park is Magic Kingdom and she loves Winnie the Pooh, Oga's Cantina, and caramel popcorn from Karamell-Kuche.
Here are the stats on our latest vacation:
When: March 6-11, 2022
Where we stayed: Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort (6-Day Park Hopper Ticket Package with Genie+)
Where we ate: Space 220, Steakhouse 71, Skipper Canteen, Primo Piatto, Banana Cabana, two or three Flower & Garden booths, Yak & Yeti, Oga's Cantina, Beaches & Cream, and other places!
If you're interested in hearing more about how we managed to have a great vacation despite crazy crowds, crazy weather, and the learning curve that came with our first time using Genie+... come along for the ride and I'll post my first update soon!
Click here to begin!
So maybe this is the extremely low expectations talking, but... I have to say, we just arrived home from a very enjoyable week at the parks. This was my fourth vacation to WDW since the parks reopened back in 2020 and I can honestly say it was the best of the four. It's nowhere near the top of the list when it comes to our best trips EVER, but as someone who has been in a funk about the state of the Parks recently, I am really happy to say that we encountered more positives than negatives this past week. The Parks seemed cleaner than they've been the past three trips, were operating more efficiently/seemed more equipped to handle the crowds, our hotel blew my expectations out of the water, we encountered more friendly CMs than the past three trips, we were able to enjoy more entertainment offerings, in general we liked Genie+ (with some exceptions to the system), we had some great food, and we enjoyed the 50th celebration offerings.
Was everything perfect? No, Disney has a lot to work on re: crowd control, food quality, the Genie+/Lightning Lane system. But things went a lot better this trip than they did for us back in July 2021, and we'll talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of WDW's current state throughout the TR.
With that being said, welcome to the TR! We are the Newsies family from NJ!
We're a party of four and we've been going to the Parks yearly since 2014. In 2017, we became DVC members at the Polynesian resort and we are (fingers crossed) hoping to expand that with a second contract by the end of the year. We loooooove all things Disney and when we're not at the parks, we're watching various streamers and vloggers together. We find so much joy in traveling to Disney together!
On the far left of the photo is Dad, our chief of transportation/logistics coordinator. He loves Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, The Magic Kingdom, watching fireworks, and of course... all things GRUMPY! He's usually the first one awake in the morning to get the coffee brewing before our trip to the parks. If there's a souvenir in the parks that lights up, he WILL find it (and purchase it).
In the middle of the photo is Grace, my younger sister! Grace is a 20-year-old college student who loves all things Ratatouille! Her favorite park is Epcot and she also loves Slinky Dog Dash, the PeopleMover, and any type of sweet snack you can find at the Confectionery.
In the bucket hat is me! I'm Kaitlyn! I'm a 24 year old performance marketing associate for a company I absolutely adore. Previously, I completed two Disney College Programs at Walt Disney World-- I live and breathe all things Disney! I love Epcot, character hunting, Rock'N'Roller Coaster, and as I found out last week: drinking at Disney's Animal Kingdom. But more on that later.
Finally, we come to Mom, my best friend ever! Seriously, I don't know what I'd do without her. Mom loves visiting the Parks at night, but would rather sleep in and spend time at the pool in the morning! Her favorite park is Magic Kingdom and she loves Winnie the Pooh, Oga's Cantina, and caramel popcorn from Karamell-Kuche.
Here are the stats on our latest vacation:
When: March 6-11, 2022
Where we stayed: Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort (6-Day Park Hopper Ticket Package with Genie+)
Where we ate: Space 220, Steakhouse 71, Skipper Canteen, Primo Piatto, Banana Cabana, two or three Flower & Garden booths, Yak & Yeti, Oga's Cantina, Beaches & Cream, and other places!
If you're interested in hearing more about how we managed to have a great vacation despite crazy crowds, crazy weather, and the learning curve that came with our first time using Genie+... come along for the ride and I'll post my first update soon!
Click here to begin!
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. Your family (and you) are adorable!! I am mother to a Kailyn (no t 
We were there March 2-6 so very interested in reading about your trip. I seriously need a do-over - learned that our young grandsons just weren't ready for Disney. We missed SO much. On the upside we had great experiences with CM's, dining was good, encountered no rude guests and the weather was perfect. Did OK with Genie + but I think I would do better next time around. It was hard with a party of 7.
