Nothing Can Stop Us Now! The End! Well almost, quick recap of Jan 22 trip! Update on April trip 4/21*

[Hubie]

WE only saw a little part of the kite show. Didn't know it was so neat to see. We also missed the light show on the tree. AK is still my favorite park and the one I'm most likely to return to along with MK. Looks like you had a great time at Nomad's. We've never been and will have to go there also next time.

 

[Hubie]

WE only saw a little part of the kite show. Didn't know it was so neat to see. We also missed the light show on the tree. AK is still my favorite park and the one I'm most likely to return to along with MK. Looks like you had a great time at Nomad's. We've never been and will have to go there also next time.

 

[pkondz]

I had read some very negative reviews, like it was dumb and amateur for Disney! I didn’t feel that way at all, it was a really fun show! I would really recommend seeing the show!

Funny... about a day or two later, there was a post about it on the DIS.
I Finally Watched KiteTails, and It Wasn't HORRIBLE! (wdwinfo.com)

Now Enchantment, I haven’t seen yet but most people I have talked to did not care for it!

Really? That's very discouraging.

Disney should offer a discount on the rooms since they don’t offer Mousekeeping anymore, instead the prices are outrageous for rooms now a days

Yeah. No kidding.
It's getting more than a little ridiculous.

It was such a nice show on the Tree of Life and why Andi didn’t want to watch, no idea! Kids!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

I have no idea what Buck’s Fizz is, fill me in on it, also what is craic?

Buck's Fizz is sparkling wine (prosecco if you're like us and champagne is you're rich and don't mind polluting your expensive sparkly) and fresh orange juice mixed. Bit like a bellini I think. Means you can drink it at breakfast time and convince yourself that
1) you're being healthy (oj is 1 of your 5-a-day lol) and
2) you'll be happy all day and not give a hoot if Christmas dinner goes a bit wonky
Craic is essentially fun/news! People here say "what's the craic?" meaning what's happening either with you personally or the world in general eg "what's the craic with facemasks at disney today?" meaning any updates? or "what's the craic Caroline?" meaning what are you up to?
But then, just to confuse people. we say the craic was great/mighty =great/brilliant fun or there was no craic =boring There now you are all up on the local lingo if you ever decide to visit

Are your pigs in a blanket sausage wrapped in a pancake? Or something else?

Ours are cocktail sausages (small ones the size of your little finger) wrapped in streaky bacon then baked in oven so it looks like the sausage is wearing a stripey blanket. Delicious and absorbs the alcohol from the Bucks Fizz so you're not falling over by noon!

I’m so happy to hear you had a wonderful holiday! Hair and family lol

What more could a girl want!!

 

[disneyAndi14]

WE only saw a little part of the kite show. Didn't know it was so neat to see. We also missed the light show on the tree. AK is still my favorite park and the one I'm most likely to return to along with MK. Looks like you had a great time at Nomad's. We've never been and will have to go there also next time.

It really is a fun show, very upbeat, it is short. I think about 15-20 minutes.
You definitely have to try Nomad’s Lounge. It is a relaxing lounge with great drinks and food. AK is my favorite park. MK use to be 1st now it is moving down due to it always feeling so crowded lately!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Buck's Fizz is sparkling wine (prosecco if you're like us and champagne is you're rich and don't mind polluting your expensive sparkly) and fresh orange juice mixed. Bit like a bellini I think. Means you can drink it at breakfast time and convince yourself that
1) you're being healthy (oj is 1 of your 5-a-day lol) and
2) you'll be happy all day and not give a hoot if Christmas dinner goes a bit wonky

Okay, I get it now. Yes I think like a Bellini. I was thinking a drink of sorts but just couldn’t figure it out lol

Craic is essentially fun/news! People here say "what's the craic?"

Haha, I am going to say this now! I actually thought it was a food item

Ours are cocktail sausages (small ones the size of your little finger) wrapped in streaky bacon then baked in oven so it looks like the sausage is wearing a stripey blanket. Delicious and absorbs the alcohol from the Bucks Fizz so you're not falling over by noon!

We make these a lot. I made for Christmas Eve appetizers. We just call these lil smokies wrapped in bacon, haha . They definitely are pigs in a blanket.

 

[disneyAndi14]

12/6/21 Genie+ trial (not a fan)

Today was DHS day. I was up early to make an ILL selection for RotR and MMRR, don’t judge I know I went on and on about not paying for rides but I sure did. I was able to secure both of these rides at 7am. Rise would be in the evening so we could see the park at night and MMRR was at 11:00am. I also paid for Genie +. I was able to reserve a time of 10am for TSM.

We headed to the park early enough to enjoy the early park entry of 30 minutes, some sarcasm rolling of my words here!

Our plan was SDD. We got in line and of course we hear the dreaded, Slinky dog is delayed and we are not sure when it will open, ugh! We decided to wait it out and I’m glad we did. The line started moving around 8:50am. We watched the wait time for TSM go from 5 minutes to 45 minutes while we were waiting in line, wow!

Our wait was not bad once the line moved and we just kept moving and were riding SDD within 15 minutes, yay!


I love this coaster, just my speed.

We decided to mobile order a kids breakfast bowl for me and a toaster pastry for Andi at Woody’s Lunch box.

A quick ride on Aliens was the plan before picking up our order.

This ride had a 5 minute wait, we got in line just in time because the wait time escalated to 25 minutes very quickly.

I hit we are here and soon our breakfast order was ready.

I really enjoyed the kids breakfast bowl, it is potato barrels smothered in a brisket gravy. Served with extra potato barrels and a water. Andi ate the extra potato barrels and the raspberry tart. The brisket gravy was yummy and Disney does know how to make a crispy delicious tot! I got a picture of the pastry tart but not the bowl.


We were satisfied and ready to conquer TSM. We got in quickly with the FP (for TR purposes I am calling it a FP), soon as we passed the 2nd check in, I made another FP for ToT at around 12:30. I love TSM, sad we can only ride once this trip, stupid Genie and large crowds!

It was time to head into SWGE. We spent time walking around and it looked like we could have rode MF in the single rider line with a minimal wait but we decided not to. MF is not our favorite and you are likely going to be an engineer in single rider line.

Instead, we got a few pictures taken and said hi to Grogu and some storm troopers!





It was time for our fancy ride, MMRR, we walked right on and the stand by line was around 50 minutes. I enjoyed it mostly because we didn’t have to wait long for it! Lol


We still had over an hour before our ToT FP so a drink at Baseline Tap house was in order! We had changed our Morimoto reservation to WBG so we could go earlier in the day and head back to HS for the evening. Our ADR was for 2:30pm.

We didn’t get any snacks at Baseline today only a cider each. We found a table which was right in the sun but still very nice. We drank our ciders and worked our way towards ToT. We stopped for a few pictures and the pics did not turn out very well. The sun was in our eyes and the CM didn’t get any good shots. This is the best one. Here are more pictures along the way.




It was time to ride ToT and once we checked in twice, I made a RnRc FP for around 5pm. It was now time to head out to DS.

 

[disneyAndi14]

We took the Skyliner to Riviera Resort.


We had to get the delicious cold brew there before heading to the bus stop. I love the almond cold brew here, it is so delicious. Classy picture with our coffee and a RR garbage can.


We didn’t wait long and a bus was taking us to DS.

We found a PhotoPass CM at DS when we arrived and got a few pictures done.


We checked in to WBG and were seated upstairs. I had a glass of a nice crisp white wine and Andi had the Dolewhip Frozcato.


We decided to share the delicious burrata and the chicken salad sandwich. George delivered our burrata to us. He is such a nice man! The burrata was as good as I remember. The tomatoes are so fresh and flavorful with just the right amount of sea salt and the mozzarella yum!


The sandwich was very good and definitely made fresh in house with house made chips. My wine paired perfectly with the sandwich. This place is a winner and top of my list for delicious food and drinks!


We were very happy with our late lunch. DS was very busy again and we wanted to get back to DHS. I think we took a Lyft back to the park. I can’t remember and didn’t write anything down from this trip.

We got back to HS in time to see Santa Clause and friends. This was a very cute mini parade.



It was time for Andi to ride RnRc, she could ride twice since I don’t ride. I parked myself on a bench by Lightning McQueen’s attraction and rested. Once Andi was done riding, the only FP we could get was for Star Tours. There wasn’t anything else left. Not even Aliens.




We went over to do Star Tours with the FP. There was a family of at least 5 in front of us talking to the CM. We overheard them asking about the Genie+, they had jut purchased it and there was nothing for them to use it on except Star Tours. I felt really bad for them. It wan’t cheap for this large family and they likely could only use it this 1x! I know people should research before but still it was available and they thought they could use it all evening. We rode Star Tours with this family and they loved it and one member was the rebel spy. Still I felt so bad for them!

I know we rode Muppets this day as well and I can’t remember exactly when we did that.

I went to backlot express and mobile ordered the blondie holiday treat. It got crushed a little in my backpack but when I did eat it, back at the resort, it was yummy!

It was now time for our Rise FP and we walked on with very minimal wait. I love this ride and it is one I will pay for, no questions asked.

We spent some time after the ride checking out the lights and the projections on ToT before we said goodbye to HS until next time.

Genie+ is not as easy to use as FP+, also rides sell out fast and in a smaller park like HS you may not get all the rides here with Genie +. It worked fine for us but it just seems like a poor replacement for the FP+ system for us guests, not the executives at Disney! I’m sure they are making a lot of money on it. Breakdown of costs. I paid a total of 78.00 for the fancy rides and Genie + for 2 people. This is expensive to ride 4 rides with Genie + and 2 fancy rides. Especially since we have rode all of these rides numerous times for free with FP+ and virtual queue. I used my Disney visa rewards card to pay for all of our fancy rides and Genie+ so this made me feel a little better.

Stay tuned for our last day, MK is a madhouse!



,

 

[rdkeim]

You had a full day at HS! Nice you could take a break from the park and do the side trip to DS. So disappointing that to be able to ride and not spend most of your day in lines that you have to pony up more $$. I really don't understand why they had to tinker with FP. That being said, it looked like a fun day!

 

[Paulaparm]

I like the idea of using the VIsa Rewards for Genie+ and ILL! Might take the sting out

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Sounds like a nice day, all things considered.

I paid a total of 78.00 for the fancy rides and Genie + for 2 people. This is expensive to ride 4 rides with Genie + and 2 fancy rides.

Oof, this makes me so anxious. With a family of 5, it's just a lot of money to spend for a sub par product. I'm thinking we're going to be doing a lot of RD, midday break, evening touring to avoid the costs.

 

[pkondz]

I was up early to make an ILL selection for RotR and MMRR, don’t judge

Why would I judge? I'm sure I'd do the same!

I was able to secure both of these rides at 7am.

Score!

Rise would be in the evening so we could see the park at night and MMRR was at 11:00am.

Did you get to pick your times? Or just what was given to you?

We headed to the park early enough to enjoy the early park entry of 30 minutes, some sarcasm rolling of my words here!

Yeah.... Huge perk, isn't it?

We watched the wait time for TSM go from 5 minutes to 45 minutes while we were waiting in line, wow!

Not surprising, given the circumstances.

I love this coaster, just my speed.

I like it too. It's so smooth!

Disney does know how to make a crispy delicious tot!

That looks like a toy!

you are likely going to be an engineer in single rider line.

Yeah... tell me about it.

Cute shot.

It was time for our fancy ride, MMRR, we walked right on and the stand by line was around 50 minutes. I enjoyed it mostly because we didn’t have to wait long for it! Lol

I love doing that. Or at least I did. Haven't done it for a while. Back in FP days.

We stopped for a few pictures and the pics did not turn out very well. The sun was in our eyes and the CM didn’t get any good shots.

I'm not surprised. Very difficult circumstances. You've got 4 choices here. Expose for the background, expose for the foreground (you guys), use a ND filter (which still wouldn't work here as you're too high into the background) or double expose and adjust in photoshop.
Given that... the photographer made the right call.

It was time to ride ToT and once we checked in twice, I made a RnRc FP for around 5pm.

So you can make a FP for the next ride once you've checked in. Didn't know that and it's a good tip. Thanks!

Classy picture with our coffee and a RR garbage can.

There's a better shot!

Really like this shot of Andi. She looks so happy.

Santa's upgraded his sleigh!

I parked myself on a bench by Lightning McQueen’s attraction and rested.

Heh. Best part of the day??

There was a family of at least 5 in front of us talking to the CM. We overheard them asking about the Genie+, they had jut purchased it and there was nothing for them to use it on except Star Tours.

Oh, no!

So... maybe Disney should have a "Are you sure you wish to purchase? There are only _____ rides left." or something.

We rode Star Tours with this family and they loved it and one member was the rebel spy. Still I felt so bad for them!

Hardly a fair compensation.

I paid a total of 78.00 for the fancy rides and Genie + for 2 people.

Yikes.
I'm starting to think that Universal looks better and better.

 

[disneyAndi14]

You had a full day at HS! Nice you could take a break from the park and do the side trip to DS. So disappointing that to be able to ride and not spend most of your day in lines that you have to pony up more $$. I really don't understand why they had to tinker with FP. That being said, it looked like a fun day!

We did have a fun day. I love the mid day meals, it is relaxing!
The Genie+ is expensive! I really miss FP+. Genie is just to complex and not user friendly at all!
I don’t think I will buy it again!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I like the idea of using the VIsa Rewards for Genie+ and ILL! Might take the sting out

Yes it definitely takes the sting out of the cost! The cost for each thing does add up!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Sounds like a nice day, all things considered.



Oof, this makes me so anxious. With a family of 5, it's just a lot of money to spend for a sub par product. I'm thinking we're going to be doing a lot of RD, midday break, evening touring to avoid the costs.

It was a nice day, the weather was beautiful on this trip!
I agree, the cost is so much! I thought it isn’t much with just 2 of us but each separate cost adds up quickly!
I think RD and evening touring is a good idea.
i really miss FP+

 

[disneyAndi14]

Why would I judge? I'm sure I'd do the same!

I had convinced myself on the last trip I wasn’t going to pay, that didn’t last long!

Did you get to pick your times? Or just what was given to you?

Yes for the fancy rides, you get to pick a timeframe. For the Genie+ think of old paper FP, you don’t get to pick your time, you get what is available when you go to book!

Yeah.... Huge perk, isn't it?

I’m bitter about this! Disney keeps taking away on site perks!

I like it too. It's so smooth!

I agree and great view of GE. The ride always makes me laugh

I love doing that. Or at least I did. Haven't done it for a while. Back in FP days.

It is so worth it to bypass that standby line especially when it has a really long wait!

Given that... the photographer made the right call.

Yeah a difficult spot at that time of day

So you can make a FP for the next ride once you've checked in. Didn't know that and it's a good tip. Thanks!

Yes and if you get a later time for a ride, you have to wait 2 hours after you made the FP then you can make another one. It’s called the dreaded 2 hour rule. Also if you make a FP right at 7am you have to wait until like 11am to make another one if the park opens at 9am, this is a negative since with FP+ we could make 3 before the park even opened! Oh and we didn’t have to PAY EXTRA!!

Really like this shot of Andi. She looks so happy.

She has the nicest smile! Even with her grudge look these days!

Santa's upgraded his sleigh!

Way to go Santa, cruising in style

So... maybe Disney should have a "Are you sure you wish to purchase? There are only _____ rides left." or something.

Bingo! Right on, so unfair to people. With tax the family probably paid 80.00 to ride Star tours!

Yikes.
I'm starting to think that Universal looks better and better.

Universal’s EP is a way better deal especially staying on site!

 

[pkondz]

I had convinced myself on the last trip I wasn’t going to pay, that didn’t last long!

It never does!

Yes for the fancy rides, you get to pick a timeframe. For the Genie+ think of old paper FP, you don’t get to pick your time, you get what is available when you go to book!

Ah, okay. Thanks.

I’m bitter about this! Disney keeps taking away on site perks!

Yeah...

It is so worth it to bypass that standby line especially when it has a really long wait!

Yes and if you get a later time for a ride, you have to wait 2 hours after you made the FP then you can make another one. It’s called the dreaded 2 hour rule.

I had heard that one...

Also if you make a FP right at 7am you have to wait until like 11am to make another one if the park opens at 9am, this is a negative since with FP+ we could make 3 before the park even opened!

...but had not heard this! Another perk lost.

Oh and we didn’t have to PAY EXTRA!!

Yeah...

She has the nicest smile! Even with her grudge look these days!

Bingo! Right on, so unfair to people. With tax the family probably paid 80.00 to ride Star tours!

I'd be marching over to guest services for a refund right quick.

Universal’s EP is a way better deal especially staying on site!

Uni is doing a lot of things way better than Disney, these days.

 

[kastoney]

Trip dates 12/1-12/3 Universal Studios Florida and 12/3-12/7 at Walt Disney World.

I completely forgot we overlapped dates. I was so excited for Disney and Christmas I forgot just about everything on that trip. Pretty sure we were supposed to be in MK on the same day. Would have loved to have seen you.

Deep fried pickles yummy

Oh these look so delicious. I love, love, love a fried pickle but most places due spears and not chips. I'm definitely a chip kinda girl

One thing that bugged me about this 30 minute early entry besides the blaring WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REAL EMH! was Disney holds you far from the attractions until exactly at the 1/2 hour mark and then allows the ton of guests to start moving towards the attractions. I was not a fan of this!

So hated these. They were pretty pointless. They let "regular" guests in 15 minutes after guests staying onsite. Seemed to have zero value

I was hungry and I wanted the Mr. Toads burger from Friars Nook. Andi had loaded tots. The burger was really good.

This is adorable! I hadn't seen it before

Love this picture. Between the snow and Mickey so excited, just encapsulates the Christmas Disney magic

We loved these, we each had one and split the 3rd one.

Oh what a great treat to start your day with these beauties

Love this! So miss having an AP so we can get all the photo pass magic

We were all shocked how much we enjoyed this meal and all 4 of us said it was the best meal we have had at Disney in awhile and was number one for this trip.

I haven't seen a lot of reviews about Space so its good to hear that you all enjoyed it so much. I would love to try it but not paying the adult price for Casey to eat next to nothing. Hoping we can at least get into the lounge one day since they do reservations now

Now today, we are having a true Minnesota blizzard, yuck! We have at least 8 inches of new snow and the winds are whipping so much it is near white out conditions at times. Welcome to northern Minnesota in December!

We are having our own Minnesota moment in DC. Got about 8 inches ourselves on Monday and another 3 (and crazy winds) today

Originally, I didn’t want to pay for the ILL selections, however, I decided this worked for us with the crowd levels high.

I was right there with ya. Hated to put more $ in Disney's pocket but in the end it was so convenient we couldn't resist

I loved this, these animals were so interactive and the CMs working with them awesome! I was feeling giddy and like a 5 year old girl watching this. Disney this is why I love you ❤

❤ ❤ ❤

Here is the gift Andi bought me, the 50th we are here mug from AK, loved it!

How sweet of her. Love this mug

We got in quickly with the FP (for TR purposes I am calling it a FP), soon as we passed the 2nd check in, I made another FP for ToT at around 12:30. I love TSM, sad we can only ride once this trip, stupid Genie and large crowds!

I called it FP the entire time too. We had a mixed bag with the Genie. So not sold on it yet but not completely put off either. Though I would like free back either way

The burrata was as good as I remember. The tomatoes are so fresh and flavorful with just the right amount of sea salt and the mozzarella yum!

One of the best dishes on Disney property. So good!

Genie+ is not as easy to use as FP+, also rides sell out fast and in a smaller park like HS you may not get all the rides here with Genie +. It worked fine for us but it just seems like a poor replacement for the FP+ system for us guests, not the executives at Disney!

Genie definitely works better at MK where they have the rides to sustain it than MGM, but with high crowds even that wasn't a guarantee. We did use Genie on the day we arrived at MGM and bought Rise and booked Slinky dog at 7 am for the afternoon. Then before we arrived we were also able to book Toy Story and Aliens (I think). This worked really well, as we had 4 rides between 2-4 ready for us when we arrived. But when we tried it on a "normal" day we weren't fans.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Great update! Love the Christmas decor at HS but the idea of paying for genie + to only get star tours would totally make me mad (to put it mildly)

 

[disneyAndi14]

but had not heard this! Another perk lost.

For a short time you could stack the rides on genie without the 120 minute rule, they closed that loophole!

I'd be marching over to guest services for a refund right quick.

Yes that is really bad!

Uni is doing a lot of things way better than Disney, these days.