OMG - All the Changes - Going Back to Disney after 3 Years, Please Help!!

[lat]

My DD is considering going with her friends to Disney in March for a few days. They will be staying at Swan Reserves. It has been 3 years since we went to Disney. So many things have changed. Genie +, Lightening Lanes, no more ME. Gosh, this is so overwhelming!!

They want to go to Epcot and AK, from what I read, there is no point in paying for G+ or LL, is that right?

What are the big tricks I need to know?

We still have the old Magic Bands, can she still use it?

I used to know Disney like the back of my hand. What happened?!!!!

 

[happily single]

Following along. I was just in the early stages of my next trip and these changes ARE overwhelming!

 

[lat]

I know, right? I am so confused....

 

[WIll C]

My DD is considering going with her friends to Disney in March for a few days. They will be staying at Swan Reserves. It has been 3 years since we went to Disney. So many things have changed. Genie +, Lightening Lanes, no more ME. Gosh, this is so overwhelming!!

They want to go to Epcot and AK, from what I read, there is no point in paying for G+ or LL, is that right?

What are the big tricks I need to know?

We still have the old Magic Bands, can she still use it?

I used to know Disney like the back of my hand. What happened?!!!!

Not that big of a change really. Genie+ can be helpful if you want to avoid some of the lines. From what I've heard from most people, you'll be lucky to get 3-4 rides on Genie+ and those get spread out during the entire day.

AK, depends a lot of what you want to do. For me personally, there's like 3 rides I care about but if you want to do them all, it might be worthwhile. I think FoP is paid LL+ so $15 to skip a 2 hour line it may be worth it unless you rope drop that ride first thing.

Epcot depends on if you are going for the rides or for the festival stuff in World Showcase. You've got Flower and Garden going on so it may be more worthwhile to take that in.
Remy, the new ride in France, is fun but not worth a long wait or paying for.

My wife and I took a Blacklane private car to/from the airport and they were a really good service. They aren't cheap but nothing more than the premium service from Mears and is private. There's lots of solutions for travel on these boards that should suit your needs.

Magic bands all depend on the battery. So long as they are working and tied to your account, they are all good. You can pick up the generic ones fairly cheap at the markets at the resorts.

Crowds seem higher this year so far as people are ready to travel again and many other countries are able to travel. Expect longer lines for everything. Spring break as well starts in March and I'm sure that will add to things. If the Swan gets you early entry to the parks, take advantage of that. 30 minutes extra time to at least get in line for something.

 

[CynBeth]

We went around Thanksgiving and had purchased Genie + for our whole trip in advance also paid extra for some of the ILL and thought it was worth it. The ride lines were 2-3 or more hours for the most popular and we saved so much time. There were some technical issues but eventually pretty much got what we wanted.

 

[scrappinginontario]

This recent article on The DIS is a great read and very helpful.

https://www.wdwinfo.com/walt-disney...ince-youve-been-to-disney-know-before-you-go/

 

[lat]

Thank you so much!!

That article is great too! Thanks