Our Return to Disney World

[rgrimm]

Our last trip, pre-covid, to Disney World was December 2019. Reservations we had in 2020 were either cancelled or moved. In a few weeks we will be returning to Disney World for the first time since 2019. I suspect this experience for us will be quite different from what we were used to pre-covid (2020) with possible Disney World transportation delays, longer lines for rides, limited dinning experiences, and bigger park crowds since the reopening. While the Park Pass system was Disney's way to restrict/control Park attendance, I have a feeling that basically now anyone who wants a Park Pass can have one. I was a planner for all my Disney Trips (many over the years) and liked the FP+ system. I liked knowing before I left for my Disney trips what I was doing, what Park I was visiting on what day, and FP+ times I had. But with the new Genie, Genie+ LL+ system it seems that I can not make any plans until park opening for the current day. I suspect, to use this new system most peoples' days in the parks will be walking around with their faces in their smart phones and will costs us more $$. I will miss the past (pre-2020) when I could just enjoy my visit to the parks and experience the sites and sounds.

So, I am hoping some of you who have recently visited Disney and the parks can share their experiences, how different is it from pre-2020 trips? What I'd like to know is:

-- How are the Crowds at the Parks?
-- How is the Bus Transportation from Resorts to Parks? Are Bus capacities reduced from pre-2020? Will I be waiting for multiple buses to get on one to get to a park or back to my resort? Are the end of night buses from the Parks back to the Resorts standing room only as I was used to back in 2019 (pre-covid)?
-- So how has Genie (free) service work for you, If you used it? How were your wait times using just Genie?
-- How was it using Genie + (daily pay for system)? How long were your wait times for your Genie + rides?
-- Did you use the LL+ system to pay for the 2 special rides per park? How was the wait time?

We are excited to return to Disney World and hope we do not leave feeling disappointed with our experience. My questions above and hopefully the replies of your recent visit experiences will help me adjust my expectations so I have a better understand of what to expect.

Thank you in advance for sharing your recent experiences.

-Russ

 

[CarolynFH]

Here’s the thread you need: https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...g-experiences-including-park-hopping.3807247/. Start near the end, read forward and then read/skim every day as your trip gets closer. Every day something changes!

 

[CarolynFH]

You might want to be familiar with this one too: https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-genie-usage-tips-and-strategy-only-thread.3857056/.

 

[DWillowBay]

In my experience...
1. Crowds vary based on day, park, weather, specialty event (Food and Wine, for example), etc. The crowds, to me, given all those variables are what they were pre-covid minus most of the international travelers...though that has re-started now.
2. I have never had a bus issue outside of my own "hurry up!" inside my own head. Generally, they run every 20 minutes. Do they ever get off-kilter....of course... traffic, accidents. But I just spent 2 weeks on property and never had an issue. The buses are not reduced as to passengers. We were on some buses where everyone got a seat and others when some had to stand. Frankly, it was nice to see it running 'normally'.
3 & 4. I don't have a need for Genie, though we did use Genie+ for MK and HS. We found it to be very helpful in accomplishing our day. Generally, the standby lines were manageable, but with Genie+, the Lightning Lanes were a breeze.
5. The only Lightning Lane we paid for was the first day that we rode Remy. We were able to ride it two more times throughout the 2 weeks using the Virtual Queue. I will tell you that joining the Queue at 1:00 was much more successful for us than at 7am. We did not need to pay for the other $LL available because we could manage the standby lanes.

So happy to see you, and so many others, returning. I hope you have a marvelous time!

 

[WEDWDW]

Be sure to ride Disney Skyliner!

One of the best things Disney has ever built!

GREAT FUN way to travel from Epcot to DHS and vice-versa.

 

[Dancer84xoxo]

We didn’t have any issues with buses during our last trip in October! Not long waits at all but maybe we just got lucky. No bus was over full to standing room only coming back to Riviera from the parks. Our rope drop bus to Magic Kingdom was full, but everyone had a seat. We were at WDW earlier in the year and found the buses to be awful, so maybe things are better now. The crowds did seem extremely heavy though in certain spots :/

 

[Lilylogan]

Just go into it with a positive mindset. We went last dec (with 3 small kids who touch everything) and I was very stressed out before - about masks, no characters, social distancing, less experiences etc. We had a great time and it felt so nice to be back there.

 

[StageTek]

I've been twice since reopening.

-- How are the Crowds at the Parks?

So far the crowds have been low.

-- How is the Bus Transportation from Resorts to Parks? Are Bus capacities reduced from pre-2020? Will I be waiting for multiple buses to get on one to get to a park or back to my resort? Are the end of night buses from the Parks back to the Resorts standing room only as I was used to back in 2019 (pre-covid)?

The buses are back to "normal". You will be waiting for multiple buses to get on one to get to a park or back to your resort if you travel at peak times. Taking the bus at off-peak times you should get on one right away both going to and coming from the parks. At the end of the night buses can be standing room only as you were used to in 2019.

You should adjust your expectations. Things have changed since your last trip and those changes can be challenging. Where are you staying?

 

[1GoldenSun]

One big change you'll have to get used to that you didn't mention is mobile ordering. It has its pluses and its minuses but it seems to be here to stay. You'll need to plan a bit in advance for your counter service meals.