Rumors of Light (ROL discussion thread)

[Paigevon]

Unrelated: I'm considering dropping the Disney Dining Plan and dropping all or almost all our TS ADRs and saving almost $800....

 

[KovuLover]

"FYI: Admission to this special event is limited. You might want to hurry and book tickets ASAP. To purchase tickets, guests may call 407-827-7185"

oh sure, announce that and days later already have them ready to be booked. *sigh* I don't think I'm ever going to get anything to ROL...

 

[jlundeen]

Unrelated: I'm considering dropping the Disney Dining Plan and dropping all or almost all our TS ADRs and saving almost $800....

Be sure you do the math first. Sometimes the dining play can save you money, sometimes it doesn't. You have to eat while you are there, but if you are ok with sharing meals, not ordering desserts or doing lots of counter service meals, then you may save some money. The last two trips (only two adults in the party, no kids) we did save money by ordering kids meals when we really weren't too hungry, and splitting meals at some of the table service restaurants (they are really good about this - will even split some of the meals before they bring them out to you). But since I have and Annual Pass and Tables in Wonderland discount card, that really also helped keep our dining costs down.

On the other hand, for the trip in April, the other members of my traveling party insisted on the dining plan as they didn't want to have to worry about meal costs, etc. I'm ok with that too...

But be sure and try to figure it out both ways before you drop your plan.

 

[Maineiak]

I figured it out: Book this new special event....get access to MK until 2am....THEN....get bussed over to AK for a special viewing of RoL!

 

[fallon_angel]

Hi all, Have been following this thread for a while - finally coming out of the woodwork to say hello!
I just read the Disney blog post. Looks like EMH will not be affected by these new "After Hours":
[NOTE: Disney Resort Guests will continue to be able to enjoy Extra Magic Hours, while this new event takes place on different dates and is another option for enjoying Magic Kingdom.]

 

[MakiraMarlena]

No matter what Disney or any blog says, many posters here are going to continue to conclude that EMH is a goner, based on Disney's prior actions. If not now, then later.

During the time the after hours event is offered, there are still EMH scheduled at MK for both morning and evening. Evening EMH appears to be on Wednesday nights. After Hours are all on Thursdays, except for May 8, which is a Sunday. (It's also Mother's Day so maybe they are going for a "take Mom to the park at night" marketing thing for that one)

 

[brnrss34]

$49 would be appropriate for one hour in the morning. They'll probably hike it up to $99 and add mediocre breakfast items to the mix.

Breakfast, Rides, and MAGGIE?? Oh my!!

 

[gwynne]

Blog is back in business:
View attachment 157816

I have to admit, I'll probably love that TAG shop.

I wonder how long it will be before a stealth ROL comment appears one one of the new stories?

 

[Paigevon]

Be sure you do the math first. Sometimes the dining play can save you money, sometimes it doesn't. You have to eat while you are there, but if you are ok with sharing meals, not ordering desserts or doing lots of counter service meals, then you may save some money. The last two trips (only two adults in the party, no kids) we did save money by ordering kids meals when we really weren't too hungry, and splitting meals at some of the table service restaurants (they are really good about this - will even split some of the meals before they bring them out to you). But since I have and Annual Pass and Tables in Wonderland discount card, that really also helped keep our dining costs down.

On the other hand, for the trip in April, the other members of my traveling party insisted on the dining plan as they didn't want to have to worry about meal costs, etc. I'm ok with that too...

But be sure and try to figure it out both ways before you drop your plan.

Well, we're staying to a Ft Wilderness cabin, so we could do every breakfast in the cabin, we could do lunch the two days we're taking a mid-afternoon break, and arrival night dinner. I had scheduled Akershus, Tusker House, 1900 PF breakfast, Mama Melrose Fantasmic package.. but if we just did CS instead, we'd save time and money. DD and I could probably share meals and sides, because she's a grazer and rarely eats large meals in one sitting. Financially, this would definitely save money and makes sense. I had my heart set on character meals for DD, but she doesn't even know they exist and wouldn't miss them. I could probably keep one or two. I was excited about trying a bunch of restaurants, and we budgeted for the dining plan.... but we're both college students, so we rarely go out to eat on a normal basis so even though we saved and budgeted, it's a huge expense and... is it worth it? I'm not sure. We're upgrading to Weekday Select AP, so we could do one character TS meal per trip and go on more trips with the money saved, essentially. Sorry, I'm rambling.

To tie it in to the thread, I wonder if the FTBBQ ROL package will manifest, and it's cost....

 

[Paigevon]

Hi all, Have been following this thread for a while - finally coming out of the woodwork to say hello!
I just read the Disney blog post. Looks like EMH will not be affected by these new "After Hours":
[NOTE: Disney Resort Guests will continue to be able to enjoy Extra Magic Hours, while this new event takes place on different dates and is another option for enjoying Magic Kingdom.]

I noticed that, too!

 

[Mambo Junkie]

i had the greatest CM his morning. He actually looked to see if they had opened up, then we had a conversation about ROL and its capacity seating, then he observed that you can't stand on the bridges. He gave me good advice about September -we had a nice chat.

 

[Vernie822]

Well, we're staying to a Ft Wilderness cabin, so we could do every breakfast in the cabin, we could do lunch the two days we're taking a mid-afternoon break, and arrival night dinner. I had scheduled Akershus, Tusker House, 1900 PF breakfast, Mama Melrose Fantasmic package.. but if we just did CS instead, we'd save time and money. DD and I could probably share meals and sides, because she's a grazer and rarely eats large meals in one sitting. Financially, this would definitely save money and makes sense. I had my heart set on character meals for DD, but she doesn't even know they exist and wouldn't miss them. I could probably keep one or two. I was excited about trying a bunch of restaurants, and we budgeted for the dining plan.... but we're both college students, so we rarely go out to eat on a normal basis so even though we saved and budgeted, it's a huge expense and... is it worth it? I'm not sure. We're upgrading to Weekday Select AP, so we could do one character TS meal per trip and go on more trips with the money saved, essentially. Sorry, I'm rambling.

To tie it in to the thread, I wonder if the FTBBQ ROL package will manifest, and it's cost....

I totally see where you're coming from - is this your first trip!? I can't remember. If she hasn't done a character meal yet, I say maybe keep one or two that you were really looking forward to & just go with your plan of cooking and doing QS meals. There's a lot of good QS out there & if you'll be coming back like you said you can always try more TS meals down the road!

 

[TXStormtrooper]

The detail originally posted is not included on this link...just wondering where it came from.

I was wondering the same thing. I can find the generic header for this, but no details anywhere. I am wondering where the posted details are coming from, as I cannot find them no matter what I search or where I look.

 

[jlundeen]

Well, we're staying to a Ft Wilderness cabin, so we could do every breakfast in the cabin, we could do lunch the two days we're taking a mid-afternoon break, and arrival night dinner. I had scheduled Akershus, Tusker House, 1900 PF breakfast, Mama Melrose Fantasmic package.. but if we just did CS instead, we'd save time and money. DD and I could probably share meals and sides, because she's a grazer and rarely eats large meals in one sitting. Financially, this would definitely save money and makes sense. I had my heart set on character meals for DD, but she doesn't even know they exist and wouldn't miss them. I could probably keep one or two. I was excited about trying a bunch of restaurants, and we budgeted for the dining plan.... but we're both college students, so we rarely go out to eat on a normal basis so even though we saved and budgeted, it's a huge expense and... is it worth it? I'm not sure. We're upgrading to Weekday Select AP, so we could do one character TS meal per trip and go on more trips with the money saved, essentially. Sorry, I'm rambling.

To tie it in to the thread, I wonder if the FTBBQ ROL package will manifest, and it's cost....

With that AP option, can you also get the TIW discount card? When I got it, it was $150 for the year, and by using that for out of pocket meals for many TS restaurants, and even some QS restaurants (Flame Tree is one of them right now!), you can save 20% off the total cost of meals. And, if you are interested, it can also be used for appetizers and alcohol. I really found that to be a great way to save on out of pocket meal costs

EDITED to add: My husband and I used the TIW card for the first time last October, and the savings from that 8 day trip paid for the card. Now we did several TS meals, but still....the rest of the year, I'm getting a nice little discount every time I use it.

 

[wordwitt]

Just to add unnecessary fuel to the fire, we are there from May 2-5. I looked at park hours on May 3, and for AK all I saw was -- nothing. Just two dashes. Then I logged out and came back in and it was back to normal hours. They HAVE to be changing park hours for ROL at some point, no? I just found out about the rumored dining package, so now I'm also stalking.

 

[KateP85]

DH is adamant that EMH will continue "in one form or another" but honestly, he doesn't work in the parks themselves so his knowledge of what happens there is limited. I do think Disney is really playing around with what they offer for free to see how many people will pay for it. I'm curious to see how the After Hours thing sells.

 

[Paigevon]

I totally see where you're coming from - is this your first trip!? I can't remember. If she hasn't done a character meal yet, I say maybe keep one or two that you were really looking forward to & just go with your plan of cooking and doing QS meals. There's a lot of good QS out there & if you'll be coming back like you said you can always try more TS meals down the road!

I've been once, a one-day trip to MK at ~11-13, and my job was to keep my preschool cousins from running away. I only remember PPF, it's a small world, and Space Mountain. I actually think we may have had breakfast in Crystal Palace LOL I vaguely remember a white room and Pooh, but nothing else. It's DD's first trip, and my husband's first trip since he was in preschool, which he doesn't remember at all. This was going to be "THE BIG TRIP" but now that logic is starting to overpower my excitement, I'm questioning the (for us) massive amount of money spent on it lol.

 

[beesly]

Just to add unnecessary fuel to the fire, we are there from May 2-5. I looked at park hours on May 3, and for AK all I saw was -- nothing. Just two dashes. Then I logged out and came back in and it was back to normal hours. They HAVE to be changing park hours for ROL at some point, no? I just found out about the rumored dining package, so now I'm also stalking.

That happens on the website all the time and does not appear to be related to when they are making changes to hours. But yes, they will have to update hours for ROL and hopefully do that soon.

 

[Paigevon]

With that AP option, can you also get the TIW discount card? When I got it, it was $150 for the year, and by using that for out of pocket meals for many TS restaurants, and even some QS restaurants (Flame Tree is one of them right now!), you can save 20% off the total cost of meals. And, if you are interested, it can also be used for appetizers and alcohol. I really found that to be a great way to save on out of pocket meal costs

EDITED to add: My husband and I used the TIW card for the first time last October, and the savings from that 8 day trip paid for the card. Now we did several TS meals, but still....the rest of the year, I'm getting a nice little discount every time I use it.

I considered it, too, but we won't be upgrading to the AP unless the last day of our 4-day tickets use, so that we can use it over the weekend and then become "Weekday-only" so I'd only get to use the TiW card the last two days. I may reconsider it. Well, we're FL res so we could get it for $175 earlier instead of $150. I'm still not sure it's worth it, that's a high price for a discount card. Wouldn't we have to spend $875 to break even on the cost of the card?

 

[figmentfan423]

I have to admit, I'll probably love that TAG shop.

I wonder how long it will be before a stealth ROL comment appears one one of the new stories?

maybe something involving pitch forks