Several years since we last visited and we have a few questions!

[Lightwork]

Hey everyone!

First of all - apologies if these questions have already been asked, which I‘m sure they have! Did not want to be redundant but figured would add to the discourse on this forum and ask directly.

So for some background, my wife and I are traveling to WDW in mid-December 2022. We are staying for 8 days at All Star Movies and only booked the trip last week. We are targeting 5 full park days (no hopping) and got the tickets when we booked the hotel. We last visited WDW in 2014 and are excited about all the new things to do - I think Frozen Ever After is the “oldest” new ride since we last visited. However, we are quickly realizing the magnitude of changes since 2014 and wanted to ask a couple of questions.

1.) The Magical Express bus from MCO to WDW is gone? What does everyone recommend instead? We were thinking just Uber but then saw something about the ‘Sunshine Flyer’ - is that worth considering?

2.We have a lot of uncertainty about how we used to do the parks pre-reservation system. We used to always do 5 park days and typically in the same order on a Mon-Fri schedule. MK > AK > HS > EPCOT and would typically decide which park to do a second time on the fourth day for our fifth day (admittedly was almost always a second day at MK).

But, with the reservation system in place now - is it feasible to make the decision for the 5th day so late in our trip or do we need to make it prior to arrival (way prior even)? Right now we are 80ish days out and were waiting to see the posted park hours for the days we are there prior to making reservations (not sure if we even can until 60 days?).

Thanks in advance for any advice, hope this all makes sense!

 

[CarolynFH]

Hey everyone!

First of all - apologies if these questions have already been asked, which I‘m sure they have! Did not want to be redundant but figured would add to the discourse on this forum and ask directly.

So for some background, my wife and I are traveling to WDW in mid-December 2022. We are staying for 8 days at All Star Movies and only booked the trip last week. We are targeting 5 full park days (no hopping) and got the tickets when we booked the hotel. We last visited WDW in 2014 and are excited about all the new things to do - I think Frozen Ever After is the “oldest” new ride since we last visited. However, we are quickly realizing the magnitude of changes since 2014 and wanted to ask a couple of questions.

1.) The Magical Express bus from MCO to WDW is gone? What does everyone recommend instead? We were thinking just Uber but then saw something about the ‘Sunshine Flyer’ - is that worth considering?

Yes, both Sunshine Flyer and Mears Connect offer inexpensive transportation on buses from MCO to WDW. Check out threads on the Transportation forum. As always, some people have great experiences, some don’t. And rideshare remains an option. Some people use a bus on arrival and rideshare for departure - you can book the bus service one way if you want. In any case, you have to collect any checked luggage yourself - that part of DME hasn’t been picked up by any other service.

2.We have a lot of uncertainty about how we used to do the parks pre-reservation system. We used to always do 5 park days and typically in the same order on a Mon-Fri schedule. MK > AK > HS > EPCOT and would typically decide which park to do a second time on the fourth day for our fifth day (admittedly was almost always a second day at MK).

But, with the reservation system in place now - is it feasible to make the decision for the 5th day so late in our trip or do we need to make it prior to arrival (way prior even)? Right now we are 80ish days out and were waiting to see the posted park hours for the days we are there prior to making reservations (not sure if we even can until 60 days?).

You can make your park reservations now, since you have tickets. Given the time of year you’ll be there, I’d suggest booking all five days per your normal routine, including the last day at MK, because MK is the most likely to fill up. Once you’re there you can cancel and rebook, if what you want is available, but if what you want is MK and it’s full, you’re out of luck.

Thanks in advance for any advice, hope this all makes sense!

Good luck, and keep asking!