Trader Sam's, cookie strategy (lol), and purchase delivery

[SaludosPenguinos]

Sorry for globbing several questions together, but they're rather low-stakes and just sort of kicking around in my melon and I'm hoping someone might have an answer.

1) When does the waitlist for Trader Sam's start? We're staying at the Poly for a few nights in a couple of weeks. We expect to get to the resort around noonish on a Sunday. Before we do anything else, we want to get in a virtual queue or whatever system they use. Not sure if there's a specific time they start that list, or if it's whenever people start clogging up that hallway? We're also hoping to get on the walk-up waitlist for Ohana (dinner). I've been checking every day of my ADR window and no dice. Womp womp.

2) Gideon's in DS : The cookies didn't appeal to me (my husband and I are very basic re:cookies) back when people were lining up for them at Polite Pig. But the atmosphere and general merch is something that sings to my little goblin heart and now I really want a cookie. I'm thinking of heading to DS at open on a weekday to get in line (or virtual call-back whatever) and do a little shopping. I'm wondering how wack it is on a weekday right now? I don't want to spend the whole day at DS. Which leads me to my 3rd...

3) Is package delivery still suspended? (shopping packages I mean...either to the front of park or to your resort from park or DS purchases) I assume so with reduced staff. Just trying to figure out if I should plan to return to the resort after getting my demon cookie, or if I can Lyft to HS or AK without having to lug my purchases with me. I guess if I have to return to the resort anyway, I might as well buy more cookies to take home .

 

[GreyStr0ke]

2) Gideon's in DS : The cookies didn't appeal to me (my husband and I are very basic re:cookies) back when people were lining up for them at Polite Pig. But the atmosphere and general merch is something that sings to my little goblin heart and now I really want a cookie. I'm thinking of heading to DS at open on a weekday to get in line (or virtual call-back whatever) and do a little shopping. I'm wondering how wack it is on a weekday right now? I don't want to spend the whole day at DS. Which leads me to my 3rd...

I went yesterday and can share my experience. Got to Disney Springs and to Gideons by 9:30am. Line was let in at 9:45 am. I was out with my cookies by 10am. Now granted this was the last day of the month of August so people may have been waiting until today to go for the new monthly cookies. However, it was the quickest I've gotten through the line in the 5 times I've gone.

 

[SaludosPenguinos]

I went yesterday and can share my experience. Got to Disney Springs and to Gideons by 9:30am. Line was let in at 9:45 am. I was out with my cookies by 10am. Now granted this was the last day of the month of August so people may have been waiting until today to go for the new monthly cookies. However, it was the quickest I've gotten through the line in the 5 times I've gone.

Oh thanks! We figured some of this low attendance in the parks at the moment might trickle over to DS (at least during the week). We only want to go to a couple of places (Gideon's being one of them). I was sad to miss out on the Key Lime and S'more type offerings, but then I saw this month is lemon and I'm dead. I love lemon.

 

[Moliphino]

Sorry for globbing several questions together, but they're rather low-stakes and just sort of kicking around in my melon and I'm hoping someone might have an answer.

1) When does the waitlist for Trader Sam's start? We're staying at the Poly for a few nights in a couple of weeks. We expect to get to the resort around noonish on a Sunday. Before we do anything else, we want to get in a virtual queue or whatever system they use. Not sure if there's a specific time they start that list, or if it's whenever people start clogging up that hallway? We're also hoping to get on the walk-up waitlist for Ohana (dinner). I've been checking every day of my ADR window and no dice. Womp womp.

I would try to get there about an hour before opening, so 2pm.

 

[Shellyred8]

Gideons: Going during the weekday and in the morning is usually your best bet. Go their first. If they have the virtual queue going, get your name in on that and then go do the rest of your shopping. In my very few experiences with the call back times, is that they have been less than what I was originally told. Once I was told 2 hours and it was only 1.5 hours. I can't wait to get there at the end of the month and try those new Lemon cookies!!!!

 

[Matt'sMom]

Agree with the advice you've been given about Gideon's. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings are typically the least busy, and if you arrive around 9:30 you will be in and out very quickly with only a short wait (they do tend to open the doors about 15 minutes prior to the announced 10 AM opening). We are locals & APs, so we're frequently on property (our home is only 6 miles from MK.) For Trader Sams, I'd recommend looking for the CMs with the I-pads for virtual queue starting about an hour prior to opening... but we've gotten in fairly easily by walking up around an hour after opening and joining the virtual queue also -- only waited maybe 15 - 20 minutes last week, and at that time the crowd/line in the hallway had already cleared so it was very stress free.

 

[SaludosPenguinos]

Oh, I should have come back for a post-trip recap!

We got to the Poly about noon on Sunday the 12th, had a couple of drinks upstairs at Tambu lounge and brought up some nachos from Cap Cook's. By 2pm, there were already people lined up for Trader Sam's, but a virtual queue hadn't started yet. Our room was ready around this point, so we dropped off our bags, went back to Sam's and by that time the hall had been cleared and virtual queue started. We didn't get in for opening, but didn't have long to wait either. Groups seemed to be cycling in and out pretty consistently, but at one point there were actually quite a few open seats. We had our several faves and drifted over to MK to get some rides and fireworks in before getting booted out for BooBash.

On Monday, we got on a bus headed to Disney Springs around 9:30 (we were the only ones on the bus), got in line at Gideon's and were in within 20 minutes. The ginger snap cold brew was a solid new favorite must-have.

We never were successful in securing a dinner reservation at Ohana, but we visited Tambu lounge several times and got our noodles & bread pudding (which may have bumped Ooey Gooey out of the lead for favorite dessert!). I ate my lemon cookie over the next several days.

Package delivery was still suspended, which did curtail my shopping quite a bit...just as well because we were at DS for the Jerrod Maruyama Dooney launch and I got one of those instead of a bunch of miscellany.

Great trip. Low crowds.

 

[Shellyred8]

Oh, I should have come back for a post-trip recap!

We got to the Poly about noon on Sunday the 12th, had a couple of drinks upstairs at Tambu lounge and brought up some nachos from Cap Cook's. By 2pm, there were already people lined up for Trader Sam's, but a virtual queue hadn't started yet. Our room was ready around this point, so we dropped off our bags, went back to Sam's and by that time the hall had been cleared and virtual queue started. We didn't get in for opening, but didn't have long to wait either. Groups seemed to be cycling in and out pretty consistently, but at one point there were actually quite a few open seats. We had our several faves and drifted over to MK to get some rides and fireworks in before getting booted out for BooBash.

On Monday, we got on a bus headed to Disney Springs around 9:30 (we were the only ones on the bus), got in line at Gideon's and were in within 20 minutes. The ginger snap cold brew was a solid new favorite must-have.

We never were successful in securing a dinner reservation at Ohana, but we visited Tambu lounge several times and got our noodles & bread pudding (which may have bumped Ooey Gooey out of the lead for favorite dessert!). I ate my lemon cookie over the next several days.

Package delivery was still suspended, which did curtail my shopping quite a bit...just as well because we were at DS for the Jerrod Maruyama Dooney launch and I got one of those instead of a bunch of miscellany.

Great trip. Low crowds.

I was fortunate enough to be able to try one of the Lemon cookies from Gideon's last month. It was amazing!!!