Workaround for the park hopping restriction/reservation system?

[dieumeye]

Hello fellow Disneyland friend!

I’m literally at Beach Club right now! For what it’s worth, I had a couple days where I wasn’t sure what parks we were going to visit and I did exactly what you were thinking: just book Epcot, figuring it’s easy to tap in there sometime in the morning and then go to another park later. Worked for me since I enjoy a morning stroll around World Showcase anyway.

And I’d keep an eye on how fast the GotG VQ is actually going. Twice so far this week the VQ has been available well into the afternoon for a later in the evening boarding group.

 

[nalabear]

@DLgal - your list is very doable with DAS alone; throw in G+ for MK day and it'll be done. We actually like Big Thunder Mt at WDW more than ours - worth it IMHO.

The advanced selections really help in AK and somewhat in HS and Epcot to get two out of the way -- Na'vi and Safari; Test track (goes down quite a lot; so if it does, it becomes a multi; and Slinky Dog+ToT.

Since you're on property too, the evening hours appear a good chance for GoTG too while I can tell you on Tron since we're there in April.

 

[DLgal]

Hello fellow Disneyland friend!

I’m literally at Beach Club right now! For what it’s worth, I had a couple days where I wasn’t sure what parks we were going to visit and I did exactly what you were thinking: just book Epcot, figuring it’s easy to tap in there sometime in the morning and then go to another park later. Worked for me since I enjoy a morning stroll around World Showcase anyway.

And I’d keep an eye on how fast the GotG VQ is actually going. Twice so far this week the VQ has been available well into the afternoon for a later in the evening boarding group.

Awesome! Thanks for sharing. Hope you are having a great trip!

Side question: are the in room fridges at Beach Club the old mini fridges (that actually get cold) or the new "beverage coolers?"

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Tell me if this makes sense.

Visiting in July/August. Staying at BC. Have a teen who is very heat sensitive, so we won't be in the parks until late afternoon/evening each day. Will have park hopper option.

Would it be crazy to make our park reservations for Epcot for every single day, just so we can quickly walk over and tap in, then head straight to our chosen afternoon/evening park later? I really dislike having to pre plan which park we want to go to. I keep thinking we will make reservations for a specific park, then change our minds, but HAVE to go to the original park to scan in. That would be really annoying.

I guess my question really revolves around Genie+. I know you can start making G+ reservations at 7am. I have no plans to do that. We will be sleeping in. Can I wake up at, like, 9 and make Genie+ reservations for later in the day (after 2pm) at ANY park if I have park hopping? Or would the app only let me make G+ reservations for the park I have reserved? I am used to G+ at Disneyland, but know it works differently at WDW.

I'm going to disagree slightly with what others have said. We've been to WDW many times in the summer. The hot part of the day is usually from around 1-4pm. In some ways though, the most intense feeling heat is late morning, that's because of rising humidity. After dark the temp is very enjoyable, IMO. We often take a break between 2pm and around 5pm. It isn't chilly at 5pm, but if you head to a park at 5pm, you spend a good amount of time on a bus/monorail, and indoors. We just are not outdoors for more than a few minutes.

On the other hand, afternoon storms are common. They might last 15minutes, or they might last a good chunk of the day/evening. Last summer, a very powerful thunderstorm rocked MK for about 3 hours. The weather pattern is that the heat/humidity builds until the storm breaks. After the storm passes, the temps are often quite a bit cooler, but during storms, MANY rides stop running. No matter if you carefully stacked G+. The rain that falls is tropical. VERY heavy!

It is not a great time of year to visit if you are looking to only venture out in the PM and excluding the morning hours.

On the other hand, you CAN somewhat plan your day to minimize outdoor exposure. Many character greets are indoors, you can dine indoors, and there are a number of indoor shows.

It might be worth looking now to see what is available on G+ at 9am, and decide if that appeals to you. Tron BG, for example, will be gone by 9am. The $$ILL might be an option, but it will cost extra.

Except for July 4th week, most days, you should be able swap park reservations. The catch is just that you have to first check what's available, then cancel the ones you have before you can book new ones.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Admittedly haven't used G+

But ?: back in the day of Maxpass, you can stack your rides; so folk would do something like this:

Radiator springs goes FAST. so wait until an evening RS (say 8pm) shows up and grab at 9am;
then next pass grab at 11am, and then 1pm and so forth.

So can OP do this with hopper:
Reserve Epcot just in case wants to VQ GOTG
Wait until Slinky Dog has a later than 2pm: say @ 800AM; grab SDD for 2pm slot
@1000AM; grab 3pm Mania;
@12noon: grab 7pm Everest
@2pm: grab 5pm Na'vi while tapping into HS.

so by 2pm could have 4 rides lined up for afternoon/evening run?

but you can't at all control Slinky return times. Between when you look, and when you book, the times often jump considerably at WDW. Just in those few seconds.

If OP is going on a slow week, they might have some luck doing what you advise. If it is a busy week, like 4th of July, they are likely to miss out on some attractions if they don't book at 7am, either that or they will have to pay the ILL price to get passes.

 

[DLgal]

I'm going to disagree slightly with what others have said. We've been to WDW many times in the summer. The hot part of the day is usually from around 1-4pm. In some ways though, the most intense feeling heat is late morning, that's because of rising humidity. After dark the temp is very enjoyable, IMO. We often take a break between 2pm and around 5pm. It isn't chilly at 5pm, but if you head to a park at 5pm, you spend a good amount of time on a bus/monorail, and indoors. We just are not outdoors for more than a few minutes.

On the other hand, afternoon storms are common. They might last 15minutes, or they might last a good chunk of the day/evening. Last summer, a very powerful thunderstorm rocked MK for about 3 hours. The weather pattern is that the heat/humidity builds until the storm breaks. After the storm passes, the temps are often quite a bit cooler, but during storms, MANY rides stop running. No matter if you carefully stacked G+. The rain that falls is tropical. VERY heavy!

It is not a great time of year to visit if you are looking to only venture out in the PM and excluding the morning hours.

On the other hand, you CAN somewhat plan your day to minimize outdoor exposure. Many character greets are indoors, you can dine indoors, and there are a number of indoor shows.

It might be worth looking now to see what is available on G+ at 9am, and decide if that appeals to you. Tron BG, for example, will be gone by 9am. The $$ILL might be an option, but it will cost extra.

Except for July 4th week, most days, you should be able swap park reservations. The catch is just that you have to first check what's available, then cancel the ones you have before you can book new ones.

Thank you! I ALWAYS say the mornings in the summer in FL are the WORST. It is SO muggy.

I know all about the weather pattern in Orlando in summer. I visited almost every year growing up. My dad's entire family lives there so we went often. Been to WDW probably 30 times between age 1 and now.

When we went in 2018, we had a MASSIVE downpour storm in MK around 9pm. It was very funny because we were on the Speedway at the time. It ended up being a wonderful vacation memory. We were staying at Contemporary and had to dry our shoes our with a hairdryer when we got back to the room. The kids still talk about it. That year, the 4th of July fireworks were even postponed for over an hour due to a vicious lightning storm late at night. I get that is a risk. It's okay. Kids don't mind rain in the summer at WDW since it's so warm. We poncho up and carry on.

I also have no problem paying for ILL. I won't do it at Disneyland as a local, but at WDW, it's not an issue. When we travel, we don't worry about what we are spending each day while we are there. We basically make choices to maximize our time and enjoyment. I'll buy ILL for whatever rides offer it rather than stressing about virtual queues or Genie+.

I feel like the afternoon storms are a good argument for the longer 8 day tickets. That way if we get rained out a day or 2, we can just try again the next day. It's like an insurance policy.

 

[DLgal]

but you can't at all control Slinky return times. Between when you look, and when you book, the times often jump considerably at WDW. Just in those few seconds.

If OP is going on a slow week, they might have some luck doing what you advise. If it is a busy week, like 4th of July, they are likely to miss out on some attractions if they don't book at 7am, either that or they will have to pay the ILL price to get passes.

It's July 25-Aug 3. Although our last trip was July 3-14 and we didn't find it busy at ALL. This was in 2018.

 

[T.G.I.Friday]

I feel like I must be missing the obvious, but if I were in your situation, I wouldn’t make any advance park reservation.

Wake up and book the park you want that day when you purchase Genie+. In the unlikely event it’s not available, then book Epcot and do the plan you’ve outlined. But why do the extra step if you don’t have to?

I didn’t think that park reservations were filling for the day as often anymore - especially outside of peak days. And Epcot will always be available. I looked just now and all parks are open for today.

So I wouldn’t complicate it by having a reservation at all. Either play it by ear that day or do it the night before if you start to make the plan.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We will definitely be doing 2 MK extra magic evening hours and one Epcot. We are staying at Beach Club specifically for this benefit. Our arrival day is a Tuesday and we leave the following Thursday so that gives us 2 Wednesdays and 1 Monday for the evening hours.

That makes a big difference!

You will be able to cover a good deal of ground on those nights, at least if the weather cooperates.

Last summer, on our Epcot extra hours night, storm = Test Track was down, and there was solid rain. Even still Rat had a long wait. We had a BG for GoG, so we did that and ended up bailing on everything else. (We'd already done Rat that day.) The BG for GoG go VERY quickly though! It is mere seconds. We lucked out.

The stormy MK night wasn't an extra hours night, but BTMRR was down the whole, night. Splash, Barnstomer, Dumbo, Astro, Railroad, 7DMT, and more were down most of the night. the rides that were open all had long waits. I mean, LM, which is often walk-on had a solid 45minute wait. Philarmagic, which is almost always walk-on Christmas week, was a solid 30min wait. Similar has happened to us many times in the summer.

 

[Anthony1971]

Another idea… maybe there are some pay extra hour nights that may work and you can get a shorter length ticket. We are going in mid late July heat we mostly go in later august but it is how it is… I see one night in Epcot for our time that is 7-1am. 9-1 exclusive you could easily fit the rides you want. I am not sure if you own DVC but there is a significant discount… if it were MK I would have bought those tickets the minute I saw it love hate relationship with that park. The 2 best parks for this are MK and HS the rides are close together. EPCOT is a lot of fast walking but free soft drinks included… Be careful with mission space as you may recall it is a rather small space. One if the girls I work with went for the first time last year she is mild Claustrophobic she went on with her friends son (her son Wouldn’t go on) and tried acting cool but was flipping out inside… gotta go make fun of her for the 100th time…

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I feel like the afternoon storms are a good argument for the longer 8 day tickets. That way if we get rained out a day or 2, we can just try again the next day. It's like an insurance policy.

At current pricing....I'd find that a bit painful myself. In prior years, I thought nothing of doing just that, but that was when extra days were only like $5.

Ooh, another option you might want to consider is that WDW now considers mid-August to be Halloween season. Last year they started August 12th if going that late in summer is an option. Or they might offer the HS After Hours while you are there.

 

[DLgal]

At current pricing....I'd find that a bit painful myself. In prior years, I thought nothing of doing just that, but that was when extra days were only like $5.

Ooh, another option you might want to consider is that WDW now considers mid-August to be Halloween season. Last year they started August 12th if going that late in summer is an option. Or they might offer the HS After Hours while you are there.

The way the tickets work now, a day works out to $80 regardless of whether it's the 5 day Armed Forces Salute ticket or an 8 Day Hopper Plus with the militay discount. The 5 day ticket is $400. The 8 day is $650. The difference is basically the cost of one after hours party. I'd rather have 3 extra days than one after hours party.

We depart 8/3.

 

[DLgal]

Another idea… maybe there are some pay extra hour nights that may work and you can get a shorter length ticket. We are going in mid late July heat we mostly go in later august but it is how it is… I see one night in Epcot for our time that is 7-1am. 9-1 exclusive you could easily fit the rides you want. I am not sure if you own DVC but there is a significant discount… if it were MK I would have bought those tickets the minute I saw it love hate relationship with that park. The 2 best parks for this are MK and HS the rides are close together. EPCOT is a lot of fast walking but free soft drinks included… Be careful with mission space as you may recall it is a rather small space. One if the girls I work with went for the first time last year she is mild Claustrophobic she went on with her friends son (her son Wouldn’t go on) and tried acting cool but was flipping out inside… gotta go make fun of her for the 100th time…

The kids have already done Mission Space. They love it.

No DVC. I don't want to pay for an after hours party when we have free evening extra magic hours at our 2 favorite parks. HS is kind of a waste of time for us, as we have almost all those attractions at Disneyland.

 

[bluezy]

At current pricing....I'd find that a bit painful myself. In prior years, I thought nothing of doing just that, but that was when extra days were only like $5.

Ooh, another option you might want to consider is that WDW now considers mid-August to be Halloween season. Last year they started August 12th if going that late in summer is an option. Or they might offer the HS After Hours while you are there.

The first time I realized that the cost to add extra days beyond a 5-day ticket was negligible was in 2009 and it cost us $3/day (and we booked our package with the Buy 4 days/Get 3 Free deal which was HUGE bargain)!!! On our trip this past June, it was about $22/day to go from a 5-day to an 8-day ticket which is definitely a big increase over 2009, but I still think it's a bargain. Even if we only spend 4 or 5 hours in a park on those "extra" days, it's still worth the extra cost of the longer ticket for us.

 

[dieumeye]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing. Hope you are having a great trip!

Side question: are the in room fridges at Beach Club the old mini fridges (that actually get cold) or the new "beverage coolers?"

The fridge in our room is an actual mini fridge that gets cold. It’s not one of those ‘beverage coolers’.

 

[DLgal]

The fridge in our room is an actual mini fridge that gets cold. It’s not one of those ‘beverage coolers’.

Awesome! Thank you!

 

[Tiberella626]

Yes, DAS Advanced Selections can be made for the park that you have a theme park reservation for at the time that you chat with the CM. Agree that if the OP and family don’t visit that park, the selections won’t be of use. But at least there’s a 1/4 chance the evening selections will be helpful. And may tip the scales in favour of visiting that park that night.

I have been wondering about this. We are staying at Beach Club next month and likely won't do parks until the evening but this is a scenario I can see occuring: Our family has advance Das for 4pm at HS with our park pass, however I must have a crepe for breakfast, so I change our reservation to EPCOT. Does my evening Das still stay in place or is it no crepes for me?