tAll Encompassing Disney Thread

[mdmost 42491]

We may see about a short trip to DLR over the long 3 day weekend when DISD offers the 2nd Fair Day. The first one is before Texas OU. We also are debating a WDW trip that weekend or around the Thanksgiving holiday week. I don't want to rush a WDW trip. Normally I'd skip Animal Kingdom but we'd like to see the Avatar portion.

[CooterBrown 17760]

36 minutes ago, mdmost said:

We may see about a short trip to DLR over the long 3 day weekend when DISD offers the 2nd Fair Day. The first one is before Texas OU. We also are debating a WDW trip that weekend or around the Thanksgiving holiday week. I don't want to rush a WDW trip. Normally I'd skip Animal Kingdom but we'd like to see the Avatar portion.

Skip the Avatar boat ride. It'll just make you angry you wasted time in line for something lamer than a Small World.

[mdmost 42491]

In talking it over with the wife, we actually might fly out on Thursday after school and start our park days on Friday at WDW. Then we'll stay till Monday and skip one day of school. I think they'll be okay to miss a day. Then we can fly out late on Monday and be back to school on Tuesday. Then we'll have 4 park days and can hit all the spots. We may do a park hopper so we can hit Animal Kingdom just for Expedition Everest and Avatar and then leave to hit up MK for a little bit before we have to fly out. 

[MNLonghornFUKM 8789]

Avatar land is unbelievable and worth it if you can use park hopper, I think the flight of passage line isn’t bad as it gets closer to closing time. If I was trying to squeeze in 4 days- I’d split Epcot and AK, 2 days at HS for ROTR and 1 day MK.

When we go back I’d rather spend not waste a full day at AK. Outside of avatar, to me, it was pretty blah. Everest is cool but the safari was just another zoo trip

[mdmost 42491]

Any advice on out of park hotels? Since Fastpasses aren't back and we're not doing character meals, we're not worried about staying onsite. Plus, I think I got some points I can use for a free night at IHG hotels. 

[Baboontyme 2765]

Are you renting a car then? I'm a big fan of that 536 extension for convenience.

How long are current waits for the popular attractions right now with low crowds? I'm thinking I'd rather have crowds and fast passes. 

[mdmost 42491]

No, no car rental. I was just planning to Uber or Lyft in.

[hornian 5166]

 

 

[Incredulity 11197]

Throw his carcass in one of the lakes.  

Alligators will spread it around just fine.

[mdmost 42491]

After doing some looking, we're now thinking of going on the Thursday evening before Labor Day and staying onsite. The room rates are super cheap, we can do the Magical Express one final time, and the crowd calendar is less busy for those days. We're still going to have the kids skip the one day of school that Friday. It's interesting in terms of what's available just a month apart. There are a lot less rooms available in mid-October. I guess it's always been that way as they slow down after the summer but all that's available are pricer suites. I think we're looking at Caribbean Beach Resort as the pool is supposed to be the nicest. It has the Skyliner but I think it might not be working at the moment.  Airfare is also cheaper that weekend. It's weird. But I'll take it. Since the wife started a new job, we don't have the ability to do a summer vacation but she can take a day off and then get that holiday on Monday. 

Just found out that Port Orleans and Riverside are closed still. 

Edited June 5, 2021 by mdmost

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3859]

Beginning of the school year combined with peak heat is always slow at WDW.

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3859]

Skip the Avatar boat ride. It'll just make you angry you wasted time in line for something lamer than a Small World.

Do it immediately after FoP so you’re already mentally in the Na’vi world.

Disney really screwed up when they decided to shorten the Na’vi River Journey from the original concept to cut cost. You don’t get immersed until the last 30 seconds of the ride with what they did.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8789]

Do it immediately after FoP so you’re already mentally in the Na’vi world.

Disney really screwed up when they decided to shorten the Na’vi River Journey from the original concept to cut cost. You don’t get immersed until the last 30 seconds of the ride with what they did.

That’s what a guy on YouTube said in his 10 worst Disney rides review. Apparently there’s a shit ton of space that was supposed to be used for it, then it got scrapped-then the idea used for the space was scrapped- and you’re stuck with a very short river ride

[hornbri 1347]

6 hours ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

That’s what a guy on YouTube said in his 10 worst Disney rides review. Apparently there’s a shit ton of space that was supposed to be used for it, then it got scrapped-then the idea used for the space was scrapped- and you’re stuck with a very short river ride

That makes so much sense. I was wondering why that ride seemed so bad. 

[CooterBrown 17760]

The craziest thing is basing a land on that shitty movie nobody cares about.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8789]

The craziest thing is basing a land on that shitty movie nobody cares about.

That’s true, but it’s pretty damn cool and provides lots of shade . And flight of passage was my favorite ride. I’ve seen avatar once lol

[CooterBrown 17760]

That’s true, but it’s pretty damn cool and provides lots of shade . And flight of passage was my favorite ride. I’ve seen avatar once lol

Oh yeah, the land is awesome. I tried watching the movie for the first time since opening night and it does not hold up at all.

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3859]

The craziest thing is basing a land on that shitty movie nobody cares about.

Yet it is the second highest grossing movie of all time and the Pandora section at Animal Kingdom moved AK from 4th in attendance park at WDW to second to MK.

[mdmost 42491]

A lot of twists and turns in trying to plan this thing. Wife wasn't keen on the Skyliner after reading some reports that it's ridiculously slow right now with the social distancing guidelines of one party per car. That could change by September but she doesn't want to rely on that. Since we're planning 2 park reservations for HS, she didn't want to rely on trying to get over to there and Epcot on the Skyliner. So now we're looking at the Swan resort since it's both within walking distance (15 minutes) and a boat ride to HS and Epcot. Since it's a Westin (her preferred hotel chain) and we're not as worried about theming, it seems a better fit. It's on par with Caribbean Beach price wise and the rooms will definitely have better beds. 

We're thinking of this itinerary: MK, HS, AK/Epcot, HS half day. We're going to do park hopper so we can leave after 2pm and head to Epcot or back to MK if we wish. Wife really loves Epcot but since it currently doesn't open till 11am, what's the point of wasting the reservation on it? Or if we hit all the HS stuff on the first day, we could swing over to Epcot on the Skyliner and do a few things before closing time. 

[hornbri 1347]

4 hours ago, mdmost said:

A lot of twists and turns in trying to plan this thing. Wife wasn't keen on the Skyliner after reading some reports that it's ridiculously slow right now with the social distancing guidelines of one party per car. That could change by September but she doesn't want to rely on that. Since we're planning 2 park reservations for HS, she didn't want to rely on trying to get over to there and Epcot on the Skyliner. So now we're looking at the Swan resort since it's both within walking distance (15 minutes) and a boat ride to HS and Epcot. Since it's a Westin (her preferred hotel chain) and we're not as worried about theming, it seems a better fit. It's on par with Caribbean Beach price wise and the rooms will definitely have better beds. 

We're thinking of this itinerary: MK, HS, AK/Epcot, HS half day. We're going to do park hopper so we can leave after 2pm and head to Epcot or back to MK if we wish. Wife really loves Epcot but since it currently doesn't open till 11am, what's the point of wasting the reservation on it? Or if we hit all the HS stuff on the first day, we could swing over to Epcot on the Skyliner and do a few things before closing time. 

When we were there a week ago skyline was quick. I know the rule is supposed to be one party per car but we and many others got paired up. 

[mdmost 42491]

Nice to know. Where did you stay?

[MNLonghornFUKM 8789]

We stayed at art of animation and at 7-730 am, the Skyliner line looked ridiculously long to get on. And from there you stand in another long line at Caribbean beach. Got in line for the bus and just took that to HS and Epcot. I’d walk if that was an option if your goal is rope drop

We took it back to the hotel at the end of the night. The line “ looked long” but it was maybe 15 min max until we were in our cart.

You probably are aware But 7-730AM is running super late, for rope drop. We’re just not morning people or hardcore enough yet as we tote around 2 kids 5 and under.

[mdmost 42491]

Yeah one kid was asking for Art of Animation again but frankly the only room that isn't overpaying are the Little Mermaid ones and those are such a beating to walk back and forth from to the bus or Skyliner. And the idea of waiting in 2 lines to ride the Skyliner to a park isn't something we wanted to do. We may ride the Skyliner from one park to another just to treat it like it's a ride. Say, HS to Epcot one time when we're park hopping.

Yes, rope drop is the goal for most days. We'll definitely do that for HS and AK. MK will be harder since they don't run a dedicated shuttle to the bus drop off area for the Swan. They switched away from the Disney Transportation so they drop off near the Polynesian and you have to Ferry or Monorail in. I've seen people suggest you just need to walk over to Boardwalk or Beach Club and walk through their lobby to their shuttle outside so we may do that. Since we're only doing that one MK day, no reason to worry about that as a reason to not stay at Swan. The good thing I've read is the virtual queue opens at 7am if you have a park reservation for HS and you don't have to be scanned into the park. You can just do it from your phone anywhere in the resort area. That's why we figured 2 days was smart to do HS as the reservation. I think you suggested it upthread. Two chances to get the morning reservation. Then we'll try for Toy Story Land at rope drop on one morning and Mickey and Minnie ride at the other. I wish the park hopper switch time was earlier but we're only planning to do World Showcase, Frozen Ever After, and Spaceship Earth at Epcot so that should all be doable in an afternoon since we'll come in at the International Gateway. 

I wish Ohana was open as we wanted to take our oldest to that since she's a Stitch fan and we're rapidly reaching the forward momentum to annoying teenager who hates everything she used to love. Talking about Disney kinda broke her of recent teen shittiness which was nice. 

Edited June 6, 2021 by mdmost

[Knoxtnhorn 5908]

So my daughter - who is set to graduate from MTSU next spring - just got an internship to Disneyworld.  She's majoring in stage production/stage mgt.  (I'm not sure what the actual degree is called.)  Anyway, she starts in July.  

We're still planning on 8 days at the Animal Kingdom Lodge a year from now.

[hornbri 1347]

4 hours ago, mdmost said:

Nice to know. Where did you stay?

We stayed at AK Lodge part of the trip and Beach Club Villas the other part. We took the skyliner to HS one day and want to say it was a day the park opened at 9 and we got there by 8:15 with very short waits (we were not there at 7am). 

The other tip I saw for RoR was to plan your visit to AK on the day you do not get a boarding pass. The idea was to make the reservation for HS on 3 different days (if you planned to go 2) and if you don't get a boarding group at 7am one the first or second day pivot and make that day a AK day since they have same day avilablity generally while HS does not. Basically giving yourself one more chance (although I was 2/2 on getting boarding passes from my resort at 7am).

[CooterBrown 17760]

So my daughter - who is set to graduate from MTSU next spring - just got an internship to Disneyworld.  She's majoring in stage production/stage mgt.  (I'm not sure what the actual degree is called.)  Anyway, she starts in July.  
We're still planning on 8 days at the Animal Kingdom Lodge a year from now.

Make sure she’s on birth control. It’s a alcohol fueled orgy 7 days a week with the intern crowd.

[HenryJames 65564]

[Brew 2917]

Just seems much simpler to stay offsite and drive in and park. We have done it every trip to both sets of parks and their parking system is so easy I don’t mind paying. They tell you where to park, the shuttles are running constantly, you never have to wait on the tram more than a couple of minutes, do it in reverse at night with no wait for buses, etc. Get a private house, stay in one of the time share resorts if that’s your preference, etc. We do stay onsite for Universal (usually the Portifino) because the perks make it worth it.

[mdmost 42491]

 I don't want to drive if I don't have to on a vacation. I much prefer getting into MCO, getting an Uber or shuttle, and not worrying about rental counters or any of that. We enjoyed the ease of how our Universal trip went where we stayed onsite and took the boat every day. Plus, my younger kid loves to swim so a nice pool is part of the equation. Also, the trams aren't running right now. Lots of stuff isn't going like it used to. 

Edited June 7, 2021 by mdmost

[mdmost 42491]

Booked our trip today as airfare was going up and I didn't want to cost us additional money that could be spent elsewhere. Spoke with a rep at Disney Reservations and she was able to knock some off our package total which is nice. So we're good to go for Labor Day weekend. I can feel the ball sweat already. 

[SimonBolivar 10697]

On 6/6/2021 at 7:49 PM, CooterBrown said:

Make sure she’s on birth control. It’s a alcohol fueled orgy 7 days a week with the intern crowd.

Really need the International College Program kids back. The American kids were fine, but its the Brazilians and Frenchies who were always down.  Taking my gf with me to do my college program was the worst decision of my life.

[CooterBrown 17760]

12 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

Really need the International College Program kids back. The American kids were fine, but its the Brazilians and Frenchies who were always down.  Taking my gf with me to do my college program was the worst decision of my life.

haha. A neighbor did the college program one summer.  She told my wife that of the 20 guys she's had sex with, 15 of them were fellow Disney interns that summer.

 

[HenryJames 65564]

Pics?

[mdmost 42491]

More like the "Horniest Place On Earth", amirite?

[Baboontyme 2765]

md - even if you're onsite, couldn't you do an uber to MK to get around the shuttle? 

I still think the best move is getting to the Contemporary and walking. Or you can probably do that from the other side at the Grand Floridian now I would imagine? My experience is strictly offsite but I have to imagine that could save some headaches for staying onsite, as well. 

[mdmost 42491]

Yeah, the workaround I saw was to Uber to Contemporary as the Uber drop off is the same Ticketing and Transportation Center but there's an exception for going to the Contemporary. I've seen that Uber and Lyft are having the same shortage of drivers that other places are seeing and that even scheduling a ride can be an issue right now. I think what we're going to do is walk over to Boardwalk or Beach Club and go through the lobby to jump on their buses. You don't have to show anything. It's a 5 minute walk from our lobby to theirs. We'll also do that on the way back. Same with Animal Kingdom though that's less of an issue since the Swan bus is allowed to drop off in the same parking lot with the rest of the Disney buses. Everyone's cutting corners it seems. 

[SimonBolivar 10697]

4 hours ago, HenryJames said:

Pics?

I'll see what I can do.

[mdmost 42491]

Masks are only required now on Disney World enclosed transportation like the Skyliner, Monorail, and buses. Works for me. Only one that won't be vaxxed by then is our 11 year old and she's comfortable with wearing a mask when needed. 

I've got some time before we can make our reservations for dining. We're definitely going to try for Oga's Cantina in HS. I also think Sci Fi Drive In will be a fun one to try out. What are some other good table service and quick service ideas? We may do just a couple table service options since we don't have a ton of time and did all the character dining and Be Our Guest type ones back in 2015 when they were younger. We may do Ohana's after MK closes at 9pm on the first night. What's the best table service in Epcot? We were thinking either the steakhouse in Canada for dinner or one of the Italian places. 

[closetohumping 17302]

On 6/3/2021 at 11:54 AM, CooterBrown said:

Just booked our 21st DLR/CA trip for late July. Haven't been since NOV '19.  Hopefully, it's still below normal crowds. Hotels are dirt cheap right now too.

 

was at California Adventures.  It was packed.

[closetohumping 17302]

On 6/8/2021 at 11:15 AM, HenryJames said:

Pics?

[CooterBrown 17760]

was at California Adventures.  It was packed.

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3859]

I know we have some WDW CP former cast members around.  Disney just put Vista Lay up for sale.

[mdmost 42491]

Fireworks coming back, social distancing markers coming down, no masks except on transportation, restaurants and other resorts opening back up. It's getting back to normal. Now give me Fastpass before 9/4. 

Edited June 15, 2021 by mdmost

[SimonBolivar 10697]

16 hours ago, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

I know we have some WDW CP former cast members around.  Disney just put Vista Lay up for sale.

I was at Chatham Square out by Mickey's Retreat, but I felt bad I never got to experience the shittiness of Vista Way in it's glory. That new place they built looks way too nice for a CP. 

Edited June 16, 2021 by SimonBolivar

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3859]

1 hour ago, SimonBolivar said:

I was at Chatham Square out by Mickey's Retreat, but I felt bad I never got to experience the shittiness of Vista Way in it's glory. That new place they build looks way too nice for a CP. 

A year of alcohol fueled young adults will take care of that.

[SMUlawUTgrad 81]

Thinking of booking 4 days Tuesday arrival and flying home Saturday at Disneyland the first week of November. Will be going with the 5 year old boy and 2 year old girl. Is this crazy?

Any tips? Looking to probably stay at The Grand Californian.

[SimonBolivar 10697]

15 hours ago, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

A year of alcohol fueled young adults will take care of that.

In 2009 we had inspections every month. We never passed one haha.

[mdmost 42491]

On 6/15/2021 at 10:32 PM, SMUlawUTgrad said:

Thinking of booking 4 days Tuesday arrival and flying home Saturday at Disneyland the first week of November. Will be going with the 5 year old boy and 2 year old girl. Is this crazy?

Any tips? Looking to probably stay at The Grand Californian.

Midweek is always a great time to go. DLR seems to be getting up to speed pretty quickly. This is a pretty good source for all things DLR. https://disneylanddaily.com

We've only ever stayed offsite since you're right across the street from the opening. I think you get in early every morning but that might be back just yet. 

[MNLonghornFUKM 8789]

Thinking of booking 4 days Tuesday arrival and flying home Saturday at Disneyland the first week of November. Will be going with the 5 year old boy and 2 year old girl. Is this crazy?

Any tips? Looking to probably stay at The Grand Californian.

Not sure if Disneyland has kingdom stroller rentals like Disneyworld did…but for ~ $100 gets you a nice double stroller, storage, and something to hook your backpack up to. I highly suggest renting one. Parking it is a pain but worth it for everything else

[CooterBrown 17760]

Thinking of booking 4 days Tuesday arrival and flying home Saturday at Disneyland the first week of November. Will be going with the 5 year old boy and 2 year old girl. Is this crazy?

Any tips? Looking to probably stay at The Grand Californian.

That’s the only on-site hotel I would consider at either DLR or WDW since you can walk right into CA from next to the hotel pool.

I’d take your own stroller and make it identifiable. We did a Texas shaped key chain on our BOB stroller. Your stroller will inevitably get moved by staff. Sometimes far away. I’d get a Tile or the Apple version so you can locate it. I never got one but there were a couple of times it would’ve saved me time looking for it.

Those ages are perfect but you and the wife will have to take turns going on rides the kids can’t. Make sure you get a rider switch lanyard from the ride worker. They need to put eyes on the kids that are too small to ride before they’ll give it to you. The next adult then goes to the front of the line.