All Things Disney Parks - Rides, Merch, News, and everything else

[Dynaman]

22 hours ago, jvmacross said:

The wife insists on staying in the Disney "bubble" for the entire stay...I kind of like it myself.....closest "out of the bubble" has been the Dolphin Hotel, which is more or less still "in the bubble"...lol

We usually stay at Dolphin with a Fireworks room and balcony.  Great way to watch Epcot fireworks.  The prices in 2022 are through the roof though.  $450 a night versus $150 for Pop Century or $200 roughly for the Carribean Beach.

[jvmacross]

No fireworks...yet.  But I am wondering if they come back on July 4th....or will they wait until the 50th celebrations in October?

To be honest, if Disneyland had opened up for anyone, I would have opted to go there...haven't been to that park in more than 10 years....maybe in the Fall...been wanting to go for the NBX makeover since the last time I was there....to bad they never brought that over to the WDW Haunted Mansion....

Speaking of the HM....

 

[Dynaman]

If I had to guess I would say fireworks and regular park capacity will be back by October.  End of year latest.  I would not be surprised to have the fireworks moved up a couple months - nor would I be surprised to not have them till start of 2022 (why not Christmas?  Parks will be packed anyway so no need for the extra draw - same thing they did with park hopping the start of this year).

Barring some kind of problem the Halloween party is back this year - though it will be different so the name is now Boo Bash.

[Dynaman]

Best news at the parks so far.  Face Masks no longer required outdoors (in FL) starting today.  Other news hints that a lot of work is being done to get Fireworks and shows restarted along with everything else that was closed.

Edited May 15, 2021 by Dynaman

[sh9000]

 

[sh9000]

 

[Dynaman]

Still no confirmation on Fireworks but it is looking like early July.  On the confirmed news front face masks are no longer required (except on transportation) starting the 15th.  I'd expect even the transportation will no longer require it by end of summer at the most.  

[TangledThorns]

We're looking at 5 night trip in September of 2022 next year for the 4 of us. For a suite at Art of Animation resort plus tickets we're looking at $4976. ugh. This doesn't include price of flight yet either.

[jvmacross]

We'll be there in a couple weeks...the excitement level is barely containable at the JVMacross residence.....

[Dynaman]

12 hours ago, TangledThorns said:

We're looking at 5 night trip in September of 2022 next year for the 4 of us. For a suite at Art of Animation resort plus tickets we're looking at $4976. ugh. This doesn't include price of flight yet either.

One thing Disney is not is inexpensive.  And this past year has taught them they can raise prices, charge for things they did not previously and pull back some on services without affecting the attendance level.  I'm hoping they learn that was simply due to the unique nature of the past year.  Though the rumored lightning pass could possibly be worth it from time to time  depending on cost and what it actually does and the use of virtual queues for the E ticket rides would be very welcome.  

Edited June 12, 2021 by Dynaman

[TangledThorns]

Anybody gonna make the long car drive instead of flying to Disney World? We live in North VA and will fly next year when we go but maybe in a few years in a new fancy high tech car with automated driving to help deal with driver fatigue and hopefully save money over flying. This new car will be a EV so charging times will be a factor for the road trip.

[Dynaman]

*IF* self driving cars became a reality in the true sense (not needing to watch the road and take over) I would probably let the car drive me anywhere in the US.  Till then, not likely for anything less then a month long stay.  (not at Disney mind, anywhere).

[jvmacross]

We've driven to WDW from the Chicago area ever since we started going with our kids....the roadtrip is part of the "disney magic"....LOL

As far as self-driving cars...easy pass...it is not the other self-driving cars that would concern me...it is all the human driven cars that would still be out there for the foreseeable future, definitely during the rest of my lifetime

[TangledThorns]

18 hours ago, jvmacross said:

We've driven to WDW from the Chicago area ever since we started going with our kids....the roadtrip is part of the "disney magic"....LOL

As far as self-driving cars...easy pass...it is not the other self-driving cars that would concern me...it is all the human driven cars that would still be out there for the foreseeable future, definitely during the rest of my lifetime

 

Not really talking about Full Self Driving (FSD) but big auto is working on impressive hands free cruise modes. That should make our long road trip to WDW easy.

 

 

Edited June 16, 2021 by TangledThorns

[jvmacross]

26 minutes ago, TangledThorns said:

 

Not really talking about Full Self Driving (FSD) but big auto is working on impressive hands free cruise modes. That should make our long road trip to WDW easy.

 

 

yeah...I am certain that companies will nail FSD or "hands-free" cruising.....again...it is the humans driving regular cars that will still continue to muck things up for a long time

[Dynaman]

Hands Free- Is that the new buzzword for "It aint our fault if the car gets into an accident"?

Other drivers on the road is why it is so draining to drive long distances.  There is only so much white knuckle driving I can handle.  My wife and I are also at the point where we can't drive in the dark after driving all day - we usually get started before the sun goes up but that is when we are rested.

And no thanks for a car that is not Full Self Driving.  I find it more dangerous to have the car normally drive but the driver has to take over if it does something unexpected.  That is a recipe for an accident on long trips.  I only use the cruise on the near empty bits of road and there are not enough of them as is.

Edited June 17, 2021 by Dynaman

[Dynaman]

Back to Disney.  Fireworks are back!  Three hotels are opening up by end of August.  Park capacity has been increased again.  Finally it looks like all social distancing is gone.  Now what are they going to do with Fastpass+ and Virtual Queues?  A number of rumors there.

[jvmacross]

Thoughts?

Looks like this has already been implemented at DLP and DLS

https://wdwnt.com/2021/07/disney-premier-access-likely-replacing-fastpass-at-walt-disney-world-and-disneyland-resort-soon/

 

I just came back from WDW recently and only a handful of rides had a wait time of longer than 30 minutes...with most being in the 10-25 minutes range...of course, the park capacity was still not at 100%...more like 50%

Even the ride wait times that were 1hr or more throughout the day eventually would come down to 45 minutes or less before the park closed....

If they go with the current methods at DLP and DLS...it would seem only the most "popular" rides will be turned into "pay to play"....before, there seemed to be way more rides that offered a fast pass.....I guess it makes sense......personally, I would only pay to skip the line at the newest rides or most popular just to make sure I actually get to ride it before my trip is over.....I wonder, however, if the current "virtual queue" rides will be moved over to the "pay to play" system or just remain unchanged?  During this trip, I was worried about not being able to get on the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance, however, I had Hollywood Studios park reservations for three days and was able to get a boarding pass for each day....good ones too, I got boarding pass 4 on the first day, 8 on my next visit, and 2 on my last...honestly, had I known it would be that easy, I would have just reserved Hollywood Studios for 2 days instead of 3.....Slinky Dog Dash proved to be the worst one to try and ride.....we did on each visit, but the cost was getting up early for each visit...you had to be there before the park opened to have a shot of riding without a 1+ hour wait...so that meant getting to Hollywood Studios at 8am and wait an hour before the park officially opened....the good thing was that they let you in and you had to just wait until "rope drop" for the mad dash to Toy Story Land...it was sort of crazy and made me actually appreciate the "virtual queue" and the FastPass.....luckily, this only really affects the newest rides at each park....

It funny that Disney Parks keep getting more expensive each year, yet the crowds keep coming.....I doubt implementing a "pay to play" system will deter anyone...personally, I am more dissapointed in the Disney Park decision of extending "extra nightime magic hours" only to resort guests staying at the Deluxe Resorts....in my experience..."extra nightime hours" always meant super short wait times......"extra morning magic hours" are apparently being made available to everyone staying at the resorts...any one of them......but I personally prefer staying up late rather than getting up early...lol

 

[Dynaman]

Being a morning person I like the early hours for hotel guests, sleeping late for me means waking up at 7.  I don't normally stay till closing time anyway.  

In regards to paid fastpass, I'm not too bothered by that, I may pay for one ride that is really hard to get on (Slinky for instance).  The virtual queue part of the deal is the more interesting.  I don't mind waiting an hour between rides as long as I don't have to spend the entire hour in a line.  So it really depends on how long the physical line is after waiting in the virtual line.  Fifteen minutes would be no problem, Thirty is pushing it, forty-five plus and my Disney days may be done.

[jvmacross]

3 hours ago, Dynaman said:

The virtual queue part of the deal is the more interesting.  I don't mind waiting an hour between rides as long as I don't have to spend the entire hour in a line.  So it really depends on how long the physical line is after waiting in the virtual line.  Fifteen minutes would be no problem, Thirty is pushing it, forty-five plus and my Disney days may be done.

When I went a few weeks ago, they had brought back the "pre-shows" for all of the rides that have it.....so for the Rise of the Resistance, it added maybe 10-15 minutes to your wait after arriving during your 1 hour boarding pass window.....I was glad I got to see it.....it just makes the whole experience much better...

[sh9000]

 

[jvmacross]

I'll be there for WDW's 50th at some point.  I think the "celebration" runs for a year or more.  Anyone planning on being there this October?

[Dynaman]

1 hour ago, jvmacross said:

I'll be there for WDW's 50th at some point.  I think the "celebration" runs for a year or more.  Anyone planning on being there this October?

Heck no.  Crowds galore and no fastpass yet.

I will be there early September,  mid-November, and January since those are slow times.  Live in FL and have yearly pass so I go there a good bit but avoid busy times.

[jvmacross]

yeah...those are the times I usually go too...plus Spring Break when the kids are off school.....only reason we went recently was because we were tired of going nowhere since Covid started last year........it was totally worth it though....wait times were low and the crowds were still reasonable.....I have read that that has changed in the past couple of weeks somwhat....

I have a bad feeling about FP.....

[Dynaman]

I'm still on the fence with FP, I will probably buy one or two during the course of the year for a ride I really want on but don't want to wait if they go with the paid per ride option like Paris has.  The Virtual Queue being rolled out is what I'm waiting on to see how it works.  (which I've mentioned before).  

Other good news - the Beauty and Beast show will be back for our September trip, my wife loves that one.

[jvmacross]

The Virtual Queue is actualy pretty good IMO......just make sure you have a good phone and test to see what connection is quicker on the day you need to reserve your spot....in my case, it was my carrier's netwrok that was always faster...by leaps and bounds...when compared to the Disney WIFI.....most people that I spoke to at Hollywood Studios that failed to reserve a spot for the ROTR said they were always conencted to the Disney WIFI when trying to nab a spot on the queue....I managed to go 3-for-3 for each of the three days I was at HS....I was able to get on boarding group 2, 4 and 8..all during the 7AM initial opening for the first round of boarding passes....the second round would be tougher if youcannot get a good signal from your carrier as the Disney WIFI is pretty bad all over HS....so if you go, make sure you get on the initial boarding passes released at 7AM....or it will just be way harder during the 1PM second round

[jvmacross]

Oops...that maskless window came and went really fast for Disney Parks...........way to go Floridians and Californians! 

https://wdwnt.com/2021/07/masks-required-indoors-regardless-of-vaccination-status-at-walt-disney-world-resort/

[jvmacross]

 

[Dynaman]

At least the masks are only indoors (and has a good chance of staying only indoors).  Wearing them all day every day at the parks was a pain but indoors I can handle.

[jvmacross]

And so it begins....

 

[Dynaman]

The $15 a day each is not a deal breaker for me.  We just cancelled the Disney hotel and went with a nearby Marriott.  Now to see if the number of rides and wait times are worth it.  If not my Disney days may be done.  

[jvmacross]

Ride wait times have been hitting lows on their most popular rides at WDW and I also read that the ROTR actually had stand-by entrance for the first time since it opened.....guessing Delta is making folks think twice about heading to WDW...I'm glad I went when they dropped the mask requirements for a few weeks at the start of summer, but getting to ride Avatar or 7 Dwarf Mine Cart's in under 40 minutes would have been nice...but I guess once a day was good enough

The Genie app sounds interesting, but I'm good figuring out my own itinerary...so for me it sounds like the pay to play feature would be the only thing I'd be interested in...to be honest, all but the most popular rides can be riden in under 20-30 minutes....and if you don't mind waiting to ride the popular rides closer to park's close, you can ride most of those in under 30 minutes too

[peter]

Waiting for someone to tell me to go be poor somewhere else......

[Dynaman]

9 hours ago, jvmacross said:

Ride wait times have been hitting lows on their most popular rides at WDW and I also read that the ROTR actually had stand-by entrance for the first time since it opened.....guessing Delta is making folks think twice about heading to WDW...I'm glad I went when they dropped the mask requirements for a few weeks at the start of summer, but getting to ride Avatar or 7 Dwarf Mine Cart's in under 40 minutes would have been nice...but I guess once a day was good enough

It is also the slowest time of the year right now.  Late August Florida schools are back in session along with other states.  It used to be called Jersey summer since New Jersey schools do not start till after Labor Day.  Being from Jersey that is when we took our kids to the park.  

For the Star Cruiser the prices are totally insane, about what I expected.  I will not be going to it anytime soon though.

[jvmacross]

1 hour ago, Dynaman said:

It is also the slowest time of the year right now.  Late August Florida schools are back in session along with other states.  It used to be called Jersey summer since New Jersey schools do not start till after Labor Day.  Being from Jersey that is when we took our kids to the park.  

For the Star Cruiser the prices are totally insane, about what I expected.  I will not be going to it anytime soon though.

Well, about to be the slowest....the slowest times are in September thru Thanksgiving...and then right after the Christmas holidays thru February....before we had kids we'd go right before Thanksgiving....not only were the crowds manageable, but you benefitted from the parks all being decked out for Christmas...but honestly, the pandemeic has pretty much upended all expectations when it comes to visiting the parks these days....

The StarCruiser is an easy pass for me...when they first announced the idea...I was hoping for a "Star Wars" themed resort.....this is more like a multi-day dinner theatre experience....

Edited August 20, 2021 by jvmacross