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Disney parks fans thread

By Extraballz

4 years ago


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#1251 2 years ago
Quoted from Mike_J:

The lines and the crowds kind of kill it for me, but the wife and kids still want to go so I continue to pay.

I always go in late august, so we trade crowds for heat. After buying into dvc, we're locked in for years to come.

#1252 2 years ago

I heard a rumor the Fast Pass system will be changing to a scaled down version that you may for...guess someone from disney read one of my earlier posts. LOL

I hope that is the case. Everything I've read that with no fast pass, that shows like Muppets 3D, Country Bear Jamboree, Tiki Room, and Carousel of Progress have more guests attending them. That's another reason I'm against fast pass, people miss out on these gems in order to do their fast passes.

I remember as a kid, walking into Magic Kingdom and going left. That means we did Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, Pirates, Splash Mountain, Rolling Thunder, Country Bears, Hall of Presidents, then Haunted Mansion. Not this 8am at Splash Mountain, 9am at Space Mountain, 10am at Haunted Mansion. You went and did...the way these parks were designed to be visited.

I remember back then, Carousel of Progress would be a full show. Today when I do it, I'm one of just a handful of people. Same thing for Tiki Room, hall of Presidents, American Adventure, Country Bear, Muppets 3D, etc.

I hope they never bring back the 180 days for reservations. That's just ridiculous.

I'm booked for January 4 - 12th...only if Marathon Weekend returns for 2022...which I hope they do. Looking to do my 3rd Dopey.

#1253 2 years ago
Quoted from Trekkie1978:

I heard a rumor the Fast Pass system will be changing to a scaled down version that you may for...guess someone from disney read one of my earlier posts. LOL
I hope that is the case. Everything I've read that with no fast pass, that shows like Muppets 3D, Country Bear Jamboree, Tiki Room, and Carousel of Progress have more guests attending them. That's another reason I'm against fast pass, people miss out on these gems in order to do their fast passes.
I remember as a kid, walking into Magic Kingdom and going left. That means we did Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, Pirates, Splash Mountain, Rolling Thunder, Country Bears, Hall of Presidents, then Haunted Mansion. Not this 8am at Splash Mountain, 9am at Space Mountain, 10am at Haunted Mansion. You went and did...the way these parks were designed to be visited.
I remember back then, Carousel of Progress would be a full show. Today when I do it, I'm one of just a handful of people. Same thing for Tiki Room, hall of Presidents, American Adventure, Country Bear, Muppets 3D, etc.
I hope they never bring back the 180 days for reservations. That's just ridiculous.
I'm booked for January 4 - 12th...only if Marathon Weekend returns for 2022...which I hope they do. Looking to do my 3rd Dopey.

I was really enjoying the MaxPass system at Disneyland before things shut down. Disneyland is so much smaller that it's not as bad to jump around to different areas or even to the other park... But I agree that it's too bad that things get overlooked because it's all about doing a checklist of the "best" things. Whatever happens, it will be more expensive. I'm happy to wait some time before going back. Disneyland is struggling to get back to pre-pandemic quality. It's also clear that a lot of their cast members are unhappy to be there, and they can't even get enough unhappy people to show up.

#1254 2 years ago
Quoted from Parkshow30:

Their quick service food has improved for sure. There are still a few places that aren’t very good like cosmic rays and pizzafari but overall their choices and quality has gone up.

Agreed. Pecos Bills is awesome, and of course Epcot has enough to keep you busy. Hollywood Studios improved with the quick service at Galaxy's Edge.

#1255 2 years ago
Quoted from Parkshow30:

I enjoyed those days when you would wake up in your hotel room and say, which park do you want to go to today?

This was the best. I loved being there with my sister and we would just decide what to do that day. Though most of the time she would wake up before me and have decided where she wanted to go

Of course that was back in the days you would walk to the central hub and read the chalkboard to figure out what had the shortest lines. Now you have to plan everything, which really takes a lot of the magic out of it. We used to go for a week and make 2 dining reservations ahead of time max.

On FastPass, personally I think Disney should go back to the old way. You go to the ride and stick in your park ticket, and it spits back out a sheet of paper with the time window to return. That way you don't have to plan every detail months ahead, and you don't walk around looking down at your phone trying to get something. But of course I know that would never happen.

#1256 2 years ago

I usually only make one dining reservation and that's for the biergarten. We will always hit trails end too. Both places are buffets and both are excellent.

1 week later
#1257 2 years ago
Quoted from DavidCPA:

If anyone is going to Disneyland soon, can you snap a night time pic of this guy near the Adventureland arch? He has eyes cut out, but the shadow makes it hard to make out. Going to 3d print him.
[quoted image]

I'm here today and tomorrow. I'm not greatest photographer but I'll try and get you a good pic at night when I go back today or tomorrow.

Decently slow at the park. DL unofficially opened at 8 and we did Dumbo x 2, snow white, carousel before 8:30, lol. Was in an early queue for rise of the resistance. My 4 yo hated it (too scary). She wanted to try splash mountain and it was also a bit too scary for her. We were able to do web slingers as well, which was maybe her favorite thing ever. She's passed out now, but we'll head back around 5 or 5:30.

20210630_130329 (resized).jpg20210630_130329 (resized).jpg
#1258 2 years ago
Quoted from jester523:

I'm here today and tomorrow. I'm not greatest photographer but I'll try and get you a good pic at night when I go back today or tomorrow.
Decently slow at the park. DL unofficially opened at 8 and we did Dumbo x 2, snow white, carousel before 8:30, lol. Was in an early queue for rise of the resistance. My 4 yo hated it (too scary). She wanted to try splash mountain and it was also a bit too scary for her. We were able to do web slingers as well, which was maybe her favorite thing ever. She's passed out now, but we'll head back around 5 or 5:30.
[quoted image]

Edit. Not sure if those are any good for you. Best I could get on my phone.

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#1259 2 years ago
Quoted from jester523:

I'm here today and tomorrow.

Hey, how were the fireworks last night? I watched a livestream of them from Magic Kingdom, but that just isn't the same.

#1260 2 years ago
Quoted from DaveH:

Hey, how were the fireworks last night? I watched a livestream of them from Magic Kingdom, but that just isn't the same.

They only had fireworks on the 30th (in disneyland), none yesterday. 30th was a surprise test run. They are scheduled to be back on the 4th. But they were pretty cool on the 30th. Caught them walking out of California adventure. The matterhorn opened back up yesterday.

Parks were still pretty tame crowd wise. Restaurants are tough to get into and some places are still closed. Characters are all distanced but my 4 year old really didn't seem to mind that. Had a great two days, but exhausted, lol.

#1261 2 years ago
Quoted from jester523:

Edit. Not sure if those are any good for you. Best I could get on my phone.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

PERFECT!! Thank you Jester. That is what i needed.

1 month later
#1262 2 years ago

I cannot believe that Disneyland still has no parking trams. They're really dragging their feet on returning to normal. With the regression to masks indoors, I have to wonder if they're pausing their ramp up to normal operations as more government restrictions seem increasingly likely.

#1263 2 years ago

I cancelled my august WDW. Maybe next year.

#1264 2 years ago
Quoted from yaksplat:

I cancelled my august WDW. Maybe next year.

I'd be wary of planning Disney parks trips right now. Had I known the mask requirements were coming back, I wouldn't have bought the California resident 3 day tickets for my family. You never know what the rules will be when you actually get there.

#1265 2 years ago
Quoted from yaksplat:

I cancelled my august WDW. Maybe next year.

Going in Oct and Jan. Can't wait.

#1266 2 years ago

This sounds like a crazy experience: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/star-wars-galactic-starcruiser/overview/

Fully immersive Star Wars hotel where you don't realize you're not in space? Besides the fact its insanely expensive, sounds awesome!

#1267 2 years ago

We spent 8 days at WDW March/April time frame. Our trip was a reschedule from September 2020, we were slightly nervous but decided to keep it. In hindsight I have no regrets about going. For those cancelling or delaying trips due to covid and masking rules, I think you need to ask yourself some questions as everyone's circumstances are different. If the trip is a once in a lifetime or once in a childhood trip then wait. If you are like us where we try to go every 3-4 years, then go. It will be different, it will stand out, but it will be memorable. A shirt we saw someone wearing summarized the situation perfectly: "Disney 2021, the one we wore masks." We went about 2 weeks before they lifted most of their mask restrictions.

The trip itself was phenomenal. Lines were sometimes long, but they moved. The app times were accurate. We had 1 sit-down meal a day. Mobile ordering was great for the times we relied on quick service. We got to ride everything we wanted the first few days and then that allowed us to take the rest of the trip at a leisurely pace. Galaxy's Edge was the best Theme Park experience I ever had hands down. We got to ride Rise of the Resistance twice over 2 days, rode Smugglers Run 4 times. We got to eat in the Docking Bay, and had drinks in the Cantina. I wish there were shows and fireworks, I wish my youngest could have had a boutique appointment, but you can't let what you are missing define or frame your trip. Each trip is different, go enjoy your family, and have fun.

#1268 2 years ago

Cantina drinks are fun. We sold these on eBay to get some of the $$$ back

Disney Star Wars coasters 2 (resized).jpgDisney Star Wars coasters 2 (resized).jpg

#1269 2 years ago
Quoted from xsvtoys:

Cantina drinks are fun. We sold these on eBay to get some of the $$$ back

We got the full set. There where 5 of us, but a few duplicates when we sat down. I asked the server if we could swap a few out to complete the set, and he said, "Smuggler's Code, I take care of you, you take care of me." When our bill came it was accompanied by a full set of coasters. So we took care of him.

#1270 2 years ago
Quoted from xsvtoys:

Cantina drinks are fun. We sold these on eBay to get some of the $$$ back
[quoted image]

Do they still have printed menus?

#1271 2 years ago
Quoted from seenev:

I cannot believe that Disneyland still has no parking trams. They're really dragging their feet on returning to normal. With the regression to masks indoors, I have to wonder if they're pausing their ramp up to normal operations as more government restrictions seem increasingly likely.

Things are not going back to normal, anywhere.

#1272 2 years ago
Quoted from seenev:

Do they still have printed menus?

I don't know, those were from a visit last year. The peeps went to Disneyland a few weeks ago but I stayed home this time. The previous annual passholders are now in a tizzy trying to figure out if they want the magic key thing or whatever it is. Not sure if I will get in on it.

On a different note to follow up on some of my previous posts: We had purchased 4 tickets for a special Star Wars night event at Disneyland last August, which was canceled. Then after a long while, according to a phone call to Disney those 4 tix could be exchanged for a trip to the park. But, when they called back recently to redeem that, the person on the line then said that the other person was incorrect and that there was no such deal. (Might be nice to record these calls LOL). However, they did say that they would refund all the money, OR, we could keep them for entry into the postponed Star Wars Celebration event in Anaheim, which is now set for May 2022. So I suppose we'll go to that, if CV cooperates.

#1273 2 years ago

Seems like the new Magic Key is a good solution. It probably sucks if you are a local used to randomly and spontaneously going out to the park. But the problem is those types of visitors caused massive congestion in the late afternoon and evenings. It will be nice having a more consistent flow to the crowds, although I'm sure it will still feel crowded.

Also you see in Paris they are selling fast passes now? It's like Max Pass but you pay per ride. No word if that's coming to US parks though.

#1274 2 years ago

I hope like hell the mask mandate comes back. That means less people and shorter lines.

#1275 2 years ago
Quoted from Methos:

I hope like hell the mask mandate comes back. That means less people and shorter lines.

Actually it doesnt. They wont fill the carts because of social distancing so it still takes a long time.

#1276 2 years ago
Quoted from seenev:

Do they still have printed menus?

There were only QR code menus when I was at Disneyland a month ago. Food service / menu items was definitely limited as well.

#1277 2 years ago

I just returned from wdw last night. Was there for a full week, stayed at pop century. Here is the current pin lineup at the arcade:

GOTG, Star Wars, Tron, X-Men.

I didn't play any of them, or even look closely at them, so I can't comment on their condition.

Yes, the mask mandate is in place indoors. And no, they are not social distancing at all. They are forcing everyone in the lines to pack in as tight as possible in the pre shows, to the point where I witnessed several flat out screaming matches between cast and guests.

More crowded than I've ever seen it for a non holiday, late summer week. Lines are longer than ever, and there is no fast pass. I'm pretty good at avoiding lines, though, so we were able to work around that decently.

If you decide to go, get ready to be screamed at by the cast members.

I don't mean to make this post sound terrible, we still had a great time overall because we love the parks. It's just disappointing because a good portion of the crowding and other issues are directly caused by Disney's management.

Rise of the resistance is freaking phenomenal. Rode it 4 times.

-1
#1278 2 years ago

Some of the people that work at DW were downright rude. Its like dealing with a flight attendant now days.

#1279 2 years ago
Quoted from seenev:

I'd be wary of planning Disney parks trips right now. Had I known the mask requirements were coming back, I wouldn't have bought the California resident 3 day tickets for my family. You never know what the rules will be when you actually get there.

We cancelled our trip for this past June as it was planned, deposited on by Feb I think. I think the week we would've been down there they removed mask requirements for outside but still required for all indoors. They required pool reservations. Screw that! Try again next year I guess but my wife wants to try going in November for her birthday. Not even sure on that now.

#1280 2 years ago
Quoted from zr11990:

Some of the people that work at DW were downright rude. Its like dealing with a flight attendant now days.

It's got to be a horrible time to be an employee in ANY kind of public-facing job these days. I can't even imagine it.

No matter WHERE you work or what you do, about half the people are going to hate your guts...for either insisting you wear a mask, or telling people that they aren't insisting everybody wears a mask. Especially at a place like Disney where people come from EVERYWHERE, blue states, red states, purple states. It's not like working at a restaurant in New York City, or a bar in the Florida panhandle, where most people are likely to feel the same way about stuff.

It's gotta be murder. I feel bad for them. No wonder everybody is crabby. I'm sure they have the same arguments, deal with the same types of combatitve/angry customers dozens of times a day who think they are doing too much or not doing enough.

#1281 2 years ago
Quoted from CrazyLevi:

It's got to be a horrible time to be an employee in ANY kind of public-facing job these days. I can't even imagine it.
No matter WHERE you work or what you do, about half the people are going to hate your guts...for either insisting you wear a mask, or telling people that they aren't insisting everybody wears a mask. Especially at a place like Disney where people come from EVERYWHERE, blue states, red states, purple states. It's not like working at a restaurant in New York City, or a bar in the Florida panhandle, where most people are likely to feel the same way about stuff.
It's gotta be murder. I feel bad for them. No wonder everybody is crabby. I'm sure they have the same arguments, deal with the same types of combatitve/angry customers dozens of times a day who think they are doing too much or not doing enough.

I agree with this, but Disney is also doing a lot of things to just make it all worse. They are worsening their own problems, sometimes for no reason at all.

Of course the cast members (and guests) are going to be cranky with these kinds of crowds. I'm really not blaming them. But Disney's decisions are not doing them any favors.

#1282 2 years ago

Florida is wide open. You may not agree with it but it is. Disney should leave it up to each person to wear a mask or not. I don’t know what it’s like now but hen I was there a few months back it was horrible they screamed at my grand daughter for eating a lollipop while walking. After that she said she wanted to leave, she was done and so was I. I decided right there and the plane ride cinched it that I will keep my ass at home till this crazy shit is over. I don’t think it will be over but until I can get on a plane or go places without being screamed at and/or forced to wear a diaper over my face I will stay at home.
BTW Levi, I do agree with you.

#1283 2 years ago
Quoted from Fizz:

I agree with this, but Disney is also doing a lot of things to just make it all worse. They are worsening their own problems, sometimes for no reason at all.
Of course the cast members (and guests) are going to be cranky with these kinds of crowds. I'm really not blaming them. But Disney's decisions are not doing them any favors.

To expand upon this (since I'm bored right now), let's take a look at Hollywood studios, as an example.

First of all, Disney still requires park reservations, but they are not really limiting the number of people in the parks. As I said before, the crowds were huge.

Now, while Disney has increased the number of people allowed in the parks (including DHS), they have not yet opened up any of the following:

-Indiana Jones stunt show
-Beauty and the beast live show
-Fantasmic
-All character meet and greets
-Voyage of the little mermaid

These attractions, when they are open, can hold thousands of people, and hold them for quite some time. Now, with all of these attractions closed, all of those people are out in the park, and in lines for other attractions. This greatly adds to the overall crowding of the park itself, as well as wait times.

Additionally, the biggest, best, new attraction in all of wdw right now is rise of the resistance. This attraction is spectacular, but it is virtual queue only. The virtual queue has pros and cons, and worked out great for me personally because I went 4 for 4 in my attempts to get in. But many, many people do not even get the chance to ride this. The boarding groups are literally full within 5 seconds after they open. Also, this system results in having literally zero people waiting in line. Once again, all the people who would have been in line for this are now in other lines. I guess you could argue that's an even trade, but still, it makes the park feel more crowded.

There is no fastpass. Since there are so many other factors in play, I can't say for sure if this is contributing to longer lines. But I will say that the lack of fast pass has greatly reduced the advantage of rope drop. (Note, this is just my theory, in not trying to state a fact here).

Previously, many people would sleep in and go to the park later since they had their initial fast passes locked in. Now, it seems that more people try to rope drop. One thing I can say for sure is that at rope drop, you can get in one or two short lines, maybe three. After that, lines spike rapidly to their highest wait times of the day.

Now, as for rock n roller coaster, where I witnessed a pretty intense argument between guests and cast members. There is a room just before the pre show where they make everyone pile in. The cast member aggressively yells at everyone to move forward and press themselves up against one another. In this case, the CM was screaming at this lady to move, and the lady didn't want to move. The CM is yelling at the top of her lungs that she needs to pack 70 people into the room. Then literally yells for her manager to come because she can't get 70 people in the room. Eventually the manager came and just said screw it, close the door. Ugly. By the way, they have always done this in this queue, packing people in here is nothing new. Of course we are now in the middle of a covid spike, though.

But, here's the thing about this. Packing that room full of people will literally decrease the wait time by zero minutes and zero seconds. And it will reduce the physical size of the line by zero inches. Because, packing that room full of people will not change how many/ how fast people can board the ride. It's a roller coaster with a certain throughput, based on the number of passengers per train and the time between train dispatches. That's it.

Once you exit the pre show, you enter the "alley". This is where the coaster is located, and contains another long queue before getting to the coaster. There is no reason to pack that pre show room with 70 people because there are always plenty of people in the alley to load the coaster. And once the alley is full, they have to have long pauses between the pre shows, so that the room can empty out.

#1284 2 years ago
Quoted from Fizz:

I just returned from wdw last night. Was there for a full week, stayed at pop century. Here is the current pin lineup at the arcade:
GOTG, Star Wars, Tron, X-Men.
I didn't play any of them, or even look closely at them, so I can't comment on their condition.
Yes, the mask mandate is in place indoors. And no, they are not social distancing at all. They are forcing everyone in the lines to pack in as tight as possible in the pre shows, to the point where I witnessed several flat out screaming matches between cast and guests.
More crowded than I've ever seen it for a non holiday, late summer week. Lines are longer than ever, and there is no fast pass. I'm pretty good at avoiding lines, though, so we were able to work around that decently.
If you decide to go, get ready to be screamed at by the cast members.
I don't mean to make this post sound terrible, we still had a great time overall because we love the parks. It's just disappointing because a good portion of the crowding and other issues are directly caused by Disney's management.
Rise of the resistance is freaking phenomenal. Rode it 4 times.

Bummer on the pin selection. Those are the same games they have had there since GOTG came out, a few years ago they were already in bad shape, I was hoping they would have added the mandalorian or avengers.
We will be at Pop Century and then Caribbean Beach soon, was hoping for some new games.
Any tips on getting the boarding pass? Last summer we got a boarding pass for the second run in the afternoon but missed the morning one.
We will be there for 16 days, 4 of them will be at Hollywood studios so hoping to ride a few times, it is a great attraction.

#1285 2 years ago

just heard all hotels are charging a $20 a night fee to park your car and $20 fee to use the pool, whether you use it or not. ridiculous.

#1286 2 years ago

I can almost assure you that come time October this year lots of things will start to open back up for WDW. You’ll see.. I just really hope they have the Disney Dining Plan back. Experiences are great in WDW, rides, characters etc but man oh man the food rocks!! Please reimplement the DDP!

#1287 2 years ago
Quoted from ccbiggsoo7:

just heard all hotels are charging a $20 a night fee to park your car and $20 fee to use the pool, whether you use it or not. ridiculous.

I knew about the parking but the pool thing is a new one.

#1288 2 years ago
Quoted from radium:

I knew about the parking but the pool thing is a new one.

my sister went 2 weeks ago, had a charge for $20 on her bill for pool and basketball court. they arrived at 8pm and pool closed at 9pm. they explained to the front desk they didn't have time to use either since they checked in so late, ......didn't matter. wouldn't remove it.

#1289 2 years ago
Quoted from Parkshow30:

Any tips on getting the boarding pass? Last summer we got a boarding pass for the second run in the afternoon but missed the morning one.
We will be there for 16 days, 4 of them will be at Hollywood studios so hoping to ride a few times, it is a great attraction.

Wow, 16 days! I have never done a wdw trip that long, that sounds great!

As far as getting the boarding pass, here is what I did. It really just comes down to clicking at exactly 7:00am. You can only get it once per day, so if you get it in the second run it's still fine.

Ok here's what I did. There's no big secrets here, and this might be overkill.

1. Book several reservations at DHS so that you get multiple chances. You've got that covered.

2. Use whatever phone or device you have with the fastest processor. If you have multiple devices, multiple people can try each time.

3. Use time.gov to see the time. It's best to have this on a separate device so that you can look at it on one device and click on the other device. You want to click at exactly 7:00 or maybe SLIGHTLY after. If you click too soon, it'll tell you the window is not open yet and you'll need to reload the page.

4. The first night I got to the hotel, I ran a speed test using my mobile on both the hotel wifi and on LTE. I ran a few tests on LTE, to find the best physical location. No surprise, the best location was standing outside. LTE was much faster than the hotel wifi. I'm not sure if the ping test or the actual download speed is more important, but in my case, both were much faster on LTE than wifi so it didn't matter.

5. In the MDE app, right at 7am and zero seconds, I clicked "Join" from the main page of the app, just underneath the AT-AT. Other people have used the method of clicking that button before 7, which will then get you on the page which tells you that the queue is not open yet, and then they refresh that page right at 7. I'm not sure if it matters which way you do this, but for me, clicking from the main page worked well.

6. Once you do click "Join", exactly at 7, the next page will come up where you select all the members of your party. As long as you all have park reservations, they will all be selected automatically. So, you do NOT need to slow down to look at this page. Just click Join again. I think there is one page after that, where again you do not need to read it. Just click it right away.

So, essentially, just click three times without slowing down.

The exception here will be if you click a bit too early and need to refresh the page. If this happens and you are using an iphone, you'll need to pull down on the page to refresh it. If you're using Android, you can pull down on the page or you can click the little house on the screen. I think clicking the house is ever so slightly faster.

Also, note that you can practice this any day, even without park reservations, and even from home, just to get familiar with the screens. The only difference is that in this case the members of your party will not be automatically selected, so you'll have to do that manually. When you get the the screen that says "is everybody here?" or something along those lines, that means that you would have successfully gotten the boarding group if you had actually had park reservations.

#1290 2 years ago

Just went to Disneyland last week. Had to wear masks indoors and it was really no inconvenience. We miss fastpasses but the lines move quickly when nobody has fastpasses. We had a great time. It was a little hot, but it was almost back to the old magic. I don’t want to be flamed, but if you go with the attitude of just being happy to be there again, you’ll enjoy yourself. If you can’t handle a mask (I wear one all day at work, so it’s easy for me admittedly) then probably should just wait it out, as others have said they are doing. By no means are they doing everything the way I would, but it’s a fluid situation and I think they’re doing their best for their bottom line and for public health. That’s a tough balancing act.

#1291 2 years ago
Quoted from Fizz:

Wow, 16 days! I have never done a wdw trip that long, that sounds great!
As far as getting the boarding pass, here is what I did. It really just comes down to clicking at exactly 7:00am. You can only get it once per day, so if you get it in the second run it's still fine.
Ok here's what I did. There's no big secrets here, and this might be overkill.
1. Book several reservations at DHS so that you get multiple chances. You've got that covered.
2. Use whatever phone or device you have with the fastest processor. If you have multiple devices, multiple people can try each time.
3. Use time.gov to see the time. It's best to have this on a separate device so that you can look at it on one device and click on the other device. You want to click at exactly 7:00 or maybe SLIGHTLY after. If you click too soon, it'll tell you the window is not open yet and you'll need to reload the page.
4. The first night I got to the hotel, I ran a speed test using my mobile on both the hotel wifi and on LTE. I ran a few tests on LTE, to find the best physical location. No surprise, the best location was standing outside. LTE was much faster than the hotel wifi. I'm not sure if the ping test or the actual download speed is more important, but in my case, both were much faster on LTE than wifi so it didn't matter.
5. In the MDE app, right at 7am and zero seconds, I clicked "Join" from the main page of the app, just underneath the AT-AT. Other people have used the method of clicking that button before 7, which will then get you on the page which tells you that the queue is not open yet, and then they refresh that page right at 7. I'm not sure if it matters which way you do this, but for me, clicking from the main page worked well.
6. Once you do click "Join", exactly at 7, the next page will come up where you select all the members of your party. As long as you all have park reservations, they will all be selected automatically. So, you do NOT need to slow down to look at this page. Just click Join again. I think there is one page after that, where again you do not need to read it. Just click it right away.
So, essentially, just click three times without slowing down.
The exception here will be if you click a bit too early and need to refresh the page. If this happens and you are using an iphone, you'll need to pull down on the page to refresh it. If you're using Android, you can pull down on the page or you can click the little house on the screen. I think clicking the house is ever so slightly faster.
Also, note that you can practice this any day, even without park reservations, and even from home, just to get familiar with the screens. The only difference is that in this case the members of your party will not be automatically selected, so you'll have to do that manually. When you get the the screen that says "is everybody here?" or something along those lines, that means that you would have successfully gotten the boarding group if you had actually had park reservations.

We got the virtual queue every day. Follow the above directions. Have multiple people in your group trying at the same time

#1292 2 years ago
Quoted from Fizz:

Wow, 16 days! I have never done a wdw trip that long, that sounds great!
As far as getting the boarding pass, here is what I did. It really just comes down to clicking at exactly 7:00am. You can only get it once per day, so if you get it in the second run it's still fine.
Ok here's what I did. There's no big secrets here, and this might be overkill.
1. Book several reservations at DHS so that you get multiple chances. You've got that covered.
2. Use whatever phone or device you have with the fastest processor. If you have multiple devices, multiple people can try each time.
3. Use time.gov to see the time. It's best to have this on a separate device so that you can look at it on one device and click on the other device. You want to click at exactly 7:00 or maybe SLIGHTLY after. If you click too soon, it'll tell you the window is not open yet and you'll need to reload the page.
4. The first night I got to the hotel, I ran a speed test using my mobile on both the hotel wifi and on LTE. I ran a few tests on LTE, to find the best physical location. No surprise, the best location was standing outside. LTE was much faster than the hotel wifi. I'm not sure if the ping test or the actual download speed is more important, but in my case, both were much faster on LTE than wifi so it didn't matter.
5. In the MDE app, right at 7am and zero seconds, I clicked "Join" from the main page of the app, just underneath the AT-AT. Other people have used the method of clicking that button before 7, which will then get you on the page which tells you that the queue is not open yet, and then they refresh that page right at 7. I'm not sure if it matters which way you do this, but for me, clicking from the main page worked well.
6. Once you do click "Join", exactly at 7, the next page will come up where you select all the members of your party. As long as you all have park reservations, they will all be selected automatically. So, you do NOT need to slow down to look at this page. Just click Join again. I think there is one page after that, where again you do not need to read it. Just click it right away.
So, essentially, just click three times without slowing down.
The exception here will be if you click a bit too early and need to refresh the page. If this happens and you are using an iphone, you'll need to pull down on the page to refresh it. If you're using Android, you can pull down on the page or you can click the little house on the screen. I think clicking the house is ever so slightly faster.
Also, note that you can practice this any day, even without park reservations, and even from home, just to get familiar with the screens. The only difference is that in this case the members of your party will not be automatically selected, so you'll have to do that manually. When you get the the screen that says "is everybody here?" or something along those lines, that means that you would have successfully gotten the boarding group if you had actually had park reservations.

Thanks for the tips.
18 days is the longest we have done so far, 11 of them at Animal Kingdom Lodge, that place is so great we could stay two weeks if we could afford it. We rarely spend a full day in the parks and use annual passes so it’s a very relaxed vacation. Sleep in late, stay up late, lots of swimming, arcades, and resort activities. I heard they started renting the pontoon boats again so plan is to rent one on one of our magic kingdom days for a few hours. Always trying different stuff and having fun every time! The DVC resorts have some really cool activities for very reasonable prices. One year at Saratoga Springs we all painted pottery pieces and then they fired them in a kiln and it was just a few bucks for each item. Some nice personal touch souvenirs.

#1293 2 years ago
Quoted from Parkshow30:

Thanks for the tips.
18 days is the longest we have done so far, 11 of them at Animal Kingdom Lodge, that place is so great we could stay two weeks if we could afford it. We rarely spend a full day in the parks and use annual passes so it’s a very relaxed vacation. Sleep in late, stay up late, lots of swimming, arcades, and resort activities. I heard they started renting the pontoon boats again so plan is to rent one on one of our magic kingdom days for a few hours. Always trying different stuff and having fun every time! The DVC resorts have some really cool activities for very reasonable prices. One year at Saratoga Springs we all painted pottery pieces and then they fired them in a kiln and it was just a few bucks for each item. Some nice personal touch souvenirs.

That sounds like an awesome way to do it. Maybe one of these years I will try that. I don't have an annual pass, so we always take 1 week trips. And then we are park warriors because that's why we go there and we want to fit it all in.

But I'm not as young as I used to be, and doing the parks that way is getting tough.

Maybe next time, I'll just get the APs, and then take a longer trip and stay at pop and maybe fort wilderness for a while. And take it easier. Yeah I'm liking the sound of that.

#1294 2 years ago
Quoted from Fizz:

That sounds like an awesome way to do it. Maybe one of these years I will try that. I don't have an annual pass, so we always take 1 week trips. And then we are park warriors because that's why we go there and we want to fit it all in.
But I'm not as young as I used to be, and doing the parks that way is getting tough.
Maybe next time, I'll just get the APs, and then take a longer trip and stay at pop and maybe fort wilderness for a while. And take it easier. Yeah I'm liking the sound of that.

The nice part of the annual pass is you can get two summers out of one pass. We always buy every other year and it’s very affordable. When we activate the pass for the first time we go as late in the summer as we can, and then the following summer we go right up until it expires. So a late August trip one year and then the next year a late July or early august trip. We usually get a Christmas trip in too with the same pass so the per day cost is lower than going to a local carnival.
One year when passes were only $600 we went in the parks something like 34 times over three trips, that’s less than $20 a day!
You also get free parking at the parks if you are staying offsite, 20% discount on most merchandise and 10% off most sit down dining. We bought the tables in wonderland pass one year that you can only get with an annual pass or DVC I think and you get 20% pretty much all food everywhere. Last summer because they were basically begging people to come it was so empty we actually got 30% off all merchandise. Really makes buying souvenirs for the kids easier to handle

#1295 2 years ago
Quoted from ccbiggsoo7:just heard all hotels are charging a $20 a night fee to park your car and $20 fee to use the pool, whether you use it or not. ridiculous.

It's been like that for over a year.

#1296 2 years ago
Quoted from Parkshow30:

Thanks for the tips.
18 days is the longest we have done so far, 11 of them at Animal Kingdom Lodge, that place is so great we could stay two weeks if we could afford it. We rarely spend a full day in the parks and use annual passes so it’s a very relaxed vacation. Sleep in late, stay up late, lots of swimming, arcades, and resort activities. I heard they started renting the pontoon boats again so plan is to rent one on one of our magic kingdom days for a few hours. Always trying different stuff and having fun every time! The DVC resorts have some really cool activities for very reasonable prices. One year at Saratoga Springs we all painted pottery pieces and then they fired them in a kiln and it was just a few bucks for each item. Some nice personal touch souvenirs.

That is a long one...our longest was 12, and it was awesome. Obviously you need to eat 60% of the time in your room and you'll have a lot of resort hoping days, but its difficult to get bored down there. There is always things to find and explore.

Last year we went to the Campgrounds for the hell of it, and wandered into their stables. Holy shit! Next thing you know we are looking at this organ type of car that Walt himself commission. Another time we were walking around Boulder Ridge (where we are dvc members now) and there in the quiet room area are two of Walt's original train cars on display.

It's a treasure trove of adventure literally within your reach - much more than just the parks.

#1297 2 years ago

I'm booked for 8 days in January and 5 days in April.

All signed up for Dopey Challenge and waiting for the April race theme to be announced.

I'm hoping to do a weekend in Epcot for Food & Wine after NYC Marathon.

#1298 2 years ago
Quoted from Fizz:

The CM is yelling at the top of her lungs that she needs to pack 70 people into the room.

I’m surprised they just haven’t closed the pre-show stuff again. I never liked how they packed the stretching room at Haunted Mansion, because you would feel the body heat of the people with you. It was always too close moving to the “Dead Center of the room”. But now it just feels dumb.

Though it doesn’t matter to me right now. I’m not returning until things are back to normal. Entertainment, park hopping, the real normal. The trip I cancelled last year was really special to me. I’m not going there for half an experience.

And if it never returns to normal, so be it. A couple years from now I’ll go for a day, stay offsite, and probably only ride Pirates and walk around the park. I sure as heck won’t get yelled at by a CM.

#1299 2 years ago
Quoted from DaveH:

I’m surprised they just haven’t closed the pre-show stuff again. I never liked how they packed the stretching room at Haunted Mansion, because you would feel the body heat of the people with you. It was always too close moving to the “Dead Center of the room”. But now it just feels dumb.
Though it doesn’t matter to me right now.

Most of the pre-shows are pretty good, including Haunted Mansion, Dinosaur (the best one), and Twilight Zone. Avatar isn't too good, but if you can't stand body heat, a Disney Theme Park may not be the best vacation.

#1300 2 years ago
Quoted from Methos:

Most of the pre-shows are pretty good, including Haunted Mansion, Dinosaur (the best one), and Twilight Zone. Avatar isn't too good, but if you can't stand body heat, a Disney Theme Park may not be the best vacation.

Dinosaur is the best? Maybe I missed something on that one...

At rise of the resistance, the pre show is phenomenal, and absolutely integral to the entire attraction. In fact, one section of the pre show is a ride in itself. Of the four times I went on the attraction, they skipped the pre show once, and it really sucked. (I guess it was broken or something because they weren't regularly skipping it). If we hadn't ridden it before we would have had no idea what was happening story-wise. Plus the pre show itself is super cool.

If you go on the ride and they bring you directly into the room full of storm troopers, you will know that you've missed out on half the attraction.

Haunted mansion pre show is great and it's a classic. If you really want to skip it, just ask. They will send you down a secret way underneath and you feel like you are backstage a bit, it's kinda fun in its own way.

In my opinion, overall, they should simply not pack the pre show rooms so full of people. Especially in cases where there is literally nothing gained from it.

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