Huge Disney fan here. In the past 13 months, I went to do the 2019 Dopey challenge, Star Wars races, wine & dine races, and 2020 Dopey challenge.

Already booked this year for Star Wars races, wine & dine races, and dopey challenge 2021.

Does she do any of the challenges?

As a family, we would go every Christmas. This is back in the 80’s and mid-90’s.

We would get to larks first thing in morning, go back to room at 2pm to catch a nap, then grab dinner at 5:30, then go back to the parks and stay till closing at 11pm. We would walk on to every ride after dinner. It was great.

The last time we did that in the 90’s, was 1993. In 1999, we went for New Year’s Eve. Only time I’ve ever been in a park that was closed due to capacity. That day, after all was special.

Fast forward to Christmas 2008...the parks were mobbed all day long. Was not fun...I’ll never do Christmas is Disney again.

Marathon week 2019, wasn’t too bad with the crowds. This year, it was nuts...I think that mostly has to do with Star Wars land being fully open.

Disney isn’t the race for trying to qualify for Boston. Disney even admits that outright. Too many bottlenecks, too many tight turns, too many people stopping.

Here’s where Disney World went wrong in terms of the crowds. In 1971, Magic Kingdom opens with Contemporary (no bay lake tower), Polynesian (before it expanded), Golf Resort, and Fort Wilderness.

Epcot opens in 1982...still same amount of rooms.

MGM opens in 1989...Grand Floridian opens around that time. Caribbean Beach opens up around that time too.

Then Beach & Yacht club, Polynesian already had expanded years earlier, Boardwalk opens, Wilderness Lodge opens.

1998, Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge opens (2001 one for lodge).

Then All Star movies resort opens.

Then one more hotel after another.

I think they are up to 26 hotels...with 4 theme parks. The parks aren’t being expanded enough to hold more guests...it’s time for a 5th park to disperse the crowds some.

Speaking strictly from an economic standpoint, they aren’t charging enough for the park tickets. The fact that their dead times still have crazy wait times for rides, shows they aren’t charging enough. In order to make the parks more enjoyable, they need to raise prices enough to offset any lost foot traffic.

Come November, I'll be forced to renew my annual pass.

I plan on doing Wine & Dine '20, Dopey Challenge '21 and Star Wars races '21. Doesn't make sense for me to pay for photo pass each trip at $200, plus two 5 day hoppers and an 8 day hopper pass.

Here's what I think they should do with the fast pass system...get rid of the current system. They should introduce a fast pass system, where they only give out 100 fast pass tickets per day for each park. Cost should be $1,000 for offseason, $2,000 when it's a little busier, and $5,000 for the busiest seasons. Each fast pass ticket, will give you unlimited times you can ride the rides in all the parks. By limiting it to 100 per park, it will have zero effect on the lines for each ride.

For instance, if a family wants to fast pass Magic Kingdom for the day during Christmas week, figure family of 4, it would cost them $20,000 for the day to do it. Figure for Disney, that is pretty much pure profit.

Me personally, I hate the fast pass system. It creates longer lines than is necessary to ride the rides. The current execs in charge of Disney, I think what they forget, is that certain rides were designed to eat up the crowds. Look at Star Tours, Pirates of Caribbean, & Space Mountain, those rides were designed with two lines in order to make the attraction as efficient as possible. Now, for those 3 rides, the second line is used as a fast pass line, thus, there are no crowds in those lines.

3 hour wait for Space Mountain was unheard of...until fast pass came along.

I totally agree that Disney let's the fast pass crunch the standby line. When I was there a few weeks ago, I saw it firsthand on Aerosmith roller coaster. For every 45 fast pass guests, they let in 15 guests on the standby line. The wait for the ride at the time, was around 60 minutes. Without fast pass, that becomes a 15 minute wait. Tower of Terror was the same thing, 60 minute wait that would be a 20 minute wait without fast pass.

Just look at what has happened to the standby line at Flight of Avatar (I think I messed up the name), it's constantly long due to all of the fast passes handed out. I got to ride in in November, on my 3rd trip in 2019 to Disney...I got lucky too, wait got down to 45 minutes and I quickly ran over there to hop on it.

I won't wait hours in line to go on a ride...no ride is worth it. My fear with Rise of Resistance, is that they will make it, where unless you have a fast pass, it'll take hours to get on the ride.

Here's what I would do to help fix the parks:

Magic Kingdom: Bring back Snow White ride and Mr. Toad's wild ride. With Stitch being closed, come up with something to go there. The Monsters laugh-in should be changed to something else...I miss the old time traveler show they had there. Still needs another completely brand new ride...just don't know where to put it.

Epcot: Fix Imagination.
Mary Poppins & ratoutille (spelling) will help with the crowds in the park.

MGM: Need 2 more rides in Star Wars land. Build an Indiana Jones land off of Sunset Blvd. Add 1 more ride to Toy Story Land.

Animal Kingdom: Add another land to the park. Build 1 more ride in Avatar.

A couple additions to the parks, will definitely help out with the lines. I can't wait to see what the lines look like at MGM after Mickey's Train opens up. Hopefully it shortens everything else up a bit.

I did a 5 day trip in December 2001.

My first day, I went to Magic Kingdom. Got there at noon, park closed at 6pm...got the whole park done.

What we would do for dinner, is stay at the park till closing time, then go to a resort that wasn’t close to get dinner. Just to try and kill some time. For instance, stay in Animal Kingdom until 6pm, then go to Contemporary for dinner, just to try and kill some time.

When I was there in November, I did the Safari ride with a fast pass in Animal Kingdom. What I thought was crazy, is our truck only had like 10 guests on it, while there was a 45 minute wait to get on the ride.

More of why I hate fast pass. That ride was designed to have 2 loading areas. Not one loading area with next to no one on the truck and another loading area where the trucks are filled.

I have my future trips lined up.

First week of March, doing Universal Studios and 1 day at Epcot. Family trip...I don't have to pay...thank god!!! Epcot dinner is La Hacienda de San Angel.

Mid-April, doing Disney for 5 days for the Star Wars races (all 3). Doing Hoop Dee Doo Revue, Restaurant Marrakesh, Shula Steakhouse (I may get dinner at garden and flower festival booths), Boma and Flying Fish. I saved Flying Fish for last, so I can grab some snacks at the Boardwalk Bakery for my flight that night. Staying at Caribbean Beach...first time there.

First weekend in November, doing Disney for 5 days for Wine & Dine races (all 3). For this trip, I don't plan on making any dinner reservations...just going to eat around the world every night for dinner. Staying at Port Orleans - Riverside...first time there, but I have stayed at French Quarter twice.

2nd weekend in January, doing Disney for 8 days for the Dopey Challenge (all 4 races). I will have dinner reservations for every night there. Staying at Gran Destino Tower @ Coronado Springs...I stayed there this past November.

Haven't booked April '21 for the Star Wars races, I haven't found those dates yet.

For the Universal Trip, my sister-in-law went through a travel agent. The travel agent said, she is finding that people who are going to Universal and staying on property, are starting to switch all their future Disney trips into Universal trips. Complaints she is hearing is that it takes too long to get from place to place, the lines are too long, picking fast passes 60 days out is a hassle, and 180 day window for restaurant reservations is a pain in the ass.

I totally agree with the travel agent said. Yesterday, I hit my window for fast passes for April. I fly in Thursday, doing Magic Kingdom. Everything except Seven Dwarfs mine train was available. Friday, doing MGM. I'm hoping they keep a 9am opening, if they make it 8am and I have at least the B corral, I'll be able to get there and get a boarding pass for Resistance. Slinky Dog coaster, Millennium Falcon, and Mickey's rain were all booked. Saturday, doing Epcot, Frozen was booked up. Sunday, doing Animal Kingdom. Everything was available, first fast pass is 3pm. I did that on purpose, this way I have enough time after the race to get my picture taken in front of the castle, Gruman theater, and Millennium Falcon, as well as grab lunch at 50's prime time cafe. Monday, doing MGM. Everything was available. I picked up Mickey's train, first available pass was 1:25pm. I plan on getting a boarding pass for Resistance. My Magical Express leaves at 7:15pm, so I hope I don't pushed back too late.

I think Disney might be a little short sighted right now. Once Universal gets that 3rd park up and running, that definitely will eat into the crowds at Disney. Between people upset that they are spending top much and not getting enough for it with Disney, and with Universal having the latest and greatest, I think you're gonna start to see Disney take it on the chin a little.

IMO the worst thing Eisner did was introduce fast pass. The whole reason why they introduced it, is people were complaining about the crowds and long runs, which hurt their attendance. The problem is, none of the rides are designed to handle an overcrowded park. Look at Haunted Mansion...that's the perfect theme park ride, it is constantly moving. If memory serves me correct, I believe it's designed to handle around 3,000 people per hour. When the park is overcrowded, there isn't enough time for every guest to ride it.

I know I said it before, but I'm so in favor of just killing the fast pass system. Tron coaster will help with the crowds in Magic Kingdom. If you're not at rope drop, I wouldn't even try to get on it without a fast pass. Same thing with Guardians in Epcot. For Resistance, I don't know how they'll ever be able to get away from the boarding pass. It can't stay operational.

*Little note, last time I did Hoop Dee Doo Revue was around 35 years ago when I was around 7.

+1

I miss the days of waking up in the morning and deciding which park to go to. Then in the afternoon, deciding where to grab dinner.

Here’s my prediction: Disney will be so overcrowded all of 2021 for the 50th (and new rides opening). That I think people will start to question weather it’s worth it to go in 2022.

What would help too is if parents would stop taking their kids out of school a week after their Christmas vacation. I couldn’t believe the amount of kids during Marathon Week. When I was in school, no parent would ever dream of taking their kids out of school right after Christmas break.

2019 wasn’t bad. Was more crowded than I was expecting. But was still manageable.

This year? Holy crap!!!

I’m guessing marathon 2021 will be a madhouse too, for the 50th. I’m hoping 2022 drops back down to a normal level.

My only saving grace, is that since I’m doing 3 trips a year, I’m picking and choosing what to hit. Not the end of the world if I skip some rides, I’ll catch them on the next trip.

Here’s a rant with this year’s marathon...the guests in Animal Kingdom were complete assholes. They constantly ignored the cast members directions and would cut through our course. I almost tripped over a 5 year old. Had an adult clip my heel. Then another guy ran onto the course and stopped right in front of me. God forbid they need to wait 2 minutes until there’s a break in the runners to get to their next ride. You could see the frustrations with the cast members. The guy who stopped in front of me I yelled at...I didn’t care, at this point it was around 83 degrees with 93% humidity and I’m around mile 16.5.

At least with the Star Wars and Wine & Dine half marathons, we’ll be out of the Animal Kingdom before it opens. I can’t wait to see how the course is adjusted for MGM. I didn’t like in this year’s marathon that we were on Sunset Blvd for a minute. We came in by Tower of Terror, like usual, but then we went out next to Beauty and Beast stage show. It’d be really cool if they can design the Star Wars 10k and half marathon for us to go through Galaxy’s Edge.

How did you take the monorail from Shades of Green?

You would think a day like today, the parks wouldn’t be too crowded.

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What’s it going to be like tomorrow with it being Ash Wednesday?

I read an article today about Disney World. It said in 1998, the had close to 43 million visitors. For 2020, they are on pace for 60 million.

They badly need a 5th park.

I’ve been down in Universal Orlando since Monday. Doing Epcot today. Universal again tomorrow. Home on Friday. Last time I was here was in 2004.

A few thoughts. Marvel land has gotten long in the tooth. Hulk and Spider-man are still great rides. Kong ride was good. Harry Potter land was sick...I know nothing about Potter. The motorcycle ride was AMAZING!!!! I got to sit in the front on it. The other potter ride when you’re flying was very good too. Comic strip and Forbidden planet areas need to be redone.

Fast & Furious was disappointing. MIB needs an update. The dragon coaster in Potter was awesome.

After seeing what Universal was able to do with Potter, just absolutely amazing. If they can make all the lands in Epic Universe just like that....wow is all I have to say.

I know they said Super Mario Land is coming. I’d love to see Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, classic monsters, Batman.

One thing I like too, the parks are empty. I don’t get how Disney is crowded when you think it should be empty and universal is empty when you think it should be empty.

In regards to express pass vs fast pass. I like how Universal doesn’t treat the express pass as a front of the line pass the way Disney does. It definitely keeps the lines moving. Plus, it’s limited unlike Disney giving it out to everyone.

Anyone doing the Wine & Dine races in November? WOW!!! I can’t believe how fast they sold out.

Star Wars races got canceled.

I’m assuming they’ll use the same medals and merchandise for next next year.

I don’t think they were manufactured yet. They are made in China and I’m guessing they haven’t gone into production yet. If they were, I could see Disney giving us the option to receive them. My 2020 marathon medal, the Mickey side of it was poorly painted. They sent me a brand new medal for free.

We are getting the virtual half marathon medal. I will keep everyone updated as to when I get it.

I fully canceled my trip for the races. I’m disappointed. Was really looking forward to the flower and garden festival. I was there March 4, but I was more focused on the food booths and trying different things, to prepare for my April trip. Next trip is scheduled for Wine & Dine races.

Disney put marathon weekend race signups on hold. They were suppose to open them up April 7th.

Any thoughts on how Disney will be able to re-open the parks?

I was taking to one of my friends tonight. I’m guessing they’re either going to take everyone's temperature or use that 5 minute test on everyone. I just don’t know how you do it. Big deal if the Orlando area is clear in a couple months, anyone flying in won’t quarantine for 2 weeks before going to Disney.

I’m afraid they will cancel all the races, even if the parks are open.

Thoughts?

I can’t wait for the Wine & Dine races and Marathon weekend.

I’m still upset that the Star Wars races were cancelled, but I understand why they did it.

Marathon weekend sold out in 30 minutes yesterday. Goofy took 15 minutes, Dopey took 28 minutes.

Disney definitely limited the numbers. Dopey should take months, not minutes.

The better not force us to wear masks during the Wine & Dine and Marathon weekend races.

Wearing a mask on the bus ride to the corrals. I'm fine with it.

Wearing a mask while sitting in the corrals. That's fine too.

Wearing a mask while running? Forget it. Just not feasible. Look at the marathon this year, I was soaked by mile 3. By mile 6, I was completely drenched. People were falling over during the marathon...that's without a mask making it harder to breathe.

If you asked me, as of now, I can't see Disney going through with the Wine & Dine races. Those are at normal capacity. Marathon weekend is at greatly reduced capacity...Marathon/Goofy/Dopey do not sell out in minutes.

Restaurants? The food and wine festival is the way to go for dinner every night.

2019 Wine & Dine races was the first time I was ever there for the food and wine festival. Naturally, I had no idea what it was when I was there. I thought it was something like cooking classes. My last day there, I was in Epcot and I finally realized what it was!!!! I stuffed my face for the next 5 hours before I had to leave to the airport. Go back to April 2019, and I was there for the Flower & Garden festival and I had no idea they had the food locations there as well.

Now I know going forward.

Does anyone know what Disney will be doing with the AP bee magnet for flower and garden festival?

I got my Donald one when I was there in March.

It wasn't the temperature as much as it was the humidity. When the race started, it was 95%. When I cross the finish line, it was at 92%.

And the full sun didn't help either...forecast called for clouds...they were out there, just not over Disney. Let me tell you, the cold Hershey Kisses at mile 23 were the best tasting candy ever!!!!

Did you make it through Blizzard Beach? I was a few minutes away from making the turn to head there, when they modified the course.

Did you do the 2019 Marathon? That one was a hot one too. 95% humidity at race start, but it quickly fell once the sun came up...it's just that it was full sun blasting us the whole time.

https://insidethemagic.net/2019/11/update-new-details-rundisney-death-kc1/

Death was at the 5k.

There was no heat advisory for the wine and dine races. There was one for Marathon Weekend’s half and full.

I believe the hottest half marathon was Princess 2019. I had heard it was around 95 for it.

Anyone make their park reservations?

What a disaster on Monday. I have an annual pass, plus 2 different hotel reservations. The system would only let me book 3 total days. I tried all day to get through on the phone, but kept getting circuits busy. Luckily, Tuesday morning the system worked correctly, and I was able to book all my parks.

Even just trying to log on Monday. I think the system went active around 7am. I couldn't get through on my computer until about 3pm.

I'm a little disappointed with my November trip. Thursday - Monday. Thursday - Sunday is Epcot, Monday is Magic Kingdom. No park hopping allowed. Ugh. My initial plan was to be in Epcot every night for dinner at the Food & Wine Festival, while doing a different park during the day. Now, I'll just have to do Epcot that many days in a row to experience all the different delicious foods.

If my races are canceled, then I’m canceling.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/25/media/splash-mountain-disney/index.html

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Splash Mountain is being re-imagined into the princess and the frog because of the racial undertones the current ride represents.

Does that make all the fans who like this ride racist?

I've been on it hundreds of times...I've seen people from many different nationalities ride this ride...always waiting in line with excitement and walking off the ride smiling.

You dodged my question.

Everyone who is a fan and doesn't want the ride to change, does that make all of us racist?

It’s the same exact reason why people lost it when Carousel of Progress was slated to be removed. It’s a beloved ride. Based on the lines for splash mountain, people haven’t gotten tired of it yet.

I’m all for more rides. Not changing rides for the sake of changing them.

IMO, the new test track is such a downgrade from the original test track. The braking area now makes no sense, the weather and paint shop make no sense, the truck makes no sense, and the doors opening at the crash test make zero sense. It’s still fun to ride, but totally missing something.

If they introduced a brand new ride with Princess and the frog, I’d be all like “I can’t wait to go on it!!!”

Pooh replacing Mr. Toad was a downgrade.

Alien Encounter was fantastic, but I get it not really belonging in Magic Kingdom. That ride is more suitable at MGM.

I’m still upset that they don’t do the Country Bear Christmas. That show was phenomenal.

The only alligator I remember being removed was the Peter Pan one in the parades.

Here's a question: Can anyone name 1 retrofit that is better than the original?

Hall of Presidents? Original was better.
Test Track? Original was better.
Journey into Imagination? Original was better.
Mission Space? push
Star Tours? Not sure if it would count as a retrofit, if it does, retrofit was better.
Norway (now frozen)? Original was better.
Universe of Energy (then Helen)? Original was better.
People mover (rocket rods)? Original was better.
Lion King (Pillar of Magic)? Original was better
the sounds with chevy chase (sounds with drew carey)? Original was better.
Tiki Room (New management)? Original was better....thank God they brought it back.
Alien adventure (stitch)? Original was better.

2 underutilized pieces of land is the Tree house & Tom Sawyer Island. They could've added a new ride and increased capacity at the same time.

Wine & Dine races canceled. Ugh.

Disney said the plan is for Marathon Weekend to continue.

I miss the old Hall of Presidents show. Not a huge fan of how they focus on a couple presents.

With fast pass not in use now, I hope when everything goes back to normal, that fast pass stays gone.

Here’s my issue with fast pass, I apologize if I had previously said this.

Back before fast pass, carousel of progress, tiki room, country bears, American adventure, muppet 3D, etc. would have no empty seats. Now, those shows are constantly empty, even when the parks are packed. Parks should be explored. With the fast passes, people are just skipping right over these.

Universal does it the right way. It has a very negative impact on lines.

You should walk into the parks, keep your phones away, and go right or left and start exploring. Not one reservation after another.

I recently looked into DVC. Seemed the time to have done it was 20 years ago.

Cheaper for me to stay at a moderate resort 3 times a years with my annual pass than doing DVC.

Not sure if others are into Run Disney, but I was listening to a recent podcast that had some inside info regarding the upcoming races. They said it looks like the Wine & Dine will be virtual and there's a 60% chance that Marathon weekend will be taking place.

It was so depressing to lose Star Wars '20 & '21 races, now they will be re-theming that race weekend. I only got to do the Star Wars '19 race weekend...being a total Star Wars nerd, it was a ton of fun. I just hope it's a good theme they go with. I had so much fun in 2019, doing Marathon, Star Wars and Wine & Dine race weekends.

Such a shame to lose 2 Wine & Dine races and I hope Disney does everything in their power to keep Marathon weekend '22 in the parks. I refuse to do those races virtually.

As for the Fast Pass system. I hope Disney never brings it back.

These parks were designed to be explored. Not to walk in with a reservation system, like you have a doctor's appointment. Amazing shows like Country Bear Jamboree, Muppets 3D, Hall of Presidents, American Adventure, Tiki Room, Carousel of Progress, etc, would start to have full shows. So many people skip right over this, because it's "fast pass this, fast pass that." I remember before the fast pass system, having to actually wait to get into these.

The Express Pass works well at Universal, because of how limited it is. I remember last time I was there on Aerosmith, it looked like for ever 45 people let in through fastness, they would let in maybe 15 people from the standby line. What was an hour wait, should've been no more than a 15 minute wait. Then, it would also free up the single rider line for, you know, actual single riders.

Yep. Each race has different parks.

All the 5ks, go through Epcot. All the 10k's, go through Epcot. Marathon weekend, the 10K starts in Epcot, then down on the Boardwalk, back up past Beach and Yacht, back through Epcot. Star Wars/Wine & Dine start at Transportation and ticket center, goes straight to Epcot.

Marathon weekend half marathon starts at Epcot parking lot, straight to Magic Kingdom and back through Epcot. The Star Wars/Wine & Dine half started at Transportation and ticket center (staying at Polynesian is very convenient), to Animal Kingdom, MGM, then Epcot.

Marathon hits all 4 parks. In 2020, they added Blizzard Beach to it, but I didn't get to go through it, cause they had cut the course due to extreme heat. It was mainly in the parking lot there and people were passing out. Disney made the right call in shortening the course. Marathons aren't meant to be run in full sun, with 85 degree temps and 95% humidity.

Along the way, people stop to get their pictures with characters, in front of Spaceship Earth, the Castle, etc. People get all dressed up too. It's not a race to try a PR, it's a race to have fun.

We can now pour our own self serve drinks again in Disney World.

I’m hoping the masks come off by the end of the summer. That’ll be huge in getting the races back for 2022.

https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/coronavirus/2021/04/28/orange-county-mask-mandate

We may be closer to normal at the parks than we had realized. Very good news.

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'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.

I hope Disney redesigns that area of Animal Kingdom. Not necessarily get rid of the dinosaur ride. But just raise the level of that area and get rid of the carnival games.

Maybe something similar to pirates ride, but with Land of the Lost? (I don’t know what who owns the rights).

Indiana Jones land should go in MGM.

I love animal kingdom. Get 1 more Avatar ride. Fix dinosaur land. Park will be perfect.

What is everyone’s thoughts on the new Genie platform?

Is the $15 per ticket per day going to stop people from upgrading?

What do you think the lightening lanes will end up costing? If Disney isn’t charging at least $50 per ride for it, they are crazy.

They seriously need to get anyway from all this planning. The best way to explore the parks is not with one’s nose looking down at the phone. But by walking in, picking a direction and just go.

If they want to fix the “crowds”, get rid of any fast pass system (unless it’s extremely limited). This just creates crowds on the pathways. Add more to the parks. MGM desperately needs 2 more lands. Add a 5th park.

If I’m in charge of Disney, I want people to come back because they didn’t get to go on everything, because of how much there was to do.

Looks like park hopper is coming back based on the genie app, being able to book rides in all the parks on the same day.

I’m wondering how many other people look at these added costs and say “no thanks”. Here’s a question for you. Would you book Universal Studios instead? Or just pick a completely different kind of vacation?

But if you ask me, they don’t have the ride capacity to handle the amount of hotel rooms they have.

The other problem they have, is they keep replacing rides with high hourly capacity with rides with less hourly capacity. World of Motion had hourly capacity of 3,200, Test Track is around 1,200. Horizons was 2,7000...Mission space is 1,600. Wonders of Life was closed...finally the Play! pavilion is coming to help with the crowds.

They need to build some newer rides that can handle 3,000 people per hour.

I’m wondering if not having Magical Express will have any effect on attendance. I’m wondering how many people won’t be able to figure out how to get to and from Disney and the airport.

IMO, Seven Dwarfs mine train at peak times will be around $50.

Kind of ironic that we needed passes to get on rides until Epcot opened…now we need passes again.

I still say Universal does it the right way. It has no effect on overall lines.

Once the Contemporary arcade closed, it was all down hill from there. I was shocked the Tomorrowland arcade lasted as long as it did.

IMO, as the parks started to close later and later, there was less use going on in the arcades.

I’m talking about the old one that was in the basement.

https://www.parkeology.com/2020/02/the-fiesta-fun-center-walt-disney-worlds-lost-arcade.html

The first time I ever played pinball was in this arcade. My brother showed me it. Said I would like it more than arcade games…guess he was right LOL

FYI: he was born in 1967 and I was 1978.

That arcade was amazing.

If we stayed there, I would go every night. If we had dinner in contemporary, I’d go down there while waiting for a table.

It always had the latest and greatest,along with the classics. I remember when afterburner 2 came out with the cockpit. I spent many dollars down there.

Can't say I do...was doing playing the games. LOL

All the times I was down there, I never once ate at the cafe.

The time I would play:

- If having dinner at Contemporary, I would go down and play while we waited.

- If we stayed there, on way back from parks. This was back when they closed relatively early.

- If we stayed at the hotel, the day we would leave, I would get to play before we leave. We would checkout around 11, and after breakfast, my mom would let us kill a couple hours there.

I was born 1978. I remember when it was just Magic Kingdom and Epcot. I remember the original MGM, where it just had the Animation Studio, Backlot Tour, Great Movie Ride, Indiana Jones, Great moments in TV (where you got to play along, Frozen is there now), and the Sound effects with Chevy Chase. I can't remember if Muppets 3d was an opening day attraction. I do remember having to wait up to an hour to get into Muppets.

I also remember the American Adventure, Hall of Presidents, Tiki Room, Carousel of Progress, and Country Bear Jamboree having every seat full. "Move all the way to the left. If you see an empty seat, you didn't move far enough. We need to make room for everyone in the theater."

I remember when the parks would close at 6pm...and you still got every ride in.

I really do miss Disney World of the 80's. There was absolutely no planning involved. We would wake up, decide which park to do, and then just pick a starting point and go from there. The only planning for dinner was the Hoop Doo Dee Revue (spelling?). Otherwise, it was first come first serve. Not deciding 6 months out.

Does anyone else remember the astronauts outside space mountain?

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For memories sake…really wish Disney World would bring this back.

I ordered my 50th anniversary magic band today for my January trip/races.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Anyone see the following news???

https://wdwnt.com/2021/10/breaking-indoor-character-meet-and-greet-experiences-returning-to-walt-disney-world/

https://wdwnt.com/2021/10/breaking-indiana-jones-epic-stunt-spectacular-and-disney-movie-magic-returning-to-disneys-hollywood-studios/

This is AMAZING NEWS!!!!

Hopefully character dining fully returns. Maybe Fantasmic will be next.

I’m going in January for Dopey, but have extended the trip an extra day. Woman I’ve been seeing wants to join me, but at the end of the races, not the beginning where I’m kind of useless. Her adult daughter is coming too…who has never been to a Disney park before.

I’m hoping they quickly ramp up bringing the characters back. Would like to bring them to Chef Mickeys for breakfast. I won’t if we can’t get our pics with the characters.

I want to do 1900 Park Fare, which I always go to the night before the marathon to carb up. As well as having breakfast the day after the marathon. After doing that many miles, I like to pig out on the breakfast there. LOL.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Screw the school...bring your kids.

You are the parent, they are the teachers. You know what is best for them.

I lost my mom when I was 15. My favorite memories of her is bringing my whole family to Disney. Every Christmas was 6 of us (2 parents and 4 kids) all of us crammed into 1 hotel room on Disney. Just amazing memories.

I was spoiled.

I had parents who knew what they were doing.

My definition of bad parents:

I’m down there from January 4 to January 13 this year.

If you’re in Disney with your school aged children, you’re a bad parent. The children just had 2 weeks off of school and with you there, I end up waiting in line longer.

Anyone here doing the Wine & Dine races in month?

The pressure is totally on me to come through and make sure they have a blast.

Growing up, it was my family tradition to go every Christmas.

Hopefully this works out and it becomes a new yearly tradition.

I'm going to keep going for Dopey as long as I am physically capable. I'm only 43. I figure I have at least 10-15 years of being able to do the challenge.

I want to comment on something zr1990 said earlier……where did his posts go???

I see he is currently banned too……did I miss something……

Is he too much of a Disney fan for the disney thread…..if that’s the case, I’ll end up with a lifetime ban from Disney parks and races.

He didn’t say one thing negative about anyone’s political beliefs.

Oh well……I guess it’s welcome to the new pinside, where talking about Disney trips in the Disney thread is now taboo.

Not a huge fan of the dole whip.

I’ve never tried the turkey leg. Maybe I’ll do it this time.

Where’s the frozen banana?

Here’s the real question: Why would the beelze dare go to Disney without the Trekkie??????

Pricing is released for the lightning lanes.

Who here plans on using Genie plus and/or paying for the lightning lanes?

Some people do that during the races. Very annoying. It’s like they don’t want anyone passing them.

Or during the race, when they see a photographer, they just stop. Can’t remember how many times I’ve heard cast members yell “don’t stop, keep moving!!!” It’s never the people in the marathons, it’s usually the 5k and 10k where that happens.

IMO, they aren’t charging enough.

Genie plus should be $50.

And front of the line passes for select rides should be $75.

Need to have less people in those lines, and all the attraction wait times drop tremendously.

Make sure you check the dates. It isn’t everyday. And it’s only for Epcot and Magic Kingdom, I’d imagine MGM will eventually be added.

Me personally, I’m not paying the extra to stay in a deluxe room to get the benefit of 1 night for 2 hours at the magic kingdom. I just don’t see the benefit for Epcot. That park is easy to get done in 1 day.

I crack up when I see parents say “I must bring my little Johnny to Disney. It’s a must!!!” It’s really funny when little Johnny is only 6 months old.

I’ve always wondered how the really big people get to Disney.

Years ago, the biggest shirt size they sold at the parks was XXL. Now it’s up to 5X they sell. Just crazy.

But if you look too, it’s so easy to eat like crap there. One can easily consume 4,000 calories a day.

I admit to hitting 4,000 in a day….but that’s the day of when I’m running the marathon! Not just walking around the park.

Here’s how I do the dopey challenge:

Tuesday - fly in, go to Epcot. In room and asleep by 7:30pm.

Wednesday- wake up 2am, breakfast. Stretch. Then I walk around the resort to kill some time. Hit expo at 9am. Animal kingdom afterwards. Bed at 730pm.

Thursday- wake up 2am, breakfast, stretch, get on bus by 3am for 5K. MGM afterwards. Bed at 7:30pm.

Friday - wake up 2am, breakfast, stretch, get on bus by 3am for 10K. Magic kingdom afterwards. Bed at 7:30pm.

Saturday - wake up at 2am, breakfast, stretch, get on bus by 3am for half marathon. Hang around the resort for the day. Bed at 7:00pm.

Sunday - wake up at 1:30am, breakfast, stretch, get on bus by 2:30am for marathon. Go back to room, stretch, stretch, stretch, relax a little bit. Go to magic kingdom.

Monday - magic kingdom. Waking up normal time. Lol

Tuesday- MGM. Take the last flight home at night.

As a complete disney nerd, I need to chime in.

It’s called The Tiki Room. Thank good they brought back the original show. Under New Management was down right awful.

For Country Bear Jamboree, I wish they would bring back the Christmas Show.

The Epcot ride is called Soarin’.

The Epcot ball is called Spaceship Earth.

You haven’t been to Disney in over 30 years….I think I’d rather be water boarded than wait 30 years.

When I’m Epcot, did you stop at any of the Food & Wine booths?

Did you do The American Adventure?

You’re 100% correct. That is mission space.

IMO, mission space needs to removed. Horizons was 100x better than mission space. However. With the new restaurant, mission space isn’t going anywhere.

I don’t know how most of these people fit on the rides.

I had read a while ago, that the boats at its a small world had to be re-done, because the boats kept scraping the bottom and getting stuck from the excess weight.

They obviously aren’t getting on space mountain, splash mountain, Tron coaster, test track, mission space, soarin’, etc.

I feel bad for them being so big, but some self responsibly needs to be in place. I’m not advocating that we all have 6 packs. I’ll never have one, but the biggest shirt size Disney should be selling is XXL, not 5X.

When you see those people in the park, they are eating all the sugar crap Disney makes. It’s actually quite easy to eat healthy there….but you need to stay out of the candy shop.

What’s funny, as a kid, I always ate like crap. Now as an adult doing the races there, I keep it on the healthy side. After I run the marathon, it’s a free for all for 48 hours…I earned it. LOL

Epcot of the 80’s and early 90’s will never ever return.

Look at future world east. Universe of Energy, Horizons, and World of Motion. For the most part, I would say they were more on the educational standpoint.

Today? Guardians, mission space and test track. 3 thrill rides.

At least when test track had first opened, it still had an educational aspect to it. If you ask me, the whole inside is boring now. The part where you get through the heat, cold and painting shop now is just “analyzing”. Makes absolutely no sense. Then the part when you test braking vs ABS brakes makes no sense either now.

I say bring back the original Imagination pavilion and original journey into your imagination ride. Land pavilion is fine. But I did like the Lion King show better than the new one there.

Living seas….not sure what they can possibly do.

Spaceship earth needs to be cleaned up a bit, but otherwise it’s still a great ride.

To add on to the big people at Disney. I go down for the races. It’s amazing that at 5am, you see mostly healthy people. Then in the parks later in the day, all the obese people.

What’s really cool with the races, I love wearing my dopey medal and having people congratulate me. It’s awesome.

Night of marathon, I wear all 6 to dinner. You can hear my walking with them on. It’s awesome to get the compliments.

Next day at park, I wore all 6 (2019). After about 20 minutes, you want to take them off cause of how heavy they are. But I got a ton of compliments, especially when people could see I could barely walk.

In 2020, I put 5 of them in a backpack, and just wore the dopey medal around my neck. Still got a lot of compliments with the 1 medal. I also had a “I did it!!!” Dopey shirt on. With the 5 medals in the backpack, it gets tiring wearing that on my back. I’ll take them out for pictures. But still tiring wearing it all day. I think it’s just from finishing the challenge.

The day after the marathon, I slept till 11am. I never sleep until 11am in Disney…ever. I’m always there when park opens, except for race or travel in days. I’m always there when park closes, except for early nights due to races or traveling out.

This year, I have people going with me. I’ll wear the dopey medal, the boyfriend of my girl’s daughter can carry the backpack all day. He’s 25 and young. It’s like “I’m paying for your trip…least you can do is carry this for a day or two.”

Race medals are given out to everyone, doesn’t matter if they finish or not.

Challenge medals are only given out for finishing.

This too:

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They sent me a new marathon medal due to the painting of it not being so good.

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In 2019, when I did the dopey challenge, it was the first race of any kind I ever tried. The farthest I got in my training was only 20 miles and over the allotted time Disney gives you.

Morning of 5k, I’m looking at the people. I see a bunch of 5 year olds and people who were 400 pounds. I figured if they can do it, I can do it.

Morning of 10k, I’m looking at the people. I see a bunch of 10 year olds and not as many heavy people as day before. But still a lot of people out of shape. I figured if they can do it, I can do it.

Morning of half marathon, I’m looking at the people. See a few teenagers and a lot less heavy people. Was a little nervous. But said to myself I will do it.

Morning of marathon, I wake up and my legs are SORE. I did an hour of stretching in my room alone, let alone the stretching I did in the corrals. But in the corral, I’m looking at the people….and I’m the biggest one there, outside of a couple people….I’m totally like “uh oh….how am I going to do this…”. Just said to myself to run my race and keep my pace.

By mile 6, I was pacing 6 hours. Hit mile 9 and my legs died out on me. At mile 12, I could see the balloon ladies were less than half a mile behind me. Get to mile 15 and I told myself it’s now or never to make up some ground. I put my Rocky playlist on and just gutted out the next 3 miles. I get into the ESPN area at mile 18 and I’m just dead at this point and feet are blistering up. I saw I had 2 hours of allowed time left to go 8 miles. Just put my head down and kept telling myself that I can do this. The couple miles from ESPN to MGM were just a killer. Hitting MGM gave me some energy. Hitting the boardwalk have me a nice boost with the amount of people cheering. Hit mile 25 and I’m saying to myself “almost there.”

At this point, my phone is blowing up cause no one had heard from me. I get to mile 26 and start sending out photos of it (see attached).

Cross the finish line and it was the most incredible feeling in the world. About an hour after the race, my brother asks me if I will ever do this again. I told him F no!!!! One and done.

A week later, I can finally move again. I decided right then and there to do it again. 2020 was difficult due to having foot surgery over the summer. Only had 11 weeks of training.

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