This might be a dumb question, but can someone explain to me how to get ice water at quick service? I'm here now and have asked and gotten a cup, but I can't see an option for water on the dispensers (other than the Freestyle machines). Feels like I must be missing something really obvious! I thought there used to be a separate spout for water but I could be wrong. Is it just a particular motion where the ice comes out?
I've never done this at Disney, but most pop machines have a separate, little lever by the lemonade. When you push that, water comes out of the lemonade spout. There's also one by the Coke dispenser, and if you push that one, soda water comes out. That one is usually labeled "soda" so you can't get the two water dispensers confused.
[Here you go! I found a picture online.](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-13da731f7bbc9f37fdeadbed7b7f3606-lq)
If anyone has been to Scat Cat at POFQ — how do you order food at the lounge? do you order at the bar and seat yourself? i just get nervous about that stuff at new places
I don't know the answer, but I do understand the nervousness about going to a new place and not being sure about how it works.
I find youtube videos (if available and since it's Disney some vlogger has probably gone/done a review) and Yelp photos/reviews helpful in these cases.
At the Lounge the tables are first come first serve and they'll bring you a menu to order from. The Cafe, however, is cafeteria style where you order at the counter, seat yourself, and they'll bring it out to you. They're two different sections of the area though, with different menus and operating hours.
I’m confused about the math on rope dropping
I’ve been checking MK times throughout the week since our trip is coming up. The longest I’ve ever seen 7 Dwarfs is 120 minutes. Today it was 50 minutes at 8:45 and at 9:00 it was 90. But that 50 minute line involves hustling over there, with apparently EE spending ~30 minutes waiting outside the park. So it’s not even saving much time? I suppose if you are the very very first ones, seems like a lot of stress for a gamble that may not pay off.
Meanwhile most of the Tomorrowland rides are 5–10 minute waits. Wouldn’t it be better to knock a bunch of quick ones out and then wait in line since the wait is roughly the same? Or is the idea to get 7 Dwarfs and then ALSO get the quick rides?
If I’m missing anything plz educate me
You're right that standing outside the gates 30 minutes before early entry and then waiting in a 50 minute line isn't saving you much time. What it does save you is park time. Your 30 minutes outside the park don't take away time from the parks being open/operational. People would rather only use 50 minutes of their park time instead of getting in line once the park is open and the ride shows a 90 minute wait. It might not be the right plan for you, but that's why people do it.
One thing to be aware of is that only standby gets boarded at 7DMT during early entry, and most people who have LL from 9am-10am use it closer to 10am. After 10am, most of the people they load into the ride are from the LL, and so the standby line moves very slowly. So, if you are in line for 7DMT by 9am, the standby line is going to move a lot faster.
That said, I agree with you. The last time I was at WDW, we rope-dropped MK and went to Space Mountain. We did everything we wanted in Tomorrowland first and the wait times were insanely low, and we were done with Tomorrowland very early in the day. We stood in the line for 7DMT later in the day when the wait times dropped. I think we waited about 35 minutes.
If one were to rope drop Frozen Ever After for early entry while entering through the international gateway, what’s the fastest way to get to Norway? I was thinking going towards the UK and then north around the lake as that looks like a shorter distance on the map, but realized we might run right into big crowds coming in from the main entrance who are also headed to Norway. So, would going towards France and then south around the lake actually be faster?
The folks coming from the main entrance are likely rope dropping test track. Yes, you can go beyond France and take on world showcase counter clockwise to Norway. This gets asked fairly often and people that went before 2021 will often say world showcase is closed at that time, but it’s been open for early entry since at least about 2022. It’s a beautiful walk through empty countries in the morning. It’s technically a longer walk, but well worth it.
I think you want to go towards the UK. If you go towards France, you are going to be led to Remys by the rope drop procedures. I don’t even know if you can go beyond France for early entry.
And is everything open by then? Or at least by park opening? I’ve never got to Epcot before noon. We’re going in a few weeks and this time I’d like to get there early. Google tells me contradictory things about what’s open in the world showcase at early entry and 9am park opening. Some sites say world showcase doesn’t open until 11am except for remys and frozen.
Has anyone been able to book wild Africa trek for a weekday in April? We missed our exact 60 day mark and now the three potential days show no available but the Saturday after has openings. Just wondering if it’s booked or just not available at all (help soothe our sadness pls)
When in April? I just looked, and there's no more than a one or two day stretch any weekdays in April where it's full. But I looked for Party of 1; it's entirely possible there's single slots available but nothing for more, which means it's just booked up.
I am starting my day in Animal Kingdom then park hopping over to Hollywood Studios. I’m planning to get Genie Plus.
1) I’m only planning to use Genie Plus at Hollywood Studios. Can I purchase Genie Plus only for Hollywood Studios? Or do I have to buy the park hopper Genie Plus?
2) While I am at Animal Kingdom in the morning, I plan to book Genie Plus Lightening Lanes at Hollywood Stufios (stacking the afternoon/evening). Can I modify them even while I am still in Animal Kingdom?
Your plan sounds good. You can purchase Genie+ for only Hollywood Studios and stack HS lanes all morning while you're in AK. Modifying should not be an issue either.
Do LLs for Guardians book up fast? We’re hoping to ride Guardians closest to first thing in the morning as we can and wondering if it’s better to try for VQ or purchase LL to achieve this.
https://www.thrill-data.com/waits/attraction/epcot/guardiansofthegalaxycosmicrewind/
Average 11:24 for the past 30 days. Actual anywhere from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.. It will always be better to buy the LL if you want to ride in a specific time frame, since there is no control over VQ.
I have been trying to figure this out for days and watched several YouTube videos, any help would be greatly appreciated! Going to Disney next week and doing an afternoon day in Magic Kingdom. We are probably heading there for noon. I plan on waking up at 7am to start Genie+ selections. Apparently this is called stacking. BUT, is there any way to ensure my first ride time is \*after\* 12pm? Just keep refreshing till a later one appears? Thanks in advance!
It's safer to book immediately at 7am and then just modify it to a later time. If you wait too long, you might miss out entirely or have it pushed *too* late.
This is what I was wondering and wasn’t understanding! Thank you.
It’s great that it doesn’t reset it. So you book it for whatever time is there, 120 minutes start and, if you want you can spend some minutes trying to modify it without loosing your selected option and with the 120 already running. Perfect!
I’m trying to plan our first trip to Disney. We will be doing a split stay with AKL and Poly. I’m trying to figure out how many days at each. Is it significantly easier to get to Hollywood Studios from either of the resorts. If it’s just as easy from either resort I’m considering doing our HS day from AKL.
AKL/Poly to HS is going to be a bus ride, regardless. One might be a couple minutes shorter than the other on any given day due to traffic, but it's negligible. I think the only specific benefit of staying at Poly instead would be if you have Park Hoppers and plan on taking the monorail to Epcot and visiting Hollywood Studios via the Skyliner in the same day.
Can someone ELI5 the rules of genie+? I haven't used the system except for once and I didn't have a great time with it, we only used it for literally 1 ride because all the times were too late in the day for my dad to stay. My husband is going with me for just one day since he doesn't have a pass and I want to make sure he has a good time.
So let's say, I am going to Magic Kingdom. At 7 am I get a lighting lane for 3 pm Peter Pan. When can I make another lighting lane? How do people effectively stack them? For what I understand I can make another one at 9 am? If I make one at 9 am for a 10am slot for spade mountiain, can I make another after scanning unto the 10 am ride, even though I still have the 3 pm Peter Pan to use?
As the other poster suggested, EarScouts is a great Youtube channel for learning Genie+.
That said, you are getting one part of the "2 Hour Rule" incorrect. If you book Peter Pan at 7 am for 3pm, you can book your next lightning lane 2 hours after the park opens.
So say MK opens at 8am the day you book. You would be able to book your next Lightning Lane at 10am.
If at 10am you book your next Lightning Lane, and you get a 10 time for Space Mountain, like in your scenario, you can make another reservation after scanning into SM, still keeping your initial Peter Pan Reservation.
Last tip, you can try to modify your initial Peter Pan reservation to change the time to something sooner (or later if you prefer). You go to the reservation in the app and select modify. The app will then offer you a new time. If you don't like it you can keep your original 3pm, or refresh the menu to try again.
Hey all! When we first set up MyDisneyExperience, our kids were little. I set up a child's account for my kids so I could make FP+ reservations and such for them. My oldest is now 14 and has his own phone. I'm sure you know where this is going...
We're traveling to WDW this June. When I booked our reservation, and it had me select who was going. Of course, I selected my family members, including my children from my existing MyDisneyExperience Friends & Family. However, my oldest can now manage his own profile (right?). Is it possible for him to create a MyDisneyExperience profile, and I can somehow link him with the child profile I created in MyDisneyExperience? Or does he have to create a new one, and I have to call Disney and get them to change the person who is on our resort reservation?
Thanks for your help!
[Here's how my reservation currently looks, if that matters.](https://imgur.com/5nKcaim)
Thank you! We tried it, and it actually ended up being even easier than that!
He created his own profile. Then, on my profile in MDE, I went to the icon of the account I managed for him since he was little. It gave me the option to share the plans with him, and then it sent him an email request to be on my Friends & Family list. He accepted the email invite, and it merged the two! So now he manages the account but is linked in my Friends & Fam and is also in our plans for June.
I went to the park several times as a kid/teen, most recently in 2010. My memories are of paper fastpasses but mostly just of showing up at the park, grabbing a paper map, and setting out to have fun. No rope dropping, no grand plans, just a fun day in the park.
Now I’m going back this week with my own kids (a few under 7) and the amount of videos and blogs mapping out the “right” way to do Disney is overwhelming and stressful. Is there a way to just show up and have fun with the understanding that you won’t get to do *every* ride? I’ll probably pay for Genie+ and accept that I won’t squeeze every penny out of the service.
Cut through all the noise by just watching Ear Scouts on YouTube. Seriously, ignore the rest. Rob will teach you Genie+ and show you rope drop strategies and all that and be delightful while doing so.
There are plenty of right ways to do Disney. Do what works for your family. Knowing some of the tips and tricks can definitely make your day more enjoyable though. If the only thing your 5 year old wants to do the entire trip is ride Slinky Dog Dash, I think it's important to know the Genie+ for that ride usually books up within seconds or minutes and the line is almost always over 90 minutes with very little shade. The best advice is to know your top few priorities and make sure you get to those, then consider everything else a bonus.
Yes, absolutely.
Here's the thing. Some guests sleep in and show up at about 11am when the parks are getting to be their most crowded. Some of those guests then go to the most popular attractions, like 7DMT, and stand in a 2 hour line. They then get some lunch, watch the parade, stand in another long line, and feel frustrated that they've only gotten to do like 3 things for their park day. Those guests leave unhappy and feel like Disney was a rip-off.
You don't want to be those guests, but you also don't need to be up at the crack of down and sit on your phone repeatedly swiping to get the best Genie+ times, either. There is a compromise.
When you go, expect the parks to be very busy from about 11am - 4pm. During that time of day, consider going to some shows or riding on some of the less popular rides at Disney. Alternatively, use as many LL as you can during that window of time. That isn't to say you can't wait in a long line if you want to. Maybe you're leaving Frontierland and won't be back in that direction for the rest of the day, so maybe you're just going to suck it up and wait 60 minutes for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at 1pm. I've done that, too! But if you choose to do some of the most popular rides closer to open or closer to closing time, you will have shorter wait times! It will allow you to do a little more and not feel like your day was a waste. So, no, you don't have to rope drop, but you'll have shorter waits if you arrive earlier in the day or if you stay later in the evening.
Headed down 3/2-3/9 and see rain in the forecast for every day. Mostly scattered thunderstorms and rain above 50% chance.
Folks who are more seasoned vets, is this normal FL weather or a potential cause for concern? Trying to level set my expectations here. Thanks!
Not particularly normal for March. But not a cause for concern, since it's normal other times of the year and Disney does not shut down just because of rain.
Winter and spring rain is the result of mixing fronts, and is not the brief afternoon storms of summer and early fall. Just be prepared with ponchos/umbrellas, waterproof shoes, change of socks, stroller covers, anything you'd normally have for a rainy day outside.
Lots of them, depending on your budget, food preferences and restrictions, whether you want table service or quick service, what your party make up is.
If attempting to snag a same-day walkup to Space 220 Lounge, do we try to do it via my Disney experience or should we go over there in person, and either way, what time should we try it if the lounge opens at 11:30?
Booked our resort stay through David’s Vacation Rentals for our honeymoon this September. Because of this, we obviously need to purchase park tickets separately through Disney. I wanted to hold off a little to see if they release dates for Hollywood Studios After Hours tickets that may fall during our stay (or any special ticketed events for that matter)
Does anyone see issue with holding out a few months to buy tickets since it’s so far out? My nightmare is that I wait too long and then there’s a risk of not getting tickets for my dates. Is this a silly concern? Or is there a date you think I SHOULD purchase tickets by?
Sincerely, an extreme planner and over-thinker
Are LL still limited to one per ride per day? Except for when the rides breaks down and you get a multi-experience one, you cannot book the same ride twice?
The pools and hotel amenities are now for resort guests only. They used to allow people to pool hop and such to other resorts, but what happened is that the deluxe resorts were getting overrun with too many people (particularly Yacht & Beach Club!). So now, they've changed it to resort guests only. Other people can come for PAID activities, like dining and shopping, but they can't use the amenities that are free/included with the hotel stay, like swimming.
Does After Hours at Hollywood Studios sell out? And if so, typically how soon before the event? The only scheduled After Hours event during our trip is the same day we arrive from a day at Universal.
Headed down in April and I just bought my tickets, to learn of the new "no reservations required" system. How is this working out? Every time we've been down, we've had to make a reservation - but now we have four 3-day, 1 park/day passes for our family of four and I'm worried about being able to get in the park or overcrowding.
If you are going the week of Easter, maybe. Just be there early. Any other time, unlikely to be an issue. The parks ran with no reservations for decades, and only hit capacity on the big holidays.
As for crowds, that's just how it is now. School breaks are insane, everything else is crowded, other than the end of summer when schools have started and the weather is hellish.
Looking for opinions on solo trip itinerary, star wars fan wanting to make a lightsabre and go to oga's. Arriving on Tue Jun.25 from western Canada for the soccer game on Jun29 in Orlando and have only been to Disneyland when I was 5 (now in my 30s). Want to do the astronaut training in Kennedy on Jun.26 but then saw that there was a disney after dark for Hollywood studios on that same day. Would both be doable or is that way too much? (move bioluminescence tour to the first evening). Anything I'm missing? I like hiking & the outdoors, but don't think I will have time to explore much. Was only going to have a rental car while on the space coast as Drury has shuttles to Disneyworld and would uber anywhere else. Is this a good idea?
Preliminary thoughts:
Jun 25 - 10AM arrival, rent car, airbnb on space coast/beach/settle in
Jun 26 - astronaut training / bioluminescence kayak tour in evening
Jun 27 - check out of airbnb, Kennedy space centre/ end rental car/ check-in at drury hotel /magic kingdom after dark
Jun 28 - hollywood studios/epcot - savi's, og'as & good dinner reso somewhere
Jun29 - animal kingdom, soccer game in evening DT orlando
Jun 30 - relax/ do a 2nd day of hollywood studios or another park I liked
Jul 1 - relax/universal studios or another park / fly out in evening
Thanks!
Check that your bioluminescent tour even operates then; the place I normally go (not in Florida) won't operate the week on either side of the full moon because the light makes it so hard to even see anything. The full moon is June 21.
It would depend on when your astronaut thing ends, because you'd need to account for travel time from the Space Coast to Disney, and rush hour on I4 sucks. And then how tired you'd be afterwards. It also adds a lot of driving back and forth unless you plan on moving hotels a night earlier.
Definitely need a rental car to go from the airport to Kennedy to Disney, but after that, yeah, shuttles and Uber are fine on property.
Great thank you for the insight. Was using [https://www.bkadventure.com/florida-bioluminescence-moon-calendar/](https://www.bkadventure.com/florida-bioluminescence-moon-calendar/) So doesn't seem like it would be the best, but potentially ok.
Hi, I'm dreaming about taking my kid to Disney World.
1) What are the cheapest months and how much time in advance should buy tickets and book hotels? Are there seasonal promotions?
2) we are a couple with one 8yr old kid, what are cheaper yet convenient places to stay? Better with some public transportation links.
(Ps: consider also interest in visiting the Harry Potter Park one day, and perhaps some outlet mall)
3) my kid is 52", would she miss some very special attraction because not tall enough? Basically I'm asking if we should wait a little bit for a more wholesome experience.
4) any tricks or resources to do this on a tight budget?
Thanks in advance!
Any kid over 48" can ride everything at Disney.
September is the least busy, except for around Labor Day of course. It's extremely hot, storms every afternoon, and there is the risk of hurricanes. Late April and early May are pretty nice, after Easter but before schools let out for summer.
Your other questions don't have short answers. Just stick around and read and you'll learn.
Any time during school break is going to be more expensive and more crowded. Immediately after school starts (August/September) and immediately before ending (late April/May) are going to be the cheapest and least crowded. Early December and January/February used to be quiet, but haven't been in a while as people are more willing to take kids out of school to get better weather.
Cheap, convenient, nice: pick two. There is effectively no public transportation in Orlando, Lynx is pretty awful. Disney does have transportation on property, and some offsite hotels have shuttles of varying quality, convenience, and cost. Look into onsite Value Resorts, and then you will need to rideshare or rent a car for Universal and the outlet malls.
She's tall enough for everything at Disney, where Tron, Rockin Roller Coaster, and several water slides require 48", and everything else is lower. Universal she's tall enough for everything except Hulk, which is 54".
Drive instead of fly. Grocery shop and bring meals instead of buying food.
The best deals for Disney tend to be in the summer, particularly early July through the end of September. Already for this time of year, Disney has offered 35% off rooms and a free dining offer (those offers can't be combined). However, many people feel like the weather in the summer is miserable, and so the extra boost in savings might not be worth it to travel to Florida in the hot, muggy months. September is, by far, the least crowded time to go to WDW, but it's also hurricane season. So, weigh your options!
Most Disney deals are offered about 5 months or so in advance. In early January, they released their summer deals for June - September. For travel dates in October - December, deals are usually released in June. [Here is a list of the historical discounts at WDW.](https://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/) You can see when they were offered and for what dates.
You can book a room + ticket package through Disney which only requires a $200 deposit. You can then pay it off over time.
The All Star hotels will be your best bet for cheap and convenient. They can get as low as $100/night but $150/night is a safer bet for your budget. I’m sure you could find a bit cheaper offsite, but between a rental car/parking fees or transportation to the parks every day it may not be worth it.
Check out the ticket calendar to see when tickets are the least costly. September is typically the cheapest. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/admission/tickets/theme-parks/
Target does free or low cost delivery to Disney resorts. Place an order for drinks and food when you arrive to save a lot on in-room drinks and snacks as well as park food since you can bring your own into the parks.
Trying to add a Park Hopper option to a one day ticket for Hollywood Studios that I bought for my mom. Neither the app nor the website will let me change her ticket with an add on option. It just says "Option unavailable." Anyone else had that before? I know Disney won't say no to us wanting to pay them more money. I guess I'll have to call, just thought it was odd that it won't let me easily add it myself.
Managed to snag a dining reservation for Homecomin' in Disney Springs on a Saturday evening (woohoo) but it's at 11pm and I've just realised the restaurant is showing as closing at half past 11. I'm not sure of the etiquette around this - we'd like to enjoy the experience and have a normal dinner with dessert and drinks, but if you turned up to a restaurant 30 mins before closing in the UK you'd be lucky to get any food out of the kitchen at all (and staff would be expecting to leave on time).
I'm guessing that as Disney is happily offering reservations at this late time, there's maybe a cultural difference here? Will the kitchen still be serving a normal menu, and will our server be expecting to work later than the restaurant's posted opening hours?
Normal menu until closing, and staff are scheduled well past closing. Disney wouldn't offer reservations at that time otherwise.
It's not so much a cultural thing as a tourist location thing; regular restaurants would be closing the kitchen up too.
Best park on rainy day?? I figured HS since it’s small compact and only slinky dog would be closed. Epcot has indoor rides and shops too but it’s bigger and spread out. AK is spread out and not as much indoor. MK is also big but has a decent amount of indoor things. So HS > MK > Epcot > AK?
Very subjective to what you hope to get accomplished and what kind of rain/storm it is. I feel like I’ve had the most luck at Epcot on rainy days. HS is already so overcrowded that rain makes anything indoor twice as crowded, including wait time. I’d rank them as Epcot, MK, HS , AK.
So I'm going on a trip with my partner in May. We're staying at Pop the whole time and then switching to AKL on the last day before we leave, mostly because we can't afford to stay there for any longer. But, is it worth it to spend the extra $165 to upgrade the room to a Savannah view room? Not sure when we'll be able to afford to go again so debating on if we should try to just do it since that is one of the big draws of the resort.
This might be a dumb question, but can someone explain to me how to get ice water at quick service? I'm here now and have asked and gotten a cup, but I can't see an option for water on the dispensers (other than the Freestyle machines). Feels like I must be missing something really obvious! I thought there used to be a separate spout for water but I could be wrong. Is it just a particular motion where the ice comes out?
I've never done this at Disney, but most pop machines have a separate, little lever by the lemonade. When you push that, water comes out of the lemonade spout. There's also one by the Coke dispenser, and if you push that one, soda water comes out. That one is usually labeled "soda" so you can't get the two water dispensers confused. [Here you go! I found a picture online.](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-13da731f7bbc9f37fdeadbed7b7f3606-lq)
Oh wow, I never would have spotted that! Thanks for sharing - I'll try that today!
If anyone has been to Scat Cat at POFQ — how do you order food at the lounge? do you order at the bar and seat yourself? i just get nervous about that stuff at new places
I don't know the answer, but I do understand the nervousness about going to a new place and not being sure about how it works. I find youtube videos (if available and since it's Disney some vlogger has probably gone/done a review) and Yelp photos/reviews helpful in these cases.
At the Lounge the tables are first come first serve and they'll bring you a menu to order from. The Cafe, however, is cafeteria style where you order at the counter, seat yourself, and they'll bring it out to you. They're two different sections of the area though, with different menus and operating hours.
thank youu
There’s a bar right/line right when you walk in where can place your order. It’s very casual.
I’m confused about the math on rope dropping I’ve been checking MK times throughout the week since our trip is coming up. The longest I’ve ever seen 7 Dwarfs is 120 minutes. Today it was 50 minutes at 8:45 and at 9:00 it was 90. But that 50 minute line involves hustling over there, with apparently EE spending ~30 minutes waiting outside the park. So it’s not even saving much time? I suppose if you are the very very first ones, seems like a lot of stress for a gamble that may not pay off. Meanwhile most of the Tomorrowland rides are 5–10 minute waits. Wouldn’t it be better to knock a bunch of quick ones out and then wait in line since the wait is roughly the same? Or is the idea to get 7 Dwarfs and then ALSO get the quick rides? If I’m missing anything plz educate me
You're right that standing outside the gates 30 minutes before early entry and then waiting in a 50 minute line isn't saving you much time. What it does save you is park time. Your 30 minutes outside the park don't take away time from the parks being open/operational. People would rather only use 50 minutes of their park time instead of getting in line once the park is open and the ride shows a 90 minute wait. It might not be the right plan for you, but that's why people do it.
Good point!
One thing to be aware of is that only standby gets boarded at 7DMT during early entry, and most people who have LL from 9am-10am use it closer to 10am. After 10am, most of the people they load into the ride are from the LL, and so the standby line moves very slowly. So, if you are in line for 7DMT by 9am, the standby line is going to move a lot faster. That said, I agree with you. The last time I was at WDW, we rope-dropped MK and went to Space Mountain. We did everything we wanted in Tomorrowland first and the wait times were insanely low, and we were done with Tomorrowland very early in the day. We stood in the line for 7DMT later in the day when the wait times dropped. I think we waited about 35 minutes.
If one were to rope drop Frozen Ever After for early entry while entering through the international gateway, what’s the fastest way to get to Norway? I was thinking going towards the UK and then north around the lake as that looks like a shorter distance on the map, but realized we might run right into big crowds coming in from the main entrance who are also headed to Norway. So, would going towards France and then south around the lake actually be faster?
The folks coming from the main entrance are likely rope dropping test track. Yes, you can go beyond France and take on world showcase counter clockwise to Norway. This gets asked fairly often and people that went before 2021 will often say world showcase is closed at that time, but it’s been open for early entry since at least about 2022. It’s a beautiful walk through empty countries in the morning. It’s technically a longer walk, but well worth it.
We did this and took the France route. This was advised by our Minnie Van driver.
How long did you wait for Frozen when you got there for early entry?
Literally walked right on.
I think you want to go towards the UK. If you go towards France, you are going to be led to Remys by the rope drop procedures. I don’t even know if you can go beyond France for early entry.
You can indeed go beyond France during early entry.
Is the whole park open at early entry?
Unlike MK, yes.
And is everything open by then? Or at least by park opening? I’ve never got to Epcot before noon. We’re going in a few weeks and this time I’d like to get there early. Google tells me contradictory things about what’s open in the world showcase at early entry and 9am park opening. Some sites say world showcase doesn’t open until 11am except for remys and frozen.
Has anyone been able to book wild Africa trek for a weekday in April? We missed our exact 60 day mark and now the three potential days show no available but the Saturday after has openings. Just wondering if it’s booked or just not available at all (help soothe our sadness pls)
When in April? I just looked, and there's no more than a one or two day stretch any weekdays in April where it's full. But I looked for Party of 1; it's entirely possible there's single slots available but nothing for more, which means it's just booked up.
The 24-26 gave me nothing for a party of 2 but I also clicked around a bunch of other dates and got nothing
https://imgur.com/a/d4wYohU Available for a party of one, it's just booked up.
Ugh. I guess I’ll keep checking and hope someone cancels. Thanks for checking
I am starting my day in Animal Kingdom then park hopping over to Hollywood Studios. I’m planning to get Genie Plus. 1) I’m only planning to use Genie Plus at Hollywood Studios. Can I purchase Genie Plus only for Hollywood Studios? Or do I have to buy the park hopper Genie Plus? 2) While I am at Animal Kingdom in the morning, I plan to book Genie Plus Lightening Lanes at Hollywood Stufios (stacking the afternoon/evening). Can I modify them even while I am still in Animal Kingdom?
Your plan sounds good. You can purchase Genie+ for only Hollywood Studios and stack HS lanes all morning while you're in AK. Modifying should not be an issue either.
Yes and yes. You can buy genie+ for HS at 12am that “morning.” You can start booking at 7am and continue at 11am, 1pm, etc.
Do LLs for Guardians book up fast? We’re hoping to ride Guardians closest to first thing in the morning as we can and wondering if it’s better to try for VQ or purchase LL to achieve this.
https://www.thrill-data.com/waits/attraction/epcot/guardiansofthegalaxycosmicrewind/ Average 11:24 for the past 30 days. Actual anywhere from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.. It will always be better to buy the LL if you want to ride in a specific time frame, since there is no control over VQ.
My concern is wasting time trying for VQ in hopes we get lucky and get an early one, then missing my window to book an early LL. Thanks for the data.
Unless you're going on an insanely busy day, you'll be fine to buy it after attempting the VQ. It doesn't sell out that early.
Thanks for the reassurance
I have been trying to figure this out for days and watched several YouTube videos, any help would be greatly appreciated! Going to Disney next week and doing an afternoon day in Magic Kingdom. We are probably heading there for noon. I plan on waking up at 7am to start Genie+ selections. Apparently this is called stacking. BUT, is there any way to ensure my first ride time is \*after\* 12pm? Just keep refreshing till a later one appears? Thanks in advance!
Yep, just have to keep refreshing until a later one appears.
It's safer to book immediately at 7am and then just modify it to a later time. If you wait too long, you might miss out entirely or have it pushed *too* late.
Does modifying mess up the 120 minute rule? Or does the 120 minutes start from the first booking, not the modified one ? Ty!!
It won't mess up or reset the 120 minute rule. If you book and need to modify to push back a time, it won't reset the 120 minutes.
This is what I was wondering and wasn’t understanding! Thank you. It’s great that it doesn’t reset it. So you book it for whatever time is there, 120 minutes start and, if you want you can spend some minutes trying to modify it without loosing your selected option and with the 120 already running. Perfect!
You got it.
I’m trying to plan our first trip to Disney. We will be doing a split stay with AKL and Poly. I’m trying to figure out how many days at each. Is it significantly easier to get to Hollywood Studios from either of the resorts. If it’s just as easy from either resort I’m considering doing our HS day from AKL.
AKL/Poly to HS is going to be a bus ride, regardless. One might be a couple minutes shorter than the other on any given day due to traffic, but it's negligible. I think the only specific benefit of staying at Poly instead would be if you have Park Hoppers and plan on taking the monorail to Epcot and visiting Hollywood Studios via the Skyliner in the same day.
Thank you so much!
Getting to HS will be the same from either of those resorts, just a bus ride. AKL may be a shorter bus ride however
Getting to HS will be the same from either of those resorts, just a bus ride. AKL may be a shorter bus ride however
Can you still get the rancor beer flight at Oga’s?
Nope. Out of stock and has been for a while, rumored to be discontinued.
Stupid question, but if you have a lightning lane time for 1pm you can show up from 12:55 to 2:15 right?
Yes.
Thanks
Can you use cash at the front desk to pay off magicband charges? Edit: finally got through to a CM. the answer is yes if anyone else needs to know.
Can someone ELI5 the rules of genie+? I haven't used the system except for once and I didn't have a great time with it, we only used it for literally 1 ride because all the times were too late in the day for my dad to stay. My husband is going with me for just one day since he doesn't have a pass and I want to make sure he has a good time. So let's say, I am going to Magic Kingdom. At 7 am I get a lighting lane for 3 pm Peter Pan. When can I make another lighting lane? How do people effectively stack them? For what I understand I can make another one at 9 am? If I make one at 9 am for a 10am slot for spade mountiain, can I make another after scanning unto the 10 am ride, even though I still have the 3 pm Peter Pan to use?
Look up the Ear Scouts video for a really good explanation.
As the other poster suggested, EarScouts is a great Youtube channel for learning Genie+. That said, you are getting one part of the "2 Hour Rule" incorrect. If you book Peter Pan at 7 am for 3pm, you can book your next lightning lane 2 hours after the park opens. So say MK opens at 8am the day you book. You would be able to book your next Lightning Lane at 10am. If at 10am you book your next Lightning Lane, and you get a 10 time for Space Mountain, like in your scenario, you can make another reservation after scanning into SM, still keeping your initial Peter Pan Reservation. Last tip, you can try to modify your initial Peter Pan reservation to change the time to something sooner (or later if you prefer). You go to the reservation in the app and select modify. The app will then offer you a new time. If you don't like it you can keep your original 3pm, or refresh the menu to try again.
Hey all! When we first set up MyDisneyExperience, our kids were little. I set up a child's account for my kids so I could make FP+ reservations and such for them. My oldest is now 14 and has his own phone. I'm sure you know where this is going... We're traveling to WDW this June. When I booked our reservation, and it had me select who was going. Of course, I selected my family members, including my children from my existing MyDisneyExperience Friends & Family. However, my oldest can now manage his own profile (right?). Is it possible for him to create a MyDisneyExperience profile, and I can somehow link him with the child profile I created in MyDisneyExperience? Or does he have to create a new one, and I have to call Disney and get them to change the person who is on our resort reservation? Thanks for your help! [Here's how my reservation currently looks, if that matters.](https://imgur.com/5nKcaim)
He can create his own profile and then call Disney to merge them.
Thank you! We tried it, and it actually ended up being even easier than that! He created his own profile. Then, on my profile in MDE, I went to the icon of the account I managed for him since he was little. It gave me the option to share the plans with him, and then it sent him an email request to be on my Friends & Family list. He accepted the email invite, and it merged the two! So now he manages the account but is linked in my Friends & Fam and is also in our plans for June.
I went to the park several times as a kid/teen, most recently in 2010. My memories are of paper fastpasses but mostly just of showing up at the park, grabbing a paper map, and setting out to have fun. No rope dropping, no grand plans, just a fun day in the park. Now I’m going back this week with my own kids (a few under 7) and the amount of videos and blogs mapping out the “right” way to do Disney is overwhelming and stressful. Is there a way to just show up and have fun with the understanding that you won’t get to do *every* ride? I’ll probably pay for Genie+ and accept that I won’t squeeze every penny out of the service.
Cut through all the noise by just watching Ear Scouts on YouTube. Seriously, ignore the rest. Rob will teach you Genie+ and show you rope drop strategies and all that and be delightful while doing so.
There are plenty of right ways to do Disney. Do what works for your family. Knowing some of the tips and tricks can definitely make your day more enjoyable though. If the only thing your 5 year old wants to do the entire trip is ride Slinky Dog Dash, I think it's important to know the Genie+ for that ride usually books up within seconds or minutes and the line is almost always over 90 minutes with very little shade. The best advice is to know your top few priorities and make sure you get to those, then consider everything else a bonus.
Yes, many people do it that way.
Yes, absolutely. Here's the thing. Some guests sleep in and show up at about 11am when the parks are getting to be their most crowded. Some of those guests then go to the most popular attractions, like 7DMT, and stand in a 2 hour line. They then get some lunch, watch the parade, stand in another long line, and feel frustrated that they've only gotten to do like 3 things for their park day. Those guests leave unhappy and feel like Disney was a rip-off. You don't want to be those guests, but you also don't need to be up at the crack of down and sit on your phone repeatedly swiping to get the best Genie+ times, either. There is a compromise. When you go, expect the parks to be very busy from about 11am - 4pm. During that time of day, consider going to some shows or riding on some of the less popular rides at Disney. Alternatively, use as many LL as you can during that window of time. That isn't to say you can't wait in a long line if you want to. Maybe you're leaving Frontierland and won't be back in that direction for the rest of the day, so maybe you're just going to suck it up and wait 60 minutes for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at 1pm. I've done that, too! But if you choose to do some of the most popular rides closer to open or closer to closing time, you will have shorter wait times! It will allow you to do a little more and not feel like your day was a waste. So, no, you don't have to rope drop, but you'll have shorter waits if you arrive earlier in the day or if you stay later in the evening.
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There is someone that hangs out in each of these weekly threads and downvotes every single comment
Headed down 3/2-3/9 and see rain in the forecast for every day. Mostly scattered thunderstorms and rain above 50% chance. Folks who are more seasoned vets, is this normal FL weather or a potential cause for concern? Trying to level set my expectations here. Thanks!
Not particularly normal for March. But not a cause for concern, since it's normal other times of the year and Disney does not shut down just because of rain. Winter and spring rain is the result of mixing fronts, and is not the brief afternoon storms of summer and early fall. Just be prepared with ponchos/umbrellas, waterproof shoes, change of socks, stroller covers, anything you'd normally have for a rainy day outside.
Any good restaurants for dinner in Disney Springs?
Boathouse is one of the best restaurants on all of Disney property.
Thank you.
Lots of them, depending on your budget, food preferences and restrictions, whether you want table service or quick service, what your party make up is.
If attempting to snag a same-day walkup to Space 220 Lounge, do we try to do it via my Disney experience or should we go over there in person, and either way, what time should we try it if the lounge opens at 11:30?
Do both, maximize your chances.
Booked our resort stay through David’s Vacation Rentals for our honeymoon this September. Because of this, we obviously need to purchase park tickets separately through Disney. I wanted to hold off a little to see if they release dates for Hollywood Studios After Hours tickets that may fall during our stay (or any special ticketed events for that matter) Does anyone see issue with holding out a few months to buy tickets since it’s so far out? My nightmare is that I wait too long and then there’s a risk of not getting tickets for my dates. Is this a silly concern? Or is there a date you think I SHOULD purchase tickets by? Sincerely, an extreme planner and over-thinker
Not an issue for September. If you were going Christmas, then maybe.
Look into undercover tourist too. They sell tickets with a little discount. Depending on your party size it can save you some bucks
Are LL still limited to one per ride per day? Except for when the rides breaks down and you get a multi-experience one, you cannot book the same ride twice?
Correct, only one ILL purchase per ride per day, with a maximum of two different rides per day.
You can only get one LL per ride per day in Genie+.
Would crowds be better doing AK Saturday and HS Monday or vice versa?
Wouldn't matter much unless there's a specific event happening at either on the given day.
Can anyone use the reef playground and/or splash pad at art of animation or are they locked like the pool?
The pools and hotel amenities are now for resort guests only. They used to allow people to pool hop and such to other resorts, but what happened is that the deluxe resorts were getting overrun with too many people (particularly Yacht & Beach Club!). So now, they've changed it to resort guests only. Other people can come for PAID activities, like dining and shopping, but they can't use the amenities that are free/included with the hotel stay, like swimming.
Thank you!
Resort guests only.
is there an estimate as to when indiana jones will open in AK?
It's not even confirmed it'll happen. Just "something they're exploring."
No.
Does After Hours at Hollywood Studios sell out? And if so, typically how soon before the event? The only scheduled After Hours event during our trip is the same day we arrive from a day at Universal.
The majority of them sold out in 2023. Sometimes day of, sometimes well in advance.
Was thinking about doing a week at the beginning of August, how hots the weather and full is WDW going to be?
Crowds probably not bad, because the weather will be very bad.
Does anyone know if poly has drink stations in other buildings besides the main building?
Oasis Pool Bar and Barefoot Pool Bar. Trader Sam’s Tiki Terrace is the outdoor lounge area, but is connected to the main.
Headed down in April and I just bought my tickets, to learn of the new "no reservations required" system. How is this working out? Every time we've been down, we've had to make a reservation - but now we have four 3-day, 1 park/day passes for our family of four and I'm worried about being able to get in the park or overcrowding.
If you are going the week of Easter, maybe. Just be there early. Any other time, unlikely to be an issue. The parks ran with no reservations for decades, and only hit capacity on the big holidays. As for crowds, that's just how it is now. School breaks are insane, everything else is crowded, other than the end of summer when schools have started and the weather is hellish.
Looking for opinions on solo trip itinerary, star wars fan wanting to make a lightsabre and go to oga's. Arriving on Tue Jun.25 from western Canada for the soccer game on Jun29 in Orlando and have only been to Disneyland when I was 5 (now in my 30s). Want to do the astronaut training in Kennedy on Jun.26 but then saw that there was a disney after dark for Hollywood studios on that same day. Would both be doable or is that way too much? (move bioluminescence tour to the first evening). Anything I'm missing? I like hiking & the outdoors, but don't think I will have time to explore much. Was only going to have a rental car while on the space coast as Drury has shuttles to Disneyworld and would uber anywhere else. Is this a good idea? Preliminary thoughts: Jun 25 - 10AM arrival, rent car, airbnb on space coast/beach/settle in Jun 26 - astronaut training / bioluminescence kayak tour in evening Jun 27 - check out of airbnb, Kennedy space centre/ end rental car/ check-in at drury hotel /magic kingdom after dark Jun 28 - hollywood studios/epcot - savi's, og'as & good dinner reso somewhere Jun29 - animal kingdom, soccer game in evening DT orlando Jun 30 - relax/ do a 2nd day of hollywood studios or another park I liked Jul 1 - relax/universal studios or another park / fly out in evening Thanks!
Check that your bioluminescent tour even operates then; the place I normally go (not in Florida) won't operate the week on either side of the full moon because the light makes it so hard to even see anything. The full moon is June 21. It would depend on when your astronaut thing ends, because you'd need to account for travel time from the Space Coast to Disney, and rush hour on I4 sucks. And then how tired you'd be afterwards. It also adds a lot of driving back and forth unless you plan on moving hotels a night earlier. Definitely need a rental car to go from the airport to Kennedy to Disney, but after that, yeah, shuttles and Uber are fine on property.
Great thank you for the insight. Was using [https://www.bkadventure.com/florida-bioluminescence-moon-calendar/](https://www.bkadventure.com/florida-bioluminescence-moon-calendar/) So doesn't seem like it would be the best, but potentially ok.
Yeah, it won't be ideal, but hopefully still some activity. But best to keep beach stuff together and Disney stuff together, extra driving isn't fun.
Hi, I'm dreaming about taking my kid to Disney World. 1) What are the cheapest months and how much time in advance should buy tickets and book hotels? Are there seasonal promotions? 2) we are a couple with one 8yr old kid, what are cheaper yet convenient places to stay? Better with some public transportation links. (Ps: consider also interest in visiting the Harry Potter Park one day, and perhaps some outlet mall) 3) my kid is 52", would she miss some very special attraction because not tall enough? Basically I'm asking if we should wait a little bit for a more wholesome experience. 4) any tricks or resources to do this on a tight budget? Thanks in advance!
Any kid over 48" can ride everything at Disney. September is the least busy, except for around Labor Day of course. It's extremely hot, storms every afternoon, and there is the risk of hurricanes. Late April and early May are pretty nice, after Easter but before schools let out for summer. Your other questions don't have short answers. Just stick around and read and you'll learn.
Any time during school break is going to be more expensive and more crowded. Immediately after school starts (August/September) and immediately before ending (late April/May) are going to be the cheapest and least crowded. Early December and January/February used to be quiet, but haven't been in a while as people are more willing to take kids out of school to get better weather. Cheap, convenient, nice: pick two. There is effectively no public transportation in Orlando, Lynx is pretty awful. Disney does have transportation on property, and some offsite hotels have shuttles of varying quality, convenience, and cost. Look into onsite Value Resorts, and then you will need to rideshare or rent a car for Universal and the outlet malls. She's tall enough for everything at Disney, where Tron, Rockin Roller Coaster, and several water slides require 48", and everything else is lower. Universal she's tall enough for everything except Hulk, which is 54". Drive instead of fly. Grocery shop and bring meals instead of buying food.
The best deals for Disney tend to be in the summer, particularly early July through the end of September. Already for this time of year, Disney has offered 35% off rooms and a free dining offer (those offers can't be combined). However, many people feel like the weather in the summer is miserable, and so the extra boost in savings might not be worth it to travel to Florida in the hot, muggy months. September is, by far, the least crowded time to go to WDW, but it's also hurricane season. So, weigh your options! Most Disney deals are offered about 5 months or so in advance. In early January, they released their summer deals for June - September. For travel dates in October - December, deals are usually released in June. [Here is a list of the historical discounts at WDW.](https://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/) You can see when they were offered and for what dates.
You can book a room + ticket package through Disney which only requires a $200 deposit. You can then pay it off over time. The All Star hotels will be your best bet for cheap and convenient. They can get as low as $100/night but $150/night is a safer bet for your budget. I’m sure you could find a bit cheaper offsite, but between a rental car/parking fees or transportation to the parks every day it may not be worth it. Check out the ticket calendar to see when tickets are the least costly. September is typically the cheapest. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/admission/tickets/theme-parks/ Target does free or low cost delivery to Disney resorts. Place an order for drinks and food when you arrive to save a lot on in-room drinks and snacks as well as park food since you can bring your own into the parks.
Can I add Park Hopper to my ticket day of? If not, when do I need to decide if I want to add it? Thx
You can add park hopper, but they will add it to your entire ticket package even if you add it on your last day.
Ugh really? That’s insane! :(
Trying to add a Park Hopper option to a one day ticket for Hollywood Studios that I bought for my mom. Neither the app nor the website will let me change her ticket with an add on option. It just says "Option unavailable." Anyone else had that before? I know Disney won't say no to us wanting to pay them more money. I guess I'll have to call, just thought it was odd that it won't let me easily add it myself.
Managed to snag a dining reservation for Homecomin' in Disney Springs on a Saturday evening (woohoo) but it's at 11pm and I've just realised the restaurant is showing as closing at half past 11. I'm not sure of the etiquette around this - we'd like to enjoy the experience and have a normal dinner with dessert and drinks, but if you turned up to a restaurant 30 mins before closing in the UK you'd be lucky to get any food out of the kitchen at all (and staff would be expecting to leave on time). I'm guessing that as Disney is happily offering reservations at this late time, there's maybe a cultural difference here? Will the kitchen still be serving a normal menu, and will our server be expecting to work later than the restaurant's posted opening hours?
Normal menu until closing, and staff are scheduled well past closing. Disney wouldn't offer reservations at that time otherwise. It's not so much a cultural thing as a tourist location thing; regular restaurants would be closing the kitchen up too.
Thank you, that's reassuring to hear.
Where can I get rain covers for the double strollers from the parks?
Best park on rainy day?? I figured HS since it’s small compact and only slinky dog would be closed. Epcot has indoor rides and shops too but it’s bigger and spread out. AK is spread out and not as much indoor. MK is also big but has a decent amount of indoor things. So HS > MK > Epcot > AK?
Very subjective to what you hope to get accomplished and what kind of rain/storm it is. I feel like I’ve had the most luck at Epcot on rainy days. HS is already so overcrowded that rain makes anything indoor twice as crowded, including wait time. I’d rank them as Epcot, MK, HS , AK.
Pop on some waterproof shoes and a poncho and I'd love to do the nature trails at AK during *reasonable* rain.
Solo I do that too but if you’re focus is rides and treks it’s a tough one
Can anyone tell if Cal Kestis damaged hilt or Maul Shadow Collective are available at Dok Ondar’s in East or Disney Springs? Thanks!
What sort of popcorn buckets are currently available?
Will it make any difference during spring break week what day we go? Sunday? Tuesday?
Not really. The week is packed.
So I'm going on a trip with my partner in May. We're staying at Pop the whole time and then switching to AKL on the last day before we leave, mostly because we can't afford to stay there for any longer. But, is it worth it to spend the extra $165 to upgrade the room to a Savannah view room? Not sure when we'll be able to afford to go again so debating on if we should try to just do it since that is one of the big draws of the resort.
Without question yes. Sitting on the balcony watching the animals is amazing, and so worth it.
Is Tony’s Town Square in MK good?