Several years ago, I did a countdown to a Disney trip I was taking by writing something about the park each day for like 100 days. It was massive and I think I had to backdate a few posts but I did it!
However, it was several years ago and Walt Disney World has made a lot of changes since then.
I recently got back from Walt Disney World and I thought I would discuss my thoughts on some of the latest changes and additions to the parks.
Here we go!
Genie+
Okay, I have some mixed feelings about Disney’s replacement to the Fastpass system. Genie+ works just like Fastpass – you book an hour time slot to do a ride and when you show up, you can take the Lightning Lane rather than the stand-by queue, often cutting down your wait.
The price can hurt families as it’s $15 a day per person on top of the ticket price. You can now get tickets that include Genie+ which helps. Because otherwise, you would have to wake up every day around 6:30 AM to buy Genie+. Why that time? Because you can start making reservations at 7:00 AM. And if you’re not quick enough, you’re going to get later timeslots. That mostly worked for my family as we’re not early birds but it may not work for everyone.
Speaking of price, we were not fans of the select rides that have additional costs to use their Lightning Lanes on top of the Genie+ price – such having to pay $12 to ride Space Mountain if you didn’t want to wait on the stand-by line. We did not pay these extra fees. We either waited on standby if the wait times were not so bad (we found an excellent time to hit Space Mountain) or we didn’t do it all.
Good news though – Disney has moved three popular rides from the individual lightning lane to the Genie+ app, meaning you no longer have to pay extra to get access to the lightning lane. These include Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom), Frozen Ever After (Epcot) and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway (Hollywood Studios). Now this is only until August but it should be a big help – apparently not many people are willing to pay extra and that led to long standby lines.
The good thing is that you can get access to the lightning lanes and that does cut down wait times. You can make quite a few reservations throughout the day – you either have to use up your previous reservation or wait two hours to make your next one. You can only use a ride’s lightning lane once per day. The app will not let you make a reservation if you’ve already made one for that ride. And one person can book the reservation for everyone in your party if you’re all connected in the My Disney Experience app, making things easier.
The Skyliner
This trip was my first time on the Skyliner, which I think had either just opened or was about to open when I last went in 2019. We stayed at Pop Century and the Skyliner was the only way to get to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios. The Skyliner only went from Pop Century to Caribbean Beach where I would transfer to the line heading to my park of choice but even with that, I found it quicker than the bus. Since I was traveling around noon, it was pretty empty but even when I was leaving with the rest of the park at the end of the day, the line constantly moved so it was probably on par with taking the bus.
Most Skyliner cars have designs featuring Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars characters. So it was fun to see who was on your car – one time I wore my Belle shirt to the parks and ended up in a Beauty and the Beast themed car!
Once you climb into the car, the doors close automatically and then you are sent up on the line that takes you over Walt Disney World. I’ve flown over Hourglass Lake, separating Pop Century and the Art of Animation Resorts, as well as the Caribbean Beach and past the Rivera Resort. I’ve flown along Buena Vista Boulevard and got a bird’s eye view of the World Showcase as well as the Boardwalk. And on the way to Hollywood Studios, I flew over protected wildland but did not spot any animals out and about.
I enjoyed every one of my flights and look forward to taking the Skyline again. I recommend those going to the parks figure out a way to ride it yourself – you’ll definitely enjoy it!
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
This is one of the new rides in Hollywood Studios and this one replaced The Great Movie Ride in the Chinese Theater. My family and I decided to wait on line for it as we never saw it dip below an hour and we weren’t going to pay for the Lightning Lane for it. But the wait was really under an hour, though it moves in spurts not only because of the Lightning Lane but also how the ride is loaded.
We are loaded in groups into the theater so we can watch the new Mickey and Minnie cartoon, showing them going on a picnic. They encounter Goofy driving a train…which he proceeds to crash through the screen, creating an opening that allows riders into the cartoon. Despite the cast member’s protest about insurance paperwork, riders are then allowed inside and we board trains that will take us through the cartoon. But we are quickly separate from Goofy in the engine and separate, left to our own devices.
Runaway Railway is a trackless ride, so while of course all movements are well-planned and executed, our vehicles are free to move around the room and aren’t confined to a track. So you have no clue where you are going to go since you can’t follow tracks (and the tire marks on the floor are too numerous to figure out which ones may belong to your car). It makes things a little more exciting that way.
Your train car takes you through different scenes in the cartoon and different elements are used to help create the experience, including strategic use of film to make it seem like you’re falling into the water. One of my personal favorite rooms was Daisy’s Dance Studio. I won’t give too much away but you’re going to want to hold one when she tells everyone to conga!
The ride actually features a song, something I haven’t witnessed in a long time. I do encourage you all to do the ride if you can (just don’t spend extra money to do so).
Ratatouille
(In 2020 during the Before Times, I had been planning a trip to Paris that May for my second time. I was hoping to go to Disneyland Paris and so I would’ve done Ratatouille before it came to Epcot. But COVID blew that plan up).
While we were there, Disney did away with the virtual queues but we did do Ratatouille’s. The first time, it got so backed up that we had to get off the line to make our dinner reservations. But the second time, it did work (but mostly because my mom got up at 7 AM to get us into the queue that time). We probably waited about a half hour for the standby option that time.
I must say I’m disappointed in the queue design. I think lately Disney has been so caught up in design and immersing you into the ride even on the queue that they’ve forgotten about functionality. We were unable to gauge how far away we were from the loading area while waiting that first time (turns out we were a lot closer than we thought). My belief is that when I’m in the queue, I should always be able to see how far away I am from the loading platform at all times. This queue, though, involved a lot of small rooms that we filed through and made a lot of turns that became more and more frustrating with each corner turned. We could never see how long we had to wait or where we were going next due to all the separating walls.
(Early on, my sister said that she felt like she was waiting for the ladies’ room at this fancy restaurant and it seemed appropriate).
Once we grabbed our 3-D glasses, we were loaded into our rat. I noticed ours was wet and was like “Oh, they must squirt water at us at one point.” My mom pointed out it could also be wine so we waited to see who would be right as we took off for our adventure through the kitchen. We followed as Remy tried to cook a meal for Ego, avoided Skinner and also prepared a feast for his family.
Like the Runaway Railway, Ratatouille is also a trackless ride. It does move faster than the railway and I was starting to feel my motion sickness kick in at the end. But it was a fun experience as we raced through the different scenes and experienced life as a rat. My aunt’s favorite moment was when we were briefly stopped under the lit stove because it warmed her but I enjoyed it all. It’s probably something I would likely only do once a trip right now but that could change depending on the wait times.
Once again, I encourage people to do the ride but probably just wait in the standby line rather than pay extra for the lightning lane.
San Angel
This trip marked my first time eating in Mexico. In the past, my dad and sister would eat here while my mother and I ate in the Rose and Crown in the UK pavilion. But I have been more open to Mexican lately so after checking the menu, I decided it would be okay to try since we couldn’t get reservations in the Biergarten (Germany).
I had a delicious chicken dish with poblano sauce, which I now adore. Unfortunately, the roasted potatoes that came with my dish were not the greatest and at one point, I had to turn on my phone’s flashlight in order to make sure they were potatoes and not plantains. My dad shared his rice with me though and it was delicious as was the frozen margarita I enjoyed with my meal.
We decided not to have dessert there and enjoyed it later at our hotel but the desserts they did have listed looked delicious.
The only downside is the lighting. For those unfamiliar with the Mexican pavilion, it is almost entirely inside and is designed to look like a village square. It is also always twilight since that’s when things are usually happening, after the heat of the day. So the lighting is dim inside the restaurant and at one point, I did have to turn on my phone’s flashlight to check something out. But if you want such an ambiance, it may be a plus.
The Plaza
My mother and sister discovered The Plaza when they went to the Magic Kingdom for the opening ceremony during our 2019 trip to Disney. They went there for breakfast and we then went back for lunch. We loved it so much, we quickly made a reservation for this past trip.
And once again, it was delicious.
The Plaza is found just off Main Street by the ice cream store. As you turn right to head toward the Tomorrowland Terrace and ultimately Tomorrowland, it is on your right. It’s a small restaurant (as I think they generally do more outdoor seating) but I highly recommend it. I had a burger there that was delicious and followed it up with a milkshake. We definitely walked away full from that meal.
Check it out if you’re in the Magic Kingdom.
Regal Eagle
The Regal Eagle has replaced the old Liberty Tree Tavern at the American Adventure Pavilion in Epcot. It’s still window service but is now a barbecue place with a Muppets theming (Sam the Eagle is the eagle in the name).
It got mixed reviews from my family. My mother and aunt were not fond of the salads they got and my sister was meh on their hamburger. I, though, I loved my barbecue chicken while my dad loved the pulled pork. So if you like barbecue, you’ll love this place. If you’re looking for something else, I’d bypass it for now.
Mobile Ordering
Mobile ordering has been around since before the pandemic. I definitely recall it being an option during my 2019 trip and maybe my 2018 trip but we never took advantage of it. We could just go up to the register and order. It didn’t really matter to us.
Naturally, the pandemic changed all that.
Though guests could still go up to registers to order, Disney strongly encouraged us to use the Mobile Ordering option and had more windows devoted to those orders. We first used it at Cosmic Ray’s in the Magic Kingdom and we fell in love.
Here’s how it works: Mobile Ordering can be found on the My Disney Experience app. You pick the restaurant you want to order from and then a window to pickup your order, whether you want it now or want to schedule it for a certain time. You then pick what you want off the menu and there are some items you can customize. You finalize your choices and pay for it. Once your window is open and you are near the restaurant, you click “I’m here, prepare my order.” Once your order is ready, you will be told which window will have your order. You show them your phone and they give you your food.
It’s really easy and so I encourage you to use it when you can.
There are some new things in Disney! I go back in June so maybe I’ll have even more to talk about! Maybe I’ll even get on Rise of the Resistance!
No comments:
Post a Comment