This has nothing to do with anything but I feel the need to write. We are on day three of our Disney Vacation. We have been to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Disney Hollywood Studios. We go to Disney every other year but missed the last trip due to covid. A lot has changed but it is still great (mostly).
Magic kingdom I love the Haunted Mansion. We have to ride Seven Dwarves runaway rail car and Big Thunder Mountain. We also do Pirates and a few other things before riding on Space Mountain as many times as humanly possible.
Animal Kingdom is all about two rides for us, Pandora Flight of passage and Everest Expedition. We rode that Yeti 15 times today.
Hollywood has the Tower of Terror and Rock n Rollercoaster which my kids love. Slinky dog which I love. New since we last went was the Star Wars area. We did both the Millennium Falcon ride and Rise of the Resistance. Rise is such a good ride that I was blown away. Full experience of a ride and while I love Star Wars (not as big of a fan of it as Wooky is) but it can make a fanboy cry. My boys both built lightsabers and droids. Both super cool experiences but close to a grand in total for both.
We have met some of the nicest people while we have been here, most everyone is polite and respectful. There are some people from other places that have no idea what is socially acceptable. One example is today we were in a tight hallway in line for the Pandora ride and this guys kid has a Mickey Mouse bubble blaster steadily blowing bubbles up the back of my shorts. O said something to him so he picked her up and she proceeded to blow bubbles into the back of my head. I turned to him and said if he didn’t turn the thing off I was going to shove it up his @ss. Yesterday a family was so close to is in Flight of the Resistance the one girl sneezed, not covering, all over the back of my wife’s legs.
There are a ton of old people on scooters. Some younger ones, and I kid you not, two children too lazy to walk zipping around the park. We have affectionately been calling them droids. It started when Kylo Ren has stopped a guy in a scooter to “question him”. I waived my hand and said “this is not the droid you are looking for”. The crowd broke out in laughter as the actor who was playing Ren really didn’t know what to say.
But with all the family highlights so far this week, the thing that I will never forget, was the silver haired old lady on her scooter, a droid, seemingly gun it and run over a guy coming out of the beer line. I swear it was purposefully. He bounced off the front like Bo Duke and kind of slid across it not missing a beat. She said she lost control but I saw the look in her eyes.
Wow, how did you fit all those rides in? I need to get some tips from you next time my family goes. Won’t be for another year minimum.
Well, my favorite memory was bringing my 4 year old who didn’t understand the concept of waiting in line. Would literally demand we cut in front of people. And when we didn’t she took it upon herself to do so. I vowed never to bring her back until she learns patience.
She’s 10 now. Went to Lego land last summer (New York). Hasn’t learned yet. So it’s still going to be a while.
It really is a great place. I went to DW 6 times from 2012 to 2016, twice in one year because we wanted to go during Halloween. I last went there in 2021, spent 10 days with 8 at the parks. We stayed off-site for the first time and it was a blast - ate where we want, had a washer/dryer in the room, more space, etc.
Where are you staying? How many days are you there? You’d be surprised with the cast members, they have probably heard and seen everything; it is surprising that Ren didn’t interact with you.
Rise of the Resistance is the BEST experience I’ve seen at Disney. If that is of things to come, I’m fine with letting go of the nostalgic rides for that type of attraction.
Now that my kids are older, my spouse and I are going to California alone for 8 days this summer, with 4 at Disneyland. We haven’t been there, so we wanted to do that and I booked a tour at Disney Studios using my movie rewards.
Have fun, and remember to slow down…otherwise, you might get detained by Kylo on suspicious behavior
We are at Pop Century. One of the biggest changes is no dining plan. So we eat where we want. My favorites are Tusker House for Breakfast at Animal Kingdom and the 50’s Diner at Hollywood (killer sloppy Joe’s)
Disney is tough. It’s an experience that is laced with high expectations and high stakes (both because of the finite opportunity for most and the cost). Unless you live close, your opportunity to go is usually limited to once a year or less. The cost amps up the pressure to have a good time.
Once you start factoring in your kids’ unpredictable reactions to the day’s plans and actualities, it starts to become an unmanageable feat to guarantee sustained enjoyment.
Factor in other people you don’t know? Now you’re just in go with the flow territory. And that’s just it. Expectations don’t necessarily need to be low, but suspended. Then just let the good happen amidst the annoying and frustrating.
The new fast pass system adds another layer of neurotic planning that may or may not pan out.
Anyhoo. I was surprised I didn’t like Rise of Resistance more. Probably because how long the line was (90 minutes) and how anxious I was about leaving my wife to deal with the kids that whole time.
You had to wait in line for Rise of the Resistance? They had a reservation system when I went.
OMG if you went solo on RotR, no wonder you didn’t like it. Make sure you go with your family when you go back because it’s not the experience that is most important, it is the people you share it with. I completely understand you…I went to Universal Studios alone on a work trip one time and it made me so sad
My wife and I went back (10th anniversary, no kids) and had a blast. But I was able to actually get around and get a feel for what each park has to offer much more without kids that we can better plan the next trip with (older) kids.
Yes! I did that only one of the years I went and said never again. It was too much food and we had to pack snacks in our suitcases with the left over credits.
I’ve heard this…don’t know the details but sounds like it sucks. I liked walking right up to Avatar and telling the guy who waited in line for 4 hours I waited 10 minutes.
Depends on where you want to stay and for how long. For about 6 days, I found the price to average about $1K/person for a moderate hotel pre-COVID. I can’t recall when I went during COVID (2021), but it was still around the $1K number. That does not include flights.
Warning - I was not a “big” Disney fan before going, but oh boy, it made me one. It’s more than entertainment, and some of the best times of my life have been spent there.
There is a bit of a learning curve to Disneyland, but if you are local and go there enough, you pick up lots of tips and tricks. And then use the app to its fullest potential, you can pack a lot into a day, but won’t feel rushed.
That makes sense. With a 3-year-old and a 9-month-old it wasn’t feasible, though.
The 3-year-old had a blast on Smuggler’s Run the day before and so did my wife with me, but paying for the “Genie+” or whatever two days in a row felt like I was being gouged. Maybe I should have done it just to make Rise of Resistance easier.
That’s kind of my point, though. There’s no ideal way to do it.
We paid for the fast pass Monday and Tuesday. We did rope drop since we are staying at the resort. We get in a half hour early. So we skipped lightening lanes today and rode avatar three times and Yeti 15.
We rode like 25 rides at magic kingdom and mostly it was about being flexible and bouncing. Getting in early is key. We have been up at 6 am every day.
