That’s a really good thought, but I think it depends on how far you live from the parks, as well as cost. I couldn’t justify the thousands of dollars spent that early.
Took a 2 and 6 year old in December. 2 year tells me about "Disney castle, I eat there" every time a commercial for Disney comes on. They may not remember everything, but she talks about it almost every day. It'll fade over time, but worth it.
I may have asked you this, but I don’t care and I like when this thread is active: how did your two year old do with the mask? Was Disney more chill when he/she was in the stroller? My sister in law is still trying to work with her son and he’s not having it. Gonna have to keep at it, but was wondering how they were with policing it for young toddlers.
My kid fell asleep in stroller every day not long after lunch. We'd then take that time and do some of the rides that only my oldest could do.
Generally, if she was in the stroller, they didn't say anything. They'd occasionally tell her she had to pull it over her nose, because she did have some issues with it slipping, but overall she did pretty well with it. I was surprised.
my 3 1/2 yo will wear a mask for a few minutes then she's on to something else and the mask is on the ground. We're going after Thanksgiving this year and she'll be 4 by then, but I'm worried about how she'll do with it.
I have a feeling that telling the kid no mask=no mickey mouse, will do the trick. Also, I am happy to send anyone Disney Masks for their upcoming trip. I have a character warehouse on my drive home from work and they are $1.75 each. Might be easier to get the kids to wear it if mickey's face is on it. just send me a PM and I'll swing by the store.
Mine train in normal times has the longest line by far. Not sure how the line is during these covid times. What is your goal, are you bringing kids, if so how old?
Really it depends on the kid, where you're staying, park hours that time of year, etc. On some trips we'd try to go back to the hotel at a value resort and take a nap - it normally was a terrible experience. We started just walking until she was asleep in the stroller then find a cool quiet place to let her nap for an hour or so. Then eventually it was just we're going to power through it with sugar and coke, and mix in a rest day in the middle of the trip. To the previous conversation about going early - they love it at that age, and will remember some of it. Even on our last trip, at 5.5 some of the character magic had worn off and I could tell she didn't believe it was *really* mickey, but someone in a costume, or it wasn't *really* the princess she was meeting, because they were here meeting people and also at the other park on a float. Didn't outright say it, but it didn't have the same magic as when she was 3.
If you plan on arriving early, go straight to Mine train, then honestly, make an order based off the Google sheet in the OP. Hit the rides in each area that usually have the longest line, then keep it moving, can always circle back and hit the rides that you can walk on to.
We mostly stay on-site, so we always go back to the hotel shortly after lunch and get the 2yo down for a nap where it’s quiet and cool. That way we can rest up as well and avoid the worst of the heat (depending on which time of year you go). Then we’d head back to a park mid-afternoon or early evening. Breaking up the day like that always worked better for us and the kids. The couple times we stayed off-site, we didn’t bother going back to the hotel and it was next to impossible to get them to nap in the stroller. Too many distractions.
When we went back in September (still very reduced capacity) the Mine Train was our longest wait of the day at MK and it was right around 30 minutes (10 of which were because of a mechanical problem they had to fix). We went first thing in the morning though, by midday whenever I looked it was still around 50-60 minutes even with reduced capacity at 25-33%
And the posted wait times are vastly overstated right now. Only one that seemed legit was flight of passage. Everything else, if it said 80 min, you might wait 45. 20 minute waits were almost walk straight on.
That’s what I’m explaining to my family that’s going. Don’t be alarmed by the length because the lines are distanced for health purposes, but also understand that Disney has historically overestimated posted wait times and it’s definitely true now.
it's even worse close to park closing. they will say a major ride has a 2 hour long line, then as soon as you get inside, its obvious that the line is 20 min or less.
yup. Because as long as you are in the que when the park closes, they will honor your spot in line. They don't want a legit 2+ hour line for Flight of passage at 5:55 when the park closes at 6. However, they will gladly let you shop and spend money as long as you'd like after park closing. Been told stories of CMs still waiting for people to leave the shops on main street at 3:00 am when the park closed at midnight.
That’s incorrect. It’s about 90mins post close when they kick you out of the park and main st stores close about 60mins after park close.
Maybe that’s changed recently, but I’ve had more than a few CMs tell me they’ve had to wait hours for guests to finish shopping on Mainstreet.
I’ve closed down the parks for 8 years now. I’d say the last 4-5 years it’s been this way. I am pretty routinely one of the last 5-10ppl out of the park
I've got low expectations for cuisine on property, but our first chance for dining reservations are tomorrow. Any options we should try to secure across any parks/resorts for two parents and a couple 2 1/2 year olds? We have 5 nights and one night for the wife and I to ourselves.
Chef Mickey’s has been notoriously known for mediocre to bad food, but it’s a character experience with all of the “Big Five” characters. It’s a distanced character dining, but people have been saying that since it went to family style breakfast, it’s actually been very good. Homecomin’ is southern-style food that gets constant good reviews. For the two of you, guys will recommend on-property spots like California Grill which is good, but just take her to Bull and Bear and call it a day. It’s “off property” at the Waldorf, but it may be the best restaurant in the area. It’s within the Disney property, just a little interior pocket that they don’t own called Bonnet Creek.
Appreciate it, 100% open to any off property locations that are a reasonable drive. We're aiming to do a character breakfast and dinner. So far, we're leaning Toppolino's for breakfast and Hollywood & Vine for dinner.
wrong thread (I guess?)... but God and Gavin Newsome willing I'll be hitting Disneyland for 2 days over Thanksgiving week this year.
I might flip those (Hollywood & Vine just announced reopening today for character breakfast) because Toppilino’s would be a much better choice for dinner. If you’re gonna pay Disney prices, set yourself up for the best chance at good food.
Went to Chef Mickeys for breakfast in January and thought the food was very good. It was a very nice experience still with the character distance dining.
Marcus pretty much nailed it. Imo do California grill and hope to god the fireworks are back by then. I’m very meh on Hollywood and vine. All the sit down restaurants at MGM and Magic Kingdom are meh. Stick with chef Mickey for your character dining. One thing to keep in mind is that it’s Disney. Every restaurant has a kids meal. Sanaa (AKL) is great for families and the food is very good. whispering canyon (WL)is another family friendly option that has solid food. beaches and cream (BC) for a very casual hamburger dinner with amazing deserts. for a nicer option with kid friendly options, Yachtsman (YC) or Flying Fish (BI)
Sawgrass mills mall. They have them all over the country. Just search for “Disney character warehouse”
They announced Monday that fireworks at Tokyo Disney will be back in early March. They did testing at MK in January and they've recently done testing for Harmonious and last night did testing for Fantasmic at HS. Rivers of Light at AK is done. Not sure what is next there. There is a shareholder meeting March 9th and I believe Ratatouille will be announced to open for Flower and Garden. Could potentially see an announcement for a night time show as well, but we will see. I expect to be a quicker roll out as opposed to setting a date out there 3-4 months in advance. They are selling a ticketed corporate event for Harmonious in October, so we should definitely see it before then. They still have 3 more barges to install.
Testing does not mean it is coming back within 60 days. The testing is to understand the show and make sure the barges/locations work. July or august would be my bet for fireworks. The issue is how much of a huddled mass they cause. Epcot and DHS would make more sense because you can space people out better. MK is kinda fucked for that.