Just reporting our experience from last month. We were at Disney from Dec 17 to Dec 21. Originally we had a 3 Day Park Hopper and
MVMCP tickets. But we canceled the party tickets and used it to upgrade to a 4 Day Park Hopper in the middle of our trip.
We used Genie Plus for 3 out of 4 days. It was totally worth it to us. We were able to ride all the rides we wanted with very little wait. It worked really well to stack the rides for later in the day. We had no trouble getting top rides or modifying our times to later in the day. We used G+ for SDD, MMRR, RnR, PP, JC, Splash, BTMR, POTC, HM, Dinosaur, and Navi River. We also used $ILL for FOP, GOTG, and SDMT. I did not splurge for Rise of the Resistance. It was $25 a person and I didn’t want to fork over that much money, just to skip the line. We’ve ridden it several times at both WDW and DL with boarding groups. So it wasn’t a must do for us.
The park we didn’t use Genie Plus was at Epcot. So it ended up being the only park, that we actually took advantage of ETPE. We came in on the Skyliner, and were in the park by 8:30. We went straight to Remy and then to Frozen. And we were done with both by 9:45. We had also bought an $ILL for GOTG and had a virtual BG. I don’t believe G+ was even necessary at Epcot, especially if you rope drop.
We only had one ADR this trip. It was the Fantasmic Dining package at Hollywood and Vine. I thought it would be nice to see the characters in their Christmas gear. The food was fine, but nothing spectacular. It felt like the same experience pre-Covid. But they didn’t do the picture with Minnie at the front. I don’t know if this is the norm now, or if it was just an off day. Either way, I don’t think it was necessary for the Fantasmic viewing. We got there right before it started, and there seemed to be a few seats left for those without dining packages too.
We originally had Candlelight Processional dining packages too. But there was a threat of rain, the day we were going. I was afraid to pay extra for seats, and then be stuck out in the rain. So I canceled our ADR. However it didn’t rain, and we were able to stand in the back and watch. We eventually went over to Regal Eagle for supper and ate at their outside tables. It was perfect, because we were able to eat, sorta see, and listen to the show from there.
We stayed at All Star Music and used Disney transportation exclusively. We mainly used the buses, but we also used the Skyliner and the Monorail. This experience with the buses was the best we’ve ever had. The buses were quick and plentiful! We could have just been lucky with our timing, but we rarely waited more than 5-10 minutes the whole trip.
We did all 3 night shows…Enchantment, Fantasmic, and Harmonious. We ended up watching Enchantment twice, because the first time we had a terrible view. I underestimated the crowds the first night, and we had a terrible time getting around. So our second night at MK, we claimed a spot on Main Street about 30 minutes early. This time we had great views, and we were able to enjoy it. Honestly that was really the only time, I felt like Disney was overly crowded. The rest of our trip seemed like the crowds were normal or tolerable. But around the time for fireworks, MK was packed! I think everyone was hopping to MK on nights when there was no Christmas party.
Overall, we had a nice trip! I would definitely go back during the Christmas season. I enjoyed the atmosphere and all the holiday touches. This was our first experience using Genie +, and we saved a lot of time. But there ended up being just 2 of us on this trip. It would have been much harder to justify the extra expense, if I had my whole family along.