Is it as bad at recent Tripadvisor reviews?

[Ronaldo17]

OK thanks man

You're welcome,

 

[csimon]

Make sure you log on to your MDE account and make your park reservations asap before you buy Disney tickets

Is it possible to make reservations befote buying tickets? Disney's instructions are to check the reservaton calendar before buying tickets, then buy them, link them in MDE if not already there then make reservations.

Here's some guidance, it notes n several places that a ticket is required to make a reservation.

https://www.mousehacking.com/blog/disney-world-park-reservation-system-what-we-know

 

[_19disnA]

I wouldn't decide where to vacation based on bad online reviews from any travel site. You have no idea if the people doing the posting are the type who complain about everything and are never satisfied. I think most of those sites tend to attract people who have something to complain about and it often reads like each person trying to outdo the next on how bad their experience was. People who go and have a good time are probably less likely to post if there are already 100 other positive reviews.

Disney parks draw a LOT of people so they are likely to be crowded whenever you go. Early in the day or later in the afternoon tend to be slower times and you can do more lines when lines are shorter. No amount of 'planning' is going to make any park less crowded so it's also good to be realistic with regard to your expectations.

If you have't been to Disney in several years, one of the first things to do is make your park reservations since you won't be able to go to a specific park without them.

 

[loves to dive]

You have to have your tickets before you can make park reservations, you can see what is available before you buy the tickets but you can't actually book them (at least that's been my experience).

 

[CVG]

We went last August and the bus system was not as good as it used to be. After Typhoon Lagoon H20 night we waited nearly an hour to get on a bus (they were very infrequent) and it took us to Disney Springs where we had to change buses to Beach Club.

One night coming out of Magic Kingdom, we waited again, almost 45 minutes for a bus. At one point, the bus filled up and left. We all waited for a VERY long time and the bus that turned up to collect us was the same driver that had just gone to Beach Club and back.

There was a MASSIVE difference last year in the quality of service from previous years and a lot of times we would come out of the hotel foyer and just get an Uber rather that wait 30 minutes for a bus. Getting an Uber from our resort to Typhoon Lagoon, Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios was WAY quicker than Disney Transportation.

The Skyliner I only rode once. Very hot journey on that and weirdly gave me motion sickness!

Thanks. What sort of prices are Uber?

 

[deno]

Thanks. What sort of prices are Uber?

If I recall correctly, about $10 from Beach Club to the parks.

 

[starry_solo]

@kiteboy - get the UK TICKETS. CHEAPER for more days…

 

[notatallmagic]

Short answer - if you are not comparing it to "before", and through the eyes of your kiddo, you will likely have a wonderful time WITH planning.

I'm one that's done a fair share of complaining, as 2021 and early 2022 seemed to be much less magical and sometimes downright awful for our family (we were Annual Passholders).

I can say that we did a short trip in August - no parks - and found that transportation and some of our experiences were slightly better. And Port Orleans (both French Quarter and Riverside) are lovely, and we had great experiences there. We found the buses to be better/quicker at French Quarter.

We are now Annual Passholders at Universal, with one trip in December and four more planned this year. It is a very different experience, but one we are enjoying. Everything is closer together, so we only used the buses once, and walked very easily everywhere. There is virtually no planning involved, dining reservations were a breeze, and it's generally much more relaxing for us. You can't really compare the two, but if you do need some time to relax after Disney, Universal has been great for us.

And I would also suggest a mid-day break or a day or two of non-park days at Disney, or you may be totally exhausted. Happy planning!

 

[cheryl.UK]

We LOVE the buses!!!! The worst we've ever waited for a bus was 30 minutes and usually it's more like 10-15 minutes. We have found that they are the quickest way to the parks because the bus stops are closer than the car parks. The water parks are a bit different as the buses often go to the springs first. However Uber is your friend here. It's a very quick (and cheap) ride from French Quarter to Typhoon Lagoon. This year we didn't hire a car for the first time and didn't really miss having one because we use the buses even when we have a car. At the resorts, the bus stops give real time arrival times for the next buses to each park on electronic boards so you know exactly what to expect. MDE also give you arrival times so you can check while you are in your room.

One other thing, every time we go, at least once per trip, we are really late out of a park to the point that the buses are stopping running. Every time, without fail, a cast member asks us where we are going and makes sure a bus takes us 'home'. We are usually the only ones on the bus.

 

[csimon]

One other thing, every time we go, at least once per trip, we are really late out of a park to the point that the buses are stopping running. Every time, without fail, a cast member asks us where we are going and makes sure a bus takes us 'home'. We are usually the only ones on the bus.

That's really good to know, from practical experience, as to what happens. It's always given me anxiety!

 

[disneyseniors]

What is the correct link to TA posts about WDW? I tried but couldn't get on it. Thanks I wanted to see for myself what others are saying, and I know that most people who bother to post have had bad experiences.

 

[mamamia2005]

In all our trips ( I think about 10 of them on site) there's only been a few times we've had an issue with the buses. The most recent was in Dec 2021 when we waited about 45 mins for a bus back at night to OKW.
We did have an issue with the skyliner on our trip in August 2022 one night. There had been lightening in the area earlier in the evening but Harmonious still went ahead. After the show had finished I asked one "normal" CM and another who looked more like management if the skyliner back to pop was definitely running and was assured it was (but if it wasn't there would be resort buses at the BC to take us back to our resort) . So we set off from Italy to the IG, only to find when we got there that the skyliner was closed and we needed to get a bus from the front of the park. I asked about buses from the BC and was told that I needed to go to the front of the park. I did check the price of Uber / Lyft from the BC back to Pop but it was quite expensive ( as expected - Harmonious had just finished ). So by the time we arrived at the bus stop we had walked half way round the world, and all of future world were already in front of us! We waited about 40 mins for a bus, honestly it was carnage with what seemed to be no proper lines for Pop.
I did speak to the front desk the next day and said there needed to be something in the app where you could check if the skyliner was open, which they said they would pass on!

Overall though, Disney transportation is excellent and generally they make it so easy, and that is a real attraction of staying on site.
It is a pain getting to TL / BB via either Disney springs or AK though. I would budget for an Uber each way next time.