Moving a DLR Trip to Walt Disney World- Let’s Talk!

[crystal1313]

So I've decided that we will do WDW next year at some point, whether it's the spring break trip I have secretly booked or later in the year depending on how we're feeling about travel etc. So I want to get the kids MagicBands to unwrap at Christmas. My understanding is that they're no longer included and you have to buy them yourself. Is this correct? Is there any reason I shouldn't just buy them from shopDisney or is there a different way to buy them? I'm really clueless here. The few single day solo trips I've taken were very last minute and since they were all just one day I didn't get a MagicBand and just used the card instead.

I also see that they are going to announce a way to use the MDE app instead of a MagicBand "in 2021". Has anyone heard when in 2021 this is likely to be released? I'd love to not have to wear a MagicBand since I already wear an Apple watch.

I've seen where people attach the center part of the magic band (the puck) to their iWatch so they are all together on one band. that could be an option for you!

 

[pharmama]

I've seen where people attach the center part of the magic band (the puck) to their iWatch so they are all together on one band. that could be an option for you!

Thanks! I came across those too and might give them a try

 

[TikiTikiFan]

@TikiTikiFan and @ten6mom would you recommend any treats at the parks? We are only going to MK, HS and AK this trip. I know to pass on the churros. Lol. Also, did you guys see any gingerbread cookies at the parks? Thanks!!

I got gingerbread cookies in the bakery on Main Street! So they have them. Same cupcakes, candied apples, fudge too. Tasted the same to me.

We had many dole whips in MK and they were identical. Pretzels are always a go to for us and those (from the carts and liberty square) were just as good IMO- same with popcorn.

I loved the brew slushee at Gastons Tavern with the cinnamon roll- my son liked it too! My son loved the cinnamon roll he was over the moon about it. Beaches and Cream had amazing icecream selections. Other than that, we didn’t snack on anything too out of the usual. But I think I was also purposely gravitating towards things that remind me of Disneyland haha.

Lots more adult drink options though! I’m not really a drinker but I loved the one my resort pool had- was a coconut banana slush thing. I think all the pool bars have similar drinks. I’m a lightweight since I never drink so I didn’t explore many of the other options (only adult traveling with a kid limits my fun lol) but they sounded good!!

 

[crystal1313]

I got gingerbread cookies in the bakery on Main Street! So they have them. Same cupcakes, candied apples, fudge too. Tasted the same to me.

We had many dole whips in MK and they were identical. Pretzels are always a go to for us and those (from the carts and liberty square) were just as good IMO- same with popcorn.

I loved the brew slushee at Gastons Tavern with the cinnamon roll- my son liked it too! My son loved the cinnamon roll he was over the moon about it. Beaches and Cream had amazing icecream selections. Other than that, we didn’t snack on anything too out of the usual. But I think I was also purposely gravitating towards things that remind me of Disneyland haha.

Lots more adult drink options though! I’m not really a drinker but I loved the one my resort pool had- was a coconut banana slush thing. I think all the pool bars have similar drinks. I’m a lightweight since I never drink so I didn’t explore many of the other options (only adult traveling with a kid limits my fun lol) but they sounded good!!

Thank you!!! Very much appreciated!! We leave in 3 days! I’m making my snack list.

 

[BGinCali]

Thank you!!! Very much appreciated!! We leave in 3 days! I’m making my snack list.

I read this last night before bed and realized I leave in 3 days too! I haven’t let myself get excited...but did when I read your post! Now I am off to pack (and make my foodie list!). Thanks everyone for your reviews and posting trip reports-so helpful!

 

[crystal1313]

I read this last night before bed and realized I leave in 3 days too! I haven’t let myself get excited...but did when I read your post! Now I am off to pack (and make my foodie list!). Thanks everyone for your reviews and posting trip reports-so helpful!

Yay! So awesome!! I’ve been packed since Sunday. Haha. Way too excited over here!!! I feel like this week is taking so long to get through!!

 

[hiroMYhero]

Just a general alert for anyone there or leaving soon.

WDW continues to suppress info regarding COVID positive CMs. This week there is a minimum of 6 active COVID infections within the entertainment CMs who worked at or with a CM at Topolino restaurant.

When that 1 CM tested positive, Health Services only contacted 1 CM out of 5 who had worked with that specific CM the previous day.

Many Entertainment CMs have spread the infection to their roommates and family members who are Attraction (displaced Entertainment) CMs.

So, be extra careful and extremely limit your exposure to any CMs.

 

[midnight star]

Also adding, be mindful about Disney springs. Saw reports that today it was crazy packed.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

Just a general alert for anyone there or leaving soon.

WDW continues to suppress info regarding COVID positive CMs. This week there is a minimum of 6 active COVID infections within the entertainment CMs who worked at or with a CM at Topolino restaurant.

When that 1 CM tested positive, Health Services only contacted 1 CM out of 5 who had worked with that specific CM the previous day.

Many Entertainment CMs have spread the infection to their roommates and family members who are Attraction (displaced Entertainment) CMs.

So, be extra careful and extremely limit your exposure to any CMs.

I’m just curious- how do you know all this?

I think that’s a pretty good rule of thumb with any restaurant workers right now. It’s not surprising to see spread happen amongst coworkers in restaurants because they work so closely together and often. Add in the work with the public and well.. yeah. All of the outbreaks in our town at restaurants have been amongst staff- not necessarily customers, although I’m sure that’s not tracked. We kept our masks on at restaurants whenever we’d interact with the CMs not just to be polite but for our own protection.

Physical distancing was often impossible at WDW but more so with the other guests- I don’t recall being too close to CMs than I wanted to be. Mostly guests and especially in Magic Kingdom where I got physically bumped many times.

It’s a risk and I think anyone going should be prepared for that. We took it seriously and quarantined for 14 days when we returned and also got tested. Tested negative and are in the clear today at day 15!

 

[hiroMYhero]

I’m just curious- how do you know all this?

Direct text messages from Entertainment CMs who were exposed at Topolino. CMs have been directed to keep COVID posts off of Facebook so they text out info to keep other CMs aware of the spread.

My daughter was an Entertainment performer and Coordinator. She’s now volunteering her time helping with resumes for CMs who have lost their jobs.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

@hiroMYhero : Thank you for the update and for helping to keep us informed and on our toes! It's just too easy these days to get distracted and, thus, careless -- which is a risk we just shouldn't be taking for ourselves or for others. Hope you and your family are doing well!

 

[hiroMYhero]

Hello @theluckyrabbit! I usually hand-off WDW inside info to Casey or rteetz to post because I’m keeping my record of not posting on the WDW side intact. So this thread was as close as I could get.

Family is staying safe especially because of biotech DD. She assures us the vaccine will be effective even with all the virus mutations. So that’s great news especially for DL!

Former Mouse DD has high hopes for CMs who are searching for jobs. She received numerous job offers either because of her Disney training or because she graduated from UCSD in 3 years. Kind of a toss-up as to which is more impressive but she’s helping jobless former CMs promote themselves as ‘Disney-trained’ and highlight the skills they gained while at Disney. Wishing the best for all the WDW CMs whose official ‘separation day’ was Friday.

A WDW park tip from Casey is to plan on being in the parks during the last few hours of the day. He reports it’s similar to the capacity numbers of the former ‘After Hours’ events which had extremely limited attendance caps.

 

[crystal1313]

We got BG 40 today. So excited! Just got off MM runaway railway. So cute! In line for TOT.

mask enforcement and compliance was not great at DS. But we’ve been very happy with it while in the parks so far! It’s pretty chilly. So I think that’s helping.

 

[bassgirl]

We got BG 40 today. So excited! Just got off MM runaway railway. So cute! In line for TOT.

mask enforcement and compliance was not great at DS. But we’ve been very happy with it while in the parks so far! It’s pretty chilly. So I think that’s helping.

SOOOO Glad you are having fun. I FINALLY booked our WDW vacation....June 20 - 26, 2021. We are staying at All-Star Movies. MK 2day, HS 1, Epcot 1, Animal Kingdom 1. Our family hopes you have a fantastic rest of your trip. Take Care!! (Sorry everyone. I haven't been on here for a while. I was just in the middle of do we go or not kinda of mind. Glad we decided to go.)

 

[NorthernCalMom]

So strange I remember the bbq place but not big Thunder ranch lol.

I loved that place when our kids were little. So few people knew about it, and it was never busy, even in the middle of summer. It was my favorite go-to place when we needed a break from the crowds.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

Oooof. Finished reading all twenty pages of this thread. Looks as if we're breaking down and are starting to plan for a WDW trip at the end of March/beginning of April 2021. Fingers crossed that the vaccination efforts are going to go well and that the COVID numbers will be start going down by that point. Regardless, we got our Disney themed masks at the ready.

I am currently doing my research (I'm a seasoned DLand type-A planning obsessed person, but know next to nothing about WDW). There's 4 of us, two adults and two teenage girls (13 & 15). Our current plan is three days at WDW, one at Universal. We're planning single day tickets--MK, HS, and Epcot--and we're not sure yet where we'll stay. We're thinking about booking through Get Away Today. Both kids are big Star Wars fans, so I make sure to study the thread on ROTR boarding passes. We don't care much about sit-down dining--we're an energizer bunny "gotta keep moving" type family--so at least I won't have to stress about ADRs.

As far as the Universal day goes, the only thing that really interests us is the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I didn't see any Universal park hoppers; does that mean we have to pick either of the two parks, or have people done one in the am and the other in the afternoon on ticket each? Also, how do people get from WDW to Universal (we weren't planning on renting a car)? Any advice (or links to related threads here on the board would be greatly appreciated).

So, first order of business: Continuing to read whatever I can get my hands on. Then I'll come up with a rough draft of a plan to present to my kids during winter break, making sure we got everybody's priorities covered. Once we got everybody on the same page, I'll ask the Get Away Today people for a quote. We're looking to fly United (DH still has a voucher from a conference that got canceled this year).

I'm getting excited!!!!

 

[pharmama]

I know AK doesn't get a ton of love but Pandora really is amazing (especially at night) and Expedition Everest is my FAVORITE Disney coaster (if you like coasters). I'm looking forward to the safari too which I didn't get to experience before since I visited AK during an After Hours event. I'm also in NorCal (SF Bay area) and will be presenting my kids (DD15, DD11, DD9) with their first WDW trip over the holidays (and around the same time frame as you!)- so excited to start planning with them!

I am also debating adding on a final day at Universal, mostly for DD9 who is still HP crazy, though the other two love HP too- as do I. Like you, our main (only) reason for visiting would be WWoHP. Having been to both parts solo, I think it will be fine to get to both in one day. Universal does have multi park tickets-they call them Park to Park. As far as getting to Universal, I believe there are some buses you can take or you can always Uber/Lyft.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

I know AK doesn't get a ton of love but Pandora really is amazing (especially at night) and Expedition Everest is my FAVORITE Disney coaster (if you like coasters). I'm looking forward to the safari too which I didn't get to experience before since I visited AK during an After Hours event. I'm also in NorCal (SF Bay area) and will be presenting my kids (DD15, DD11, DD9) with their first WDW trip over the holidays (and around the same time frame as you!)- so excited to start planning with them!

I am also debating adding on a final day at Universal, mostly for DD9 who is still HP crazy, though the other two love HP too- as do I. Like you, our main (only) reason for visiting would be WWoHP. Having been to both parts solo, I think it will be fine to get to both in one day. Universal does have multi park tickets-they call them Park to Park. As far as getting to Universal, I believe there are some buses you can take or you can always Uber/Lyft.

How exciting, pharmama!!! I'm sure I would love AK, but I was overruled... Next time, I guess. I am looking forward to trading planning experiences with you. ❤ I have been meticulously planning our yearly Anaheim trips for over a decade and could probably whip up a decent DLand/California Adventure trip plan in my sleep at this point. I am both intimidated and fascinated by the task of not just now figuring out from scratch how to "do" WDW but to figure out which of people's experiences still apply during COVID times. Thank you so very, very, very much for the Park-to-Park ticket link. Yes, that's exactly what I was looking for!!! Who knows, we may be neighbors... I am in SF (Inner Richmond area).

 

[pharmama]

How exciting, pharmama!!! I'm sure I would love AK, but I was overruled... Next time, I guess. I am looking forward to trading planning experiences with you. ❤ I have been meticulously planning our yearly Anaheim trips for over a decade and could probably whip up a decent DLand/California Adventure trip plan in my sleep at this point. I am both intimidated and fascinated by the task of not just now figuring out from scratch how to "do" WDW but to figure out which of people's experiences still apply during COVID times. Thank you so very, very, very much for the Park-to-Park ticket link. Yes, that's exactly what I was looking for!!! Who knows, we may be neighbors... I am in SF (Inner Richmond area).

I hear ya on the planning intimidation! We are so spoiled with many DLR trips we hardly even plan them anymore but clearly winging it isn't going to work at WDW- especially pandemic WDW!

I'm in San Mateo so not too far from you

 

[crystal1313]

We just got back!!! Trip was so great!! AK was our favorite park and we regretted only having one day there. We rode EE 6 times! And FOP blew us away!!! What a gorgeous park too. Can’t wait to go back again and explore more!

Next time we will take a break day in the middle. 5 days of rope drop (well before official opening) to close and walking almost 60 miles wore us out!! we slightly slept in on our last HS day since we got a boarding group that was a bit later and arrived around 9:30.

We got to ride ROTR twice, which was our goal. And wow. Just wow. I cried after the first time on it. It was just incredible. So happy we didn’t watch any spoilers beforehand.

Those of you planning feel free to ask me any questions!

I’ll try to post more later when I have more time. Just wanted to pop in real fast and give an update.