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

Our test results came back negative! We did get them a bit earlier than experts recommend (mostly just because my university had limited openings) so we'll still quarantine but still a good sign.

Now I'm already in 'let's plan the next trip mode!' I really want to hope for a summer Disneyland trip but not sure I want to be on the ronacoaster again waiting for Newsom to toss me a bread crumb..... so the question is: WDW in the summer (Yikes, so much heat!) or wait it out?
This is me. I really am trying to plan, but am not sure of a good time. My BFF, who is my Disney trip buddy is a teacher so she is being very very careful about non-essential travel. Which I totally understand and think is the right decision.

If I do summer, I would pick June. It's before hurricane season really picks up. Plus the intense heat isn't there yet. Fall worries me with the hurricanes...Gah all these extra things you have to think about, that aren't issues in California lol.
 
We are finally home from WDW (our connecting flight in DFW was delayed for rain/storms! What a novel concept!) and in a nutshell:

WDW has the better castle and better queues (by "better queues" I mean how detailed and lovely some of them are compared to DL... especially Peter Pan and TSMM. They are VERY GOOD at HIDING their queues!!!).... but we liked DL better for everything else. :duck:

Still- we are grateful for having been able to go!
 
We are finally home from WDW (our connecting flight in DFW was delayed for rain/storms! What a novel concept!) and in a nutshell:

WDW has the better castle and better queues (by "better queues" I mean how detailed and lovely some of them are compared to DL... especially Peter Pan and TSMM. They are VERY GOOD at HIDING their queues!!!).... but we liked DL better for everything else. :duck:

Still- we are grateful for having been able to go!
Glad you had fun. Yes WDW is fun! Different but fun. And yes those queues are absolutely amazing! I still love my cozy Disneyland park the most :)
 
Our test results came back negative! We did get them a bit earlier than experts recommend (mostly just because my university had limited openings) so we'll still quarantine but still a good sign.

Now I'm already in 'let's plan the next trip mode!' I really want to hope for a summer Disneyland trip but not sure I want to be on the ronacoaster again waiting for Newsom to toss me a bread crumb..... so the question is: WDW in the summer (Yikes, so much heat!) or wait it out?

I think you should go back to WDW. Because...who knows at this point when DL will reopen?

We went to WDW in June 2018. Stayed there a week. It was super hot and sweaty but we still had a great time. We are from AZ, so we're used to the heat, but we were NOT used to high humidity. Buying those expensive $20-$25 WDW battery powered fans was the best money I spent on that trip. The cooling towels we brought with us didn't help much. Those fans were a life saver. So were the cheap non-battery-operated fans I had brought with us from Cost Plus Imports...about $3-4 each. I regularly got asked by people, "Where did you get that fan?"

We also found it helpful to drink way more water than we were used to. AK in June was miserably hot...we only lasted a 1/2 day there. Breaks at our hotel each afternoon were helpful, too.

We didn't do commando-style open-to-close on that trip. I think that taking breaks was a key factor to reduction of Theme Park Fatigue symptoms there. LOL!

I never knew until that trip how much a person could sweat all of the time. Holy cow. The next time we go in June (which will be this next summer!), I'm packing 2 pairs of underwear and socks per day.

oh...and make sure to use Body Glide on everybody's feet so nobody gets blisters. There's nothing more miserable than getting a blister at WDW in the summer time! Plan on encountering rain every afternoon.
 


Has anyone been in the summer to WDW and worn sandals? How does it compare to wearing sandals and walking around at DL? I can walk 10+ miles at Disneyland in Rainbows and Birks nonissue at all. I actually prefer sandals because my feet aren’t sore after walking all day like with sneakers. I wonder if those sandals are good for WDW? 🤔
 
Has anyone been in the summer to WDW and worn sandals? How does it compare to wearing sandals and walking around at DL? I can walk 10+ miles at Disneyland in Rainbows and Birks nonissue at all. I actually prefer sandals because my feet aren’t sore after walking all day like with sneakers. I wonder if those sandals are good for WDW? 🤔

I go to wdw in September when it is still over 90 most days and I always wear my fit flops. Iwould never consider my sneakers there when it is that hot. My fit flops are what I wear at Disneyland too.
 
@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!!
 


@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 sadly did not see any gingerbread cookies. I meant to look at the Grand Floridian (we had lunch there on checkout day) and completely forgot!

I did not have Dole Whip from Aloha Isle in MK... But I DID get it at Tamu Tamu in AK and I did NOT like it. The consistency was different, almost as though it had been aerated or something. Wish I'd gotten one at MK to compare to see if they're all like that.

I did, however, have a frozen treat at Aloha Isle, although it might have been seasonal. It was a float with pistachio soft serve and chai! Sounds odd (color wise, it reminded me of Baby Yoda, actually) and a red velvet cake pop. The cake pop was terrible! But we both enjoyed the float. (The soft serve was "normal" consistency).

Do NOT be fooled by the giant pretzels in the Germany area of Epcot. They look great but the one I had was, sadly, DRY and flavorless. (I just now realized you're not going to Epcot... but don't get them anyway!)

The cinnamon roll at Gaston's Tavern was good but nothing I'd go back for again.

I think those are the only snacks we got. We didn't necessarily always want to sit down to eat it, and since you cannot walk around the parks and eat right now, that limited us a bit in our snack selection.
 
Ooh I thought the cinnamon rolls at Gastons were yummy! And not something they have at DLR (that I know of?)
Like I said, definitely not bad at all. (Would have been better if it had truly been "warm" as advertised but with everything as it was, I didn't want to take the hassle of going back and bothering the CM).

I just wouldn't wait in line for it again. But it was soft!
 
Has anyone been in the summer to WDW and worn sandals? How does it compare to wearing sandals and walking around at DL? I can walk 10+ miles at Disneyland in Rainbows and Birks nonissue at all. I actually prefer sandals because my feet aren’t sore after walking all day like with sneakers. I wonder if those sandals are good for WDW? 🤔

I've worn sandals to WDW. I wore Teva sandals and put Body Glide all over my feet before putting them on in order to reduce the chances of getting blisters. Walked 9-11 miles each day in them in early June and did just fine.

The problem with Birkenstocks, though, is they will get wet. It rains basically every day at WDW in the summer. So you need sandals that can handle the wet weather.
 
Like I said, definitely not bad at all. (Would have been better if it had truly been "warm" as advertised but with everything as it was, I didn't want to take the hassle of going back and bothering the CM).

I just wouldn't wait in line for it again. But it was soft!

Ours were warm and I'm sure that made a big difference! Although yes, that was probably the longest line we waited in for food & it was hard to find seating in that area too. It was probably my favorite treat we had at MK, AK, or HS, but I agree that we didn't do as much snacking as usual when you can't eat on the go or in line.
 
Thanks! My husband wants to try the pistachio chai tea whip. It’s on our list! So is a cinnamon roll. But my eyes are always bigger than my stomach at the parks. lol.
 
The Night Blossom from Pongu Pongu in Pandora is definitely one of our favorite treats. We like the colossal pretzel they serve as well! And Satu’li Canteen next door is one of our favorite places in AK to grab food. 😋😋 Here’s my baby two years ago with her Night Blossom when she still kinda had her baby face:


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The Night Blossom from Pongu Pongu in Pandora is definitely one of our favorite treats. We like the colossal pretzel they serve as well! And Satu’li Canteen next door is one of our favorite places in AK to grab food. 😋😋 Here’s my baby two years ago with her Night Blossom when she still kinda had her baby face:


Adding this to our list! We already planned on eating at Satu’li Canteen, so I’m glad to hear you like it too! Thank you!!
 
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.
 
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.
Yes from what I have learned, starting in 2021, magic bands won't be included in packages. You can buy them on shop disney or the disney store. Also, if you have left over ones, you are supposed to be able to link to your account.

I'm not 100% sure when the new MDE thing will come out. I suspect sometime next year, maybe right when park hopping begins?
 
Yes from what I have learned, starting in 2021, magic bands won't be included in packages. You can buy them on shop disney or the disney store. Also, if you have left over ones, you are supposed to be able to link to your account.

I believe you get a discount on the magic bands if purchased via MDE with your resort reservation (solids are $5, others start at $10). Not sure if that is better than any discount you might have with Shop Disney or at a store.
 
I believe you get a discount on the magic bands if purchased via MDE with your resort reservation (solids are $5, others start at $10). Not sure if that is better than any discount you might have with Shop Disney or at a store.
Oh interesting-thanks. I'll look into that. The solids are $15 on ShopDisney and others are $25-35. No discounts apply to them on ShopDisney either though there are a couple of designs currently on sale.
 

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