The New Disney World Experience - Plan accordingly and save extra $$$

Wifey and I just spent 2 1/4 days at DW. I have been over 45 times in the past 30 years. I am very thankful now for having experienced the days of free parking at resorts, Fastpass, Disney Magical Express from and to the airport, and all the other perks of staying on property.

Now it is the era of Genie plus, parking fees at resorts, getting to DW via non Disney transportation, pandemic precautions, and changes galore, some good and some to be determined.

We checked into the Dolphin hotel, (our first time staying there) as my wife's favorite,, the Yacht Club had no room availability. We had walked through and around the Dolphin numerous times in the past, but it was our first time staying there. It basically is a decent Marriott Bonvoy hotel. Good services and a decent breakfast cafe, Fuel. Everyone was wearing masks indoors as instructed. We had a 7th floor west facing room overlooking the bus depot for Disney buses.

After being shut out for weeks, a breakfast time at Kona Cafe appeared about 2 weeks ago so I grabbed it quickly for a 9:40 reservation. Parking at the Polynesian only involved showing my driver's license. I checked in for our breakfast time using the mobile app. Shortly after I received a text back saying come on up as our table was ready. The restaurant wasn't crowded. The menu seemed a little limitd from what was available pre Covid. Tonga Toast was still on the menu and that was my choice. Wifey had the maccadamia pancakes. Both items were good.

After breakfast we drove over to the Dolphin around 11 a.m. and I was surprised that our room was ready. After checking in we played miniature golf at the nearby golf facility which is right next door to the new Swan Reserve hotel. The Swan Reserve seems to be the straight up approach Disney is taking for new hotel builds. The Dolphin does not have any Disney touches and the same for the Swan Reserve. They are just both hotels that happen to be on Disney property.

After golf we took a short break at our hotel before heading over to Disney Springs to get on the virtual queue for Gideons which we had missed out on earlier this year. We had an hour before being called back so we explored the shops. There was not much Christmas wear out, so I assume either Disney is waiting until after Thanksgiving or they have supply issues?? We got the text to return to Gideon's and after a short 10 minute wait were allowed to go inside. It's not what I expected inside. Very small and now I understand why there i a queue! We ordered 3 cookies and a slice of chocolate cake. All were delicious and I am glad we walked off the calories the next few days! We were back in our hotel by 6:30 and it was dark by then.

The next day, Tuesday, was Epcot day. Our main focus was eating our way around World Showcase and getting full off the food there. I cancelled out our Beaches and Cream reservations when we decided to focus on the food at the Fest to get us full. Australia, the Hops, Hawai, and the sipping booth were the ones I recalled us stopping by. The pork rind dip and ribs at Hawaii stood out in my mind, plus the 3 sipping glasses we had. During the afternoon it started to rain with a mild mist, so we returned to our room for a break until around 5:30. I had tried the queue for Ratatouille around 7:08 a.m. but the groups were all filled by then. I then tried at 1 pm exactly and got group 120 with a tentative time of 6:37 pm for our group. That time quickly started to be pushed furthe and further back until it finally settled at 8:45 pm to return for a then 45 minute wait in line! We had plans to watch the Haromonious fireworks and decided to forget Ratatouille after walking back to the area around 7:30 and seeing how full the line was then. Plus the rain was still falling in a misty fashion. We hid out in the American Adventure for an hour to stay dry. The queue for Ratatouille was a disaster! The concept might have seemed well, but the practice in reality was a terrible and frustrating experience.

Harmonious was the high light of the day. Disney did a good job with the story telling and inclusion of lights and fireworks into the story. I am not sure yet if it matches the Magic of Illuminations, but maybe with a few tweaks it will get there. We left after Harmonious, the rain had stopped by show time after having walked some 14 miles around Epcot and spending $60 or so on the food booths. We were both tired!

The next day was going to be our Hollywood Studios "day". After a quick breakfast at Fuel, I checked out of the hotel using my mobile app and we decided to walk over to HS. The line to get in was moderate in length and our entry was drama free. I found out quickly that if you didn't use the Genie plus, you faced a minimum of 1 hour waiting in most attraction lines. The $15 per person fee for Genie plus is probably the way to go for those families who do not get to Disney World often and want to do as mant attractions as you can. Otherwise coming to do the attractions after 7 pm might be your better alternative to shorter waits. Indiana Jones was not open so most people were of course flocking to the Star Wars attractions and Toyland. In my dream world I was hoping we could do the Rise of the Resistance. But, I knew it was no hope after reading the guidelines to Genie plus. Also the attraction wasn't up and running yet when we walked by. Wifey and I basically walked around the park once with a brief rest stop and left by 11:30 a.m. The stores seemed to have less merchandise than before. By 11 a.m. we had seen enough. My thoughts after seeing HS in action were again Fastpass was better for those who wanted free access to the popular attractions. Those who have extra $$$ have an advantage in getting on the attractions. You definitely need a plan, and two backup plans before coming into the parks in terms of what attractions you want to ride, and what to do when any are not working. Expect long lines in the early hours. Maybe do 1 long line in the morning, take a break and then come back after 6 pm for the shorter lines. Otherwise budget for the cost of Genie plus so you can experience more attractions without spending 5 hours in lines.

After this experience, I doubt if I will do the theme parks very often in the future. Other than Epcot for the various food booths, as we are in our 60s, we do not want to wait an hour in a line and don't want to pay extra for what we believe we have already paid for in the cost of park admission. Instead of doing Genie plus, Disney would have been better off moving some attractions over to Disney Springs since people have to pay extra anyway to get on the popular attractions inside the parks! What is the thrill and enjoyment of waiting in lines for 1 to 2 hours plus????