Good morning everyone, hope you are all staying safe and healthy (mentally and physically with all that is going on). My wife and I were planning on bringing our two daughters (age 7 and 4), to Disney this past July but needless to say it didn’t happen. I pushed the trip back to April vacation, and as things stand now we would feel comfortable travelling from Boston, but my question is for people who have gone, if you have kids that love all the “extra” things about Disney, like meeting characters, character meals, parades, fireworks, etc. is it still worth all the cost or do you wish you had pushed it back? Disney is typically a once ever three year type of trip for us so its not an annual occurrence. The idea of potential shorter lines is certainly attractive but I wonder if they would miss out on all the other things that Disney offered pre-pandemic.
I think the idea of shorter lines is quickly changing. Lines are growing longer, and when we were there in August, in fact, many of our waits in MK on Saturday were LONGER than we’d experienced. (Other waits were shorter.)
But as crowd levels increase, those short wait times are no longer a thing, really. So I wouldn’t count on them.
Hard to say what April is going to look like.
I’m bringing DD4 in two weeks. Character meets are her #1 favorite thing of all time (we met something like 70 on our last trip alone). I’ll be happy to report back to you on whether the cavalcades and such are enough once we return. That said, and as Ryan mentions, April is a long way off. I wouldn’t make any changes if I were you until at least January; I think a lot is going to change by then.
If the shorter lines is your main draw for going now…I would definitely wait. From my visit last weekend I found I waited in more and longer lines than I normally do since there are no FP.
I did find there was still Disney magic, even without parades, fireworks, etc, but if the little things you mention are big draws, and the lines are the main reason you are considering now vs in a year, I wouldn’t personally hesitate to postpone.
If all you care about is getting on a ride, not bothering with the preshow or theming, then this has been a good time to go (except holiday weeks). Especially if you are an AP and can go regularly.
However, if you like all the extra “Magic” and can only go every few years - you really should wait. Save that money & try to add to if for an even bigger / better trip in another year or so!
Thanks so much! I appreciate it.
April is a loooooooooooooooooong way off. The landscape can change a million times between now and then. Could be we see the return of some extras that have been missing. Could be things are worse and we don’t.
For me, if I were visiting only once every few years, I would want it as close to “normal” as it could be.
For that reason, I would watch closely. The really great thing is that they have implemented their “no risk” reservation cancellation policy, so that you can cancel at any time for any reason and be refunded. Given that, I would leave the trip on the books for now, and reassess as you get much closer. February or March would give you a better sense of where things are at.
Know that the whole “shorter lines” thing seems to be over and done. So I would not use that as a factor in your decision.
No such thing as being too picky about WDW! 
It’s an expensive price tag. You have that right.
Yeah, a lot can happen before April. A wait and see approach makes sense. You can always back out if things aren’t checking all the boxes for you by then.
I totally missed that this was an April trip. Yeah, in that case I would wait and see. They could change a lot between now and then!
Disney is expensive. Good to be picky. We are also a once every few years family, and are waiting until most of the Magic is back. I’d wait to see for April, agree a lot could change. Do you fly? If not then you really do have a lot of time to decide.
Fortunately I have Jet Blue Mosaic status so I can cancel flights at any time with no penalty, I have flights booked already.
I also wanted to add that if you do wait for another year you can be there for the 50th Anniversary events and more attractions / shows under construction “may” be open. Just a few examples:
Ratatouille, GotG, HarmoniUS, Space 220, Tron, A new AK night time show (replacing Rivers of Light)
Who knows… RotR BG may go away in another year (just speculation - They weren’t supposed to be a permanent thing)
Disney is an expensive trip - it’s not “picky” to want to be sure you get what you want out of those vacation dollars and that vacation time. You can either wait, or lower your expectations, because the price won’t come down much for the looks of things.
And I would assume long lines. The sweet spot of low pandemic crowds is over. FP was a work around for good planners, and it’s now gone with no official replacement announced. So to ride anything, you’re waiting in the same line as everyone else who wants to ride that particular ride.
In your scenario, I would wait until all the fun stuff came back.
And I think the lines aren’t as short anymore.
I just moved my Dec trip to April vaca week (originally was a July 4th trip!) Never moved a WDW vaca so much in my life, but as others have said, it ain’t cheap and I want to be able to relax and enjoy myself. I am not eating in restaurants yet at home in Boston, so no way would I relax at one in FL… hoping Apr brings better tidings but will keeping a close eye on things. If I don’t have a vax by then it may move again. … all of which to say, be picky 
I completely agree!
shorter lines are currently done … as long as WDW runs low capacity rides with empty seats. WIth Florida going to Phase 3, if WDW would run at full capacity, they lines would decrease significantly.
But how many guests would show up for that plan … ?
WDW just re-added two popular extras,. Frozen sing along show, and Savi’s workshop. That’s a good sign that other extras will follow and return. April is a long time off, lots could be added, or cut.
This is a different WDW right now. We just got back, knowing of the limited experiences. It is probably not “worth” a full expensive WDW budget, but it is worth a scaled back, as cheap as possible WDW bugdet. Maybe even a shorter trip. Maybe split with a Sea World or Universal day. I’d keep expectations and budgets lower than usual.
I read a report that it looks like Festival of the Lion King might be back soon too.
I don’t think there is any rush to cancel right now. I cancelled April and moved my trip to June since I didn’t want to commit to flights right now and I wanted more flexibility rebooking DVC. If COVID has taught us anything, it should be that we cannot predict what the future will bring.
Seriously! I don’t think I’d book flights so far out in advance again, well
Atleast not non refundable ones!