I think I’m canceling - help push or pull me from the edge!

The solution is to go when a Covid variant peaks! I had absolutely fabulous trips in Aug and Jan because I just happened to go when Delta and Omicron peaked. I waited 14 min for SDD standby in August and that was my longest line and in Jan we had 4-7s and Genie+ worked really well with these mid level crowds. Our longest line was around 20 min standby for Buzz and PhilharMagic and Monsters Inc.

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I think that won’t work as well going forward. For one, we’re at pandemic lows on most metrics, but also most people are done watching the case curves closely now that we’ve all been vaccinated or infected. (Just stating an observation, not judging whether that’s right or wrong.)

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Oh I know…I was kidding! I didn’t do it on purpose…I just didn’t cancel my planned trips when the peaks hit either. You can judge. :wink: We didn’t get sick either time and were as vaccinated as we could be in each instance.

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Oh yeah, I could tell you were kidding. But it actually would have been good advice for someone who valued avoiding crowds over avoiding exposure to the virus. :joy:

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LOL! I, personally, would like to do both.

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After reading some trip reports, reading these great comments, settling in after a great trip to the mountains and currently being on a Florida beach (screw you Orlando tollways!), I’m recommitting to Disney, but with altered plans and expectations.

I’ve toyed around with a few plans to be done by 4pm, and want to look at a few more to not start until after lunch. The idea is stacking LL’s during a lazy morning is pretty appealing and I think the perfect way to tackle Hollywood Studios and MK. Of course Epcot and AK won’t be great options for that, but I think those parks will be easiest - even with Guardians opening. Epcot might need to be a split day if we want to see Harmonious though.

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Can’t argue with any of this logic here, but son is graduating college and wife is having a big birthday during the same week after and we had to cancel our trip 2 years ago, we can’t wait any longer. End of May, here we come! As for stress, being at Disney takes the stress of everyday life away, so we are going and can’t wait.

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I think you have to get over the idea of how much you are spending per hour to be in the parks and think instead about how much the whole week experience costs you and whether that is worth it. (That’s what I hear anyway in your comments about whether it’s “worth it” to take a break and potentially spend $500 in park tickets for 4 hours of park time of you never return after the pool… but I could be reading you wrong.)

My BFF is much more cost conscious than I am, we have taken 3 trips to Disney now with families and have found our balance. They are mid morning to fireworks people because she cares about squeezing every dime of time. They pack lunches etc. so they don’t spend time and money they don’t need. That works for them because her family is all on board and they love Disney, and they have been enough to know how to squeeze everything out of their park dollar. We are park open to mid afternoon people (after an in park TS lunch which is also ticket money spent just to sit down and spend more money #truth). That works for us because we pack in what we can but still need a glass (read: bottle) of wine to bear the crowds :rofl: We also are in a financial position that we can do this without going into debt or caring much beyond whether we are having fun. As analytical as I am, I refuse to play the “how much did I pay per minute” game because a Disney vacation will never win. And you can’t get partial day tickets unless you hack a convention group ticket sale (but that’s only afternoon not morning) so you are kind of stuck.

This is getting longer than I anticipated as a response, and is all meant to be helpful and not judgmental in any way. Money is just one of the pressures of wanting your family to have a wonderful time and can be a hard mindset to get out of. If the park time is causing you sticker shock, maybe plan even more rest days (4 day ticket maybe?) as Disney resort hotels really are wonderful vacations on their own, and that might make it easier to look at the total cost of the whole vacation and what you are getting vs. what you are missing.

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Definitely not looking at cost per hour - that seems amazingly tedious! “Worth it” for us is a sum total of time and money invested, and enjoyment returned. My biggest fear is spending months planning, uncountable dollars, hours traveling and only being able to enjoy two or three attractions after waiting in endless lines everyday. With proper planning, I know that such a catastrophe isn’t likely to happen, but it’s still a worry. I’m also not very good at pivoting from a well made plan when it falls apart.

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I understand this. And it def seems tedious right now.

What I am thinking about is a Plan B in case I need one. Lines are crazy for rides— what else can we do? Make a list of stuff in each park. Shows, checking around world showcase… that way plan B has good options and you won’t waste time figuring out plan B, if Plan A is off the rails!
I do think with our plans A will prob go pretty well! But yea Disney is expensive and it will
Be a bummer if at the end my family didn’t enjoy the time there.

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This. Utilize RD and/or park closing. Refresh and grab LLs when you can. In between LLs, visit minor attractions, shows, shops, food; enjoy the parks and the themeing. Maybe take a midday hotel/pool break, or resort hop, and stack up LLs for the evening. Take it a little slow.

I guarantee you you’ll have a better time doing all that than waiting in 1-3 hour lines.

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We are in the World right now during spring break, when crowds are heavy. I was on the fence about cancelling, and truth be told, I was very disinterested in planning this time around. There have been so many negative things being said about WDW in the news and by guests about the magic being gone and cast members and guests being rude.

BUT, that has not been our experience at all. We have been having an amazing time and I’m glad we came! The magic is still here! CMs have been enthusiastic as always, the parks are clean, and guests have been very civil and upbeat. Crowds are manageable.

This morning we rode FoP (w/ ILL), Dinosaur, Navi and KS (without LL) in 3 hours. This evening we rode Soarin, LwtL, Nemo, and Spaceship Earth (without LL) in 1.5 hours.

The nice thing about being here 6-7 days is you don’t have to rush around and pack in every single moment of every day. Parks are coolest and least crowded early and late. The parks are most beautiful in the evenings. Midday breaks are the way to go. If you can splurge for G+, it does help quite a bit. To me, it’s still been worth every penny.

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Ok this is great and all but WHERE IS YOUR TRIP REPORT?!?!

:joy::wink::stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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:joy: I thought about it, but I can’t keep up like you guys with those live reports, which are all the rage now! I used to methodically craft them day by day. Call me old school :joy:

I have been posting in the daily open thread. Even got in a liner meet!

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Fear of having a boring trip report with no comments (or at least under 1k!) is a big determining factor for me lol

I too am an old school, methodical, day by day reporter. Can’t keep up with the live streaming kids these days :rofl:

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Oh, not with this rowdy crowd. There are several liners I know who would keep the shenanigans and likes coming your way.

:joy: I think that’s the next evolution of the trip report. Live streaming! Can we get that functionality added to the forum?

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Yes please! :rofl:

I love to read those kinds, too! Please don’t be shy. :blush:

I will have to go find that! I have missed your trip reports since the pandemic - yours were so fun! Especially with your boys!

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Oh, come on, you should know me better than that. People say I talk too much :joy:

Yep, this has been our first trip since 2019. I may sit down and try to organize a post-trip report. It has been fun to get the younger DS on all the rides he couldn’t do 2.5 years ago!

When is your next WDW and/or DL adventure? Love your family trip reports. It seems our kids are about the same ages, so it’s fun to compare.

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We are going to DLR end of May! Big trip report in its way. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye::wink:

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Fantastic! We’ll be there in Aug. The boys have never been there. I’ll be interested to see what’s changed post-pandemic.

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