Haven’t been around to see how this trip wrapped up. Work has been off the hook this week and I have not been able to step away for even a moment. Planning to catch up today. Hope re-entry has been kind!
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Shhhhhhhhh. Let’s keep that between us, m’kay??
That’s my girl 
Thanks for sharing your trip. It is bittersweet for me - and probably for all of us “playing from home” - but mostly it helps quell the sadness of not being there myself. I appreciate the honest evaluation of the Covid effect on everything; you covered so many different aspects. I like that it was not sugar-coated and all “we drank the kool-aid” but real, honest, good-with-the-bad.
I hope you are doing well back at home and I sure hope you remain healthy. May re-entry be kind!!!
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Two questions: 1) remind me again what day of the week you did AK? and 2) How “early” would you recommend for FoP? 45 min-1 hr before park opening?
Thanks! It was a lot of fun doing this “live” and it made all the little moments nice to know others would appreciate them. My travelling group are Disney fans, but don’t have any idea the level of planning and strategy that I use when preparing for a trip, so will never fully understand some things!
Ultimately, no one can answer if it is a good time to go to Disney for someone else. It will be completely different for each person based on what they are comfortable with. So I hoped to at least give a clear picture of what it was like so that people can determine if those factors are enough to not go, or are something they can handle for the benefits.
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I did AK on a Monday. We arrived at the parking gates at 8am for a 9am open and they held us there for a bit. We got parked and headed into the gates around 8:30 and headed straight to FOP for about a 10 minute wait once they started running the ride (not until just before 9).
I’m not sure what time I would say is the latest you should get in line, but by the time we left the ride at 9:15 there was already a posted wait of 75 minutes.
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I was there about 5 minutes behind @TarHeelTiff having arrived via Disney bus. I think I was likely in the second run of FOP and saw the same wait times when I got off.
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The same happened to us in August. We arrived around 7:30 (8:00 AM park opening then) and got right in line for FOP. They didn’t start loading the ride until 8:00 sharp. We ended up waiting right outside the lab area of the queue. By the time we got off, the line was quite long. However, later in the afternoon we rode basically walk on (but it takes a while to walk through that queue!) and then again with a minimal wait just after the lab. So if you don’t get there early enough, it pays to wait. I’m going again in October, so I’ve been checking the Lines app periodically and it always seems to go down to at least under 30 minutes in the afternoon.
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Not sure if you’re still monitoring…but did you park all day for free at the contemporary with this reservation?
Yes, we did. Just had a Wave reservation for breakfast to get into the lot.
We did that at YC… too. Ate at C&A and walked into EC after brunch. I justified it cuz I get free parking w/ my AP.
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LOL… am I backwards again 
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Went back to reread your recap of the Swan (very helpful!), since I’m strongly considering it for Dec for just my wife and me. Most questions I would have are pretty much answered there already, and I know we would have to uber from and back to MCO. I guess what I’m still unsure of is the macro view, does the overall experience feel “Disney” enough staying at Swan or Dolphin compared to a Disney property? Or do you really feel off-site when in the resort, like you’ve left the bubble? Cost-wise, it’s a significant bump up from there to either CSR or CBR, even figuring in the extra resort fee (we’re ruling out POP). We wouldn’t plan on doing much at the resort itself if enough things are open around the boardwalk. And I don’t care about using MB to open door or charge purchases either. If I’m sold on this idea, then I will try to further break down Swan vs Dolphin. Thanks again for the great trip report!!
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That’s a fair question.
You don’t have the Disney theming in the rooms and property, but being right next to the Boardwalk and parks still made me feel like I was in the bubble. So I did not personally notice a lack of that Disney magic of being at the Swan vs last year at AoA for example. At least one of my trips each year involves renting a house completely off property, so I have experienced the difference.
You can be on the Boardwalk in less than 5 minutes from either lobby, and being able to walk to two parks, I honestly felt the most connected that I have in a while on property (Although I’ve only stayed at AoA, CSR and FW).
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That’s exactly what I was hoping to hear! That location is everything, and I feel like we would be ok without the explicit hotel theming on a short couples trip. I did walk through the Swan last year (took bus from DS to Swan, then got on boat to HS) and it is beautiful, but wasn’t quite sure about the vibe of actually staying there. I’m pretty sold now.
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Exactly. For a couples or adult trip, I’m really not sure you can improve upon it, especially when you can get a good deal on it. It was hundreds of dollars cheaper per night than YC/BC/BW but gave you almost all of the benefits, especially if you arent spending a bunch of time at the resort.
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We have stayed at both the Swan and Dolphin. It feels like being on property, more so than the hotels that you cannot walk from in my opinion. Walking (or boat taking before Covid) is a great perk. I don’t think you will be disappointed!
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