Thought I’d relay some info about my recent trip. First, thanks to everyone who posts valuable information and advice on this forum, it really helped me and my family get the most out of WDW. I have been going to WDW since I was a kid, roughly once every few years, so I’m not any sort of expert, but I was certainly familiar with the basics prior to this visit.
To save you a bunch of reading, rope dropping works. BG1 works. Planning works (but you have to be able to call an audible on the fly). Make sure you have rain gear if there is rain in the forecast.
Trip was Feb. 15 - Feb. 20. Me and missus with our two kids 5 & 9. We stayed at the Dolphin.
Thursday Feb. 15
This was a travel day/hotel day for us. We arrived in the afternoon and went straight to the pool. Had dinner at Rosa Mexicano (pretty good) and went to bed pretty early to be fresh for the park the following day.
Friday Feb. 16 (Animal Kingdom)
Great weather (high in low 70s, partly cloudy). Arrived at 7:00, RD at 7:30 (early entry). Made a beeline to FoP, by the time we got there posted wait was 55 minutes, we actually waited 40 minutes. We got stuck in a slow entry line which hurt us, plus we had to park the stroller so there you go. Immediately walked over to Navi river, which had a posted 30 min wait time, we only waited 15 min. though. Park felt very crowded. TP was forecasting a 6 I think—it had to be at least an 8 though. Genie+ was $18.11 per person with tax. It saved us 235 minutes relative to posted standby wait times. Here were the posted wait times of rides when we used Genie+ LL:
Safari: 75
Everest: 80 (but LL took 10 minutes; was backed up due to several hour breakdown).
Lion King: 20
Dinosaur: 60
Bugs life: 10 (at most)
Saturday Feb. 17
Rest/hotel day. Crappy cold/rainy weather all day spoiled the plan of having a relaxing pool day. Ended up doing some resort hopping and having dinner at Disney Springs. Despite having a reservation at Paradiso 37, and despite checking in 15 minutes early, they were unable to seat us. We left after waiting for an hour (45 minutes past our reservation time plus the 15 minutes early part which was not their fault). Grabbed some decent pizza slices at the nearby place. Weather really made for a much less satisfying day.
Sunday Feb. 18 (Magic Kingdom)
Terrible weather. High of 59, literally never stopped raining all morning, day, and night. Shoe covers were a lifesaver here and kept our feet mercifully dry. A good raincoat was also essential. Park was still crowded, but had to be significantly less crowded than expected due to weather. Got there at 7:50 for 8:30 EE. We were pretty close to the front for RD. We RD’ed PPF. I’ll post some wait times below. Genie+ was $37.28 per person with tax. It saved us 180 minutes relative to posted standby wait times. I had never seen Happily Ever After fireworks before—wow, what a show! We got a great spot right in front of the castle with minimal obstruction showing up only a half hour prior to the show (to give you an indication for how bad the weather was). Here were the posted wait times of rides when we used Genie+ LL:
Winnie: 30
Sm: 50
Buzz: 20
Cinderella: 30
Big Thunder: 15
Belle: 25
JC: 10
Mickey: “10” (seems like no wait though)
Here are some posted/actual wait times for standby:
Ppf: no posted time, waited 17 minutes (rd)
Small world: posted 5; walk right on
Haunted Mansion: 13; 10
Philharmagic: 15; 10
Pirates: 5; 5
Tiki: 10; 0 walked right in
Mermaid: 40; 10
Ariel: 35; 20
7dmt: 35; 35
Monday Feb. 19 (Epcot)
Cold rainy morning, but weather cleared up and warmed up a bit later on. We had a late start and got there right at 8:30 EE. Park was absolutely mobbed—had to be a 9 or 10 day. We went straight to FEA and found a 30 min posted standby time; we actually waited 40 min. to board. My internet connection also failed right at 7:00 am when booking Genie+, so annoyingly I got an afternoon Remy RT, which slowed us down and led to a lot of back and forth walking. When we went to use the Genie+ at Remy, we had to wait for 35 minutes IN THE LIGHTNING LANE to board! Standby was a ludicrous 170 minutes. Saw the fireworks, not as good as MK but still a great show all things considered. Had a delicious lunch at Spice Road Table in Morocco and a good dinner at the crêpe place in France. Also tasty ice cream at L’artisan des glaces. Genie+ cost $29.82 per person with tax. It saved us 365 minutes relative to posted standby wait times (and accounting for the 35 minute lightning lane wait at Remy). I also purchased an ILL for GotG and rode solo for the first time. Great ride! Here were the posted wait times of rides when we used Genie+ LL:
Remy: 170 (but we had to wait 35 minutes)
TT: 85
Soarin: 90
Nemo: 15
Spaceship Earth: 30
Tuesday Feb. 20
Travel/hotel day. Finally some good sunny weather. We relaxed by the pool and resort grounds and flew back home.
We were initially planning on 2 days at MK and no Epcot. However, the rain kept the crowds at bay at MK, and around noon I made the executive decision that we were going to get everything done at MK in 1 day and see another park on Monday. It worked out thankfully.
It was a lot of fun. Thanks for everyone who provided advice/knowledge/etc.
