Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom Discussion Thread

[FeelTheFORCE]

I think it also has to do with the fact that if they increase capacity, they would also need to decrease the social distancing length simultaneously.  Which maybe they're not prepared to do just yet.  The line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train stretches all the way around the mountain as it is with the current capacity and distancing restrictions in place.  There just simply isn't enough space to put all those people when they are still being spread apart 6 ft. 

As an out-of-towner, I am personally okay with the reservations.  Being locked into X park on X day when I go later this year takes a little bit of that stress out of the equation when you're there.

[A.J.]

Disney has announced that fireworks will be returning to Disneyland and Walt Disney World!

For Walt Disney World, Happily Ever After will be resuming performances at Magic Kingdom, and EPCOT Forever will be resuming performances at EPCOT, starting on July 1.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/06/fireworks-spectaculars-are-back-at-disney-parks-this-summer/?fbclid=IwAR2VEVo7zVrcqRU3vjQdeP4QRaeWdlI3DGzOM288ta_ZklhflnRZsk6t3ks

What could be more perfect this year than a summertime visit to a Disney theme park? As we continue to see more communities adjust and ease COVID-19 guidelines, there’s a new sense of optimism with many positive signs moving forward. We’re encouraged by it too, seeing more families making travel plans, friends dining out together more often and more Americans returning to work. And at Disney theme parks, we’re gradually bringing back more of our beloved park experiences.

A Disney tradition since 1957, fireworks shows are what Walt Disney called the perfect “kiss goodnight” at the close of a magical day, and this summer the skies above Disney theme parks will sparkle with color once more. Beginning in July, just in time for the nation’s Independence Day celebrations, our incredibly popular nighttime fireworks spectaculars are returning to Disney parks!

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At Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, July 1 marks the start of nightly fireworks performances at Magic Kingdom Park and EPCOT. “Happily Ever After” will transform Cinderella Castle with lights, projections and pyrotechnics, as moments from favorite Disney stories encourage you to grab hold of your dreams and make them come true. And as part of the ongoing transformation of EPCOT, “EPCOT Forever” will produce a spectacle of fireworks, music and lighting effects over World Showcase Lagoon, highlighting the themes of innovation, exploration, imagination and celebration at the core of the park’s past, present and future.

 

[cfc]

Great news! Looking forward to seeing the parks light up the skies again.

[pianojohn]

Cool.

Now how about rehiring the 900+ entertainment people who have been waiting 15 months to return to their stages.

Just a thought....

[Haymaker]

1 hour ago, pianojohn said:

Cool.

Now how about rehiring the 900+ entertainment people who have been waiting 15 months to return to their stages.

Just a thought....

Been seeing some of the stage shows are hiring back. Sounds like its going to be a slow ramp up

[A.J.]

Disney has announced new nighttime spectaculars, entertainment offerings, and merchandise throughout the Walt Disney World Resort for the 50th anniversary! This includes an official start date for HarmonioUS at EPCOT!

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/06/new-walt-disney-world-resort-50th-details/?fbclid=IwAR14EvQ3QHC5nAheFjnSBu2Rgx7qA4jK8ip1fSxsuIaDAyOIcpK9b7y_Vo0

Two New Nighttime Spectaculars and Much More Will Debut Oct. 1 to Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort

Beginning Oct. 1, “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” honors the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort, and, wow, do I have some great new details to share with you about this incredible 18-month event.

A new nighttime spectacular, “Disney Enchantment,” will help kick off the 50th anniversary festivities when it debuts Oct. 1 at Magic Kingdom Park. Created to launch with “The World’s Most Magical Celebration,” this evening extravaganza will take you on a journey filled with adventure, wonder and empowerment. Inspiring everyone to believe in magic, “Disney Enchantment” will feature music, enhanced lighting, stunning fireworks and, for the first time, immersive projection effects that extend from Cinderella Castle down Main Street, U.S.A.

Joining “Disney Enchantment” on Oct. 1 will be “Harmonious” at EPCOT, one of the largest nighttime spectaculars ever created for a Disney park. This new show will bring the globe together at World Showcase Lagoon in a celebration of Disney music that inspires people worldwide. It’s a grand, powerful tribute to the stories and songs that unite us, embracing new technical magic that incorporates pyrotechnics, choreographed moving fountains, lighting and media in new ways. “Harmonious” will invite you to travel the globe through new interpretations of classic Disney songs as you’ve never heard them before, reimagined in more than a dozen languages by a diverse group of 240 artists from around the world.

There’s also new daytime entertainment stirring at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park. Check out this artist rendering of “Disney KiteTails,” which will come alive several times daily at the Discovery River Amphitheater beginning Oct. 1. Performers will fly windcatchers and kites of all shapes and sizes, while out on the water elaborate three-dimensional kites – some stretching to 30 feet long – will depict Disney animal friends, including Simba, Zazu, Baloo and King Louie. These colorful creations will dance through the sky to the beat of favorite Disney songs in an uplifting, vibrant experience for the whole family.

Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse will be your hosts for “The World’s Most Magical Celebration,” and they’ll be decked out in sparkling new EARidescent fashions for the 50th anniversary. As you can see in the photo above, their best pals want to get in on the shimmer, too, as Donald Duck and Daisy Duck, Goofy and Pluto, and Chip ‘n’ Dale will be sporting their own custom-made EARidescent looks beginning Oct. 1. You’ll get a chance to see them when they travel through Magic Kingdom Park several times daily in the new “Mickey’s Celebration Cavalcade.”

These eight friends will also be featured in special golden character sculptures debuting Oct. 1 at Magic Kingdom Park; in this artist rendering, you can see Mickey and Minnie shining in the sunlight near Cinderella Castle. There will be 50 characters total in this series of sculptures that will be displayed across all four theme parks. We’ll soon reveal more of the “Disney Fab 50” as excitement builds for the big day, as well as the surprising ways you’ll be able to interact with these beautiful sculptures as part of the 50th anniversary celebration.

This fall, you can bring home “Walt Disney World: A Portrait of the First Half Century,” a beautiful new coffee table book from Disney Editions. You can see the cover art above for this insider’s look at the history and evolution of Walt Disney World, written by Kevin Kern, Tim O’Day and Steven Vagnini. The book will be available for purchase beginning Sept. 28 at Walt Disney World, shopDisney.com and wherever books are sold. And for more details on other special books publishing this year for the 50th anniversary, click here.

“The World’s Most Magical Celebration” will also see the grand opening of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at EPCOT, icons at each of the four parks transforming into Beacons of Magic at night*, EARidescent décor all across the resort, plus much more. Our Walt Disney World cast members – who will be wearing new EARidescent nametags designed especially for this occasion – are looking forward to sharing all this magic with you, as they are the heart of this momentous event. Keep checking back with us here at the Disney Parks Blog, because we’ll continue to share more details about the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World in the weeks and months to come as we get ready for the festivities to begin!

[coasterbill]

I’m very excited for this.

We’ll absolutely be down to check out the new Magic Kingdom show at some point probably next year, and it also got me to buy tickets today for September to see Happily Ever After one last time if it doesn’t return. 
 

I’m sure the new show will be amazing and probably much better, but I love that show and want to see it again. God dammit I’m becoming a Disney Person™ and I hate myself for it.

[jedimaster1227]

Walt Disney World has released new details about the reimagined guest rooms at Disney's Contemporary Resort, featuring a new design inspired by the monorail and The Incredibles. 

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/06/first-look-inside-a-reimagined-guest-room-at-disneys-contemporary-resort/

When Walt and Roy Disney dreamed of a magical new future at Walt Disney World Resort, part of that vision became reality with Disney’s Contemporary Resort. With the Monorail running right through its A-frame tower, the resort was an instant icon at The Most Magical Place on Earth – a tribute to the future of imagination and progress.

As Walt Disney World prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary this October, Walt Disney Imagineering is continuing to build on the optimistic spirit of Disney’s Contemporary Resort, enhancing the retro-modern aesthetic evoking Tomorrowland … with a dash of something Incredible, too.

Currently all nine floors of guest rooms in the tower are being completely refurbished, and here’s a first look at the new décor debuting this fall. As you can see, these rooms will blend a sleek Monorail motif with some favorite characters from Pixar Animation Studios’ Incredibles films, including Jack-Jack, Frozone and Edna Mode. New custom artwork in guest rooms and along guest corridors will be modern, futuristic and oh so stylish, dahling, complementing the resort’s architecture while putting the Supers’ powers on display.

 

In the lobby, you’ll soon see a collection of modern art pieces as well as historical, behind-the-scenes photographs of Disney’s Contemporary Resort in development and under construction. The resort’s lobby restaurant, The Wave… of American Flavors, will also soon close to make way for a reimagined dining experience in time for the Walt Disney World 50th anniversary celebration. And once the tower guest rooms are complete, work will begin on the rooms inside the Garden Wing out on the shore of Bay Lake.

All the excitement at Disney’s Contemporary Resort is part of the ongoing evolution of the Disney Resorts Collection at Walt Disney World, where the magic you find in our theme parks extends to every moment of your vacation. We’ll have more to share on this project in the months to come as we get ready for “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” beginning Oct. 1, so keep checking back with us here at the Disney Parks Blog for all the details.

[KBrylczyk]

I absolutely love the new design.

[cfc]

Same here--I like the "Retro Tomorrowland" vibe.

[pianojohn]

I guess I will take the opposite opinion.

While the design is cool, it would also better fit in with the budget resorts like Art of Animation or Pop Century. Re-doing the rooms in the Deluxe resorts just cheapens them. If I wanna see Pixar or Disney characters in my hotel room, I would expect that in the lower resorts, not the ones where rooms start at $500 per night. 

[jedimaster1227]

It has been announced that a new scene inspired by Disney and Pixar's "Coco" will be coming to "Mickey's PhilharMagic" at Magic Kingdom Park later this year!

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/07/disney-and-pixars-coco-coming-to-mickeys-philharmagic-on-july-17/ 

We can’t keep this news under Mickey’s sorcerer hat much longer. Fans of “Mickey’s PhilharMagic” will soon be tapping to a new song with the debut of an animated scene based on Disney and Pixar’s “Coco.” 

The musical number “Un Poco Loco” will anchor the new scene when it opens to guests at Disney California Adventure park and Disneyland Paris on July 17, before being added to Magic Kingdom Park later this year during the Walt Disney World Resort 50th anniversary celebration.

The film’s fun, upbeat music and characters combined with the humor of Donald Duck marks the first time Disney and Pixar animators have worked on a creative endeavor where characters from both animation studios will be seen together on screen. 

Because music is such an integral part of the show, we were also fortunate to tap one of the film’s original composers – the world-renowned Germaine Franco – to produce a “Coco” score unique to “Mickey’s PhilharMagic.”

Guests will enjoy this new scene alongside all of the show’s current fan-favorite musical numbers. Now it’s time to put on those opera glasses and let the show begin!

[Garet]

I'm really surprised it's taken them this long to put something extra in the film. I always thought PhilharMagic would be an easy ride to update and promote considering the movie consisted of mini segments than can easily be switched in and out. I really thought when Frozen first became huge there'd be a snow effect incorporated and a Let It Go segment into the ride to get people to re-ride or new people in. A lot of my younger students aren't even too aware of pre-Tangled movies since they're into the CG Disneys. The floating lanterns of Rapunzel would have looked great in 3D as well. But then again I also thought this would get some extra segments from various newer movies and randomized with each ride after the Imagineers introduced the concept with Star Tours 2.

My wife has a soft spot for this ride so we always check in if at Hong Kong or Tokyo but it seems they are the only two not getting the update.

 

[jedimaster1227]

The Walt Disney World Resort has announced details about how the holidays will be celebrated across the resort in 2021!

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/07/the-holiday-season-returns-to-walt-disney-world-resort/

The holidays are my favorite time of year, and I’m so happy to be celebrating Halfway to the Holidays today! Because today it’s official – the merry season will begin Nov. 12 at Walt Disney World Resort during “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” marking the resort’s 50th anniversary.

Festive entertainment, whimsical décor, seasonal food and drinks, and holiday-themed merchandise will all be a part of this very special season at our theme parks, Disney Resort hotels and Disney Springs. 

Here’s a sneak peek of some of the magical experiences you can expect this season at Walt Disney World Resort: 

Magic Kingdom Park

Holidays are sure to be enchanting at Magic Kingdom Park, where quintessential decorations will return to Main Street, U.S.A. When the sun sets, special holiday projections will appear most nights on Cinderella Castle, alternating periodically with the castle’s transformation into a Beacon of Magic.* What a great way to celebrate the holidays and the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort!

Now, talk about an early holiday gift… “Disney Very Merriest After Hours,” a new special-ticketed event, will debut Nov. 8 before all the rest of the festive fun. It will be available on select nights through Dec. 21. The four hours of festivities will delight guests with “Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks,” Disney characters throughout the park, holiday music and décor, treats included and so much more! As with other Disney After Hours events, a limited number of tickets will be sold for this event. It’s held after regular park operating hours, with lower wait times and access to more than 20 select attractions.  

Tickets will go on sale next month, with an early purchase window available to guests of select Walt Disney World Resort hotels.  

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Sunset Seasons Greetings returns to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, as the Hollywood Holiday Tower Hotel on Sunset Boulevard will twinkle once again with projection effects, magically transforming into a snowy corner of Arendelle, a Muppets gingerbread masterpiece, a Toy Story toy hotel, and a Dickensian village inspired by “Mickey’s Christmas Carol.” This holiday show will also alternate with the tower’s nightly transformation into a Beacon of Magic.

Santa Claus will bring some North Pole cheer to a motorcade down Hollywood Boulevard. You will also be able to enjoy “For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration,” with its festive finale featuring everyone’s favorite snowman, Olaf. Minnie Mouse is also returning to host her festive meal at Hollywood & Vine at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Minnie and her friends will be donning their holiday best – even Santa Goofy will be there! And throughout the season, vintage-themed holiday décor will shine bright across the park.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park

It will be a wild holiday time at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park with the return of seasonal décor and festive Disney character flotillas sailing down Discovery River to the sounds of joyful songs of the season. The park’s centerpiece – The Tree of Life – becomes another Beacon of Magic most nights during the 50th anniversary celebration. During the holiday season there’s even more magic inspired by nature as the holiday edition of Tree of Life Awakenings also takes place most nights.  

Disney Springs

You can happily discover whatever you’re after this holiday season at Disney Springs. The shopping, dining and entertainment destination will transform into a winter wonderland, full of sparkling lights, enchanting décor and holiday surprises. This year sees the return of the Disney Springs Christmas Tree Stroll, with elaborately decorated, Disney-themed trees – some new and some inspired by “The World’s Most Magical Celebration.”

A magical snowfall will add a touch of wonder for holiday shoppers in Town Center.

Here, you can find the perfect gift for everyone on your list, including yourself. Discover holiday ornaments, matching family pajamas, festive Spirit Jerseys, and more – be sure to check your list twice so you don’t forget any holiday must-haves! There will even be themed food and beverages; one of my favorite spots, Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar, will once again transform into Jock Lindsey’s Holiday Bar, with delightful décor and a delicious limited-time menu filled with festive favorites.

Disney Resort Hotels

Our Disney Resort hotels will be decked for the holidays, with iconic trees and other seasonal touches. And a guest favorite will return this year, as select gingerbread displays will once again be part of our holiday season! Also at select resorts, you will find restaurants offering holiday menus and specialty food and drink.  

EPCOT 

Where can you enjoy traditions from around the world, with inspiring music, tasty treats and family-friendly experiences? If you guessed EPCOT … … you are correct! The EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays will return this year, from Nov. 26 – Dec. 30, with Holiday Kitchens around the park, performances by Voices of Liberty, the guest favorite Cookie Stroll and more! 

We’ll have so much more Walt Disney World Resort holiday fun to share with you in the months to come. In the meantime, be sure to be on Santa’s nice list and keep checking the Disney Parks Blog for all of our holiday news!  

*Beacons of Magic will be available nightly at select theme parks. 

[pianojohn]

Really REALLY wish they would commit to bringing back LIVE entertainment. It's been 16 months and still no Fantasmic, Castle shows, real parades, Beauty & The Beast, Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones, Finding Nemo, Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue, Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, Turtle Talk etc.  And no mention of Candlelight Processional.

Come on.

[jedimaster1227]

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/08/the-magic-is-calling-you-to-come-celebrate-the-50th-anniversary-at-walt-disney-world-resort-starting-october-1/

It’s almost time. The anticipation is building. We’re less than 50 days from the start of an event 50 years in the making – “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” in honor of the 50th Anniversary at Walt Disney World Resort. It promises to be a spectacular, once-in-a-lifetime 18-month-long extravaganza unlike anything ever seen before, immersed in sparkling EARidescence and with Disney cast members at the heart of it all.

It’s going to be quite the celebration. And what’s a celebration without music? Platinum-selling songwriter and music producer Alana Da Fonseca answered the call to create an original anthem for the 50th Anniversary, collaborating with award-winning composer Emily Bear and singing phenom Journi on “The Magic Is Calling.” Da Fonseca’s pop music style, Bear’s soaring orchestrations and Journi’s magical vocal performance come together to create a song that is all at once nostalgic, inspirational and contemporary.

“It’s such a tremendous honor to write something that celebrates a place that brings so much joy to so many people,” said Da Fonseca. “There’s magic all around us, and when you’re there, you are feeling it at every turn.”

You can start hearing the anthem soon in a variety of ways, calling everyone to join the celebration. “The Magic Is Calling” will connect to all four parks, as different arrangements of the song will be heard when each Walt Disney World theme park icon transforms into a magnificent Beacon of Magic at night, beckoning all to come and celebrate. Cinderella Castle, Spaceship Earth, Hollywood Tower Hotel and the Tree of Life will each shine like never before and come to life on select nights with their own unique EARidescent glow.

Throughout the 50th Anniversary Celebration, “The Magic Is Calling” will also be included in special live entertainment moments across Walt Disney World Resort. You’ll hear the anthem during Mickey’s Celebration Cavalcade, featuring the “EARidescent 8” each day at Magic Kingdom Park, and listen for custom arrangements of the song performed by everyone from the Main Street Philharmonic and Dapper Dans to the Discovery Island Drummers and Voices of Liberty.

“The World’s Most Magical Celebration” begins October 1. Will you answer the call?

[Satans Hockey]

We are missing the 50th anniversary by just a few weeks but it's most likely gonna be the reason we skip Disney during this trip, just makes more sense to wait until we get down again(maybe November or December) and get a 4 day pass instead to save some money and some of the newer stuff will be open by then too plus all the 50th stuff. 

[A.J.]

Disney has formally announced the Genie service, replacing FastPass, FastPass+, and MaxPass!

Disney Genie Service to Reimagine the Guest Experience at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/08/introducing-disney-genie/

We’re almost ready to let Disney Genie out of the lamp!

Coming this fall to Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort, Disney Genie is a complimentary and convenient new digital service designed to create your best Disney day. We’ve been listening to your feedback – you want planning to be easier, you want more flexibility and you want better tools to help you make the most of your visit – and that’s exactly what Disney Genie is here to do. We’ve made significant investments in this cool new technology, which guides you through our theme parks with tips that can help you reduce time in lines, discover magic around every corner and take the guesswork out of “what’s next.”

Built right into the My Disney Experience and Disneyland apps, Disney Genie service will maximize your park time, so you can have more fun. It includes a personalized itinerary feature that will quickly and seamlessly map out an entire day. From specific attractions, foodie experiences and entertainment, to general interests like Disney princesses, villains, Pixar, Star Wars, thrill rides and more – just tell Disney Genie what you want to do and it will do the planning for you.

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For even more convenience and flexibility, there are two other options for enjoying our theme parks, through a queue we are introducing called the Lightning Lane entrance that also saves you time in line:

Disney Genie+ service (available for purchase): For the price of $15 per ticket per day at Walt Disney World Resort and $20 per ticket per day at Disneyland Resort, choose the next available time to arrive at a variety of attractions and experiences using the Lightning Lane entrance. You can make one selection at a time, throughout the day – from classics like Haunted Mansion to thrill rides like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and newer favorites like Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run (attractions subject to limited availability). This convenient option is the next evolution of the fan-favorite Disney MaxPass service from Disneyland Resort. Disney Genie+ will also include Disney parks-themed audio experiences and photo features to capture your memories – augmented reality lenses for those visiting Walt Disney World Resort and unlimited Disney PhotoPass downloads from your day if you are visiting Disneyland Resort.

Individual attraction selections (available for purchase): Schedule a time to arrive at up to two highly demanded attractions each day using the Lightning Lane entrance – like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom Park and Radiator Springs Racers at Disney California Adventure park (subject to limited availability; attractions not included with Disney Genie+). Pricing for this option will vary by date, attraction and park and will be announced closer to launch.

Lightning Lane selections will be made on the same day of your visit and can be used across multiple theme parks, great for those who love the Park Hopper option. Attractions continue to offer a traditional standby queue, or a virtual queue at certain attractions like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – to maximize flexibility.

[Satans Hockey]

$15 isn't bad but without the major attractions it's sorta eh. Really curious to see the prices of the individual attractions. I'd rather just pay X amount and get all the attractions like how MaxPass was. 

I really liked MaxPass at Disneyland but with regular fast lanes gone now and with this having certain rides being individually purchases only I have no idea how this is all gonna work with the crowds they get at World. At least those are only capped it at 2 individual rides for the more popular ones. Seems like it's really gonna depend on how much they actually cap the amount they sell of the genies as well as the individual rides. 

Definitely would like to read a bunch of reports first before we decide to go. I'm sure the endless complaining on some of the Disney forums is gonna be interesting to read though lol 

[SharkTums]

I don't even mind if it's not on all the rides. When we were at Disneyland last month we waited in line 45min for Space, 45min for Indy, 30min for Matterhorn, we didn't have the patience to also wait 25+min for all the 'smaller' rides. If I could wait in line for some big rides and walk on the smaller ones that would help balance the day. 

[tndank]

It's a neat idea to get as many guests on here as possible.  Have them pick out what they want and then it can schedule them at appropriate times and control traffic through the park for many guests.  They can now send X people to ride A first, X to ride B first, etc. and keep rotating them around to keep lines a bit shorter and people able to spend money elsewhere.

 

[BABA BOOEY]

Seems like a great idea and it's hilarious seeing all the panic / hysteria that Disney Vloggers are going through. Only outlaw part is the "Wait Time Forecasting". Already taking bets on how accurate that'll be. 

[xVicesAndVirtues]

I'm pretty sure I like this. Yeah it's complicated and I don't even 100% understand how it works but Disney World is also complicated and obviously felt the need to do something with more steps than "buy an express pass, get in the express line".

I think my favorite problem that this solves is the fact that you have to make your reservations for all rides, including big-ticket rides, the day of. As a Central Floridian, one of the biggest annoyances has always been, for example, when Avatar Flight of Passage opened, Fast Passes were booked like 2 months out and nearly impossible to get unless you refreshed your phone 100x at 3:00 in the morning like a crackhead (I literally did that once and it worked! -no crack was involved). And people were doing shady sh*t like booking a hotel reservations in order to reserve it on Fast Pass, then canceling the reservation later to "game" the system.

Yeah, it was great if you were going on vacation in October and wanted to book your Fast Pass times in advance, but it was a real PITA if my boyfriend and I decided to go, say, on Friday. I'm going to Cedar Point next week and I have no idea what time I'll ride Steel Vengeance at but I'm pretty cool with that.

I just made the mistake of getting sucked into a few dozen freak-out comments on a post about it on Facebook and Claire from Illinois was moaning about how this is going to ruin her entire December vacation and how "not everyone can afford to pay for these things". Relax, Claire from Illinois. It's $15 and I literally just shelled out over $900 for 3 days of Fast Lane for 2 people at a less-busy park in Ohio. And honestly, I'd rather spend $15 at Cedar Point and ride my heart out on Iron Dragon and Blue Streak and then pay an extra $12 to ride Dragster the one time it's open. Although I'm pretty sure this visit, it won't be.

[Hilltopper39]

For the most part  like everything about the new system, but like all other "new" announcements I'm interested to see how it plays out and actually works. I love the idea that the ride reservations is all day of and in the park like it used to be, but since it's all digital I wonder how long the reservations are going to be available for. Back in the old paper fast pass days fast pass for some of more popular attractions would be gone for the day by like 10 am or something but you at least had to walk to the machines to get the paper pass. This time around since it's all digital will all of the Genie+ time slots for  say Peter Pan be gone by 9:03 on a 9am opening day? 

I'm also interested in to see how they really price some of the more popular attractions that are upcharges in Genie+. $15 per person per day sounds fine, and it is, but at a park like Animal Kingdom is that going to included everything except Safaris, Everest and Flight of Passage? If so what's it's really going to end up costing to get on the good stuff. I'm fine with paying a little extra to get a little more, but let me know what it's really going to cost. If I wanna go on Tower, Rockin Roller Coaster, Rise of the Resistance, and Slinky Dog we talking about $15 plus an extra $40 or and extra $100?

 

[Garet]

Probably a very unpopular opinion here, but I'm all for paying for this if it levels the playing field on when everyone can make reservations in terms of day tickets vs hotel stayers and pass holders. I know a lot of people here are regulars to the parks or can go probably more than once in a lifetime but for my wife and I, we always viewed Orlando as a once in a life-time trip.
 

Normally we like a decent hotel, but we always figured for this trip with our son, we would have to save so much, we would just get a car rental and an airbnb for 2-3 weeks so the less spent there, the more could go on treating our son, fast-passes at the other parks, trying out Springs/Citywalk nice restaurants, and potentially trying a cruise at the end since all the ones here tend to cater to Chinese tastes and their wallets (and more gambling).

Maybe we are wrong here, but with Florida's weather, we always figured pre-booking tickets too early could go wrong and it might be better to plan around weather days, and the fact fast pass+ could be booked much earlier for hotel stayers and annual pass holders and that was always in the back of our minds on how we would get the popular rides our son would surely want. Although, Robb's posts and tips about refreshing and being able to usually get a slot did make me feel better.