WDW trip planning - back on the saddle again!
The last time I went to Disney World was in August 2016. It was a world where the most annoying thing that we had to do before entering the theme parks was to go through security. It certainly was a different world.
t was a time of FastPass, of unlimited park hopping and when there were absolutely zero construction walls in Epcot. Nobody had heard about park reservations and most sightlines in Epcot were pretty clean. The most complex technical thing that we had to achieve before our visit (and even then, it was entirely optional) was to link our Magic Bands to our park tickets so that we could use them.
Needless to say, things have changed quite a bit since then. It’s amazing to think just how much things have changed in under a decade and just how much I’ve fallen behind.
As you may know, I’ve been a Disney fan for a long time now: going back way, way back, to perhaps the early 80s if not earlier. I remember going to Disney World when I was very little and having a wonderful time but the memories are vague and broken. Although I do know that there were Disney characters on the walls in my bedroom when I was a baby, and I had a Mickey Mouse pinata when I was around 4 or 5 years old.
I have better memories of the 80s when I would watch the Disney Channel compulsively and record (on a Betamax!) any special that had anything to do with the Disney parks, but especially Disney World. OH, how I wish I had that tape now… I would dream of Disney holidays and convince my parents to take us there. I was lucky enough to do this several times in the late 80s and early 90s. It was a long way to go - my dad wouldn’t fly (too expensive) so we drove and it took 3 whole days to get there and 3 whole days to return but it was totally worth it.
As I got older, my interest in Disney parks only grew and eventually I learned about the International Program, which I successfully entered in 1995. By then, I knew the parks like the back of my hand and there were only three: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT Center and Disney-MGM studios. I also knew the surrounding area like a local so when I did my Disney Traditions training I even knew where all the bathrooms were. I was THAT much of an expert.
After a year of working there, my knowledge levels were off the charts - or at least I thought so. Not only did I know the parks perfectly but I also had visited all the hotels and knew them pretty well - what restaurants they had, the decor, the vibes… everything. I even knew which Disney transportation was the best choice between any two points on property, and how long it would take to get there. I was the person you wanted near you when booking a Disney vacation.
Eventually, I could use this knowledge by working as a travel agent in the UK - but living further away did mean that my chances to visit the parks were more limited. At first, we did go reasonably often (maybe every 2 or 3 years) but after a while, this was not practical for various reasons and I had to get used to the fact that I was more likely to visit Disneyland Paris (which we did!) than WDW in Florida. However, I kept up the knowledge with the internet and I was still pretty good at my Disney smarts, even though there was a whole new park (Animal Kingdom) and a bunch of new hotels that I’d never visited.
However, since that visit in 2016, I’ve had one of the longest gaps between WDW trips and I have the pandemic to thank, among other things. I had planned to visit in 2021 for the 50th anniversary as it would also be my 50th birthday and that would be my birthday gift. We of course know that this was not to be as travel to the US was essentially forbidden for non-citizens and entry to Disney parks was very restricted. So I had to postpone those plans.
As the world slowly started to get back to normal, I had hopes of planning that trip to Disney World again yet the news coming out from there was not great: new restrictions around park reservations and park hopping were discouraging, as were the news of the replacement of FastPass with something called Genie which seemed to basically just cost more money. I also heard about price rises in most areas, including extortionate fees just to park, at the same time as it seemed that most Disney hotels were scaling back on what they offered.
Even daily housekeeping couldn’t be taken for granted!
I hoped that these troubling new developments would go away as pandemic restrictions eased but it sure didn’t seem to be the case. For me, the most concerning news was of these Genie and Genie+ services: it seemed to be a way for the Disney company to make more money out of people that were already shelling out a lot just to be in the parks, with the additional inconvenience of having to get up incredibly early on my vacation just to be sure I could get on the more popular attractions.
I must admit that all I was learning was a serious detractor and I gave up my WDW plans. It just seemed to me that everything was more expensive than I could afford, but also offering less than previous trips to WDW had offered. I also fell way behind in my knowledge and still struggle to understand exactly how Genie and Genie+ work, what happens if I don’t want to get up at 7 AM to book things, why do I have to plan which park to visit every day of my trip months in advance and how to get around the park without having to be glued to my phone all day.
As much as I wanted to go to WDW, I also didn’t want to find it so annoying that I would be disappointed with the experience - or end up paying over the odds just to experience some of the magic we’d taken for granted before. So I made the rational decision to indefinitely postpone my 50th birthday trip to WDW, for another time when things wouldn’t be so annoying.
But then, something changed. I got the news that RetroMagic was happening in Oct 2023 and I really wanted to go. The timings meant that it should be less expensive as it’s not during school holidays and also that I could go on my own which would also keep costs down. I also have always felt that I was cheated out of my 50th birthday so this was a good opportunity. To make a long story short, I did some research and found a relatively inexpensive way to get there.
With flights, hotel and RetroMagic ticket all booked - next came the rest of it. I now have to purchase tickets and finally have to get acquainted with all the incredibly complex technical details and all the other stuff that I would now need to know to be able to plan a WDW trip. It all seems still super daunting (and remember: I used to be an expert at this!) but it will be interesting to see how the reality stacks up to the image in my mind about this process.
I've decided to blog about this, as it may be interesting and/or useful for anyone in the same situation as me. It will also be cool to read this back in the future!
t was a time of FastPass, of unlimited park hopping and when there were absolutely zero construction walls in Epcot. Nobody had heard about park reservations and most sightlines in Epcot were pretty clean. The most complex technical thing that we had to achieve before our visit (and even then, it was entirely optional) was to link our Magic Bands to our park tickets so that we could use them.
Needless to say, things have changed quite a bit since then. It’s amazing to think just how much things have changed in under a decade and just how much I’ve fallen behind.
As you may know, I’ve been a Disney fan for a long time now: going back way, way back, to perhaps the early 80s if not earlier. I remember going to Disney World when I was very little and having a wonderful time but the memories are vague and broken. Although I do know that there were Disney characters on the walls in my bedroom when I was a baby, and I had a Mickey Mouse pinata when I was around 4 or 5 years old.
I have better memories of the 80s when I would watch the Disney Channel compulsively and record (on a Betamax!) any special that had anything to do with the Disney parks, but especially Disney World. OH, how I wish I had that tape now… I would dream of Disney holidays and convince my parents to take us there. I was lucky enough to do this several times in the late 80s and early 90s. It was a long way to go - my dad wouldn’t fly (too expensive) so we drove and it took 3 whole days to get there and 3 whole days to return but it was totally worth it.
As I got older, my interest in Disney parks only grew and eventually I learned about the International Program, which I successfully entered in 1995. By then, I knew the parks like the back of my hand and there were only three: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT Center and Disney-MGM studios. I also knew the surrounding area like a local so when I did my Disney Traditions training I even knew where all the bathrooms were. I was THAT much of an expert.
After a year of working there, my knowledge levels were off the charts - or at least I thought so. Not only did I know the parks perfectly but I also had visited all the hotels and knew them pretty well - what restaurants they had, the decor, the vibes… everything. I even knew which Disney transportation was the best choice between any two points on property, and how long it would take to get there. I was the person you wanted near you when booking a Disney vacation.
Eventually, I could use this knowledge by working as a travel agent in the UK - but living further away did mean that my chances to visit the parks were more limited. At first, we did go reasonably often (maybe every 2 or 3 years) but after a while, this was not practical for various reasons and I had to get used to the fact that I was more likely to visit Disneyland Paris (which we did!) than WDW in Florida. However, I kept up the knowledge with the internet and I was still pretty good at my Disney smarts, even though there was a whole new park (Animal Kingdom) and a bunch of new hotels that I’d never visited.
However, since that visit in 2016, I’ve had one of the longest gaps between WDW trips and I have the pandemic to thank, among other things. I had planned to visit in 2021 for the 50th anniversary as it would also be my 50th birthday and that would be my birthday gift. We of course know that this was not to be as travel to the US was essentially forbidden for non-citizens and entry to Disney parks was very restricted. So I had to postpone those plans.
As the world slowly started to get back to normal, I had hopes of planning that trip to Disney World again yet the news coming out from there was not great: new restrictions around park reservations and park hopping were discouraging, as were the news of the replacement of FastPass with something called Genie which seemed to basically just cost more money. I also heard about price rises in most areas, including extortionate fees just to park, at the same time as it seemed that most Disney hotels were scaling back on what they offered.
Even daily housekeeping couldn’t be taken for granted!
I hoped that these troubling new developments would go away as pandemic restrictions eased but it sure didn’t seem to be the case. For me, the most concerning news was of these Genie and Genie+ services: it seemed to be a way for the Disney company to make more money out of people that were already shelling out a lot just to be in the parks, with the additional inconvenience of having to get up incredibly early on my vacation just to be sure I could get on the more popular attractions.
I must admit that all I was learning was a serious detractor and I gave up my WDW plans. It just seemed to me that everything was more expensive than I could afford, but also offering less than previous trips to WDW had offered. I also fell way behind in my knowledge and still struggle to understand exactly how Genie and Genie+ work, what happens if I don’t want to get up at 7 AM to book things, why do I have to plan which park to visit every day of my trip months in advance and how to get around the park without having to be glued to my phone all day.
As much as I wanted to go to WDW, I also didn’t want to find it so annoying that I would be disappointed with the experience - or end up paying over the odds just to experience some of the magic we’d taken for granted before. So I made the rational decision to indefinitely postpone my 50th birthday trip to WDW, for another time when things wouldn’t be so annoying.
But then, something changed. I got the news that RetroMagic was happening in Oct 2023 and I really wanted to go. The timings meant that it should be less expensive as it’s not during school holidays and also that I could go on my own which would also keep costs down. I also have always felt that I was cheated out of my 50th birthday so this was a good opportunity. To make a long story short, I did some research and found a relatively inexpensive way to get there.
With flights, hotel and RetroMagic ticket all booked - next came the rest of it. I now have to purchase tickets and finally have to get acquainted with all the incredibly complex technical details and all the other stuff that I would now need to know to be able to plan a WDW trip. It all seems still super daunting (and remember: I used to be an expert at this!) but it will be interesting to see how the reality stacks up to the image in my mind about this process.
I've decided to blog about this, as it may be interesting and/or useful for anyone in the same situation as me. It will also be cool to read this back in the future!
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