We just returned from a Land and Sea trip - 4 days in the parks (staying at OKW) and then a 3-night cruise on the Dream, April 4-11. It was a wonderful vacation!
A few highlights that I wanted to share, because I love reading this thread as my trips are approaching! We are typically rope drop people but as my girls get older we are more laid back. I really worried we would miss things, but with
Genie+ and ILL it worked out so well. On our first day, we flew early so I got return times while waiting in the airport and again right after we landed. We took a private transportation company called "Away We Go" which dropped us off at Epcot and then took our bags to OKW. By the time we arrived at Epcot I had Test Track, Soarin and Remy booked. So we filled in with other rides while we were there. We did everything in the park BUT Frozen and Space, which was our plan. We very much enjoyed the show at Epcot!
Because it went so well the day before, we decided to sleep in/swim the next day with the same type of stacking for AK. I would get up at 7:15 and get a later return time and then reserve them every two hours until we went to the parks around 1/2 PM. In fact, the 7:17 drop was most beneficial for me - I was able to get what I wanted each day at that time. And at 7:17 it was less likely to be a different time after I clicked through. I just set an alarm for the next time to book and I didn't feel like I was on my phone much. We had a WONDERFUL breakfast at Olivia's, probably my favorite meal of the trip. Got to the park and already had FOP, Safari and Dinosaur booked (I think). We didn't even care to do Navi but one time it popped up so I grabbed it.
The one day we Rope Dropped was Magic Kingdom. That was the only day I felt the crowds were bad. After nearly getting ran over by strollers (we were in the very front of the rope drop at Tomorrowland) I decided that just wasn't worth the hassle. We did Space Mountain and Splash before park opening, and had return time for Jungle Cruise and Pirates. Then we took a mid-day break. After that point, I had several waiting on us that I had booked while at the resort. We managed to get all the major rides, including a return time for Peter Pan after we watched the fireworks (didn't care for them, but we love Happily Ever After). For me, it seemed like I lucked out or maybe I planned well because if I fiddled with it, I almost always got a return time for something I wanted. I did not book anything until it was what I wanted (meaning I didn't try to cancel and rebook, I figured I would rather hold out). We left the park that night around midnight, but could have done a 2nd ride on some of the big hitters with little wait times.
Our last day was Thursday and I think the storms helped us because we slept in (aside from 7:17 Rise and Slinky, then went back to sleep) and still managed to get every ride we wanted minus Smugglers. And we could have done standby but we were feeling sickly from all the other simulator rides. We booked Tower around lunch and found RnR around 2:30 which I didn't expect. I think people must have canceled and I found their scraps! My 13 yo daughter watched tons of Molly videos (All Ears) and helped me find things, so that was fun for us to do together.
We did 4 parks in 4 days - and 3 of those days were post-lunch arrivals. We only waited in one line, 20 minutes for Spaceship Earth when we first walked into Epcot. We have NEVER had a trip with fewer wait times. In fact, we said we sometimes needed more time in the queues to catch our breath!
Friday we took ground transportation to Port Canaveral, crossed our fingers for negative Covid tests, and then enjoyed 3 relaxing nights on the Dream. Low crowds there. I don't know the number but I know my girls did the Aquaduck 7 times in a row! Castaway was dreamy, as always.
Because Southwest changed our return flight we had ground transportation bring us back to OKW where they kept our luggage for a few hours at bell services. I wasn't sure this was going to work so I had the manager approve it first. They had no problem doing it. We took the boat to Disney Springs, spent a final day there, and then ubered back to the airport last night to fly home.
I know many people say Genie+ isn't worth it, but for our touring style and crowd levels, it was worth every penny. Check at 7:17 for the big rides, it worked every day for me. Relax at the resort or park hop and stack in the afternoon/evening if you want. We had very few ADRs so that helped us to be flexible, as well.
Or, I guess, if you only go every few years or so, it can be budgeted in.
