My recent experience at DLR

[cindy17]

Oh and about registers, depends on place. There was one at rose tavern for walk in’s like me but I believe there were more than one at pizza planet and refreshment corner and at award weiners

 

[tenneycjt]

Oh and about registers, depends on place. There was one at rose tavern for walk in’s like me but I believe there were more than one at pizza planet and refreshment corner and at award weiners

I like all those places especially award wieners, i really like luck fortune cookery because i love asian food and u can get ramen there, so hopefully they will have more than one window, At rose tavern howq long did u wait?

 

[LizzyS]

So some places currently don't even do mobile order, correct? I don't care to try it out (I haven't before), but it seems like a bit of a hassle right now and people are having issues with it in general. My trip isn't for 4 months, though, so I know a lot can change.

 

[pharmama]

So some places currently don't even do mobile order, correct? I don't care to try it out (I haven't before), but it seems like a bit of a hassle right now and people are having issues with it in general. My trip isn't for 4 months, though, so I know a lot can change.

DLR has tried to shift to pretty much entirely mobile order and actually make it harder to do walk up. The only places I'm coming up with that DON'T do mobile order (other than popcorn/churro/pretzel/ice cream type carts) are:
DL:
Tropical Hideaway (they have mobile order capability but for whatever reason they are not using it)
Kat Saka's Kettle
Rancho del Zocalo
Maurice's Treats
Market House
DCA:
Fiddler Fifer and Practical
Shawarma Palace (and Shawarma Palace Too)
Terran Treats
Ghirardelli Soda Fountain
Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats (has mobile order capability but often doesn't have it available)
Poultry Palace
Angry Dogs

 

[serendipityaey]

We went the week before you (week of 9/27,) and while I definitely share most everybody's sentiments about ti not being the same Disneyland as it was in the past, it wasn't nearly as bad as it sounds like it was last week. Last week was Fall Break for many (most?) Arizona schools (and maybe others) so maybe that had something to do with it.

Park was crowded, lines were long, rides broke down a lot. We still had fun but not nearly as much as in the past. I didn't notice anyone who was dressed inappropriately, but I'm kind of oblivious to those things....will ask my wife

On the other hand, we had no issues with mobile ordering. I think of it as a Fastpass/Virtual Queue for food. You pick a time for like 30-60 mins in advance and then get to skip to the front of the line at that time. When we would get into a 30ish minute line (plenty of them while we were there,) I would just pick a time right after the estimated wait. I never saw any food for mobile orders just sitting out -- every time I checked in for my mobile order, the food was pulled just like for everybody else in line....but I basically got to cut to the front of the line.

It's obvious that a lot of things are in transition now (reopening from COVID, Genie+, staffing issues, etc) so I think we'll just sit the next year or so out until things settle down.

We were there Wed-Sun last week and didn’t have any of the issues others have mentioned. Using all the tips from the board, both mobile order and boarding groups worked great for us. It was insanely crowded trying to leave Saturday night - but not the worst I’ve ever seen. The only issue I had was they hadn’t opened the back way to get out yet. By the time we reached the front of Main Street they had but not soon enough.

Yes we did wait in more ride lines than we ever have before but they all moved faster than posted. Some even half the time, and we used experience of what the lines looked like to decide if it was worth it to get in line or not.

Mobile order was a little glitchy but nothing that ever messed up our order and the food was all fantastic. It was easy for us to order while we were in line knowing we would want to eat after and worked out pretty well, plus I loved that you can check in from your table and wait sitting down until it’s ready.

It took more planning than usual and that is exhausting but I think all of life is just going to be more difficult from now on. Getting Rotr was surprisingly easy for us after following the tips. And I was also happily surprised with how quick and easy the security lines and entrance lines went , even on Saturday and Sunday. Radiator springs rope drop line was a pain and the Starbucks line after was horrible but the next morning we did Starbucks breakfast first and finished before 8am and did everything in Pixar pier as a walk on, played the games and got extra prizes because we were first for the day. Little Mermaid was a walk on every time I looked and rode Thursday and Friday and we had a wonderful time, tho we did leave extremely exhausted.

 

[serendipityaey]

On Sunday on our last day, we had reservations at Oga’s and we also each had our own last food items we wanted plus lunch for the kids and we scheduled mobile order at one time from 5 different places, one before, 4 after Oga, throughout the afternoon and it went great except FM forgot my Caesar dressing, but husband didn’t mind TOO much going back to get it after he ate his lobster roll.

 

[ishbit92]

I'm cautiously looking forward to my early December trip. This will be my first time back since October 2018 so, so many things are different now. Some are positive changes that I'm really looking forward to (Galaxy's Edge, Avengers Campus, all of the plant-based food options) and some not so much (mobile ordering mess, boarding groups going within a second, general off-ness described in this thread). I really hope Disney can get their mobile order act together in the next few months. Food is my #1 priority at the parks (alright, and in life) and there are so many new foods that I really want to try. We do have dining reservations for every night of the trip except the night of Merriest Nites, but I am really hoping I can get breakfast and lunch mobile ordered most of the time. I am quite nervous about that. It is very helpful to mentally prepare by reading this thread though.

 

[2boysmommy]

It took more planning than usual and that is exhausting but I think all of life is just going to be more difficult from now on. Getting Rotr was surprisingly easy for us after following the tips.

I have planned until I am blue in the face for our upcoming trip! We typically do 7+ days at WDW with intense planning and only quick trips to DL where we wing it. I'm hopeful that by applying my WDW intensity to this DL trip...all will work out (on some level!)

Do you have any specific tips on getting RotR? This is literally the ONLY thing one of my boys has on his list. Our last WDW trip was 2 weeks before it opened there, so we have never ridden it. I have 3 days of DL reservations so I'm hopeful we can score at least one of those, and I have read many posts on how to do it, but since you were just there...any last minute tricks??

 

[kikismom]

I will say I've never had issues with getting a boarding group. For some reasons I've gotten one every time I've tried. I do nothing special, don't use the world clock and get on at 659. I use a Google Pixel.

A side note on Smokejumpers. When I went in to pick up my mobile order none of the registers were even staffed. If that's a place anyone wants to eat make sure to mobile order. Granted that could have been an anomaly. I had no issue with food quality, just a lack of non mobile order options.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

A side note on Smokejumpers. When I went in to pick up my mobile order none of the registers were even staffed. If that's a place anyone wants to eat make sure to mobile order. Granted that could have been an anomaly. I had no issue with food quality, just a lack of non mobile order options.

We didn't visit Smokejumpers during this week's visit, but when we were there in June and tried to enter the building, a CM stopped us and told us it was mobile order only and asked to see ours. We hadn't made one, but he told us they were available for immediate pickup and it was the only way we could get anything at that location. Once we placed the order and hit I'm ready, he let us inside and we could see there were no cash registers being staffed.

 

[cindy17]

I like all those places especially award wieners, i really like luck fortune cookery because i love asian food and u can get ramen there, so hopefully they will have more than one window, At rose tavern howq long did u wait?

Not long, maybe 10 minutes. But we went a little early, about 11:45

 

[serendipityaey]

I have planned until I am blue in the face for our upcoming trip! We typically do 7+ days at WDW with intense planning and only quick trips to DL where we wing it. I'm hopeful that by applying my WDW intensity to this DL trip...all will work out (on some level!)

Do you have any specific tips on getting RotR? This is literally the ONLY thing one of my boys has on his list. Our last WDW trip was 2 weeks before it opened there, so we have never ridden it. I have 3 days of DL reservations so I'm hopeful we can score at least one of those, and I have read many posts on how to do it, but since you were just there...any last minute tricks??

i thought I had read here that someone thought the pull down method to refresh worked faster. This never worked for me, my sister beat me each time I tried to do it.

This is what I did for RotR on Saturday and Sunday (very busy days)! And it worked both times. Group 50 something and 40 something, both days in the ride by 9:30 am and short waits in line — set an alarm for 6:55 and 6:59 - just in case. Google atomic clock on your phone and have web page up on your phone. Confirm your group on the app well before 7. I made sure I was all done getting ready by 6:55 and just sitting on the bed and ready. At 6:58 I made sure my app was still good and on the queue page with party confirmed. At 6:59 I go to the atomic clock and count down the seconds with it so I felt in sync. At :45 seconds I switch to the app counting down seconds out loud. At :59 seconds I hit the refresh button and the Join Queue button pops up in the same place and I hit it quick.

most important: I beat my sister those two times

 

[DLgal]

I will say I've never had issues with getting a boarding group. For some reasons I've gotten one every time I've tried. I do nothing special, don't use the world clock and get on at 659. I use a Google Pixel.

A side note on Smokejumpers. When I went in to pick up my mobile order none of the registers were even staffed. If that's a place anyone wants to eat make sure to mobile order. Granted that could have been an anomaly. I had no issue with food quality, just a lack of non mobile order options.

Smokejumpers never has an open register. It's been mobile only every time we've been in the parks.

 

[eeg]

We are at Disneyland right now. Pre-pandemic we visited Disneyland many, many times both as locals and as tourists. We’ve also been once post-pandemic (in July).

Things are just not good right now. I am truly not a complainer about Disney and I get there are working out kinks and adjusting but is absolutely an inferior experience at a premium price and I don’t think they can blame the pandemic anymore. For the longest time we were like “Disney take all our money!” and we may have hit a breaking point. Lines are extremely long and I can’t quite figure out why - there are no distancing or capacity limits on attractions, and the parks aren’t congested. The food situation is really challenging with a lot of restaurants still closed (or closed part of the time) so you have to order super early or you have to leave the parks and go to downtown Disney. A lot of entertainment is still missing (what is the excuse for no parades or stage shows now?) which probably accounts for longer lines. The cast is grumpy (maybe they are being overworked). Lots of attractions are looking worn.

I get that there are kinks to work out, but not impressed right now. We were planning to upgrade our multi-day tickets to MagicKey passes (don’t even get me started at how we couldn’t do that before the trip? So weird) but having second thoughts on that.

California adventure on the other hand is firing on all cylinders. A lot more food seems to be open and they have a ton of entertainment at Avengers Campus (way more than at Galaxy’s Edge, which seems pretty devoid of atmosphere and character these days). Longish lines too - and don’t know why they haven’t resumed things like Frozen - but not as bad as Disneyland.

 

[ktlm]

Some are positive changes that I'm really looking forward to (Galaxy's Edge, Avengers Campus, all of the plant-based food options)

My teen DD is a vegetarian and I am not. I am often not a fan of a lot of the "fake meat" you can get. DLR has some good stuff right now. The Felucian Kefta & Hummus Garden Spread at Docking Bay 7 in Galaxy's Edge (plant based meatballs, herb hummus, tomato cucumber relish, pita) was really good. I would eat it again and again. We were lucky enough to get a reservation for the Lamplight Lounge Brunch and the Potato Flautas (plant based chorizo, vegan Piquillo Crema, serrano- tomatillo Salsa, Argula salad and Escabeche) was absolutely fantastic.

 

[ishbit92]

My teen DD is a vegetarian and I am not. I am often not a fan of a lot of the "fake meat" you can get. DLR has some good stuff right now. The Felucian Kefta & Hummus Garden Spread at Docking Bay 7 in Galaxy's Edge (plant based meatballs, herb hummus, tomato cucumber relish, pita) was really good. I would eat it again and again. We were lucky enough to get a reservation for the Lamplight Lounge Brunch and the Potato Flautas (plant based chorizo, vegan Piquillo Crema, serrano- tomatillo Salsa, Argula salad and Escabeche) was absolutely fantastic.

I cannot wait to try the Galaxy's Edge options-- that hummus spread sounds fantastic. I've heard many good things about the Ronto-less Roaster too. I wish we had time to do brunch on this trip! Or more like I wish Lamplight did brunch on weekdays--those flautas sound delicious. We are going to Lamplight for dinner one night though and their Pastrami-Spiced Impossible burger sounds great. For anyone who is vegetarian/vegan/or just likes to eat that way sometimes, I highly recommend Happiest Vegan on Earth. She has a YouTube, Instagram, and website and she always is posting detailed reviews and photos on plant based offerings in the park.

 

[serendipityaey]

I cannot wait to try the Galaxy's Edge options-- that hummus spread sounds fantastic. I've heard many good things about the Ronto-less Roaster too. I wish we had time to do brunch on this trip! Or more like I wish Lamplight did brunch on weekdays--those flautas sound delicious. We are going to Lamplight for dinner one night though and their Pastrami-Spiced Impossible burger sounds great. For anyone who is vegetarian/vegan/or just likes to eat that way sometimes, I highly recommend Happiest Vegan on Earth. She has a YouTube, Instagram, and website and she always is posting detailed reviews and photos on plant based offerings in the park.

Yes! The vegan wrap at Ronto’s was amazing! We were just hanging out at GE on Wed evening and there was no line so my sil got one and then we just had to as well. I’m not vegetarian and impossible is not my favorite but this was just so well made. Actually all the food was amazing last week, very happy with it!

I also had the potato skins at LL and they were more like potato pancakes but oh my goodness they were unbelievable and I was sadly full for the rest of the day lol

 

[TeamRiley]

We were there 3 weeks ago and it was awesome. Crowds very low, rode tons of rides, no issues with mobile ordering.
I think part of the disappointment people are seeing now is in the difference between California and Florida. The ridiculous things CA requires still (mostly behind the scene) make operating normally almost impossible. It will come back around to normal, but will take longer in CA than in FL.

 

[Pop489]

Do you have any specific tips on getting RotR? This is literally the ONLY thing one of my boys has on his list. Our last WDW trip was 2 weeks before it opened there, so we have never ridden it. I have 3 days of DL reservations so I'm hopeful we can score at least one of those, and I have read many posts on how to do it, but since you were just there...any last minute tricks??

At 6:58 I made sure my app was still good and on the queue page with party confirmed. At 6:59 I go to the atomic clock and count down the seconds with it so I felt in sync. At :45 seconds I switch to the app counting down seconds out loud. At :59 seconds I hit the refresh button and the Join Queue button pops up in the same place and I hit it quick.

I used the same method as serendipityaey for the 7am for WS in DCA. Worked just fine. The same day we stopped in Carsland just before noon and was able to get a boarding group of ROTR for later that evening. Was very impressed with ROTR!

 

[tenneycjt]

I hope smokejumpers does have registers open when i go, luv the loaded waffle fries, Had a friend drop a smart phone today and broke it. thousand bucks, Another reason i dont want one, im dropping my phone constantly