Reading through some of the comments, I do feel for you all who strategically picked dates! However, my best advice would just to be super prepared when going. Utilize maxpass, rope drop, early mornings. Also, mobile ordering is now up for all guests, so that can help with food lines. Take breaks when needed if you notice people are getting tired or grumpy.
Re-posting this from the June thread...
First, I think if DLR has done things a certain way for many years and published things like AP blockout calendars 12 months in advance, it is a fair expectation that Disney will stick with that. It is reasonable to be disappointed and even discouraged when they don't. Yes, I know these are first world problems. I watched a (Disney) movie last night Queen of Katwe (really good BTW) and it softened how I feel a bit.
Nevertheless, Disney is offering a premium entertainment experience and charging a premium price for that. If they stop acting like a premium entertainment provider and change the game on you at the last minute, they should expect folks to be upset.
Do I think our trip will be ruined? Of course not. Do I feel like Disney pulled a fast one on me? Yes, I do. Will it affect my choices in the future? I think it will.
When I found out about this yesterday, I sent an email to Disney explaining how what they did was not fair. Who knows what will happen?
Everyone else - please call or email Disney if you are upset: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/help/phone/
Can you elaborate on your WDW comment? I have 3 trips planned there in the next 9 months, so I’m curious if there’s something that I need to be aware of. TIAAt the moment I feel pretty similar. I travel to a lot of places and am fortunate to be able to do lots of Disney as well. I was talking to DW last night and it might be time that we do less Disney and do other things a bit more. What they appear to be doing at WDW has me discouraged about that place too.
Way more than I expected it to be. I'd done a lot of research on June vs October and had settled on Junes for lower crowds. I'm probably being paranoid over nothing, which I certainly hope is the case.
I hope you're right! We've gone in October for Halloween and it was PACKED!
We definitely plan on using rope drop, maxpass, and early mornings! I told my MIL if she felt overwhelmed she was more than welcome to take the 2 year old back to the hotel for a nap. I've never been in the summer time and am stressing over a "perfect vacation", so while I'm not happy that Disney pulled a last minute change, I think it's mostly "omgoodness I'm leaving in 10 days" anxiety of my own setting in.
This. We were there at that time, also (28th and 29th). With MP and know-how, we did every headliner (many of them twice - didn't wait longer than 20 minutes for any of them unless we didn't have anything else we particularly wanted to do), saw some shows, and had a great time. We even had time for a mid-day break.
My friends and I were discussing this yesterday! When people hear that the blockout days for AP's are subject to change, they automatically assume it will mean days can be taken away. Well now it is showing that days and some perks can change to benefit the AP. So going forward, using blockout days can be helpful, but maybe shouldn't be relied on entirely. Everything is subject to change it seems like.
I habe a feeling it is about showing AP holders that they can unblock passes if crowds allow. So that people think maybe they will have a few more days in DL next summer than the current calendar shows. BUT it's still annoying. LOL
I guess the biggest reason I contacted Disney now is that it is affecting me now. I feel discouraged before I have even left. That matters to me. I like looking forward to things and now some of that has been lost for this trip since they changed the rules, so to speak, at the last minute, and in a way they never have before.
It appears that WDW may be using FP+ advance reservations to plan for reduced staffing at rides thus driving up ride wait times on non-busy days. Lots of folks who go every January expressed their confusion and disappointment about how long the lines were in January this year.
The impact of unblocked APs is vastly different at WDW compared with DLR. I personally think people are justified in being upset about the DLR change. The impact on WDW will likely be much smaller. They just don't have the number of AP holders within driving distance of the parks that DLR has.See, and I didn’t even notice that. We are going to WDW next week. I actually paid zero attention to the AP Blockout dates when booking our trip. I glanced at Touring Plans, looked for any major things that would affect the parks or the hotel we chose (major cheer, football, dance competitions, etc) and then picked a week that worked for our schedule. We will enjoy our trip no matter how many AP’s are in the park.
On the other hand, I am also a DL AP. We will be in the parks in June but I’m not rushing over to be there on the day they unblocked my pass. I’m going when it is convenient for me, when we are celebrating something, when we have family in town that wants to go, etc.
I’m just saying you really don’t need to live or die by AP dates. They shouldn’t be a make or break of your trip by any means. It’s summer. It’s crowded. It will only bother you if you let it
Exactly that. Somebody probably wasn't on target to make their bonus.
