midnight star
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2017
Oh no ! Just a 3 day refurbishment? The app lists hours on the app now.It actually was closed this week for three days. It said closed for refurbishment. I was sad we missed it Tuesday.
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Controversial Topics
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The Magic is Back - Share your Experience! Superthread
- Thread starter Kender
- Start date
Katniss Mellark
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2018
Thanks! I agree. The app said it was closed yesterday, so I wasn’t sure.
Skyegirl1999
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2016
Philharmagic is up and down all month. It’s weird that rather than one long closure, it’s a cluster of smaller multi-day closures. So you’d have to check an individual day to see it’s status.
wishing4PA
Wants to be in Pennsylvania or WDW or PA or WDW or
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2008
That's funny! I suppose since it's so new, none of the other guests had a clue what they were doing either!
Katniss Mellark
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2018
That's funny! I suppose since it's so new, none of the other guests had a clue what they were doing either!
yeah that’s what we’re thinking! We got lucky again and got another web slingers boarding group today at 12pm. And somehow, we got the best score of the hour again!
. My parents were with us both days, and really had no idea what they were doing, but they had a blast!
Piglet99645
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2005
Never apologize for a long trip report! Glad it was overall a good trip. Helpful for those of us about to go
Went to DCA today, and had a great time! Hadn't been in several years, so had yet to ride Mission Breakout or Incredicoaster since conversion.
Decided to try to get WS boarding group before leaving. Had time.gov counting down the time, and right at 7:00 we tried from home. All 3 of us on (very) fast wifi, using pulldown method. DS used his lightning gaming skills to get boarding group 3, which was very exciting but also meant we had to get going! But this set up very nicely for the rest of the day...
We had an advantage because my in-laws live just west of the park. Parked at their place and walked over. Got in line at the Downtown Disney check in just before 8:00. Line didn't seem that long. Screening started at 8:00, we were in DCA by 8:15 and went straight to AC (boarding group had already been called).
Went straight to WS which was... meh. DW, DS and I agreed that it's outranked by every similar ride in SoCal, including the new Beary-y Tales at Knotts and Justice League at Magic Mountain. Went to Mission Breakout afterward, 5 minute wait (almost a walk-on). Loved it. Walked around the rest of the campus, didn't eat or see any shows (too early for food, no shows until at least 9:30 and by now it was just before 9:00). Decided to check out rides.
Thought about doing RSR next until we saw the line (which was reportedly 2.5 hours!? But I doubt it- keep reading). Rode TSM (15 minute wait just after 9:00- pretty close to posted wait time) then Incredicoaster (about a 20-25 minute wait, posted time 40 minutes). Loved the Incredicoaster conversion, and pleasantly surprised how well the coaster is running after a couple of decades.
Went to Grizzly Run, posted wait time was 45 minutes and we probably waited about 40. Forgot how fun that ride is!
Next up lunch at Smoke Jumpers. DW got the brisket mac n' cheese- liked the brisket, not so much the mac (too soft). DS said the chicken tenders were just chicken tenders. My half Monte Cristo was quite delicious. All of us enjoyed the waffle fries.
Got in line for Soaring next. I think it was posted as a 50 minute wait when we got in line, then almost immediately jumped to 80. We waited 40.
Probably a good time to point out that one of the frustrating aspects of going to the park at the moment is that they will NOT honor requests to be seated in certain rows. This meant that we had less than ideal seats on both Soaring and the coaster, but we enjoyed them nonetheless.
DS and I did Goofy's Fly School next. Posted 35 minute wait, ended up being 25. Is it just me or does that thing brake WAY harder than it used to? I used to really enjoy that ride, but 4 or 5 times the ride absolutely slammed on the brakes causing pretty strong discomfort. I don't remember it doing that before, but again it's been a long time since I've been to this park.
Mickey's Philharmagic was up next. Walk-on. Doesn't touch the MK version (theater isn't configured properly). Would've been nice if they would have remodeled the theater so you get the immersive 3-D effects of the original.
Churro break! Man, I missed those churros.... sooooo good.... I definitely remember hearing about a churro stand near the front of the park that had a churro ice cream sandwich, but I couldn't find it and the CM I asked had no idea what I was talking about. The churro stand near the front of the park had a line of about 7 people, but the one near Monsters Inc. was deserted.
Monsters Inc. was apparently down while we were enjoying our churros, then re-opened as soon as we finished. App said it was a 45 minute wait most of the day, but since it had just re-opened we waited like 5-10. But they must have opened it too soon- in the room with all the doors the ride stopped and we had to be evacuated off the ride. Not a big deal, been on it plenty of times before.
Decided it was time to bite the bullet and wait for RSR. Posted wait time was 75 minutes. Ride broke down shortly after we got in line, then was back up again in about 10-15 minutes. Even with that delay we still only waited about 50 minutes, and I didn't notice a lot of people getting out of line during the downtime...
Mater's Junkyard only had a 5 minute wait as we walked by, so we thought why not.
Stopped at Ghiradelli, then DS and I decided to get a re-ride on Incredicoaster. Posted wait time was 30 minutes- we waited 12.
Would've done Little Mermaid if the line was shorter, but it had a posted wait time of 45 minutes almost all day. Even accounting for the fact that most of the posted wait times seemed to be over (in a couple cases by a LOT) we decided to pass. Grabbed a few confections on our way out of the park and started the long walk back to the car around 5:00.
The park felt pretty crowded. Wouldn't have believed that the park was limited to 35% capacity except that I've been to DL on NYE and I know what actual capacity looks like. I definitely understand the concerns of people who are wondering what the park is going to look like if the capacity restrictions are ending soon... but also agree that if ride capacity is also increased it probably won't be that bad.
Final Thoughts:
-Pleasant surprise that most posted wait times were exaggerated.
-AC is... fine. WS is... ok. But we didn't really linger, didn't eat, didn't see any shows, so YMMV.
-Our 1 experience mobile ordering was pretty smooth, but we also ordered something like 2 hours ahead of time. Glad we did.
-Since parks have re-opened we've been to 4 others (MM, Knotts, California's Great America and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom) and DCA definitely had its act together more than those parks. Knotts is probably 2nd best, though our visit there was on the short side. I'm thinking of % of attractions open, ease of mobile ordering, crowd control, ride ops.
Overall a great day at the park. Checked all of our boxes (and then some), and looking forward to going back!
Decided to try to get WS boarding group before leaving. Had time.gov counting down the time, and right at 7:00 we tried from home. All 3 of us on (very) fast wifi, using pulldown method. DS used his lightning gaming skills to get boarding group 3, which was very exciting but also meant we had to get going! But this set up very nicely for the rest of the day...
We had an advantage because my in-laws live just west of the park. Parked at their place and walked over. Got in line at the Downtown Disney check in just before 8:00. Line didn't seem that long. Screening started at 8:00, we were in DCA by 8:15 and went straight to AC (boarding group had already been called).
Went straight to WS which was... meh. DW, DS and I agreed that it's outranked by every similar ride in SoCal, including the new Beary-y Tales at Knotts and Justice League at Magic Mountain. Went to Mission Breakout afterward, 5 minute wait (almost a walk-on). Loved it. Walked around the rest of the campus, didn't eat or see any shows (too early for food, no shows until at least 9:30 and by now it was just before 9:00). Decided to check out rides.
Thought about doing RSR next until we saw the line (which was reportedly 2.5 hours!? But I doubt it- keep reading). Rode TSM (15 minute wait just after 9:00- pretty close to posted wait time) then Incredicoaster (about a 20-25 minute wait, posted time 40 minutes). Loved the Incredicoaster conversion, and pleasantly surprised how well the coaster is running after a couple of decades.
Went to Grizzly Run, posted wait time was 45 minutes and we probably waited about 40. Forgot how fun that ride is!
Next up lunch at Smoke Jumpers. DW got the brisket mac n' cheese- liked the brisket, not so much the mac (too soft). DS said the chicken tenders were just chicken tenders. My half Monte Cristo was quite delicious. All of us enjoyed the waffle fries.
Got in line for Soaring next. I think it was posted as a 50 minute wait when we got in line, then almost immediately jumped to 80. We waited 40.
Probably a good time to point out that one of the frustrating aspects of going to the park at the moment is that they will NOT honor requests to be seated in certain rows. This meant that we had less than ideal seats on both Soaring and the coaster, but we enjoyed them nonetheless.
DS and I did Goofy's Fly School next. Posted 35 minute wait, ended up being 25. Is it just me or does that thing brake WAY harder than it used to? I used to really enjoy that ride, but 4 or 5 times the ride absolutely slammed on the brakes causing pretty strong discomfort. I don't remember it doing that before, but again it's been a long time since I've been to this park.
Mickey's Philharmagic was up next. Walk-on. Doesn't touch the MK version (theater isn't configured properly). Would've been nice if they would have remodeled the theater so you get the immersive 3-D effects of the original.
Churro break! Man, I missed those churros.... sooooo good.... I definitely remember hearing about a churro stand near the front of the park that had a churro ice cream sandwich, but I couldn't find it and the CM I asked had no idea what I was talking about. The churro stand near the front of the park had a line of about 7 people, but the one near Monsters Inc. was deserted.
Monsters Inc. was apparently down while we were enjoying our churros, then re-opened as soon as we finished. App said it was a 45 minute wait most of the day, but since it had just re-opened we waited like 5-10. But they must have opened it too soon- in the room with all the doors the ride stopped and we had to be evacuated off the ride. Not a big deal, been on it plenty of times before.
Decided it was time to bite the bullet and wait for RSR. Posted wait time was 75 minutes. Ride broke down shortly after we got in line, then was back up again in about 10-15 minutes. Even with that delay we still only waited about 50 minutes, and I didn't notice a lot of people getting out of line during the downtime...
Mater's Junkyard only had a 5 minute wait as we walked by, so we thought why not.
Stopped at Ghiradelli, then DS and I decided to get a re-ride on Incredicoaster. Posted wait time was 30 minutes- we waited 12.
Would've done Little Mermaid if the line was shorter, but it had a posted wait time of 45 minutes almost all day. Even accounting for the fact that most of the posted wait times seemed to be over (in a couple cases by a LOT) we decided to pass. Grabbed a few confections on our way out of the park and started the long walk back to the car around 5:00.
The park felt pretty crowded. Wouldn't have believed that the park was limited to 35% capacity except that I've been to DL on NYE and I know what actual capacity looks like. I definitely understand the concerns of people who are wondering what the park is going to look like if the capacity restrictions are ending soon... but also agree that if ride capacity is also increased it probably won't be that bad.
Final Thoughts:
-Pleasant surprise that most posted wait times were exaggerated.
-AC is... fine. WS is... ok. But we didn't really linger, didn't eat, didn't see any shows, so YMMV.
-Our 1 experience mobile ordering was pretty smooth, but we also ordered something like 2 hours ahead of time. Glad we did.
-Since parks have re-opened we've been to 4 others (MM, Knotts, California's Great America and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom) and DCA definitely had its act together more than those parks. Knotts is probably 2nd best, though our visit there was on the short side. I'm thinking of % of attractions open, ease of mobile ordering, crowd control, ride ops.
Overall a great day at the park. Checked all of our boxes (and then some), and looking forward to going back!
PirateBrigade
Yarrrr
- Joined
- May 25, 2021
I shuddered a little bit when I read that part.
MonocularVision
One-Eyed American
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2017
Underrated ride. We always laugh so hard when we ride. Just go limp.
TikiTikiFan
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 1, 2018
cruisehopeful
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2015
I suspect that is from a churro cart in Downtown Disney. I've never seen a churro ice cream sandwich, but there's a cart in Downtown Disney that sells tons of different types of churros. They are different than the ones that the park carry.
Ah- I think you're right. I'm pretty sure I found the article I was thinking about (from 2014) and it was in fact at DTD. In which case I could've apparently had one anytime we've stopped by my in-laws over the past 7 years!
DonnerB
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2018
Used our second Park Hopper day yesterday. The Mickey & Friends situation was better than when we went on the 1st and we got into DCA by about 8:40, immediately did Soarin' with a 10 minute posted/actual wait. Side question: have they only been loading Concourse B this whole time, or was it just because we were so early in the day?! Totally missed it if this has been standard operating procedure!
We got a lot accomplished in our first 90 minutes while the standby line for AC grew and grew (Sky School, Midway Mania, Incredicoaster). Wait times seemed less inflated this visit. A notable exception to that statement was Grizzly River, where we got in a posted 75 minute line and waited about 30 (having ridden this on the previous visit, we both commented that the line seemed shorter than last time, when we waited 40). Posted waits were definitely longer compared to the 1st (Midway Mania usually over 45 instead of less than 30, for example). The one wait time we found to be an underestimate was Peter Pan - posted 20 and once we had waited that long we were only halfway through the queue and bailed to make our 2 pm Café Orleans reservation.
Lunch was tasty, and a great break on a very warm sunny day. Like Lamplight, the menu is quite abbreviated, but we were there for the three cheese Monte Cristos. When our plates arrived we were both shocked at the portion sizes (had debated only ordering one since we remembered struggling to finish them pre-COVID), but it ended up being perfect since they now come with the side of frites. Another positive note, we both commented that the quality seemed higher than before (crispy and gooey in all the right places).
Mobile order windows seemed to fill MUCH faster than our last visit. We had a great experience with it at Paradise Garden Grill, another weird experience with it at the Karl Strauss beer cart, and a not great experience at Gibson Girl. Actually texted a friend while waiting for our sundae that she should expect to wait longer for food than some rides when she goes the 27th. Also had a more difficult time finding seating yesterday, though it was not impossible.-
We lucked out and were pulled through the Haunted Mansion back staircase entrance, so our 40 minute posted wait became a walk-on. So fun!
We had gotten backup BG 167 for Webslingers at noon and spent all afternoon trying to calculate whether we had a chance
. About 6:50 pm we hopped back to DCA and got in the standby line for AC, as we had "nothing better to wait for," and at the very least hoped to ride Mission Breakout. CM told us an hour, but it took ten minutes! My weird take on it was: it was more impressive entering Galaxy's Edge for the first time, but I'd much rather spend time in AC. We tried the chicken shawarma at the cart near the Hyperion (still a MUCH shorter line there). I won't call it gross, but it was nothing like I was expecting or hoping for. Definitely overpriced even by Disney standards. At this point, we are starting to lose hope about WS, so I insist we get in the Mission Breakout line so we at least ride something. Our group was called at 8:22 as we were being seated in the gantry lift! Honestly made our ride that much more enjoyable. We ended up being the second to last BG called and were exiting the ride just after park close at 9. I thought it was great - can't wait ride multiple times and improve my skills! Spent a few minutes enjoying the lighting and ambiance of AC at night and headed out.
I have a feeling this post will be useless if things change tomorrow, but just another data point that things can be very different than we are used to, but still fun and entertaining in new ways!
We got a lot accomplished in our first 90 minutes while the standby line for AC grew and grew (Sky School, Midway Mania, Incredicoaster). Wait times seemed less inflated this visit. A notable exception to that statement was Grizzly River, where we got in a posted 75 minute line and waited about 30 (having ridden this on the previous visit, we both commented that the line seemed shorter than last time, when we waited 40). Posted waits were definitely longer compared to the 1st (Midway Mania usually over 45 instead of less than 30, for example). The one wait time we found to be an underestimate was Peter Pan - posted 20 and once we had waited that long we were only halfway through the queue and bailed to make our 2 pm Café Orleans reservation.
Lunch was tasty, and a great break on a very warm sunny day. Like Lamplight, the menu is quite abbreviated, but we were there for the three cheese Monte Cristos. When our plates arrived we were both shocked at the portion sizes (had debated only ordering one since we remembered struggling to finish them pre-COVID), but it ended up being perfect since they now come with the side of frites. Another positive note, we both commented that the quality seemed higher than before (crispy and gooey in all the right places).
Mobile order windows seemed to fill MUCH faster than our last visit. We had a great experience with it at Paradise Garden Grill, another weird experience with it at the Karl Strauss beer cart, and a not great experience at Gibson Girl. Actually texted a friend while waiting for our sundae that she should expect to wait longer for food than some rides when she goes the 27th. Also had a more difficult time finding seating yesterday, though it was not impossible.-
We lucked out and were pulled through the Haunted Mansion back staircase entrance, so our 40 minute posted wait became a walk-on. So fun!
We had gotten backup BG 167 for Webslingers at noon and spent all afternoon trying to calculate whether we had a chance
. About 6:50 pm we hopped back to DCA and got in the standby line for AC, as we had "nothing better to wait for," and at the very least hoped to ride Mission Breakout. CM told us an hour, but it took ten minutes! My weird take on it was: it was more impressive entering Galaxy's Edge for the first time, but I'd much rather spend time in AC. We tried the chicken shawarma at the cart near the Hyperion (still a MUCH shorter line there). I won't call it gross, but it was nothing like I was expecting or hoping for. Definitely overpriced even by Disney standards. At this point, we are starting to lose hope about WS, so I insist we get in the Mission Breakout line so we at least ride something. Our group was called at 8:22 as we were being seated in the gantry lift! Honestly made our ride that much more enjoyable. We ended up being the second to last BG called and were exiting the ride just after park close at 9. I thought it was great - can't wait ride multiple times and improve my skills! Spent a few minutes enjoying the lighting and ambiance of AC at night and headed out.I have a feeling this post will be useless if things change tomorrow, but just another data point that things can be very different than we are used to, but still fun and entertaining in new ways!
pharmama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 6, 2012
Just wanted to add that the Magic was Back enough for me that I've decided to go back 4th of July weekend, though this time with DH, DD12 and DD10 (DD16 has other plans anyway). Just need to stalk 7/3 for a DCA Park Hopper reservation (already grabbed DL for the 4th)...
Curious to see how much things change over the next couple weeks with the new guidelines too.
ETA: just snagged a DCA PH reservation for 7/3 so we’re all set! Yay!
Curious to see how much things change over the next couple weeks with the new guidelines too.
ETA: just snagged a DCA PH reservation for 7/3 so we’re all set! Yay!
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midnight star
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2017
I saw a vlogger post that the lockers inside DL are open now. The ones by Starbucks.
GBRforWDW
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2020
Oh my, exciting 
Fireworks 
news!
https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...aculars-are-back-at-disney-parks-this-summer/
July 4th marks the return of fireworks in Disneyland!
Fireworks news!https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...aculars-are-back-at-disney-parks-this-summer/
July 4th marks the return of fireworks in Disneyland!
avalon451
Errrr... what?
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2008
DLRExpert just posted live from the parks that rope drop is back. Also, fireworks back on 4th of July, so you definitely timed it right!
pharmama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 6, 2012
Yes! I'm so excited! I don't love MMM but whatever- I'll take it!
Winnowill
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2014
I'm just so excited that we planned 7/4 as our first park day!
wideeyedwonder
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2008
How is it today, with the new masking and social distancing guidance?
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