Opie100
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2009
Happy New Year! We just returned from spending the first week of 2023 at Disney World! I'll post our trip basics here and answer questions if any:
12/31/22 - UNIVERSAL CITY WALK - High 75
We drove to Florida (four of us, husband, wife, daughter (18) and son (13) and arrived in Orlando around 6pm. We are DVC members with a small amount of points so we try to avoid spending the large points required for NYE night on premises. This year we used our annual Hyatt Card night voucher at Hyatt House across from Universal Orlando Resort, and ate dinner at the top level of Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar at Universal CityWalk. Parking was free this year (CityWalk did not have the bar hopping NYE event that they used to have prior to COVID) and Cowfish was good as usual. We also had reservations at the Toothsome for desert but seating was slow so we just waited in line for a shake that was rather underwhelming.
To bring in the new year we bought a table at Hard Rock Cafe Live to see the Beatles cover band.
This was fun (included a New Year's countdown) and we recommend it should they do it again next year (last year they did Led Zeppelin). You have to call the box office if you want to reserve a table (has drink service). When we left the concert around 12:10pm we found that the Universal NYE celebration just inside the park was exiting at the same time and WOW there was a lot of people trying to leave.
It took us over an hour to just get out of the parking garage -- and there were no Universal employees there to help traffic exit smoothly. (Disney knows how to manage this kind of crowd control better). Our hotel was a 25 minute walk so next time we'll probably just do that instead if we try this again.
1/1/23 (first half) - VOLCANO BAY / DISNEY SPRINGS - High 79F
My son loves water parks so we got dropped off at CityWalk around 9:30am to catch the short shuttle from the CityWalk parking to Volcano Bay. This was our first visit in a while. Before lunch the crowd was very minimal so we could ride Krakatoa multiple times without waiting. The afternoon was busier. But the staff was excellent and we had lots of fun (sorry no pics). Typhoon Lagoon has a more dramatic wave pool (both are great looking) but Volcano Bay's "lazy river" is way more fun. A great day that was 68 when we arrived but 78 later in the day. (DD and DW went to Disney Springs for the day).
1/1/23 (second half) - MAGIC KINGDOM (and Poly check-in) (crowds 7 out of 10)
We checked into Disney's Polynesian Villas for three nights -- the studios here are terrific with the double bathroom setup (two showers, two sinks) and the pull down full bed (in addition to the murphy bed). This allows both kids to have their own bed (although the murphy here can only accommodate up to around 5'6" comfortably). From there we monorailed it over to Magic Kingdom for the evening. We had dinner at Jungle Canteen, which has great theming and decent but not quite amazing food. We got Big Thunder Mountain in during the MK fireworks are going -- always a great start to our visits. We also bought Mine Train ILL tickets and enjoyed the evening.
1/2/23 - HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS (Genie+) - High 81F (crowds 10 out of 10)
Knowing from TouringPlans and past visits that this would be a busy week, we purchased Genie+ for our entire week (other than 1/1 arrival day and 1/7 departure day). I got up each day around 6:50am to buy Genie+, and booked our first attractions at the 7am window (SDD today) as well as the ILL (Rise of the Resistance). We decided to drive from Polynesian (DW slept in). The line for Tower of Terror extended all the way back to Hollywood Blvd. right after open! We did Rock'n'Roller coaster instead to start.
Good day overall. Slinky Dog closed for repairs for the first few hours but my son really likes that one so he waited. Rise of the Resistance is still great, although I miss the days when the turrets moved when they fired. I will say that the staff was good and I recommend Googling a few questions to ask them while waiting in line if you like to have some fun (my favorite declaration was "To the Spires!"). Almost gained Master Pirate rank on Smuggler's run with 9990 points -- can't seem to crack that yet. Enjoyed the Cantina in the afternoon (the Outer Rim has become a very good margarita substitute -- better be for $19). DW and I ate at Prime Time Cafe for dinner while kids fended for themselves. It was our first time and I liked it. Got the sampler (meatloaf, pot roast and chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans). Good change of pace from fast food and good service.
Enjoyed the upgraded Fantasmic at the second (late) show. Definitely need to do that once a trip. BTW: You risk getting a little wet by sitting at bottom of section closest to stage.
1/3/23 - MAGIC KINGDOM (Genie+) = High 81F (crowds 9 out of 10)
Today I got up and booked Genie+ with Mine Train ILL -- Booked Peter Pan at 7am and then set alarms on phone to book new attractions every couple of hours throughout the day. We really wanted to do the Railroad at MK this year since it just re-opened but the lines were very long every time we tried, so we skipped it, even though the train looked all new and shiny. We got Splash Mountain in and didn't get too wet. Can't wait for TRON to open. They were testing it this week (prior to the April 4 opening announcement.)
I should add in the morning we had breakfast at Captain Cooks and walked out and looked at where the new Polynesian tower is being built.
Dinner at Columbia Harbour House - dependable spot for salmon and chowder. We also did the specialty drink at Gaston's -- the bottom layer of this drink is the best. I think Disney should have a signature drink (like Butterbeer) at each park - I suppose that has become Starbucks. At night we watched Disney Enchantment, which was good (although I think Happily Ever After is better) and took the boat back to Polynesian (nice and easy -- nice weather too -- loved it).
1/4/23 - ANIMAL KINGDOM (Genie+) - High 82F (crowds 8 out of 10)
Bought Genie+ and ILL for FOP. Drove to Animal Kingdom, arrived around 9am I think. Slower days could probably go without Genie+ but I hate waiting an hour for the Safari and Na'vi. Loved the bird show -- should have used slow motion mode! Flights of Passage still great. Focus is best looking straight ahead. Used Genie+ for Safari, Na'vi River, Everest, a few others. River Rapids you can get completely drenched, much more so than Splash Mountain. Undergarments still wet at dinner. Enjoyed the Nemo show as always. Safari still a highlight -- giraffes get real close to the truck. Chicken dumplings in Asia are quite good.
Dinner at Sanaa at Kidani Village. Easily best meal on the trip. Skipped our beloved bread service because we had a big pretzel in Pandora. Butter chick with Chickpea Wat was terrific. Kids Oreo-mousse dessert is the best. Sorry no pics!
1/5/23 - EPCOT (Genie+) - High 75F (crowds 9 out of 10)
Hit the button right at 7pm to get an afternoon virtual queue at GotG: Cosmic Rewind. Also bought a ILL for it so we did it twice. Today's Genie+ for Soarin, Remys, Spaceship Earth. Kids did Test Track while wife and I did Remy's - love Remy's although LL was still very slow, particularly due to ride stoppages.
Cosmic Rewind is terrific -- great pre-show and wonderful technology on the ride to make for an exhilarating ride. It's the closest thing to a dance party on a roller coaster. Space Mountain should be refurbed to be more like this ride. A highlight of the trip for sure.
We recommend the Sangria for two (we like the red) sold inside of Morocco -- wander around in there you'll find the stand. Before dinner there was a band and a belly dancer which was fun and the crowd was into it. Even a little risque.
We like dinner at Spice Road Table because it's good and doesn't require a reservation. Seating was a little slow (even with tables open). But food was good. Calamari and naan spreads and folmas and spiced chicken.
Saw the fireworks on the way out. Seems like "How Far I'll Go" is in every fireworks production at WDW these days -- which is fine by me as it is a great song.
1/6/23 - DHS (Genie+) - High 70F (crowds 10 out of 10)
Genie+: SDD/Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania. Did the Canteen again and enjoyed it again (along with the company at our table - def worth waiting longer to sit). Started with the Beauty and the Beast show -- well done -- people should ideally remove their mouse ears during the show. Always enjoy the Indiana Jones show although it was better when audience members were allowed on stage. Goofy was at Tower of Terror which allowed for some fun candid shots. Also enjoyed Chewbacca meet and greet. Tonight we finally had our first dinner at Sci-Fi diner. Server was nice but overall the experience was underwhelming and didn't like not being able to see what we were eating due to low lighting (for obvious reasons). The videos were fun but the volume was quiet so it was just kinda eerie overall. Glad we tried it but probably won't be back. Enjoyed the animation show at the end of the night -- not too crowded due to multiple Fantasmic shows going.
1/7/23 - EPCOT and Departure - High 72F (crowds 5 out of 10)
The park didn't open for resort guests until 9:30am this morning due to the half-marathon. We had to leave by 11am to drive home today but we still book Disney tickets for these trip shoulder days since the ticket cost is minimal for days 5-7. Since our virtual queue didn't show up until later in the day on 1/5 I didn't want to risk missing Cosmic Rewind before we left so I bought ILL right at 7am and got the 10am time we wanted. (I will always wonder if the virtual queue would have made it - the virtual queue line is longer later but it is short right away in the AM). We did Soarin' around park open (we generally like section B2 better even with the feet - B1 you can see the top of the screen) at 9:30am and then Cosmic Rewind and then headed home! (we had Space 220 lounge tickets for 11:30am but had to cancel due to drive home -- but the new policy allowing cancellations up to 2 hours early is an improvement).
OVERALL - Great trip and lots of fun memories. I recommend Genie+, particularly on days where crowds are in the 8-10 range like we say. Just price it into the amount you budget for your ticket and don't look back. We paid around $2300 for four tickets and probably spent another $900 on Genie+ and IPPs. The less time in ride queues means more fun and time at the hotel as well so worth it for us (don't want be pennywise and pound foolish). Genie+ will tie you to your cell phone, however. So I recommend setting alarms every two hours and then put the phone away (on battery savings mode -- even close down the MDE app to save battery when not using).
Have a magical trip!
12/31/22 - UNIVERSAL CITY WALK - High 75
We drove to Florida (four of us, husband, wife, daughter (18) and son (13) and arrived in Orlando around 6pm. We are DVC members with a small amount of points so we try to avoid spending the large points required for NYE night on premises. This year we used our annual Hyatt Card night voucher at Hyatt House across from Universal Orlando Resort, and ate dinner at the top level of Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar at Universal CityWalk. Parking was free this year (CityWalk did not have the bar hopping NYE event that they used to have prior to COVID) and Cowfish was good as usual. We also had reservations at the Toothsome for desert but seating was slow so we just waited in line for a shake that was rather underwhelming.
To bring in the new year we bought a table at Hard Rock Cafe Live to see the Beatles cover band.
This was fun (included a New Year's countdown) and we recommend it should they do it again next year (last year they did Led Zeppelin). You have to call the box office if you want to reserve a table (has drink service). When we left the concert around 12:10pm we found that the Universal NYE celebration just inside the park was exiting at the same time and WOW there was a lot of people trying to leave.
It took us over an hour to just get out of the parking garage -- and there were no Universal employees there to help traffic exit smoothly. (Disney knows how to manage this kind of crowd control better). Our hotel was a 25 minute walk so next time we'll probably just do that instead if we try this again.
1/1/23 (first half) - VOLCANO BAY / DISNEY SPRINGS - High 79F
My son loves water parks so we got dropped off at CityWalk around 9:30am to catch the short shuttle from the CityWalk parking to Volcano Bay. This was our first visit in a while. Before lunch the crowd was very minimal so we could ride Krakatoa multiple times without waiting. The afternoon was busier. But the staff was excellent and we had lots of fun (sorry no pics). Typhoon Lagoon has a more dramatic wave pool (both are great looking) but Volcano Bay's "lazy river" is way more fun. A great day that was 68 when we arrived but 78 later in the day. (DD and DW went to Disney Springs for the day).
1/1/23 (second half) - MAGIC KINGDOM (and Poly check-in) (crowds 7 out of 10)
We checked into Disney's Polynesian Villas for three nights -- the studios here are terrific with the double bathroom setup (two showers, two sinks) and the pull down full bed (in addition to the murphy bed). This allows both kids to have their own bed (although the murphy here can only accommodate up to around 5'6" comfortably). From there we monorailed it over to Magic Kingdom for the evening. We had dinner at Jungle Canteen, which has great theming and decent but not quite amazing food. We got Big Thunder Mountain in during the MK fireworks are going -- always a great start to our visits. We also bought Mine Train ILL tickets and enjoyed the evening.
1/2/23 - HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS (Genie+) - High 81F (crowds 10 out of 10)
Knowing from TouringPlans and past visits that this would be a busy week, we purchased Genie+ for our entire week (other than 1/1 arrival day and 1/7 departure day). I got up each day around 6:50am to buy Genie+, and booked our first attractions at the 7am window (SDD today) as well as the ILL (Rise of the Resistance). We decided to drive from Polynesian (DW slept in). The line for Tower of Terror extended all the way back to Hollywood Blvd. right after open! We did Rock'n'Roller coaster instead to start.
Good day overall. Slinky Dog closed for repairs for the first few hours but my son really likes that one so he waited. Rise of the Resistance is still great, although I miss the days when the turrets moved when they fired. I will say that the staff was good and I recommend Googling a few questions to ask them while waiting in line if you like to have some fun (my favorite declaration was "To the Spires!"). Almost gained Master Pirate rank on Smuggler's run with 9990 points -- can't seem to crack that yet. Enjoyed the Cantina in the afternoon (the Outer Rim has become a very good margarita substitute -- better be for $19). DW and I ate at Prime Time Cafe for dinner while kids fended for themselves. It was our first time and I liked it. Got the sampler (meatloaf, pot roast and chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans). Good change of pace from fast food and good service.
Enjoyed the upgraded Fantasmic at the second (late) show. Definitely need to do that once a trip. BTW: You risk getting a little wet by sitting at bottom of section closest to stage.
1/3/23 - MAGIC KINGDOM (Genie+) = High 81F (crowds 9 out of 10)
Today I got up and booked Genie+ with Mine Train ILL -- Booked Peter Pan at 7am and then set alarms on phone to book new attractions every couple of hours throughout the day. We really wanted to do the Railroad at MK this year since it just re-opened but the lines were very long every time we tried, so we skipped it, even though the train looked all new and shiny. We got Splash Mountain in and didn't get too wet. Can't wait for TRON to open. They were testing it this week (prior to the April 4 opening announcement.)
I should add in the morning we had breakfast at Captain Cooks and walked out and looked at where the new Polynesian tower is being built.
Dinner at Columbia Harbour House - dependable spot for salmon and chowder. We also did the specialty drink at Gaston's -- the bottom layer of this drink is the best. I think Disney should have a signature drink (like Butterbeer) at each park - I suppose that has become Starbucks. At night we watched Disney Enchantment, which was good (although I think Happily Ever After is better) and took the boat back to Polynesian (nice and easy -- nice weather too -- loved it).1/4/23 - ANIMAL KINGDOM (Genie+) - High 82F (crowds 8 out of 10)
Bought Genie+ and ILL for FOP. Drove to Animal Kingdom, arrived around 9am I think. Slower days could probably go without Genie+ but I hate waiting an hour for the Safari and Na'vi. Loved the bird show -- should have used slow motion mode! Flights of Passage still great. Focus is best looking straight ahead. Used Genie+ for Safari, Na'vi River, Everest, a few others. River Rapids you can get completely drenched, much more so than Splash Mountain. Undergarments still wet at dinner. Enjoyed the Nemo show as always. Safari still a highlight -- giraffes get real close to the truck. Chicken dumplings in Asia are quite good.
Dinner at Sanaa at Kidani Village. Easily best meal on the trip. Skipped our beloved bread service because we had a big pretzel in Pandora. Butter chick with Chickpea Wat was terrific. Kids Oreo-mousse dessert is the best. Sorry no pics!
1/5/23 - EPCOT (Genie+) - High 75F (crowds 9 out of 10)
Hit the button right at 7pm to get an afternoon virtual queue at GotG: Cosmic Rewind. Also bought a ILL for it so we did it twice. Today's Genie+ for Soarin, Remys, Spaceship Earth. Kids did Test Track while wife and I did Remy's - love Remy's although LL was still very slow, particularly due to ride stoppages.
Cosmic Rewind is terrific -- great pre-show and wonderful technology on the ride to make for an exhilarating ride. It's the closest thing to a dance party on a roller coaster. Space Mountain should be refurbed to be more like this ride. A highlight of the trip for sure.
We recommend the Sangria for two (we like the red) sold inside of Morocco -- wander around in there you'll find the stand. Before dinner there was a band and a belly dancer which was fun and the crowd was into it. Even a little risque.
We like dinner at Spice Road Table because it's good and doesn't require a reservation. Seating was a little slow (even with tables open). But food was good. Calamari and naan spreads and folmas and spiced chicken.
Saw the fireworks on the way out. Seems like "How Far I'll Go" is in every fireworks production at WDW these days -- which is fine by me as it is a great song.
1/6/23 - DHS (Genie+) - High 70F (crowds 10 out of 10)
Genie+: SDD/Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania. Did the Canteen again and enjoyed it again (along with the company at our table - def worth waiting longer to sit). Started with the Beauty and the Beast show -- well done -- people should ideally remove their mouse ears during the show. Always enjoy the Indiana Jones show although it was better when audience members were allowed on stage. Goofy was at Tower of Terror which allowed for some fun candid shots. Also enjoyed Chewbacca meet and greet. Tonight we finally had our first dinner at Sci-Fi diner. Server was nice but overall the experience was underwhelming and didn't like not being able to see what we were eating due to low lighting (for obvious reasons). The videos were fun but the volume was quiet so it was just kinda eerie overall. Glad we tried it but probably won't be back. Enjoyed the animation show at the end of the night -- not too crowded due to multiple Fantasmic shows going.
1/7/23 - EPCOT and Departure - High 72F (crowds 5 out of 10)
The park didn't open for resort guests until 9:30am this morning due to the half-marathon. We had to leave by 11am to drive home today but we still book Disney tickets for these trip shoulder days since the ticket cost is minimal for days 5-7. Since our virtual queue didn't show up until later in the day on 1/5 I didn't want to risk missing Cosmic Rewind before we left so I bought ILL right at 7am and got the 10am time we wanted. (I will always wonder if the virtual queue would have made it - the virtual queue line is longer later but it is short right away in the AM). We did Soarin' around park open (we generally like section B2 better even with the feet - B1 you can see the top of the screen) at 9:30am and then Cosmic Rewind and then headed home! (we had Space 220 lounge tickets for 11:30am but had to cancel due to drive home -- but the new policy allowing cancellations up to 2 hours early is an improvement).
OVERALL - Great trip and lots of fun memories. I recommend Genie+, particularly on days where crowds are in the 8-10 range like we say. Just price it into the amount you budget for your ticket and don't look back. We paid around $2300 for four tickets and probably spent another $900 on Genie+ and IPPs. The less time in ride queues means more fun and time at the hotel as well so worth it for us (don't want be pennywise and pound foolish). Genie+ will tie you to your cell phone, however. So I recommend setting alarms every two hours and then put the phone away (on battery savings mode -- even close down the MDE app to save battery when not using).
Have a magical trip!
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