I think there are some modified character meet and greets but they're still on hold for the most part from what we saw.

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/review-story-book-dining-artist-point-modified-princess-character-dinner/

https://wdwnt.com/2021/10/distanced-indoor-character-meet-and-greets-now-called-sightings-at-walt-disney-world/

You'll see some character calvacades or characters up on balconies, and they'll pose so you can take a picture "with" them. We got pics with Hook and Smee like that during the after hours party.

We went into this knowing that the experience would be different and limited, and we had a great time. We did spend more time in lines than I'd have liked, but I'm not sure the hassle and constant phone-checking of Genie would have been worth it *for me.*

Biggest disappointment for us was Velocicoaster was down pretty much the whole day we were at Universal so we never got to ride it. But we did Hagrid's Motorbike twice which is hands down our favorite ride in all of Disney/Universal.

Weird. We stayed off property but we're able to book our first Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes right at 7am.

Also you don't have to wait until you ride your first Genie+ to book the next one. Read up on "stacking" G+ reservations. Little known fact you can either book the next one after you check in for the first ride OR book another one 2 hours after you book the first one. Our family of 7 would hang out around the pool and eat breakfast and lunch and then hit the park around 1:30-2pm. Nobody waiting in line to get in and we'd have 3-4 G+ and an ILL reserves already ready to go when we got there. You'd just need to plan and book the first G+ ride (like slinky dog or Peter Pan) first thing at 7am and then at 9am book another.

We were really fortunate to have a couple of Disnerds in our group (former cast members).

They handed all our Genie+ and LL reservations. We just followed along.

Disney World has never been an "easy" vacation. You gotta dig in and learn how everything works to get your money's worth. But it's even more complex now.

Any Ags going to WDW in the near future and willing to pick something small for me ? We went for thanksgiving and we totally forgot to pick up a 2021 ornament. Thank you

We're headed to Disneyland on the 28th.

Thanks. Should have specified Disney world.

Universal has updated their mask policy

https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us/terms-of-service/reopening-safety-info

Quote:

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The health and safety of our guests and team members is always our top priority. As a result, face coverings will now be required, effective Friday, December 24, 2021, at all public indoor locations within Universal Orlando Resort for both guests and team members regardless of vaccination status - including restaurants, shops, and indoor hotel public areas. Face coverings are also required at all attractions from the moment guests enter the queue to when they exit the experience.

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Been a very busy month, but finally remembered to give a trip rundown when I had a minute.

We went the week after Thanksgiving. There were 7 of us, and all first timers. Chris did our planning and was absolutely a life saver. Every piece of advice given was spot on, and every recommendation was nails. Cannot recommend him enough if you want to take some of the stress off and be in good hands. Thank you, Chris!

We flew in a day early to go to Disney Springs and have a full day before going to the parks. It was very crowded, but not terrible. Had a fun Christmas tree find activity for the kids to do while we walked around and shopped.

Stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter. Very quiet and relaxing the entire time. Had a nice river view, conjoined rooms with my parents so the kids could go hang out with them easily, and the breakfast was amazing. Staff was amazing and courteous. Only mistake was finding out the last day we could have requested they bring a microwave to our room. Could have saved some money on food.

We did not do genie+ at all. However, I suffer from Crohn's, and my dad suffers from PTSD and a heart condition so we got the DAS pass. It's not as good as the Genie+, but was still very handy. You book a ride similar to genie+, but you book it for whatever the current wait time is for the ride. Instead of waiting in line, you can walk around and then go through the fast lane when the time is up. Helped a lot with being able to rest or shop while waiting for the ride time. I'm not sure we would have been able to see and do as much without it.

The parks were decently crowded around lunch, but not bad morning and late afternoon. We did 5 days (MK, AK, Epcot, HS, MK) and rode every ride we wanted and more. Only missed Runaway Railroad and Avatar. Rise of the Resistance was the best by far. Kids really surprised me with how much they loved the traditional roller coasters.

Masks weren't a big issue after the first day. Just made sure to have it handy, but didn't have to wear it for very long any place. Never ran into anyone rude about it if we forgot.

Nothing to say about individual parks that hasn't already been mentioned in the past few posts. They had limited meets with the princesses where you went into a small room with two of them. The princesses were behind a rope, but you could talk to them and take a picture with them. They would sometimes have them throughout the parks, but still roped off or behind a barrier. Magic Kingdom and Epcot fireworks were amazing. Highly recommend getting set up an hour early for them.

I'll add more if I think of it.

Did the Minnie Vans get discontinued? I ask because we are booked to stay at Shades of Green (via my MIL) and it's our understanding that transit to and from MCO is on us. We were planning on booking a Minnie Van to and from the airport because we really don't want to lug around/fly two toddler car seats. If that is no longer an option, anyone else have suggestions?

I believe it ends 12/31/2021. I don't know what other options there are other than Uber/Lyft.

Minnie Vans are no longer around. Disney's Magical Express is no longer starting 1/1/21.

For those interested….

When you book through me (Chris Smith), I am herefor expert help and advice with booking and planning details. Even if you have been before, I can assist as much as you would like. I will also be able to apply discounts when they become available.

My services are FREE when you book with me! You will be also helping out an Aggie small business!

Chris Smith '99
832.473.1452
csmith@travelwithontheroad.com

Wife said next time we are booking through you. So many changes that she doesn't feel like planning out things anymore. We go every other year so in 2023 we will reach out to book 2024.

Side note: odd years are "my" trip years. Basically none Disney years I pick where we go. This year we did Destin. Do you book strictly for WDW or do you book trips to anywhere else also?

Chris, do you know when they're going to open up 2023 reservations? We're contemplating going in the earlier part of the year.

DL04 said:

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Chris, do you know when they're going to open up 2023 reservations? We're contemplating going in the earlier part of the year.

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Send me an email and I will notify you when availability opens.

Any word on when Disney might drop their mask mandate? We are hoping to go before our son turns 3 in April.

Sad thing is you could make reservations when none are required and have them pivot to full masks in a heartbeat.

It doesnt help that Universal went back to indoor masking and they've been way more care free throughout this entire thing. Doubt WDW drops their before UO would.

I know it would all just be less stressful if they drop it before you go but we went a couple months ago (son is 2.5) and he didnt wear a mask at any point. A cast member would ask here and there but we just said he wasnt 2 yet and never had a problem. It's become so busy that I think it's getting harder for them to police. You'll see a lot more people in lines taking their mask down and almost every person I see takes their mask off once theyre actually on a ride.

We went to DW this summer, and randomly, right before we arrived, the mask mandate was lifted for everything except travel. We went again at Christmas and the indoor mask requirement was back. It really wasn't a big deal, even for the kiddos. There were obviously a few mask hardos, especially inside shopping type places. Some at the indoor rides or lines, but it wasn't a trip killer by any stretch. I am an anti-masker and even for me it wasn't a big deal. It's a charade. My youngest was 4 the first time, 5 at Christmas, and she didn't have any problems with it. 2 and 3 year olds I could see being more challenging.

Edit to add: I do think they have figured out how to avoid your ride pictures showing up if you aren't wearing a mask during the ride. If we were all wearing our masks, all of the ride pictures would show up in the app. If we weren't, we only had 1 or 2 show up. Just an FYI.

I can't wear a mask either. My older 3 kids have only worn them a couple of times and they don't care for them. So basically no point in us going unless we are positive masks won't be required.

I guess I'll tack on to this thread. I'm thinking about doing the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser experience. I know they don't open until March, but has anyone actually booked this yet? I am curious what the actual cost breakdown is, especially for the Grand Captain Suite.

Ken Adams said:

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AggieSarah01 said:

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I can't wear a mask either. My older 3 kids have only worn them a couple of times and they don't care for them. So basically no point in us going unless we are positive masks won't be required.

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Universal Orlando is dropping all mask requirements starting tomorrow. So maybe there's slight hope WDW follows suit this time before Spring gets here.

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Good to hear

WDW is dropping masks (well, making them optional for fully vax but they arent verifying that) for all indoor/outdoor rides, hotels, etc. Still saying they will require on bus, monorail and skyliner. I think that has more to do with being part of some public transportation issue and not WDW specifically.

If you have been waiting for the mask policy to change and are interested in booking a Disney or Universal vacation, feel free to reach out to me!

Any word yet on if Disneyland will drop their mask requirement??

AggieSarah01 said:

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Any word yet on if Disneyland will drop their mask requirement??

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Beginning Thursday, February 17, the health and safety updates will be in place at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort.

YES!!!!!! Thank you!

So will they require children that aren't vaccinated to have masks on if their parents are fully vaccinated? Also is fully vaccinated 2 shots or 2 shots plus booster?

So Disney is checking vax cards and marking you if not vaxed?

They definitely are not checking anything in Florida. They dropped all the masks last year for a couple months and they weren't checking back then and this was before kids under 16 could get vaxed. The only place you'll have someone telling anyone of any age to put on a mask is monorail, bus, or skyliner. A lot of guessing that will end March 18 as long as the federal public transportation mandates aren't extended again.

We're currently at WDW, and no one has asked about our vax status. The only place that masks are required is on the skyliner or buses as noted above.

I went back and looked at some of the earlier posts about Genie + and paid LL. We did four parks in four days and had decent luck with the system where we were able to do almost everything we wanted within the time we had three of the four days. The outlier was Hollywood Studios where Genie + was useless. I was on the app right at 7 AM and was able to buy a LL for M&M's Runaway Train and use Genie + to get a LL for the Aerosmith ride. Once the Genie + queue reopened for us at 11 AM there was nothing available until after 8 PM. We kept checking, and occasionally something would show up earlier but be gone before we could snag it. On top of that all of the lines for the rides we wanted were around two hours with Slinky Dog Dash taking top spot at a consistent three hour wait. We were able to get a "bonus" LL to Tower of Terror after complaining to Guest Services, but after that ride we threw in the towel and went to Disney Springs for drinks and dinner.

When we booked our trip HS was supposed to have limited availability left, but there was a long line of people buying tickets at the walk up window when we got there. The park would have been crowded with half the number of people.

Currently at WDW and this is the most packed I've ever seen it. Other than busses, haven't heard one thing about masks. Strange being shoulder to shoulder with 70k(that was the number at MK Thursday) all day then thinking a mask on a bus is making a difference.

One note for those going. We did Universal yesterday and early entry started at 8:30. However they started the Star Wars rides at 8am and we rode them with no line while everyone waited at Slinky Dog and Mickey Runaway till 8:30. We were given a heads up from our travel agent that they open them early sometimes and it paid off.

duck79 said:

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Currently at WDW and this is the most packed I've ever seen it. Other than busses, haven't heard one thing about masks. Strange being shoulder to shoulder with 70k(that was the number at MK Thursday) all day then thinking a mask on a bus is making a difference.

One note for those going. We did Universal yesterday and early entry started at 8:30. However they started the Star Wars rides at 8am and we rode them with no line while everyone waited at Slinky Dog and Mickey Runaway till 8:30. We were given a heads up from our travel agent that they open them early sometimes and it paid off.

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Parks routinely open 30-60 minutes before posted times

Correct. They all opened 30 minutes ahead of time for guests on property. At MK and Epcot they have a waiting area till 30 minutes hits. At Hollywood they opened the park fully early but rides didn't start until 8:30(park opens at 9). In Star Wars they started running Smugglers and Rise at 8am unadvertised which is 30 minutes before the 8:30 early window. We finished those and there was a huge line at Slinky still because they hadn't started running it early yet.