Be honest, is it still the same?

[Mr Andy]

I can't speak for Disney but my trip in November/December, Orlando felt the same. The only time I wore a mask was indoors in Disney Springs. I know thats changed now though and you have to at Universal too.

But I didn't notice any offsite restaurants being different or particularly more expensive? I could still get a good steak at Longhorn with the side and salad for about 20 dollars. I can't compare grocery items as I don't buy a lot of it but the sauces I got all seemed reasonable ($2 for sweet baby ray Hawaiian and $5 for a gallon of Ranch).

[stace]

Originally Posted by moosha

We were there over Christmas and in terms of the pandemic, no problem at all. Masks were required at all indoor venues at Disney (including rides and queues) and at Universal it was all indoor venues plus all rides and queues (outdoors or indoors.) Mask compliance was really good. I don’t like masks but it was absolutely fine, especially because it wasn’t hot. Also nice to get a break from doom and gloom media here, it felt ‘normal’ there besides the masks.

The stress of trying to stay covid free for our outbound flight was probably the worst part in terms of covid, didn’t mind wearing masks on the plane and the rest of the testing was just a necessity so we got on with it.

All of that (including catching covid while I was there) was ‘worth it’ because it was great to go back.

In terms of Genie+, that was probably the part that was the most disappointing. It was stressful, expensive, glitchy, hard to cooordinate plans and I just don’t want to be looking at my phone all holiday. I think we’d forgotten since our last Disney holiday in 2019 how much Disney has become ‘pay more get less’ and it definitely irritated all of us, even our 15 and 13 year old girls. Disney holidays are very expensive and take a lot of work, and like Loldis said, the parks are so crowded. It was 30-40 minutes to queue for coffee at Starbucks in the parks, 20 minutes for food / drink kiosks and obviously all the top rides sell out really quickly too. We also didn’t like having to use mobile order all the time (even to buy a Diet Coke from a counter service) and prebook our lunch at 9 am to get lunchtime slots.

We’re going back in August but I’m definitely reducing Disney park time (will spend more time at Disney Springs and resorts) and not using Genie+ as much. The rides are still great, the parks are still beautiful but I want us to be able to have a more relaxed time next trip when we have longer and it’s not as busy.

Our time at Universal was pretty much perfect, just a much less stressful, more enjoyable experience.

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Agree with all the above especially re Genie plus - we where there over Christmas and new year and the disney magic had gone and I do put it down to genie plus.

Been a few times over Christmas and new year with FastPass and never had issues getting multiple fastpasses a day - in fact found it easier than in the summer time.

Originally when I thought about genie plus I thought oh in essence there should be more LL availability as you can only book one LL per ride per day per person (unlike with FP) but the availability on genie plus was awful even keep refreshing it and the fact you can't choose a time slot or amend a booking is also ridiculous.

Stacking was really hard work also but needed really to be done in Hollywood studios.

I am debating if to book a summer trip and try genie plus again then but not sure if we will just miss the parks altogether for this year.

Stacey

[Kev Harrison]

I'll be honest, I have no idea what the Disney magic everyone talks about is.

If you only do Disney and never leave site, I can imagine things feeling a lot different, but I for one can't wait to visit Florida in September.

Working in a logistics Supply chain I understand Genie + for two reasons, obviously increased profit but also enabling the Park Management to understand crowd levels and move Cast Members around to where the visitor numbers are, reducing Cast Member numbers, reducing costs.

[Keegan]

Originally Posted by Wolf1984

Are these extreme crowds just Disney parks? I can't tell from previous posts.

Would be keen to hear if anyone has crowd experiences at Sea World, Busch Gardens and offsite in general. We don't do Disney at all. But concerned about crowd levels generally for our first July trip...not to mention masks in the heat!

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Universal was also absolutely ridiculous. I’ve never seen the place so busy! You couldn’t physically move in Hogsmeade and the rides were atleast 60 minutes each. Universal was a bit quieter but you’re still talking a good 30 minutes even for Fast & Furious.

For me (maybe controversially) I think that Universals lost its way.
Vast areas of the parks are just desolate, absolutely nothing to see or do in huge areas. They don’t have the shows to split your day up like Disney do and no smaller rides, or “fillers” to spread the queues out. Both parks need some real investment and a bit of vision for the empty areas. We decided we won’t be returning to Universal next time and will probably do Seaworld/Busch instead.

Offsite restaurants and we’ve also done the outlets, not any busier than usual. Though some shops are doing limited numbers in the stores so be prepared to wait outside (bath & body works! )

[Moorlandman]

Originally Posted by Keegan

For me (maybe controversially) I think that Universals lost its way.
Vast areas of the parks are just desolate, absolutely nothing to see or do in huge areas. They don’t have the shows to split your day up like Disney do and no smaller rides, or “fillers” to spread the queues out. Both parks need some real investment and a bit of vision for the empty areas. We decided we won’t be returning to Universal next time and will probably do Seaworld/Busch instead.

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Epcot and AK have about 3 decent rides in each park. Universal parks are in a different league especially when you add in their new water park Volcano Bay.

[Libbyimo]

We’ve just booked BA via Tampa we’re staying at Paradise Palms Resort ,how long a drive from the airport any tips would be helpfull.

[Mr Andy]

Originally Posted by Libbyimo

We’ve just booked BA via Tampa we’re staying at Paradise Palms Resort ,how long a drive from the airport any tips would be helpfull.

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It took me about 1 hour 20 to get to my hotel in Orlando from Tampa Airport in November. Can be more or less depending on traffic and where the actual hotel is.

[Keegan]

Originally Posted by Moorlandman

Epcot and AK have about 3 decent rides in each park. Universal parks are in a different league especially when you add in their new water park Volcano Bay.

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Yeah we really enjoyed Volcano Bay. Hadn’t visited before but loved the fast river!

Universal Studios 90% of the rides are exactly the same so that coupled with the fact there’s poor options for food in the park and not a lot to look at just dampens the experience. They could do a lot more with the place, so much wasted space!

Islands is enjoyable when it’s quieter, the coasters are great but again it just feels a bit old and lots of empty unused space. Id much rather do Busch gardens over Universal if I wanted to do the coasters. They were all 90min plus waits at islands.

Agree about AK though, used to be my favourite park but at the moment with Everest closed there’s no need to visit half of the park. Another one that needs some investment into it.

[moosha]

Originally Posted by Libbyimo

We’ve just booked BA via Tampa we’re staying at Paradise Palms Resort ,how long a drive from the airport any tips would be helpfull.

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Originally Posted by Mr Andy

It took me about 1 hour 20 to get to my hotel in Orlando from Tampa Airport in November. Can be more or less depending on traffic and where the actual hotel is.

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It’s taken a couple of hours for us both of our last trips. We were at universal both times so it’s a bit further than if you’re going to Disney.

The first time was Presidents’ Day weekend and there was an event on at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa so there was lots of traffic, and our most recent trip last month was also a couple of hours because there was a lot of traffic in Tampa as we left the airport at 5 pm rush hour.

Personally I would budget two hours but there’s a good chance it could be half an hour or so less if you time it right and are lucky with traffic.

[jonathan]

Last summer in late July we went to Universal and found it difficult and that was whilst staying at Portofino so we had express. It was a humid few days and packed, none of us enjoyed it (me, the wife and three daughters from 9 - 17). It was a different era in COVID terms compared with now but it was our first time in crowds for so long it made it feel worse.

Then 2 weeks later we went to Epcot, a lot of US kids had gone back to school, it was busy but not bad at all. We had a great time and enjoyed it, went to Hollywood in the evening and it was lovely - hot but a breeze, no massive waits etc.

Overall we were there 4 weeks and just did things differently, we did shop a lot and made sure we avoided places at peak times. In the pool a lot etc. Honestly we had a fantastic time still.

Jonathan