One note about "you buy it you carry it" - I just went to Disneyland and CA over Thanksgiving, and on the last day I bought a sort of bulky item from a store in California Adventure. The store was happy to hold onto it for me behind the counter until their closing time, so I didn't have to lug it around all day. I don't know if that is the usual response or if it translates to Orlando, but I thought it was nice.
When I got my Loki Scepter in Epcot, it’s oversized and wouldn’t fit in a regular locker.. but they said I could do a “virtual locker” at the stroller rental for a small fee and you can pick it up on the way out of the park. Did that, it was worth it.
I agree with measuring your kid. I went to Ceder Point when the Millennium ride debuted. We never took my height and we waited in line only for them to tell me a 12 year old I was to short. I cried and was pissy for the rest of the day. 100% always always measure your children.
I have been planning my honeymoon for a year. We are officially in Florida and have our first Disney day is tomorrow. Thank you so much for your content. We could not have done planned with without you!!
Thanks for these warnings. I'm much less likely to go to Disney hotels without any in room dining. The hotels are way too expensive to not have this benefit. It's not like they didn't charge alot for the service previously. My usual hotels were Animal Kingdom and Beach Club. Not going now. There are great luxury hotels close to WDW that are actully cheaper and better serviced.
I just got annual passes to Knott’s Berry Farm. It costs about the same as a summer day at Disneyland. No blackout days, no Genie Plus. Our visit was by far less stressful than Disney Parks.
AJ ! Thank you for mentioning the "chafing." I've always been plagued with feet issues during a crazy trip and I'm so glad you brought this up cause I know how your feet hurting can really ruin your Disney trip or any trip for that matter. I used the very same product to prevent blisters and feet friction and this product is legit! So I just wanted to vouch for that product! Also folk, if you want additional feet protection, I recommend getting those moleskin plus paddings by Dr. Scholl's as well.
I discovered Body Glide when going on a trip where I was planning to wear sandals at least one day (this wasn't at Disney World - I learned my lesson at Six Flags to not wear sandals to a theme park). It definitely did help with blisters!
They spray and treat water for mosquitoes. Squirrels, ducks, alligators, etc are wild animals and Disney does nothing to care for them. Not sure if a video on feeding squirrels would be very long.
Leave it to used car salesman Chapek to make things even more complicated with Genie+ so he can make a few extra bucks off of you. And make no mistake, stuff like housekeeping every other day and pre-fix menus are cheaper for the company and puts more profit in Chapek's pocket. He has almost singlehandedly ruined the Disney experience for the average person.
I stayed at an offsite motel at Disneyland for 6 nights about a month ago. There was no housekeeping period. Paid premium but at least I got a bed and shower. Toilet leaked water the whole time. Maybe waited for me to leave to fix it.
Idk if u knew, but they just fired Chapek a few weeks ago and brought back Bob Iger. Idk much about Iger’s rep as a Disney CEO, but all I know is Chapek has been kicked to the curb and hopefully Iger will start fixing what Chapek messed up.
As a former AMC employee at then Pleasure Island the reason electronics do no work is that the roof is lined with radio jamming equipment to make cell phones and wifi near impossible to receive signal.
Amtrak trains aren't the mess they used to be! The long-haul ones are expecially nice and have dining cars or even a private room to sleep in if you have an overnight train. It's a great option sometimes cheaper than flying when you compare apples to apples. A coach train seat is as roomy and comfortable as a business class (or even first class for aome airlines) airplane seat. No middle seat, just window and aisle. I get on in Orlando and wake up the next morning in NYC. Quiet comfortable ride in a chair that reclines far more than any plane. Amtrak trains may be slower than a plane and they use diesel engines in the south and electric in the north, but you can travel with 2 carry on and 2 checked bags as well as 2 personal items (pillow, souvenir stuffed animal the child is now grafted to, whatever) per person and there is no long TSA hassle. Absolutely worth it if you are on the east coast or along the southern track and can spare the time. My husband does some work from home over their wifi, which is pretty good, so he can save some PTO.
Will ad this, you can also use body powder to deal with the chaffing as well as insect bites and sunburns as well. Just keep it in a ziplock back to control the mess. Use the stuff because of hiking.
I got body glide at a run shop in Disney Springs on our last trip. I was so excited to see that running shop, because I totally forgot to bring my body glide from home.
It’s just shocking that you can pay $700-$900 per night for a room and come back to an unmade bed. It’s shocking that you can pay pay $200 for a souvenir and you can’t have it delivered back to your $700 room. The COVID excuses for these policies are old and tired. The tide is starting to turn. Middle America can no longer afford a Disney vacation and the attendance numbers will start to drop now that revenge travel is over.
Our trick is staying at Airbnb's near Disney and paying only ~$100 a night and having two rooms for our family. Saves thousands and then we just get our souvenirs at the end of the day.
I hate that this is true. I was a 1-4 times a year visitor from NWFlorida but I can’t afford to go once now. Between everything else but my paycheck rising Disney isn’t on my list anymore.
I just went to Disney in mid-October. I had them ship an item I purchased to my home address. It was porcelain and so terribly packaged that it was all broken by the time it got to me. The cast member did not seem to care when I was ordering it (I should have known). I definitely wish I just went to Shop Disney and purchased it. That is something I totally recommend: check to see if something is online first!! Not only do I believe it would have been shipped properly, there were having an online sale! I felt so silly and I didn't get to use the item for my Halloween party last weekend. It was a bummer!
Once again Thank You AJ. My wife and I are driving Ca. to Fl. in Feb. of 24 for my first trip to D>W. (was not there in 67 when I was in Florida. My wife and I are watching a ton of your videos to help us plan our trip to stay in Fort Wilderness. Your help and guidance are great. THANK YOU.
Trolley tracks are also dangerous/annoying for people pushing wheelchairs and strollers. if you have to cross the tracks, make sure you go directly across so that the wheels do get stuck in the tracks.
Like every theme park, Disney sells one thing in media, and advertising, and generally fail to live up to your expectations because of things "beyond their control", but those same "things" Disney is very well aware of, and they use feigned ignorance as an excuse, or plausible deniability if you will, for failing to provide a full value to guests, at least to guests like myself.
My recommendations for some of these: 1. Get genie+ for REALLY long lines such as ; Tron, Rise Of the Resistance, Cars, Haunted Mansion (occasionally), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Avatar Flight of Passage and Guardians Of The Galaxy: Mission Breakout. 2. Find reviews on what snacks are worth your time and see if you really want to go at that time for that specific snack, you can also see if Disney specified when they’ll be gone. 3. You can also use regular deodorant or wear shorts 4. You can also leave the stroller with a non-rider if you’re concerned about your belongings being stollen 5. If you pick up and clean some things yourself, house keeping might do other tasks like vacuuming 6. If you built a light saber and it won’t fit inside your locker, you can mail it to yourself like she said or I believe they might let you keep the lightsaber at the store as long as you paid for the saber. Just get the latest reservation it’s incredibly easier 7. You can make your phone a mobile hot-spot and someone else in your party can use your phone for wifi, there’s also electronic hotspots you can buy 8 and 9. Always research dining places. Look at their menu, when they close, their reviews etc. Not all food at Disney is good and you might not want to wast $14 on a soggy pizza. 10. REALLY ask yourself “Do I want this?” And “Can I even bring this home?” I have spent hundreds on merchandise I really wanted but when I got it, I used it like- once. Novelty cups are controversial but honestly? I still use mine and they can even make decoration. Only get items exclusive to Disney and items you really want and will actually use. 11. If your kid is just BARELY not tall enough some cast members will let it slide (like an inch difference). You can use water to fluff up your kid’s hair, put cloth in the heels of their shoes etc. But be warned, these limits ARE here for a reason. If your child is heavier but just a bit too short then it’s likely they’ll be safe. 12. Again, research where you want to eat and see if it’s worth it. If seating is a big thing to you, research the best sit-downs at Disney and go there. Do not expect a pick-me-up cafe to have amazing seating. 13. This is not offered at regular Disney land I don’t think. So if you only payed for the park, you might have to skip out on this.
The "og" mickey bars are different than the ones sold now. The actual :og" ones were vanilla ice cream for the favw, chocolate for the ears and the face drawn kn was chocolate.
as someone who get rashes from walking all the time for years i tried using the glide sticks and they dont work for me. I use baby power or Golds power. Stops you from getting moist and has a smooth glide on your leg to leg contact/
26:21 OMG this old lady was looking at me and she fell off the curb & bashed her nose. Blood was everywhere! So yes, please pay attention to your footsteps on Main Street
At Animal Kingdom Lodge (resort), you can Pay Extra for a Savanna View room, if you choose it when you make your reservation! You could ask on arrival but the odds are against you.
I used Genie plus on all 4 days of my Disney World vacation. I got on all the rides that I wanted to ( with the exception of the ones that were closed). I highly recommend it, if you're short on time and can only make it to the park maybe once in your lifetime. I also got park hopper passes, no regrets with that option either. Went to each park and hit all the highlights firework shows and Icon shows, fantastic worth it.
personally i like the prix fix menus. with how much disney dollar and tenners you; having food options with a flat price is nice for planning purposes.
Such a bummer about the souvenir service, that is so handy. It will probably hinder my spending a bit. Who wants to lug stuff around. And the wifi issue really sucks for international tourists. We can access our data with out extra costs per day!
I'm so annoyed about the "light housecleaning". Had no idea and have 30 days in our countdown. It's not the end of the world but the increased, sky high prices/additional prices of everything and they can't even make the beds daily? GROSS. I'm mad.
"Making the bed" does not mean the sheets were changed. It only means the blankets, sheets and pillows are neatened up so you can just pull the blankets back at bedtime. We just returned from WDW. If you need to have your sheets changed during your stay, then you can request it through the concierge desk.
Anytime I've ever stayed at a hotel I've never had housekeeping do anything while we were staying in the hotel room and it's always been fine. Hope your trip ends up being wonderful and magical even without the services you were hoping for.
Another thing to keep in mind is that when you ship your merchandise outside of the USA, you'll not only pay for the shipping but you may have to pay duty on those items as well. All of these can add up!
Warning on park hopping! I am a Annual passholder and get to park hop, but your not aloud to park hop until a 2PM. My wife and I were at Epcot (this Jan 2023) in the morning we were leaving that after afternoon to drive back home (South Florida), we decide we wanted to go to MGM before we drove back home. We got to MGM around noon and tried to get in the park. As we scan our magic band at the Annual passholder section, they told us we couldn't enter the park until 2:00. I explain my situation we leaving to go back home can they make exception. They told me to go customer service and see if they make an exception. They were polite, but they wouldn't budge!!! We need to wait until 2:00pm. I even pull we are DVC members (which are); that didn't help. So warning on park hopping!!!!
So, you paid extra for a service you didn’t receive? Sounds to me like Disney only allows so many people in each park, and given that, if they had a thousand park hopper people at MGM at 8AM that would be a thousand less one day passers that are paying cash allowed into the park! So in essence, Disney already received the park hoppers money and to ensure they use this benefit as less as possible, they restrict their entry until after 2PM because most one day passers get to the park bright and early in the morning, not after 2PM where it wouldn’t be cost feasible to buy a one day pass. Damn Disney are shisters! 😂😂😂
1. For those not familiar with the state of Florida, it stays HOT there all year round, compared to the northern states. During summer, fall and spring, if you are from the north, then the heat is unbearable, and it is a tropical environment, so it rains every single day (only for a short time, but it rains every day). We have went to Orlando a lot during both summer and fall and stayed weeks at a time and every day we were there it was 90F to 100F. Even after dark, the temperatures do not cool off. It stays the same all night long. 2. It's a lot cheaper to get a hotel about 45 minutes up the road on the interstate and drive to disney than it is to stay in the park. You can normally find a cheap hotel room by the interstate for less than $50 a night and wake up early the next morning and drive into disney, just be sure to leave about 30 minutes before closing or you will get caught in all the traffic leaving the parks. 3. While it's cheaper to do 2, it's way more convenient to utilize the package deals Disney offers, with the meals and tickets and hotel rooms. The second time we went to Disney, we got a package with everything included and it was about the same price as the first time we went, when we stayed off the property in a hotel in Sanford Florida, and traveled 3 days to Disney back and forth to our hotel. But we also flew down and rented a car that second time and went 3 days to Disney, a single day at Universal and drove down in the rental car to Miami, stopping off at a few different towns on the way (honestly, there is nothing worth seeing between Orlando and Miami, its mostly just residential areas and "natural" beaches (not kept up by the cities as tourist areas). 4. If you get the meal deals, We put at least one sit down restaurant each day and 2 snacks on each day and we could never eat everything that was offered. (not sure how it is now, this was a few years ago when we did this package, but it was definitely worth it, because it was cheaper to get it on the meal plan than buying in the park. 5. Leave your phones in your pockets. Spend time with your family. Everyone in the next few generations are going to be laying on their deathbeds reliving their past memories and no one is going to have any because it's all going to be white noise static, because they lived their lives through the filter of a cell phone screen. Put the phones down, have some memories with the family, stop surfing the web and social media. The cell phone has ruined society.
Just a quick tip. I just recently went to Disneyworld's Hollywood Studios with my family. My mom and grandma tire much faster than the rest of us, so we rented a wheel chair! Not only did we use its handles to carry all our backpacks and souvenirs, but whenever one of us was really tired, the tired party member could sit down and recharge for the next attraction! That way, we didn't have to worry about them tiring so much that we had to leave the park in the middle of the day! It was a huge help! You can find the stroller and wheelchair rentals to the right, just as you come into the park itself.
@@LoveLifeLiveLife7 hmm....it was around 12 to fifteen dollars to rent a wheelchair for a day. We got ours from Oscar's Sudden Service; it's just to the right as you come in the park.
Also for chaffing I use my deodorant. I use men's clear gel kinds and work WONDERS on my thighs and in between the girls up top lol. I sweat ALOT and would be in sooooo much pain if I didn't use it. I also sweat on my lower back so I just rub deodorant there also and tada no sweat. It's a cheaper, space saver way. :)
Not super relevant but a good note for anyone going to Dollywood: there is a measuring station right next to the main gate where you can have your child measured and issued a color-coded wristband with their height that matches up with the rides they can go on! So nice!
The dining reservations changes warning hit me hard. My wife has been looking forward to Rose and Crown in Epcot. In less than a week the menu changed and now she’s not so hyped. The one thing she wanted was removed. We still have a while till we go so hopefully it will come back. But what a bummer.
Call the restaurant directly. Tomorrow! Before service begins. Explain your situation. Sometimes chefs can still make items no longer on the menu. Let the chef know this was a special gift to your wife and she is broken hearted, is there anything at all they can do? If this results in no satisfaction, be sure to check the menu at Raglan Road also in Disney Springs!
Prefix meals and pricing are a nightmare for those of us with food allergies. A family would pay the same amount for a member with allergies, like myself, who’d go along with the family for the show, like the Hoop-Dee-doo, but eat nothing and just sip on a drink and basically be a waste. It’s terrible. I can’t believe they can still do that today. I only went to be a good sport for the family. But, never again…
At Cedar Point and some other parks, you can go to Guest Relations and get officially measured. They'll give the child a wrist band so you never have to worry about an overzealous ride operator turning away a child who's just exactly 36" (or whatever that particular ride's minimum height is).
I was there this past week and while parts of it was fun, there were a lot of headaches dealing with eating for the six of us. You’re pretty much lost if you’re not using the app to see what’s around and what the waiting time is. Genie+ and lightning lanes is another way of Disney gouging people for more money.
I am hoping by November when we go to Disney for my son’s fifth birthday, they will bring back the service to bring your Bob merchandise to your rooms.
About the light housekeeping... so they don't even make the beds? In my opinion that's basic and essential in every hotel room. Next april we are staying in Port Orleans Riverside for 14 nights. I hope this doesn't mean we have to sleep on the same sheets during the entire trip?! That would be just gross. By the way I always love to watch your videos! Greetings from the Netherlands
We just returned from WDW. They made the bed, emptied the trash and replaced dirty towels every other day as requested. You can also request any other housekeeping needs you have through the concierge desk, including changing the bedding for extended stays.
Deluxe hotels get full service but you need to read the notes they leave in the room. I would not trust them to change the sheets. Usually after a week. I mark the edge of the sheets with a pen. Just a dot. If the dot is still there after they were suppose to change, complain.
It’s a big fat no for us on prix fix menus. I have a 13yo with non-typical food preferences. he eats a ton of salad or raw vegetables, fruit and only certain types of meat. Honestly a challenge to feed him at DW. He does like Garden Grill so we do that one EVERY trip. You have never seen a child eat that much salad then ask them to bring more🤣
The only problem we had was with magic bands. We bought MagicBand+ for each of us and I tied mine to a credit card so we didn’t have to carry wallets. We ended up having trouble at Disney springs because Starbucks didn’t have readers for new magic bands, and Wetzel’s Pretzels didn’t have a reader at all, and out Apple Pay tap didn’t work (we’re from Canada) so we couldn’t pay for anything there. We also had issues with our MagicBands from the Galactic Starcruiser dropped out cards and we had to go back to the ship and then come back to the park, losing a bunch of time. If you’re going to MagicBand, keep a back-up payment you know will work with you (cards need a four digit pin, our longer pins didn’t work either).
As a lifelong park visitor and parents who lived in Orlando for years, I've learned a few things I can share. Orlando weather can change on a dime, it regularly rains daily, even for just a short time so prepare not only with a pancho but also with footwear. What you put on your feet can elevate or ruin your day. Sandals are great for beating the heat and being comfy, but the rain plus water features throughout the park often mean wet feet/sandals. Wet sandals mean worse chaffing, and foot chaffing is miserable. Also for my fellow disabled folks, there are a lot of services and assistance available throughout the parks, so make sure to reach out ahead of time to get everything you need pre-arranged, this includes requesting disability-accessible hotel rooms, cause a lot of the basic rooms are not wheelchair or walker accessible AT ALL. We found this out the hard way upon arrival at the Pop hotel. You will also be surprised how many rides are completely wheelchair accessible, so always find out ahead of time so you can plan.
The only difference I see between regular room and accessible at Pop Century other than the shower is that the bed is eight feet off the floor in regular but the toilet is about eight inches tall. In a handicapped room it's the other way around which suits me far better. Both rooms are near impossible to squish a scooter into at all just to park it. We have to push furniture around every year to be able to get it into the room and back it out the door again. And my scooter is a small 3wheel that turns on a dime. I would not want to be chair bound in that little room.
Prix Fixe have ruined some of my favorite restaurants. Will no longer go to Be Our Guest, California Grille, Monsieur Paul etc. And be clear it has nothing to do with COVID. It has to do with them making you pay more for banquet food. Basically mass produced food instead of made per order. Signature dining should not be Prix fixe
It has to do with people taking reservation only to order coffee, tea or water and split a dessert only for the experience. They took away a spot from people wanting a full meal. That impacts how many reservations are available and the server loses the tip. The easiest way to circumvent this was Prix Fixe.
@@barbwirewebworks You must work for Disney's new management. LOL. That sounds great but it's bull. There are other ways to solve that problem just require everyone to order an entree. We don't eat apps and desserts, it's too much food but we are required to pay for it anyway. But more importantly they are limiting the chooses, only a couple of entrees are offered and are not made to order, the quality has dropped considerably. We went to Be Our Guest when they switched to Prix Fixe because we used to love it. When my girlfriend told the waiter that her chicken was so dry that it's almost inedible, he said "You should have ordered the beef". This is a signature restaurant? Signature just means "costs more".
My parents were able to take my siblings and I to MK on Halloween and Hollywood studios the next day. And I’ll say this, G+ wasn’t really necessary for us, (And we’re a family of 6 ) with the exception of Rise of the Rebellion. But that’s because of the high demand for that ride Also another note, sometimes you won’t find a wide range of merch for your favorite characters. I’m a huge Star Wars fan, and I remember looking for Kylo Ren merch; but the only thing I could find was a small keychain of his lightsaber or the full size light saber. Which was slightly disappointing since there was multiple gift shops.
Is a large locker big enough for a folded up umbrella stroller? We are planning to take our goddaughter to Disney next year, she’ll be five at that point but I kind of want to keep a just in case emergency stroller on hand
Yes bring the stroller even five year old's get tired from all the walking at Disney parks. You will get your money's worth staying later at the parks then leaving so the kids can rest because their cranky and tired. When you get there she will not be the only older kid riding in a stroller. I've seen 10 year old's riding with their younger siblings. Have Fun!!!
Mickey is an absolute thief- so sad. We have hundreds of vacation points and feel we have been scammed. Walt is probably rolling in his grave. It is NOT magical anymore.
Disney need to hire AJ as their spokeperson. She manage to spin everything into a positive or at least neutral.
One note about "you buy it you carry it" - I just went to Disneyland and CA over Thanksgiving, and on the last day I bought a sort of bulky item from a store in California Adventure. The store was happy to hold onto it for me behind the counter until their closing time, so I didn't have to lug it around all day. I don't know if that is the usual response or if it translates to Orlando, but I thought it was nice.
disneyland still does the merch holding and will still ship to your hotel room, it’s just orlando that won’t
When I got my Loki Scepter in Epcot, it’s oversized and wouldn’t fit in a regular locker.. but they said I could do a “virtual locker” at the stroller rental for a small fee and you can pick it up on the way out of the park. Did that, it was worth it.
I agree with measuring your kid. I went to Ceder Point when the Millennium ride debuted. We never took my height and we waited in line only for them to tell me a 12 year old I was to short. I cried and was pissy for the rest of the day. 100% always always measure your children.
My wife mentioned she can't remember ever using room service... And I commented: Yea, you just send me. 🙂
I have been planning my honeymoon for a year. We are officially in Florida and have our first Disney day is tomorrow. Thank you so much for your content. We could not have done planned with without you!!
Congratulations 🎉
@@ionia2376 Congratulations.. We honeymooned at Disney in October 1974.
Congrats
Thanks for these warnings. I'm much less likely to go to Disney hotels without any in room dining. The hotels are way too expensive to not have this benefit. It's not like they didn't charge alot for the service previously. My usual hotels were Animal Kingdom and Beach Club. Not going now. There are great luxury hotels close to WDW that are actully cheaper and better serviced.
I just got annual passes to Knott’s Berry Farm. It costs about the same as a summer day at Disneyland. No blackout days, no Genie Plus. Our visit was by far less stressful than Disney Parks.
AJ ! Thank you for mentioning the "chafing." I've always been plagued with feet issues during a crazy trip and I'm so glad you brought this up cause I know how your feet hurting can really ruin your Disney trip or any trip for that matter. I used the very same product to prevent blisters and feet friction and this product is legit! So I just wanted to vouch for that product! Also folk, if you want additional feet protection, I recommend getting those moleskin plus paddings by Dr. Scholl's as well.
I also found alternating 2 pairs of shoes to help so any rubbing was different day-to-day
I wear ASICS and brooks now and I been having a more pleasant experience
Get shoes broken in
I discovered Body Glide when going on a trip where I was planning to wear sandals at least one day (this wasn't at Disney World - I learned my lesson at Six Flags to not wear sandals to a theme park). It definitely did help with blisters!
Can you do a video on how Disney takes care of the animals that walk around the parks and the mosquitoes and squirrels and ducks and stuff like that ?
They spray and treat water for mosquitoes. Squirrels, ducks, alligators, etc are wild animals and Disney does nothing to care for them. Not sure if a video on feeding squirrels would be very long.
Great question, I would also be curious.
Leave it to used car salesman Chapek to make things even more complicated with Genie+ so he can make a few extra bucks off of you. And make no mistake, stuff like housekeeping every other day and pre-fix menus are cheaper for the company and puts more profit in Chapek's pocket. He has almost singlehandedly ruined the Disney experience for the average person.
I stayed at an offsite motel at Disneyland for 6 nights about a month ago. There was no housekeeping period. Paid premium but at least I got a bed and shower. Toilet leaked water the whole time. Maybe waited for me to leave to fix it.
Idk if u knew, but they just fired Chapek a few weeks ago and brought back Bob Iger. Idk much about Iger’s rep as a Disney CEO, but all I know is Chapek has been kicked to the curb and hopefully Iger will start fixing what Chapek messed up.
As a former AMC employee at then Pleasure Island the reason electronics do no work is that the roof is lined with radio jamming equipment to make cell phones and wifi near impossible to receive signal.
why?
@@charlessumner969maybe it’s to keep people from using their phones during the movie
Amtrak trains aren't the mess they used to be! The long-haul ones are expecially nice and have dining cars or even a private room to sleep in if you have an overnight train. It's a great option sometimes cheaper than flying when you compare apples to apples. A coach train seat is as roomy and comfortable as a business class (or even first class for aome airlines) airplane seat. No middle seat, just window and aisle.
I get on in Orlando and wake up the next morning in NYC. Quiet comfortable ride in a chair that reclines far more than any plane.
Amtrak trains may be slower than a plane and they use diesel engines in the south and electric in the north, but you can travel with 2 carry on and 2 checked bags as well as 2 personal items (pillow, souvenir stuffed animal the child is now grafted to, whatever) per person and there is no long TSA hassle.
Absolutely worth it if you are on the east coast or along the southern track and can spare the time. My husband does some work from home over their wifi, which is pretty good, so he can save some PTO.
I don’t know why some people don’t have sound… it’s fine for me.
I have sound too
I didn't but now do. Weird glitch.
sound is good to me.
Mine went out but i rewinded the video then it was good
Will ad this, you can also use body powder to deal with the chaffing as well as insect bites and sunburns as well. Just keep it in a ziplock back to control the mess. Use the stuff because of hiking.
The anti chafing stuff from Lush is amazing btw
It’s sad how much greedier Disney has become with Chapek at the helm. One can hope things will get better but it doesn’t seem likely any time soon
Disney rehired him, so it won't get better. Seems this man is on a mission to wipe out any good will towards the Disney name.
It's amusing how much has changed in 5 months!
I got body glide at a run shop in Disney Springs on our last trip. I was so excited to see that running shop, because I totally forgot to bring my body glide from home.
Just went to MK last Wednesday(10-12-22) and G+ was $20ea for the day. Still worth it for two people, but it could get pricey for a whole family.
It’s just shocking that you can pay $700-$900 per night for a room and come back to an unmade bed. It’s shocking that you can pay pay $200 for a souvenir and you can’t have it delivered back to your $700 room. The COVID excuses for these policies are old and tired. The tide is starting to turn. Middle America can no longer afford a Disney vacation and the attendance numbers will start to drop now that revenge travel is over.
Our trick is staying at Airbnb's near Disney and paying only ~$100 a night and having two rooms for our family. Saves thousands and then we just get our souvenirs at the end of the day.
I hate that this is true. I was a 1-4 times a year visitor from NWFlorida but I can’t afford to go once now. Between everything else but my paycheck rising Disney isn’t on my list anymore.
Can you remember when you did a video where you didn't talk about Disney raising pricing?
That must have been back in 1989🤣
I actually make my own Minnie Mouse ears. I made a pair for my daughter before she went down to Disneyland with her Choir group
I just went to Disney in mid-October. I had them ship an item I purchased to my home address. It was porcelain and so terribly packaged that it was all broken by the time it got to me. The cast member did not seem to care when I was ordering it (I should have known). I definitely wish I just went to Shop Disney and purchased it. That is something I totally recommend: check to see if something is online first!! Not only do I believe it would have been shipped properly, there were having an online sale! I felt so silly and I didn't get to use the item for my Halloween party last weekend. It was a bummer!
But did you get the refund or reship?
i believe disney merchandise ship-to-home items are insured, so you could always just call them up and ask for another if it was that broken
Aj your the best on telling the people what to expect as always we just can not wait for all the new stuff come out on your vlogs and news letter's
Once again Thank You AJ. My wife and I are driving Ca. to Fl. in Feb. of 24 for my first trip to D>W. (was not there in 67 when I was in Florida. My wife and I are watching a ton of your videos to help us plan our trip to stay in Fort Wilderness. Your help and guidance are great. THANK YOU.
Trolley tracks are also dangerous/annoying for people pushing wheelchairs and strollers. if you have to cross the tracks, make sure you go directly across so that the wheels do get stuck in the tracks.
Like every theme park, Disney sells one thing in media, and advertising, and generally fail to live up to your expectations because of things "beyond their control", but those same "things" Disney is very well aware of, and they use feigned ignorance as an excuse, or plausible deniability if you will, for failing to provide a full value to guests, at least to guests like myself.
Like this
But they never "fail" to rip you off, take away perks (which were free before) or deliver a sub-par experience
My recommendations for some of these:
1. Get genie+ for REALLY long lines such as ; Tron, Rise Of the Resistance, Cars, Haunted Mansion (occasionally), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Avatar Flight of Passage and Guardians Of The Galaxy: Mission Breakout.
2. Find reviews on what snacks are worth your time and see if you really want to go at that time for that specific snack, you can also see if Disney specified when they’ll be gone.
3. You can also use regular deodorant or wear shorts
4. You can also leave the stroller with a non-rider if you’re concerned about your belongings being stollen
5. If you pick up and clean some things yourself, house keeping might do other tasks like vacuuming
6. If you built a light saber and it won’t fit inside your locker, you can mail it to yourself like she said or I believe they might let you keep the lightsaber at the store as long as you paid for the saber. Just get the latest reservation it’s incredibly easier
7. You can make your phone a mobile hot-spot and someone else in your party can use your phone for wifi, there’s also electronic hotspots you can buy
8 and 9. Always research dining places. Look at their menu, when they close, their reviews etc. Not all food at Disney is good and you might not want to wast $14 on a soggy pizza.
10. REALLY ask yourself “Do I want this?” And “Can I even bring this home?” I have spent hundreds on merchandise I really wanted but when I got it, I used it like- once. Novelty cups are controversial but honestly? I still use mine and they can even make decoration. Only get items exclusive to Disney and items you really want and will actually use.
11. If your kid is just BARELY not tall enough some cast members will let it slide (like an inch difference). You can use water to fluff up your kid’s hair, put cloth in the heels of their shoes etc. But be warned, these limits ARE here for a reason. If your child is heavier but just a bit too short then it’s likely they’ll be safe.
12. Again, research where you want to eat and see if it’s worth it. If seating is a big thing to you, research the best sit-downs at Disney and go there. Do not expect a pick-me-up cafe to have amazing seating.
13. This is not offered at regular Disney land I don’t think. So if you only payed for the park, you might have to skip out on this.
Quick suggestion before the firework show at Epcot, if it's winter, stop by the coffee kiosk and get a hot cocoa spiked with bailey's 😋.
Restaurants that close before dinner? Wow... Thanks for letting us know!
The "og" mickey bars are different than the ones sold now. The actual :og" ones were vanilla ice cream for the favw, chocolate for the ears and the face drawn kn was chocolate.
as someone who get rashes from walking all the time for years i tried using the glide sticks and they dont work for me. I use baby power or Golds power. Stops you from getting moist and has a smooth glide on your leg to leg contact/
I got pixie dusted back in July and I still have micro glitter stuck to my steering wheel 😂
This was a fantastic video. Thanks you so much. I am planning a Disney trip and this 100% helps. I’m heading to the best Disney room video now.
I once planned a nice trip to Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. It was largely ruined because their restaurant closes VERY early!
I really can’t believe they are now changing the price of GENIE+ !!!! When is enough enough 😠
We are here now and I didn’t realize the price of G+ had increased. It was already ridiculous, but they had to make it even more ridiculous.
26:21 OMG this old lady was looking at me and she fell off the curb & bashed her nose. Blood was everywhere! So yes, please pay attention to your footsteps on Main Street
At Animal Kingdom Lodge (resort), you can Pay Extra for a Savanna View room, if you choose it when you make your reservation! You could ask on arrival but the odds are against you.
I used Genie plus on all 4 days of my Disney World vacation. I got on all the rides that I wanted to ( with the exception of the ones that were closed). I highly recommend it, if you're short on time and can only make it to the park maybe once in your lifetime. I also got park hopper passes, no regrets with that option either. Went to each park and hit all the highlights firework shows and Icon shows, fantastic worth it.
how much did you pay for all of that?
personally i like the prix fix menus. with how much disney dollar and tenners you; having food options with a flat price is nice for planning purposes.
The Scarlet Witch Minnie ears might be the most fashionable ever.
Such a bummer about the souvenir service, that is so handy. It will probably hinder my spending a bit. Who wants to lug stuff around.
And the wifi issue really sucks for international tourists. We can access our data with out extra costs per day!
I'm so annoyed about the "light housecleaning". Had no idea and have 30 days in our countdown. It's not the end of the world but the increased, sky high prices/additional prices of everything and they can't even make the beds daily? GROSS. I'm mad.
Staffing is not up to pre Covid times
"Making the bed" does not mean the sheets were changed. It only means the blankets, sheets and pillows are neatened up so you can just pull the blankets back at bedtime. We just returned from WDW. If you need to have your sheets changed during your stay, then you can request it through the concierge desk.
Anytime I've ever stayed at a hotel I've never had housekeeping do anything while we were staying in the hotel room and it's always been fine. Hope your trip ends up being wonderful and magical even without the services you were hoping for.
Disney wants your cash but doesn’t want to provide you with the services you expect from a hotel!
Happy Wednesday, y’all! 🥂🎩🖤
Orlando/Ocoee Local here. I'm heading to MK tonight. I enjoy your videos, thank you for all the helpful information!
Another thing to keep in mind is that when you ship your merchandise outside of the USA, you'll not only pay for the shipping but you may have to pay duty on those items as well. All of these can add up!
The pool bar at Polynesian is great for drinks. They have drinks that Ohana doesn’t have.
Warning on park hopping! I am a Annual passholder and get to park hop, but your not aloud to park hop until a 2PM. My wife and I were at Epcot (this Jan 2023) in the morning we were leaving that after afternoon to drive back home (South Florida), we decide we wanted to go to MGM before we drove back home. We got to MGM around noon and tried to get in the park. As we scan our magic band at the Annual passholder section, they told us we couldn't enter the park until 2:00. I explain my situation we leaving to go back home can they make exception. They told me to go customer service and see if they make an exception. They were polite, but they wouldn't budge!!! We need to wait until 2:00pm. I even pull we are DVC members (which are); that didn't help. So warning on park hopping!!!!
So, you paid extra for a service you didn’t receive? Sounds to me like Disney only allows so many people in each park, and given that, if they had a thousand park hopper people at MGM at 8AM that would be a thousand less one day passers that are paying cash allowed into the park! So in essence, Disney already received the park hoppers money and to ensure they use this benefit as less as possible, they restrict their entry until after 2PM because most one day passers get to the park bright and early in the morning, not after 2PM where it wouldn’t be cost feasible to buy a one day pass.
Damn Disney are shisters! 😂😂😂
1. For those not familiar with the state of Florida, it stays HOT there all year round, compared to the northern states. During summer, fall and spring, if you are from the north, then the heat is unbearable, and it is a tropical environment, so it rains every single day (only for a short time, but it rains every day). We have went to Orlando a lot during both summer and fall and stayed weeks at a time and every day we were there it was 90F to 100F. Even after dark, the temperatures do not cool off. It stays the same all night long.
2. It's a lot cheaper to get a hotel about 45 minutes up the road on the interstate and drive to disney than it is to stay in the park. You can normally find a cheap hotel room by the interstate for less than $50 a night and wake up early the next morning and drive into disney, just be sure to leave about 30 minutes before closing or you will get caught in all the traffic leaving the parks.
3. While it's cheaper to do 2, it's way more convenient to utilize the package deals Disney offers, with the meals and tickets and hotel rooms. The second time we went to Disney, we got a package with everything included and it was about the same price as the first time we went, when we stayed off the property in a hotel in Sanford Florida, and traveled 3 days to Disney back and forth to our hotel. But we also flew down and rented a car that second time and went 3 days to Disney, a single day at Universal and drove down in the rental car to Miami, stopping off at a few different towns on the way (honestly, there is nothing worth seeing between Orlando and Miami, its mostly just residential areas and "natural" beaches (not kept up by the cities as tourist areas).
4. If you get the meal deals, We put at least one sit down restaurant each day and 2 snacks on each day and we could never eat everything that was offered. (not sure how it is now, this was a few years ago when we did this package, but it was definitely worth it, because it was cheaper to get it on the meal plan than buying in the park.
5. Leave your phones in your pockets. Spend time with your family. Everyone in the next few generations are going to be laying on their deathbeds reliving their past memories and no one is going to have any because it's all going to be white noise static, because they lived their lives through the filter of a cell phone screen. Put the phones down, have some memories with the family, stop surfing the web and social media. The cell phone has ruined society.
Just a quick tip.
I just recently went to Disneyworld's Hollywood Studios with my family.
My mom and grandma tire much faster than the rest of us, so we rented a wheel chair! Not only did we use its handles to carry all our backpacks and souvenirs, but whenever one of us was really tired, the tired party member could sit down and recharge for the next attraction!
That way, we didn't have to worry about them tiring so much that we had to leave the park in the middle of the day!
It was a huge help!
You can find the stroller and wheelchair rentals to the right, just as you come into the park itself.
This is a wonderful tip, thank you! Do you happen to remember how much the wheelchair rental was?
@@LoveLifeLiveLife7 hmm....it was around 12 to fifteen dollars to rent a wheelchair for a day.
We got ours from Oscar's Sudden Service; it's just to the right as you come in the park.
I was In Hollywood studios a year ago today ugh miss it too much
Also for chaffing I use my deodorant. I use men's clear gel kinds and work WONDERS on my thighs and in between the girls up top lol. I sweat ALOT and would be in sooooo much pain if I didn't use it. I also sweat on my lower back so I just rub deodorant there also and tada no sweat. It's a cheaper, space saver way. :)
Not super relevant but a good note for anyone going to Dollywood: there is a measuring station right next to the main gate where you can have your child measured and issued a color-coded wristband with their height that matches up with the rides they can go on! So nice!
You can only get the one meat one at docking bay not the veggie one! Was so disappointed and had to get something else veggie
I rememeber I got a heat rash when my family and I took our annual Disney summer trip.
Sunshine Seasons in Epcot in the Land pavilion closed at 4!when we were there recently. Absolutely shocked ys
putting an apple tag on our stroller when we go lol
The dining reservations changes warning hit me hard. My wife has been looking forward to Rose and Crown in Epcot. In less than a week the menu changed and now she’s not so hyped. The one thing she wanted was removed. We still have a while till we go so hopefully it will come back. But what a bummer.
same here😐
i cant get over how small the menus have gotten, esp at rose n crown!! like 6 entres? seriously!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Call the restaurant directly. Tomorrow! Before service begins. Explain your situation. Sometimes chefs can still make items no longer on the menu. Let the chef know this was a special gift to your wife and she is broken hearted, is there anything at all they can do? If this results in no satisfaction, be sure to check the menu at Raglan Road also in Disney Springs!
Prefix meals and pricing are a nightmare for those of us with food allergies. A family would pay the same amount for a member with allergies, like myself, who’d go along with the family for the show, like the Hoop-Dee-doo, but eat nothing and just sip on a drink and basically be a waste. It’s terrible. I can’t believe they can still do that today. I only went to be a good sport for the family. But, never again…
Also lightsabers if you split your lightsaber into hilt and blade it can go in the checked bag but you'll need a duffle bag for the blades.
Nice Mulan reference
Thank you! And if you haven’t already can you make a video about good hotels to go to. Thank you 😊!
Aj try running down Main Street USA in the dark during a RunDisney race with tons of people around you. Just remember stay to the sides 😂😂😂
At Cedar Point and some other parks, you can go to Guest Relations and get officially measured.
They'll give the child a wrist band so you never have to worry about an overzealous ride operator turning away a child who's just exactly 36" (or whatever that particular ride's minimum height is).
I was there this past week and while parts of it was fun, there were a lot of headaches dealing with eating for the six of us. You’re pretty much lost if you’re not using the app to see what’s around and what the waiting time is. Genie+ and lightning lanes is another way of Disney gouging people for more money.
tsa is going to regret that tweet about lightsaber carry in 2 thousand years time
I know it’s not “technically” Disney but we got room service in the dolphin hotel a couple weeks ago
Dolewhip is served at a food chain called Hawaiian bros! Its literally the exact same and they rotate flavors
Disney Rash!!! I had been going to Disney for year as before I ever got it and then found out it was a huge thing. And it hurts so bad.
I am hoping by November when we go to Disney for my son’s fifth birthday, they will bring back the service to bring your Bob merchandise to your rooms.
Bro. Getting chafed on the first day of your trip is literally the worst. Please if you’re new to Disney, PLEASE get something to combat that.
My bf and I share a birthday on JUNE 26th aka Stitch day 🙃🤍 love it
this wonderful informative vid has let me know that going to anything disney is a crowded, high effort JOB
no thanks I guess
I have audio, just wanted to let you know since so many said they didn’t!
Another good way to help with the rash or chafing. Use baby powder on your inner thigh. Can help a lot.
Antichafing? How about exercise so you don’t have excess rubbing?
Do you have any hints for foreign visitors who have to use wi-fi at Disney to use the Disney Experience App?
About the light housekeeping... so they don't even make the beds? In my opinion that's basic and essential in every hotel room.
Next april we are staying in Port Orleans Riverside for 14 nights. I hope this doesn't mean we have to sleep on the same sheets during the entire trip?! That would be just gross.
By the way I always love to watch your videos! Greetings from the Netherlands
We just returned from WDW. They made the bed, emptied the trash and replaced dirty towels every other day as requested. You can also request any other housekeeping needs you have through the concierge desk, including changing the bedding for extended stays.
Deluxe hotels get full service but you need to read the notes they leave in the room. I would not trust them to change the sheets. Usually after a week. I mark the edge of the sheets with a pen. Just a dot. If the dot is still there after they were suppose to change, complain.
every video should be titled “20 reasons to not go to Disney World!!”
What amazing insight...
Lol
It’s a big fat no for us on prix fix menus. I have a 13yo with non-typical food preferences. he eats a ton of salad or raw vegetables, fruit and only certain types of meat. Honestly a challenge to feed him at DW. He does like Garden Grill so we do that one EVERY trip. You have never seen a child eat that much salad then ask them to bring more🤣
The only problem we had was with magic bands. We bought MagicBand+ for each of us and I tied mine to a credit card so we didn’t have to carry wallets. We ended up having trouble at Disney springs because Starbucks didn’t have readers for new magic bands, and Wetzel’s Pretzels didn’t have a reader at all, and out Apple Pay tap didn’t work (we’re from Canada) so we couldn’t pay for anything there. We also had issues with our MagicBands from the Galactic Starcruiser dropped out cards and we had to go back to the ship and then come back to the park, losing a bunch of time. If you’re going to MagicBand, keep a back-up payment you know will work with you (cards need a four digit pin, our longer pins didn’t work either).
As a lifelong park visitor and parents who lived in Orlando for years, I've learned a few things I can share. Orlando weather can change on a dime, it regularly rains daily, even for just a short time so prepare not only with a pancho but also with footwear. What you put on your feet can elevate or ruin your day. Sandals are great for beating the heat and being comfy, but the rain plus water features throughout the park often mean wet feet/sandals. Wet sandals mean worse chaffing, and foot chaffing is miserable. Also for my fellow disabled folks, there are a lot of services and assistance available throughout the parks, so make sure to reach out ahead of time to get everything you need pre-arranged, this includes requesting disability-accessible hotel rooms, cause a lot of the basic rooms are not wheelchair or walker accessible AT ALL. We found this out the hard way upon arrival at the Pop hotel. You will also be surprised how many rides are completely wheelchair accessible, so always find out ahead of time so you can plan.
The only difference I see between regular room and accessible at Pop Century other than the shower is that the bed is eight feet off the floor in regular but the toilet is about eight inches tall. In a handicapped room it's the other way around which suits me far better.
Both rooms are near impossible to squish a scooter into at all just to park it. We have to push furniture around every year to be able to get it into the room and back it out the door again. And my scooter is a small 3wheel that turns on a dime. I would not want to be chair bound in that little room.
How does the prix fixe menus affect Disney’s allergen-friendliness?
Working on the wireless design for the parks and resorts would be fun. Would also be a full time deal. 😂
Great information
I love what you do
Not a fan of Prix Fixe at all happy I got to go to California grill and BOG before they change everything. I did eat at CRT and that’s one and done!
Yay! Best part of the day!!
I still have pixie dust on my phone. I find more and more everyday in random locations
Prix Fixe have ruined some of my favorite restaurants. Will no longer go to Be Our Guest, California Grille, Monsieur Paul etc. And be clear it has nothing to do with COVID. It has to do with them making you pay more for banquet food. Basically mass produced food instead of made per order. Signature dining should not be Prix fixe
It has to do with people taking reservation only to order coffee, tea or water and split a dessert only for the experience. They took away a spot from people wanting a full meal. That impacts how many reservations are available and the server loses the tip. The easiest way to circumvent this was Prix Fixe.
@@barbwirewebworks You must work for Disney's new management. LOL. That sounds great but it's bull. There are other ways to solve that problem just require everyone to order an entree. We don't eat apps and desserts, it's too much food but we are required to pay for it anyway. But more importantly they are limiting the chooses, only a couple of entrees are offered and are not made to order, the quality has dropped considerably. We went to Be Our Guest when they switched to Prix Fixe because we used to love it. When my girlfriend told the waiter that her chicken was so dry that it's almost inedible, he said "You should have ordered the beef". This is a signature restaurant? Signature just means "costs more".
Where’s the link for the best seats for restaurants at WDW? It’s not in the description.
My parents were able to take my siblings and I to MK on Halloween and Hollywood studios the next day.
And I’ll say this, G+ wasn’t really necessary for us, (And we’re a family of 6 ) with the exception of Rise of the Rebellion. But that’s because of the high demand for that ride
Also another note, sometimes you won’t find a wide range of merch for your favorite characters. I’m a huge Star Wars fan, and I remember looking for Kylo Ren merch; but the only thing I could find was a small keychain of his lightsaber or the full size light saber. Which was slightly disappointing since there was multiple gift shops.
Where I live we can get Frozen and Spiderman ice treats at Grocery Outlet
Anyone looking for a Dole Whip fix in PA, Knoebels has it
It was up to $35 a day in mid-April 2023.
No resort package delivery will save us a ton of money - no sale! ;-)
Would it be possible to have a printable of this? Or are there any useful printables you have or recommend?
Is a large locker big enough for a folded up umbrella stroller? We are planning to take our goddaughter to Disney next year, she’ll be five at that point but I kind of want to keep a just in case emergency stroller on hand
Yes bring the stroller even five year old's get tired from all the walking at Disney parks. You will get your money's worth staying later at the parks then leaving so the kids can rest because their cranky and tired. When you get there she will not be the only older kid riding in a stroller. I've seen 10 year old's riding with their younger siblings. Have Fun!!!
Mickey is an absolute thief- so sad. We have hundreds of vacation points and feel we have been scammed. Walt is probably rolling in his grave. It is NOT magical anymore.
Do they still have the handicap lines?