June was a busy month for Disney World, with several new attractions making their debut. After experiencing them all multiple times, I have some info and tips on each to share with you.
I also have a quick tip regarding having multiple tickets linked in your My Disney Experience account.
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These are notes from this episode. There's much more info included in the audio so be sure to listen to the episode for a better explanation.
In this article
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From my June trip
General thoughts
- June wasn’t busy, but much more hot than usual
- Stayed offsite for the first time. Annual Pass came in handy with parking fees, and driving was convenient, except to Magic Kingdom (add an extra 30 minutes to travel time). Can stay for much cheaper and have more space when offsite. Check this chart to see if getting 1 Annual Pass for your travel group makes sense.
- Lots of sad events took place during our stay. Security at Disney World is still the same with metal detectors being used (sometimes randomly, sometimes everybody goes through).
About the new attractions
- Animal Kingdom
- Jungle Book Alive with Magic - good show, but not quite up to Disney's standards. Dining package not necessary, standby too limited, highly recommend getting a FastPass+ and sitting on wooden seats to reduce the heat.
- Tiffins - delicious but pricey restaurant, rarely busy, attached lounge has great drinks
- Nighttime Kilimanjaro Safaris - quality seems to depend on the driver, opportunity to see animals that aren't as active during the day (like the lions), usually no line after Jungle Book show
- Tree of Life Awakenings - animations that play on the front of Tree of Life every 10 minutes or so, my favorite way to end an Animal Kingdom night
- Hollywood Studios
- Star Wars Galactic Spectacular - fantastic show, but you have to stand up close to the Chinese theater to see it well. Hard to combine with Fantasmic unless there's a Fantasmic show scheduled afterward.
- Epcot
- Soarin’ Around the World - fantastic new version of Soarin' attraction, wait times much less now due to opening of the third theater
- Anna and Elsa’s Royal Sommerhus - Anna and Elsa left Magic Kingdom to come here to their new summer home. There isn't a FastPass+ option but wait times are usually relatively low, especially if visiting in the morning or at night.
- Frozen Ever After - charming Frozen-themed ride that breaks down a lot. Best case is to get a FastPass+ for it or arrive at Epcot at least 45 minutes before park opening to be at the front of the lines.
Quick tip of the day
If you have multiple tickets linked to you (for instance, tickets that are part of a package and an Annual Pass), be sure to give Disney World a call to have them set the ticket priority for each. That way the correct tickets will scan when you enter the parks.
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Hi! Will Anna & Elsa only be at the Sommerhaus in Epcot during the Summer? I am trying to prioritize my fast pass selections for our December trip, and if the are not going to be in the MK, I will need to rethink my “princess plan”!
Shannon!
So happy to listen to these two podcasts today! (Trip report and Before/After Park Opening/Closings) I’ve missed listening to the podcasts! So happy you are back. We always stay offsite so I’m happy and excited to hear the future podcast about staying offsite. It always works well for our family! Lots of room/ private pool/ full kitchen for making lunches, etc. We love it. Two questions:
1. Am I crazy or what happened to Rivers of Light ? I remember the hype about it and then now all I’m hearing about at AK is the Jungle Book show…?
2. Have you heard any positive experiences about getting an 8am Akershaus reservation and then getting straight in line for Frizen ride? Anyone had a positive/ magical experience with that like your Garden Grill/ Soarin surprise?
I would be interested to hear more about your off site experience. We have always stayed off site, for a family of 7 it’s makes more financial sense. Plus we always drive into Orlando so the airport magical express doesn’t play a factor. I know there are a ton of advantages to staying on property. But I think there are also plenty of advantages of staying off property. Laundry being a big one! (family of 7)
For those of us who are hard of hearing, would you consider adding transcripts of your podcasts?
Thank you for asking! I frequently have trouble hearing the podcasts!
Hi Shannon! So great to hear a positive spin on the new attractions and changes. A lot of other sites have just been doom and gloom with the updates. It’s the happiest place on Earth be happier. Just wanted to let you know that Tiffins is listed as a “regular” table service credit not a signature credit on the 2017 dining plan so based on your review it may be a good value if you are on the dining plan and possibly a lot busier.
Tiffins will still be 2 Table Service credits for 2017. Disney often makes mistakes on that stuff (especially in the emails they send) but it’ll still be 2 credits.
Thank you for the advice! I’m using your “program” to plan our 2nd Trip to WDW. I used you for our 1st trip and it was AMAZING! Anyway, I booked at 8:00AM ADR at Garden Grill . . . is there a good chance on getting to ride Soarin before Park Opening . . .is this going to be a “regular thing”. I booked this ADR because was hoping to be 1st in line for Frozen Ever After. Think we can do Soarin then make it to FEA BEFORE Park Opening??? I’m worried about not get a FP+ for FEA.
I don’t know if the ability to ride pre-park opening is a normal occurrence, but at the very least you’ll be first to get on. To be first on FEA, I’d book Akershus. I would definitely try to get FP+ for FEA so you can have an easy morning beginning at Garden Grill and Soarin’.
Hey Shannon,
I have listened to every one of your podcasts. I was thrilled to see there was another one up! The info is great in here, but I wanted to mention that you were going really quick in this podcast. It was hard to keep up with ya. Thanks for all you do. So excited to hear that you are going to be doing podcasts more often.
Shannon I will have some no-expiration tickets on my MDE as well as tickets that expire, so I need them prioritized also. Who did you call to do this? The main WDW number?
Yes, and you’ll need to tell them why you’re calling and they’ll likely transfer you to another department that handles this.
Thank you for all the great info! I have an 8:05am and 10:25 am adr for Garden Grill. I want the 8:05 time as long as Epcot doesn’t end up opening earlier or having extra hrs that morning. How close to the actual date do those changes typically occur?
Epcot rarely has its opening time changed. That’s much more likely to happen at the other parks. You’re probably safe w/the 8:05 reservation.
Where did you stay off property? I’d like to stay for a long time like you did next summer.
Hi, Ann –
As I mentioned in the podcast, I’m not necessarily ready to recommend doing it how I did because I ran into some issues, but we’ll be working on a post or podcast episode with offsite tips in the future.
Could you tell me more about setting a priority on passes? We have a 4 day hopper pass and a MNSSHP pass. We go to MNSSHP first before our otber park days. What do we need to do?