Return to Disney World after 4.5 years

[Pollyanna24]

Day Two. Before starting off to the Magic Kingdom we all went for breakfast in the Food Court for the famous Mickey Waffles. They were delicious and our favorite breakfast meal. You can get the menu prices on line so you can plan ahead to budget. Everyone used their refillable resort mugs (around $22.00 each) with water before we left to get to the bus. There is a sign now outside that lets you know the arrival time of buses. Not sure if this is new but it wasn't there last time we went. Arrived at Magic Kingdom and used our room key cards for admission. Yes, the Magic Bands are cute and fun but that would have added an extra $100.00 or more so we just used the room card. We also did not purchase the LL or Genie pass. Please Disney just bring back the free Fast Pass. Some ride waits were longer than others but we did the shortest wait times by using The My Disney Experience App. The 10 & 13 year old were able to ride Big Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain with about a 30 minute wait. We rode The People Mover, Haunted Mansion, Aladdin, Pirates and then went to see one of our favorites Mickey's Philharmonic. Skipped Jungle Cruise and Peter Pan's Flight as the wait times were almost an hour and to wait in the heat just was not worth it to us. It was too hot really for us so after getting our Mickey Ear Pretzels ($8.00 ea) and the Orange Cream floats we decided to head back to the resort to swim. Just a reminder that you can get free paper cups of ice water throughout the park at the quick service stations which some even had the cups on a tray so you could just go and take one. The water was very good. That saves a bit of money and less plastic to recycle. Spent the afternoon swimming and then returned to the Magic Kingdom in the evening when it was a bit cooler. Fireworks spectacular as always. Great first day.

[faline]

Very nice first day!! You can also check bus arrival times on your My Disney Experience app.

[John]

Sounds like a good time had by all. Like you I think they should bring back the free fast pass. Was in Tokyo parks the last two days and while they had the premium buy attractions - they also had the ability to reserve a ride without paying. It's a blend of old and new and it worked for me.

[KylesMom]

So many things have changed since I was there for ICOT's Anniversary in 2012... so happy to read your reports but more apprehensive than ever to go back with so many changes and extra expenses now. Looking forward to reading more insights from you!

[Pollyanna24]

Just do your research. We decided not to spend the money on the Magic Bands, used MEARS transportation rather than rent a car or use private cars, and researched the menus for all the parks (even quick service is listed) We only ate out one meal and that was at The RainForest Cafe.