Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

C

crazy4disney

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Sirwalterraleigh said:
Because the “value” to them is running you through the relatively cheap character buffets by the thousands.
It’s not serving you at brown derby or the Epcot menus…where the food is custom/better.

What I and others are also saying is if you went for a week and paid as you go…you end up coming ahead most if not Nearly all the time. We’ve studied this for along time now. Especially considering people eat less as the trip goes along.

So the advantages are pre-paying and probably overeating?
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again i would agree with you for most guests but for me and my vacation style it wasnt the case.. especially with a child who loved the experience and for dinner definitely a nice relaxing break at around 5-6pm to recharge etc... as far as overeating im not one of those who will sit down and just eat to eat so yes at times i may have no gotten "my moneys" worth but if i have some apps and a nice dinner w dessert a coffee to go for mom and wife at the time a drink for daughter to go grab a snack or fruit during breakfast not to mention the price of the characters and the joy on my daughters face... am i really getting ripped off? using this years price of $55 for most expensive meal... how much am i really overpaying if i say down at a restaurant to eat? I guess living in NY prevents me from being sticker shock and realizing im on vacation and at Disney things will be expensive but again as i said i just came back from Poconos and Wildwood and my average cost per day for me and my daughter all in was 775 & 825 respectively and thats basically the same if not slightly more than what Disney is gonna cost me for me and my daughter in comparison
 
Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
crazy4disney said:
again i would agree with you for most guests but for me and my vacation style it wasnt the case.. especially with a child who loved the experience and for dinner definitely a nice relaxing break at around 5-6pm to recharge etc... as far as overeating im not one of those who will sit down and just eat to eat so yes at times i may have no gotten "my moneys" worth but if i have some apps and a nice dinner w dessert a coffee to go for mom and wife at the time a drink for daughter to go grab a snack or fruit during breakfast not to mention the price of the characters and the joy on my daughters face... am i really getting ripped off? using this years price of $55 for most expensive meal... how much am i really overpaying if i say down at a restaurant to eat? I guess living in NY prevents me from being sticker shock and realizing im on vacation and at Disney things will be expensive but again as i said i just came back from Poconos and Wildwood and my average cost per day for me and my daughter all in was 775 & 825 respectively and thats basically the same if not slightly more than what Disney is gonna cost me for me and my daughter in comparison
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I know where you stand.

We don’t have to keep going until we start talking about Broadway shows and football tickets.

Wildwood Boo!…by the way😎
 
C

crazy4disney

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Sirwalterraleigh said:
I know where you stand.

We don’t have to keep going until we start talking about Broadway shows and football tickets.

Wildwood Boo!…by the way😎
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I use to like you until you Boo'ed Wildwood!!!! How dare you lol... I was in Ocean City, MD as well if you wanna boo there too lol.... may i ask you goto beach town? and where are you from/reside?
 
sullyinMT

sullyinMT

Well-Known Member
Sirwalterraleigh said:
Exactly.

The original dining plan was cheap, included 3 courses and gratuity. Then they skinned it and charged alot more.

The frequent defense - prior to the plague - was “it’s worth it to me for the convenience and not worrying about it”
Ok…but you are getting ripped. Im not telling you not to do it…but it doesn’t change the reality.

It’s like valet parking. You don’t need it, there’s a better way…but people do it for the brain juju they get off doing it.

I’m told a shockingly large number of people using DDP don’t tip also. That is reprehensible if true. That’s literally feeding the corporate “pigs” and starving the messenger
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When we returned to WDW after a few years of cruising, and before our boys were Disney adults, we’d often add one of the dining plans for the convenience. However, post pandemic reopening, we’ve twice just purchased a gift card for the previous cost of DDP and walked away with more than enough for “fancy” souvenirs & more poolside beverages.

Also, I didn’t know about the lack of tips thing. Awful. And kind of explains the handful of disconnected servers we’ve had in the past.
 
Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
sullyinMT said:
When we returned to WDW after a few years of cruising, and before our boys were Disney adults, we’d often add one of the dining plans for the convenience. However, post pandemic reopening, we’ve twice just purchased a gift card for the previous cost of DDP and walked away with more than enough for “fancy” souvenirs & more poolside beverages.

Also, I didn’t know about the lack of tips thing. Awful. And kind of explains the handful of disconnected servers we’ve had in the past.
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And we know what’s better…
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Casper Gutman

Casper Gutman

Well-Known Member
UNCgolf said:
Yeah, the Disney deluxes are more themed for sure, although they've been actively working at removing that theming in places, so...
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Not surprisingly, I disagree with this. Yes, the GF (properly maintained and without some of the idiotic recent additions) is the best themed deluxe in Orlando. But Portofino is close and is significantly better themed then the Contemporary or Polynesian. Compared to the Yacht and Beach at their height it’s more of a toss up - but the Yacht and Beach are very, very far from their height.

Sapphire and Royal are great but more lightly themed then most Disney hotels, but Cabana offers better theming then any WDW “moderate” save Port Orleans French Quarter while being much cheaper then ANY hotel on Disney property.
 
D

dreday3

Well-Known Member
Casper Gutman said:
Not surprisingly, I disagree with this. Yes, the GF (properly maintained and without some of the idiotic recent additions) is the best themed deluxe in Orlando. But Portofino is close and is significantly better themed then the Contemporary or Polynesian. Compared to the Yacht and Beach at their height it’s more of a toss up - but the Yacht and Beach are very, very far from their height.

Sapphire and Royal are great but more lightly themed then most Disney hotels, but Cabana offers better theming then any WDW “moderate” save Port Orleans French Quarter while being much cheaper then ANY hotel on Disney property.
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I think the Portofino rooms look very dated.

Polynesian still has the Brady Bunch visits Hawaii kitsch factor which is part of the charm (for me anyways).

Beach Club lobby needs a refresh (but man, I just love the Solarium), Yacht Club is looking fantastic lately. For me personally, I think the hotels are quite beautiful and I love the gardens, courtyards, and then their own version of a Boardwalk. I love these hotels. :)

Cabana Bay looks great.
 
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D

dreday3

Well-Known Member
Dining plans I'm neither for or against.

I will say we will never do Club Level. I think it's a waste of money for what really is just some food/wine at certain times of day? I've seen some of the room views for CL at Beach, they weren't that great.
 
Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Casper Gutman said:
Not surprisingly, I disagree with this. Yes, the GF (properly maintained and without some of the idiotic recent additions) is the best themed deluxe in Orlando. But Portofino is close and is significantly better themed then the Contemporary or Polynesian. Compared to the Yacht and Beach at their height it’s more of a toss up - but the Yacht and Beach are very, very far from their height.

Sapphire and Royal are great but more lightly themed then most Disney hotels, but Cabana offers better theming then any WDW “moderate” save Port Orleans French Quarter while being much cheaper then ANY hotel on Disney property.
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Portofino is nice

The contemporary really isn’t…
But the poly gets proximity points.

You are forgetting the best 2 themed at wdw…the “cheap” deluxes
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
UNCgolf

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
Casper Gutman said:
Not surprisingly, I disagree with this. Yes, the GF (properly maintained and without some of the idiotic recent additions) is the best themed deluxe in Orlando. But Portofino is close and is significantly better themed then the Contemporary or Polynesian. Compared to the Yacht and Beach at their height it’s more of a toss up - but the Yacht and Beach are very, very far from their height.

Sapphire and Royal are great but more lightly themed then most Disney hotels, but Cabana offers better theming then any WDW “moderate” save Port Orleans French Quarter while being much cheaper then ANY hotel on Disney property.
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I was only talking about the Royal Pacific re: theming, since that's the only place I've stayed. It's certainly not unthemed, but as you said, it's lightly themed. I also think you're forgetting about Animal Kingdom Lodge in terms of best theming in Orlando!

I agree about Cabana Bay though -- not that I've stayed there, but I really love the whole aesthetic of that hotel. If I ever go back to Universal, and it offered Express Pass (I know it doesn't), I'd probably stay there over other options just because of how much I like the theme.
 
mattpeto

mattpeto

Well-Known Member
Sirwalterraleigh said:
So character buffets then? Got it.

Have you noticed that they haven’t brought it back and the restaurants are fairly open and not super busy? They definitely were for me…
And the ONLY thing not back are all the character buffets?

So is that a correlation? Ask yourself.
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Might not be following your point, but all the restaurants have not returned:

Akershsus
Monsieur Paul
Restaurant Marrakesh
Takumi-Tea
1900 Park Fare
ESPN Club (transition to Cake Bake Shop underway)

We have some character experiences returning over the next couple of months but no timelines on the full experiences at Crystal Palace breakfast, Trattoria al Forno breakfast (Bon Voyage) and CRT (just Cindy still)

In addition, I don't think capacity is 100% the current restaurants. It's not because of Covid, it's because of labor. Hopefully cultural programs are going to ramp these back up.
 
Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
mattpeto said:
Might not be following your point, but all the restaurants have not returned:

Akershsus
Monsieur Paul
Restaurant Marrakesh
Takumi-Tea
1900 Park Fare
ESPN Club (transition to Cake Bake Shop underway)

We have some character experiences returning over the next couple of months but no timelines on the full experiences at Crystal Palace breakfast, Trattoria al Forno breakfast (Bon Voyage) and CRT (just Cindy still)

In addition, I don't think capacity is 100% the current restaurants. It's not because of Covid, it's because of labor. Hopefully cultural programs are going to ramp these back up.
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They just recently added characters to 3-4 places that had not had them back into the fold. So cape may, ohana, Crystal palace and I believe garden grill just came back up.

“Very recently returned”

Never got a lot of dining plans at monsieur Paul 🇫🇷
 

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