Author: touringplans.com

It’s great to share some good news for a change – the early 2022 DCL itineraries have been announced today!

The Disney Magic will make her home out of Miami to start the year. She will sail a standard variety of 3-, 4-, and 5-night Bahamian and Caribbean itineraries. This would also be the time we’d see select sailings designated as Marvel Day at Sea sailings, though this won’t be announced until down the road.

The Wonder will start the year in Galveston, with Bahamian and Caribbean sailings. On March 4, 2022 she will make that coveted Westbound Panama Canal journey, and end up in San Diego for Baja and Pacific Coast cruises. Then it will be time to pack the lei and hula skirt, as she will finally make that long awaited return to Hawaii! This is super exciting after missing out on these two great sailings in 2020. I expect these two 10-night sailings between Honolulu and Vancouver will be very popular once again!

The Dream will continue her 3- and 4-night sailings to the Bahamas from Port Canaveral, as we always expect her to do.

The Disney Fantasy will sail her usual 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises. Many of these in January and February will likely be Star Wars Day at Sea sailings.

You can check out the full list of dates and itineraries here.

There’s not much time to think on the options this time, because booking will start next week! Booking will be as follows:

• Monday, October 19 for Platinum Castaway Club Members (guests who have sailed with Disney more than 10 times) and Golden Oak residents.
• Tuesday, October 20 for Gold Castaway Club Members (guests who have sailed more than 5 times)
• Wednesday, October 21 for Silver Castaway Club members (guests who have sailed with Disney Cruise Line at least once), Adventures by Disney insiders, and Disney Vacation Club members.
• Thursday, October 22 for everyone!

You will be able to book online, over the phone, or with your travel agent. If you have a Placeholder from a previous cruise, this can only be done on the phone, or with the travel agent on record.

As a reminder, if you’ve got future cruise credit from a cancelled sailing from this year, you will have through May 31, 2022 to use that! What’s got your eye on this latest round? Let me know in the comments!!

The post Disney Cruise Line Early 2022 Itineraries Are Here! appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Disney Cruise Line, disney cruise line

It may be fall, but the Florida sunshine still shines bright, bringing with it some warm days. Cool Wash at EPCOT offers a fun and creative way to cool off. You can build your own custom slushie! Cool Wash has been closed for quite some time, but on our recent visit to EPCOT it was open. Chrissy on our team stopped at Cool Wash to build a slushy with special toppings.

When this experience debuted last year, you filled out a form and handed it to a Cast Member for them to build your creation. Now, with COVID-19 precautions in place you simply tell the Cast Member your order. Slush flavor options include Coca-Cola, Fanta Cherry, or Fanta Blue Raspberry. After selecting your flavor, you select your toppings.

Your choice of toppings includes candy pebbles (like Nerds), candy fruit slices, spice drops, or popping candy (like Pop Rocks). You can select one topping, or a combination. The amount of total toppings stays the same, so if you order all the toppings your serving of each will be smaller compared to if you order one topping. The slushies are priced at $6.00 each.

Cool Wash is not open every day. Hours of operation are limited and are on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Cool Wash has an 85% thumbs up rating from our readers, and is ranked at number 112 of 172 snack locations at Walt Disney World. It is located near Test Track – hence the car wash theme. Mobile ordering is not available here, due to the simplicity of this venue.

If you love slushies then head to our Menu Search tool. There you can see all the Walt Disney World locations that serve slushies! This tool is free to use, but we’d love to have you as a TouringPlans Subscriber so you can access all our tools and resources.

The post Custom Slushies are BACK at EPCOT appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Epcot, In the Parks, Snacks, Trip Planning, disney covid, disney dessert, disney reopening, Disney Snacks, epcot drinks, epcot snacks

Midweek crowds at the Magic Kingdom were lower than they’ve been in a while, while EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom continue to see higher wait times than average over the past month.  Also, it’s been a good day for Rise of the Resistance.  Let’s do the numbers.

Magic Kingdom Wait Times

Wait times were relatively low at the Magic Kingdom’s mountains.  Seven Dwarfs Mine Train had an average wait time today of 55 minutes, well below its 7-day average of 68 minutes (#6 for this week). 7DMT’s 30-day average is 54 minutes, so today ranks #14 for the past month.  Splash Mountain had an average wait time today of 53 minutes (#6 for the week and #20 for the month). Big Thunder Mountain Railroad had an average wait time today of 40 minutes. Its 7-day average is 46 minutes, so today ranks #5 for this week. Its 30-day average is 43 minutes, so today ranks #20 for the past month.

Over in Tomorrowland, Space Mountain had an average wait time today of 35 minutes, well below its 7-day average of 53 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. That 35-minute average is also below Space’s 30-day average of 37 minutes, so today ranks #16 for the past month.  Also in Tomorrowland, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin had an average wait time today of 27 minutes (#6 week/#15 month), and Astro Orbiter had an average wait time of 26 minutes. Its 7-day average is 38 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 29 minutes, so today ranks #21 for the past month.

Actual wait times at the Magic Kingdom today were just under 80%, and close to their pre-pandemic averages.  If your posted wait time at The Haunted Mansion was 40 minutes today, you probably would’ve waited 32 minutes in line.

EPCOT Wait Times

Wednesday looks like it’ll be the second-busiest day of the past week at EPCOT, and one of the busiest of the month. Frozen Ever After had an average wait time today of 67 minutes. Its 7-day average is 69 minutes, so today ranks #2 for this week. Its 30-day average is 56 minutes, putting today at #5 for the past month.

Soarin’ had an average wait time today of 45 minutes, just under its 7-day average of 46 minutes and good for #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 30 minutes, so today ranks #7 for the past month.  Spaceship Earth had an average wait time today of 21 minutes, also slightly lower than its 7-day average of 23 minutes (#2 for the week though). Its 30-day average is 16 minutes, so today ranks #6 for the past month.  And Test Track had an average wait time today of 67 minutes. Its 7-day average is 72 minutes, so today ranks #2 for this week. Its 30-day average is 54 minutes, so today ranks #5 for the past month.

Actual waits at EPCOT averaged around 63% of the posted wait times, so a posted wait of 30 minutes at Mission: Space would’ve resulted in an actual wait of around 19 minutes.

Hollywood Studios Wait Times

It was also relatively busy day over at Hollywood Studios.  Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway had an average wait time today of 82 minutes, one minute over its 7-day average and good for #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 84 minutes, putting today at #16 for the past month. Star Tours: The Adventures Continue had an average wait time today of 33 minutes (#2 week/#5 month). Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith had an average wait time today of 53 minutes (#5 week/#8 month).

Actual waits in line at the Studios were around 72% of posted wait times, so a posted wait of 30 minutes at Alien Swirling Saucers would’ve meant an actual wait of around 22 minutes in line.

Rise of the Resistance has run very well so far today, with most boarding groups called at or near their earliest times of the day for the past week.  Here’s the graph as of 5 p.m.:

Animal Kingdom Wait Times

Avatar Flight of Passage had its longest waits of the month today, with an average wait time of 72 minutes. Its 7-day average is 65 minutes and its 30-day average is 48 minutes.  But it’s still only the 155th-busiest day of the past year at Flight of Passage, so let’s keep that in context. Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain had an average wait time today of 36 minutes. Its 7-day average is 35 minutes, so today ranks #2 for this week. Its 30-day average is 27 minutes, so today ranks #5 for the past month.

Kilimanjaro Safaris had an average wait time today of 25 minutes. Its 7-day average is 23 minutes, so today ranks #3 for this week. Its 30-day average is 20 minutes, so today ranks #7 for the past month. Kali River Rapids had an average wait time today of 26 minutes, good for #4 for the week, #7 for the month, and #60 for the past year (keep in mind that it was closed for half the summer).

Actual wait times at the Animal Kingdom averaged around 63% of the posted wait today, so a posted wait of 45 minutes at It’s Tough to Be a Bug … who am I kidding?  A posted wait of 10 minutes at It’s Tough to Be a Bug would’ve resulted in an actual wait of around 6 minutes.

That’s a lot of wait times, isn’t it? If you’d like to be ahead of the curve and know which attractions are best to visit at what time of the day then become a TouringPlans Subscriber and use our Lines app.

The post Midweek Brings Lower Magic Kingdom Crowds – Walt Disney World Wait Times for Wednesday, October 14, 2020 appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Walt Disney World (FL), wait time

With reduced hours, and long daylight hours in the summer, it has been a long while since we’ve seen Magic Kingdom it all its glory at night. Even though the park hours are shorter right now, Magic Kingdom does stay open until 8:00 p.m. on select weekends. With fall being in full swing, and reduced hours, this combination made it possible for Chrissy on our team to capture some of the beauty that only Magic Kingdom at night brings.

We miss the nighttime spectaculars. We miss the cool evening weather and a stroll around the park as brilliant, colorful lights fill the skies. So while we wait for those magical times to return to Walt Disney World, let’s take a glimpse at some of the night time enchantment that still lingers at Magic Kingdom.

The last hour or so of park operation is one of the best times to enjoy the Disney theme parks. Not only is it visually a beautiful time, there are also reduced crowds with shorter wait times. Make the most of this magical time by becoming a TouringPlans Subscriber and using our Lines app to see optimize your visit and spend less time waiting in line.

When was the last time you got to enjoy night time at Magic Kingdom?

The post PHOTOS: Enjoy Magic Kingdom’s Evening Glow appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Dos and Don’ts, In the Parks, Magic Kingdom, Photos and Video, best time to visit magic kingdom, Cinderella Castle, Disney photos, magic kingdom at night, magic kingdom photos

Perhaps the title for this post should be: What’s the right time to ride Disney World attractions for your body clock?

TouringPlans parks reporter Chrissy and I recently did a head to head comparison of touring plan use vs. non-use at the Magic Kingdom. Chrissy used a tested touring plan and I experienced attractions in physical order, counterclockwise around the park, starting in Tomorrowland.

From a time management standpoint, Chrissy’s use of a tested touring plan is absolutely the way to go. She was able to experience more attractions in a shorter amount of time, with more rest breaks. On the other hand, I did a lot less walking as I went on the attractions as I encountered them.

While we had different overall experiences, in an ideal world I would not have done either version, because neither of these methods was right for my body clock and circadian rhythm.

For example, we each started off with a roller coaster style attraction; Chrissy with Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and me with Space Mountain. Mine Train and Space Mountain are both fun rides, but neither are the sort that I personally prefer to do first thing in the morning. I like to ease into my day more gently, without lots of jostling right after breakfast.

A few minutes after my test-day turn on Space Mountain, I ended up at the nearby Carousel of Progress. This attraction is a favorite of mine. But here too, the emotional timing seemed off. For me, the perfect time to experience Carousel of Progress is mid-afternoon – a relaxing amusement to get you off your feet and out of the sun. Experiencing CoP before 10:00 a.m. seemed like a loss of momentum when I should have been ramping up for a busy day.

Both Chrissy and I visited Haunted Mansion in the middle part of the day, but in my perfect world, that would be my last attraction, particularly if the sun was down as I left. The darkness would extend the mood of the attraction as I left the park.

Obviously this is all subjective. If you asked my daughter Josie what she likes to start her Disney day with, she would happily volunteer Space Mountain as a great place to start. She likes some action to wake her up first thing in the morning. She prefers to end her day with Splash Mountain because she doesn’t like walking around the park after having gotten, well, splashed.

So my question to you is, if this were a perfect world and all the rides were walk-ons, what would be your personal ideal order of attractions? How would you order your Magic Kingdom “mix tape”?

Would you start with the ride equivalent of hard rock, or would you open with a gentle ballad? Do you want the middle to be a soothing break, or do you want that to be the high energy time? What attraction is your version of a goodnight lullaby?

Let us know in the comments!

 

The post What’s Your Right Time to Ride Disney World Attractions? appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Just For Fun, Walt Disney World (FL), touring plan