Category: Other

If you’ve been seeing our posts about low wait times during this era of COVID concerns, or if you’re watching our Crowd Calendar, you probably know by now that weekends are busy. We’re seeing a big difference in crowds and wait times on the weekends at Magic Kingdom. Thankfully our Lines App makes it easy for you to save time and know which attractions to visit when, in real-time, as data adjusts throughout the day.

Let’s take a look at this is the first weekend with Halloween in full swing at Magic Kingdom.

Mask Compliance and Enforcement Still Going Strong at Disney

One concern many of us have when it gets busier at the parks is if it becomes challenging for physical distancing and mask compliance. During yesterday’s visit our team observed a handful of guests not wearing their masks properly. In each instance they observed a Cast Member asking them to wear the mask properly. We continue to see that physical distancing is best when there are floor markers.

Halloween Character Cavalcades Are Crowd Pleasers

We sometimes get asked on social media and our Liners chat for the schedule of character cavalcades at Magic Kingdom and other parks. The schedule is not published in order to deter guests from lining up and crowding in anticipation of the characters. With the new Halloween cavalcades we’ve seen more guests than before stopping to watch. For the most part physical distancing is still followed, but it does take some vigilance during the Halloween cavalcades.

Wait Times Do Not Drop Off as Dramatically With Shortened Hours

The last hour or two of park operations have typically always been a good time to get some rides in as wait times diminish. While we are seeing wait times still tapering off during the last hour, with park closing now moved back an hour the decrease in wait times is not as dramatic. Our team has observed a lot more people lingering in the park just before and after official park closing.

You can view the entire day’s worth of observed and Actual Wait Times from yesterday on our site. Our Liners can report their Actual Wait Times into the Lines app, helping to add real-time data. In the graph below you can see the Actual Wait Times on Pirates of the Caribbean yesterday by looking at the green dots.

In many cases there were longer wait times yesterday than during Labor Day Weekend. With Magic Kingdom getting busier on weekends, with shorter hours to boot, it is becoming increasingly important visit with a solid plan in place.

Subscribers to our Lines app get access to Expected Wait Times compared to Disney’s Posted Wait Times. With shorter hours this kind of information is even more helpful so you can maximize your day, knowing which attractions to visit when in order to have the shortest wait possible.

What’s your favorite attraction at Magic Kingdom? Do you have plans to visit soon?

The post A Busy Saturday at Magic Kingdom – Wait Times, Mask Compliance, and More appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Dos and Don’ts, Halloween, In the Parks, Magic Kingdom, Cinderella Castle, disney covid, disney halloween, magic kingdom crowd, magic kingdom crowd calendar, magic kingdom halloween, magic kingdom wait times

It’s time to Fall Into Magic at Disney Springs. We love this time of year. There’s so many great seasonal treats throughout Disney Springs, plus decorations and festive shopping too.

Here’s some of our team’s favorite fall treats at Disney Springs that we’ve enjoyed so far.

Oktobertfest Poutine from  – $9.99 (a hit)

If you’re going to load up on seasonal sugary treats, it’s best to start off with something savory. The Daily Poutine is one of my personal favorite spots at Disney Springs. Thick cut fries are topped with cheese curds, stout gravy, bratwurst sausage, and sauerkraut. You certainly need to be a fan of German food, but if you are you’ll enjoy this pile of yummy Oktoberfest flavors. Pairs nicely with a cold beer.

Oogie Boogie Worms and Dirt from Aristocrepes –  $4.99 (just okay – best for kids)

If your kiddo is along for the Disney Springs fall adventure, the Oogie Boogie Worms and Dirt is for them. Chocolate pudding, chocolate cookie “dirt” and gummy worms are layered and topped with more gummy worms. It’s a sugary sensation that will please younger palates. And it sure does photograph well. Head to AristoCrepes at Disney Springs Marketplace for this one.

Seasonal Baked Goods from Goofy’s Candy Company – $4.99 – $6.99 (a hit)

Also at Disney Springs Marketplace is Goofy’s Candy Company. This sweet shop is a staple of Disney Springs. The display case is a Halloween fan’s dream. Full of bright orange, yellow, purple, and green you can select from cookies, candy and caramel apples, cupcakes, and even crisped rice treats that resemble pumpkin pie. You really cannot go wrong with whatever you choose. Our team picked up some seasonal frosted sugar cookies. Each one is large enough for three people to split.

Bite-Sized Chocolate Skulls from The Ganachery -$15.00 (a hit)

It is a rare occasion that The Ganachery Chocolate Shoppe disappoints. We were eager to try the new PB&J S’More, but the wait was quite long, which is no surprise. The s’mores at The Ganachery are made-to-order and a grown-up gourmet version of this classic childhood treat. Our team picked up some Bite-Size Chocolate Skulls instead, which come in a box of four; it works out to about $3.75 a piece which is on par with the truffles and other chocolate treats available here. Besides being gorgeous, the dark chocolate is rich and decadent, and the chocolate caramel ganache is smooth.

This is just a sampling of the fall snacks and treats that await at Disney Springs. Another big hit for us are the fall desserts at Amorette’s Patisserie; you can read our review here.

If you want a few tricks up your sleeves to make your Walt Disney World trip a real treat, then become a TouringPlans subscriber.

Are you planning on visiting Disney Springs to enjoy the fall offerings?

The post Here’s Some of the MUST-Have Fall Treats at Disney Springs appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Disney Springs, Halloween, Snacks, Trip Planning, best disney snacks, disney dining, disney halloween, Disney Snacks

This month we introduced Lines 2.0, an update to our fantastic trip planning and wait time app for Walt Disney World. Today we want to walk you through how to create a touring plan in the app that you can use to save time and money in the theme parks.

As a reminder, here are some of the other features you can find in Lines 2.0:

• A modern user interface with support for swiping and touch gestures
• Faster response times for in-app features, such as getting and submitting wait times
• Restaurant and ride ratings with context that says whether it’s worth your time and money
• A chat function where you can talk to thousands of other TouringPlans users, who we lovingly call, Liners, in real time.

Let us know what other tutorial videos you’d like to see!

The post Video: How to Create a Touring Plan in Lines 2.0 appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com
Filed Under: Lines 2.0, Walt Disney World (FL), lines 2.0

There’s no doubt that Disney specialty cupcakes have a dedicated following, and some locations change their variety with regularity. Recently, our field research team stopped in at Creature Comforts (aka Starbucks) at Disney’s Animal Kingdom to see what the latest cupcake treat had been created.

In a subtle nod to the unofficial villain season of Halloween, this cupcake features an Animal Kingdom appropriate white chocolate villain topper in Scar from The Lion King. The cupcake itself is red velvet, with a small dollop of marshmallow fluff in it. The cupcake is absolutely smothered in mounds of chocolate frosting, crispy rice pearls, and white chocolate “grass”.

Although the cake itself is not any more dense than other cupcakes, for some reason, this cupcake felt like a heavier option, and only the heartiest of cupcake connoisseurs will want to try and eat this on their own. At $5.99, this is a good option to split between two or three people.

Like all Disney cupcakes, there’s no telling how long this one will be available for, but if you are a fan of red velvet and chocolate, you’ll want to visit Creature Comforts soon.

Are you a fan of Disney cupcakes? Is red velvet a flavor you’re happy to see? Let us know in the comments.

The post Want This Cupcake? Be Prepared! appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

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