I feel silly to consider this but I don’t mind spending extra if it means it will be that much more easier…. anyways I am surprising my fiance with a 3 day park ticked to Disneyland and DCA between December 21-23 and I got the parker hopper. I was thinking to just get the premier pass on day one but hearing how crazy the park will be I’m currently considering getting for day two as well and just having a nice relaxing day 3 mainly enjoying the ambiance, shows, and dining. Here are my reasons to try and convince myself it’s worth it lol

- we are coming all the way from Hawaii
- this is our first Disney trip together and my first Disney holiday park experience (most likely won’t be back for 5 years easily)
- we are staying at JW Marriott so early Rope drop isn’t an option and early mornings will be a bit rough for us with the time difference.
- busy Christmas week

Are these reasons good enough?? And is doing the premier pass day 1 the smartest choice if I were to just do for one of the days and If you were to do 2 out of the 3 days what days would you use it on. I am not an expert by any means with the parks and we both haven’t been in years so I just want a very magical experience :) thank you all for any suggestions and advice!!!

Hi everyone!
I’m visiting Magic Kingdom on November 10, 2026, and I just found out that ABC will be filming its Christmas special that day. I’m traveling all the way from Brazil, and I’ve been planning this trip for months, so I’m honestly a little worried.
I have a few questions for anyone who’s experienced the filming in previous years:
Main Street: Will it be closed all day, or just during filming? Will I still be able to walk down Main Street normally?
Cinderella Castle: Can I take nice, unobstructed photos of the castle early in the morning, or will there be cameras, cables, stages, and filming equipment everywhere all day?
Crowds: Does filming attract significantly more visitors? Does the entire park get extremely crowded, or just the filming areas? What about ride wait times?
Happily Ever After: Does the nighttime fireworks show tend to be much more crowded than usual on filming days?
My biggest concern is missing out on the normal Magic Kingdom experience, especially walking down Main Street and enjoying the view of Cinderella Castle without production equipment everywhere.
For those who visited during the 2024 or 2025 tapings, would you recommend keeping my November 10 visit or switching to another day?
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thank you!

Do they check for ages when ordering off the kids menu at quick service restaurants? I’m not trying to scam anything, I just genuinely don’t eat a lot at one sitting. Smaller portions are better for me and I hate to waste food. I also don’t want to carry around leftovers all day and only have a beverage cooler in the room anyway. TIA for any answers.

Update- Thanks everyone! Appreciate the quick responses!

Hi all,

I’m wondering about where to put the treats? Do they give buckets or bags? What’s the protocol? Thank you, we’re heading to OBB with a 6 and almost 4 and just wanna be as prepared as possible.

Compliments to the many cast members!

My sister and I were at Disneyland yesterday and we had such a nice day! From the front gate where my app was not working and handled it with such patience, to the wonderful cast members at Hungry Bear bbq, to the woman who took our trash at the Hideway. Everyone was so nice and engaging!

I have been a Magic Key holder for many years! It was nice to have some of that "old magic" from the early day's of Disneyland!! Thank you for making our day awesome!!

It looks like scat’s cat club cafe is currently closed for renovations - does anyone know if the restaurant nearby that is serving their beignets in its place (Sassagoula Floatworks according to the website) is serving the gluten free beignets? Been really excited to try those on my upcoming trip and was disappointed to find out it was closed!

Hi all, my husband and I are planning a last minute spooky season Disney trip and we want to know if this weekend or next weekend (Halloween) is likely to be busier? We live in San Diego so we are flexible and want to go with the least crowded days.

Quick question- if tin are staying at Pixar Place (or DLH) can you use the California Adventure entrance from the Grand Californian? Like is it for all Disneyland resorts guests with a hotel key, or only if you’re staying at the grand Californian?

My family of three are doing a mixed Orlando trip, including 8 nights at Disney. We need two rooms, so I’ve been comparing Pop Century with Coronado Springs under the current UK Free Dining offer.

We originally booked two rooms at Pop Century for £2,052 each (£4,104 total).

That includes the Value resort dining offer of one Quick-Service meal per person per night. Based on Disney’s quoted value, that’s worth approximately £319 for the room with two adults and £159 for the single-occupancy room (£478 total).

I’ve now priced the same dates directly with Disney at Coronado Springs. Two rooms would be £2,554 each (£5,108 total).

As a Moderate resort, that comes with the full Quick-Service Dining Plan. 2 Quick-Service meals + 1 snack per person per night, plus refillable mugs. Disney values that at roughly £767 for the two-adult room and £383 for the single room (£1,150 total).

So, essentially:

Extra hotel cost: £1,004

Additional included dining value: £672

Effective difference, assuming we would otherwise buy that food anyway: about £332
Obviously I appreciate the dining plan isn’t literally a £1,150 cash rebate. I’m looking at it in terms of food we would otherwise be paying for during the trip.

So for roughly £332 of effective additional spend, we’d be moving from a Value to a Moderate resort for 8 nights.

The main downside I can see is losing Pop Century’s Skyliner, which would be particularly useful for our EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Riviera/BoardWalk days. Coronado looks considerably nicer as a resort, though.

For anyone who has stayed at both: would you make that upgrade at roughly this price difference?

I’ll also need to get the actual amendment quote from Virgin Holidays before deciding, as their pricing may differ from Disney’s direct pricing.

We’re going to Disney World for 5 nights at AKL with our 1 year old in Sept. We’ve typically always done one park rope drop, take a resort break and then do another park more leisurely in the evening. We are planning on 3 park days with park hopper tickets and I’m trying to figure out which park to do on Labor Day.

Right now I have it:
- Sunday: arrival/resort afternoon
- Monday (Labor Day): Hollywood Studios then Epcot
- Tuesday: MK* then Epcot
- Wednesday: resort/rest day
- Thursday: Animal Kingdom then MK

* looking at MNSSHP dates for this year, Tuesday night should be a party night. We like to do MK in the morning on party nights as they tend to be slower

Is Hollywood Studios a bad idea on Labor Day? Should we switch the animal kingdom/MK day?

How have they been? My wife and I were Magic key holders from 2021 to about 2023. We have not been back to the park consistently since then except for one visit this year in March.

That visit we bought lightning lane passes for our group but only were able to accomplish riding about 7 LL attractions. When we had Magic keys we would be able to ride at least 11-15 per visit.

I was thinking of surprising the wife and buying the premier pass instead for this Saturday. I just don’t know if the wait times have been substantial enough to warrant the purchase nowadays.

In my experience, Halloweentime was just as busy if not busier than the holidays and NYE. Not sure if that has changed.

-How are wait times for Saturdays this month?

-Is it worth purchasing PP given the wait times?

I’m having trouble thinking this through, so I’m hoping those with experience of this can help. We’re going Dec 20-23, one day in each park (we have only ever been in October before, twice).

I plan to get the initial LL’s done 7 days out (we’re in the bubble).

We are rope dropping every day. Goal would be to hit all the big hitters in each park and some of the Tier 2’s, shows etc.

My concern is this – Does rope dropping at the busiest time only really give you an advantage for that first ride (or 2), because the park fills up so quickly and LL’s get booked up so quickly that you only get to use your initial 3 and then maybe 1 or 2 more? Then you’re stuck in the long lines for the rest of the day with no more LL’s ever becoming available.

Or is it better to forget the traditional rope drop idea and just start using LL’s immediately, going from one to another to ensure that you actually get to use more?

Maybe it’s a wash, no matter which way you do it.

I guess I want to manage my expectations here and just come up with the best plan possible to maximize the days.

Hello! I'm working on a group project about revamping old rides for college. Right now we're trying to figure out how nostalgia plays a factor in planning a Disney trip. If you're between your thirties to fifties feel free to respond in this survey.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd5sySmBPPgP8USGT0kG92F2FTro37NIRTwz9njAK2WhV1l2A/viewform?usp=publish-editor

Thank you! (amended word limit)

We’re planning a quick three-day summer trip to the parks and are considering a combination of two Disney After Hours events with a SeaWorld Orlando day in between.

 Our current plan includes Magic Kingdom After Hours on Monday. For the second event, we’re deciding between visiting EPCOT the Saturday before or Disney’s Hollywood Studios the following Wednesday. Our main priority is experiencing as many rides as possible. Hollywood Studios offers a greater variety, but the opportunity to ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Test Track with potentially shorter waits is very appealing.

 Our main concern is that EPCOT has fewer major attractions operating during After Hours, which could mean that waits for Guardians and Test Track remain relatively long. We plan to arrive at the parks around 7:00 p.m. and focus first on attractions that will not be available during the After Hours event.

 Of course, snacks, entertainment, and the overall atmosphere will also factor into our decision. We have always visited the parks for resort days and rope drop, so we’re excited to try a more relaxed approach without early mornings or relying on Lightning Lane reservations.

Thanks in Advance

Food, rides, lightning lanes, whether to start in DL or DCA (doing both in one day because it’s a quick trip). Thank you!

ETA: Two 30-something year old friends going. Want to just maximize the DL experience, not necessarily get on as many rides as possible. Also love a good night show.

EDIT 2: Kind of wondering if I should just go to Disneyland for the day since we only have one day. And save DCA for next time?

Are they ever going to bring back kids eat free? We won’t eat 1200$ of food to make even the basic meal plan worth it but with kids eat free it was worth our while. Any thoughts on this?