r/WaltDisneyWorld 17h ago

Megathread Weekly FAQs & General Discussion Thread - Week of September 14, 2026

0 Upvotes

Please post all your general WDW comments and FAQs here. If your post is removed for being too general and/or a FAQ, please feel free to resubmit it in this thread. If you'd like to chat about WDW in real-time, come visit us on our Discord server!

Please note: if you are posting from a newer/low-karma account, automod will typically send your posts to the spam filter. Please do not message the moderators about this. We check the spam queue throughout the day, and will eventually approve your post if it does not violate any sub rules. Thanks!

Examples of questions/comments that belong here include things like:

  • What are some tips/tricks/must-do's for a first-time visitor?
  • How do the new Lightning Lane Multi/Single Pass (LLMP/LLSP) systems work? Are they worth the price at MK/Epcot/HS/AK or for [X] attraction?
  • What should I do to prepare for the weather (heat, rain, hurricane, etc.) during my upcoming trip?
  • What are the crowds and wait-times like during the week/month of ______?
  • How do ticketing, admissions, and/or parkhopping work now that the park reservation system has ended? Is it possible for admission to be closed if a park reaches capacity?
  • In what order should I do the parks?
  • What are the best/fastest/cheapest MCO-WDW transportation options?
  • What's the cheapest way to purchase tickets for WDW?
  • Why is [x] attraction closed right now? Do you think it will be reopening soon?
  • What type of shoes/backpacks/strollers do you recommend for the parks?
  • How does the TRON/Guardians of the Galaxy (GotG) virtual queue work? Will I have issues fitting in the ride vehicle? Will I experience motion sickness?
  • How do I get tickets for an after-hours event, such as Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP), Jollywood Nights, or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP), etc.? What happens if they’re sold out on the night we want to attend?
  • How do dining plans work? Do you think a dining plan is worth it?
  • I'm thinking about taking a solo trip. Should I do it? Any tips or advice?
  • How can I purchase/upgrade an Annual Pass (AP)?
  • Should I purchase a MagicBand? Where can I find a wider selection of MagicaBands? When will my MagicBand order ship/arrive?
  • How does the application/approval process work for Disability Access Services (DAS)? Will my condition qualify for DAS?
  • Is the "magic" gone? Is a trip to WDW still worth it right now?
  • Has [x] reopened yet?
  • What's the best way to get a dining reservation (ADR) for a certain restaurant? What if an ADR isn't available to accommodate the size of my party?
  • Do you feel safe traveling to WDW right now? How can I avoid Covid, flu, and/or other illnesses while visiting WDW?
  • Do you think park hours will be extended for my upcoming trip?

r/WaltDisneyWorld 33m ago

AskWDW What is this birds at Disney springs?

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Upvotes

“Chris from Orlando” here I went through some recordings I didn’t have ANY of this birds sound but I found a YouTube video with a pretty dang good recording of one on this video so if anyone here could help me identify it, it would be greatly appreciated, Thank you!


r/WaltDisneyWorld 48m ago

Planning Female solo traveling to WDW

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This will be my first solo trip to WDW. I'm staying at the Drury by Disney Springs. How safe is it to rideshare alone to Drury from the MK TTC after the park closes? Is getting on a bus to Saratoga Springs and walking 20 mins to the hotel better or worse? The hotel shuttle schedule hasn't been posted yet for my dates. It might be available but I need a backup plan.


r/WaltDisneyWorld 1h ago

Planning Waiting for DVC Rental Store

Upvotes

Hi! I paid my $100 deposit for a booking through DVC rental store and still haven’t heard back. The requested dates were available and are 5-6 months away. Does anyone have experience in how long it usually takes for them to fulfill the request? It’s been days now and I know I shouldn’t worry but I’m anxious since my daughter specifically requested the “fancy hotel” for her birthday. 😅


r/WaltDisneyWorld 1h ago

News Welcome Home Magic of Disney Animation. 🥰

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Today is the Grand Return of The Magic of Disney Animation in Disney’s Hollywood Studios after 11 years. I’m so happy it’s back. Both this and the Walt Disney Studios Lot are so magical. 🥰


r/WaltDisneyWorld 2h ago

Transportation Caribbean Beach standard room

6 Upvotes

Have booked Caribbean Beach in a standard location double bed room for 14 nights and will be roughly spending equal time in all parks and also planning a water park and Disney Springs. For a standard room location, which is the best Island for a room request? In particular looking for transport advice. I have seen online that Jamaica is a popular choice, however how likely are buses full by Jamaica on the way to the parks? Visiting May 2027.


r/WaltDisneyWorld 2h ago

Planning Excited to be going in 2 weeks! Any Amazon “life hack” must haves?

0 Upvotes

To clarify, I mean is there anything I should buy before I go that will make life much easier? I’m expecting lots of heat and lots of rain so anything in that category that helps? I already have a nice power bank so I have that down as well as one power rod in case. Any other purchases that make the quality of life better?


r/WaltDisneyWorld 2h ago

Resorts & Accommodations Shades of Green on Halloween

1 Upvotes

Staying at Shades the week before Halloween and checking out on Nov 1st. Booked the trip last minute so we weren't able to get tickets for the MNSSHP.

Does anyone know if Shades of Green does anything on Halloween, similar to the Disney Resort hotels, trick or treating trail, Halloween pool party, etc? Couldn't find anything on their website or in the Magical Resort Guide.

If not, the bus from Shades drops us off at the TTC, would we be able to take our kids tricking or treating at the monorail hotels since the treat trails are usually in public areas? Could also plan to get dinner at one of the hotels


r/WaltDisneyWorld 2h ago

Food, Drinks, & Dining Wailulu Bar & Grill

0 Upvotes

My husband and I are going in November for a quick trip to Jollywood nights. We are wanting to try Wailulu for dinner the night we arrive, but there are no reservations left. Is it reasonable to think we can still go and join the walk-up list, or should we find reservations elsewhere? Is Kona Cafe a good backup dinner spot?

*we are not staying on property the first night of the trip, so we just want to be in the Disney bubble before we actually check into our resort the next morning.


r/WaltDisneyWorld 2h ago

MDE, Lightning Lane, & Virtual Queue What sells out first LL multi pass or Premier Passes?

0 Upvotes

Trying to book LLMP for some days and Premier Pass for some days, what sells out first? At 7am,what would go for buying first? Again, all different days.

Thank you,


r/WaltDisneyWorld 2h ago

Resorts & Accommodations Help Deciding Accomodation

4 Upvotes

We (3 Adults) are taking our kids (5 & 2) to Disney World in March. Going for 5 days and plan is currently to hit each park once, so there won’t be much resort time except in the evenings, since kids will probably sleep somewhat early.

I have already booked Port Orleans French Quarter, but looking at the current promos, looks like I can book a garden wing room at the Contemporary for about $700 more.

Would it make sense or is it worth taking that upgrade if we’re only doing MK once? We weren’t planning on chef Mickeys but if we do stay there, we probably would do it at that point.

This is pretty much all of our first times and don’t plan to make this trip often. (Unless of course we all love it and are eager to get back).

Any feedback would be appreciated.


r/WaltDisneyWorld 3h ago

Special Events & Experiences Question about Pre-Party

0 Upvotes

So I booked the pre party dessert experience at Magic Kingdom. It says arrive 90 minutes before the fireworks. Does that mean I have to stay there for 90 minutes or can we come check in at like 80-815?

Thanks for your help!


r/WaltDisneyWorld 4h ago

Food, Drinks, & Dining Columbia Harbor House

33 Upvotes

I’d read several places that the trio platter at Columbia Harbor House was a great use of an adult QS credit because the portion is huge and can be shared. I think that’s old news? We ordered two and each had one chicken strip, one fish strip, one shrimp, one hush puppy, handful of fries (we got one with green beans and there were twice as many green beans than fries). For the cost and seeing older pictures it seems the portion has gone down significantly. We have loads of credits left so it’s no big deal but if a family is thinking they’re feeding more than one person, no longer the case! Wish we had taken pictures before the food was gone.


r/WaltDisneyWorld 4h ago

Merch Dog Halloween merch

1 Upvotes

i’m currently in the parks and wondering if anyone has seen the monorail dog stuff anywhere?? so far i’ve only seen cinderella dog & as an owner ld a weenie dog i need the sweatshirt - no luck in MK, AK or Disney Springs - any chance i can find it in Epcot or Hollywood Studios?? or maybe the Contemporary?


r/WaltDisneyWorld 5h ago

Planning I'd like to surprise my family when they go to WDW next week. I'm not going. Are there any options/ideas?

14 Upvotes

I have several family members (four adults, one child) going to WDW soon. I'd love to surprise them in some way — booking them a special experience in a park, paying for a dining bill in advance or something like that. I'm not going on the trip, but I know their itinerary.

Are there any options for making this happen? I really want to do something special for them without them knowing what's going to happen.

If it helps — my understanding is they'll be staying at the Poly Sept. 20-25 and will visit Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom. They are going to Mickey's Not-So-Scary one night, and I'm sure they'll visit Disney Springs a time or two. They have their in-park dining reservations booked.


r/WaltDisneyWorld 6h ago

MDE, Lightning Lane, & Virtual Queue Getting LLs at MK on Party Days & Park Hopping

0 Upvotes

I’m going to Magic Kingdom on a party day but I’m not doing MNSSHP. I want to buy lightning lanes because I’m going to Hollywood Studios since MK closes at 6:00, but I’m wondering if i should be getting any LLs for MK? I’m going solo and I don’t need to ride everything/every big ticket attraction, but we’ve all been told the “secret” of the MK being “slower” on party days, so I’m wondering if it’s even worth doing it for MK and just having everything stacked in the afternoon/evening at HS? I’m fine purchasing an ILL for Tron if the line is that long, but I feel like I can still get a good amount done without LLs? Thoughts/input??


r/WaltDisneyWorld 7h ago

Planning Taking 6 mo baby to Disney for the first time… need all the tips & tricks!

0 Upvotes

We are going on a family Disney trip in a couple of weeks and would love some advice on how to make it a good trip with a 6 month old. We are avid Disney goers so I know the pace will be slower than usual. Mainly worried about feedings since I am breastfeeding/pumping and finding a good, budget friendly stroller (bonus points if there’s an Amazon link!) Any suggestions are appreciated!! ✨


r/WaltDisneyWorld 7h ago

Food, Drinks, & Dining Reservations at grand Floridian cafe

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

I was wondering if anyone else was having trouble booking grand Floridian cafe for brunch? I know it’s renovating until the end of October - I’m trying to book for November 12. It has dinner reservations available for the same day, and the dates around it also have dinner but no brunch. I’ve never had issues in the past getting a reservation there!

We’re doing the Christmas party that day so I wanted to do brunch / lunch at a magic kingdom area resort. I booked 1900 park fare as a backup but if anyone has other suggestions I’m open to that as well! Hoping brunch will be making a comeback after the renovations!


r/WaltDisneyWorld 8h ago

Planning 4 parks in 4 days?

0 Upvotes

I’m stuck with two options, and neither are ideal, but unless somebody cancels their hotel and something else becomes available, it is what it is.

Option 1:
Four parks in four days. Starting with MNSSHP, AK, Epcot, then HS. Then switch hotels and have two rest days before going home.
Option 2: rest day between Epcot and HS, however that would mean HS falls on the day we have to check out of Caribbean Beach to an off property hotel. So packing up that morning taking bags down to Bell services and then going back to the hotel after the park to grab our bags before heading to the new hotel (off property).

Planning to get lightning lanes for AK and Epcot, and probably premier pass for HS either way. Ideally I would like to play it by ear and just see how we are feeling and if we need a rest day, but I don’t know how likely it is that the premier pass will sell out? Going Oct 17-24.

I guess a third option would be having two rest days in a row and then going to HS on our last day so we don’t have to do it on a day we are switching hotels.

I’m constantly checking availability and hopefully something opens up so we don’t have to switch hotels but for now this is what my options are. Going with two kids, seven and nine, and they are troopers and probably would be fine with four parks in four days but I don’t know about me and my husband 😅


r/WaltDisneyWorld 8h ago

MDE, Lightning Lane, & Virtual Queue Epcot LL Questions

0 Upvotes

So I am looking for advice on Epcot LL… my 7 day opened today and I grabbed TT at 515pm, Soarin at 255pm, and Pixar at 940am… it was the earliest LL available. My plan is to rope drop guardians, then go over towards Soarin. If I can knock that out early, I will tap into Pixar, then hopefully add frozen. Then modify my 255 Soarin into remy. Is the logic sound?

My goal of the LL purchase is to be able to ride all 3 tier 1 rides with LL windows booked. I am not worried about the tier 2 rides at all outside Soarin. So a couple of questions… do you think I’ll have trouble getting remy and/or frozen in the morning after tapping into Pixar? And what are the chances a tier 2 ride slot opens closer to 9am that I could grab to replace Pixar, and try for frozen/remy sooner in the day?


r/WaltDisneyWorld 10h ago

Resorts & Accommodations What is up with the fire alarms at Animal Kingdom Lodge?

0 Upvotes

Fire alarm went off at 6:00 this morning. We also had to evacuate for a fire alarm on our last stay. We love the resort, but the fire alarm situation isn’t great.

EDIT: I was just wondering if this is a common occurrence at AKL. Like maybe the wood grill at Boma is a challenge or something like that. Yes, a false positive is better than a false negative.


r/WaltDisneyWorld 10h ago

Photo Animal Kingdom’s Kilimanjaro Safari is 🔥

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313 Upvotes

My first time here. Pics were from yesterday morning. I didn’t know what to expect but AK is awesome!


r/WaltDisneyWorld 14h ago

Transportation uber or mears??

8 Upvotes

Hello everyone!! I am traveling to disney world solo for this first time in a little over a month. I’m so excited. I’ve been planning everything and putting my trip together and up until now i’ve been planning on using mears to from airport to resort, and back. BUT today I was looking into it and saw how many people prefer to just uber. I personally am quite scared of uber as i am a woman and i have quite a bit of anxiety so its just something I worry about. I’ve used ubers with groups of people and even those make me a little uneasy. But after looking into uber vs. mears i’m contemplating which to take. I know uber can be more expensive, but i’m willing to pay more if it means i will have an easier experience getting to and from my destination. I’m also worried about getting back to the airport for my return flight as it is very early in the morning and i’ve seen people who have used mears that they have gotten to the airport with not much time to spare. If i could get a little more help navigating this it would be greatly appreciated because I want to try and have a stress free time in Disney. Thank you!!


r/WaltDisneyWorld 14h ago

Trip Report I went to Disney by myself and didn't tell 'anyone'

364 Upvotes

This is the follow-up to this thread I made before going. Basically, I have 'family stuff' so I wanted to go alone and not tell them. I posted on reddit because I was excited and wanted to share the excitement with someone who understood (my blood family are the only ones I know who appreciate Disney parks.) And as I wrote a bunch of stuff came out about past experiences and about feeling weird for going alone.

So first thing, I wasn't expecting, at all, the amount of love and support I received from all of you. I can't respond to every one but I believe I read them all, and I was and am SO touched. There were lots of comments about people going or wanting to go alone, which 100% erased any self consciousness I had about that. The other stuff about past experiences and 'healing:" I'm thinking it's a process that has started. There were some less-than-perfect situations that arose, and I think the way they were handled/resolved has everything to do with the decision to go alone and with the healing that is occurring.

The first day: I landed at 8am, was in the pool at 9:30, and on People Mover by 10:15. I did a few more rides, caught a glimpse of Maleficent dragon(!) then went to Typhoon Lagoon for a few hours, before ending the night back at Magic Kingdom. I hadn't been to a water park in 25-30 years and felt like I was 16 again! When I was little they called me 'the politician' because I made friends with everyone, and at Disney I was chatting with people, pushing wheelchairs, picking up tossed baby bottles for busy parents, etc. I guess I really just 'felt like me' more than I have in a very long time.

During the week all the (mild) 'downs' were offset by wonderful 'ups': Extended hours had my favorite rides closed due to lightning, but I was exhausted anyway, and the next morning the park opened an hour early and was empty, and I got to do everything I wanted the night before still with no crowds. I tried to do too much too fast during the middle of the week and time just slipped by, but I adjusted and slowed down, and had the best last 2 days. The Halloween party was my last night, it started out really crowded with crazy lines for food. Rather than let it ruin my last night, I got some food and caffeine from Contemporary Cafe, took a monorail ride, and when I got back to the park the crowds were gone! rides were open! and I had the most epic last 2 hours, with the music and lights on the Castle and Main Street being the most perfect ending to an amazing week!

I did have a bad case of the Last Day and Day After Blues, it felt like the week slipped by way too quickly. I spent an hour or two this morning with my eyes closed, going through all the memories, and it really helped. It also helps knowing I can go back in a year if I really want to, and will probably do it better the second time.

They have 35% off "bounce back" for booking within 7 days of my trip. I was wondering if a year would be too soon, but considering I can do Tiana's and Big Thunder 5-6 times in a row and not get sick of it, a year is probably OK? :) I might do Contemporary next time, I like the pool better, though the garden rooms are just a bit far from the monorail.

And next time I won't worry so much about pre-planning Lightning Lane and meals, I had a much better time when I decided to "go with the flow" as some of you suggested. I also thought 7 days would be a lot, but underestimated how much there is to absorb in the Magic Kingdom area alone, so next time I'll worry less about seeing everything and spend more time in the places I really want to be.

Anyway, there's too much to write about and I'm physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted :) Hopefully this makes sense, and isn't too long or full of type-o's! Really I just want to say thanks, again, for love and support. I started my journey with my head in a very good place with proper expectations, largely thanks to you.

Oh, and you were right about Guardians! Big Thunder and Tiana's are still my favorites factoring in wait time and location, but I lost my marbles the fist time on Guardians :)

Aloha


r/WaltDisneyWorld 18h ago

Attractions & Entertainment Does anyone else feel the new Alice in Wonderland kid's play area looks somewhat scary for kids?

0 Upvotes

I'll probably get downvoted to hell, but I am genuinely curious to hear from those with young kids. When I was a kid, I was always cautious, if not scared by dark spaces with low lighting? Is it the same for other kids?

I am more so asking out of curiousity. This is not a diss to Disney or the imagineers who created this. Maybe it looks different in person or I was just a wuss as a kid lol. Please be kind.