Exploring Disney World: An In-Depth Review of Summer Experiences

This podcast episode elucidates the recent experiences of Lauren Mallard during her extensive eight-day excursion to Disney World in Orlando, providing keen insights into the current dynamics of the theme park landscape amidst ongoing competition with Epic Universe. Lauren articulates her observations regarding crowd levels, which she found surprisingly manageable for the summer season, countering prevalent assumptions about peak tourist congestion during this time. The discussion further encompasses various aspects of her visit, including her family-centric activities, dining experiences, and the evolving atmosphere within the parks, hinting at anticipated developments as Disney strives to maintain its allure in the face of burgeoning competition. Additionally, we delve into pertinent Disney news, including ongoing construction and potential enhancements, signifying a critical juncture for the iconic theme park. Our conversation ultimately emphasizes the significance of strategic planning for prospective visitors while navigating the seasonal offerings at Disney World.

Takeaways:

• In this episode, we explored the intricacies of Lauren's recent eight-day journey to Disney World, emphasizing her observations and experiences within the park.
• We discussed the current state of crowd levels in Disney World, noting a surprisingly less congested atmosphere during the summer months.
• The podcast highlighted the ongoing rivalry between Universal and Disney, particularly in light of the upcoming Epic Universe opening in Orlando.
• We provided insights into the Cool Kids Summer initiative at Walt Disney World, which aims to enhance the experience for families visiting during the summer.
• The conversation touched upon new developments in the parks, including construction efforts and the anticipation surrounding future expansions at Disney.
• Finally, we shared recommendations for navigating park visits effectively, particularly the benefits of using Lightning Lane to mitigate wait times.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Disney
• Epic Universe
• Universal
• Animal Kingdom Lodge
• Hollywood Studios
• Riviera
• Primo Piatto
• Topolino's Terrace

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Foreign.
Of the Wands and Wishes podcast.
Thanks for joining us.
I'm Tony Desiri.
Along with all the magictravels, Lauren Mallard.
And it is the summertime andthat means a Disney report.
Lauren is back from Orlandoafter an eight day stay at Disney
World.
We'll talk about some of thethings that she saw and observed

(00:20):
while the theme park battlecontinues to go on in the Orlando
area.
We'll also do some Disney newsand notes as you all maybe be planning
your Disney vacation this summer.
How are you, Lauren?
I'm good.
How are you?
Again, a Disney eight day trip.
Yeah.
So let's start with the rundown.
How busy was it?
Because I've been hearing alot of reports with Epic Universe

(00:40):
opening.
It's kind of down with the crowds.
Yeah.
You know, I didn't feel thatit was busy any of the days that
we were there.
However, I do try to,especially in the summertime, I try
to take it easy because it'sso hot.
Right.
Got to know that going into itto stay hydrated and just kind of
not plan to do from rope dropto clothes.
And we never did that any day.

(01:01):
But I don't think I felt thatit was crowded in any of the parks,
with the exception of, youknow, I always feel at Animal Kingdom
for one, just back there bythe Lion King and this and the safari.
I just feel like those tworides eat a lot of people and then
when they let them out, itjust feels like a lot of, a lot of
crowds.
But overall, I think, yeah, Imean, it really wasn't too crowded.

(01:24):
Eight days.
How many.
Was it all parks every day ordid you take a few days not doing
that?
Yeah.
You know, this was the longesttrip that I've had in a very long
time.
And the way that it came to beis that my best friend Jennifer and
I decided to take our youngestkids, Cora and Elle.
They're five years old and soit's right before kindergarten.
And we were just going to takethem for three days.

(01:45):
Well, then I had the idea.
Well, my husband and my sonwere going to be gone on a long baseball
tournament.
And so my mom and my young ormy oldest daughter Lily decided to
fly down at the end of thosethree days.
And then we extended anotherfive days.
Oh, very good.
And so the first part of thetrip, the first three days was very

(02:05):
little kid focused.
And we did a lot of little kidthings shows and the carousel and
character dinners.
We can talk about that becauseI did some things that I've never
done before.
And then on the back half ofthe trip, it was more geared towards
some of the bigger kid rideswith Lily.
All right, so I do want to askyou, because you were down in the
Orlando area for such a longtime, what.

(02:26):
And again, I get being in theDisney bubble can kind of shield
you from stuff.
What is the Epic universe versDisney vibe that's going on in the
city right now?
Did you feel that any.
Any at any point?
I did a little bit, onlybecause I could kind of overhear
some people and I did overhearsome people that were at Disney resorts,
because that's where I did stay.

(02:46):
I could overhear someconversations of some people taking
day trips over for Epic.
And so even in just thatregard, I wasn't immersed in over
at Universal, but I did seekind of how people are parlaying
their trips and doing both.
Yeah.
And was there a feeling in theparks, like, okay, look, we're in

(03:06):
order to kind of ramp up forthis theme park battle.
Yeah, we're doing a lot ofthings, and some of this stuff is
not going to be available.
Whether it's this summer 2025,maybe 2026.
Are you starting to sense thenot rebuilding, but sort of the additions
that want to come from DisneyWorld after what we heard at D23?
Yeah, you know, I'm slowlybeginning to see a few things.

(03:28):
You're seeing more walls up inAnimal Kingdom where they are starting
the tropical Americas.
Is that what it's called?
Tropical America is over to be Dino.
The Encanto area, we stillhave dinosaur over there.
We just heard the closing ofBoneyard is coming soon.
And so we're starting to seemore walls over there.
We're also seeing.
I actually saw more walls upcloser around behind Big Thunder

(03:54):
Mountain.
So that when we were on therailroad, I was hoping to kind of
catch a glimpse back there ofwhat was going on, but you really
can't.
But you definitely hear it.
They're back there working.
They're doing something.
And so I did not make it overinto Muppets Courtyar see what was
happening over there.
I don't know if there's beenmuch movement yet, but, yeah, I think
that in all four of the parks,I saw walls of things happening.

(04:18):
I don't know exactly what or when.
And I've given people adviceon this.
If, like, there are somereally good values to go this year.
I know that you look wheneverthings are starting to get shut down
or there's some.
There's things that are goingto be happening.
Yeah, you may not get the full thing.
There may be a ride that shut down.
But we've talked about thisenough times in the podcast.
If everything they shut down,there's always something that got

(04:39):
refurbished.
It's reopening.
Like, track is opening back up.
So you may lose somethinggoing on in Animal Kingdom, but you
might gain a ride that'sgetting refurbished.
They.
They do a very good job ofbalancing that.
But that being said, you know, it's.
It kind of reminds me of,like, a restaurant that's been popular
in a city, and then anotherrestaurant comes in, everybody goes,
oh, that's okay.
I like the competition.
Yeah, but there is competition now.

(05:00):
There definitely is.
You know, I actually saw.
This is not about my trip, butI saw a little photo leaked last
week of Josh tomorrow, and hewas at Universal.
Yeah.
And so it kind of made mewonder, like, what.
What is that about?
Is he going to check out the competition?
Is he going to say, hey, we'restill here, too?
Or, you know, I do think thatthey're realizing that we got to

(05:21):
make some big changes, and wegot to do it sooner than later.
And look, and I'm not naive tothe way economics works.
You get certain budgets.
It's not unlimited money, but,you know, it does.
There is something with thenew world that we live in now, with
social media and peoplevideoing and there's influencers
traveling the world, and thenyou see a ride at Shanghai Disney,

(05:41):
and you go, why am I at my,you know, my home park?
Why am I dealing with 1975technology when the technology is
out there to make this ride agreat experience?
And yet I'm in a dark ridethat I can see the wheels and the
mechanics of it and thingslike that.
And I wonder if, because ofwhat Epic Universe has done, and

(06:01):
one of the things that I wasexcited about with Epic Universe
was, look, this is all goingto be modern rides.
Everything is going to bebuilt in from a 2025 perspective
with technology.
If Jo tomorrow is saying,look, if I need to refurbish some
rides, how do we best do thisin a.
In a.
In a challenging world?
Yeah, absolutely.
And, you know, and also, ifyou think about the fact that we're

(06:22):
told all the time about thefact that Disney is still sitting
on 75% of their land.
Exactly right.
It's like, okay, how long arewe gonna sit on that?
Like, what's the purpose?
Why are we not using it now togo ahead and expand?
Because, I mean, a hundredyears from now, who cares?
Maybe you'll have more moneyat that point to buy more.

(06:44):
But why are we sitting on the land?
Yeah.
How many more hotels can youbuild on that property before you
start going?
Look, there's got to be areason for people to want to stay
at this property.
We need that fifth and youneed that fifth gate.
And there's all these rumorsand everybody's throwing every, all
this stuff out.
But I, I am really, I'minterested in the next 10 years of
where this battle is goingbecause I'm going down in September

(07:06):
and I'm, I've got my eyes andears open to see what might be happening
as Disney now faces some real competition.
And I think you and I talkedabout this a while ago before Orlando
again was back.
You go back to like the 1980s.
It was a two day experience,maybe with Epcot 3.
Yeah.
And then everything else was,well, you're not going to go home.

(07:29):
Right.
You might as well go to Sea World.
You might as well go toBoardwalk and Baseball or Circus
Town or, you know, whatever.
Now Disney was smart.
We're going to keep you in the bubble.
Now Universal can keep them inthe bubble.
Absolutely.
Now you don't have.
I just want to go to Universalone day.
Now it's, I can just stay herethe entire week and get more perks.
And get more perks out of it.
Exactly.
So let's talk about your trip.

(07:49):
Where'd you stay?
How did the, how did you findthe summertime in Walt Disney World?
Yeah, you know, there'ssomething really neat going on this
summer at Walt Disney World.
If you're still looking toplan a trip.
They're doing what's calledCool Kids Summer.
I don't know if you've seenit, but it's kind of centered around
like four different resorts.
And I really didn't takeadvantage of it at our resort.
It was going on at one of our resorts.

(08:11):
But inside each of the parksthere's a section where they're doing
interactive games with kidsdance parties.
Just they're having freeroaming characters, they're doing
hula hoops and music.
And it's just so many funthings that are centered around kids.
Whereas the rest of the timesof the year, especially places like
Epcot, you're more focused on festivals.

(08:32):
This is kind of in between the festivals.
And so they're doing this tokind of bring more kids in for the
summer.
So that being said, that wasreally fun.
But we stayed.
So when we got there for thefirst three nights of the trip, my
friend Jennifer and I And ourgirls, we stayed at Animal Kingdom
Lodge.
Okay, great.
And we had booked a resortview room.
And I asked at check inbecause I always tell people to do

(08:53):
this, I said, hey, you know, Iknow I'm booked in a resort view
room, but I've heard thatthere can be a little partial Savannah
view in some of those and whatare the chances we could get that?
And she said, yeah, you know,if you're willing to wait a little
bit and not have the roomready right away, then I think we
can probably make that work.
And so because of that, weflew in at like 11am we had lunch

(09:13):
down at the quick service atthe resort and we spent the afternoon
at the pool.
And then when our room wasready, it was the most gorgeous Savannah
view.
It was, she obviously upgradedus to a full Savannah view because
the girls saw all the giraffesand the zebras and that was just
such a highlight for 25 yearolds to see.
And so, yeah, so the first daywe didn't do any parks, we actually

(09:36):
took the bus over to HollywoodStudios in the evening and then rode
the Skyliner over to theRiviera to have quick service dinner
at Primo Piatto.
Because I've always heard thatit's really good and it did not disappoint.
Oh, really?
Yes, it was wonderful.
I, we had, I had a pasta, myfriend Jennifer had a salad.

(09:56):
And we used our quick servicecredits because we were on the dining
plan.
And then so we spent the nextthree days in the parks with the
girls.
We did park hop.
So we started on Friday.
We did all day in MagicKingdom with a break back at the
pool.
You know, we used lightning lanes.
We probably could have gonewithout them, but knowing how hot

(10:17):
it was going to be, I wantedto go ahead and be prepared.
And that's what I've beentelling people too, is that, you
know, go ahead and budget infor that extra money just because
if you don't want to bestanding out in a 60 minute line
outside, it might not becrowded, but it might be.
So go ahead and budget forthat ahead of time.
Yeah, I, I'm, I go back andforth with the Lightning Lanes, hearing

(10:38):
the, the crowd.
I mean, obviously with my wifeand I, we're not going with little
kids, so we're unlikely to doit because if it's lines too long,
it's okay for us to miss it.
Yeah, but I just had a clientgo down there with three kids and
they did the Lightning Lanes.
Even though at first they werelike with Five of us.
That's a.
That's a pretty hefty priceevery single day.
But they found it valuablebecause, again, they were.
They were like, the five ofus, not all of us are going to be

(11:00):
okay in lines and being in theheat and waiting an hour for this
or that.
But they did.
They said the same thing.
They went in mid June and theysaid, look, it was surprisingly low
crowds for what they thought.
They anticipated a really,really busy summertime, and they
didn't get that same feeling.
And I said, yeah, you'd be surprised.
You know, a lot of people kindof stay away.
They think it's too hot, toocrowded, crowds.

(11:22):
It's not as like it used to be.
You can go down there and.
And really get choked from thecrowd in the heat.
Absolutely.
And now, you know, it doesn'thave that same feeling.
Yeah.
My mom and I were actuallytalking this week.
We used to go on the 4th ofJuly when I was a kid, and she said,
do you remember we used tohave to go out alternate exits because
it was so crowded.
And I said, you know, I don'tthink it's that way anymore.
Ex Summer.
It's really one of the timesof the year that I suggest to people,

(11:44):
if they're saying, when can I go?
That's a lower crowd time.
It's actually the summertime,if you can stand the heat.
Yeah.
I mean, my father was.
He took us out of school inSeptember after it just got started.
Yep.
You know, and said, look,three weeks in.
Because we went after Labor Day.
That's when we started in New Hampshire.
And the next thing you know,like September 30th, we're going
to Disney World.
Getting pulled out of school.

(12:05):
Back when they didn't seem tomind that as long as you got caught
up with the work.
Because he had just heard,even back in the 80s, you don't want
to be down there in the summertime.
Yeah.
You know, but it's a little different.
You talked about character dying.
Tell me what you did differently.
So we did a couple things thatI've never done before.
I've never eaten in the castle.
We went, oh, you ate in the castle.
Wonderful.
We went to Cinderella's royaltable, and we did that because we

(12:27):
were on the dining plan.
So we.
It was two credits each, butthat's one that is different from
others, that the gratuity isalready included in those.
Oh, good.
Credits.
Which is nice.
Would I do it again?
I don't think so.
Yeah.
Now that my.
With no kids, maybe with My grandkids.
I would do it.
If I had a granddaughter, Iwould do it.
But I will probably neverexperience that.

(12:48):
It was cute.
I.
It was not a memorable meal.
Yeah.
At all.
Well, that's what I've been hearing.
I kept hearing that.
And look, sometimes you need awake up call.
Like, you know, we've talkedabout different restaurants that
have been had bad reviews.
And then change the game,especially when you're charging that.
Yeah, exact person.
Exactly.
So we did that one.
We also did Topolino's Terrace breakfast.

(13:10):
I want to do that because I.
Love the idea behind so much fun.
The character interactionthere is amazing.
They spend a lot of time atyour table.
The food is phenomenal.
And so for the price thatyou're paying.
Yes, I've said again, it's expensive.
But we did the last one of theday, it was at noon.
And so we just kind of had abar or something for breakfast in

(13:31):
the room.
And then we went to HollywoodStudios that morning and then took
the Skyliner over for our brunch.
And then we didn't eat againuntil the evening.
And so it was very filling,very fun.
It was just really, reallygood character meal.
Are you doing more, especiallywith kids?
I mean, do you.
Do you plan these days out toa T or do you just want to play it
by ear as you go?

(13:53):
So for the little girls, forthe first three days, it was pretty
planned out just because myfriend's daughter Elle had never
been before.
And so I wanted to make surethat we saw all the things that we
wanted to see.
It was very character focused.
We met so many princesses, wemet so many characters.
And so that was very planned.
Once it was just me, my mom,and my girls, it was a little more

(14:16):
let's go on a whim.
Where do y' all want to go today?
What do you want to do?
Because my girls have theblessing of going a lot and so we
don't have to do and seeeverything every day.
And so we spent a lot of timein the pool and we did, you know,
we only were in the parks one night.
Lily and I went over and wewere there till like nine.

(14:36):
But other than that, we spenda lot of time at the resort.
We actually really lucked outthe second half of our trip.
We stayed at Wilderness Lodgeand we had the most amazing fireworks
view.
It was.
I really think WildernessLodge has the best Magic Kingdom
views, if you can get it.
That's what I hear.
Yeah, it was amazing.
And so we watched thefireworks from our Balcony every

(14:57):
night.
And it was just a really chill vacation.
Yeah.
My wife and I, when we go downin September, we've got the hopper
passes, which I usually don'tdo because I'm not.
I'm not interested in red.
Run, run, run.
I just go.
And then when I'm done, I'm done.
Yeah, but we got the hopper passes.
And I said, well, what do you want?
How do you want to plan this?
She goes, let's just not plan it.
Yeah.
Except one thing she did saylast time we were there, we went
on a Saturday to Epcot, andthat was during the food and Wine

(15:20):
festival.
She goes, if we're going to doEpcot, let's do it midweek.
Yeah.
Because Saturday was just too much.
Too many locals.
It was jam packed.
An excellent, excellent idea.
And I think, honestly, if youcan use the Skyliner and start at
Hollywood Studios for a coupleof hours and then skyline over to
Epcot right at the beginningof the festival so that you're already
in the back and start in.

(15:40):
Back in World Showcase to dothe festival, then I think that's.
Yeah, it's always a fun thingto do, is hop in from the back.
I got bummed because of my.
I never.
With my teenage son, now he's older.
But we never did the four parkchallenge we wanted to do.
I don't think I've ever donethat either.
I wanted to see what.
It's.
It's like a list of things yougot to try to do, and you try to
bounce, you try to balance.
You go, okay, which park isopen late, which opens super early.

(16:02):
You got to ride this, this,and this.
You got to meet a character,you got to eat something, and then
you go to the next part.
You should do it in September.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, if.
What?
Lugging Lori around, I don'tknow, she'd probably be like, okay,
enough.
Enough of this.
Why can't we just stay in onespot for a little bit?
She would do it.
Exactly.
All right.
Well, good overall, goodexperience down there.
It was.
Yes.
I could stay there.
I mean, honestly, at the endof eight days, it didn't feel like

(16:25):
I was there for eight daysbecause we took it slow.
And that's what I tell peopleall the time, is like, you don't
have to come home feeling exhausted.
And we definitely didn't.
I'll be down there next weekto see my parents, but my dad and
I are gonna play nine holes ofgolf at Oak Tree.
Yes.
I can't wait to hear about that.
I'm Very exc.
Excited about it because mydad and I, we've played golf in like
11 states, you know, over,over the years.

(16:45):
And he's, he can only do nineholes, but he, he can walk a lot.
You know, he's, he, they go toDisney all the time in retirement.
So I said, well, look, there'sthis walking nine holes.
It's right up your alley.
It's not long and it's, it's executive.
And I said, and my, my fatheris, has this.
He, him and his company usedto go to the Masters golf tournament.

(17:07):
They did it for 20 years.
And I remember being a kidgoing, when can I go?
When can I go?
And I said, can you shirt.
I wanted a golf shirt with theMasters logo on it.
And he said, no, you can't geta shirt until you've actually been
to the Masters.
So one year he took me and Igot to have a shirt.
This is the way he feels aboutDisney golf merch.
Love it.
I said, why don't you get aMickey golf shirt?
He goes, no, not until I play.

(17:28):
So now he can get one.
Now.
I said, now we can get one.
So, yeah, we're really excitedto kind of walk, walk around, play.
There's a Mickey bunker that'soff to the, off the side of hole
one.
Yeah, we're going to get apicture taken there.
But I'm looking forward to itbecause I haven't played Disney golf
before and I, I, I know thatthis particular course, this nine
hole course is very family friendly.
You don't have to know how to play.

(17:49):
Nobody's on.
It's like families will justbe like, we never played golf before.
I'll go out there, play very cool.
Like rent some clubs and play,play there.
So a lot less stress than whenyou play.
You're behind people, in frontof people and whatnot.
So I'm definitely lookingforward to that.
Awesome.
Yeah, exactly.
So I did want to get into abit of Disney news.
What do we know about thiscruise thing?
You know, that has been onevery headline that I've seen.

(18:11):
So unfortunately, what I haveseen and everything is hearsay right
now.
Everything.
Right.
You don't know anything.
But it sounds like it was anunfortunate thing where the child
might have been placed on therailing for a photo and went horribly

(18:32):
wrong.
Yeah, because that was myfirst reaction.
It's not easy to fall overboard.
Exactly.
I've told this to many peoplebecause we cruise a lot and people
say, oh, do you ever worryabout falling off?
No, never.
Yeah.
If You.
If you made a consciousdecision to jump off a cruise boat.
It takes effort and planning.
Yes, it does.
It's not.
Oh, my wife and I were walkingthe Lido deck, and whoops, there

(18:55):
she went.
I don't know what happened.
Yeah, no, like, it's.
It's in.
It's insane how much protection.
Yes.
You have from.
So when they said she justfell overboard, like, have some context
with the headline.
Yeah.
It couldn't have been that simple.
I can imagine every mom outthere going, I'm never going on.
If they can just slip off the deck.
Exactly.

(19:15):
And land in the ocean.
That's what it seems that allthe headlines are kind of pointing
towards.
And of course, you see theDisney ship there.
And, you know, you obviouslyhave to use personal.
Right.
Safety when you're on there.
I mean, you have to use yourbrain and stay safe.
But, yeah, from what I'mhearing, is it.
It took some effort, and itobviously was an accident.

(19:37):
And kudos to.
To.
To the dad and to the crew forbringing them all back safely, because
I saw.
I think one of the websitessaid, well, we don't really know
if she.
If.
If she was placed on the railing.
And I'm like.
But use your brain.
Right?
Like, what.
What else.
How else should.
Could she have fallen off the boat?
Right.
Okay, so somebody didn't puther on the railing.
Would she climb up it?
Right.

(19:57):
Like, what are we talkingabout here?
Yeah.
You know, but.
Yeah.
And four Dex is.
That's.
That's a long drop.
It is a long way.
I mean, it's amazing both ofthem survived the fall and then you
could find them.
That's one of the scary thingsabout the ocean, is that when you
look at.
Look how minuscule you are inthe ocean, how luckily somebody threw

(20:18):
them, I guess some.
Some life preservers so thatpeople could see.
Yeah.
But even if you're on a boatriding around, trying to find them,
it's hard.
No idea.
No idea.
No idea how it turned out inthe way that it did.
Well, like, here's what I hope.
I.
Because I. I don't.
I don't care if it's Disney.
I don't care if it's Carnival.
I don't care if it's.
If it's, you know, celebrity.
Of course, I don't want anycruise line to suffer because people

(20:38):
think you can slip off a boat.
Right.
Because this story did notgive the proper context.
And again, I don't want apaper or any media outlet to accuse
somebody of putting a kid on a railing.
But at the same time, don'tmake it seem like a 4 year old or
5 year old could just slip offa boat and just.
Right.
Head into the water at anygiven second.
Yes.
That's not what happened here.
Yeah, so we'll see.

(20:59):
But that's, that's a.
That's been a crazy story.
It has.
I feel like it's been anupdate every day as we record this
podcast.
I know I'm waiting to maybehear what actually happened and,
and see if there will beanything else as far as.
I don't think that there'sreally any other safety precautions
that need to be taken onDisney cruise ships as far as I see.
I do see a safe ship.

(21:20):
I see that things are done.
Especially when you talk aboutthe rooms with verandas.
You've got those locks high.
That's right.
So as long as parents arelocking those locks, then that is
a good safety precaution inthere as well.
All right.
And one other question.
Was test track open?
No, I wish it was.
I really wanted it coming.
Yes.
They started putting out passholder previews which I would have

(21:42):
loved to have taken part in.
But yeah, it's gonna come backwithin the next couple weeks.
Okay, very good.
Can't wait to see what they've done.
Really excited about that.
It's one of my.
It was one of my favoritetrack attractions before.
Yes.
And now.
You know what?
It was one of my favoriteattractions back when it was World
of Motion.
I loved.
I always thought it was a coolattraction before they modernized
it and whatnot.
But yeah, I'm kind of lookingforward to see where they're going

(22:03):
with that for sure.
Very good.
All right, that's gonna do itfor this edition of the Wands and
Wishes podcast podcast.
Reach out to Lauren at all themagic travel.
And again, if you like thispodcast, please subscribe.
Give us a five star review andwe will be back with another episode
of what's going on in thetheme park world of both Universal
and Disney World here onplanning your Disney vacation this
summer.
How are you, Lauren?
I'm good, how are you?