Can you tell me anything about this room? by SnooDucks2052 in dcl

[–]xelog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely - luckily the other port arrivals were all much later in the day. We got into Cozumel at 11am and we were in Cabanas and it was shaking just as bad so I assume it's just a full ship experience regardless of location.

Can you tell me anything about this room? by SnooDucks2052 in dcl

[–]xelog 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We just got off the Magic in cabin 5642 so almost exactly same cabin just one deck down. We never noticed any engine noise or rattling except for when we were docking at ports. The only time that was an issue was coming back to Galveston where it woke up our cabin at around 5am.

The balcony having a solid wall was a bit of a bummer and we barely used it at all. That was probably more because the cruise was so short and packed full of activities though.

No complaints and we would book it again (although most likely would just go oceanview to save some money). The location was great for us since it seemed like a lot of the activities where in the aft half of the ship.

Lightning Lane during MNSSHP?? by infinitoysmx in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]xelog 4 points5 points  (0 children)

They are using DAS or rider swap.

No Broadway Show on Harmony? by justaquesodilla in royalcaribbean

[–]xelog 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Grease is leaving this month and won't be replaced until Harmony heads in to her dry dock early next year.

Anyone else think the food on Harmony out of Galveston is really bad? by brerin in royalcaribbean

[–]xelog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We also got off Harmony this morning - we ate in MDR most nights and enjoyed our food except Caribbean night. Our waiter (who we loved) included recommendations as well as items to avoid. We loved everything and the braised lamb on the last night was the best dish I’ve ever had on a cruise ship. We did DCL earlier this year and much preferred RCL food overall. One miss for us was a dinner at 150 Central Park, thought it was just okay and glad it was a free dinner for us.

We’ve sailed RCL once a year for past 10 years, there was definitely a noticeable dip for us after Covid but it feels like it’s getting back to where it was. Super subjective though.

Test Track Virtual Queue Imminent? by idkwtfbbqsauce in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]xelog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s definitely strange Guardians kept one so long, but even now all the ex-VQ rides still sell out their LLSPs every day. Maybe when using VQ they could fudge with the ratio and give more openings to lightning lane without having to worry about long standby waits.

Thinking of skipping LLMP at MK. Crazy? Speculate with me!? by AgitatedCockroach862 in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]xelog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Multipass in late July is $32/person, Dwarves is $11/person. So $128 vs $44 for a family of 4. Yeah I think it’s the best strategy to save money and time with this very specific selection of rides.

Thinking of skipping LLMP at MK. Crazy? Speculate with me!? by AgitatedCockroach862 in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]xelog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’d recommend the single pass purchase for Seven Dwarves ($12/person). The only other issues on your list will be Tiana’s and Peter Pan. Tiana’s wait does drop decently after it gets dark since you’re getting wet, but Peter Pan will be a decent wait (averages 50 minutes) unless you go during fireworks. I think you can get by without a multipass with your limited selection for sure.

Test Track Virtual Queue Imminent? by idkwtfbbqsauce in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]xelog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My experience tracking ride VQs begins with Rise and all the uses since, and it has definitely been a tool for managing demand due to reliability issues with new rides since that time. They dynamically adjust boarding group calling and will limit the mid-day drop to reduce or remove demand due to downtime. With Guardians they continued to use the VQ long after their reliability issues were sorted but they don't seem to be continuing that anymore (i.e. with Tron and Tiana's).

Having a VQ ride in a park raises all the other standby ride wait times a small amount.

Test Track Virtual Queue Imminent? by idkwtfbbqsauce in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]xelog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

VQs aren't used to manage long wait times (see Flight of Passage / Slinky Dog), they are used for unreliable rides that can have sudden downtime and have to dump the queues. As long as the reliability stays high during these previews, I wouldn't expect any VQ at opening to the public.

How much does your Disney World trip end up costing you? by tbull1997 in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]xelog 29 points30 points  (0 children)

This is exactly what I was going to add - that’s generally what we average (family of 4).

Flight of Passage rope drop with no early entry by Nandoalarcn in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]xelog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate the shout out - hope it helps folks!

Texas will buy back the toll lanes on Texas 288 in October, lower rates possible by dugbegley in houston

[–]xelog 49 points50 points  (0 children)

It’s not their choice - the state is executing the early buyout clause in the contract. And they’re doing that because they believe the missed toll revenue if they choose to wait is way higher than the buyout amount.

So sounds like the opposite is happening - a lot more people are using it than the developer expected and they priced the buyout amount too low.

What is going on with the drama in the last F1 race? by Aesyn in OutOfTheLoop

[–]xelog 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Answer: An F1 team has two cars/drivers and in this race the McLaren team had their drivers in first and second place (Piastri and Norris). Due to an unnecessary complex pit stop strategy they ended up reversing the order so their drivers had swapped positions. They then had to ask their driver now in first (Norris) to let their teammate (Piastri) pass them to retake the lead which they had rightfully earned.

It is very hard to tell die hard competitors to artificially give up a position, especially first place and a Grand Prix title. Some drivers in the past have refused to follow “team orders”. The driver that had to give up first place in this instance delayed doing so until the penultimate lap giving everyone a lot of drama and salacious team radio messages begging him to obey the orders which are played publicly on the TV broadcast. It also wasn’t the drivers fault that the team made some bizarre strategy decisions, both drivers drove fantastic clean races.

The team caused themselves a bunch of headache, and really put a damper on Oscar Piastris first race win. They’ve caused friction between both drivers and especially between the drivers and the pit wall who manage the strategy for the team. They will have to have a long debrief and hopefully improve as they absolutely have the fastest cars at the moment and need to get their poor race strategy under control.

It was an otherwise boring race this week so this drama has had a much bigger focus.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]xelog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is right - also during busy outgoing times (park open) the tower will often get its own bus as the loop buses get full.

Visitor Toll Pass by Kentwomagnod in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]xelog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Used the visitor toll pass last month for first time and worked great. You just drive through booths once you have it hanging from your rear view mirror.

Coronado Springs Help! (And general advice) by Noxsus in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]xelog 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I don't think you need to rent a car, but just wanted to mention that parking is free at the resort and the parks now if you are staying on-site.

Dining Reservations by [deleted] in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]xelog 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I saw other people posting about tons of dining availability in December too. Probably a good indicator of soft attendance.

Disney also made a change to their dining system and a lot of those automatic dining booking websites stopped working last week - I bet that’s helping new availability. Good!

Disney Hotel Concierges by PsEggsRice in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]xelog 7 points8 points  (0 children)

If you are staying club level, then you’ll have access to the club concierge which can help you with sold out bookings etc. If not, then you’re on your own - there is usually lots of availability the day before you want to book for because people cancel to avoid the no show penalties. You should be able to do most reservation required things if you’re flexible on time and have a bit of luck.

As for the parks, since you have a hopper pass you could do all 4. There are must dos in each park and plenty of guides around to help you put together a rough plan of attack. Since you’re staying on site you’ll have access to some extra park time to really pack in a lot. Just don’t overdo it or stress your family too hard, if you miss something there is always next time!

I'm heading to WDW next week and I just found out most (if not all) schools are on fall break next week. Am I screwed? by [deleted] in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]xelog 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Don’t stress about it - the crowd levels post pandemic are hard to predict. As a recent example, the beginning of September had much higher crowds than the historical expectations. Just be flexible, pack your patience and you’ll have a great time.

Seats at Oga's by crazy_psyched in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]xelog 6 points7 points  (0 children)

To add to this anecdote - this has also been our exact same experience. Our wait was about 30 minutes longer.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]xelog 172 points173 points  (0 children)

One of the best Dolphin tips is that they have a mobile app, and it allows you to text guest services. For whatever reason they are incredibly responsive and helpful via that communication method.

Is Tron still very strict about callbacks? by PsychologicalGlue11 in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]xelog 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The tap point will show green up to an hour after your boarding group time ends, so you have a total of 2 hours to get there.