A few reflections from my recent trip besides the live updates I shared:
Bus service was great. I don’t think we ever waited more than 10 minutes for a bus. We took a few rides on the Skyliner - once midday just for fun and leaving HS after our after-the-park-closed reservation at Oga's. It's nice. But the line to get on at the end of the night after Harmonious seemed really long. I don't have a sense of how quickly it moved but if I was going back to CBR or AoA after Harmonious I would probably stroll out of the park and grab a drink somewhere on the Boardwalk rather than wait in that line!
Early entry worked great for us. We always felt one step ahead of the crowds.
We didn't have any issues with rides being down but did notice Slinky Dog and Runaway Railway were both down for a while the day we were in HS.
We tried a few new to us places which we liked: Nomad Lounge, Enchanted Rose, Baseline, and Oga's. We had very few ADRs on this trip (really just Oga's) so we mostly just arrived as places were opening. This worked well.
The parks were crowded but the Yacht Club was not full. There was hardly anyone on our floor and the pool was never crowded. I think there were a local of locals in the parks this weekend.
I kinda wasn’t missing FP. Between a combination of early entry and smart touring (zigging when folks are zagging, avoiding regular meal times) we accomplished everything we wanted even though it was pretty crowded. The park I could most see springing for G+ and/or LL$ would be Studios. There just was no way for us to avoid having to wait in the two long lines (Slinky Dog and Runaway Railway) we ended up waiting in. But because there was not much going on with LL (just
DAS and VIP tours, etc.) the standby lines were always moving which "feels" better. And if you aren't an early riser then it could definitely help you out. We didn't get to take advantage of the evening extra hours because of the dates we were there but I could see that being a huge perk for deluxe guests that don't want to wake up early.