Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[blrem]

Rope Dropping HS - in October we stayed at YC and walking was THE way to get in quickly before the Skyliner, buses or cars. By arriving around 8am we were at the front of the pack and used the "stay left" suggestions from this thread to get through temp check quickly and be on the first train for MMRR. That was before the Friendship boats were running (they started just after we left). But reading blogs since then, it appeared the boats were not running early enough and walking was still the best way to be towards the front of the pack and get through several rides before lines caught up with you. This past week at the Dolphin we had a very different experience - HS opening at 9am all days we were there. We took a Friendship boat a few minutes after 8am on a weekday and the boat left immediately - had us there about 8:15am. The lines at temp check already went from the front of the park WAAAAY back as far as you could see beyond the Skyliner. The boat drops you off on the side and as we approached I asked a CM standing in front of a temp check tent if we were supposed to try and find the end of the line (I said it nicely in jest, assuming of course that yes, we did need to do that). NOPE! He said, "no, just stand here" and pointed to a side marker. He then opened to rope and let us and the rest of the looooong lines in. We were the FIRST people through the tents and to go through the turn-styles. We continued to be the FIRST people down the main street towards MMRR and it was a surreal experience having all the CM saying hello and welcoming us. We lined up first for MMRR and within a minute they started the ride and led us to row 1! We thought it was a huge dose of Pixie Dust but....several days later we were running late - I heard 2 boat horns go by (this was a weekend so it seems the boats start earlier on the weekend) about 7:50 and 8am. We got on a boat at 8:10am and this time the HS lines had already opened as we trekked towards the side entrance from the boat drop off again. I went right to the side markers this time and asked the CM if this is where we stand - he replied yes and indicated to wait there. He let a couple more people go in from the long skyliner/car/walker line in then signaled us to go through. We were still way ahead of the "mob" that had assembled and we only waited about 5 minutes for MMRR and then 20 for SD. I wanted to stay in the Crescent Lake area specifically for walking to HS to take advantage of Rope Dropping. But now I would suggest taking the boat - enjoying a nice leisurely ride while you pass all the walkers - and look for those social distance lines on the side as you come in toward the temperature checks - those are for people from the boats and you will be at the front of the pack. Good luck everyone!

 

[GDubDIS]

Good point - and on top of that they had a special event on Saturday (A Taste of the Swan Dolphin) that they were giving special hotel rates to participants and it was a sold out event (we attended and really enjoyed it). So maybe that weekend wasn't typical - but man it was A to Z from the lovely, quiet week we had just experienced there!

I'm considering a Swan stay for a few quick nights from Sunday April 11th to Wednesday April 14th so honestly I hope the weekdays stay quiet! I'm sure we'll be seeing some extended Easter stays, but I'm hoping the majority of the spring break/Easter crowd is gone by then. We'll see!

 

[Jerseyroaddevil]

Did you go through a part of BW or around it? When you walked toward DHS were you on the right side or left side of the water? About how long did it take to walk there? Thanks so much!

If you pull up the map in MDE and focus on the BW resort, you should be able to see the path. The path runs along the canal located on the left side of BW resort. It's on the BW side of the canal, not the Swan side, and it is directly next to the water. The path passes near the luna park pool, the community hall, and the tennis courts (but it doesn't actually go into the BW resort, you're always off to the side). Then you continue on and eventually pass the DHS bus area, the Skyliner station, and then you are at DHS. About a 15-20 minute walk.

 

[blrem]

I have an 8:20 ADR at The Wave and plan to be there about early by 7:30- 7:45- do you think we will be able to order and get to MK by rope drop/park opening?

I don't know - the restaurant would have to have "no shows" I'd assume for that long of a difference. I'd definitely stalk the dining reservation page on the app the day before and continue until you fall asleep. I think you have a good chance of scoring an earlier time than 8:20. The closer you can get to a time before 8am the better your chances of being seated early and getting out. It's critical you know what you want to order, do it at onset of being greeted, tell the server you want to pay immediately and are in a hurry. Doing these things resulted in very quick service and being out in time for rope drop on both occasions. I found they opened MK about 8:10 both times we did this. BTW if you are taking Disney transportation and ride share you are all set. But if you are driving your own car like we did, we did not park at the Contemporary for the day. We ate at the Wave, went to the park for rope drop, then returned to the car about 11am. There is an unwritten(?) rule (although it was often enforced in previous times) of a 3 hour parking limit when eating at a restaurant if you drive. In both cases we ate there, did rope drop, then returned to move our car and go back to our resort to rest/swim. The guards this time did not enforce this parking time limit nor even mention it. However, I knew this was the expected policy from previous trips and I also know it can be hard to find a good parking spot when staying at that resort (we stayed there last year) so I did not try and abuse the policy. If staying for the day, I'd suggest rideshare as Disney transportation can be difficult since it won't take you from a resort to another resort.

 

[blrem]

I'm considering a Swan stay for a few quick nights from Sunday April 11th to Wednesday April 14th so honestly I hope the weekdays stay quiet! I'm sure we'll be seeing some extended Easter stays, but I'm hoping the majority of the spring break/Easter crowd is gone by then. We'll see!

Please report back after your trip and let us know. Also, I don't think Swan is a busy as Dolphin in general. The Swan hotel is smaller and most of the activities and restaurants are in the Dolphin - so the Dolphin lobby is huge and that's where we found it packed on the weekend. There is also a Swan/Dolphin Resort link on this board in the Resorts Thread where I found great information specific to those resorts - check it out. I'm going to post some more specific info over there as well. Enjoy your trip - we loved it there!

 

[Maribeth71]

Rope Dropping HS - in October we stayed at YC and walking was THE way to get in quickly before the Skyliner, buses or cars. By arriving around 8am we were at the front of the pack and used the "stay left" suggestions from this thread to get through temp check quickly and be on the first train for MMRR. That was before the Friendship boats were running (they started just after we left). But reading blogs since then, it appeared the boats were not running early enough and walking was still the best way to be towards the front of the pack and get through several rides before lines caught up with you. This past week at the Dolphin we had a very different experience - HS opening at 9am all days we were there. We took a Friendship boat a few minutes after 8am on a weekday and the boat left immediately - had us there about 8:15am. The lines at temp check already went from the front of the park WAAAAY back as far as you could see beyond the Skyliner. The boat drops you off on the side and as we approached I asked a CM standing in front of a temp check tent if we were supposed to try and find the end of the line (I said it nicely in jest, assuming of course that yes, we did need to do that). NOPE! He said, "no, just stand here" and pointed to a side marker. He then opened to rope and let us and the rest of the looooong lines in. We were the FIRST people through the tents and to go through the turn-styles. We continued to be the FIRST people down the main street towards MMRR and it was a surreal experience having all the CM saying hello and welcoming us. We lined up first for MMRR and within a minute they started the ride and led us to row 1! We thought it was a huge dose of Pixie Dust but....several days later we were running late - I heard 2 boat horns go by (this was a weekend so it seems the boats start earlier on the weekend) about 7:50 and 8am. We got on a boat at 8:10am and this time the HS lines had already opened as we trekked towards the side entrance from the boat drop off again. I went right to the side markers this time and asked the CM if this is where we stand - he replied yes and indicated to wait there. He let a couple more people go in from the long skyliner/car/walker line in then signaled us to go through. We were still way ahead of the "mob" that had assembled and we only waited about 5 minutes for MMRR and then 20 for SD. I wanted to stay in the Crescent Lake area specifically for walking to HS to take advantage of Rope Dropping. But now I would suggest taking the boat - enjoying a nice leisurely ride while you pass all the walkers - and look for those social distance lines on the side as you come in toward the temperature checks - those are for people from the boats and you will be at the front of the pack. Good luck everyone!

Thanks we are staying at Dolphin next week and will definitely use this tip!

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Yes, thanks for your reply! We now have a 7:50 reservation at the Wave our MK morning, which is the earliest I could get. If we can get there early enough to get seated early, we might eat really fast. If not, we might just not show up and eat the $20 cancellation fee. We shall see. I had to not show up, but I feel like they don't give any other options at this point to make sure we're there at opening! On my most recent trip in October, they let us mobile order and pick up, and I enjoyed my breakfast sandwich on our walk!

Sorry if I missed it, but are you staying offsite? Or why not just take the bus from your resort and avoid the hassle of the breakfast ADR?

 

[Jaina]

Any idea if you have to show that you’re resort guests to take the boats from the Swan and dolphin? We’ve also thought about just getting dropped off there.

 

[blrem]

We have done this several times, at the gate we were told to click the button the we were here. We are DVC and I always have my Blue Card out so I'm not sure if this is why we haven't been turned away

Don't DVC members get a "perk" to be able to park at other Disney Resorts? I am not DVC but have friends who are and thought I remembered that being the case. If so, I'd think that may indeed by why you were allowed through. Although who knows, maybe you had more lenient guards and the ones on duty during the week we were there were more strict. It's hard to gauge so best advice is to have a back up plan if you try the mobile order route and keep your ears/eyes open to what is going on with other guests before you to get a feel for what is being allowed or enforced during any given time.

 

[Jaina]

Sorry if I missed it, but are you staying offsite? Or why not just take the bus from your resort and avoid the hassle of the breakfast ADR?

No, we’re actually staying by Universal. My husband really struggles with masks some days (anxiety/claustrophobia, though he’s really improved through a lot of work) and is not sure how he’s going to do at Disney. So we’re just doing two days there. At Universal he can wear a shield if he really needs to after talking to customer service.

 

[blrem]

Any idea if you have to show that you’re resort guests to take the boats from the Swan and dolphin? We’ve also thought about just getting dropped off there.

No ID was ever requested nor required. The boats serve YC/BC, BW and Swan/Dolphin. But they also serve guests visiting Epcot and HS as they go between the two resorts. I don't know of any rule stating you must stay at the resort to use the boats. Off site guests can use them to visit the hotels for a meal or to park hop between EP and HS so I assume anyone can use the boats.

 

[KSL]

Just a quick note to thank everyone who has been posting their experiences. It's fun to read these mini trip reports and also gives some great anecdotal advice with things to consider and tips to keep in mind. THANK YOU!!

 

[Haley R]

We’re staying at the cabins at fort wilderness in May and were hoping to do mobile order at the wave. We were gonna drive our car so I’m not sure what we’ll do now. We have a 10 month old (he’ll be 12 months when we go) and don’t want to eat inside anywhere. I guess we may just end up staying at the fort instead for that meal

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

Sounds like making a mobile order and gaining access to a resort is currently not an option at most resorts.

Gaining access by car/ride share. You can access them if arriving by Disney transportation, although that may require transferring at a park, DS, etc. since there's no "easy" way to go directly from one resort to another.

If someone is using mobile order just to get dropped off closer to a park, using Disney transportation defeats the purpose since you could have taken it directly to the park. But for some, who actually WANT to eat QS at a specific resort, you can get there. You just can't drive/park there.

We're planning on eating a QS lunch at Primo Piatto (Riviera) and will use Disney transportation from our resort to a park and then to Riviera to have lunch there. But we're not trying to make this work on a tight schedule and won't even be IN a park that day.

Mobile orders being more consistently turned away at resorts definitely impacts folks who were looking to have breakfast at a resort near a park and then walk to the park.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

No, we’re actually staying by Universal. My husband really struggles with masks some days (anxiety/claustrophobia, though he’s really improved through a lot of work) and is not sure how he’s going to do at Disney. So we’re just doing two days there. At Universal he can wear a shield if he really needs to after talking to customer service.

Ah ok. Good luck! It can certainly be stressful getting to rope drop, but so worth the effort when you walk right on to Mine Train

 

[scrappinginontario]

We’re staying at the cabins at fort wilderness in May and were hoping to do mobile order at the wave. We were gonna drive our car so I’m not sure what we’ll do now. We have a 10 month old (he’ll be 12 months when we go) and don’t want to eat inside anywhere. I guess we may just end up staying at the fort instead for that meal

Were you hoping to eat at the Wave for their food? If so, could you take the boat to MK then walk/monorail to CR? Not sure if you were wanting the food offered at the Wave or hoping for early entrance to MK?

Something else to note for those wanting to dine at a resort, parking is limited to 2 hours. Not saying you were planning to leave your car at CR @Haley R, just mentioning it for the sake of clarification for all.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Let's move on from the discussion about the recent situation at the Dolphin. No further discussion about why it might have happened. Please stick to actual information of what is/is not happening. Thanks.

 

[Haley R]

Were you hoping to eat at the Wave for their food? If so, could you take the boat to MK then walk/monorail to CR? Not sure if you were wanting the food offered at the Wave or hoping for early entrance to MK?

Something else to note for those wanting to dine at a resort, parking is limited to 2 hours. Not saying you were planning to leave your car at CR @Haley R, just mentioning it for the sake of clarification for all.

We were just planning to go and eat. It’s just for ds to see the contemporary and the food options at the fort aren’t great. We won’t be in the park that day. We haven’t decided if we’re going to the parks at all. I guess we could take the boat to mk and walk. We’ll just have to decide how long it’ll take because with a 12 month old it all revolves around his naps. Do you know how long the walk is from mk?

 

[scrappinginontario]

We were just planning to go and eat. It’s just for ds to see the contemporary and the food options at the fort aren’t great. We won’t be in the park that day. We haven’t decided if we’re going to the parks at all. I guess we could take the boat to mk and walk. We’ll just have to decide how long it’ll take because with a 12 month old it all revolves around his naps. Do you know how long the walk is from mk?

It's quite close. About 12-15 mins walk I believe. Another option is you can take the monorail from MK to the Contemporary.

 

[wilkydelts]

@scrappinginontario I am being put on a timer which has to finish before I could post again. Did I do something wrong? That has never happened to me before. I would of tried to PM you directly but I also no longer have a "Start Conversation" button.