Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[Aimeedyan]

I don't think they will let you into the Swan/Dolphin. I think the Speedway is closer.

Swan does not have a gate or guard. You just drive up to the main entrance. Their parking is separate and IS gated.

Anyone can be dropped off there without any issue at all. I don't know why more people don't utilize it (except it would probably be a longer walk...).

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I don't think they will let you into the Swan/Dolphin. I think the Speedway is closer.

FWIW: There is no guard shack at the Swan and if you walk on the opposite side of the canal and then across the bridge at Buena Vista Dr, the Swan and Speedway are identical distances. I'm not saying it's a better plan... just sharing the facts as I know them.

 

[SL6827]

Swan does not have a gate or guard. You just drive up to the main entrance. Their parking is separate and IS gated.

Anyone can be dropped off there without any issue at all. I don't know why more people don't utilize it (except it would probably be a longer walk...).

Oh, didn't know that. Interesting then.

 

[BrokeMack]

If you've got hoppers its worth it to head over to Epcot once. You could hit all the rides before dinner then eat somewhere in WS with time to spare. Generally TT was on a 40ish minute wait and everything else was walk on. Without hoppers it definitely isn't worth it.

 

[Victoria3]

Is it possible to uber to Swan/Dolphin or is Speedway closer?

I’ve been wondering why Swan hasn’t been floated more here. Would they even think twice about somebody getting dropped off by an Uber to meet a friend?

Ubers can drop people off at Swan & Dolphin no problem.

Don't have to worry about jaywalking from the Speedway.

 

[Sarahslay]

Hmm, my 13 yo actually just said to me the other day he was excited for Epcot for our early April trip

where in the past he always hated Epcot
Guess he’s old enough now to appreciate it

but hearing some of these posts, I’m wondering if we should skip it and just do two days at HS

I have a 12 (almost 13 year old), and a 9 (almost 10 year old), and they love Epcot. I am taking each of them for 3 day trips for their birthdays and didn't make any park reservations for Epcot since I plan to hop there. My oldest got really, really worried and was like "when are we going to Epcot?! I don't see Epcot!" and I had to put her mind at ease that we would go at 2 once hopping starts. She was seriously concerned, and we are staying at YC by her request to have easy access to it. We were just there at Christmas and they really enjoyed themselves even with all the construction and less entertainment. Epcot really isn't even some adults idea of a good time, so throw in all the stuff going on there and it becomes their nightmare, I understand how it can lead to some bad trip reports in those cases. Since you can hop you can always go in the evening after HS (it is rarely if ever at capacity so never an issue hopping), or if you aren't feeling it by the afternoon hop over to HS.

 

[yulilin3]

maybe because speedway is slightly closer?

I’ve been wondering why Swan hasn’t been floated more here. Would they even think twice about somebody getting dropped off by an Uber to meet a friend?

 

[DLo]

In early December , I took Lyft to the swan - no problem.

 

[armerida]

Could someone who has been recently please advise - we want to dine at the bar at Narcoossee’s at the Grand Floridian. We always prefer to sit at the bar there (Sergio is the best bartender ever!), and pre-covid had no issues getting in. Will the guard let us into the resort without proof of an ADR? If I show my tables in wonderland card, would that work? We’d be Ubering over...I’ve read conflicting info about getting into resorts for dining. Thanks!

 

[cjlong88]

Hmm, my 13 yo actually just said to me the other day he was excited for Epcot for our early April trip

where in the past he always hated Epcot
Guess he’s old enough now to appreciate it

but hearing some of these posts, I’m wondering if we should skip it and just do two days at HS

I think everyone's Epcot experience depends on what they are trying to accomplish at the park. If you are going to only ride the attractions and stay within Future World, I can see why people might be disappointed. Lots of construction walls, Test Track doesn't have the build-your-car part of the queue, etc. Fewer attractions might mean longer waits on a busy day.

If you plan to spend a good chunk of your day exploring World Showcase, then I think it's very easy to enjoy yourself. We could spend all day at Epcot eating and drinking in WS, exploring the festival offerings, and check out all of the amazing shops and details of each country. I think it very much depends on what you plan to do when you visit.

 

[BaymaxForever]

Ubers can drop people off at Swan & Dolphin no problem.

Don't have to worry about jaywalking from the Speedway.

Can’t you just follow path down to where it meets up from the resorts and head over to HS that way? You don’t have to jaywalk, right?

 

[Lsdolphin]

Where can I find a list of DS stores that will recognize the AP 30% discount that begins today?

 

[yulilin3]

Where can I find a list of DS stores that will recognize the AP 30% discount that begins today?

basically all Disney owned stores (with exceptions of certain items)
if you go on this page, filter to DS all Disney owned stores that say 20% are now 30%
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/p...benefits-and-discounts/merchandise-discounts/

 

[scrappinginontario]

Ubers can drop people off at Swan & Dolphin no problem.

Don't have to worry about jaywalking from the Speedway.

Can’t you just follow path down to where it meets up from the resorts and head over to HS that way? You don’t have to jaywalk, right?

From the video @yulilin3 shared, it appears you cross over a road but since it is at an intersection it's not technically jaywalking. There isn't a light but it's legal to cross at an intersection. (At least where I live).

 

[VandVsmama]

Interested in how other's thoughts may line up with this: What do you feel each park misses the most currently of things that Disney is not offering? Which park do you think feels least normal and most normal. I think it would be interesting to see people's observations and how our thoughts line up, or differ.

Disclaimer: Most of the time, we go to Disneyland because it's closer. Before last week's trip, I've only been to WDW twice (and one of those times was when only MK was there). DH's only been once. Neither of us had been to HS before and this was DH's 1st time at Epcot. So consider all of that when reading my reply.

Magic Kingdom:
We really wanted to go to Tom Sawyer's Island, ride the river boat, go on the People Mover, and see Country Bear Jamboree. All of those were closed. But that's ok because we're going again in early June. Maybe all of that will be operating by then. Did not miss the fireworks and the sea of humanity that it brings. It's really quite lovely and charming standing in front of the castle in MK when there's hardly any people there. We've lucked out on this in the past a couple of times (usually really late at night) at both MK and Disneyland...it's pretty special! I do wish that MK would run its Main Street vehicles and that when they DO run them, they operate them all morning.

Epcot:
Re: characters - it's cool how Joy and Winnie the Pooh show up in that grassy area near that horrible Figment ride. Joy & Winnie the Pooh interacting with guests felt a lot like how all of our character interactions at Disneyland have been in the past - organic, natural, not scripted, and spontaneous. Generally speaking, I don't care much for character meet & greets at WDW from our previous trip a couple of years ago...waiting for 45 min for a 1 minute encounter and it's a quick photo and then buh bye. So the fact that there's none of the 'traditional' character meet & greets right now at any of the parks...that doesn't bother me one bit.

We enjoyed Epcot. The parts of Future World with all of the construction walls were a bit 'meh' but that's only temporary and it's not going to last forever. We loved being able to blaze through almost everything in Future World in a short amount of time.

Did NOT care for the choke point of people in front of the Mexico pavilion. Did NOT care for a couple of groups of very intoxicated people on Saturday evening, 1/23, at Epcot. But I knew that was a possibility going in what with the weekend "let's drink around the world" folks.

AK:
Only spent a couple of hours in this part on last week's trip, so I don't have any "I miss ___" to report here.

HS:
Didn't miss the shows because we didn't care about nor were we interested in any of the HS shows that were there pre-COVID. HS felt the most like DCA's Buena Vista Street. Since it was our 1st time, we didn't really know what we were missing.

Gift shops:
It felt like a lot of the gift shops had the same stuff everywhere. The Emporium on Main Street in MK was disappointing in terms of merchandise. I think that the 2021 stuff is, overall, really ugly and screams early 90s in terms of overall style (bleh!). Although I did find a People Mover toy there that I was looking for. The selection on t-shirts were just 'bleh' and it felt like every shop everywhere had the exact same selection of t-shirts. I didn't care for that. Everything in the World of Disney store was a transplant of what was in the Emporium, so that was a waste of time going to DS just for that.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Disclaimer: Most of the time, we go to Disneyland because it's closer. Before last week's trip, I've only been to WDW twice (and one of those times was when only MK was there). DH's only been once. Neither of us had been to HS before and this was DH's 1st time at Epcot. So consider all of that when reading my reply.

Magic Kingdom:
We really wanted to go to Tom Sawyer's Island, ride the river boat, go on the People Mover, and see Country Bear Jamboree. All of those were closed. But that's ok because we're going again in early June. Maybe all of that will be operating by then. Did not miss the fireworks and the sea of humanity that it brings. It's really quite lovely and charming standing in front of the castle in MK when there's hardly any people there. We've lucked out on this in the past a couple of times (usually really late at night) at both MK and Disneyland...it's pretty special! I do wish that MK would run its Main Street vehicles and that when they DO run them, they operate them all morning.

Epcot:
Re: characters - it's cool how Joy and Winnie the Pooh show up in that grassy area near that horrible Figment ride. Joy & Winnie the Pooh interacting with guests felt a lot like how all of our character interactions at Disneyland have been in the past - organic, natural, not scripted, and spontaneous. Generally speaking, I don't care much for character meet & greets at WDW from our previous trip a couple of years ago...waiting for 45 min for a 1 minute encounter and it's a quick photo and then buh bye. So the fact that there's none of the 'traditional' character meet & greets right now at any of the parks...that doesn't bother me one bit.

We enjoyed Epcot. The parts of Future World with all of the construction walls were a bit 'meh' but that's only temporary and it's not going to last forever. We loved being able to blaze through almost everything in Future World in a short amount of time.

Did NOT care for the choke point of people in front of the Mexico pavilion. Did NOT care for a couple of groups of very intoxicated people on Saturday evening, 1/23, at Epcot. But I knew that was a possibility going in what with the weekend "let's drink around the world" folks.

AK:
Only spent a couple of hours in this part on last week's trip, so I don't have any "I miss ___" to report here.

HS:
Didn't miss the shows because we didn't care about nor were we interested in any of the HS shows that were there pre-COVID. HS felt the most like DCA's Buena Vista Street. Since it was our 1st time, we didn't really know what we were missing.

Gift shops:
It felt like a lot of the gift shops had the same stuff everywhere. The Emporium on Main Street in MK was disappointing in terms of merchandise. I think that the 2021 stuff is, overall, really ugly and screams early 90s in terms of overall style (bleh!). Although I did find a People Mover toy there that I was looking for. The selection on t-shirts were just 'bleh' and it felt like every shop everywhere had the exact same selection of t-shirts. I didn't care for that. Everything in the World of Disney store was a transplant of what was in the Emporium, so that was a waste of time going to DS just for that.

When was Country Bear's closed? I think it was open both days when we were there last week and we enjoyed a "Full House" show by COVID standards on Wednesday afternoon.

I didn't even think about the lack of the vehicles on Main Street - but there was a certain buzz missing in the Main St. area and I'd bet the vehicles was a part of that for us!

 

[yulilin3]

When was Country Bear's closed? I think it was open both days when we were there last week and we enjoyed a "Full House" show by COVID standards on Wednesday afternoon.

I didn't even think about the lack of the vehicles on Main Street - but there was a certain buzz missing in the Main St. area and I'd bet the vehicles was a part of that for us!

Country bears has been operating since reopening. Liberty Belle and Tom Sawyer opens Friday

 

[VandVsmama]

Country bears has been operating since reopening. Liberty Belle and Tom Sawyer opens Friday

Every time we walked over to it, it was closed and it wasn't showing up as being open on the app because I kept checking on our MK days! We were there Sunday 1/24 and Thurs morning 1/28.

 

[yulilin3]

Every time we walked over to it, it was closed and it wasn't showing up as being open on the app because I kept checking on our MK days! We were there Sunday 1/24 and Thurs morning 1/28.

Was it before 11am?

 

[VandVsmama]

Was it before 11am?

yes.