Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[brockash]

If you have an in the park reservation, they will not leave you stranded. The bus will run you back when you are finished.

This...we got out of Scifi atounf 845 the night we ate there - they closed at 7 that night and they had workers and bus after bus just pulling up taking who arrived directly to their resort. It was great...although it was the first week they were doing it so who knows if it's as efficient for guests now but you'll get back.

 

[Darcy03231]

The other thing that some people are reporting is that the wait times in the later afternoon seem to be lower - like the last two hours the parks are open.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

@MaryKatesMom merged you to the existing thread

That thread is from July. Conditions are different now.

 

[yulilin3]

That thread is from July. Conditions are different now.

This thread is for just back reports after covid not just July.

 

[turbojsf]

Rather than write up a trip report from our visit two weeks ago I made a video trip report. Took a lot longer of course but it was fun and I think entertaining as well as helpful (hopefully). You can find it on YouTube by searching "Mission Disney 2020" (by Art Tomassetti). It was one of the least stressful visits to Disney I can remember next to Grad night back in 82. The only stress was around trying to get on ROTR but we were lucky with Boarding group 15. We did things we have never taken the time to do before like just wander around AK. Found trails and waterfalls I had no clue existed. We spent 30 minutes inside Walt Disney Presents at HS which we had never even walked through before. Fascinating exhibit if you are Disney fan. Can't wait to go back again for Epcot and MK.

 

[GusGusTheMouse]

Odd question, a lot of people are talking about long lines the past few weeks and blaming it on low ride capacity and restaurant/show closures not taking on some of the overflow. All totally understandable as (most of) that is what is needed to ensure social distancing requirements are followed. And it’s understandable that they can’t fund an entire show for only a small portion of the intended viewers. But are these limitations or closures due to state and local restrictions? Or internal Disney policy? I assume the show closures is a decision by Disney because it does not make sense right now since you can’t have people sitting next to one another. But the ride one confuses me more.

We are thinking of going again in the winter as we had a great time in August. But if Disney has the ability to change things like ride capacity on their own whim we would reconsider. If it’s local/state guidelines, then I’d be more reassured that we would at least get some notice before things change.

Anyone know?

 

[katyringo]

Odd question, a lot of people are talking about long lines the past few weeks and blaming it on low ride capacity and restaurant/show closures not taking on some of the overflow. All totally understandable as (most of) that is what is needed to ensure social distancing requirements are followed. And it’s understandable that they can’t fund an entire show for only a small portion of the intended viewers. But are these limitations or closures due to state and local restrictions? Or internal Disney policy? I assume the show closures is a decision by Disney because it does not make sense right now since you can’t have people sitting next to one another. But the ride one confuses me more.

We are thinking of going again in the winter as we had a great time in August. But if Disney has the ability to change things like ride capacity on their own whim we would reconsider. If it’s local/state guidelines, then I’d be more reassured that we would at least get some notice before things change.

Anyone know?

I actually think most of the shows are closed is because Disney and the CM union the reps most of the performers couldn't come to an agreement on testing. They have now and I think we will slowly see shows returned. They are running some of the shows like Muppets and the indoor ones and have the seating spaced out and blocked off every other or so.

 

[crazymomof4]

A little heads up about getting a free cup of ice or ice water from the side of the counters where they fill drink cups.... Most don't expect you to stand in the long line and will just hand you a pre-filled water BUT... After standing in long line for my ice cream (where they told me to go to Rosie's for ice water) I was snapped at by the CM who told me I have to stand in the line (with my rapidly melting ice cream) for the ice water which were inches from the edge of the counter where she stood. So don't assume all CS give it out without standing in the line. I had a cup in my bag and used the water fountain.

 

[PortieOwner]

I tried to change my park reservation on Sat 9/26 and all parks were full to AP’s and resort guests.

Last weekend Epcot was as busy as any F&W weekend but with fewer booths and slower lines. ALL the Kiosks including Worldshowplace, Canada and France had only ONE cashier. The line moved super slow but as soon as you got your food it got handed to you immediately. The CMs passing out food were standing there waiting for tickets. Frozen SB line was in China.

At one point on Sunday the Frozen line stretched to Italy.

 

[PortieOwner]

I am seriously rethinking my trip in a couple of weeks. I was only interested in going if there were still going to be super short waits for everything.

Then forget it, or get very creative. Maybe sleep overnight inside the Studios to get first in line for MMRR?

At DHS today (which opened officially at 10am): I drove. Arrived at the traffic jam leading to the parking lot at 9:00am. At 9:05 they began letting in cars. At 9:20 I was parked. At 9:30 I was in the park. Line at MMRR was already 70 minutes. Star Tours not open yet. I did Smugglers Ru. n as a walk on then went to the Animation Courtyard to try to get a boarding group. Hit the button at 10:00:02 and did not get a group. Only one of five parties in my area of the Animation Courtyard got a group. By now MMRR was up to 105 minutes, Slinky Dog was 70+ minutes, everything was jammed. I rode Toy Story with a 15 minute wait (it would be 60 minutes soon), did Star Tours with a 25 minute wait. The new Star Tours is much worse than the old version. Then did the Muppets with another 25 minute wait.

At this point everything was jammed up including long lines for Backlot Express and the bar next to Sci Fi Drive In. I was continually amongst a crowd of people from the minute I arrived 1/2 hour before opening. I have been to WDW in Septmber before and it was nothing like this.

No place to get a cold drink and sit and relax. So I left. Skyliner to Riviera. 20 minutes after leaving Studios I had a meal and cold drink in front of me at Primo Patti. Excellent food and service here! Walked around that resort (not really that great). Skyliner back to Studios and saw the Lightning McQueen show then got a sundae at Hollywood Scoops. The ice cream line was short when I got there, got longer soon after. No tables to sit and eat so I sat on a stone wall. 2:00pm came and I got a backup group for RROTR. We will see if I get to ride.

Summary: paid $88 for the day, rode 5 rides, one of them new and an E-ticket.

 

[PortieOwner]

Have CMs been letting people into Epcot early or just MK and HS? We will be at Epcot Dec 1 and it says it opens at noon. What time would you all suggest arriving?

Walk in from International Gateway at 10:30am. It's the only way top be sure you are ahead of the crowd. If I were to do it over I'd Uber to Swalphin and hike into IG at 9:30am.

 

[Junebugwv]

Here now and this mini-opinion is for those who are used to being at WDW in slow times. We have come mid-September for over 10 years. This is nothing like the short wait times we have experienced in the past. We are at Hollywood Studios today and the lines are much longer than anything we have ever experienced this time of year. Of course, the queue lines look long, but we have found that they really are long- maybe not as long as posted, but our experience today has been long waits. I’m currently seated outside of Ronto Roasters and the long line wrapped around the outer building has barely moved the past half hour. Next September will be awesome!

 

[Junebugwv]

Then forget it, or get very creative. Maybe sleep overnight inside the Studios to get first in line for MMRR?

At DHS today (which opened officially at 10am): I drove. Arrived at the traffic jam leading to the parking lot at 9:00am. At 9:05 they began letting in cars. At 9:20 I was parked. At 9:30 I was in the park. Line at MMRR was already 70 minutes. Star Tours not open yet. I did Smugglers Ru. n as a walk on then went to the Animation Courtyard to try to get a boarding group. Hit the button at 10:00:02 and did not get a group. Only one of five parties in my area of the Animation Courtyard got a group. By now MMRR was up to 105 minutes, Slinky Dog was 70+ minutes, everything was jammed. I rode Toy Story with a 15 minute wait (it would be 60 minutes soon), did Star Tours with a 25 minute wait. The new Star Tours is much worse than the old version. Then did the Muppets with another 25 minute wait.

At this point everything was jammed up including long lines for Backlot Express and the bar next to Sci Fi Drive In. I was continually amongst a crowd of people from the minute I arrived 1/2 hour before opening. I have been to WDW in Septmber before and it was nothing like this.

No place to get a cold drink and sit and relax. So I left. Skyliner to Riviera. 20 minutes after leaving Studios I had a meal and cold drink in front of me at Primo Patti. Excellent food and service here! Walked around that resort (not really that great). Skyliner back to Studios and saw the Lightning McQueen show then got a sundae at Hollywood Scoops. The ice cream line was short when I got there, got longer soon after. No tables to sit and eat so I sat on a stone wall. 2:00pm came and I got a backup group for RROTR. We will see if I get to ride.

Summary: paid $88 for the day, rode 5 rides, one of them new and an E-ticket.

We are also at Hollywood Studios today. You summed it up perfectly. Adding this....we keep watching the MMRR wait time which keeps increasing . It is now 120 minutes. Missing FPs!!

 

[momimouse27]

That is the one park I am dreading going into. Epcot is so big that you can kind of get away from crowds in little tucked away places. But DHS seems very tight and less spacey. I know the lines will be bad, but my dh and my dd have been waiting to go to GE for a long time, so I know they will want to be there and try their luck at RROTR. Once chance...that's it. We have one day for DHS. Thank God I got ADR's for SciFi, because I don't want to be standing a ridiculous line for food for an hour. At least we'll be in the air conditioning relaxing.

 

[Helvetica]

I have had a good day at Magic Kingdom, but it’s more like a normal day. I got to the parking lot over an hour early, did the whole spin around thing and became one of the first to park at the front of the pack. I was able to ride Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train before park open and was able to ride a lot of rides before 10:30. By 12:30 the place got really busy to the point of me feeling uncomfortable so I left to take a nap.

For the last few hours, it’s still pretty busy, but the ride ops are really good. It’s really nothing like July.

I’m still having a good time, but I don’t know if I’ll be back until things get closer to normal. The shortened hours really makes things difficult.

 

[Kaiserycy]

What would be the best drop off point for Uber/Lyft for each park if I want to get there way before parking lot opens? Willing to walk. Thank you so much!

 

[yulilin3]

Just back from MK, arrived around 11:30am left around 1:30pm. If you don't know I've been visiting the parks weekly since they reopen, today felt like a regular, slow crowd day. Keep in mind:
the crowds are growing
Disney has not opened any more big crowd swallowers (shows)
Disney has not opened more food places
Here is atip
Get familiar with the Mobile Order option, you can plan your meal just like aa table service, decide in the morning at what time you want to have lunch, order your food from the quick service to guarantee the time. That way when it's Noon (if that's the time you decided to eat at) you will have your time reserved and not have to wait 20 extra minutes for a time window to open

In all honestly there is still space to social distance while walking, Disney has also gotten creative with overflow queues for attractions so you can still social distance there. For the cavalcades pick to watch from Frontierland or Liberty Square for the best empty areas. It is still possible to stay safe BUT if waiting in line for more than 20 or 20 minutes is not for you them I would advice to wait until they reopen more things or they up the ride capacity

 

[soniam]

Odd question, a lot of people are talking about long lines the past few weeks and blaming it on low ride capacity and restaurant/show closures not taking on some of the overflow. All totally understandable as (most of) that is what is needed to ensure social distancing requirements are followed. And it’s understandable that they can’t fund an entire show for only a small portion of the intended viewers. But are these limitations or closures due to state and local restrictions? Or internal Disney policy? I assume the show closures is a decision by Disney because it does not make sense right now since you can’t have people sitting next to one another. But the ride one confuses me more.

We are thinking of going again in the winter as we had a great time in August. But if Disney has the ability to change things like ride capacity on their own whim we would reconsider. If it’s local/state guidelines, then I’d be more reassured that we would at least get some notice before things change.

Anyone know?

There are different capacity issues occurring. There is spacing on individual ride vehicles/theater seats, and then there is how many vehicles are running. For instance, both Space Mountain and Dinosaur have two loading areas. If they are only using one, then that halves the capacity not even considering social distancing issues. They may be able to increase ride capacity by utilizing both loading areas. They also may have just reduced the number of ride vehicles. They can just use less boats on Jungle Cruise, for instance. The one that is possibly not completely under their control is spacing within vehicles for social distancing. Even if the authorities allowed them to cram more people per vehicle, it could look really bad PR-wise.

 

[yulilin3]

There are different capacity issues occurring. There is spacing on individual ride vehicles/theater seats, and then there is how many vehicles are running. For instance, both Space Mountain and Dinosaur have two loading areas. If they are only using one, then that halves the capacity not even considering social distancing issues. They may be able to increase ride capacity by utilizing both loading areas. They also may have just reduced the number of ride vehicles. They can just use less boats on Jungle Cruise, for instance. The one that is possibly not completely under their control is spacing within vehicles for social distancing. Even if the authorities allowed them to cram more people per vehicle, it could look really bad PR-wise.

it is a fine line they are navigating right now
For example Peter Pan today when I was there was at 25 minutes but the line snaked towards Columbia Harbour House, the line looks huge but the wait is not bad for PP because of social distancing queue and they can fill up each boat like normal
Across the way IASW was at the same wait time, the queue snaked toward the Tangle bathrooms but they cannot fill the boats to regular capacity, IASW very rarely sees long line but now it does because of ride capacity restriction

 

[Aimeedyan]

Here now and this mini-opinion is for those who are used to being at WDW in slow times. We have come mid-September for over 10 years. This is nothing like the short wait times we have experienced in the past. We are at Hollywood Studios today and the lines are much longer than anything we have ever experienced this time of year. Of course, the queue lines look long, but we have found that they really are long- maybe not as long as posted, but our experience today has been long waits. I’m currently seated outside of Ronto Roasters and the long line wrapped around the outer building has barely moved the past half hour. Next September will be awesome!

Yup. We are frequent Sept visitors and it's nothing like a normal Sept. If you could handle the heat/humidity/rain, September has always been an amazing time to visit due to lack of crowds. Not this year!