Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[cindianne320]

The worst mask compliance I saw was at Carousel of Progress- there were 2 families- one mom/dad/teenager and a couple, and they kept taking their masks off outside, and then as soon as they saw a CM, pulled them up. As soon as we were seated in the theater, they pulled their masks completely off. As far as I know, no one stopped them when we got out...

 

[disneyseniors]

We have been down there twice since re-opening, from MN. Once in August and once in October. I'm very glad we went and, in hind-sight, I would not change our plans. August was HOT, so the masks got annoying after a while. But we dealt with it. The weather in October was much better, so the masks weren't as big of an issue. The biggest challenge in August was the limited food options at the quick serves. We didn't have any ADR's for the August trip. For the October trip, we did a couple of table service restaurants and I'm glad we did. We spaced them out throughout the trip, so just about the time we were getting sick of the quick serves, we would have a nice table service meal. Also in October, a few more food places were open, so that added a bit more variety.

We flew out of Terminal 2 in MSP (the small terminal) and it was very easy to social distance there. It looked like only about half of the gates were going, so if our gate was full we could've easily moved to another gate to wait. MCO wasn't too bad on the trips back. Less mask compliance than MSP, but similar situation where there were quite a few empty gates around ours, so we went and sat at a different gate to wait. We flew Sun Country, and they are not blocking the middle seats. We had the exit row though, so there was no one between DH and I. The planes were cleaner than I've ever seen them, but I still wiped down my seat area. The planes in August were actually quite full. The planes in October were not nearly as full. Mask compliance on the planes was very good.

We are planning another trip for early December too. Again, we got the Exit row and hope for no one between us.

I felt safer on most of the trip than I do at most shopping places around here.

We are from Mn too, but have not gone back to disney world yet. Sun Country is offering deals at $39.00. Is this what you did? Is this both ways to Florida. I have see these ads alot and they look too good to be true, so just asking if you knew about this? We always fly Delta, so I am curious if there really are good deals out there? Thanks so much

 

[disneyseniors]

Just back from DS arrived at 4pm and walked right into WoD, the crowds didn't look bad at all, i was looking for the gingerbread Mickey pillow for a viewer but they didn't have it, so started the stream around 4:45, walked the entire DS looking for the trees, saw the snow roller skaters and toy soldiers on stilts along with a lot of live entertainment all around, very cool to see it as close to normal as before. Then went over to WoD at around 6:45 and there was a line, that moved steadily but it was about a 10 minute line.

Oh Yulilin3, you truely are living the life!!!! I envy you being able to go to WDW alot, and love your reports/videos. I live in N. Minnesota, so we have the exact opposite of your weather, LOL.
What we do have??? Kids and Grandkids, so I can only dream the disney dream.

 

[Naomeri]

We are from Mn too, but have not gone back to disney world yet. Sun Country is offering deals at $39.00. Is this what you did? Is this both ways to Florida. I have see these ads alot and they look too good to be true, so just asking if you knew about this? We always fly Delta, so I am curious if there really are good deals out there? Thanks so much

Not the OP, but I flew Sun Country Oct 26 and 30 to WDW and the deals are real, except that the $39 each way doesn’t factor in the cost of baggage ($30 for a checked bag each way, or $30 for an overhead carry-on each way) plus the cost of choosing your seat ahead of time ($8-15 each way). All things combined made my flight cost about $150 round-trip from MSP to MCO, which is still cheaper than Delta, but It would’ve been nice to have known ahead of time exactly how much the extras are. I believe SouthWest now has at least 1 direct flight from MSP to MCO per day, so you might check their prices to see if the total costs would be any better.

 

[yulilin3]

Oh Yulilin3, you truely are living the life!!!! I envy you being able to go to WDW alot, and love your reports/videos. I live in N. Minnesota, so we have the exact opposite of your weather, LOL.
What we do have??? Kids and Grandkids, so I can only dream the disney dream.

I feel truly blessed, and it brings me joy to be able to share it with everyone watching

 

[ECUDrummer]

Just put a deposit down on a trip from 2/28-3/6 as a christmas surprise. I know all about the reservation system for park entry but does anyone know if the park traffic calendars like those on Undercover Tourist are accurate during the COVID era? I know we'll want to spend 3 days in MK and 2 in HS, just not sure which days we should be in each park (or if I'm even posting in the correct thread).

 

[swelch1976]

Just put a deposit down on a trip from 2/28-3/6 as a christmas surprise. I know all about the reservation system for park entry but does anyone know if the park traffic calendars like those on Undercover Tourist are accurate during the COVID era? I know we'll want to spend 3 days in MK and 2 in HS, just not sure which days we should be in each park (or if I'm even posting in the correct thread).

I like touringplans.com, but I'm not sure how accurate their park crowd levels are in this pandemic. Another site (can't ever remember which ones we can reference) says - and i think correctly - that if you are going to a park on a Saturday, you might as well choose Hollywood Studios... because it's very crowded every day, and Saturday isn;t much different. Epcot is a park I would recommend on a weekday. The weekend seems to bring out more of the drink-around-the-world crowd.

 

[Beachmom0317]

Went to MK today. From 8:30-2 we did: Peter Pan twice, Tea Cups twice, Carousel, Winnie the Pooh, Tomorrowland speedway, seven dwarfs mine train, Aladdin twice, country bear jamboree, Swiss family tree house and Ariel. I honestly didn’t feel like we were rushing around either. MK is def not like before except crowd wise- except when you are at rapunzle bathrooms- that area is a hot mess lol just wanted to share my experience today! I was nervous cause I had heard of people with long lines. Longest line was SDMT at Iike 10am which was 45 minutes (was posted 55). It was at 75 at 9am so we waited for it to go down. I miss the character M&G and the big festival of fantasy parade, and castle welcome show. The cavalcades are cute though and we come every year so we’re regulars

 

[ECUDrummer]

I like touringplans.com, but I'm not sure how accurate their park crowd levels are in this pandemic. Another site (can't ever remember which ones we can reference) says - and i think correctly - that if you are going to a park on a Saturday, you might as well choose Hollywood Studios... because it's very crowded every day, and Saturday isn;t much different. Epcot is a park I would recommend on a weekday. The weekend seems to bring out more of the drink-around-the-world crowd.

Great, thanks!

 

[stephanie3430]

If you are able to ride MMRR early before official park opening, do you know if Rock n Roller coaster and Tower of Terror often open early too? Or is Slinky a safer option before 10am? I wasn’t sure if there was a way to see on the app...thank you!

 

[GBRforWDW]

If you are able to ride MMRR early before official park opening, do you know if Rock n Roller coaster and Tower of Terror often open early too? Or is Slinky a safer option before 10am? I wasn’t sure if there was a way to see on the app...thank you!

The app doesn't display wait times until official park opening. All rides vary each day with when they actually start running, but unless you're one of the very first to ride MMRR in the morning and they start it fairly quickly after you get there, Slinky dog will probably be pretty long. I'm not sure if RnR or ToT open early, but they'd probably be better choices if you're looking for the shortest line after MMRR.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I feel truly blessed, and it brings me joy to be able to share it with everyone watching

And we greatly appreciate what you share of your times in the parks and expertise here!!

 

[stephanie3430]

Thank you!

 

[Spencer Wright]

When we were there last month, the family ahead of us on IASW and also LWTL pulled their masks off as soon as they were on the ride. At least on Living with the Land, there’s the plastic-y barrier between rows. I know Disney can see what guests are doing on these rides. Once we were on LWTL with a woman who was running her hands through the sand in the greenhouse...there was an announcement made, and when we got off the ride, a CM was there to greet her. Another time a few years ago, a family allowed their kids to stand up on Dumbo (what?!?!). The ride was stopped immediately, and the family was escorted away, idk if it was out of the park, but they were escorted away from the ride. Obviously Disney knows what people are doing on rides, and I’m kind of surprised they aren’t doing anything about people who remove masks on rides. At least in lines it’s within my control. I can choose to leave extra space, ask the party behind me to go ahead of me, or leave the line if I feel unsafe. Those options don’t exist on a ride. Yes, I am knowingly taking a risk in choosing to visit Disney World. However, I have chosen to take this risk based on information and safety requirements that Disney has presented to me— that mask non-compliance will result in guests being asked to leave the park. I haven’t seen it. Will I still visit next week? Yes. It is just irritating to me that Disney obviously knows what guests are doing on rides and chooses to ignore mask non-compliance. Touching the sand isn’t allowed but removing your mask is?

I have seen them enforce mask wearing on some attractions. During FOP an announcement had to be made. And on Land a CM working in the greenhouse said something to a guest.

I think as more people go, enforcement will become increasingly difficult.

haha standing on Dumbo

 

[Spencer Wright]

I was part of a group of 6, 4 adults and 2 children. I was very conscious of the fact that all of us could not fit on one marker. We were 2 family units, so we mostly split up 2 adults and 2 kids on the first marker and 2 adults on the next marker. My husband and I were the second group of 2 adults.

I had a very unnerving experience in the FOP line. There was another large group behind us, not really sure how many they were. But the woman at the front of this group was literally on top of me, with more right behind her. I asked them to please move back and stay on the next marker, but the woman yelled at me and told me to keep up with my party. I tried explaining that as a party of 6, we took up more space than one marker and to please give me space but she would not let up. I basically shut down at that point and just tried to pretend she wasn’t there. I stopped looking behind me, but their group kept talking loudly about how I needed to keep up with my group. Can’t control other people, and people will be inconsiderate jerks.

I also agree that people don’t realize that when there are switchbacks, even if it looks like more than 6 ft to the next marker, you need to stand where it says because otherwise you’re too close to the next switchback lane spot. But people think they know better.

To piggyback off of your post... while I think WDW has done an excellent job communicating rules, they need to communicate the fact that each marker is only meant for four people much much better.

It creates a lot of confusion and makes it difficult to social distance as large groups cannot fit on one marker.

hopefully they will make this much more well known than they have.

 

[Dshelly2004]

Was at DW Nov. 5-11 and we had a great time. I felt pretty safe with all that Disney was doing. All the closed shops, restaurants and attractions/events made it feel kinda weird. Finding a place to eat was difficult for someone who likes to not over plan that aspect. I think wait lines were longer cuz people didn't have other things to pull them away. I missed the things that I could just chill out at and rest.

We did the memory maker and overall it was a good deal, but we had to work hard at times to find photographers. And many that we found weren't over excited from what I could see.

We absolutely loved the skyliner. Staying at AoA and BCV we really got to experience it. We didn't rely on it for rope drop so it was pretty much walk on. The night views are incredible and a way to see the parks in a whole new light. I definitely feel like this is now a step above the beloved monorail.

I do think the crowds were down but for many of the attractions the waits were up. I think the long lines for some of the attractions like FOP were hard for people to understand. Many didn't get that it was queing closer to Africa and this was terrible at night. Not enough cast members at key points to help lines move and not let people cut in line.

Overall good trip to Disney World but it will go down as the most unusual. I look forward to it returning to the no mask everything open time again. I guess our next trip will be in a couple years...

 

[PirateSnowmen]

If you are able to ride MMRR early before official park opening, do you know if Rock n Roller coaster and Tower of Terror often open early too? Or is Slinky a safer option before 10am? I wasn’t sure if there was a way to see on the app...thank you!

The app doesn't display wait times until the park is officially open. There's no guarantee which rides will be open early. I was there last Tuesday and Slinky & ToT didn't open until after 10am. Everything else was open. It just depends on how quickly the CM's can get the rides up & running.

 

[yulilin3]

Ak was pretty empty this evening, arrived at 3pm, saw all the cavalcades and walked on safari.
2020 merch is now 70% off

 

[underminer]

Day 2: Animal Kingdom Friday 11/13

This was our unanimous favorite day and favorite park of the trip. Having a 7am start was great and allowed us to knock out the Pandora rides quickly. Flight Passage was just as amazing as we had heard and I was pleasantly surprised by Navi river journey as well. We then headed to Everest and quickly noticed that there was hardly anyone in that side of the park. It was bizarre but amazing riding our favorite coaster as many times as we wanted. After 3-4 times (7 for the day) we decided to check out some other stuff. Dinosaur, Kali River and Safaris were all walk-ons. This was what we hoped for when we planned this trip in August. It did get progressively busier through the day but other than FoP, most of the attractions were short waits. Had a great lunch at Yak and Yeti and then hit animal trails and repeated rides the rest of the day. Such a beautiful park!!
Biggest surprise: I had heard a lot of negative about Navi river and if I had to wait 60 min or more I might feel differently but to me it was just like the imagineers created a beautiful painting that we got to ride through and appreciate their talents.
Biggest disappointment: I get what they were trying to do with Dinoland but it is a smudge on an otherwise perfect park. It looks cheap and feels so out of place. Dinosaur ride is just a poor copy of Indy in DL. It’s too dark and half the dinos don’t move. They can find a better theme for a little kid area and make it more cohesive to the rest of the park. Heck, just change Dino to Indy and it would be much better.
Other thoughts: It may not be as exciting, but the Safari and walking trails are the real heart of this park and so well themed and cool.
Next: Hollywood studios!

 

[Spencer Wright]

Day 2: Animal Kingdom Friday 11/13

This was our unanimous favorite day and favorite park of the trip. Having a 7am start was great and allowed us to knock out the Pandora rides quickly. Flight Passage was just as amazing as we had heard and I was pleasantly surprised by Navi river journey as well. We then headed to Everest and quickly noticed that there was hardly anyone in that side of the park. It was bizarre but amazing riding our favorite coaster as many times as we wanted. After 3-4 times (7 for the day) we decided to check out some other stuff. Dinosaur, Kali River and Safaris were all walk-ons. This was what we hoped for when we planned this trip in August. It did get progressively busier through the day but other than FoP, most of the attractions were short waits. Had a great lunch at Yak and Yeti and then hit animal trails and repeated rides the rest of the day. Such a beautiful park!!
Biggest surprise: I had heard a lot of negative about Navi river and if I had to wait 60 min or more I might feel differently but to me it was just like the imagineers created a beautiful painting that we got to ride through and appreciate their talents.
Biggest disappointment: I get what they were trying to do with Dinoland but it is a smudge on an otherwise perfect park. It looks cheap and feels so out of place. Dinosaur ride is just a poor copy of Indy in DL. It’s too dark and half the dinos don’t move. They can find a better theme for a little kid area and make it more cohesive to the rest of the park. Heck, just change Dino to Indy and it would be much better.
Other thoughts: It may not be as exciting, but the Safari and walking trails are the real heart of this park and so well themed and cool.
Next: Hollywood studios!

I am so glad you enjoyed Navi! It is one of my favorites!