Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[cyndiella]

Not that so much as that there is no bus between Pop and DHS. Pop only has the Skyliner and the timing is such that, no matter how early you are for the Skyliner at the Pop station, you’ll probably be behind a whole lot of people from Caribbean Beach and, perhaps, Riviera at the transfer point to DHS. When I stayed at Caribbean Beach in September every morning the line for DHS extended down the ramp and out onto the sidewalk long before the Pop people ever arrived. That was before AoA opened.

I’m avoiding longer indoor queues (like Runaway Railway and Tower of Terror) as much as possible which meant arriving at the front of the opening crowd. If it weren’t for COVID I would have just taken my chances with the Skyliner. I chose to skip Rise of the Resistance altogether. It’s just too indoorsy for me right now.

My original intention was to take a bus from AoA to DHS but it was cold, like really, really chilly with a nasty little biting wind. I saw a MK bus pull up and jumped on thinking I’d rather sit on a warm bus and transfer to another warm bus than wait at the chilly AoA stop for more a direct trip. If it had been 60 instead of 40 degrees out I probably would have just waited for the direct DHS bus from AoA. The convoluted route I ended up taking actually got me there significantly earlier than the Skyliner or any of the buses.

All of that said, I was on the first bus out from Pop once to AK and twice to MK and the AoA bus beat us every time. Pop did look like it was always second. If staying at AoA I wouldn’t hesitate to use their buses for park open.

In my experience this week (and I was paying attention) was that, aside from walk ups, first arrivals were the AoA buses at MK (3X) with Pop right behind, and the first people off the Skyliner at DHS (2 X) Walk ups seemed to be first at both parks.

I caught the earliest AK bus from Pop and was one of the first into the park, I’m pretty sure it was the first bus to arrive that morning.

Long way to say that, if my experience this past week is anything to go by, bus service from Pop works well if you can be there early enough to be on the first one out.

great information! thanks!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Just returned from a 12-day trip to the World, our first in 5 years. I posted in a bit more detail about our first couple days many pages back, but I'll sum up here. For context, we're 2 healthy-ish 30-somethings from California. We haven't eaten indoors since before March, we wear masks religiously, we cancelled our family vacation back in August because it wouldn't be safe, and while we were gone they announced a second lockdown of our area.

The Good
-Festival of Holidays and all the seasonal snacks were a big hit with us. Even in its reduced form, there are still plenty of things to try.
-Wait times were pretty reasonable (see below for a caveat)
-People did seem to be trying their best to abide by the rules. There were certainly people who didn't seem to be able to pay attention to anything outside of themselves/their party, but for the most part people were genuinely trying.
-We didn't have problems with mobile ordering, though outside the restaurants became a gauntlet of trying to get through everyone else who was waiting for their food.
-We missed park-hopping a little, but instead we did 2 days at each park and just went slower, which was kind of nice. And the lack of planning/racing around made for a much more relaxing vacation.
-Overall we had a really good time.

The Bad
-Drunk people cannot socially-distance. This was a big issue at EPCOT.
-Airports are very much a reflection of the state in which they are located. SFO was great - empty, distanced, quiet. MSP was a nightmare of epic proportions.
-The "stand here" lines are too close together. No party of more than 2 can fit on the line, so the group winds up filling most of the six-feet section. At Universal, the lines were closer to 10 feet apart, which helped account for the space that people took up.
-I did not see CMs correcting people who were wearing masks incorrectly. My partner said he saw one do it once. There were a lot of nose-peekers and a handful of forgetful folks, and no one was addressing it. I was surprised because people on here had reported that CMs were doing that - I'm not sure if they're just burned out or afraid of starting a fight or there are just too few of them now to add that job duty.
-The parks are not built for the kind of distance that is required. The number of choke-points are really ridiculous, especially for how recently many sections were built and therefore how large of crowds they should have expected. DHS was the worst - not only SWGE, which we expected, but TSL as well. Even without a pandemic, the walkways are just too narrow for the crowds.
-People still instinctively crowd together when there's any kind of 'spectacle.' Cavalcades - people hear the music and cram together at the front of the sidewalk. Lit-up castle - people stand in crowds to watch it...not change for 15 minutes. Why, people?!

The Unexpected
-Rise BG. I was thrilled to not need to race over into the throng and expected we would get something mid-afternoon and wander over when crowds were lower. Instead we got BG5 and BG6 on our two days! Whoops?
-I love the cavalcades. Except that you can't predict when they'll be so you can easily get stuck behind them. Like 4 times in one afternoon at MK.
-The number of lines that are inaccessible really shocked me. I use a tiny electric wheelchair and am used to some accessibility issues at DL because it was built in the 50s. Plenty of rides at DL make you enter through the exit or come back at a different time because it predates the ADA by some 30-40 years. But at WDW, which is much newer, and in particular parks/areas that postdate the ADA, it's really ridiculous. We couldn't take advantage of inflated line times because we were given return-times at almost every ride. On one hand, it was nice to wait outside the line; on the other, waiting 60 minutes for something you know is only a 30-minute wait is annoying - and mostly infuriating because it shouldn't be inaccessible after all this time. And don't even get me started on Pirates.
-I had seen people talking about how the mask makes them tired faster; in the heat I can see that, but it was pleasantly cool when we went. However, we were wiped out much faster than usual. I don't think it was the mask itself, I think it was the energy being expended to try to figure out how to avoid people and being constantly vigilant. The mental energy it took to try to be as careful as possible and worrying all the time left us more drained than we expected.

Overall, I'm glad we went. I desperately needed to get out of the house, and within the Disney Bubble I felt relatively safe. However, we won't be going back until after the pandemic - not because of Disney itself, not because of what was "missing," but because the journey to get to Florida was so exhausting and stress-inducing. When/if DL reopens, we'll almost certainly go there because we can drive.

Pirates exit is in a different building how do you want them to get your chair to the exit? if I remember correctly that is not the same at DL. been years since I lived in Cal

 

[Telcogirl]

Here now and thumbing through the TV....where is Stacey?

 

[Akck]

Now that we’re back home after 7 nights in the Disney bubble, 3 nights at Universal and 9 nights before that in Houston, I thought I’d provide a summary of our trip. This whole trip started over a year ago as we made plans to visit with our granddaughter (parents included), for her first WDW trip in January 2021. Well, the first big change was to move the trip to December in order to catch all the holiday activities. Reservations were made Jan/Feb 2020 for early December and we were set.

Then COVID happened. We considered canceling as the experience wouldn’t be the same. In the end, we and her parents decided to go since they’ve been isolating themselves for months. So we spent Thanksgiving with them and helped them move (another story), prior to the trip.

The flight in was fine as middle seats were empty. The original plan was to take ME, use Disney transportation and Uber/Lyft as needed. With COVID, we ended up renting a car and we’re spoiled with being able drive off property including GKTW Night of a Million Lights, which we loved. We stayed at the Riviera Resort in 2 standard studios, which we thoroughly enjoyed, especially the skyliner.

For the most part, we were able to go on all the rides we wanted except some water rides (too cold to walk around wet). Many of them were walk-ons or near walk-ons, including MMRR at park open (reported earlier in this thread). While some had long lines, we had very few pauses in them. Crowd size at times, felt the same as when we were here in Oct 2019, with some areas almost being empty.

Meal planning was somewhat difficult as QS limited menus got old relatively quickly. To increase your meal choices, you need to have some ADRs. I was able to get several, including character meals for the granddaughter. We also drove to some off site restaurants. For the most part, tables were well spaced apart and we felt comfortable in both indoor and outdoor tables. We felt uncomfortable at one restaurant that was at 100% capacity. They had placed barriers between all tables, but it felt odd compared to the others we ate at. The character meals were well worth it. We saw many genuine smiles on our granddaughter as each character distantly interacted with her.

While many have mentioned that they felt safe at WDW, there’s always that chance you can be infected. Is that morning sore throat COVID or is it AC induced? Is that runny nose and cough COVID or is it just a cold? I would say that if you have safe practices at home, you can have safe practices at Disney. In our state, you can quarantine for 14 days or get tested. We tested negative, so you can be safe in your travels.

 

[fabfemmeboy]

Pirates exit is in a different building how do you want them to get your chair to the exit? if I remember correctly that is not the same at DL. been years since I lived in Cal

So here's the weird thing with Pirates at WDW: You can bring personal wheelchairs into the queue...but only if they have no electric mechanisms at all. So a fully-manual chair, you can bring all the way to where you get onto the boat and they will have waiting for you when you exit (because the ride is like 10 minutes long). Anything with electricity at all, you cannot bring into the building. A couple months ago someone with a manual chair with power assist was told they couldn't bring it in, then were told they could but only if they didn't turn the electronics on at all while in line. So that's not a timing issue. I was told it was a water issue, but since I can take the whole chair onto IASW and Frozen (where we got much more wet!) that seems strange. Also the CM said thought she remembered something from training about it being about insufficient elevators, which I assume is to get the chair from one building to the other, but again - manual chairs can be used even if they can't fold up, and many electric chairs or manual chairs with electric drives fold up as small as a regular chair so it's not a size issue, plus they have as good of a turning radius as the smallest manual chair. It's just a very strange policy that no one seems to be able to explain why it is what it is and why the lines were drawn in the way that they were.

The other weird thing is that, until a few months ago, they had the same policy with FOP, then...stopped suddenly and now just have chairs in the room where you exit. (I assume because people complained that a) loved-ones had to push a manual chair up a rather steep ramp and b) the ride was built 35 years after the ADA passed when every 4th person at WDW uses a scooter, why can it only be traversed in a manual chair?)

 

[Betty Rohrer]

So here's the weird thing with Pirates at WDW: You can bring personal wheelchairs into the queue...but only if they have no electric mechanisms at all. So a fully-manual chair, you can bring all the way to where you get onto the boat and they will have waiting for you when you exit (because the ride is like 10 minutes long). Anything with electricity at all, you cannot bring into the building. A couple months ago someone with a manual chair with power assist was told they couldn't bring it in, then were told they could but only if they didn't turn the electronics on at all while in line. So that's not a timing issue. I was told it was a water issue, but since I can take the whole chair onto IASW and Frozen (where we got much more wet!) that seems strange. Also the CM said thought she remembered something from training about it being about insufficient elevators, which I assume is to get the chair from one building to the other, but again - manual chairs can be used even if they can't fold up, and many electric chairs or manual chairs with electric drives fold up as small as a regular chair so it's not a size issue, plus they have as good of a turning radius as the smallest manual chair. It's just a very strange policy that no one seems to be able to explain why it is what it is and why the lines were drawn in the way that they were.

The other weird thing is that, until a few months ago, they had the same policy with FOP, then...stopped suddenly and now just have chairs in the room where you exit. (I assume because people complained that a) loved-ones had to push a manual chair up a rather steep ramp and b) the ride was built 35 years after the ADA passed when every 4th person at WDW uses a scooter, why can it only be traversed in a manual chair?)

just guessing but I am thinking it is because they take up stairs folded not elevator and afraid of damaging some of electrics. just a guess

 

[wdwrule]

Here now and thumbing through the TV....where is Stacey?

Unfortunately I believe gone because of the current times we’re in ... for now. I searched and searched when I was there recently and no luck. A channel titled Disney’s Must Do’s but had a different program on that channel.

 

[briternik]

I have used these boards so much over that last many years to do my trip planning. It was more beneficial this year than ever before. We just returned from our weeklong stay. I think it is much, much more crowded than I expected. If you are at all leary, I don’t think you will feel comfortable. My party of six all quarantined before going. We all got Covid tested and we drove. The adults work from home and we haven’t been to a restaurant since March. We have been very cautious. Once we got to Disney, all bets were off.

We arrived at Boardwalk Villas around 3. Our room wasn’t ready until 5:30. We usually stay at BLT, but decided it was more important to walk to Epcot and HS than walking to MK. We arrived each day about an hour before opening times. This worked out well for the first 2 or 3 rides. After that, there were long lines for everything. We are very savvy fastpassers, so waiting 40 minutes to see Mickey’s Philharmagic isn’t our idea of fun. If we saw a 20 minute wait time on a ride, and headed straight to that attraction, it was 40 minutes by the time we got there. I had read many reports that the wait time was shorter than stated, but I didn’t find that to be the case. It was usually spot on.

Magic Kingdom was, by far, the worst place to try to get a meal or a snack. The Starbucks line was never less than 30 minutes long, and oftentimes up to an hour. This was no matter the time of day. There is no off-peak time. Sleepy Hollow was the same. It was just unbelievable. We had booked 1 ADR per day and were so thankful we did. Usually, the night before you can get reservations that other people cancel last minute. That didn’t happen for us even once this trip. We made sure to make our counter service reservation way before we wanted it, due to the advice given on this board. That was certainly helpful.

The social distancing whilst in line was fine. I didn’t really feel uncomfortable. However, when you went to get off of a ride, everyone clustered together. No separation at all. The same with the cavalcades. When the music started, everyone rushed to the front. At Magic Kingdom, there was always a bottleneck between Peter Pan and Small World. When the castle projections started at night, the crowds didn’t look much different than when we had Happily Ever After.

The park I felt most comfortable in was Epcot. There was so much more room to spread out. HS and AK were congested in spots. We got boarding group 30 for ROTR and were called about 10:45. It broke down right during the final scene, so we got to ride it again when it came back up. Great ride! Magic Kingdom didn’t seem any less crowded than when I have gone in past Christmas’s or during Spring Break.

All in all, we had a great time. I love seeing Disney at Christmas. I think if I had 20/20 hindsight, though, I would wait until things were more back to normal. I’m going to wait 5 days and take a Covid test. I think it will be a miracle if one of us didn’t get it. Here’s hoping though…….

I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

 

[popeyeohoh]

Finally some action on the resort TV.

View attachment 508579

 

[FredQc]

-Airports are very much a reflection of the state in which they are located. SFO was great - empty, distanced, quiet. MSP was a nightmare of epic proportions.

How would you qualify MCO?

Thank you for this great report.

 

[FredQc]

We felt uncomfortable at one restaurant that was at 100% capacity. They had placed barriers between all tables, but it felt odd compared to the others we ate at.

Was it a WDW restaurant and, if yes, which one?

Thank you for your post.

 

[Befferk]

MSP was a nightmare of epic proportions.

Can you expand on this? We are flying out of MSP on Christmas Day.

 

[cjlong88]

Airports are very much a reflection of the state in which they are located. SFO was great - empty, distanced, quiet. MSP was a nightmare of epic proportions.

I had the complete opposite experience. We departed from MSP and it was a ghost town and the people I did see were adhering to all safety protocols (mask wearing, social distancing, etc) the entire time. I think it wholly depends on day and time you are at the airport. I heard MCO was terrible before traveling to WDW and when we landed it was also completely empty.

Do I doubt that MSP was crazy when you connected there? Not at all. But I think every airport is going to experience both extremes at some point. What each person experiences is going to vary.

 

[crazycatlady]

I got so much information from this thread before we left for our trip that I want to give back and relate our experiences.

Friday, Dec 4th: AK - We got to the Jamaica bus stop at 6:15am for 8am open and were the only ones there. Two more families arrived around 6:30am before the first bus came at 6:45. Bus only went to Jamaica and Aruba before heading to AK. We walked directly through temp check and security with no line. I snapped a picture of the tree outside the park at 6:10 on our way to the tapstiles where we were held until about 6:20 (we were about 3rd group in our line). Walked right to FOP with about a 5 to 10 minute wait. After that we rode Navi with no wait, Dino with no wait , Everest with about a 5 minute wait and safari with a 10 minute wait. I snapped a picture of a giraffe at 8:09am.

Saturday, Dec 5th: DHS - Took an Uber to Speedway at 7:45am for 10am open. Walked briskly to DHS and were about 5th family there. Were walked to temp check around 8:45 and held there until about 9:10 before being let into the park. We were on the first train at MMRR, then went directly to Slinky and waited about 20 to 25 minutes. After that we went to Smugglers Run for about a 15 minute wait. By the time we did those three rides, it was around 11am and the wait times were higher than we wanted to wait and the crowds were higher than we liked, so we left around 11am. We came back in the evening and walked on Aliens and only waited for about 15 minutes for MMRR.

Sunday, Dec 6th: MK - Took an Uber to CR at 6:15am for an 8am open, held at temp check until around 6:50 am and let through the tapstiles around 7:15am. Walked to Big Thunder and was really disappointed to learn that neither BT nor SpM would be opening early, nor would they let us line up that early. We were going to walk back to Fantasyland, but decided that we would already be way behind the 8-ball, so we just stayed by BT. Luckily, all the people coming up after us just started a line behind us, so when they finally let us into the que at around 7:40, we were still first in line. They let us onto the ride about 7:50. Walked onto Pirates, had about a 15 minute wait for JC, walked on HM, had about a 15 minute wait for SW and walked onto the Speedway around 10:15. By 1pm the park was too crowded for our comfort so we left and came back in the evening. Waits decreased dramatically around 7 pm and walked on or waited small waits for a bunch of rides.

Monday, Dec 7th: Epcot - Took skyliner to DHS, took boat to BC, and then walked to IG. Were about 6 groups back at 10am for 12pm open. They let us in around 11:15 and we fast walked to Norway. We went to the left out of the tapstiles (towards Canada) but the bulk of the crowd went to the right. We were the first to make it to Norway and were the first on Frozen. We stayed in WS and waited until after 3:30 to go to FW and had short waits for all the rides except TT, which we skipped until after dinner and then waited around 25 minutes for (which is still pretty good).

Tuesday, Dec 8th: AK - Did the same as above, but bus was 15 minutes later went to all stops at CBR, so missed RD, but still only waited around 20 minutes for FOP, walked on Navi and had small waits at other rides.

Wednesday, Dec 9th: MK - Decided to take bus this time so was on bus stop by 6:15am for 8am open and driver was to MK by 6:45. The guard at the gate wouldn't let our bus park because it was too early, so we had to wait until 7am to park. We were immediately let through temp check and held at tapstiles until around 7:15. We learned from last time and went to Mine Train which was open so rode that and then walked on to PP and then on to BTRR. Much less crowded day, but the evening was more crowded than on Sunday.

Thursday, Dec 10th: Epcot - Same as above with same results

Friday, Dec 11th: DHS - DH got BG 1. We decided to take skyliner this time and were first in line at station at 7:00am for 9am open. We were let on the skyliner at 7:45 and then led to temp check behind all the walkers, so were about 10 groups back in our line and behind about 35 or 40 groups back in total. After about 15 minutes in line they started letting the people off the skyliner into a brand new line at a different tent, which we thought was pretty unfair. I feel like if you are going to have a separate line for the skyliners, than the first people off the skyliner should get to line up there and not have the people who are there 20 minutes later get to be first in line. Anyway, we rode MMRR, RNR, and TOT before heading to ROTR at 9:15. Waits were small all morning and we rode ST with 10 min wait and RNR with 15 minute wait after. We came back in the evening and waits continued to be reasonable for all rides. We rode MMRR two more times at park close with little to no wait.

Sorry this is so long but we used multiple transportation methods so wanted to give you all that info. The best tip I have it to get to RD early and go immediately to one of the big headliners because the other rides may not be open, stay until the waits or crowds are out of your comfort zone and then leave. Come back in the evening because the waits are way shorter.

I will answer any questions you may have.

 

[Telcogirl]

Unfortunately I believe gone because of the current times we’re in ... for now. I searched and searched when I was there recently and no luck. A channel titled Disney’s Must Do’s but had a different program on that channel.

I know! The Disney Must Do channel had regular programs on. I needed a little Stacey to normalize this Disney trip.

 

[kondjott]

Just wrapped up a 4 day trip and wanted to share our experiences to help others planning and (maybe more importantly) setting expectations.

For context, my wife and I were traveling with our 4 kids and her parents, and we stayed in connecting rooms at Pop Century.

Operations: Was really impressed with how quickly they moved everyone through the lines for the temp screening, security, monorail, and ticket entrance. Was probably the fastest I've ever gotten from parking lot to walking into the park at any of the parks (but especially MK). The lines were well spaced out, with minimal times waiting inside, and you can tell they've really thought through how they're handling things operationally. Mask guidelines were well enforced, and I only saw a handful of people the whole time who weren't complying with the rules.

Crowds: Lines were not bad at all for the first couple hours, but things got noticeably more crowded starting around 10:30. After that point, very few things had less than a 30 minute posted wait, though we found that most actual waits were closer to half the posted time. Parks definitely felt crowded though, especially at bottlenecks and in front of the castle at night. That said, the Hub was nowhere near as crowded as it is during normal times. Anyone that says otherwise has never tried to navigate a double stroller through there right after a fireworks show or parade.

Characters: Character interactions were handled about as well as could be right now. The cavalcades were great, and seeing other characters "wandering" at a distance was always a nice surprise.

I think Disney is doing a tremendous job with the hand they've been dealt, but it's definitely not the same. Just go in with realistic expectations, and don't expect super low wait times or empty areas of the park, and you'll have a much better time.

 

[Befferk]

Took an Uber to CR at 6:15am for an 8am open

Did you have a mobile order?

 

[Greektina]

Hello Everyone,

We have a trip scheduled from 12/18 to 12/25, two adults and three teens. We have been very cautious with regards to COVID, ie haven't eaten in a restaurant since March, kids doing school from home, wearing masks, etc. We are hopeful for a fun yet safe trip, coming from Wisconsin. We are DVC members, staying at AKL Kidani and BWV, renting a car. We are planning on dining outdoors for almost all of our meals. We have been to Disney many times, so we don't have to do everything, but just want to get the good Disney feels! We have never been here at Christmas time.

The information posted here has been very helpful as I have been planning our trip, thank you! I have a few more questions for anyone that might have advice for me.

To those of you who have been to Savi's workshop, did you feel that the spacing among guests was safe?

Any strong recommendations for outdoor dining? We have ADR at Olivia's and Trattoria al Forno, hoping for outdoor seating. Is it difficult to get an outdoor seat at Nomad Lounge, or Primo Piatti?

We have ADR at California Grill and Kona Cafe. For those of you who have been here during the pandemic, is the seating between separate parties a good distance?

Thank you in advance!

 

[KrazeeK120]

I’m going to wait 5 days and take a Covid test. I think it will be a miracle if one of us didn’t get it.

Just curious, what makes you say that?

 

[crazycatlady]

Did you have a mobile order?

We had a mobile order and the guard made me show it on my phone before we were let into the parking lot.