Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[p44nmun]

I am totally baffled about the crowds here. From all the previous comments and my past xmas experiences, I was expecting these extreme wait times. I knew crowd level would be down but never thought the parks would be empty. I have never experienced such low wait times in all my past 10 yr or so of coming here during xmas. Most every ride so far has been under 30min with most average 15 min. MF was the longest and TT after that but even those are well under normal for this week. I def stand corrected in my original opinion that wait times would still be high due to social distancing because that is most def not the case. For anyone choosing not to go during this week because your worried about wait times, I recommend u go. I literally waited 5 min to ride Spaceship Earth during prime time. Good luck and Merry Xmas

Ps..Frozen was 15min during prime hours

Your post made my day!!! We are leaving tomorrow and staying for a week and I have been so concerned about long long lines, waiting forever to get into stores or get food and then someone posted magical express was an hour wait yesterday and I told my husband I was about to cancel the trip. (Although I’m sure I’d never). But your post just made me super excited and although I am ready to “go with the flow” I feel so much better now.

 

[Bruggok]

Update: Did AK Dec 20 Sunday - relatively low wait lines and good crowd mask compliance. Did HS Dec 21 Monday - obviously busier than EP AK on Dec 19 and 20, but still ok. MMRR surprisingly peaked after rope drop at 75m then rest of day 45-60m. Visitors spread out among various “lower tier” ride lines instead of focused in tier 1 FastPass rides.

Today Dec 22 did MK. Out of the 4 parks in the past 4 days, my family felt MK had the most mask/“wait at this line” non-compliant guests. Other 3 parks always had people sneaking a snack or drink under their mask with an occasional mask off eat-in-line person. I get that and don’t expect perfect enforcement. However in MK today at small world a family kept pulling mask down under their mouth, not even to eat/drink, while waiting in line a few spots ahead of me. They’d pull mask back up to walk by CM. When we pointed out the offenders to a CM, she said she has to see it herself, but it was obvious she chose not to look even when we told her. We had so many mask under nose people walk/stand close to us and people getting up right behind us in line, that by lunchtime we were done dodging people in MK. We left to go back to resort. Maybe this evening will be better. Strange that guests can be so good at standing at the 6’ spots in line at EP/AK/HS, but were so bad at MK.

 

[gatzsd]

What time of the day were you waiting? Just curious?

About 2 pm. We did have a reservation but the sign posted at check in said 60 min. I talked to people toward the front of the line to find out how long they had been waiting and they were at 45 min. They said the sign used to say 45 min wait and they changed it to 60 min. It was worth it to us to pay for the Uber and not do that wait after traveling.

 

[gatzsd]

Glad to hear Epcot is low wait times we are headed there tomorrow- definitely not the case at MK, about half the rides are about an hour wait time. I was just thinking they would be less because its supposed to be limited capacity and no fast passes. Splash and thunder mountain back up and running though so that’s good news. Mask compliance seems to be good - lines for the most part have social distancing markers but that’s not always the case usually closer as you enter the boarding area. The weather is great which makes waiting outside pleasant.

 

[Mrspeaks]

Sure. We got to Speedway just a minute or two before 7:30, and we got to the first holding area at 7:40. They took our temperature at 8:05, so we were walking inside by 8:10. I took some photos so that I'd know what time everything happened.

Would a walk from the Disney resorts also be held? Not sure if they filter into the same walkway.

 

[tstein12]

Would a walk from the Disney resorts also be held? Not sure if they filter into the same walkway.

Yes, since the resorts use the same walkway...

 

[Alynw]

Just rode Soarin, 30 .in posted wait, 10 min only, crazy to me. U can not go by posted times or how long the lines look.

 

[Donnask8pro]

Got back Sun from 7 days, we originally had 3 days planned for Disney and 3 days US/IOA. We hit US first day then next day EP. I was surprised how much better US is handling social distancing. We never did a another Dis park after EP. Spent the rest of our time at US/IOA as they were definitely more on top of it. I should add I have a handicapped son at home and just needed to get a break, didn't want to chance bringing anything home either.

 

[wdwrule]

Just FYI in case anyone uses photo pass and had a similar experience... last month we were on PoC and noticed a party in front of boat weren’t wearing masks correctly. Of course at the end of the trip I still didn’t see that pic of us show up on our account. I emailed about this missing photo about a week ago figuring it was worth a shot. Today someone from Disney Photopass called and explained that a party in front weren’t wearing masks correctly but we were... she said if it was ok with us they’d crop them out of the photo and give us the pic. It turned out really nicely! So apparently that’s what they’re doing now... zooming in and cropping the pic and still letting you have it which is great! Worth a shot after all if you end up missing a pic due to another party not following the rules.

 

[ckb_nc]

I was there 12/13 to 12/18

Stayed at BWV - the resort was quite empty.

Monday 12/14 - MK - we arrived later and found it to be not hard to get around. Hardest place for congestion was right by Small World.

Tuesday 12/15 - HS - rope dropped and it was great. longest wait was either ToT or SM. Lines were really long looking but moved well. The only social distancing challenge was in Rise line - too many blind corners. We rode TSMania 3 x with no waits at all

Wednesday 12/16 - AK - Pandora was pretty hard to get around but even thing else was pretty easy. Everest was walk on and was Kali. Safari was pretty much walk on too. We waited 40 minutes Flight of Passage.

Thursday 12/17 - MK - Rope drop again. Rope drop is your absolute friend. Get there at least 45 minutes before opening to the gate. We rode Pan with no wait, Space with no wait and Buzz 2X no wait. Longest wait was Mine Train which was a 50 minutes

Friday 12/18 - Gold pass block dates started and the crowd changes. HS - longer lines and bigger crowds. First time I saw anyone not following mask protocol all week. ToT was an hour - and RbR was 40 minutes. Galaxy's Edge was a challenge. And the longest wait for Mania all week at maybe 20 minutes

 

[marinejjh]

Update: Did AK Dec 20 Sunday - relatively low wait lines and good crowd mask compliance. Did HS Dec 21 Monday - obviously busier than EP AK on Dec 19 and 20, but still ok. MMRR surprisingly peaked after rope drop at 75m then rest of day 45-60m. Visitors spread out among various “lower tier” ride lines instead of focused in tier 1 FastPass rides.

Today Dec 22 did MK. Out of the 4 parks in the past 4 days, my family felt MK had the most mask/“wait at this line” non-compliant guests. Other 3 parks always had people sneaking a snack or drink under their mask with an occasional mask off eat-in-line person. I get that and don’t expect perfect enforcement. However in MK today at small world a family kept pulling mask down under their mouth, not even to eat/drink, while waiting in line a few spots ahead of me. They’d pull mask back up to walk by CM. When we pointed out the offenders to a CM, she said she has to see it herself, but it was obvious she chose not to look even when we told her. We had so many mask under nose people walk/stand close to us and people getting up right behind us in line, that by lunchtime we were done dodging people in MK. We left to go back to resort. Maybe this evening will be better. Strange that guests can be so good at standing at the 6’ spots in line at EP/AK/HS, but were so bad at MK.

Why do grown people tell on other's? I've always said during this whole pandemic to worry about you and let me worry about me. We are going soon and my kids know about the mask policy and when and where we can eat/drink, but if I had people telling on people around me, they would surely get some great responses.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Why do grown people tell on other's? I've always said during this whole pandemic to worry about you and let me worry about me. We are going soon and my kids know about the mask policy and when and where we can eat/drink, but if I had people telling on people around me, they would surely get some great responses.

Because in this case what others choose to do risks the health and safety of those around them. Mask are designed to keep your germs in, not to keep others germs out. If what you do doesn’t harm me, I could care less, but in this case others noncompliance with the rules literally risks the lives of those in their vicinity .

 

[mlayton14]

Why do grown people tell on other's? I've always said during this whole pandemic to worry about you and let me worry about me. We are going soon and my kids know about the mask policy and when and where we can eat/drink, but if I had people telling on people around me, they would surely get some great responses.

I am shocked by this post , are you still in high school ? Follow the rules or stay home

 

[marinejjh]

I am shocked by this post , are you still in high school ? Follow the rules or stay home

I definitely agree with following the rules or stay home. I just can't stand when adults find it necessary to taddle like kids on other grown adults. Sorry but worry about yourselves. Also if you are social distancing and masks really work then we wouldn't have the case numbers we currently have. Sorry, just my opinion and its Disney's responsibility to enforce the mask mandate, not the public in the park.

 

[RabFlmom]

Why do grown people tell on other's? I've always said during this whole pandemic to worry about you and let me worry about me. We are going soon and my kids know about the mask policy and when and where we can eat/drink, but if I had people telling on people around me, they would surely get some great responses.

I can answer that.....because there is a pandemic out there. Because when you decided to buy that ticket or stay in that hotel during a pandemic you agreed to live by the rules. It is to protect the CMs and other guests. I can tell you that if you are coming for Christmas, there is a huge number of CMs that will be working the parks with 1 job and 1 job only.....make sure your nose and chin is inside that mask at all times required. If you can't accept that, than do not go! As a parent of a CM we want our family members who have to work to be as safe as possible. Guests getting angry and refusing or doing anything to another guest or CM- like you threatened in your comment- will do you nothing but get you escorted off property-that means even out of hotels. It has been done. Even though the state is at 100% per the governor you are on private property.

In case it has not been reported on news stations other than our local stations.....a man who flew out of Orlando to go home to California after his trip collapsed with covid symptoms and died on a plane before they diverted to New Orleans. A man and several passengers and crew members did CPR etc on the plane but he did not survive. The man who did the CPR has experienced symptoms but got a negative the day after the flight and is getting retested. The airlines and CDC did not call any of them to report the death as covid or ask them to get tested or quarantined till after he called them. CDC had not yet contacted him last night. Passengers on the plane to California had not been contacted. So best to follow the CDC guidelines.

 

[yulilin3]

Please get back on topic of posting just back experiences.

 

[disneycasey2020]

We did MK on Sunday. We were held at Splash Mountain until a couple minutes before park open. We were able to do Splash, Pirates, and Jingle Cruise in less than an hour. Peter Pan and Haunted Mansion were short waits as well after. We did some shopping and saw all the cavalcades before left around noon because the crowds were really picking up. We came back around 5 and had short waits for Little Mermaid, Buzz, and the Carousel of Progress. 7DMT was posted as a 50 min wait so we got in line about an hour before closing and were on the ride in about 20 min. Overall, it wasn’t too bad as far as amount of people but we skipped the middle portion of the day.

AK on Monday. We got all of the rides done buy 10 or 11. Sat in the amphitheater and watched the boats. Again, we noticed the crowds pick up about 10 or 11 (except pandora which was always pretty packed). We left early afternoon.

HS yesterday was.....wow. We walked on Tower of Terror and RnR before heading to RoR for our BG 5. After that it was packed.

We have Epcot today then another HS day and MK day!

Overall I’ve seen like 95% mask compliance. I’ve seen many Cast Members ask guests to pull their masks up. My one issue has been lines. Many people haven’t been sticking to their stand here spot especially when the places are spread out bc of switchbacks. People just keep walking and stop where they think is six feet instead of staying on the marker. I haven’t really seen any cast members in line to correct this, which isn’t a complaint, just an observation.

 

[cristen72]

Can anyone report on the availability of buses at GF? Are they starting early enough to get to the parks before posted opening times?

 

[yulilin3]

Again please let's get back on topic. Warning points will be given for those that continue the off topic argument

 

[HiStitch626]

Back from a week at the parks, three nights at YC and then shifted to Saratoga. We had asked for a refurbished studio but were given one in the Grandstand area. This ended up being excellent as the Grandstand is the first bus stop. There were times during the week where some people were not able to get on buses due to limiting passengers. Especially if you are traveling with more than four people, either staying in the Grandstand or going to that bus stop if you’re trying to rope drop is a good idea. Buses all got going early and we never had an issue getting to the park in time for rope drop. Did two days at Epcot and had a resort day while at YC and then one day each at MK, AK, and the Studios plus a Disney Springs day from Saratoga. We felt the parks really got more crowded after Saturday the 19th, but that was not a surprise as the holiday week began. We made no ADR’s at Epcot, but enjoyed many of the festival booths. Germany was hands-down our favorite, the fondue dish there is really really terrific. Enjoyed Ronto roasters, Sci-Fi and Oga's at the Studios. As always the food at Sci-Fi was mediocre, but the atmosphere is fun. We had breakfast at Ronto roasters and thought both of the wrap options were really good. Oga's was fun but probably not a must do for us in the future. Magic Kingdom day we left for lunch at the Wave and it was well worth the time away from the park to both relax and enjoy an excellent meal. Bacon and eggs is back on the menu, including at lunch. Animal Kingdom day we took our lunch break at Sanaa, which was outstanding, and enjoyed an evening stop at Nomad lounge, where the churros were particularly fresh and tasty. There were occasionally moments where the parks felt too crowded to us, so we would step to the side and find a bench to sit for a little while until things cleared up, or walked more quickly through an area to get to spaces that were more open. Utilizing rope drop and staying until closing meant we didn’t wait for too many things. Had excellent timing at the studios because we got boarding group 16. So we went right to the Star Wars area, rode Smugglers and then it was our time for Rise, both were amazing. We would’ve like to explore more of the shops and things, but the spaces are small and distancing lead to long waits as they were only letting one party into each shop at a time. Our Disney springs day included lunch at Homecomin and dinner at Wine Bar George. Homecomin was excellent as always. It was our first experience at Wine Bar George, and we probably won’t go back. It was fine. But there are too many other good options in Disney Springs now for fine. I’m not sure we went in to every store, but we tried. It was really fun to spend the whole day there. Felt very relaxed and pretty distanced throughout the day, but did feel less comfortable as we went into the evening and we left about 7 PM. We were very careful all week with mask wearing and handwashing and sanitizing. Had our Covid test this morning and are hoping they come back negative. It’s definitely a challenging time to travel to Disney, but we had a really enjoyable week after a tough year.