Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[CampbellzSoup]

We did AK today. Arrived around 10. My brother and his wife arrived much earlier (6:45) and were able to ride FOP, Safari and Navi with no wait. My daughter and I waited about 30 minutes for Safari and 70 for FOP. (Much later in the day) I agree with the poster above about mobile ordering. Our first day we didn’t realize you had to reserve a time and plan ahead. We foolishly thought you walked up and just ordered on your phone and waited. Once we figured it out we were fine. I will say the crowds seemed much worse at AK. Probably how the park is designed but who knows. Mask compliance was a bit more iffy today. Many people walking around eating and drinking. Many people eating and drinking in lines. A few times the mask rule offenders were approached by a CM but a lot went unnoticed. (A lot of people and seems like less CMs) I think the thing I miss most is hopping. This evening we would have went over and had dinner at EP but instead just came back to our hotel and ate here. (SOG) We’re having fun but I wouldn’t recommend this current Disney experience to anyone going for a 1st time or at all nervous about Covid. Yes, they have good rules in place but there are a lot of people here. Also, wearing a mask all day and walking 20-30K steps is pretty exhausting. Thankful it’s not hot this week. I couldn’t do this in the heat.

amen in the scorching heat no way I could do the mask and hustle and take care of the baby comfortably.

 

[WEDWDW]

When Hopping comes back,do you HAVE to physically enter your "assigned Park" before going to another Park after 2:00 PM?

For example,if you slept late or just ended up hanging around the Pool that Morning could you go straight to any Park after 2:00 PM?

 

[Leigh L]

When Hopping comes back,do you HAVE to physically enter your "assigned Park" before going to another Park after 2:00 PM?

For example,if you slept late or just ended up hanging around the Pool that Morning could you go straight to any Park after 2:00 PM?

You do have to go to your first reservation https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/park-hopper/

• "With the updated Park Hopper experience, Guests must make a Disney Park Pass reservation for the first park they plan to visit AND enter that first park prior to visiting another. At this time, a park reservation is not required after the first park, however, reservation requirements are subject to change."

 

[Heather07438]

When Hopping comes back,do you HAVE to physically enter your "assigned Park" before going to another Park after 2:00 PM?

For example,if you slept late or just ended up hanging around the Pool that Morning could you go straight to any Park after 2:00 PM?

Like PP said, you have to check in to your Reserved Park first before hopping to a different park.

But I imagine in your example, you'd have the option to change your original Park Reservation to whatever's still available.

 

[lynzi2004]

For those driving in, has anyone been successful at getting on 7DMT with a minimal wait? We used the busses from Pop and made it great and was able to ride it twice, but I’m helping some friends plan and they will be offsite with a larger group (no easy Uber to contemporary option) and will be driving in. Park opens at 8am so thinking if they get to the toll booths about 6:45 and take either monorail or bus and go to 7DMT first, their wait should be 1/2 hour is hopefully? This would be on Sunday, Jan 3.

 

[kristenbrandt]

You do have to go to your first reservation https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/park-hopper/

• "With the updated Park Hopper experience, Guests must make a Disney Park Pass reservation for the first park they plan to visit AND enter that first park prior to visiting another. At this time, a park reservation is not required after the first park, however, reservation requirements are subject to change."

This is my understanding also, just based on the information available online at present. Has anyone there now inquired with Guest Services or a Conceirge about purchasing hoppers on January 1 to be used same day? Our TA looked into it and we can’t add them remotely bc our trip begins before January 1. If a reservation begins on or after that date, PHs can be added in advance. TIA!

 

[nixpartyoffive]

For those driving in, has anyone been successful at getting on 7DMT with a minimal wait? We used the busses from Pop and made it great and was able to ride it twice, but I’m helping some friends plan and they will be offsite with a larger group (no easy Uber to contemporary option) and will be driving in. Park opens at 8am so thinking if they get to the toll booths about 6:45 and take either monorail or bus and go to 7DMT first, their wait should be 1/2 hour is hopefully? This would be on Sunday, Jan 3.

Yes, we drove yesterday (12/27). We were first in line at the toll booth at 6:40. They let cars in at 7:00. We were on the monorail by 7:20 and in line at 7DMT by 7:33. We boarded the ride at 7:56. We also got in line at 9:50 (park closed at 10) and were done by 10:30. Posted time was 50 minutes.

 

[lynzi2004]

Yes, we drove yesterday (12/27). We were first in line at the toll booth at 6:40. They let cars in at 7:00. We were on the monorail by 7:20 and in line at 7DMT by 7:33. We boarded the ride at 7:56. We also got in line at 9:50 (park closed at 10) and were done by 10:30. Posted time was 50 minutes.

Perfect! Thank you!

 

[DISnewjersey]

I am still shocked how low the actual wait times are for rides, especially considering it's Christmas Week. Posted wait times are almost always higher than actual wait times (a few times it's been accurate). 99% of people are following the mask rules. I've heard CMs call out people who are not wearing them properly. The majority of people in queues are keeping distance from the parties around them. A few people were starting to get a bit close but I haven't had to tell anyone off yet....yet.

Disney Springs, on the other hand, was crazy packed. I don't think we're going back there in the evenings.

 

[Chisoxcollector]

According to the Disney website, the World Showcase opens at 10am this week. Have the food booths been open at 10am?

 

[corn princess]

I am still shocked how low the actual wait times are for rides, especially considering it's Christmas Week. Posted wait times are almost always higher than actual wait times (a few times it's been accurate). 99% of people are following the mask rules. I've heard CMs call out people who are not wearing them properly. The majority of people in queues are keeping distance from the parties around them. A few people were starting to get a bit close but I haven't had to tell anyone off yet....yet.

Disney Springs, on the other hand, was crazy packed. I don't think we're going back there in the evenings.

I agree! We were at MK yesterday and the longest wait we had was 40 min for SDMT! Most things were 10 min! In fact to my youngest daughters joy, she was able to do dumbo 3 times!

 

[cooperams]

Just got back from a 6 day, split-stay. To reinforce a few things that I learned on the thread, and a few random thoughts:
-mobile order is great. We ordered while we were in line for a ride, and then hit “we are here” after we got off the ride. The food was ready as we walked over to the counter.
-loved not being asked to “fill all available spaces” as you wait for an attraction.
-loved that the buses only run with a few families in them.
-the projections on the castle and ToT were awesome.
-practicing virtual queue for Rise helped. We went 3 days and got groups, 2,5,and 43. Group 43 is actually ideal because you can ride the attractions with lower wait times and do Rise around noon when the park gets busy.
-studio lines were very long after Christmas. Most attractions were 45-60min+ by mid morning on 12/27 and 12/28.
-when we stayed at the Poly, we tried walking to MK along the new path by GF. We made a wrong turn somewhere in the GF complex and wound up at the boat launch. The boat was there and the captain was glad to take us to MK even though we’re were the only family in the boat. The best is that we were in a better spot at rope drop than we would have been if we walked.
-mask compliance was an A. A few people with masks below noses. I did witness a few CMs correct people.

 

[ksueboo]

Overall, we were not disappointed, but that isn't to say there weren't times we were uncomfortable. We had a good time and generally a nice weather break and an opportunity to get away from reality. Some highlights: we saw Molly from a popular blog site on day one which was like a HUGE wish for my 14-year-old DD who watches her every morning. Can't tell you how often we said, "Molly suggested ..." during our trip.

Haha, I often say “My friend Molly did this or that today”, “Look at what my friend Molly did!”, “My friend Molly is so funny” You really feel like you get to know them from their blogs. Glad you got to see her, I would be pretty excited too!

 

[morganms22]

Leaving this afternoon...here are some of thoughts on our trip. I already wrote about MK on Christmas Day so I will skip that.

The parks are substantially busier than when we went in October. Of course, it’s the busiest week of the year, but definitely starting to feel more like normal Disney. The crowd had a little different feel this time and I saw a lot of people wearing Disneyland gear. It seemed as though a lot of Californians are coming down to Florida.

Disney Springs was a nightmare and I should have known better than to go there on a Sunday night between Christmas and New Years. Wall to wall people...we will not make that mistake again.

Most all of the posted waits are more than the actual wait times. The exceptions for us were space mountain and mine train. Overall, everything was manageable and definitely not anywhere near as long as they would be during this week normally.

99% of the holiday merchandise was already gone by the time we arrived on Christmas Eve. In years past, this was not the case. It seems like they ordered less this year given the uncertainty with Covid. Hopefully, there will be more next year. I saw several people asking about items that had been sold out of for weeks.

We had ADRs at Garden Grille, Whispering Canyon, Topolino’s, Tony’s Town Square, and the Boathouse. Topolino’s was the best meal we had and it was the best meal last time (in October) as well. Garden Grille was the worst. All of our servers were great. The tables at the Boathouse (although we ate outside) were really close together.

We stayed at the Swan and it was our first time staying in a “non-Disney” hotel. Long time Disney hotel advocate here... I really liked it! The coffee bar was great, still can walk to two parks, access to the hotels along the Boardwalk, etc. Yes, it wasn’t as “Disney like”, but it honestly did not bother me like I thought it would. I mean we were able to get it at a steal on a Priceline express deal. It was well worth it.

Overall, it felt a lot more “normal” than our October trip. However, there was a lot less social distancing and some procedures seemed a little more relaxed (such as making people social distance around parades). The amount of people just didn’t allow for them to be quite as strict about everything. As I’m sure everyone is, I’m looking forward to the days of not having to wear the masks to the parks and being able to watch fireworks again! In the mean time, the we will continue to abide by all the rules in place.

 

[Amy M]

Haha, I often say “My friend Molly did this or that today”, “Look at what my friend Molly did!”, “My friend Molly is so funny” You really feel like you get to know them from their blogs. Glad you got to see her, I would be pretty excited too!

My family loves Molly too! We just watched 2 of her videos last night.

 

[ksw5261]

Hi all, not sure if this is the place for this question so my apologies ahead of time if not. How do we expect crowds to look after New Years? Beginning of January is usually a lull in crowds after the holidays, and I haven't seen park reservations hit the 35% capacity yet in some cases. Do we think things could go back to more 'empty' lines we saw in the fall before holiday season?

 

[4Spen]

We did EP yesterday and HS (again) today. EP had the worst mask offenders. And it was usually people drinking alcohol. I get it. It stinks to have to pull over to drink or eat but those are the rules. People are almost always eating or drinking in lines, especially the longer ones that snake all through HS. I don’t mind really as long as the people are distancing and doing it quickly. It’s hard to stand that long without a drink of water or something. Our biggest disappointment was dinner at Biergarten. The options they give you now aren’t worth the price, IMO. We visited DS for the first time today. We went early and had lunch at Blaze Pizza. Not very crowded and with all this Covid crowd control and protocol you’re always able to find a table. Tried to visit Gideon’s but the wait list to get in line was 2 1/2 hours and we didn’t want to wait around that long. We have 2 more days and while I hate for vaca to end I won’t miss wearing a mask almost constantly. I need a break.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We did EP yesterday and HS (again) today. EP had the worst mask offenders. And it was usually people drinking alcohol. I get it. It stinks to have to pull over to drink or eat but those are the rules. People are almost always eating or drinking in lines, especially the longer ones that snake all through HS. I don’t mind really as long as the people are distancing and doing it quickly. It’s hard to stand that long without a drink of water or something. Our biggest disappointment was dinner at Biergarten. The options they give you now aren’t worth the price, IMO. We visited DS for the first time today. We went early and had lunch at Blaze Pizza. Not very crowded and with all this Covid crowd control and protocol you’re always able to find a table. Tried to visit Gideon’s but the wait list to get in line was 2 1/2 hours and we didn’t want to wait around that long. We have 2 more days and while I hate for vaca to end I won’t miss wearing a mask almost constantly. I need a break.

I'm guessing you're aware but possibly not. People are allowed to eat and drink in lines while they are outside and before the main queue sign you walk under. They are only supposed to do so while stopped but quickly grabbing a sip of a drink or a bite of something to eat is allowed at those times. Once you pass the official entrance to the ride all eating and drinking in line is supposed to stop.

 

[corn princess]

I know it's been said before but let me reiterate, If you're st all concerned or a little apprehensive about crowds, skip disney springs at night! We went tonight and it was crazy busy! People everywhere and very hard to social distance while walking around!

AK seemed a little busy especially compared to magic kingdom yesterday but compared to a normal holiday week, it was VERY manageable! We got to the parking lot by 640, in the park by 655. Headed to FOP and waited 80 min. Went to navi river and waited 30 min. Next up was the safari. It was posted as 60 min wait but we really only waited maybe 30. We did gorilla falls, tricera top spin and headed home by noon! While it was definitely busy, it was still a very good day!

 

[Lsdolphin]

Does anyone know if the sky liner opens at the Riviera in time to make rope drop at HS?