Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[sponica]

Right now I'm required to quarantine for 2 weeks by my employer if I leave the state, so even if I felt comfortable traveling (which I don't) I wouldn't go. I'd have your husband keep tabs on his employer's policies. I work for a hospital and they are not lifting the quarantine requirements, even if you have received a vaccine.

I won't be going until the end of 2021 at the earliest due to the fact I have a child under 2 and need a larger percentage of the population vaccinated.

 

[brockash]

My husband and I were supposed to go May 2020 and of course we cancelled. It was honestly really sad for us because it was supposed to be our first trip together with our daughter who was born back in 2019. We didn't go when I was pregnant so it's been a while for us and we are itching to go back. However we are both taking this pandemic pretty seriously and we are wrestling with going or not. We keep booking and pushing back our trip. We are now booked for May 1-7 of this year but are still mentally preparing to cancel if we aren't comfortable.

My question is for people who still very concerned about Covid, when will you feel comfortable enough to go, or if you were very concerned but still decided to go what made you decide that you were okay with going? (Sidenote I did ask that first question in someone elses thread but I wanted to expand on it. Sorry for the redundancy). Also, a new question I have is if you went what other precautions or hacks did you take?

My husband works in a hospital so he will be getting the vaccine sometime this week. My daughter and I will probably not be vaccinated yet. I do think Disney is taking awesome steps to ensure guests safety although I am finding some things I'm not as comfortable with such as raising capacity or seating strangers next to each other on rides instead of doing social distancing. I'm prepared to leave the parks early if I find them too crowded, or to speak up when I see someone who isn't wearing a mask or mask isn't covering their nose. I'm okay with washing my hands all the time and I honestly love wearing masks (weird I know) but I'm sure that may be harder when its hot and humid. So yeah. I'm conflicted. Just wondering everyone else's thought process and what makes them decide it is or isn't worth the risk.

Thanks for reading my messy thread

Do you or your daughter have any conditions that would make you more at risk? If not...it seems you're both pretty healthy, younger people and that you would be careful to try to make sure you all were always masked up and not touching extra things or being around unmasked ppl. ect., so I wouldn't be hesitant about going to WDW.

I'd say we're pretty middle of the pendulum as far as Covid concerns...I have some family that's more concerned and some that are less. Ironically, my Dad and step-mom who are the most covid-conscious of the family just tested positive right after Christmas. Luckily, even at their ages and my dad's pre-existing conditions, they seemed to have had a pretty mild case.

We're big mask wearers and I wouldn't feel comfortable being around strangers that weren't masked and we had no concerns flying to and going to WDW this past Sept. and again in Oct.

I will say, if you feel like your anxiety will get the best of you, you know yourself best, then I wouldn't go and I'd wait, not because of Covid, but because I'd want to make sure I was able to enjoy my trip.

We relied on Disney transportation, however I would say that's 1 easy thing that you all could do different that would take away a good amount of stranger interaction (closer quarters, for a longer period of time etc.)

Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

[fla4fun]

I have been three times since they reopened and feel they are doing a good job. I have a trip booked for later this month, and I would be lying if I said that I am not concerned due to holiday Covid spikes. There were a couple times on my trips where the crowds got higher than I felt comfortable with, and I went back to the resort. However, at this time I am still planning to go. I found out a couple weeks before Christmas that my company is closing for good the middle of February, so with having to get a new job I may not have another opportunity to go for a year or two.

Everyone has to make the decision based on their own comfort level and restrictions where they live. There isn’t a right or wrong answer, just what is right or wrong for your circumstances.

 

[Catvondita]

Do you or your daughter have any conditions that would make you more at risk? If not...it seems you're both pretty healthy, younger people and that you would be careful to try to make sure you all were always masked up and not touching extra things or being around unmasked ppl. ect., so I wouldn't be hesitant about going to WDW.

I'd say we're pretty middle of the pendulum as far as Covid concerns...I have some family that's more concerned and some that are less. Ironically, my Dad and step-mom who are the most covid-conscious of the family just tested positive right after Christmas. Luckily, even at their ages and my dad's pre-existing conditions, they seemed to have had a pretty mild case.

We're big mask wearers and I wouldn't feel comfortable being around strangers that weren't masked and we had no concerns flying to and going to WDW this past Sept. and again in Oct.

I will say, if you feel like your anxiety will get the best of you, you know yourself best, then I wouldn't go and I'd wait, not because of Covid, but because I'd want to make sure I was able to enjoy my trip.

We relied on Disney transportation, however I would say that's 1 easy thing that you all could do different that would take away a good amount of stranger interaction (closer quarters, for a longer period of time etc.)

Good luck in whatever you decide.

Thank you!

I mean we don't have any conditions that we know of but I guess were just worried about ever possibly being that 1% of healthy people who do get it really bad. If we go I think we def would rent a car instead.

 

[triplemcl]

We are headed to WDW Saturday, first day in the park is Sunday. I’m wondering how accurate the wait times listed on the app are...thought I heard somewhere that they’re somewhat inflated and are less than the posted time.

We were Disney regulars for years, but switched to Universal for a while because my kids are HP nuts. It’s been 3 years since we’ve been to WDW and we’re all super excited. I feel lost though...so much has changed since we were last there.

 

[5Tulips]

We are pretty cautious and follow covid protocols. I am more likely to go to Disney than allow play dates/sleepovers right now. We can keep to our bubble on vacation. Drive our own car, stay in a hotel (or cabin) with outdoor corridors, eat takeout or outdoors. I’m not sure we would venture into the parks yet as I’d have to manage ride expectations. But we are definitely contemplating a resort only stay. Get our Disney fix within our limits. It sounds like walking around Disney will be better than our grocery store at home.

 

[yulilin3]

We are headed to WDW Saturday, first day in the park is Sunday. I’m wondering how accurate the wait times listed on the app are...thought I heard somewhere that they’re somewhat inflated and are less than the posted time.

We were Disney regulars for years, but switched to Universal for a while because my kids are HP nuts. It’s been 3 years since we’ve been to WDW and we’re all super excited. I feel lost though...so much has changed since we were last there.

merged you to the thread where you can read recent reports
For the most part they are accurate or slightly exagerated

 

[Cactus girl]

Just got back from a quick trip 1/3-1/6. We added Park Hopping at the last minute. It was super easy. I did it through the app. PHing could not have been easier. On Sunday, we started at MK and rode everything we wanted. Wait times were often very inflated. TMRR was posted at 45 and we waited about 16 minutes. SM was posted at 65 and we waited 45. The lines moved so fast that it never seemed that you waited very long. We then PHed over the AK. We were in our own car that day and had no issues with parking at the second park. We rode EE (35 min wait posted, actual wait 12 minutes), the Safari and then FOP twice. For FOP, they aren't doing the body scans so you don't have a specific avatar that you link up with. It was fine without that. After that park closed, we went to our hotel (Swan) and took the boat to Epcot. They had the plexiglass installed so you could have two people per row. They did not allow standing on the boat. Waits were pretty much non-existent on a Sunday night in Epcot (walk-on for Soaring at 8:20).

We started the next day at HS. We did get a ROR time during the 7am drop. However, RR was down for the entire day so that made the lines pretty long for everything in the park. I don't think we waited less than 30 minutes for anything and the posted times were pretty dead on to what we actually waited. I must say, I LOVE ROR with the new Covid protocols. I'm a little on the short side, and since they assign you colored circles to stand on for each part, you actually can see everything. There are times on that ride that I've felt a little claustrophobic in the past. Not this time. In fact, my DD asked if they had made certain rooms larger. No, it just wasn't crowded and was pretty amazing. We did MilFal and they were still doing just one party per pod. Each of us finally got to be the pilots. Super fun. They did have plexiglass set up do you could have a group of 4 and then a group of 2. Later in the day we went to Epcot and it was lovely. DD was a little sad they you can't do the peals in Japan right now and TT seemed super odd. You can't create your own vehicles. They have pre-assigned ones that you use during the "test," but you aren't really sure which vehicle they are testing. It just seemed a bit off. I'm not sure I would wait for it if it was more than a 30 min wait.

The next few days were just more of the same. It was cool while we were there so masks weren't an issue. I don't think we ever saw someone without a mask--except on the boardwalk and the path to HS. At one point we were walking from HS to the Swan. We were the only people on the path so we lowered our masks. A lifeguard walked out on the Boardwalk property, saw us and told us to put our masks back on. She had to be 60 yards from us and was the only person we could see. We did put them back on. I went running on a few mornings. I did have a mask that I would raise/lower if I approached anyone on the paths. There were six other runners I encountered. Five had no masks and one did.

We are going back in May and it will be interesting to compare the experiences.

 

[brockash]

We are headed to WDW Saturday, first day in the park is Sunday. I’m wondering how accurate the wait times listed on the app are...thought I heard somewhere that they’re somewhat inflated and are less than the posted time.

We were Disney regulars for years, but switched to Universal for a while because my kids are HP nuts. It’s been 3 years since we’ve been to WDW and we’re all super excited. I feel lost though...so much has changed since we were last there.

When we were there it really just depended...I'd say usually they were overinflated, but some were spot on and some were under the actual.

 

[Raemama]

Hi folks! Heading there on Monday for a five night trip. I’m confused about something—must you have an ADR to visit the Grand Floridian if you’re not staying there? Or will a mobile order for Gasparilla Grill suffice? I’d like to take the boat or monorail from MK. Thanks in advance for your help.

I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences for the benefit of others. I’ll be sure to share upon our return.

 

[wdwrule]

@Raemama You can use any form of Disney transportation to visit resorts and do not need any kind of ADRs (if using Disney transportation). We enjoyed doing this around Thanksgiving to check out some of the resorts’ Christmas trees and shop, etc.

 

[Raemama]

@Raemama You can use any form of Disney transportation to visit resorts and do not need any kind of ADRs (if using Disney transportation).

Well, that changes everything. Thank you!

 

[Makmak]

Hi All, you’ve been so helpful in our planning I just wanted to share today’s MK short version: mobile ordered at Contemporary and got hassled by the guard a little when I ubered over to pick it up. Walked over after picking up order, they held us near the ticket scan after temp/security until 7:25 then let us in. Rode SDMT, PPF, and space mountain before 8:00, and waited no longer than ten minutes for: Speedway, buzz, mermaid, haunted mansion, BTM, splash, all done by 11:00 when we had LTT res, after lunch we rode JC posted 45/actual 15, played sorcerers and shopped then hit haunted mansion again (walk on) and pirates which was longest wait at 20 minutes. I’d say rope drop is essential and even before 10/11 we didn’t have much of a crowd.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Has anyone gone to adventureland or frontierland at rope drop? I know things can change day to day, but I'm wondering if any of those rides are operating prior to official park opening.

 

[ksw5261]

So what's the preferred DHS rope drop plan now? We are headed back down in 2 weeks.

In October when we went, we walked from Boardwalk and did MMRR right away before getting in line for SDD (which already had an accurate 60 minute wait).

Now I'm seeing MMRR with lower early morning wait times (30ish minutes) vs longer waits for MFSR and SDD. But I also know that those rides don't necessarily open before park opening as early and often as MMRR.

Would the better plan be to hit one of those 2 rides first and save MMRR for later now that capacity has increased?

My husband and I were supposed to go May 2020 and of course we cancelled. It was honestly really sad for us because it was supposed to be our first trip together with our daughter who was born back in 2019. We didn't go when I was pregnant so it's been a while for us and we are itching to go back. However we are both taking this pandemic pretty seriously and we are wrestling with going or not. We keep booking and pushing back our trip. We are now booked for May 1-7 of this year but are still mentally preparing to cancel if we aren't comfortable.

My question is for people who still very concerned about Covid, when will you feel comfortable enough to go, or if you were very concerned but still decided to go what made you decide that you were okay with going? (Sidenote I did ask that first question in someone elses thread but I wanted to expand on it. Sorry for the redundancy). Also, a new question I have is if you went what other precautions or hacks did you take?

My husband works in a hospital so he will be getting the vaccine sometime this week. My daughter and I will probably not be vaccinated yet. I do think Disney is taking awesome steps to ensure guests safety although I am finding some things I'm not as comfortable with such as raising capacity or seating strangers next to each other on rides instead of doing social distancing. I'm prepared to leave the parks early if I find them too crowded, or to speak up when I see someone who isn't wearing a mask or mask isn't covering their nose. I'm okay with washing my hands all the time and I honestly love wearing masks (weird I know) but I'm sure that may be harder when its hot and humid. So yeah. I'm conflicted. Just wondering everyone else's thought process and what makes them decide it is or isn't worth the risk.

Thanks for reading my messy thread

My boyfriend and I booked a last minute trip for this January (here now!) and our deciding factor was the affordability plus lower crowds. I know that there is a lot of back and forth on wether or not it is worth it right now, but I would say that it is 100%. This year I have only left my house to go to the grocery store, maybe see one or two friends here and there and only ever outside. I didn't even eat at any restaurants!

We are headed to WDW Saturday, first day in the park is Sunday. I’m wondering how accurate the wait times listed on the app are...thought I heard somewhere that they’re somewhat inflated and are less than the posted time.

We were Disney regulars for years, but switched to Universal for a while because my kids are HP nuts. It’s been 3 years since we’ve been to WDW and we’re all super excited. I feel lost though...so much has changed since we were last there.

Here now, and I would say I have never waited longer than a posted time. Most waits are about 20% less than posted I would say, with some rides being very exaggerated at the beginning/end of day!

 

[Jackie H.]

We just returned home yesterday. Our trip was 1/1 - 1/5 in the parks. We stayed at Boardwalk Villas and utilized park hoping.

First the good:
Boardwalk Villas was great. We got there and had been given a free upgrade to a 1 bedroom, when we reserved a studio. The staff was wonderful, everything was very clean. The pool was back open, although we did not utilize it by choice (we just aren't swimmers). We declined housekeeping, but they came once a day and took out the garbage telling us they are required by law to check the room once a day anyway. Every other day they brought new towels and coffee but they didn't do anything else.

Boats and buses were very frequent. It seemed as we walked up they arrived. We waited 10 minutes once for a MK bus but that is all. If you are wondering you wait for the bus driver to assign you a seat and there are plexiglass dividers and empty seats between groups - no standing. Of course you can walk to DHS and Epcot, which we did the 1st day, but were too tired to do thereafter. We rode the entire route of the Skylinner just to experience it and enjoyed that a great deal.

It is important to know that every park actually opened before the stated opening time and we rode rides before the stated opening time. We were there early and rode every popular ride as a walk on except Seven Dwarves Mine Train which we waited 20 mins. We went to MK 2 days early and divided the popular rides in two. Seven / Space one day; BTMRR / Splash / Peter Pan / HM the next.

We got a boarding group to R of the R for the first day we tried using the methods described here. It is very definitely worth trying for! Wow. Still got to DHS at rope drop and rode everything else in Toy Story and Star Wars within a couple of hours but when we left that area the waits were listed as around 2 hours for everything. We followed this for AK and had the same experience.

We would use our park hopping for Epcot and go to Soarin, TT near the end of the day with little to no wait - rode Soarin twice that way (on two different days). We hit Frozen at opening our first day and walked right on. NO LINE AT ALL. We never got in the Mexico ride however. It would list the ride on the app as a 10 minute wait but the wait to get in the building was really long so the app is misleading.

Cast members were vigilant in making guests wear their masks correctly. And stand in line 6 feet apart - if they saw them not honoring the distancing rules. One family got right up behind me in MK starbucks. I didn't say anything to anyone, I was just trying to ease away from them, but they were were asked to move back and when they refused, they were made to leave. And hand sanitizer is everywhere.

Temp checks is easy and quick as is the security, just take anything metal out of your bag and hold it out so they can see it as you pass through the sensors. I have a metal hip replacement and it didn't slow me down going through.

Now the issues:
There are not enough food locations open for the number of people there. You should be prepared for the lack of food availability and take your own or be ready to stand in long lines for food. Yes they have mobile ordering but there are not that many places that offer it meaning you should order a long time ahead of when you want it. Like order lunch 2 hours ahead of time, then wait upwards of 20 - 30 minutes after you indicate you are there, or maybe eat lunch at a really early time or middle of the afternoon (but then you need to prepare for how you get a snack to tide you over). Yes, you can make ADRs but the menus are very limited, as are the spaces. And a lot of the wait in line type places are not open. So the ones that are are very, very busy. And boy do these cast members look overworked. In the Boardwalk area there was next to nothing open as far as eating. One morning at MK the line for the Joffrey's near the Space Mtn entrance extended to the Speedway. This was 1/4 and MK still had availability that day.

Don't take this as me complaining, take this as a warning to be ready - take snacks, plan ahead. If you want coffee mid morning, you are going to wait a really long time for it. Your best bet for coffee in the parks is mid afternoon. Or if you pass a place that is offering something you want and the line is short, consider yourself the winner of the lottery and grab it!

 

[Orion Nebula]

I have been following every trip report rabidly for the past year due to having to re-book three times now. It "seems" that more people are reporting better enforcement's on their protocols more recently. I have however seen some nightmare reports sprinkled in so I have to wonder if a lot of the "sparkling" ones are a bit clouded OR if some people expected too much. I am sure I am not alone in devouring everything here, anyone else have a take on it? I am staying hopeful that things will feel mostly safe. My trip is at the end of Feb and SW won't work with me so I am "stuck" at this point.

 

[Jackie H.]

What we found was cast members called out to anyone not wearing a mask or walking while eating or drinking - no matter what that cast members job was, if they were selling merch or directing people to a line - to wear their mask or pull it up over their nose. If they did not comply they stopped them. They even kindly reminded children and their parents. I cannot claim that no one got away with it, but it was the exception not the rule.

The rule is people are supposed to be stationary (not necessarily sitting down), distanced from others, eating or drinking, and not in an attraction line. For the overwhelming majority of time that is what we saw. Yes there were some people that broke those rules in some way. But we did not see whole sale rule breaking. And we saw and heard cast members enforcing the rules regularly.

Oh and I can say for the first time in 18 trips to WDW I was not touched, bumped, or run over by a stranger.

 

[BoatDriver]

There are not enough food locations open for the number of people there. You should be prepared for the lack of food availability and take your own or be ready to stand in long lines for food. Yes they have mobile ordering but there are not that many places that offer it meaning you should order a long time ahead of when you want it. Like order lunch 2 hours ahead of time, then wait upwards of 20 - 30 minutes after you indicate you are there, or maybe eat lunch at a really early time or middle of the afternoon (but then you need to prepare for how you get a snack to tide you over). Yes, you can make ADRs but the menus are very limited, as are the spaces. And a lot of the wait in line type places are not open. So the ones that are are very, very busy.

This one thing may well irritate me more than anything else.

Disney can make the argument that they don't need as many rides or as many seats. They can make the argument that shows can't be held within the public's comfort zone as it regards safety and spacing. They can even make the argument that they don't need as many resorts or longer park hours.

But there is CLEARLY a need for more dining availability. Every single trip report I see mentions the long lines, long waits and lack of availability for dining.

I don't want to pack a damn lunch, or order food two hours ahead of time just to fight for a table in one of the limited locations. I'm on vacation.

For goodness sake, just open up some more dining! This is nothing more than pinching pennies.

 

[Orion Nebula]

What we found was cast members called out to anyone not wearing a mask or walking while eating or drinking - no matter what that cast members job was, if they were selling merch or directing people to a line - to wear their mask or pull it up over their nose. If they did not comply they stopped them. They even kindly reminded children and their parents. I cannot claim that no one got away with it, but it was the exception not the rule.

The rule is people are supposed to be stationary (not necessarily sitting down), distanced from others, eating or drinking, and not in an attraction line. For the overwhelming majority of time that is what we saw. Yes there were some people that broke those rules in some way. But we did not see whole sale rule breaking. And we saw and heard cast members enforcing the rules regularly.

Oh and I can say for the first time in 18 trips to WDW I was not touched, bumped, or run over by a stranger.

That is really great to hear. And the very fact that I won't have my ankles smashed by a stroller or scooter is a cherry on top!