Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[scrappinginontario]

Here now but had an unfortunate incident on bus this morning when ECV fell over while bus was moving. Luckily I was not injured other than bruised shoulder and 2 gentlemen very quickly picked the ECV up off the floor of the bus. It was a scary experience and I wasn’t looking forward to having to return back to resort via bus. Planning to try just using a cane tomorrow and limiting time spent in park. The bus driver did ask me for my name and phone number and I did think someone would call me but never heard from anyone.
Plenty of open space in parks but some ride lines seemed long due social distancing. PP line was backed up and wound around and through the Columbia Harbor House before 10:00 am. POC was a 35 min wait at 10:10.

You should report the bus incident ASAP. You could email wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com. Your ECV should have been secured so it couldn’t fall over! I’m not sure I’d trust the bus driver to report it if no one has called you yet.

Wow !!! I totally agree with reporting it as suggested above just to be on the safe side. My parents each use scooters and those things are locked down tight!! I’m so sorry this happened to you but it should not have happened. I’m sure it’s unnerving but you should be okay after this. I would report it though as they need to know!!

 

[Kalea]

When we went on FOP this past Sunday, no. They were not filling every seat.

On Wednesday, 1/20, no they weren't filling every seat. In fact, our family of 4 was totally alone in the room? pod? whatever it is.
On Saturday, 1/23 , lines were a little longer in the morning. We waited maybe 30 mins to ride? And they filled every seat.

 

[LyFam]

Silly question, but I can't find the answer. I've never been when the parks close so early. Our trip is week of Feb 15. If the parks close at 5, are you kicked out of restaurants at 5? or whatever time the parks close?

 

[GBRforWDW]

Silly question, but I can't find the answer. I've never been when the parks close so early. Our trip is week of Feb 15. If the parks close at 5, are you kicked out of restaurants at 5? or whatever time the parks close?

They usually give you an hour or so to clear the park, So you can finish eating at a quick service location or do last minute shopping. Exceptions are for Table Service restaurants. Some offer reservations up to an hour after park close,so you could be in the park 2+ hours after park close.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Animal Kingdom SATURDAY 1/30 Report:

We got to the BW bus stop at 6:50 and a bus almost immediately pulled up! We placed our mobile order for Satu’li Canteen while in transit.

We arrived to the park and were 3rd in line behind a tapstile. I believe they let us in at 7:15:

• Flight of Passage (we were on the first ride of the day)
• Navi River (walked on at 7:45)
• Everest THREE times, walked on each time (feels like we could’ve kept going for an hour though). At this point it was 8:30
• Safari - walked on although it is a LONG walk haha
• Gorilla Falls trail (and we had to wait in line for it!)
• Did a little shopping
• Dumbosaurus (aka triceratop spin) around 10:20am at this point

10:45 - early lunch @ Satu’li Canteen

• Wildlife express - longest wait of the day! 25 mins!!
• 12:15 Animation Class (man we could do that on repeat all day - so fun! We drew Dumbo)
• Wildlife Express back - not as bad, maybe 10 min wait
• Popcorn break as we barely missed out on 1:30 Bird show due to capacity
• Maharajah Jungle trek
• 2:30 Bird show (arrived at 2:05 to ensure we got in)
• Everest - posted 25 waited 15
• A little more shopping to waste time

4:00 pm dinner @ Rainforest Cafe which was selected as a fave restaurant by the girls. It was ok - better than in the past actually.

Now we are headed back to the Epcot resort area for dessert at Beaches and Cream. Crowds were very busy at times today but we had a great plan. I’m very glad we switched AK and MK days. I think AK can be a perfect Saturday park with a super early arrival since there’s much less to do. I looked at MK wait times today and

This will be my last update. Headed home tomorrow afternoon.

EDIT: I should add that wait times for Pandora rides seemed to hit 45-70 mins and stay there after 9am or so. We never ventured back to try a 2nd ride.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Animal Kingdom SATURDAY 1/30 Report:

We got to the BW bus stop at 6:50 and a bus almost immediately pulled up! We placed our mobile order for Satu’li Canteen while in transit.

We arrived to the park and were 3rd in line behind a tapstile. I believe they let us in at 7:15:

• Flight of Passage (we were on the first ride of the day)
• Navi River (walked on at 7:45)
• Everest THREE times, walked on each time (feels like we could’ve kept going for an hour though). At this point it was 8:30
• Safari - walked on although it is a LONG walk haha
• Gorilla Falls trail (and we had to wait in line for it!)
• Did a little shopping
• Dumbosaurus (aka triceratop spin) around 10:20am at this point

10:45 - early lunch @ Satu’li Canteen

• Wildlife express - longest wait of the day! 25 mins!!
• 12:15 Animation Class (man we could do that on repeat all day - so fun! We drew Dumbo)
• Wildlife Express back - not as bad, maybe 10 min wait
• Popcorn break as we barely missed out on 1:30 Bird show due to capacity
• Maharajah Jungle trek
• 2:30 Bird show (arrived at 2:05 to ensure we got in)
• Everest - posted 25 waited 15
• A little more shopping to waste time

4:00 pm dinner @ Rainforest Cafe which was selected as a fave restaurant by the girls. It was ok - better than in the past actually.

Now we are headed back to the Epcot resort area for dessert at Beaches and Cream. Crowds were very busy at times today but we had a great plan. I’m very glad we switched AK and MK days. I think AK can be a perfect Saturday park with a super early arrival since there’s much less to do. I looked at MK wait times today and

This will be my last update. Headed home tomorrow afternoon.

Safe travels home. Thank you for all your reports.

 

[jjpdjr]

Is animation class at AK the same thing that used to be at HS

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Wow !!! I totally agree with reporting it as suggested above just to be on the safe side. My parents each use scooters and those things are locked down tight!! I’m so sorry this happened to you but it should not have happened. I’m sure it’s unnerving but you should be okay after this. I would report it though as they need to know!!

ECVs can and do flip over on buses, even when everything is done exactly right. Sometimes it cannot be prevented. This is why they ask you to transfer to a seat. I NEVER sit on mine on a moving bus.

 

[CarolynFH]

ECVs can and do flip over on buses, even when everything is done exactly right. Sometimes it cannot be prevented. This is why they ask you to transfer to a seat. I NEVER sit on mine on a moving bus.

Thanks - I obviously had unrealistic confidence in the restraints. I do hope that @Lsdolphin incident was reported.

 

[scrappinginontario]

ECVs can and do flip over on buses, even when everything is done exactly right. Sometimes it cannot be prevented. This is why they ask you to transfer to a seat. I NEVER sit on mine on a moving bus.

This is surprising as I have been on hundreds and hundreds of Disney buses, many of those with ECVs. I find it difficult to believe this happens often as the rider is seat belted into the bus which means there is an additional higher security point. (We travel with 2 ECVs in our travel party.) It could happen but is not normal. Too many people would be hurt (potentially quite badly when a 250lb ECV falls on them) as normally (non-COVID times) most buses are filled to capacity including people standing directly beside the ECVs.

I still stand beside my point that an ECV that falls over in a moving bus should be reported.

Curious, has anyone else ever been on a Disney bus when an ECV fell over when the bus was moving?

 

[Evita_W]

ECVs can and do flip over on buses, even when everything is done exactly right. Sometimes it cannot be prevented. This is why they ask you to transfer to a seat. I NEVER sit on mine on a moving bus.

Actually it shouldn't tip over if properly secured. That being said if something does go wrong it is much safe to transfer, a friend of ours didn't transfer at the Toy Story lot at Disneyland and her scooter topped over because it wasn't properly secured by the driver and broke her thigh bone. Obviously Disney retrained all of the drivers and now strongly.encourages transferring.

 

[LoveToDisney]

Curious, has anyone else ever been on a Disney bus when an ECV fell over when the bus was moving?

I have been on a bus when an EVC started to fall over during a turn. My DH and another passenger sprung up and helped them stop from going completely over. It was a large ECV and had someone on it.
I use a smaller ECV and ALWAYS hold onto the folded up seats next to me when on the bus as we go around a turn and keep my right foot on the ground just to be sure.

 

[Megsmachine]

We are staying off property. How early are they letting people park at DHS these days?

 

[yulilin3]

We are staying off property. How early are they letting people park at DHS these days?

About an hour before

 

[yulilin3]

Let's please move along from the ecv incident and back on topic

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Actually it shouldn't tip over if properly secured. That being said if something does go wrong it is much safe to transfer, a friend of ours didn't transfer at the Toy Story lot at Disneyland and her scooter topped over because it wasn't properly secured by the driver and broke her thigh bone. Obviously Disney retrained all of the drivers and now strongly.encourages transferring.

Take a look at the disabilities board. You will see many discussions about this. It can and does happen, even with a properly secured ECV. Things happen on the road where a driver has to react quickly, sometimes turning more sharply than he would like, et. you are correct, the safest thing is to transfer, as you can tip even when properly secured.

 

[SL6827]

Ok, here is my report for the day of 01/28/20 at the MK.

We did the Wave for an early breakfast and got out off there by 8:05. The breakfast was OK, but the ability to walk to the MK afterwards was priceless. And I will tell you, the guard was checking with us on us having a breakfast reservation upon entering with an Uber ride. But do the Wave for breakfast at 7:30, pay when you get your food and get out of there by 8:10.

We got in line outside the MK with mostly I assume Contemporary hotel guest. There was maybe 15 people ahead of us. They let us through the gates, got in line at the turnstiles and at 8:30 we were let in. It was unreal. We headed straight to SDMT. Got in two rides before the bigger crowds hit (for that ride). But everywhere else, no crowds harldy. It was 2005-2008 all over again. No crowds at all. It was awesome, but really sad, as to the reason why.

We stayed from 8:30-12 and then took a break back at AoA then back at the MK from 4-7pm. We rode
BTMR- 5 times, SDMT- 2 times, SpM- 2 times ( but it was a walk on ALL day long) could have rode it 20 times if we wanted.


The ability to get up EARLY and get out, getting to walk to the entrance was a key factor in us getting on SDMT twice before the long lines for it started. I can not stress that enough. It was like the morning we PAID for Early Morning Magic, but for free.

 

[NashvilleMama]

Saturday 1/30 - AK/MK hopping:

Morning at AK...slow start getting up and going, so didn't arrive until about 9:30am (8am park opening day). FOP was already posted at 45 mins so we did Dinosaur which was basically walk-on. Rode Everest twice in a row - do NOT be put off by a long line there, it was stretched almost to Dinoland but moved rapidly and was 10-15 mins max each time.

If you want to do FOP without a wait, early morning arrival is key. Otherwise we didn't find crowd levels to be an issue for anything else, although Dinosaur and Safari did creep up into the 40/50 ranges at some point on the app. Only waited 20 mins for Nomad Lounge lunch.

We drove our rental car to AK, and arriving that "late" in the day meant we were REALLY far away and had a hike. We felt it walking back to our car when leaving around 1:30pm and wish they had a handful of trams running just for the outer sections. It takes a lot to wear me out but I was struggling. We like the flexibility of driving ourselves but I'm giving up on that.

Back to resort for a rest and swim (FL weather was heavenly!!).

Took bus to MK around 3:30pm to avoid parking lot walking.
Definitely way more crowded than Thursday afternoon, but still wasn't bad. Splash wait posted 45 and took 15 mins.
If you can't get there in the morning, pre-park closing hours still have upsides. We walked on Space twice in a row around 6pm. The hub and Main Street weren't bad at all.
Left at 7:30pm (8pm park closing) to try and get a jump on some of the bus crowds but no such luck, still waited 30 mins due to the lines. Way better on our feet though than hiking out to the parking lots!

We had been stung by REALLY long mobile ordering wait times at Pop the previous 2 nights (20-35 mins), so this time I hit "I'm here" when we were just pulling out of MK on the bus. It dinged that it was ready just after we passed through the Pop gates - perfect timing!

 

[Day-Day]

deleted...

 

[NashvilleMama]

also deleted