Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[MomOTwins]

If we don't want to smush with the crowd in the hub, is all of main st. also packed back to the entrance to the park

Yes

 

[WriterGina]

Just checked into Beach Club today for a six night stay after five nights at Universal. Amazing pixie dust right away: as we were checking in for our garden/woods view room, I asked if there were any upgrades available. The lovely CM went back to check and we got a gorgeous 4th floor water view room overlooking the quiet pool and lake with a big balcony! Definitely sending an email of thanks for that beautiful start to our stay!

Spent the day in Epcot and pretty much everything was a walk-on: Frozen, Soarin, Space, etc. Test Track was about 25 mins but we had to come back later when storms rolled through. Those storms and the subsequent cloud cover kept the heat down after a blisteringly hot early morning though, so no complaints!

The line at the France booth was consistently long, but other than that it was easy to get through the festival booth lines. Gorged ourselves! Loved the paella in Spain, the carrot cake in Hops and Barley and the griddled cheese in Greece particularly, but we have lots more to try. MK tomorrow!

 

[Aj1129]

Does anyone who's there/been there in the last 1-2 weeks have any pics or descriptions of what Main St is like for HEA fireworks at MK? If we don't want to smush with the crowd in the hub, is all of main st. also packed back to the entrance to the park, or will we be able to get more space there? We would like to see the projections but we don't *have* to see them super up close, as long as we can sort of see them.

We just came back Tuesday and yes, MK for fireworks was pretty bad. Lots of people huddled together all down Main Street up towards the castle. We watched from Tomorrowland just to be away from the hoards of people. We actually only watched MK fireworks that one night of our stay because we thought the crowd was just too much for us.

 

[Disneymomma18]

Does anyone who's there/been there in the last 1-2 weeks have any pics or descriptions of what Main St is like for HEA fireworks at MK? If we don't want to smush with the crowd in the hub, is all of main st. also packed back to the entrance to the park, or will we be able to get more space there? We would like to see the projections but we don't *have* to see them super up close, as long as we can sort of see them.

I watched HEA last night from Main Street near the emporium. It was definitely crowded but not wall to wall like I’ve seen pictures of. The crowd by the castle was though. I only sat down on the curb like 15 minutes before the show and there was still plenty of space to move around even when the show started.

 

[Disneymomma18]

Well shocker HS is packed today. I’m going to get in lines of things that I want to do regardless of wait times to see if they are accurate or not. Got boarding group 54, but according to the app they haven’t even started calling yet and it’s 10:12. Most of the big ticket stuff is already 30+ minutes. Hoping the heat and humidity will drive some people out this afternoon/evening.

 

[Helvetica]

Well shocker HS is packed today. I’m going to get in lines of things that I want to do regardless of wait times to see if they are accurate or not. Got boarding group 54, but according to the app they haven’t even started calling yet and it’s 10:12. Most of the big ticket stuff is already 30+ minutes. Hoping the heat and humidity will drive some people out this afternoon/evening.

I guess it’s all relative, but I’ve been pretty excited about the wait times that I’ve been seeing for my upcoming trip. They’re much better than they were in May.

Back then, everything was above 30 minutes at DHS by this time of day. I think Tower of Terror would have been around an hour and a half by now.

 

[Sarahslay]

Well shocker HS is packed today. I’m going to get in lines of things that I want to do regardless of wait times to see if they are accurate or not. Got boarding group 54, but according to the app they haven’t even started calling yet and it’s 10:12. Most of the big ticket stuff is already 30+ minutes. Hoping the heat and humidity will drive some people out this afternoon/evening.

Honesetly, 30+ minutes after 10 isn't horrible, hopefully you have a fantastic time. I remember on every other previous trip all the headliners being well above an hour within the first 30 minutes of opening, with SDD being 2 hours almost immediately (aside from MMRR which was usually just like 45, sometimes it got around an hour first thing which is why we went there first because I'm not standing in that courtyard in the sun). It is relative though, if you're not used to what the crowds were I'm sure HS feels a lot more crowded compared to places like AK that are walk on for almost everything.

 

[orangecuse]

Finished our trip yesterday at MK and everything was great! No real crowds- we did SDMT 4x (2x w/ 15-20 min wait and then other parent and big kid again for Rider Swap whcih was walk on). During this other parent did pooh, peter pan, dumbo, etc all with short or no wait. We then did BTMR with no wait 2x (didnt need RS due to no line) and then ate at Caseys and did Speedway before leaving.
Peter Pan was the only thing we saw accumulate any significant wait before leaving around 1.

 

[orangecuse]

Overall thoughts-

Park Reservations-
We changed a few times at the last minute this trip and I am glad we were going at a time where the low crowds meant the calendar was open at all four parks even the night before. I would really hate to be there at a time where I couldnt swap based on how we were feeling in the moment.

Fastpass-
We didnt need it or miss it because there were almost no crowds at all. I was glad we got this trip in before Genie+ starts as we don't plan to return until 2023 at the earliest, so we can see how it shakes out. I enjoyed knowing we could get a RotR boarding group late afternoon and relished not waking up at 7am for any reason since our kids are always up by 8.

Masks-
Mask compliance was 95% perfect. We felt very comfortable with our masks. One family were big whiny babies on the friendship boats but other than that, just an occasional mask down on a ride (always MK).

Cast Members-
Seemed mostly happy and helpful as always! Only exception was again at MK. We had a fantastic last morning at MK but our other 5 days were filled well with AK, HS, and Epcot. Id probably advise anuone not on a once in a lofetime trip to avoid MK or just do a few morning hours and scram. Not sure why they seem to have the most issues here right now.

Ride breakdowns- theyve gotta work on this. At any given time 2 or more rides were down in any park we were in. Eg our last day Splash was down all morning and Pooh was down almost all morning (only came back up for about 30 minutes). Living with the Land was down all week so we didnt get on, and several other rides went down while we were in line.

Resort Stay- We just adore the Swan and Dolphin. We can pay with points, service is always amazing, and our room was one of the best pieces of our trip. We had a "standard view" Dolphin double bed but we faced the MK fireworks and the front of the resort our kids loved watching them every night.

Overall great trip for us and I feel lucky we hit the sweet spot of crowds!

ETA- resturaunts! We did H&V for both breakfast and dinner, The Wave breakfast at California Grill, Coral Reef dinner, Ale and Compass breakfast. Everywhere had us spaced at least one extra table apart. Both H&V meals gave us a table for 6 for our party for 4, and the others had a clear space between where a table would normally sit. Exception was Coral Reef but we got a tank table so it didnt feel particularly close to anyone but the fish anyway. We left our masks on until we had our drinks at least, if not waited for food.

 

[Mich1218]

We got back on Wednesday and stayed at Coronado from 8/18-8/24. I was really worried about long lines, no Fastpass and people not following masking policy. None of those worries came to pass. While wearing masks on the rides wasn't fun, it wasn't unbearable and most people were complying. The lines were the shortest we've ever experience and we rode more than we'd normally get to with Fastpass.

Our main strategy was rope drop until early afternoon, head back to the resort and then go to the parks again for the evening. For AK, we headed into the park at 5 due to the earlier closing time. I only included attractions and some eating, not snacks, photopass, shopping, cavalcades etc. But that was mixed in between the attractions.

8/18: Epcot 5:30-9: Walked on to Soarin, Nemo, Spaceship Earth, went around the World Showcase kiosks, FEA at 8:35. This was our longest line of the trip at 35 minutes. We were blown away by the low lines in general and weren't sure it would last. Besides the evening of the 23rd, lines were really low. The lines weren't even terrible that day, but by then we'd ridden everything we wanted to and it wasn't really worth waiting even 30 minutes.
8/19: MK 9-1: 7DMT, half SM, half IASW, Buzz, CoP, Peoplemover, Philharmagic, BOG AK 5-7 FOP, KS, EEx2 Flame Tree Barbeque
8/20: HS 9-12 (we were on Slinky Dog by 8:35ish) TSMM, Smugglers Run, half RNRC, half Alien saucers, Rosies Cafe, MMRR MK/Boo Bash 7:30-12:30, HM, 7DMT, PP, carousel
Boo Bash: JC, SM, BTMRR, HM, 7DMT, Peoplemover, 6 trick or treating locations, 3 cavalcades, Cadaver Dan's, way too many treat stations
8:21: EP 11-2 (we were really tired from the Boo Bash and just needed time to relax). We just went around the World Showcase and ate our way around the Food and Wine kiosks.
8/22: AK-8-12:30, HS 6:00-9.
AK: FOP, Navi, half KS, half EEx3, Dinosaur, Animation Studio for 10 am drawing, petting zoo, Satu'li Canteen, ITTBAB
We were so successful this evening we canceled our HS reservation for the next day as we were able to do everything we'd wanted to do- Half rode TOT/half MMRR, all rode SDD, TSMM, ROTR, Smugglers Run, SDDx2. On this day, we tapped into HS at 3:30 and got boarding group 170. Then we headed to CBR for dinner. We were called for it around 7:45.
8/23: Spent the morning at the resort, went to Trader Sam's at 3:30, were told 2 hour wait. Had Dole Whips at Pineapple Lanai and were called into Trader Sam's around 4:10. Got to MK around 6, BTMRR, IASW, Buzz, stayed for fireworks.

 

[Mich1218]

Overall thoughts-

Park Reservations-
We changed a few times at the last minute this trip and I am glad we were going at a time where the low crowds meant the calendar was open at all four parks even the night before. I would really hate to be there at a time where I couldnt swap based on how we were feeling in the moment.

Fastpass-
We didnt need it or miss it because there were almost no crowds at all. I was glad we got this trip in before Genie+ starts as we don't plan to return until 2023 at the earliest, so we can see how it shakes out. I enjoyed knowing we could get a RotR boarding group late afternoon and relished not waking up at 7am for any reason since our kids are always up by 8.

Masks-
Mask compliance was 95% perfect. We felt very comfortable with our masks. One family were big whiny babies on the friendship boats but other than that, just an occasional mask down on a ride (always MK).

Ride breakdowns- they've gotta work on this. At any given time 2 or more rides were down in any park we were in. Eg our last day Splash was down all morning and Pooh was down almost all morning (only came back up for about 30 minutes). Living with the Land was down all week so we didn't get on, and several other rides went down while we were in line.

Overall great trip for us and I feel lucky we hit the sweet spot of crowds!

I second most of this. I was surprised at how long some rides were down. TOT was down our first HS day and then Peoplemover was down our last evening. We were also on a few rides that went down for more than 5 minutes while riding and had to bail on a PP line because it went down for about an hour.

 

[Leigh L]

I guess it’s all relative, but I’ve been pretty excited about the wait times that I’ve been seeing for my upcoming trip. They’re much better than they were in May.

Back then, everything was above 30 minutes at DHS by this time of day. I think Tower of Terror would have been around an hour and a half by now.

I agree!
We were in late June, while not terrible, there were some long lines, esp at DHS. Have a quick weekend trip coming up and pretty excited as well.

 

[faceofsam]

Just finished our morning at animal kingdom! We got to the park around 9 and did dinosaur, Everest, and safaris as all basically walk ons. We stopped for photos, got coffee, saw almost all the floats on the waterway (only one we didn't see was Mickey and Minnie!) We walked the gorilla trail and got to see the baby gorilla, got our favorite snack of street corn, and headed out for our lunch reservation at Sanaa. A great morning, and I felt very safe.

 

[Ecomommy09]

This thread was valuable to me while planning so here come my report.

8/25-8/28 at Kidani Village. I had a Savannah view studio. It was immaculate, cozy, and so fun. I spent the first afternoon just on my balcony videoing and photographing the animals and sending them to my kids. Food was tough, though. Mara was all locked down. You could walk in and order but it was a hassle. The pool bar was open and I ate there for lunch to save the walk to Jambo. Margarita was lovely Both shops are open now but the fridges are down in Jambo so that limits your options. My only real complaint about the resort was how often I lost WiFi OR the app just logged me out/required a new pin code email to get back in. That was crazy.

 

[Ecomommy09]

First morning was HS with MK in the afternoon. I have no interest in TOT or RNRC so I didn’t even walk down there. I arrived at the gate in my car at 0800 for a 0900 open and the gate was already open. They let us tap in at 0830 and I was on Slknky at 0840. Then I road Aliens and TSM as a walk on. The wait for Slinky was 25 minutes the whole time. I had a raspberry tart and some coffee which was very tasty.

I headed into SW and road MFSR with a 15 minute walk through the line. Next as shopping followed by walking on Star Tours. It was getting hot and so I sat around and drank some water because I was beat from traveling.

Finally MMRR with a 40 minute wait and lunch at ABC commissary. I went back to the room after that to work out and nap. I had BG 82 but ROTR was down several hours and I’d done ALL the other things I wanted so I was ready to leave.

I headed to MK via bus at 1500. Unfortunately, I hate busses and I hate the TTC so yuck. This is why I stay at Contemporary the most. The walk.

I road POC (walk on) and JC (30 min) before my dinner reservation. Food at Skipper was awesome and my server so funny. After dinner I walked on BTM, HM, WTP (20 min) and Space Mountain (25 min). I think I mentioned I was tired. I bailed before fireworks. So sad.

 

[Ecomommy09]

Second day was AK (my fav!) with a trip to Epcot to shop in the afternoon. I didn’t ride anything at Epcot at all, so I’ll just say I drove in at 1600 and stayed until 1900 eating around the world and buying Cat Sushi and Hello Kitty stickers. Thanks Japan!

I got to AK gate at 0730 for an 0800 opening. They held us a long time. It was like 0840 before they let us on. I walked on FOP and Na’vii and the FOP again with a 20 minute wait. I’ll never be able to ride it twice again in my life. I had breakfast at 0900 at Sbux. My safari was one of the best ever. I saw all the animals and the baby hippo and rhino. . I walked both wilderness trails and then road Everest twice as a walk on. Finally, it was a good time to have some lunch at Nomad Lounge (hello Annapurna Zing) and shop. I headed back to the resort at 1300 to nap and workout. And then Epcot as above.

 

[Ecomommy09]

I’m from E TN so the humidity didn’t bother me. I wear my mask religiously and it never phased me. In general, I just use my own behavior to keep myself safe so I didn’t really notice other people’s masking. It seemed good when I was looking around. There was an irritating lady in front of me at FOP who had a little cough (sounded like allergies) and wasn’t masked out of doors. I noticed her . Indoor dining was fine. I was a little close for comfort in Sanaa but Skipper, and ABC commissary were easy to space out in.

I had planned to avoid Epcot completely, but Friday afternoon crowds were so low and the rain was coming so I risked it. I didn’t feel unsafe, and I got my husband his cat sushi, so that was a relief.

All in all, it was a great trip; and now we wait to see if I got the COVID-19. I have my rapid test to take when I’ve been home a few days or if I experience symptoms. The current guidelines from CDC are 7 days post exposure for vaccinated individuals.

 

[rmclain73]

My wife has a friend who just got back. She said they felt very safe in the parks and in line. She also mentioned there was plexiglass up in the lines for added protection. Is this true? I haven’t come across any posts mentioning the plexiglass.

 

[Palaura]

My wife has a friend who just got back. She said they felt very safe in the parks and in line. She also mentioned there was plexiglass up in the lines for added protection. Is this true? I haven’t come across any posts mentioning the plexiglass.

Some…big thunder, Mexico, pirates come to mind. Seemed like they started taking some down and then delta hit so some stayed up?

 

[CarolynFH]

My wife has a friend who just got back. She said they felt very safe in the parks and in line. She also mentioned there was plexiglass up in the lines for added protection. Is this true? I haven’t come across any posts mentioning the plexiglass.

In some queues the switchbacks are close together and the line can't be spread out further. The queue for Slinky Dog comes to mind. They installed plexiglass and other barriers along the railings.