Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[scrappinginontario]

I’m sorry if this has been asked but how early before park opening are they opening the parking at MK?

I would recommend reading post 1 here: Everything Early Theme Park Entry. It has that answer plus a lot of other information.

 

[jrsharp21]

I’m sorry if this has been asked but how early before park opening are they opening the parking at MK?

I believe the the theme park parking lots typically open one hour before park opening.

 

[Haley R]

I would recommend reading post 1 here: Everything Early Theme Park Entry. It has that answer plus a lot of other information.

Thanks! To make sure I’m understanding right, if early park entry at MK is 8:30 we could park at 7:30?

 

[scrappinginontario]

Thanks! To make sure I’m understanding right, if early park entry at MK is 8:30 we could park at 7:30?

That is my understanding. Disney doesn’t publish these times so info is gathered from what guests have shared.

 

[Lsdolphin]

Do Yacht Club and Beach Club share busses to MK and if so which resort is picked up first?

 

[scrappinginontario]

Do Yacht Club and Beach Club share busses to MK and if so which resort is picked up first?

If you don't get an answer to this here (sorry, I don't know), you may wish to ask this question on either the Transportation board or, on the Yacht Club or Beach Club thread(s) on the Resorts board.

 

[Revan]

Second half of our 11/5-11/11 trip (first half is here https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...-including-park-hopping.3807247/post-63516420)

11/7 - Animal Kingdom day, we arrived at about 45 minutes after rope drop, was worried we would be completely out of luck, but aside from Flight of Passage, we weren't. Kilimanjaro Safaris was a walk on around 9am (park was fully open for an hour.) It was fantastic and the animals were all out and visible after the very raining 11/6. EE was practically a walk-on. Dinosaur was about a 20-minute wait, park was getting busy. We waited 60 minutes for Na'avi River Journey - ugh, I've watched the movie 4 times since it came out, I am a fan, but this ride is just a way to manage crowds. FOP was over 100 minutes, we passed. Jeans and fleece weather, though nice in the sun. We moved to EPCOT at 2:30 after a great lunch at Sa'tuli Canteen. EPCOT was still insane for a Sunday with lots of race t-shirts and medals. Happy, happy runners and we congratulated quite a few., 25 minute wait or Spaceship Earth, we opted to wait 60 minutes for Test Track, first time on the trip. Then started walking the countries from UK, World Showcase for the 2nd night was practically undoable. We did wait until 9:45 to watch Harmonious from Africa Outpost and you REALLY need to be center from or back to see anything other than fireworks.

11/8 - Magic Kingdom, thinking things would settle on Monday we didn't rope drop and big mistake, we also decided on the fly to purchase Genie+ after getting through the gate around 9:30 since we were hopping to HS later, ~$95 for the 6 of us and we were only able to secure Buzz, Small World and Pirates from 9-2:30, Pirates is arguably an old school e-ticket, but neither of the others. Park was jammed again. Jumped to HS around 2:30 with a 6:15 Rockin Roller coaster LL, super busy but we walked around, ate at Cargo Bay 7 for an early dinner, did single rider for Smugglers Run (that was the way to go, we walked right on with a posted 75 minute wait.) We did our Rockin Roller coaster LL and were only able to secure Midway Mania for 8:15, Mickey and Minnie was a posted 60 minute wait and we gambled, it was way off and was about 30 minutes for a super fun ride.

11/9 Was a full EPCOT day, I secured group 50 for Remy at 7am, crowd levels were great for the first half and never became unbearable like over the weekend. We hit Mexico at 11am and waited 5 minutes for La Cava - been dreaming of Avocado Margs for the past 10 years. Food booth lines were reasonable all the way up to the afternoon. We rode Remy at 1pm, it was great - it is Runaway Railway with a little extra juice (3D), Creperie was great - I got the Brie Galette which was very rich. We got our first sprinkle of Pixie Dust when a cast member on Soarin held us back and then put us in row 1 boarding group 2 (top middle) - these are the seats that the ride was designed for - a straight Eiffel Tower.

11/10 Last Park Day HS/AK - Started at HS, determined to ride Rise without paying $15 each. Ride was down at park open and extra magic 1/2 hour, we gambled and walked over, just after we passed the arch it opened and we jumped in. 75 minute posted wait was about 25 minutes. Absolutely amazing ride - same basic premise as Mickey & Minnies and Remy, but a good comparison would we Slinky Dog and Everest are coasters - with pretty extreme differences. Tried Single Rider for Rockin Roller Coaster - big mistake, waited 45 minutes with a standby line was of 60 - probably would have been faster. It started to rain again, steady rain predicted until 8-9pm, we left and jumped to AK to try for FOP. It was a posted 55 minute when we entered the park - and was about a 40 minute wait. Again, amazing first ride, FPO is Soarin what Everest is to Slinky. Crowds were still high - but managable.

Done and heading home!

 

[CarolynFH]

Do Yacht Club and Beach Club share busses to MK and if so which resort is picked up first?

Yes, they share, and I believe YC is picked up first, then BC.

 

[nevergrowup826]

Yes, they share, and I believe YC is picked up first, then BC.

Only during the slow times- mid day. Night and morning are separate buses

 

[CarolynFH]

Only during the slow times- mid day. Night and morning are separate buses

Thanks, that's good to know. I only remember from the bad old days when BWV was at the end of the line that went Swan, Dolphin, Yacht, Beach, and then pass by BW because the bus was full! Tagging @Lsdolphin to make sure they read the correct information!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Only during the slow times- mid day. Night and morning are separate buses

Thanks, that's good to know. I only remember from the bad old days when BWV was at the end of the line that went Swan, Dolphin, Yacht, Beach, and then pass by BW because the bus was full! Tagging @Lsdolphin to make sure they read the correct information!

The Yacht Club and Beach Club/BCV don't share the morning bus, but they do share all the buses to/from after the morning rush, even evening buses.

 

[CarolynFH]

The Yacht Club and Beach Club/BCV don't share the morning bus, but they do share all the buses to/from after the morning rush, even evening buses.

Thanks for more clarification! @Lsdolphin, did you see that?

 

[Lsdolphin]

Thanks for more clarification! @Lsdolphin, did you see that?

yes thank you all sooo much! Doing first stay at Yacht Club Jan. 26-Feb 2nd

 

[JK World]

Here now, just wanted to share some thoughts. Just me and my 6yo (turning 7 tomorrow!), got here Wed and headed straight to HS from the airport (arrived around 2pm). Purchased Genie+ and started booking LL at 6am CST, even paid for WiFi on the plane to book 2 more, lol. So we had Slinky Dog, Millennium Falcon, and Toy Story Mania booked before arrival, plus I purchased MMRR. ROTR was sold out by the time I could purchase (staying off-site).

Pouring rain when we arrived, made me hopeful for shorter lines (didn't happen). Our ride reservations didn't start until around 5pm, so we just tried for short lines until then. Did Star Tours, MuppetVision, and Slinky Dog standby because TP said it was only a 15 minute wait (posted around 40). TP was wrong, which is an ongoing theme for us, their times have been way lower than what we experience. Then it was time for MMRR, which was very cute.

Then a quick dinner at ABC Commissary (mobile order was perfect), and off to Millennium Falcon. I have never had motion sickness on a ride, but that one had me queasy and it's a one and done for me. Toured Galaxy's Edge a bit, then off to our Slinky Dog LL. Ride stopped on the part where you back up, which was interesting, but recovered after about a minute. Next was TSM, which also broke down towards the end but recovered after a few minutes. My son thought the stoppages were exciting, lol. Finished with Frozen show and headed out. Would have liked to do ROTR, but honestly don't want to dedicate another full park day to HS, feeling over it.

Today was Epcot, and TP continued to be very wrong on wait times. MDE is also very wrong, so average the 2 together and you may get close. Bought Genie+ mostly for Test Track, but then it broke down in the rain and we never got to ride it anyways. We did enjoy Nemo, Soarin, LWTL, Journey, Spaceship Earth, Mission Space, Gran Fiesta, and Remy. Got boarding group 101 at 1pm, called around 5:36pm, off the ride around 7pm. As soon as it was over, my son said "well that was definitely not worth the wait..." and I completely agree with him. It was cute, but felt like a slightly better Winnie the Pooh.

Tomorrow is AK, and I will not be doing Genie+ or purchasing FOP (just gonna rope drop with my extra 30 Disney+ minutes and hope for the best). Party tomorrow night for my son's birthday, so a long but hopefully fun day!

 

[boop0524]

We are here this week and the parks are jammin. Holy cow didn’t expect this. Where did everyone come from lol! We used Genie+ in MK Monday to thankfully ride some rides. Today we used it in Epcot and it was pretty much a bust. I was so frustrated when the app accidentally didn’t add on one member of our party to Soarin LL and they refused to fix it or allow them in. It happened to us several times at MK Monday and they always accommodated. The app and technology has definitely been frustrating.

So far the trip has had some highlights and good moments for sure, but theres been crowds, technology issues, lack of merch and overall high costs. Not my favorite of trips tbh

 

[Tgoody]

November 3rd through the 10th overview:

Parks: Epcot and AK(4th), HS(5th), MK(6th), HS(7th), Epcot(8th), AK and MK Christmas Party (9th)
Dining Reservations: Sanaa Dinner, Nomads Lounge 2x, Steakhouse 71 Lunch and Dinner, Citricos Dinner, Bull and Bear Dinner, Oga's Lounge, Morimoto Dinner, and Wine Bar George Lunch.
Resort: OKW Studio - Peninsular Road 2920
Transportation: Bus and Uber/Lyft

Epcot on the 4th was low crowds and easy access to food booths. We had a lightning lane reservation for Frozen and got boarding group 10 for Remy. We park hopped at 2:30pm to AK because it was going to rain the next day and wanted to take advantage of AK times. Paid for a LL for FoP that evening and hung around to see the park at night. Had nomads lounge in the afternoon and would make sure I go to Nomads every trip.

HS on the 5th was challenging. We paid for Rise and MMRR that morning. Walked on Slinky and Tower of Terror during EMH. Small wait for RnR. Then we did rise and mmrr before heading out due to rain. Went to Beaches and cream for lunch. Then DS for an afternoon showing of Eternals. Had dinner at Morimoto, which was amazing.

MK day was frustrating. Got to the bus stop at 7:30 for 8:30 EMH. No bus showed up before 8:27. Ordered an uber and got into the park at 9:02 so we missed the EMH benefit. Crowded day so we did Haunted Mansion, SW and we had Genie+ for BTMR. Started stacking rides to go with our SDMT LL purchase after our Steakhouse 71 lunch. The burger and bacon and eggs were amazing. Great meal. Back into the park after lunch for some rides. We had Citircos that evening. Drinks and appetizers were good. The main dish we split was flavorless. Wouldn't go back for price. Back in park for a few rides.

HS on the 7th was amazing. Got there early for EMH. Rode MMRR and MFSR before park open. Paid for Rise and Genie+. Rode every ride with G+ and left the park at 2pm. Had Bull and Bear for dinner. Best meal of the trip by far.

Epcot on the 8th was EMH and Extra Magic Hours at night. Got BG 18 for Remy. Park was very busy. Rode Soarin and Nemo before park open. Ate a few places before Remy. Ate some more before leaving at 2pm for a nap. Came back around 6pm and strolled around WS and ate the remaining places on our list. Asked a cast member for recommendations for where to stand for Harmonious and was given some pixie dust for a VIP viewing area. Stayed for extra hours and rode Test Track and Frozen.

AK in the morning on the 9th. EMH for safari and Everest. LL for Avatar and we had Nomads again. Did the bird show and walked out around 2pm. Went to Steakhouse 71 for dinner at 6pm. Drinks were not good. Appetizers were okay and my wedge salad was great. The Prime Rib was not good. Cold and no marbling to speak of. Best part of the meal was talking to a DVC owner that was seated near us about her trip and what she enjoyed. We went to MK to see Enchantment which was great. Then stayed for the Christmas party. Rode everything we wanted to without much wait and loved the parade and firework shows, both of which are worth the price to me. Left at 1:30am.

Final day on the 10th we went to DS for lunch and shopping. Had Gideon's and Wine Bar George. The steak frites and macaroni bites are awesome. Flight issues in DFW made us miss out connection, roamed the terminal from 2am to 10am before our new flight.

Few mask issues on rides and in queues. Utilizing EMH is a must and just purchasing the LL vs Genie+ worked well for us. We had some bus issues at OKW and had to use Uber a few times because of lack of busses.

 

[boop0524]

HS is an nightmare today. Rise sold out before 9 am so no chance for us off-site folks to buy ILL. Thankfully we grabbed a SDD at 7 because that sold out and so has MFSR, so guess we’re not doing anything in GE today. This is a family trip and we really looked forward to doing that.

Everything is overbooked and overly complicated this trip. If this is the new Disney World, I’m regretting buying our APs. Not looking forward to coming back at all. I’m missing the magic

 

[leeniewdw]

Is there any reporting (blogs/vlog/otherwise) that Disney is throttling ride capacity? TP doesn't have any park higher than a 5 today, so I don't understand how the system would handle a larger crowd. There is no 'bigger' ride in HS right now with < an hour standby (according to MDE).

 

[CJK]

HS is an nightmare today. Rise sold out before 9 am so no chance for us off-site folks to buy ILL. Thankfully we grabbed a SDD at 7 because that sold out and so has MFSR, so guess we’re not doing anything in GE today. This is a family trip and we really looked forward to doing that.

Everything is overbooked and overly complicated this trip. If this is the new Disney World, I’m regretting buying our APs. Not looking forward to coming back at all. I’m missing the magic

If you're going to be there in the evening, try to get in line for Rise a few minutes before park close. We did that last week, and were in and out in 30 minutes. Worked so well! Also, Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway had a very small line around 6:30pm two nights that we were there last week. We always do MFSR through the single rider line. Hope your day gets better!

 

[GreyStr0ke]

Did they open the parks an hour earlier than the posted openings today? I noticed the wait times were showing up and were quite significant for parks that were't supposed to be open yet.