Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[kylenne]

I am truly baffled at the crowds. I planned a late January trip hoping for light crowds as that has been the case in the past. Seems like perhaps lots of international travelers might be the reason as there was pent up demand for so long.

England just relaxed entry requirements and it's the summer school break in a few South American countries. Also just anecdotally a lot of people who cancelled last summer/fall due to Delta rescheduled for early 2022.

 

[lindsroc]

But at least it won't be snowing!

Dont jinx us! lol Have a great vacay

 

[starryagain]

I'm just back from a 4.5 day trip - just me and my six year old.

I'm glad to see that crowds were actually high vs just becoming an old lady.

Random thoughts:
- we used G+ at our two MK days (Sunday 1/23 and Monday 1/24). It was definitely worth it. Despite crowds being very high we did 12 attractions in 5-6 hours each day by stacking G+. I'm irritated at having to pay for it but I'm glad I did.
- Our Epcot day was great. We did everything except Frozen and saw Harmonious and a lot of World Showcase entertainment. No G+ or ILL. We also took a four hour break. The Friday evening crowd was very rowdy, I used it as a teachable moment for my kid.
- AK is really suffering without Everest and Nemo. Just not enough to do. We did everything we wanted without G+ / ILL.
- With crowds this high true character meets are needed ASAP. I'm a cautious person who appreciates the safety rules but man there is not enough to do with this many people.
- restaurants were better staffed than most in the non Disney world. A little slow but no big deals.
- no big issues at our resorts (Boardwalk and Bay Lake)
- keep monitoring rental car prices. We were finally able to pay a reasonable amount ($180 for 4 days) and it was so convenient for AK and transferring resorts.

 

[MMSM]

I'm just back from a 4.5 day trip - just me and my six year old.

I'm glad to see that crowds were actually high vs just becoming an old lady.

Random thoughts:
- we used G+ at our two MK days (Sunday 1/23 and Monday 1/24). It was definitely worth it. Despite crowds being very high we did 12 attractions in 5-6 hours each day by stacking G+. I'm irritated at having to pay for it but I'm glad I did.
- Our Epcot day was great. We did everything except Frozen and saw Harmonious and a lot of World Showcase entertainment. No G+ or ILL. We also took a four hour break. The Friday evening crowd was very rowdy, I used it as a teachable moment for my kid.
- AK is really suffering without Everest and Nemo. Just not enough to do. We did everything we wanted without G+ / ILL.
- With crowds this high true character meets are needed ASAP. I'm a cautious person who appreciates the safety rules but man there is not enough to do with this many people.
- restaurants were better staffed than most in the non Disney world. A little slow but no big deals.
- no big issues at our resorts (Boardwalk and Bay Lake)
- keep monitoring rental car prices. We were finally able to pay a reasonable amount ($180 for 4 days) and it was so convenient for AK and transferring resorts.

Which car rental company?

 

[starryagain]

Which car rental company?

We used Alamo through Costco. I'm going to keep monitoring prices for our May trip (currently $600 for 8 days which is a big no from me)

 

[MMSM]

We used Alamo through Costco. I'm going to keep monitoring prices for our May trip (currently $600 for 8 days which is a big no from me)

I have $600 for 7 days w Enterprise. I booked it a year ago. It’s 1100 now. (It’s a van).

 

[WEDWDW]

England just relaxed entry requirements and it's the summer school break in a few South American countries. Also just anecdotally a lot of people who cancelled last summer/fall due to Delta rescheduled for early 2022.

Yes,the South Americans are definitely back-been hearing lots of families speaking Portuguese!lol

We also ran into a group from Uruguay celebrating their College Graduation.

And for the first time since January 2020 we are seeing the return of The 15s.

Not anywhere close to "normal",but there is a "sprinkling" of The 15s here and there.

The below group was from Brazil.

I think,if the Pandemic improves by Summer,July could see the "floodgates" open for The 15s at WDW,lol



THEY'RE BAAAAACK!LOL

 

[tsme]

Park hopping for Annual passholders, do we have to tap into reserved park be able to park hop to second park? We decided NOT to go to HS this morning, because I have a massive headache. The weather is icky & I’d rather not have to go all the way to HS just to tap in to be able to go hop to Epcot.

 

[mom2rtk]

Park hopping for Annual passholders, do we have to tap into reserved park be able to park hop to second park? We decided NOT to go to HS this morning, because I have a massive headache. The weather is icky & I’d rather not have to go all the way to HS just to tap in to be able to go hop to Epcot.

Yes. Or you can see if you can change your park reservation to the other park.

 

[tsme]

Yes. Or you can see if you can change your park reservation to the other park.

Good idea. Thx!

 

[dd316]

One thing my wife wanted to do was obtain all the cold 50th anniversary collectable coins. This quest was rather time consuming but it got us to see a lot of places we wouldn't normally do. It's not a cheap thing to do in terms of money or time but it was fun. A lot of running around and a must to have a cheat sheet!

Got any more info or tips? I didn't realize there were special coins - these are the pressed pennies, correct?

 

[WIll C]

Got any more info or tips? I didn't realize there were special coins - these are the pressed pennies, correct?

https://davidscointravels.blog/2021/09/28/50th-anniversary-collectible-medallions-walt-disney-world/
These are actual coins, not pressed pennies. They are 53 total 50th coins + 3 extra Pirates coins sold in batches of 4 for $15 per batch.

Expect a lot of travel as the Ft. Wilderness and All Stars locations are out of your way (unless staying there, of course). Know that you want to do this ahead of time so you don't have to back track to a location and plan out your travel. We used as much Disney transportation as possible and spent several days doing this as we visited each park, the resorts and Disney Springs.

It's a good distraction from normal park going and gives you something to look for as you travel around. Most of the cast members in the shop know where the vending machine is for the coins. We did run into one issue at Tower of Terror store as the machine wouldn't vend one of the coins. The cast in the store had some in their register so if you run into problems ask them and see if they have extras.

 

[BridgetR3]

Thank you that was why. Appreciate it.

So have they gone back to allowing you to book a new ride as soon as you tap into the ride you have booked now? When we were there, they had closed that "loophole" and you could only make them every two hours whether you checked in to the ride or not.....or at least I thought they had.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this but, it can't hurt to ask.

Has anyone found a place to watch the fireworks in MK and see the projections that is less crowded than most areas? I'm not looking for a dessert party, just a hidden gem that I may not be aware of.

Thanks!

 

[GBRforWDW]

I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this but, it can't hurt to ask.

Has anyone found a place to watch the fireworks in MK and see the projections that is less crowded than most areas? I'm not looking for a dessert party, just a hidden gem that I may not be aware of.

Thanks!

Hopefully there is something. We thought we found one by Sleepy Hollow, but all available space was filled in by the time the fireworks started.

Are you heading to Orlando soon?

 

[scrappinginontario]

Hopefully there is something. We thought we found one by Sleepy Hollow, but all available space was filled in by the time the fireworks started.

Are you heading to Orlando soon?

Thanks, so much! We may try there as it will be a smaller crowd than the hub.

3 sleeps to °o°!!

 

[GBRforWDW]

Thanks, so much! We may try there as it will be a smaller crowd than the hub.

3 sleeps to °o°!!

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a great time! So happy it's finally time for you.

Here's a couple shots of the castle from where we were






It's not the greatest view though because most of the fireworks are going off behind the trees to the left a bit, so it's a lot of looking back and forth between fireworks and castle. I'd definitely keep an eye out for other suggestions.

We mainly picked that spot because we watched the Hall of Presidents show right before the fireworks began.

 

[WEDWDW]

Park hopping for Annual passholders, do we have to tap into reserved park be able to park hop to second park? We decided NOT to go to HS this morning, because I have a massive headache. The weather is icky & I’d rather not have to go all the way to HS just to tap in to be able to go hop to Epcot.

 

[GBRforWDW]

@WEDWDW

Yes, but Does Epcot have availability? If so just change your reservation.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a great time! So happy it's finally time for you.

Here's a couple shots of the castle from where we were
View attachment 642239

View attachment 642240

View attachment 642241

It's not the greatest view though because most of the fireworks are going off behind the trees to the left a bit, so it's a lot of looking back and forth between fireworks and castle. I'd definitely keep an eye out for other suggestions.

We mainly picked that spot because we watched the Hall of Presidents show right before the fireworks began.

Thanks so much for the well-wishes and pics!

This is the trip we booked in 2019 and have had to move it a few times. So thankful it's finally happening!!!