Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[WEDWDW]

Views from Mickeyworld.

TRON is running at night and is MUCH more spectacular than I had pictured it!AMAZING addition to Tomorrowland!

Magic Kingdom is a different Park WITH the WDWRR back ON TRACK!!!!Love the new Narration-especially when going through the Tron Tunnel!The Tunnel is MUCH longer than I realized!REALLY cool!

It is so good to have the International College Program Cast Members from Brazil back in their December to March Program!There are close to 1,000 of them-if you are here you can't go very far without seeing one of them!And as always they are TREMENDOUS Cast Members!

Bem-vindos de volta aos brasileiros!

The Brazil 15s are also here also but not in Pre-Covid numbers yet.

If you are a fan of the Space Program or just like seeing something you don't see everyday,there are MANY opportunities to see Rocket Launches these days while vacationing at WDW!
We have already seen 2 since we have been here-we watched the Falcon Heavy Launch from near Mission:SPACE(cool atmosphere) and it was spectacular.

It felt wonderful to return to a FULLY cleaned and made room at All-Star Sports for the first time since the Shutdown Monday!

With the exceptions of China and Morocco,World Showcase is close(guessing around 90 %) to being all Cultural Representatives again!

It is good to see Raffy back on The Mill Stage in Canada-fun show!

I was surprised to see Julia Scheeser performing in Germany-I must have somehow missed that announcement.
She is awesome-put her on your FoTA list of things to see!

And finally the Resort Mugs are STILL the best buy at WDW-I have probably had 6 figures worth at regular Mickey prices of Coffee,Hot Chocolate and Powerade Mountain Berry Blast!lol

 

[WIll C]

Epcot this morning was pretty open. Even at 3pm there were still LL+ for Guardians. Frozen and Remy were out of G+ times but everything else seemed to. Crowd level was good, except around Mexico, which is to be expected. Plenty of Figment popcorn buckets. They seemed to have found the right way to give the out this time with using mobile ordering.
Cast has been great everywhere we went, other than one here at Riviera but the manager was amazing so I'm not going to hold it against them.

One reminder for people staying at Skyliner resorts and doing the HS after party. Skyliner only runs until 10:30pm right now so expect to take the bus back to your resort. Granted, for Riviera, this is quicker...a lot quicker. Our driver was doing stand up comedy as well on the drive back so it was perfect.

 

[DisneyMama811]

popping back to say, excellent day in Magic Kingdom, after a few struggles we figured out Genie and were able to stack a few things. Splash and Space both broke down while we had LL's booked so they gave us replacements to use for a certain selection of attractions which was great and we ended up getting on both of those later in the evening anyway, we ended up doing 16 rides

Instead of continuing to do daily recaps I will just post some general impressions:

1) The magic is still there IMO. I never ran into an impolite cast member, everyone seemed to go out of their way to be friendly and helpful. The character interactions are back and are great!
2) You can have a better experience than you have ever had before at WDW.....if you are willing to pay for it, and do a lot of research. It also helps if you are more technologically savvy. Use the guest services people in the parks to help if you run into issues.
3) G+ works incredibly well in some situations and parks, and is a waste of money in others, and you don't know which is which until you try it. Paying for it the day of feels bad, and they should give you back the option of paying for the entire trip. Yes, it might be a waste in some parks, but I really disliked starting my day with a transaction.
4) You can get a lot done with G+ without rope dropping, and if you rope drop, G+ may not be necessary, particularly in Epcot and AK. In HS, I would recommend rope drop AND G+ OR doing the after hours party.
5) The After Hours parties are incredible for people who can stay up. Its actually a good value, which is hard to find at Disney. I would recommend having a rest day during the day of the party. I made the mistake of going to a park in the morning and I was pretty tired for the party (but it was still great!).
6) GOTG is a fantastic ride, and if you preselect your party and refresh every 5 sec starting from X:59 to the time it is supposed to start (7am,1pm,6pm) you have a good shot of getting a boarding group. Sometimes the time they give you pops REALLY early (i had one that was supposed to hit at 2pm and I got a notification to board at 11:30am) so be prepared for that.
7) Extras that are worth it: After hours party at HS, Spice Road table Fireworks party (if you like more adventurous food), Hoop de doo (if you like a corny family show with BBQ style food), Topolino's breakfast - so good!
8) Extras that are NOT worth it: Dessert parties at MK, Magicband +, Space 220 sit down meals if you are not a Sci-Fi type person - do the lounge.
9) Best food: Topolino's, Spice Road, Sebastians Bistro, Satuli, Kona Cafe breakfast, Beaches and Cream
10) Best snacks - Dole whip in POG juice - you can get this at Aloha Isle, Popcorn in Star Wars area, bread service and drinks at Nomad Lounge.

I'd agree 100% in regards to MB+, here now. they fall off constantly, we've all had to have them reset at least once because they wouldn't tap at park entry, they don't seem to work very well with the Fab 50 statues, the one thing I really like though is being able to use them to pay with

 

[WIll C]

popping back to say, excellent day in Magic Kingdom, after a few struggles we figured out Genie and were able to stack a few things. Splash and Space both broke down while we had LL's booked so they gave us replacements to use for a certain selection of attractions which was great and we ended up getting on both of those later in the evening anyway, we ended up doing 16 rides

I'd agree 100% in regards to MB+, here now. they fall off constantly, we've all had to have them reset at least once because they wouldn't tap at park entry, they don't seem to work very well with the Fab 50 statues, the one thing I really like though is being able to use them to pay with

For people with issues on the Magic Bands (plus or otherwise) with them coming off, I'd suggest getting some band holders from Amazon. They will slip over the end of the band and keep them from coming apart. I have some for my wife and they work wonderfully. Worked nicely for my Mickey watch as well (that's what they are meant for) and there are colors that match a lot of MBs.

I do have to say, the MB+ interaction with statues and the sort is lackluster and while it will buzz you without a problem, it takes a lot to get it do to anything with the statues. Otherwise, it's just a normal MB+ for getting into the parks and paying for things.

 

[SheSingsAlong]

Has Splash been having a lot of down time? We are in MK on Jan 22, the last day possible to ride Splash and I'm so worried they'll just close it early if it breaks down.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Has Splash been having a lot of down time? We are in MK on Jan 22, the last day possible to ride Splash and I'm so worried they'll just close it early if it breaks down.

Yeah, it has. On my MK day last month, it was down for the majority of the day and it was down for a couple of hours yesterday too.

 

[WIll C]

We had a pop up apology too in MDE app on our MK day yesterday. I guess it was down all day. We weren't there long enough to go check it out as we wanted to rest for the HS after hours.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Has Splash been having a lot of down time? We are in MK on Jan 22, the last day possible to ride Splash and I'm so worried they'll just close it early if it breaks down.

It does appear to have had some significant downtimes recently

 

[MomEadon]

For anyone that has been in Disney World the last few days I’m curious what the crowds have been like in the parks?

We arrive Sunday and planned for Epcot on Monday and Magic Kingdom on Wednesday and I’m just curious what will be looking at ride line wise?

Thanks Disney goers

 

[RoseBen009]

For anyone that has been in Disney World the last few days I’m curious what the crowds have been like in the parks?

We arrive Sunday and planned for Epcot on Monday and Magic Kingdom on Wednesday and I’m just curious what will be looking at ride line wise?

Thanks Disney goers

Following! We will be arriving tomorrow and our first park day is Sunday

 

[thanxfornoticin]

For anyone that has been in Disney World the last few days I’m curious what the crowds have been like in the parks?

We arrive Sunday and planned for Epcot on Monday and Magic Kingdom on Wednesday and I’m just curious what will be looking at ride line wise?

Thanks Disney goers

Your best bet is to bring up your MDE app and look at the Tip Board for the day - you'll see how long the wait lines are, how accessible G+ is, and get a feel for the crowds through the wait times.

 

[ucf_knight]

For years now disney is always busy no matter the time of year. Your best bet for low crowds is at rope drop for the first hour or two and then an hour or so before park close.

 

[DisneyMama811]

we arrived on Monday, MK on Tuesday, waaay less crowded than expected. bought Genie+ and it worked well. longest line we stood in (that was not a G+) was 40 min for Little Mermaid ride. we were there 830 to close and rode 16 rides, 3 character meet and greets, a sit down meal and a QS meal. so super successful day. Wednesday was Animal Kingdom, it was DEAD I asked some cast members and even they said it was slow for AK. we didn't ride everything (skipped Pandora) but did everything we wanted to do. yesterday (Thursday) was HS it was the busiest park by far. Toy Story Land was wall to wall people but we still did everything we wanted to do including Slinky, MMRR, RotR with minimal waits. today was a break and tomorrow is Epcot, I'm anxious to see how it is being a Saturday during a festival

 

[WIll C]

AK today was pretty low crowds. We didn't do much as my wife can't handle many rides here and she was pretty beat from the day before but even FOP wasn't more than an hour at lunch (we had DAS so did that right after our Tusker House lunch). Navi was a longer wait (always seems that way) and we opted to head to Epcot and that was more crowded but we got our AP magnet and did some shopping and toured the world showcase for a bit.
I was surprised by the crowd on the bus from AK to Epcot. Standing room only at 2pm.

 

[Gabby01]

Just back! I stayed at All-Star Music from 1/16-1/20. Loved the resort—I was in the Rock section and the pastel colors were so pretty, especially lit up at night! And there were still H2O products in the shower!

The weather was beautiful the whole time I was there. The day I arrived I took the boat to POFQ and got my first-ever Mickey Beignets. They definitely live up to the hype!! Also checked out the Wonderground Gallery at its new location. It takes up half of the Art of Disney store now and looks beautiful and gallery-like!

Next day I went to Hollywood Studios. I have a MagicBand+ so I tried the Bounty Hunters game, which was a lot of fun!

On my last full day I went to Epcot for the Festival of the Arts. Started with Frozen and my MagicBand+ lit up with Frozen-themed colors during the ride, which was cool (um, no pun intended)! Lots of great art and food. Also went to Space 220 which was very atmospheric and relaxing after walking 7 miles around Epcot! I highly recommend the new Imagination cocktail—it was amazing!! I also got a Figment popcorn bucket and it was very easy with the mobile ordering system.

Overall I had a great time and am just bummed to be back!

 

[WEDWDW]

Views from Mickeyworld.

TRON is running at night and is MUCH more spectacular than I had pictured it!AMAZING addition to Tomorrowland!

Magic Kingdom is a different Park WITH the WDWRR back ON TRACK!!!!Love the new Narration-especially when going through the Tron Tunnel!The Tunnel is MUCH longer than I realized!REALLY cool!

It is so good to have the International College Program Cast Members from Brazil back in their December to March Program!There are close to 1,000 of them-if you are here you can't go very far without seeing one of them!And as always they are TREMENDOUS Cast Members!

Bem-vindos de volta aos brasileiros!

The Brazil 15s are also here also but not in Pre-Covid numbers yet.

If you are a fan of the Space Program or just like seeing something you don't see everyday,there are MANY opportunities to see Rocket Launches these days while vacationing at WDW!
We have already seen 2 since we have been here-we watched the Falcon Heavy Launch from near Mission:SPACE(cool atmosphere) and it was spectacular.

It felt wonderful to return to a FULLY cleaned and made room at All-Star Sports for the first time since the Shutdown Monday!

With the exceptions of China and Morocco,World Showcase is close(guessing around 90 %) to being all Cultural Representatives again!

It is good to see Raffy back on The Mill Stage in Canada-fun show!

I was surprised to see Julia Scheeser performing in Germany-I must have somehow missed that announcement.
She is awesome-put her on your FoTA list of things to see!

And finally the Resort Mugs are STILL the best buy at WDW-I have probably had 6 figures worth at regular Mickey prices of Coffee,Hot Chocolate and Powerade Mountain Berry Blast!lol

I forgot the most important thing!

If you find yourself at WDW during a COLD period,the below will BE YOUR BEST FRIEND!!!!

Disney World/Epcot/World Showcase/Canada/Northwest Mercantile/Flap Hat....

 

[100AcreWood]

What are you guys wearing to the parks now? It seems like the high can get close to 70, but drop down to 40 at night.

 

[WEDWDW]

What are you guys wearing to the parks now? It seems like the high can get close to 70, but drop down to 40 at night.

Layers are the key.

 

[WIll C]

What are you guys wearing to the parks now? It seems like the high can get close to 70, but drop down to 40 at night.

Been shorts most of the time with a jacket and hat. Night time or cooler days may warrant pants. Jacket comes off by late morning so far most days.

 

[scrappinginontario]

You may want to read this thread. A lot of helpful information Unit.