Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[PrincessV]

I'm interested in hearing about people's experiences while eating, specifically QS. Are you able to find ample tables outside close to the QS? We plan to eat outside as much as possible in October, and I worry about being able to find places for us all to sit (family of 6). Especially because we like to snack often and will be needing to "pull over" to do so.

I went a few weeks ago and had no problem finding outdoor tables away from others - all of my days were weekdays...
EP: I only did the F&W booths, but had no issues finding a bench or standing table in the shade to enjoy every item I ate.
MK: mobile ordered from Pecos Bill's around 6pm - plenty of tables immediately outside, as well as plenty of benches further away if I'd opted to wander off a bit.
AK: in-person ordered at Y&Y Local Foods - a bit busier in the outdoor seating area than my EP or M experiences, but still ample open tables at least a table or more away from other diners.

tl;dr: no issue at all finding places to eat QS well removed from others.

 

[mouselovenfamily]

Just got boarding group 15 for rise!

We got in queue to get on the ride and it has broke down. So we have gotten out of line heading to her Oglas reservation and will go back after that.

 

[yulilin3]

I'm interested in hearing about people's experiences while eating, specifically QS. Are you able to find ample tables outside close to the QS? We plan to eat outside as much as possible in October, and I worry about being able to find places for us all to sit (family of 6). Especially because we like to snack often and will be needing to "pull over" to do so.

Outdoor seating is easier than indoors, everyone wants reprieve from the heat

 

[Shellyred8]

Can anyone whose been through ATL or MCO lately speak to how mask compliance is? Still on the fence about making a trip down before the end of the year and while I feel like Disney is doing the right thing who knows with the airports.

We went through MCO at the end of August and mask usage was maybe 50/50. On the plus side, it wasn't very busy, so it was very easy to social distance.

 

[Melodious]

I'm interested in hearing about people's experiences while eating, specifically QS. Are you able to find ample tables outside close to the QS? We plan to eat outside as much as possible in October, and I worry about being able to find places for us all to sit (family of 6). Especially because we like to snack often and will be needing to "pull over" to do so.

So far the only time we struggled to find outdoor seating was lunch at Pinocchio house. Also most tables are spaced for four people. Trying to sit more than that would have been difficult a few times

 

[oceanbec]

Any updates about popcorn?
Are refills available yet?

thanks

 

[yulilin3]

Any updates about popcorn?
Are refills available yet?

thanks

Refills have been available since reopening, they give you a regular size popcorn instead of filling up your bucket directly

 

[IluvMGM]

We went through MCO at the end of August and mask usage was maybe 50/50. On the plus side, it wasn't very busy, so it was very easy to social distance.

I didn't think MCO was that great the beginning of September. Whole families were sitting around with no masks, people walking into the bathrooms with no masks. Even some airport employees were walking around with their mask pulled down. I did see hand sanitizer every once in awhile at MCO. We flew out of PHL and there wasn't a single hand sanitizer dispenser anywhere, which surprised me. I kind of thought even before Covid there might be a few around.

 

[emmabelle]

Can anyone whose been through ATL or MCO lately speak to how mask compliance is? Still on the fence about making a trip down before the end of the year and while I feel like Disney is doing the right thing who knows with the airports.

last Saturday night at 6pm MCO was a ghost town. No line at security. Hardly anything open. Sooooo weird.

 

[NoraRose]

For those who have been to HS this week, how are the wait times compared to the posted wait times?

 

[alliecat726]

One week from right now, we'll be landing in Orlando, woo hoo! Heading to all 4 parks (TH-MK, FR-AK, SA-HS & SU-EPC) and I have a couple questions for anyone that knows firsthand... 1) Can you use the mobile ordering app for the booths @ Epcot's Food & Wine? 2) Are there any online resources that track wait times in detail (ie recent wait times on the weekends vs during the week; wait times since reduced hours started; etc) to make for better ride strategies? 3) We do not plan to get up early, wait in bus/skyliner lines forever & arrive @ the parks before/right at opening time as it seems like every time I check the wait times on app from home they're always so bad during that first hour after opening--so we plan to arrive within/after that first hour and take our time--would people agree or is this crazy? (Only exception is HS so we can try for the 10am BP, so we'll shoot to get there before 9:30 that day--unfortunately on Saturday so I'm expecting to be surprised, disappointed and annoyed by the crowds/waits lol). Thanks for any insights on these 3 items!

 

[summerw]

One week from right now, we'll be landing in Orlando, woo hoo! Heading to all 4 parks (TH-MK, FR-AK, SA-HS & SU-EPC) and I have a couple questions for anyone that knows firsthand... 1) Can you use the mobile ordering app for the booths @ Epcot's Food & Wine? 2) Are there any online resources that track wait times in detail (ie recent wait times on the weekends vs during the week; wait times since reduced hours started; etc) to make for better ride strategies? 3) We do not plan to get up early, wait in bus/skyliner lines forever & arrive @ the parks before/right at opening time as it seems like every time I check the wait times on app from home they're always so bad during that first hour after opening--so we plan to arrive within/after that first hour and take our time--would people agree or is this crazy? (Only exception is HS so we can try for the 10am BP, so we'll shoot to get there before 9:30 that day--unfortunately on Saturday so I'm expecting to be surprised, disappointed and annoyed by the crowds/waits lol). Thanks for any insights on these 3 items!

Josh from easywdw has been doing lots of comparisons of wait times by day. And accoring to him, since everyone tries to get a BG, HS is typically the most crowded during the first few hours, and before 2. Since the parks are opening before the posted time, that hour before can be really low wait times. We plan on going early to MK and AK at least, but a non-rushed family in the morning is its own reward.

He actually suggests going to HS Saturday or Sunday because all the parks are crowded on weekends, with many running out of park passes for passholders. Since HS does that during the week too, he says it's not as big of a difference between the week and weekend. I'm going to stop regurgitating. Lol. He has lots of good stuff from the past weeks.

 

[alliecat726]

Josh from easywdw has been doing lots of comparisons of wait times by day. And accoring to him, since everyone tries to get a BG, HS is typically the most crowded during the first few hours, and before 2. Since the parks are opening before the posted time, that hour before can be really low wait times. We plan on going early to MK and AK at least, but a non-rushed family in the morning is its own reward.

He actually suggests going to HS Saturday or Sunday because all the parks are crowded on weekends, with many running out of park passes for passholders. Since HS does that during the week too, he says it's not as big of a difference between the week and weekend. I'm going to stop regurgitating. Lol. He has lots of good stuff from the past weeks.

Hm! Okay, guess that's a good point/I didn't really think about that (HS being busy every day so no diff between weekdays & -ends, why not go on -end & save weekdays for less crowding @ other parks)! Also good point about getting on a ride or 2 before park opening, guess the MDE app doesn't post wait times for pre-park hours, lol. Thanks much, good thoughts! (I'll also check out Josh from easywdw for more info!)

 

[IluvMGM]

One week from right now, we'll be landing in Orlando, woo hoo! Heading to all 4 parks (TH-MK, FR-AK, SA-HS & SU-EPC) and I have a couple questions for anyone that knows firsthand... 1) Can you use the mobile ordering app for the booths @ Epcot's Food & Wine? 2) Are there any online resources that track wait times in detail (ie recent wait times on the weekends vs during the week; wait times since reduced hours started; etc) to make for better ride strategies? 3) We do not plan to get up early, wait in bus/skyliner lines forever & arrive @ the parks before/right at opening time as it seems like every time I check the wait times on app from home they're always so bad during that first hour after opening--so we plan to arrive within/after that first hour and take our time--would people agree or is this crazy? (Only exception is HS so we can try for the 10am BP, so we'll shoot to get there before 9:30 that day--unfortunately on Saturday so I'm expecting to be surprised, disappointed and annoyed by the crowds/waits lol). Thanks for any insights on these 3 items!

No mobile ordering for Food & Wine, you have to wait in line and order that way. I liked getting into the parks early and getting a jump on the popular rides before the lines get crazy.

 

[Tracey868]

Hearing all this Right now about when to go to parks.. I have I arrive Oct 31- No Parks as we land at 3pm. Not enough park time unless they extend

Sunday - AK
Monday MK
Tues- Epcot
Wed- HS
Thur - MK

What should I change if anything???

 

[mrd7896]

as others have posted, i thought we wouldn't rush to the parks every morning but quickly realized it was necessary.
we were off of Soarin by 10:52 and headed to Frozen before the park officially 'opened'
we were off of Pirates and walking onto Jungle Cruise before the park officially 'opened'
by 10:10 we had ridden ToT, RnRC and secured Boarding Group 5 for Rise.
can't remember if AK opened at 8 or 9 but regardless we had already been on the Safari with a fabulous early morning ride and in line for FoP within minutes of park opening.

if you were already planning on arriving within the first hour or so of the day anyway, you might as well shoot for official park open. pretty much every day we had cleared temp checks/security and were physically in the park 30 minutes before open and looking back it was definitely the smart move!

YMMV but looking at how the popular rides still climbed to 40-60 minute waits within the first few hours, we are certainly glad to have gotten some out of the way without using up park time.

 

[oceanbec]

Refills have been available since reopening, they give you a regular size popcorn instead of filling up your bucket directly

Thank you! I previously saw something that said no popcorn refills and I wasn't finding any new info.

 

[Melodious]

For those who have been to HS this week, how are the wait times compared to the posted wait times?

I was there Monday and wait times were more accurate than other parks. They were about right for TOT, SDD, and MMRR. We waited twenty minutes longer than posted for Millennium falcon and fifteen minutes less than posted for TSM

 

[DisneyNDecember]

We got in queue to get on the ride and it has broke down. So we have gotten out of line heading to her Oglas reservation and will go back after that.

For a new ride, and such a popular ride, man this thing breaks down all the time.

 

[WEDWDW]

One week from right now, we'll be landing in Orlando, woo hoo! Heading to all 4 parks (TH-MK, FR-AK, SA-HS & SU-EPC) and I have a couple questions for anyone that knows firsthand... 1) Can you use the mobile ordering app for the booths @ Epcot's Food & Wine?

No,the Booths are not set up for Mobile Order.

My best F&W tip is to head into World ShowPlace!

Why?

Several Booths usually with short lines.
COLD AC-no standing in lines in the blistering heat at the outdoors Booths.
HUGE Restrooms(probably the biggest at WDW)-never a wait!
LOTS of tables.
Merchandise area.
Awesome Pianist performances.