Monday 9/7 - EPCOT
Came straight from the airport to the park, arrived at 12:30. Did everything except for Mission Space. TT was a 20 minute wait each time we rode (twice). Waited until the end of the night to get in line for Frozen, still waited 30 minutes. Hawaiian Pork Sliders are worth the hype.
Side note: this trip was to take my wife to Disney as a first timer. As a first timer, she thought all of the attractions at EPCOT were “very odd” which I kind of get. As a veteran you kind of know what you’re getting into with EPCOT attractions, but if you’re a first timer going from flying over the world, to a greenhouse, to a purple dragon ride, to an animatronic American show could be very weird. Also, SSE was her most disappointing attraction. She was expecting something super exciting to be inside the park landmark.
Tuesday 9/8 - Animal Kingdom
Rode Safaris first with some active animals then on to Pandora and the rest of the park. Rode FOP twice with a 20 minute wait each time. This was the first time I rode it (having not been to the park since 2015) and I didn’t think it quite measured up to the hype and super high wait times. We both really enjoyed the night blossom drink from Pongu Pongu and overall had a good day at the park.
Wednesday 9/9 - Volcano Bay
Really nice park. Could walk on everything except for the aquacoaster which we rode 4 times. Really great theming and I thought social distancing went well throughout the day with the exception of the entrance procedures.
Thursday 9/10 - Magic Kingdom
We did everything except for the Hall of Presidents, riverboat, and Tom Sawyer Island. Everything was a walk on or a 10 minute wait that we rode. We literally walked on Space Mountain at one point and was the highlight of my trip. My wife’s favorite ride at the park ended up being Peter Pan's Flight.
Friday 9/11 - Hollywood Studios
We were the first people in the park and on MMRR (which ended up being my wife’s favorite ride of the trip). We got boarding group 6 and went to ride slinky (30 minute wait). We exited the park midday and rode the skyliner. Came back and did the rest of the attractions. We rode midway mania 3 times! At one point we were dumped from the Falcon queue due to a fire alarm but we went back, waited through a cleaning cycle and finally got a ride (about an hour all said and done).
Transportation:
We used Uber/Lyft the entire time and it worked out really well. Here are some tips to be the first people in the parks:
To get to MK we took an Uber to get here at 7:45 am and walked using the path from the contemporary (we were the first people in the park):
Coordinates: 28.416950, -81.576744 (the website won't let me post pictures)
To get to HS we took an Uber to get here here at 8:30 am and walked to the entrance using the path from the boardwalk area (we were the first people in the park):
Coordinates: 28.363216, -81.553243 (the website won't let me post pictures)
Other notes:
-It was pleasantly crowded, everything wasn’t a walk on, but waits were acceptable.
-We never had trouble finding free cups of water, we had to wait a few minutes a couple times, but it was not nearly as bad as some people make it out to be.
-It was hot
-Social distancing was about 90% ok. I had to ask a few people to give us our space a couple times. Other times a nasty stare would do the trick and they would pay more attention to the markings.
-Shorter hours do make a difference, I missed seeing Main Street lit up.
-You’re mileage may vary, but the only attractions/things I really missed were: the Peoplemover, Finding Nemo the Musical, Festival of the Lion King, the cultural representatives in EPCOT, and the Laugh Floor. Even with these things missing, I was more than satisfied with my visit (I visit every 5 years or so)!
-I really enjoyed the spontaneous nature of this trip and not planning 6+ months in advance!
-I also really enjoyed no FastPass. The combination of social distancing and no FastPass made the lines move way faster.
-We stayed at Homewood Suites Lake Buena Vista. It was very nice and had a full size fridge and stove. I would recommend it.
Oops.
