Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[monkeydawn]

One thing I'd like to comment on: Social Distancing. I don't know what some people's expectations are, but social distancing a lot of the time is just NOT possible in any public situation, so to me it's pointless to be overly worried about. Grocery store, wal-mart, walking down the street .. there are plenty of times you just HAVE to be within 6 feet of people . .and that will be okay. We are just going to have to be comfortable being near people again for things to get back to normal. We don't need to be crowded shoulder to shoulder to watch fireworks for 30 minutes, but we can pass by people in a store or queue for a few seconds.

SD whilst walking past people is one thing but a family not following the markers while in in a ride line for 15+ minutes is another. I appreciate knowing how people are doing with the line markers because I can admit to being guilty of not keeping at my marker (especially early on) since we are just *so* trained to keep a line fairly tight.

 

[Lumpy1106]

SD whilst walking past people is one thing but a family not following the markers while in in a ride line for 15+ minutes is another. I appreciate knowing how people are doing with the line markers because I can admit to being guilty of not keeping at my marker (especially early on) since we are just *so* trained to keep a line fairly tight.

We took it to mean one full gap, line to line, as even a small group of 4-5 people will fill quite a bit of that space between lines. A lot of other people were doing that too. Note that the switch-back lines often would have no markings every-other switchback and you had to wait until that full switchback is clear before moving to the next line. People were pretty good about doing that. Occasionally everyone sort-of spaces out as you move in the line and you have to catch yourself and create the space again. Again, everyone was pretty good about that. TO be honest, I REALLY like the social distancing. having strangers 2-3 feet from you for any length of time is no fun IMHO - it's much more relaxed with the social distancing markers.

 

[lovethattink]

I haven’t played around with it but do you have to actually cancel it then go back and book another one or can you see the availability before canceling

Actually have to cancel.

What do you mean you were the second name on the CMs list? The hatches being open was annoying. The back seats were always wet late in the day. The CBR Epcot/DHS bus situation was awful!!

We took the Skyliner from Pop. Got to CBR hub and they announced they were activating bus service. There was a cm with a clip board who wrote down each party’s name and where they were headed. As buses came, the cm announced party name as their bus arrived.

Trip reports? Anyone?

Link in my signature!

 

[Dallasmomoftwo]

Our experiences during the week have been soooo much better than our experiences on Saturday and Sunday. We went to HS on Monday and managed to do everything by checking wait times and and going to rides when the lines were shorter. We left mid afternoon and came back around 6 and crowds were pretty light and lines were much shorter. At one point in GE, cast members outnumbered guests where we were (by the Milk Stand). It was so nice to just hang out in that area for a while and watch the Stormtroopers do their thing.
We had a great day at Epcot yesterday with low crowds and very manageable lines. We were at MK today and it was still pretty crowded but we were able to get a lot done by checking wait times and going to rides with shorter waits. We had so much fun at Epcot yesterday that we changed our park pass to go there tomorrow instead of HS. Tomorrow is our last day here. Overall it has been good during the week but it was a nightmare over the weekend.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Actually have to cancel.



We took the Skyliner from Pop. Got to CBR hub and they announced they were activating bus service. There was a cm with a clip board who wrote down each party’s name and where they were headed. As buses came, the cm announced party name as their bus arrived.





Link in my signature!

OK got it. Wasn't sure what you meant but that makes sense.

 

[ksromack]

Had an amazing first day back at the World. Riviera resort was beautiful and the pools were busy but not too crowded (everyone was able to keep a good distance). We had dinner at contemporary and I’m not sure if this has been posted yet, but we were allowed to walk to the MK buses (they opened the rope for us at the temp check) to catch a bus back to Riviera. On the bus now and our driver said we are his last run (and this appeared to be one of if not the last bus out of MK) so if attempting this strategy try to be at the MK bus stop before 9pm.

Just have to say could not be happier to be at WDW. It is as magical as always!

We're coming from Missouri also, in about a month. I cannot wait. Wish we were staying at Riviera but first night is at Pop then 2 more nights at BWV. Purposefully chose BWV so we could walk to Epcot and DHS.

Lol, yeah.. That was part of our reasoning in this feeling good about going to Florida—can’t be worse than going to the grocery store at home.

I hear ya

And it's the 3rd day in a row the Skyliner has been down from Pop so the line for HS is almost as big 1.5hts before park open.

Is the Skyliner being down due to weather or has there been mechanical issues with it?

Just touched down in good old Missouri! We did two days at the Poly on rented points, and two days at the parks, AK and MK. We did AK yesterday (Monday), hit all headliners there by 1:30 and even came back in the evening for a walk on FOP repeat!

If you are wondering whether or not it’s still magical, I believe it was one of the most relaxing Disney trips we have ever taken, so much so that we switched parks day of with no fret or fuss!

I wish we could squeeze in MK. It just feels wrong to go to WDW and not spend time at MK. I may have to add on another park day.

I really appreciate everyone's comments regarding their experiences at the parks and with transportation. It helps with my expectations. I can't wait to do my own TR!

 

[koquinn]

Is the Skyliner being down due to weather or has there been mechanical issues with it?

I think a bit of both.

 

[Dave006]

Is the Skyliner being down due to weather or has there been mechanical issues with it?

The biggest variable with the Skyliner is the weather. It can be wind, rain or just lightning anywhere in the zone. This time of year in Orlando (late summer) is a busy in terms of quickly changing weather.

Dave

 

[AllSam]

Just back from 5 nights staying at Beach Club Villas. We decided to rent a car to avoid communal transportation. We were able to walk to Epcot and HS, drove to AK and MK. Generally we found that you noticed the lack of crowds on the walk ways but due to reduced capacity rides and restaurants while feeling empty still have a wait. We are from Texas and it was very hot - we made use of the washer/dryer because we were so wet every time we got back. Masks definitely made this more difficult but not oppressive. As others have said there really is not much to do at night.

Overall glad we went but won’t go back until it everything is normal again.

Saturday - Epcot Test Track down most of the morning and went down in the evening due to rain so only a couple of hour window to ride and lines were long. Did Frozen at rope drop and road Soarin twice then filled in with other smaller rides. Felt like we had done the park by mid afternoon. Returned for dinner but just not the same strolling through world showcase right now so left.

Sunday - HS felt like this was by far the most crowded with the least shade. We all felt pretty bad by the time we finished. Rope dropped SDD, rode TSM twice and alien saucers before getting in line for Smugglers Run and Star Tours. Rise was down in the morning so no boarding passes and were not able to get one at 2pm. This was a huge bummer so the new Star Wars land was the whole reason we planned the trip. Son bought a Kylo REN lightsaber From Savi’s we only to unpack it at home to find half of it does not work. Ugh - emailed park merchandise and hoping for some fix. We left mid day and came back from dinner were able to ride Star Tours walk on Smugglers run 20 minute wait and TSM twice in a row.

Monday - AK super empty. Rope dropped FOP rode twice and then did the river journey headed to safari almost got rammed by a Rhino! Great picture though. Rode Kali River Rapids twice without exiting (all jets off so you hardly get wet) had lunch at Yack and Yeti and left.

Tuesday - MK - Rope dropped 7DMT rode twice, rode BTM twice, SM, Haunted Manson, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Space Mountain twice, Astro Orbiter (Probably longest ride - one family per elevator up and down makes long total time, Tomorrowland Speedway then a late lunch at Skippers and we left around 4pm.

 

[lotsohugginbear]

@caseyem67 Did you notice the buses at all while there? We are staying at SSR and we aren't going to have a car. I am wondering if we should try to rely on the buses or Uber.

We've been at SSR for five nights -- leaving Friday. Bus service has been terrific. They are starting the busses 45 minutes to an hour before park openings. For HS, you might want to walk to the first stop to ensure you get on. We got on the first HS bus at the 4th stop (Congress Park), but there were only two of us and no one else made it. Busses run frequently and returning from the parks has been good as well. Later park openings have enabled us to go into DS some mornings to get Starbucks. The marketplace Starbucks opens at 8. SSR is a great resort to stay at right now! It's easy to leave DS if you feel it's too crowded.

 

[omniscientmommy]

We've been at SSR for five nights -- leaving Friday. Bus service has been terrific. They are starting the busses 45 minutes to an hour before park openings. For HS, you might want to walk to the first stop to ensure you get on. We got on the first HS bus at the 4th stop (Congress Park), but there were only two of us and no one else made it. Busses run frequently and returning from the parks has been good as well. Later park openings have enabled us to go into DS some mornings to get Starbucks. The marketplace Starbucks opens at 8. SSR is a great resort to stay at right now! It's easy to leave DS if you feel it's too crowded.

Thanks! On the DVC SSR resort thread they were saying that only 8 of the buildings are being used. So maybe they are refubing the others???

 

[summerlvr]

For anyone who has stayed or currently staying at Pop, CBR or Riviera, if the skyliner stops running due to weather or whatever, and you are at Epcot, do you have to walk to the skyliner to find out that it isn’t running and then walk all the way to the front of the park to get a bus? Sorry if that’s a silly question, but say I was at Spaceship Earth and walked to the skyliner only to find out it isn’t running and then had to walk all the way back to the front of the park and out to the bus stops, well that could be pretty brutal, especially at the end of the night after walking in the heat all day long. Wasn’t sure if they had some way of letting folks know to go to the bus stops. Not sure how they would do that though. Thanks

 

[Leigh L]

For those at Disney now (week of August 10th) and the last couple of days. Is it still very short lines, etc. ?

Epcot had fairly low lines all day on Wednesday. Soarin' was posted at 15 later in the day (it was threatening rain), we waited maybe 20. Earlier in the day we had walked on 2x in a row. Frozen was about 45 in the afternoon which was the highest I'd seen all day on the app. We walked on just about everything else (Didn't do TT or Mission Space) and spent a lot of time wandering World Showcase which had people but was not crowded at all. Easy to social distance which was great since people are off to the sides eating due to Food & Wine. Looking fwd to DHS today and MK tomorrow.

That’s interesting so Let’s say you have a reservation for mk but that morning you want to go to ak u can just go into mde and change it

We did this yesterday. Originally we had Universal plans for Wed and Epcot on Saturday. Decided on a whim in the morning to cancel it and move it to Wed. and headed straight to WDW, Before changing a park reservation, just make sure there is availability first though since you have to cancel and rebook.

We saw almost complete mask compliance at Epcot. One bad incident where a guy had his hanging on his chin and he was trying to high 5 people as they walked by (he approached my adult DD and she said "air high 5's, social distancing ya know") I had looked for a CM since as I was waiting for DH, the guy continued to approach and touch people, but a CM saw him first and walked up to him.

There were a few other minor incidents, but we felt very safe at Epcot. Leaving Soarin' was a message reminding people to take their time exiting to allow for social distancing.

 

[koquinn]

For anyone who has stayed or currently staying at Pop, CBR or Riviera, if the skyliner stops running due to weather or whatever, and you are at Epcot, do you have to walk to the skyliner to find out that it isn’t running and then walk all the way to the front of the park to get a bus? Sorry if that’s a silly question, but say I was at Spaceship Earth and walked to the skyliner only to find out it isn’t running and then had to walk all the way back to the front of the park and out to the bus stops, well that could be pretty brutal, especially at the end of the night after walking in the heat all day long. Wasn’t sure if they had some way of letting folks know to go to the bus stops. Not sure how they would do that though. Thanks

I think you would, though we've been chatting in the app or asking people before we make our decisions at least in the morning. It usually takes a bit to get someone who knows. They really need a better system for notifying people.

 

[WEDWDW]

For anyone who has stayed or currently staying at Pop, CBR or Riviera, if the skyliner stops running due to weather or whatever, and you are at Epcot, do you have to walk to the skyliner to find out that it isn’t running and then walk all the way to the front of the park to get a bus? Sorry if that’s a silly question, but say I was at Spaceship Earth and walked to the skyliner only to find out it isn’t running and then had to walk all the way back to the front of the park and out to the bus stops, well that could be pretty brutal, especially at the end of the night after walking in the heat all day long. Wasn’t sure if they had some way of letting folks know to go to the bus stops. Not sure how they would do that though. Thanks

In that scenario,buses back to the Skyliner Resorts will be available at the BWI Bus Depot,not too bad of a walk from IG.

 

[Donzie]

20 ride and or attractions at Magic Kingdom on Monday 8/10. I saw the reports of weekend crowds and annual pass stories and was concerned. But my plan was always parks on weekdays and no weekends. Our first park day was MK last Monday.

We left from FW waited under 10 minutes for bus from Settlement. Got to MK 25 minutes after park opening and was through temperature check, bag screening, and the magicband check in 5 minutes. Park crowd was lower but still a good amount of folks funneling down Main street. I know Disney, particularly MK, and I knew with the MDE app wait times checks and a bit of take no prisoners fast walking I could do some damage to the overall ride count if the crowds remained lower. And IMO they did.

Heat was overwhelming at first with a mask on and a full backpack to carry. But, it's Disney. Still fun and awesome. Crowd mask usage was acceptable to me. Majority of people space out and wear mask. Sometimes a kid or overwhelmed adult adjust or cheats to get a breath or two. Let's not kid oursleves you are in Disney during a pandemic. You chose to take risks. If your not comfortable with it or August heat DO NOT come here. Weekday crowds are the lowest I have ever seen in 7 trips but you are still in the parks with thousands of people. At any one moment in time you and yours can be overwhelmed by the crowds or turn a corner and not see anyone but your family in the park for a minute or two. The crowds will return unless the covid death rate spikes beyond comprehension. Disney CM will ask that mask be worne if they see you without them on or on correctly.

I was gonna go counterclockwise to hit Tomorrowland first. But Splash was calling. Ride me before I get a facelift. So we rode Splash Mountain, BTMR, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan (super cool cue line never saw it due to fast pass), Small World, Hall of Presidents and then an awesome lunch at The Liberty Tree Tavern. I enjoyed the heavy food on a hot day as I had no breakfast or lunch as yet.

Then onto the Carousel ride. Don't get me start I got the horse with the pistol (yep Tim Tracker). My kids were mad but hey I gotta have fun too and find your own horse. Walk on Pooh ride. Minecart 20 minute wait but listed at 35 minutes next, Ariel, 2 rides on Barnstormer. Dumbo (unbearable 20 minute downtime for cleaning but part of the new procedures we used as a water break. Then onto the teacups, Speedway next. Forget about it I got the red and blue number 13 car (my favorite). Absolutely living my best MK Disney life, albeit hot as Hades in a mask in a pandemic but I digress. 2 yes 2 walk on rides on Space Mountain. OK I finally admit it the ride track is rough, but still a great ride my kids love it. Onto Astro Orbiter and a painfully slow elevator line wait that led to an incredible majestic ride with horizon park views. Last before close was 2 rides on with Buzz blasting away (when they worked) at Zurg.

Park was closing, thunderstorms were rolling overhead in half the sky and the other half were clear. Crowds were heavy as everyone is funneling out through Main street. Leave early or sit to the side for a bit to avoid congestion. We couldn't get to it all but we got another MK day and 20 rides (one HOP) is a successful trip at anytime. My family was cooked and exhausted as I still pushed to do as much as possible but that's how I do Disney. Rest is back at the cabin and during ride wait times. Everyone had a great day but there were heat and mask and line wait meltdowns. Patience and a bit of water and back into it. The heat can be overwhelming!

Do not come here thinking you are going to be escorted around the park like a celebrity alone or that ten of thousands of other human beings are all gonna be responsible and safe 24/7. Disney will provide as safe an experience to ride their rides as possible. But the lack of Nighttime shows, park hours and performers is a strange tradeoff for crowds at or near 25 to 35 percent of max capacity. Weekends and DHS seem like 50 percent, IMO. Some other folks are gonna be rude or not wear a mask correctly. If that is a deal breaker for you stay home for now.

Next report Animal Kingdom. Yikes walk and walk and walk in African heat. And did I mention 20 rides at MK, yep 20!View attachment 518067

 

[butterscotchcollins]

That sounds like my kind of trip! I can't wait to drag DH onto his least favorite ride (7DMT) 4 times in a row because he loves me and he will

 

[Donzie]

That sounds like my kind of trip! I can't wait to drag DH onto his least favorite ride (7DMT) 4 times in a row because he loves me and he will

This is definitely the time to isolate your favorite rides and do repeat rides. If the wait time is low keep cycling through. Wait lines and MDE wait times appear to be a CM's best guess from looking at the back of the line periodically. But if they aren't paying close attention or staff is low close to closing time they are not accurate and are usually inflated by 10 minutes or so. Then other times the cleaning breaks cause the times to be underestimated though and are painfully slow to watch. But our new reality and necessity.

I hope you get those multiple rides on 7DMT and remember hands up.
And masks on (even during the ride) or you will be scrubbed from the ride pictures. I heard this from a cast member on Space Mountain telling a family that Dad was cropped out of the shot because his mask was down. But who wants those candid ride pics with masks on anyways?

 

[gratefulfred]

My impression of Disney Bus service is that they focus least on the value resorts. We waited for an hour several years ago for ASSp bus at DHS watching all the other busses come and go 2-3 times. I finally went to ask a cast member why we weren't getting a bus and they finally sent one. Had to wait a long time at DS for one to AoA once as well.

We waited 1hr and 15 minutes for a bus to Disney springs from the poly in 2018, we were so aggravated by the time we got there it wasn’t even worth going.

 

[butterscotchcollins]

This is definitely the time to isolate your favorite rides and do repeat rides. If the wait time is low keep cycling through. Wait lines and MDE wait times appear to be a CM's best guess from looking at the back of the line periodically. But if they aren't paying close attention or staff is low close to closing time they are not accurate and are usually inflated by 10 minutes or so. The cleaning breaks cause the times to be underestimated though and are painfully slow to watch. But our new reality and necessity.

I hope you get those multiple rides on 7DMT and remember hands up.
And masks on (even during the ride) or you will be scrubbed from the ride pictures. I heard this from a cast member on Space Mountain telling a family that Dad was cropped out of the shot because his mask was down. But who wants those candid ride pics with masks on anyways?

No chin straps here! I will happily have my mask on and think the ride photos with them are actually a cool souvenir

Also I hear you on that Space Mountain track - we were there the day before everything closed down for Dorian and the park was EMPTY but after two rides we had to move on because our necks were killing us. Getting old is interesting XD