Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[yulilin3]

Going to MK next Wednesday 2/3. If park opens at 9am, does Main Street sill open an hour earlier? Also, I know some of the parks open for rides a bit earlier. Can I assume MK and the different lands do not open until 9am these days? Thanks

merged you to the just back thread cause you'll get more up to date info here
Basically all parks are opening before official time. As far as attractions those decisions are made every morning on when each are opening but for the most part they will also open before official time
Take time and read back a couple of pages worth of reports
Main Sreet opens as soon as the park opens as well

 

[yulilin3]

Just an FYI of my decision to merge some threads here
Disney is making operational changes on an almost day to day basis. Park opening and attraction opening times are not set in stone which is why I recommend people just reading back maybe 3 pages to see what they are doing, in terms of opening, more recently.
No need to read back more than a couple of pages cause that info is outdated, Opening a new thread won't really help other than to add another thread to the front page

 

[Kalea]

We spent last week at the parks and had a wonderful time. I spent a lot of time reading this thread and really appreciate everyone who took the time to write down their experiences. I'm not sure that I have a lot of value to add, but...

- We have been very Covid cautious (as in, we have not eaten indoors at a restaurant since March) and we felt safe at the parks. Mask compliance was easily 98% or better, and I didn't really notice many occasions with people intentionally breaking rules. Social distancing was not as great, but nothing felt problematic. It's just easy for a family of 4 or 5 or 7 to really spread out between markers and so we had to be mindful of that - both for ourselves and the families ahead of us in line.

- Obviously mid-January is not high season, but waits were very, very manageable throughout the week. On Wednesday (1/20) at AK, we could have ridden FOP as many times as we wanted, but we stopped after 2x. Sometimes the queues appeared long, but everything moved quickly. Our longest wait was 40 minutes for Rise of the Resistance. As other people have mentioned, a 30-minute queue was often 10 or 15 in reality. Most 15-minute queues seem to be effectively walk-on.

- We tried and failed to get into the parks early. We showed up every day by ~30-40 mins before opening, but the parks were already full of people. And that was okay, we still rode everything we wanted to with minimal waits.

- Mobile order worked fabulously. This was an area where I felt really prepared thanks to this thread. We just always ordered in line about 30 minutes before we wanted to head to a restaurant. No issues whatsoever.

- As a family, we felt this was one of our best Disney trips. My kids are older now (turned 16 and 11 on this trip) and so they don't want to meet characters or have character meals. We missed a couple favorite restaurants, but none of the missing elements really impacted any of us negatively.

I worried a lot about this trip and almost called it off last minute. But I'm SO glad we went. Thanks again to everyone who posted on this thread and all the others. Hearing everyones experiences helped calm my nerves and all the updated info was great with planning tweaks (who would have thought so many things had changed since 2018?!).

 

[Tasmen]

I worried a lot about this trip and almost called it off last minute. But I'm SO glad we went. Thanks again to everyone who posted on this thread and all the others. Hearing everyones experiences helped calm my nerves and all the updated info was great with planning tweaks (who would have thought so many things had changed since 2018?!).

You just described me there. Worried about the trip and potentially was going to cancel. Your review on top of other posts in this thread have calmed my frazzled nerves and made me pull the trigger and get the airfare today. We are locked and loaded and ready to hit WDW in April.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Hollywood Studios 1/28 Report:

Staying at the Swan; grabbed RotR BG1 at 7am; left the room at 7:20; we were the first people at DHS; stopped to use the bathroom and got in line by security guard at 7:40. We placed our mobile order for Pizzerizzo for an 11-11:30 window while waiting.

We were moved forward to temp tents around 7:50; lines building behind us. Skyliner started dropping guests off shortly thereafter, unsure about buses and drivers. At some point shortly after 8:15 we were let into the park.

Here’s what we did:

• MMRR - first car
• SDD - minimal wait
• TSMM - walk on
• Alien Saucers - walk on (got off at 9:15)
• MFSR - 10 min wait

For some reason we never got the push notification that our BG was called (but it was called at 8:40 apparently). We got over there at 9:45 just after our window expired but from what I know they don’t really care if you’re a little late.

• RotR (minimal wait - line was backed up a lot more when we got off)
• Muppet Vision 3D (barely snuck into the next show - this was around 10:30)
• Star Tours

11:15 lunch at Pizzerizzo

• Frozen Singalong 12:30 show (got in line around 12:10 with ample space still left)
• shopping time!

At this point we went back to the room for a nap. Most lines were 30 mins or more but during the nap we easily could’ve hit ToT, & RnRC. We returned to the park at 4:00 and watched Lightning McQueen (waited in line for one showing)

4:45 dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby which was awesome!

• MMRR (got in line at 5:40)
• Alien Saucers
• SDD
• TSMM

We missed one more ride on SDD by 2 minutes. It was 7:01 when we got back out to main TSL and they were turning people away at the bridge. Grabbed a friendship back to the Swan and that’s our day!

Super low crowds definitely contributed to our amazing day! But hopefully this lineup gives folks a sense of what is possible.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Hollywood Studios 1/28 Report:

Staying at the Swan; grabbed RotR BG1 at 7am; left the room at 7:20; we were the first people at DHS; stopped to use the bathroom and got in line by security guard at 7:40. We placed our mobile order for Pizzerizzo for an 11-11:30 window while waiting.

We were moved forward to temp tents around 7:50; lines building behind us. Skyliner started dropping guests off shortly thereafter, unsure about buses and drivers. At some point shortly after 8:15 we were let into the park.

Here’s what we did:

• MMRR - first car
• SDD - minimal wait
• TSMM - walk on
• Alien Saucers - walk on (got off at 9:15)
• MFSR - 10 min wait

For some reason we never got the push notification that our BG was called (but it was called at 8:40 apparently). We got over there at 9:45 just after our window expired but from what I know they don’t really care if you’re a little late.

• RotR (minimal wait - line was backed up a lot more when we got off)
• Muppet Vision 3D (barely snuck into the next show - this was around 10:30)
• Star Tours

11:15 lunch at Pizzerizzo

• Frozen Singalong 12:30 show (got in line around 12:10 with ample space still left)
• shopping time!

At this point we went back to the room for a nap. Most lines were 30 mins or more but during the nap we easily could’ve hit ToT, & RnRC. We returned to the park at 4:00 and watched Lightning McQueen (waited in line for one showing)

4:45 dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby which was awesome!

• MMRR (got in line at 5:40)
• Alien Saucers
• SDD
• TSMM

We missed one more ride on SDD by 2 minutes. It was 7:01 when we got back out to main TSL and they were turning people away at the bridge. Grabbed a friendship back to the Swan and that’s our day!

Super low crowds definitely contributed to our amazing day! But hopefully this lineup gives folks a sense of what is possible.

That’s awesome, glad you had a great day.

It’s crazy how many rides you can do in a day right now. That was my favorite part about HS this last trip.

 

[NashvilleMama]

Got here today, landed, rental car, straight to MK and we were inside the park at 1:45pm.

Went straight to space and rode it twice in 20 minutes. That’s total time. SO CRAZY.It was all walking time on and off the ride. Pretty much walked on most everything we wanted to ride before park close. Have never seen Peter Pan posted at 10 minutes mid afternoon! Took pictures to document as
I’m sure I’ll never witness that again.

longest wait was 15 mins for splash, moving fast though. Didn’t do 7DMT which was posted at 35-40 all day but we just aren’t huge fans (an EMH blitz a few years back gave us our fill for maybe life) so didn’t test out actual time.

mask compliance is pretty much 100%. Way, way lower crowds than when we came in mid-Sept. Social distancing in lines is still hit or miss but asking someone to give space or go in front of us worked the two times we had creepers.

Very impressed with Pop reno, haven’t ever stayed here before (usually go moderate) but it’s not crowded and rooms are great. Couldn’t pass up the deal and glad we gave it a shot.

DHS/Epcot tomorrow!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

The Boardwalk bus came at 7:45 today... oh yea!!!

 

[WEDWDW]

The Boardwalk bus came at 7:45 today... oh yea!!!



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"I'M WALKING RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE OF MAIN STREET USA!"

 

[GBRforWDW]

The Boardwalk bus came at 7:45 today... oh yea!!!

View attachment 552848

View attachment 552849

Always a beautiful majestic site seeing the castle. Enjoy MK day!

 

[VandVsmama]

Just got back home late last night from going to WDW 1/23-1/28. Some general observations first from my point of view:

1. Mask compliance is near 100%. Hardly saw ANYBODY with noses peeking out. Maybe 1 or 2 people per day tops.
2. Generally speaking, guests are doing a good job of paying attention to the markers on the ground of where to stand. There were a couple of clueless people here and there who weren't paying attention. It's easy to avoid those people. Just leave more room between you and them.
3. Larger groups of people (5+) are unable to all get close to the 'STAND HERE' marker. As a result, they take up most of the space between their marker and the one behind them.. Deal with this by leaving more space between you and them.
4. Mask compliance & rule following was way better at WDW than back home in AZ and in our neck of the woods, mask compliance is pretty high.
5. If you don't agree w/mask wearing, don't go to WDW right now. They WILL ask you to leave if you refuse to wear one. There were PA announcements throughout the day at each park about it.
6. All of the CMs were outstanding. Just really great attitudes, wonderful customer service, A+ job.
7. If you want photos without masks on, then don't come. OR you can choose to just embrace it and take some selfies with you and your crew in your masks and then laugh about it 20 years from now when you say to yourselves, "Remember the time when we went to WDW and had to wear masks the entire time?"
8. I really liked the online check in process and how we didn't have to go to the front desk. Also liked the voice message from front desk on our arrival in the room.
9. DH got super bored of eating the same thing for breakfast each morning. He's trying to stick to low carb and the same omelettes at Everything Pop's food court got old after 3 days in a row.

Day-specific commentary coming up!

 

[sethschroeder]

The Boardwalk bus came at 7:45 today... oh yea!!!

Seems to continue to back up my observation of:

1hr 15min prior for weekends
45min prior for week days

Enjoy the day!

 

[VandVsmama]

Saturday 1/23 notes & commentary:

• Hardly anybody waiting at DME at the Orlando airport. We waited about 5 min before getting on a bus to Pop. The bus stopped at AoA, Pop, and CB. AoA was first, Pop second. Driver told us which row to sit in. Left airport at 3:45 pm, got to AoA at 4:10 and Pop about 5-7 min after that.
• Placed mobile order for dinner to Primo Piatto while on MDE bus. DH grumbled, but I told him to just trust me on this because thanks to Dis Boards, I know what to do. LOL.
• Once at Pop, went straight to our room. Dumped bags and got settled in a little.
• 5:08 - arrived at Riviera via Skyliner to eat at Primo Piatto. No line for Skyliner at Pop. 5 min line when switching to Epcot line. Food at Primo Piatto was excellent. Hardly anybody in the restaurant, easy to socially distance from others. We bought refillable mugs and definitely got our money's worth on that.
• After dinner, went to Epcot. Went on Frozen with posted 20 min wait, but was really 10 min.
• Looked at a LOT of art in the art booths. That was really cool and fun. Ate 2nd dinner at a lot of food booths. Epcot wasn't busy, but some sections felt more congested than others - really only in front of Mexico pavilion and the UK pavilion. Lots of people milling around in UK pavilion. Other than that, VERY easy to stay away from people.
• Long line at end of night to take Skyliner out of Epcot, but line moved quickly.

 

[VandVsmama]

Sunday 1/24 MK & AK notes:

• woke up super early, too excited to sleep! 6:45 - placed mobile order for breakfast. $22 for omelete & Mickey waffle platter at Pop food court.
• planned on being in line for MK bus at 7:30 am. Totally missed that. By time we got to MK bus stop, there wasn't a line, though, and a bus pulled up just as we got there. Nice!
• Despite missing the 1st bus, we got into the park before official park opening. Went on Peter Pan at 8:30 am when they first started operating the ride. Went next to HM, but that wasn't opening until 9. Heard from this thread that BTMRR and/or Splash Mtn might open before 9, so went there next.
• 8:52 - got in line for BTMRR
• 9:36 - was done with BTMRR and Splash Mtn.
• Then went on POTC, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo.
• 11:50 - took snack break in Fantasyland. Got a Mickey pretzel and some almonds. Then shopped for a hat for DH. Walked onto Carousel of Progress after that.
• 12:45 - shopped a bit in Emporium, then left MK at 1. Took boat to Wilderness Lodge and put our name in at Geyser Point.
• 2:00 - got seated at Geyser Point. Enjoyed a cocktail. I had the salmon. DH had the bison burger (which was really good!). Done with lunch at 3. Then I browsed in WL gift shop while DH relaxed in a big chair in the lobby. WL was super quiet. I took photos of a bunch of stuff in the lobby. Would love to stay there some day.
• I took a nap in the lobby in 1 of the big tall red chairs that are off to one side. Then we decided to go to AK.
• 3:44 - sat down at bus stop at WL for AK. 3:49 - bus arrived. We were only ones on the bus. Got to AK at 4:05.
• DH needed coffee, so we stopped at Starbucks in AK for that.
• 4:50 - got in FOP queue. At 5:01 - about to get on ride. Off of FOP at 5:15. Bathroom break after that. Decided to try for Expedition Everest, but DH chickened out and I didn't want to go on a ride without him that day, so we opted for Dinosaur instead.
• 5:50 - got in Dinosaur queue. 6:10 - off of ride. Did a slow and tired walk to buses.
• Had reservation at CR at 7:30 for The Wave. Waited about 20 min for bus to CR.
• 7:10 - checked in at The Wave for dinner. Ryan was our server. He was amazing. Such good service, knew the menu really well. You can tell that he loves his job. The food was excellent. Really glad we ate here. The Wave was busy, but all socially distanced and we were not close to anyone at all the entire time.
• After dinner, shopped in the 2 CR gift shops. Got some pins for me, DH, and the kids because it's kind of our tradition to get 1 pin on each trip to commemorate that trip. I bought one that says "Join the resistance." DH got a Mr Toad's wild ride pin (because we NEVER see Mr Toad pins and it was so funny seeing one at WDW when that ride hasn't existed at WDW for many years now). Got ODD a baby Yoda pin and YDD a Jungle Cruise one.
• After dinner, thought of taking bus to DS and then bus to Pop, but DH wasn't in the mood so we got a Lyft straight from CR to Pop.
• Once we got back to Pop, we basically crashed and went to bed. Next day was a HS day, so needed to be up early to try for a ROTR boarding group!

Overall at MK, low crowds. Didn't see any cavalcades, but we just managed to miss them a lot. This day felt very relaxed, not rushed. Very easy to change plans and adjust on the fly. Felt a lot like how we do things on our Disneyland trips. Sunday was an awesome day. Weather was high of about 68, but I was sweating the entire time because we're from AZ and neither of us are used to the humidity. I used my hand held folding fan all day. By comparison, some other people were bundled up in winter parkas. It was funny!

 

[VandVsmama]

Mon 1/24 HS & DS notes:

• Cell signal in room at Pop Century in Bldg 1 near central bldg was lousy (1 bar on LTE). Went outside to get better cell signal. Got ROTR BG 21 with 2 bars on LTE. Turned off wifi, bluetooth, and Location Services. Placed breakfast mobile order after that for pick up window of 7:15-7:45.
• Weather forecast was high of 82. Very humid in morning, drier later in day. Sweaty all day. DH wore shorts.
• 8:30 - got on Skyliner. 8:56 - on HS Skyliner line after long line at CB station. In park at 9:03.
• 9:08 - in line for MMRR. 20 min posted wait. 9:21 - almost in building. 9:40 - off ride and done with quick bathroom stop.
• 9:45 - in line for Star Tours. 9:49 - about to get on ride.
• 10:03 - off of Star Tours and our ROTR boarding group was called, so we went on that next. Totally amazing experience. Best and most immersive attraction we've ever been on. It was like being IN the movie. Felt a little emotional in one part, but I won't say which one so as to not spoil it for anybody who hasn't been on it yet.
• Lots of people in Galaxy's Edge, but still easy to socially distance. Lots of people exploring and roaming around like we were. Got some thermal detonator Coke's and saved the bottles to bring home. 14 yr old ODD said this morning, "So you brought home trash?" HAHAHA! Explored the Resistance merchandise huts/booths (I don't know what you call them). Lots of cool stuff for sale there.
• Mobile ordered lunch at Docking Bay 7. Ate around 11:30, I think? This worked out well. The CMs in Docking Bay 7 will seat you based on how many people in your party, so you don't have to hunt around for a table. I liked that. After eating our meals, I wanted to try the Docking Bay 7 dessert, so we mobile ordered that...and the pick up window was for 30 min later. DH asked a CM about it...the CM had the order prepared right then since we were already seated. That was cool. Docking Bay 7 was so much fun. Sounded like ships were taking off and landing the entire time.
• After that, did some more exploring around Galaxy's Edge. There's a queue to get into the marketplace with those 5-ish stalls. Then there's a queue to get into each of those. They basically only allow 1 party/group in each 'store/stall' at a time. You can kill time by using the datapad part on the Play Disney Parks app...you can hack various doors and stuff around there. It's fun.
• Also got a blue milk with rum. That was good. I'd get that again. Took a million photos. The Play Disney Parks app can be used to make the ships (even the Millennium Falcon) to make different sounds/noises. It's really cool.
• Also went into Dok Ondar's Den of Antiquities. That shop is really cool. Didn't buy anything in there, just browsed. Lots of people buying special lightsaber hilts. There's a queue to get in, didn't have to wait long.
• Even the bathrooms in Galaxy's Edge are space-y.
• 2:40 - got in line for Millennium Falcon. Posted wait was 30 min, but we really waited about 15. Before 2 pm, the line was a solid 45-50 min from about 11 am - 2 pm. Then it dropped to 30 min when we got in line. When we got off the Falcon, the wait was 15 min and Galaxy's Edge was a ghost town. What I think happened was that all the people who didn't get a ROTR BG at the 1:00 distribution left HS to go to another park. So if you want to bypass ROTR, you can go on probably every ride in HS between 2 pm and 7 pm park close.
• 3:49 - we were out of HS and on Skyliner to Pop. Took nap, rested, showered, watched TV.
• 7:20 - left room to go to DS. 7:41 - arrived at DS. Shopped at World of Disney, Star Wars shop, Under Armour (DH & I bickered over a water bottle), TrenD (bought ODD a Pandora charm). Had salad and sandwiches at Earl of Sandwich. Not many people eating there. Plenty of outdoor seating if you don't want to eat indoors.
• Stay away from Ghiradelli at DS. There were mobs of people hanging around there waiting for their orders. Not much social distancing. Just get a hot fudge sundae in the parks instead. We were fine with walking THROUGH that area. Didn't want to stand there and wait with the rest of humanity for an ice cream.
• got back to Pop a few min before 10 pm. Hit the hay and went to bed! Walked 8.71 miles this day.

Galaxy's Edge was amazing. Really amazing. Couldn't stop saying "Oh my gosh" and "Oh wow" the entire time. For your first time on ROTR, do yourself a favor and don't video it. Just experience it. Be IN the moment. Go ahead and take photos in the queue and all that, but don't have your nose in your video camera or phone the entire time. Live in the moment. It's really an incredible thing.

 

[RunWI1265]

Here now - Arrived yesterday around noon. Waited an hour for MDE Cast members weren’t sure why it was taking so long and were very apologetic. Non-traditional MDE wrapped busses were being used (in addition to the norm) so that’s kind of a bummer. Doing a split stay with the front end being at BWV. Stopped at Epcot while waiting for our room to be ready. Waits were very low. Crowds have picked up since our visit in September but nothing like pre-covid days.

Left BWV just after 7:30a this morning to walk to HS. Held at security until around 7:45 before being moved up to temp tents. Let us through at 8:15 exactly. Skyliner guests had arrived at this point but no cars yet. Our days are toddler directed so we spent the morning in TSL. SDD, TSM x2 and AS Saucers + breakfast at Woodys Lunchbox. Headed to Lightening McQueen at 10am, did a quick shopping stop and was back at the hotel for lunch and naps by 11:25. We have BG #78. Hoping I don’t have to cut the toddler nap short was able to grab the group despite accidentally hitting the at-at picture which brought me to the ride description page. I was able to quickly hit back and confirm.

edit to add: Haven’t seen AK open talked about much. Same strategy regarding first bus....one hour before park open? Or 1:15?Saturday park visit.

 

[NashvilleMama]

Friday DHS morning - these details helped me so much so sharing for others:


BG 6 from Pop room on Disney WiFi.
7:35 got in skyliner line which started letting people in at 7:45. Arrived HS 8:10.
Temp check 8:15. Looked back and saw they were just starting to let cars in so definitely had a big jump on drivers.

8:22 MMRR line / on ride 8:28 (so cute!! Loved it! Plexi in back row wasn’t an issue)
8:40 SDD line, moves fast.
9:00 Aliens line / off by 9:04
Smugglers 9:08 in line / 9:15 loading (mainly queue walking time)
Had a pretzel snack stop, did Muppets, then
10:16 called BG. Was off by 11.
15 min line for RNRC (normal to me, had heard of a slow launcher but nope!)
then left park for Beaches and Cream 12:30 ADR via Skyliner.

mask compliance definitely not as great here compared to MK. LOTS of walking and snacking/drinking including in lines and never saw a CM correct anyone.

GREAT morning thanks to all the tips here!

 

[TinkSassy]

Security experience right now - I know we have the temp check and then some sort of bag check. I would like to pack my bag so that I can go as quickly as possible and hopefully not have security digging through my bag in the time of COVID. If there are items that need to be pulled out I will put them in a see through zip lock - what are they? Assuming phone, battery pack - what else have you found needs to come out?

 

[VandVsmama]

Security experience right now - I know we have the temp check and then some sort of bag check. I would like to pack my bag so that I can go as quickly as possible and hopefully not have security digging through my bag in the time of COVID. If there are items that need to be pulled out I will put them in a see through zip lock - what are they? Assuming phone, battery pack - what else have you found needs to come out?

Phone did not have to come out, but battery pack and umbrella do. Hold those out in one hand in front of you as you walk through. Everything else can stay in purse/backpack/bag.

 

[Evita_W]

How hard has it been lately to get on the buses? Do you end up having to wait for multiple or is everyone able to get on the first one that comes? How far apart do they run these days?