Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[ENJDisneyFan]

Time.gov? atomic clocks? speed tests?

In all the times I've tried to secure a BG for ROR all I do is select Join Boarding group when my cell phone hits 7:00am/1:00pm. I've never had an issue.

Same. A lot of people are overthinking this.

 

[beesly]

What’s the atomic clock?

https://www.time.gov/

 

[marshallabney]

Same. A lot of people are overthinking this.

Agree on the clock, I grabbed BG7 this morning by just watching the clock on my phone turn to 7 and hitting join. I think your phone speed, however, plays a big part. I have a newer iPhone 12, turned off WiFi, and used our balcony (strongest 5G signal at BW).

 

[dez1978]

A win and a fail this am. Got BG 15 yay. Walked from Riv to cbr to get ahead of the line on the skyliner and it’s down so they are loading us onto buses

 

[momtoccc]

I enjoyed reading everyone else‘s experience so here is ours:

Sun 3/21 DHS. We are staying offsite. Tried to time it so we would arrive at parking toll booth just before 8. Arrived too early so they turned us around. Drove to the McDonaldo by Blizzard beach and sat for 5 min and then went back. At this point we were 10 cars back. They started letting cars in about 8:10. Made it through temp check and through the gate around 8:45. I figured we missed our chance to do SDD quickly so we went to ToT and walked on that. Then we walked on RnRC. When we got done here the lines were building.
We headed to Toy Story land and got in line for SDD. Said it was 80 in but really only 45 min. This was a new ride for me and I really enjoyed. We were going to try TSM next but that line had gotten super long so we headed over to Star Tours. That line was probably about 15-20 min. it Was probably a little after 11 at this time and we had 1140 ADR at Brown Derby. We checked in early and had a nice lunch. Our RoR BG was 51 which was called just before ADR. We knew this was going to happen but we checked with a guest service guy and he said just screen shot the BG and the ADR on our phones and show them
As it turns out we got to RoR just and end of our BG time. Wow. Very impressive. So glad my dd was able to get that. our last ride was smugglers run And our longest wait. The line moved well when we were outside but once inside it stopped a lot. Still another fun ride that was new for me.
After this we checked TSM again and line was still long (this was around 2). We decided to get some churros and then we left the park happy we did everything we really wanted to. Getting there at rope drop is definitely the key

 

[momtoccc]

Part 2: 3/22 MK day. Again we got up early in the dark. Left hotel at 635 and was about 3rd car back in our line. However there was issue with car on other side of booth so we did not get through very quickly. The lady ended up letting us through without having to pay so that was nice. We rode the boat over to MK. Not sure if that was best option or not. It was probably 745 before we got into park. We had quick stop at the starbucks to pick up a MK cup. There was only 4 people in front of us so knew it would be best time. Even though I hated taking away ride time for this.
we went to space Mtn first and walked on. Next was Astro orbiters. Not in our plane but there was no line so we figured why not? Nice views from up there! Next was walk-on to Buzz.
After this we headed to BTMRR. I’d say it was about 15 min. walked over to splash and walked on there. Ride stopped for a little bit while we were on it. I will say the weather was cloudy and misty so not sure if that kept the crowds low this morning.
After Splash we decided to do BTMRR agsin since we were at that end of the park. I think it was just the time to walk through the long queue before we were on again and then the ride stopped just after we left the boarding area. And then we sat there and they shut the ride down. And we sat there. Actually they were good about it all and we were probably off within 15 min. As a bonus we got a FP to use anywhere in the park except 7DM or PP.
We checked the app and decided pirates would be best way to use this. Posted wait time was 55 min and we just walked past it all. Awesome! After this we were hungry (a little after 10). Dd wanted a pastry or donut type snack. She found place on app in tomorrow land so we headed back there. Long line but we waited and enjoyed a coffee and snack break.
Dd is 17 and was huge Pooh fan growing up so we had to do that ride. Got in line and it was shorter than posted. Probably 20 min. Next was HM. Definitely crowded now and a bottleneck to get through crowds to get over there. Line looked very long but it moves constantly and was not that bad. Don’t let the posted times scare you s they are generally never that long!
We had 6pm ADR at Skipper Canteen so we had planned to leave and come back later so we headed out of MK around noon very satisfied with all we had done

 

[momtoccc]

Part 3: General observations. Mask compliance was mostly good. A few here and there below noses but not that many. There was more issues with folks not paying attention to the “wait here” lines. Usually if people were getting too close we’d look at them and the line and they would get the hint. I will say sometimes it is hard to figure out where to be. It was crowded a few hours after opening. We stayed ahead of crowds by going early. We never stayed late so can’t comment on that. We did do a couple of things in MK when we went back for dinner. Again they had 40 min wait time posted for BTMRR and it was a walk on.
We were hoping for warm sunny weather but I think it helped that it was cool and cloudy. I can’t imagine doing all that in mask and hot humid weather.
We had a fun time. We are hoping for a pool day before we head home tomorrow come on sunshine!

 

[Castlequeen5]

Thank you so much for the report! We are actually going to AK on our first day early before checking into hotel. Going to call ahead and see how we can avoid the situation you all encountered (so sorry to hear about it!). Glad you stayed positive and had a good parks day!

I do think it had something to do with online check-in. I attempted to complete the online check-in the night before, but I never could get it to go all way through. We had 3 rooms on separate reservations, that we wanted next to each other. So that might have been the problem. I figured I’d worry about it when we got to Pop. In hindsight, I should have called while we were driving down to Florida.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We started our trip at Animal Kingdom on Saturday March 20. The hours were 8 to 8. We’re staying at Pop Century, but drove straight to the park without checking in to the resort.

We arrived around 6:50, but the gates weren’t opened yet. We went to a gas station and came back around 7:20 and parked. There we’re 10 of us, and we had just arrived from a long overnight drive. So it took us some time to unload and get our stuff together.

The temperature check and security was quick and easy. There was no bag check, which made it much faster. However we got stopped at the ticket gate because our tickets wouldn’t work. We were sent over to guest service, because we hadn’t checked into our hotel yet. I still don’t really understand why it was a problem, but apparently the tickets need to be “activated” by the hotel before we could use them. I had to force myself to stay positive, since we wasted about 20-25 minutes waiting in line.

By the time we made it through the gate, it was around 8:20. By that point FOP was a 60 minute wait, so we headed to Navi River instead. We were on the ride by 9:00. Then we went to Asia to ride Everest and it was pretty much a walk on. After that we walked over to Dinosaur with a posted wait time of 35 minutes. But it actually only took us 20 minutes. When that was finished, we went to It’s Tough To Be a Bug. That was a 15 minute wait, even though MDE said 25 minutes.

At this point it was 11:00, and everyone was hungry. We found a spot to eat, and took a break. Afterwards we headed over to Safari, but most of our group was uninterested in waiting the 35 minutes. So we bypassed that line and went to FOP. The wait time was listed at 75 minutes. We got in line at 11:34 and got on the ride 12:27. So we really only waited for 53 minutes. And the line was constantly moving.

We left the park at 1:00 having done everything we wanted to do. There was plenty of time to do more rides or repeat our favorites, but we were tired and it was quite chilly. So we decided to leave. This is a recap:

Navi River: 30-35 minute wait
Everest: 5 minute wait
Dinosaur: 20 minute wait
Tough To Be A Bug: 15 minute wait
FOP: 53 minute wait

Even though we got a later start than we intended, it still worked out fine. We had no sense of urgency and stopped to take photos as we walked around. The crowds seemed normal...not overly crowded or especially low. There were some busier areas than others, but totally manageable. Nothing stood out to me as far mask issues or personal space. We had a good first day at the parks.

I do think it had something to do with online check-in. I attempted to complete the online check-in the night before, but I never could get it to go all way through. We had 3 rooms on separate reservations, that we wanted next to each other. So that might have been the problem. I figured I’d worry about it when we got to Pop. In hindsight, I should have called while we were driving down to Florida.

I'm curious, did you happen to have the ticket offer attached to your package that enabled you to get 2 free days added to your tickets? Not sure of the dates of that offer. I'm wondering if possibly that was why there was a glitch? They needed to ensure you actually were going to fulfill the entire package of a resort stay which is required for the free 2 days? just a thought.

Also, if you find yourself at the GS window for an extended period of time when you arrive at RD (we've had this twice with ticket issues), you may wish to gently ask at the end if there might be an option to request a FP as we had arrived early to accomplish a certain ride with a lower wait. The one time they gave it to us and the other time I found out it had already been issued to us before I even asked. I don't recommend requesting FPs normally but when ticket issues happen when we've arrived early for RD, I have asked.

 

[kathi]

So is the moral of the ticket activation story to do online check-in so you can go right to a park and get through the tapstyles? We planned to do that this Friday for Epcot - headed directly from the airport.

 

[Akck]

I’m obviously looking at the wrong thing lol. I’m looking at download speed?

You can get an app that does a ping test. Ping measures the time it takes to send a small data set and get an answer from a server. Theory is the lower your ping speed, the better your chance is to get a BG.

 

[loves to dive]

Has anyone had any experience visiting resorts either via bus or walking? I know they aren't letting you park unless you have an ADR but what about if you are on a bus? I'm asking because I hope to drop into YC and look in the shops and just visit. It's my favorite resort but I'm not staying there, usually when I'm not staying I'll drop in while walking from Epcot to the resort I'm staying at (either BW, Swan/Dolphin) and just visit. It doesn't seem like a trip to me if I don't get to see my beloved YC. I would probably be coming in the back door off the Boardwalk.

 

[Naomeri]

Has anyone had any experience visiting resorts either via bus or walking? I know they aren't letting you park unless you have an ADR but what about if you are on a bus? I'm asking because I hope to drop into YC and look in the shops and just visit. It's my favorite resort but I'm not staying there, usually when I'm not staying I'll drop in while walking from Epcot to the resort I'm staying at (either BW, Swan/Dolphin) and just visit. It doesn't seem like a trip to me if I don't get to see my beloved YC. I would probably be coming in the back door off the Boardwalk.

They don’t check where you’re staying if you arrive via Disney transportation or on your own feet. I walked through Beach Club on my way to Beaches & Cream, and through Boardwalk on my way from Epcot to DHS and no one asked.

 

[hes122]

Has anyone had any experience visiting resorts either via bus or walking? I know they aren't letting you park unless you have an ADR but what about if you are on a bus? I'm asking because I hope to drop into YC and look in the shops and just visit. It's my favorite resort but I'm not staying there, usually when I'm not staying I'll drop in while walking from Epcot to the resort I'm staying at (either BW, Swan/Dolphin) and just visit. It doesn't seem like a trip to me if I don't get to see my beloved YC. I would probably be coming in the back door off the Boardwalk.

We walked around BC & YC twice a few weeks ago. The 1st was on arrival day when we had an ADR for Beaches & Cream. The second was when we hopped from MK to EP. We took the bus to BC instead of EP (we wanted to enter in through the IG) and walked around a bit before heading into Epcot.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Has anyone had any experience visiting resorts either via bus or walking? I know they aren't letting you park unless you have an ADR but what about if you are on a bus? I'm asking because I hope to drop into YC and look in the shops and just visit. It's my favorite resort but I'm not staying there, usually when I'm not staying I'll drop in while walking from Epcot to the resort I'm staying at (either BW, Swan/Dolphin) and just visit. It doesn't seem like a trip to me if I don't get to see my beloved YC. I would probably be coming in the back door off the Boardwalk.

If you arrive via Disney transportation or walking you may visit any resort you wish without question.

 

[Leigh L]

Has anyone had any experience visiting resorts either via bus or walking? I know they aren't letting you park unless you have an ADR but what about if you are on a bus? I'm asking because I hope to drop into YC and look in the shops and just visit. It's my favorite resort but I'm not staying there, usually when I'm not staying I'll drop in while walking from Epcot to the resort I'm staying at (either BW, Swan/Dolphin) and just visit. It doesn't seem like a trip to me if I don't get to see my beloved YC. I would probably be coming in the back door off the Boardwalk.

No problems whatsoever. Over the past several months, we've taken buses, Skyliner, and walked to different resorts to eat (both food courts and CS), shop, or just walk around (Poly, Pop, AoA, Riviera, YC/BC). Once we even were staying offsite and paid to park at DHS to use the Skyliner (had a bunch of hours before our flights) and stopped at a couple of resorts along the way.

 

[auntlynne]

Continued from post #8,400
3/22 - we were so productive in the last few hours hopping to magic kingdom the night before, I let everyone sleep in. We grabbed the bus from BW to MK at 8:15. As an aside, there appeared to be several frustrated groups that were waiting for buses to other parks. We’ve been pretty lucky with transportation so far, but that will likely run out based upon some anecdotal complaints I’ve overheard. Anyway, we were in line at pirates at 8:45 and waited 25. It was cold and misty, so we took advantage and rode splash, which was a walk on. TP had everything with at least 20 minutes, so we hit the shops on Main Street and headed to the boats. Went to WL and had a late breakfast at Whispering Canyon. The wait staff “schtick” is falling a bit flat right now, not sure if it was the time (they were switching from breakfast to lunch toward the end of our meal), or the half full restaurant due to social distancing or what. Could have just been unlucky. It was a decent breakfast and we’d never been so it was fun. Popped back over to MK and rode BTMRR (10 min), buzz (32 min), and dumbo (18 min). We split, as lines were building and walkways were becoming crowded. With the sun finally out for a bit, the girls hit the pool and I got some work done. At around 6:30 we decided to hop over to HS to ride MMRR. That line was a bit long (TP said 18, but it was longer than when we waited 20). Hit SDD with a posted 60 and waited 27. TSMM was a walk on, then jumped in line for MMRR at 7:40 with no line out of the building. Virtually walked on, but the ride glitched about halfway through and we ended up stuck at the 2nd to last scene. Waited about 10 minutes for a CM to free us and walk us out of the ride. Pretty cool really, as all of the lights were up and you could see lots of details. They gave us a free FP to most any ride in any park to be used today, so worth the inconvenience. Skyliner was packed, the line was quite a ways down the walking path, so we walked to Epcot. We ate a late dinner around half the world at the booths. Some good, some smeh, and the soy glazed pork shank from Hanami in Japan was killer. DD6 and DW walked back to the room while DD9 and I hit test track. Waited about 15 and then bailed. HS today, snagged BG7 a minute ago, then we’ll hop to AK. Having a great time!

Sounds like you were pixie dusted most of the day. The wait times for MMRR and SDD were great.

 

[KSL]

Anyone there now or recently back who can comment on the availability of Flower & Garden merchandise? I'll be there Easter week and would like to get a couple of things, but I know sometimes it sells out quickly and I've heard there's rather less this year than usual. Specifically, I'd like to get a couple of those giftcards on the bracelets, pins (actually I haven't seen pins for F&G but hoping there are some?), and maybe one of the items with Figment (DD loves!). Maybe it would be better if I ask again next week.... But would like to set expectations if stuff is already gone.

 

[marshallabney]

Sounds like you were pixie dusted most of the day. The wait times for MMRR and SDD were great.

Totally agree, pretty lucky all week. Although a lot of that is probably owed to Len testa and Touring Plans (and the tips in these boards). Truly spot on our entire trip. Always been really accurate, but seems even more so right now.

 

[lovethattink]

Anyone there now or recently back who can comment on the availability of Flower & Garden merchandise? I'll be there Easter week and would like to get a couple of things, but I know sometimes it sells out quickly and I've heard there's rather less this year than usual. Specifically, I'd like to get a couple of those giftcards on the bracelets, pins (actually I haven't seen pins for F&G but hoping there are some?), and maybe one of the items with Figment (DD loves!). Maybe it would be better if I ask again next week.... But would like to set expectations if stuff is already gone.

So sorry I’m only seeing this now. I just left Epcot. We don’t collect pins anymore, but I asked dh and ds if they saw any festival pins and both said they didn’t notice any.