Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[disny_luvr]

Epcot Monorail Loop opening on July 18! Woohoo! This was reported in the Polynesian thread. Thank you JasonTCV for the report
Dan

So happy about this!

 

[preemiemama]

Has anyone ridden rides during fireworks since they've retuned to MK & EP? We're not a firework family so this strategy has worked for us in the past.

Worked for us with BTMRR on Sunday but did not yesterday- though there were a lot of issues with things going down yesterday.

 

[LSUmiss]

I guess for all you that were praying for FP+ never to come back, we are seeing what it’s like without it once capacity is getting back to normal. We are 12 days from arriving and will make the best of it, but we have been during this same time of year twice in the last five years for 10 night stays and have never experienced anything like what is being talked about here due to forced standby. Sure the standby lines could get that long in prior years but with proper use of the FP system very short waits were a normal occurrence for headliners, even FOP, SDD, etc, and you didn’t even need to get up early.

I’m soooo looking forward to getting up at 6 AM on vacation so that I might get to animal kingdom in time to do flight of passage and other rides with short waits . Same goes for HS.

we chose to go, not knowing fully what we would be getting ourselves into so that was our risk and we took it. However I must say that I am very disappointed with Disney to allow this situation to happen.

Yep. I was one of those. I like not having to have so much scheduled. We went in May & lines were still manageable but just got back again this week & they no longer are. Guess they’re setting us up to be happy to pay for FP.

 

[kc51570]

Has anyone ridden rides during fireworks since they've retuned to MK & EP? We're not a firework family so this strategy has worked for us in the past.

We rode rides during fireworks at MK on 3 different nights. 4th of July was the best night. I think we got on Buzz with a walk on, Mine Train in about 30 minutes and fireworks were going off while we were on the ride. Then we headed to Peter Pan and walked on once we got through the very long queue. Then headed to Jungle Cruise and it was maybe 10 minutes. That was our best experience of the entire trip because I think most people were specifically there to watch 4th of July fireworks. My family jumped on Space Mountain at 10:30 with a 45 minute wait and it was exactly 45 minutes. I was hoping for the inflated line time, but it wasn’t.
The 2nd night, we ended up doing BTMRR during fireworks 2x (we do this every trip during fireworks) and then Pirates and left.
The third night was last Thursday and it was crazy busy everywhere during fireworks. We went back to Mine Train and waited about an hour. When we got out-line was 85 minutes and looked it, and showed as temporarily unavailable on the app but was still running. Walking through the area-tomorrow land speedway was very crowded, Space had a huge line, people mover and Astro orbiter also had lines. I think we maybe got on Buzz again but for the most part the fireworks advantage seemed to disappear that night.
Splash had a long wait every one of these days/nights and was down a lot. We were only able to ride it because we got a FP when we had to be evacuated off of People Mover.
We fit in Pooh and Tomorrow Land Speedway somewhere in there too. It basically took us 2 days and 3 nights during the fireworks to fit in all the MK rides that we could normally do during one day with early hours and FP at MK.
We also stayed at a monorail resort so hopping over to MK at night was very easy for us.

 

[LSUmiss]

Don't disagree with that. But the fact that they are doing it now for the first time seems to me like it's a social distancing measure.

It's similar to how I feel about the fact that at Topolino Mickey wouldn't come closer than 6 feet from our table a few weeks ago. Yet somehow a typical number squished together in the stretching room was fine.

Yes! At tusker house, they acted like monsters inc with the kids coming near the characters & right after, at fotlk show, asked us to basically sit on strangers’ laps to fill in all available space to cram more ppl in the building. It’s getting obnoxious. Either we are still doing covid or not. Pick one.

 

[dmband]

Some info/thoughts based on my experience and things I see talked about.

9 full days

Gold Mobility rental was easy, on time and worked well.

DME was right there for pick up (10pm) loaded fast and got us to the resort in 30 mins.
DME return was late, slowwwww to load but got us to MCO in about 30 mins from departing
The bag pick up/resort check is really want made this a plus. Def a downside now that’s it’s not available.

Check in was fast as it was so late, room of course was ready.

Was told maid service would be every other day and it wasn’t. Got towels on day 3 and full cleaning on day 5. Personally didn’t care much because I typically don’t like maid service coming in. With towel carts in the hall, it was fine for me.

Speaking of halls, lots of “stuff” everywhere. From trash, left over food, even a stroller that appeared on day 2 and was still there on day 9.

Lots of rain, which I get can’t be controlled but we ended up buying 2 umbrellas and 7 ponchos.
The ponchos were $12/10 and held up well. I thought they were a nice thickness compared to others/past trips. Some are so thin they rip easy and others so thick you can’t fold them well to reuse.
The umbrellas on the other hand, complete junk! Both broke- one in day 2 and the other day 4. $17


Skyliner was great when it was working.
Never had to wait more than a couple minutes with the exception of leaving Epcot after the fireworks.
That time, the line was wayyyyy into Beach Club. We ended up Ubering after the line not moving much at all. Well worth it IMO.


Buses were good overall but the “charter buses” need to go for two reasons.

1. boarding/inboard ing is a disaster because people are rude and there is only one door with a narrow walkway.
2. Wheelchairs/scooters can’t use them.

It is ridiculous IMO that there will be a line of wheelchairs/scooters and 5 buses all come that can’t take the guests.


Security (metal detectors) checkpoints = I am not going into the loophole issues experienced but they are there and easy to bypass should want to.
That said, there was an incident were a “strange man” was hanging out in the bathroom making remarks to others and blowing kisses at minors.
He was reported, tracked down and removed.

Ride lines were typical 60 -90 mins for headliners.
In most cases, it was approx 10/15 mins shorter but in all cases the line was almost always moving so it didn’t seem anywhere near as long vs stop and go/stand still lines.
RoTR process I have mixed feelings about. At any rate we tried 4 times and were successful 3.
7am WiFi success
7am LTE declined
1pm WiFi success
1pm LTE success
Ride was pretty awesome but broke down wayyyyyy to much and made the rest of the day difficult.
For example, our 7am success said est return time 10:30. That kept getting bumped back till 2:30. Then it broke down again and we were told to return anytime before 8pm.
When returning around 5pm we were told out time had past. I explained it was broke down and we were told to return anytime it was running, after a few minutes we were scanned in.
The original plan was to be park hopped and eat dinner so that didn’t happen.
On the second ride, third attempt it broke down with us on the final exit part for a couple minutes.
On the third ride, fourth try the ride broke down with us in the line/loading area for over 1.5 hrs. We were given a FP.
All in all it’s a great ride but not sure it is worth the hassle.

I said I would never wait for a ride like FoP for hrs but I did lol.
Still the best ride I have ever experienced and glad I did.

Didn’t miss FP+ at all however the original FP might have been nice.

Crowds were not as big as past holiday weekend ones though.

Single rider line for Smugglers Run was no more than 12 mins while standby was 60-80 mins.
At times it was walk up and no line, get right on.
For RnRC it was longgggg and questionable if you saved time. Everest was in between.

Mobile ordering was hit or miss.
IF you didn’t need allergy or some sort of special order it was pretty good but if you did, forget it and plan to stand in line for wayyy longer than you should need to.
Taking out the speed aspect, we were about 50/50 on the orders being correct so double check before walking away.
I also found there wasn’t a lot of consistency with food, rather that be a burger here vs there or even from the same place. The allergy chicken nuggets/stripes were the worst. Completely different from place to place and at times the same place. Frustrating when you find a place you liked to then order again and they give you something totally different .
I also found the portion size wasn’t consistent often.
We learned from experience and a CM confirmed that ordering “double” fries in a kids meal doesn’t get you anything extra and so you should just take the second side option anyway.

Most pressed penny/medallion machines were broke at least for credit cards.
The pirate medallion machine originally was $5/each 4 for $15 - Broke
Couple days later was $3/each 4 for $13 (yes 4 for $13) and still broke
Next was day back to 5/15

Masks are basically non existent even for those who you know are not vaccinated due to age.
The funny part to me is how the Skyliner (in particular when it’s just your family) and Bus driver are all over wear a mask yet in lines and firework crowds you are packed far tighter.

Garden Grocery was right on time but expensive.
Bell Services delivered it fast and free, tipped her of course.
Insta cart was right on time for a second order of stuff last minute and was far cheaper. I prob would have done Instacart from the start of my last trip wasn’t a disaster with them.
That’s the one plus with GG, never have had any issues.

2pm hopping is perfect IMO
Wish HS would be open later though

Magic Bands picked up other party’s ride photos and not ours a number of times.
We didn’t buy the Photopass this trip so don’t care much if if you do, check the app to see if you are actually getting yours.

I am sure there is more good and bad I am drawing a blank on now but
All in all, great time but the ever increasing costs and also issues/decrease of services makes it hard to justify a trip.
At least an on site trip

 

[preemiemama]

Walking through the area-tomorrow land speedway was very crowded, Space had a huge line, people mover and Astro orbiter also had lines. I think we maybe got on Buzz again but for the most part the fireworks advantage seemed to disappear that night.
Splash had a long wait every one of these days/nights and was down a lot. We were only able to ride it because we got a FP when we had to be evacuated off of People Mover.
We fit in Pooh and Tomorrow Land Speedway somewhere in there too. It basically took us 2 days and 3 nights during the fireworks to fit in all the MK rides that we could normally do during one day with early hours and FP at MK.

This. It is taking much longer to do things we have normally done in shorter periods of time. For a variety of reasons!

 

[dreamit]

Regarding Epcot.

From what I have inferred, it sounds like international gateway entry guests are at a bit of a disadvantage for test track due to the proximity of where they queue Vs front entry guests. Would it be better to hit Soarin or frozen first if you want to beat the front entry lines?

Dan

Yes—for beating the front entry crowds and also because Test Track is often down at park open and you then lose valuable touring time.

 

[deltadisney]

Has anyone ridden rides during fireworks since they've retuned to MK & EP? We're not a firework family so this strategy has worked for us in the past.

Yes - 4 days ago we opted for this strategy for the same reasons. Ride times dropped some for the Adventureland and Frontierland rides but not much at all for Space, MT, and PP. I was surprised because Main Street was packed, but it seems a lot of older kids and families with older kids were doing this exact thing. I was disappointed because I just new this would get us a few extra rides in. I hope your experience is better.

 

[preemiemama]

Today’s DHS rope drop report:
Again arrived on first bus from AKL at 8. Entered park and queued by Indy for MFSR. Walked from there to the land and into the regular queue. Off ride by 9:10. Posted 60 minute wait as we exited. Now waiting on our Oga’s reservation at 9:40. Main objectives here today are shopping and pictures in GE.

 

[epcotobsessed]

I had read that MK buses were starting 90min before opening but BC didn’t get our first MK bus until 70min before opening. Pulled up at 8:05, tap-in started about 8:20, held until exactly 9, walked slowly and held again, twice, for Splash. Wait quickly built to 75 minutes. Waits for everything are the longest I’ve ever seen at 10am, save maybe SDMT, which is always 90ish this time of day.

 

[becauseimnew]

I had read that MK buses were starting 90min before opening but BC didn’t get our first MK bus until 70min before opening. Pulled up at 8:05, tap-in started about 8:20, held until exactly 9, walked slowly and held again, twice, for Splash. Wait quickly built to 75 minutes. Waits for everything are the longest I’ve ever seen at 10am, save maybe SDMT, which is always 90ish this time of day.

This is just sad. Maybe we'll just sleep in. We used to be able to do at least 4 rides in the first 2 hours of park opening, now it sounds like we'll be lucky to do 3, if we are at the front of the lines.

 

[epcotobsessed]

This is just sad. Maybe we'll just sleep in. We used to be able to do at least 4 rides in the first 2 hours of park opening, now it sounds like we'll be lucky to do 3, if we are at the front of the lines.

We did Splash and Pirates before 10. Heading to Philharmagic. We were lucky to get 2 in, and yes, we usually do at least 4-5 in the first hour. Sad.

 

[DisneyFive]

We did Splash and Pirates before 10. Heading to Philharmagic. We were lucky to get 2 in, and yes, we usually do at least 4-5 in the first hour. Sad.

Wow, so you got up early and arrived to the parks 40 minutes before open and still only got two attractions in before 10 AM? Especially at MK with so many attractions I would hope for more.

Definitely preparing ourselves for trip. 10 days…

Bring back FP+!

Dan

 

[MomOTwins]

I had read that MK buses were starting 90min before opening but BC didn’t get our first MK bus until 70min before opening. Pulled up at 8:05, tap-in started about 8:20, held until exactly 9, walked slowly and held again, twice, for Splash. Wait quickly built to 75 minutes. Waits for everything are the longest I’ve ever seen at 10am, save maybe SDMT, which is always 90ish this time of day.

Just FYI, no buses have been running 90 mins early. The 90 minute number is the recommended time to start waiting in line at the resort bus stop to get on the first bus, which often fills up.

I am sad to hear your report as it is consistent with too many rope drop reports lately. While fast pass spread out crowds throughout the day as people would book midday passes and sleep in or have a late TS breakfast, now it seems everybody is rope dropping all at once.

 

[cakebaker]

Just curious...is this an accurate depiction of conditions in the parks? Because if so.....wow.

 

[epcotobsessed]

Wow, so you got up early and arrived to the parks 40 minutes before open and still only got two attractions in before 10 AM? Especially at MK with so many attractions I would hope for more.

Definitely preparing ourselves for trip. 10 days…

Bring back FP+!

Dan

Arrived 55 minutes early, in the park 40 minutes early, on the first ride, Splash, at about 9:10 (many stops while getting on), have ridden Splash, Pirates, and It’s A Small World. Took a 15 minute food break, now in line for Pooh and it’s 11:40. I don’t think we’ll be on before noon, so if you subtract our food break that would be four rides in three hours with rope dropping, and we didn’t even try fir Mine Train, Space, etc. We might have only gotten two in if we had done that. It’s pretty awful, I will not come back until FP AND EMH are back (and I know that might mean I’ll never come back!)

 

[kc51570]

We did Splash and Pirates before 10. Heading to Philharmagic. We were lucky to get 2 in, and yes, we usually do at least 4-5 in the first hour. Sad.

Yes, exactly our experience. And if something was down, we did 1 attraction. Splash was down twice very close to opening last week so couldn’t rope drop it.

 

[epcotobsessed]

Just curious...is this an accurate depiction of conditions in the parks? Because if so.....wow.

Yes, and trash throughout the halls of Beach Club. It’s so gross.

 

[epcotobsessed]

queue stopped so I’ll elaborate - I have see. CMs hustling to pick up trash but it’s clear there are not nearly enough of them. They can only do so much with the staff they have.