Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[butterscotchcollins]

Editing to add dates instead of today and yesterday.

Back from a quick trip for Tron preview! The crowds for spring break seem to have arrived. However I will say yesterday (Saturday 3/11) only Epcot seemed crowded to me (I did all 4 parks), and today (Sunday 3/12) MK seemed very busy!

However today (Sunday 3/12) we were able to do a ton with genie +. I wanted to test this genie + can do it all theory/blogger mentioned above.

We arrived into the park at 9:08. I had booked Big Thunder for 9:10-10:10 and mine train for 11:30-12:30. We did the following Pirates, (big thunder went down), booked LL for imitate return at magic carpets, booked small world LL, did that right after, then booked Barnstromer, did carousel on the way, used barnstromer LL, booked dumbo, at tap in for dumbo booked tea cups, tea cups LL was backed up, so we grabbed a snack, and circled back, at tea cups tap in we booked space for 2:25-3:35 (could have booked Pooh for quicker return but we wanted to do space), watched Phillharmagic, used ILL for mine train, stoped to pick up a map for the pirate adventure, then did Big Thunder using converted anytime LL. Then it was lunch time. It was 12:30 and we did 9 rides, and a show. So in just about 3 and a half hours we did a ton imo.

Lunch was till 130ish during lunch our 2 hours since booking space was up and we booked enchanted tales with Belle for 4-5, we had a Tron preview so we shopped a bit till our 2pm time, then did Tron, then our Space LL, now our 2 hours booking window was up again, we could have booked a few things for the 5ish time (Pooh, Ariel, meet Mickey), we went with 530-630 meet Mickey, we grabbed ice cream before we headed to Hall of Presidents, we just missed a show so we relaxed a bit. Then enchanted tales with Belle was down so we went to Gaston’s for coffee and snack. Enchanted tales was back up after that so we did that, then criss crossed to do people mover, then headed to the confectionery for fudge then to Mickey and out of the park.

I think we did a lot, 12 rides, 3 shows, 1 character meet, sit down lunch and 4 snacks.

It was crowded today, but weather was perfect, hope this helps someone and happy to answer any questions.

You guys really did a lot! I mentioned we just did a down-and-back from NY for the day, I had asked my husband if we should get G+ to guarantee we get some stuff in and he was like nahhh (cue my disappointment the ONE time I’m willing to buy it lol.)

We got to the park around 11:30am and immediately headed to Pirates (posted 55, waited 30) and then HM (idk what it was posted but waited another 30). Add a few mins before and after for stroller parking.

When we got off HM around 1:30 we decided to head over to Tomorrowland to grab lunch before our 2pm TRON preview. We left the baby w/ our non-AP friend and walked over around 2:10, immediately tapped into the area and there was pretty much no wait for the attraction itself. Off Tron around 2:30, regrouped and did Dumbo (posted 30 mins, waited that). We headed back to TL - the line for Space stretched back to Astro Orbiter but that was a no-go. Peoplemover was a short time wait (20 mins) but the line was in the sun so I didn’t want to wait that with baby. We settled on Monsters Inc. which had a posted time of 15 mins. We just missed the load room for a show so all told it was like 45 minutes from the queue to getting out. After that everything had a wait above 30 mins and we still wanted to have time for shopping so we ditched the rides and got coffee/shopped on Main St. until we left around 6 to head back to TTC and get our flight home.

So without G+: 3 rides and a show. Definitely crowded and made it hard to do standby only for our middle-of-the-day hours!

 

[sheilafri]

Late to post, but I was there last week 3/6-3/9. The first three days were great with low crowds. It was pretty hot for me so I did G+ on all but 3/7 so I wouldn’t have to stand in lines in the heat. I was fairly happy with what I was able to get. The exception was 3/9 when Spring Break crowds, bands and sports teams started to show up and Disney IT had a melt down when it was time to book at 7 am. The crowd 3/9 was definitely composed of more unescorted older kids who were noticeably noisier and rowdier than even on Wednesday. You couldn’t pay me to go this week of massive Spring Break crowds.

 

[brockash]

You guys really did a lot! I mentioned we just did a down-and-back from NY for the day, I had asked my husband if we should get G+ to guarantee we get some stuff in and he was like nahhh (cue my disappointment the ONE time I’m willing to buy it lol.)

We got to the park around 11:30am and immediately headed to Pirates (posted 55, waited 30) and then HM (idk what it was posted but waited another 30). Add a few mins before and after for stroller parking.

When we got off HM around 1:30 we decided to head over to Tomorrowland to grab lunch before our 2pm TRON preview. We left the baby w/ our non-AP friend and walked over around 2:10, immediately tapped into the area and there was pretty much no wait for the attraction itself. Off Tron around 2:30, regrouped and did Dumbo (posted 30 mins, waited that). We headed back to TL - the line for Space stretched back to Astro Orbiter but that was a no-go. Peoplemover was a short time wait (20 mins) but the line was in the sun so I didn’t want to wait that with baby. We settled on Monsters Inc. which had a posted time of 15 mins. We just missed the load room for a show so all told it was like 45 minutes from the queue to getting out. After that everything had a wait above 30 mins and we still wanted to have time for shopping so we ditched the rides and got coffee/shopped on Main St. until we left around 6 to head back to TTC and get our flight home.

So without G+: 3 rides and a show. Definitely crowded and made it hard to do standby only for our middle-of-the-day hours!

Wow...you guys flew out from NY, went to MK and flew back to NY all in one day? You must have really needed a MK break Glad things with your flights went well.

 

[butterscotchcollins]

Wow...you guys flew out from NY, went to MK and flew back to NY all in one day? You must have really needed a MK break Glad things with your flights went well.

Yes we did! Lol to clarify it was for our AP TRON preview and we had flight credits + a free companion fare on Delta so the only thing we paid for was the rental car. Still admittedly insane - we were exhausted on the way home so idk if we’ll be doing any repeats but TRON was awesome, and we had a fun day making a core memory, so no regrets!

 

[NJlauren]

You guys really did a lot! I mentioned we just did a down-and-back from NY for the day, I had asked my husband if we should get G+ to guarantee we get some stuff in and he was like nahhh (cue my disappointment the ONE time I’m willing to buy it lol.)

We got to the park around 11:30am and immediately headed to Pirates (posted 55, waited 30) and then HM (idk what it was posted but waited another 30). Add a few mins before and after for stroller parking.

When we got off HM around 1:30 we decided to head over to Tomorrowland to grab lunch before our 2pm TRON preview. We left the baby w/ our non-AP friend and walked over around 2:10, immediately tapped into the area and there was pretty much no wait for the attraction itself. Off Tron around 2:30, regrouped and did Dumbo (posted 30 mins, waited that). We headed back to TL - the line for Space stretched back to Astro Orbiter but that was a no-go. Peoplemover was a short time wait (20 mins) but the line was in the sun so I didn’t want to wait that with baby. We settled on Monsters Inc. which had a posted time of 15 mins. We just missed the load room for a show so all told it was like 45 minutes from the queue to getting out. After that everything had a wait above 30 mins and we still wanted to have time for shopping so we ditched the rides and got coffee/shopped on Main St. until we left around 6 to head back to TTC and get our flight home.

So without G+: 3 rides and a show. Definitely crowded and made it hard to do standby only for our middle-of-the-day hours!

Hopefully fun either way!! I’ve done day trips and they can be a lot and not a regular thing both worth it!

I hope you had fun and i agree Tron was fun!!

 

[brockash]

Yes we did! Lol to clarify it was for our AP TRON preview and we had flight credits + a free companion fare on Delta so the only thing we paid for was the rental car. Still admittedly insane - we were exhausted on the way home so idk if we’ll be doing any repeats but TRON was awesome, and we had a fun day making a core memory, so no regrets!

Lol...sounds like something I'd try to convince someone to do Glad everything worked out!

 

[ADisneyQueen]

We were at epcot on Friday March 10 and I wanted to post about some exaggerated wait times. We were there at park opening at 9 am for offsite guests. We hustled over to Soarin and basically got right on. We decided to ride again even though the wait time was 55 min. bc we knew this just could not be accurate. The real wait time ended up being 15 min. As we got off, they switched the wait time to 35 min. Near park closing (8:45 pm) we got in line for Ratatouille. The wait time was 65 min, but ended up being 35. 8:45 is a great time to get in line bc it's right before the line gets long again.

 

[musicguy856]

We were at epcot on Friday March 10 and I wanted to post about some exaggerated wait times. We were there at park opening at 9 am for offsite guests. We hustled over to Soarin and basically got right on. We decided to ride again even though the wait time was 55 min. bc we knew this just could not be accurate. The real wait time ended up being 15 min. As we got off, they switched the wait time to 35 min. Near park closing (8:45 pm) we got in line for Ratatouille. The wait time was 65 min, but ended up being 35. 8:45 is a great time to get in line bc it's right before the line gets long again.

Sometimes I think they inflate Soarin’s wait time to discourage guests from going to the Land pavilion.

 

[Lady Hiss]

A word to the wise: Fill out any Disney survey you get as soon as you can. It seems they expire quickly.
We just returned from a 9 day stay at BCV. It was a rough 20 hour+ road trip home (one of us got COVID). In the two days that we were on the road, we received a survey from Disney Parks. Not feeling up to filling it out right away we saved it. By the time we felt up to filling it out, it was no longer active. Very disappointed as we had lot of feedback, both positive and negative and now have no place to share those comments.

 

[JFox]

Tron weekend preview is in the books. Quick trips are may favorite, in and out maybe a ADR but really just there to get away.

Our last day we went to MK for popcorn. I always take a large tin and fill it with popcorn for my kids to enjoy at home. I buy 5 refills and transfer the popcorn into a large plastic bag. The CM at the popcorn cart asked for my 5 empty buckets so he could fill them. I didn't have 5 but wanted to fill my single 5 times. He was insistent he could not do that. I offered to go through the line 5 times. He finally said he would do it but still game me flack. I've done this same exercise at every park and DS and thought it weird. Why do you think it would matter? I'm not reselling popcorn just wanted to take it home.

 

[CarolynFH]

A word to the wise: Fill out any Disney survey you get as soon as you can. It seems they expire quickly.
We just returned from a 9 day stay at BCV. It was a rough 20 hour+ road trip home (one of us got COVID). In the two days that we were on the road, we received a survey from Disney Parks. Not feeling up to filling it out right away we saved it. By the time we felt up to filling it out, it was no longer active. Very disappointed as we had lot of feedback, both positive and negative and now have no place to share those comments.

Yes you do! Send an email to wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com. You’ll probably be able to be more specific and tell them what you want them to know — many times their surveys are a series of questions with very little opportunity to express your actual thoughts.

 

[EdmondD]

Someone else mentioned the March 9 Genie+ issues... It was quite stressful! This was the second day in the parks for us and like most people I was ready at 7 and was trying my darnedest to get LL times. I couldn't figure out what was going on but I was certain it was user error on my end. At the same time I was trying to get breakfast for my son and get the family out the door to head toward HS and Rise and I might have snapped at my traveling party once or twice. We got on the Skyliner and another family heard me talking about it and said, "Genie is down, system-wide." So that made me feel a little better. I feel like it was about 8:30 or so before it was functional again.

 

[jeters_boy]

Question for anyone who's been to WDW recently... is there any noticeable difference in terms of guest experience since Iger took over? (good or bad)

 

[NJlauren]

Question for anyone who's been to WDW recently... is there any noticeable difference in terms of guest experience since Iger took over? (good or bad)

Personally I don’t think so.

Outside of free parking at the resorts, it seems about the same to me.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Question for anyone who's been to WDW recently... is there any noticeable difference in terms of guest experience since Iger took over? (good or bad)

I haven't noticed anything different, really. I appreciated not being charged to park my car at POFQ last weekend but that was it.

(we go a couple times a month, often staying overnight)

 

[Lady Hiss]

Yes you do! Send an email to wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com. You’ll probably be able to be more specific and tell them what you want them to know — many times their surveys are a series of questions with very little opportunity to express your actual thoughts.

Many thanks. It’s on my to-do list. Now, I just need to organize my thoughts into a coherent email.

 

[BrightMorningStar]

We were there 3/1 - 3/8. First time since 2019. Wow. Everything felt "different". We always went in December, 20 years in a row, so of course that time of year if different. It was a very 'wet hot' this March. We have also been in April, May, June, October and November (in between those December trips).

Downtown Disney (Springs) did not have the same vibe. Stores were smaller and carried about half (or less) merchandise than they used to. I know it is economy driven, but still, it felt different. I did not care for World of Disney.

We did not feel G+ was worth the price per person. We purchase it for only 3 of the park days. We did not care for the way bookings had to be spaced out. The ability to ride only 1 time using G+ sure felt like a ripoff. We found the inability to select times (like FP) a pain. We also did not like when the app would provide a particular time and when we selected it, it was an hour or so later. The app would then give us an option (occasionally) for an earlier time, we would select it and it would book the ride time even later than the initial booking. That happened 5 times between MK and DS. We knew what we were purchasing with G+, but found it disappointing and will not do it again. We did pay for ILL for Rise and although $22 a person on top of the expensive park entrance was a bit ridiculous, I am glad we did it twice during the trip for rope drop and 1 time using ILL. We had several Star Wars fans who went to DS specifically for that attraction. I would not do it again, though.

The posted ride times were off most of the time. A few attractions would have a posted time of 15 - 20 minutes and they were a walk-on. That was nice. Some would have a posted time of 30 - 40 minutes and it was 15 minutes. We mostly experienced posted times of 30 - 45 minutes and it was 60 - 90 minutes. I am glad we did not have any scheduled meals. Peter Pan was almost always over-inflated by double the amount of time. If it said 80, it was 40. If it it said 60, it was 30.

We were disappointed at how much the quality (and even quantity) of food went down. Some things were as we remembered and they brought back great memories, but overall much of the food was a disappointment for the price.

We still had a good time and I am glad we were able to go as a large family and spend time together, but it is not the Disney I remember. We all felt that way. I do not see dropping that kind of money to go to Disney again.

 

[austinelsa]

Just got back this afternoon from an amazing 5 day trip (Park days 3/10 - 3/14). Ill write more in a few days (kids still on spring break ), but here are my key takeaways:

1) we stayed at the Swan, which was honestly perfect. The walk to epcot was a little too far for my 5 yr old to walk herself, but the walk to HS was perfect, as were the friendship boats. We had a "no view" room that ended up having a side view of the Harmonious fireworks and of ToT/Fantasmic. Il Mulino had great takeout pizza which we got a few nights actually - was nice to have really delicious easy food to eat while we sat on the curb of hollywood blvd, enjoying the vibe and waiting for our stacked nighttime LLs. The Swan bus to AK was fine and we walked to Boardwalk to use their MK bus. all worked out well.

2) We did park hoppers and G+. It makes the ticket expensive, but we really spent very little on food and drinks and souvenirs to make up for it. But being able to visit 2 different parks per day (close-to-ETPE-rope-drop morning session, hotel break, night session at a different park) allowed us to get G+ on all the rides we wanted to and do some of them multiple times over 5 days. Even on 3/14, which was a all 4 parks sold out day.

3) Getting quick service food was a nightmare for us at all of the parks. Both the mobile order logistics and the food options. Flametree BBQ in AK was an exception, but we didnt enjoy basically any QS we got. And the food options in MK are horrific. I feel like most of it was mediocre to bad fast food. I mean my kids were more than happy with basic hamburgers, but im pretty sure disney can do better. I did appreciate the abundant kids cutie oranges though. Those saved us and made us feel alive between the questionable tacos and the stale churros. (Im sure there are some ok options, but we didnt find them). Our big learning on mobile order was that you need to basically tell them you are there before you even head over to the restaurant. And even then, it will still take a while.

4) I studied these message boards, reddit, thrill data, touring plans, genie+ helper, and various blogs for weeks before our trip so i could understand how to use everything and know which rides needed to be prioritized on crowded days. And MAN, that paid off big time. I was super proud of how easy i was able to make the whole experience for my husband and kids and how we basically did everything we hoped for, minus 1 or 2 things. However, that kind of insane effort isnt for everyone and I can see how difficult the parks can be now for those with little knowledge of how the system works.

5) I thought i would be DONE by the end of 5 days. We walked 10 miles a day, slept so little, but had so much fun! And now all i want to do it go back, even though we've decided to take a 2 year break from disney to allow the kids to get a little older and the parks to change/update. I want it to feel a little different when we go back next. Im sad its over for 2023!

More soon...

 

[MidnightMeeko]

Anyone there that's done the Eggstravaganza this year? I'm wondering if there is anything inside of the prize eggs. It seems like a bit of a stretch to pay 9.99 for the paper map and a single empty plastic egg. I mean, I love the characters on them, but...

 

[miked1978]

Just got back this afternoon from an amazing 5 day trip (Park days 3/10 - 3/14). Ill write more in a few days (kids still on spring break ), but here are my key takeaways:

1) we stayed at the Swan, which was honestly perfect. The walk to epcot was a little too far for my 5 yr old to walk herself, but the walk to HS was perfect, as were the friendship boats. We had a "no view" room that ended up having a side view of the Harmonious fireworks and of ToT/Fantasmic. Il Mulino had great takeout pizza which we got a few nights actually - was nice to have really delicious easy food to eat while we sat on the curb of hollywood blvd, enjoying the vibe and waiting for our stacked nighttime LLs. The Swan bus to AK was fine and we walked to Boardwalk to use their MK bus. all worked out well.

2) We did park hoppers and G+. It makes the ticket expensive, but we really spent very little on food and drinks and souvenirs to make up for it. But being able to visit 2 different parks per day (close-to-ETPE-rope-drop morning session, hotel break, night session at a different park) allowed us to get G+ on all the rides we wanted to and do some of them multiple times over 5 days. Even on 3/14, which was a all 4 parks sold out day.

3) Getting quick service food was a nightmare for us at all of the parks. Both the mobile order logistics and the food options. Flametree BBQ in AK was an exception, but we didnt enjoy basically any QS we got. And the food options in MK are horrific. I feel like most of it was mediocre to bad fast food. I mean my kids were more than happy with basic hamburgers, but im pretty sure disney can do better. I did appreciate the abundant kids cutie oranges though. Those saved us and made us feel alive between the questionable tacos and the stale churros. (Im sure there are some ok options, but we didnt find them). Our big learning on mobile order was that you need to basically tell them you are there before you even head over to the restaurant. And even then, it will still take a while.

4) I studied these message boards, reddit, thrill data, touring plans, genie+ helper, and various blogs for weeks before our trip so i could understand how to use everything and know which rides needed to be prioritized on crowded days. And MAN, that paid off big time. I was super proud of how easy i was able to make the whole experience for my husband and kids and how we basically did everything we hoped for, minus 1 or 2 things. However, that kind of insane effort isnt for everyone and I can see how difficult the parks can be now for those with little knowledge of how the system works.

5) I thought i would be DONE by the end of 5 days. We walked 10 miles a day, slept so little, but had so much fun! And now all i want to do it go back, even though we've decided to take a 2 year break from disney to allow the kids to get a little older and the parks to change/update. I want it to feel a little different when we go back next. Im sad its over for 2023!

More soon...

When i went last year i was disappointed in just about all the food not just QS. I dont know if the restaurants we go just aren't good anymore or what. We are going again in October and hoping for better food.

What QS did you go to?