Dining after the park.

[superbeetle71jlc]

So probably old news by now but we’re just leaving DWRLD after a week at Bay Lake. We got around the issues but dinner is a bit more complicated than usual. First night we had dinner reservation at whispering canyon. We finished around 8:30 and when we came out to the bus, the MK bus driver said we couldn’t ride to the park after it was closed. Had to Lyft from the wilderness to bay lake. We tried to eat at the Contempo one night but if was really crowded and when we got our food much of it was soggy inside these little cardboard boxes. The next night we stayed in the MK until it closed at 7 and monorailed to the polynesian for dinner. Finished eating around 8:15 and did not have a way to get back to the contemporary. Lyft again. Frustrating but paying for a Lyft beats eating at the contempo every night.

 

[DWillowBay]

Yep. There's lots of conveniences that I think a lot of us took for granted, but now realize how grateful we are for them. That's not altogether bad.

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

Yes dining is really quite tricky right now. We tried not to plan much on our trip since things are so different but we ended up needing to make dining plans very day because so much is closed. Even snacks are super hard to find since most of the food carts are closed too.

 

[MomOTwins]

Yes, the system we adopted is booking in-park restaurants 5 mins before the park closes for the parks that are closing early (Epcot we just eat in the park during park hours). That way we can still maximize our time in the park but have dedicated transportation back to our resort. Requires a different strategy than normal for sure.

 

[Ksquared]

I'm glad we will have our car for our trip but this proves we will need to be mindful that we have to leave enough time to go back to our resort and get the car for certain reservations.

 

[JZCubed]

So probably old news by now but we’re just leaving DWRLD after a week at Bay Lake. We got around the issues but dinner is a bit more complicated than usual. First night we had dinner reservation at whispering canyon. We finished around 8:30 and when we came out to the bus, the MK bus driver said we couldn’t ride to the park after it was closed. Had to Lyft from the wilderness to bay lake. We tried to eat at the Contempo one night but if was really crowded and when we got our food much of it was soggy inside these little cardboard boxes. The next night we stayed in the MK until it closed at 7 and monorailed to the polynesian for dinner. Finished eating around 8:15 and did not have a way to get back to the contemporary. Lyft again. Frustrating but paying for a Lyft beats eating at the contempo every night.

Resort-to-Resort was never easy at Disney.

A pandemic has increased the difficulty.

Regardless, fine dining restaurants anywhere on earth are going to 'struggle' until medical science can catch-up to public health requirements.

 

[georgina]

So probably old news by now but we’re just leaving DWRLD after a week at Bay Lake. We got around the issues but dinner is a bit more complicated than usual. First night we had dinner reservation at whispering canyon. We finished around 8:30 and when we came out to the bus, the MK bus driver said we couldn’t ride to the park after it was closed. Had to Lyft from the wilderness to bay lake. We tried to eat at the Contempo one night but if was really crowded and when we got our food much of it was soggy inside these little cardboard boxes. The next night we stayed in the MK until it closed at 7 and monorailed to the polynesian for dinner. Finished eating around 8:15 and did not have a way to get back to the contemporary. Lyft again. Frustrating but paying for a Lyft beats eating at the contempo every night.

I'm glad you posted this because the lack of transportation options may not have been something I thought about in planning dining.

I'm glad we will have our car for our trip but this proves we will need to be mindful that we have to leave enough time to go back to our resort and get the car for certain reservations.

If you are just going back to get the car, wouldn't it be easier to just drive to the park? I know driving to MK is more of a pain, but the other 3 parks.

 

[Disneypapa]

Thanks for the heads up. Did not realize there were so many issues with restaurant closures and transportation.

 

[jimandami]

I saw on the Poly thread on resorts board, that they now have bus transportation to the monorail resorts from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM.

 

[Salf777]

Yes, the system we adopted is booking in-park restaurants 5 mins before the park closes for the parks that are closing early (Epcot we just eat in the park during park hours). That way we can still maximize our time in the park but have dedicated transportation back to our resort. Requires a different strategy than normal for sure.

So you can book an in the park dining reservation for shortly before the park closes? Do they rush you out? So essentially you get to stay in the park after it closes? Thank you

 

[MomOTwins]

So you can book an in the park dining reservation for shortly before the park closes? Do they rush you out? So essentially you get to stay in the park after it closes? Thank you

Yes. You won’t be rushed through dinner at all but you will be walked by a CM to the park entrance after—no lingering and exploring the empty park.