Here Now & Just Back - A Place To Share Your Recent Experiences

[yulilin3]

For those who have been recently, generally speaking, how many hours in a day is it taking you to get through most/all of each park?

Currently planning our ADRs for our October trip. I've read that QS is limited, so we're planning more TS than usual. But, the planner in me knows how much time can be wasted with TS meals and I hate to do that when park hours are shortened to begin with. So, I'm curious about how long its taken you to do most or all of the open attractions in each of the parks. We will have one day per park, just two adults no kids.

Merged you to the just back thread. Most reports have a timeline so make sure to read back a couple of pages
If you focus just on attractions i say you can do all of them in most parks with the hours provided
Ak without the animal trails or animation academy can be done well before park closing
Dhs depending on RotR can be done with a good plan
Obviously rope drop continues to be key, especially at mk and dhs

 

[fbb]

Is Channel 27 still listed as ESPN Classic on the Resort TV Guide or have they finally updated it?

Still listed as ESPN Classic

 

[nkereina]

Merged you to the just back thread. Most reports have a timeline so make sure to read back a couple of pages
If you focus just on attractions i say you can do all of them in most parks with the hours provided
Ak without the animal trails or animation academy can be done well before park closing
Dhs depending on RotR can be done with a good plan
Obviously rope drop continues to be key, especially at mk and dhs

Thanks. I'm most interested in knowing whether people are finishing up early if they're arriving at park opening. TS meals will take at least an hour out of our day, so I'm just curious which parks that will make a difference in. We would rather forego a TS meal if it means we'd have to skip rides because it took too much time. But if a TS meal can fit in comfortably mid-day, and we can still accomplish most everything else, then we'll book it.

 

[Dave006]

We actually skipped MFSR because of the enclosed experience.

Were you worried about the queue or the actual vehicle experience?

If you have another day at DHS you might want to reconsider MFSR again. For the active portion of the attraction you don't share a vehicle with another group. So it would just be the 2 of you in a pod that accommodates up to a party of 6. The other positions will be on auto-function. A party 1 one will have the entire vehicle all to their self.

Dave

 

[LongGone78]

Thanks. I'm most interested in knowing whether people are finishing up early if they're arriving at park opening. TS meals will take at least an hour out of our day, so I'm just curious which parks that will make a difference in. We would rather forego a TS meal if it means we'd have to skip rides because it took too much time. But if a TS meal can fit in comfortably mid-day, and we can still accomplish most everything else, then we'll book it.

When we were there two weeks ago - AK and Epcot were doable with a TS meal factored in. AK is half a day right now with no shows. Epcot depends on your World Showcase activities, but we balanced that with rides and did everything except Mission Space. At DHS, we did Sci Fi for lunch , had BG 49 for RotR (got called around 3pm) and we got through Galaxy Edge, Pandora, RnR, ToT and almost every other ride with the exception of MMRR, which we skipped this trip. It was close though, we maybe finished 30 minutes before close. For MK, we did a Liberty Tree Tavern early dinner (5pm - the park closed at 7pm ). We were able to get in all the rides we wanted before dinner and hit a few again in the hour we had left on the way out. 7DMT probably had the longest wait and everything else was a walk on or less than 20 minutes (regardless of posted time). I think another important factor is the day you go. We went on weekdays, where the crowds were low and wait times even lower. Our last day was a Saturday in MK and it was "crowded" (in Covid-19 era terms), the waits were longer (but still shorter than usual) and the walkways more crowded. I think we would have been hard pressed to complete everything on a Saturday at MK.

 

[sara_s]

Were you worried about the queue or the actual vehicle experience?

If you have another day at DHS you might want to reconsider MFSR again. For the active portion of the attraction you don't share a vehicle with another group. So it would just be the 2 of you in a pod that accommodates up to a party of 6. The other positions will be on auto-function. A party 1 one will have the entire vehicle all to their self.

Dave

It was more the indoor queue / boarding process. We weren’t sure how that worked. We’ve done it before so not a huge loss and we’re local so we can always try again. Overall we definitely feel safe, sometimes your head can get in your way.

 

[PrincessV]

We actually skipped MFSR because of the enclosed experience....

A lot of the rides are indoor queues.

I've avoided DHS so far for these reasons. I don't want to be indoors with other people longer than 15ish minutes and DHS is just a tough park for that kind of self-imposed rule. I have a few upcoming AP-booked DHS days, though, so we'll see - I may be more willing to give it a try soon. It's helpful to hear your perspective on it, so thanks!

Going in late October and we're trying to decide which park to do two days at. Any recommendations based on recent experiences? We love all of them. We're kind of leaning Epcot so we can just do a day of relaxing/eating/drinking there.

I allotted myself about 5 hours for EP last week, thinking that was more than enough time... it wasn't. I could have happily spent another 5 hours there, taking it all in minus the crowds! And in that 5 hours, I only did one ride, lol! I wandered slowly, took lots of photos, and enjoyed sitting in the shade to eat and drink, or just hang out and relax. I definitely recommend it!

For those who have been recently, generally speaking, how many hours in a day is it taking you to get through most/all of each park?

I can't answer this directly, because my goal was not to do everything: I went to 3 parks last week with the goal of enjoying a few hours and if I never did a single ride, I'd be fine with that. But at MK, as an example, I arrived around 3pm and wound up riding: Buzz, Space, Under the Sea, HM, PP. I also spent time eating, taking photos, and relaxing in the shade. And I was done by 6:30p, so 3+ hours. I could have easily done everything in 5-6 hours, I imagine.

 

[doombuggy]

Just back from my 3 night staycation at the Contemporary Tower room with theme park view.
I checked in Friday after spending a couple of hours at DAK to ride Everest, safari and FoP. Each was under a 15 minute wait with FoP probably being closest to 15 minutes.
Saturday was my DHS day and I was able to get a boarding pass for RoR at 10am (group #17) with no problem. I was in the park shortly after 9:30, hit the rest room and waited in a shady spot for 10am. I then walked on TSM, waited 5 minutes for the saucers then waited about 15-20 min for TSM again. I never did slinky dog as it was hot, wait times were around 40 minutes and I get migraines, so I took a pass. Did Smuglers Run (interesting being by yourself in the Falcon cockpit) and then my group was called for Rise. Hit ToT and some shops before leaving to get lunch at Disney Springs and change. Went back to DHS around 5pm via bus this time for the evening. Rode Smuggler's again, MMRR and Star Tours Twice (guess who finally was pegged as the resistance spy?!) and had dinner after riding ToT again.
Sunday at MK was more crowded but my longest wait was at IASW because it broke down (about 30 minutes in line). I got into the park at 9 and by 12, I had ridden 6 rides (Space, Astro, Buzz, 7DMT, Splash & BTMRR). Had lunch at Peco's then headed to POTC, VLM, Pooh and HM before heading back to my room at 3:30 to change for dinner at Tony's. I could have hit up another ride or 2 before dinner, but went shopping instead (found a Jim Shore piece I was looking for).
Monday at EPCOT was surprising. Not many people there and it seemed like a lot was closed versus the Friday afternoon I was there in late July. I was there from about 10:45 until 2:30 and experienced 7 attractions and had lunch. It was raining in the early afternoon, so after a soggy walk around the world showcase to get my pockys from Japan, I headed home (i live about 35 miles away).

For the most part, people were following the mask requirements. I did see a few people walking and eating, but CMs that saw them reminded them to stand off to the side to eat or drink. I think for the most part, people just forgot. What I did experience a few times was teens amd twenty somethings getting to close/not following the markings in line. When I was in the POTC line, the group of 4 20somethings appeared to find it funny when I looked at them was the stood right behind me. Some people think this is a joke or not serious. It can be annoying, but on the whole, people pretty much adhered. Much better than the grocery store!

 

[ReginaMBK]

MK on a Tuesday report!

Overall -- can't say I felt great being there. I'm beginning to realize that perhaps I'm from somewhere in the country that's far more careful than I originally thought, in comparison.

A couple bad experiences and then I'll share the good.

1. Cosmic Ray's: We needed to order inside (serious gluten allergy). In line, the family in front of us had masks below the nose and was standing really close to the CM taking orders. At one point, both mom and dad took their masks down to talk to her. She didn't say anything. As I was looking around, there were whole families walking around maskless. One family was walking out, all drinking their drinks, masks off. A CM at the exit told them the rules and they literally ignored her and walked out. They didn't even look at her. About a minute after that, I placed my order and was waiting. Looked back, and the person ordering behind me was completely maskless. Not a one in sight. CM said nothing, and there was a leader right there that also said nothing. Needless to say, as soon as I got my food, I fled right outside.

2. Haunted Mansion: In line, there was a college-age looking kid behind us (he had on a DCP Alumni shirt, which makes this even worse...). He and his friend were talking about whether they felt safer at WDW or Universal. He literally said "well I don't really care about the virus or if I get it, but...". We then get into the loading area and notice a grown man slumped/laying on the barrier between the line and the omnimover belt. He was the party ahead of us, and we started to get a little nervous. There was one doom buggy between us, and the WHOLE RIDE he was screaming obnoxiously and cracking jokes and talking loudly. We're pretty sure they took their masks off from what we could see. As we're exiting the graveyard, either he or his ride partner (a kid?) started sneezing like crazy. At this point, DH and I were holding our breath and almost in tears. After the sneezes ended, the guy goes "OH NO! CORONA EVERYWHERE!" and then just cackles laughing!

Safety: Mask compliance was 75-80%. Noses everywhere you looked. People walking around with masks off or below the chin. CMs were trying, but not very assertively. Had an instance on POC where the family behind us kept inching towards us and off their marker. At one point, the mom was 1ft behind DH. I asked her to back up and she just glared at me and took a small step backwards. Only other line instance was for Splash. The family behind us kept getting right up on us, and after asking them once to please respect our space they were fine. Hand sanitizer everywhere and we sure used it. People will walk into your space, on the wrong side of the sidewalk, or just stop in the middle causing you to stop abruptly or veer around them. We really had to pay attention. 12-3pm was the worst time of day. We didn't bother with some of the rides - Fantasyland was way too crowded and lots of kids touching everything, so we didn't do Small World, Peter Pan, Mermaid, Pooh. 7DMT was down most of the day so we didn't get to do it.

Good stuff:

Morning and before close were great. Tons of room to walk around and stay away from people. Most rides are walk on or minimal line, including all three Mountains. The only cleaning we caught was POC, and it was quick. Posted wait times are longer than actual for the most part. Only one where that may not be true is 7DMT, as it looked longer than posted and kept breaking. Mobile order was convenient. Bathrooms were clean for the most part. CMs were out reminding people of the rules. You can notice a lot of details that you can't normally. We got a lot of great pictures, especially at sunset.

So I don't know. I'm happy I went, but can't say I'd go back during this moment in time. EPCOT felt far safer, and rule compliance was higher. The problem isn't Disney, the problem is other people. I don't understand why people think they're above the rules, or the rules don't apply to them. By coming here, you are agreeing to follow what they set out and that's just not happening to the extent that the vloggers, and even some of the posters on here, are making it out to be.

 

[sara_s]

FOP and Navi evacuated for emergency - mass exodus happening - we’re trying to go to Africa.

 

[wilkydelts]

Has anyone figured out the a cleaning schedule yet? Is there away to know if they will clean shortly or have started cleanly so you can avoid those lines?

 

[armerida]

Has anyone figured out the a cleaning schedule yet? Is there away to know if they will clean shortly or have started cleanly so you can avoid those lines?

I believe it’s every 2 hours, so you’ll hit the first cycle 2 hours after park openinf. The subsequent ones likely won’t be right on the hour tho if you account for how much time the first cleaning of the day took (we’ve seen some rides as low as 5 minutes cleaning and others up to 20).

 

[yulilin3]

Has anyone figured out the a cleaning schedule yet? Is there away to know if they will clean shortly or have started cleanly so you can avoid those lines?

no way to know ahead of time, it's not really on a scheduled basis, if you see CM starting to walk with the canisters and hose then you know it's about to happen, this can only be done on attractions where you can see the vehicle, IASW, PP, Tea Cups, Dumbo, for rides like MFSR, RotR, ST, FoP you won;t really know

 

[yulilin3]

I believe it’s every 2 hours, so you’ll hit the first cycle 2 hours after park openinf. The subsequent ones likely won’t be right on the hour tho if you account for how much time the first cleaning of the day took (we’ve seen some rides as low as 5 minutes cleaning and others up to 20).

the only problem is that the parks are opening earlier than their scheduled time with most attractions opening earlier as well, but I would agree that first hour of scheduled park operation should be free of cleaning delays

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

Has anyone taken an Uber? Do they have partitions up between the back and the driver?

Also, how early would you recommend before arriving for rope drop?

 

[ksueboo]

Has anyone taken an Uber? Do they have partitions up between the back and the driver?

Also, how early would you recommend before arriving for rope drop?

We took a Lyft from MCO to Loews Royal Pacific and then another one from Loews RP to CBR, there was no partition up. The driver and us had our masks on the entire time.

 

[lelew]

We decided to randomly purchase tickets today for MK. We didn't really plan on doing parks this trip. I'm glad we came today. This is the most I have ever been relaxed in MK. We are just strolling the park and have already did four attractions in less than an hour including space moutain. I was even able to grab Starbucks with very little wait. Like most people said in this thread come during the week it's slow

 

[yulilin3]

Has anyone taken an Uber? Do they have partitions up between the back and the driver?

Also, how early would you recommend before arriving for rope drop?

for rope drop 45 minutes before official park opening times

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

for rope drop 45 minutes before official park opening times

So just to confirm, they are letting people in past the gates early?

 

[yulilin3]

So just to confirm, they are letting people in past the gates early?

yes, they open the parking lots 45 minutes before official time of parks and at the same time open the parks so when you walk over there's no waiting at the gates anymore, now that doesn't mean that the attractions are open (some are) but you can head inside and start to queue up at your first choice