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

[HollyMD]

I’m going to try to find the bus number, etc and report to guest relations. Worse case, I can give date and time and they can see who it was

 

[yulilin3]

I’m going to try to find the bus number, etc and report to guest relations. Worse case, I can give date and time and they can see who it was

not sure if you're still on the bus but take a pic of the situation.

 

[snappy]

not sure if you're still on the bus but take a pic of the situation.

Hopefully others on the bus will go the same.

 

[Zaccypoo]

We're headed to Disney on 10/21 with some friends. We decided to brave COVID and go since the parks had such low wait times... but that's not really the case anymore... Wait times seem to be about where they were before COVID and now there's no fast pass at all. Has anyone been recently and been successful with a strategy? We're in our mid 20's so we mostly are going for the rides and hope to get everything done in each park. We've been multiple times and have a great strategy to get everything done with fast pass, but have no idea how to tackle the wait times without it.

 

[yulilin3]

We're headed to Disney on 10/21 with some friends. We decided to brave COVID and go since the parks had such low wait times... but that's not really the case anymore... Wait times seem to be about where they were before COVID and now there's no fast pass at all. Has anyone been recently and been successful with a strategy? We're in our mid 20's so we mostly are going for the rides and hope to get everything done in each park. We've been multiple times and have a great strategy to get everything done with fast pass, but have no idea how to tackle the wait times without it.

Merged you to the existing thread
Rope drop and the last couple of hours are the best strategy right now. Read back a couple of pages for the recent reports

 

[Naomeri]

We're headed to Disney on 10/21 with some friends. We decided to brave COVID and go since the parks had such low wait times... but that's not really the case anymore... Wait times seem to be about where they were before COVID and now there's no fast pass at all. Has anyone been recently and been successful with a strategy? We're in our mid 20's so we mostly are going for the rides and hope to get everything done in each park. We've been multiple times and have a great strategy to get everything done with fast pass, but have no idea how to tackle the wait times without it.

A lot of recent reports say that many wait times are somewhat inflated, so don’t necessarily freak out about what MDE is showing you. But as yulilin3 said, rope drop and end of day do sound like the best thing for lower actual wait times.

 

[Befferk]

You also can open the Uber and Lyft apps on your phone while you are home, and type in the pick up and destination points you would want, to see what the cost would be. (Your phone will think you want to be picked up wherever you currently happen to be, so you have to change the pick up point. But you can change it to someplace at Disney World.)

I did this when I was wondering the same thing - we're staying offsite and wanted to know the cost to get to the Speedway outside of HS (staying at Windsor Hills so about 5~ish miles). It was $16 and some change (note that this is for an Lyft XL, since there will be 4 of us. I did not check Uber).

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

A lot of recent reports say that many wait times are somewhat inflated, so don’t necessarily freak out about what MDE is showing you. But as yulilin3 said, rope drop and end of day do sound like the best thing for lower actual wait times.

^ This.

Even though the conventional wisdom is that crowd calendars are somewhat useless right now, I've been looking at Touring Plans predicted wait times and where they compare to the actual wait times over the past several weeks.

Honestly, the times don't appear to be too bad (at least "on paper"). And their predictions are still generally pretty close to the actual waits.

We're going on days that are still rated as "1" crowds, but I'm not completely lulled into a false sense of security. I don't expect it to be as empty as July. But we're rope-droppers and accustomed to traditional Spring Break and Summer crowds. Also, we don't plan to try to ride EVERY ride. If we don't get to ride ROTR, it will be the one big disappointment, but not to the extent that it would "ruin" the trip.

If we have to wait 90 minutes for MMRR, so be it. But I'm still encouraged that rides like FOP are on average seeing 30-45 minute waits instead of the usual 3 hours. I'm cautiously optimistic that we won't experience insane crowds and have to wait over an hour for every attraction.

 

[Turk February]

I did this when I was wondering the same thing - we're staying offsite and wanted to know the cost to get to the Speedway outside of HS (staying at Windsor Hills so about 5~ish miles). It was $16 and some change (note that this is for an Lyft XL, since there will be 4 of us. I did not check Uber).

$15 is a good estimate for just about any trip around WDW property (after tip). We used Uber and Lyft a lot last year during our trip and that's what I'm budgeting for next week. However, prices inflate very much at park closing when demand is high.

 

[tink2424]

^ This.

Even though the conventional wisdom is that crowd calendars are somewhat useless right now, I've been looking at Touring Plans predicted wait times and where they compare to the actual wait times over the past several weeks.

Honestly, the times don't appear to be too bad (at least "on paper"). And their predictions are still generally pretty close to the actual waits.

We're going on days that are still rated as "1" crowds, but I'm not completely lulled into a false sense of security. I don't expect it to be as empty as July. But we're rope-droppers and accustomed to traditional Spring Break and Summer crowds. Also, we don't plan to try to ride EVERY ride. If we don't get to ride ROTR, it will be the one big disappointment, but not to the extent that it would "ruin" the trip.

If we have to wait 90 minutes for MMRR, so be it. But I'm still encouraged that rides like FOP are on average seeing 30-45 minute waits instead of the usual 3 hours. I'm cautiously optimistic that we won't experience insane crowds and have to wait over an hour for every attraction.

it really depends on which park you are in and what ride. Yes, most wait times are inflated but not all are. When I was at HS last week all the rides were 60+ minutes actual wait times. Also some at MK were actually as long as the listed wait time. So more people does mean that the wait times are more correct.

 

[riversend22]

Just wanted to write up a quick trip report as I visited MK for one day this past Saturday...

I was initially concerned about the crowds on a weekend, but honestly I didn't find it to be too bad. I think as many people have mentioned previously, it is VERY important to have a plan. I drove to the park and got to the toll booths at around 8:05. There was only a very small line of cars so I was parked and walking towards the transport center by 8:15. I immediately got on the monorail and was inside of MK by 8:30.

My plan revolved around hitting the rides that were most important to me. So I decided to head over to Splash Mountain first. As others have mentioned, it is up to the CMs to decide whether to operate the rides before official park opening. I happened to make a good decision going towards Frontierland because although Splash was not open yet, Big thunder was. So I hopped on that, and was off in about 10 minutes. This turned out to be a good strategy because for some reason, 7DMT was not running this morning which is where most people end up at opening. Then I waited maybe 10 more minutes and splash opened a few minutes before 9. So I hopped on that and was again off in about 10 minutes. Then I headed over to pirates which had no wait, so I was on and off that quickly as well. After that I decided since I was in Adventureland to just hit up Jungle Cruise. This was my first wait of the day, but it still wasn't too bad. I believe the posted wait was around 35 minutes and I waited 25. So just to give you an idea, by 10:30 I had already completed 4 of the bigger rides.

At this point the waits started getting a little longer, but again, nothing too crazy. My plans then brought me over to Haunted Mansion, which had a posted wait of 45 minutes, but I only waited about 30. Do not let the HM line fool you...it looks really long as the queue takes you through the boat dock, but it is constantly moving and never felt long. I then made my way over to Space mountain which I believe had a 40 minute posted wait and I was off in about 25 minutes (which was only due to getting caught in a cleaning cycle.) After this I decided to try and grab some food via mobile order before the lunch crowds came, which was a really good idea because it got very busy at Pecos Bill's after 12:30.

The afternoon definitely saw a higher amount of crowds, but again, it was still very manageable compared to previous visits. I hit Small world, Barnstormer, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion (again), Buzz, Tiki Room and Carousel of Progress by 6pm. Since I was only visiting for the one day, I skipped a few of the smaller kiddie rides but those mostly had no waits, so if you have kids, those could have been done as well. 7DMT had been up and down all day due to rain, so at 6 I decided to hop in line with a 60 minute wait. After about 15 minutes I jumped out of the line because I decided for a 30 second ride, that wait wasn't worth it and I'd rather spend my time shopping. So I spend the last hour in the emporium. Again, they control the amount of people let in here via line, so the crowd levels inside were very manageable, dare I even say enjoyable. I also saw all of the cavalcades as I was just walking around the park and I really enjoyed these. Some people would stop and watch but nothing like the old days of parades which I greatly appreciated. Overall, I had a wonderful time, and was happy to hit everything I wanted to.

A few take aways:
I felt very safe the entire day. With the exception of people eating/drinking and a few younger kids, I'd say 95% of people were wearing their masks correctly. Also because it rained on and off most of the day, I didn't hate wearing the mask as much as I was expecting to. In the hot sun however, it would have been tough.

Wait times in lines are definitely inflated. In my experience the posted waits were roughly about 15 minutes longer than actual wait time.

My food goals were to eat some of the halloween exclusives. I tried the Hades nachos and the Constance wedding cake. Skip the nachos...they weren't bad, but there are far better choices (and they weren't spicy at all!). The wedding cake was delicious! Cake was moist, and the flavors were on point. The white gelee coating was a bit odd texturally, but overall I really loved this!

Everyone followed social distancing pretty well. I did have one issue in the Buzz line where some younger kids kept bumping into me and trying to pass me which was a bit annoying. I don't blame the children, but the parents should have been more diligent in teaching their kids to wait (just my opinion...they had 9 kids so I imagine that would be tough lol). Otherwise, everything was handled very well. There are sanitizer stations everywhere and I saw a lot of people using them.

I really couldn't believe how many families there were. Although I had a great time as a single adult, I could never imagine bringing my two younger toddlers during this time. So my advice is to weigh the risk vs. reward. Remember that things are different and the experience will be what you make of it. My opinion is that with the lines, masks and certain things closed, I would NOT bring my family now especially with how expensive a ticket is, but that is something that has to be decided by each individual family. If you do go, make a plan, try to stick to it, and you will be fine!

 

[Befferk]

My plan revolved around hitting the rides that were most important to me. So I decided to head over to Splash Mountain first. As others have mentioned, it is up to the CMs to decide whether to operate the rides before official park opening. I happened to make a good decision going towards Frontierland because although Splash was not open yet, Big thunder was. So I hopped on that, and was off in about 10 minutes. This turned out to be a good strategy because for some reason, 7DMT was not running this morning which is where most people end up at opening. Then I waited maybe 10 more minutes and splash opened a few minutes before 9. So I hopped on that and was again off in about 10 minutes. Then I headed over to pirates which had no wait, so I was on and off that quickly as well. After that I decided since I was in Adventureland to just hit up Jungle Cruise. This was my first wait of the day, but it still wasn't too bad. I believe the posted wait was around 35 minutes and I waited 25. So just to give you an idea, by 10:30 I had already completed 4 of the bigger rides.

At this point the waits started getting a little longer, but again, nothing too crazy. My plans then brought me over to Haunted Mansion, which had a posted wait of 45 minutes, but I only waited about 30. Do not let the HM line fool you...it looks really long as the queue takes you through the boat dock, but it is constantly moving and never felt long. I then made my way over to Space mountain which I believe had a 40 minute posted wait and I was off in about 25 minutes (which was only due to getting caught in a cleaning cycle.) After this I decided to try and grab some food via mobile order before the lunch crowds came, which was a really good idea because it got very busy at Pecos Bill's after 12:30.

The afternoon definitely saw a higher amount of crowds, but again, it was still very manageable compared to previous visits. I hit Small world, Barnstormer, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion (again), Buzz, Tiki Room and Carousel of Progress by 6pm. Since I was only visiting for the one day, I skipped a few of the smaller kiddie rides but those mostly had no waits, so if you have kids, those could have been done as well. 7DMT had been up and down all day due to rain, so at 6 I decided to hop in line with a 60 minute wait. After about 15 minutes I jumped out of the line because I decided for a 30 second ride, that wait wasn't worth it and I'd rather spend my time shopping. So I spend the last hour in the emporium. Again, they control the amount of people let in here via line, so the crowd levels inside were very manageable, dare I even say enjoyable. I also saw all of the cavalcades as I was just walking around the park and I really enjoyed these. Some people would stop and watch but nothing like the old days of parades which I greatly appreciated. Overall, I had a wonderful time, and was happy to hit everything I wanted to.

Thanks for posting your strategy. It actually sounds exactly what I'm envisioning doing for our trip. Glad to hear it worked out well!

 

[SuJo]

We were at MK today and while we had a blast the crowds seemed almost like a normal day to us. Our son estimated that they were 2 to 3 times as large as when he was there the first week of August. The first hour or so was fantastic. We walked on Pirates and Splash, waited about 25 minutes for Big Thunder, but from then on it was lines, lines and more lines. I will say that I was pretty impressed with the how the crowds were managed though. With the exception of one completely clueless family behind us in the Big Thunder queue most people seemed to be at least trying to do a good job of distancing. Mask compliance was very high. We never felt unsafe, but by around 4:00 or so we decided the lines were just too long for the things we still wanted to do and we headed back to the hotel. That was fine, as we were tired anyway and it was nice to relax a bit before heading out to a wonderful dinner at the Wave. We'll be back to MK in a few days to hopefully finish up the things we missed today.

Lines over the weekend at AK and EP were pretty long as well - especially EP (though not as bad as MK was today). I'm not saying this to discourage anyone from coming. We are having a great time. But just be aware that the days of wandering around an empty park all day and walking on rides seem to be ending. Rope drop is a must, as is tempering your expectations. I recommend monitoring ride times prior to coming so you will know which rides to hit first thing after rope drop.

Two other items of note for anyone heading to the MK:

1. They are sold out of Madame Leota sippers. The CM told us they'd been on reorder for two weeks, but haven't come in yet.
2. The spring roll cart was not open as of around 11:00 or so. I don't know if it ever opened, but it wasn't open at that time. We'd heard it was open over the weekend and were excited to grab some, but missed out today. We plan on trying again next Saturday.

Heading to DHS tomorrow. Fingers crossed we get a Rise boarding group!!

No Madame Leota sippers NNNNNNNOOOOOOO!!!!!

 

[rj9555]

Today was a great day at Epcot. The park was open from 11-7. We left our room for the skyliner just before 9am. We got in line all the way back by building 2 in the 50s section at 9am. We were on the skyliner by 9:30. At Caribbean beach we were added to the end of the line. All guests for Epcot and HS got in the same line and it didn't matter that POP guests already waited to get on the skyliner. At 9:40 we reached the end of the line for the skyliner. I had heard reports that there were buses to take people to HSat Caribbean beach because of how long the line was but this was not the case today. At 10:06 reached the point where the HS and epcot line seperated and we were told the Epcot line would start flying at 10:30. At 10:26 they started loading it up.

That seems completely unfair to make people go to the back of the line at CBR who had already waited in line once at Pop. They need to figure out a solution to that.

 

[scrappinginontario]

That seems completely unfair to make people go to the back of the line at CBR who had already waited in line once at Pop. They need to figure out a solution to that.

While I agree it would be much better to have the lines merge at CBR, if there isn't room to do that (honestly don't know as we haven't visited since the Skyliner opened) it's good to know that the Skyliner line moves quite quickly. Is it right to have to go back to the end of a second line? I would say, 'No', but hopefully it's not a long delay at CBR due to the speed of loading the Skyliner.

Knowing I will likely need to go to the end of the line at CBR will play into the time that I choose to line up at Pop to ensure I hopefully get to my destination on time.

 

[laukiph]

My family and I are going 10/16-10/19, and are very safety conscientious. Those who have been recently, how have the health precautions seemed to you? Are people wearing their masks for the most part, and are they social distancing? Did you feel safe? Any feedback is appreciated.

 

[snappy]

Knowing I will likely need to go to the end of the line at CBR will play into not choosing to stay at Pop.

 

[yulilin3]

My family and I are going 10/16-10/19, and are very safety conscientious. Those who have been recently, how have the health precautions seemed to you? Are people wearing their masks for the most part, and are they social distancing? Did you feel safe? Any feedback is appreciated.

definitely read back the last 5 pages for the most recent reports. I calculate the mask wearing is at about 90 to 95% all the time, meaning people wearing them correctly. I don't count people who have moved to the side to grab a drink or those in queues that are not moving and pull down their masks for a quick drink of water
Social distancing while walking around is easily achieved, other than some bottle necks (Fantasyland, SWGE, TSLand) where you will have to walk close to someone for maybe 3 minutes while you walk through
In queues social distancing is easily achieved by reminding your fellow line people to stay in their markers if they are not paying attention
Can't speak of buses or resorts as I am a local

 

[JulieBeeRN]

We are here right now and have been to MK and HS so far. The wait times (excluding ROTR and Smugglers) were less than the app, but I feel like the times have always been more guidelines than anything else.

And yes, I did just channel Captain Barbosa....

 

[emsstacey]

We're headed to Disney on 10/21 with some friends. We decided to brave COVID and go since the parks had such low wait times... but that's not really the case anymore... Wait times seem to be about where they were before COVID and now there's no fast pass at all. Has anyone been recently and been successful with a strategy? We're in our mid 20's so we mostly are going for the rides and hope to get everything done in each park. We've been multiple times and have a great strategy to get everything done with fast pass, but have no idea how to tackle the wait times without it.

I’m leaving today. We have had a great trip despite the crowds. We were at the bus stop at 6:45 on our animal kingdom morning. On flight of passage by 7:15. The first hour was amazing- almost empty park. We had breakfast at the boardwalk early on our DHS morning, walked to park and were first on MMRR- we got several big rides out of the way in the first hour. It made a huge difference. We napped every day from 12:30-2:00 ish to make up for the early starts.