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

[brockash]

My question is for the ones that has returned. I keep reading where people feel that "the parks feel very crowded". I just wanted to know if anyone is letting Disney know how your trip felt when you visited? If it felt crowded now, I can image how it will feel come the Christmas holidays.

If they send me a survey; I'll definitely complete it honestly; however I highly doubt Ill go seeking them out to give them my thoughts, but that's just my personality.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

How are the uber/lyft drivers when it comes to mask wearing? I heard some reports it wasn’t great but seems like a lot of folks here used them so thought you could share your thoughts. I keep going back and forth on whether I’m going to use rideshare in the mornings. Are the busses really that bad? Reading all this makes me a bit nervous!

 

[dachsie]

I made an AD r at Trattoria al Forno for breakfast on my DHS day. ifi drove mt car to Boardwalk, could I keep it there for a while?

 

[Turk February]

How are the uber/lyft drivers when it comes to mask wearing? I heard some reports it wasn’t great but seems like a lot of folks here used them so thought you could share your thoughts. I keep going back and forth on whether I’m going to use rideshare in the mornings. Are the busses really that bad? Reading all this makes me a bit nervous!

We used Uber/Lyft many times last week and driver mask compliance was 100%.

 

[lovethattink]

I made an AD r at Trattoria al Forno for breakfast on my DHS day. ifi drove mt car to Boardwalk, could I keep it there for a while?

I think they are still using the 2 hour rule for parking at resorts for dining.

 

[OB1]

Thanks for sharing. Great report, and will be helpful on our upcoming trip

 

[scrappinginontario]

I made an AD r at Trattoria al Forno for breakfast on my DHS day. ifi drove mt car to Boardwalk, could I keep it there for a while?

2 hours is my understanding.

 

[FinallyFL]

Here is another post re-iterating the suggestion to arrive at HS an hour early. I left the BWV Clown Pool area at 8:50am and arrived at HS just as they were opening the temperature check tents. The line was back to the furturest row of buses but moved quickly. I was thru the turnstiles and inside the queue for SDD by around 9:10. SDD started loading shotly after 9:15 and I was off the ride at 9:30. By the time I was off SDD, I couldn't see the end of its line but it appeared to be past the entrance to TSL. I moved to TSM which was a walk-on and I was off the ride at 9:45. I re-entered TSM and was off again at 10am. I left TSL and both the TSM and SDD lines were all the way out to the Little Mermaid entrance. At 10am the only ride I saw on MDE with an expected wait time under 30 miuntes was the Muppets. At 10:15 there was no longer a line to enter the temperature check or security areas.

 

[disneyseniors]

I haven't been to WDW during this pandemic yet, but we were lucky to go right before it struck. We were there from 2/27 to 3/4.
But I am not reporting on our trip. I just spoke to a good friend and fellow disney lover, and she and her family just got back from WDW about a week ago. She stated it was alot of fun, but the masks were not. She stated that the lines were 20 minutes on average and moved quickly. No problems with mask compliance. They got to ride all that they wanted to except for ROTR at HS, but they are not Star Wars people so it didn't bother them. They thought the area was amazing though. They raved over MMRR; said it was the cutest ride, and alot of fun to boot They are DVC and stayed a split stay at Poly and GF. They absolutely loved the character cavalcades, as seems to be the consensus on here.
They only ordered QS and never had problems with that either. She said they would definitely go back with disney like this. She also said the crowds were low, but that is a subjective statement, as someone else might complain about how busy it was?? But, to them, crowds were very manageable and low. They usually visited during high crowds times before the pandemic, so maybe that's why.
All in all, they had an absolutely wonderful time and would return. Oh, they really liked Not having FP, as the lines always moved quickly without a major wait. She did say FOP was about an hour, but they didn't mind waiting to ride it.
Just thought a positive report on everything but the masks would be nice to hear!
We are still not convinced to go at this time. We enjoy the rides, but love the shows, and other attractions, love to eat when and where we want. If we just wanted to do alot of rides, then we would go now. We also don't tolerate the heat very well and come from a very cold climate.

 

[mirandag819]

Went to Animal Kingdom today...if I knew this morning Everest would be down all day I wouldn’t have wasted our last park ticket there...really missing park hopping right now!

 

[Albertan mom]

So in a nutshell, what is different about a 'Covid'-Disney vacation now? I have read through many things but I want the quick version.

-Must wear masks at all time except when eating (and must be stationary)
-Temperature checks at park entrances? If its high, you are denied entrance?
-No hopping, one park a day that you must prebook?
-Longer lines because of spacing
-One party per gondola because of spacing
-No fastpasses
-Limited restaurant availability and shorter hours, and must prebook at TS?
-No fireworks or castle shows
-No parades or shows like Nemo, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King etc
-Limited amount of tours available
-Still looks like long wait times at rides
-Limited housekeeping
-Pools are still open?

Please correct me if I am wrong about any of the above or let me know if I missed any.
Just deciding if it is worth coming from Canada, paying the huge exchange rate and then having to quarantine for 2 weeks when we get back to Canada!
Thanks!

 

[EMHDad]

I know this sounds crazy, but if a person who is experienced in the current realities of Disney wants to help me plan my trip I would very much appreciate it. If not, no worries. A little background.

We have not been to Disney since 1/14. (7 years!) Since then A LOT changed. Planned a trip for 6/20. Took a look while, but learned the ins and outs to plan the best trip possible. Cancelled. Now, we are going in January 2021. I have a touringplans subscription, but they do not seem to have any touringplans without FP. I also do not completely trust their predictions (because of all the unpredictability. This is my dd6 first time at Disney and it will probably be our last Disney trip for many years. I am trying to be as prepared as possible to enable the best experience possible (while being firmly flexible). Anyone interested in helping my map my days out? I understand there is a higher possiblity of change and flux these days, but also trying to begin to prepare.

There are 5 of us. myself, dw, ds14, ds11, dd6.
We arrive in Orlando on 1/9 and get a local hotel close to Disney.
1/10 - MK , Check into the Cabins.
1/11 - AK
1/12 - HS or EP (HS is reserved. Might switch the parks)
1/13 - Day off Parks
1/14 - EP or HS (EP is currently Reserved)
1/15 - MK
1/16 - Leave the Cabins.

 

[icc2515]

lines, you forgot to standing in lines. This looks and feels like New Years or Christmas crowds. Its crazy here. We arrived at the Magic Kingdom 9:30 in the morning and it's now 3:30 and we've only gone three rides Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain plus an hour waiting for our lunch after the mobile order. Disney Springs close to capacity last night. Forget about rope drop the parks open so late that everybody's up and raring to go.

 

[philharmagic fan]

Respectfully, it may not be as bad as icc2515 suggests (disclaimer - we went on to MK on a Friday and cast members told us that Saturdays are much more crowded). We entered at about 8:45 and walked on Pirates, waited 12 minutes for Big Thunder Mountain, and 20-30 minutes for most of the Fantasyland rides (Mine Train posted 40 and we skipped it). Waited 3 minutes for ice cream at Storybook Treats at 11:10am. We had a late lunch reservation at Tony's and were seated 5 minutes after our reservation time. Left the park after lunch (around 2:15) so can't comment on late afternoon.

 

[icc2515]

I can tell you I am here now. It feels a lot like New Years with the lines and crowds. 1 hour to mobile or lunch at MK. Got here at 9:30, its now 3:30 and have ridden 7 Dwarfs. splash, and BTM. So I would add insane lines. Disney Springs closed to capacity last nite. Oh and its hot with most of the lines in direct sun. We usually go in the summer and leave by 2 to go to the water park and have finished almost everything we want to do by then.

 

[snappy]

Some modes of transportation aren’t available or operating hours are reduced. Friendship boats are not running. I think that not all of the monorail routes are operating. Lack of park hopping eliminates going to one park and then finishing off the day with a meal at Epcot. I also imagine that ride capacity has been reduced.

 

[rwdavis2]

With lower capacity the are not running rides at full capacity, for example, run one track at space mtn and not two.

 

[Rockbro]

I would suggest that it is not worth coming if you are paying a huge exchange rate and having to quarantine. You will not be getting the full experience. Possibly wait until next year.

 

[revdon64]

Some modes of transportation aren’t available or operating hours are reduced. Friendship boats are not running. I think that not all of the monorail routes are operating. Lack of park hopping eliminates going to one park and then finishing off the day with a meal at Epcot. I also imagine that ride capacity has been reduced.

Yes, the EPCOT monorail is not running.

 

[Turk February]

Respectfully, it may not be as bad as icc2515 suggests (disclaimer - we went on to MK on a Friday and cast members told us that Saturdays are much more crowded). We entered at about 8:45 and walked on Pirates, waited 12 minutes for Big Thunder Mountain, and 20-30 minutes for most of the Fantasyland rides (Mine Train posted 40 and we skipped it). Waited 3 minutes for ice cream at Storybook Treats at 11:10am. We had a late lunch reservation at Tony's and were seated 5 minutes after our reservation time. Left the park after lunch (around 2:15) so can't comment on late afternoon.

Respectfully, I agree with you. I was there a week ago and it does not look or feel like Christmas crowds, which I have experienced. If you only did 3 rides in 6 hours, you're doing something wrong. We did 6 rides from 9:30-3:30 on what TP said was the busiest MK day since reopening (Sat 10/10) and that included a lunch break from 12:30-3.

I guess if each ride was an actual 90 minute wait then it's possible, but you should save those for the last few hours of the park instead of mid-day. Sorry to hear icc is having such a bad day there.