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

[dancergirlsmom]

Gift card yes, MB no.

Can't you use your magic band to charge back to your resort then pay off the bill at the resort with gift cards?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Can't you use your magic band to charge back to your resort then pay off the bill at the resort with gift cards?

PP was asking about Mobile Ordering via the app - for that you can’t pay with a MagicBand.

But yes, for things you can charge to a MB I believe you can still use a gift card for payment with the resort. Check with the folks on the Resorts board though, these days Disney charges your card on file after every $100 or so dollars spent - I’m not entirely sure how that works with those that pay via gift cards (although I see it mentioned frequently so I’m assuming it’s still possible). Someone please chime in if I’m off on this info.

 

[donp]

PP was asking about Mobile Ordering via the app - for that you can’t pay with a MagicBand.

But yes, for things you can charge to a MB I believe you can still use a gift card for payment with the resort. Check with the folks on the Resorts board though, these days Disney charges your card on file after every $100 or so dollars spent - I’m not entirely sure how that works with those that pay via gift cards (although I see it mentioned frequently so I’m assuming it’s still possible). Someone please chime in if I’m off on this info.

Yes. I was really wondering if and how to use my gift card for mobile ordering food I didn’t think it was an option in the past, but will try to load one up when I am there.

 

[pepperandchips]

PP was asking about Mobile Ordering via the app - for that you can’t pay with a MagicBand.

But yes, for things you can charge to a MB I believe you can still use a gift card for payment with the resort. Check with the folks on the Resorts board though, these days Disney charges your card on file after every $100 or so dollars spent - I’m not entirely sure how that works with those that pay via gift cards (although I see it mentioned frequently so I’m assuming it’s still possible). Someone please chime in if I’m off on this info.

Yes. I was really wondering if and how to use my gift card for mobile ordering food I didn’t think it was an option in the past, but will try to load one up when I am there.

Yes, you can still pay off room charges with a gift card. In my experience front desk CMs had nifty new card readers so they never needed to touch my GC. I swiped it myself. I paid off my room balance each morning following any day we charged things on MBs but based on the “holds” on my credit card I just barely beat the charge to my CC.

The MDE app was updated to allow for mobile order payments with GC. Make sure your app is updated or let the CMs at QS know your phone doesn’t support the app or you have a discount or whatever the circumstances are.

 

[pangyal]

We arrived yesterday and are starting out at the Polynesian. We started with MK today with the intention of doing a few hours in the morning, then coming back for a work/AC break, then returning to the park around 5pm. This proved a good strategy other than seeing the headliners at around 35-45 minutes until about 5pm (with the exception of SM, as posted above it was a walk-on all day- my kid said that he intended to “spam-ride Space Mountain all day and got his wish, much to the future chagrin of my chiropractor).

Between 5 and 7, the wait times got pretty low, so we did a bunch of rides in the morning but left SDMT and PP for the return trip. Both were walk-ons around 6pm. We saved Splash, Jungle Cruise and Big Thunder for another day, but were the only cars on Speedway around 6:45pm, which was really cool.

Mask compliance and attention to distancing were very good at MK and on the monorail. I have seen more “transgressions” at the resort, however, including one charming gentleman who pushed his way maskless out of the door by Pineapple Lanai while coughing and walking towards the table directly beside us. I am sort of hoping for a survey so that I can provide feedback on the mask compliance difference levels I’ve seen between the parks and resorts.

Overall, today being our first day, I am reserving judgement but I do feel overall safe here and that the vast majority of people want to do the right thing. The CMs are as fantastic as always and the magic is definitely here, despite everything.

 

[mrg013]

I just returned home today from a 2-night trip adults-only trip, and very much agree with what a lot of others have said, so apologies in advance to the extent that anything I'm about to say is redundant:

Our group was just myself, my wife, my brother-in-law and his girlfriend (all late 20s/early 30s with no kids) on a rescheduled/shortened trip that was supposed to occur in May with a much larger family group of all ages. We were the only ones left in the group who were willing to go despite all of the restrictions, and we honestly had a very laid-back, 'we'll just see what happens' kind of attitude. We've been to WDW many times and were only going to be there for two nights and one park day, so we were totally open to just getting away and seeing how things would be.

Overall, I was incredibly impressed with the cleanliness, sanitization procedures, use of signage and social distancing markers, and great attitude of the CMs throughout the property. If Disney wasn't doing a great job, we would admit it, but we were honestly pretty shocked at how truly comfortable and safe we felt throughout our stay. Many people told us we were crazy to go to Florida right now, and we debated it ourselves before the trip, but we banked on the fact we could trust Disney to create a safe environment, and we really felt comfortable when we were on property. We don't regret going at all, and think this trip was so unique that it will leave us with some great lasting memories.

We stayed at CCV in a two-bedroom villa, and it was awesome. We love WL in general, and on this trip in particular it just felt so calm and clean in all public spaces, and our villa was spotless too. We spent several hours at the pool in the afternoon on our arrival day, and it was very enjoyable to be there. When we arrived at the pool, it finally felt like we were on a "normal" vacation after dealing with flying down to WDW that morning, and we loved it.

Our group split up between HS and Epcot for one park day, and we both had great experiences with minimal wait times. Epcot sounded much emptier than HS, and HS definitely felt "energetic" (which is one step below "busy" in my mind). HS didn't have the ghost town feel that I've seen in most pictures from the other three parks, but I also felt comfortable there anyway. Even though there are certain areas that are chokepoints in the park, such as in SWGE and in TSL, the fact that these are all outdoor areas where you're actively walking past anyone you're coming near (while all wearing masks) made me feel ok with it. I was never stationary while feeling like people were closer to me than I was comfortable with. Constant cleaning was also very evident in the park. At Oga's, for example, we literally watched two separate people thoroughly wipe down the bar itself and the taps for the drinks within less than 5 minutes of each other, when literally no one had touched any of it in the interim. Wait times in the park were a bit all over the place, although they were all short. At one point in the afternoon, we walked right onto ToT, with the wait time immediately jumping up to 65 minutes as soon as we exited. It just seemed hard to believe it could have jumped so much so quickly. Rides also don't seem to be as reliable as you'd expect (between tech/maintenance with the rides themselves and with covid cleanings periodically), so we missed a couple of things we wanted to do because we didn't hit them at quite the right times. However, in return, we got to have a day free of the stress of FP+ time windows dictating everything.

Restaurants were all operating pretty well for the most part. In the area where we live, indoor dining has not yet been permitted at all, so it was a novelty to be able to eat inside a restaurant, and it felt totally safe, with plenty of distance between tables, and most servers wearing both a face mask and a face shield. It was clear to us that they're still figuring things out with TS restaurant staffing though. For example, when we went to lunch at Whispering Canyon, our server was great, and the restaurant was pretty empty, but they had so few staff that it was obvious they just couldn't keep up with things like clearing and cleaning tables after each party. Even though we were there well into lunch hours, they were still trying to find time to clear and clean tables from breakfast. It didn't affect our experience, but was interesting to observe. During dinner at Topolino's, all of our drink orders, even for just a basic glass of wine, took forever to come. Our server profusely apologized and explained that the delay was because the bar was understaffed. We also had dinner at California Grill, and although service was great, it was obvious our server just had too many tables and was being run ragged (despite doing a great job at it). Most bizarre of all was when my brother-in-law and his girlfriend had dinner at Kona Cafe, their server was from Beaches & Cream, still wearing her Beaches & Cream uniform, but had been pulled to Kona truly last minute to help in a staffing crunch. I've never experienced something like that at WDW at any other time. None of these experiences were a problem, since the service was still impeccable everywhere, and we had really great meals. It was just a common refrain that staffing at TS restaurants seems to still need to get into its groove, and if anything, it seems clear that if TS restaurant CMs are still furloughed, more should be called back to work.

We ordered QS one time at Roaring Fork using mobile order, and I think this system needs to improve. We placed a really simple order at an off time, and it was surprising how long it took for the food to be ready. I also don't quite understand why it is that when placing an order to be ready "now", you then have to actively also go into the app and confirm when you've arrived to pick up the food, with no effort being made to make the food until you do that. This meant that there was zero chance the food would be ready when I arrived at Roaring Fork, when all I was hoping for was to arrive and find my order conveniently packaged and ready to go. At least at resort QS (we haven't done mobile ordering in the parks to compare) it just feels like the system is set up in a way that leads to a lot of unnecessary waiting on the guest's part, rather than simply walking up and finding my food ready and waiting like it would be after placing an order at most fast casual restaurants outside of WDW.

DS was the only place that felt crowded and a little crazy when we went on Saturday night. I thought DS had strict capacity limits, but I assume those have been raised, because it felt quite packed walking around outside there (definitely more so than HS). Although mask compliance was still pretty good at DS, it was definitely worse there than at the resort or park, with a lot more uncovered noses than I had seen anywhere else on property. People not following the mask rules really bothers us, as it is reckless and indifferent towards others. There was no major mask issue at WDW, but just prepared that at some point, you will see one or more guests not wearing their masks properly. In the rare instances in which we saw this, we made sure to remove ourselves from the setting ASAP.

The place that absolutely felt the worst of the entire trip was MCO. There were so many people there who made absolutely no effort at physical distancing, and wearing a mask properly was almost more the exception at the airport than the norm. There were so many uncovered noses everywhere, and no one there to enforce the rules. We even saw pilots walking around the terminal with no mask at all, which was frustrating, since they should be a role model for others in this situation.When we bought something in one of the shops, even though there were social distancing markers on the floor, people still bunched up in line (many not wearing a mask properly). We didn't feel particularly comfortable at MCO, and just tried to seek out an emptier gate area with private space while waiting for our flight to board. It didn't help that our AA flight was completely full. I'm not sure if it's an MCO problem, a Florida problem, or something else, but we did find mask compliance (while still not good enough) to be much better at PHL, the airport we were traveling to/from, than it was at MCO, where things felt like a free-for-all. With such great processes in place at Disney, it was disappointing to see that it's a different story at the airport.

 

[HollyMD]

We are back this week after being here last weekend. Last weekend I posted here that masks were being enforced 99% of time and crowds were non existent. I have to say that a week has made a huge difference. Mask enforcement seems to be way down. Lots of noses. And, DHS today was pretty packed. We’re still having a great time, but can tell a difference.

We have had the opposite experience. We got to Disney last Wed and just left this morning and we saw a lot of mask enforcement , as well as social distancing enforcement. Even at Disney Sprongs, while in line for a store, the lady behind me got a little closer than she should have and a CM politely asked her if she was not with me, to please move behind the line. Most(but not all) people we saw were abiding by the mask rule, but we definitely saw CM’s reminding people that it must fully cover mouth, nose, and chin.

 

[Epcot242]

First -- thanks for your report, it was really very helpful and encouraging to hear about your experience. My wife and I are mostly in the same boat as you and your group, it seems, in terms mindset about the trip and COVID precautions.

We also had dinner at California Grill, and although service was great, it was obvious our server just had too many tables and was being run ragged (despite doing a great job at it).

Awesome to hear you ate at the CG. Dining is one of the main reasons we go to Disney and I'm glad that at least the CA Grill will be open when we're there (bummed the Flying Fish is still closed, though!). Our state also hasn't opened indoor dining yet and I actually had my first restaurant experience (outdoors) a few days ago. How was the experience for you in terms of not wearing a mask throughout the meal? Since the CA Grill is so big I can imagine people are spaced out but I guess I'm just looking for reassurance that you felt OK dining there overall. I think we're going to potentially wear masks while not actually eating, only removing briefly to take drinks.

Thanks again!

 

[mrg013]

First -- thanks for your report, it was really very helpful and encouraging to hear about your experience. My wife and I are mostly in the same boat as you and your group, it seems, in terms mindset about the trip and COVID precautions.



Awesome to hear you ate at the CG. Dining is one of the main reasons we go to Disney and I'm glad that at least the CA Grill will be open when we're there (bummed the Flying Fish is still closed, though!). Our state also hasn't opened indoor dining yet and I actually had my first restaurant experience (outdoors) a few days ago. How was the experience for you in terms of not wearing a mask throughout the meal? Since the CA Grill is so big I can imagine people are spaced out but I guess I'm just looking for reassurance that you felt OK dining there overall. I think we're going to potentially wear masks while not actually eating, only removing briefly to take drinks.

Thanks again!

We were super excited to find out that CG would be open during our trip, and we also really hope that more of the signature restaurants open up soon! My impression is that once each resort opens fully (rather than just the DVC portions), they're opening more restaurants, which seems to explain why CG opened at the same time that Contemporary joined BLT in welcoming guests back.

We were fine with not wearing masks during the meal - granted, that was our third TS meal of the trip, so we were a bit more used to it by the time we got to CG. However, even during our first TS indoor meal, it felt fine (although a little weird at first). Like you said, the interior space of CG is great for distancing between parties. It's so large and open/airy, so there were definitely 6 feet, if not more, between us and each table around us. We felt very good about that. Our server was also wearing both a mask and face shield, so it felt like even with masks off, he was very well protected from us and vice versa.

Almost everyone there did the same as us, and took masks off at all times when seated at the table, while putting them back on to leave the table to use the bathroom or visit the roof deck. However, we did see one or two groups that did what you're thinking of, and kept masks on except when eating or drinking. I think it's totally fine to do whatever works best for you, and you can have a wonderful meal either way. The food and drinks were great, and the atmosphere was just as lovely as we've recalled in the past, even without a fireworks view this time.

They were also strict about letting anyone up to the restaurant who didn't have a dinner reservation, such as for going to the bar. The bar seating was open (but only sat 2 or 3 distanced parties at a time), while the lounge seating near the bar was all closed. A couple that was ahead of us in line to check in was hoping to go to the bar or lounge, and was told that they would be texted if a bar spot opened, but not to count on it because capacity was being kept so limited.

 

[RangerPooh]

I heard that Disney was adding 18% gratuity to all parties, has that been your experience?

We're a family of 6 so it always gets added. We've been using TIW this entire trip, the 18% is automatically applied when using the card. Our friends are a party of 4 and haven't noticed it when it's the just the 4 of them at a TS.


I will agree with PP who commented that mobile ordering needs to improve. We've been at BLT and WL for the last two weeks, and have used it both at the resorts and the parks. Waits can be long. The parks are often a reasonable wait, but peak hours can get long. It's the wait for resort food that is unreasonable. One night we waited 20 minutes for ice cream bars. Another night we waited 45 minutes for 3 flat bread pizzas. One morning we waited 30 minutes for two bowls of oatmeal and two kid mickey waffle platters. At the 30 minute mark we approached the counter and were informed that the oatmeal they received was the long cook variety so it would not be ready for quite a while. The kids food was cold by the time they gave it to us and canceled our oatmeal. Overall lines waiting for food and drinks have been long. The night we waited for ice cream a manager came by and offered us (and about 4 other tables) bottles of water as a consolation for our long wait. Which was nice. With some hotels at high capacity you'd think the kitchen staff would be at higher capacity for peak meal times.

 

[LovingPooh]

Can't you use your magic band to charge back to your resort then pay off the bill at the resort with gift cards?

Yes you can. That is what we did

 

[Epcot242]

We were super excited to find out that CG would be open during our trip, and we also really hope that more of the signature restaurants open up soon! My impression is that once each resort opens fully (rather than just the DVC portions), they're opening more restaurants, which seems to explain why CG opened at the same time that Contemporary joined BLT in welcoming guests back.

We were fine with not wearing masks during the meal - granted, that was our third TS meal of the trip, so we were a bit more used to it by the time we got to CG. However, even during our first TS indoor meal, it felt fine (although a little weird at first). Like you said, the interior space of CG is great for distancing between parties. It's so large and open/airy, so there were definitely 6 feet, if not more, between us and each table around us. We felt very good about that. Our server was also wearing both a mask and face shield, so it felt like even with masks off, he was very well protected from us and vice versa.

Almost everyone there did the same as us, and took masks off at all times when seated at the table, while putting them back on to leave the table to use the bathroom or visit the roof deck. However, we did see one or two groups that did what you're thinking of, and kept masks on except when eating or drinking. I think it's totally fine to do whatever works best for you, and you can have a wonderful meal either way. The food and drinks were great, and the atmosphere was just as lovely as we've recalled in the past, even without a fireworks view this time.

They were also strict about letting anyone up to the restaurant who didn't have a dinner reservation, such as for going to the bar. The bar seating was open (but only sat 2 or 3 distanced parties at a time), while the lounge seating near the bar was all closed. A couple that was ahead of us in line to check in was hoping to go to the bar or lounge, and was told that they would be texted if a bar spot opened, but not to count on it because capacity was being kept so limited.

That's a good point. Hopefully over time it'll open up more.

I appreciate the insight--that's encouraging to hear. It's obviously still a risk but it sounds like everything that can be done is being done so that's great. Thank you!

 

[disneyseniors]

We were at UO Thurs-Sun staying onsite. Went to Volcano Bay and then the other 2 parks. I can’t comment too much on the regular parks, because my diverticulitis kicked in Wednesday night, and I stayed in the room Friday, Saturday, and part of Sunday. Ate some indoors and some outdoors.

We went to MK today. Staying at BWV and drove to the TTC. Did DS last night. Ate indoors at Plaza and outdoors at Homecoming.

I generally agree with what others have said. People are mostly following the rules. Employees are sometimes saying something. WDW spacing feels tighter than UO. Groups feel bigger at WDW, so they are taking up more walkways and more space in queues. I just don’t move until I can see that the people in front of me have a spot to go to. Make sure your group stays close together instead of spreading out like a bunch of rude, privileged Americans. I did see people taking masks off in dark rides. I saw a decent number of exposed noses. There is also the usual meandering idiots, who can’t figure out what they are doing or where they are going. Some things never change.

As for eating/drinking in line, I saw some but not a ton. I know that I would drink in line, because it’s difficult to pull down my mask (head straps) to drink while moving w/o spilling. However, I only pull mine down, really kind of out, while pouring water into my mouth; I pull it back up to swallow. Or I take 2-3 very quick drinks and then back on with the mask. We also keep ours on at restaurants if we are not actively eating or drinking.

We got to Plaza when it opened, so it wasn’t very crowded. Tables were spaced decently. So even when full, it wasn’t too close. We sat outside at Homecoming. I would have preferred a little more separation there, but people were not on top of us.

I like how UO puts the sanitizer on your hand right before you get in the attraction vehicle or in the seat. There is no one ensuring that people use the sanitizer before getting on. The only attraction that we saw being sanitized was BTMR. They could have been doing others though. BTMR and 7DMT had plastic up in the inside queues.

Saw weird spikes in wait times. I don’t know if it was due to cleaning or not. Wait times were generally low to non-existent. 7DMT and Splash were down in the morning. Those had the longest waits once back up, 30-40 min. Some of the wait times were inflated. We would get off a ride, and then see it backed up a bit. Walked onto Peter Pan. It was sometimes difficult to hear the cast members over the PPE and background music/sound.

Thanks for this report, for the most part.
I am getting tired of some people always dissing Americans, and the comment "like rude privileged Americans" That was an uncalled for comment,IMO. When people do this, it just shows how uninformed and uncouth their part of the world view is. They come across as quite rude and make where they come from look bad.

 

[brockash]

I just returned home today from a 2-night trip adults-only trip, and very much agree with what a lot of others have said, so apologies in advance to the extent that anything I'm about to say is redundant:

Our group was just myself, my wife, my brother-in-law and his girlfriend (all late 20s/early 30s with no kids) on a rescheduled/shortened trip that was supposed to occur in May with a much larger family group of all ages. We were the only ones left in the group who were willing to go despite all of the restrictions, and we honestly had a very laid-back, 'we'll just see what happens' kind of attitude. We've been to WDW many times and were only going to be there for two nights and one park day, so we were totally open to just getting away and seeing how things would be.

Overall, I was incredibly impressed with the cleanliness, sanitization procedures, use of signage and social distancing markers, and great attitude of the CMs throughout the property. If Disney wasn't doing a great job, we would admit it, but we were honestly pretty shocked at how truly comfortable and safe we felt throughout our stay. Many people told us we were crazy to go to Florida right now, and we debated it ourselves before the trip, but we banked on the fact we could trust Disney to create a safe environment, and we really felt comfortable when we were on property. We don't regret going at all, and think this trip was so unique that it will leave us with some great lasting memories.

We stayed at CCV in a two-bedroom villa, and it was awesome. We love WL in general, and on this trip in particular it just felt so calm and clean in all public spaces, and our villa was spotless too. We spent several hours at the pool in the afternoon on our arrival day, and it was very enjoyable to be there. When we arrived at the pool, it finally felt like we were on a "normal" vacation after dealing with flying down to WDW that morning, and we loved it.

Our group split up between HS and Epcot for one park day, and we both had great experiences with minimal wait times. Epcot sounded much emptier than HS, and HS definitely felt "energetic" (which is one step below "busy" in my mind). HS didn't have the ghost town feel that I've seen in most pictures from the other three parks, but I also felt comfortable there anyway. Even though there are certain areas that are chokepoints in the park, such as in SWGE and in TSL, the fact that these are all outdoor areas where you're actively walking past anyone you're coming near (while all wearing masks) made me feel ok with it. I was never stationary while feeling like people were closer to me than I was comfortable with. Constant cleaning was also very evident in the park. At Oga's, for example, we literally watched two separate people thoroughly wipe down the bar itself and the taps for the drinks within less than 5 minutes of each other, when literally no one had touched any of it in the interim. Wait times in the park were a bit all over the place, although they were all short. At one point in the afternoon, we walked right onto ToT, with the wait time immediately jumping up to 65 minutes as soon as we exited. It just seemed hard to believe it could have jumped so much so quickly. Rides also don't seem to be as reliable as you'd expect (between tech/maintenance with the rides themselves and with covid cleanings periodically), so we missed a couple of things we wanted to do because we didn't hit them at quite the right times. However, in return, we got to have a day free of the stress of FP+ time windows dictating everything.

Restaurants were all operating pretty well for the most part. In the area where we live, indoor dining has not yet been permitted at all, so it was a novelty to be able to eat inside a restaurant, and it felt totally safe, with plenty of distance between tables, and most servers wearing both a face mask and a face shield. It was clear to us that they're still figuring things out with TS restaurant staffing though. For example, when we went to lunch at Whispering Canyon, our server was great, and the restaurant was pretty empty, but they had so few staff that it was obvious they just couldn't keep up with things like clearing and cleaning tables after each party. Even though we were there well into lunch hours, they were still trying to find time to clear and clean tables from breakfast. It didn't affect our experience, but was interesting to observe. During dinner at Topolino's, all of our drink orders, even for just a basic glass of wine, took forever to come. Our server profusely apologized and explained that the delay was because the bar was understaffed. We also had dinner at California Grill, and although service was great, it was obvious our server just had too many tables and was being run ragged (despite doing a great job at it). Most bizarre of all was when my brother-in-law and his girlfriend had dinner at Kona Cafe, their server was from Beaches & Cream, still wearing her Beaches & Cream uniform, but had been pulled to Kona truly last minute to help in a staffing crunch. I've never experienced something like that at WDW at any other time. None of these experiences were a problem, since the service was still impeccable everywhere, and we had really great meals. It was just a common refrain that staffing at TS restaurants seems to still need to get into its groove, and if anything, it seems clear that if TS restaurant CMs are still furloughed, more should be called back to work.

We ordered QS one time at Roaring Fork using mobile order, and I think this system needs to improve. We placed a really simple order at an off time, and it was surprising how long it took for the food to be ready. I also don't quite understand why it is that when placing an order to be ready "now", you then have to actively also go into the app and confirm when you've arrived to pick up the food, with no effort being made to make the food until you do that. This meant that there was zero chance the food would be ready when I arrived at Roaring Fork, when all I was hoping for was to arrive and find my order conveniently packaged and ready to go. At least at resort QS (we haven't done mobile ordering in the parks to compare) it just feels like the system is set up in a way that leads to a lot of unnecessary waiting on the guest's part, rather than simply walking up and finding my food ready and waiting like it would be after placing an order at most fast casual restaurants outside of WDW.

DS was the only place that felt crowded and a little crazy when we went on Saturday night. I thought DS had strict capacity limits, but I assume those have been raised, because it felt quite packed walking around outside there (definitely more so than HS). Although mask compliance was still pretty good at DS, it was definitely worse there than at the resort or park, with a lot more uncovered noses than I had seen anywhere else on property. People not following the mask rules really bothers us, as it is reckless and indifferent towards others. There was no major mask issue at WDW, but just prepared that at some point, you will see one or more guests not wearing their masks properly. In the rare instances in which we saw this, we made sure to remove ourselves from the setting ASAP.

The place that absolutely felt the worst of the entire trip was MCO. There were so many people there who made absolutely no effort at physical distancing, and wearing a mask properly was almost more the exception at the airport than the norm. There were so many uncovered noses everywhere, and no one there to enforce the rules. We even saw pilots walking around the terminal with no mask at all, which was frustrating, since they should be a role model for others in this situation.When we bought something in one of the shops, even though there were social distancing markers on the floor, people still bunched up in line (many not wearing a mask properly). We didn't feel particularly comfortable at MCO, and just tried to seek out an emptier gate area with private space while waiting for our flight to board. It didn't help that our AA flight was completely full. I'm not sure if it's an MCO problem, a Florida problem, or something else, but we did find mask compliance (while still not good enough) to be much better at PHL, the airport we were traveling to/from, than it was at MCO, where things felt like a free-for-all. With such great processes in place at Disney, it was disappointing to see that it's a different story at the airport.

Thx for the feedback. Some of your reports about restaurants seem so odd, especially for Disney and disappointing with the lack of staff (for us and the workers that are there.) Hopefully Disney fixes that issue soon.

 

[MusicalAstronaut]

ROTR updates: The Skyliner took 50 minutes (9:15 to 10:08) for us to get from Pop to DHS, so we had to do a 1pm boarding group. We’re group 50. It said 130 minutes at 1pm, 105 minutes now. I just hope we get to ride before the park closes, and I don’t know how they’re going to release more at 4pm. Have people successfully been riding with a 4pm BG?

 

[pepperandchips]

Thanks for this report, for the most part.
I am getting tired of some people always dissing Americans, and the comment "like rude privileged Americans" That was an uncalled for comment,IMO. When people do this, it just shows how uninformed and uncouth their part of the world view is. They come across as quite rude and make where they come from look bad.

The poster who made this comment is from Texas... she wasn't saying all Americans are rude, she was saying some rude Americans spread out in ways that are reflective of privilege and rudeness when we should all be more aware of space and use restraint and common sense during the pandemic.

 

[Dave006]

ROTR updates: The Skyliner took 50 minutes (9:15 to 10:08) for us to get from Pop to DHS, so we had to do a 1pm boarding group. We’re group 50. It said 130 minutes at 1pm, 105 minutes now. I just hope we get to ride before the park closes, and I don’t know how they’re going to release more at 4pm. Have people successfully been riding with a 4pm BG?

You should be good with BG 50 unless there are operational issues with RoTR.

What took so long in the Skyliner long line or another issue?

Dave

 

[MusicalAstronaut]

You should be good with BG 50 unless there are operational issues with RoTR.

What took so long in the Skyliner long line or another issue?

Dave

The line seemed average, but we stopped many times with the “temporarily delayed” message playing. Not sure what was up with it.

Rise seems to be having MAJOR issues today. :/

 

[Nick6300]

Everything we knew about RD schedules are out the window, and I get that things can keep changing. During the re-opening, I saw a vlog where onsite guests were allowed to enter MK at 8:30am for 9am open.

1) For each of the 4 parks, about how early are CMs letting you enter?
2) Are they holding you in the traditional spots like Sunset Blvd, bridge at Tiffins, hub at MK, FW until like 10-15 min before official opening time - Or I'd think they'd let you hit the attractions once you tap, since they don't want crowding?
3) It used to be that buses were arriving like an 1.5 hrs before earliest park's opening time including EMH. I'm sure that's different with the staggered openings and I think no more early dining reservations. How early are they arriving at the hotels? Just AK buses and then MK or do they all come at once?
4) How early does the skyliner run from Pop to HS/EP?
5) Do you have to go to a resort from a park to grab a bus to DS or is there a direct DS bus from the parks? If no direct DS bus, I'm not sure if you can walk from Old Key West, or no bridge/access to DS.
6) How has waiting for buses at end of park night been like with the 25ish capacities per bus?
7) Still able to last ride 5-10 min before park closes or are they encouraging you to stick to the park closing time? I think if they let you, with these early park closures, I'd be interested in shopping some after park closes.

Mainly interested in the park openings and buses, but I'd appreciate any sharing of recent experiences this summer. Thanks!

 

[yulilin3]

Everything we knew about RD schedules are out the window, and I get that things can keep changing. During the re-opening, I saw a vlog where onsite guests were allowed to enter MK at 8:30am for 9am open.

1) For each of the 4 parks, about how early are CMs letting you enter?
2) Are they holding you in the traditional spots like Sunset Blvd, bridge at Tiffins, hub at MK, FW until like 10-15 min before official opening time - Or I'd think they'd let you hit the attractions once you tap, since they don't want crowding?
3) It used to be that buses were arriving like an 1.5 hrs before earliest park's opening time including EMH. I'm sure that's different with the staggered openings and I think no more early dining reservations. How early are they arriving at the hotels? Just AK buses and then MK or do they all come at once?
4) How early does the skyliner run from Pop to HS/EP?
5) Do you have to go to a resort from a park to grab a bus to DS or is there a direct DS bus from the parks? If no direct DS bus, I'm not sure if you can walk from Old Key West, or no bridge/access to DS.
6) How has waiting for buses at end of park night been like with the 25ish capacities per bus?
7) Still able to last ride 5-10 min before park closes or are they encouraging you to stick to the park closing time? I think if they let you, with these early park closures, I'd be interested in shopping some after park closes.

Mainly interested in the park openings and buses, but I'd appreciate any sharing of recent experiences this summer. Thanks!

most of these are answered by peoples experiences here so please read back on this thread. Here are my experiences, have gone to the parks 6 times since reopening
1) They are holding people before the toll booth, after they let you park, the park is open. MK opens parking around 8:20, AK around 7:20, DHS around 9-9:15 and Epcot around 10:15
2) Once they let you through the entrance the entire park is open, and you just go to whatever attraction and wait there for it to open
3) since it's a staggered opening for parks the buses will run an hour before park official opening
4) 9am
5) there are direct buses from the parks to DS
6) didn't experience this
7) you can get in line up to a minute before park closing