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

[zackiedawg]

Got back yesterday from a 4 night stay at Saratoga on my DVC. My trip report is for those rare few who don't need to ride every fast ride and don't do rope drop - because there needs to be the occasional report from people like us. Arrived Friday afternoon by car, checked in through heavy rainstorms, resort roads and parking lots heavily ponding and flooded in spots. Walked over to Disney Springs the first evening as I didn't bother with a 4-day ticket for just a half-day when I arrive. Did bar seating at Frontera Cocina as a walkup, no reservations - sat immediately. Line for Gideon's was silly when I passed it around 7pm. Heavy rain while at Frontera eating, then light rain when I came out - passed by Gideon's and there didn't seem to be any line. Apparently the rain scattered people but some still had a 'virtual' queue held for them - I asked if it was possible to join and she said no problem - I was about 10 back. Only 15 minutes to get through, so brought home a chocolate chip key lime cookie to my room for a snack. Tasty!
Saturday was MK day - slept in until 10am, made breakfast in the room, hung out and had coffee and relaxed, then walked over to Disney Springs, hopped the bus to Wilderness Lodge, then took the boat over to MK...arrived around 1pm. Rained off and on all day, but never too hard. Went towards Pirates first - wait said 15 minutes - actual wait was 1 minute - walked practically right onto a boat. Went to Big Thunder - wait time said 45 minutes - actual was about 20 minutes. Haunted Mansion said 50 minutes and the line was back past Columbia house, so I skipped and went onwards to Peoplemover...that line said 15 minutes and actual ended up being about 20 minutes because it stopped a few times. By 6pm, rain had come hard a few times and then lightened up again - circled back to Haunted Mansion and line said 15 minutes - so jumped on - was on the ride in 10 minutes. Left the park around 7pm, headed back to Disney Springs, got a reservation for Paradiso 37 for less than an hour away, ate, then walked back to my villa.
Sunday was AK - no rain while at the parks. Started around noon that day. Had lunch at Nomad lounge as a walk-in, no wait to find a table inside - enjoyed a Leaping Lizard or two and some sliders. Went past Kilimanjaro and never even saw what the line wait time was - but the line was weaving all over outside the entrance, past the bakery, around the fruit stands, over by Zuri's sweets, etc - knowing how much more line was inside, I didn't even bother - had to be well over an hour and it was HOT. Walked the nature trail - gorillas all by the window lying around upside down or leaning on the glass. Hippos were fantastic - walking all around, going in and out of the water, opening their mouths and yawning, eating, etc. At the Asia trail, tigers were all sleeping as usual, but nice new addition in the bird section with the tawny frogmouth - gorgeous bird that about 90% of the crowd walked right past without seeing! Jumped on Everest - line said 50, but actual was about 35. Walked into Rainforest around 6:30pm and found a seat at the bar without ressies in about 5 minutes, so ate there before heading back to my room. Extra bonus for the 4th of July - my villa at Saratoga in Congress Park was overlooking DIsney Springs - apparently one of the towns nearby had their 4th fireworks which appeared directly over the Boathouse restaurant in unblocked, perfect view from my balcony...wasn't even expecting to see any fireworks that day as I had skipped MK.
Monday was Epcot day - headed over around 1pm. Passing Spaceship Earth, the line said 45 minutes and it looked like it was going to be every bit of that, so skipped it. Went to Land, and wait time at Living with the Land said 20 minutes - actual was about 15 minutes. Soarin' said 50 minutes - decided to chance it, and actual was about 30. Grabbed a quick bite at the Festival Center as the Beef Brisket Burnt Ends and Smoked Pork Belly Slider with Garlic Sausage, Chorizo, Cheddar Fondue, and House-made Pickle just sounded too tempting to pass up...and indeed it was. Enjoyed walking World Showcase, relaxing on benches or seats, having some cocktails around the world, and eventually ending up at Mexico where I had reservations at Hacienda de San Angel. On the way out, passing Spaceship Earth, wait time was down to 10 minutes, so jumped on - actual wait less than 5 minutes. That was my trip. Crowds were fairly high - more than I expected with the international travel restrictions, but still lower than a normal 4th weekend would have been. Other than requiring masks on busses, no fast passes, and the encouraging of mobile ordering for almost everything and no paper menus at most restaurants (phone QR codes instead), there were no other real signs of pandemicness. Less than 1% of the park guests had masks on, no social distancing required at all, every ride, line, and restaurant was filling every available seat that I could tell, and in general, everyone seemed relaxed and comingled as on any other pre-pandemic day...I was a little worried my first time back since before shutdown that it would feel too restricted and odd, so it was a relief that for the most part it felt like any other Disney vacation in the past.

 

[Princess Katelet]

Got back yesterday from a 4 night stay at Saratoga on my DVC. My trip report is for those rare few who don't need to ride every fast ride and don't do rope drop - because there needs to be the occasional report from people like us. Arrived Friday afternoon by car, checked in through heavy rainstorms, resort roads and parking lots heavily ponding and flooded in spots. Walked over to Disney Springs the first evening as I didn't bother with a 4-day ticket for just a half-day when I arrive. Did bar seating at Frontera Cocina as a walkup, no reservations - sat immediately. Line for Gideon's was silly when I passed it around 7pm. Heavy rain while at Frontera eating, then light rain when I came out - passed by Gideon's and there didn't seem to be any line. Apparently the rain scattered people but some still had a 'virtual' queue held for them - I asked if it was possible to join and she said no problem - I was about 10 back. Only 15 minutes to get through, so brought home a chocolate chip key lime cookie to my room for a snack. Tasty!
Saturday was MK day - slept in until 10am, made breakfast in the room, hung out and had coffee and relaxed, then walked over to Disney Springs, hopped the bus to Wilderness Lodge, then took the boat over to MK...arrived around 1pm. Rained off and on all day, but never too hard. Went towards Pirates first - wait said 15 minutes - actual wait was 1 minute - walked practically right onto a boat. Went to Big Thunder - wait time said 45 minutes - actual was about 20 minutes. Haunted Mansion said 50 minutes and the line was back past Columbia house, so I skipped and went onwards to Peoplemover...that line said 15 minutes and actual ended up being about 20 minutes because it stopped a few times. By 6pm, rain had come hard a few times and then lightened up again - circled back to Haunted Mansion and line said 15 minutes - so jumped on - was on the ride in 10 minutes. Left the park around 7pm, headed back to Disney Springs, got a reservation for Paradiso 37 for less than an hour away, ate, then walked back to my villa.
Sunday was AK - no rain while at the parks. Started around noon that day. Had lunch at Nomad lounge as a walk-in, no wait to find a table inside - enjoyed a Leaping Lizard or two and some sliders. Went past Kilimanjaro and never even saw what the line wait time was - but the line was weaving all over outside the entrance, past the bakery, around the fruit stands, over by Zuri's sweets, etc - knowing how much more line was inside, I didn't even bother - had to be well over an hour and it was HOT. Walked the nature trail - gorillas all by the window lying around upside down or leaning on the glass. Hippos were fantastic - walking all around, going in and out of the water, opening their mouths and yawning, eating, etc. At the Asia trail, tigers were all sleeping as usual, but nice new addition in the bird section with the tawny frogmouth - gorgeous bird that about 90% of the crowd walked right past without seeing! Jumped on Everest - line said 50, but actual was about 35. Walked into Rainforest around 6:30pm and found a seat at the bar without ressies in about 5 minutes, so ate there before heading back to my room. Extra bonus for the 4th of July - my villa at Saratoga in Congress Park was overlooking DIsney Springs - apparently one of the towns nearby had their 4th fireworks which appeared directly over the Boathouse restaurant in unblocked, perfect view from my balcony...wasn't even expecting to see any fireworks that day as I had skipped MK.
Monday was Epcot day - headed over around 1pm. Passing Spaceship Earth, the line said 45 minutes and it looked like it was going to be every bit of that, so skipped it. Went to Land, and wait time at Living with the Land said 20 minutes - actual was about 15 minutes. Soarin' said 50 minutes - decided to chance it, and actual was about 30. Grabbed a quick bite at the Festival Center as the Beef Brisket Burnt Ends and Smoked Pork Belly Slider with Garlic Sausage, Chorizo, Cheddar Fondue, and House-made Pickle just sounded too tempting to pass up...and indeed it was. Enjoyed walking World Showcase, relaxing on benches or seats, having some cocktails around the world, and eventually ending up at Mexico where I had reservations at Hacienda de San Angel. On the way out, passing Spaceship Earth, wait time was down to 10 minutes, so jumped on - actual wait less than 5 minutes. That was my trip. Crowds were fairly high - more than I expected with the international travel restrictions, but still lower than a normal 4th weekend would have been. Other than requiring masks on busses, no fast passes, and the encouraging of mobile ordering for almost everything and no paper menus at most restaurants (phone QR codes instead), there were no other real signs of pandemicness. Less than 1% of the park guests had masks on, no social distancing required at all, every ride, line, and restaurant was filling every available seat that I could tell, and in general, everyone seemed relaxed and comingled as on any other pre-pandemic day...I was a little worried my first time back since before shutdown that it would feel too restricted and odd, so it was a relief that for the most part it felt like any other Disney vacation in the past.

Glad you enjoyed your trip! Curious about your circuitous travel to MK via DS and WL…. Did you just want to see WL?

 

[zackiedawg]

Glad you enjoyed your trip! Curious about your circuitous travel to MK via DS and WL…. Did you just want to see WL?

Especially when I go on solo trips, I'm in super-relax mode - as you can tell I start out my park days after noon. Part of the relaxation is that I'll often take long routes to get to parks via other resorts, because it's nice to walk through or visit those resorts, and often because the alternatives to busses which are the least scenic or interesting way to travel. Any time I can take a boat to a park or area, I will as they are much more relaxing and scenic. I will also use walkways into the parks rather than busses. Staying at Saratoga Springs, especially when in Congress Park section, allows me to walk over to Springs and catch a bus to any chosen resort first - then walk those grounds, take some photos, and either walk or take a boat into the park for the day. For example, to Boardwalk for Epcot or DHS, or to Wilderness Lodge for MK.

 

[Lee from WV]

Dhs morning Tuesday July 7: Rise BG 30, rope dropped a second day. MMRR, Toy Story Mania both down. So we did low waits at Tower of Terror, Alien Saucers, and Millenium Falcon, which we quite liked. My kids both were pilots and shouted and bickered as they figured out how to work it while under fire.

While in the MF queue my non- Star Wars daughter looked around and mused that she didn’t like grunge. Upon reflection I realized that I also feel the First Order has more style. So I guess we’re evil now!

Then toy story mania came back up and we did that with a 15 min wait at 9:30. Then lightning McQueen which was super cute. I didn’t know that he’s a meme— so my adult daughter and son laughed all the way through.

Our BG was called but we had 50’s prime time adrs. Funny waiter, new jokes, great food. My husband always loves the decor- just like his grandmothers. We head out to our BGs and Rise is down again.

To the hotel pool! Via immediate boat to the boardwalk inn at 12:30.
good morning.

 

[Akck]

Normally buses do not run from resort to resort. When the Skyliner is down and guests are being directed from IG to Boardwalk, are the buses there marked as 'Riviera', 'Caribbean Beach', 'Pop' and 'Art of Animation'?

Pre-Covid (Oct 2019), the busses were marked Skyliner Resorts. I assume they just did a circuit of all the resorts. We didn’t see any Skyliner busses when we were there in December and April, but there were no shutdowns while we were there.

 

[Leigh L]

Normally buses do not run from resort to resort. When the Skyliner is down and guests are being directed from IG to Boardwalk, are the buses there marked as 'Riviera', 'Caribbean Beach', 'Pop' and 'Art of Animation'?

The Epcot line was down one late afternoon / evening in June a

Pre-Covid (Oct 2019), the busses were marked Skyliner Resorts. I assume they just did a circuit of all the resorts. We didn’t see any Skyliner busses when we were there in December and April, but there were no shutdowns while we were there.

The Skyliner on 6.27 was down between CBR to Epcot from at least 4 to 6 p.m. (not sure of how extended this was). We had taken a bus from CSR to DHS with intentions to ride the Skyliner to Riviera for dinner.

CM at DHS said we'd either have to hop a bus from DHS to Riviera or walk from CBR to Riviera. 5 of us took the Skyliner since 2 had never ridden and the other person took the bus. We were pleasantly surprised when we asked the CM at CBR where to find the walking path, they said we could catch the "Skyliner resort loop bus" (or something to that effect) just down the way. We waited maybe 5 or 10 minutes and the Bus was going to Riviera, Pop, AoA - there was a separate bus for Epcot

Seemed like it was a regular thing , but might have been due to the extended shutdown of that leg of the Skyliner (wasn't weather-related but they didn't say what the problem was). Whatever the case, it was all so smooth!

 

[snoopy352]

I understand that ride breakdowns can happen. But what is the deal with SO much of it lately? It's to the point where one day with no issues is the exception for EACH major ride. Can anyone answer why it's happening and if the perception I have is accurate? Or is it like the gambler who only talks about the jackpots and the ride breakdowns really aren't as bad as it seems in this thread? (We are going next week and I want to be prepared.)

 

[BK2014]

Normally buses do not run from resort to resort. When the Skyliner is down and guests are being directed from IG to Boardwalk, are the buses there marked as 'Riviera', 'Caribbean Beach', 'Pop' and 'Art of Animation'?

This past Saturday the buses were labeled either "Skyliner Resorts" or "Skyliner Loop", I can't remember which one - but Skyliner was definitely in the name. I think one bus went to all of the Skyliner resorts from the Boardwalk.

 

[cdurham1]

I understand that ride breakdowns can happen. But what is the deal with SO much of it lately? It's to the point where one day with no issues is the exception for EACH major ride. Can anyone answer why it's happening and if the perception I have is accurate? Or is it like the gambler who only talks about the jackpots and the ride breakdowns really aren't as bad as it seems in this thread? (We are going next week and I want to be prepared.)

Yeah, reading all the reports I have been wondering if they let maintenance and engineers go during COVID or something

 

[Lee from WV]

This evening we went back to HS for Oga’s. My husband was razzing me about “HS again!?!” But he loved it! It was super fun. Very lively. He said - let’s go tomorrow again and I just laughed at the impossibility.

We arrived about 6:15 pm and did Star Tours (why no love and a 5 min wait? It’s a fine ride) then shopped in the Edge for 20 min and then did Ogas. My (grown) kids scooted out and caught Toy Story Mania at closing (30 min). We thought we’d do our Ride BG but it was down again. Thank goodness I dragged everybody over last night to do yesterday’s BG.

I had had two Oga’s for 7 and 8:50 and realized my husband would never stay up that late so cancelled the later one. The crowd was so thinned out when we left I’m happy we kept the earlier one. The vibe is great when people are there. I wonder how much they charge to rent Oga’s for private parties- that would be awesome.

Thought about going to Epcot for fireworks but (you were right Kylenne!) the Skyliner was down for lightning so we walked back to the BWI and hottubbed instead. We could have spent 5 more min walking for Epcot but didn’t.

Early AK tomorrow.

 

[kylenne]

This past Saturday the buses were labeled either "Skyliner Resorts" or "Skyliner Loop", I can't remember which one - but Skyliner was definitely in the name. I think one bus went to all of the Skyliner resorts from the Boardwalk.

I don't remember 100% but I think on Sunday they actually had separate buses for the Skyliner resorts from Beach Club. I could swear I saw one pull up that said AoA on it, but I admittedly wasn't there very long before I gave up and just booked a Lyft to MK. I do know there was a steady stream people pouring into that stop and it just reinforced my belief to never stay at one of those resorts in the summer.

Still kicking myself for being lazy and not just walking to the front of Epcot to get an MK bus, lol.

 

[kylenne]

I understand that ride breakdowns can happen. But what is the deal with SO much of it lately? It's to the point where one day with no issues is the exception for EACH major ride. Can anyone answer why it's happening and if the perception I have is accurate? Or is it like the gambler who only talks about the jackpots and the ride breakdowns really aren't as bad as it seems in this thread? (We are going next week and I want to be prepared.)

Anecdotally from my experience in the past month or so it really is that bad, and I was honestly wondering if there had been cutbacks on maintenance. I don't ever remember a trip with so many breakdowns and it seemed like it was worse this weekend than when I went at the end of May. Every day in every park it was something. When I got in on Friday night and went into Epcot for the fireworks, I got a push notification in the MDE app with a giant apology for Frozen having been down all day. MK on Saturday afternoon was really rough, multiple attractions down. At AK Dinosaur went down when I got in the ride vehicle and we never made it out of the loading bay.

 

[MomOTwins]

Anecdotally from my experience in the past month or so it really is that bad, and I was honestly wondering if there had been cutbacks on maintenance. I don't ever remember a trip with so many breakdowns and it seemed like it was worse this weekend than when I went at the end of May. Every day in every park it was something. When I got in on Friday night and went into Epcot for the fireworks, I got a push notification in the MDE app with a giant apology for Frozen having been down all day. MK on Saturday afternoon was really rough, multiple attractions down. At AK Dinosaur went down when I got in the ride vehicle and we never made it out of the loading bay.

Okay, but is it really that different from before covid? I distinctly remember in the days of fastpass that at least once a day I would get a notification that one of my fastpasses converted to a multi-experience pass because a ride went down. Maybe we just notice it more without fastpass because it feels worse for a ride to go down after we’ve waited an hour than it did to just go fastpass something else when a ride was out of commission.

 

[kylenne]

Okay, but is it really that different from before covid? I distinctly remember in the days of fastpass that at least once a day I would get a notification that one of my fastpasses converted to a multi-experience pass because a ride went down. Maybe we just notice it more without fastpass because it feels worse for a ride to go down after we’ve waited an hour than it did to just go fastpass something else when a ride was out of commission.

Yes, it really is that different. If you’ve followed any of my posts from the last month you’ll recall I haven’t waited more than 30 minutes for anything so that’s totally irrelevant. Pre-Covid they were not forced to do push notifications apologizing for rides being down all day. You also didn’t have multiple (as in 3 or more) E tickets down for hours at a time like recently, or like that recent day when half of HS was “Temporarily Closed”. Rides are absolutely breaking down more frequently and for longer periods of time.

 

[Sarahslay]

Anecdotally from my experience in the past month or so it really is that bad, and I was honestly wondering if there had been cutbacks on maintenance. I don't ever remember a trip with so many breakdowns and it seemed like it was worse this weekend than when I went at the end of May. Every day in every park it was something. When I got in on Friday night and went into Epcot for the fireworks, I got a push notification in the MDE app with a giant apology for Frozen having been down all day. MK on Saturday afternoon was really rough, multiple attractions down. At AK Dinosaur went down when I got in the ride vehicle and we never made it out of the loading bay.

My husband half jokingly said that the rides aren't doing so well carrying full capacity anymore, and also made the comment that maybe Disney needed to bring back full maintenance staff again since they were obviously having problems. It wasn't even that bad over memorial day week, but it was the worst we'd seen it so far on all our trip since reopening, and happened to be our first trip with most of the rides operating back at pretty much full capacity, and they just couldn't hang.

 

[Lee from WV]

Despite hot tubbing too late last night, we made it to rope drop at AK and were in the first 100 to Avatar. The bus left BWI at 6:45 and we passed the cars being held at 7:04. I haven’t been reading the boards much in the last 10 days so I’m sure this has been reported before, but we were held at the tapstiles until 7:15 and then held at the tree till about 7:30 and then walked to Avatar. I guess that’s a pre-Covid rope drop?

My tired groaning family perked up when the early bus had 25 people in it. My son looked behind us at the tapstiles at 7:15 at a mass of people and said—oh. Walking back from lunch we passed an hour long line of people for Navi (not worth it!).

Avatar was as fun as described! We did Navi with 10 min wait, then Dinosaur walk on and Everest w 20 min wait, then Kali River Rapids with 15 min wait. I’ve never done it in the summer—nice to not have to worry about whether we get soaked or not. Walked one of the animal trails and by this point I was exhausted, so we ate at Satuli Canteen (also delicious and mobile order was so easy) and headed home. When we wanted to eat earlier than planned, I was able to change my window to an earlier one and get the food quickly. The bus was there within 5 minutes to get us.

We’ve been so lucky with the weather. No drenching rains during our park times and it’s not 10,000 degrees.

Photopass: Although I had added it to our trip over a month ago, and I checked and it was in my MDE…..it wasn’t there when we were in the parks. Too late I have learned to save every confirmation number. I was bummed about having to pay an extra $30, but the lady at the help stand added it for free! So that was nice. My kids are thrilled with it for their social media postings. I just can’t find a straightforward itemized invoice/receipt from Disney anywhere. Does one exist?

Naps at the hotel and now it’s POURING. Should clear up before we head back to MK.

 

[Lee from WV]

Re breakdowns—could a less experienced staff contribute to the rides going down?

 

[MomOTwins]

Re breakdowns—could a less experienced staff contribute to the rides going down?

Half joking, but I know I'm not the only one who gained a not-too-insignificant number of Covid-stress-eating pounds... maybe our collective Covid-times weight gain is breaking the rides!

 

[Lee from WV]

Oh one more thing. I think other people have said it, but I found using the Lines app and sorting by wait times helped us be efficient and flexible during the day when a ride was down and we needed to change the touring plan.

Edited to add—I reoptimized our touring plan while waiting for rope drop at HS yesterday and it then recommended Tower of Terror first instead of Toy Story Mania. We went to TSM anyway and it was down. Did @lentesta know that?

 

[wildling99]

Took a first-timer friend on a whirlwind trip arriving at 6 AM on Tuesday 7/6 and departing at 3 PM on Wednesday 7/7. Elsa made it pretty thrilling with the weather. Used MDE a lot to check wait times + correlated with Lines app to make decisions.

7/6
Sitting on DME from MCO, we got BG 56 for Rise of the Resistance.
Bussed to HS from CSR, in the park around 9:10 AM and Slinky Dog was already at 80 minutes.
RoTR boarding posted groups 1-14 but was down almost immediately for about five hours.
Ride info times: RNRC on at 9:30, ToT on at 9:55, Muppets on at 10:45, Brown Derby lunch 11:15 - 12:10. Waited in torrential downpour for Runaway Railway (appx 60 minutes) on at 1:20, Star Tours on at 1:55 (posted said 45 and we literally were on in 7 - RIP glass of wine we bought for the wait), Slinky Dog on at 3:00 (continual inclement weather announcements but never shut down while we waited), ToT on at 4:05. RoTR was only at 36 and we opted to take Friendship Boats to Epcot (got our group called at about 6:30 PM, for reference). Did some drinks and snacks - Frozen was lined up all the way to China. Spaceship Earth, Finding Nemo were walk ons. Waiting over an hour for Frozen on at 8:15 pm. Bussed to MK to catch Happily Ever After. Mobile ordered Cosmic Rays to pick up after fireworks. At 10 PM, Space Mountain was posted at 50, so we did Big Thunder at 10:07, Haunted Mansion at 10:18, headed back to Space Mountain at 10:45, and rode again at 10:59.

7/7
Thank you to everyone who was talking about their AK mornings and strategies this week - it was key!
On first bus to AK at 7:15, arrived at 7:25. Everyone was headed toward Pandora. We were stopped at the bridge, no more than about 50 people back. After 10 minutes of waiting, CM with big 'end of line sign' started slowly walking the crowd into Pandora and CM's guided everyone into the FoP cue. Waited at the front of the line in the final room until about 7:55 when CM's started boarding everyone. We were walking off by 8:04. Walked on to Na'vi River at 8:20, Expedition Everest at 8:55 and 8:57, Safaris walk on at 9:30, 10:30 Festival of the Lion King show, 11:20 walked on to Dinosaur. Cannot express how awesome it was to be off FoP minutes after park opening. Attraction hit triple-digit wait by the time we left at 11:45.