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

[BroadwayHermione5]

I wouldn't say they have stayed mild now a few days in- it has been a bit rough overall but I am thankful for the vaccine and the peace of mind that it should protect me from severe disease/hospitalization. So far the rest of my family is still well!

So sorry to hear that. But I agree thank god you got the vaccine and relieved to hear that so far you are all ok for the most part.

 

[The Iron Giant]

We returned the other day after our trip from August 8 - 18… we had a great trip although it was very hot. The crowds were manageable and better than we expected. Mask compliance was great overall and CMs were really good.

My number 1 tip is to use the Touring Plans app for an accurate idea of how long the lines are for rides. We found Disney’s posted times to be inflated. We ended up riding just about everything and the longest wait we had was around 42 minutes for FoP. Had we used Disney’s times we would have been discouraged from lining up for the many rides that were posted as 50, 60, and 75 minute waits.

My number 1 complaint is the lack of the tram service at Magic Kingdom. If you drive and don’t rope drop or if you leave midday and come back, be prepared to walk very far… very, very far. For the prices being charged, Disney really let its guests down on this one. Especially in the heat of the summer.

Overall… we had a really great time!

 

[BillFromCT]

As a piece of data - we did HS this morning from Pop. Let through the tapstiles at 8:15. We headed down Hollywood Blvd for RnR. We were held, along with ToT, in front of Hollywood Scoops. At 8:30 they lead each group to their respective rides. Walked straight through the preshow onto the second limo. Went over to ToT. No preshow there either. Walked straight on. Over to MMRR just before 9:00. It had a 10 minute wait and the preshow was running.

 

[ShannyMcB]

Just got back and aside from feeling like I was walking on the surface of the sun it was a nice trip. The longest line we encountered was probably midway mania. We had a nothing over 70 minutes policy which really only took us out of sdmt but we were able to do everything else we wanted to except rotr..but we did smuggler's run, star toursx2 and built droids so that made up for it. Droid depot was crowded as was that main gift shop on mainstreet but everywhere else had wiggle room.
Was kind of surprised at some of the comments I heard people making in general. Like you have never heard a toddler cry at wdw before? Come on peeps look around lots of kids...you are going to run into cranky ones...you came in the summer! I was so hot I wanted to cry a few times. Plus I'd rather hear a crying kid then see another one passed out like we did in the navi river journey queue, poor babe. Ended up ok after some water and cool air but still scary. Wonder how often that happens? Saw an adult in epcot on the verge of passing out when security showed up to help.

Less serious note...is it me or is there a lack of unique merchandise? Trying to find shirts/hats that said animal kingdom was pretty tough.

Have people eaten at Sanaa or Topolinos recently? We have a Sanaa lunch and a Topolinos brunch for our trip in two weeks, and was wondering how long the meals took/how safe it felt covid wise? *IE, how close were the tables!

We were one of the last seatings at the character breakfast at topilinos on Thursday. Even though adrs were tough to get the restaurant was no where near capacity when we were there. We were sat in the back, there was another family at the table next to us when we were seated but they were just finishing up. Even when both tables were occupied there was plenty of space to move about. The other half of our travel party had an earlier reservation and said they had space too. Both reservations were after 11 so if you go later there is definitely breathing room.

 

[brockash]

Unfortunately it has not reopened and a reopening date has not been announced.

Didn't they announce that the show was done? I thought for sure at some point during Covid Disney announced the little mermaid show at dhs had been discontinued.

Hmmm...looks like it was never actually confirmed as closed...hopefully that means it'll come back some day...we'll see I guess.
https://blogmickey.com/2020/08/rumo...manently-closed-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/

 

[scrappinginontario]

Didn't they announce that the show was done? I thought for sure at some point during Covid Disney announced the little mermaid show at dhs had been discontinued.

Hmmm...looks like it was never actually confirmed as closed...hopefully that means it'll come back some day...we'll see I guess.
https://blogmickey.com/2020/08/rumo...manently-closed-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/

Yes, it was rumoured to be closing but this was never confirmed.

 

[orangecuse]

Arrived at HS today at 12:30.

Walked to Cars Show and did that first
Grabbed a RotR boarding pass at 1:15- group 149.
Rode AS2 (17 min wait)
Rode AS2 (20 min wait because 1/2 the ride stopped working so they could only load one side)
Ate a snack at Woodys
Rode TSMM (15 min wait)
"Dinner" at 4 at H&V
Rode MMRR (10 min wait)
Rode Slink with older son (15-20 min wait). Husband got 2 walk on rides of AS2 with younger son during this time.
Rider Swap SDD. Younger son and I did TSMM. Walk on but someone lost their glasses and it took 20 min for someone to retrieve them so we got stuck for a little bit. Maintinajce was required to come out to do it even though the glasses were visible on the track by the loading area. The CMs commented it was a really silly rule.
RotR boarding group called around 7? Finished the night with that and walked back to Swolphin.

Overall low crowds today at HS. You could feel it in the walkways- it was very open.

 

[orangecuse]

Also- a random family gifted us their balloon when we arrived. It popped from the heat while we were on a ride. We just left it popped on the stroller. Someone must have noticed the popped balloon while we were in H&V because when we came out it had been replaced with a new balloon!

 

[penel3]

Also- a random family gifted us their balloon when we arrived. It popped from the heat while we were on a ride. We just left it popped on the stroller. Someone must have noticed the popped balloon while we were in H&V because when we came out it had been replaced with a new balloon!

Awesome pixie dust!!

 

[OhBother1984]

Arrived at HS today at 12:30.

Walked to Cars Show and did that first
Grabbed a RotR boarding pass at 1:15- group 149.
Rode AS2 (17 min wait)
Rode AS2 (20 min wait because 1/2 the ride stopped working so they could only load one side)
Ate a snack at Woodys
Rode TSMM (15 min wait)
"Dinner" at 4 at H&V
Rode MMRR (10 min wait)
Rode Slink with older son (15-20 min wait). Husband got 2 walk on rides of AS2 with younger son during this time.
Rider Swap SDD. Younger son and I did TSMM. Walk on but someone lost their glasses and it took 20 min for someone to retrieve them so we got stuck for a little bit. Maintinajce was required to come out to do it even though the glasses were visible on the track by the loading area. The CMs commented it was a really silly rule.
RotR boarding group called around 7? Finished the night with that and walked back to Swolphin.

Overall low crowds today at HS. You could feel it in the walkways- it was very open.

how was Hollywood and vine? We have reservations for lunch next weekend.

 

[jbrinkm]

Plus I'd rather hear a crying kid then see another one passed out like we did in the navi river journey queue, poor babe. Ended up ok after some water and cool air but still scary. Wonder how often that happens? Saw an adult in epcot on the verge of passing out when security showed up to help.

We saw an older woman on a stretcher outside of AK on Saturday (95 degrees). I would guess from heat...

 

[orangecuse]

how was Hollywood and vine? We have reservations for lunch next weekend.

FANTASTIC! Lots of space and the food was a mile above the old buffet. We were there in Feb 2020 and thought it was fine, but we thought the food was genuinely YUMMY today.We got kids salmon, adult turkey, and adult beef. My turkey was well seasoned and the potatoes were delicious. My husband and younger son devoured the beef and my older son liked his sides but his fish was the only thing we felt was meh. They also gave my younger son (under 2 so free) free mac n cheese. The desserts are also amazing. We did creme brule, smores pie, and apple pie, plus they brought us a bday cupcake! The characters danced behind our table and tables were well spaced out. Man that dinner would be so well served staying as they have it now!

 

[jbrinkm]

This sounds like a great day! Was Sanaa crowded or did it feel more spaced out?

It was a great day, but I should qualify that the AK portion was DH and my itinerary. The 12 & 14 year olds wanted a little independence and had no interest in the birds, so they went on Everest 6 times, LOL. And once on Triceratop Spin We met back up when it was time for Dole Whips (of course...)

 

[WEDWDW]

We saw an older woman on a stretcher outside of AK on Saturday (95 degrees). I would guess from heat...

Happening a lot-we saw a man stretchered away from Bowling Pool at Pop Century the other day-this heat is brutal.

 

[OhBother1984]

FANTASTIC! Lots of space and the food was a mile above the old buffet. We were there in Feb 2020 and thought it was fine, but we thought the food was genuinely YUMMY today.We got kids salmon, adult turkey, and adult beef. My turkey was well seasoned and the potatoes were delicious. My husband and younger son devoured the beef and my older son liked his sides but his fish was the only thing we felt was meh. They also gave my younger son (under 2 so free) free mac n cheese. The desserts are also amazing. We did creme brule, smores pie, and apple pie, plus they brought us a bday cupcake! The characters danced behind our table and tables were well spaced out. Man that dinner would be so well served staying as they have it now!

Halloween theme right now? I think you convinced me to keep it! Sounds so good, the menu looked good too.

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

Good evening. I wanted to give a recap of my first full day today. I spent the early part of the day at AK and the afternoon in HS.

And, because I've been wondering (as many of you have) what constitutes "inside vs outside" on attractions for masks, I'll include mask requirements. (if someone wants me to start a post listing all the attractions with mask requirements for each, please let me know)

I am at the Dolphin and our bus arrives around 7 AM, went to the Swan, and then we were off. Arrived round 7.25

I went first to the Safari. After holding us outside briefly, they began to walk through que at 7.42. Note, that they allowed folks to bring their kids with strollers through the line, separated them off at the point it normally would join with fast pass, park their strollers, and then hop back in line. We loaded at 8. 1st safari with Chandler. No masks required. As a solo rider, I was seated with another single party

I then walked over to Everest which had a 5 minute wait time. I went to the single rider line, which loaded immediately. And our train left with tons empty rows. Off at 8.48. Note that you need to wear your Masks on Everest.

I walked by Kali (but didn't ride). It was 5 minutes and Didn't require masks.

Did the thru jungle trek. No Masks required. Entered 8.58

Walked over towards Pandora. Navi was 20. Accurate. About 23. Masks once past 2nd cast member at DAS/FP point

FOP. 55 minutes... About 50. Masks once enter air conditioning.

I then broke for lunch at Nomad Lounge where I sat outside. Funny, most folks chose inside the bar area. Yes, it was HOT and humid today, but the Nomad Lounge outside was comfortable.

I then did some Dinoland games (I only play the ball/cup thing - and won a Medium Size prize)

Left AK, headed back to my hotel where I rested and showered.

Headed to HS around 2:30. Was able to still get a ROTR Boarding Group - #159

I did a variety of rides and didn't watch the timing to be honest, but here's the mask info:

MMRR: masks required once you enter the building
(rode this twice, once when I entered the park and again before I exited the park. was 40 minutes around 2:45 -
down to 20 minutes around 5:30)
Toy Story Mania: masks required once you enter the official part of the que
Slinky: No masks required.
Alien Swirling Saucers: No Masks Required
Millennium Falcon: masks required once you enter the official part of the que
(Note: I did the single rider line and was immediately put on the ride as soon as I got there)

I still had 175 minutes after all this for my boarding group. I went to Baseline Taphouse for a snack to wait and WALKED IN and found a seat inside! Never have I ever done that.

AND to be honest: the storm clouds were coming in and I was tired so I left before my Boarding Group was called. Was back to my hotel, changed, and having a cocktail in Shula's when my boarding group was called around 7:05 PM.

 

[orangecuse]

Halloween theme right now? I think you convinced me to keep it! Sounds so good, the menu looked good too.

Yes Halloween themed! Its so funny because I forgot Halloween at Disney starts in August lol

 

[Devil13]

Quick note from my end. Daughters ventured over to HS today. Got boarding group 189 at 6:47 and were called at 8:02.

 

[Palaura]

Today was amazing. The low crowds helped with my covid anxiety. We did MK from 830-2 and HS from 5-9. I can’t get over how much we did especially at HS tonight! Incredible!

 

[The13thLetter]

2 days in the bag. Epcot yesterday. Crowds in the world showcase seemed to be there but rides were all short waits. Most people must have been eating and drinking. Back to our room around 930 and 30 minutes later had a pretty nice surprise that we could see epcot forever from our balcony at YC. Today was ak. Basicallu no waits for anything except FOP which was 40 mins at about 4pm. DS had fell asleep in his stroller at satuli and DW is pregnant so figured it was a good time to go even though i could probably had gone later with less of a wait. At dinolamd we won FOUR of the games. We never win those things lol. Mask compliance has been pretty good so far. All in all a great start to the week. HS tomorrow. Hoping for some more of the prolonged boarding group availability.