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

[cakebaker]

2) some teens drank from the fountains right next to where I was filling my water bottle in Batuu, like maybe a foot or so away. When I left, they started licking the fountains and the water bottle filler.

Surely you reported this to a CM so they could get it sanitized.

 

[jpolak]

Have a safe trip. Following the updates.

 

[DisneyMommy77]

We are checking out of the Contemporary this morning after 9 wonderful nights! Thankfully we aren’t headed home until a couple more weeks, but are moving off-site for a while before spending our last week at Boardwalk and Caribbean. I am so glad we didn’t cancel and we took our trip!

It is a special time here at WDW and I am
glad we got to experience their reopening. I love the new character experiences better than the previous meet and greets. We have seen more characters than before this way. The CMs have been wonderful and you can feel their appreciation for being back at work and appreciation that guests have returned.

Most guests here want to and do follow the rules. The people we have been around have been respectful of space.

I love the new castle color and even though MK doesn’t have fireworks to watch from our Contemporary balcony we did see fireworks last night in the sky somewhere in the distance. I am
not sure where they were coming from, but it was a nice surprise.

The masks didn’t bother me much. Either way, it’s July in Florida so it’s already steaming hot, so I don’t feel like it made it much more difficult. After a couple days you get used to it and it’s no big deal.

Disney has done a great job and I don’t feel like we are “missing” anything. I haven’t even really thought about those things because there are so many great things to experience. As always, Disney has exceeded our expectations!

 

[coolbrook]

Question: are they selling water at the relaxation stations, or do you need to pick up bottled water elsewhere if you want to hydrate while you sit?

I bought a bottle of water from a cart that was only selling water at the entrance to the Launch Bay relaxation station in Hollywood Studios.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Confirmation you can no longer eat or drink while walking around.

 

[ParrotBill]

Can someone describe the new character experiences mentioned above? I can't seem to find any other description. thanks in advance!

 

[Alice Sr.]

Hello, We just got back last night from a 5 day trip staying at Bay Lake. I was incredibly impressed by the level of mask and distancing compliance and enforcement at Disney! As others have mentioned the airport afterwards was jarringly different. I think the reason Disney is able to achieve this is that they have devoted so many CMs to encouraging compliance and directing guests. They are being very firm in enforcement. As we were waiting to be seated for Chef Mickey's one morning we saw a mom, dad, and probably young 3 year old trying to go onto the monorail. There is a temp check and a CM reminding people to wear a facial covering. That kiddo was having none of that mask. The parents shrugged like "What do you want me to do?" at the cm who just shook her head no. The family eventually went back up on the elevator presumably to their room. As we sat there I heard the cm remind three people who all complied. There are CMs outside the parks as people are walking up the sidewalks from the parking lots ensuring face covering compliance as well as inside the parks. They are stopping stroller families and asking how old the kids are. They are gesturing for folks to pull masks up over noses. They are asking people to maintain physical distance as they wait to enter HS at rope drop. Some folks feel compelled to lower their masks to talk on their phones. I saw a lady do this outside Philharmagic and just as I noticed her a CM came over and asked her to pull it back up. She did. Was mask wearing 100% perfect? No, but it is better than any other place I have been. If I didn't have to fly or drive for two longs days I would keep my November reservation, but the experience in the airports and on the planes did not help me feel safe. We will hope things are better for spring break in March.

Can I ask what airport you flew in and out of and what airline you used? I have flown Allegiant and Delta since Covid and did not walk away with negative experiences. I only fly non-stop, took the earliest flights available to minimize the number of potential interaction, and chose small airports when available. Not sure if that made a difference or not. I do think the larger airports struggle with control more than the smaller ones. Thank you for your post!

 

[fla4fun]

We went to MK on three different days this week. It was so hot we really only wanted to spend 3 or 4 hours each time, so we did rides in different areas each day with no back tracking or criss-crossing the park. That was my favorite park this trip, because of the music, the character surprises, and the short lines. We sure missed Columbia Harbour House though. Enjoyed table service meals at Tony's and Skipper Canteen.

I think it depends on your admission media. I would totally agree with this, as I spent two days at Epcot and one at MK, but due to the heat I was only in the parks about five hours. I just couldn’t take it longer than that. But I have an AP, so I am fine doing that, and I certainly didn’t do everything the parks have available. I think if I had gone into a park with the idea that I had to do everything on offer at least once, it would have been close to a full day, and for people with regular tickets, I do think you can get a full day’s value out of them.

I also delayed my arrival on purpose to avoid any crowding at park open, which would have made my day shorter from the get go, and had planned to leave before close for the same reason. The heat just drove me out a little earlier than anticipated.

 

[coolbrook]

Can I ask what airport you flew in and out of and what airline you used? I have flown Allegiant and Delta since Covid and did not walk away with negative experiences. I only fly non-stop, took the earliest flights available to minimize the number of potential interaction, and chose small airports when available. Not sure if that made a difference or not. I do think the larger airports struggle with control more than the smaller ones. Thank you for your post!

We flew American. Felt pretty safe in the Kansas City Airport. We connected in Charlotte before arriving at MCO. Orlando was the worst as far as mask compliance especially among employees of the airport and airline. Two women with reflective vests and employee ids of some kind in women's restroom with masks off talking loudly on cell phone on speaker the whole time I was in there. A security guy with mask down. A gate agent with mask below nose. Two Spirit flight attendants walking through terminal with masks down below nose. Lots of travelers with masks down on chin to talk on cell phones. Why? We just tried to keep as much distance as possible, but stressful as I felt I had to keep scanning the crowd for the best place to sit or stand. My DD and I wore double masks in airport and on plane with medical disposable first the Jannuu mask over that. DH just wore medical mask. Except in the bathroom and on the plane we were able to keep 6 feet at least. On the last leg of our flight home a man in front of us had his mask on his chin almost the whole flight. Acted like little kid pulling it up when flight attendant walked by then immediately down. Most of the flight no crew walked by.

 

[Epcot242]

We flew American. Felt pretty safe in the Kansas City Airport. We connected in Charlotte before arriving at MCO. Orlando was the worst as far as mask compliance especially among employees of the airport and airline. Two women with reflective vests and employee ids of some kind in women's restroom with masks off talking loudly on cell phone on speaker the whole time I was in there. A security guy with mask down. A gate agent with mask below nose. Two Spirit flight attendants walking through terminal with masks down below nose. Lots of travelers with masks down on chin to talk on cell phones. Why? We just tried to keep as much distance as possible, but stressful as I felt I had to keep scanning the crowd for the best place to sit or stand. My DD and I wore double masks in airport and on plane with medical disposable first the Jannuu mask over that. DH just wore medical mask. Except in the bathroom and on the plane we were able to keep 6 feet at least. On the last leg of our flight home a man in front of us had his mask on his chin almost the whole flight. Acted like little kid pulling it up when flight attendant walked by then immediately down. Most of the flight no crew walked by.

We had to fly through Atlanta recently and that was pretty bad too. A lot of people not complying and taking the mask down to talk. We decided to just be overly cautious and wear N95s the whole time, only taking the, down to eat quick. Flying felt safe in general and with the N95 I was less concerned. But it’s good to know MCO isn’t great. We’ll try to bolt through as fast as possible when we land.

 

[Doingitagain]

Can I ask what airport you flew in and out of and what airline you used? I have flown Allegiant and Delta since Covid and did not walk away with negative experiences. I only fly non-stop, took the earliest flights available to minimize the number of potential interaction, and chose small airports when available. Not sure if that made a difference or not. I do think the larger airports struggle with control more than the smaller ones. Thank you for your post!

I have volunteered at the Minneapolis airport information booths (behind plexiglass and wearing a mask), and I noted 95% compliance with people walking through the airport. There are hand sanitizer stations all over. Remodeled restrooms have touchless flushing, soap, water, and towel dispensers. The biggest issue is when the flight gets closer to board and people bunch up at the gate. If you can stay outside that area until you need to, that would be an option.

 

[RangerPooh]

We’re been at the parks since AP preview and am enjoying the low crowds and most people wearing their masks. The one thing that frustrates me is everyone and their mother vlogging. I’m sure someone will flame me, but I’m sick of having vloggers being rude and loud to capture their videos, cutting in front of me for shots, stopping short, etc. Sorry but you’re not that important. Just waiting for those hand held units to get banned like selfie sticks.

 

[wilkydelts]

We were at Epcot today. Just like our days at MK and AK, we had a wonderful day, with mask compliance being the only black mark. We saw slightly less exposed noses, probably around 25 or so, versus 50+ the previous days. But we also saw more people with their masks off altogether. Probably 12-15 or so, not counting people sitting and eating. We also saw two couples of selfish idiots that were told by CMs to wear their masks correctly that made a point of pulling their masks back down literally 5 seconds later. People really suck.

We walked on Frozen, Soarin', Living With the Land, Finding Nemo, and Spaceship Earth, and rode Test Track a couple of times with pretty short waits. F&W booths typically had 5, sometimes 10 minute waits. The ones in the World Showplace building had the longest lines. I waited in line for around 20 minutes at the desserts and champagne booth.

I am sorry you have to walk around Disney all day long and worry about mask compliance.

This whole thread is becoming the righteous police. We know not everyone is going to adhere. Coming to a message board to bash and judge people who will never see is in itself a trival task. All you can do is try your best to stay safe and ENJOY THAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY IN DISNEY.

 

[Alice Sr.]

I think it depends on your admission media. I would totally agree with this, as I spent two days at Epcot and one at MK, but due to the heat I was only in the parks about five hours. I just couldn’t take it longer than that. But I have an AP, so I am fine doing that, and I certainly didn’t do everything the parks have available. I think if I had gone into a park with the idea that I had to do everything on offer at least once, it would have been close to a full day, and for people with regular tickets, I do think you can get a full day’s value out of them.

I also delayed my arrival on purpose to avoid any crowding at park open, which would have made my day shorter from the get go, and had planned to leave before close for the same reason. The heat just drove me out a little earlier than anticipated.

You are allowed to leave and go back later in the day as long as it's to the park you reserved correct?

 

[yulilin3]

You are allowed to leave and go back later in the day as long as it's to the park you reserved correct?

Yes

 

[yulilin3]

We’re been at the parks since AP preview and am enjoying the low crowds and most people wearing their masks. The one thing that frustrates me is everyone and their mother vlogging. I’m sure someone will flame me, but I’m sick of having vloggers being rude and loud to capture their videos, cutting in front of me for shots, stopping short, etc. Sorry but you’re not that important. Just waiting for those hand held units to get banned like selfie sticks.

Free publicity for Disney. It won't happen, sorry you've encountered some rude vloggers

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

Free publicity for Disney. It won't happen, sorry you've encountered some rude vloggers

Plus, those of us that can't be there right now can see how everything is working out. I loved watching some from Epcot! So, thank you vloggers!

 

[fla4fun]

Free publicity for Disney. It won't happen, sorry you've encountered some rude vloggers

The sad thing is I didn’t recognize a single blogger I saw in the park . . .

 

[fla4fun]

You are allowed to leave and go back later in the day as long as it's to the park you reserved correct?

Yes, but quite frankly I was too tuckered out to go back.

 

[yulilin3]

The sad thing is I didn’t recognize a single blogger I saw in the park . . .

not sure why that's sad. Most vloggers just want to put the info out there. Some will look for fame and fortune which is the wrong reason for doing it. Also there are hundreds all in different levels of notoriety