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

[KrazeeK120]

Sounds like a great day!

My 6yo freaked out on slinky yesterday. She had wanted to ride it for 2+ years, our last trip when she was 4, she wasn’t quite tall enough and the ride line was too long to try to see if she squeezed in the limit, so was a total bummer when she hated it. Glad your kids did great!

Awww!!! It is a bummer when kids don’t like a ride that they’re so excited to try. My son was just shy of 3 when he rode SDD the first time. I honestly didn’t think he would like it, but I figure I’ll always let him try any ride. He hated it, of course. (And we repeated this procedure on 7DMT the next day.) He’s 5 now and still mentions not liking those rides. We are planning to return in 2022. He’ll be 6.5, so I hope I can convince him to give them another shot!

I hope the rest of your trip goes well!!

 

[scrappinginontario]

The same happened with my DD when she was 4 1/2. She was old enough to ride Expedition Everest. She’d looked forward to it but then hated it. Talked to her later and found out she thought she was going fall out! One we talked and I explained it was impossible she was good to try it again and loved it the following trip.

 

[LuvDaisy&Minnie]

Going end of the month and want to make sure I'm up to date on HS rope drop. We will be at Caribbean Beach. A while back, I was seeing that Uber to Speedway and walking was the best, but now I don't see much mention of that. Is the skyliner now a reliable way to get to HS rope drop? Park opens at 9am on our trip. I was also considering going to go to Boardwalk Bakery for breakfast and walking, but I am a little concerned about the timing. I feel like I need to be at the resort and not in transit at 7am to try for boarding group, and I'm not sure that leaving at 7:15ish is early enough to go to Boardwalk Bakery, grab food, and walk to HS. We need to be there a little before 8 to be one of the first, right? Or is that not necessary? So, currently what's the best option for a 9am opening from Caribbean Beach?

 

[Jjlandc]

Going end of the month and want to make sure I'm up to date on HS rope drop. We will be at Caribbean Beach. A while back, I was seeing that Uber to Speedway and walking was the best, but now I don't see much mention of that. Is the skyliner now a reliable way to get to HS rope drop? Park opens at 9am on our trip. I was also considering going to go to Boardwalk Bakery for breakfast and walking, but I am a little concerned about the timing. I feel like I need to be at the resort and not in transit at 7am to try for boarding group, and I'm not sure that leaving at 7:15ish is early enough to go to Boardwalk Bakery, grab food, and walk to HS. We need to be there a little before 8 to be one of the first, right? Or is that not necessary? So, currently what's the best option for a 9am opening from Caribbean Beach?

Not sure about being the first. We were there plenty early enough and there was very light crowd traffic at that hour. We went last week. We stayed at Pop and used the bus from AoA as the Skyliner was backed up at Caribbean Beach another morning we went there early so we figured the bus would be better. We got in line for the bus at around 7:40 and were on the bus from AOA just after 8 am. We were walking into the park by 8:25 and we were on RoTR (boarding group 7) at 8:47. All of that being said, you could take the Skyliner to AoA and take the bus to HS or just get in line at the Skyliner shortly after 7 after getting your RoTR BG. The Skyliner will start running gondola's over around 8 am.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Not sure about being the first. We were there plenty early enough and there was very light crowd traffic at that hour. We went last week. We stayed at Pop and used the bus from AoA as the Skyliner was backed up at Caribbean Beach another morning we went there early so we figured the bus would be better. We got in line for the bus at around 7:40 and were on the bus from AOA just after 8 am. We were walking into the park by 8:25 and we were on RoTR (boarding group 7) at 8:47. All of that being said, you could take the Skyliner to AoA and take the bus to HS or just get in line at the Skyliner shortly after 7 after getting your RoTR BG. The Skyliner will start running gondola's over around 8 am.

I haven’t taken the Skyliner yet but something you mentioned raised a question. Are there 3 different lines at CBR for each of the 3 different routes?

 

[DisneyOma]

Not sure about being the first. We were there plenty early enough and there was very light crowd traffic at that hour. We went last week. We stayed at Pop and used the bus from AoA as the Skyliner was backed up at Caribbean Beach another morning we went there early so we figured the bus would be better. We got in line for the bus at around 7:40 and were on the bus from AOA just after 8 am. We were walking into the park by 8:25 and we were on RoTR (boarding group 7) at 8:47. All of that being said, you could take the Skyliner to AoA and take the bus to HS or just get in line at the Skyliner shortly after 7 after getting your RoTR BG. The Skyliner will start running gondola's over around 8 am.

AoA is running buses to HS but Pop is not, is that what you are saying?

 

[CarolynFH]

I haven’t taken the Skyliner yet but something you mentioned raised a question. Are there 3 different lines at CBR for each of the 3 different routes?

Yep. The CBR station is like a T - the middle line goes to DHS and the two other lines go to Pop/AoA on one side and Epcot on the other side. The lines don’t connect - there’s a large central area between them. But it’s easy to figure out which line goes where - signage is good.

 

[disneygirlsng]

AoA is running buses to HS but Pop is not, is that what you are saying?

That has been the case since AoA reopened.

 

[Jjlandc]

I haven’t taken the Skyliner yet but something you mentioned raised a question. Are there 3 different lines at CBR for each of the 3 different routes?

Yes, there are 3 different lines at the CB station- one to HS, one to AoA/Pop and one to Riviera/Epcot. There is a line from AoA/Pop to Caribbean Beach- you must get off here. There is a line from Caribbean Beach to HS and to the Riviera. There is a line from the Riviera to Epcot but if you are traveling from Caribbean Beach to Epcot, via Riviera, you do not get off and just move through.
So traveling from Caribbean Beach to HS or Epcot - there is no getting off, but from AoA/Pop you must get off at CB. From Riviera to Epcot- it's direct. From Riviera to HS you must get off at CB.

 

[MissBritt]

Has anyone driven in before park opening in the last few days? How early are they letting cars in?

 

[Jjlandc]

I haven’t taken the Skyliner yet but something you mentioned raised a question. Are there 3 different lines at CBR for each of the 3 different routes?

No buses from Pop to HS, only skyliner. But AoA has buses to HS, we found the transfer station at CB to be crowded at peak times in the am to get to HS.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Has anyone driven in before park opening in the last few days? How early are they letting cars in?

heres my report from Friday:

Yep, was there yesterday and drove from AoA. We left the parking lot around 745 and it's just a short drive, maybe 5 minutes tops. We were 4th in line where security held us back from getting to the toll booths. They let us proceed to toll booth at 755, but we were then held there another 15-20 minutes.

Once in the parking lot, we realized it doesn't pay to be first because they send you all the way down the first parking row. You may have saw my post above, but here's what we were able to do in the morning by 11am:


This included a couple food snack stops and photopass stop. After our RotR ride, we went to droid depot to complete our droid builds early, then it was nearly time for lunch so we hung out til out ADR table was ready.

Good luck on your day!

 

[scrappinginontario]

Yep. The CBR station is like a T - the middle line goes to DHS and the two other lines go to Pop/AoA on one side and Epcot on the other side. The lines don’t connect - there’s a large central area between them. But it’s easy to figure out which line goes where - signage is good.

Yes, there are 3 different lines at the CB station- one to HS, one to AoA/Pop and one to Riviera/Epcot. There is a line from AoA/Pop to Caribbean Beach- you must get off here. There is a line from Caribbean Beach to HS and to the Riviera. There is a line from the Riviera to Epcot but if you are traveling from Caribbean Beach to Epcot, via Riviera, you do not get off and just move through.
So traveling from Caribbean Beach to HS or Epcot - there is no getting off, but from AoA/Pop you must get off at CB. From Riviera to Epcot- it's direct. From Riviera to HS you must get off at CB.

Yes that part I understand. I’m well aware how the Skyliner itself works with 3 separate lines.

To clarify my question better, Are there 3 different lines for people to physically line up in at CBR? E.g. When a person staying at CBR arrives at the Skyliner station, do they choose to line up in either an Epcot line or a DHS line or a Pop/AoA line or, is there 1 line of people that splits closer to loading the Skyliner? I’m thinking about this being early in the morning when I’ve heard of lines being extensive and stretching down the ramp.

 

[CarolynFH]

Yes that part I understand. I’m well aware how the Skyliner itself works with 3 separate lines.

To clarify my question better, Are there 3 different lines for people to physically line up in at CBR? E.g. When a person staying at CBR arrives at the Skyliner station, do they choose to line up in either an Epcot line or a DHS line or a Pop/AoA line or, is there 1 line of people that splits closer to loading the Skyliner? I’m thinking about this being early in the morning when I’ve heard of lines being extensive and stretching down the ramp.

Oops, sorry, I misunderstood - and I can’t help because I don’t know! OTOH, I remember reading about those lines, but I think they might have been for early DHS opening when Epcot wasn’t going to open for some time later. Hopefully someone with recent experience will answer soon!

 

[Jjlandc]

Yes that part I understand. I’m well aware how the Skyliner itself works with 3 separate lines.

To clarify my question better, Are there 3 different lines for people to physically line up in at CBR? E.g. When a person staying at CBR arrives at the Skyliner station, do they choose to line up in either an Epcot line or a DHS line or a Pop/AoA line or, is there 1 line of people that splits closer to loading the Skyliner? I’m thinking about this being early in the morning when I’ve heard of lines being extensive and stretching down the ramp.

There is one huge line (wrapping all around-see photo- during HS opening time) and then they send you to your respective line. We didn’t ride it at peak time later in the day. Every time we got off at non peak times we just proceeded to our respective line directly.

 

[scrappinginontario]

There is one huge line (wrapping all around-see photo- during HS opening time) and then they send you to your respective line. We didn’t ride it at peak time later in the day. Every time we got off at non peak times we just proceeded to our respective line directly.

Thank you!!! This was the information I was looking for.

Earlier it was recommended that a guest line up for the Skyliner at CBR, take it to AoA and then take a bus from AoA to DHS. Before discouraging this advice I wanted to ensure I understood how the Skyliner guest line-up worked.

Another option for CBR guests may be to look for buses at the Skyliner station that are going to DHS. I have heard it's not uncommon for them to offer bus service from the Skyliner station to DHS at park opening. Not guaranteed but sometimes another option.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Thank you!!! This was the information I was looking for.

Earlier it was recommended that a guest line up for the Skyliner at CBR, take it to AoA and then take a bus from AoA to DHS. Before discouraging this advice I wanted to ensure I understood how the Skyliner guest line-up worked.

Another option for CBR guests may be to look for buses at the Skyliner station that are going to DHS. I have heard it's not uncommon for them to offer bus service from the Skyliner station to DHS at park opening. Not guaranteed but sometimes another option.

If the cbr guest is staying close enough to the Riviera station, they could potentially take that into the main cbr station and when they get off, tell the CMs they want to go to AoA, they'll probably be directed straight there. I'm not sure that's the most effective strategy for getting to DHS though.

I didn't use skyliner or bus to get to DHS in the morning, but I did for epcot and at the time, the line was still contained within the station with the majority going to epcot for it's opening, so new arrivals from the CBR resorts were asked immediately where they were going and DHS and AoA travelers were directed to their short lines.

My experience this past Friday was driving in. The AoA skyliner was already running when we left the parking lot, not sure what time it started. We arrived at DHS just before 750 and waited at 2 different places for 20 minutes before finally being allowed into the parking lot. The skyliner was running the entire time I was waiting to get in the parking lot, so no idea how many skyliner people got in ahead of us. However, we were still able to do mmrr, all 3 TSL rides, RotR and droid depot in the morning while also grabbing various snacks and photos and restroom breaks.

I say all this to say that if someone is trying to get to the park at unofficial opening, at this time, they should be able to get in no problem no matter how they travel to DHS and get their priority to do list accomplished before lunch. I never went to the AoA bus stop to get to a park, so not sure how bad the lines are for that, but with socially distanced buses, I wouldn't suggest sending people from other resorts to AoA to ride the bus, unless they're at Pop. Seems like a bigger time kill to me, honestly. I'm guessing transportation has improved in the morning s now that RotR bgs aren't obtained in park.

 

[EMHDad]

We just finished our first WDW day today and went to Animal Kingdom. First, even with shorter hours, it just did not feel like a full day park. We left before 3pm after doing everything we wanted. Still, on the bright side, the crowds seemed reasonable and it was a great experience for us. Below is some of the schedule of the day. We wanted a good start so we got up early. We left our offsite hotel and got to the YC at 6:30am. We did not even go inside. We parked and went to the bus stop.

Animal Kingdom was 8am-6pm. Expected bus at 7am.
Bus arrived at 6:40am. We were the only ones on the bus.
Bus arrived at Animal Kingdom and we walked straight into the park. I kept expecting a rope line stopping us and. Toning. We went straight to FOP. They allowed people to line up but ride was not running. We ended up standing in front of the life size Avatar for about 10 minutes.

FOP - line started at 7:30am and we were done with the ride at 7:49am
Navi River Ride - Entered line at 7:55am. Off ride at 8:04am.
Kilaminjao Safari - Entered line at 8:17am. One truck at 8:20am & off at 8:43am.
Everest - Entered line at 8:59am. One ride at 9:04am. Off at 9:07am.
Everest #2 - Re-entered ride at 9:10am. On ride at 9:17am. Off at 9:30am.

***Unusual Moment of the day. At end of Everest #2 my ds11 got stuck in seat. The lap bar would not come up. It stayed locked in. Nothing worked and they had to call maintenance. After watching them use a drill to unscrew a piece and pull an inside lever, my son was freed. the delay was only like 10 minutes. Still, they decided to call over to FOP and got us a FP to FOP and gave another FP to any ride in park.Yaye!

FOP #2 - Entered line at 10:04am. Entered Preston at 10:11 Andover ride at 10:22am.
TriteratopSpin - Entered line at 10:52am and off ride at 11:00am.
At lunch at Dino Restaurant and it took under 5 min to get food.
Entered FP line of Dinosaur at 11:39am and got on ride at 11:47am.
Rafiki Planet Watch - Entered line at 12:31Pm and on train at 12:46pm
We left the area at 2:00pm and was back on the train at 2:15pm
It’s tough being a bug - Entered line at 2:45 and waited 10 min right outside theatre.
lifted park shortly after 3pm and got on bus.

Except for. The beginning, we strolled everywhere. We stopped at every kids station to do the activity for the book. We stopped at every photographer. Also, if you have Photopass, you must do Super Zoom! It is so awesome!

We went back to YC and had Bell Service unload our bags and we went to the room.
*Second hiccup of the day with a final silver lining.
First, magic bands didn’t work. Phone didn’t work. Had to go to lobby. Got it fixed and went back to one. We were Not happy with room. It had two beds and a table instead of a couch. We are a family of 5. I called and got a call back in 5minutes and got a new room.
Paid for a standard view room. We we’re giving a garden view room that didn’t work, and ended up with a water view room.
we got a treat at 4:30pm and then rode every skyline from 5:15pm-6:45pm. Watched the sun set and turn to darkness why riding,
Picked up dinner at Beach Club marketplace and took back to room. Kids asleep by 9am,.

MK is tomorrow!

 

[BreitCnJ]

Going end of the month and want to make sure I'm up to date on HS rope drop. We will be at Caribbean Beach. A while back, I was seeing that Uber to Speedway and walking was the best, but now I don't see much mention of that. Is the skyliner now a reliable way to get to HS rope drop? Park opens at 9am on our trip. I was also considering going to go to Boardwalk Bakery for breakfast and walking, but I am a little concerned about the timing. I feel like I need to be at the resort and not in transit at 7am to try for boarding group, and I'm not sure that leaving at 7:15ish is early enough to go to Boardwalk Bakery, grab food, and walk to HS. We need to be there a little before 8 to be one of the first, right? Or is that not necessary? So, currently what's the best option for a 9am opening from Caribbean Beach?

We visited in December, the weekend before Christmas - 3 of us (myself, wife, and 15 yr old daughter). We stayed at Boardwalk and walked to HS, so I can’t provide much insight on your CB transportation options. But, we did opt to go to HS before official posted open time, which was 9:00 on the Friday before Christmas. We woke up and secured a RotR BP at 7:00 from our room. Once that was secured we began to get ready, walked to HS and walked through the gate about 8:15. I‘m not sure exactly what time they began letting people in, but we walked through the Temp check, security, and turnstiles with only 2-3 people in front of us at any of those points. We rode MMRR, SDD, TSMM, and RnRC in that order before 9:30. The ride lines grew quickly after the official open time.

In our experience, I would say that although we didn’t officially rope drop, going early before posted park open was still very useful. It’s what we usually do, so it wasn’t a big deal for us. I had similar questions about the necessity or benefit in the current environment, but my adult nephew went in early November and still recommended it. We had similar experiences at the other parks on the trip, benefitting from early arrival. It was the weekend before Christmas, so the crowds and the open/close times were different. They have also begun filling more seats on some of the rides since then and have introduced park hopping lite.

One thing that didnt really register with us before we arrived on this trip was the broad implementation and requirement to use mobile order. I would recommend you take a few minutes and get familiar with that process before you go. You are forced to use it at the parks for fast/quick service locations. They won’t even let you in the building (ABC Commissary, Pecos Bills, Rondos Roasters, etc) unless you have already ordered on your phone and can show them that you have received a notice on your phone that your food is ready. After we did it once or twice, we found it quite useful too.

Have fun on your trip.

 

[Jjlandc]

Prior to them allowing gondalas to leave CB for HS, you can go to AoA/Pop by asking the CM up front. The line builds up for HS but there were those who were going up and getting on the AoA/Pop gondalas. Not sure if they were staying there or not, but they were going through.