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

[yulilin3]

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.

You're not forced to use MO. It is strongly encouraged but you can order at the podium if you wish.

 

[MissBritt]

Here now. Drove in to MK. 8:10 and parking lot is not yet open. Park opening is 9. Easily 100 cars when I pulled up at 8 on the dot.

 

[BreitCnJ]

Interesting, the cast members we encountered only directed us to MO and didn’t offer up any alternatives. Either way, once we gained a little experience with the app and the process, it was smooth sailing.

 

[CapnJacksGirl]

Hello DISers! We haven't been to WDW since the pandemic began and didn't think we were going until 2022 but we have now planned a quick trip Feb 27-Mar 3 and I'm a bit lost. Is there an easy place to find what the current opening times and best rope drop procedures are now? (My old go-to website doesn't seem to be updated.) I know rope drop isn't rope drop as I remember it and since we only have 4 1/2 park days, I want to maximize our time. I think I have a handle on RotR boarding groups and park reservations but I need some guidance on when to arrive and when they actually start letting guests in. Thanks in advance for the direction!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

You're not forced to use MO. It is strongly encouraged but you can order at the podium if you wish.

Mobile order still doesn’t work with Disney GCs, is that correct?

 

[yulilin3]

Mobile order still doesn’t work with Disney GCs, is that correct?

it does. I used it the other day at AK, like last week

 

[yulilin3]

Hello DISers! We haven't been to WDW since the pandemic began and didn't think we were going until 2022 but we have now planned a quick trip Feb 27-Mar 3 and I'm a bit lost. Is there an easy place to find what the current opening times and best rope drop procedures are now? (My old go-to website doesn't seem to be updated.) I know rope drop isn't rope drop as I remember it and since we only have 4 1/2 park days, I want to maximize our time. I think I have a handle on RotR boarding groups and park reservations but I need some guidance on when to arrive and when they actually start letting guests in. Thanks in advance for the direction!

read the last couple of pages for recent reports

 

[yulilin3]

Interesting, the cast members we encountered only directed us to MO and didn’t offer up any alternatives. Either way, once we gained a little experience with the app and the process, it was smooth sailing.

they won't offer any additional way, they are strongly pushing MO, but if you tell them you want to order at the podium they will let you
Obviously MO is much more efficient as you can pic your eating time early and then just click "I'm here" when it's time to eat

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

it does. I used it the other day at AK, like last week

Thank you! I had apparently missed that update during “the dark times” when I wasn’t keeping up with WDW news . Good move by them to add that functionality.

 

[Tbiafore]

Here now. Drove in to MK. 8:10 and parking lot is not yet open. Park opening is 9. Easily 100 cars when I pulled up at 8 on the dot.

Oh my! So you are waiting in line an hour early before Parking even opens? And its that busy already? Wow! Now I don't know if I want to go back to using the bus and cancel my car reservation....

Scratch that, I misread your original message wrong.

 

[yulilin3]

Thank you! I had apparently missed that update during “the dark times” when I wasn’t keeping up with WDW news . Good move by them to add that functionality.

so if you go to MO, pick whatever time and item, when you go to pay click
+add a card
then you'll pick between
Disney gift card or disney dinning card
and
Disney rewards redemption card

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

so if you go to MO, pick whatever time and item, when you go to pay click
+add a card
then you'll pick between
Disney gift card or disney dinning card
and
Disney rewards redemption cardView attachment 549448

Thanks for sharing the details. I was abandoning the idea of paying with gift cards on our next trip since MO is so highly encouraged. This is good news (even though I am late to the party, haha!)

 

[scrappinginontario]

Thank you! I had apparently missed that update during “the dark times” when I wasn’t keeping up with WDW news . Good move by them to add that functionality.

A recommendation others have had is to record your gift card numbers in notes so that you can copy and paste them into the app when you need to use them. More efficient than keying the number each time you want to use a gift card.

 

[Leigh L]

A recommendation others have had is to record your gift card numbers in notes so that you can copy and paste them into the app when you need to use them. More efficient than keying the number each time you want to use a gift card.

Great idea!! Thanks

 

[disneylover102]

I haven’t been checking this thread for a few weeks, but I’ve been here since Wednesday and will be here until Saturday. A few weeks ago I mentioned I would be taking lynx buses to get to the parks. So here’s been my experience so far with that and park hopping the last few days.

Wednesday, January 6:
We woke up at our Airbnb close to Universal and missed the bus to the lynx 50 stop near SeaWorld, so we got a Lyft there (cheaper than getting a Lyft to Disney). We then took bus 50 to the TTC. We were very early, so we were planning on walking to the Magic Kingdom (walking to the Polynesian and the GF and then from there to MK) to beat the people from the TTC getting on the monorail/ferry, but the TTC guest area wasn’t open yet, so they wouldn’t let us walk to the Polynesian from the TTC, so we had to wait for them to open (around 7:30), and we got on the monorail to the MK. We got on the first monorail and Space Mountain was running when we got in at 7:45. We park hopped to AK around 3. A bus to AK showed up right as we got to the bus stop (btw when I talk about park hopping, I’m not talking about lynx, but the normal Disney buses), and it departed a few minutes later. We park hopped to Epcot around 7. A bus showed up right as we got to the bus stop, and it left a couple minutes later. We didn’t get a lynx bus to our hotel that night, as we had to get a Lyft to our Airbnb we had by Universal to pick up our luggage and then another Lyft to our hotel close to Disney to check in.

Thursday, January 7:
We were very tired and wanted a little extra sleep, so we got a Lyft to the speedway station by the boardwalk and walked from there to HS. It required a little jaywalking, so I don’t recommend. We got into the park and to the Millennium Falcon about 8:40, and it was already running and we waited about 20 minutes. We park hopped to AK about 3. The bus was already there, and it left pretty much right after we got on. I think it was waiting for any guests to show up. We park hopped to MK around 6:30. The bus was pretty quick there too. After MK closed at 8, my sister and I split up so I could get to Epcot before it closed at 9 and so she could get some food at the store before it closed. So I’ll share our separate experiences

My sister’s: got off Splash Mountain a couple minutes after 8, rushed to the monorail, barely made 8:27 bus (which was late) to get to our hotel. She had just enough time to get what we needed at the store before it closed at 10, as the bus takes half an hour to get to our hotel (Red Carpet Inn).

Mine: I got off Splash Mountain a couple minutes after 8. I rushed to the bus stop, where there was already a bus to Epcot waiting. There were a few people on that bus, which left a few minutes later. By the time I got off the bus and into Epcot and in line for Test Track, it was about 8:40. I waited about half an hour for it, then I rushed to the bus stop with a bus to the Polynesian. The bus arrived just as I got there, but there were enough people waiting that I didn’t get on the bus. The next one came probably 10 minutes later. I had about 8 minutes to walk from the Polynesian to the TTC bus area. There was a sign going into the main TTC area that said “do not enter,” but I couldn’t see another way and there wasn’t anyone watching that area, so I hesitantly rushed through there to the bus, and I was about a minute early. More on the do not enter area later. It was about a half hour before the bus got to my hotel. Keep in mind if you’re using lynx buses that, unless your stop is a MAIN stop (TTC, Disney Springs, a park, etc), you have to request a stop, so make sure to watch your location on google maps to know when to request a stop!

Friday, January 8:
We got on the 6:50 bus to the TTC. There’s wifi on the bus, but don’t rely on it to get a ROTR boarding group! When it’s there and working, it’s fast, but the MDE app logged me out and I couldn’t log back in on the bus. My phone doesn’t have data. Fortunately, my sister does have data, and we got group 71, so it was fine and we did get called, but basically, don’t be on the bus at 7! Anyway, we got to the TTC about 7:20, and the TTC was open. We walked to the Polynesian and there was basically nobody waiting for a Disney bus to HS. The first one came a little before 8, and we got to HS a few minutes after 8 and a lot of people were going in. We were going to do TOT first, but at about 8:15, TOT wasn’t running, but RNRC was, so we did that and waited about 10 minutes. When we got off, TOT was running and we waited about 25 minutes. We were at HS open to close and then waited 10-15 minutes for the skyliner to Caribbean Beach and then walked on to the one to Epcot, so all those people were heading back to their hotels, NOT Epcot.
We got to Epcot and to Soarin’ around 8:15. We got off and rushed to Test Track. It was broken down so we went on Mission Space green, getting in line right at park closing. We made it on the next bus to the Polynesian, and we had about 5 minutes to get on the next lynx 56 bus. We again entered the do not enter area of the TTC (since I wasn’t sure if that sign was even supposed to be there and I didn’t see another way), and a security officer told us to walk along the side of the gates by the TTC to get to the bus stop next time. We sprinted and made it on the bus. Btw, bus 56 runs every half hour, so if we had missed it, we just would’ve gotten a half hour less of sleep.



Saturday, January 9.

I missed the first 2 buses because the crosswalk was being naughty. I got on the 6:50 bus, which got to the TTC about 7:20. Security wasn’t open yet, but it was within a couple minutes. I got on the 2nd monorail, and I got to Space Mountain about 7:45 and it was running. I walked on and then did it again with a very short wait. Then it broke down literally the rest of the day, so I’m glad I did it first! My sister slept in quite a bit and was able to just catch the bus (which runs every half hour) when it was convenient for her. We were at MK all day when it closed at 8. Epcot closed at 9, so when we got off Thunder Mountain Railroad just after 8, we rushed to the MK bus area and barely missed the bus to Epcot that was there. It was about 7-10 minutes until the next one arrived. By the time we got into the park and to Test Track, it was about 8:45. We waited about 35 minutes and got on the next bus to the Polynesian. We could’ve sprinted to make the next bus from the TTC, but we didn’t want to. We figured out how to get to the bus stop the right way, which is by walking along the gates by the temp screening tents, walking past the tram loading areas, walking under the bridge (or whatever that is) as if going to parking, but then go on the walkway from the front of parking to the TTC bus area. We were about 25 minutes early for the bus.



I’m at HS right now and I had quite the bus adventure this morning, but I’ll share my day as a whole later.



Sorry this was long, but I figure some people may want to hear my experience taking the bus so they can decide if it’s worth it. Having a car is definitely nicer but if you’re on a budget trip and staying off site, it’s a no brainer to save hundreds by not renting a car or parking. Basically, if your hotel is on US 192 and east of Disney, there’ll be a bus 56 stop for you.

 

[EpcotNerd]

Park Hopping Question... if you're driving from park to park can you enter the parking lot of your second park before 2:00? What exactly has to wait until 2:00, tapping the turnstiles to get in?

 

[scrappinginontario]

Park Hopping Question... if you're driving from park to park can you enter the parking lot of your second park before 2:00? What exactly has to wait until 2:00, tapping the turnstiles to get in?

Yes you can as I don't believe you have to prove you have a park pass at the time of entering a parking lot, only entering a park.

 

[EpcotNerd]

Here now. Drove in to MK. 8:10 and parking lot is not yet open. Park opening is 9. Easily 100 cars when I pulled up at 8 on the dot.

What time did they wind up opening? Did you enter MK before park opening?

 

[disneylover102]

Ok, so here’s today’s report:



Basically all 4 days so far we had been to Disney, rides were already running when we got in early, so I wanted to get there extra early. I took bus 56 to the TTC at 5:50-6:16 AM and bus 50 to Disney Springs at 6:20-6:35 AM. I walked around and found a spot outside Disney Springs to get wifi. At 7, I got boarding group 14 for ROTR. Then I hurried to bus 303, which was supposed to leave at 7:05 but left early, and I barely made it. It got to HS about 7:25. It stopped at the CM entrance, and there’s a walkway to the park entrance from there. I was the only park guest on the bus, and I don’t think they expect anyone to be coming to the park from the CM entrance, so they were pretty confused when I was waiting outside the temperature screening tent (which had nobody in it btw) and told me to go wait at the normal place they hold people, which (I think) is over by the skyliner. Several minutes after 8 is when they started letting people in, and I got to TOT about 8:10 and walked on... twice! Then I did it again with about a 15 minute wait, then 30. It’s very clear that me getting there just that half hour earlier got me on 2-3 more rides on TOT. A little after 2, we park hopped to Epcot via skyliner. It was almost a walk-on both at HS and at Caribbean Beach. We got into a bus to the Polynesian pretty quick after Epcot closed, but then we had to wait about 20 minutes for the bus from the TTC to our hotel.



Main takeaway from today: getting to HS more than an hour before official opening = at least a couple extra rides.

 

[MissBritt]

What time did they wind up opening? Did you enter MK before park opening?

Cars started moving at 815 and we were in the gate at 9. Monorail was not running at the time and I have no idea how early the park allowed entry because we happened to hit is just the way we did.