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

[LSUmiss]

I think some of the housekeeping issues are lack of help which is affecting businesses all over the US now. Saw a news report that fast food places will only do drive thru from now on not because of covid, but because of no employees. We’ve had two restaurants close in our small town for the same reason. McDonalds is now paying people $50 just to fill out an application! The hospital
network in our area is even paying sign on bonuses for housekeeping staff not just nurses. I guess it’s easier for some people to collect assistance or unemployment than to work.

We are having the same issues here & vaccines are open & available to anyone who wants them in our area so Covid is no excuse now.

 

[Sarahslay]

Just saw your post - I just posted the same thing in a new thread on resorts board! We didn't have bags either at All Star Movies (even the "very small" part lol).... No trash bags is so odd!

I'm actually used to no trash bags, and I prefer it, but on my last several stays (CR, Riviera, YC, BCV, & Pop over 4 trips) they've all had bags and it's been SUPER annoying. They are just giant air bubbles that hold zero things. We drink a lot of water (from bottles we bring) and they fill up with 1 bottle of water. We have to take the bag out and re-seat it in the can, but still can't fit as much in those tiny cans with the bags. On my next trip I'm just taking the bags out (but, like I said, I've been used to no bags pre-covid)

 

[disneyseniors]

I think some of the housekeeping issues are lack of help which is affecting businesses all over the US now. Saw a news report that fast food places will only do drive thru from now on not because of covid, but because of no employees. We’ve had two restaurants close in our small town for the same reason. McDonalds is now paying people $50 just to fill out an application! The hospital
network in our area is even paying sign on bonuses for housekeeping staff not just nurses. I guess it’s easier for some people to collect assistance or unemployment than to work.

I agree with the last statement. Unemployment is practically doubled each week due to more "stimulus" money. Some people are making more on unemployment than when they worked. I think that is the main reason there are so many jobs open now. We need to get back to regular UEI. IMO

 

[LSUmiss]

This may explain why Disney can’t get all the restaurants open yet. My husband is a hiring manager for a large company that pays very well, and he said it’s really hard to get workers right now. Candidates either don’t pass the drug tests or have gotten comfortable sitting at home during covid. And this is a company that a few years ago had a long waiting list to get hired.

I actually told DH that yesterday.

 

[lovethattink]

Hey everyone! Just a reminder that this is the theme park board and the Here Now Just Back thread. Please keep it to those topics. It suddenly feels like we are on the resort board instead.

 

[jo-jo]

We just got back last night.
Parks seemed busy to us (we are late fall people). Some lines are just crazy. Waited an hour for mickey ride in HS. Lines snaked all over the place. Sometime it's hard to find where the line begins. Never rode PP or mine train. First thing in the morning, slinky dog was 70 min. Last hour at MK was amazing. Took my 4 year DGD on barnstormer, dumbo, tea cups twice and race cars. One note, I was pushing DH in wheelchair,part of the time. Some rides like buzz had switch backs every 20 ft or so. The next day my back was achy from all the turns.

Handsanitizers...dispensers all over the place. But are they filled???? At Buzz on Monday evening, all three were empty. I always carried my own, so I didn't have to stop. Sometimes, there would be a line getting off ride just to use hand sanitizer.

We didn't buy much food in parks. But one meal was at Sunshine seasons. Not many choices. My 8 year old DGS got the chicken leg and rice. I was afraid he would still be hungry. I was hoping to order just a side of mac and cheese. But I didn't see a way to do that, so ordered an extra kids meal.

Loved the bus and getting a seat. We didn't have issues. My DD, did JUST miss a AKL bus from Epcot and had to wait 30 mins.


Love the new security system. Once I figured out the "bad" items, I put them in a large ziplock bag and pulled it out and left in wheelchair, then walked thru carrying bags with drinks and snacks. No more digging thru everything.

We stayed at BLT and AKL. BLT no issues with housekeeping. (We didn't have much) AKL one day no trash pick up, I had brought along a few extra bags. So I had a bag and trash can full of recyclables . Then had all trash cans plus a bag of trash. Heard housekeeping outside the door and asked about picking up trash. CM came in and I told those there are recyclables and those are trash. She put everything in one bag. So glad I took the time to keep recyclables separate.

Really really missed the old ME. Getting the luggage from SW and walking to ME was not pleasant. Then waited about 30 mins. I think for Dec, we'll look into a town car service.

Forgot to add, we had to wait about 20-30 mins just to get checked into ME. So that was carry bags, shove suitcase shuffle, pause, repeat, over and over.

Another thing just remembered. At BLT, bell services were handing out carts like penny candy. For luggage and grocery orders. Wonder if this is because not enough CM working? We had a huge food order and needed help, while waiting at least 3 people got their own items with carts.

 

[auntyjenn]

Love the new security system. Once I figured out the "bad" items, I put them in a large ziplock bag and pulled it out and left in wheelchair, then walked thru carrying bags with drinks and snacks. No more digging thru everything.

What are the 'bad' items?

 

[jlundeen]

What are the 'bad' items?

I had trouble with my eyeglasses case (metal hinge on back) and battery charger. When I left these in the basket of my ECV, I was able to walk through with my other bag, but held my little sanitizer bottle out since it was connected with a metal ring. Never had to dig through again, although they did sometimes want to see inside my battery charger case.

They told me if you have something inside the bag that might set it off, to take it out and hold it away from the bag, and then they can see it and it's not an issue. It is SOOOO much faster than the old bag check....

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

What are the 'bad' items?

Anything that sets off the metal detector. If it goes off you have to go over and let security check your bag.

 

[auntlynne]

This is a good point. Do you think they will let me wait for a DME bus if I ask My husband will think I am nuts. I just love starting our vacation this way. I have fond memories of the DME - my toddler son falling asleep on me after an early flight, trivia with my daughter, photos in front of the bus in their mickey shades, shutting said toddler son's finger in the door to the tiny bathroom he had to use while potty training...I am a sucker so I will gladly pay for for DME service in the future if they offer the Disney themed buses for an upcharge. Okay, done with my off-topic nostalgic rant!

They’re not going to make you get on a bus. If you want to wait, it’s your time. Now, convincing your husband is another thing.

 

[auntlynne]

Quick question one of my friends was saying that they are letting people fill their own mugs now. Is that true? I was last there end of January and it wasn’t the case. I’m heading to Pop on Saturday.

They posted the answer before you asked. They read your mind.

The self service drink stations are open at Pop!!!!

They have a CM standing there limiting the number of people who can access the stations at a given time, but I filled my very own coffee cup this morning!

Progress!!!

 

[DisneyJColeMom]

I do understand and told my daughter that. It just made us sad and was a taste of what is to come with no DME....a lesser experience that lacks the Disney magic we have all come to know and love.

There are also Charter buses operating to and from the parks. My daughter and I call them ghetto buses even though they are actually nicer buses than the Disney themed ones.

I didnt even know i might be missing out on this experience and now I want it lol!! So its just a mix of buses? Some people ARE getting the DME? Or is it mostly regular?

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I didnt even know i might be missing out on this experience and now I want it lol!! So its just a mix of buses? Some people ARE getting the DME? Or is it mostly regular?

Would I prefer to be on a DME bus? Yes.
Would I wait longer to take a DME bus if a regular bus was waiting? Absolutely not.

 

[focusondisney]

There are usually extra trash bags inside the garbage can.

Not at YC this week.

 

[GDubDIS]

Hey everyone - this is a bit delayed but I spent a few days at the parks last week, and this thread was very helpful for me so wanted to share my experience. The TLDR is: if you are vaccinated, or feel comfortable being around crowds of people wearing masks, I think it's a great time to go!

This trip was just me and my partner, both late 20s who like to eat and drink and hadn't been to HS or AK in 10 years so were excited for Star Wars Land, Pandora, and our first festival at Epcot. For us, MK didn't matter, so with our two park days we spent the time at the other 3 parks.

Social Distancing / Masking / Covid Protocols: We live in the middle of Washington DC, where mask compliance and distancing are generally excellent and Covid protocols are strict. Well, we were in for a rude awakening when we landed at MCO and saw noses and mouths everywhere. Yikes. Partner is fully vaccinated, and I got my first dose a few days before the trip so baggage claim was particularly stressful for me.

Once we got to WDW it was a different world. In the parks I would say mask compliance is fantastic. Social distancing actually wasn't bad either! Maybe because we live in a city where it is never practical to always be 6 feet apart from others, and are used to sharing elevators with other parties in our apartment building, but I thought given that almost everyone was properly wearing masks, I felt comfortable pretty much everywhere. In lines I actually did think everyone was almost always appropriately distanced. Of course there are chokepoints, but if you're wearing a mask and just walking by (and outdoors) I personally don't think that's too high of a risk.

Disney Springs was definitely more "nose-y" but still way better than what I saw at MCO and better than I was expecting from reading reports here. And we went on a Sunday night. FWIW I'm a pretty strict Covid "rules" follower and was impressed with Disney in that regard. All I could think about in the lines was, why did we ever get closer to strangers than this?!

Lines/Wait Times: The lines do pretty much always look incredibly long but I loved always moving. The last time I was at WDW was in 2017 (EP & MK) and we are not WDW pros so hadn't done any FastPasses in advance. The standbys at that time were sooo long we only did a few rides and mostly walked around and took pictures with characters. This time around, I felt like you could really do everything you wanted even with minimal planning.

Monday, 4/12 HS --> EP --> HS: On Monday, 4/12 we got to HS at around 8:10/8:15 for an official 9am opening. Couldn't have been later than 8:20 when they started letting folks in and we went towards ToT/RnRC but ToT wasn't open yet so started with RnRC. Took about 5 or 10 minutes for the line to start moving but then we immediately walked on. After that got in line for ToT which had a posted wait of 50 and probably took about 40 minutes, one of the longer lines of the trip. But still not bad at all! We then did Smugglers Run, posted 60 wait, actual 45. After that we did lunch at Ronto Roasters (yum) and were able to get an immediate time for mobile ordering around 11am-ish. After that got a beer at one of the walk up carts by Muppets and Galaxy's Edge entrance (less than a 5 minute line for the cart) and waited for our RoTR boarding group (what an awesome ride)!

Probably the ONLY thing that was annoying (but understandable) about the Covid restrictions were the limits on people in the stores. In GE, as many of you know, you have to wait in line to access the main collection of shops. This line moved sloooowly and the merch was kind of disappointing once we got there. Really felt like the DS merch was better which was surprising to me. But we made the best of it and I ran to grab some Green Milks + Tequila for us while my partner waited in line.

It was starting to get hot then so we walked back to the Swan ( first we stopped at the shops on the way out of the park for some gifts) for a couple of hours at the pool, then headed over to Epcot to hit up festival booths. We got to Epcot around 4:30-5pm, stopped at a few booths around WS, and then took the Skyliner to HS arriving around 6:30. Between 6:30 and 8pm (closing time), we were able to ride TSM (posted 15, walk on), MMRR (posted 20, actually 10), and SDD (posted 50, actual 35). We also got our second Green Milk + Tequila of the day (YUM).

So in one day not only were we able to get on every ride we personally wanted to do at HS (which I think covered all the headliners), we also had time to sit down for lunch, go to our pool in the afternoon, pop into Epcot for festival booths, and do some shopping. We got up at 6:55am to grab our boarding pass, and were back in our room for the night by 9pm so I was thrilled with what we got done in that timespan, and that we weren't out super late before our next day in the parks.

Tuesday, 4/13: AK --> EP: Woke up around 6:45am today - park was scheduled to open at 8am so knew we wanted to be there well before then but didn't want to wake up toooo early because vacation. We just missed an AK bus from the Swan so took a Lyft (quick, easy, cheap) and arrived around 7:40am with no line to enter since early arrivals had already been let in.

We walked back towards the Safari and had to wait about 10-ish minutes before they opened up the line but then immediately walked through the queue and got on a truck. Great safari although we may have actually been a bit too early - it seemed like a lot of the animals were (understandably) still asleep.

Got off the Safari and walked to Everest (posted 5, walk on) then Dinosar (posted 5, walk on, had our own vehicle). After that we figured the line for FoP would be long all day so just got in line when it was posted 70 mins and stretched allll the way back to Africa but it only took 50 and was moving the whole time. Another awesome first-for-us ride! When we got off Pandora was definitely crowded (feels like they could have added more path space there??) so we got drinks and a pineappple/cream cheese roll from Pongu Pongu, which had a line but moved very quickly. And yes, we got the alcoholic version because again, vacation.

After that we hit up the animal trails - Gorilla Falls and Maharajah. Great trails! We were a bit hungry but unsure what we wanted so we went to Dawa Bar for drinks and snagged a table (it was tough to get a table when we were there but afterwards it cleared out around 11:30am and then there were tons of tables available) and grabbed a pretzel from the Harambe cart. *Before this trip I saw a lot about terrible lines for carts, and yes there were lines, but they only ever took 5 minutes to me which is what I would expect in normal times anyway.

We ended up scoring a walk-up spot for Nomad Lounge and did some quick shopping while we waited for that to be ready. We had a great spot on the patio and saw some character floats go by which was fun. Yummy food and drinks here, but boy oh boy is it challenging to get a non-sweet drink at WDW. After that we got in line for Navi River Journey to round out our time at AK (posted 40, took 40) and then called a Lyft back to the Swan. I will say the Swan buses were hard to find and not cleraly identifiable so Lyft was a lifesaver.

Spent about 2 hours at the pool in the afternoon before changing and walking over to Epcot again for the night. On the way we stopped at Abracadabar, which had our favorite drinks and overall atmosphere of the trip. Loved it and highly recommend if you want a good drink at Disney. We'd love to go back in normal times when it's buzzing and we can have an easier conversation with the bartender (something we really miss during Covid overall!)

Got to Epcot around 7pm and hit up some of the food booths on the other side of WS we didn't get to the night before. At some point we got a drink at the tequila bar in Mexico which was another place we think must be so fun during normal times - felt like a normal, non-Disney bar in there! There was no wait to get in the pavilion when we went and it was a 5 minute wait to get our drinks.

Later that night we hit up a few rides in quick succession - Livin with the Land (posted 5, walk on), Spaceship Earth (posted 35, took 20), Frozen (posted 25, took 15), and Test Track (posted 40, took 25). Once again I felt like we hit all the booths, pavilions, shops, and rides we wanted to with minimal wait times. We left Epcot around 10:30 and crashed once we got back to the Swan.

Overall Thoughts: We had a wonderful time! We felt safe the entire time we were on Disney property, although DS was crowded at night and definitely not as good compliance. But I expected worse! Wait times are amazing. We rode every ride we wanted to, including multiple headliners (MMRR, ToT, Smugglers Run, SDD, Test Track, Frozen, FoP) and never waited more than 50 minutes. And the 50 minute line was an exception, not the rule. We would have loved to see fireworks or have more shops/restaurants open, but we had realistic expectations given the events of the world, and felt increidbly lucky to be traveling and in good health (and at least partially vaccinated). Just the mini-break we needed!

Happy to answer any questions anyone has but if you've got your vaccine, don't mind going with the flow (and following the rules ), and need a little boost of happiness, I would 10/10 recommend it!

 

[auntyjenn]

Hey everyone - this is a bit delayed but I spent a few days at the parks last week, and this thread was very helpful for me so wanted to share my experience. The TLDR is: if you are vaccinated, or feel comfortable being around crowds of people wearing masks, I think it's a great time to go!

This trip was just me and my partner, both late 20s who like to eat and drink and hadn't been to HS or AK in 10 years so were excited for Star Wars Land, Pandora, and our first festival at Epcot. For us, MK didn't matter, so with our two park days we spent the time at the other 3 parks.

Social Distancing / Masking / Covid Protocols: We live in the middle of Washington DC, where mask compliance and distancing are generally excellent and Covid protocols are strict. Well, we were in for a rude awakening when we landed at MCO and saw noses and mouths everywhere. Yikes. Partner is fully vaccinated, and I got my first dose a few days before the trip so baggage claim was particularly stressful for me.

Once we got to WDW it was a different world. In the parks I would say mask compliance is fantastic. Social distancing actually wasn't bad either! Maybe because we live in a city where it is never practical to always be 6 feet apart from others, and are used to sharing elevators with other parties in our apartment building, but I thought given that almost everyone was properly wearing masks, I felt comfortable pretty much everywhere. In lines I actually did think everyone was almost always appropriately distanced. Of course there are chokepoints, but if you're wearing a mask and just walking by (and outdoors) I personally don't think that's too high of a risk.

Disney Springs was definitely more "nose-y" but still way better than what I saw at MCO and better than I was expecting from reading reports here. And we went on a Sunday night. FWIW I'm a pretty strict Covid "rules" follower and was impressed with Disney in that regard. All I could think about in the lines was, why did we ever get closer to strangers than this?!

Lines/Wait Times: The lines do pretty much always look incredibly long but I loved always moving. The last time I was at WDW was in 2017 (EP & MK) and we are not WDW pros so hadn't done any FastPasses in advance. The standbys at that time were sooo long we only did a few rides and mostly walked around and took pictures with characters. This time around, I felt like you could really do everything you wanted even with minimal planning.

Monday, 4/12 HS --> EP --> HS: On Monday, 4/12 we got to HS at around 8:10/8:15 for an official 9am opening. Couldn't have been later than 8:20 when they started letting folks in and we went towards ToT/RnRC but ToT wasn't open yet so started with RnRC. Took about 5 or 10 minutes for the line to start moving but then we immediately walked on. After that got in line for ToT which had a posted wait of 50 and probably took about 40 minutes, one of the longer lines of the trip. But still not bad at all! We then did Smugglers Run, posted 60 wait, actual 45. After that we did lunch at Ronto Roasters (yum) and were able to get an immediate time for mobile ordering around 11am-ish. After that got a beer at one of the walk up carts by Muppets and Galaxy's Edge entrance (less than a 5 minute line for the cart) and waited for our RoTR boarding group (what an awesome ride)!

Probably the ONLY thing that was annoying (but understandable) about the Covid restrictions were the limits on people in the stores. In GE, as many of you know, you have to wait in line to access the main collection of shops. This line moved sloooowly and the merch was kind of disappointing once we got there. Really felt like the DS merch was better which was surprising to me. But we made the best of it and I ran to grab some Green Milks + Tequila for us while my partner waited in line.

It was starting to get hot then so we walked back to the Swan ( first we stopped at the shops on the way out of the park for some gifts) for a couple of hours at the pool, then headed over to Epcot to hit up festival booths. We got to Epcot around 4:30-5pm, stopped at a few booths around WS, and then took the Skyliner to HS arriving around 6:30. Between 6:30 and 8pm (closing time), we were able to ride TSM (posted 15, walk on), MMRR (posted 20, actually 10), and SDD (posted 50, actual 35). We also got our second Green Milk + Tequila of the day (YUM).

So in one day not only were we able to get on every ride we personally wanted to do at HS (which I think covered all the headliners), we also had time to sit down for lunch, go to our pool in the afternoon, pop into Epcot for festival booths, and do some shopping. We got up at 6:55am to grab our boarding pass, and were back in our room for the night by 9pm so I was thrilled with what we got done in that timespan, and that we weren't out super late before our next day in the parks.

Tuesday, 4/13: AK --> EP: Woke up around 6:45am today - park was scheduled to open at 8am so knew we wanted to be there well before then but didn't want to wake up toooo early because vacation. We just missed an AK bus from the Swan so took a Lyft (quick, easy, cheap) and arrived around 7:40am with no line to enter since early arrivals had already been let in.

We walked back towards the Safari and had to wait about 10-ish minutes before they opened up the line but then immediately walked through the queue and got on a truck. Great safari although we may have actually been a bit too early - it seemed like a lot of the animals were (understandably) still asleep.

Got off the Safari and walked to Everest (posted 5, walk on) then Dinosar (posted 5, walk on, had our own vehicle). After that we figured the line for FoP would be long all day so just got in line when it was posted 70 mins and stretched allll the way back to Africa but it only took 50 and was moving the whole time. Another awesome first-for-us ride! When we got off Pandora was definitely crowded (feels like they could have added more path space there??) so we got drinks and a pineappple/cream cheese roll from Pongu Pongu, which had a line but moved very quickly. And yes, we got the alcoholic version because again, vacation.

After that we hit up the animal trails - Gorilla Falls and Maharajah. Great trails! We were a bit hungry but unsure what we wanted so we went to Dawa Bar for drinks and snagged a table (it was tough to get a table when we were there but afterwards it cleared out around 11:30am and then there were tons of tables available) and grabbed a pretzel from the Harambe cart. *Before this trip I saw a lot about terrible lines for carts, and yes there were lines, but they only ever took 5 minutes to me which is what I would expect in normal times anyway.

We ended up scoring a walk-up spot for Nomad Lounge and did some quick shopping while we waited for that to be ready. We had a great spot on the patio and saw some character floats go by which was fun. Yummy food and drinks here, but boy oh boy is it challenging to get a non-sweet drink at WDW. After that we got in line for Navi River Journey to round out our time at AK (posted 40, took 40) and then called a Lyft back to the Swan. I will say the Swan buses were hard to find and not cleraly identifiable so Lyft was a lifesaver.

Spent about 2 hours at the pool in the afternoon before changing and walking over to Epcot again for the night. On the way we stopped at Abracadabar, which had our favorite drinks and overall atmosphere of the trip. Loved it and highly recommend if you want a good drink at Disney. We'd love to go back in normal times when it's buzzing and we can have an easier conversation with the bartender (something we really miss during Covid overall!)

Got to Epcot around 7pm and hit up some of the food booths on the other side of WS we didn't get to the night before. At some point we got a drink at the tequila bar in Mexico which was another place we think must be so fun during normal times - felt like a normal, non-Disney bar in there! There was no wait to get in the pavilion when we went and it was a 5 minute wait to get our drinks.

Later that night we hit up a few rides in quick succession - Livin with the Land (posted 5, walk on), Spaceship Earth (posted 35, took 20), Frozen (posted 25, took 15), and Test Track (posted 40, took 25). Once again I felt like we hit all the booths, pavilions, shops, and rides we wanted to with minimal wait times. We left Epcot around 10:30 and crashed once we got back to the Swan.

Overall Thoughts: We had a wonderful time! We felt safe the entire time we were on Disney property, although DS was crowded at night and definitely not as good compliance. But I expected worse! Wait times are amazing. We rode every ride we wanted to, including multiple headliners (MMRR, ToT, Smugglers Run, SDD, Test Track, Frozen, FoP) and never waited more than 50 minutes. And the 50 minute line was an exception, not the rule. We would have loved to see fireworks or have more shops/restaurants open, but we had realistic expectations given the events of the world, and felt increidbly lucky to be traveling and in good health (and at least partially vaccinated). Just the mini-break we needed!

Happy to answer any questions anyone has but if you've got your vaccine, don't mind going with the flow (and following the rules ), and need a little boost of happiness, I would 10/10 recommend it!

Did you notice if the shops for GE were open before official park opening?

Thanks!

 

[jo-jo]

What are the 'bad' items?

For us, a cane, an umbrella, a charger, couple of mini fans.

 

[jo-jo]

I didnt even know i might be missing out on this experience and now I want it lol!! So its just a mix of buses? Some people ARE getting the DME? Or is it mostly regular?

We got a ME bus once. He put the strollers under the bus. I felt the urge to tip (but didn't).

 

[iujen94]

For us, a cane, an umbrella, a charger, couple of mini fans.

I’ve also heard metal water bottles can be a problem.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Quick question one of my friends was saying that they are letting people fill their own mugs now. Is that true? I was last there end of January and it wasn’t the case. I’m heading to Pop on Saturday.

saw something about this this morning. appears to just be changing like overnight from what I read