Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[yulilin3]

So is it across the board usually slower in future world in the evenings right now, even on weekends? I know that the land and Figment used to close at 7 p.m. but now show open until park close. Are they really open all evening? Has the line been longer at night for the Christmas Living with the Land? Thanks for the help!

I would keep track of wait times from home, easy thing to do

 

[nkereina]

We were told at CBR that the Skyliner to Epcot won’t even start running until 1030- it opens at 11. Is this true? Should we go get in line anyways or Uber? We want to get there for rope drop. The cast member told us to come back later.

10:30 is the posted opening time, but we walked up around 10:20 about two weeks ago and it was already running. So I imagine its like the DHS line where there's a chance it might start running 10-15+ minutes earlier if they're able to. We were at the International Gateway by 10:30 with no wait to get in, and went straight to Test Track and had about a 30 minute wait, so not sure what time the park actually opened.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

10:30 is the posted opening time, but we walked up around 10:20 about two weeks ago and it was already running. So I imagine its like the DHS line where there's a chance it might start running 10-15+ minutes earlier if they're able to. We were at the International Gateway by 10:30 with no wait to get in, and went straight to Test Track and had about a 30 minute wait, so not sure what time the park actually opened.

They started running it at 10:10 so I’m glad we got in line anyways! Got to the line for Frozen now at about 1030 and it was already by China, CM said about a 40 minute wait (when it starts running) from where we are because they won’t start running it until 11AM. Which is kinda lame because the line is gigantic! I’m too lazy to dash to go to TT so I’m going to stay put. But if I would have done things differently, I would have gone there first and done Frozen at close. I’m not sure how so many people beat us here when we were in the first group of ten people on the skyliner.

ETA: they did start running it so take what CMs say with a grain of salt! I’m glad we didn’t bail. But if you’re not waaaay in the front, save Frozen for later.

 

[Tess]

They started running it at 10:10 so I’m glad we got in line anyways! Got to the line for Frozen now at about 1030 and it was already by China, CM said about a 40 minute wait (when it starts running) from where we are because they won’t start running it until 11AM. Which is kinda lame because the line is gigantic! I’m too lazy to dash to go to TT so I’m going to stay put. But if I would have done things differently, I would have gone there first and done Frozen at close. I’m not sure how so many people beat us here when we were in the first group of ten people on the skyliner.

ETA: they did start running it so take what CMs say with a grain of salt! I’m glad we didn’t bail. But if you’re not waaaay in the front, save Frozen for later.

You were that far back because Disney more than likely, based upon our experience in October, actually began temp screening and opened the IG at 10:15 a.m. or so. We were first on TT the first day we rope dropped and no one had even entered the front of the park yet. We entered the IG queue at 9:45 a.m. or so. Our last day we didn't enter that queue until 10:20 or so and the queue was all the way over the bridge that leads to BWI. If you didn't wait at IG, that would be because those who were there early were already through the gate and waiting for their first attraction.

Running to TT may not have gotten you much either--it also doesn't begin until closer to 11:00. One of the days we rope dropped and were first, it began about 10 minutes prior and the queue outside was up to an hour or more at that point.

 

[linzjane88]

I was going to post in here but then I started typing and it because a dissertation so I gave it it's own home but here is my 'just back' trip report

https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly.3818606/

 

[Shellyred8]

We are from Mn too, but have not gone back to disney world yet. Sun Country is offering deals at $39.00. Is this what you did? Is this both ways to Florida. I have see these ads alot and they look too good to be true, so just asking if you knew about this? We always fly Delta, so I am curious if there really are good deals out there? Thanks so much

Yep, we got in on a couple of those deals!! It was awesome!!!

 

[nkereina]

But if I would have done things differently, I would have gone there first and done Frozen at close.

We did Test Track at open, around 10:30, and waited about 30-35 minutes. We did Frozen at close and it was a posted 75 minute wait and we waited probably about 30 minutes. Seems like its a flip of the coin as to which strategy is better. Glad you got on quickly once it started moving!

 

[melissa723]

For those of you at Epcot, are all of the stores in WS open yet? We were thinking of going there tomorrow instead of making it a resort day, but wanted to see what was open first.

 

[GBRforWDW]

For those of you at Epcot, are all of the stores in WS open yet? We were thinking of going there tomorrow instead of making it a resort day, but wanted to see what was open first.

If you go into the MDE app, go to the Map, change the drop down to Shops and filter to Epcot, then click Show List, the shops open are at the top and the closed shops are at the bottom.

 

[melissa723]

If you go into the MDE app, go to the Map, change the drop down to Shops and filter to Epcot, then click Show List, the shops open are at the top and the closed shops are at the bottom.

You think I would’ve known to do this. Thank you!!

 

[underminer]

Hollywood Studios Day 3 Saturday (11/14)

This was the day I have stressed about the most since we planned this trip. This was also the day that these boards proved to be the most helpful for. We started the morning successfully by snagging BG 3 for Rise! No WiFi just Verizon on two phones. We then took a Lyft to Boardwalk Bakery at 7:30 for a pleasant breakfast before walking to Studios just as they opened the left temp check tent. So we were there at about 8am second in line for the screening. At about 8:30 they let us in and we were on the first train for MMRR. Wow! Such an amazing new ride! We thought it was such a cool use of the trackless ride system. We then hustled directly over to Slinky for a 10 min wait and then Smugglers Run which was a walk on. We then went for our BG to Rise. Unfortunately a lot of the preshow was down so though what we did was cool, we feel like we didn’t get the complete experience ☹ We were still feeling good at this point for having done 4 headliners in the first 60-90 min of park opening.
Next we headed to RnR and ToT and we started to feel how busy the park was getting. Both were solid 50 min waits. After doing those we headed back to GE for lunch and checking out the area. As things got progressively busier we noticed that Star Tours and TSMM both had pretty fast lines despite posting 30 min waits so we just had fun doing them repeatedly for the next couple of hours. Not sure why those two were so much less busy but we weren’t complaining!
We finished the day with Muppets and a few other attractions and then Savi’s workshop which was very cool. Sci-fi for dinner and then we were done!
Biggest surprise: MMRR was the surprise hit and doing TSMM 5x with barely any wait was also a treat.
Biggest disappointment: Not getting the full Rise experience kind of stunk but what we did was still amazing.
Other thoughts: Our morning plan went like clockwork thanks to all of you! So nice to get so much done at rope drop!!
Epcot next!

 

[Carla1183]

Hollywood Studios Day 3 Saturday (11/14)

This was the day I have stressed about the most since we planned this trip. This was also the day that these boards proved to be the most helpful for. We started the morning successfully by snagging BG 3 for Rise! No WiFi just Verizon on two phones. We then took a Lyft to Boardwalk Bakery at 7:30 for a pleasant breakfast before walking to Studios just as they opened the left temp check tent. So we were there at about 8am second in line for the screening. At about 8:30 they let us in and we were on the first train for MMRR. Wow! Such an amazing new ride! We thought it was such a cool use of the trackless ride system. We then hustled directly over to Slinky for a 10 min wait and then Smugglers Run which was a walk on. We then went for our BG to Rise. Unfortunately a lot of the preshow was down so though what we did was cool, we feel like we didn’t get the complete experience ☹ We were still feeling good at this point for having done 4 headliners in the first 60-90 min of park opening.
Next we headed to RnR and ToT and we started to feel how busy the park was getting. Both were solid 50 min waits. After doing those we headed back to GE for lunch and checking out the area. As things got progressively busier we noticed that Star Tours and TSMM both had pretty fast lines despite posting 30 min waits so we just had fun doing them repeatedly for the next couple of hours. Not sure why those two were so much less busy but we weren’t complaining!
We finished the day with Muppets and a few other attractions and then Savi’s workshop which was very cool. Sci-fi for dinner and then we were done!
Biggest surprise: MMRR was the surprise hit and doing TSMM 5x with barely any wait was also a treat.
Biggest disappointment: Not getting the full Rise experience kind of stunk but what we did was still amazing.
Other thoughts: Our morning plan went like clockwork thanks to all of you! So nice to get so much done at rope drop!!
Epcot next!

Did it open at 9 or 10 officially? Your morning is my ideal timeline so I'm taking notes!

 

[underminer]

9am which was great

 

[yulilin3]

Just back from DHS, did MMRR in honor of the mice birthday of course, got in line at 6:20pm, posted time was 25 min it was actually a 10 min wait. Plexiglass a little reflective but not obstructive

 

[lynch34]

DHS day

Boarding Group 6 - again I think it comes down to the phone. My wife got in and I think that’s the key.

One thing I wanted to say about today was the legit garbage that is Docking Bay 7. I have 5 to feed if I count myself and the food that was provided was offensive. My kids aren’t even big eaters but it was insane how small the macaroni and cheese that was under the crispy chicken was. I ordered the pot roast and it had barely any potatoes. I never complain about anything usually but that was ridiculous. It’s a total skip.

 

[Lilsia]

We’re at Magic Kingdom today and it’s the first day we’ve felt really uncomfortable. Walkways are packed and seen way worse mask compliance here than other parks. Had one lady practically in my back pocket in line and asked her nicely if she could stay back on her sticker. She did, after retorting ‘if you’re so scared just stay home then.’ If we weren’t at Disney I woulda thrown down (kidding kidding)- I took the high road and just ignored it. Overall, not feeling the magic here quite as much but its prolly just bc the long lines and heat are exhausting. We’re so used to MaxPass at Disneyland and never waiting so think we need to toughen up our spoiled tushes.

We have a second day here so think we’ll try again and be more prepared now that I see the flow of the park with wait times.

I think that I would have replied with something like, "I'm not scared, you just smell really bad". LOL

 

[TikiTikiFan]

Epcot wait times were way less than posted all day. Soarin’ said 40 minutes and it was a walk on. Test Track said 35 and was also walk on. Same with Mission Space which also killed me and I will never do it again haha.

We loved Epcot, especially Frozen. Bummer to see so many shops in the World Showcase closed though. Found the aquarium to feel claustrophobic but most places like that usually are with people crowding windows. My son is -obsessed- with aquariums so we spent an hour in there so he could find every kind of fish and ask the CM shark expert questions for 20 minutes. He loved Epcot, I know some people say kids will be bored but mine loved it all.

 

[disneygirlsng]

DHS day

Boarding Group 6 - again I think it comes down to the phone. My wife got in and I think that’s the key.

One thing I wanted to say about today was the legit garbage that is Docking Bay 7. I have 5 to feed if I count myself and the food that was provided was offensive. My kids aren’t even big eaters but it was insane how small the macaroni and cheese that was under the crispy chicken was. I ordered the pot roast and it had barely any potatoes. I never complain about anything usually but that was ridiculous. It’s a total skip.

Interesting. That is by far my favorite QS restaurant at WDW.

 

[Beachmom0317]

Went to Epcot yesterday. We got in line to park around 10:10 and we’re in the park at 10:20. Nothing was open to ride but I had read that previous poster was able to ride FEA at 10:40 so we leisurely walked to Norway and go in line. At 10:45 they let us ride. We went right to Mexico after. I’m happy we did this first because as we leisurely walked around world showcase (walked by Mexico twice) we saw that around lunch there was a line to enter the Mexican pavilion and also a long line for Mexico booth. Frozen line was also 65 minutes.

We encountered no other significant lines during rest of day at food booths or to enter pavilions. We walked on Nemo and Spaceship earth on our way out around 3:30. My kids loved the aquarium. Some shops in world showcase were closed. We saw the Elsa and Ana cavalcade and the one with Goofy, Pluto, Minnie and Mickey. They weren’t anything special, we had just been to MK the day before and loved those. I missed seeing the characters out for M&G, the international performers, etc.

 

[cindyfan]

Just an observation here.... .
I appreciate those that are trying to share their experiences and give opinions etc of the parks and days.
But seriously.... why are you taking so much time to give such extreme details on the day? Such as actual times for each and every ride, etc. ..... Just enjoy your day!!!! Don't worry about all these details.... we get it....
Seriously.... a quick... "hey guys... not busy and wait times under 15 min"!
Then enjoy yourself without thinking about us.

Third Park Day: EPCOT Monday 11/9.

We arrived at the toll plaza at 9:58AM (11:00AM park open), and were told we shouldn't come back before 10:30... . Truth is we were two minutes early... after we circled around, we were back at 10:06, and there were 6-7 cars lined up in all lanes. At 10:13, they let us through the toll plaza, and we were at the temperature screening tent at 10:21. Four minutes later (darn battery pack in the backpack!) we were in the park.

Test Track was not operating at park open because of the impending rain. We went straight to Frozen Ever After, and arrived at 10:36. The ride started at 10:40, and we waited 11 minutes, and were off the ride at 10:58.
...

- SEAS with Nemo and Friend 4:51 (5 min wait) 5 min posted - 5:04 done and then SEAS exhibits
- Spaceship Earth 5:19 (3 min wait) 10 min posted - 5:39 done
- Journey into the Imagination 5:45 (2 min wait) 5 min posted - 5:56 done
............. and so on.......