Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[Wosmama6]

I am here now and this is my recap so far....it is crowded! I am sure it is not as bad as last week but it is way more crowded then we thought.

We had an ADR in DS Sunday night. It was full on summer crowded. We expected it and just went to and from dinner. You could barely walk it was so crowded.

We had another ADR in DS on Monday night. When we arrived around 5pm it was pretty empty. By the time we left dinner around 6pm it was almost as crowded as Sunday. It was surprising how fast it got crowded. I am guessing the short park hours is not helping this.

We did HS on Tuesday. They held us at temperature check until 8:15-8:20am. We hustled to SDD and rode with almost no wait. By 10:00am lines were long and people were everywhere. There was barely any place to walk in the park between the ride lines and people standing to eat/drink etc. We only stayed until 2pm because we had managed to get a BG. We hoped to EP around 4pm which was very empty.

Today we did MK in the morning. We arrived on the bus around 8:30am. The first hour was great. After that it escalated quickly. Things were very crowded but it didn't feel as crowded as HS. Lunch options are very limited in MK. We struggled finding something to eat. We hopped to EP again around 4pm. Crowds definitely worse today but still manageable.

My overall thoughts is that mask compliance is good. We haven't noticed any issues. However, the keeping distance thing was completely thrown out the window. Most places it was actually impossible. It seems a lot of rides are skipping their regular queues in favor of lines out in the walk ways.

Food feels like a major struggle. If I had planned this trip further in advance I would have booked 2 ADRs a day. Mobile order has been a mess and seating impossible. It is exhausting to be on your feet all day with no break.

We opted for only 2 day PH tickets since we normally have an AP. I am glad we went to the parks but I wouldn't bother in the future. We rode way less rides for more hours in the parks as our usual trips. The wait times are a complete guess. We waited both longer and shorter than the posted time. You just get in line and hope for the best. Until both FP and AP come back we are out.

I think travelers need to be aware that hopes of truly social distancing isn't a reality right now. Or maybe it is ok for the first hour in the park a day. This may be true of all travel right now. Our plane down was a completely full flight and I have a feeling our flight home will be the same.

Thanks for sharing. Can I ask how you arrived at rope drop each day? Car, bus, walk?

 

[Jen75]

I am here now and this is my recap so far....it is crowded! I am sure it is not as bad as last week but it is way more crowded then we thought.

We had an ADR in DS Sunday night. It was full on summer crowded. We expected it and just went to and from dinner. You could barely walk it was so crowded.

We had another ADR in DS on Monday night. When we arrived around 5pm it was pretty empty. By the time we left dinner around 6pm it was almost as crowded as Sunday. It was surprising how fast it got crowded. I am guessing the short park hours is not helping this.

We did HS on Tuesday. They held us at temperature check until 8:15-8:20am. We hustled to SDD and rode with almost no wait. By 10:00am lines were long and people were everywhere. There was barely any place to walk in the park between the ride lines and people standing to eat/drink etc. We only stayed until 2pm because we had managed to get a BG. We hoped to EP around 4pm which was very empty.

Today we did MK in the morning. We arrived on the bus around 8:30am. The first hour was great. After that it escalated quickly. Things were very crowded but it didn't feel as crowded as HS. Lunch options are very limited in MK. We struggled finding something to eat. We hopped to EP again around 4pm. Crowds definitely worse today but still manageable.

My overall thoughts is that mask compliance is good. We haven't noticed any issues. However, the keeping distance thing was completely thrown out the window. Most places it was actually impossible. It seems a lot of rides are skipping their regular queues in favor of lines out in the walk ways.

Food feels like a major struggle. If I had planned this trip further in advance I would have booked 2 ADRs a day. Mobile order has been a mess and seating impossible. It is exhausting to be on your feet all day with no break.

We opted for only 2 day PH tickets since we normally have an AP. I am glad we went to the parks but I wouldn't bother in the future. We rode way less rides for more hours in the parks as our usual trips. The wait times are a complete guess. We waited both longer and shorter than the posted time. You just get in line and hope for the best. Until both FP and AP come back we are out.

I think travelers need to be aware that hopes of truly social distancing isn't a reality right now. Or maybe it is ok for the first hour in the park a day. This may be true of all travel right now. Our plane down was a completely full flight and I have a feeling our flight home will be the same.

Hi! I’m here now too and I totally agree with this. Especially the part about food. Mobile ordering is a weird mess. I walked around MK for 20 minutes yesterday evening trying to find an on popcorn stand for my kids to hold them over until our Be Our Guest dinner. There just aren’t as many little snack stands open. Options feel very limited and then the queue to even get the food and then trying to find a place to eat, etc. For me, it felt chaotic and was stressful. I would highly recommend ADR for anyone who wants to make sure they can have a place to sit down a regroup.

 

[acarsme123]

Wow. We were considering an impromptu trip for March but I was worried what the experience would be like compared to what we are used to. Not sure it’s worth the money...

Just back from a short trip. AK on Sunday, HS yesterday. Some quick thoughts:
1. Rope drop is essential if you want to get the headliners done and don't want to wait 90+.
2. I knew the lines were going to be long and they would make it feel more crowded, and still I was not really prepared for how it was. BRUTAL! I'm talking a huge line for the Muppets.
3. The wait times are all over the place. You really have no idea what the actual wait time is unless you just get in line.
4. CM's were great across the board.
5. Bus service was hit and miss.
6. Three Bridges at Coronado Springs is great, and Satuli's Canteen in AK is the best counter service IMO. Raglan Road also great!
7. The lack of fastpass really makes it a different experience.

We had fun and made the best of it, but we won't return until fastpass is back, social distancing is over, and the mask requirements are gone. And I can't in good conscience recommend it to others as things are.

 

[Wosmama6]

Wow. We were considering an impromptu trip for March but I was worried what the experience would be like compared to what we are used to. Not sure it’s worth the money...

I wouldn't. We rented points from an owner and can't get our money back, so we are going, but I am.scaling back our park ambitions big time and adding other fun, like more pool time, gatorland, etc.

 

[HiStitch626]

Another thought on the Contemporary. If I made a reservation just for myself (my husband doesn’t eat that early even in our own time zone and would rather wander around the amazing hotel and take pictures of the view) would they let us both in?

Make your reservation for two people. He doesn’t actually have to eat with you if he doesn’t want to, when you check in at the podium you can just say he decided not to eat, and that will be fine.

 

[acarsme123]

yeah after weighing the pros/cons and what people in this thread have said, I think we are going to skip it for spring break. we may try again for Christmas break. We have never been at Christmas time and have always wanted to do that anyways. Hopefully some more restrictions have been lifted by then and more hotel options are back, as well as FastPass. I saw someone state a few pages back it seemed like they were paying 100% of the money for 75% of the experience. From everything I'm reading I couldn't agree more...I just can't justify it for such a diminished experience. Thanks.

I wouldn't. We rented points from an owner and can't get our money back, so we are going, but I am.scaling back our park ambitions big time and adding other fun, like more pool time, gatorland, etc.

 

[emilymad]

Thanks for sharing. Can I ask how you arrived at rope drop each day? Car, bus, walk?

We are staying at Riviera so we took the Skyliner to HS. We got in line around 7:30 and they started running a little before 8am. We got there before they were letting cars in the parking lot.

We took the bus to MK. We got to the bus stop around 7:30. The first bus didn't arrive to about 8:15. When we drove past the parking lot at the TCC they hadn't let any cars in yet. The bus was definitely the way to go here.

 

[emilymad]

I wouldn't. We rented points from an owner and can't get our money back, so we are going, but I am.scaling back our park ambitions big time and adding other fun, like more pool time, gatorland, etc.

Seconding this! We are here for a week with only 2 park days. I thought I would feel sad and miss the parks. It is actually the opposite. I don't miss the parks at all. I am glad we tried the parks but if I was coming again with the information I know now I wouldn't bother with the parks at all.

We have done Blue Spring State Park, Top Golf, lots of pool time, etc and we are having a blast.

 

[Wosmama6]

We are staying at Riviera so we took the Skyliner to HS. We got in line around 7:30 and they started running a little before 8am. We got there before they were letting cars in the parking lot.

We took the bus to MK. We got to the bus stop around 7:30. The first bus didn't arrive to about 8:15. When we drove past the parking lot at the TCC they hadn't let any cars in yet. The bus was definitely the way to go here.

Thanks. We are staying at AKL so we either have bus or car, and I've heard about an even split between the two being the winner. Guess we'll flip a coin.

 

[Orion Nebula]

I saw someone state a few pages back it seemed like they were paying 100% of the money for 75% of the experience.

Not to knock anyone but that has been well known since re-opening. Many are coming back and making sure to point out that fact that they were let down (from the lack of events / perks). Which I mean they probably should've known prior to booking.

 

[kathi]

We also were told that the lines were short (30 minutes or less) and Disney was managing proper social distancing. I was prepared to have fewer things to do, but I expected to not be on top of other people and not to spend the entire day in line riding the things that are open. We still don't know what to do. Used 2020 and 2021 DVC points and I don't want to get screwed out of a big chunk of them if we don't go back in this use year. Need to look into if DVC is being flexible with cancelled bookings.

 

[PrincessV]

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences it is really helpful. One thing I am trying to gauge is how often you might get stuck in "crowds" or at a chokepoint. I know that it might vary based on each persons experience, but are the interactions generally short (5 mins or less). Are you always in a sea of people regardless off where you are walking in the park, or is it just sometimes?

My experiences so far have been 3 days in late Aug (least busy), 3 days in late Oct (2nd-most busy), 3 days in early Dec (most busy), and 3 days in late Jan (2nd least busy) - all weekdays, with the exception of one Sunday at EP in Jan... never once was I stuck in a situation that was so crowded I couldn't be 6' from other people for more than 30 seconds, tops. I simply won't visit during the most crowded holiday periods, and I'm not doing weekends, which helps a LOT to avoid crowds.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Not to knock anyone but that has been well known since re-opening. Many are coming back and making sure to point out that fact that they were let down (from the lack of events / perks). Which I mean they probably should've known prior to booking.

Agreed!

 

[cdh]

Does anyone have input as to why this week has been so crowded? I understand why February 14 to 21 was crowded, but I don’t understand the crowd levels this week. Any ideas about what next week will be in terms of crowds?

I’m so disappointed in the situation at Disney. It seems that there is no way to avoid the crowds. In the past, if a park was crowded we could get a Minnie van and go back to the resort....or maybe get a Cheshire tail and sit on a bench and watch the crowd....or shop a little in one of the stores. It seems that now there is a line for absolutely everything and it sounds kinda miserable. All of the spontaneity of the previous trips is a thing of the past. There were several times that we walked out of the Contemporary and changed our mind about a park for the day based on the lines for the buses. We learned to avoid crowds but that seems almost impossible in the parks now.

 

[DisneyJColeMom]

So to understand this correctly, its very difficult to just get a snack or shop for souvenirs? Im not Disney experienced, and I have a young kid I was hoping to give him a gift card at the beginning of the trip and tell him he could buy any special fun treat/snack he wants, or if he sees something he loves he can choose for himself. So this will be not easy to do? Is that everyone’s experience?

 

[DisneyJColeMom]

What are peoples thoughts about crowd levels the last week of April?

 

[cdh]

So to understand this correctly, its very difficult to just get a snack or shop for souvenirs? Im not Disney experienced, and I have a young kid I was hoping to give him a gift card at the beginning of the trip and tell him he could buy any special fun treat/snack he wants, or if he sees something he loves he can choose for himself. So this will be not easy to do? Is that everyone’s experience?

It would have been easy prior to Covid. It may still be easy for him to pay with a gift card in the shops. It’s just that there seem to be crowds and long lines to get into the shops. As far as getting snacks, I have no idea.

 

[lelew]

Does anyone have input as to why this week has been so crowded? I understand why February 14 to 21 was crowded, but I don’t understand the crowd levels this week. Any ideas about what next week will be in terms of crowds?

I’m so disappointed in the situation at Disney. It seems that there is no way to avoid the crowds. In the past, if a park was crowded we could get a Minnie van and go back to the resort....or maybe get a Cheshire tail and sit on a bench and watch the crowd....or shop a little in one of the stores. It seems that now there is a line for absolutely everything and it sounds kinda miserable. All of the spontaneity of the previous trips is a thing of the past. There were several times that we walked out of the Contemporary and changed our mind about a park for the day based on the lines for the buses. We learned to avoid crowds but that seems almost impossible in the parks now.

My guess is with so many vacation destination still closed or limited such as Disneyland DC, NY ect there is not many places for people to go so most people looking for a getaway are going to Disney Florida and Universal. I have been keeping my eye on crowd levels because I was hoping to come back since my August trip but I am going wait

 

[scrappinginontario]

I think things are busier at Disney as more people are comfortable travelling. The parks were not reaching capacity for a long time but we really didn't know how much of the capacity was being filled. Now as more people are ready to travel this equals more people in the parks.

 

[wilkydelts]

Does anyone have input as to why this week has been so crowded? I understand why February 14 to 21 was crowded, but I don’t understand the crowd levels this week. Any ideas about what next week will be in terms of crowds?

I’m so disappointed in the situation at Disney. It seems that there is no way to avoid the crowds. In the past, if a park was crowded we could get a Minnie van and go back to the resort....or maybe get a Cheshire tail and sit on a bench and watch the crowd....or shop a little in one of the stores. It seems that now there is a line for absolutely everything and it sounds kinda miserable. All of the spontaneity of the previous trips is a thing of the past. There were several times that we walked out of the Contemporary and changed our mind about a park for the day based on the lines for the buses. We learned to avoid crowds but that seems almost impossible in the parks now.

Are you there right now?