Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[larsonb74]

The tea store in England is open. But that was all I saw open in England.

Last trip they were open but with local cast members vs. ones from those countries.

 

[bagpiper]

Thanks for the update, I was there on 7/4 and there stores were still closed. Pretty disappointing.

 

[loves to dive]

Thanks for the update, I was there on 7/4 and there stores were still closed. Pretty disappointing.

I was there in April and the tea store in England was open. I don't remember Canada. The caramel store, the Christmas store, the wine store and the crystal store were all open in Germany. The big store in Italy was open but I don't remember if the mask portion was.

 

[Palaura]

How long did you wait?

I think about 45 minutes?

 

[DisneyOma]

I was there in April and the tea store in England was open. I don't remember Canada. The caramel store, the Christmas store, the wine store and the crystal store were all open in Germany. The big store in Italy was open but I don't remember if the mask portion was.

When we were there two weeks ago the mask portion of the shop in Italy was open.

 

[ffugitive]

Question. Can anyone tell me how late the afternoon boarding groups were available today?

 

[mdmost]

They're available right now

 

[mdmost]

Just looking at other wait times around HS, Slinky Dog is 30 minutes, MFSR is 15 minutes, MMRR is 10 minutes, ToT and RRRC are 15 minutes. Unreal. Hope it's similar when we're there next Sunday.

 

[Dentam]

I watched ResortTV1's livestream at the MK today and the park was so empty. I really hope it is like that when we are there next month! We arrive a few days after Labor Day and will be there for a week.

 

[pangyal]

We have done six trips since March 2020, so I’ve really run the gamut of crowd levels coupled with the resulting frustration (or lack thereof). I come down with my mom most years for this week in August, but of course we’ve only ever had low crowds coupled with FP+. I can definitively say that crowds and wait times are lower than they normally would be this week. At AK on Friday, in the middle of the day, we literally walked onto FOP, Navi, Safari and Navi again. The last time I was able to do that was when they had first reopened last summer. I was a bit nervous heading to MK today since it’s a Sunday and the last time we went on a Sunday (this past June) it was so crowded that we did one show of COP and bailed. Today, we arrived at 10am and did Little Mermaid, Space, Buzz x 2, BTMR, Pirates, Peoplemover x 2, Small World and COP as walk-ons. We also waited 20 minutes for Jungle Cruise, 15 minutes for PPF, and 12 minutes for Pooh. We were going to do Splash (walk-on) and/or 7DMT (posted 35 minutes) around 2:30pm but we had sufficiently melted into puddles of hot goo and thought we needed to get back to the resort with the AC, so we called it a day.

It’s definitely making up for the last trip I did, but we are also booked for the 50th next month, so I imagine these lovely quiet days don’t have long to survive before that insanity hits!

 

[Haley R]

MK was awesome tonight! We got there around 4 pm and rode speedway, CoP, space, people mover, dumbo, and tea cups with no wait! We’ll be back tomorrow morning. The crowds are great.

 

[emmabelle]

Does anyone know what time they’ve been opening up the tapstyles at HS lately?

 

[Sugarshock]

Just back from an absolutely perfect long weekend trip- feel free to ask about anything!

Thursday 8/26 - Arrival
We got in to MCO around 8:45pm on Thursday, there was no wait for DME, our bus only had two stops and we were the first one! When we arrived to Coronado Springs, I asked if there were any upgrades available and we were able to get in a Gran Destino room with views of Animal Kingdom for only $50 more pet night over a standard CS room! We spent a little time in Dahlia Lou he before heading to bed, the wings there were among the best things we ate.

Friday 8/27 - HS/EPCOT
Some local friends were able to join us for their first visit to Galaxy’s Edge and Food & Wine! We got to HS around 8:45, ToT was a walk-on- what a way to wake up lol.
We were boarding group 47 and were called around 1. Before then, we were able to do Ogas, MFSR, ToT, MV3D, and Ronto Roasters. We really took our time taking in the atmosphere, that was honestly more fun than anything.
after RotR, we went on RRC, and headed back to the hotel to cool off.
We hopped over to EPCOT around 5, did Spaceship Earth, Frozen, and Soarin, and visited probably half of the F&W booths. All were amazing, but the best was the siracha donut chicken sandwich.

Saturday, 8/28 - MK
Magic Kingdom was, if I’m being honest, the least enjoyable of the parks. It felt the most crowded (it never felt unbearably crowded) and mask compliance was easily the worst. Lots of people were taking them off once they were out of sight of CMs. On Splash, we were the only ones on our boat who kept them on. We are a pair of generally healthy, vaccinated adults without kids, so I felt okay despite this. I have no doubt in my mind we were exposed in MK though. A kid was open mouth coughing, unmasked, for the entire time we were in the Sunshine Tree Terrace line.
Anyway, tine for the positives! We got in around 3:30 and managed to do all 3 mountains, HM, People Mover, and Pirates before we decided to stake out our spot for HEA at 7:30. We never waited more than 25 minutes for any ride. Seeing the show was the whole reason for the trip, and we wanted to sit and have a break anyways. Thank you to everyone here for the plaza garden tip, it was truly the best spot we could’ve had. Crowds inside the fence were *much* less dense than on Main Street, and it was easy to hang around for a while after the show to let the exit crowd die down a little.

TLDR - COVID:
Magic Kingdom has the worst crowds and mask compliance by a long shot. That said, as a vaccinated adult without kids, I only felt super uncomfortable once when we were near someone who had a 1.5 minute long coughing fit, unmasked. I personally wouldn’t bring any kids here right now.

 

[tentaguasu]

Magic Kingdom has the worst crowds and mask compliance by a long shot. That said, as a vaccinated adult without kids, I only felt super uncomfortable once when we were near someone who had a 1.5 minute long coughing fit, unmasked. I personally wouldn’t bring any kids here right now.

I've seen several posts noting this. Any guesses as to why? Seems odd....

 

[Sugarshock]

I've seen several posts noting this. Any guesses as to why? Seems odd....

Honestly I think it’s because many of the rides at MK aren’t fully indoors. I’m sure there’s more, but I think that plays a big part.

 

[PrincessJasmine88]

How are the stores in Galaxys Edge? When I was there in June they were limiting the number of people allowed in the stores and the lines outside in the heat were so long.

 

[SmittS]

We’re doing a quick long weekend trip over Labor Day weekend. I have/had possibly foolish expectations for low crowds given the feedback over the past couple weeks. Part reservations were wide open until I checked today where I see Saturday and Sunday are now sold out for most tickets type for….Epcot? This is the first I’ve seen Epcot sold out since July 4 and I assume that was due to a combination of the holiday and fireworks just coming back. Any idea why Epcot would be sold out this weekend? Hoping the other parks have smaller crowds!

 

[mdmost]

We’re doing a quick long weekend trip over Labor Day weekend. I have/had possibly foolish expectations for low crowds given the feedback over the past couple weeks. Part reservations were wide open until I checked today where I see Saturday and Sunday are now sold out for most tickets type for….Epcot? This is the first I’ve seen Epcot sold out since July 4 and I assume that was due to a combination of the holiday and fireworks just coming back. Any idea why Epcot would be sold out this weekend? Hoping the other parks have smaller crowds!

Remy's Adventure DVC member previews, I believe.

 

[SmittS]

Remy's Adventure DVC member previews, I believe.

I didn’t think reservations were required, but it appears they make one on your behalf. I‘m registered for 9/6 and saw this in the confirmation:
Annual Passholders will not need to make a separate Theme Park reservation to enter EPCOT on the day of their preview. A Theme Park reservation for their registered preview date will be added to their My Disney Experience account and appear under "My Plans" within 72 hours of their registered preview date.

So, that would make sense if everyone registered booked up the slots!

 

[Sugarshock]

How are the stores in Galaxys Edge? When I was there in June they were limiting the number of people allowed in the stores and the lines outside in the heat were so long.

They aren’t limiting anymore for most. I saw short (less than 10 groups) for Dok Ondar’s and the Droid Depot in the mid afternoon, but you wouldn’t wait more than a few minutes I think.