Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[gregskellington]

All this back and forth on double tapping and 2 hour rules and most recently booked just goes to show how absolutely ridiculous this system is. I am leaving today and super stressed out about trying to figure it all out.

Honestly, I think how it works is the easiest part of the system. It's based on the last attraction you booked. "Double tapping" was an obvious bug and the "Disney journalists" that reported on it should have updated or deleted any references to it if they really cared about accurate or helpful content.

 

[lynzi2004]

What time have they actually been letting guests into MK for early entry? The ETPE starts at 8:30 but I’m assuming guests are getting in to Mainstreet by 7:45 or 8am or is it even earlier?! Thanks!

 

[MaxsDad]

Honestly, I think how it works is the easiest part of the system. It's based on the last attraction you booked. "Double tapping" was an obvious bug and the "Disney journalists" that reported on it should have updated or deleted any references to it if they really cared about accurate or helpful content.

That is a fair point, although I am still not looking forward to trying it out tomorrow for the first time.

 

[x93nelson13]

We went to Disney World last week from Tue 2/22 through Sat 2/26. So not a very long trip, but it was a make good trip for our niece who we promised a birthday trip to JUST before Covid hit.

We stayed at Beach Club for the first time, as the Grand Floridian, where we normally stay, was sold out during this (very) busy week. The things people might be interested in:

• Delta was good as usual, and the flights were on time. No rowdy customer complaining about masks.
• Almost nobody in the parks wore masks inside. Maybe I was there during a low time for masks, but people choosing to wear masks inside were in the minority by far.
• We stayed on club level at BC, which got us maid service every day, which was nice. The service from the moment our car pulled up until we left was very much in line with what we received pre-pandemic.
• The club level itself was no better or worse than what it was pre-pandemic, or what we experienced during our December trip. Food stayed stocked, drinks were cold, etc.
• The busy nature of the parks meant that some paid lightning lanes went quick. That was only really an issue on Rise of the Resistance, tho. A ride we did not get to get on, as I am not waiting 3 hours. We wanted to buy the pass, but the times available did not work for us. We were able to buy passes for Frozen, Ratatouille and 7 Dwarf. They switched Frozen to regular Genie+ our last day, but we were not in Epcot then.
• Genie+ was really good for our Magic Kingdom day. We rode a bunch of rides and were able to stack nicely from 4-7 with us not getting to the park until about 3 PM. It was useless on AK day. Epcot it was not bad. I don't regret, as the price was negligible vs. the cost of the vacay. But 28 year old me would have felt ripped off on the AK day.
• The food was hit or miss, as usual. We enjoyed Beaches & Cream for what it was. The Cape May breakfast was ok. We enjoyed dinner at Yachtsman's Steakhouse. It is not as good as Narcoossee's IMO. But still pretty good. Finally, we ate at Teppan Edo, which my daughter really loved. The food at the Beach Club pool was horrific, but hey, watcha gonna do?
• The competition for restaurants is lesser near Epcot than it is on the monorail loop. I was able to get a lot of last minute rezzies to good places. That happened A LOT less when I stayed at GF.
• Shopping seemed somewhat better than it was in December. We were able to get Starbucks mugs and hoodies and oddball collectables that were extremely hard to come by 2.5 months ago.
• The parks were BUSY BUSY BUSY. However, we knew that going in, and we go a lot, so we didn't have any OMG must dos. We did what was available.
• The deluxe Epcot hours from 9-11 were pretty good. The park was empty and we rode everything we wanted.

I booked a trip in June for the F of it, which I am not sure we are going to do mostly as a matter of a time crunch that month. However, nothing I saw this week dissuaded me from wanting to go again immediately.

But please note: If my vacay above sounds horrid to you? And you are a rope dropping park warrior king/queen? Your opinion may vary considerably. So be sure to read for content.

 

[Day-al]

• Almost nobody in the parks wore masks inside. Maybe I was there during a low time for masks, but people choosing to wear masks inside were in the minority by far.

Of course no one was wearing a mask indoors, the mask mandate was dropped on February 17.

 

[leeniewdw]

Of course no one was wearing a mask indoors, the mask mandate was dropped on February 17.

I took that as "just back" information for people traveling soon since the change was so sudden. My local community no longer has a mask mandate but there are still plenty of people who are opting to wear it in stores, etc. They specifically said "choosing", so they know it's optional.

 

[BillFromCT]

Wanted to relay my experience at HS this morning for Rise. Walked over from The Dolphin at around 7:10am. The boat actually passed me right near the end. I saw a Fort Wilderness bus, a French Quarter bus, and an AKL bus pull in right before I got there. The skyliner wasn’t dropping off yet, and cars were not entering the parking lot. They had people form 2 lines. At 7:25 they started leading each line toward security on the left and right. At 7:30 everyone started through security and through the touchpoints. They let everyone head straight over to the Rise line. At 7:45 they let us walk through the que. 7:55 we were moving and grooving through the line. I was off by 8:15. Other than the big guns near the end not moving, everything else seemed to be working,

 

[brockash]

What time have they actually been letting guests into MK for early entry? The ETPE starts at 8:30 but I’m assuming guests are getting in to Mainstreet by 7:45 or 8am or is it even earlier?! Thanks!

We rope dropped MK last Wed. They let us through the tapstyles a little before 8. We went through security at 730 and were able to be first at 1 of the tapstyles. Once in, we then scanned and you were able to go to 1 of 2 ropes. They held us there until 829.

 

[pens4821]

Wanted to relay my experience at HS this morning for Rise. Walked over from The Dolphin at around 7:10am. The boat actually passed me right near the end. I saw a Fort Wilderness bus, a French Quarter bus, and an AKL bus pull in right before I got there. The skyliner wasn’t dropping off yet, and cars were not entering the parking lot. They had people form 2 lines. At 7:25 they started leading each line toward security on the left and right. At 7:30 everyone started through security and through the touchpoints. They let everyone head straight over to the Rise line. At 7:45 they let us walk through the que. 7:55 we were moving and grooving through the line. I was off by 8:15. Other than the big guns near the end not moving, everything else seemed to be working,

How did they separate ETPE guests from others? Curious for my upcoming trip.

 

[brockash]

.

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

Wow, my head is spinning.
So, let’s say at 7 am I book a ride for 4:00. Park opens at 9:00.
at 11:00, I book a ride for 12:30. After I scan my magic band at both locations (assuming there are 2), can I immediately make another reservation or must I wait till 1:00?

I was just thinking this exact thing reading all this craziness. MY HEAD IS SPINNING.
Vacation should not be this confusing.

 

[lynzi2004]

We rope dropped MK last Wed. They let us through the tapstyles a little before 8. We went through security at 730 and were able to be first at 1 of the tapstyles. Once in, we then scanned and you were able to go to 1 of 2 ropes. They held us there until 829.

Thank you! Exactly the info I was needing!

 

[vinmar4]

Wanted to relay my experience at HS this morning for Rise. Walked over from The Dolphin at around 7:10am. The boat actually passed me right near the end. I saw a Fort Wilderness bus, a French Quarter bus, and an AKL bus pull in right before I got there. The skyliner wasn’t dropping off yet, and cars were not entering the parking lot. They had people form 2 lines. At 7:25 they started leading each line toward security on the left and right. At 7:30 everyone started through security and through the touchpoints. They let everyone head straight over to the Rise line. At 7:45 they let us walk through the que. 7:55 we were moving and grooving through the line. I was off by 8:15. Other than the big guns near the end not moving, everything else seemed to be working,

Wow, we are staying at Riviera the day we plan on doing early morning hours at HS, sad to hear that the skyliner was not entering the park yet. That's St Patricks day, so all in green attire ( we are originally from Chicago, so we have to celebrate!)
So our plan is early hours at HS until about lunch time at Mama Melrose, head to Disney Spring for some green beer ad then go to Epcot for the moonlight hours! We're all adults , hoping to have a fun day!

 

[TigerLaw]

Wanted to relay my experience at HS this morning for Rise. Walked over from The Dolphin at around 7:10am. The boat actually passed me right near the end. I saw a Fort Wilderness bus, a French Quarter bus, and an AKL bus pull in right before I got there. The skyliner wasn’t dropping off yet, and cars were not entering the parking lot. They had people form 2 lines. At 7:25 they started leading each line toward security on the left and right. At 7:30 everyone started through security and through the touchpoints. They let everyone head straight over to the Rise line. At 7:45 they let us walk through the que. 7:55 we were moving and grooving through the line. I was off by 8:15. Other than the big guns near the end not moving, everything else seemed to be working,

Bill, what were you able to ride after Rise? Was anything else open unofficially betw. 730 to 830? How did the rest if your HS work out?

 

[BillFromCT]

Bill, what were you able to ride after Rise? Was anything else open unofficially betw. 730 to 830? How did the rest if your HS work out?

Went over to RnR coaster after Rise. Walked through the pre show, then just a 10 minute wait, or so, to board. It was open prior to 8:30. ToT was not. The fact that it’s currently at half capacity makes the waits even worse. When I came off of RnR coaster ToT was at a posted 40 minute wait already, prior to 9:00. By 9:00 everything was a 40+ wait, so I went to Starbucks. I was able to get a genie+ for Slinky at 9:15, and then ones for Midway Mania and ToT. MMRR was down for a bit towards park opening, so that was a standby no go. Muppets, Indy, and single rider Smugglers weren’t a problem prior to noon. Star Tours was a 50 wait by 11:00, though.

 

[jbish]

I was able to get a genie+ for Slinky at 9:15, and then ones for Midway Mania and ToT. MMRR was down for a bit towards park opening, so that was a standby no go. Muppets, Indy, and single rider Smugglers weren’t a problem prior to noon. Star Tours was a 50 wait by 11:00, though.

Clarifying question: (a) at 9:15 am, you secured a SDD G+ for sometime later that day? or (b) sometime earlier, you secured a SDD G+ for a return time of 9:15?

If (a) that would be impressive given how quickly they go. But if (b), then that seems like an ideal scenario as that opened you up to go with the "tap and book" method at HS, which would seem like the holy grail as far as G+ strategies go. Is that how you were able to get TSM and TOT later because you were ahead of the "two hour wait" crowd and could secure earlier G+ return times for these rides as you were using up your G+ return times? Lately, just seems like the most popular rides run out of G+ by noon.

 

[Kerr84]

All this back and forth on double tapping and 2 hour rules and most recently booked just goes to show how absolutely ridiculous this system is. I am leaving today and super stressed out about trying to figure it all out.

Just remember, you can always pretend to book a LL and it will tell you when you are next eligible.

 

[BillFromCT]

Clarifying question: (a) at 9:15 am, you secured a SDD G+ for sometime later that day? or (b) sometime earlier, you secured a SDD G+ for a return time of 9:15?

If (a) that would be impressive given how quickly they go. But if (b), then that seems like an ideal scenario as that opened you up to go with the "tap and book" method at HS, which would seem like the holy grail as far as G+ strategies go. Is that how you were able to get TSM and TOT later because you were ahead of the "two hour wait" crowd and could secure earlier G+ return times for these rides as you were using up your G+ return times? Lately, just seems like the most popular rides run out of G+ by noon.

I got a 9:15 SDD at 7:00am. After I tapped the 2nd checkpoint at SDD I could book my next one. Then refresh refresh refresh for a close time for the next ride. I assumed I’d have a difficult time with ToT, but I got a close one pretty quickly.

 

[leeniewdw]

I got a 9:15 SDD at 7:00am. After I tapped the 2nd checkpoint at SDD I could book my next one. Then refresh refresh refresh for a close time for the next ride. I assumed I’d have a difficult time with ToT, but I got a close one pretty quickly.

Exactly what I needed to know (asked in diff thread). It's funny. We were just in WDW in Dec and our "needs", lol, were so different because we stacked LLs at DHS on our arrival day, did an MK AH, then did AK/EP the next day. We haven't done a DHS morning yet, but that's on tap for Saturday. We "need" to do a combo of morning RD & LLs then attempt to stack for a return to DHS in the evening.

I think it's just another example of how odd this all is, coupled with the huge crowds. Even with "experience", it's like an equation with SO many variables.

 

[DisneyElite4]

Wow, we are staying at Riviera the day we plan on doing early morning hours at HS, sad to hear that the skyliner was not entering the park yet. That's St Patricks day, so all in green attire ( we are originally from Chicago, so we have to celebrate!)
So our plan is early hours at HS until about lunch time at Mama Melrose, head to Disney Spring for some green beer ad then go to Epcot for the moonlight hours! We're all, over eighteen ! LOL !

We will be at DHS the same day, except our party of 6 is half adults/half small children. Fun!