Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[scrappinginontario]

Thinking of a last minute trip to WDW over New Years. MK and HS are both sold out. Just making sure there hasn’t been any instances in this recent sold out thanksgiving week that parkhopping to a sold out park was prohibited?! We would start at Ak and EP which is fine with me so that we can do guardians virtual que and FOP, then hop to the other park in the evening.

No, park hopping was fine over Thanksgiving week.

The only time it was ever stopped was for a few hours to the MK on its 50th Anniversary, Oct 1, 2021, then it restarted later that day.

 

[DisneyAuntie12]

and then maybe save room for mickey ice cream pops instead of dessert, because I remember being a little disappointed in that department whereas again, in the past, they were creative and we could never figure out just what to pick.

Visited for the first time since Covid recently and the desserts at various restaurants stood out to me as being bland. We had a bunch of littles and did buffets / family style so maybe that was why, but the offerings all seemed to be super small slices of spongey cake or tarts that tasted pretty similar, with maybe a really bland cookie thrown in the mix. Again, might just be that these restaurants catered to small kids but as I was going to let myself forget calories and go wild at Disney, was mildly disappointed. Crystal Palace did have a cobbler that was pretty good, if I remember correctly, but that was the only thing that stood out. The savory foods were better (kinda limited, probably due to supply chains, but better overall.)

 

[Tk0021]

Day 4 - MK morning and EPCOT afternoon - Our final day! Thursday 11/17

On Tuesday evening when we got back from EPCOT, I got the idea to try to do a nice breakfast our last morning instead of doing another early entry rush. Made a reservation for Crystal Palace (big splurge, but I have very fond memories of eating there as a small child and meeting the Winnie the Pooh characters.) Plus it was way easier to do MK breakfast instead of hitting one of the resorts first.

Also bought Genie+ and chose Meet Mickey at 7am.

This was intended to be a slower day for us, and we wanted to do our favorites from our first MK day again as well as a handful of things we missed).

Morning
Crystal Palace Breakfast 8am (we LOVED this)
Meet Mickey LL 9am
Haunted Mansion LL
Carousel
Splash Mountain (cold day, no wait)
Thunder Mountain LL
Had booked Pirates LL, but it was down
Dumbo LL
Under the Sea LL
Buzz LL (this was what we used our anytime LL from Pirates on)

(The Thunder LL was about an hour away when I booked it, everything else was an immediate return).

Left MK at 1:30pm to monorail to EPCOT. We were coming back just to hit up the F&W booths we wanted to do that we missed on our first day, then planning to leave before evening.

Afternoon
2:25pm Meet Donald (line was around 25 min)
Booths:
Kenya
Spain
Hops & Barley
Greece
Tangerine Cafe
Brazil

4:45pm Soarin LL (booked this at around 1pm with a 3:50-4:50pm return)
Shimmering Sips to redeem cheese crawl prize
Shopping
Headed back to monorail to TTC to drive home - got to car around 6:30pm, got home to Tampa 2 hours later.

Total step count around 22k... and this was supposed to be a slow day! No such thing at a Disney park. I can't even imagine what the count would have been if we'd stayed the last 3 hours of the evening.

Over our 4 days, we got in around 100,000k steps - around 50 miles!

Next trip is already on the calendar for late January!

Overall, we had an AMAZING time. I've been to so many theme parks (I'm a thrill ride junkie) but hadn't returned to Disney since I was a kid. I LOVED it. I honestly didn't expect this trip to turn me into a Disney fanatic, but I think it did. We've had Universal season passes and love the rides at Universal, but the atmosphere is decidedly lacking in comparison to Disney. There is truly something different in the air.

Full trip report with tons of photos, restaurant reviews, ride reviews, strategy tips, Genie+ thoughts (the good and bad!), and more... coming soon!

Thanks so much for your posts. This is really helping with our up coming trip with the use of genie +.

 

[disneyAndi14]

maybe try dropping at the Swan and walk over from there

We got dropped off at BW and no problems. We did a Lyft from AKL. They let us right through to the front of the hotel.
We had a short walk to IG and rode Remy within 20 minutes.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We got dropped off at BW and no problems. We did a Lyft from AKL. They let us right through to the front of the hotel.
We had a short walk to IG and rode Remy within 20 minutes.

This is not the norm and many guards are turning away guests who are not staying at the Disney Resort they are trying to enter or, have a dining reservation. It is not recommended trying as far more guests are turned away than are granted access.

 

[lugnut33]

This is not the norm and many guards are turning away guests who are not staying at the Disney Resort they are trying to enter or, have a dining reservation. It is not recommended trying as far more guests are turned away than are granted access.

Back in May my sister, who lives in Orlando, was nice enough to pick me up at the airport and drop me off at CBR. I go to check out and notice a parking fee on my bill. I asked why they are charging me and it's because I came in a normal looking vehicle. I had to plead with them, but they ultimately reversed the charges. Moral of the story, be very careful when being dropped off at the resorts by normal looking cars as Disney will charge you. I imagine they get lots of people on this one since they stopped free transportation from the airport.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Back in May my sister, who lives in Orlando, was nice enough to pick me up at the airport and drop me off at CBR. I go to check out and notice a parking fee on my bill. I asked why they are charging me and it's because I came in a normal looking vehicle. I had to plead with them, but they ultimately reversed the charges. Moral of the story, be very careful when being dropped off at the resorts by normal looking cars as Disney will charge you. I imagine they get lots of people on this one since they stopped free transportation from the airport.

Yes, a good reminder to check your bill carefully. I had the same thing happen to me one visit, and I arrived via MDE and used Disney transportation exclusively. They removed it from my bill but it taught me to carefully check my bill in the MDE app as the trip goes along.

 

[disneyfam1986]

We got dropped off at BW and no problems. We did a Lyft from AKL. They let us right through to the front of the hotel.
We had a short walk to IG and rode Remy within 20 minutes.

What time did you get dropped off?

 

[DisneyNDecember]

Is Twilight Zone Tower of Terror closed? I have noticed in the app today it has been showing "Temporarily Closed" since early this morning? We arrive on Saturday & I did not see it closed for Refurbishment on the App..

 

[disneyAndi14]

What time did you get dropped off?

Around 8am

 

[Jennasis]

At DHS today. The wait time are pretty off the chain yet it didn't seem all that crowded. Hoping things quiet as the post Turkey Day folks head home.

 

[Shughart]

Yes, a good reminder to check your bill carefully. I had the same thing happen to me one visit, and I arrived via MDE and used Disney transportation exclusively. They removed it from my bill but it taught me to carefully check my bill in the MDE app as the trip goes along.

Do we have to pay parking just to eat at resorts???

 

[Shughart]

Can anyone share recent experiences with ordering off menus at sit down restaurants that are NOT price fixe/family style, for example like SciFi, any teens/adults have any problems ordering off kids menu? My daughter and I tried to in 2019 as the portions are way too big even for me (piglet sized) and I prefer to order small when I can.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Do we have to pay parking just to eat at resorts???

No. You are allowed to park for a couple of hours at the resort you are dining at. You will most likely be asked to prove your dining reservation at the gate of the resort.

 

[jimim]

So I think I have posted a lot of positive about my 12 day stay this past holiday. It was an awesome trip. Literal 10/10. I’m serious. Everyday I said to my wife “this is a great trip. I’m so happy we came”.

Ok so the one thing that got me going multiple mornings with rope drop. So we are all standing there like cattle. You try to figure out should I be bias to the left or to the right or maybe just straight up the shoot. You are there like 90 mins early as the bus so you can get urself somewhat close to the front. You kids are tired maybe. You didn’t have you coffee that you are used to. So you have been standing there for like 60 mins waiting to get it on. 10 mins to go you are still thinking about that coffee and then it happens. “Excuse me. Oh excuse me the people I’m with are up here. Excuse me. Oh I’m going right there” then you see they are carrying 4 coffees from Starbucks. Like everyday almost this trip. I go to my wife. “Man I would have liked to have had you go get us coffee and still be able to be way up front.” I mean it doesn’t make a difference but it just kinda stings when you are putting in the time 100 percent and you still got the people who are looking out for themselves.

Also o got to say that the Epcot back gate has got it down! And France has it locked down. The organization they have going on over there needs to be put into every park rope drop. They can do it for avatar. Single line. Cast member or even 1 security guard walking everyone up to the ride into the shoot. Remy is completely in lock down. Even Epcot. Have 3 cast members. 1 for soaring single line. 1 for test track. 1 for anything else and let them people break out. HS same thing. 2 cast members. 1 for Star Wars. 1 for slinky. Some people get up early to be able to take advantage of that rope drop. Bit again you got people showing up 10 mins before in the back and then just full on sprint. Cast members never say anything. Only ones you hear say anything is security.

I know this isn’t huge in the whole picture but again.

Some people show up early to be up close and follow the rules. They put the time in.

Someone is going to get hurt and that’s what it’s going to take for Disney to do something.

Security is a well oiled machine from what I saw. Single file. All organized. I’m good with it. Yah search my huge camera bag everyday. I got no problem with it. Keeps my family hopefully safe.

Bit after that Disney has to do something from that point to ride.

Except for you international gateway and France! You guys are the gold standard for morning rope drop. Good job! You keep it safe. You keep it fair!

And all you Starbucks coffee club folk. Back of the line. You didn’t put in the time. I’ll give you half credit cause all of you still got up and your whole group is in place so only 1 person is cutting up. It’s not like it is 1 person at a tap and then u let 20 people ahead of everyone in line 5 mins before HS opens. That just messes with everyone behind you. That isn’t cool! You know who you are.

Ok like I said. Trip rocked! All the negative I have read that got me all worried and worked up for over a year was dead on arrival when we got to the park. Everyrhing was great! Maybe we got lucky. Maybe karma was on our side.

Coffee club. . . “I’m watching you. Always watching”

 

[DisneyNDecember]

Anyone utilize the first night of Fantasmic dining packages last night? Did they have a separate line entrance for package guests to enter?
How was your viewing spot? Some have said in years past it was to the side, was that the case last night?

 

[AussieFan8]

Anyone utilize the first night of Fantasmic dining packages last night? Did they have a separate line entrance for package guests to enter?
How was your viewing spot? Some have said in years past it was to the side, was that the case last night?

WDWNT reported that there was a separate line and that seating is in the center unless you arrive late.

 

[brentm77]

So I think I have posted a lot of positive about my 12 day stay this past holiday. It was an awesome trip. Literal 10/10. I’m serious. Everyday I said to my wife “this is a great trip. I’m so happy we came”.

Ok so the one thing that got me going multiple mornings with rope drop. So we are all standing there like cattle. You try to figure out should I be bias to the left or to the right or maybe just straight up the shoot. You are there like 90 mins early as the bus so you can get urself somewhat close to the front. You kids are tired maybe. You didn’t have you coffee that you are used to. So you have been standing there for like 60 mins waiting to get it on. 10 mins to go you are still thinking about that coffee and then it happens. “Excuse me. Oh excuse me the people I’m with are up here. Excuse me. Oh I’m going right there” then you see they are carrying 4 coffees from Starbucks. Like everyday almost this trip. I go to my wife. “Man I would have liked to have had you go get us coffee and still be able to be way up front.” I mean it doesn’t make a difference but it just kinda stings when you are putting in the time 100 percent and you still got the people who are looking out for themselves.

Also o got to say that the Epcot back gate has got it down! And France has it locked down. The organization they have going on over there needs to be put into every park rope drop. They can do it for avatar. Single line. Cast member or even 1 security guard walking everyone up to the ride into the shoot. Remy is completely in lock down. Even Epcot. Have 3 cast members. 1 for soaring single line. 1 for test track. 1 for anything else and let them people break out. HS same thing. 2 cast members. 1 for Star Wars. 1 for slinky. Some people get up early to be able to take advantage of that rope drop. Bit again you got people showing up 10 mins before in the back and then just full on sprint. Cast members never say anything. Only ones you hear say anything is security.

I know this isn’t huge in the whole picture but again.

Some people show up early to be up close and follow the rules. They put the time in.

Someone is going to get hurt and that’s what it’s going to take for Disney to do something.

Security is a well oiled machine from what I saw. Single file. All organized. I’m good with it. Yah search my huge camera bag everyday. I got no problem with it. Keeps my family hopefully safe.

Bit after that Disney has to do something from that point to ride.

Except for you international gateway and France! You guys are the gold standard for morning rope drop. Good job! You keep it safe. You keep it fair!

And all you Starbucks coffee club folk. Back of the line. You didn’t put in the time. I’ll give you half credit cause all of you still got up and your whole group is in place so only 1 person is cutting up. It’s not like it is 1 person at a tap and then u let 20 people ahead of everyone in line 5 mins before HS opens. That just messes with everyone behind you. That isn’t cool! You know who you are.

Ok like I said. Trip rocked! All the negative I have read that got me all worried and worked up for over a year was dead on arrival when we got to the park. Everyrhing was great! Maybe we got lucky. Maybe karma was on our side.

Coffee club. . . “I’m watching you. Always watching”

Good report - but I have to say, I am not at all bothered by one person getting morning coffee for the rest of the group and then joining them. We have never done it, but it doesn't sound all the unfair to me.

 

[jimim]

Good report - but I have to say, I am not at all bothered by one person getting morning coffee for the rest of the group and then joining them. We have never done it, but it doesn't sound all the unfair to me.

for me like i said up above I'm really on the fence about it. i go back and forth with it. i said above even that it doesn't really impact anything but more the fact that so many others are putting in the time to be there early and wait it out and would prob enjoy coffee themselves.

what really got me going. . . and we all have seen it over the years. . . is the 1 person standing at a tap point and then bringing up a bunch of people. it just isn't right.

my whole point to both points is i would really like to see implemented across all ropes drops is what international gateway and the remy cast members have going on.

 

[Leigh L]

for me like i said up above I'm really on the fence about it. i go back and forth with it. i said above even that it doesn't really impact anything but more the fact that so many others are putting in the time to be there early and wait it out and would prob enjoy coffee themselves.

what really got me going. . . and we all have seen it over the years. . . is the 1 person standing at a tap point and then bringing up a bunch of people. it just isn't right.

my whole point to both points is i would really like to see implemented across all ropes drops is what international gateway and the remy cast members have going on.

Either June 2021 or June 2022 we rope dropped Frontierland at MK and the CMs led everyone almost all the way to the attractions walking with the rope. What a much better experience. I'm not sure if they're still doing that but it was great!