Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[summerw]

nevermind. Delete post.

 

[JoJoGirl]

Second day at WDW today. Visited Epcot again to enjoy more of the Food & Wine Festival.

How do you tell your brain that it is OK to sleep in at WDW? I wish I knew because I woke up at 7:00 am and was WIDE awake. Being at the Yacht Club when Epcot doesn’t open until 11:00, it would have been fine to sleep past 9:00. At home this would not have been a problem, lol.

Entered Epcot via the IG just before 11:00, and headed around the back side of the lagoon. There were very few people on the promenade and no lines at all at the food booths for at least the first hour. For some time, I felt like the only guest in the Japan pavilion. It was wonderful to be able to simply explore and get as many pictures as I wanted without blocking walkways or bothering anyone. Japan is truly a gorgeous pavilion!

Grabbed a bite at Japan, then Germany, where there were many empty picnic tables right up by the lagoon. It was a great place to do some messaging and get caught up with everyone at home. There may or may not have been some “empty Epcot” pics shared.

I continued around the Lagoon and where the line to Frozen was already stretching to the promenade. So that’s where all the people were! At 12:15 there was no wait to get in the Mexico pyramid. Noticed as I entered that there was NO LINE at La Cava (a first that I’ve seen), but since drinks aren’t allowed on the boat ride, I reluctantly passed and went to visit the Three Caballeros, which was a walk-on. By the time I exited, the line at La Cava was a few people deep. On a non-Covid day this would have been a boon, but today I was ready to get outside. Luckily, there was only one person In line at La Choza, and a Cucumber Margarita was secured in short order. Grabbed a picnic table behind the East side Kiosk shop, and was the only person in that whole area for about 15 minutes. Eventually the secret was discovered, so I finished my drink and headed over to Future World.

Nemo was a walk-on just before 1:00, but the Seabase was crowded enough that it was difficult to maintain 6+ feet of distancing around the exhibits, even as a solo. Maybe I will return and do this first thing Thursday morning.

Headed to Spaceship Earth, which had a bit of a line, but the CM said they were cleaning and would be done in five minutes. The line was outside and very well spaced, so I just queued up. Never felt uncomfortable. Here’s a pic:



You may not be able to tell, but there are a couple of empty rows between each open queue lane, keeping everyone far enough apart. Once the line started moving it was less than five minutes to boarding, and the vehicle was nice and newly-cleaned. It was GREAT to see SE again - I thought that when we went in February it would be the last time before the “reimagining.”

After that, I headed over to Imagination and walked on to visit Figment. Not sure why, but I enjoyed this ride much more than usual - maybe because I was not worried about time or what else I could have been doing. It’s so much more relaxing not having to worry about FastPasses!

By then there were more people in the park. For those of you who keep track of stroller parking, this is what it looked like in Future World west around 2:00 today:



Headed back into World Showcase and decided to do my own “Tour de Lobster.” Tried the Lobster tail at Citrus Blossom (no line), the Lobster Mac-n-Cheese at World Showplace (no line) and the Lobster Roll at Hops & Barley (again no line). The Mac-n-Cheese was the winner, with the Hops-n-Barley coming in second, and Citrus Blossom a disappointing third. Loved Carol the pianist, who was playing at World Showplace, and wished I could have stayed longer to listen but was trying to limit my indoor time. Tables at World Showplace were only about 35-40% filled so distancing was all right there.

Along the way, I Grabbed a Bass Ale from the Rose & Crown stand and enjoyed it in the totally empty courtyard where British Revolution used to play. I shed a silent tear that they are no longer there.

By 4:00 the Promenade was busier, and some popular food booths, like Canada, had lines of 5-10 people. Along the main walkway, it was sometimes hard to avoid passing closer than 6 feet to people, but other times it was completely clear. I am accustomed to passing people while walking at home, and since this was outside, only momentary, and almost everyone was masked, it did not feel uncomfortable to me.

Spent the rest of the day wandering WS, grabbing a bite or a drink here and there, and taking a ton of great pictures that I normally couldn’t due to the crowds. It’s great to notice so many new things, even after almost 30 trips to WDW. This one truly is unique! Not having to fight crowds made it pleasant to stay in the park from open to close, even on a hot September day.

And once again, the weather surprised by not raining despite the forecast! Tomorrow is Animal Kingdom, we’ll see if the luck holds out.

 

[JoJoGirl]

I left Hollywood Studios today. I was there first thing this morning as well. I rode MMRR and Slinky by 10 am. I checked the app and saw that RNR was 45 and figured it was inflated until I got there. I decided to go to Starbucks and that line was spilling onto Sunset Blvd. I got off of the line and left. The lines for RNR and TOT were not socially distanced at all at 10:26 this morning. If you zoom in closely there's no markers under anyones feet. Most of the wait times were 60 or more for the better rides and the Star Wars Rides were down at that time. I've had a great week with the exception of Epcot on Saturday. Bring your patience for DHS

Wow! I’m at WDW now too but opted to skip HS this trip. It’s been tough to be SO close but not go. Kind of glad I‘m missing those crowds and lines, though.

 

[Spazz2k]

Anyone have this problems with the closing time change?? Park now closed for reservations at Olga's

 

[katyringo]

Anyone have this problems with the closing time change?? Park now closed for reservations at Olga's

From my understanding there are still several restaurants that are saying open past park closing and those reservations are valid.

 

[Dentam]

Anyone have this problems with the closing time change?? Park now closed for reservations at Olga's

Oga's is open an hour after park close. We had a 7:45 reservation last Tuesday and it was so cool being the last one's in Oga's and the last two people in GE that evening!

 

[Julie Amber]

We were in Magic Kingdom today

I was super concerned that it would be outrageously crowded with the start of everything Halloween today, but it wasn't bad at all!!

We got to the bus stop at Pop at 7:35. Buses started running right at 8 am. We were on the 4th bus and boarded right at 8:04 am. Not kidding. They had buses lined up one after the next and got people on FAST!

We absolutely LOVED the Halloween cavalcades. I mean, this really helped the magic really feel real to me. I especially loved the one with Mickey all dressed up and the music from MNSSHP. We ended up seeing 4 different cavalcades today without even trying

We walked on: SDMT, Splash, Thunder, Peter Pan, Dumbo, and HM

Waited about 5-10 for: Pooh, Space, Tiki room, Little Mermaid

Waited 20-30 min: Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Small World

I'll take that for a great Disney touring day.

 

[katyringo]

We were in Magic Kingdom today

I was super concerned that it would be outrageously crowded with the start of everything Halloween today, but it wasn't bad at all!!

We got to the bus stop at Pop at 7:35. Buses started running right at 8 am. We were on the 4th bus and boarded right at 8:04 am. Not kidding. They had buses lined up one after the next and got people on FAST!

We absolutely LOVED the Halloween cavalcades. I mean, this really helped the magic really feel real to me. I especially loved the one with Mickey all dressed up and the music from MNSSHP. We ended up seeing 4 different cavalcades today without even trying

We walked on: SDMT, Splash, Thunder, Peter Pan, Dumbo, and HM

Waited about 5-10 for: Pooh, Space, Tiki room, Little Mermaid

Waited 20-30 min: Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Small World

I'll take that for a great Disney touring day.

im glad to hear this. Since they don’t announce their times I’m worried we will miss all of them!

 

[yulilin3]

im glad to hear this. Since they don’t announce their times I’m worried we will miss all of them!

They start rolling down the parade route at around 10am.

 

[AKVFamily]

Went to HS today. Drove from AKV Kidani left at 9am and scanned into park at 9:48. Got ROTR boarding group 25. It was called at 1:50. We got in line at 2:10 and were on the ride at 3:00. Slinky dog said 70 minutes but was only 35. The Alien saucers said 45 minutes and it was only 10. We waited 90 minutes for MMRR at 12:30. Smugglers run was down all day.

What do you suggest as a morning strategy at HS?

 

[tussking]

If I am reading correctly it seems MK is the least busy park during the week?

 

[Tinkerbellmom43]

Wow! I’m at WDW now too but opted to skip HS this trip. It’s been tough to be SO close but not go. Kind of glad I‘m missing those crowds and lines, though.

It's a little rough there. I was contemplating changing my park res. after speaking to a couple on Monday. They had just gotten back and said it was busy. Lol next time I'm going with my inner voice and switching I went to DHS last Thursday when I arrived in the afternoon and it was manageable. Maybe afternoon is key? Ending my stay today at MK on a good note Enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

[Tinkerbellmom43]

double post

 

[Melodious]

We were in EP yesterday. Headed first to Frozen but it was down for hours. Crowds were low. We walked on Soarin', Mission to Mars, Spaceship Earth, and Living with the Land. I was disappointed in the procedure at Living with the Land. At first they loaded every other lane. Once we were on the boat, they decided to load the rest. I felt I did not have time to object.

Frozen had a line stretching into China for most of the day when it came back up. Mask compliance was good and it was the first day we heard CMs correcting usage

Today we are heading to AK

 

[OhioWDWDuo]

We were in EP yesterday. Headed first to Frozen but it was down for hours. Crowds were low. We walked on Soarin', Mission to Mars, Spaceship Earth, and Living with the Land. I was disappointed in the procedure at Living with the Land. At first they loaded every other lane. Once we were on the boat, they decided to load the rest. I felt I did not have time to object.

Frozen had a line stretching into China for most of the day when it came back up. Mask compliance was good and it was the first day we heard CMs correcting usage

Today we are heading to AK

Had the same experience on Living with the Land yesterday! There was no wait for this ride, so really no reason to load every row on the boat. The group directly in front of us pulled their masks down to chin straps for the ENTIRE ride as soon as it started. We were so uncomfortable! It has been the only ride so far during this trip where we felt unsafe. Would not ride this again unless the CMs guarantee not to load every row. It would be worth asking before getting on; wish we had done that.

 

[disneygirlsng]

Had the same experience on Living with the Land yesterday! There was no wait for this ride, so really no reason to load every row on the boat. The group directly in front of us pulled their masks down to chin straps for the ENTIRE ride as soon as it started. We were so uncomfortable! It has been the only ride so far during this trip where we felt unsafe. Would not ride this again unless the CMs guarantee not to load every row. It would be worth asking before getting on; wish we had done that.

Did your boat not have the dividers? My understanding was once they installed the dividers they started seating every row. That wouldn't bother me if the dividers were there.

 

[OhioWDWDuo]

Did your boat not have the dividers? My understanding was once they installed the dividers they started seating every row. That wouldn't bother me if the dividers were there.

Yes, the boat had the dividers. But it was still very uncomfortable, since the party in front of us took their masks off and the dividers do not go all the way up/down. The boat directly in front and behind us were completely empty, so there was no reason to pack in every row. Now that I know, I will definitely ask for future rides. It wouldn’t have been bad if we had mask compliance in our boat.

 

[Melodious]

Yes, the boat had the dividers. But it was still very uncomfortable, since the party in front of us took their masks off and the dividers do not go all the way up/down. The boat directly in front and behind us were completely empty, so there was no reason to pack in every row. Now that I know, I will definitely ask for future rides. It wouldn’t have been bad if we had mask compliance in our boat.

The dividers also have large gaps below and on top. Basically I would just like to have the information to make a decision before riding

 

[Momma of 4]

I'm interested in hearing about people's experiences while eating, specifically QS. Are you able to find ample tables outside close to the QS? We plan to eat outside as much as possible in October, and I worry about being able to find places for us all to sit (family of 6). Especially because we like to snack often and will be needing to "pull over" to do so.

 

[mouselovenfamily]

Just got boarding group 15 for rise!