Re-opening reports DLP and changes

[joelle89]

@joelle89 , any overall thoughts? Any differences between weekend and during the week?

Saturday was busier, but still quieter than I have ever seen it and I’ve been during a snow storm in 2012 Whereas we saw posted wait times of 5–15 minutes (even though most rides were walk ons) on thursday and friday, we saw 10-30 minutes waits on Saturday. Restaurants were busier as well on Saturday. It was also hotter, so we had a harder time with the face masks. We took more water breaks, sitting down in the shade.

 

[Karin1984]

Saturday was busier, but still quieter than I have ever seen it and I’ve been during a snow storm in 2012 Whereas we saw posted wait times of 5–15 minutes (even though most rides were walk ons) on thursday and friday, we saw 10-30 minutes waits on Saturday. Restaurants were busier as well on Saturday. It was also hotter, so we had a harder time with the face masks. We took more water breaks, sitting down in the shade.

Thanks! I saw the weekends were sold out, but indeed, looking at the wait times on the app, it wasn't too bad. We plan to focus on character selfies and the small things we normally do not appreciate enough. I want to ride the train!

And thanks for the warning about hot weather & masks, I'll bring extra water.

 

[Karin1984]

It is busy today , wait times might be inflated, but posted For some rides is 45-60 minutes.

 

[Karin1984]

Yeah, some wait times were inflated. Or we were lucky. Big Thunder Mountain posted 40 minutes, reality 15 minutes (take the left lane!!!!), Pirates 25 minutes, reality 15 minutes. It did feel busy in certain areas, so I can believe that wait times could have been correct and because of that thought we skipped rides.

Phantom Manor is probably sort of correct as they still use the elevator?

The other one that was correct was Casey Jr. With 25 minutes, but that was mainly due to inefficient CMs and procedures. I started timing as soon as we got near the station. The first train was 1.30 minutes from unloading to leaving again, perfect. The next train 3.00 minutes and out train took almost 5 minutes from unloading to leaving. What we could detect it is because people with a DAS pass have to wait at the bottom of the ride and wait for the unloading to be done, and all the previous guests have left the station (because otherwise social distancing is hard on those small paths) then climb up the hill to the ride, get seated etc. Then the CMs do their checks and the train can leave. The procedure definitely does not help, but the CMs were definitely taking their time.

Overall, most people wore the masks, on occasion we saw some people removing the mask to take pictures, but only once was a CM nearby. People adhered to social distancing. I think once or twice we let people behind us know they had to keep their distance. No issues there.

We spend most of out times walking around and taking pictures at all the opportunities. There are 2 Frozen meets in the Studios, both with Lineberty. Kingdom of Arendelle is Kristoff/Sven and Anna/Elsa. The Frosted Selfie is with Olaf and he has 2 reservation options in Lineberty, in the morning and in the afternoon. Arendelle is only in the morning and was sold out in seconds. So fingers ready at 10.00!
No Lineberty for Mickey and the Magician characters, we had Belle and Mickey. We might try again tomorrow to see if we get Cinderella and/or Fairy Godmother with the carriage.
Oh, still no selfiesticks allowed in the park, like normal, but that also goes for the selfies with the characters. This makes it a bit trickier to get good pictures with the characters in the back when you are travelling solo. CMs are not allowed to take the picture for you with your camera/phone.

With most characters you are close enough to have some kind of interaction. Only Snow & prince at the well were too far away. And Aurora and Phillip on the balcony too.

Today they also started with miniparades, we missed Rapunzel in a carriage, but we did spot Fab Five in the Main Street Bus and Mickey, Minnie and Goofy in the tricycles together with Stitch in the Stars&Cars-Cars.

We kept walking around, taking pictures, so we messed up our normal routine to have lunch before the crowd. It was quite busy or restaurants were closed around lunch time but luckily Café Brousse still sells Chicken Bites.

As there was not a lot of waiting (and we woke up at 5), and a lot of walking, we were quite tired at the end of the afternoon. We left the park around 6.30 and had dinner at Vaipiano, instead of staying to close at 8. Which was a good decision as we were done when the crowds started coming in. Vaipiano still works the same, only you wait at your table for your meal to get ready (improvement!). You get a buzzers like at Earl's. Earl of Sandwich was only open for dinner, not lunch, btw.

I think that was it. If anything else comes to mind, I will report back!

 

[Karin1984]

More things came to mind:
- we left the Studios at 11.30, and there was a queue to enter Disneyland Park, as they check the reservation, and only let you walk up to the turnstiles when they are free.
- to discourage unnecessary traffic when you stay at Cheyenne, you need to show your room key, hotel pass or reservation when walking back from the Village to the hotel at the bag check.
- weight distribution matters on roller coasters! In Crush we had a shell for the two of us, both sitting at the front, and we spun around much more than when there are also two people in the back. Also for Indiana Jones we noticed a difference. The vehicles seat 3x2 people, we were in the front two seats, second row was empty, third row was occupied with an adult & child. This was one rough ride!
- closing times were weird, as there are no fireworks, Fantasyland doesn't have to close early. But Philharmagic and the Train did close somewhere between 4 and 5.

 

[SuperMuscleMan]

More things came to mind:
- we left the Studios at 11.30, and there was a queue to enter Disneyland Park, as they check the reservation, and only let you walk up to the turnstiles when they are free.
- to discourage unnecessary traffic when you stay at Cheyenne, you need to show your room key, hotel pass or reservation when walking back from the Village to the hotel at the bag check.
- weight distribution matters on roller coasters! In Crush we had a shell for the two of us, both sitting at the front, and we spun around much more than when there are also two people in the back. Also for Indiana Jones we noticed a difference. The vehicles seat 3x2 people, we were in the front two seats, second row was empty, third row was occupied with an adult & child. This was one rough ride!
- closing times were weird, as there are no fireworks, Fantasyland doesn't have to close early. But Philharmagic and the Train did close somewhere between 4 and 5.

How odd the train and philharmagic closed that early. I've wondered what closing is like, does it feel flat?

 

[Karin1984]

How odd the train and philharmagic closed that early. I've wondered what closing is like, does it feel flat?

We didn't stay till closing. But we leave the park often before the fireworks. We have seen it a dozen times, we don't consider it a particular good show, it happens more often we leave the park to have dinner in the Village or just to be out of the park before the crowds.

 

[SuperMuscleMan]

We didn't stay till closing. But we leave the park often before the fireworks. We have seen it a dozen times, we don't consider it a particular good show, it happens more often we leave the park to have dinner in the Village or just to be out of the park before the crowds.

Ah yes I miss the previous show! Illuminations is lacking in story for me and is too rehashed from clips for me to enjoy. The Peter Pan elements were brilliant and custom made too. Glad you had a great time.

 

[mousefan73]

We have a trip beginning of September booked at DLP. We are driving and I am honestly a bit nervous if this trip happens... I am honestly looking at maybe moving our trip up.... I need to check online later today, but we are able to leave tomorrow.. I am worried numbers will increasse more by sept..

Should I look into moving our trip
Sooner ??

 

[SuperMuscleMan]

It maybe better to bring it forward but I thought the cases are holding still are they not?

 

[Karin1984]

We have a trip beginning of September booked at DLP. We are driving and I am honestly a bit nervous if this trip happens... I am honestly looking at maybe moving our trip up.... I need to check online later today, but we are able to leave tomorrow.. I am worried numbers will increasse more by sept..

Should I look into moving our trip
Sooner ??

If you can, I would definitely move your trip forward. Avoid the weekend though. Europe is more practical like Asia, I do not dismiss that DLP will do the same as Disney Hong Kong and close down when the cases start rising again.
On the other hand, maybe wait a little and do not go tomorrow. This weekend it has been announced that from 15 & 22 August the Lion King & Jungle Book Jive will be back (the last one will go to the Stuntshow theater in the Studios, tickets with Lineberty)

My overall impression, it was really well arranged and Disney does ALMOST everything what she can to prevent the spread. However, they need more people in general, but especially on Main Street and around the castle to address people who take pictures without their masks.
We had a little incident. We were in the Steam Train (Frontierland station is still closed, btw), and the family in front of us was loud and annoying, which was not a big thing. The mother not wearing her mask was... So at the Main Street Station we ask the station CM discretely if he could tell the woman to wear her mask. His reply: "I am not the police." I was shocked, and it takes a lot to shock me ;-) So on our way out today, I went by Guest Services to ask for the procedures, and yes, it is procedure that CMs have to address people not wearing their masks. I'll put it in writing as well.

I wouldn't recommend the current situation as an ideal situation to visit for first-timers. For people with APs or just go more often, yes, this can be amazing, especially when you are more into rides. We realized how much time we spend at waiting for shows/parades/characters. We knew that this is the big draw for us, but now that we could experience it without shows and hardly time to wait for characters, it showed what we like. We had to leave latest at 2 for me to catch the train in Brussels. But we decided to leave at 12 to have lunch at Annette's. We had done everything we wanted to do and seen everything we wanted to see, and a sit down lunch was more what we needed. And it gave us extra time to drive back to Brussels, relaxed a bit at home before I had to go to the station.

Yesterday we saw/did: Crush Coaster, Tower of Terror, Slinky Dog, Kristoff/Sven & Anna/Elsa, Olaf, Mickey & Magician characters in the Studios, plus pictures at the Statue & Magic Shot with Stitch. In the park: saw Daisy, Minnie, Princess-less Pavilion, Smee & Captain Hook, Aurora & Phillip, Snow White & Prince, Gepetto (just missed Pinocchio), Queen of Hearts/White Rabbit, and several Castle Pictures and Magic Shot at Phantom Manor and with Peter Pan, Big Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Alice' labyrinth, Pays des Contes Fees and Casey Junior.

Today we saw/did: Peter Pan's Flight, Tea Cups, Dumbo, Carrousel, Small World, Space Mountain, Philharmagic, Steam Train, Mickey/Goofy/Pluto, Donald, Minnie, Princess-less Pavilion and more castle pictures. And we saw the characters waiving at the station, plus traded a pin.

EMH was so quiet with only 2 hotels open, absolutely the best time of day. Now more than ever.

 

[mousefan73]

If you can, I would definitely move your trip forward. Avoid the weekend though. Europe is more practical like Asia, I do not dismiss that DLP will do the same as Disney Hong Kong and close down when the cases start rising again.
On the other hand, maybe wait a little and do not go tomorrow. This weekend it has been announced that from 15 & 22 August the Lion King & Jungle Book Jive will be back (the last one will go to the Stuntshow theater in the Studios, tickets with Lineberty)
I checked and we would move up from 03 sep to 04 Aug. I will call tomorrow and see if we can simply modify. Worth asking gives us time
My overall impression, it was really well arranged and Disney does ALMOST everything what she can to prevent the spread. However, they need more people in general, but especially on Main Street and around the castle to address people who take pictures without their masks.
We had a little incident. We were in the Steam Train (Frontierland station is still closed, btw), and the family in front of us was loud and annoying, which was not a big thing. The mother not wearing her mask was... So at the Main Street Station we ask the station CM discretely if he could tell the woman to wear her mask. His reply: "I am not the police." I was shocked, and it takes a lot to shock me ;-) So on our way out today, I went by Guest Services to ask for the procedures, and yes, it is procedure that CMs have to address people not wearing their masks. I'll put it in writing as well.

I wouldn't recommend the current situation as an ideal situation to visit for first-timers. For people with APs or just go more often, yes, this can be amazing, especially when you are more into rides. We realized how much time we spend at waiting for shows/parades/characters. We knew that this is the big draw for us, but now that we could experience it without shows and hardly time to wait for characters, it showed what we like. We had to leave latest at 2 for me to catch the train in Brussels. But we decided to leave at 12 to have lunch at Annette's. We had done everything we wanted to do and seen everything we wanted to see, and a sit down lunch was more what we needed. And it gave us extra time to drive back to Brussels, relaxed a bit at home before I had to go to the station.

Yesterday we saw/did: Crush Coaster, Tower of Terror, Slinky Dog, Kristoff/Sven & Anna/Elsa, Olaf, Mickey & Magician characters in the Studios, plus pictures at the Statue & Magic Shot with Stitch. In the park: saw Daisy, Minnie, Princess-less Pavilion, Smee & Captain Hook, Aurora & Phillip, Snow White & Prince, Gepetto (just missed Pinocchio), Queen of Hearts/White Rabbit, and several Castle Pictures and Magic Shot at Phantom Manor and with Peter Pan, Big Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Alice' labyrinth, Pays des Contes Fees and Casey Junior.

Today we saw/did: Peter Pan's Flight, Tea Cups, Dumbo, Carrousel, Small World, Space Mountain, Philharmagic, Steam Train, Mickey/Goofy/Pluto, Donald, Minnie, Princess-less Pavilion and more castle pictures. And we saw the characters waiving at the station, plus traded a pin.

EMH was so quiet with only 2 hotels open, absolutely the best time of day. Now more than ever.

Well we wouldn’t leave tomorrow since it is kind of cutting it close but it would be on 4 August instead of 3 September. so I’m gonna call tomorrow and see if that’s even possible when I check online there’s availability but it does cost more. so that’s the only issue. This damn virus what to do what to do.

 

[SuperMuscleMan]

I've just seen that there are big issues with a second spike. We saw today how the UK stopped people going to Spain. If the rates continue on the curve they have it could be a big issue and shutdowns could happen.

 

[mousefan73]

I've just seen that there are big issues with a second spike. We saw today how the UK stopped people going to Spain. If the rates continue on the curve they have it could be a big issue and shutdowns could happen.

Yes. Been watching too. What worries me are the July/ August party vacationers who are slowly coming back. We are thinking of getting ahead of that curve.

 

[SuperMuscleMan]

Yes. Been watching too. What worries me are the July/ August party vacationers who are slowly coming back. We are thinking of getting ahead of that curve.

I think your be wise to. My neighbor works for Eurostar and she said they have had their busiest booking day on record (she works with group / VIP bookings but it's carrying over to standard) so if possible get transport sorted asap. Take wipes with you and remember masks must be worn on Eurostar. If your in the Disney bubble I expect your be very safe. But come October or even September with the curve increasing I'd be worried.

 

[Karin1984]

Tip for visiting the Princess-less pavilion. There is a camera set up, and the CM presses the button, and scans the photopass card. There is this big throne set up and a stain glass window backdrop, some candles, and it looks really cute. However, the space is incredibly small, and the throne is very big. It would have been better if the camera could be a meter further away.
The picture on the right was our first visit on Saturday, left was the second visit. We went back, as we didn't realize our feet were cut off.

Tip 1: Sit as far to the back as possible.
Tip 2: Tall(er) people, pull in your feet against the legs of the seat. Short(er) people, accept your feet will not touch the ground.

I do now have an issue that in the picture of the left the top part of the picture is cut off. Somewhere between Saturday and Sunday the camere was tilted downwards just a little. But that problem will be solved with some photoshopping and combining the two pictures.

 

[Karin1984]

I had sent in a message to DLP about the CM who made the 'I am not the police' remark, plus some compliments for other CMs and our experiences.

I've received a reply within a day (which is extremely quick, so they probably have been able to catch up ), basically confirming that CMs should indeed address guests who do not wear their masks and that his remark was out of line. No idea if it will help for future guests, but at least it is reported.

We also received a very very very extensive survey after visiting with how we had experienced all the measures and about how safe we felt.

 

[disneyhockeymad]

Keeping an eye on this thread and keeping everything crossed for November. It was both mine and my best friend’s 30th birthdays this year (mine depressingly during lockdown!) and we had a whole host of holidays planned to celebrate and currently this is the only one that’s survived...!! Hope this current spike goes down by then! So jealous of all you who have been already, I’m seriously missing the magic

 

[standardgirl]

Can someone who's been to DLP since the re-opening share their experience on character meets? We have a little toddler who loves the character and would normally interact with the character (think hugging, etc.). I read the below on the DLP website, but it isn't clear to me what this really means.

How is a selfie character meet different than a traditional meet other than there's no Disney photographer there? Do guests have to keep physical distancing from the character (like 2 or 1.5 meters)? I assume no face character will be there, but for Mickey and other characters, they are anyway all covered up, so I'm not sure what would be allowed distance wise.

I'd really appreciate some feedback.

Our Disney Characters

Kids’ playgrounds, traditional Character meet and greets, and makeover experiences will remain temporarily unavailable. During the initial reopening phase, many Disney, Pixarem>, Star Wars Characters or Marvel Super Heroes will appear in the Parks and offer guests memorable photo opportunities. From unexpected appearances to new Selfie Spots, there’s never been a better time to see beloved Characters. Close interactions, including hugs, will be temporarily suspended.

 

[Karin1984]

Can someone who's been to DLP since the re-opening share their experience on character meets? We have a little toddler who loves the character and would normally interact with the character (think hugging, etc.). I read the below on the DLP website, but it isn't clear to me what this really means.

How is a selfie character meet different than a traditional meet other than there's no Disney photographer there? Do guests have to keep physical distancing from the character (like 2 or 1.5 meters)? I assume no face character will be there, but for Mickey and other characters, they are anyway all covered up, so I'm not sure what would be allowed distance wise.

I'd really appreciate some feedback.

Yes, as the website says 'close interactions, including hugs will be temporarily suspended'. So no hugging or touching, there is a physical distance between you and the characters. You can read more in my report earlier in this thread.

Face characters
- Snow & Prince at the Wishing Well.
- Aurora & Prince on the balcony (harder to take pictures with as they are high up)
- Jack Sparrow at Pirates of the Caribbean, also high up. He switches off with Smee & Captain Hook.
- Belle or Cinderella/Fairy God Mother at the Mickey and the Magician theater.
- Kristoff and Elsa/Anna in the Art of Animation theater (Lineberty, this is the first you have to grab, this one goes quick!)

Fur characters:
- Donald at the beginning of Main Street on the left with Photopass
- Daisy at the beginning of Main Street in the middle
- Winnie the Pooh Characters at the end of Main Street left
- Mickey/Pluto/Goofy in the Mickey Mouse theater in Fantasyland
- Gepetto or Pinnochio near Bella Notte
- Olaf in Art of Animation (Lineberty)
- Marvel characters in the Animagique theater
- Minnie or Toy Story characters in Toontown in the Studios (Lineberty)
- Mickey in the Mickey and the Magician Theater.