social distancing possible late jan/early feb?

[liamthompson]

Hi all, first post

Tentative plan to stay at on-site hotel to have early entry for 4 days and express pass for 2 of the 4 days. Flexible travel dates so targeting late jan/early feb in hopes of lowest crowd. Goal is to ride the big coasters (I think there's only 4?), watch the shows, and wander around and enjoy the theming. It would just be me + spouse, so looking for a more laidback pace instead of the "see-and-do everything" mentality I've had in the past. I've discovered riding too many of the motion simulator rides back-to-back (ex. transformers, minions) make me nauseous so I'll pick and choose favorites, depending on line.

I think current strategy will be to enter the park at early entry, stay until around 10-11am or whenever it gets uncomfortably busy, and then go back to the hotel and lounge around the pool for the rest of the day. Is there typically an afternoon lull in the crowds? If so, we might try again later at that time but if not, oh well.

For those of you who are more familiar with universal, does it even sound reasonable to be able to social distance in this scenario? I'm struggling to define for myself what "social distance" even means, I guess it's easiest to use the COVID 6 foot definition. I'm not looking for a dead empty park, and I understand any kind of line will not be socially distanced, so I'm trying to minimize time spent in line/crowds. I'm thinking back to my last disney visit, in which we got caught up in such a massive crowd that I realized that if one person suddenly stopped or tripped, it is quite possible that someone would get trampled and injured. I definitely don't want to have to deal with that kind of crowd. I guess if I'm walking around the parks, I want to have enough space between me and other guests that I can't hear their conversation word-for-word at a normal speaking level. (Again, I realize this is all very subjective.)

Any feedback would be helpful. I'm not dead set on this idea, the current ticket promo is just incredibly tempting. I think I could also be happy just to do a day trip to Portofino Bay, walk around the pretty landscaped property, have some lunch, take some fun pictures. This rabbit hole all started because my disney-hating spouse actually considered a stay at animal kingdom lodge which alas, is currently out of our budget.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Are you looking for any kind of actual distancing on rides & shows? Not happening, and EP or going in mornings will not really fix that. Well, doing shows in mornings & hanging towards the back might allow you to space out a little, but it would be "business as usual" on the rides at any case.

If you're more just looking for non-shoulder-to-shoulder crowds where you can walk along without bumping people & never need to stand within some stranger's personal sxpace, I think you can accomplish that with your plan. Weekdays & avoid the holiday 3 day weekends. Hogsmeade will be the main crush of people, and that's avoidable by skirting the area mid-day (really most of the day, depending on overall crowds). The main entry street in Diagon Alley approaching the dragon on Gringotts may fall in this category too, though less so than Hogwarts, and for a smaller distance.

Not really an afternoon lull in overall crowds, although the Hagrids line dips appreciable in the afternoon, especially on slow days. (Keep in mind, riding Hagrids at all will not be "minimizing time in lines," unless you are within the first batch of people in the park.) The last hour or two of the day will also be lower crowds like the mornings, so it's worth going back in for the evenings.

With those dates, I doubt you will find an unholy crush of humanity in Universal. Barring special events of course (ie, concerts). Even watching the parade at Universal, it's more typically being adjacent to other viewers but only maybe 2 rows deep, probably more in the "prime" areas, and another row standing back along the far side of the sidewalk. The first Hogwarts light show of the night is a definite exception, those do get packed (and see note above on Hogsmeade) but if you wait for the last few shows it really clears out & you can watch with reasonable personal space, possibly 6' distance.

I think as long as you understand you will for sure be directly seated next to other parties on rides & literal 6' distancing is not really realistic, you should be fine. To be fair, 6' distancing is also not realistic in grocery stores, airports, typical daily life, etc. You should be fairly easily able to avoid any packed-in situations.

On another note, have you looked at renting points for Animal Kingdom Lodge? Could potentially stay for ~$300/night. And free parking if you have a DVC reservation (rented counts).

 

[xipotec]

I think there is a huge flaw in your plans…

US and IOA usually close at 7pm that time of year….

Really not conducive to taking an afternoon break, and going back at night.

Maybe leave the park to have lunch at the hotel, but anything beyond that, would be just half a day at the park.

 

[Magical2017]

I don't think it is possible to social distance at the parks. We last visited over Memorial Day of 2021. That was when they still had masks required indoors (they dropped the mandate with no warning over the weekend, though). People were right up in your business behind you in the lines. We tried to leave some space in the lines between ourselves and other families, but most were not doing so and were visibly annoyed at those who did.

 

[liamthompson]

Are you looking for any kind of actual distancing on rides & shows? Not happening, and EP or going in mornings will not really fix that. Well, doing shows in mornings & hanging towards the back might allow you to space out a little, but it would be "business as usual" on the rides at any case.

If you're more just looking for non-shoulder-to-shoulder crowds where you can walk along without bumping people & never need to stand within some stranger's personal sxpace, I think you can accomplish that with your plan. Weekdays & avoid the holiday 3 day weekends. Hogsmeade will be the main crush of people, and that's avoidable by skirting the area mid-day (really most of the day, depending on overall crowds). The main entry street in Diagon Alley approaching the dragon on Gringotts may fall in this category too, though less so than Hogwarts, and for a smaller distance.

Not really an afternoon lull in overall crowds, although the Hagrids line dips appreciable in the afternoon, especially on slow days. (Keep in mind, riding Hagrids at all will not be "minimizing time in lines," unless you are within the first batch of people in the park.) The last hour or two of the day will also be lower crowds like the mornings, so it's worth going back in for the evenings.

With those dates, I doubt you will find an unholy crush of humanity in Universal. Barring special events of course (ie, concerts). Even watching the parade at Universal, it's more typically being adjacent to other viewers but only maybe 2 rows deep, probably more in the "prime" areas, and another row standing back along the far side of the sidewalk. The first Hogwarts light show of the night is a definite exception, those do get packed (and see note above on Hogsmeade) but if you wait for the last few shows it really clears out & you can watch with reasonable personal space, possibly 6' distance.

I think as long as you understand you will for sure be directly seated next to other parties on rides & literal 6' distancing is not really realistic, you should be fine. To be fair, 6' distancing is also not realistic in grocery stores, airports, typical daily life, etc. You should be fairly easily able to avoid any packed-in situations.

On another note, have you looked at renting points for Animal Kingdom Lodge? Could potentially stay for ~$300/night. And free parking if you have a DVC reservation (rented counts).

Thank you for this very thoughtful answer, the bit about the parade route being 2 deep is exactly the kind of info I was looking for! Your comment about the bottleneck at hogsmeade and diagon alley reminded me of this photo I snapped last time, early in the morning, of the statue in front of gringotts. I was in a rush and didn't frame it very well, so the guy sitting at the base of the statue made it in. He's hunched over, arms around his backpack, already looking sooo tired. I guess that about sums up the early entry vibe, haha.

I briefly looked into DVC rental but didn't see anything open with savannah view for longer than a night in Jan/Feb using dvc rental calendar...don't know if this is due to my own ineptitude though. Am kicking myself for not knowing about this sooner!

 

[liamthompson]

I think there is a huge flaw in your plans…

US and IOA usually close at 7pm that time of year….

Really not conducive to taking an afternoon break, and going back at night.

Maybe leave the park to have lunch at the hotel, but anything beyond that, would be just half a day at the park.

Ahhh this is very good to know. I was trying to find the open/close times and only saw the ones for December. I was hoping to go back in after dinner.

 

[liamthompson]

I don't think it is possible to social distance at the parks. We last visited over Memorial Day of 2021. That was when they still had masks required indoors (they dropped the mandate with no warning over the weekend, though). People were right up in your business behind you in the lines. We tried to leave some space in the lines between ourselves and other families, but most were not doing so and were visibly annoyed at those who did.

Yeah, the lines for attractions are definitely going to be the trickiest part and I've accepted that it is not possible to social distance in that situation. Sorry to hear that people got annoyed with your family. Even walking around town, you can tell everyone has their own version of proper line etiquette

 

[ajsamett]

I'd say you could probably social distance in the crowd as long as you aren't in an HP area, but the lines are in no way socially distanced. I think, if these are virus related concerns, you'd be better off just getting a good mask (n95), and not worrying as much about being close to people

 

[lockets]

Social distancing in it's purest form of 6 feet apart is no more at Universal or WDW theme parks in Orlando. I would go so far as to say "Expect the opposite." Based on that - definitely consult your doctor on how best to protect yourself.

 

[musika]

I think if you have a valid medical requirement to social distance, this is not the vacation for you.

 

[DizKids2]

Hi all, first post

Tentative plan to stay at on-site hotel to have early entry for 4 days and express pass for 2 of the 4 days. Flexible travel dates so targeting late jan/early feb in hopes of lowest crowd. Goal is to ride the big coasters (I think there's only 4?), watch the shows, and wander around and enjoy the theming. It would just be me + spouse, so looking for a more laidback pace instead of the "see-and-do everything" mentality I've had in the past. I've discovered riding too many of the motion simulator rides back-to-back (ex. transformers, minions) make me nauseous so I'll pick and choose favorites, depending on line.

I think current strategy will be to enter the park at early entry, stay until around 10-11am or whenever it gets uncomfortably busy, and then go back to the hotel and lounge around the pool for the rest of the day. Is there typically an afternoon lull in the crowds? If so, we might try again later at that time but if not, oh well.

For those of you who are more familiar with universal, does it even sound reasonable to be able to social distance in this scenario? I'm struggling to define for myself what "social distance" even means, I guess it's easiest to use the COVID 6 foot definition. I'm not looking for a dead empty park, and I understand any kind of line will not be socially distanced, so I'm trying to minimize time spent in line/crowds. I'm thinking back to my last disney visit, in which we got caught up in such a massive crowd that I realized that if one person suddenly stopped or tripped, it is quite possible that someone would get trampled and injured. I definitely don't want to have to deal with that kind of crowd. I guess if I'm walking around the parks, I want to have enough space between me and other guests that I can't hear their conversation word-for-word at a normal speaking level. (Again, I realize this is all very subjective.)

Any feedback would be helpful. I'm not dead set on this idea, the current ticket promo is just incredibly tempting. I think I could also be happy just to do a day trip to Portofino Bay, walk around the pretty landscaped property, have some lunch, take some fun pictures. This rabbit hole all started because my disney-hating spouse actually considered a stay at animal kingdom lodge which alas, is currently out of our budget.

I would say that at any park during early entry it is almost impossible to social distance. I agree with other posters that it may be best to use a good mask for those times where you will be in lines or crowds if you have a concern, or avoid the parks alltogether.

 

[karmacats]

If you can afford it, and stay up late, I'd highly recommend the orlando informer meetup on feb 3-4. The rides are generally walk ons (except hagrids, which has a much shorter wait than usual) and there are so few people it's extremely easy to distance yourself. You may end up standing right next to people in queues, but they move well so it's basically just walking near people for a couple of minutes. Food lines at the harry potter areas can get long but in other areas are non-existent (food is included in the price). I don't have pics (new phone) but I'm sure you could Google some. There have been times when we can't see another soul in the parks, especially if you stay until the end.

The shows don't run during the after hours, but you can usually get into the parks at 4 or 5 to catch them, and then when the crowds leave at 7-ish it's theme park heaven.

 

[mom2rtk]

Social distancing is not happening in the parks. Hasn't happened for some time.

If you do decide to try this anyway, be sure to plan your day so you won't have to leave any items in a ride locker. Those areas are the exact opposite of socially distanced.

 

[bchbetha]

Even if you could get a bit of breathing space in lines (which you really won't), they like to cram people in for pre-show stuff. If you won't be comfortable with that then it probably isn't going to be a fun trip.

 

[DarthEsquire]

I agree that it is pretty much impossible to do the six foot distancing. I also try to keep my personal space in the parks though and I do still like to wear a mask when going through crowded areas. I don't spend much time in Harry Potter lands but I found those tight and too crowded regardless of social distancing preferences. The main places I felt the most discomfort in were the Hagrid's queue (I found the line very tight and once indoors it seemed very poorly ventilated to me), Kong, and the Mummy line on some of the switchbacks. Even though it had switchbacks, the Velocicoaster line did not seem as tight to me and moved pretty consistently.

One thing I did during the height of COVID park operations was instead of doing multiple express pass days I joined a group tour for one day. That allowed access to all the big rides in the same day and kept me with the same group of people (which admittedly can always be a little hit or miss). It does allow a lot of skipping the queues for the longer lines, but may not fit with not wanting to do simulators back to back. I was then able to really lay back and utilize space the other days I visited.

Bryan

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Yeah, that won't really happen. In the early mornings the crowds are thick, even when the park itself is fairly empty. As far as lines, you have cast members literally telling people to move and take up all available space, this happened in line at Gringotts, Minions, Velociraptor and a few others.
The locker areas are a nightmare, no matter when you go but the Velociraptor ones are the worse, because they keep filling up and never quite emptying.
For an example on Thanksgiving, you couldn't even get space at guest services, bathrooms or water fountains but the week after when the park was amazing, Harry Potter lands, Marvel lands and Dr. Seuss areas were still tight, even just walking around.
Good luck, it seems that there are crowds squeezing in, even on low to no crowd days in many areas and don't even get me started on the resort buses! LOL!! The bus driver for Cabana Bay was not letting the first people sit down anywhere, he loaded from the back front and made them all squeeze in and stand everywhere, that was TIGHT! LOL. Then when we decided to try driving ourselves, it was just as bad at the security area and they really keep you moving.
If you really want to make the attempt, your best bet is to sleep in, laze about at the resort and enjoy the pool and do late lunches and enter the park in the afternoon for lunch and then stay until close. It gets lighter around 3 or 4 but around 6 when they close at 7, if you can move fast you can see and do all you want to.
As far as shows, anything HP was insane along with the Grinch but after that it was only about 2 deep and the parade was 2-3 deep depending on weekend or weekday, just from what we saw in areas as we didn't stop to watch.
The worst bottleneck is where the construction workers play music near Fast and the Furious, the cast members do not keep it moving there at all and people just stop, it's beyond tight that you are better of just going back and around.

 

[liamthompson]

Wow, thanks all for taking the time to respond and share your experiences. Lots of good suggestions here that I hadn't thought of - the orlando informer meetup, private tour, pre-show considerations, personal anecdotes about crowds...spouse and I talked it over and ultimately decided this is not the trip for us, right now. The biggest factor was having to get up early and "strategize" the day...this is a vacation without our toddler so it would be nice to sleep in and not have to rush around all day! So now I'm leaning toward day trip to leu gardens in the morning and stop by portofino bay in the afternoon for some fun pictures, have a little gelato. I also had this off the rails idea to see if I could get a reservation at sanaa and still work in animal kingdom lodge somehow, ha.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

6 feet distancing? Not happening this isn’t 2020.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

6 feet distancing? Not happening this isn’t 2020.

Yeah, the staffs in the parks won't even let you if you wanted to. They shout the old mandate of "close up all available space" again. So doing it in the lines or queues is 100% out of the question. Distancing is a thing of the past.