WDW COVID-19 Operational Changes- Reservation System-Rope Drop Procedures

[yulilin3]

Please help if you have recent information.

Party of 4 includes me 47yo mom/auntie, 19 yo DS, 18 yo DNephew, 16 yo DD. All Star Wars geeks. All but DN18 are frequent theme park visitors (Universal Orlando and Disneyland) but have not been to WDW since 2010.

Staying at the Dolphin from Sept 7 to 12 after 2 days at Universal. Have reservations for 7th Epcot, 8th DHS, 9th DHS, 10th Epcot, 11th AK and 12th MK with early departure.

General questions:
No fast passes right?
No EMH?
How early should we get to the gates for each park? We are typically “rope drop” people and do not mind waiting if it means we get in earlier.

Please help me understand how to get a boarding group for RotR and if there is any hope of more than one ride on it.

Tips for transportation to MK and AK? Should we Uber or bus?

General suggestions? What am I forgetting? Thank you so much to anyone willing to help.

merged you to the existing operational thread
no fast passes
no emh
parks open same time as parking lots so about 45 minutes before official park opening. Rides may or may not be open that early
head over to the RotR thread on the SWGE subforum
read post 1 and 2 here https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...planning-and-information-no-spoilers.3782822/
up to you on transportation, buses start running about an hour before park opening
read this thread and also the "just back" thread for current info

 

[Disneyforus]

I think I saw somewhere when things were just re opening that your entire party had to enter the park together. Is that true, and still a thing? We have 5 kids, all older and a 7 yr old. Will we have flexibility to split up? Exit/reenter separately etc....
Thanks

 

[yulilin3]

I think I saw somewhere when things were just re opening that your entire party had to enter the park together. Is that true, and still a thing? We have 5 kids, all older and a 7 yr old. Will we have flexibility to split up? Exit/reenter separately etc....
Thanks

That's not true, each person just needs to have a park reservation, but each can enter whenever and reenter whenever

 

[dachsie]

I think I saw somewhere when things were just re opening that your entire party had to enter the park together. Is that true, and still a thing? We have 5 kids, all older and a 7 yr old. Will we have flexibility to split up? Exit/reenter separately etc....
Thanks

That would only be if you are trying for a boarding group for RotR

 

[my2disneyboys]

I'd love any advice or reassurance right now. We planned our October 20-27th trip early this year before Covid, planning on doing Mickey's Halloween. We paid for a 7 day park hopper through our ITR office at the base where my wife works, but which has been closed since March, so I can't even communicate with them about refunds or extensions. We also got our resort reservations through a DVC company, which offers no refunds. I had planned out all our restaurants so I could reserve them, and it is one of the kiddo's birthday on October 21st (we have an 8yo and the other will turn 9 during the trip). Now many of the restaurants the kiddos picked, like Cinderella, Ohana, Luau, Crystal Palace, etc, are closed. No fireworks which is what our 8 year old was most looking forward to, and these seriously reduced hours.
Add to this my general anxiety over covid and not feeling safe traveling, let alone to Florida...
But we can't get a refund on our DVC, probably can't get a refund on our Disney tickets (or Universal, for that matter), and we got our flight with miles, which I haven't even looked into refunding...
Someone, please help me figure out what I should do. My wife is basically like "well, we have to go because it's nonrefundable" and I'm like it's so expensive and it's stupid to go when we aren't even getting a fraction of the experience we paid for.

We are in the same situation for a trip in November (that was already rescheduled from June)... We will be out the DVC Hotel which for us is $4,000. The tickets i can use next time i go. If we go, we will be spending so much more than 4,000 because of food and spending $... and i am so torn. We will be nervous for sure- will only want to eat outside. But i also think we may feel safe because of all the precautions and it may be nice to experience disney without a lot of people and lines. Keep us posted and if you do go, please report back on your recommendation for us !

 

[julietsstars]

Hi all! I did a search for this but couldnt find my answer.

• What phase is DisneyWorld currently in?
• What will the next phase bring (ie Parades are back, more capacity, etc)?
• Any idea what requirements in Orange County, FL would need to be met in order for the mask policy to change. Examples like, maybe its only required in areas where you cant social distance or even that you can take it off while on a ride?

 

[yulilin3]

Hi all! I did a search for this but couldnt find my answer.

• What phase is DisneyWorld currently in?
• What will the next phase bring (ie Parades are back, more capacity, etc)?
• Any idea what requirements in Orange County, FL would need to be met in order for the mask policy to change. Examples like, maybe its only required in areas where you cant social distance or even that you can take it off while on a ride?

Disney doesn't disclose numbers so we don't know if they still are at the same capacity as opening or they have opened more up
As far as Orange Co. they haven't said when or which criteria they need to lift any mask requirement, BUT Disney being a private company can keep the requirement even after Orange Co lifts their mandate

 

[trishadono]

We are in the same situation for a trip in November (that was already rescheduled from June)... We will be out the DVC Hotel which for us is $4,000. The tickets i can use next time i go. If we go, we will be spending so much more than 4,000 because of food and spending $... and i am so torn. We will be nervous for sure- will only want to eat outside. But i also think we may feel safe because of all the precautions and it may be nice to experience disney without a lot of people and lines. Keep us posted and if you do go, please report back on your recommendation for us !

Just got back 8/19-23. One thing you may like is how they are doing QS. You mobile order. 1st pick a time slot, then choose what you want to order. When you are there/ready hit the button. They make you wait until “it’s ready” . Then they direct you to the line to pick it up. This was very spread out safe way to do it. Then for seating (some were in some outside) there is not a lot of people because you only can go in with a “ready” meal. Tables well spaced out too.

TS they have you respond in the app when you have arrived then texts you when ready. The tables are well spaced out again.
Hope that helps

 

[Lsdolphin]

Not sure if I should have posted this here or not ...I ordered this mask to support the Give the Kids the World Village and was surprised when the mask arrived today ...made in China and sent from UK!!! It came with a metal strip which I assume is supposed to fit your nose but the mask is totally stitched and there is no opening to insert metal strip.

 

[jsmla]

One of the precautions I plan on taking next month will be to avoid spending a lot of time in shared indoor spaces as much as possible, especially indoor queues. I won’t be doing any indoor dining on this trip and will probably skip Soarin’ and Tower of Terror but I would really, really like to ride MMRR since I’ve never experienced it. I have no plans to ride anything in SWGE.

I’m staying at Yacht Club which should give me an advantage since I won’t need to fool with Disney transportation. How does park entrance work if walking from the Epcot resorts? I don’t have a problem with waiting at the gate but I know Disney is taking steps to keep crowds from building before park opening.

If I were to be one of the first to enter the park, how long do y’all think I would stand in the indoor queue before boarding? I’m shooting for less than 15 minutes.

I’ve been to WDW many, many, many times and will be fine if this doesn’t work out. I’m dork enough to enjoy just being there!

Thanks!

 

[yulilin3]

One of the precautions I plan on taking next month will be to avoid spending a lot of time in shared indoor spaces as much as possible, especially indoor queues. I won’t be doing any indoor dining on this trip and will probably skip Soarin’ and Tower of Terror but I would really, really like to ride MMRR since I’ve never experienced it. I have no plans to ride anything in SWGE.

I’m staying at Yacht Club which should give me an advantage since I won’t need to fool with Disney transportation. How does park entrance work if walking from the Epcot resorts? I don’t have a problem with waiting at the gate but I know Disney is taking steps to keep crowds from building before park opening.

If I were to be one of the first to enter the park, how long do y’all think I would stand in the indoor queue before boarding? I’m shooting for less than 15 minutes.

I’ve been to WDW many, many, many times and will be fine if this doesn’t work out. I’m dork enough to enjoy just being there!

Thanks!

merged you to the operations thread, you can also get reports from the "just back" thread
The walkway opens an hour before park opens, they they hold you until around 9:15 and let you into the park
the indoor queue portion of MMRR is about a 10 to 15 min wait

 

[wdw_dine_junkie]

Just got back 8/19-23. One thing you may like is how they are doing QS. You mobile order. 1st pick a time slot, then choose what you want to order. When you are there/ready hit the button. They make you wait until “it’s ready” . Then they direct you to the line to pick it up. This was very spread out safe way to do it. Then for seating (some were in some outside) there is not a lot of people because you only can go in with a “ready” meal. Tables well spaced out too.

TS they have you respond in the app when you have arrived then texts you when ready. The tables are well spaced out again.
Hope that helps

The problem I had with this, this past weekend at MK, was if you want a Dole Whip at Aloha Isle, the first time slot showing available for pickup was about 45 minutes after I was standing in front of it. I didn't know where I'd be in 45 min, in a ride line, in another land etc. So I ended up not ordering one. I guess you have to know where you will be and/or plan on being there ahead.

 

[julietsstars]

The problem I had with this, this past weekend at MK, was if you want a Dole Whip at Aloha Isle, the first time slot showing available for pickup was about 45 minutes after I was standing in front of it. I didn't know where I'd be in 45 min, in a ride line, in another land etc. So I ended up not ordering one. I guess you have to know where you will be and/or plan on being there ahead.

I wondered this!! Thought maybe there would be an exception to things like iced cream. So you can't just walk up and order now? Its 100% mobile

 

[yulilin3]

I wondered this!! Thought maybe there would be an exception to things like iced cream. So you can't just walk up and order now? Its 100% mobile

You can, they insist you use mobile order but you can just order like before

 

[brockash]

You can, they insist you use mobile order but you can just order like before

Right, but if the closest pickup time is 45 mins away, like the pp mentioned, that's very different than just walking up and ordering. I think that's what the poster was asking.

 

[yulilin3]

Right, but if the closest pickup time is 45 mins away, like the pp mentioned, that's very different than just walking up and ordering. I think that's what the poster was asking.

Yes, what im saying is that you can still walk up and order

 

[yulilin3]

Not sure if it was here but someone asked of the parasol stall was open at mk and im here today and it's open

 

[wdw_dine_junkie]

Yes, what im saying is that you can still walk up and order

I wish they made that more clear. I guess they don't want to encourage it too much.

 

[lovethattink]

I wish they made that more clear. I guess they don't want to encourage it too much.

I was told before reopening that there would be one register at each qs, but online payment was preferred.

 

[brockash]

Yes, what im saying is that you can still walk up and order

Oh maybe I misunderstood...so can you order a dole whip without ordering from your phone? You know, need to know about the important things lol. I thought the pp meant there wasn't an option to not mobile order??