Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[Lumpy1106]

We are thinking of using Uber when we arrive, at least to go to Hollywood Studios if transportation doesn't improve from then until now. Is 9:15 still around when they let cars enter the parking lot, does anyone know?

It's about that time - yes

 

[DCLMP]

Contemplated it a few times but didn’t. We actually had friends that picked up an Uber from one of the CBR village bus stops to Epcot. They bailed after waiting 45 min and their uber grabbed them pretty quickly from Jamaica. We usually uber and/or Minnie van a few times per trip but we never were in a rush for anything so we didn’t bother. In retrospect, we wasted a lot of time at the bus stops.

Thanks I considered renting a car, but with the 25 dollar parking fee plus rental cost it makes more sense to lyft.

 

[koquinn]

You had to pay extra because you had to drive around until the parking lot opened? How does that work, don't they show you the price up front? I have never used a ride sharing company before, so don't know how it all works.

Yeah, we took Lyft this time and paid twice as much as expected since it took so long. I told the driver via their messaging app he was too early and we'd be turned away based on info here, but he insisted earlier was better. Nope. Turns out disboards people know better than the locals! Also keep in mind if you have 6 or more people you'll have to split into 2 cars because they don't let anyone sit in front right now for either Uber or Lyft - both only allow a max of 5.

 

[Princess2R]

I have to say, I was very disappointed with HS today. We were there on Sunday (our first park day) and it felt pretty crowded but tolerable. Today was a cluster. We rode the Skyliner from Pop and there were very long lines at Pop, at the transfer, then to get into the park. It was packed. They are allowing way too many reservations for this park considering its size and the limited number of attractions. If today had been our first park day, we would not go back the rest of the trip. The wait times are a little misleading IMO. Yes, some of the rides have lower wait times than average, but walking around the park is very crowded, especially Toy Story and Star Wars land.

I was really curious about when the crowds & wait times would be picking up.
that sucks to hear!!

How long did it take to get there from pop on the skyliner?

 

[koquinn]

I was really curious about when the crowds & wait times would be picking up.
that sucks to hear!!

How long did it take to get there from pop on the skyliner?

I'm not sure when that post being quoted is from - I think skyliner has been down for several days in the morning.

 

[yulilin3]

Yeah, we took Lyft this time and paid twice as much as expected since it took so long. I told the driver via their messaging app he was too early and we'd be turned away based on info here, but he insisted earlier was better. Nope. Turns out disboards people know better than the locals! Also keep in mind if you have 6 or more people you'll have to split into 2 cars because they don't let anyone sit in front right now for either Uber or Lyft - both only allow a max of 5.

or the driver knew he would make more by insisting of going earlier

 

[mickey0624]

The photos from Pop are making me nervous for my October trip. We have no issue with calling an Uber/Lyft, but I'm curious how close by they are in the morning, especially in the current environment? And is it possible to Uber to the Contemporary right now so we can walk to MK from there, or would we need to be a guest of the Contemporary to enter? I've never been to the MK area except on a Disney bus, so I don't know where/how the checkpoints are.

Rent a car...even when there is no COVID that's what we always do....makes life sooooo much easier

 

[Amanda2525]

Well, I have now. Thanks for the e-mail address - I was going to ask.

You should be able to chat with customer service/CMs on the MDE app as well! Maybe try both?

 

[koquinn]

We had the 6:55 ressie for BOG tonight. We walked out into a crazy thunderstorm and a totally empty park. It was truly amazing!

 

[Winston Wolf]

Yeah, we took Lyft this time and paid twice as much as expected since it took so long. I told the driver via their messaging app he was too early and we'd be turned away based on info here, but he insisted earlier was better. Nope. Turns out disboards people know better than the locals! Also keep in mind if you have 6 or more people you'll have to split into 2 cars because they don't let anyone sit in front right now for either Uber or Lyft - both only allow a max of 5.

well that's interesting. Hadn't thought about this. For an Uber X or standard Lyft, wouldn't the maximum be 3 for the back seat of a sedan?

 

[720L]

Epcot today, the crowds were lighter & more like I was thinking they'd be. The mask seemed not as bad also, but that's probably because of all the air conditioned rides.

 

[koquinn]

well that's interesting. Hadn't thought about this. For an Uber X or standard Lyft, wouldn't the maximum be 3 for the back seat of a sedan?

I think standard is 3 for both and xl or whatever is 5 now. I don't use it often but you can check now if you want to schedule a ride. I emailed Lyft to double check and they said 5 cuz of covid.

 

[koquinn]

Epcot today, the crowds were lighter & more like I was thinking they'd be. The mask seemed not as bad also, but that's probably because of all the air conditioned rides.

Agreed, overall MK seemed better today than the past 2 weekend days. It started off rough with the bus from Pop but once we got there it was a great day.

 

[Winston Wolf]

I think standard is 3 for both and xl or whatever is 5 now. I don't use it often but you can check now if you want to schedule a ride. I emailed Lyft to double check and they said 5 cuz of covid.

Eeeep. Well, then that creates a premium for the bigger vehicles. Will make sure we reserve in advance or plan to be in line for the bus at 8am to get to DHS.

 

[2kidsForMe]

I am currently here at Kidani with my 17 year old daughter. We arrived from Boston yesterday. Went to MK today. We arrived around 10:30. We drove our rental car to the park. Easy. Was able to park close and had maybe 4 other families on the ferry boat with us. We felt waits were overall very good. The longest line we had was probably Mine Train, which ended up being around 30 minutes all in. It was HOT! We did struggle with the masks a bit when we were outdoors in the sun. The lack of available quick service was a drag. We ended up doing a mobile order at Pinocchio Village House. Our margarita flatbreads weren’t good today, I’m sorry to report. They tasked like cracker pizza lol. Like someone took a saltine cracker and added ketchup and a little fake cheese. Oh well. Not the end of the world. Social distancing while walking around the park was pretty good. No real issues there. The biggest concern we had all day was the mask compliance and other guests. I hate to be negative, and maybe we were just unlucky, but we saw so many chin strap mask and noses. I mean everywhere. Plenty of exposed faces on kids over 2. We did have several instances where other guests didn’t observe social distancing in lines, and crowded right up behind us. Ugh. While the majority were compliant (probably 65-70%), we saw did see a lot guests walking past CMs while improperly wearing their masks. In one case, we passed a guy who was wearing his paper mask like a mustache, while actively talking to a CM. Weird. We only saw one occasion where the CM asked a guest to cover their nose, and this was on Mine Train after the ride was over. For example, on HM, a group of ladies promptly removed their masks as soon as they sat down. Same thing for the group behind us on Space. Another example was a boy around 9 or 10 complaining to his mom about his mask while in line for LM. She said, just take it off when you sit down. Yikes! The CMs seemed to have just given up. They are in a no-win situation I guess, and I feel for them. They don’t want to confront guests. I get it. I went into this trip telling myself that I can only control what I do for myself and my daughter, and I won’t let other guests behavior negatively impact our trip. I’m non confrontational by nature. I didn’t expect perfect compliance. But today rattled me. I’m hoping things improve tomorrow. We are headed to HS. LMK if anyone has any questions.

 

[Winston Wolf]

I am currently here at Kidani with my 17 year old daughter. We arrived from Boston yesterday. Went to MK today. We arrived around 10:30. We drove our rental car to the park. Easy. Was able to park close and had maybe 4 other families on the ferry boat with us. We felt waits were overall very good. The longest line we had was probably Mine Train, which ended up being around 30 minutes all in. It was HOT! We did struggle with the masks a bit when we were outdoors in the sun. The lack of available quick service was a drag. We ended up doing a mobile order at Pinocchio Village House. Our margarita flatbreads weren’t good today, I’m sorry to report. They tasked like cracker pizza lol. Like someone took a saltine cracker and added ketchup and a little fake cheese. Oh well. Not the end of the world. Social distancing while walking around the park was pretty good. No real issues there. The biggest concern we had all day was the mask compliance and other guests. I hate to be negative, and maybe we were just unlucky, but we saw so many chin strap mask and noses. I mean everywhere. Plenty of exposed faces on kids over 2. We did have several instances where other guests didn’t observe social distancing in lines, and crowded right up behind us. Ugh. While the majority were compliant (probably 65-70%), we saw did see a lot guests walking past CMs while improperly wearing their masks. In one case, we passed a guy who was wearing his paper mask like a mustache, while actively talking to a CM. Weird. We only saw one occasion where the CM asked a guest to cover their nose, and this was on Mine Train after the ride was over. For example, on HM, a group of ladies promptly removed their masks as soon as they sat down. Same thing for the group behind us on Space. Another example was a boy around 9 or 10 complaining to his mom about his mask while in line for LM. She said, just take it off when you sit down. Yikes! The CMs seemed to have just given up. They are in a no-win situation I guess, and I feel for them. They don’t want to confront guests. I get it. I went into this trip telling myself that I can only control what I do for myself and my daughter, and I won’t let other guests behavior negatively impact our trip. I’m non confrontational by nature. I didn’t expect perfect compliance. But today rattled me. I’m hoping things improve tomorrow. We are headed to HS. LMK if anyone has any questions.

Well that disappointing to hear about the masks. One of the things that's made us more comfortable about a trip have been the reports of how well people were complying to the mask rules and that CM's we correcting people early and often if they were not following the rules.

 

[2kidsForMe]

We had a non refundable DVC reservation as well as tickets purchased pre-pandemic. I also needed this getaway with my daughter for personal reasons. We would not have come otherwise during this pandemic. I did a lot of research and understood the risks and limitations.

 

[Winston Wolf]

I'll answer, even though I sense a hint of judgement in the question.

For us, we've had not one but two Disney Cruises cancelled this year. My wife works in Healthcare and has been under a tremendous amount of stress since March. The kids and I have been stuck/safe at home for the last 5 months. Frankly, we all really need a vacation that we already needed back in March. We look forward to things like this every year. I don't live to work, I work to live...and when there's nothing to look forward to and it's an unending cycle of bad news every day...it wears you out. So we both want and need this trip. Additionally, none of us have an pre-existing conditions which would put us in a higher risk category. We also won't be around anyone who is at higher risk for quite some time after we return. And finally, save one post I read an hour ago, I've been pretty impressed with how Disney has handled things during the re-open. We'll wash our hands regularly, happily wear our masks, and stay as physically distant as possible from others. Within those constraints, I'm convinced that we can have a fun and safe vacation.

 

[oceanmarina]

the bus situation looks truly awful. I hope and ask everyone who came back or maybe are still there to email Disney so they know what's happening
wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

Yep, I agree. I hope everyone who was impacted emails , that’s the only way to get a response,the waits sound really unacceptable

 

[ctl]

We are at AK today and the crowd situation is much the same as we found at MK yesterday. Lots of people, walkways crowded and it is very hard to social distance. FOP is an 80 minute wait and Kali is 45. Everest says 35 but it is a complete bottleneck to get in the end of the line and the CM keeps moving the end of the line marker farther and farther back so that wait time is likely going to be more.

I am currently here at Kidani with my 17 year old daughter. We arrived from Boston yesterday. Went to MK today. We arrived around 10:30. We drove our rental car to the park. Easy. Was able to park close and had maybe 4 other families on the ferry boat with us. We felt waits were overall very good. The longest line we had was probably Mine Train, which ended up being around 30 minutes all in. It was HOT! We did struggle with the masks a bit when we were outdoors in the sun. The lack of available quick service was a drag. We ended up doing a mobile order at Pinocchio Village House. Our margarita flatbreads weren’t good today, I’m sorry to report. They tasked like cracker pizza lol. Like someone took a saltine cracker and added ketchup and a little fake cheese. Oh well. Not the end of the world. Social distancing while walking around the park was pretty good. No real issues there. The biggest concern we had all day was the mask compliance and other guests. I hate to be negative, and maybe we were just unlucky, but we saw so many chin strap mask and noses. I mean everywhere. Plenty of exposed faces on kids over 2. We did have several instances where other guests didn’t observe social distancing in lines, and crowded right up behind us. Ugh. While the majority were compliant (probably 65-70%), we saw did see a lot guests walking past CMs while improperly wearing their masks. In one case, we passed a guy who was wearing his paper mask like a mustache, while actively talking to a CM. Weird. We only saw one occasion where the CM asked a guest to cover their nose, and this was on Mine Train after the ride was over. For example, on HM, a group of ladies promptly removed their masks as soon as they sat down. Same thing for the group behind us on Space. Another example was a boy around 9 or 10 complaining to his mom about his mask while in line for LM. She said, just take it off when you sit down. Yikes! The CMs seemed to have just given up. They are in a no-win situation I guess, and I feel for them. They don’t want to confront guests. I get it. I went into this trip telling myself that I can only control what I do for myself and my daughter, and I won’t let other guests behavior negatively impact our trip. I’m non confrontational by nature. I didn’t expect perfect compliance. But today rattled me. I’m hoping things improve tomorrow. We are headed to HS. LMK if anyone has any questions.

Thanks for the info. Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip. It's unfortunate that not everyone is sticking to the safety protocols. If there is a large outbreak traced to WDW that could scupper all our hopes of getting more normalcy in the parks.