Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[brockash]

Correct, for the MK <> resort boats, if it is after MK is closed, they don't accept passengers going back to MK from anywhere.

For the Bay lake boat "loop" where boats normally just go between Ft. wilderness/Contemporary/WL, those aren't running at all.

Are the boats to/from Ft Wilderness running during MK hrs?

 

[yulilin3]

Is a Dooney bag a fancy plastic bag of some sort.

Flower and Garden=F&G and Dooney is a Dooney and Burke, a brand

 

[Donzie]

Are the boats to/from Ft Wilderness running during MK hrs?

Yes.

I went last week. I was told the boats were not running at checkin on Sunday 8/9 but during the week we saw people lining up at the dock. Sure enough they were running the boats during MK hours (45 min to an hour prior to opening and same for close). We rode to and from Fort Wilderness Resort to MK on Friday 8/14 and enjoyed it. The line at MK separates in 2 for the Wilderness cabin and camping resort and The Wilderness Lodge. Separate boats were running each line. The friendly first mate told us the boat we rode back on Friday was just out of dry dock that day, freshly painted and ready to go again.

Obviously subject to change. Crowds were fairly low and I wouldn't doubt Disney will start cutting money where they can if crowds do not return.

 

[Dismrk155]

Ok. Don't carry a hand bag. I'm a guy. Have a off brand wallet gorv$9.00

 

[hereforthechurros]

Conclusion from our early August trip: we’ve been home for 10 days and in strict quarantine during that time. After being home for five days I had a COVID test done and got the negative results today!

We flew on an uncomfortably packed plane, took Disney transport as well as Uber, and ate in many restaurants so it’s very reassuring to see a WDW trip can be done safely. We washed and sanitized like crazy, masks constantly obviously, showered and changed after each park day, and did laundry once which hopefully all made a difference.

Edit: not sure why this would make anyone mad. We followed all guidelines and quarantined and were tested. Aren’t we told over and over we can reopen and do things as long as we follow safety protocols and get tested?

 

[Geomom]

Conclusion from our early August trip: we’ve been home for 10 days and in strict quarantine during that time. After being home for five days I had a COVID test done and got the negative results today!

We flew on an uncomfortably packed plane, took Disney transport as well as Uber, and ate in many restaurants so it’s very reassuring to see a WDW trip can be done safely. We washed and sanitized like crazy, masks constantly obviously, showered and changed after each park day, and did laundry once which hopefully all made a difference.

Happy to hear you've felt fine and got negative test results!

We flew home on 8/8 after 2 weeks at Disney (only 35 people on the Southwest plane home), only used Disney transit, ate inside, did not shower/change right when we got back to room, did not use the pools, did laundry in middle of trip, fresh masks daily, plenty of hand sanitizer and washing hands, stayed away from DS. We all still feel fine. DD20 and DH got covid tests done on day 5, negative results received 24 hrs later. DD16 and I are doing the strict self quarantine as mandated by our state (negative covid tests release you from quarantine). DD20 needed to be tested for college and DH is moving her in this weekend. DH just got car serviced and said he felt safer at Disney than in the waiting area.

 

[shoegal9]

I looked at the CBR pool the first day and the only thing on the calendar was the nights they are having movies under the stars. The one afternoon we were at the feature pool the cast member was doing trivia. I don't think they can do games and other projects since people would have to touch the supplies or be too close.

They were doing tie-dye tee shirts at the Boardwalk pool on August 1st. So, assuming there are even some hands on activities. Not sure about the calendars though.

 

[jlnten17]

Is DVC still getting 30% discount or is it back to 20%? We arrive next week and I have my eye on a bag. TIA!

 

[shoegal9]

Is DVC still getting 30% discount or is it back to 20%? We arrive next week and I have my eye on a bag. TIA!

20%

 

[yulilin3]

Just a reminder that this thread is not to discuss the virus or quarantine or any other aspects other than trip reports from those who just got back and any question about WDW operations

 

[Justrose]

Am I able to put a gift card on my room, and then charge mobile ordering to that? I thought I had read somewhere that mobile orders were linked to credit card only.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Am I able to put a gift card on my room, and then charge mobile ordering to that? I thought I had read somewhere that mobile orders were linked to credit card only.

You can pay with a gift card when you mobile order. It'll be a payment option when you go to check out.

You can't charge mobile order to your resort room account.

 

[Chris Ehlers]

We just got back from a full week out there. It was undeniably hot and I will avoid August in the future, but it didn't ruin our trip. Masks were not fun to have to wear, but again, not trip ruining and we were ok. We were really happy to be there and for the most part had a great time. Just had to go with the flow for a lot of things not open, not operating, limited capacity, closing early, etc. Lines were longer and parks busier than I would have thought after reading about others' experiences, but still MUCH shorter/lower than we would have experienced during a normal trip. We went on pretty much everything we wanted to go on each day, at each park.

It's was definitely a memorable trip and we have tons of mask-on pictures to remind us of our "great pandemic WDW trip of 2020."

Summary of pros/cons:

• Pros
  • Shorter Lines
  • Lower crowd levels
  • Pools were great
  • Cast Members were excellent, as usual
  • Most food was great
  • Most people were respectful and good about mask wearing and social distancing, and everyone was happy to be there
  • More mobile ordering (I love mobile ordering)
  • Hand sanitizer everywhere (this should remain permanently)
  • 30% AP Merch Discount was freaking phenomenal. I saved literally hundreds of dollars.
  • WE GOT TO BE AT DISNEY WORLD
• Cons (while there are many more, they still don't outweigh the pros and we're really glad we went!)
  • Mask wearing is not fun, but not world-ending. Biggest impacts from masks are:
    • Hearing each other -- too often I was trying to have a conversation with a CM and we're both wearing masks and they're behind plexiglass
    • Pictures -- others seem to be good at it, but I'm not good at smiling with my eyes. Even though I was smiling, I look irritated or mad in a lot of my pictures.
    • Ear fatigue -- I actually found an ear-saver on the ground and ended up sanitizing it and using it the rest of my trip -- it was a life (ear!) saver!
    • Where to put it when taking it off -- I recommend getting a binky lanyard of some kind to hold your mask when taking it off. No good places in the bathroom or a restaurant to put your mask.
    • If you have a larger face and/or beard, make sure you have your comfortable masks before you come in the parks. I searched for 5 of my 8 days for an XL disney mask and couldn't find any. They're very rare! Even once I found them, they're sized inconsistently and only 1 of the 2 I bought fit me.
    • Once in a while it did feel a little suffocating. During those times, it helped to pull it away from your face a little (not to the side, and not off) when breathing in, then back on your face when breathing out so it can do the job it was intended to do.
  • Transportation -- it was extremely difficult to get home to BLT after we had dinner at Riviera and Wilderness Lodge. On both occasions a CM had to make a "special exception" to get us home.
    • Bay Lake Boat Transportation loop (Contemporary/WL/Ft. Wilderness) was closed
    • Epcot Monorail Closed
    • Bus transportation was awkward with social distancing, and Contemporary bus stop did poor job and enforcing first-come-first serve, so a lot of people would jump ahead to get on the next bus.
    • Usually my solution involved getting back to MK then walking home from there, but they said they weren't allowed to bring guests to MK after park close, which was at 7, and that was usually after we had finished dinner.
    • My backup plan was to take a bus to the springs then a bus to BLT, luckily did not have to do that.
  • TOTWL at BLT Closed
  • Electric Water Pageant Closed (I think I missed this the most, out of everything)
  • While I like mobile ordering, they had a glitch where they would cancel your order if you didn't complete it with a certain amount of time. I lost a few orders this way, even while actively adding things to the order
  • No Fireworks, of course
  • Everything closes too early (parks, pools, restaurants) -- there's nothing to do after 9p
  • QR Codes for Menus got old fast -- I hate using phones at the table
  • No park or resort delivery from gift shops -- minor annoyance if I decided to buy something earlier in the day
  • Lines to get into shops, especially at the end of the day
  • Almost everything is off on Kali River Rapids. We couldn't get wet at all despite going on it three times. They said they didn't want people to get their masks wet.
  • I lost a ROTR boarding group #1 because lightning knocked out the ride the night before

Again, seems like I'm complaining about a lot, but I'm actually really glad we went -- we had a great time and you will too as long as you keep your expectations low and remain easy going while there.

for really good "XL facemask before you go, I found the ones from DXL menswear to be the best for for Big Guys and Guys with Beards. Life saver. I got a XL Mickey face mask the day they hit the Parks and the Ear Loops are too small for me and harder to breath

 

[Chris Ehlers]

Interesting about Kali. I've never been on it because I don't like getting soaked. Did your shoes get wet?

Whats Crazy is we rode that and didn't get wet either, but on the 3x we did Splash we got completely soaked and had to change masks

 

[Vols1977]

Coming down this weekend. Are disposable masks more comfortable in the heat? We have plenty of cloth masks but the disposable masks seem like they would be more comfortable in the Florida heat..

Anyone have thoughts on this?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Coming down this weekend. Are disposable masks more comfortable in the heat? We have plenty of cloth masks but the disposable masks seem like they would be more comfortable in the Florida heat..

Anyone have thoughts on this?

I'm Team Disposable Mask. Cotton/cloth ones didn't do it for me... was much happier with the disposable ones, both for convenience and breath-ability. Would put on one, put five in a ziplock bag in my pocket, and off we go. I appreciated being able to toss an old one/get a fresh one from time to time during the day.

 

[Chris Ehlers]

Correct, for the MK <> resort boats, if it is after MK is closed, they don't accept passengers going back to MK from anywhere.

For the Bay lake boat "loop" where boats normally just go between Ft. wilderness/Contemporary/WL, those aren't running at all.

Also if you're in any MK Resorts the Monorail closes at 8pm, so if you're at GF and staying at BLT you might have to take car or get Uber to get back after dinner, found that out the hard way

 

[Geomom]

Coming down this weekend. Are disposable masks more comfortable in the heat? We have plenty of cloth masks but the disposable masks seem like they would be more comfortable in the Florida heat..

Anyone have thoughts on this?

We did fine with cloth masks, but did bring disposables with us just in case. We were there 2 weeks. It was just so hot in general that the masks didn't make it worse. Wear whatever you're used to that feels comfortable to you.

 

[Leigh L]

Coming down this weekend. Are disposable masks more comfortable in the heat? We have plenty of cloth masks but the disposable masks seem like they would be more comfortable in the Florida heat..

Anyone have thoughts on this?

I agree 100% with what @GADisneyDad14 said. Adult DD and I were far more comfortable with disposable and pretty much didn't notice it.
DH and DD13 did wear cloth and seemed to prefer it though.

(On our last day we were relaxing in the pool at Shades of Green and I waded right in, mask and all. I forgot I was wearing it! lol)

 

[disneygirlsng]

Coming down this weekend. Are disposable masks more comfortable in the heat? We have plenty of cloth masks but the disposable masks seem like they would be more comfortable in the Florida heat..

Anyone have thoughts on this?

I haven't been to WDW yet (2 days!!), but I have been to a couple other theme parks this summer in 90+ degree temps and found the disposable masks to be quite comfortable. Didn't even notice it was on after the first 30 min or so.