JoJoGirl
Riding the Hydrolator to SeaBase Alpha
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2015
Arrived at WDW yesterday around noon. Glad to finally be back at WDW after the long Covid wait! I’ve been EXTEMELY cautious during the pandemic and this was my first time traveling. We haven’t been in a grocery, eaten in restaurants (even outside), or done any recreational activities besides walking in the park since quarantine started. In our area, people just don’t care about the virus - masks 40% on a good day, people gathering for weddings and parties, etc. Spread right now in my county is 3x what is is in Orange County FL. I was VERY nervous about this trip.
Flew in early on Southwest, nonstop from Columbus. My airport experience was OK, not too scary, but I’m glad it was brief. In CBus, proper mask compliance was spotty (maybe 70%) and it was more difficult to physically distance at the gate due to another departure at the next gate. Once that flight boarded, there was plenty of room to spread out. I was glad to be wearing a KN95 mask and eye protection. Once on the plane, only 75 or the 175 available seats were filled, so distancing felt good. MCO actually felt less crowded than CBus, no trouble staying 6+ feet away from people 98% of the time, even at luggage claim.
Waited about 15 minutes for ME. Guests on ME were well spaced, but I still wore my KN95 and eye protection until we arrived at the Yacht Club around 11:45. Then I switched to sunglasses and a disposable surgical mask. Got my room ready text while on the bus right after crossing into WDW, Bonus!! After a quick spiff-up at the room, I headed out to Epcot!
Crowd levels at Epcot were, to me, perfect! Had no trouble distancing on the walkways. Visited four F&W booths — The longest lines I experienced were 5 people deep at Canada around 4:30, and four at France around 1:00. Brazil and Mexico had no line. I LOVE the ability to grab a quick bite and eat it outside! Never felt uncomfortable with the spacing of people who were eating with their masks down.
Around 5:00, the wait time at Soarin‘ showed 10 minutes, so I thought I’d take a chance. Walked straight through the queue, 15 feet away from anyone, into the boarding area. Our flight group had only nine people, all adults with 100% mask compliance. Thought that this was the greatest luck ever! Little did I know — Patrick was halfway through his spiel when the CM interrupted him and announced a cleaning cycle. Bummer! About 10-15 minutes later, she returned and said they were having problems with the theater. We were eventually moved to another boarding area and got on the ride after maybe 30 minutes total wait. Everyone in my group was great, but I could imagine that if people had started sitting down, removing their masks, and eating, it would have been very uncomfortable. Mental note to carry an extra KN95 and eye protection in case this happens again.
Exited Soarin’ and saw no wait at Living with the Land. Walked right on the boat there (no cleaning cycle, yay!). I got the front row, and one more party was seated a couple of rows behind me - that was it.
People are correct when they say there is no physical distancing at the ride exits. Both times I hung back and let everyone else exit first, and was able to keep comfortable distance that way.
After 6:00 Epcot basically petered out - the crowd thinned considerably. I grabbed a bite and a Smoked Mango Margarita at the Mexico booth, wandered around WS until 7:00, then headed back to YC.
Overall I would say it was a great day at Epcot! Enough people that it didn’t feel deserted, but plenty of space everywhere. Plenty of socially distant places to stop to eat and drink. Short wait times for rides around the dinner time hour (except for some bad luck at Soarin’). The only disappointment was that so many shops were closed - however the open shops were not busy at all, so I can understand why they all can’t be open. But I did have a great time, and have two more Epcot days planned this week thanks to the great distancing there.
As a side note, when I woke up yesterday morning at 4:00 am (yikes!) the wether forecast for Orlando was “heavy downpours, sometimes torrential” for most of the day. I ended up not seeing a drop of rain, just some welcome cloud cover and some lightning in the distance. The Skyliner was closed again most of the afternoon/early evening, but was open again by park close.
Visiting Epcot again today - will see if my luck holds out with the crowds and weather. Having a great time so far!
Flew in early on Southwest, nonstop from Columbus. My airport experience was OK, not too scary, but I’m glad it was brief. In CBus, proper mask compliance was spotty (maybe 70%) and it was more difficult to physically distance at the gate due to another departure at the next gate. Once that flight boarded, there was plenty of room to spread out. I was glad to be wearing a KN95 mask and eye protection. Once on the plane, only 75 or the 175 available seats were filled, so distancing felt good. MCO actually felt less crowded than CBus, no trouble staying 6+ feet away from people 98% of the time, even at luggage claim.
Waited about 15 minutes for ME. Guests on ME were well spaced, but I still wore my KN95 and eye protection until we arrived at the Yacht Club around 11:45. Then I switched to sunglasses and a disposable surgical mask. Got my room ready text while on the bus right after crossing into WDW, Bonus!! After a quick spiff-up at the room, I headed out to Epcot!
Crowd levels at Epcot were, to me, perfect! Had no trouble distancing on the walkways. Visited four F&W booths — The longest lines I experienced were 5 people deep at Canada around 4:30, and four at France around 1:00. Brazil and Mexico had no line. I LOVE the ability to grab a quick bite and eat it outside! Never felt uncomfortable with the spacing of people who were eating with their masks down.
Around 5:00, the wait time at Soarin‘ showed 10 minutes, so I thought I’d take a chance. Walked straight through the queue, 15 feet away from anyone, into the boarding area. Our flight group had only nine people, all adults with 100% mask compliance. Thought that this was the greatest luck ever! Little did I know — Patrick was halfway through his spiel when the CM interrupted him and announced a cleaning cycle. Bummer! About 10-15 minutes later, she returned and said they were having problems with the theater. We were eventually moved to another boarding area and got on the ride after maybe 30 minutes total wait. Everyone in my group was great, but I could imagine that if people had started sitting down, removing their masks, and eating, it would have been very uncomfortable. Mental note to carry an extra KN95 and eye protection in case this happens again.
Exited Soarin’ and saw no wait at Living with the Land. Walked right on the boat there (no cleaning cycle, yay!). I got the front row, and one more party was seated a couple of rows behind me - that was it.
People are correct when they say there is no physical distancing at the ride exits. Both times I hung back and let everyone else exit first, and was able to keep comfortable distance that way.
After 6:00 Epcot basically petered out - the crowd thinned considerably. I grabbed a bite and a Smoked Mango Margarita at the Mexico booth, wandered around WS until 7:00, then headed back to YC.
Overall I would say it was a great day at Epcot! Enough people that it didn’t feel deserted, but plenty of space everywhere. Plenty of socially distant places to stop to eat and drink. Short wait times for rides around the dinner time hour (except for some bad luck at Soarin’). The only disappointment was that so many shops were closed - however the open shops were not busy at all, so I can understand why they all can’t be open. But I did have a great time, and have two more Epcot days planned this week thanks to the great distancing there.
As a side note, when I woke up yesterday morning at 4:00 am (yikes!) the wether forecast for Orlando was “heavy downpours, sometimes torrential” for most of the day. I ended up not seeing a drop of rain, just some welcome cloud cover and some lightning in the distance. The Skyliner was closed again most of the afternoon/early evening, but was open again by park close.
Visiting Epcot again today - will see if my luck holds out with the crowds and weather. Having a great time so far!
