Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[ItTastesPurple]

Sunday at Epcot
We arrived at the parking gates around 9:47am and they were opening up some more gates so we managed to be first in line at our gate. Opted for Preferred Parking cause after 4 days at parks, we were tired.

They started letting us into the park shortly after 10am and we were first in our turnstile. Hauled our butts to Test Track where we were maybe 7th in line. It wasn’t open - closer to 10:30am start so our total wait was 25 mins. Walked to Frozen and had a 20 minute wait - was posted at 50 when we got off. Backtracked to Mexico to do the 3 Caballeros - walk on. When we finished, the line was at least 15 mins to get into the pyramid.

Ate and drank our way around the world showcase and ended up at Soarin’ around 2:30pm. 20 minute wait with a posted wait of 35 mins. Did Nemo and Spaceship Earth as walk ons and then finished with Mission Space at 15 min wait with posted wait of 35 mins.

All in all, a very successful Epcot day. We left around 5:45pm feeling like we did everything we wanted to do.

Test Track when down roughly an hour before we left the park - so if that’s something you want to do, make sure you do it first in case it breaks down - or rains during the day!

 

[ItTastesPurple]

Thursday, 5/20 at Magic Kingdom
We arrived at TCC around 7am and I started the day off by picking the wrong lane - ours stubbornly remained closed while all others opened. Made another bad choice of picking the ferry instead of the monorail. We touched down on MK ground around 7:40am. Made another wrong choice by deviating from my original plan of rope dropping PoC and Jungle Cruise and went to Space Mountain first. It was down for at least an hour. By the time we called it quits and made it to Adventureland, Jungle Cruise was already a 30 min wait.

Did PoC and Big Thunder as walk ons. Grabbed a Mickey waffle and then did Haunted Mansion as a walk on as well. We decided to make our way to Fantasyland and did Peter Pan with a 20 min wait, SDMT with a 35 min wait, and Pooh with a 15 min wait.

Quick Dole Whip and Cheeseburger Spring Roll break in Adventureland - checked out how long the wait for Jungle Cruise was and decided the 45 min wait was just not worth it at that heat.

We decided to leave and come back later in the day. Had lupper at Homecomin’ around 4:30pm and headed back to MK around 6pm. They had closed off Preferred Parking and we couldn’t find anyone around so we just parked wherever. I went to Guest Services while DH did Space Mountain. Apparently, despite the fact that your preferred parking pass is valid all day at all parks, it doesn’t guarantee you Preferred Parking all day??? What?? Talked my way into a refund and we did Small World and Peter Pan as walk ons. Ended the night by doing some shopping and taking some PhotoPass photos with the lit up castle.

Not as successful a day as I had hoped, since I we didn’t get to do Jungle Cruise. But at least I finally did SDMT!

 

[ItTastesPurple]

Final thoughts:
We were here from 5/19 to 5/24.
Disney Springs was nice and empty around 8pm on Wednesday. We went back around 3pm on Thursday and it was still pretty empty. By the time we left around 6pm it was starting to really fill up. 6pm on a Saturday was a madhouse - but not anymore crowded than Universal midday.

Mask adherence on ride queues - once on the “official” queue - were pretty good. I saw one or two groups on each ride who just pulled their masks down whenever they walked past a CM and then back on when they got to the end of the line. These kind of people who just want to flaunt the rules for the sake of it will always exist. I did find it funny that it was mostly all adults! They would pull their masks down while all their kids kept theirs on!

I would say mask wearing outdoors in the parks is still pretty high for what I had expected. As a self-proclaimed mask nut, I pulled mine down when I was able to keep my distance and back up during choke points. Social distancing on lines is hit or miss - it really depends on the people behind you. No one at WDW was up my butt though - this happened a lot more at Universal.

A bit performative, but I do applaud Universal for giving everyone a healthy squirt of hand sanitizer prior to getting on each ride. Covid aside, I know tons of ppl don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom or picking their nose so I’m happy they’re getting rid of germs!

If I wasn’t vaccinated I think I would’ve been more hesitant in going to the parks right now. Crowds are pretty high in all the parks and lines can get very long. We saw MFSR get up to 65 mins during the day and Slinky was at 75 mins consistently. If you can afford it, get Express Pass at Universal. Lines were insane all day long - Kong at 75 mins, Escape from Gringotts at 65 mins, Simpsons at 55 mins.

Mobile Ordering is so so amazing and I hope this says a thing. I loved that you weren’t allowed into the restaurant until your mobile order was ready. This really helped reduce the problem of not being able to find a table because every table was being held by a person who’s family was still on line to order. Definitely click “I’m here” before you even start waking because it can take a while depending on the time.

 

[luv2cheer92]

Final thoughts:
We were here from 5/19 to 5/24.
Disney Springs was nice and empty around 8pm on Wednesday. We went back around 3pm on Thursday and it was still pretty empty. By the time we left around 6pm it was starting to really fill up. 6pm on a Saturday was a madhouse - but not anymore crowded than Universal midday.

Mask adherence on ride queues - once on the “official” queue - were pretty good. I saw one or two groups on each ride who just pulled their masks down whenever they walked past a CM and then back on when they got to the end of the line. These kind of people who just want to flaunt the rules for the sake of it will always exist. I did find it funny that it was mostly all adults! They would pull their masks down while all their kids kept theirs on!

I would say mask wearing outdoors in the parks is still pretty high for what I had expected. As a self-proclaimed mask nut, I pulled mine down when I was able to keep my distance and back up during choke points. Social distancing on lines is hit or miss - it really depends on the people behind you. No one at WDW was up my butt though - this happened a lot more at Universal.

A bit performative, but I do applaud Universal for giving everyone a healthy squirt of hand sanitizer prior to getting on each ride. Covid aside, I know tons of ppl don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom or picking their nose so I’m happy they’re getting rid of germs!

If I wasn’t vaccinated I think I would’ve been more hesitant in going to the parks right now. Crowds are pretty high in all the parks and lines can get very long. We saw MFSR get up to 65 mins during the day and Slinky was at 75 mins consistently. If you can afford it, get Express Pass at Universal. Lines were insane all day long - Kong at 75 mins, Escape from Gringotts at 65 mins, Simpsons at 55 mins.

Mobile Ordering is so so amazing and I hope this says a thing. I loved that you weren’t allowed into the restaurant until your mobile order was ready. This really helped reduce the problem of not being able to find a table because every table was being held by a person who’s family was still on line to order. Definitely click “I’m here” before you even start waking because it can take a while depending on the time.

Mobile order was a thing long before Covid, so I don't see why it wouldn't stay. I do like the change though of checking the order prior to entering, it does make it easier to find a seat.

 

[Miffy]

We're here now and have been here since last Monday. Leaving (oh no!) tomorrow.

As far as I can tell, the only way to easily, successfully, and happily tour the parks is to rope-drop. Apologies to everyone who likes sleeping in. Perhaps it's better in the evenings--I haven't tried that--but it's hellish after maybe 10:30 or earlier if you want to go on just about any attraction without standing in line for 30+ minutes.

RD has enabled us to (1) ride MMRR twice in one morning (both walk-ons after RD and we are not runners); (2) do PPF, HM, and Philharmagic each twice in a row (warning: they make you get back in the queue, but it was worth it); and (3) ride Soarin' with a super short wait.

All of these rides had long waits less than an hour later. I'd done MMRR a few days earlier and had stood in line--most of it outside with minimal shade--for nearly an hour.

We're RDing DAK this morning.

As far as compliance with masking, well, it depends. I've had every experience from near-100% compliance (Friday at DHS) to are-you-kidding-me? (here at the GF, with many many people w/o masks in the elevators, hallways, and lobby of our outbuilding) to defiance (a family on Kali--the CM wouldn't let the raft leave and they absolutely did not want to put on their masks, but they finally did and of course took them off the second the ride started). So, stay tuned for anything and everything.

Social distancing? Nonexistent just about everywhere except in areas where someone is there enforcing it, for example, on a resort boat.

It's been wonderful to be back. We haven't been since December 2019.

However . . . if you've never been before or if this is your once-in-a-lifetime trip, wait and come back when things are back to speed. I mean, no fireworks--and we have a castle view! So many things closed--I'm looking at you, Columbia Harbour House. ADRs super difficult to get. Ditto park reservations for certain days. Park hopping only after 2 p.m. The Port Orleans resorts and AKL still closed. And everything costs as much as it would anyway and in fact some things, like the restaurants, seem to be charging more, although I don't have any hard facts about this, but it just seems that way.

Does it seem less crowded here? Sorta, sometimes, but not always and not everywhere. Want to experience that Wow, there's no one here! feeling? Rope drop. Rope drop. Rope drop.

 

[OhBother1984]

Mobile order was a thing long before Covid, so I don't see why it wouldn't stay. I do like the change though of checking the order prior to entering, it does make it easier to find a seat.

I also like that they give return windows for food. Before Covid we tried to do woodys and the mobile ordering had so many orders we had already waited an hour and I ended up having them just cancel it all together. People that got in the regular line were in and out in 15 mins but mobile order too many for themt o keep up with.

 

[Mango7100]

Continuing with our reverse strategy of going to parks in late afternoon (we are normally hardcore rope droppers), we arrived at DHS Sunday at 4. We rode TSM x 2 (posted 20, actual 10-12), SDD (posted 60, actual 32), Saucers (posted 5, actual 5), and Runaway Railroad x 3 (posted 20, actual 15). First time on that ride and thought it was ridiculously fun. We lucked out and made it into the line about 30 seconds before close so we rode it 3 times in an hour. Ordered Woodys lunch box for dinner (pick up windows were running about an hr after ordering but that was what we had anticipated). Agree that it’s nice that you don’t spend time wandering trying to find a table or have people standing next to you ready to swoop down as soon as you swallow your last bite of food.

For families concerned about distancing in lines, we make our own bubble. The two vaccinated adults stand on either side with the kid in the middle and we take up two spaces for our family. Saw a few other families doing the same thing.

 

[zackiedawg]

Continuing with our reverse strategy of going to parks in late afternoon (we are normally hardcore rope droppers),

Glad to see that report. Seems a vast majority here are rope-droppers, so it's hard to find too many reports of what it's like later in the day. Of course, my trip isn't until 4th of July weekend, so not only can things change a lot by then, but the holiday weekend could make any reports moot as that weekend could be crazy busy.

Still, when I go to Disney, I'm 100% the opposite of rope-drop - the earliest I go to any park is about 1pm - sometimes even later, and I pretty much stay to park close. I definitely sleep in, then relax, make breakfast, read on my balcony, and wander around the resort for the early afternoon, or stroll over to Disney Springs if I'm staying at Saratoga. I'll often take boat transportation to other resorts, or DS bus to another resort and then walk into the parks from there, or take a boat (I prefer boats whenever possible for the slow pace and the scenery).

I'm still hoping maybe by July, the rules may relax even more, maybe they'll drop the masks altogether by then if vaccinations keep up, and various shows, fireworks, and closed venues will reopen, rides may start filling all rows to reduce the lines, etc. Probably not as soon as July, but who knows...either way, I'm just looking forward to getting away somewhere after a year and a half of being stuck around home and work, so even if I don't ride any rides, and just walk around seeing the Disney scenery again, I'll be happy.

 

[Helvetica]

Today is my 3rd DHS day. I wasn’t able to get a boarding group, so I’m 0-5 so far. One more chance to go 0-6.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Today is my 3rd DHS day. I wasn’t able to get a boarding group, so I’m 0-5 so far. One more chance to go 0-6.

I'm so sorry!! Hoping 1 PM is good to you. Have you used the same method each time?

The one that works best for me to is to line up my 'AT AT's' towards the top of the screen and the second the clock strikes 1:00 I click Join, Join, Join as fast as the system will allow me. Don't stop, pause or read anything, just click Join.



Hoping this last time is successful for you!

 

[Sarahslay]

Glad to see that report. Seems a vast majority here are rope-droppers, so it's hard to find too many reports of what it's like later in the day. Of course, my trip isn't until 4th of July weekend, so not only can things change a lot by then, but the holiday weekend could make any reports moot as that weekend could be crazy busy.

Still, when I go to Disney, I'm 100% the opposite of rope-drop - the earliest I go to any park is about 1pm - sometimes even later, and I pretty much stay to park close. I definitely sleep in, then relax, make breakfast, read on my balcony, and wander around the resort for the early afternoon, or stroll over to Disney Springs if I'm staying at Saratoga. I'll often take boat transportation to other resorts, or DS bus to another resort and then walk into the parks from there, or take a boat (I prefer boats whenever possible for the slow pace and the scenery).

I'm still hoping maybe by July, the rules may relax even more, maybe they'll drop the masks altogether by then if vaccinations keep up, and various shows, fireworks, and closed venues will reopen, rides may start filling all rows to reduce the lines, etc. Probably not as soon as July, but who knows...either way, I'm just looking forward to getting away somewhere after a year and a half of being stuck around home and work, so even if I don't ride any rides, and just walk around seeing the Disney scenery again, I'll be happy.

We always RD AND go back later in the day, we always do as much by lunch as we can, have our ADR, then leave. We have a break and then go back later on in the afternoon/evening and do a ton of stuff too. At HS we can usually get as much stuff done (if not more) that we did in the morning, the only park that doesn't usually hold true with is MK for some reason, but we still get so much done. We will be there for a full week starting next weekend, with first park day Memorial Day because we're crazy lol, so I'll let you know if it's crazy to go and try to do the parks in the afternoon. We loathe the parks midday, but love them first thing in the morning and at night, so we always make the most of both strategies and hope they'll help us on this trip. We are, of course, just happy to be there, this will be my 6th trip since reopening so I'm not too worried about it. I do hope that as the months go by things can start to loosen (because the world is getting better), and stuff starts coming back, fingers crossed because I do have more trips planned lol

 

[nicket]

We just returned from a week at Disney for our first trip with kids. I will try to write up a more detailed report l later as the recent detailed reports were helpful when planning our trip but just wanted to give a quick recap. It was a large family trip with 4 kids under 3 yo for their first trip. We started planning our trip prior to covid and pushed it back a few months to ensure all the adults had time to be vaccinated and cases dropped some.

Our first day in the parks was the first day of the looser mask requirements. We were unsure how it would go after getting the notification literally minutes after getting to our hotel room. But it was nice, especially for the kids to let them take the masks off when sitting watching calvacades and being able to eat/drink while walking. We did tend to keep them on walking in the morning when lines were down as it was easier to just keep them on rather than taking off/on as we entered the queues pretty quickly between rides. Maybe because we were only there after the mask restrictions were loosened, we didn't see any major offenders in line. All the CM at the queue entrances were reminding people to pull masks up before they could enter and we never heard anyone argue. Social distancing was hit or miss but we thought Disney on the rides still was trying to abide by current guidelines and never felt uncomfortable though we are all vaccinated adult wise.

My biggest worry was missing magic that I remembered from when I was a kid and seeing my DD reaction to seeing characters and not being able to get too close. But I am happy to report I was worrying over nothing. Some of it might be that since she is 2 yo and never been to the parks she didn't know anything different but the first time she saw Minnie Mouse in that first calvacade at HS almost made me tear up she was so happy just sitting there smiling and waving.

As far as characters, we though MK and Epcot were best for actual character interactions. The characters on the train balcony were really great. My DD's favorite character is Winnie the Pooh and one day she had on a Pooh dress and watching them dance and play peek a boo for several minutes at a time was amazing. You may not be able to get a hug from the characters but I thought the character CM's did a great job of making sure to wave and interact from a distance. We hung out on Main Street for quite a bit as DD's favorite part of the parks was characters and at least in the time we were there, characters came out every 15-20 minutes and would stay for 10 minutes or so. DD also had really good interactions at Epcot with Joy, Anna, and Elsa. The ones at Epcot felt most like the traditional meet and greets and could get closer pictures with the characters. The MK calvacades were great and we caught them all multiple times, though we did make a point of it several times but also stumbled across them at other times. It was nice not having to devote a bunch of time staking out a parade watching spot an hour before.

We were at the parks 45-60 minutes prior to official opening everyday and I think that is key to getting rides in. We didn't wait too long for anything but we had all our ADR's at lunch and then would let DD nap after lunch and then start riding rides again later in the day once it calmed down some. Looking at the wait times mid afternoon and they were all long looking. One bonus of not having a lot of FP being handed out is for rider switch, the second rider basically walks on as there aren't a lot of other people in that line so we were able to save a lot of time that way compared to before I feel like.

All in all, I am happy we went and felt like we were going at a perfect time right when mask restrictions were loosened but before capacity skyrocketed. The people going in the next month or so before more CM are back or more entertainment options are back might be in for some long waits.

 

[SarahC97]

We always RD AND go back later in the day, we always do as much by lunch as we can, have our ADR, then leave. We have a break and then go back later on in the afternoon/evening and do a ton of stuff too. At HS we can usually get as much stuff done (if not more) that we did in the morning, the only park that doesn't usually hold true with is MK for some reason, but we still get so much done. We will be there for a full week starting next weekend, with first park day Memorial Day because we're crazy lol, so I'll let you know if it's crazy to go and try to do the parks in the afternoon. We loathe the parks midday, but love them first thing in the morning and at night, so we always make the most of both strategies and hope they'll help us on this trip. We are, of course, just happy to be there, this will be my 6th trip since reopening so I'm not too worried about it. I do hope that as the months go by things can start to loosen (because the world is getting better), and stuff starts coming back, fingers crossed because I do have more trips planned lol

This is our strategy a lot as well. We get there in the morning, do a few rides, have lunch, and then leave, heading back to the parks in the evening. We've had so many enjoyable trips with this strategy! We'll be there over Memorial Day too -- I'm wondering just how crazy it's going to be! LOL

 

[hulagirl87]

My best friend is there right now and texting me frequently. She was in Epcot yesterday, Sunday, and said it was extremely busy and extremely hot. The wait for Frozen was 3 hours at 3:00. She said she loved Beauty and the Beast sing along in France and there was a long line for the Mexico pavilion and her words "I'm sweating in places I didn't know I could sweat"

This morning she went to Animal Kingdom. There is no rope drop. She got there at 7:40 and said there were already a million people there and the wait for Flight of Passage was already over an hour.

I would still take heat and crowds over sitting remote learning with my kids. I love them, but man this remote learning is for the birds

 

[Sarahslay]

This is our strategy a lot as well. We get there in the morning, do a few rides, have lunch, and then leave, heading back to the parks in the evening. We've had so many enjoyable trips with this strategy! We'll be there over Memorial Day too -- I'm wondering just how crazy it's going to be! LOL

I'm sure it's gonna be nuts lol, gonna pack my patience pants. At least we got all the ADRs we wanted for lunch, so we're all set in the middle of the day for a good break when people start getting cranky around us. DH and I have been fully vaccinated for over a month, oldest DD is halfway vaccinated, so we're feeling pretty good and will form a little bubble around the youngest DD for our own social distancing in lines. DH has it all planned out at least lol. We have a 1 bedroom villa so we can have room to chill, looking to actually relax some and not be all stressed about it, gonna get done what we can and let the rest go.

 

[SarahC97]

I'm sure it's gonna be nuts lol, gonna pack my patience pants. At least we got all the ADRs we wanted for lunch, so we're all set in the middle of the day for a good break when people start getting cranky around us. DH and I have been fully vaccinated for over a month, oldest DD is halfway vaccinated, so we're feeling pretty good and will form a little bubble around the youngest DD for our own social distancing in lines. DH has it all planned out at least lol. We have a 1 bedroom villa so we can have room to chill, looking to actually relax some and not be all stressed about it, gonna get done what we can and let the rest go.

Yep, we're the exact same with vaccinations and bubble-making! And ADRs! We're trip twinsies, I think. Have a good one!

 

[Castlequeen5]

We always RD AND go back later in the day, we always do as much by lunch as we can, have our ADR, then leave. We have a break and then go back later on in the afternoon/evening and do a ton of stuff too. At HS we can usually get as much stuff done (if not more) that we did in the morning, the only park that doesn't usually hold true with is MK for some reason, but we still get so much done. We will be there for a full week starting next weekend, with first park day Memorial Day because we're crazy lol, so I'll let you know if it's crazy to go and try to do the parks in the afternoon. We loathe the parks midday, but love them first thing in the morning and at night, so we always make the most of both strategies and hope they'll help us on this trip. We are, of course, just happy to be there, this will be my 6th trip since reopening so I'm not too worried about it. I do hope that as the months go by things can start to loosen (because the world is getting better), and stuff starts coming back, fingers crossed because I do have more trips planned lol

We sorta do both as well. We typically get to the parks early, take a break, and then go back until closing. We’ve always been able to ride/do everything we wanted. This was our strategy during spring break 2 months ago, and we had no problems. We will also be there the week of Memorial Day. Our first day will be Memorial Day at MK nonetheless! I have no doubt it’ll be busy, but I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’m looking forward to some of the restrictions being lifted, since we were there last time.

 

[Sarahslay]

My best friend is there right now and texting me frequently. She was in Epcot yesterday, Sunday, and said it was extremely busy and extremely hot. The wait for Frozen was 3 hours at 3:00. She said she loved Beauty and the Beast sing along in France and there was a long line for the Mexico pavilion and her words "I'm sweating in places I didn't know I could sweat"

This morning she went to Animal Kingdom. There is no rope drop. She got there at 7:40 and said there were already a million people there and the wait for Flight of Passage was already over an hour.

I would still take heat and crowds over sitting remote learning with my kids. I love them, but man this remote learning is for the birds

According to TP the wait time for Frozen yesterday only got up to about 50 minutes posted (and around 3:00 it was posted around 45 minutes long), with an observed average wait time around 45 minutes. I think maybe your friend should have had a bit more water yesterday lol. Also, if the posted opening time for AK is 8 then if you aren't there by at least 7:20 you will be waiting a while to get on FOP. They open it up around 7:15 and everyone heads to FOP, If we get to AK any later than 7:20-7:30 we go and ride other stuff and come back to FOP later in the day. Usually if we are in super early it's a walk on, and by the time we leave it's already an hour+ to ride, usually snaking all the way to Africa past Creature Comforts.

 

[Sarahslay]

Yep, we're the exact same with vaccinations and bubble-making! And ADRs! We're trip twinsies, I think. Have a good one!

and name twinsies

 

[Sarahslay]

We sorta do both as well. We typically get to the parks early, take a break, and then go back until closing. We’ve always been able to ride/do everything we wanted. This was our strategy during spring break 2 months ago, and we had no problems. We will also be there the week of Memorial Day. Our first day will be Memorial Day at MK nonetheless! I have no doubt it’ll be busy, but I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’m looking forward to some of the restrictions being lifted, since we were there last time.

We'll be at MK too! I'll be happy to be able to take off my mask outside, I do have asthma and about died last August when I went on my solo trip. I know I'll leave it on when I can, and will wear it when I'm supposed to, but I do have problems in the heat and humidity for long periods of time so it will be much easier for me this trip.