Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[allaboutthemouse]

Sure, I wasn’t sure if this thread was just for Disney experiences but if it’s ok, I’m happy to keep posting. We aren’t big thrill ride people though so it will mostly be Harry Potter stuff, shows and smaller rides. No velocicoaster for us!

For days/trips specific to Universal or other parks, taking those to the Universal board would be helpful.

Thanks.

You don’t sound negative. We just finished with our Disney portion of the trip and checked into Portifino today. Disney and Universal is like night and day when it comes to covid precautions. There is no mask mandate here unlike Disney you had cast members that would not let you get in line without a mask. It also seems very very crowded. There are a lot of people not wearing masks inside lines. We’re still wearing masks. Being from NY my family has been accustomed to it.

If you have a chance, would love to hear any info you can give about your experiences, the good, the bad, and ugly, at Universal over on the Universal boards! Harry Potter stuff is our focus, checking in to Portofino in a couple weeks
Thanks!

 

[Belle1962]

My DGS and his GF couldn’t mobile order at the monorail hotels. I think he said once he received a message while trying to order and twice the guards turned them away.

I haven't seen info on this recently. Can you drive to/park at a resort if you have a mobile order? Just trying to figure out transportation in that case.

 

[shoegal9]

I haven't seen info on this recently. Can you drive to/park at a resort if you have a mobile order? Just trying to figure out transportation in that case.

Reports are still mixed. A friend of mine tried recently for pickup at Captain Cooks (staying at Riviera) and was not allowed to enter/park to grab the order.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

We are packing up to drive home today. My three year old daughter threw up this morning and is running a fever of 101. We wore masks, washed hands, sanitized obsessively. I'm hoping it's just a cold. As if now, all four vaccinated adults are feeling fine.

 

[tofubeast]

For those of you there in the past week or so, what are the rope drop times or true opening vs. published opening times for the Parks?

Also, what's the best current strategy for DHS at rope drop as we haven't been to TSL or been on MMRR. We will go one nearly full day and then come back another day (afternoon to closing).

 

[slyster]

IMO rope drop is super important still. Of course, there may be times when it's a total failure, like if the ride you planned to do first is down. But in my experience, it usually works well. That and the late afternoon/evening.

This is what we are planning. I'm assuming early will be stressful, getting to the parks, waiting for rope drop then heading to the ride you want. I'm thinking after the first couple of rides, it's just going with the flow. We plan to head back to our resort, Boardwalk Inn, right after lunch for a rest then head back later in the afternoon and evening. Thanks for confirming it makes the most sense!

 

[slyster]

We are here and checked in! When we booked, water view wasn’t available, so we got a garden view room (BWI). I went to the front desk to see if a water view was available and if we could upgrade, and at what cost. He came back after a bit and said he found one for us and there’s no charge! First time we’ve been pixie dusted like that! Totally unexpected and amazing! My son is obsessed with the view already View attachment 595016

That is super awesome! Congrats on the upgrade!

 

[cakebaker]

We are packing up to drive home today. My three year old daughter threw up this morning and is running a fever of 101. We wore masks, washed hands, sanitized obsessively. I'm hoping it's just a cold. As if now, all four vaccinated adults are feeling fine.

I'm sorry you're having to deal with this- sounds like my grandson with the fever and vomiting. It happened to us the day before we were scheduled to drive home. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to matter how careful you are, kids are catching it anyway. My gs turned our to be negative, hope yours does as well! His vomiting and nausea was due to his sensitivity to running temps- he does it with any illness he gets where he runs a temp over 100.

 

[rlk]

For those of you there in the past week or so, what are the rope drop times or true opening vs. published opening times for the Parks?

Also, what's the best current strategy for DHS at rope drop as we haven't been to TSL or been on MMRR. We will go one nearly full day and then come back another day (afternoon to closing).

Rope Drop is important! If you can be in front of most of the crowd lining up for TSL, then you have a good shot at riding Slinky without a long wait. Make sure you are on the right-hand side of the line when the CMs walk you to TSL because they will tell everyone to stay to the right. We did TSL rope drop twice the other week and both times made it onto Slinky Dog either the first or second ride of the day. We moved quickly to MMRR and only waited 18 minutes to ride.

 

[2letterwords]

My DGS and his GF couldn’t mobile order at the monorail hotels. I think he said once he received a message while trying to order and twice the guards turned them away.

Reports are still mixed. A friend of mine tried recently for pickup at Captain Cooks (staying at Riviera) and was not allowed to enter/park to grab the order.

Thanks. This is helpful.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

question for people who have traveled recently: has anyone done a grocery delivery recently to their resort? If so, which service did you use? and did you have alcohol included in your order?

Yes here now and I did an order through Amazon Prime. We stayed at CBR. I had perishable items and they stored them in the refrigerator. I placed the order while sitting in the airport in the morning of my arrival. The resort charged me a $6 storage fee. I didn’t mind because it was way cheaper than using garden grocer. We didn’t order alcohol.

Garden Grocer is definitely not the cheapest, but I highly recommend them if you're ordering alcohol as (unlike the others) you don't have to be present to receive the order. They allow you to email a copy of your driver's license ahead of time and then will leave the order with bell services. We have used GG many times and always had a great experience. I also like that you can order ahead of time and select your delivery window.

 

[preemiemama]

Yeah my daughter wanted Ashoka. The cast members told us they never know for sure what they will be getting.

A couple other things to note- that I didn't realize until we were there. The legacy sabers they sell are just the hilts. You have to purchase the blades separately. If you make a saber at Savi's, that blade is interchangeable- you can use it for the one you build and the legacy ones. Otherwise, it will cost you extra. Also, the legacy hilts come with a case- my son's was a good-sized box. Be aware when thinking about packing them to come home. (And how to protect the bad if you purchase it.)

 

[Marionnette]

We are packing up to drive home today. My three year old daughter threw up this morning and is running a fever of 101. We wore masks, washed hands, sanitized obsessively. I'm hoping it's just a cold. As if now, all four vaccinated adults are feeling fine.

Hope she feels better quickly. If it's any consolation, vomiting is not a classical COVID symptom. It sounds more like a stomach virus.

 

[meremac]

How long did you spend in line in total when you waited in the afternoon, then waited in line at closing?

In the late afternoon, the posted wait for FoP was 2 hours but it was actually maybe 75 minutes. At closing, it was posted at 90 minutes but it was only like 20. But we literally got in line seconds before park closing. People were already starting to leave the park when we arrived. And while we were at Nomad, it was like we were watching a mass exodus even though there were still an hour left before closing. By the time we finished at Nomad, the park felt VERY empty. I think ending the day at AK is SO underrated IMO. Since it closes early and there's no nighttime show, so many people leave in the afternoon to hop somewhere else. I love walking through Pandora when there's nobody there...AND we got back to the resort in time for a little evening swim.

 

[SkyGuy]

I haven't seen info on this recently. Can you drive to/park at a resort if you have a mobile order? Just trying to figure out transportation in that case.

The Epcot resorts and the Skyliner resorts have signs by the guard stations that state parking is only allowed for guests and those with dining reservations. I asked the BC guard (I was staying there) about mobile order, and that particular guard told me a mobile order does not count as a valid dining reservation, but during slower times of the day, you could get lucky. For a morning order or an order close to fireworks, you would almost certainly be turned away.

 

[tofubeast]

Rope Drop is important! If you can be in front of most of the crowd lining up for TSL, then you have a good shot at riding Slinky without a long wait. Make sure you are on the right-hand side of the line when the CMs walk you to TSL because they will tell everyone to stay to the right. We did TSL rope drop twice the other week and both times made it onto Slinky Dog either the first or second ride of the day. We moved quickly to MMRR and only waited 18 minutes to ride.

Thanks! What time did the park really open vs. published? So you were able to do Slinky and then went right over to MMRR? I think we will try that strategy.

 

[cakebaker]

I love walking through Pandora when there's nobody there

That was my favorite part of the After Hours, being able to walk through a darkened park and feel like there was no one else there. No wait rides was great, but the ambience of the park is what sold me. I wish they'd bring them back- not only do we get to enjoy empty parks, we don't have to deal with the sun and heat and we can take care of riding most things during the after hours- leaving the day time for more resort time and non-ride activities. After all these years, we much prefer a more laid back, relaxed trip, but still want the rides.

 

[meremac]

Thanks! What time did the park really open vs. published? So you were able to do Slinky and then went right over to MMRR? I think we will try that strategy.

For us, rides started maybe 20 minutes before official park opening. One day we did SDD, TSMM and Swirling Saucers and by the time we were done, it was only 10 minutes after park opening. The second RD day, SDD wasn't running at first so we did RnRC and TSMM with very little wait. We chose to do MMRR in the evening, and that was great. Maybe a 20-minute wait.

 

[tofubeast]

For us, rides started maybe 20 minutes before official park opening. One day we did SDD, TSMM and Swirling Saucers and by the time we were done, it was only 10 minutes after park opening. The second RD day, SDD wasn't running at first so we did RnRC and TSMM with very little wait. We chose to do MMRR in the evening, and that was great. Maybe a 20-minute wait.

AWESOME. I figure if we don't catch one of those, we will try the strategy of getting in line right at closing. Beauty and Beast show will resume one of the days we are there, so I am hoping that sucks some people out of the ride lines, too.

 

[sunnyshari]

AWESOME. I figure if we don't catch one of those, we will try the strategy of getting in line right at closing. Beauty and Beast show will resume one of the days we are there, so I am hoping that sucks some people out of the ride lines, too.

Just keep in mind that for us nothing opened early at MK. You were held until exact opening time. For the other 3 parks you could ride earlier than the stated opening time.