Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[TheSouthernBelle]

Just got back - 8/2 - 8/7, staying at BLT. BUSES ARE TERRIBLE! Our examples;

1. Sunday - We gave ourselves 1:15 to get from BLT to DS. The first bus was full - so we waited, and waited, and waited. About 45 minutes later the bus comes back - we don't make it on, we're not alone. We opted for Lyft and barely made our Raglan Road reservation (LOVED it BTW!).
2. Tuesday - We got to the bus stop at 8:45 hoping to catch a bus to DHS for 10a opening and ROTR boarding pass. The line was back to the door at Contemporary, everyone waiting for DHS. No way we'll even make the second bus, we opt for Lyft again. Word to the wise - be at the bus stop at 8 if you plan on getting a BG for ROTR or you won't make it to the park by 10 (yes, 2 hours early). That gets you at the front of the line for the one bus that will make it on time, because they do not start running until 9.
3. Wednesday - We catch AK bus just as it gets there so no problem getting there, but my wife and younger daughter opt to leave the park about an hour early. They go out to the bus line, I go on one last ride on Everest with my other two kids - then make it back out to the bus line only to find them still there. We waited 45 minutes, the people in front of us waited over an hour
4. Thurs - this was the capper - we go out to the bus stop at about 10:15 to go to EPCOT. There's a line of people but we think we'll make it on. The bus comes about 30 minutes later, we are the next on when the bus driver says, "I only have room for a party of 5 at the back of the bus". We tell him we can split up, when he then takes a look back down the line behind us and thinks better of inviting smaller parties on the bus, shuts the door and drives off without saying another word (GRR!!!). We opted to make an adventure out of it and take the monorail to MK, take a bus to Riviera and ride the Skyliner. Highly recommend, but all tolled, it cost us 2 hours in the park - a park that will soon only be open 8 hours a day (!!)

You might notice, no Monday or Friday - those were our MK days, so yeah, every day we needed the buses, we had hour long plus waits, and very unreliable service. It would be nice if they were running TTT to Epcot monorails, but no - that line is shut down too.

Don't get me wrong, the trip was great. We had 0-30 minute waits every day, including Friday when the FL local crowd was noticeably larger. The wait times you see on the MDE app were always generously longer than reality.

Other notes - not sure if this has been mentioned, but the pre-ride experiences are all not happening right now (except ROTR - you get the full experience there). Not such a big deal in some cases - I think FoP is actually better now, but for rides like Mickey and Minnies Runaway RR, it made a big difference. Do yourself a favor and pull up the pre-show video on Youtube if you haven't ridden - it's pretty jarring getting from the Manns Chinese Theater to the barn where you load and makes no sense otherwise (but a GREAT ride! Loved it both times we rode). Post-ride experiences are also not a thing. This was especially bad at Test Track and Spaceship Earth. You don't design a car anymore, so the ride makes NO sense, and the walk through to the exit is downright depressing. Same goes for SSE - made me think they had already started dismantling the post-ride area prior to deciding the ride would be open after all.

I didn’t want to “like” your comments but I feel your pain- stayed at CBR Aug 3-8 and the buses/skyliner were awful. We contemplated a split stay at BWV but didn’t see the point since the skyliner would get us to Epcot and DHS anyway. Should have just stayed at BWV the whole trip. The buses were always bad, and especially bad when the skyliner was down. It’s not right that WDW transport can operate this way. In all our years we’ve never experienced buses being so poorly run.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

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

Thanks I already did yesterday after returning. We unfortunately had other issues outside of just the bus transportation.

 

[Lumpy1106]

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

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

 

[thingaboutarsenal]

And I can point to this peer-reviewed study in JAMA Pediatrics just a week ago said that while earlier reports had suggested children were not major contributors to the spread, children under 5 actually carry significantly greater viral amounts. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2768952

I'm just saying, none of us knows for sure what is "safe" and shouldn't be too hard on a CM for strictly enforcing the rules that are designed to protect them.

So stepping 3 inches for an excited toddler was worth a super negative interaction? If the disease is that dangerous, the store shouldn't be open.

Edit: read your own post "data on children as sources of SARS-CoV-2 spread are sparse."

"Children younger than 5 years had significantly lower CT values compared with children aged 5 to 17 years"

 

[yulilin3]

And it'll only get worse with more resorts opening, although as the NBA games end they'll get some buses back

 

[Lumpy1106]

And it'll only get worse with more resorts opening, although as the NBA games end they'll get some buses back

It looked to us like they have one bus per resort per park. Riviera looked like it had more? We saw several buses come and go there when we were waiting at AK, and there were a ton of buses on property when we rode there to catch the Skyliner to Epcot.

 

[mrd7896]

thank gosh we are renting a car!!

 

[KayKayJS]

How has Epcot been in the evenings this week?

 

[Alana20]

It looked to us like they have one bus per resort per park. Riviera looked like it had more? We saw several buses come and go there when we were waiting at AK, and there were a ton of buses on property when we rode there to catch the Skyliner to Epcot.

We just got back today from a week at Riviera and I was shocked to see all of the comments here about buses. We had no issues at all. Never waited more than 10 minutes even when the skyliner was down which was basically every evening. We never got to ride the skyliner back at close. Other than HS we pretty much waited less than 20/30 minutes for everything. The brutal heat with masks did make some of the outdoor lines rough but it was so nice to be able to walk around and have whole walkways to ourselves. We did notice a crazy long line one night for POP so maybe it does depend on how crowded the resort is?

 

[DCLMP]

Anyone Uber or Lyft?

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

We just got back today from a week at Riviera and I was shocked to see all of the comments here about buses. We had no issues at all. Never waited more than 10 minutes even when the skyliner was down which was basically every evening. We never got to ride the skyliner back at close. Other than HS we pretty much waited less than 20/30 minutes for everything. The brutal heat with masks did make some of the outdoor lines rough but it was so nice to be able to walk around and have whole walkways to ourselves. We did notice a crazy long line one night for POP so maybe it does depend on how crowded the resort is?

Consider yourself lucky. At first I thought it was just our resort, CBR; but I talked with someone at the parks that had issues at beach and yacht club, poly and then read about issues with POP. Leaving the parks it seemed pretty clear that POP and CBR were the busier resorts with long lines. of course, they’re larger resorts but looking at other bus depots, it did not appear like other open resorts had many guests. Not sure what riviera was like but we ate at primo piatto one night and the resort seemed fairly empty.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Anyone Uber or Lyft?

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.

 

[ArielRae]

How do you turn those photos - driving me crazy?!

Anyone who posts a photo that is in protrait mode will get it posted in landscape cause this site automatically sets all photos that way now since the update. The way to fix this is to slightly crop your protrait photo before posting and it will post correctly and not turn sideways (landscape)

 

[IluvMGM]

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?

 

[yulilin3]

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?

yes

 

[koquinn]

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?

Yes. If your Uber arrives before 9 they turn you around. Between 9-915 you wait in line to enter. At 915 they open the parking lot/drop-off area. Don't be early - our driver came early and we had to pay him double. I had it scheduled the day before.

 

[brockash]

Just got back - 8/2 - 8/7, staying at BLT. BUSES ARE TERRIBLE! Our examples;

1. Sunday - We gave ourselves 1:15 to get from BLT to DS. The first bus was full - so we waited, and waited, and waited. About 45 minutes later the bus comes back - we don't make it on, we're not alone. We opted for Lyft and barely made our Raglan Road reservation (LOVED it BTW!).
2. Tuesday - We got to the bus stop at 8:45 hoping to catch a bus to DHS for 10a opening and ROTR boarding pass. The line was back to the door at Contemporary, everyone waiting for DHS. No way we'll even make the second bus, we opt for Lyft again. Word to the wise - be at the bus stop at 8 if you plan on getting a BG for ROTR or you won't make it to the park by 10 (yes, 2 hours early). That gets you at the front of the line for the one bus that will make it on time, because they do not start running until 9.
3. Wednesday - We catch AK bus just as it gets there so no problem getting there, but my wife and younger daughter opt to leave the park about an hour early. They go out to the bus line, I go on one last ride on Everest with my other two kids - then make it back out to the bus line only to find them still there. We waited 45 minutes, the people in front of us waited over an hour
4. Thurs - this was the capper - we go out to the bus stop at about 10:15 to go to EPCOT. There's a line of people but we think we'll make it on. The bus comes about 30 minutes later, we are the next on when the bus driver says, "I only have room for a party of 5 at the back of the bus". We tell him we can split up, when he then takes a look back down the line behind us and thinks better of inviting smaller parties on the bus, shuts the door and drives off without saying another word (GRR!!!). We opted to make an adventure out of it and take the monorail to MK, take a bus to Riviera and ride the Skyliner. Highly recommend, but all tolled, it cost us 2 hours in the park - a park that will soon only be open 8 hours a day (!!)

You might notice, no Monday or Friday - those were our MK days, so yeah, every day we needed the buses, we had hour long plus waits, and very unreliable service. It would be nice if they were running TTT to Epcot monorails, but no - that line is shut down too.

Don't get me wrong, the trip was great. We had 0-30 minute waits every day, including Friday when the FL local crowd was noticeably larger. The wait times you see on the MDE app were always generously longer than reality.

Other notes - not sure if this has been mentioned, but the pre-ride experiences are all not happening right now (except ROTR - you get the full experience there). Not such a big deal in some cases - I think FoP is actually better now, but for rides like Mickey and Minnies Runaway RR, it made a big difference. Do yourself a favor and pull up the pre-show video on Youtube if you haven't ridden - it's pretty jarring getting from the Manns Chinese Theater to the barn where you load and makes no sense otherwise (but a GREAT ride! Loved it both times we rode). Post-ride experiences are also not a thing. This was especially bad at Test Track and Spaceship Earth. You don't design a car anymore, so the ride makes NO sense, and the walk through to the exit is downright depressing. Same goes for SSE - made me think they had already started dismantling the post-ride area prior to deciding the ride would be open after all.

Wow...the transportation seems really ridiculous. I'm so sorry for all that are dealing with it and greatly appreciate the feedback. Definitely is something to consider.

 

[IluvMGM]

Yes. If your Uber arrives before 9 they turn you around. Between 9-915 you wait in line to enter. At 915 they open the parking lot/drop-off area. Don't be early - our driver came early and we had to pay him double. I had it scheduled the day before.

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.

 

[Alana20]

Consider yourself lucky. At first I thought it was just our resort, CBR; but I talked with someone at the parks that had issues at beach and yacht club, poly and then read about issues with POP. Leaving the parks it seemed pretty clear that POP and CBR were the busier resorts with long lines. of course, they’re larger resorts but looking at other bus depots, it did not appear like other open resorts had many guests. Not sure what riviera was like but we ate at primo piatto one night and the resort seemed fairly empty.

Yeah I assume we just got lucky. Riviera was not very busy at all. Some evenings at the pool were a little crowded but nothing too bad. Most of the time it was only our family and one other group on the buses. What we thought was very odd was on the magical express to the resort they were very particular about assigning seats and skipping rows in between families, but the way back this morning was just a total free for all and completely full except for like 5 seats.

 

[butterscotchcollins]

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.

The price is based on both mileage and time, so if it costs $x from point A to point B in ~10 minutes the price will hold (give or take a minute assuming your driver went a direct route and with steady traffic conditions based on when the app estimated your cost). However if you're just sitting in the car at your destination and time is adding up the price will continue to rise because time is money