Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[LaDonna]

3) The masks haven't bothered us nearly as much as the heat. Mask or not, it's hot. We have been unable to avoid drinking in line - there were a few times I felt like I might pass out and having some water was the only thing that saved me. We, and most people, do it in a safe-ish way, ie quick lift of the mask while facing away from people and staying back an extra line. It's just impossible not to with so many queues in the hot sun beyond the ride queue starts. Overall I don't think people are abusing this, mostly just trying to survive.

yeah I wondered if this was happening........with the very real possibility of heat exhaustion in this kind of heat I think it’s almost unavoidable

 

[momtwoboys]

looking for any recent DME experiences? How many are allowed onto the bus?

 

[jvalic33]

On a positive note:

I just wanted to say that I have had numerous conversations with people currently working in the restaurants, The Boathouse, The Brown Derby, Yak & Yeti and CMs who have family back in the parks and the sentiment is that CMs are over the moon to be back at work and as one said, "Bringing the magic back to people like us."

While some people are consumed with fear, if we refuse to go back out there and give people a reason to work, there are other ramifications to fear such as poverty and joblessness, so while I get the cautiousness, I also appreciate the fact that they need me to live life again for them to survive.

Not everyone has the luxury of quarantining at home with a salary or income.

I'm excited to be returning to Disney and excited to give them my money because I feel like I'm helping the CMs finally get back on their feet.

 

[koquinn]

On a positive note:

I just wanted to say that I have had numerous conversations with people currently working in the restaurants, The Boathouse, The Brown Derby, Yak & Yeti and CMs who have family back in the parks and the sentiment is that CMs are over the moon to be back at work and as one said, "Bringing the magic back to people like us."

While some people are consumed with fear, if we refuse to go back out there and give people a reason to work, there are other ramifications to fear such as poverty and joblessness, so while I get the cautiousness, I also appreciate the fact that they need me to live life again for them to survive.

Not everyone has the luxury of quarantining at home with a salary or income.

I'm excited to be returning to Disney and excited to give them my money because I feel like I'm helping the CMs finally get back on their feet.

Agreed, we chatted with one of our servers and he said it's a bit nerve wracking but most guests are great and he's happy to be back. He was working at an Amazon warehouse to make ends meet till WDW reopened. He said they brought back the most senior people first, which also sometimes meant the older CMs, so some had tough decisions to make. But he said they could opt out for medical reasons if they wanted to.

 

[yulilin3]

On a positive note:

I just wanted to say that I have had numerous conversations with people currently working in the restaurants, The Boathouse, The Brown Derby, Yak & Yeti and CMs who have family back in the parks and the sentiment is that CMs are over the moon to be back at work and as one said, "Bringing the magic back to people like us."

While some people are consumed with fear, if we refuse to go back out there and give people a reason to work, there are other ramifications to fear such as poverty and joblessness, so while I get the cautiousness, I also appreciate the fact that they need me to live life again for them to survive.

Not everyone has the luxury of quarantining at home with a salary or income.

I'm excited to be returning to Disney and excited to give them my money because I feel like I'm helping the CMs finally get back on their feet.

as an Orlando resident I thank you for spending money here.
The traffic has been increasing steadily and each time a car cuts 3 lanes of traffic in front of me and I can tell they are tourist I just thank them for being here

 

[jvalic33]

as an Orlando resident I thank you for spending money here.
The traffic has been increasing steadily and each time a car cuts 3 lanes of traffic in front of me and I can tell they are tourist I just thank them for being here

I'm not that tourist. I'm a former New Yorker but got all those nasty little habits out of me after moving to rural America! Plus I have a boatload of kids with me so I only cut over one or maybe too lanes, depending on how excited I am to get there!

 

[yulilin3]

I'm not that tourist. I'm a former New Yorker but got all those nasty little habits out of me after moving to rural America! Plus I have a boatload of kids with me so I only cut over one or maybe too lanes, depending on how excited I am to get there!

I always tell people coming, if you miss the exit there will be another, all roads lead to WDW here in Central Florida

 

[koquinn]

Oh one more tip - definitely take advantage of the chat feature in the app. Just requested more towels to our room while waiting in line for skyliner. Also have requested more buses, gotten info on how to get from here to there, etc. Works great!

 

[720L]

looking for any recent DME experiences? How many are allowed onto the bus?

I have felt very comfortable on the buses. I'm guessing 25 on a bus? There are plastic separators between groups and seats are blocked off for social distancing. They have the top hatch open for more air. I was really nervous about the buses but felt fine.

 

[momtwoboys]

I have felt very comfortable on the buses. I'm guessing 25 on a bus? There are plastic separators between groups and seats are blocked off for social distancing. They have the top hatch open for more air. I was really nervous about the buses but felt fine.

How about DME? I am wondering how many are allowed on there to and from MCO. I heard that the disney bus transport is limiting and the plastic dividers but what about Magical Express?

 

[Geomom]

looking for any recent DME experiences? How many are allowed onto the bus?

For magical express--the trip from the airport on 7/25 felt extremely safe, with them assigning seats--loading from the back, and keeping 2 rows empty between groups. It sounds like the trip from the airport is still operating that way. I think there was going to be 4 resort stops, and we only waited 15 min for a bus at 5:45pm.

Coming home on 8/8 though felt like a free for all. We had to ask guest services for the printout to know when our bus would be at AKV Kidani--2pm (We had a split stay, so not sure if that affected it...I had to do 2 DME reservations initially for each leg of the trip.). A DME bus was dropping his last group off at 1:56, and didn't think he was our bus...turns out he was, so he told us to sit anywhere...we double checked...yep anywhere. And his mask kept slipping off his nose. Next he picked up at Jambo, 2 groups got on, and they social distanced from us on their own. Next he went to Pop, where they were sending tons of buses for a huge group (part of the 92 member family reunion we saw in the parks previous days.) Their bus was supposed to be 2:35pm, most didn't have their luggage yet. About half the big group got on our bus, eventually, but didn't social distance despite plenty of seats being available, and they were extremely lax with mask wearing--some having it off completely. We were waiting at Pop for that group for so long, we feared we'd miss our flight with having to self check luggage and security--thankfully, luggage and security were quick..like 5 minutes to get through security...unheard of for us at MCO. We flew Southwest and there were empty gates to spread out at, and only 35 people on our flight home. So it all ended well, but we weren't happy with DME on the way home... probably depends on the bus driver...from the radio, it sounded like they were still trying to figure out the bus routes back to the airport... hopefully they get that figured out soon.

 

[ejdmomma]

My daughters and I spent a short weekend celebrating a birthday. We arrived Friday morning at the Polynesian, resort hopped, and spent the afternoon in the pool before heading over to Disney Springs for dinner. I feel that the pool area was very crowded for an afternoon as was Disney Springs that evening. Magic Kingdom on Saturday was very low in crowds. Masks were being worn correctly (98.00 percent maybe) but a few people were still showing their noses. Come on people! I never saw a staff member correct them. I did ask the cast member at the Jungle Cruise boarding area if we could wait for the next boat as the people in front of us would not wear their mask over their noses. She said sure but she never asked the guests to wear their masks correctly. I was surprised with the wait times with an average of 30-40 minutes for most big attractions. We have always had our FastPasses in order so waiting has never been our thing but the lines were greatly spaced out and everyone seemed to be following the rules of social distancing. I loved the impromptu characters throughout the park. I wish they would keep that up! All in all, I totally felt that we were safe on this trip. I loved the slower pace and I am so happy we did not cancel our trip in August. We are planning another girls birthday trip in November! Well done Walt Disney World!

We are thinking about doing a quick weekend trip in two weeks. I've been on the fence only because weekend reports have been sort of negative. Glad to hear that wasn't the case. We would be doing Magic Kindgom on a Saturday (just two adults). I think even with 30-40 minute waits we would still go. Just looking for a little escape trip and it's our anniversary!

 

[JessiMommy]

I don't want to discourage you in any way, but there is no "preparation" for what you will experience. Especially when the heat and humidity crank back up

I think this is subjective based on a given person’s personal tolerability. I live in South Florida and hate wearing the mask but it’s becoming more the norm for me the longer I have to wear it. My gym now requires me to wear it while working out. While it is by no means preferable it is absolutely doable...for me. I know others who have given up the gym because they can’t do it. So while one person can’t handle it, another person may be just fine. JMO

 

[momtwoboys]

For magical express--the trip from the airport on 7/25 felt extremely safe, with them assigning seats--loading from the back, and keeping 2 rows empty between groups. It sounds like the trip from the airport is still operating that way. I think there was going to be 4 resort stops, and we only waited 15 min for a bus at 5:45pm.

Coming home on 8/8 though felt like a free for all. We had to ask guest services for the printout to know when our bus would be at AKV Kidani--2pm (We had a split stay, so not sure if that affected it...I had to do 2 DME reservations initially for each leg of the trip.). A DME bus was dropping his last group off at 1:56, and didn't think he was our bus...turns out he was, so he told us to sit anywhere...we double checked...yep anywhere. And his mask kept slipping off his nose. Next he picked up at Jambo, 2 groups got on, and they social distanced from us on their own. Next he went to Pop, where they were sending tons of buses for a huge group (part of the 92 member family reunion we saw in the parks previous days.) Their bus was supposed to be 2:35pm, most didn't have their luggage yet. About half the big group got on our bus, eventually, but didn't social distance despite plenty of seats being available, and they were extremely lax with mask wearing--some having it off completely. We were waiting at Pop for that group for so long, we feared we'd miss our flight with having to self check luggage and security--thankfully, luggage and security were quick..like 5 minutes to get through security...unheard of for us at MCO. We flew Southwest and there were empty gates to spread out at, and only 35 people on our flight home. So it all ended well, but we weren't happy with DME on the way home... probably depends on the bus driver...from the radio, it sounded like they were still trying to figure out the bus routes back to the airport... hopefully they get that figured out soon.

thank you for sharing that. I am debating using a towncar service but didnt want to spend the money if the DME buses were running half empty and felt safe.

 

[Geomom]

thank you for sharing that. I am debating using a towncar service but didnt want to spend the money if the DME buses were running half empty and felt safe.

Like I said, felt safe and well managed on the way to the resorts--so if you want to save some money, take DME there and towncar service the day you're leaving. I know some people have had no issues coming home (only 8 people on the bus, well distanced, etc)...it likely depends upon the demand, but with only the bus driver at the resort vs multiple supervisors figuring things out at the airport, you have no idea what the trip back will look like.

 

[Luv2Travel]

Oh one more tip - definitely take advantage of the chat feature in the app. Just requested more towels to our room while waiting in line for skyliner. Also have requested more buses, gotten info on how to get from here to there, etc. Works great!

This is a great tip, thank you! May I ask a few follow on questions, please?
(1) Did you have to be in your room for the towels to be delivered?
(2) Could you get info on the Skyliner (if it's running) through chat?
(3) (If you're a coffee drinker) Did you have to ask for more coffee for your room, or was there already a decent supply (for more than one day)?

 

[koquinn]

This is a great tip, thank you! May I ask a few follow on questions, please?
(1) Did you have to be in your room for the towels to be delivered?
(2) Could you get info on the Skyliner (if it's running) through chat?
(3) (If you're a coffee drinker) Did you have to ask for more coffee for your room, or was there already a decent supply (for more than one day)?

1 - nope! I asked for a couple extra blankets last night tho and they had me fill out an online form with my personal info, presumably to verify it was me. I assume because it was late at night and they didn't want to show up in a room that wasn't really mine? Today I didn't have to verify anything.
2 - yes but they had to transfer me to the a CM that knew transportation answers.
3 - there was maybe 2 days' worth? DH is a coffee drinker. We did request more and they brought a large bag full of all the supplies. They didn't restock when they cleaned our room yesterday. I assume we can get more at anytime.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

... each time a car cuts 3 lanes of traffic in front of me and I can tell they are tourist I just thank them for being here

That's a much different reaction than most people's first inclination (pre-COVID).

 

[yulilin3]

That's a much different reaction than most people's first inclination (pre-COVID).

Believe me, I know

 

[Stratman50th]

@yulilin3, I stay off of Thunder Rd at all costs! I absolutely hate it! Unfortunately sometimes there is no avoiding it. Funny thing is, I noticed a lot more Florida tags doing crazy stuff than out of state. Of course, I'm a little further west than Disney.