Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[gochief58]

We were there during opening week and did find it magical. Maybe even a little more magical than usual, due to not having to orchestrate our day around FPs, and due to a lack of the crowding that typically puts a damper on everything at WDW. It was a wonderful novelty to have personal space in line. We saw characters at our character dining meals, and in surprise character floats. Mary Poppins saw & waved to us from her float. And the cast members were uber welcoming.

The only drawback for us was the heat. We look forward to returning in March, and enjoying better weather.

What were the Character meals like? Any photo ops or were they just passing through? Which character meals did you do? Thank you

 

[Sarahraegraham]

For those of you who have ventured to WDW since it reopened, was it fun? Is the magic currently gone? Trying to decide whether to make a trip or not before my AP expires in September. The low crowds and short lines seem like it would be a dream, but is it actually just creepy and less exciting? And is it annoying trying to stay away from people, using hand sanitizer constantly, trying to find somewhere to eat distanced from people? Thank you in advance!

We’ve been here for a few days and leave day after tomorrow. If you stop and let yourself think about negative things, you could feel it’s creepy, but in general we’ve really enjoyed the peace and relative quiet with the lower crowds. We rode Spaceship Earth today and commented how we heard parts of the ride that we’d never heard before because of how quiet it was. The masks have surprisingly been a non-issue as far as comfort 99% of the time. And I actually think they should keep the hand sanitizer from now on. They’re awesome! Staying away from people has been easy almost all of the time. Humans are really adaptable. The longer you’re here, the less you think about the changes. We had planned to come over the 4th of July and cancelled. Then we said you know what, screw it. We’re really glad we came, as this has been a truly unique and memorable experience. Not having FP times to keep track of has made touring more relaxed. If people feel comfortable coming and adhering to the changes, and if they come relatively often, it’s a great time to be here. Wish we could stay longer!

 

[Candris79]

We’ve been here for a few days and leave day after tomorrow. If you stop and let yourself think about negative things, you could feel it’s creepy, but in general we’ve really enjoyed the peace and relative quiet with the lower crowds. We rode Spaceship Earth today and commented how we heard parts of the ride that we’d never heard before because of how quiet it was. The masks have surprisingly been a non-issue as far as comfort 99% of the time. And I actually think they should keep the hand sanitizer from now on. They’re awesome! Staying away from people has been easy almost all of the time. Humans are really adaptable. The longer you’re here, the less you think about the changes. We had planned to come over the 4th of July and cancelled. Then we said you know what, screw it. We’re really glad we came, as this has been a truly unique and memorable experience. Not having FP times to keep track of has made touring more relaxed. If people feel comfortable coming and adhering to the changes, and if they come relatively often, it’s a great time to be here. Wish we could stay longer!

Thank you!! It’s so confusing on whether or not to go at this weird time. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

[JM23457]

What were the Character meals like? Any photo ops or were they just passing through? Which character meals did you do? Thank you

We had character meals at Be Our Guest (dinner), Garden Grill (dinner), Topolino's Terrace (breakfast) and Ravello at Four Seasons Orlando (Saturday morning breakfast).

In each case, the characters would come out, wave to your table from a safe distance, and pose so that your table could take a picture.

Garden Grill has an unusual layout due to it being a revolving restaurant, so the characters would show up behind you on the upper level. The presence of the handler let you know they were there. Because they were behind you, it was possible to get a photo of your child with them in the background, or a selfie with them in the background.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We rode Spaceship Earth today and commented how we heard parts of the ride that we’d never heard before because of how quiet it was.

I’ve been thinking about this point recently as well, and totally agree. You sort of take for granted how other people in your ride vehicle are often making noise, talking, baby screaming, or whatever, and when you take that out of the equation it does tend to create a situation where you can hear or focus on new things.

We especially noticed this on Rise of the Resistance. Also PotC.

While obviously unsustainable in normal times, there are some rides where having your own vehicle is awfully nice.

 

[AnaHtDis]

I am sitting at my FW cabin now watching everyone around me sleep....peace. Usually by now I running around like a frazzled mom screaming (gently urging) to get to the bus on time. This trip is different. We went to MK yesterday and my husband asked me repeatedly “what is wrong with you?”
well, I am relaxed.
my advice to those questioning whether to come or not is most importantly, know your audience. I am traveling with my DH and two college-aged sons who still wanted to go to Disney with mom and dad, so I’ll take it. Horrifyingly, my family doesn’t care about parades, meet/greet, and the cutesy stuff. They wanted to go on space mountain 4 times in a row walking right through...success.
as for safety, i did not feel nervous or anxiety. We have no underlying conditions (smart- teenagers doesn’t count). I did see a CM tell someone their face mask was not covering their nose, so they are trying hard to enforce safety for all.
For my family, it was the right decision to come and enjoy time together. You have to think of your family’s needs and wishes. Good luck to all! We are going to mosey our way to AK today.

 

[dorospin]

Heading back from a week at Bay Lake Tower. Some thoughts:

1. Parks are pretty empty , DHS at opening in first few hours seemed much busier than the others; AK seemed especially empty

2. Mask compliance in parks has been something like 95% from what we’ve seen over a week. Last night at MK I witnessed a CM telling a lady to cover her nose with her mask. She complied, walked a few feet, and pulled it back down. I think it’s inevitable that there will always be a few of these people no matter what the CMs do.

3. Bay Lake Towers seems pretty full. The pool - especially at night - is packed, and of course no masks in the pool. People do seem to be trying to distance as much as possible.

Last night - not a lot of distancing in this line and some mask issues:

But here is another night walking out of MK:

So - definitely seems to vary based on time, day, and where you are - in line, walking etc.

 

[achang2001]

I just wish they had fireworks or Fantasmic a couple of nights per week...I’m bringing 3 friends for their first trip at the end of Sept. We are splurging with 2BR villas at Riviera and Grand Floridian due to expiring DVC points for the 4 of us x 5 nights. The fireworks are my favorite part!

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I just wish they had fireworks or Fantasmic a couple of nights per week...I’m bringing 3 friends for their first trip at the end of Sept. We are splurging with 2BR villas at Riviera and Grand Floridian due to expiring DVC points for the 4 of us x 5 nights. The fireworks are my favorite part!

Save their first trip for non-pandemic times. These things will be back in a few years.

 

[koquinn]

I just wish they had fireworks or Fantasmic a couple of nights per week...I’m bringing 3 friends for their first trip at the end of Sept. We are splurging with 2BR villas at Riviera and Grand Floridian due to expiring DVC points for the 4 of us x 5 nights. The fireworks are my favorite part!

Me too, I'm the one who stands there with tears streaming down my face smiling the whole time like I've never seen it a million times before! We are taking my au pair who is from South Africa; I don't know if he will get a chance to go back. It's his first trip, and I've already explained to him that there are going to be a few things missing. I think your friends will be fine, and then they will probably be addicts just like the rest of us!

 

[cdobert]

We were onsite from the 11th to the 21st. We had a great, relaxed trip. Coming from Colorado we normally are up early to rope drop - this time we slept in every day. We saw a few people breaking the mask rules in the parks, saw more at the airports. Tested negative for Covid yesterday. If we can get a hotel discount we will be back in the fall.

 

[OKWFan88]

Just got back from 11 day trip. I posted a trip report in the disney trip forum. Overall we had a great time. We knew what we were getting into and it was still great.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I just wish they had fireworks or Fantasmic a couple of nights per week...I’m bringing 3 friends for their first trip at the end of Sept. We are splurging with 2BR villas at Riviera and Grand Floridian due to expiring DVC points for the 4 of us x 5 nights. The fireworks are my favorite part!

While I wish there were fireworks they just gather too many people. Last Sept (when the parks were in the quieter side) we went to see the fireworks one of the two nights during our trip they were offered and we couldn’t move!!! During our trip there were 5 MNSSHP nights so we went to the MK one of the other nights and many others had the same idea. (Small World was a 45 min wait and we couldn’t find the end of the People Mover line!) Until they can safely put more people in the parks and thus bring in more revenue, I can’t see fireworks added back in. Can’t imagine how much $$ it costs Disney each night for fireworks!

We were onsite from the 11th to the 21st. We had a great, relaxed trip. Coming from Colorado we normally are up early to rope drop - this time we slept in every day. We saw a few people breaking the mask rules in the parks, saw more at the airports. Tested negative for Covid yesterday. If we can get a hotel discount we will be back in the fall.

Thank you for sharing this. As someone with a possible trip in the books, I’m wondering how many people are choosing to be tested when they return home and what the results are. (Not saying they catch it at Disney, just sometime during their trip.) I’ve mentioned to my DD that if we do go in Sept then we will get tested a week after we get home, or earlier if either of us is experiencing symptoms.

 

[Amy11401]

While I wish there were fireworks they just gather too many people. Last Sept (when the parks were in the quieter side) we went to see the fireworks one of the two nights during our trip they were offered and we couldn’t move!!! During our trip there were 5 MNSSHP nights so we went to the MK one of the other nights and many others had the same idea. (Small World was a 45 min wait and we couldn’t find the end of the People Mover line!) Until they can safely put more people in the parks and thus bring in more revenue, I can’t see fireworks added back in. Can’t imagine how much $$ it costs Disney each night for fireworks!
Thank you for sharing this. As someone with a possible trip in the books, I’m wondering how many people are choosing to be tested when they return home and what the results are. (Not saying they catch it at Disney, just sometime during their trip.) I’ve mentioned to my DD that if we do go in Sept then we will get tested a week after we get home, or earlier if either of us is experiencing symptoms.

I wonder how many people will go to Disney then go home and get tested. Then if their test comes back positive, they will assume they got it on the trip. When actually they could have already had it before they left and been asymptomatic. I think some people will blame Disney/their trip when they could have had covid before they left. I am mostly referring to people who are asymptomatic.

 

[Chisoxcollector]

We went to Epcot again today. The mask compliance was terrible, much worse than any of our days the previous two weekends. I felt like we were at Sea World or Busch Gardens. I had hoped the new rule about having to be stationary while eating would help. Pffft! So many people with their masks down under the chins, so many noses. And today we didn't see a single cast member enforce the policy. We are officially done with Epcot until either the pandemic ends, or Disney actually does something to improve the situation.

We are going to Hollywood Studios tomorrow. I'm expecting the worst. If things are as bad as I think they will be, I am done with Disney for the foreseeable future. That makes me very sad.

 

[crazymomof4]

We went to Epcot again today. The mask compliance was terrible, worse than any of our days the previous two weekends. I felt like we were at Sea World or Busch Gardens. I had hoped the new rule about having to be stationary while eating would help. Pffft! So many people with their masks down under the chins, so many noses. And today we didn't see a single cast member enforce the policy. We are officially done with Epcot until either the pandemic ends, or Disney actually does something to improve the situation.

We are going to Hollywood Studios. I'm expecting the worst. If things are as bad as I think they will be, I am done with Disney for the foreseeable future. That makes me very sad.

Maybe popping off a quick email to Guest Services with this feedback? You could even cut and paste what you wrote here. It is well worded and expresses your true feelings about your experience. The more people to report this, the sooner WDW can do something to mitigate it.

 

[Sarahraegraham]

We went to Epcot again today. The mask compliance was terrible, much worse than any of our days the previous two weekends. I felt like we were at Sea World or Busch Gardens. I had hoped the new rule about having to be stationary while eating would help. Pffft! So many people with their masks down under the chins, so many noses. And today we didn't see a single cast member enforce the policy. We are officially done with Epcot until either the pandemic ends, or Disney actually does something to improve the situation.

We are going to Hollywood Studios. I'm expecting the worst. If things are as bad as I think they will be, I am done with Disney for the foreseeable future. That makes me very sad.

I will echo your experience because the same thing happened at Magic Kingdom tonight. Up until now, we’ve seen excellent guest compliance and cast member enforcement. Today we had at best 80% compliance,I even saw one guest with a SHEER face mask, and children at BOG walking all around the restaurant without masks on, within a couple feet of other people’s tables. I would absolutely avoid Saturdays if you’re coming. Just make it a resort day. Sad to end our trip on this note, as we leave tomorrow. Otherwise it was very nice. Still glad we came, but we won’t be back again until all of these guest requirements are gone.

 

[wfjny]

Arrived in Orlando today (driving). Went to Disney springs from about 3-7. I thought most people were wearing masks. A few were stopped and having a drink. Lots of and uniformed security.

Lost of people arriving as we were leaving, so maybe it gets worse.

Again, new world order. Used to showing up and the parking garage having just a few spaces open. There were hundreds Free on each floor.

We head to AK tomorrow. Keeping our fingers crossed.

 

[wfjny]

Lots of and uniformed security.

Sorry phone edit.
lots of deputies and uniformed Disney security.

 

[asc]

I will echo your experience because the same thing happened at Magic Kingdom tonight. Up until now, we’ve seen excellent guest compliance and cast member enforcement. Today we had at best 80% compliance,I even saw one guest with a SHEER face mask, and children at BOG walking all around the restaurant without masks on, within a couple feet of other people’s tables. I would absolutely avoid Saturdays if you’re coming. Just make it a resort day. Sad to end our trip on this note, as we leave tomorrow. Otherwise it was very nice. Still glad we came, but we won’t be back again until all of these guest requirements are gone.

Sounds like my concerns are confirmed. People can not be trusted to follow some pretty simple rules. And unless Disney has a one and ejected policy, people will ignore rules.

And peoples noses uncovered is actually the worst as the nose sheds virus more than the mouth. I'll pass until things improve.