Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[kelscross]

My other question sorry if this goes somewhere else, currently we are to claim our bags before going to ME and put them under the bus instead of delivery to the resort correct?

 

[emily nicole]

if you are not an APholder and not staying on site your bucket is from the "theme park ticket guest"
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/availability-calendar/?segments=tickets,resort,passholder

Thanks!

 

[MinnieMSue]

My other question sorry if this goes somewhere else, currently we are to claim our bags before going to ME and put them under the bus instead of delivery to the resort correct?

Myra you get your bags from baggage claim and when you get to the bus the driver loads them under the bus and pulls them out for you at the resort. Then you can leave them with luggage services at your resort if your room isn’t ready yet. At Pop they then put them in our room while we were at the parks (they told me they would do this when I gave them my bags so I tipped when I dropped off my bags)

 

[Theactualdisneyprincess]

Myra you get your bags from baggage claim and when you get to the bus the driver loads them under the bus and pulls them out for you at the resort. Then you can leave them with luggage services at your resort if your room isn’t ready yet. At Pop they then put them in our room while we were at the parks (they told me they would do this when I gave them my bags so I tipped when I dropped off my bags)

So they are still delivering to the room possibly? Good to know if so. Also staying at Pop!

 

[MinnieMSue]

So they are still delivering to the room possibly? Good to know if so. Also staying at Pop!

yes I was very surprised when he told me that. But sure enough they put the bags in our room and the little cooler in my room fridge (I had a small cooler with ice packs and frozen Greek yogurts in my suitcase that I asked bell services to put in their fridge). I completely wasn’t expecting that at all. They also didn’t charge me for it

 

[maryj11]

You had to go on their site and join but im not sure if the window got that closed already

I just got the app downloaded . I think it is working. I don’t have my receipt or remember the date of purchase. I guessed. I opened the app and says I have a 5.00 credit. So I’m guessing it worked

 

[yulilin3]

I just got the app downloaded . I think it is working. I don’t have my receipt or remember the date of purchase. I guessed. I opened the app and says I have a 5.00 credit. So I’m guessing it worked

If you go to your profile it will say
Membership level:founder

 

[maryj11]

If you go to your profile it will say
Membership level:founder

It says member level default?

 

[yulilin3]

It says member level default?

Did you fill out the founder questionnaire? Cause after they review it is when they change that to founder

 

[DeterminedOne]

Hello DISers!

Can’t wait to be back to the magic in a few days!!! I have a few questions that I haven’t been able to get direct answers to and would appreciate your feedback on here.

1. Has anybody been told that they can’t pay for things with cash? I know that mobile ordering and plastic is preferred and highly encouraged, but I was curious if anybody was being denied or restricted to small bills only?
2. How is the wait for getting on a bus for Magical Express? Torn between doing this and paying for an Uber upon arrival.
3. Are we still able to leave our bags at the front desk if our room isn’t ready yet upon arrival?
4. Are the fuelrod stations still operating for swaps?
5. Where are the cool magic shots or photo opportunities for Halloween and fall in the parks? If there is a list somewhere and someone would please link me to it, I’d appreciate it.

I believe that’s it for now. Thanks for any and all help!

Good questions. I would like to know as well.

 

[dachsie]

no we don’t have APs. I haven’t bought tickets yet but on the calendar our dates are all green. So that means there is availability?

Edit: I don’t know what theme park ticket bucket means either. Does that mean even if I make a park reservation (once I buy tickets) we might not get in?

If you look on the availability calendar, there are three groups. Theme park ticket holders, resort guests and pass holders. If you are off property and getting tickets you will be in the first group. Green means availability but I wouldn't wait too long to get tickets and make your reservations because some of the parks are filling up and then it becomes yellow. It is grayed out when there in no availability in any park

 

[katyringo]

Disney’s Hollywood Studios is pretty nuts today, but I’ve still had a good time. I got to the parking lot over an hour early, so I was able to get into the park about 45 minutes before the park opened. Everyone else went towards Mickie and Minnie’s, so I went Tower of Terror. I was able to ride Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster before the park officially opened.

Socially Distant Oga’s is still incredible, Rise is still a favorite and Docking Bay 7 still rocks. I was able to get a lot done for the first half.

I went back for a nap and by the time I got back the place is really busy. Maybe it’s the spacing, but it feels busier than a normal September. The line for ToT goes into the que of Beauty and the Beast.

On a more positive notes, ride ops today have been exceptionally good. I don’t think I’ll be doing a second DHS day, but we’ll have to see what the other parks look like during the week.



Docking Bay 7 is only accepting mobile orders. I haven’t seen anywhere else impose such a restriction.

I needed to read this. I am most excited for DHS but the ticking up wait times have me nervous. But we are rope droppers to our core (I was once first in line at Disneyland the day after thanksgiving) so we will just plan on getting there early early .. we have two days there. Will do MickEy and Minnie when we enter the first day and head another direction the second day!

 

[dachsie]

It says member level default?

Did you fill out the founder questionnaire? Cause after they review it is when they change that to founder

Mine says that as well, but it also said it could take 5 days to verify

 

[soniam]

March 7, 2020. As long as my November trip doesn’t look like this ...
View attachment 527268

It might depend upon when in November. I am going the week of Thanksgiving. I am just assuming it will look like this. If it is, then I am prepared. If it's not, then I will be pleasantly surprised. Even it's if not overall crowded, there could be areas that look like this, probably small areas though if at all.

 

[kristenabelle]

Have our trip booked for December and can’t wait!! We have went 25 times so we are ok with some stuff not operating. My question is I have been reading this thread and have seen various reports that crowds are “insane”, “packed”. Can that be clarified? “Insane and packed” as in pre-covid packed? Or exceeded your expectation with the parks operating at lower capacity and/or more crowded than your taste for social distancing.

thanks!

so I’ve definitely been here during way busier times, but as everyone is saying it’s a combination of things. People eating parades and shows aren’t happening, some restaurants are closed, and queue spacing makes waits seem much longer. So you have people competing for less things to do/go, which makes it seem crowded.

That said, many wait times seem to be inflated, and you move more quickly (no stopping for forever because folks are being ushered continuously through FP lines like in pre-COVID times)

I had a feeling crowds would pick up, so I adjusted my expectations before I got here and am still really enjoying my trip. But I’d say we’re beyond the “absolutely no waits/crowds” of summer.

 

[erinch]

We were at MK today. My crew were foot dragged this am and we did not get in parking lot till 9 am. We were behind the curve all day and did not get to do everything. . Had fun, ate at Gramd Floridian for lunch and LTT after park close. Both were magical.

a tip for hand washing. Pull down paper towels first, then wash hands !
The CMs are all fabulous.

 

[Cliff Secord]

We were at EPCOT today. Arrived right at Noon, because we wanted our kids to do a half-day of online school. The crowd felt light coming in, so much so that we immediately did Spaceship Earth because it was only a 7 min wait. Next, my son (10) was insistent that we do Test Track, and my 6 year old daughter wanted to go ride Frozen ("Let's go see Anna & Elsa!"). So we headed in that direction. I need to mention that my daughter has been to WDW before, but she was very little. The best part of this trip - hands down - has been watching her experience the Disney magic for the "first time" with absolute wonder and amazement. Anywho...right as we approached Test Track the announcement was made that the ride was down. Bummer! I assured my son that it would likely open again soon, and we kept walking.

As we approached World Showcase the park started to feel more crowded, but that was understandable to me, seeing as it was lunchtime and we were entering the Mexico pavilion. A short distance over in Norway, Frozen was posted at 40 min, and we ended up getting on the ride just shy of that (even with a stop for a mandatory full ride cleaning). By the time we were off and exiting through the gift shop, we were ready for food and drinks. We walked back over to Mexico to get tacos al pastor, empanadas, esquites, margaritas, and a beer. They truly hit the spot! We wanted to walk in and check out Gran Fiesta, but it was posted as a 20 min wait. No, thank you. We decided to try that later.

Test Track was still down, so we headed over to their next favorite ride, which is Figment. On the way we saw a horse-drawn carriage featuring Anna & Elsa (we saw 'em!). Journey into Imagination was a total walk-on, so we rode it twice. Then we walked into The Land and waited 15 min for Soarin'. This totally blew my daughter's mind. As we were flying over the Sydney harbor, she turned to me and asked with astonishment, "Are we really here?!?" Her eyes were huge, and she could not believe that we were not really flying! She wanted to ride again right away, but we convinced her to check out Living w/ the Land (5 min wait). She didn't appreciate that near as much as the rest of us did, as she literally could not wait to fly again. A quick 10 min later, we were above the mountain peaks once more.

By now Test Track was back up and running, so that was our next major goal. But, being so close to Nemo, we walked over and walked on that quickly. TT was listed at 40 min, so we got in line prepared to wait it out. Thankfully things moved relatively swiftly and we boarded in just over 20 min. The ride was everything that my son remembered, and was hoping for. So much so that we did it again immediately afterward with the same wait time. Then we made it back to Mexico to ride Gran Fiesta. It was listed as 20 min, but took only 5. This one was special to us, as we recently spent 2 years living in Mexico City for my wife's job, and have not been back since our return to the U.S. in Feb. Even this slight little taste of Mexico made our hearts happy. And to top it off, we grabbed some mezcal drinks before leaving the pavilion, which made us even happier!

It was already 6:30, so we had to head to our ADR at Spice Road Table (6:45). I should also say that it was thanks to this board that I had the foresight to book a late dinner so that we could milk a little extra time in the park (so...thanks!). On the way we stopped in China to get a jasmine beer and a mongolian beef bao bun. Not the best I've ever had, but far from the worst. Then we walked past Germany, Italy, USA, and Japan en route to our reservation in Morocco. We picked Spice Road Table because it is open air, and offers a full bar. Check and check. We kept things light and ordered a couple of appetizers (calamari and lamb sausage), chicken nuggets & fries for the kids to split, and some beer and wine for me and my wife. This was great, as the weather was good, and we were ready to sit down and chill for a bit. And again it was a great tip in the sense that we were able to get some really amazing shots of Spaceship Earth all lit-up as we walked out almost completely alone at 8p.

Overall it was a great day! It was definitely more crowded than I expected. It's clear to me that there is a lot of pent-up desire to travel, and the word has clearly gotten out that WDW is relatively safe and clean. But the low capacities that we heard about in July and August (which lured us down here) are certainly behind us. The capacities have been increased in all of the parks, and they are all fairly busy. But we got on everything we wanted to ride (sorry, Mission: Space) and several things twice. Mask compliance was absolutely terrific. Barely even saw any nose-peekers. And we loved the socially distant spacing in the queues. Can that stick around forever?

Tomorrow is Hollywood Studios. We get to finally see if these weeks of RotR practice have paid off. Wish me luck! I'm a bit freaked out by the huge wait times that I saw reported over there today, but it seems to just be par for the course these days. What can you do when you jam a park full immediately at opening?!? Just hoping for the best.

 

[PortieOwner]

We were at MK today. My crew were foot dragged this am and we did not get in parking lot till 9 am. We were behind the curve all day and did not get to do everything. . Had fun, ate at Gramd Floridian for lunch and LTT after park close. Both were magical.

a tip for hand washing. Pull down paper towels first, then wash hands !
The CMs are all fabulous.

Yes, MK was plenty busy today. The weather was phenomenal. Warm, dry air, strong wind.

I got any early resort monorail, followed a modified touring plan from you-know-where which was moderately productive. I was through the gate at 8:30 and by 9:05am I have been on Buzz, Pooh, and Seven Dwarves. Also bagged Small World and Peter Pan with almost no wait. Waits times built quickly from then on. I hit Pirates, which should have been a fast line but they did a cleaning cycle which stalled the line for 15 minutes. Went to Jungle Cruise and again got blocked by a cleaning cycle (they hose down each boat with chemicals and send it on a round-trip to dry off). These cleaning cycles play hell with getting through a lot of rides fast. By the time I finished Swiss Family, Tiki Room, Country Bears, and had a coconut Dole Whip, it was noon and nearly all lines were difficult. I trekked back to Little Mermaid and got it with about a 15 minute wait. By now it was 1:00pm, crowded, hot, and nothing had a reasonable wait time. I headed back to the hotel for a swim and hot tub soak.

Warning: food service looked really jammed up at lunch time, from 11:30-2:00. Expect waits.

Returned to MK at 4:30. Rode Big Thunder once, went to Tom Sawyer's island, then another Pirates trip--this trip 30 minutes on the dot.

During the course of the day I saw the Dapper Dans sing twice, saw a princess cavalcade and a characters Halloween cavalcade, and Chip and Dale above Country Bears and I saw an excellent portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow across from the Pirates.

Never got a ride on Splash or HM--the lines were too long all day.

Ate at LTT after hours and it was great. The food was so good.

Not surprisingly, WDW is doing two things really well: engineering "safer" queues which keep people apart. They have done some real genius-level work on this. Second, the cast members have been universally wonderful. It has taken me a couple of days to get acclimated to how friendly and helpful people who work here are.

 

[maryj11]

Did you fill out the founder questionnaire? Cause after they review it is when they change that to founder

Yes but I guessed at the dates of purchase, because I couldn’t remember.

 

[yulilin3]

Yes but I guessed at the dates of purchase, because I couldn’t remember.

I guessed as well and i got founder status, Good luck