Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[Spikester]

I was there over the weekend, I did 2 days at Epcot, and some time at DS. It was very quiet on Christmas Day in Epcot. Sat was a bit busier. I stayed at the SWAN, and so weird to see the restaurants closed on the boardwalk.
I went to DS springs early on Christmas Day, and lucked into a short line at Gideon's. It was before they opened, and it was about 20 mins once they opened. I went back on Sunday and got there around 1015am, and the line was in front of Morimoto's. It was about 45 minutes total. I think the line is so long because the employees are so friendly and chatty.

I did lunch at HOB and then walked around for a couple hours, and hit a couple restaurants and bars. I felt it was crowded, but mostly everyone was very good at masks.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I know it's been said before but let me reiterate, If you're st all concerned or a little apprehensive about crowds, skip disney springs at night! We went tonight and it was crazy busy! People everywhere and very hard to social distance while walking around!

AK seemed a little busy especially compared to magic kingdom yesterday but compared to a normal holiday week, it was VERY manageable! We got to the parking lot by 640, in the park by 655. Headed to FOP and waited 80 min. Went to navi river and waited 30 min. Next up was the safari. It was posted as 60 min wait but we really only waited maybe 30. We did gorilla falls, tricera top spin and headed home by noon! While it was definitely busy, it was still a very good day!

Good to hear!

 

[p44nmun]

Is there a specific link or place on the Disney website where you can go to tell them about a positive experience with a cast member? I thought someone said there was, but I can’t find it.

 

[Flamingeaux]

My family loves Molly too! We just watched 2 of her videos last night.

Another big Molly fan!! Love watching her videos while I walk on the treadmill every morning.

 

[Rustysmom]

I know it's been said before but let me reiterate, If you're st all concerned or a little apprehensive about crowds, skip disney springs at night! We went tonight and it was crazy busy! People everywhere and very hard to social distance while walking around!

Ugh, I agree. We went to Raglan Road during the week and Springs was a madhouse. No social distancing at all. My son has autism and was getting severe anxiety. We never go to Springs so I didn't know any better.

 

[Shellyred8]

We did EP yesterday and HS (again) today. EP had the worst mask offenders. And it was usually people drinking alcohol. I get it. It stinks to have to pull over to drink or eat but those are the rules. People are almost always eating or drinking in lines, especially the longer ones that snake all through HS. I don’t mind really as long as the people are distancing and doing it quickly. It’s hard to stand that long without a drink of water or something. Our biggest disappointment was dinner at Biergarten. The options they give you now aren’t worth the price, IMO. We visited DS for the first time today. We went early and had lunch at Blaze Pizza. Not very crowded and with all this Covid crowd control and protocol you’re always able to find a table. Tried to visit Gideon’s but the wait list to get in line was 2 1/2 hours and we didn’t want to wait around that long. We have 2 more days and while I hate for vaca to end I won’t miss wearing a mask almost constantly. I need a break.

While I'm at Disney I will follow their rules and wear a mask when and where required. But I agree that it does get old. I found myself looking forward to going back to the room just so I could take my mask off and roam about the room freely.

 

[Shellyred8]

I know it's been said before but let me reiterate, If you're st all concerned or a little apprehensive about crowds, skip disney springs at night! We went tonight and it was crazy busy! People everywhere and very hard to social distance while walking around!

AK seemed a little busy especially compared to magic kingdom yesterday but compared to a normal holiday week, it was VERY manageable! We got to the parking lot by 640, in the park by 655. Headed to FOP and waited 80 min. Went to navi river and waited 30 min. Next up was the safari. It was posted as 60 min wait but we really only waited maybe 30. We did gorilla falls, tricera top spin and headed home by noon! While it was definitely busy, it was still a very good day!

I totally agree with this DS sentiment. We actually found that by about 2pm it was busier than we were comfortable with. If you really want to go to DS, it's best to go between 10am - 2pm and go on a week-day, not a weekend. The weekends got busier earlier during our trip.

 

[SugarSweetLee]

How are people feeling now that rides like FOP/SR are loading with no distancing?

 

[PrincessV]

How are people feeling now that rides like FOP are loading with no gaps?

I won't ride them now. FOP and MF:SR are out for me. If they do the same to Soarin', that'll be out, too. I'm okay with every seat on the rollercoasters, since we're moving so fast... but will admit I'd be really concerned if the coaster went down and we were stuck there for more than a couple minutes with every row seated.

 

[SugarSweetLee]

I won't ride them now. FOP and MF:SR are out for me. If they do the same to Soarin', that'll be out, too. I'm okay with every seat on the rollercoasters, since we're moving so fast... but will admit I'd be really concerned if the coaster went down and we were stuck there for more than a couple minutes with every row seated.

Yeah, we're set to go pretty soon but I'm concerned about this new change. I wonder if once crowds get lower from (I presume) the holiday highs if they'll go back to what they did before. Seems unlikely though.

I wonder if you can request a SR pod by yourselves?

 

[corn princess]

Yesterday we did Hollywood Studios...rope drop is your friend! We were in the parking lot by 8:15, in the park and heading to Star Wars Land by 9. We headed to Millennium Falcon first and waited 25 min! By the time we got off, the wait was 50 min! Then we headed to Toy Story land and did Alien swirling saucers with a 15 min wait, Toy Story mania with a 30 min wait, and Slinky dog with an hour wait! By 11:30 we had accomplished a lot! We ran home, took a break and headed back at 330? Was able to do MMRR with only a 30 min wait, Muppets, and then back to slinky dog with a 40 min wait! It was but everyone had their masks on and there was good spacinf in line! But again rope drop is your friend for sure!

 

[yulilin3]

Yeah, we're set to go pretty soon but I'm concerned about this new change. I wonder if once crowds get lower from (I presume) the holiday highs if they'll go back to what they did before. Seems unlikely though.

I wonder if you can request a SR pod by yourselves?

You can request a pod to yourself

 

[Aela]

FoP was not every seat. We rode it on Thursday (24th) and they were putting empty seats between groups?

 

[yulilin3]

FoP was not every seat. We rode it on Thursday (24th) and they were putting empty seats between groups?

They started loading every seat a couple of days ago

 

[SugarSweetLee]

You can request a pod to yourself

Thank you!!

FoP was not every seat. We rode it on Thursday (24th) and they were putting empty seats between groups?

I think it's been a VERY recent change (within the past day or two): https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/disney-vacations/disney-world-social-distancing-rides

 

[teach22180]

Yeah, we're set to go pretty soon but I'm concerned about this new change. I wonder if once crowds get lower from (I presume) the holiday highs if they'll go back to what they did before. Seems unlikely though.

I wonder if you can request a SR pod by yourselves?

At the safari when the line was short, they loaded every other row since they could.

 

[4Spen]

While I'm at Disney I will follow their rules and wear a mask when and where required. But I agree that it does get old. I found myself looking forward to going back to the room just so I could take my mask off and roam about the room freely.

Yes! We are in our room now for that reason. It’s warmer today than it’s been the whole trip and I couldn’t take the mask anymore. My 19 yr old son has even been getting headaches from wearing it all day and night. It’s been rough. Still having a good time but won’t be back until things are more normal.

As for FOP, we rode a few days ago and were seated with another family, no space.

 

[disneycasey2020]

On MFSR on the 24th they asked if we were okay going with the two people in front of us and I said no. We started walking onto the actual ride and all of the sudden there was another couple behind us. There was plexiglass in the pod and I’m sure just a miscommunication with the cast member so I didn’t say anything. I’m not a very assertive person (conflict gives me anxiety) so it’s on me that I didn’t say anything, but you probably will have to stand your ground maybe more than once.

Same thing in lines where it was a switch back so line markers are spaced out different, a lot of people paid zero attention and just kept what they thought was six feet between them and the next party, putting them sometimes right next to other people in a different part of the line. I never said anything, bc possibility for conflict, so I know that’s on me. But definitely uncomfortable at times as far as my comfort level but that was probably less than 30% of the time. We still had a magnificent time.

 

[Aela]

We did MF on the 23rd and the 26th and they never asked us about people with us. There are three of us, and they sent a single rider in with us on the 26th. I wasn’t super happy about it.

 

[cjlong88]

You can request a pod to yourself

Is this something you need to be proactive about? Or does do the CMs always ask before placing families together?