Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[Fangorn]

Took the Skyliner from DHS to Epcot yesterday at about 2ish (prime hopping time). Absolutely no wait at either DHS or CB stations. Literally walked on at both places. Took Skyliner back to Riviera about 5ish. Again, walked on to a gondola.

Steve

 

[Nabas]

These are helpful. Pretty sure Frozen winds into China now rather than across the walkways into Germany. Maybe it changes based on the day.

I’ve seen the Frozen line wind into China and then to the Outpost.

 

[MNDisneyMommy]

When we were there 17-24 we took the Skyliner for a ride after lunch (around 1-2 perhaps?) from HS through to Epcot and then back on the 19th. No lines anywhere, it was a walk on. (and a nice break!). You have to get off and transfer at CB, but you can stay in your cab through Riveria. There was a lot of "backstage" visible, but it was a nice cool break.

For rope dropping... we had a car, but yes - if you're staying on property bus is definitely the way to go. The morning we drove to HS for rope drop we were frustrated by so many lines and gates and slow cars for parking and etc. Bus was so much easier, faster, we were closer, etc. We rode the bus for every rope drop, and after our afternoon break we drove to the parks. It was much easier that way.

Also FWIW... we just finished some COVID tests and we came back negative. Yay!

 

[ajgardner]

Just arrived home midnight last night. I will give my ”trip report“ but I do know we do Disney a little differently than most. We do not rope drop and we most always have a rental car. We usually get PH but did not for this trip.

Friday 4/23: Arrival at MCO. Based on what I had read I was expecting bare faces and noses everywhere with no regard to Covid, and had prep my family for such. I saw a total of 2 noses from getting off the plane to getting into our rental car - mask compliance was great in my opinion. It was crowded, especially at baggage claim, but I feel people were trying to be as mindful as possible in a crowded situation. Car rental lines were crazy long and we were so glad my husband had Avis Preferred where he could walk directly to the car without going to the desk. Highly recommend getting a service like this if you are renting - the lines to the desk looked to be easily 1 hour waits.

Friday 4/23-Monday 4/26: Visiting family in The Villages

Mon 4/26: Checked into our hotel at Gran Destino at 3:30. The app didn’t show a room number so we went to the desk and were given a room right away. Unpacked and then headed to Disney Springs. Disney Springs 4:30-7:00pm. Again, I was expecting to see a lot of naked faces/noses but most everyone I saw was complying (a nose here and there and a few pull downs to sip a drink while walking, but nothing blatantly horrible. Yes, it’s busy, but being a Monday evening not terrible. Ate dinner at Homecoming and then headed to Magic Kingdom. We had 90 minutes at MK and knocked out Space Mountain, 7D Mine Train, BTM, and PoC. We felt successful.

Tue 4/27: Epcot day. Had breakfast a Whispering Canyon and entered Epcot just about 11am. This was a long day with a lot of steps! We did Soarin, Living with the Land, Seas with Nemo and Test Track then headed to World Showcase - walked around the circle starting in Mexico. We stopped for a bunch of snacks on this route (my daughter had a long list If ones to try!). The ride lines were too long so we skipped them in the afternoon in hopes they’d be less in the evening. Back to Future World and did Spaceship Earth, Mission Space and Figment. We used Touring Plans lines times which were all accurate within a couple minutes (and all under the listed times. Sorry, I did not specifically record the posted vs actual). Headed to Germany for our Biergarten ADR, then let our teens shop in Japan. Our plan was to try and get on Frozen and Gran Fiesta on our way out, Frozen was offline so we stood there trying to decide whether to wait or leave and while trying to decide it opened up and we were within the first 5 families to get in line. Gran Fiesta was a long line with a 20 minute TP wait listed, it was 9pm and we were exhausted so called the day a success and headed back to the hotel. We once again felt made compliance was perfectly acceptable. Did some people pull them down to wipe their sweaty face? Yes. Did some people take a drink while walking and put it back up? Yes. But we saw very little to none of people just disregarding the mask policy and doing whatever they wanted. As for social distancing - there’s very little of it.

Wed 4/28: Magic Kingdom Day (sort of). This ended up being our most frustrating and least productive day. My daughter had a college final exam presentation so we did not get to the park until 2:15pm. It was very hot and very crowded. All lines seemed to be long all day into the evening so we got little done. Hit SM, CoP, Buzz Lightyear Spin, JC, BTM, SM. I was hoping to get on Peoplemover, Small World, Haunted Mansion (went offline while we were in line and never got back to it) and Mickeys Philharmagic (waited 20 minutes and was last family to get cut off for the next show, we had an ADR and couldn’t wait for next show). This felt the most crowded/busiest day for us - social distancing was non existent even if you wanted to try. Masks seemed fine.

Thu 4/29: Animal Kingdom Day. Arrived at the park around 10:45. Other than the heat (mid 90s) and our River Rapids experience it was a perfect day. We did all the rides, some twice (and in the situation of EE, 6 times). FoP was our first time and it was amazing- our favorite of the trip (son and husband are both Big and Tall so it was a little worrisome they wouldn’t fit, but they did - barely- phew!) We have never done the rapid ride and it was so hot we decided a little wet would feel good - we had been told it wasn’t too bad as far as wetness since the water guns weren’t in use...that was not true. We got drenched. I mean, soaking wet hair, clothes completely dripping wet - my Daughter’s dress was damp 3 hours later. Not at all what we expected and looking at others getting off, I do not know why we were one of the only ones that this happened to. (Maybe it was because of our 2 Big & Tall guys?). We did the safari at 6:45 and animals were everywhere eating, it was great. Our Yak & Yeti ADR was at 7:30 and this ended the day.

Fri 4/30: Hollywood Studios Day. Got up early and secured BG 19, but we still didn’t get to the park until 10:30. Headed straight to RoR. We enjoyed the ride very much but later found out there was an entire pre show piece that they cut out from our ride. Oh well, next time. This was the hottest day so far and it was hard to find shade anywhere. We thought mask compliance was good despite the heat. There was more lifting of masks to get air than past days, but no big deal. Overall, people were decently respectful of policy in my opinion. We hit all the rides we wanted, some twice. We wanted ToT a second time but it was too long a line and too hot for a second run.

Sat 5/1: Departure Day. Checked out of hotel, had late breakfast and then went to a place called Amazing Animals (private animal sanctuary preserve 30 minutes away). Our flight wasn’t until 7:45pm so went to Disney Springs at 2:30pm to spend some time...however it was nearly 100 degrees and we weren’t enjoying anything. Too many lines to get into stores. We ducked into City Works for cold drinks and snack then headed to the airport early. Still found MCO mask compliance to be good, but social distancing doesn’t exist. Crazy crowded, and even getting there 3 hours early, by the time we returned our car, got into the airport, checked our bags, got through security and got to our gate, we weren’t really waiting very long to board (50 minutes maybe...perfect for using bathroom, having snack and relaxing).

 

[ajgardner]

Overall Takeaways:
- If you are planning a trip thinking 35% capacity means you can social distance and you are relying on this, you may want to rethink your trip. It’s busy and it’s crowded. There are areas where social distancing isn’t possible. Lines for rides are more often than not socially distanced even though the markers are there. Some lines were better than others. It felt like people were being semi mindful but not overly mindful like months ago. Also, many times the walking in line was going so fast and then it’d stop abruptly that people ended up getting stopped too close together. if socially distancing is very important to you, you may be disappointed if you come now.
- We felt mask compliance was good. At no point were we in disbelief of any outright disrespect of it. Was there a nose here and there? Sure - I saw maybe a few every hour. Did people take sips of their drink while walking (and then put mask back up)? Yes ,again here and there, not everywhere you look. Did people pull them down in line to wipe sweat from their face and breathe for 3 seconds? Occasionally. If 100% compliance is what you’re looking for, you won’t find it and it’ll get worse as more get vaccinated and the summer heat builds. If mostly compliant is ok with you, then you’ll be ok.
- We felt distancing in restaurants where we had ADRs was very nice and we were completely comfortable. Most restaurants said we could remove face covering once seated, Ogas was the only place that asked for us to wait until drinks were served.

I feel like many of these reviews are biased based on your tolerance and concern levels. I went there thinking I was going to see a lot of non-compliance and ended up not seeing anything worse than at my local grocery store (just more crowded). At no point did my family feel unsafe or that others were being outright disrespectful of policy. I was surprised at how crowded things felt in certain areas but it was just by passing people and we are ok with that. In lines, even though people aren’t usually spread apart as far as the markers are placed, we were never smooshed next to people - there was still a bit of space.

 

[luv2cheer92]

They tested it out both at rope drop (8am for a 9am HS opening) and later in the day. Huge lines both times.

Someone above said the second time was done around 10:30, which would be around rope drop/opening time of Epcot. I would expect huge lines then.

 

[llij]

I have never seen so many clueless people as I did on our trip. We were standing outside of Docking Bay 7 waiting for our mobile order time. A woman walked up to a CM and asked where the line was. The CM told her she needed a mobile order. After helping the woman locate the app and walking through the whole process with her, the lady finally said “Wait, I don’t want to order food. I want to get in line for MFSR!”

This was one example of many I witnessed throughout the week!

The craziest I ever witnessed was at Epcot waiting in line to badge into the park and a woman asked me if this was the entrance to Magic Kingdom. I thought that she was joking but she was serious. To this day, I wonder how she got as far as she did and didn't realize she was at Epcot and not MK!

 

[Princess Katelet]

Overall Takeaways:
- If you are planning a trip thinking 35% capacity means you can social distance and you are relying on this, you may want to rethink your trip. It’s busy and it’s crowded. There are areas where social distancing isn’t possible. Lines for rides are more often than not socially distanced even though the markers are there. Some lines were better than others. It felt like people were being semi mindful but not overly mindful like months ago. Also, many times the walking in line was going so fast and then it’d stop abruptly that people ended up getting stopped too close together. if socially distancing is very important to you, you may be disappointed if you come now.
- We felt mask compliance was good. At no point were we in disbelief of any outright disrespect of it. Was there a nose here and there? Sure - I saw maybe a few every hour. Did people take sips of their drink while walking (and then put mask back up)? Yes ,again here and there, not everywhere you look. Did people pull them down in line to wipe sweat from their face and breathe for 3 seconds? Occasionally. If 100% compliance is what you’re looking for, you won’t find it and it’ll get worse as more get vaccinated and the summer heat builds. If mostly compliant is ok with you, then you’ll be ok.
- We felt distancing in restaurants where we had ADRs was very nice and we were completely comfortable. Most restaurants said we could remove face covering once seated, Ogas was the only place that asked for us to wait until drinks were served.

I feel like many of these reviews are biased based on your tolerance and concern levels. I went there thinking I was going to see a lot of non-compliance and ended up not seeing anything worse than at my local grocery store (just more crowded). At no point did my family feel unsafe or that others were being outright disrespectful of policy. I was surprised at how crowded things felt in certain areas but it was just by passing people and we are ok with that. In lines, even though people aren’t usually spread apart as far as the markers are placed, we were never smooshed next to people - there was still a bit of space.

I live in NY so I’m not used to people in stores or other places not fully masked. Distancing is good here, too. Sounds like this will be a shock for me. I’m not thrilled because even in full health periods WHO wants to be so close to sweaty strangers for thirty minutes to an hour?? EWWW!

I go next week and am prepared for the worst. I’m going to TRY to be double masked as I am here at home but I’m sure the heat and sweat will force me to just use one mask. I have a sunbrella for the blazing sun AND to help keep people away from me. I don’t like that Disney HAS these rules and doesn’t enforce them. That’s silly and wimpy.
One thing I’m really worried about is walking forever to find the end of the lines. I’ve seen the maps of extended lines and I just don’t know the parks well enough for them to help me. I think it will be frustrating to hunt for them and to walk all those extra steps in the heat.
I really miss Disney of 1999…

 

[ajgardner]

I live in NY so I’m not used to people in stores or other places not fully masked. Distancing is good here, too. Sounds like this will be a shock for me. I’m not thrilled because even in full health periods WHO wants to be so close to sweaty strangers for thirty minutes to an hour?? EWWW!

I go next week and am prepared for the worst. I’m going to TRY to be double masked as I am here at home but I’m sure the heat and sweat will force me to just use one mask. I have a sunbrella for the blazing sun AND to help keep people away from me. I don’t like that Disney HAS these rules and doesn’t enforce them. That’s silly and wimpy.
One thing I’m really worried about is walking forever to find the end of the lines. I’ve seen the maps of extended lines and I just don’t know the parks well enough for them to help me. I think it will be frustrating to hunt for them and to walk all those extra steps in the heat.
I really miss Disney of 1999…

I honestly did not feel the mask compliance was an issue or shocker. The crowds were were a bit alarming but our comfort level was ok with it after our initial “wow, that’s a lot of people all together.” While the lines didn’t typically keep the 6 foot markers between groups, they also were not as compacted together as any of our previous trips. I honestly can say after several 90+ degree days, theres no way we will be back until masks are gone or only required indoors Or if it’s January and heat is not an issue. As for finding the line ending point, we did not really run into any instance of hunting them down, they were just there in most cases. A couple occasions we had to slightly back track , but usually you can see people standing in a line and there’s someone standing there with a sign saying what it is. I think you will not find it as bad as it sounds.

 

[ajgardner]

Also, be prepared for people that are unsure of how things are working right now -
We were already having a frustrating day at Magic Kingdom (heat, plus late start, plus crowds) and mobile ordered a Dole whip. It took 25 minutes before they called us for our order to be ready after we clicked “we are here”. We went to get in line and it was about 16 parties deep and a chaotic mess. I noticed the group in front of us hadn’t even ordered yet but was standing in the line 2 pick up line, so I started going down the line asking if they had been called back yet and they were all just standing there thinking about ordering or hadn’t been called back yet. By the time I got done skipping down the line there were only 2 actual parties that were ahead of us - glad I started asking and skipped in front of those who weren’t ready for pickup, otherwise I may still be waiting for my dole whip!

 

[ellbell]

I live in NY so I’m not used to people in stores or other places not fully masked. Distancing is good here, too. Sounds like this will be a shock for me. I’m not thrilled because even in full health periods WHO wants to be so close to sweaty strangers for thirty minutes to an hour?? EWWW!

I go next week and am prepared for the worst. I’m going to TRY to be double masked as I am here at home but I’m sure the heat and sweat will force me to just use one mask. I have a sunbrella for the blazing sun AND to help keep people away from me. I don’t like that Disney HAS these rules and doesn’t enforce them. That’s silly and wimpy.
One thing I’m really worried about is walking forever to find the end of the lines. I’ve seen the maps of extended lines and I just don’t know the parks well enough for them to help me. I think it will be frustrating to hunt for them and to walk all those extra steps in the heat.
I really miss Disney of 1999…

Watch a few live streams on Youtube. I find they are a good representation of what you will be seeing because it's not edited. Then you can decide how comfortable you are with what is currently happening in the parks.

 

[Wood Nymph]

From GF to Epcot for opening: bus or drive your own car?

I would drive. We have had very long waits for the Epcot bus to and from GF.

 

[sdeut]

Watch a few live streams on Youtube. I find they are a good representation of what you will be seeing because it's not edited. Then you can decide how comfortable you are with what is currently happening in the parks.

Yep this is what I did. I saw maybe 10 mask compliance issues from the entrance of the park all the way back to splash and 2 or 3 were taking a drink or wiping their face so they looked to be pulling it down quickly. I did see 2 that were told to put their masks back up. I am a teacher in state that requires masks and it didn’t seem much different than the hallways at my school. I have to tell 1 or 2 kids every day to cover their nose. I am vaccinated but my kids are not yet. We plan to keep them between us in line to keep others away from them.

 

[sophy1996]

I have been pretty happy with the parks thus far (this is day 3 of our trip). Most people have been leaving space in the lines. Maybe not precisely six feet, but still plenty of space.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Please do not ask people if they are vaccinated. If they choose to share this they may but please do not ask.

Thank you.

 

[lovethattink]

I spent the afternoon at Epcot! It was soooo hot. 91 degrees. I really minded the heat today, and I’m a local.

Last night I scored an ADR for Beaches and Cream!! The walk from Epcot parking, thru Epcot, and out to the Beach Club was scorching!! We stopped once on a shaded bench for the cavalcade of Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto.

In my opinion the world showcase was not very busy. Most food stands had a queue of one or two parties or empty. Which was surprising.

Lunch at Beaches and Cream was great! It’s been years since we ate there and loved the refurbished look, was our first time seeing it.

Saw the B&B singalong.

We watched Mariachi Cobre and Voices of Liberty.

I started feeling dehydrated and overheated. So we called it a day after Voices of Liberty. Made several stops to sit in the shade and drink.

The queue for Frozen wasn’t as long as it had been on previous visits. It extended out through China, but not further.

The splash fountains were still not operating.

Even on this not very busy day it was impossible to social distance at all times while walking World Showcase.

Our meal at Beaches and Cream was the first we ate indoor at a table service. Ketchup was in packets.

And Disney has switched from Simply Heinz which doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup to Red Gold Ketchup with a cause, which does.

 

[EPCOT-O.G.]

.

And Disney has switched from Simply Heinz which doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup to Red Gold Ketchup with a cause, which does.

Huh. Well this is unfortunate. I’m dating myself but one of the few sour memories I had of visiting WDW in the late 80’s / early 90’s was that they had Hunt’s ketchup (which I think is awful) instead of Heinz. Sad to see they moved away from the gold standard.

 

[lovethattink]

Huh. Well this is unfortunate. I’m dating myself but one of the few sour memories I had of visiting WDW in the late 80’s / early 90’s was that they had Hunt’s ketchup (which I think is awful) instead of Heinz. Sad to see they moved away from the gold standard.

My son has to limit his high fructose intake. But he said it tasted more similar to Heinz than Hunts.

 

[ellbell]

Huh. Well this is unfortunate. I’m dating myself but one of the few sour memories I had of visiting WDW in the late 80’s / early 90’s was that they had Hunt’s ketchup (which I think is awful) instead of Heinz. Sad to see they moved away from the gold standard.

It's most likely due to the ketchup shortage so they are taking what they can get.

 

[LiamsDISMom]

Anyone have a suggestion for Sun umbrellas you suggest? Both for Sun and heat, but distance too. Needs to be from Amazon 2 day shipping.