Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[ENJDisneyFan]

They are requiring masks in the extended queue for Jungle Cruise

In the extended queue? So inconsistent enforcement already.....making it even harder for CMs (and guests for that matter). Ugh.

 

[chad_1138]

In the extended queue? So inconsistent enforcement already.....making it even harder for CMs (and guests for that matter). Ugh.

Yep. When we rode Splash at rope drop they didn’t require masks until entering the building with the stairs. Absolutely no sense. They even have the no food drink signs up at Jungle Cruise. They’re gonna have big problems when the have masked people on extended queues and they try to enforce that, especially if someone has a cup of water.

 

[rlk]

At MK today. Seeing a lot of people taking off/ pulling down their mask after they pass the CM at the front of the line.

 

[rockpiece]

Yep. When we rode Splash at rope drop they didn’t require masks until entering the building with the stairs. Absolutely no sense. They even have the no food drink signs up at Jungle Cruise. They’re gonna have big problems when the have masked people on extended queues and they try to enforce that, especially if someone has a cup of water.

Those no food/drink signs got to go!

 

[Juventus]

Ridiculous for the outdoor when people are gonna be jammed packed at rope drop,park close and fireworks which is no different then a line.

Every bit helps....

 

[rlk]

No one is masking in the Winnie the Pooh line. CM are not able to police, so it seems to be a free for all.
BTMRR was better at masking So was Pirates so far.

At HM, they still had everyone cram into all available spaces I. The stretching room.

 

[TimeToPack]

Just came back from a two week vacation at Disney. The lines were ridiculous. I' always go in the summer and have never seen lines like this. One day it was three hours to ride FOP. Haunted Mansion 75 min, Jungle Cruise. 80min Buzz Lightyear 80 minutes. I don't might waiting in line, but this was horrible. They have CM's posted outside counter service restaurants and you can only go in if you have placed a mobile order and were called to pick it up, then u can find a seat while your food gets cold. Some places are not accepting cash, only mobile. In two weeks we only had rain that lasted for a hour, other days some sprinkles, so the heat was intense. We are all vaccinated so we only wore masks on the transportation. The park hoping only after 2 is insane. We went to Epcot a bit early, ten minutes to 2 and they would not let us in.

We talked to a few bus drivers, which were really friendly and nice and they said that all the CM's hate the reservation system. Say you sleep late or your swimming till 1:30 and have park hoppers, well you have to go to your first park which u have reservations for before you can go to another park because your tickets won't work. We felt we had alot of standing around time and wasted precious vacation time. All in all, we had fun at the Food and Wine festival, but I will say that my whole family, kids included, do not want to go back until things change. We felt micromanaged in every aspect, from parks, rides and especially restaurants. Also the food was the worst it had ever been., except F&W, which was excellent.

We went to Key West for a week before arriving at Disney and had a blast, felt free to do what we wanted, when we wanted. We were swimming at two in the morning at the guesthouse we stayed at one block off of Duval. It was awesome.

 

[Juventus]

I definitely hope the enforcement is lax for the sake of guests and CMs.

So the parks get closed down again?

 

[rlk]

So the parks get closed down again?

From our experience so far at MK this morning, it is pretty hard for CMs to monitor guests after they enter the ride line. I’m seeing lots of noses or no mask until they reach the point of the line right before the ride.

I don’t think it is too hard to mask while in line.

 

[Melindarella]

Just came back from a two week vacation at Disney. The lines were ridiculous. I' always go in the summer and have never seen lines like this. One day it was three hours to ride FOP. Haunted Mansion 75 min, Jungle Cruise. 80min Buzz Lightyear 80 minutes. I don't might waiting in line, but this was horrible. They have CM's posted outside counter service restaurants and you can only go in if you have placed a mobile order and were called to pick it up, then u can find a seat while your food gets cold. Some places are not accepting cash, only mobile. In two weeks we only had rain that lasted for a hour, other days some sprinkles, so the heat was intense. We are all vaccinated so we only wore masks on the transportation. The park hoping only after 2 is insane. We went to Epcot a bit early, ten minutes to 2 and they would not let us in.

We talked to a few bus drivers, which were really friendly and nice and they said that all the CM's hate the reservation system. Say you sleep late or your swimming till 1:30 and have park hoppers, well you have to go to your first park which u have reservations for before you can go to another park because your tickets won't work. We felt we had alot of standing around time and wasted precious vacation time. All in all, we had fun at the Food and Wine festival, but I will say that my whole family, kids included, do not want to go back until things change. We felt micromanaged in every aspect, from parks, rides and especially restaurants. Also the food was the worst it had ever been., except F&W, which was excellent.

We went to Key West for a week before arriving at Disney and had a blast, felt free to do what we wanted, when we wanted. We were swimming at two in the morning at the guesthouse we stayed at one block off of Duval. It was awesome.

Thank you for sharing your experiences on your recent WDW trip! We have a Sept trip coming up, and I am excited, but want to have realistic expectations!

Would love to hear about your time at KW - but can't figure out how to PM you - lol. We are planning to drive to the Keys in May 2022 (first time), and would love input on lodging, since it sounds like you had a great location!

 

[yaya74]

I really appreciate those of you who took the time to update us on the current situations in the park. Unfortunately my family already went to Disney earlier in July and we won't be back for another two years. Only wish that our vacation would be now when a mask is required indoors.

I really hope that people are kind to the poor cast members who have to reinforce the new mask policies. They would have an awesome magical day at the job if guests are all in compliance with the rules. Those that don't want to or cannot follow the rule should not go to Disney right now.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Those that don't want to or cannot follow the rule should not go to Disney right now.

Yes, except for some people the rules changed mid-trip. And unless they are following the news closely they may not even be aware of the change.

 

[avalovesminnie]

Went to MK yesterday. Let in to parking lot at 7:50. In park 8:35. If anyone feels nervous in crowds don’t go. It was packed. Over 70% of the hand sanitizers were empty- bring your own. It’s really hot and lines were long. We got to experience flooding in tomorrow land which my kids thought was fun! Dinner at Skipper Canteen was excellent. Portions at Friar Nook were small. Mobile order worked fine though. Fireworks were great to see! I loved the calvacades- we saw 2. Worst part of the day was getting back to the car- it was literally wall to wall people and took about 40 minutes. Overall we had fun but I’m not ever going in the summer again! I prefer having fast passes too.

 

[Bigmace]

Yes, except for some people the rules changed mid-trip. And unless they are following the news closely they may not even be aware of the change.

Seriously, we made plans to in two weeks and again in August under the impression Disneyland would be much more like normal. We are still probably going in august but probably cancel the october trip if masks are still required.

 

[yaya74]

Yes, except for some people the rules changed mid-trip. And unless they are following the news closely they may not even be aware of the change.

I am pretty sure that there will be signages everywhere. I will keep those guests in my prayer, wishing them a happy and magical trip at Disney.

 

[rlk]

We witnessed our first mask battle as we were about to load onto Pooh. A woman with 3 kids would not put on her mask. She finally relented but two of her children went on the ride without masks. Poor CMs are in for it today.

 

[Momtomouselover]

It may be coincidence, but we had a much easier time yesterday at AK than we did the previous two days at DHS and MK (which were brutal). It was a planned half day. We arrived at around 2:15, huddled under cover for a few minutes hoping the rain would ease a little bit, then poncho'd up and got to the 3:00 FOTLK show. Then took the train to Rafiki's, did the Animation Academy, looked at the exhibits, and the animals. Then back to Africa for KS (about 20 minute wait) then Gorilla Falls trail. NExt a break for dinner, then into Pandora for Navi (20 minutes) and FOP (arrived at 7:30, waited about an hour). The waits were shorter than even TP Lines predicted, which I think is in part due to the rain.

We have another day planned with rope drop to do EE, Kali, the bird show, and Dinosaur. Can't say yet whether that plan will work as planned, but in theory, those two half days could be combined into one full day.

I don’t think Kali has been opening up right at rope drop. I believe it opens an hour later or it did on our AK day.

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

We got home last night. I can't quite put my finger on when it happened, but I felt a slight shift in crowd attitudes the last few days of our trip. It started to feel a lot like my trip last fall, with everyone trying their best to enjoy, but also feeling a little edgy. A woman snapped at me yesterday when my son got too close. We were not sad our trip was ending.

I did not time any rides, but we did note that most were slightly shorter than posted waits, like 5 or 10 minutes. Food service was chaotic the entire trip and had huge crowds each time. I HIGHLY recommend putting your order in at least an hour early, then tapping 'I'm here' about 5 minutes before you actually are. BOG ran about 30 minutes behind the night of our reservation and Beaches & Cream lost our reservation completely so we had a wait there.

With that said, we experienced some memorable and wonderful moments. We really delved into WS with our kids and saw so many new things. I think we only rode three rides at EPCOT the entire day but were not sad at all. We also managed to ride on BTMR at exactly the right time during HEA and the grand finale started just as we were ratcheting up a slow climb on the first hill. It was magical and our entire train was screaming with delight. and FOTLK... I admit I cried a little. Seeing the performing arts back in action was really moving.

We are DVC and are planning on banking our next round of points and waiting on things to settle more before coming back. If any cast members read this I want you to know how much we appreciated the hard work you're putting in when so much is out of your control. I saw a lot of servers bussing tables. We had some great conversations and service.

 

[chad_1138]

HM not requiring masks until the official queue entrance.

 

[DisKaren]

We are in the Test Track line outside right now, and the cm is reminding everyone that we will need to wear an appropriate face covering indoors.