Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[mom2rtk]

The EPCOT ball is stunning, just amazing.

It really is. We sat there for a long time, just mesmerized. And the area isn't elbow to elbow like watching a full blown show. So enjoyable.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

It certainly is an adjustment for most regarding how crowded it's been. We visited early December and late January, normal time periods for us. It was way busier than we have experienced in the past. But we were able to do plenty of planning in advance - we just made our LL selections in the morning! It wasn't a big deal in the long run. ADRs and park reservations were set 2 months out.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

It really is. We sat there for a long time, just mesmerized. And the area isn't elbow to elbow like watching a full blown show. So enjoyable.

View attachment 646888

I think mesmerizing is the perfect word! Spectacular!

 

[GBRforWDW]

It really is. We sat there for a long time, just mesmerized. And the area isn't elbow to elbow like watching a full blown show. So enjoyable.

Agreed. We were ready to leave the park around 9, but stayed and watched the lights for 10-15 minutes. And yes, it's wonderful that you're able to spread out and also watch from different places.

 

[wisblue]

Exactly my experience!
I basically spent $15.98 for 2 rides

Some people look at it as spending $16 to avoid 1-2 hours standing in line, depending on what rides you choose and at what times.

Some people consider that a good value and some don’t.

 

[focusondisney]

I think Disney is trying to make G+ attractive by significantly limiting the number of LL spots for each attraction, thereby:

1. Making the LL super fast once you arrive
2. Making the Standby lines even longer

However by reducing the number of LL spots available each day they are:

1. Making the popular rides run out of availability by early afternoon (I mean there's typically 5-7 hours of park time left!)
2. Frustrating the purchaser of G+.

So it's counterproductive. Limiting the number of LL spots each day makes G+ look more attractive when you don't have it, but once you have it you realize the very limited capability of it. (especially compared to FP+, I have to sneak that in there )

Dan

It would seem they could increase the number of spots for each attraction without increasing the total number of LL positions sold. IMO, there should be enough spots for everyone who bought LL to ride each attraction. I know, that’s not guaranteed. But if the actual number of LL admissions are limited, you would still move thru the line pretty quick when you get there.

 

[BK2014]

Local couple, AP holders who generally do a half-day before calling it quits. We went to MK this morning. Parked at TTC, took the ferry over and got into the park at 8:40am. Watched the welcome show before heading to Buzz Lightyear, which was less than a 10 minute wait. We had a few minutes of stoppage time on the ride - which sadly was not reflected in my score. We then went to the Peoplemover, which was a walk-on. From there we headed to the Tea Cups, and walked on. Then headed to the Little Mermaid Ride - not sure what its actually called, and that was a walk on. From there we headed to Haunted Mansion. When we joined the end of the line, the app said 20 minutes. That quickly updated to 30 minutes. It ended being closer to 35 minutes before we got into the stretching room. By this time, it was about 10:40am.

We headed back to Main Street U.S.A. where DW shopped while I found a bench near the flag pole. DW wanted to see the new Adventurers cavalcade which was scheduled to start at 11:25am. By the time the cavalcade made it to our location, it was a little after 11:40am. While waiting for the Adventurers cavalcade, we saw two others - Tinkerbell and the Princesses. DW was appropriate impressed with the number of characters in the Adventurers cavalcade.

We then headed to the Contemporary to have lunch at the Steakhouse 71 Lounge. We got there right at noon and sat at the bar. We shared the burger, the macaroni and cheese and the peanut butter and jelly chicken wings. The burger was by far the best item that we ordered - we both really enjoyed it. The chicken wings were not bad. Something unique that I don't think I would feel the need to try again - but we did finish them. The mac and cheese was disappointing to me. We both love mac and cheese, and it looked really appetizing. The jalapeno flavor was too much for DW, who doesn't appreciate spiciness like I do. For me, the cheese flavor was not that strong. I am not sure what cheese(s) were used, but something sharper might have helped. The diced jalepenos were too hard - maybe pickled jalapenos would have worked better. I think it would have been better with just the mac and cheese and pork belly pieces and no jalapeno. We both agreed that we liked the lounge, and plan on returning to have another burger, and to try the onion rings and shrimp cocktail.

We were done with lunch shortly after 1:00pm, and then took the monorail back to the TTC and left. It was definitely sunnier and hotter than our trip to EPCOT last weekend.

 

[dd316]

I still don't know what the huge crowds are everyone is talking about. Was it busy when I was there last week? Sure. But I've seen it WAY worse pre-pandemic. Watching MK fireworks was the least crowded I can remember it being, we had no problem watching from the middle of Main Street, it wasn't shoulder to shoulder like I'm used to. I think a lot of people are equating long lines to big crowds, and that's not really the case. The old bottlenecks in the parks are still the same, didn't feel any different.

Genie+ feels like such a waste of money. Yes, you get through lines faster, but then what? With other offerings still limited, might as well just stand in a line and save a few bucks.

 

[leeniewdw]

It really depends on how you structure your visit. We never stay in the park all day. We go in the morning (used to RD but didn't on our last 2 trips), ride a few rides, get something to eat and then return to the hotel and (presuming it's a nice day), sit in the sun. We might even nap. Then we head back to the parks for the late afternoon/evening. I'd much rather compress the time waiting in line and open up a bigger chunk of time to do something in the middle of the day elsewhere.

With G+/ILL$ we waited almost no time for any rides. We'd rather sit and have a drink and people watch than stand in a line for a ride. We had the almost perfect day at DHS, arriving at 3pm and riding MFSR, RotR, MMRR, ToT, RnRC, TSM, Star Tours and stopped to have a beer at the Drafthouse place and another near Echo lake. Perfect use of G+/LLs . We even left before the park closed.

 

[Sarahslay]

I still don't know what the huge crowds are everyone is talking about. Was it busy when I was there last week? Sure. But I've seen it WAY worse pre-pandemic. Watching MK fireworks was the least crowded I can remember it being, we had no problem watching from the middle of Main Street, it wasn't shoulder to shoulder like I'm used to. I think a lot of people are equating long lines to big crowds, and that's not really the case. The old bottlenecks in the parks are still the same, didn't feel any different.

Genie+ feels like such a waste of money. Yes, you get through lines faster, but then what? With other offerings still limited, might as well just stand in a line and save a few bucks.

I think the problem is that it's not normally this busy during this time of year. I love going the last week of January, it's my favorite time to go. I normally go alone, but decided to bring my dad this time because it's normally not crowded and would be a good time for him to go (he's never done a proper trip, and has started having some memory issues, so I didn't want it really crowded). To say I was shocked by the crowd size was putting it lightly, it was far more crowded than it usually is this time of year, I mean WAY more crowded. Even staff were commenting to me about it, managers at BWV couldn't believe it, it was crazy. It was my 8th trip since reopening, and I don't even know how many times I've gone this time of year now, but it was nuts. I mean, I've gone on holidays, spring break, all that, and at least you can prepare yourself. It's a whole different ball game when you go in expecting the usual crowds for a certain time of year and that's not what you get.

 

[HookPan]

I think the problem is that it's not normally this busy during this time of year. I love going the last week of January, it's my favorite time to go. I normally go alone, but decided to bring my dad this time because it's normally not crowded and would be a good time for him to go (he's never done a proper trip, and has started having some memory issues, so I didn't want it really crowded). To say I was shocked by the crowd size was putting it lightly, it was far more crowded than it usually is this time of year, I mean WAY more crowded. Even staff were commenting to me about it, managers at BWV couldn't believe it, it was crazy. It was my 8th trip since reopening, and I don't even know how many times I've gone this time of year now, but it was nuts. I mean, I've gone on holidays, spring break, all that, and at least you can prepare yourself. It's a whole different ball game when you go in expecting the usual crowds for a certain time of year and that's not what you get.

I am hoping that is it. I usually go in the summer and have not been back since Covid. I am expecting a crowd, but the way people are talking I am scared it is going to be like you can't see the ground crowded pre-covid. Maybe people just are not used to it being this crowded during this time of the year?

 

[dd316]

It really depends on how you structure your visit. We never stay in the park all day. We go in the morning (used to RD but didn't on our last 2 trips), ride a few rides, get something to eat and then return to the hotel and (presuming it's a nice day), sit in the sun. We might even nap. Then we head back to the parks for the late afternoon/evening. I'd much rather compress the time waiting in line and open up a bigger chunk of time to do something in the middle of the day elsewhere.

With G+/ILL$ we waited almost no time for any rides. We'd rather sit and have a drink and people watch than stand in a line for a ride. We had the almost perfect day at DHS, arriving at 3pm and riding MFSR, RotR, MMRR, ToT, RnRC, TSM, Star Tours and stopped to have a beer at the Drafthouse place and another near Echo lake. Perfect use of G+/LLs . We even left before the park closed.

That's what we did across our 8 days. Never spent an entire day in the parks, always broken up mid-day with a trip back to the resort for some swimming or a nap. I guess the main difference is when we people watched, we watched the same people for 30-45 minutes in line.

I can see the value of Genie+ during shorter trips, though. But for us it did not make sense to spend the extra $$$.

 

[leeniewdw]

Oh yes, I should have said our trip was very short -- 2 days!

 

[GBRforWDW]

I know we've discussed this before in this thread...

Last year, Disney brought Cast Compliments to the 50th anniversary section of My Disney Experience. Now they've made it even easier to send a compliment!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1493603838540103689

To access Mobile Cast Compliment, search “Cast Compliment” in the My Disney Experience mobile app (you can also conveniently find it in a few other parts of the app, too).

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...t-disney-world/?CMP=SOC-DPFY22Q1wo0210220046A
One other location is in the 3 line menu on the bottom right corner:


The updated form allows you to recognize a specific cast member. (This is optional if you still want to recognize an entire group)

 

[nancyrye]

I think the problem is that it's not normally this busy during this time of year. I love going the last week of January, it's my favorite time to go. I normally go alone, but decided to bring my dad this time because it's normally not crowded and would be a good time for him to go (he's never done a proper trip, and has started having some memory issues, so I didn't want it really crowded). To say I was shocked by the crowd size was putting it lightly, it was far more crowded than it usually is this time of year, I mean WAY more crowded. Even staff were commenting to me about it, managers at BWV couldn't believe it, it was crazy. It was my 8th trip since reopening, and I don't even know how many times I've gone this time of year now, but it was nuts. I mean, I've gone on holidays, spring break, all that, and at least you can prepare yourself. It's a whole different ball game when you go in expecting the usual crowds for a certain time of year and that's not what you get.

Just got back from a week 1/29-2/5. Expecting low crowds based on previous years and Touring Plans prediction. Agree that the crowds were over the top. Biggest rides easily 50 - 60 minutes all times of day. (I stayed for extended hours one night and that didn't help)

Talking to DD who is super fan about all this and she says that's because Disney has started to offer promotions to international visitors for times when it has been low for US visitors.

Sure enough just looked at a Canada promo that offers $100 off a room per night for 5 nights. This promo started 1/2.
US same promo, starts March. And this was just Canada, have no idea about other countries promos.

Also heard bellhops discussing this very same thing. "January and February have never been this busy" "Guess it's good to get any price for the rooms as opposed to leaving them empty"

Makes sense for Disney revenue. Just not fun for us. It looks like there will never be a "low time" again.
Have decided to take a break on visiting every year for 15 years, and won't return for a few years after this unenjoyable trip.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Just got back from a week 1/29-2/5. Expecting low crowds based on previous years and Touring Plans prediction. Agree that the crowds were over the top. Biggest rides easily 50 - 60 minutes all times of day. (I stayed for extended hours one night and that didn't help)

Talking to DD who is super fan about all this and she says that's because Disney has started to offer promotions to international visitors for times when it has been low for US visitors.

Sure enough just looked at a Canada promo that offers $100 off a room per night for 5 nights. This promo started 1/2.
US same promo, starts March. And this was just Canada, have no idea about other countries promos.

Also heard bellhops discussing this very same thing. "January and February have never been this busy" "Guess it's good to get any price for the rooms as opposed to leaving them empty"

Makes sense for Disney revenue. Just not fun for us. It looks like there will never be a "low time" again.
Have decided to take a break on visiting every year for 15 years, and won't return for a few years after this unenjoyable trip.

Yes, I was there the same time and it was very busy. More than International guests I believe many of the crowds were due to people moving trips that were previously scheduled summer/fall 2021 when things spiked in FL. We were originally scheduled to go in Aug/Sep 2021 so I was part of both of those months. A large number of people reported delaying their trips and Jan/Feb 2022 were where most moved them to.

Also, although International offers were in place they were EXTREMELY limited in availability!! I checked within 30 mins of the offer dropping and as a Canadian there was nothing at all I could find for our dates or dates around ours.

 

[Nutmeg2016]

(I stayed for extended hours one night and that didn't help)

That's really disappointing to hear. I've only heard (mostly) great things about extended evening hours, and it's a major reason why we're splurging big time (for us) to stay at WL in late April.

Can you elaborate a little on your experience?

Thanks!

 

[lovethattink]

Mask policy change starting Feb 17. No longer required for vaccinated, but expected for unvaccinated. Masks are still required on all Disney Transportation.

 

[boredghost]

Mask policy change starting Feb 17. No longer required for vaccinated, but encouraged for unvaccinated. Masks are still required on all Disney Transportation.

To clarify masks are *expected* for the unvaccinated- encouraged implies optional, that is not the language used.

 

[lovethattink]

To clarify masks are *expected* for the unvaccinated- encouraged implies optional, that is not the language used.

Thank you, edited to expected.