Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[scrappinginontario]

I keep reading on various groups about how terrible the parks are right now on weekends or especially Saturdays. So I'm having difficulty choosing a park for Saturday during our trip (we are going Wednesday through Wednesday). Does anyone have a suggestion on the best park for Saturdays? Is it bad enough that we should just make it a rest day (we usually don't need/do rest days)? Are Sundays bad as well?

I have heard recommendations that you should go to DHS on a Saturday Or Sunday. It’s running at or near capacity every day so you won’t encounter more people than other days and allows you to visit other parks on the lesser busy days.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

How do you know that it is locals that are not taking proper precautions? I assure you many Floridians are used to it. Masks have been mandatory in many counties for months now, including Orange County, Osceola County, and many others within an hour or so of Disney. And Disney has made no effort to limit attendance from locals, nor should they. AP reservations have been hard to get sometimes but not all AP's are local, and not all locals visiting use an AP to get in. Disney is trying to lure locals actually, there are special ticket deals right now.

What she described sounds like the local groups that go to F&W every year. They wear matching t-shirts. The groups have shirts like "Drunk 1, Drunk 2, etc...like Thing 1 and Thing 2. Some have lists with all the dates they do every year. Some are from UCF. I have seen them every year that we have been going to F&W.

 

[Naomeri]

We will be - we're flying Southwest so we can bring an extra bag, and we're both guys so we don't have much to bring besides clothes and our remote work stuff. I was worried because in the couple pictures I saw from the 15th, I didn't see anyone but kids dressed up and was worried we'd look ridiculous or that I had misunderstood/misread the rules!
(My partner is going as a Jedi (sans robe of course), and I'm turning my wheelchair + myself into R2D2. The only bummer is that we can only do it in MK, not DHS which would be more fun!)

Maybe you can’t do full-on costumes at DHS, but certain levels of Star Wars-bounding are acceptable, so maybe you can adapt? Here’s a Disney Parks blog with details: https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...ing-for-your-visit-to-star-wars-galaxys-edge/

 

[soniam]

I have heard recommendations that you should go to DHS on a Saturday Or Sunday. It’s running at or near capacity every day so you won’t encounter more people than other days and allows you to visit other parks on the lesser busy days.

DHS is not always running at capacity on weekdays for hotel guests. I have recently done a bunch of changes for the week of Thanksgiving. I am not convinced of this advice. I know when we went in July, DHS on opening day was very busy. A week day we went was busy but not bad. A weekend day that we went was almost as bad as the opening day.

 

[WEDWDW]

After finally giving in to our WDW Addiction and returning for the first time since the reopening,I am so glad we went!

We did miss many,many things though.

We missed:
The longer hours
The shows
F!,Epcot Forever,HEA
Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon!
Not being able to see everyone's smiles!
The College Program Cast Members
Not having the International Guests-one of the most fun and unique aspects of WDW
The "Normal" Food Court experience at Pop Century
Not having daily Housekeeping at Pop Century
Not being able to use the AoA buses and Food Court
Citizens of Hollywood
Concerts at America Gardens
Riding the FriendShips in Crescent Lake and Lake Hollywood
The ability to "meet" and have conversations with other Guests on the buses due to "Covid Dividers"
The ability to ride the Monorail from TTC to Epcot
Going to ESPN Club to watch the College Football games
Probably more than anything the International Cast Members in World Showcase
etc,.etc.


But we still had a BLAST!!!

THE CAST MEMBERS WITHOUT EXCEPTION WERE AMAZING!

Thank you to all of them and we are so sorry for the "abuse" you are receiving from some "Guests".

It was just so wonderful to hang out at the Hippy Dippy Pool listening to some Elvis Presley,flying high over WDW on the incredible Disney Skyliner,experiencing MMRR for the first time,experiencing the trailblazing Rise of the Resistance once again,catching a Movie on "The Green" at Pop Century,seeing 5 Cheetahs on Kilimanjaro Safari,etc.

We are huge Live Music people so probably the most fun we had was one night at Disney Springs in the Courtyard at House of Blues listening to David Schweizer/Life On Mars while enjoying a nice meal at a safe socially distanced table-our first Live Music experience since February.

The whole trip was such a stress reliever-Disney is doing all they can to protect the Guests!

We felt MUCH safer hanging out at WDW than going through our daily activities back at home!

My advice is this:
If you are like us and "addicted" to WDW and need a "Disney Fix",are willing to take the very small risk(IMHO) involved and can go in with the mindset "IT IS WHAT IT IS",by all means go(we will most likely be going back soon).

If you are "addicted" to WDW,BUT have doubts you can accept "IT IS WHAT IT IS",do not go-it will just "frustrate" you!

If you would be going for your First Time-do not get within ONE-HUNDRED MILES of WDW(Sorry Mickey!)-the experience now is just way too diminished for a First Timer.

One "positive" with this situation is that after experiencing "Covid Disney World" when we go back for our first visit after EVERYTHING is back to normal,it is going to almost feel like the feeling we had on our VERY first visit to WDW!

And when your trip is over you will be VERY familiar with this sign!lol

 

[brockash]

I posted on the Community board, but no replies so I thought maybe someone "There now or Just Back" might be able to report about the Splash Mountain gift shop. Any recent reports of whether it's open and if they have Splash merchandise available? And if they are restocking, is this still happening first thing in the morning?

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ETA: Are the Lion King Drum popcorn buckets still available at Animal Kingdom?

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We were there last week - really no Splash merch. The store just had generic Disney stuff.

 

[JFDIS]

Please keep in mind that busy parks mean more CM’s are able to return to their jobs and provide for their families.

 

[crazymomof4]

I know everyone has their limits, but that photo doesn't make me even remotely uncomfortable. Plenty of space, likely just walking past people, everyone I can see has a mask on. Not really seeing an issue, but that's me.

I was hoping people would zoom beyond the foreground of the pic to see what we were heading INTO. Trust me, in that crush of people inside Tomorrowland (not back where standing while taking the pic) there was 0 chance for social distancing which is constantly being announced over the loudspeaker for guests to do. I feel like if they are encouraging/expecting guests to maintain social distance, then they should limit the crowd levels to actually make it *possible*. You can't tell your goldfish to swim 6" apart and then stick 20 of them in a single glass of water! I had to had to wander around for 5 mins just to find a spot to STAND STILL and wait that was away from others. I just want to warn others coming soon not to expect anything remotely like the reports dated July/Aug. It all changed Labor Day weekend. Especially in terms of weekends.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

Not sure about the popcorn drums, but the Splash Mtn gift shop is basically empty. Some generic candy and a place to buy photos. We were really disappointed as we were hoping to buy DS something as it’s his favorite ride. thankfully, we bought Brer Fox on a trip last year but I would have loved to get him a shirt, ornament, anything. So frustrating that Disney did not do something to stop the hoarding when they opened if they weren’t going to restock! We couldn’t find Splash merchandise anywhere else, including the Christmas store.

We were there last week - really no Splash merch. The store just had generic Disney stuff.

On a related note, is the pressed penny machine in Frontierland still operating? Several of the pennies are "Splash" themed, so I'm curious if they've discontinued those or if you can still purchase the complete set?

 

[coolbrook]

On a related note, is the pressed penny machine in Frontierland still operating? Several of the pennies are "Splash" themed, so I'm curious if they've discontinued those or if you can still purchase the complete set?

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That is a great idea for a souvenir!

 

[disneygirlsng]

I was hoping people would zoom beyond the foreground of the pic to see what we were heading INTO. Trust me, in that crush of people inside Tomorrowland (not back where standing while taking the pic) there was 0 chance for social distancing which is constantly being announced over the loudspeaker for guests to do. I feel like if they are encouraging/expecting guests to maintain social distance, then they should limit the crowd levels to actually make it *possible*. You can't tell your goldfish to swim 6" apart and then stick 20 of them in a single glass of water! I had to had to wander around for 5 mins just to find a spot to STAND STILL and wait that was away from others. I just want to warn others coming soon not to expect anything remotely like the reports dated July/Aug. It all changed Labor Day weekend. Especially in terms of weekends.

I was taking the whole picture into consideration with my post, not just the foreground.

 

[lynzi2004]

On a related note, is the pressed penny machine in Frontierland still operating? Several of the pennies are "Splash" themed, so I'm curious if they've discontinued those or if you can still purchase the complete set?

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I forgot all about that being there! BUT I really don’t think I saw it there as we were turning to use the restrooms next door. I remember looking back bc it was an exit only and I was trying to see if anything was left. I hope someone there can check as we will be back in November! Great idea!

 

[linzjane88]

Please keep in mind that busy parks mean more CM’s are able to return to their jobs and provide for their families.

I just hope they adjust capacity fairly quickly in response to increased crowds. I feel like there's going to be an unavoidable lag between keeping the reduced capacity and shorter hours, etc and the increased return of guests. Presumably they would need to see a pattern of guest demand before calling all the CM back. I just hope it doesn't happen November 7 to 15! Lol.

 

[busymomma123]

My DH is in severe Disney withdrawal. He's wanting us to go for a three day weekend with the kids. I would rather wait until things get back to "normal", but three days does sound like fun. My question is how is the Disney magic without fireworks, shows, limited hours and wearing masks? Does it still feel magical there? TIA

 

[DWillowBay]

I went for 4 days in late Aug / early Sept. It was glorious. I love all the things that you listed as missing, and when they return I'll be very happy. However, it was wonderful to see "old friends" again and share in the joy of DisneyWorld. JMHO.

 

[pooch]

On a related note, is the pressed penny machine in Frontierland still operating? Several of the pennies are "Splash" themed, so I'm curious if they've discontinued those or if you can still purchase the complete set?

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My DGS will be heading down with a roll of shiny new pennies and 2 rolls of quarters. We will pick up a pressed penny book (hopefully) at Pop Century gift shop and he will spend the week happily running from machine to machine. Cheapest souvenirs ever!!

 

[Naomeri]

Here’s a whole thread of info for you: https://www.disboards.com/threads/here-now-just-back-wdw-reopening-experiences.3807247/

 

[Sarahslay]

I had a three night solo trip at the end of August, and while I did miss a lot of stuff, it was just great being back. I know things will come back eventually, but for now it was just really good to experiece what I could. It really helped scratch the disney itch, and I'll be going back both Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks without hesitation.

 

[Homemom]

We are strictly a ride family. No parades, shows, or fireworks for us. So we really enjoyed last week with low wait times and less people to bump into. It was over 90% humidity so the mask wearing was not fun, but didn’t stop us.

 

[soniam]

I was taking the whole picture into consideration with my post, not just the foreground.

Me too. However, the depth of field on the photo was very shallow, so it was a bit difficult to tell if the further crowd was just right there all together, or was from that whole depth of area near Lunching Pad and further back toward Space Mountain.