Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[robinb]

Is there anywhere capacity numbers were confirmed? I was there last week and it fell crazy busy to me. We left on Saturday and saw that right after the Chapek call, this week (starting with Monday) went all green again on availability. I was thinking it would be a madhouse if it increased even more from what we experienced the 9-15.

I don't think there are any "official" numbers but I heard that it went from 35% total capacity to 50% total capacity and all the parks that were partially sold out for my time next week were suddenly all green. They have now returned to be all sold out or only Epcot remaining. I'm not sure if that means that people all moved to the other parks or that people made last minute plans. I am a Christmas/NYE veteran so I know how to handle "madhouse" but I'm not looking forward to it. *sigh*

 

[scrappinginontario]

How is bus availability for park hopping or when you want to take your bus back to your hotel for an afternoon break? Do you have to wait long? I'm contemplating if we'll go the Uber route to not deal with waiting.

It does, but the resort loop goes clockwise so you would pass the Poly to get to GF then walk back to the Poly. Also, as @MomOTwins indicated, the walk from GF is further than that from the TTC.

 

[Leigh L]

The fact that Laugh Floor is not open is absurd at this point, what is their reasoning? Also Turtle Talk with Crush..why can’t it go?

From what I understand for the Laugh Floor is it's small working quarters, but as distancing decreases and guidance evolves, maybe it's possible. The other possible reason is that it's a highly interactive show and with the mics, that would be hard to social distance unless they somehow adjusted the show?

I've only been in Turtle Talk once or twice but see others have mentioned how tight it is in there.

 

[RunWI1265]

Just returned a few days ago from a long split stay May 4-13. It was me, my husband, 4yo and 2.5yo. My 4yo and I have gone twice in pandemic time (mid-sept & end of Jan-earlyFeb). First trip back as a family since May 2019 (two cancelled trips in between). I don’t have much to add now that everything has changed since our return (masks, distancing, capacity...) but I’ll point out a few things I feel are helpful. We split at Dolphin ending at Contemporary. Flew Southwest and places both ways were not full. We were able to get two rows to ourselves both times. There was even empty rows on our return flight. MCO is much busier though! Get that TSA pre-check everyone!! We arrived to Dolphin using Tony Hinds. Worked out great and we utilized the grocery stop. In these times I have found the ability to walk to 3 out of the 4 parks is such an advantage. The first unofficial hour open + first hourish open the parks were dead. We always went back to the hotel midday for kid naps and to get out of the heat ( WOW it was hot, hot, hot during our stay). The big walking advantage we saw on our other trips is no longer there but still helpful.

Mobile ordering in parks and at resorts were never an issue. We were always able to grab a slot whenever we wanted. My vegetarian husband said he had the best eating experience he has ever had on a trip. He loves all the new vegetarian options. My daughter has a peanut allergy and we were so excited to see some new Disney branded snacks made in nut-free facilities. There was also a couple Disney chocolate bars made by Enjoy Life. According to a CM they had just received the products two weeks prior. Love that my kid can go into a shop and pick out a Disney snack that is safe for her. She was also able to safely eat ice cream at Beaches and Cream which was awesome.

Dolphin -> Contemporary transfer wasn't seamless, but we survived. Husband had to Uber with the bags as S&D currently does not offer bag transfer. Our room wasn't ready until closer to 5pm which meant our kids went without a nap and we were stranded. Wasn't great for my 2.5yo which some people on the 4th floor of the Contemporary may have heard. Contemporary review will be in the resort thread. We had some sleep issues with our youngest (no such thing as Disney tired for her!!) and the front desk was SO helpful to us.

Won't go into wait times and masks as that no longer applies. We arrived home and things changed. I am grateful we got back before the change as it happened so quickly I'm not sure how I would have felt with my two unvaccinated kids around many unmasked people. We rode everything we wanted, multiple times with tolerable waits. Wait times seemed more accurate than our past trips but definitely inflated at times as well. Early mornings, back to the hotel midday, parks late evenings. It was an incredibly challenging trip with my 2.5yo surprisingly having nothing to do with masks so that is a bummer. But we realized the trip is much like child birth/raising kids. You forget the bad and are ready for the next one. Our kids will say they had the best time, but my husband and I.... For anyone in similar situations we realized the best thing for us to do was split up. One parent would rope drop with our 4yo and the other would stay back until the 2.5yo woke up. Some mornings we'd meet up in the parks other mornings we'd do the parks separate. The way these two kids feed off each other was nothing like I've ever seen. WILD. We'd go back to the park in the late afternoon as a family and then one parent would bring the youngest back to the hotel for dinner/bed and the other parent would close the night with the 4yo. Not ideal when after this year we wanted a"family" trip but you gotta be flexible and roll with it.

We're ready to plan the next trip but waiting to see where Disney goes from here. With capacity increases and without the reintroduction of FP in some form I don't know when we will return. In the past we were strictly a FP family so waiting is something we are not used to. As always, any questions feel free to ask! Although our experience was before all the changes so seems inaccurate now.

EDIT: Forgot to add we ate at Topolino's and Chef Mickeys for breakfast and both were delicious! Much better than buffet style!

 

[Magnoliafan]

We waited for muppets in the beginning of March...after waiting 30 mins and seeing how much farther we had to go just to get into the main building we bailed...it was just crazy to us...I can't believe the kind of lines we've waited in since reopening...we never waited anything close to those times precovid.

The theater is still distanced though, right? Seating every other row and marking off multiple seats between parties of four. The lines for shows are all going to be extra long as a result. I did Impressions de France on Saturday nights and the theater was at capacity even though there were a ton of empty seats. Empty rows, seats blocked off, and empty “available” seats whenever a party had less than 4 people (so as a solo, I had 3 empty seats in my “group” plus the marked seats in front of me, behind me, and to both sides). So it’s not just opening closed entertainment that will help. Increasing capacity in people eater attractions like Muppets and Philharmagic (plus seating every row in POTC and IASW) would also make a huge difference.

And to the park hopping question, I avoided buses whenever I could during my May 1-16 trip and strategically used the monorail, Skyliner and boats. I also eyeballed bus lines to determine the quickest option. If I was at MK and wanted to hop to Epcot but the bus line was super long, I would check the line for the Beach Club instead and then walk over. I had multiple bus rides with only one or two other parties and never once rode on a bus that was at full capacity.

 

[DisneyFive]

I also eyeballed bus lines to determine the quickest option. If I was at MK and wanted to hop to Epcot but the bus line was super long, I would check the line for the Beach Club instead and then walk over. I had multiple bus rides with only one or two other parties and never once rode on a bus that was at full capacity.

Veteran move. Nicely done.

Dan

 

[EPCOT-O.G.]

So, moral of the story is that word has filtered to the masses that the parks are opening 45-60 minutes prior to stated time. Getting to the parks early is still the best advice, but don't think you are going to breeze on everything for that first two hours as used to be the case. The sea of humanity is arriving prior to the 10:30 - 11:00 a.m. time it used to hit the parks.

They should really implement the “early morning half hour” thing they’ve been promising for months for resort guests

 

[EPCOT-O.G.]

Veteran move. Nicely done.

Dan

We did the same, but with the bus to Riviera instead of CBR

 

[jlundeen]

snip...
And to the park hopping question, I avoided buses whenever I could during my May 1-16 trip and strategically used the monorail, Skyliner and boats. I also eyeballed bus lines to determine the quickest option. If I was at MK and wanted to hop to Epcot but the bus line was super long, I would check the line for the Beach Club instead and then walk over. I had multiple bus rides with only one or two other parties and never once rode on a bus that was at full capacity.

This actually backfired on us during our April trip.... we wanted to go to MK after Epcot, and got to the Epcot bus area. A driver happened to walk by as we were waiting and suggested the Contemporary bus, as he said it came more frequently. "Great idea!" we thought, thanked him, and started off.

So we walked around and got to the empty Contemp bus area, only to look across to the Epcot bus loading and pulling away.... we waited at least another 10+ minutes for the Contemp bus, and still had to walk from there.

Definitely didn't save us any time... LOL. But, as they say, timing is everything!

 

[canyoncam]

Flew Southwest and places both ways were not full. We were able to get two rows to ourselves both times. There was even empty rows on our return flight. MCO is much busier though! Get that TSA pre-check everyone!!

Just my fortune! Both my flights on SW out of Denver were sold out with people waiting stand-by too. But Denver is a major hub so I’ve come to expect that. If you don’t purchase Early Bird, aren’t an A-lister, don’t have small children, DO NOT expect anything lower than a B30 boarding number out of Denver.
I second you on MCO security. I have never had less than a 30 minute line. Security in Denver did not have any of the regular rules-liquids and large electronics out of your bags or taking of your shoes but MCO was as strict as ever. Which isn’t a bad thing.

 

[RunWI1265]

Just my fortune! Both my flights on SW out of Denver were sold out with people waiting stand-by too. But Denver is a major hub so I’ve come to expect that. If you don’t purchase Early Bird, aren’t an A-lister, don’t have small children, DO NOT expect anything lower than a B30 boarding number out of Denver.
I second you on MCO security. I have never had less than a 30 minute line. Security in Denver did not have any of the regular rules-liquids and large electronics out of your bags or taking of your shoes but MCO was as strict as ever. Which isn’t a bad thing.

Ah, yeah we layover a lot in Denver when traveling west. We were on a direct out of Milwaukee so we have a couple other airports people can spread out to. Wasn’t expecting the planes to still be that empty. They even had rebooked us on a different flight because they added one and switched the times. I assumed it would be full!

 

[Kerr84]

EDIT: Forgot to add we ate at Topolino's and Chef Mickeys for breakfast and both were delicious! Much better than buffet style!

Which one did you like better? I’m trying to decide between the two. We will have 2 almost two year olds with us. Thank you!

 

[RunWI1265]

Which one did you like better? I’m trying to decide between the two. We will have 2 almost two year olds with us. Thank you!

Topolino’s 1000%!! So good! Our server was the best. Plus the whole atmosphere of the Riviera is fantastic. They have Mickey waffles with dipping sauces for kids and the whole presentation was such a hit with our kids! We did like the family style food at Chef Mickey’s better than what we had when we ate their buffet a couple years ago. Both did a great job with character interaction.

 

[OhioWDWDuo]

Thanks to all of the reports here; they were a HUGE help in planning our trip! This will be a long post, but I want to give back to the thread that helped me so much!

Our trip was May 9-15, stayed at the Yacht Club. We are annual passholders (not locals) who renewed our APs. Since we go at least once per year, we were not concerned with rope drop or maximizing rides. We wanted this trip to be relaxing after a stressful year. Full disclosure: We are fully vaccinated which made our comfort level for this trip very high. We also visited in September 2020 (we drove from Ohio for that trip), and this trip definitely had a more positive atmosphere. We were there when masks were still required outside. The first day of the change was our departure day and we left for the airport at 5 am, so we had no experience with the changed rules (although it’s a welcome change). I won’t list day-by-day details, but I organized my thoughts into the positives and negatives from the trip. Happy to answer any questions!

Positives:
1. Social distancing in lines: Even though this is being reduced to 3 feet, it’s SO nice not having others right on your heels!
2. Social distancing on transportation: Some will disagree with this and I know it won’t last forever, but we loved not having to stand on the busses literally face-to-face with others. It was nice to have some space.
3. Mobile order: Loved this! We placed our lunch orders early so that we had our pick of times. Recommend doing this if you want to eat at peak times. Also loved the CMs guarding the doors so only those with orders ready could enter the seating areas. I can’t tell you how many times in the past we walked around with trays of food looking for a table. This was such an efficient way to run the CS restaurants and much less stressful for guests.
4. Table service to go: We only did this once and it was for breakfast, but loved this! Since the QS menus are so limited right now, it was nice to have a TS option for carry out. We saw lots of guests taking advantage of this at the resort.
5. Pool hours: Stormalong Bay and the leisure pools had long hours, which was nice since the parks did not.
6. CMs: Almost all CMs that we interacted with were great and were working REALLY hard!
7. Good mask compliance: Again, we were there before the outdoor mask mandate was lifted. It was HARD to walk around with masks outside in 93 degrees! We saw pretty good compliance both outdoors and indoors during our trip. Witnessed a few guests push back with CMs when asked to pull up masks (indoors), but nothing out of control.
8. Character cavalcades: Saw them in all 4 parks during our visit. Loved these!
9. New park entrance security: So much easier on both guests and security CMs. Quickly learned to remove umbrellas, glasses cases, and external batteries from bags and hold out in front of you when walking through the scanners.
10. Entertainment in Epcot: Really enjoyed the Voices of Liberty and Mariachi Cobre performances in Epcot. We stayed for multiple sets. Live entertainment is something we’ve really missed and hope they bring more of it back!
11. Bus times in the MDE App: Convenient and accurate.
12. Friendly guests: For the most part, other guests we interacted with were friendly and happy to be there. The atmosphere was positive and a welcome change from our last pandemic trip back in the early fall.

So-So:
1. Restaurant food: Most of what we ate was good not great. Wished the menus weren’t so limited but understand why. Food quality was good but definitely lower than pre-COVID.
2. Merchandise: I’m a shopper and really couldn’t find much that I wanted to buy.
3. Evening atmosphere in the parks: Felt off to us. No buzz in the air or excitement about fireworks or evening entertainment, I guess.

Negatives:
1. Bugs: I am usually a bug magnet, but I hardly ever got bit on previous trips to Disney. This trip was totally different. I don’t know if they cut down on pest control to try to save money, but it sure seemed like it. I was eaten alive in Epcot one evening. After that night, I carried bug wipes and used them for evenings out. We also noticed lots of other guests walking around with visible bites on legs and arms…something that we haven’t noticed before. If you are susceptible to bites, recommend bringing your own bug repellant and using it consistently.
2. Housekeeping: This was an unexpected downer. Lack of housekeeping impacted our trip because we were constantly having to call or chat for additional items/service. The trash containers are tiny and they fill up quickly, especially with take out food. I asked for every other day trash removal/towel refresh, but we were missed more than once which necessitated calls. When they did come, we wouldn’t get towels replaced or coffee refilled, which required another call. It was an annoyance to have on vacation. For the resort prices, I expect better! We also checked into a very dusty room, which certainly made me doubt the “enhanced cleaning” protocols. This is something I will be emailing Disney about, because it was a big disappointment.
3. Short park hours: We are not rope drop people and didn’t really care about maximizing rides. We wanted to be more relaxed on this trip. That being said, we enjoy nights in the parks. The short hours are a bummer. This is related to my next negative…
4. No Fastpasses: We were pros with FP+ in the past. Waiting in lines on this trip made us feel like we weren’t getting our “money’s worth” in the parks. Yes, I know we could have rope dropped and that was our decision. But crowds have really picked up and the lines are long. Wait times were also pretty accurate on MDE in our experience. As crowds continue to increase, they need to change something or there will be lots of unhappy customers!
5. A few guests not social distancing: In one line, we literally had another couple right on our heels/backs. I asked them numerous times to give us some space, but they either didn’t speak English or pretended not to. Luckily, this was the only bad instance with this. The guy physically bumped into my back twice, so my report is not exaggerated. This was at AK and it was so HOT; not sure why they would want to stand right on top of anyone, let alone a stranger. And they were not on their phones; they seemed to realize what they were doing…strange but luckily not the norm.
6. CROWDS! This is not just from social distancing either. We’ve been going in early May for the past several years and this year was crowded. Disney needs to open more shows, restaurants, and character greetings ASAP! It’s only going to get worse with increased capacity, so they need to do something quickly!
7. No Tables in Wonderland: This was the last month on our extension to use TIW. We are going to REALLY miss this! If Disney doesn’t bring it back or delays it further, we will just adjust our restaurant spending down. Hopefully as they open more restaurants, this will come back.
8. Pool temperature: Stormalong Bay was cold! And we heard that same comment from many other guests while using the pool. We heard rumors that Disney was adjusting pool heating to save money. Another bad move. Still our favorite pool and love spending time there, but we spent less time actually in the water because it was cold.
9. Restaurant ADRs: Difficult to get. For the first time, Touring Plans alerts did not come through for me, even at the last minute. I think with the lack of restaurant availability, people are holding onto ADRs and not cancelling like they would in the past. If table service is important to you, be online right at 6 am EST 60 days out to get those ADRs!
10. Bus lines: At the YC, there were no defined lines or bus attendant (for the times we were there). This caused chaos when a bus pulled up. People weren’t recognizing others who were there first and being very pushy. At times, there was yelling between parties of guests which made it stressful for others and the bus driver. If reduced capacity on busses continue, Disney needs to get bus attendants at the resorts to maintain order. At the parks, we didn’t have this problem because of the defined lines. Obviously we can’t trust everyone to wait their turn and not be rude...
11. Having to deal with luggage: OMG- we really miss the luggage handling services and Resort Airline Check-in services! This was our first flying trip without it. The airport luggage area was mobbed and was the only place that made us feel uncomfortable. These services (including Magical Express) will definitely be missed!

Even though I have just as many negatives as positives, we still had a great trip and we’re glad that we visited. We want to return again during the summer but will be watching the crowd reports before making a final decision. I know this was lengthy, but I’m happy to answer questions or provide more info. I also plan on doing a mini-dining report on the restaurants board. Thanks!

 

[lovethattink]

Went to AK near closing today. Arrived around 5:15pm. Rode Triceratop Spin, Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids, Maharajah Jungle Trek, and Kilimanjaro Safari. Didn’t wait more than 5 minutes for anything!

 

[elittleton]

I also realized how much of the queues we were missing out on, some of which are pretty cool to check out. Now, do I want to wait in line just for the sake of checking out the queue - uh, no. But standing in line for a ride at WDW is an entirely different experience than standing in line at Six Flags or somewhere like that. My oldest does not really care for ToT ride itself, but wants to go on it because he has great memories of how cool the queue was when we waiting in line in the past.

My DD14 wants to go on ToT for the ride then take the chicken exit since she found out it was option just to see the queue.

Oh my gosh..a boy peeing next to the carousel? Unbelievable!!! At that point, I don't know if I could have stuck out the day at MK.

When my DD was 4 we were standing in line for Speed Way. We had to get out of line for her to got it the bathroom. She couldn’t understand why the little boy in line didn’t have to leave when he went. The good thing is we were already planning to leave for the day.

Wed: our flight was delayed due to Orlando weather (we were flying from Birmingham)......

Hello from someone else from the Birmingham area. How was the Birmingham airport?

 

[Rosanne]

That wait was actually 60 minutes when we were there! We didn't go in...

Wow! I can't imagine waiting that long for Muppets. I love them, but ... Wow! Glad we only have one HS day booked.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Masks and social distancing are pretty much over my son was a hit today in the park lol he’s learning to walk and so many people came and said nice words to interact with people at Disney and not feel afraid of one another is a miracle.

Book your trip and get down here!

 

[stephnerninnie1984]

They were changing the stickers from 6' to 3' in MK the day we left on 5/14/21. Not sure if they have it fully instituted, but that is the direction they are going. According to information we were given last week.

When we were there in 5/16 I didn’t notice any stickers being close together and we rode most everything. Everything was still 6 feet apart.

 

[Krisshay13]

My DD14 wants to go on ToT for the ride then take the chicken exit since she found out it was option just to see the queue.


When my DD was 4 we were standing in line for Speed Way. We had to get out of line for her to got it the bathroom. She couldn’t understand why the little boy in line didn’t have to leave when he went. The good thing is we were already planning to leave for the day.


Hello from someone else from the Birmingham area. How was the Birmingham airport?

Birmingham airport was fine..........we flew out Wed around 4PM.........no crowds or issues
Orlando airport was PACKED