Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[serenitygr]

It's too bad they don't just grab six random single riders every once and awhile... "We're putting together a crack team of experts for this run. Smiles and Giggles you're our pilots, Dazed and Confused you're on guns, Guy With Glasses and You, Yeah You! are our engineers. Make us proud out there and try and bring the ship back in one piece or you're paying for it!"

You should be a cast member!

 

[AndreaDanger]

It's too bad they don't just grab six random single riders every once and awhile... "We're putting together a crack team of experts for this run. Smiles and Giggles you're our pilots, Dazed and Confused you're on guns, Guy With Glasses and You, Yeah You! are our engineers. Make us proud out there and try and bring the ship back in one piece or you're paying for it!"

That actually happened to me back in 2019! Our crew was all from the single rider line.

 

[lanejudy]

If we play mini golf while on our trip, will masks be required?

I wouldn't think so. Mini golf is not an attraction and I would consider it to be an "outdoor common area" -- therefore by the rules no mask required (optional).

Face coverings are required for all Guests (ages 2 and up) while indoors and in Disney buses, monorail and Disney Skyliner, regardless of vaccination status. This includes upon entering and throughout all attractions. Face coverings remain optional for all Guests in outdoor common areas.​

 

[soniam]

Smugglers single rider is the way to go for te-rides, but be prepared to be very busy if you are an engineer and it will probably be very bumpy.

Does anyone know if they are still deleting photos pass pics on rides when passengers don’t have masks on?

Can’t tell yet.

I'm guessing many were caught by surprise and may not have had enough with them. Hope they have enough in stock for those who are looking to purchase them.

I saw a ton at AK.

 

[notatallmagic]

Just got back from an 8 day trip - I can post more later (lots to catch up on); but just my quick observations:

- Pop Century did a pretty solid job. We had 3 towel/coffee/trash take outs without calling and called another time and had what we needed right away. No visible piled garbage this time, and the main pool area and landscaping were in great shape. The main building was not as clean as it used to be, and the Food Court is very blah. Still, much better than what I was expecting, and way better than our Coronado experience earlier this summer.
- The parks were WAY overcrowded. I would never recommend a first timer visit now. It was wall to wall people, with lots more rude folks (super hot, too crowded, and crazy wait times will do that to people). We have a "touring plan" of our own that works pretty well, but it was still brutal. Simply awful if you were a once and done or Disney rookie.
- Cast Members were a toss up; I'd say about a third were awesome; a third were ok, and the other third were untrained or awful. I get all the economics and HR issues, but not the typical 85% awesome, 13% ok, and 2% yuck Disney standard of the past.
- 80% of the sanitizer stations weren't full/working.
- Bathrooms were either sparkling or trashed. I didn't see any piled trash.
- Animal Kingdom and Hollywood seem to have it together. Epcots's back half is still fun, albeit gutted without the Cultural Reps and live music/shows. Food booths we tried were excellent. They front half of Epcot is brutally hot (whose idea was it to make those dividing walls black in the summer heat?) and ugly.
- Magic Kingdom was a hot mess. We did two full days there, and two nights for Happily Ever After. By far the worst crowds, clueless cast members, terrible lines, mess, angry folks...simply awful. It's my daughter's favorite park, and we were celebrating her graduation, but she even said, "this trip ALMOST killed Magic Kingdom for me." It. was. awful.
- If you need a Disability Access Pass, I will post about that later. It was dangerously terrible at Magic. I get that I'm biased, but putting untrained Cast Members in that job is not a fit, and downright dangerous. Two terrible experiences.

In summary, unless you have sunk costs like we did (airline vouchers that expired and a kid leaving for college) I would NOT visit now, especially Magic Kingdom. Yes, we found ways to enjoy things and make memories, but it was very rough.

 

[brockash]

Just got back from an 8 day trip - I can post more later (lots to catch up on); but just my quick observations:

- Pop Century did a pretty solid job. We had 3 towel/coffee/trash take outs without calling and called another time and had what we needed right away. No visible piled garbage this time, and the main pool area and landscaping were in great shape. The main building was not as clean as it used to be, and the Food Court is very blah. Still, much better than what I was expecting, and way better than our Coronado experience earlier this summer.
- The parks were WAY overcrowded. I would never recommend a first timer visit now. It was wall to wall people, with lots more rude folks (super hot, too crowded, and crazy wait times will do that to people). We have a "touring plan" of our own that works pretty well, but it was still brutal. Simply awful if you were a once and done or Disney rookie.
- Cast Members were a toss up; I'd say about a third were awesome; a third were ok, and the other third were untrained or awful. I get all the economics and HR issues, but not the typical 85% awesome, 13% ok, and 2% yuck Disney standard of the past.
- 80% of the sanitizer stations weren't full/working.
- Bathrooms were either sparkling or trashed. I didn't see any piled trash.
- Animal Kingdom and Hollywood seem to have it together. Epcots's back half is still fun, albeit gutted without the Cultural Reps and live music/shows. Food booths we tried were excellent. They front half of Epcot is brutally hot (whose idea was it to make those dividing walls black in the summer heat?) and ugly.
- Magic Kingdom was a hot mess. We did two full days there, and two nights for Happily Ever After. By far the worst crowds, clueless cast members, terrible lines, mess, angry folks...simply awful. It's my daughter's favorite park, and we were celebrating her graduation, but she even said, "this trip ALMOST killed Magic Kingdom for me." It. was. awful.
- If you need a Disability Access Pass, I will post about that later. It was dangerously terrible at Magic. I get that I'm biased, but putting untrained Cast Members in that job is not a fit, and downright dangerous. Two terrible experiences.

In summary, unless you have sunk costs like we did (airline vouchers that expired and a kid leaving for college) I would NOT visit now, especially Magic Kingdom. Yes, we found ways to enjoy things and make memories, but it was very rough.

Thank you for the honest report. Most of the things you mentioned seem to unfortunately be the norm now, but it's good to know.

 

[jujubiee4]

Just got back from an 8 day trip - I can post more later (lots to catch up on); but just my quick observations:

- Pop Century did a pretty solid job. We had 3 towel/coffee/trash take outs without calling and called another time and had what we needed right away. No visible piled garbage this time, and the main pool area and landscaping were in great shape. The main building was not as clean as it used to be, and the Food Court is very blah. Still, much better than what I was expecting, and way better than our Coronado experience earlier this summer.
- The parks were WAY overcrowded. I would never recommend a first timer visit now. It was wall to wall people, with lots more rude folks (super hot, too crowded, and crazy wait times will do that to people). We have a "touring plan" of our own that works pretty well, but it was still brutal. Simply awful if you were a once and done or Disney rookie.
- Cast Members were a toss up; I'd say about a third were awesome; a third were ok, and the other third were untrained or awful. I get all the economics and HR issues, but not the typical 85% awesome, 13% ok, and 2% yuck Disney standard of the past.
- 80% of the sanitizer stations weren't full/working.
- Bathrooms were either sparkling or trashed. I didn't see any piled trash.
- Animal Kingdom and Hollywood seem to have it together. Epcots's back half is still fun, albeit gutted without the Cultural Reps and live music/shows. Food booths we tried were excellent. They front half of Epcot is brutally hot (whose idea was it to make those dividing walls black in the summer heat?) and ugly.
- Magic Kingdom was a hot mess. We did two full days there, and two nights for Happily Ever After. By far the worst crowds, clueless cast members, terrible lines, mess, angry folks...simply awful. It's my daughter's favorite park, and we were celebrating her graduation, but she even said, "this trip ALMOST killed Magic Kingdom for me." It. was. awful.
- If you need a Disability Access Pass, I will post about that later. It was dangerously terrible at Magic. I get that I'm biased, but putting untrained Cast Members in that job is not a fit, and downright dangerous. Two terrible experiences.

In summary, unless you have sunk costs like we did (airline vouchers that expired and a kid leaving for college) I would NOT visit now, especially Magic Kingdom. Yes, we found ways to enjoy things and make memories, but it was very rough.

Thank you for posting. Your experience was where a lot of are at regarding airline vouchers that will expire. It's like it is either now or never. Horrible spot to be in looking at the crowds. I'm glad you at
least had a few good memories and made the best of it.

 

[SarahC97]

Just got back from an 8 day trip - I can post more later (lots to catch up on); but just my quick observations:

- Pop Century did a pretty solid job. We had 3 towel/coffee/trash take outs without calling and called another time and had what we needed right away. No visible piled garbage this time, and the main pool area and landscaping were in great shape. The main building was not as clean as it used to be, and the Food Court is very blah. Still, much better than what I was expecting, and way better than our Coronado experience earlier this summer.
- The parks were WAY overcrowded. I would never recommend a first timer visit now. It was wall to wall people, with lots more rude folks (super hot, too crowded, and crazy wait times will do that to people). We have a "touring plan" of our own that works pretty well, but it was still brutal. Simply awful if you were a once and done or Disney rookie.
- Cast Members were a toss up; I'd say about a third were awesome; a third were ok, and the other third were untrained or awful. I get all the economics and HR issues, but not the typical 85% awesome, 13% ok, and 2% yuck Disney standard of the past.
- 80% of the sanitizer stations weren't full/working.
- Bathrooms were either sparkling or trashed. I didn't see any piled trash.
- Animal Kingdom and Hollywood seem to have it together. Epcots's back half is still fun, albeit gutted without the Cultural Reps and live music/shows. Food booths we tried were excellent. They front half of Epcot is brutally hot (whose idea was it to make those dividing walls black in the summer heat?) and ugly.
- Magic Kingdom was a hot mess. We did two full days there, and two nights for Happily Ever After. By far the worst crowds, clueless cast members, terrible lines, mess, angry folks...simply awful. It's my daughter's favorite park, and we were celebrating her graduation, but she even said, "this trip ALMOST killed Magic Kingdom for me." It. was. awful.
- If you need a Disability Access Pass, I will post about that later. It was dangerously terrible at Magic. I get that I'm biased, but putting untrained Cast Members in that job is not a fit, and downright dangerous. Two terrible experiences.

In summary, unless you have sunk costs like we did (airline vouchers that expired and a kid leaving for college) I would NOT visit now, especially Magic Kingdom. Yes, we found ways to enjoy things and make memories, but it was very rough.

Oh, I'm really interested about the DAS pass issues you had. We're going next week and utilize DAS for a condition I have.

 

[Kimrlav]

Just wanted to share my recent experiences, I returned on Wednesday. I am from New England and had some issues with the lack of physical distancing and guests ignoring mask requirements on bus transportation. We stayed at the Yacht Club and enjoyed the visit - cast members were friendly, professional, and helpful. Mouse keeping brought extras when requested to the room and did not leave trash in the hallways. As for the parks and weather, it was very hot and without longer evening hours, it was difficult for my family. The Epcot opening at 11am was just too hot to attempt to ride any Future World attractions. We enjoyed the leisure pool at the resort and only ventured around World showcase in the evenings. We did not feel comfortable with the crowds at Hollywood Studios and did not even visit the Magic Kingdom. We decided to focus on visiting other resorts for lunch/dinner and used mobile order for a few quick service restaurants and to-go- for the Ale and Compass. We enjoyed our take-out meals from Ale and Compass very much and liked the ability to eat outside. We were fortunate that our room had a lovely patio and we could view Epcot Forever fireworks without being in the crowds of Epcot and greatly enjoyed the performances at the American Gardens Theater early in the evenings. We felt comfortable on the Safari ride and walking all the animal trails in AK.

Overall, we enjoyed the time away and being on vacation. I had planned to go again in September and stay at the Boardwalk, but decided to cancel and wait until Fastpass returns /Deluxe guest evening access, if I am paying the current rates - want to feel more comfortable with crowds, and take advantage of the offering. Again, our trip was based on our comfort level and we had a nice time, but would not recommend going if it was your first trip or you wanted to ride all the attractions.

 

[hvanes]

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.

Yesterday the park opened at 8 (we were held on the bridge to Pandora until 7:35 and on FoP by 7:53) but Kali didn't open until 9. We rode EE 3x in a row and then did Kali back to back at about 9:15.

 

[orangecuse]

Touring Plans has a lot less red in their crowd calendar after August 23rd. I'm hopeful it will hold up. We are going on the 25th.

Same here! We went years ago near labor day and itvwas pretty empty. I am hoping maybe the masks plus school will allow us lower crowds that week!

 

[cjsmom5]

I agree. Yelling at CMs solves nothing and it’s horrible to do that. When elective surgeries were canceled, they had me screening patients. OMG, never been sworn at so much in my life and I work with surgeons.

People have varying opinions about masking and such…please don’t abuse someone who has no power and control over policies and procedures. Write a letter to the higher ups if you want to.

agree - if you don't like the policy email wdw customer service and voice your objection. The individuals you see how NO -- absolutely NO input into the policy. They are just trying to bring home a paycheck.

 

[smwisc]

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.

Yes, that's right - more precisely, we are planning an "easy" RD, taking our time walking, and riding EE a couple of times, to get us to Kali at open.

 

[smwisc]

Those lanyards seem great, but I’m not sure I want my mask hanging in front of me when I’m having pictures taken.

Obviously we all have our priorities, but personally, between my squinty eyes or sunglasses, frizzy/ponytailed/hat-covered hair, and none/melted makeup - a lanyard with a mask around my neck is kinda not even on my radar.

 

[nduckles]

Obviously we all have our priorities, but personally, between my squinty eyes or sunglasses, frizzy/ponytailed/hat-covered hair, and none/melted makeup - a lanyard with a mask around my neck is kinda not even on my radar.

Add in my cooling towel and my neck fan and I look SEXY.

 

[cjsmom5]

Add in my cooling towel and my neck fan and I look SEXY.

Don't we all!!!

 

[bookgirl2632]

Obviously we all have our priorities, but personally, between my squinty eyes or sunglasses, frizzy/ponytailed/hat-covered hair, and none/melted makeup - a lanyard with a mask around my neck is kinda not even on my radar.

I mean, it’s not a major concern. I’ll just unhook it or hang it behind me, as suggested.

Add in my cooling towel and my neck fan and I look SEXY.

I tried the neck fans and wasn’t crazy about them.

 

[Marionnette]

Add in my cooling towel and my neck fan and I look SEXY.

What?!!! No over-size fanny pack to complete the look?

 

[cdurham1]

Went to Blizzard Beach this afternoon and had a perfect time. If you want an escape from any signs of the COVID shutdown, I recommend going there.

 

[disny_luvr]

Went to Blizzard Beach this afternoon and had a perfect time. If you want an escape from any signs of the COVID shutdown, I recommend going there.

We are planning on going next week while we are there and really looking forward to it. We love water parks! How were the crowds?