Get Excited: Downtown Disney Has Now Reopened Superthread!

[DLgal]

So, I was intrigued by the use of scent hound dogs (American Foxhounds) at Downtown Disney BEFORE you get to the security checkpoint. They made a point to tell me and my kids that we needed to walk past the dog "shoulder to shoulder as a group."

Are these Covid sniffing dogs? I read a recent article about how they can train dogs to sniff out infected individuals. Is this what they are doing? I've never seen this kind of working dog at Disneyland (it's usually Labrador or other retrievers).

Does anyone know for sure? That would be pretty cool.

 

[hiroMYhero]

DTD has no plans tomorrow for DL’s 65th Anniversary. Encouraging people to ‘commemorate the milestone at home.’

https://twitter.com/x/status/1283793607267213315

 

[midnight star]

DTD has no plans tomorrow for DL’s 65th Anniversary. Encouraging people to ‘commemorate the milestone at home.’

https://twitter.com/x/status/1283793607267213315

Probably a good thing, it would cause a big crowd and scene if there was something special going on.

 

[disneychrista]

Probably a good thing, it would cause a big crowd and scene if there was something special going on.

I agree. Anything that would encourage a large crowd should be discouraged not encouraged.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

From the DLR Reopening Superthread (7/16/20):

Did a brief trip to DTD this evening. I arrived around 5:30pm. No line for parking, temp check, or security. Inside it was slightly busier than what I saw Saturday. More people were wandering around for sure. The line for WOD wasn’t too long. They weren’t using the virtual queue. I felt that WOD was more full this time around, but I made sure to keep my distance from others. I noticed a few things:

1. 65th anniversary ears are sold out at WOD and dress shop
2. There is new Onward merchandise; pic included below. It’s not the best shot, but since it was new, there were a lot of people surrounding it so I didn’t want to get too close.
3. Some Of the mask sizes are selling out (especially large)
4. Marcelines was completely sold out of goodies. So if you are wanting goodies, I would suggest going early in the day. Only thing available were the pre packaged items
View attachment 510991

 

[WonkaKid]

Came down to DTD for the anniversary. I knew that there was nothing planned but I’ve felt isolated for the past few days and being around other people helps.

When I arrived at the line at 9:15, there were only three people ahead of me and crowds are still pretty light. I brought my laptop along so I could get some writing done, which I did. I’ll head home shortly.

Here are a few pics. I know that people have asked about mask sizes recently so I’ve included a pic of Disney's sizing chart.

 

[WonkaKid]

P.S. I also saw a couple get engaged in front of the DL gates at around 1:00 .

 

[theluckyrabbit]

P.S. I also saw a couple get engaged in front of the DL gates at around 1:00 .

That is cool! Pixie dust to them!

 

[dina444444]

I went this morning. I got to the simba lot a little after 9:30 and they were already parking cars. No line for temperature check or security. I was in DtD by 9:40 and the stores were already open. I stopped in pin traders and wonderground then went onto world of Disney and waited in a 20 minute or so line, they weren’t using mobile return yet. It was not busy at all when I got there but when I left there was a line of cars waiting to get in to park and they had blocked off the entrance to the simba lot.

 

[crystal1313]

We went 7/17 and 7/18 and had a wonderful time. I have to give major kudos as to how organized Disney is and the mobile return was great. We saw CMs enforcing the rules which was great. All the CMs we encountered were incredible!

We did see some people wearing gaiters and bandanas. Interestingly enough, all the people I saw wearing gaiters were men with baseball hats and they had they gaiters pulled all the way up over the top of their hat.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

For everyone having very positive experiences in DTD, send in a comment to Disney (use the Contact Us link at the bottom of the Disneyland webpage) to let management know what's working and what they're doing right. For those who've had a not so positive experience, write in to let Disney know what isn't working and what needs to be fixed/improved. This is a work in progress, and good communication with management can help them improve things before the parks reopen.

 

[crystal1313]

So, I was intrigued by the use of scent hound dogs (American Foxhounds) at Downtown Disney BEFORE you get to the security checkpoint. They made a point to tell me and my kids that we needed to walk past the dog "shoulder to shoulder as a group."

Are these Covid sniffing dogs? I read a recent article about how they can train dogs to sniff out infected individuals. Is this what they are doing? I've never seen this kind of working dog at Disneyland (it's usually Labrador or other retrievers).

Does anyone know for sure? That would be pretty cool.

We asked one of the handlers and they said the dogs are trained for explosives

For everyone having very positive experiences in DTD, send in a comment to Disney (use the Contact Us link at the bottom of the Disneyland webpage) to let management know what's working and what they're doing right. For those who've had a not so positive experience, write in to let Disney know what isn't working and what needs to be fixed/improved. This is a work in progress, and good communication with management can help them improve things before the parks reopen.

I wrote Disney about 4 awesome CM encounters we had and also let them know how safe we felt. ☺

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We went to DTD this evening and had a good time. A few nervous moments here and there, but overall it felt like coming back home (although back to a weird home where everyone wears masks...). Our bag check dog was a golden retriever -- handsome! Simba was only about 1/4-1/3 full, no line for temp/bag check, no big lines for shops. (And Marceline's still had treats in the cases at 6 pm.) CMs were great at being cheerful, helpful, and making sure that people wore masks and were social distancing. We made sure to thank them for working hard to keep us safe. Saw one gaiter (on a guy who was sitting reading a book), one bandana (on a pre-teen), and one face shield only (on an older woman who was using a walker). There was one incident with a large, rowdy family who was being rambunctious in front of Marceline's, not social distancing and blocking the whole walkway. Management swooped in quickly and had a plaid there right away to guide everyone along and open up the path. We really liked the hand washing stations -- so convenient and they even had hot water! Got teary in the esplanade -- was gazing at the gates and at the train station just as "When You Wish Upon a Star" started playing on the loop. Sigh. And, on a somewhat magical note, as we were walking back to Simba, we spotted Ned the cat on the lawn of the DLH! So happy!

ETA: For anyone looking for 65th anniversary march., WOD had lots of spirit jerseys, sweatshirts, t-shirts, camp shirts, Mickey ears, some Minnie ears, the Mickey plush, mugs, magnets, and frames -- but no pins.

 

[wingednike]

We went to DTD this evening and had a good time. A few nervous moments here and there, but overall it felt like coming back home (although back to a weird home where everyone wears masks...). Our bag check dog was a golden retriever -- handsome! Simba was only about 1/4-1/3 full, no line for temp/bag check, no big lines for shops. (And Marceline's still had treats in the cases at 6 pm.) CMs were great at being cheerful, helpful, and making sure that people wore masks and were social distancing. We made sure to thank them for working hard to keep us safe. Saw one gaiter (on a guy who was sitting reading a book), one bandanna (on a pre-teen), and one face shield only (on an older woman who was using a walker). There was one incident with a large, rowdy family who was being rambunctious in front of Marceline's, not social distancing and blocking the whole walkway. Management swooped in quickly and had a plaid there right away to guide everyone along and open up the path. We really liked the hand washing stations -- so convenient and they even had hot water! Got teary in the esplanade -- was gazing at the gates and at the train station just as "When You Wish Upon a Star" started playing on the loop. Sigh. And, on a somewhat magical note, as we were walking back to Simba, we spotted Ned the cat on the lawn of the DLH! So happy!

ETA: For anyone looking for 65th anniversary march., WOD had lots of spirit jerseys, sweatshirts, t-shirts, camp shirts, Mickey ears, some Minnie ears, the Mickey plush, mugs, magnets, and frames -- but no pins.

Thank you for this report. I was thinking about going yesterday but decided not to because I didn't want to gamble on it being crowded. Maybe I will go later this week when I have more time to squander.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Thank you for this report. I was thinking about going yesterday but decided not to because I didn't want to gamble on it being crowded. Maybe I will go later this week when I have more time to squander.

We arrived just after 5 pm and the crowds were low. But it got more crowded after 6-6:30 pm, when people got off work. The increase in people was noticeable. So even on a weekday evening, I would try to get there earlier rather than later. It was a nice way to spend a Monday evening!

ETA: Salt & Straw is not giving samples right now. So if you have allergies or just need to know what's in a particular flavor, don't hesitate to ask your server questions. The Blackberry & Birthday Cake flavor is yummy!

 

[wingednike]

I stopped by around 1:45 today and it is considerably busier now than it was the Sunday morning that I visited. There seem to be more groups and families. The line to WOD looks massive, it goes around the fountain, but the CMs said it was about a 15-20 minute wait. The CMs by the fountain said that was a very optimistic estimate but doable depending how quickly people left the store.

 

[midnight star]

New store opening in DTD! Passholders get a discount

 

[midnight star]

 

[theluckyrabbit]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1286352887212367872

 

[amyg1975]

If anyone is going this weekend, can you do me a favor and look at table spacing at Ballast and Naples? We have Naples booked for Wednesday night, but now that Ballast is open, we might switch. Thanks!