Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[pooch]

Is getting to Epcot by skyline from pop as difficult as it appears to be to DHS?

 

[DCLMP]

Is getting to Epcot by skyline from pop as difficult as it appears to be to DHS?

No, not at all. You will have to change Skyliners at Caribbean beach, but it's fast and easy.

 

[Naomeri]

Magic Kingdom Day
Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Today was my first park day, after arriving yesterday and going to Disney Springs for dinner. I’m staying solo at Pop Century, and relying completely on Disney transportation during my stay.

After waking up at 7:15, I ordered my lunch at Cosmic Ray’s in order to lock in my desired lunchtime. I got a slow start actually gettin gout the door, and didn’t arrive at the Magic Kingdom bus line until 7:50. The line snaked all around, but Pop had cast members directing traffic and everyone did pretty well following distancing and staying in the right pat of the snake. The first bus arrived at 8:05 and it was a double. More buses followed right behind it and continued arriving constantly. I got on a bus at 8:20 and it left at 8:24. We arrived at MK at 8:40; there was no wait for temp check and I was done with that 2 minutes after arrival. Made it through security and tapstiles by 8:45, and in line for Pirates at 8:58 (I stopped for a couple pics/selfies with the pretty new castle)

PotC had a delayed start and the line didn’t start moving until 9:08, and I was on at 9:18. Next up was BTMM at 9:29, which had a posted wait of 25 minutes. I was on the ride at 9:47, moving almost constantly through the queue. By the time I got off, the line stretched onto the bridge. Haunted Mansion had a posted wait of 20 minutes, and I walked on in 10 (never stopped moving for more than 2 seconds through the queue, so I consider that walking on).

I didn’t do much in Fantasyland because it’s not really my thing, but I felt like sitting for a bit, so I headed for Philharmagic. I walked right in as far as the auditorium doors, where I did end up waiting the posted 10 minutes until 10:25 because of a cleaning cycle. I almost did 7DMT, but it was posted at 45 minutes, and I had mobile order for Cosmic Ray’s from 11-11:30 and I didn’t want to miss or delay it if the wait time ended up being accurate.

Instead, I headed for Space Mountain and it’s posted 25 minute wait. I arrived at 10:47, and was on the ride at 11:05. They were running both sides of the ride today and I got sent to the left. After I got off, as I walking through the exit queue, I hit “I’m here” for my lunch order at 11:08. My food was ready at 11: 12, which is right when I arrived. I got a seat inside and felt very safe taking off my mask for my first public indoor meal since the 2nd week of March.

I hung out and ate my very tasty bacon cheeseburger and fries, and then headed over to Buzz Lightyear. It was posted as 15 minutes at 11:43, and I was in my ride vehicle at 11:55 (I scored 29,800 because I’m terrible at things that require hand-eye coordination ) After Buzz, I walked to Carousel of Progress at noon with just a couple minute wait to get in. By this time, I needed a resort cooldown, so I started walking toward the exit, stopping for a Purple Cauldron popcorn bucket in the Hub, and caught the Winnie the Pooh and friends cavalcade. On the way out, I decided I wanted cinnamon roll for tomorrow morning, so I hit the bakery, which delayed me long enough to see a second cavalcade (Goofy and Max dance party?)

The bus to Pop arrived at 1:04, exactly the same time I did, but we had to sit around for about 15 minutes because of a driver switch and to fill more seats (I thought I was going to have a private ride for a while). The Hippy Dippy pool was not at all crowded and felt wonderful after my park morning. It started to sprinkle a bit, and looked like it was heading towards a proper rain, so I headed back to my room to wait it out.

About 4, I was ready to head back to MK to see if I could knock out all 3 Mountains in the short time left in the park hours. I hit the bus stop at 4:08 and a bus was waiting, and we left Pop at 4:14. I walked through the MK tapstiles for the 2nd time today at 4:34 and followed the Main Street Philharmagic band down Main Street (which makes walking really easy because everyone steps to the edge of the sidewalk to watch and you can just buzz right by).

Space Mountain was posted as 10 minutes at 4:42 and it takes that long just to walk through the 8 billion miles of queue winding around in there. I got sent to the right this time and got on at 4:52. Headed for the other side of the park and the rest of the Mountains. BTMM was down when I got there, so I hit Splash, which was posted as 30 minutes at 5:10. I was on the ride at 5:15 and my face got very wet when we hit the Briar Patch but the rest of me stayed reasonably dry. BTTM was up and running at 5:32 with a posted 35 minute wait. I was on at 5:58, and completed my “3-Mountains-in-Less-than-2-Hours” challenge. Hit the Pop bus stop at 615, constant buses coming, and I was sitting in a seat at 6:28.

TL;DR: rides times are mostly close/somewhat shorter than posted, pre-planning lunch is super helpful, I walked a lot (18,536 steps/7.57 miles, according to my AppleWatch) but stood around very little, which makes my feet and knees much happier. Oh, and my mask didn’t particularly annoy me, and mostly everyone else was good about it.

PS: I apologize to every single person who was ahead of me in a line today, I haven’t broken myself of the Disney conditioning to fill all available space and I frequently found myself creeping forward more than I ought to have. I shall endeavor to do better at HS tomorrow

 

[imjen]

Magic Kingdom Day
Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Today was my first park day, after arriving yesterday and going to Disney Springs for dinner. I’m staying solo at Pop Century, and relying completely on Disney transportation during my stay.

After waking up at 7:15, I ordered my lunch at Cosmic Ray’s in order to lock in my desired lunchtime. I got a slow start actually gettin gout the door, and didn’t arrive at the Magic Kingdom bus line until 7:50. The line snaked all around, but Pop had cast members directing traffic and everyone did pretty well following distancing and staying in the right pat of the snake. The first bus arrived at 8:05 and it was a double. More buses followed right behind it and continued arriving constantly. I got on a bus at 8:20 and it left at 8:24. We arrived at MK at 8:40; there was no wait for temp check and I was done with that 2 minutes after arrival. Made it through security and tapstiles by 8:45, and in line for Pirates at 8:58 (I stopped for a couple pics/selfies with the pretty new castle)

PotC had a delayed start and the line didn’t start moving until 9:08, and I was on at 9:18. Next up was BTMM at 9:29, which had a posted wait of 25 minutes. I was on the ride at 9:47, moving almost constantly through the queue. By the time I got off, the line stretched onto the bridge. Haunted Mansion had a posted wait of 20 minutes, and I walked on in 10 (never stopped moving for more than 2 seconds through the queue, so I consider that walking on).

I didn’t do much in Fantasyland because it’s not really my thing, but I felt like sitting for a bit, so I headed for Philharmagic. I walked right in as far as the auditorium doors, where I did end up waiting the posted 10 minutes until 10:25 because of a cleaning cycle. I almost did 7DMT, but it was posted at 45 minutes, and I had mobile order for Cosmic Ray’s from 11-11:30 and I didn’t want to miss or delay it if the wait time ended up being accurate.

Instead, I headed for Space Mountain and it’s posted 25 minute wait. I arrived at 10:47, and was on the ride at 11:05. They were running both sides of the ride today and I got sent to the left. After I got off, as I walking through the exit queue, I hit “I’m here” for my lunch order at 11:08. My food was ready at 11: 12, which is right when I arrived. I got a seat inside and felt very safe taking off my mask for my first public indoor meal since the 2nd week of March.

I hung out and ate my very tasty bacon cheeseburger and fries, and then headed over to Buzz Lightyear. It was posted as 15 minutes at 11:43, and I was in my ride vehicle at 11:55 (I scored 29,800 because I’m terrible at things that require hand-eye coordination ) After Buzz, I walked to Carousel of Progress at noon with just a couple minute wait to get in. By this time, I needed a resort cooldown, so I started walking toward the exit, stopping for a Purple Cauldron popcorn bucket in the Hub, and caught the Winnie the Pooh and friends cavalcade. On the way out, I decided I wanted cinnamon roll for tomorrow morning, so I hit the bakery, which delayed me long enough to see a second cavalcade (Goofy and Max dance party?)

The bus to Pop arrived at 1:04, exactly the same time I did, but we had to sit around for about 15 minutes because of a driver switch and to fill more seats (I thought I was going to have a private ride for a while). The Hippy Dippy pool was not at all crowded and felt wonderful after my park morning. It started to sprinkle a bit, and looked like it was heading towards a proper rain, so I headed back to my room to wait it out.

About 4, I was ready to head back to MK to see if I could knock out all 3 Mountains in the short time left in the park hours. I hit the bus stop at 4:08 and a bus was waiting, and we left Pop at 4:14. I walked through the MK tapstiles for the 2nd time today at 4:34 and followed the Main Street Philharmagic band down Main Street (which makes walking really easy because everyone steps to the edge of the sidewalk to watch and you can just buzz right by).

Space Mountain was posted as 10 minutes at 4:42 and it takes that long just to walk through the 8 billion miles of queue winding around in there. I got sent to the right this time and got on at 4:52. Headed for the other side of the park and the rest of the Mountains. BTMM was down when I got there, so I hit Splash, which was posted as 30 minutes at 5:10. I was on the ride at 5:15 and my face got very wet when we hit the Briar Patch but the rest of me stayed reasonably dry. BTTM was up and running at 5:32 with a posted 35 minute wait. I was on at 5:58, and completed my “3-Mountains-in-Less-than-2-Hours” challenge. Hit the Pop bus stop at 615, constant buses coming, and I was sitting in a seat at 6:28.

TL;DR: rides times are mostly close/somewhat shorter than posted, pre-planning lunch is super helpful, I walked a lot (18,536 steps/7.57 miles, according to my AppleWatch) but stood around very little, which makes my feet and knees much happier. Oh, and my mask didn’t particularly annoy me, and mostly everyone else was good about it.

PS: I apologize to every single person who was ahead of me in a line today, I haven’t broken myself of the Disney conditioning to fill all available space and I frequently found myself creeping forward more than I ought to have. I shall endeavor to do better at HS tomorrow

Sounds like a fantastic day with really good wait times.

Does Splash Mountain typically get you very wet? I'm a DL vet and sometimes wear a poncho on Splash Mtn at DL because I've walked away quite soaked before. How fast do you usually dry off in Florida?

 

[Naomeri]

Sounds like a fantastic day with really good wait times.

Does Splash Mountain typically get you very wet? I'm a DL vet and sometimes wear a poncho on Splash Mtn at DL because I've walked away quite soaked before. How fast do you usually dry off in Florida?

It really was a good day. I actually hadn’t been on Splash in YEARS, it was down for refurbs the last 2 trips. I was prepared to get soaked, and that’s why it was supposed to be the last ride of the day. I stuffed a ziploc in my pocket for my phone during Splash, and left my bag at the resort since I was only going for a couple hours.

I saw a woman getting out of a boat who looked absolutely soaked, but who knows if that was from the afternoon rain, or multiple rides, since it was basically a walk-on. The minor splashes of water on my clothes dried in less than 30 minutes, and my pixie-short hair dried in less than 10.

 

[dachsie]

Sounds like a fantastic day with really good wait times.

Does Splash Mountain typically get you very wet? I'm a DL vet and sometimes wear a poncho on Splash Mtn at DL because I've walked away quite soaked before. How fast do you usually dry off in Florida?

One day I got a nice soaking from Splash. When the log came down the mountain it sprayed all the way over the the one I was in that was heading in the opposite direction. And I chose the last seat so I wouldn't get wet.

 

[nancy155]

One day I got a nice soaking from Splash. When the log came down the mountain it sprayed all the way over the the one I was in that was heading in the opposite direction. And I chose the last seat so I wouldn't get wet.

I have always chosen the next to last seat and have stayed relatively dry. Now at Disneyland I got totally soaked throughout the ride. I don’t think it matters where you sit!

 

[Elle23]

I have always chosen the next to last seat and have stayed relatively dry. Now at Disneyland I got totally soaked throughout the ride. I don’t think it matters where you sit!

Splash Mountain is my favorite ride, but I won’t ride it at DL because I got a absolutely drenched on it a few years ago. They seriously need to turn the water level down!!

 

[LSUfan4444]

Any thoughts on whether is better to bus or Uber there?

The most recent report I saw (from a popular blogger I saw and trust) said bus but I have now read two reports on here that said that managed to get from the toll booth to pandora in 25 minutes which seems quick to me.

I think ultimately, which ever method you decide, if you arrive and realize you are not one of the first 200-300 people inside the park, do not fo FoP first. Skip it and do it later because you can do it with a 60 min wait anytime throughout the day so don't waste your morning standing in a line you can stand in any other time...use that time to do Navi, Safari, Everest and Dinosaur instead.

if you do arrive and realize you are one of the first couple hundred in the park, then yes....go knock out FoP

 

[disneygirlsng]

The most recent report I saw (from a popular blogger I saw and trust) said bus but I have now read two reports on here that said that managed to get from the toll booth to pandora in 25 minutes which seems quick to me.

I think ultimately, which ever method you decide, if you arrive and realize you are not one of the first 200-300 people inside the park, do not fo FoP first. Skip it and do it later because you can do it with a 60 min wait anytime throughout the day so don't waste your morning standing in a line you can stand in any other time...use that time to do Navi, Safari, Everest and Dinosaur instead.

if you do arrive and realize you are one of the first couple hundred in the park, then yes....go knock out FoP

It was just over 20 minutes for me to get to Pandora, I was glad I had drove there as buses hadn't arrived yet while I was walking in to the park. But that wasn't super recent, so not sure how much it's changed. It really seems like the timing of toll booths opening and buses arriving changes every day, which doesn't really help with planning.

 

[jlovesee]

I know the official listed time is 9 am but I have read other places that people have gotten in early and actually ridden a few rides prior to the posted open time. I’m staying at BLT so I can walk over anytime. Thanks!

jennifer

 

[yulilin3]

I know the official listed time is 9 am but I have read other places that people have gotten in early and actually ridden a few rides prior to the posted open time. I’m staying at BLT so I can walk over anytime. Thanks!

jennifer

You can read recent reports here
Usually around 8:20 to 8:30

 

[dboughner]

Does anyone know, can I take the resort monorail over to the contemporary before 8am without a reservation? Or do I need to leave a mobile order to be able to do that? We'll be staying at the Poly but wanted to meet up with the rest of our group staying at the contemporary to walk to my together.

 

[WEDWDW]

Is getting to Epcot by skyline from pop as difficult as it appears to be to DHS?

For Epcot Park Opening there can be a substantial line at CBR Station before the Gondolas start running to Epcot for the day.

 

[Sarahslay]

I wonder what part of the country she is at? We don't have a strawberry shortage at all??? Never have had one all summer and fall. I live in Mn., which is not the strawberry capitol of the world, LOL.

My friend and I live in Georgia, we get our strawberries from the same areas Florida does. Just a note, they took all things with berries off the menu at the waffle stand at F&W in Epcot this week too. We do have strawberries, but they don't look great and are not as plentiful. I can get them from Costco, but do I want to eat them looking the way they have been? Absolutely not.

 

[Leigh L]

My friend and I live in Georgia, we get our strawberries from the same areas Florida does. Just a note, they took all things with berries off the menu at the waffle stand at F&W in Epcot this week too. We do have strawberries, but they don't look great and are not as plentiful. I can get them from Costco, but do I want to eat them looking the way they have been? Absolutely not.

Any berry fruit we've bought here (Northern Virginia) for the past month have tasted sour. We stopped buying them for now.

Edit: Sorry mods, didn't mean to go too far OT since I'm not near FL

 

[brockash]

Does anyone know, can I take the resort monorail over to the contemporary before 8am without a reservation? Or do I need to leave a mobile order to be able to do that? We'll be staying at the Poly but wanted to meet up with the rest of our group staying at the contemporary to walk to my together.

Yes you can...no mobile order needed.

 

[Sarahslay]

Any berry fruit we've bought here (Northern Virginia) for the past month have tasted sour. We stopped buying them for now.

Edit: Sorry mods, didn't mean to go too far OT since I'm not near FL

Yep, what there is isn't good quality right now, so I'm sure that factors in to things. I keep seeing stuff taken off of menus and most of it has stuff like this that is just not in high supply. We all just gotta remember supply chain isn't what it once was, I keep trying to tell myself this anyway as I go back to places I went to in August on my next trip that have had some menu shake ups recently.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Is getting to Epcot by skyline from pop as difficult as it appears to be to DHS?

No, not at all. You will have to change Skyliners at Caribbean beach, but it's fast and easy.

The same challenge can happen going from Pop to Epcot so you will want to leave ample time. A guest reported on the Pop thread yesterday that the boarded the Skyliner at Pop at 10:05, arrived at CBR and were instructed to go down the ramp and join the end of the CBR Epcot line. At 10:30 they were still in line waiting to board at CBR.

Just want people to know that a wait to board the Epcot Skyliner may happen at CBR so you will want to leave time for that.

 

[LSUfan4444]

It really seems like the timing of toll booths opening and buses arriving changes every day,

100%

Both strategies need a little luck to be successful but the one thing that can be controlled is how early you get to the bus stop. If you drive you might beat the busses, you might not, but you need to get to the toll booths early enough to be one of the first ones in but not too early that they will turn you around.

I think the key now is to plan for being the first or the thousandth person in the park and having a plan for both because the approach should not be the same and right now you won't know which one you will be until you actually arrive.