Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[Haley R]

Can someone share what the current popcorn bucket looks like?

 

[SCDisneyfanatic]

We did it at guest relations at Disney Springs so we didn't lose park time, but you can do it at any guest relations (each park has them by the entrance.)

If you bought them through Shades of Green they really should already be activated (many with that experience,) but if not Shades go to guest relations.

Yes, we bought them from Shades of Green. But to be safe I'll hit a Guest Relations anyway. Hate to get to the park and then have to wait for that process. Thanks for the words.

 

[Disneymomma18]

Arrived to animal kingdom from bus around 8:05. Took a few pictures in front of the tree and headed to Pandora. First was flight of passage listed at a 25 minute wait. Took half the time just walking through that crazy long que. I didn’t time it but it definitely did not seem like a full 25 minutes. Next I did river journey with 5 minute wait. I rode the train to rafikis walked through the building and went back. I then did killiminjaro safari with again maybe a 5-10 minute wait. Next went to what used to be the UP show ( not sure what it’s called now) but it was awesome! Then walked over and rode Everest twice with pretty much walkthrough lines. The only thing I found weird was not having to mask in the theater but required to mask on Everest. I’m assuming bc the que to Everest is mostly inside. Now I’m settling down for lunch and yak and yeti. Got a window seat on the second floor! Planning on finishing the rest of animal kingdom in the next few hours and then heading to boo bash tonight. I’ll report on that either really late tonight or tomorrow morning. Feel free to ask questions.

 

[WEDWDW]

Arrived to animal kingdom from bus around 8:05. Took a few pictures in front of the tree and headed to Pandora. First was flight of passage listed at a 25 minute wait. Took half the time just walking through that crazy long que. I didn’t time it but it definitely did not seem like a full 25 minutes. Next I did river journey with 5 minute wait. I rode the train to rafikis walked through the building and went back. I then did killiminjaro safari with again maybe a 5-10 minute wait. Next went to what used to be the UP show ( not sure what it’s called now) but it was awesome! Then walked over and rode Everest twice with pretty much walkthrough lines. The only thing I found weird was not having to mask in the theater but required to mask on Everest. I’m assuming bc the que to Everest is mostly inside. Now I’m settling down for lunch and yak and yeti. Got a window seat on the second floor! Planning on finishing the rest of animal kingdom in the next few hours and then heading to boo bash tonight. I’ll report on that either really late tonight or tomorrow morning. Feel free to ask questions.

Besides the queue,going inside the Mountain also "qualifies" the attraction for masks-PeopleMover requires masks because it goes inside Space Mountain!

Crazy times!lol

 

[Sarahslay]

There are a lot of places around the country that are more humid than Florida, which is surprising to many people. http://www.usairnet.com/weather/maps/current/relative-humidity/

Yeah, but some of the ones saying "100%" humidity it's raining and in the 50's which is a different feel than 60%+ humidity and in the 90's without rain, which draws the feels like a good 10 degrees warmer. Like right now where I live (not in Florida) it's 88 with 62% humidity and a feels like of 98, in a few hours it'll be a feels like of over 100 and probably a higher humidity because we are expecting some rain, that's what makes it so much harder to tolerate. Humidity is more tolerable at lower temperatures.

 

[Disneymomma18]

Besides the queue,going inside the Mountain also "qualifies" the attraction for masks-PeopleMover requires masks because it goes inside Space Mountain!

Crazy times!lol

Totally agree. Doesn’t bother me one bit I just find some of the “rules” silly. I’m just happy to be here mask or not. It’s been truly magical.

 

[focusondisney]

I’m sorry you had a bad experience @PAGUY41. May I gently suggest if you do send an email, you use paragraphs & check your grammar a little. Your posts were both very hard to read & I don’t see you getting a good result if you use the same style as you used here.


As far as comparing Disney & Universal, I could be wrong, but I think Universal opened stuff up & recalled employees way sooner than WDW did. WDW CMs have been displaced from their regular spots so probably contributes to errors happening. I also don’t think they depend on college program employees the way SDW does. I wouldn’t be surprised if the employee at YC was a college program CM who really thought she was doing something helpful & the right way. I know I have read how much training has been cut back, as far as the Traditions course. I think that must have a huge impact.

I will say, we have been back to WDW 3 times this year. And we haven’t run into any CMs with attitudes. I also have never had anyone imply I was cheap or less than because I was using a discount. (Not Military tickets, but any other discount, like TIW). In fact, if anyone has commented at all, it has been along the lines of “Good for you, great discount”. I’m not making excuses for your experience. But you admit to going off at Studios GS. Add your comment about the tattoos. It does make me think you had an attitude which certainly doesn’t help the situation any better.

 

[PAGUY41]

@focusondisney I respect your opinion and advice and I will admit I did get an attitude at hs once they fraudulently charged a water to our account and had a hold on our account till it came off. And did not seem to think that was an issue or inconvenience.
And like I said we still had a great trip especially at universal and didn’t let these ruin our trip. Just didn’t use the magic bands after the third failed attempt to fix them. And did find an excellent employee at Yacht club who listened to my entire story and tried to make the situation right which use to be the Disney way. But if I am running a multi-billion dollar business and know that my employees are telling guests that magic bands don’t work and that is why we are switching to other options I probably wouldn’t use that as a service unless of course I was selling magic bands for thirty some a pop. So again I just wanted to share my experience and get where you all are coming from, it was just a different diner then I have known. And when you are talking hundreds of dollars a night on a room and taking time off and have issues that are legitimate to you an employee should at least listen and say sorry that happened not just say we can’t do anything. Ok rant over. Thanks again for your feedback and comments!

 

[DaneenD]

So, I wasn’t sure if I should post this here, or in the To Go or Not Go thread. I found both threads to be really useful before my trip, so I wanted to provide an update of my experiences.

As context, my trip was 8/14 – 8/21 and no one appears to have Covid. I’ve had 3 negative rapid COVID tests since we got back from the trip (I tested frequently because of persistent allergy symptoms) and my son (age 9) tested negative today as well. While we were there, the rules changed from masks on all rides/lines to outdoors only. My family consisted of 3 vaxed, 1 unvaxed under 12. This was our sixth Disney visit.

I was very anxious about getting Covid on this trip, and it certainly affected my experience. To be clear, I never thought of Disney as a relaxing vacation, but I knew before going that it would not end up being one of my favorite visits.

I’ve gone in August before and I agree that the lines are atypically short for this time of year. Yes, the line was outside Test Track, but we still got to the design room in 30 minutes. We walked onto a lot of rides. It also helped that the last time we were in Disney was at Christmas, and so I distinctly remember seeing a 60 minute standby line time for Nemo.

Lines were a little spaced out, and I had no problems keeping my group a little away from others (and my son in the middle of our group). The only time the cast members pushed the line together more was in the line for MMRR, where people were huddling under umbrellas to stay out of the sun. So, I felt fairly comfortable in lines. The problem was more when the ride released, as that was when there ended up being a push/crowd of people. I know some people are worried about knowing when to put on their masks. I found it to be very clear, with both signs and gentle reminders.

My family wore masks outdoors 90% of the time. That was hard, because of the 95 degree heat. At the start of the week, when it was a little cooler, I would estimate the outdoor mask wearing (which is optional) was 30%. By the time it got to 95, it was more like 5 to 10%. I agree with others that although the lines are short, walking around the park does not feel like an attendance level of 1 or 2. Perhaps I am just not used to being close to other people because of Covid. For indoors, I would put the masking compliance at more like 70%. It was horrible on the Magical Express, however. There were no announcements about masking and multiple people around us did not wear masks at all on the bus, which was completely packed with people (and picked up people for over an hour before leaving for the airport).

Fireworks at MK were crazy, but did not look that bad at Epcot. We watched the fireworks from the Poly or the ferry boat.

We had our best experiences at night. I think the removal of fastpasses and restrictions on park hopping resulted in different patterns of attendance, with more people starting earlier in the day and then leaving the park earlier as well. We had a particularly nice night at HS.

Although I was nervous about indoor dining, I actually ended up being more comfortable there than outdoors, in some cases. Outdoor dining was very busy and crowded. I asked for an isolated table at ADRs, which usually ended up being against a wall, which was perfect. They were so nice and accommodating. At Columbia Harbour House, the upstairs was almost completely empty. We did eat in our room several times and mobile ordering worked great.

I found the interactions with the Cast Members to be just as good as ever. Particularly at Boo Bash, they were friendly and fun. I still smile remembering the security guard who got the flood of people leaving the monorail to start the wave. I saw no piles of trash.

We stayed at the Polynesian, and I loved the new rooms. So bright, and friendly. However, there was a water leak through the ceiling on the other side of our hallway, the door stop came loose from the floor, and some of the parts of the door handle fell off. That was a bit disconcerting for new renovations.

Interestingly enough, looking at this summary, I took mostly positive memories/experiences from the trip (despite being very nervous while I was there). My husband, who was more relaxed about the covid risk, had a more negative take-away, driven in part by factors like the removal of free fastpass, knowing that there will be no magical express or bag delivery, multiple rides breaking down during our trip (frozen, test track, haunted mansion, slinky, and more) suggesting the need for more frequent maintenance/upkeep, and (very specifically) the excessive dirt in the monorail train station light fixtures. : ) The price is going up, and we are getting less for it. Although neither of us want to do another Disney trip during a pandemic, these factors are resulting in less interest on his part to come back in the future. Which I think makes both of us sad.

 

[Steve678]

Yeah, but some of the ones saying "100%" humidity it's raining and in the 50's which is a different feel than 60%+ humidity and in the 90's without rain, which draws the feels like a good 10 degrees warmer. Like right now where I live (not in Florida) it's 88 with 62% humidity and a feels like of 98, in a few hours it'll be a feels like of over 100 and probably a higher humidity because we are expecting some rain, that's what makes it so much harder to tolerate. Humidity is more tolerable at lower temperatures.

Trust me, we are often, very often hotter and more humid than Florida, Florida just has the heat and humidity longer into the fall. The heat index in our are has been 100+ most of the summer and it was actually "cool" in Florida this week.

 

[mantysk8coach]

Deleted…wrong thread, sorry!

 

[kboo]

Now I’m settling down for lunch and yak and yeti. Got a window seat on the second floor!

How did the spacing seem there? We have an ADR but I'm traveling with 2 under 12. Thanks!

 

[kboo]

Although I was nervous about indoor dining, I actually ended up being more comfortable there than outdoors, in some cases. Outdoor dining was very busy and crowded. I asked for an isolated table at ADRs, which usually ended up being against a wall, which was perfect. They were so nice and accommodating. At Columbia Harbour House, the upstairs was almost completely empty. We did eat in our room several times and mobile ordering worked great.

If you don't mind sharing, which ADRs did you do? (PM is fine too.)
My DH is also more cavalier than I am, but fortunately both kids (and DH and I) are fine with masking in and out, which is what we did on our last 2 trips (required back then). So the last piece of the risk puzzle is how long we and our kids are unmasked while eating and how far away (and how many) other people there are.

 

[DaneenD]

If you don't mind sharing, which ADRs did you do? (PM is fine too.)
My DH is also more cavalier than I am, but fortunately both kids (and DH and I) are fine with masking in and out, which is what we did on our last 2 trips (required back then). So the last piece of the risk puzzle is how long we and our kids are unmasked while eating and how far away (and how many) other people there are.

Happy to share! We did go to Yak and Yeti. To answer your previous question to DisneyMomma18, I did feel like spacing was a little more than in the past (we have been there many times), but could be tight in some parts of the restaurant. Second floor was better. I asked for an isolated table there, and ended up in the corner, second floor, which was great.

We went to Via Napoli and ended up over by the kitchen as the only table. There were many workers coming by, but their masking was great and my kids were (again) by the window. This one had tables relatively close, but it was not busy (2pm lunch) so many tables were empty. Plus the ceilings there are so high, it felt better.

Other ADR were Liberty Tree, 50s Prime Time, the Plaza and Teppan Edo. It felt tight at the Plaza, so I would not recommend that one. We had a window table, in the corner, but overall the restaurant was crowded. We asked for a TV table for Prime Time which increased the space between tables there; that one also is tight. The seating configuration at Teppan Edo was well-suited for spacing in general. They had plexiglass between the groups and again, I just managed spacing to put more space between my son and the other person. Everyone had their back to a wall.

Feel free to ask any follow-up questions you have!

 

[Disneymomma18]

How did the spacing seem there? We have an ADR but I'm traveling with 2 under 12. Thanks!

I agree with the person who first answered the question. My reservation was at 12:30 so I would think that’s a pretty peak time and the lower level was definitely crowded. It did look like they skipped some tables for spacing, but it still felt really crowded. The tables upstairs seemed to be better.

 

[Gary Stocker]

So, I wasn’t sure if I should post this here, or in the To Go or Not Go thread. I found both threads to be really useful before my trip, so I wanted to provide an update of my experiences.

As context, my trip was 8/14 – 8/21 and no one appears to have Covid. I’ve had 3 negative rapid COVID tests since we got back from the trip (I tested frequently because of persistent allergy symptoms) and my son (age 9) tested negative today as well. While we were there, the rules changed from masks on all rides/lines to outdoors only. My family consisted of 3 vaxed, 1 unvaxed under 12. This was our sixth Disney visit.

I was very anxious about getting Covid on this trip, and it certainly affected my experience. To be clear, I never thought of Disney as a relaxing vacation, but I knew before going that it would not end up being one of my favorite visits.

I’ve gone in August before and I agree that the lines are atypically short for this time of year. Yes, the line was outside Test Track, but we still got to the design room in 30 minutes. We walked onto a lot of rides. It also helped that the last time we were in Disney was at Christmas, and so I distinctly remember seeing a 60 minute standby line time for Nemo.

Lines were a little spaced out, and I had no problems keeping my group a little away from others (and my son in the middle of our group). The only time the cast members pushed the line together more was in the line for MMRR, where people were huddling under umbrellas to stay out of the sun. So, I felt fairly comfortable in lines. The problem was more when the ride released, as that was when there ended up being a push/crowd of people. I know some people are worried about knowing when to put on their masks. I found it to be very clear, with both signs and gentle reminders.

My family wore masks outdoors 90% of the time. That was hard, because of the 95 degree heat. At the start of the week, when it was a little cooler, I would estimate the outdoor mask wearing (which is optional) was 30%. By the time it got to 95, it was more like 5 to 10%. I agree with others that although the lines are short, walking around the park does not feel like an attendance level of 1 or 2. Perhaps I am just not used to being close to other people because of Covid. For indoors, I would put the masking compliance at more like 70%. It was horrible on the Magical Express, however. There were no announcements about masking and multiple people around us did not wear masks at all on the bus, which was completely packed with people (and picked up people for over an hour before leaving for the airport).

Fireworks at MK were crazy, but did not look that bad at Epcot. We watched the fireworks from the Poly or the ferry boat.

We had our best experiences at night. I think the removal of fastpasses and restrictions on park hopping resulted in different patterns of attendance, with more people starting earlier in the day and then leaving the park earlier as well. We had a particularly nice night at HS.

Although I was nervous about indoor dining, I actually ended up being more comfortable there than outdoors, in some cases. Outdoor dining was very busy and crowded. I asked for an isolated table at ADRs, which usually ended up being against a wall, which was perfect. They were so nice and accommodating. At Columbia Harbour House, the upstairs was almost completely empty. We did eat in our room several times and mobile ordering worked great.

I found the interactions with the Cast Members to be just as good as ever. Particularly at Boo Bash, they were friendly and fun. I still smile remembering the security guard who got the flood of people leaving the monorail to start the wave. I saw no piles of trash.

We stayed at the Polynesian, and I loved the new rooms. So bright, and friendly. However, there was a water leak through the ceiling on the other side of our hallway, the door stop came loose from the floor, and some of the parts of the door handle fell off. That was a bit disconcerting for new renovations.

Interestingly enough, looking at this summary, I took mostly positive memories/experiences from the trip (despite being very nervous while I was there). My husband, who was more relaxed about the covid risk, had a more negative take-away, driven in part by factors like the removal of free fastpass, knowing that there will be no magical express or bag delivery, multiple rides breaking down during our trip (frozen, test track, haunted mansion, slinky, and more) suggesting the need for more frequent maintenance/upkeep, and (very specifically) the excessive dirt in the monorail train station light fixtures. : ) The price is going up, and we are getting less for it. Although neither of us want to do another Disney trip during a pandemic, these factors are resulting in less interest on his part to come back in the future. Which I think makes both of us sad.

you ought to take that last paragraph and send it to Disney as it encapsulated, IMO, the thoughts of many. Not me, of course. Disney is like crack to me...but I wont buy Genie +...I guess.

 

[Sarahslay]

@focusondisney I respect your opinion and advice and I will admit I did get an attitude at hs once they fraudulently charged a water to our account and had a hold on our account till it came off. And did not seem to think that was an issue or inconvenience.
And like I said we still had a great trip especially at universal and didn’t let these ruin our trip. Just didn’t use the magic bands after the third failed attempt to fix them. And did find an excellent employee at Yacht club who listened to my entire story and tried to make the situation right which use to be the Disney way. But if I am running a multi-billion dollar business and know that my employees are telling guests that magic bands don’t work and that is why we are switching to other options I probably wouldn’t use that as a service unless of course I was selling magic bands for thirty some a pop. So again I just wanted to share my experience and get where you all are coming from, it was just a different diner then I have known. And when you are talking hundreds of dollars a night on a room and taking time off and have issues that are legitimate to you an employee should at least listen and say sorry that happened not just say we can’t do anything. Ok rant over. Thanks again for your feedback and comments!

Just from personal experience, after staying at YC several times (a good 3 times or so since reopening, and another pre-covid) I always have magic band issues when I stay there. I have never had so many issues with magic bands as I do when I stay at YC, and when I stayed there in August they went as far as to tell me I had too many and I was allowed to have one, and basically I was greedy for having so many (I believe the guy told me “what do you expect to happen when you have this many bands?!”). I now only take one band with me when I stay there and only have that one activated, if I have to stay there, but after that trip the management pretty much walks me to my room to check my bands after what happened. They do something with bands there, I don’t know what, but it’s maddening.

 

[PAGUY41]

That makes me feel much better @Sarahslay it’s just frustrating and you want to get it fixed when it doesn’t work because when it works it is great, but to get it fixed is always a big ordeal and wasted time!

 

[faceofsam]

Just finished our first evening here! We got into boardwalk around 4, after stopping to pick up our publix order. Got a great room at boardwalk, close to the elevator and main boardwalk/pool area. We went for a swim and it was very quiet, had a whole section of the pool to ourselves. We then went to beaches and cream, where we got our food to go and ate at a table outside away from people. They did a great job accommodating our request! After we went and got ice cream at boardwalk and browsed the shops. Going to watch epcot fireworks from boardwalk now, but a delightful first evening. Felt very safe, and we have been wearing kn95s everywhere.

 

[kboo]

Does anyone who's there/been there in the last 1-2 weeks have any pics or descriptions of what Main St is like for HEA fireworks at MK? If we don't want to smush with the crowd in the hub, is all of main st. also packed back to the entrance to the park, or will we be able to get more space there? We would like to see the projections but we don't *have* to see them super up close, as long as we can sort of see them.