Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[robotsneedlove2]

Ratatouille had standby line during Epcot extended hours last night!! We were able to walk right on a little after 11pm.

I know that it normally is not open during evening extended hours.

It may have been running because Frozen broke down, and we had to be walked off the ride.

 

[holyrita]

Ratatouille had standby line during Epcot extended hours last night!! We were able to walk right on a little after 11pm.

I know that it normally is not open during evening extended hours.

It may have been running because Frozen broke down, and we had to be walked off the ride.

Remy's Ratatouille Adventure was just added to the list of rides available in Epcot for extended evening hours

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

We arrived home late Saturday after a very last minute trip 11/30-12/4. We had one day at each park.

A few take aways from the trip:

1. If you are at all concerned about Covid, I would not advise going at this time. There were sick, coughing people throughout every park, every day. This was definitely a change from our previous trips in April 2021 and November 2020. Also, there is zero social distancing in any theater or on buses, etc. We were crammed in like sardines once again. It was hard to enjoy the Muppet show when the man in front of me kept taking down his mask to blow his nose.

4. Genie+ wasn’t really needed at AK either. We basically only used it for the Safari. Rope dropping and being at the parks early is really all you need to do for AK.

7. We had fun, but it just wasn’t the same Disney that left me so starry-eyed back in 2017. I can’t believe how quickly it all changed and it makes me sad. I am getting less and less willing to shell out the increasingly large amount of money it takes to go to WDW. But apparently others feel differently because the parks were as packed as I have ever seen them.

1. We were going to be in Orlando for just the weekend and chose one day at AK because we felt it would be safe-ish with kids who are only partially vaccinated. But it was more crowded on Dec 5 than I've seen it on Christmas Day in previous years, including most recently in 2019.
While the CMs did their best to remind folks to wear their masks before entering indoor shops/queues, they could only do so much. The worst was the woman in front of me on the Magical Express who decided to eat fried chicken while chatting with the bus driver the whole ride from the airport. Like, really, lady? I thought about saying something, but the driver had his mask under his chin too, so it seemed unlikely that I would find an ally there.

2. While Genie+ feels like a ripoff at AK, we were glad to have it because most of the rides had waits of at least 45 minutes all day, except Everest which was only 5 minutes for the first hour after opening and went back down to 10 minutes by 5pm. That park needs more rides, period. We found ourselves having to crisscross the parks repeatedly to what was available, since we couldn't plan our FP in advance so that they were next to each other.

3. I can't believe how much this little weekend trip cost, for an experience that was far less in my control. Before, I could plan everything in advance so that my family experienced a seamless day (barring ride breakdowns, which have happened on every trip). Now, I'm at the mercy of a poorly designed app. It doesn't feel like a luxury vacation anymore, it feels like paying more for way, way less. It's sad, but I'll just be grateful for the memories of our trips from 2013-2019, I guess.

 

[mrd7896]

Omg we were at AK on 12/5 too and it was ABSURD. the busiest i have seen that park in a while, probably similar to my Thanksgiving 2018 trip which was equally as awful.
-We waited more than an hour for FOP at park open, we got to the park about 20 minutes before the early morning half hour started (which was exactly around the time we arrived at DHS the day before which was perfect) and were ushered into the park immediately and held right around the tree of life..that's how far back we were.
-Waited roughly 50 minutes for Safari
-Everest was posted 45 and we went to single rider which was closed shortly after we entered the queue. We were told immediately by CM's that single rider would take 50 minutes!! About 5 people exited the line due to his announcement. single rider took ~20 minutes and we were lucky that even though we were all separated, it was only three separate trains for our entire party of 10 to get through single riders. Two of us got front row, two of us were in back to back rows and one of us sat completely by ourselves.
-Walked over to Dinosaur as it dropped down to 25, we got into the queue which was fairly extended and we doubted that it was 25 minutes just from our experience. As soon as we hopped into line the wait shot up to 50 and about 5 minutes later we came to a dead stop. We didn't know the ride was down, and ended up waiting another 25 minutes before they COMPLETELY closed the ride and told every person to get out. We were sporadically moving, since people were exiting the queue, so we didn't think the ride was actually down. But it was an utter waste of time.

At that point it was 2 and we were completely burnt out and the park was a madhouse so we left.
Some of the rest of our party stayed and did it's tough to be a bug but we didn't find that necessary.

We didn't think Genie+ or the LL$ (whatever it is called) would be worth it for such a few amount of attractions, but clearly it would've helped us get on the literal 5 attractions that the park has.
grrrrrrrr

 

[jlundeen]

Does anyone else think that the line queues at Everest are about the worst thought out traffic flow plan that there could be? I mean, the standby line (when we were there last week) started on the NEMO side, which meant that it CROSSED the LL line, which is also the ramp exit for the ride. So people had to stop and wait to enter LL until they held up the SB line, and then so many were trying to exit, that you could hardly get in. We were on scooters and it was even a bigger challenge.... both for entering and exiting!

 

[JoJoGirl]

Omg we were at AK on 12/5 too and it was ABSURD. the busiest i have seen that park in a while, probably similar to my Thanksgiving 2018 trip which was equally as awful.
-We waited more than an hour for FOP at park open, we got to the park about 20 minutes before the early morning half hour started (which was exactly around the time we arrived at DHS the day before which was perfect) and were ushered into the park immediately and held right around the tree of life..that's how far back we were.
-Waited roughly 50 minutes for Safari
-Everest was posted 45 and we went to single rider which was closed shortly after we entered the queue. We were told immediately by CM's that single rider would take 50 minutes!! About 5 people exited the line due to his announcement. single rider took ~20 minutes and we were lucky that even though we were all separated, it was only three separate trains for our entire party of 10 to get through single riders. Two of us got front row, two of us were in back to back rows and one of us sat completely by ourselves.
-Walked over to Dinosaur as it dropped down to 25, we got into the queue which was fairly extended and we doubted that it was 25 minutes just from our experience. As soon as we hopped into line the wait shot up to 50 and about 5 minutes later we came to a dead stop. We didn't know the ride was down, and ended up waiting another 25 minutes before they COMPLETELY closed the ride and told every person to get out. We were sporadically moving, since people were exiting the queue, so we didn't think the ride was actually down. But it was an utter waste of time.

At that point it was 2 and we were completely burnt out and the park was a madhouse so we left.
Some of the rest of our party stayed and did it's tough to be a bug but we didn't find that necessary.

We didn't think Genie+ or the LL$ (whatever it is called) would be worth it for such a few amount of attractions, but clearly it would've helped us get on the literal 5 attractions that the park has.
grrrrrrrr

Oh no! Sorry you went through that! AK is my park tomorrow. I will be sure to get G+ and hope for the best. Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Omg we were at AK on 12/5 too and it was ABSURD. the busiest i have seen that park in a while, probably similar to my Thanksgiving 2018 trip which was equally as awful.
-We waited more than an hour for FOP at park open, we got to the park about 20 minutes before the early morning half hour started (which was exactly around the time we arrived at DHS the day before which was perfect) and were ushered into the park immediately and held right around the tree of life..that's how far back we were.
-Waited roughly 50 minutes for Safari
-Everest was posted 45 and we went to single rider which was closed shortly after we entered the queue. We were told immediately by CM's that single rider would take 50 minutes!! About 5 people exited the line due to his announcement. single rider took ~20 minutes and we were lucky that even though we were all separated, it was only three separate trains for our entire party of 10 to get through single riders. Two of us got front row, two of us were in back to back rows and one of us sat completely by ourselves.
-Walked over to Dinosaur as it dropped down to 25, we got into the queue which was fairly extended and we doubted that it was 25 minutes just from our experience. As soon as we hopped into line the wait shot up to 50 and about 5 minutes later we came to a dead stop. We didn't know the ride was down, and ended up waiting another 25 minutes before they COMPLETELY closed the ride and told every person to get out. We were sporadically moving, since people were exiting the queue, so we didn't think the ride was actually down. But it was an utter waste of time.

At that point it was 2 and we were completely burnt out and the park was a madhouse so we left.
Some of the rest of our party stayed and did it's tough to be a bug but we didn't find that necessary.

We didn't think Genie+ or the LL$ (whatever it is called) would be worth it for such a few amount of attractions, but clearly it would've helped us get on the literal 5 attractions that the park has.
grrrrrrrr

We arrived for our Dinosaur LL time just as they were dumping the line for the shutdown, and I felt so badly for everyone since they weren't even offering paper fast-passes to make up for the lost time in line. I can't imagine how frustrating it would have been to navigate the parks that day without Genie+, even as ridiculous as Genie+ is. Given that only 3 attractions at the park are part of Genie+ and not the extra upcharge ILL, it's 5 bucks per person per ride, and you can't even book an attraction a second time in a park with only 5 rides. Clearly this is to encourage people to buy hoppers so they can book LL attractions at a second park in the afternoons/evening. While we were able to pass our time waiting for rides in the wildlife trails instead of in line, it still felt like the app was making our choices for us. When you're spending this much money, you should be able to plan your own day.

 

[mrd7896]

AK definitely was the busiest park on Sunday out of all four--so we just chose poorly.
We didn't go to MK because we had the party that evening, and i'm sure a lot of people didn't go to MK either that day because of the shorter park hours.
EPCOT looked fine and DHS had relatively 'normal' wait times that i had been used to seeing.
So AK was simply the popular choice.

I will say, after spending two days at Disney and two days at Universal, i just enjoyed our Universal days SO much more. And that was a little sad because it was a first time feeling this way after a trip. I know they are different machines/beasts.
While our Genie+ worked out on our DHS day, i really didn't enjoy it. It just takes so much out of having a magical day and i know that's cliche but i don't want to be worrying about plans every minute while i'm with my family. I found myself OBSESSING over the Genie+ return times, and stressing about what we would be able to do and at what time. It's just isn't convenient. I would GLADLY PAY to have something actually scheduled before my trip, not as i'm navigating through parks, crowds, dining reservations, parades, showtimes, etc. I don't necessarily care as much anymore that what used to be free is now additional, i'll get over that aspect. It's that i now resort to chance, a little bit of luck and stressing over my phone and being a mindreader for what other people will choose in order to plan my day efficiently.

I'm sure there are people out there that won't stress over their Genie+ selections but i am not one of those people, lol.

It also didn't help that i was planning out our Genie+ for a large party of over 10 people so I was feeling pressured to make sure our day was successful

 

[Ricguz]

I’m sad for you but glad that you are letting us all know. It’s what I have been hearing from a lot of guests. Why the leadership at Disney thinks that this is a better experience being on our phones all day at the park is a better experience than taking in all the sites, I don’t understand. Well I actually do, it’s a money draw.
I said this months ago. We should be able to preplan our vacations at home and then have a better experience for us and in my opinion for the Disney executives. If we are able to streamline our vacations at home, then we will be able to shop, dine, and take in more and I think spend more if we want too, not being force to pay for rides.
I don’t think I will use Genie plus most days, and spend more time enjoying the resorts. When I go to the parks, I don’t like to rush around like a herd of cattle trying to beat the system. I might pay for the some rides at HS and MK but as a lot of guest have been saying your better off late at night taking in rides. I would forgo the fireworks and laser shows and go on rides. Just my opinion

 

[iheartglaciers]

2. While Genie+ feels like a ripoff at AK, we were glad to have it because most of the rides had waits of at least 45 minutes all day, except Everest which was only 5 minutes for the first hour after opening and went back down to 10 minutes by 5pm. That park needs more rides, period. We found ourselves having to crisscross the parks repeatedly to what was available, since we couldn't plan our FP in advance so that they were next to each other.

Totally agree. It's much more challening with Genie+ to put together a logical touring plan where you don't feel like you're running all over the place to do whatever LL you could get.

While our Genie+ worked out on our DHS day, i really didn't enjoy it. It just takes so much out of having a magical day and i know that's cliche but i don't want to be worrying about plans every minute while i'm with my family. I found myself OBSESSING over the Genie+ return times, and stressing about what we would be able to do and at what time. It's just isn't convenient. I would GLADLY PAY to have something actually scheduled before my trip, not as i'm navigating through parks, crowds, dining reservations, parades, showtimes, etc. I don't necessarily care as much anymore that what used to be free is now additional, i'll get over that aspect. It's that i now resort to chance, a little bit of luck and stressing over my phone and being a mindreader for what other people will choose in order to plan my day efficiently.

I also liked pre-planning with FP and then just enjoying myself during the trip. And who wants to get up at 6:50am every morning of their vacation?!

 

[iheartglaciers]

I said this months ago. We should be able to preplan our vacations at home and then have a better experience for us and in my opinion for the Disney executives. If we are able to streamline our vacations at home, then we will be able to shop, dine, and take in more and I think spend more if we want too, not being force to pay for rides.

I didn't think about this, but you're right. I spent so little time in stores on my last trip (first with Genie+). I was so preoccupied. And I usually buy so much merch.

 

[mrd7896]

Our Tuesday at DHS we were there from about 9-7 PM, granted we had an ADR for sci-fi and an oga's reservation during the day but we got on 4 attractions...vs. our Genie+ day where we were able to reserve 4 attractions and rope drop others.

So even though i don't like Genie+ it was unfortunately necessary.

 

[Jennasis]

Using G+ had us criss crossing the park the whole time.

 

[01Sweetpea]

Just back, on 12/6 we were in HS & Epcot and on 12/7 MK & AK. I was shocked at how packed the parks were. I bought Genie+ for both days and also bought $ILL for RoTR, FoP & Space Mtn. Spent an extra $268.48 (for 4 people), and was glad that I did. There was no way we could have done everything we did without it.

 

[katyjeka]

We arrived in Orlando for the start of our 2 week vacation last night. We went to Disney Springs last night to activate our Florida season passes. It took 5 minutes(showed our house insurance)and the cm was super nice. We did early morning at Epcot. Test Track was down when the park first opened so we did Soarin as a walk on. We were able to snag Remy on our first try, liked it but I would not wait forever for it. My mother is in a wheelchair and our party of 8 was allowed the handicap entrance for Spaceship Earth, Living with the land. It's nice to see so many people out and enjoying a vacation again. Funny there is a lot of people walking around but ride times have been fantastic I tried at home to get Garden Grill with no luck. Walked up today and had a thirty minute wait. I'm not sure if they had no shows or we just lucked out. Cast members have been as sweet as ever. Loved the skyliner and we rode it twice because our girls enjoyed it so much!! My dh will not take a bus so we circled twice before the lot opened. Only negative today is the parents screaming at their kids. One little guy was freaking out at Soarin and the father was screaming like crazy at him. What a scene!! We did not buy genie and was able to ride everything on our list with no issue.

 

[mrd7896]

Using G+ had us criss crossing the park the whole time.

that too--any strategy is thrown out the window. we were able to rope drop and start at ToT and RnRc, then hooofed it over to rise, down to Tsm, over to tap in for smugglers (break for lunch), back down to ToT to tap in, up and across to ST and muppets, waited for MMRR, back down to RnRC to tap in (breaking on the way for snacks/drinks), back up to TSM for our final tap in.
such a mess!

 

[whiporee]

I understand the resentment towards Genie, let me ask this: if there is no version of FP returning, would you rather have some form of Genie, or have everything be standby lines? Honest question.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I understand the resentment towards Genie, let me ask this: if there is no version of FP returning, would you rather have some form of Genie, or have everything be standby lines? Honest question.

I will preface by saying I haven't used Genie yet but, based on what I read during the time when there were only standby lines and then after when Genie was available, I'd vote Standby Lines only.

 

[jrsharp21]

I understand the resentment towards Genie, let me ask this: if there is no version of FP returning, would you rather have some form of Genie, or have everything be standby lines? Honest question.

Standby!

 

[beesly]

I understand the resentment towards Genie, let me ask this: if there is no version of FP returning, would you rather have some form of Genie, or have everything be standby lines? Honest question.

Another vote for all standby.