Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[scrappinginontario]

Where did you catch the friendship boat? We're also eating at Trattoria on our trip & we're unfamiliar with the Boardwalk area

There is a dock outside of the Boardwalk. It is clearly marked which side goes to DHS and which side goes to Epcot

The Boardwalk boat launch is located bottom, centre where the black circle with the white dot is displayed.

 

[MomOTwins]

Where did you catch the friendship boat? We're also eating at Trattoria on our trip & we're unfamiliar with the Boardwalk area

It is basically just outside the restaurant—you can’t miss it!

 

[lnR_Texas]

Has anyone been at Epcot when it’s has an 11pm closing time? Is everything still open and attractions still running at 11pm? I know butterfly garden closes at dusk. And the live entertainment would be finished earlier.

We were there this week and rode Frozen around 10 pm. Test track was still running as we walked out around 10:40 pm.

 

[dancergirlsmom]

We have reservations at Beaches & Cream for 7:55pm on the day that we visit DHS. We are driving to DHS. We are thinking about taking Skyliner or boat to our B&C reservation. What time does the Skyliner/boats stop going back to DHS. If we miss the last one and walk back to the car, is the path lit?

 

[MEC004]

My point was that no one in the group appeared to have any disability. I saw a lot of families doing this yesterday. Call me cynical but I do think some were abusing it.

We use DAS and if you were to look at my son you would think we were abusing it as well. Realize that many people who use the service may have epilepsy, autism, or other disabilities that make waiting in line difficult. Also, having a DAS you can only use one at a time and still have to wait the normal time. I mean we would get a DAS for a popular ride and then wait 20 minutes for others which is our sons max wait time. Doesn’t mean you don’t wait. You’re just able to do other things while waiting.

 

[Naomeri]

Has anyone been at Epcot when it’s has an 11pm closing time? Is everything still open and attractions still running at 11pm? I know butterfly garden closes at dusk. And the live entertainment would be finished earlier.

I was there that late on March 13. Test Track and SE were for sure running that late because I rode them between 10:30 and 11, and shops were still open. I didn’t arrive until almost 9pm and everything was still going.

 

[loves to dive]

I was there that late on March 13. Test Track and SE were for sure running that late because I rode them between 10:30 and 11, and shops were still open. I didn’t arrive until almost 9pm and everything was still going.

Were the F&G booths open as well?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Has anyone been at Epcot when it’s has an 11pm closing time? Is everything still open and attractions still running at 11pm? I know butterfly garden closes at dusk. And the live entertainment would be finished earlier.

DS and I closed down Epcot a few nights ago, got there about 9:30pm. Rides seemed open as usual, things around World Showcase were a bit hit or miss. Some stores/shops open, some closed (one example, Mitsukoshi, which closed at 10pm). Many festival kiosks open, some were closed. Felt a bit like old PM EMHs to me.

Low crowds and beautiful weather - a great time to go to Epcot.

Spent a few minutes taking in the new front entrance music and lighting changes on the way out. Cheap nighttime entertainment.

 

[Sarahslay]

We have reservations at Beaches & Cream for 7:55pm on the day that we visit DHS. We are driving to DHS. We are thinking about taking Skyliner or boat to our B&C reservation. What time does the Skyliner/boats stop going back to DHS. If we miss the last one and walk back to the car, is the path lit?

We were told this past weekend that the skyliner runs, usually, for an hour after park close. Judging by the current closing times I would bet you'd have a hard time getting back that way. The walkway is lit, sometimes not extremely bright, but I've walked it alone in the dark numerous times. It's about a 15-20 minute walk for us usually, definitely faster than the skyliner.

 

[lovethattink]

DS and I closed down Epcot a few nights ago, got there about 9:30pm. Rides seemed open as usual, things around World Showcase were a bit hit or miss. Some stores/shops open, some closed (one example, Mitsukoshi, which closed at 10pm). Many festival kiosks open, some were closed. Felt a bit like old PM EMHs to me.

Low crowds and beautiful weather - a great time to go to Epcot.

Spent a few minutes taking in the new front entrance music and lighting changes on the way out. Cheap nighttime entertainment.

We were hoping the food stands stayed open late as well.

Isn’t the entrance music and lighting cool?! We stood there a while watching it.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

Don't know if mentioned, but a tip for atleast the Pixar characters in the mini parade. My DD25 had DGS4 stand facing her with her phone camera ready, hoping to snap a pic as they walked by, but each Pixar character on our side actually stopped and did a quick pose behind him, just distanced of course. We did not expect that!!
Of course YMMV, but worth a shot! Kinda fun! (Just make sure your child looks at you, lol)

 

[Haley R]

Which snack stands at MK currently have pretzels?

 

[auntlynne]

 

[aljack34]

Has anyone been at Epcot when it’s has an 11pm closing time? Is everything still open and attractions still running at 11pm? I know butterfly garden closes at dusk. And the live entertainment would be finished earlier.

Just did Epcot close Thursday and Friday. Rides still open. Booths are about half open. Germany and US were open for sure as was Mexico. We got drinks in France on our way out at 11. Most countries were open till 11 but not all booths if that makes sense.

 

[happypaws]

March 17-20 (parks 18/19)
Did a quick sister trip. 18th did Animal Kingdom then hopped to Magic Kingdom. 19th did Hollywood Studios then hopped to Epcot.
We stayed at the Swan. Room was meh, but bed super comfy! 17th hit up the pool, so crowded! most crowded part of trip, hard to find a chair. Note if you arrive by 11 you can reserve a chair.
18th Drove to AK for rope drop, arrived at parking gate at 7:05, let in at 7:15. Started with FoP, 20 minute wait. Crowds seemed average to prepandemic. When we went to MK, we had no ADR, but kept checking the MDE using the now function and scored a walk up for skipper canteen. Missed out on Splash (waits were 85-90 minutes) but hit up all my other favorites.
19th Used tips from the board at 7a scored boarding group 22 RoR. Walked to HS, arrived at 8am, let in around 8:10. Despite be back in the line, we were the first group to board ToT, zero wait. Rode RnR twice, walk on. Longest wait MFSR, 50 minutes. Got engineer, again (groups of 1 or 2 will get placed here usually due to plexiglass barrier). Took gondola for fun from HS to Epcot, walk on and comfortable. Epcot walked around the festival, as anticipated, worst mask compliance here, but was average crowds too.
Thoughts on swan, super convenient. However, Lots of hidden fees, parking is more expensive. Room felt very musty and in need of some repair. Would personally choose a different hotel on gondola or boardwalk area.

 

[lnR_Texas]

March 17-20 (parks 18/19)
Did a quick sister trip. 18th did Animal Kingdom then hopped to Magic Kingdom. 19th did Hollywood Studios then hopped to Epcot.
We stayed at the Swan. Room was meh, but bed super comfy! 17th hit up the pool, so crowded! most crowded part of trip, hard to find a chair. Note if you arrive by 11 you can reserve a chair.
18th Drove to AK for rope drop, arrived at parking gate at 7:05, let in at 7:15. Started with FoP, 20 minute wait. Crowds seemed average to prepandemic. When we went to MK, we had no ADR, but kept checking the MDE using the now function and scored a walk up for skipper canteen. Missed out on Splash (waits were 85-90 minutes) but hit up all my other favorites.
19th Used tips from the board at 7a scored boarding group 22 RoR. Walked to HS, arrived at 8am, let in around 8:10. Despite be back in the line, we were the first group to board ToT, zero wait. Rode RnR twice, walk on.

We rope dropped DHS on 3/19 too but we were near the front of the line. ToT was not running so everyone turned left to RnR, where we walked on. My Mom doesn’t do RnR so she waited for us and told us ToT opened shortly after we headed to RnR. Our wait for ToT was about 20 min after we did RnR.

 

[MomOTwins]

We use DAS and if you were to look at my son you would think we were abusing it as well. Realize that many people who use the service may have epilepsy, autism, or other disabilities that make waiting in line difficult. Also, having a DAS you can only use one at a time and still have to wait the normal time. I mean we would get a DAS for a popular ride and then wait 20 minutes for others which is our sons max wait time. Doesn’t mean you don’t wait. You’re just able to do other things while waiting.

I completely echo this. We have a son with autism and always used to use fastpass for everything with him pre-Covid. We used DAS for the first time this trip with encouragement from these boards (for which I am super grateful, as we were nervous about using it) and we were so glad we did. Even with the shorter DAS line, the line experience overwhelms him and he had to be carried the whole way with his face buried in my chest or use his stroller in line (with the DAS stroller tag) for a sense of security. And even then we still had to leave one line (MMRR) and try again later. It is not as though we were using DAS for skipping lines to do headliners either. Aside from the one attempt to ride MMRR, we mostly just used DAS to ride TSMM, AS2 with him all day, and did Frozen show or Mickey cartoons to while waiting for his DAS return times. Meanwhile, DH and I took turns waiting in the regular hour-plus standby queues for everything else with our older kids. I really doubt we were meaningfully impacting waits for anyone else, unless they really like swirling saucers!

Well, I’m curious. Finished reading this thread and wondering if you got a BG at 1pm?

Alas, probably TMI, but my youngest DS had a potty emergency right before 1pm so I had to dash with him to find the nearest restroom instead of attempting a BG! I did chat with some other folks who had no luck at 7am but got in at 1pm so it does seem a viable option. My 9 year old twins agreed that while they had wanted to do ROTR, it was not the end of the world, especially because they really enjoyed MFSR and got to ride it twice. Was proud of them for being sports about it!

To that end, I was amazed how much better the late afternoon was than the morning. We waited 80 mins for TOT upon getting in line at 8:40am. Slinky line was 70+ mins from pre-park open to mid-afternoon. Most other things were 44-60 mins. As the afternoon went on, waits got noticeably shorter. We only waited 40 mins for slinky at 5:30, and less than 30 Mins for MFSR right before that. We had dinner at H&V so didn’t ride anything the last couple hours but it looked like a lot of things were minimal waits. If we could do over the day, we’d sleep in and come at noon and do a QS dinner.

 

[Mrjoshua]

My girlfriend and I were at the parks March 1 - 4. We may have beaten the Spring breakers, so this might be more applicable to those going after mid April.
We had a really nice time. It was our first trip since the pandemic started, and we were worried about not having Fast Passes. It was fine. Our first priority was Galaxy's Edge, and Runaway Railway since we had never done either. We reserved Hollywood Studios for the first 3 days, and EPCOT for the 4th (with Park Hopper). In just one day, we able to ride MF Smugglers Run x 4, Rise of the Resistance x 1, Runaway Railway x 2, Slinky Dog x 2, and Tower of Terror x 2. That same day, we shopped, ate at Ronto Roasters, and had 2 reservations (morning and evening) at Oga's Cantina. We were able to get morning Rise boarding passes all 3 HS days. We also were able to check out every store in Batuu.
After filling up on Hollywood Studios, our last day was spent enjoying Flower & Garden treats at EPCOT. We also rode Test Track, Soarin', and Frozen twice.
We had hopped to Magic Kingdom earlier in the week. Between 2pm and 6pm, we were able to ride all 3 Mountains, plus Haunted Mansion twice. We also shopped at the Emporium, and Momento Mori.
The trip exceeded my expectations, because I didn't think we would be able to do so much without FP+ or attending upcharge events. Masks weren't a problem either. Overall, a very successful post vaccine trip, and I'm glad we did it. I figured this might be relevant to anyone on the fence.

 

[marshallabney]

These reports have been extremely helpful in planning, so I thought I’d share as well.
3/20 - arrived at MCO at 9:15, snagged bags and headed to DME line. Line was halfway down the rental car counters, so I told everyone it would take at least an hour to get on a bus. We dropped our bags with bell services at 10:35 at boardwalk (got to feel like that was mostly luck, but we’ll take it!). Headed straight to Epcot, rode frozen with an 8 minute wait. Strolled through WS a bit just to take in the topiaries and check out the food booths. Went and rode soarin with a 20 minute wait, then headed to Garden Grill about 15 minutes early for our ADR and we’re seated right away. DD6 is super into Chip and Dale rescue rangers right now, so she was over the moon. We weren’t looking forward to the meal (had read so pretty bad reviews), but it exceeded our expectations. The salad and veg were very fresh, and the steak cooked perfectly with a pretty solid chimichuri. Leisurely lunch, we made the restaurant spin about 1 1/2 times and saw all the characters 4 times. Really great interactions also. We rode Nemo and strolled the tanks a bit, got the notice our room was ready, and headed back to boardwalk. Chill time for about an hour, but the TP lines app were showing some pretty solid waits at HS and our room is as close to the walking path as possible, so we decided to hop over and catch a few rides. Rode TSMM with about a 10 min wait (posted 30) and SDD with about a 30 min wait (posted 75!). Got in line for MMRR, but it went down after about 10 minutes in line, so we bailed to head to dinner. Rode the skyline to Epcot. Fun, but not really efficient. 40 minutes to get to IG. We were probably a touch unlucky with stops. Wandered around looking at topiaries some more (we’ve never been in the spring, really pretty). Hit Le Cellier for dinner and crashed about 9:30 as we’d been up since 2am our time to make our flight.
3/21 - Grabbed BG62at 7am, app was a bit slow on the party selection screen, but pushed through and got lucky it sounds like. Walked to HS at 8am, in line at 8:10. DD9 and I rode ToT, which was a walk on, but RnRC was still closed when we got off so headed to MMRR to meet DW and DD6, who rode TSMM. MMRR was a walk on, off by 9. DD6 and I rode AS2, but that wait of 25 was brutal, we waited longer than DD9 and DW did to ride RnRC. Traded kids, and DD9 and I built her droid. This was truly an awesome experience, she loved it...heck, I loved it! Highly recommend. DD6 and DW grabbed her a Mickey bar because #vacation, and we met up and grabbed a late breakfast at Ronto. This was much better than expected and a nice break. Rode TSMM again with 10 minute wait, grabbed a cocktail and sat in GE while DD9 had her droid interact around the land. Our BG was called at 12 on the nose and jumped in line. What an amazing ride! Won’t spoil it, as no one did for us, but I can say it was the most immersive ride experience I’ve ever seen. Rolled back to BW for a break. Kids braved to pool for about an hour, insane, but they loved it. We had an early dinner at Sci Fi at 4:15, so wandered back for that. Always fun restaurant, and the southern specialty burger with pimento cheese and a fried green tomato was awesome! We called an audible with the extra cool weather and hopped to MK. Left HS gates at 5:20 and tapped in at 6:10. We had an insanely efficient evening, riding dumbo, Buzz, speedway, teacups, space x2, Pooh, carousel, BTMRR, and splash before park closing. That included a stop for a churro and a bubble wand. TP lines app is on the nose. We’re on the bus to MK this morning (I let everyone sleep in after last night), and will report back soon.