Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[teachluvbeach]

How much time do you plan for when taking the bus from a park to DS? I have a 6:15pm dinner reservation at Homecomin' on my Epcot day.

 

[subtchr]

How much time do you plan for when taking the bus from a park to DS? I have a 6:15pm dinner reservation at Homecomin' on my Epcot day.

You can’t take a bus from a park to DS. You have to transfer through a resort, or take the bus to Saratoga Springs and walk over.

How long to allow, and the best way to do it, varies by the park you are leaving from and where you are going in DS.

 

[teachluvbeach]

You can’t take a bus from a park to DS. You have to transfer through a resort, or take the bus to Saratoga Springs and walk over.

How long to allow, and the best way to do it, varies by the park you are leaving from and where you are going in DS.

Good to know, thanks! I was hoping to go on our non-park days but this reservation popped a couple of days ago up so I grabbed it. Might reconsider if it means a ton of travel time.

 

[DisneyFive]

I honestly think capacity will be increased again by June.

I doubt it unless they bring back fast pass plus. Even at the current capacity the standby lines are extremely long, snaking out everywhere.

Dan

 

[hereforthechurros]

Looking at the map and so many rides in WDW are down. Only three attractions operational at MK, only one at AK. I know there are storms but yikes. Anyone there that can confirm the map isn’t just glitchy?

 

[scrappinginontario]

Looking at the map and so many rides in WDW are down. Only three attractions operational at MK, only one at AK. I know there are storms but yikes. Anyone there that can confirm the map isn’t just glitchy?

I just checked TP and most rides are down due to the weather.

 

[preemiemama]

Looking at the map and so many rides in WDW are down. Only three attractions operational at MK, only one at AK. I know there are storms but yikes. Anyone there that can confirm the map isn’t just glitchy?

Severe storms moving through.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1381287933391605766

 

[hereforthechurros]

I just checked TP and most rides are down due to the weather.

Right but the likes of CoP, Space Mountain, Pirates, Country Bears also being down is crazy.

 

[preemiemama]

Right but the likes of CoP, Space Mountain, Pirates, Country Bears also being down is crazy.

Epcot attractions lose power in the storm
Not sure how that is affecting power at other parks.

 

[Magnoliafan]

Good to know, thanks! I was hoping to go on our non-park days but this reservation popped a couple of days ago up so I grabbed it. Might reconsider if it means a ton of travel time.

If you plan to end your Epcot day at World Showcase, then you can just head out the IG exit and grab a bus to DS from either BC or Boardwalk. I think this would be the shortest walking distance, as you wouldn’t have to walk all the way through Epcot to the main exit and then buses. Plus, Homecomin is closer to the DS bus stop than the walkway from SSR. The wait time for the bus would be the biggest question mark. but that would be true regardless of where you caught a bus.

 

[Turk February]

I doubt it unless they bring back fast pass plus. Even at the current capacity the standby lines are extremely long, snaking out everywhere.

Dan

FP+ will only make standby lines longer if they do not increase ride capacity. I think it's more likely that with increased park capacity they reopen shows, more dining options, and increase ride capacity. That'll do much more to alleviate crowds than bringing back FP+

 

[Triple A Mom]

We just got home from a 16 hour drive that started yesterday. Since I relied so much on everyone's accounts before my trip I wanted to post about our trip. I'm not trying to write a trip report, but if it ends up that way I apologize, I just don't want to leave out any helpful information.

Trip was April 2 - 10.
April 2 & 3 was Wilderness Lodge Copper Creek (Studio) and 4-10 Riviera Resort (1 Bedroom).
Family of 5. Myself, Husband, Two 17 year-old boys and 1 almost 2 year old (got her in right before she had to mask up 24/7). We are DVC and have gone to Disney many times but our last trip was October 2019. Learned this trip that we can't share a studio as a family anymore, just not enough space. It was a rough two nights at Wilderness Lodge!

General Observations:
Crowds were surprising lower than we expected. It wasn't by any means empty, but very manageable. We had the early rope drop strategy and then took mid-day breaks. It wasn't always easy to get up at 6/7 AM for a 8/9 AM park opening, but we got a lot done those early mornings. The one park we slept in was Animal Kingdom and that was a big mistake!

Magic Kingdom (April 3 & 8)
It was cooler weather the 3rd and that may have helped us crowd wise. We arrived a little before 8 AM park opening, but not much due to us missing the bus and having a 20 minute wait (see travel party of 2 teens and a toddler - very inefficient group). We started at pirates which was a walk-on but should have done Jungle Cruise first since that line jumped from a walk on to 30 minutes in the time we were on pirates, which was still a walk on when we were done. Then walked on Aladdin (for the baby), walked on Haunted Mansion despite a quoted 30 minute posted time.) We waited about 15 minutes for Peter Pan and thought about Small World, but the line looked long and we thought it would get better (it didn't, only worse so that was another mistake). We waited for the carousel (for the baby) and then the teens were done with us (they lasted a surprisingly long time before ditching us - the carousel was their breaking point. They love their sister but they don't ride "up down horsies" anymore! We did Little Mermaid as a walk on and then Dumbo as a walk on. It was around 11 at this point so we accomplished a ton! We went back to the hotel to nap.

We went back to Magic Kingdom around 3 PM and did Big Thunder Mountain (about 20 minute wait) and baby swapped. Got a dole whip, rode Pooh (30 minute wait - ouch), Mermaid and Dumbo (walk on). It felt busy and we were tired so we left around 7 PM.

Mask and line spacing was good with the exception of Big Thunder Mountain, people just weren't keeping spaced. I also saw more faces at the exit waiting area of BTM when I was waiting with baby. People were spaced out and had drinks, but I think it was more an excuse to take off their mask. I wasn't bothered because we had space (plus we are vaccinated) and I just kept baby in stroller and lots of distance from others.

April 8 we had breakfast at the Wave and then walked over to MK from Contemporary. The guard at the Contemporary gave us no trouble about parking. He had a list and we had a reservation so it wasn't trouble. We weren't trying to be the first in the park and we enjoyed the breakfast. We got MK at 8:45 AM.

We saw the Fab 5 at the train station and since baby doesn't know any different, she LOVED seeing them, even at a distance. We did Small World (post 30 minutes, took 30 minutes) and then stood in line for a baby swap for Mine Train. Low point, I took baby (who was napping in stroller) to get iced coffee from Joffery's in Tomorrowland and stood in line for 20 minutes on to find out they didn't have any non-dairy options (I'm high-maintenance that way) and I was kinda mad. Wish they had put up a sign or something. Anyway, by the time I didn't get my coffee the guys were off Mine Train and it was my turn to ride with teens. The teens decided they wanted iced coffee so we went to Main Street Starbucks. Wait times were more accurate this day and the park was crowded so we didn't stick around long. We swam at the hotel and went back in the evening. High point was in the evening we took baby on Dumbo and it was a walk on to the point they let everyone stay on and ride again since there was no one in line! Pretty fun bonus!

Hollywood Studios (April 5)
Woke up at 6:45 AM to try for a boarding group. I read on this board awhile back to make sure the teens tried because they have fast fingers and that was a great tip! Myself, husband and one teen all were prepped and ready while the other teen gave the countdown. I thought I had it but it and as I was exclaiming my victory saying "I think I'm going to get it!" my teen says "boarding group 31, I already did it," so that was good. Meanwhile, my husband still hadn't figured out how to 'join' in the app so pro tip - if you have a teen, let them do it!

We got ready to skylined over for early entry. So, I thought I read that Riviera would skyline to Carribean Beach and then enter a different line to transfer, but we were sent to the end of the line at Caribbean Beach. It only took about 10 minutes, but I spent about 4 of those silently stewing about not having a seperate line for transfers! We still got to Studios before they were even letting cars in and were able to keep ahead of crowds since skyliner had separate temperature check/security.

We did Slinky Dog in about 20 minutes tops and baby swapped. We waited maybe 5 minutes for Toy Story Mania and then headed to Star Wars. We waited probably 30-40 minutes for Millennium Falcon and rode with baby swap. Our boarding group was called during the first Falcon ride so we hurried right over to Rise of the Resistance and rode it with Baby swap. I would like to say now that baby swap is really an awesome, I wouldn't have done either of these rides without the swap option and it is a thoughtful program for parents.

We ate lunch via mobile order at Docking Bay. If we had wanted another option we should have ordered earlier but we didn't care so we just picked the place that had immediate availability.

Mickey and Minnie Railway was super cute, but the wait was outside in the sun. We waited about 30 minutes but later in the evening it was a walk on. The drawback of the line is it's outside but you can't bring your stroller through the line so baby was hard to wrangle. With the sun high in the sky it was warm in line so it was probably the worst line of the week just because of layout and timing.

We left and came back in the evening and roade Rock'n Rollercoaster with 20 (posted 40) minute wait and walked on M&M Railway.

EPCOT (April 7 & 9)
We got in line for skyliner a 9:30 AM and they started boarding at 9:45 AM (9:50 AM on the 9th). They hold the line off skyliner at temperature check and waited for park opening to let people through. We headed straight to Frozen (teens to Test Track). They were on and done in 20 minutes and we rode Frozen twice in that time. We went to Mexico and did the boat ride before walking the world showcase.

Not crowded at all. We are used to Food and Wine crowds so it felt great. However, April 9 was busy. We did the same strategy of Frozen twice which worked, but after that is got busy.

We had a lunch Garden Grill reservation and left the park after we were done. The evening were great walking the World Showcase, but ride times were busy. We were only interested in Frozen because of baby so it wasn't an issue for us.

Animal Kingdom (April 6)
Big mistakes were made today. We didn't try for rope drop/early entry. The bus times was over 30 minutes so we drove over and arrived around 9 AM. This park was CRAZY BUSY! Every ride was over an hour except Everest which quoted 30 minutes but the line was past Nemo so I'm not sure I believed it. It was insanely busy. While we debated what we wanted to do Safari closed temporarily. We just weren't feeling the crowd. It felt like wall to wall people so we left. We basically burned a park ticket because we didn't even go back in the evening since the wait times never went down.

Disney Springs was a mess! I saw lots of faces, noses, walking and eating/drinking and just CROWDS! Sunday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon were busy, we didn't go in the evening.

Takeaways:
I didn't make any advanced dining reservations. I just didn't want to be scheduled (toddlers laugh in the face of advanced plans) but I was able to pick up a few dining reservations during the week so if you want a place (Garden Grill for us) just keep checking the app and you may get lucky. We also joined virtual walk up lines and got tables immediately each time even though it was a quoted hour wait. We even got a table Easter morning at Whispering Canyon by joining walk up line.

Covid compliance was good. I wasn't bothered by much and lines were generally spaced out. Little kids have trouble keeping distance, but parent do their best. If you are super worried then you should wait because it's not perfect, but probably as safe as most places you go at home. Resorts were clean, very clean, and sanitizer was everywhere.

Character cavalcades and radom sightings were fun, but sad for the littles who don't get the full experience. My toddler was so excited to see her favorite 'friends' even at a distance, but I can only imagine what she would have done if she had gotten to get close. In the grand scheme not a big deal.

I miss the fireworks and shows and I didn't think I would. I am not big for that stuff, but when it isn't there you definitely notice.

I had read accounts from others of cast members looking like they weren't feeling the magic. I get it. Most looked like they were forcing it at least a little bit, but I can't really blame them. It's our vacation, but it's their every day, so I didn't think much of it.

If you have questions about Wilderness Lodge or Riviera let me know, or anything else.

 

[DMLAINI]

We just got home from a 16 hour drive that started yesterday. Since I relied so much on everyone's accounts before my trip I wanted to post about our trip. I'm not trying to write a trip report, but if it ends up that way I apologize, I just don't want to leave out any helpful information.

Trip was April 2 - 10.
April 2 & 3 was Wilderness Lodge Copper Creek (Studio) and 4-10 Riviera Resort (1 Bedroom).
Family of 5. Myself, Husband, Two 17 year-old boys and 1 almost 2 year old (got her in right before she had to mask up 24/7). We are DVC and have gone to Disney many times but our last trip was October 2019. Learned this trip that we can't share a studio as a family anymore, just not enough space. It was a rough two nights at Wilderness Lodge!

General Observations:
Crowds were surprising lower than we expected. It wasn't by any means empty, but very manageable. We had the early rope drop strategy and then took mid-day breaks. It wasn't always easy to get up at 6/7 AM for a 8/9 AM park opening, but we got a lot done those early mornings. The one park we slept in was Animal Kingdom and that was a big mistake!

Magic Kingdom (April 3 & 8)
It was cooler weather the 3rd and that may have helped us crowd wise. We arrived a little before 8 AM park opening, but not much due to us missing the bus and having a 20 minute wait (see travel party of 2 teens and a toddler - very inefficient group). We started at pirates which was a walk-on but should have done Jungle Cruise first since that line jumped from a walk on to 30 minutes in the time we were on pirates, which was still a walk on when we were done. Then walked on Aladdin (for the baby), walked on Haunted Mansion despite a quoted 30 minute posted time.) We waited about 15 minutes for Peter Pan and thought about Small World, but the line looked long and we thought it would get better (it didn't, only worse so that was another mistake). We waited for the carousel (for the baby) and then the teens were done with us (they lasted a surprisingly long time before ditching us - the carousel was their breaking point. They love their sister but they don't ride "up down horsies" anymore! We did Little Mermaid as a walk on and then Dumbo as a walk on. It was around 11 at this point so we accomplished a ton! We went back to the hotel to nap.

We went back to Magic Kingdom around 3 PM and did Big Thunder Mountain (about 20 minute wait) and baby swapped. Got a dole whip, rode Pooh (30 minute wait - ouch), Mermaid and Dumbo (walk on). It felt busy and we were tired so we left around 7 PM.

Mask and line spacing was good with the exception of Big Thunder Mountain, people just weren't keeping spaced. I also saw more faces at the exit waiting area of BTM when I was waiting with baby. People were spaced out and had drinks, but I think it was more an excuse to take off their mask. I wasn't bothered because we had space (plus we are vaccinated) and I just kept baby in stroller and lots of distance from others.

April 8 we had breakfast at the Wave and then walked over to MK from Contemporary. The guard at the Contemporary gave us no trouble about parking. He had a list and we had a reservation so it wasn't trouble. We weren't trying to be the first in the park and we enjoyed the breakfast. We got MK at 8:45 AM.

We saw the Fab 5 at the train station and since baby doesn't know any different, she LOVED seeing them, even at a distance. We did Small World (post 30 minutes, took 30 minutes) and then stood in line for a baby swap for Mine Train. Low point, I took baby (who was napping in stroller) to get iced coffee from Joffery's in Tomorrowland and stood in line for 20 minutes on to find out they didn't have any non-dairy options (I'm high-maintenance that way) and I was kinda mad. Wish they had put up a sign or something. Anyway, by the time I didn't get my coffee the guys were off Mine Train and it was my turn to ride with teens. The teens decided they wanted iced coffee so we went to Main Street Starbucks. Wait times were more accurate this day and the park was crowded so we didn't stick around long. We swam at the hotel and went back in the evening. High point was in the evening we took baby on Dumbo and it was a walk on to the point they let everyone stay on and ride again since there was no one in line! Pretty fun bonus!

Hollywood Studios (April 5)
Woke up at 6:45 AM to try for a boarding group. I read on this board awhile back to make sure the teens tried because they have fast fingers and that was a great tip! Myself, husband and one teen all were prepped and ready while the other teen gave the countdown. I thought I had it but it and as I was exclaiming my victory saying "I think I'm going to get it!" my teen says "boarding group 31, I already did it," so that was good. Meanwhile, my husband still hadn't figured out how to 'join' in the app so pro tip - if you have a teen, let them do it!

We got ready to skylined over for early entry. So, I thought I read that Riviera would skyline to Carribean Beach and then enter a different line to transfer, but we were sent to the end of the line at Caribbean Beach. It only took about 10 minutes, but I spent about 4 of those silently stewing about not having a seperate line for transfers! We still got to Studios before they were even letting cars in and were able to keep ahead of crowds since skyliner had separate temperature check/security.

We did Slinky Dog in about 20 minutes tops and baby swapped. We waited maybe 5 minutes for Toy Story Mania and then headed to Star Wars. We waited probably 30-40 minutes for Millennium Falcon and rode with baby swap. Our boarding group was called during the first Falcon ride so we hurried right over to Rise of the Resistance and rode it with Baby swap. I would like to say now that baby swap is really an awesome, I wouldn't have done either of these rides without the swap option and it is a thoughtful program for parents.

We ate lunch via mobile order at Docking Bay. If we had wanted another option we should have ordered earlier but we didn't care so we just picked the place that had immediate availability.

Mickey and Minnie Railway was super cute, but the wait was outside in the sun. We waited about 30 minutes but later in the evening it was a walk on. The drawback of the line is it's outside but you can't bring your stroller through the line so baby was hard to wrangle. With the sun high in the sky it was warm in line so it was probably the worst line of the week just because of layout and timing.

We left and came back in the evening and roade Rock'n Rollercoaster with 20 (posted 40) minute wait and walked on M&M Railway.

EPCOT (April 7 & 9)
We got in line for skyliner a 9:30 AM and they started boarding at 9:45 AM (9:50 AM on the 9th). They hold the line off skyliner at temperature check and waited for park opening to let people through. We headed straight to Frozen (teens to Test Track). They were on and done in 20 minutes and we rode Frozen twice in that time. We went to Mexico and did the boat ride before walking the world showcase.

Not crowded at all. We are used to Food and Wine crowds so it felt great. However, April 9 was busy. We did the same strategy of Frozen twice which worked, but after that is got busy.

We had a lunch Garden Grill reservation and left the park after we were done. The evening were great walking the World Showcase, but ride times were busy. We were only interested in Frozen because of baby so it wasn't an issue for us.

Animal Kingdom (April 6)
Big mistakes were made today. We didn't try for rope drop/early entry. The bus times was over 30 minutes so we drove over and arrived around 9 AM. This park was CRAZY BUSY! Every ride was over an hour except Everest which quoted 30 minutes but the line was past Nemo so I'm not sure I believed it. It was insanely busy. While we debated what we wanted to do Safari closed temporarily. We just weren't feeling the crowd. It felt like wall to wall people so we left. We basically burned a park ticket because we didn't even go back in the evening since the wait times never went down.

Disney Springs was a mess! I saw lots of faces, noses, walking and eating/drinking and just CROWDS! Sunday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon were busy, we didn't go in the evening.

Takeaways:
I didn't make any advanced dining reservations. I just didn't want to be scheduled (toddlers laugh in the face of advanced plans) but I was able to pick up a few dining reservations during the week so if you want a place (Garden Grill for us) just keep checking the app and you may get lucky. We also joined virtual walk up lines and got tables immediately each time even though it was a quoted hour wait. We even got a table Easter morning at Whispering Canyon by joining walk up line.

Covid compliance was good. I wasn't bothered by much and lines were generally spaced out. Little kids have trouble keeping distance, but parent do their best. If you are super worried then you should wait because it's not perfect, but probably as safe as most places you go at home. Resorts were clean, very clean, and sanitizer was everywhere.

Character cavalcades and radom sightings were fun, but sad for the littles who don't get the full experience. My toddler was so excited to see her favorite 'friends' even at a distance, but I can only imagine what she would have done if she had gotten to get close. In the grand scheme not a big deal.

I miss the fireworks and shows and I didn't think I would. I am not big for that stuff, but when it isn't there you definitely notice.

I had read accounts from others of cast members looking like they weren't feeling the magic. I get it. Most looked like they were forcing it at least a little bit, but I can't really blame them. It's our vacation, but it's their every day, so I didn't think much of it.

If you have questions about Wilderness Lodge or Riviera let me know, or anything else.

How was morning bus service from the Riviera?

 

[Triple A Mom]

How was morning bus service from the Riviera?

We only used it (or tried to use it) twice. The first time was going to Animal Kingdom and the wait said 33 minutes until next bus. We just walked to our car and drove there and was there before the 33 minutes elapsed. Bus to MK in the even was good, about 20 minutes wait at the Resort and leaving it was about 15 minutes to get back. It was full and we were the last people loaded (just before park closing) but the people left were easily on the next bus.

 

[hereforthechurros]

Local APs being blocked out made a big difference over the last two weeks it seems. Wait times never looked unmanageable. Disney *may* have also increased ride capacity for anticipated crowds which would be great as wait times the last couple months we’re starting to get hairy. Curious to see how the rest of April looks.

 

[debdebdebby13]

We arrive on the 16th and currently it looks like it's supposed to rain/thunderstorm most every day we are there. I see today was also stormy. I live in OK and when we have a weather forecast that says 70% chance of rain that means it's going to rain all day. Is this how Florida forecasts work? Should I expect it to rain ALL day? or will it be a storm and then done?

 

[Haley R]

We arrive on the 16th and currently it looks like it's supposed to rain/thunderstorm most every day we are there. I see today was also stormy. I live in OK and when we have a weather forecast that says 70% chance of rain that means it's going to rain all day. Is this how Florida forecasts work? Should I expect it to rain ALL day? or will it be a storm and then done?

It’s different all the time honestly. I would be prepared for it to rain all day but usually it’s an afternoon storm. Today it has been pretty much all day long

 

[Naomeri]

Good to know, thanks! I was hoping to go on our non-park days but this reservation popped a couple of days ago up so I grabbed it. Might reconsider if it means a ton of travel time.

I went to Disney Springs on my MK day and just hopped the monorail to the Contemporary (because it was there and I haven’t ridden it since I was a little kid) and caught bus from there (the bus showed up less than 5 minutes after I got to the CR bus stop)

 

[DisneyFive]

FP+ will only make standby lines longer if they do not increase ride capacity. I think it's more likely that with increased park capacity they reopen shows, more dining options, and increase ride capacity. That'll do much more to alleviate crowds than bringing back FP+

IMO if they add park capacity they will absolutely have to increase ride capacity. I think lines are about the max that people are willing to tolerate as it is right now. The problem with increased ride capacity is the loss of social distancing and I’m just not sure Disney is willing to do that in June already. I guess we’ll see. Shows will help a little but I don’t think they will impact ride waits as much as some think.

I just hope that waits times are reasonable when we arrive in late July.

Dan

 

[FCDub]

We arrive on the 16th and currently it looks like it's supposed to rain/thunderstorm most every day we are there. I see today was also stormy. I live in OK and when we have a weather forecast that says 70% chance of rain that means it's going to rain all day. Is this how Florida forecasts work? Should I expect it to rain ALL day? or will it be a storm and then done?

There is literally no way to predict the weather a week in advance