We returned home on Friday, 5/14/21 (arrived at BWV 5/6/21) and had a great time. That said, it was crowded and it wasn't simply attributable to social distancing queues, stroller parking, etc. It was simply crowded at all the parks with HS being the worst.
We have points of reference for comparison because we go this same week every year and have done so for the last 10+ years. We were also there in October 2020--same week every year for also 10+ years. We felt October was exceptionally crowded compared to normal and this trip in May was even more so.
Since we are well versed in Disney, we tried to hit buses early a.m. (or walked) and arrive at parks an hour prior to stated opening. This worked better when walking to HS or EPCOT.
Buses were hit or miss at getting to the parks an hour before scheduled opening (MK/AK).
MK plan worked (rode everything we wanted prior to noon BUT FOR SDMT [down at opening], Carousel of Progress and Splash [down at opening]) on our first day (5/7); but the second day (5/12) we waited 40 minutes or so for a bus and did not get there as planned. This one wasn't on us, we were at the bus stop at 7:00 a.m. or so. We weren't overly concerned because our only goal was to ride the three aforementioned rides and return to our resort. Once again, however, SDMT was down as was Splash until 9ish. We did COP, Speedway and Teacups until Splash was up and hit it up. SDMT was not up until much later in the a.m. and we opted not to wait to ride it. We mobile ordered (soon after arrival in MK) from Pecos--picked it up after Splash and went back to BWV for pool time.
AK (5/8) the bus was reliable and we skipped our planned second day because we crushed that park and rode everything we wanted before 11:00 a.m. That was a good thing because when we left after our lunch at Y&Y, it was a hot mess.
DHS was flat out crazy on both days we went (5/10 and 13). Since we were walking we arrived as planned. On the 10th, we were a scant 5-10 minutes earlier than the 13th and the difference in our pre-opening queue location was incredible. Not that the ultimate queue was any different (the left side for walkers, buses and cars stretched as far as the eye could see down the walkway (I have pictures, but not where I am at the moment). Once the skyliner and boat folks arrived (and the left side of the queue was longer than the walkway), the right side was queued up and it, likewise, stretched back to the bus depot--this is pre-opening!
On 5/10 we did great with our early hours--SDD, TSM, AS, MF, ST and RoR (BG14)--and out by noon which is always our plan for any park. 5/13 we were not so lucky. This day our goal was to hit RoR (BG4), RnR and ToT (we have done Mickey's Runaway and weren't impressed so didn't feel the need), have lunch at 50s and leave. ToT was down and queue was not permitted. We rode RnR x2 and ToT queue was then forming. By the time we joined it, the queue was all the way snaking through the exit from Fantasmic. The handheld sign said 60 minutes but we knew it was going to be shorter because the ride had not yet even loaded--still, we waited 40 minutes which got us to our RoR boarding group with 15 minutes or so to spare. While it seems we accomplished a good deal--the park was crowded on both days with 5/13 being worse.
So, moral of the story is that word has filtered to the masses that the parks are opening 45-60 minutes prior to stated time. Getting to the parks early is still the best advice, but don't think you are going to breeze on everything for that first two hours as used to be the case. The sea of humanity is arriving prior to the 10:30 - 11:00 a.m. time it used to hit the parks. Oh those stragglers are still there, but that opening crowd is equally large (it was the same in October--at least more than expected).
We had great weather, many hours of pool time in our private pool at BWI
, hopped to EPCOT in the evening nearly every day and had a great time despite the disbelief in the size of the crowds. It pays to know what you are doing and how to navigate the parks and crowds especially without FP+, the shows, entertainment and a shortage of restaurants.
Hopefully Disney will get the remaining hotels, restaurants and shows open and reinstate FP+ to help with the crowding issue. Masks and distancing seem to be going away (not quickly enough for me) so our fingers are crossed for a more normal experience in the fall!