Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[harleyquinn]

Headed there tomorrow. We're a little nervous about the crowds and the rising case count but we're determined to make the best of it and stay safe and distanced since it's not as though it's our once in a lifetime trip. I have a question regarding the arrival time text I just received. I'm DVC with check in at 4pm. In addition we are using Magical Express and my text said we had a 12am arrival for tomorrow. I never inpit this info and I can't edit it on MDE. Is this normal for Magical Express or maybe a DVC quirk? Not looking to call member services and wait 3 hours in the phone so I figured people who were still on there trip may be able to tell me recent experience.

What time are you actually arriving? I wouldn’t worry about it. MDE will take you whenever you show up.

 

[preemiemama]

Headed there tomorrow. We're a little nervous about the crowds and the rising case count but we're determined to make the best of it and stay safe and distanced since it's not as though it's our once in a lifetime trip. I have a question regarding the arrival time text I just received. I'm DVC with check in at 4pm. In addition we are using Magical Express and my text said we had a 12am arrival for tomorrow. I never inpit this info and I can't edit it on MDE. Is this normal for Magical Express or maybe a DVC quirk? Not looking to call member services and wait 3 hours in the phone so I figured people who were still on there trip may be able to tell me recent experience.

I think it is a default setting for either DVC or MDE (or both?). Ours said the same thing and we weren't scheduled to arrive until late afternoon. It didn't seem to affect anything for us.

 

[MulanMom]

If anyone has tips on a good spot in fantasyland for the fireworks, I’d love to hear it

We enjoy watching from the walkway just outside the bridge to BOG. Fireworks are both by the castle and behind. Music is playing over the speakers.

Have fun!

 

[Chaitali]

We enjoy watching from the walkway just outside the bridge to BOG. Fireworks are both by the castle and behind. Music is playing over the speakers.

Have fun!

Thank you!

 

[Pinkgirl0814]

When it comes to the "Blue Umbrellas" and DAS:

--The Guest Experience Blue Umbrella can set a DAS return time for you for any ride. These are dedicated CMs in spots like right outside Galaxy's Edge by the Muppets in DHS in addition to the Guest Services at the front of the park. They are there to help with all kinds of issues you would go to Guest Services about (for example: you get a RISE boarding group, but realize that one of your friends isn't connected on MDE)

--The person assigning return times for DAS at an attraction can typically only do that particular ride.

Thank you so much for that information! We only ever got a return time for our DAS pass at the actual ride. This is a great tip- thank you so much for sharing!!!

 

[cdurham1]

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/1-day-magic-kingdom-plans/
I was there the same morning as Tom and agree with his updated touring plan strategy for the most part. Rope dropping Space Mountain was a failure for us. The second morning we rope dropped BTM, which is a risk because it seems to be down at opening 25% of the time. The wait time for Splash Mountain immediately seemed to skyrocket, much like our personal experience at Space Mountain.

3 reasons I think it makes sense to RD BTM right now - 1. The shade at Liberty Square entrance at the hub. The first day we rope dropped Space Mountain the crowd at the Tomorrowland Bridge was intense and directly in the sun. Sitting in the direct sun for 30 minutes in this heat and a crowd is a terrible way to start the day. 2. Because BTM is down so much at opening, relatively few people RD it thinking it is too big a risk, BUT 3. If it is down, you are close enough to correct your course upon finding out and reroute to PPF and HM, imo.

 

[tinkerhon]

Fireworks at HS will return tonight. They finally updated the app. That’s a huge relief! I’m guessing it’s going to be very crowded at HS this evening.

Awesome !!! Is that the SW projections or fireworks ? (or both !!??). )

Thanks !!!

 

[SCDisneyfanatic]

Read on another site that WDW brought back eating and drinking only while stationary. If you can go maskless outside I'm not sure why that policy would be re-introduced. Can someone verify the validity of that?

 

[luv2cheer92]

Awesome !!! Is that the SW projections or fireworks ? (or both !!??). )

Thanks !!!

Wonderful World of Animation projection show. What they used to show before the SW show.

 

[rockpiece]

Read on another site that WDW brought back eating and drinking only while stationary. If you can go maskless outside I'm not sure why that policy would be re-introduced. Can someone verify the validity of that?

How can they even enforce that with no masks required outside?

 

[luv2cheer92]

How can they even enforce that with no masks required outside?

What they said is not correct.

 

[jbrinkm]

Read on another site that WDW brought back eating and drinking only while stationary. If you can go maskless outside I'm not sure why that policy would be re-introduced. Can someone verify the validity of that?

Everywhere, or just while in line? In line would make sense as per how it was before. I can't see how it would make any difference while people are walking around...

 

[tinkerhon]

Wonderful World of Animation projection show. What they used to show before the SW show.

Thanks !!!

 

[rlk]

We arrived home last night from our 11 nights/12 days at Disney that started with one night at BLT, 9 nights at Boardwalk, and back for two nights at BLT. We made park reservations based on where we were staying so we could walk to our RD park most mornings. It made our trip less stressful, something that was helpful in the heat and crowded parks. We experienced the parks without the mask mandate up until our last two days.

There was a noticeable difference in the crowd level and standby times in MK on 7/30. We rope dropped and were able to ride BTMRR, Splash, Pirates, HM, and Winnie the Pooh by 10:05. The crowds did seem to start rolling in as we were leaving close to 2 pm. I assumed it was a lot of park hoppers who can get in at 1:50 pm.

Like others have reported, mask compliance was not great in a lot of lines, better in some others. As soon as people pass the first CM, off goes the mask or down it goes to their chin. Mentally counting the noncompliant maskers was a way to pass the time in line. At Everest, where the CM asked everyone to mask while still in the outside line, I counted 40+ just within my line of vision.

We experienced mostly happy helpful CMs. The only bad interaction was on our DME bus from the airport. Our driver who wore his mask under his chin didn't announce what hotels he was stopping at or what order. we were happily surprised when we got dropped off first though. We did get some pixie dust from other CMs and that always helps you forget how hot and crowded it is. When I had to get help at Guest Services, the CM said he wanted to help us get 'time' back and gave us three multi-experiences (FPs) that we could use that day or the next day.

We ad a great CM at Boardwalk help us get our first ROTR boarding group. He cheered and waived a little flag after my husband go it. He was there a few days later on our second attempt and was helping other people try. Unfortunately, no one in the the Boardwalk lobby got a return time that morning. We did secure another one on our third HS day.

We saw some bad behavior including (posted this before)someone trying to light the candles on the railing outside the Kali exit and then proceeded to flip off the CM when she tried stopping him. Several confrontations for not wanting to comply with the reinstated mask rule. Luckily, those ended with gust masking to get on a ride. I can only imagine those masks came down as soon as they were out of CMs eye sight. I commend the CMs for keeping their cool!

After our first day, I decided to cancel most of our ADRs since we were loving the freedom of no FPs, plus no advanced reservations. This doesn't mean I don't want FP to come back in whatever form. We did not like the snaking lines because everyone was in one line instead of two. Between those lines and crowds of people having no where to go, it was difficult to walk around in some places. HS and Pandora were by far the worst that we experienced. They had a CM acting as a crossing guard. You had to wait until a crowd built up in order to cross the FOP line to exit the land.

We did get our first upgrade at BLT from a studio to a one bedroom. We enjoyed watching HEA from our balcony one night. We really enjoyed being able to walk back to our resort after HEA another night. The HEA crowds on 7/30 seemed much larger than when we watched the prior week. We thought that was odd since the crowds that morning seemed much lighter. Maybe because it rained for a few hours the evening before and people decided to wait until the next night. A MK photopass CM we spoke with the following morning said she felt like it was extremely busy that night too.

This was our fist Food & Wine. We liked almost everything we tried except theDonut Box chicken sandwich. I know other people rave about it but it wasn't for us. We were happy that Tangerine Cafe was open and we enjoyed the kebobs and fresh bread with hummus. My husband enjoyed the roasted porchetta from the Saucy Swine. France and Mexico seemed to always have lines for drinks, so we never waited.

Epcot during Food & Wine looks like it can compete with Nashville or Vegas for Bachelorette parties. We didn't witness any poor behavior, just lots of groups celebrating and having a VERY good time.

 

[ChinaDenver]

Totally agree with you guys on this. Today was the first day I have been to Universal since I was a kid. Islands of Adventure was pretty awesome. My 19 and 10 year old daughters had a great time. We have been in the Disney World for the previous 4 days. Today was a big eye opener. Universal is just currently doing things way better than Disney. The customer experience is 10 times better.

I haven't been to Universal for years but several friends also have stated Universal is beating Disney in terms of customer service, ride excitement, etc. I think I may go and see if that is true!

 

[cdurham1]

I haven't been to Universal for years but several friends also have stated Universal is beating Disney in terms of customer service, ride excitement, etc. I think I may go and see if that is true!

The lighter crowds, along with having Express Pass, are probably the biggest 2 reasons the experience is so much better. But, I hadn't gone in 25+ years because I had always bought the idea that their attractions were just not quite up to par and the place is just not quite as "magical." Idk, after today and yesterday, I have to say that their attractions, queues, etc., are pretty darn awesome. This might be a game changer for us. Universal is probably on the agenda for every return trip from now on.

 

[Pyotr]

Read on another site that WDW brought back eating and drinking only while stationary. If you can go maskless outside I'm not sure why that policy would be re-introduced. Can someone verify the validity of that?

While inside………

 

[notatallmagic]

We ate at Regal Eagle on two different days because we enjoyed the salad so much.

Yes, the salad has mixed greens, pulled chicken, fresh grapefruit and orange, cranberries...It's such a random selection of items, but it TOTALLY WORKS! I don't know how to describe the dressing (maybe a very light citrus vinegrette?).

I've ordered both the adult portion (very nice size) and the kids portion, which comes with two sides. The sides at Regal Eagle are awesome - I love watermelon; they also have the standard fries, onion rings, mac and chese, baked beans, and cucumbers. I ordered the kids portion salad with the watermelon and cucumbers, and it was a super light, fresh meal. Hope you all enjoy!

 

[Mango7100]

We enjoy watching from the walkway just outside the bridge to BOG. Fireworks are both by the castle and behind. Music is playing over the speakers.

Have fun!

We watched from there a few weeks ago and it was wonderful. Walked up about 2 minute before the show any maybe 10 people around. Then we could go to a ride right away after it was over and not be in a mob of people…

 

[cdurham1]

At US, just walked thru the line at Minions listening to the parkwide announcement from the lady with the fake British accent telling people they encourage you to wear masks and stay 6 feet apart. Then got inside Minions with the cast member telling everyone to squeeze all the way in and together... strange times...