Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[scrappinginontario]

Any idea when the crowds will start to go down? I’ve been looking at ride times and they are still very high. I am going on the 21st. I had thought January was a quiet month after marathon week but I guess you just don’t know what to expect these days!

Not sure we will see a big drop as many cancelled trips from the summer/fall were rescheduled for early 2022. Crowds may go down a bit but I don't anticipate a lot.

 

[PrincessJasmine88]

Darn, well at least it will be much cooler weather then when I went in September. I can stand waiting in line much easier when it’s not 93 out!

 

[HappyFairydust]

Any idea when the crowds will start to go down?

Actually I saw a significant drop of people after 1/6. 1/7 friday was my last day at WDW and I was in Epcot but the lines i saw was significantly shorter than what I saw on 1/3.
But you‘re right, there are more people travelling and you can‘t predict a „low crowd time“ anymore. I hope you‘ll have a low crowd level when you visit!

 

[Aimeedyan]

Honestly, I've found Jan to be quite busy in recent years (as a local-ish AP who visits every week or two). We still love to go in Jan because the temps are glorious but expect heavy crowds.

September is the only time of year when I think it's truly "low crowds" but that's because most people are melting into the sidewalk

 

[WDW Lover]

Honestly, I've found Jan to be quite busy in recent years (as a local-ish AP who visits every week or two). We still love to go in Jan because the temps are glorious but expect heavy crowds.

September is the only time of year when I think it's truly "low crowds" but that's because most people are melting into the sidewalk

I agree. Once Disney changed the date of the marathon and all of those other races in January from that first week, to the second week, they took up the "low" time in the parks by filling it with marathoners and marathon supporters. January mid to end used to be uncrowded but not so much anymore. September is definitely the least busy right now. Once foreigners start pouring back in, I bet there won't be an uncrowded time at all!

 

[Lsdolphin]

I’m hoping that crowds especially local crowds may be lower due to increasing COVID numbers...

 

[lostinlakes]

Just finishing a 2 day trip as an AP Fl resident with my out of state mom. We used LL and genie+.

Did AK yesterday (1/11). Got there around 9:45ish and went to our LL safari, maybe a 5 min wait in the line but great tour and saw the new baby rhino. Walked the gorilla trail and grabbed a snack and headed over for a Navi River journey and Dinosaur before hanging out under cover to avoid the rainstorm. Caught Bugs Life and hit the shops to kill some time before our 2p purchase for FOP and we were done. Didn’t feel too crowded and good masking inside overall.

Today we started at HS and hit ToT, Star Tours, Muppets, Toy Story Mania, Indiana Jones and the Runaway Railway from 10-2:30 before heading to Epcot for Soarin, Ratatouille, and Nemo and food and shopping. Saw lots of masks and everyone respectful of space. HS crowded at times of course in Star Wars area which we avoided. Overall not bad today and great weather. Epcot pretty darn dead. Definitely appreciated the lightning lanes for avoiding standing around people for long and never waited in one for longer than 5 min max.

 

[RNTeacher]

1/9-Marathon day. We had a fabulous day in MK. Crowds were low until around noon. We bought Genie + but probably didn’t need it as we had basically walked on so many rides that morning.
1/10-EPCOT. We opted not to buy Genie +. We rope dropped Remy. We waited 32 minutes. Line was 60 min when we got off. With the EEH, we experienced every attraction we wanted to.
1/11-HS. Bought Genie +. Did not want to buy ILL. Tried to rope drop MMRR without success. It did not open during early entry and was experiencing technical difficulties past early entry and we abandoned the effort. Rode TOT LL, Star Tours SB, and Frozen sing along SB. it was 1100 and HS felt so crowded and we decided to head back to the resort. We ate lunch at Steakhouse 71. The burger was fabulous! We went back to Studios at 5:30. I had booked TSMM and MFSR from the resort. After we rode those, we did standby for TSMM (husband’s favorite) and MMRR. We are going back Thursday to hopefully catch the others.
Genie + is ok. I just hate having to pay more.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Just got back today! Only went to MK yesterday after marathon weekend. Splurged for Genie+ and ILL Space Mountain because my feet are sore and we only had one park day. I think it was worth it because everything had posted 40+ minute waits and we never waited. It did lose its luster by afternoon though when less was available.
My favorite part of the day was being interacted with at Laugh Factory which is my favorite thing in MK! What a blast.
We got to the park around 10 or so and did the following:
Haunted Mansion LL
Philharmagic (standby- no wait)
Under the Sea LL
Mad Tea Party LL— app changed time when I booked and didn’t realize so I had to wait 10 min when I got there. Was able to check in to ride 10 min before LL time
Cinderella’s Royal Table— later in the afternoon my DH lost his sword souvenir so we went back and they replaced it!
Laugh Factory LL iirc (prob wasn’t necessary)
Space Mountain ILL
People Mover (standby)
Met Tiana & Rapunzel (15 min wait)
Winnie the Pooh LL (our LL was cancelled due to an outage but we were able to get a redemption pass for basically 5 min after the original time)
Hall of Presidents (I’d never done it and my favorite author, John Green, has an essay on it in his book The Anthropocene Reviewed)
Enchanted Tiki Room (standby)… this was not as good as I remembered it being as a kid.
Pirates of the Caribbean LL— let us on 15 min early
Liberty Tree Tavern— seated 10 min after reservation time (were told it would be 30 min)

I would have liked to have done SDMT because I haven’t yet and also Peter Pan but it’s okay. We also missed the Calvacades and fireworks because our dinner reservation wasn’t on time. Overall, though, a fun day!

 

[EmilyGahr]

Can anyone comment on the crowds? Are they starting to slow down?

I checked at 7:30 am this morning and there was still availability for LL and ILL$ for SDD, ROTR, FOP, TT, and so much more!

 

[Halloweenqueen]

At MK yesterday. It was very busy. We are vets with the usual strategies and we’re amazed at the crowds. Lots of internationals families which surprised us.

 

[lostinlakes]

Can anyone comment on the crowds? Are they starting to slow down?

I checked at 7:30 am this morning and there was still availability for LL and ILL$ for SDD, ROTR, FOP, TT, and so much more!

Epcot was great yesterday, AK good on Monday and HS crowded in Star Wars but otherwise not bad yesterday.

 

[glocon]

There is still availability for SDD and Rise! Wow!!!

 

[EmilyGahr]

There is still availability for SDD and Rise! Wow!!!

FOP, Remy, and TT still available too!

 

[SheSingsAlong]

Question for those at Disney now: What are you wearing? How cold is it at rope drop and does it get too warm for jeans mid-day? Heading down in a week and I'm still not sure what to pack or how to dress for a 20 degree temp spread between the lows and the highs I do get cold easily.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Question for those at Disney now: What are you wearing? How cold is it at rope drop and does it get too warm for jeans mid-day? Heading down in a week and I'm still not sure what to pack or how to dress for a 20 degree temp spread between the lows and the highs I do get cold easily.

Not there but have been in Jan. Until someone there can answer, my recommendation is to dress in layers. Bring things you can layer on top of one another and add/remove as needed.

Also, what someone is wearing is often subjective on where they live. I live in Canada so will wear something very different at 70o from someone who lives in a warmer climate. 70o to me = shorts! My friend in California = jacket at 70o.

 

[lovethattink]

I’m a local. It’s been unseasonably warm. We had a cold front come through the other night that knocked us down to 70 as a high. And now it looks like 60’s and 70’s during the day with 40 and 50’s at night. People from up north might not need a jacket. But I’d be in a sweater by day and my winter coat at night with those temps. Layers are always helpful.

 

[Naomeri]

As a northerner, 50° in Orlando hits differently than 50° in Minnesota, and I usually need more warmth than I do at home. Layers are definitely the thing to do.

 

[Gitelfor]

Question for those at Disney now: What are you wearing? How cold is it at rope drop and does it get too warm for jeans mid-day? Heading down in a week and I'm still not sure what to pack or how to dress for a 20 degree temp spread between the lows and the highs I do get cold easily.

WDW in late January can sometimes be so chilly in the morning, that you can see your breath, while waiting for the bus to a park. By mid-day, people no longer wear jackets, as the sun usually warms things up. However, the nights can feel cold, again, once the sun sets. Waiting for fireworks, a warm coat and gloves may be needed. There are many families that wrap blankets around their kids.

Layering is a good idea. If you will be out at a park all day, you may want to be prepared for the chilly mornings and evenings, but rent a locker to store the extra layers, when not being worn.

Of course, when the temps drop, Disney prominently places racks of cold-weather clothing in all of the shops - everything from gloves and scarves to jackets.

I find watching the early local news on TV, before heading out for the day, is helpful in getting a good idea about the day’s predicted temps.

 

[cjlong88]

We will rope drop Remy using the IG. How early should we arrive with a 9:30 am ETPE opening time? Anyone there now or did this recently (assuming they keep Remy for ETPE this weekend)?