Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[sunnyshari]

Hello! Can anyone currently there give some input on the busses, please? Are they packing people on like sardines? This is the first time we are seriously considering driving and parking at all the parks to avoid being in super confined spaces with loads of other people for extended periods of time.

Are people wearing their masks properly? Thank you for any observations you are willing to share! We arrive in a week.

We got back on 8/4 and yes the busses were packed…standing room only. The ventilation hatch was left open unless it started to rain. I’d say in our situation mask compliance on the busses was about 90%.

 

[EvilVillainess]

I hear you, but I feel like this gets confused a lot by people who do not realize just how close TTC is to Poly. It is basically a stone's throw form some of the Poly rooms.

View attachment 595274

When my DD and I stayed there it was closer to the TTC monorail then the monorail at the polynesian.

 

[disneyseniors]

Yes it will likely be bad by then. But since AK closes pretty early and there's no nighttime show, another option is to hop in line for FoP at the very end of the day. The posted wait time might be long, but it's usually wildly inflated at the end of the night.

We were there Sunday and watched Tough to be a Bug twice

Just my 2 cents worth: We took our kids age 5 and 7 the first time, and they absolutely loved it. They laughed at all the bugs onstage, and even laughed when the bugs crawled on the back of the seats and the fluttering feeling on their feet! I guess you never know what kids will do?

 

[TioAdis78]

OMG ditto. DS16 and DD14 were SCARRED by the show when they were little and we legitimately have not gone back to see it as a family in years. We went this last time and DS16 remembered every part of it (I think it was burned into his psyche lol). He knew exactly when the kids were going to start screaming. He was laughing hysterically lol.

I remember waiting for an HOUR for it on Easter week in ‘18, only for my two autistic children with major sensory issues to be broken beyond repair for the rest of the trip
I’d recommend anyone who goes, children and adults alike, to be aware of their own sensory tolerance threshold, because this show will definitely push it.

 

[DaniMoon]

Arrived yesterday. Our room at POP wasn't ready at two so we decided to take the skyliner to Epcot. As we were in line we got our room ready text.

Rode Figment, Soarin, LWTL. Saw Awesome Planer for the first time. Rode Nemo and walked around the Seas. Did Nemo again because it was a bit too early to check into our Coral Reef ADR. Food was good, selection was limited for my kids who normally order off the adult menu. They both got the kids steak. Headed back to POP. I think we were in our room 10 minutes before it started storming.

This morning we did AK, we got there about 7:30 and went to EE. Which didn't open til 8. Rode it 3 times, then Safari. Off that by 9:15. Gorilla Falls, Rafiki's. Saw them operating on a painted dog. My daughter keeps saying her dream job is a vet at AK so she was enthralled. Jungle Trek and we headed out. Saw the macaws fly, so amazing.

Back at Pop, lunched and some pool time. Sanaa ADR this evening and we plan to do FOP.

 

[e_yerger]

Arrived yesterday. Our room at POP wasn't ready at two so we decided to take the skyliner to Epcot. As we were in line we got our room ready text.

Rode Figment, Soarin, LWTL. Saw Awesome Planer for the first time. Rode Nemo and walked around the Seas. Did Nemo again because it was a bit too early to check into our Coral Reef ADR. Food was good, selection was limited for my kids who normally order off the adult menu. They both got the kids steak. Headed back to POP. I think we were in our room 10 minutes before it started storming.

This morning we did AK, we got there about 7:30 and went to EE. Which didn't open til 8. Rode it 3 times, then Safari. Off that by 9:15. Gorilla Falls, Rafiki's. Saw them operating on a painted dog. My daughter keeps saying her dream job is a vet at AK so she was enthralled. Jungle Trek and we headed out. Saw the macaws fly, so amazing.

Back at Pop, lunched and some pool time. Sanaa ADR this evening and we plan to do FOP.

What time was your coral reef ADR? Just for reference on how much you got done in that time

 

[aj24]

Can anyone comment on crowds today and yesterday? Wait seems seem much lower on average across the board vs the peaks of the past 2-4 weeks.

 

[DaniMoon]

What time was your coral reef ADR? Just for reference on how much you got done in that time

We checked in at 5 for our adr. We got to Epcot about 2:30.

 

[stiirfry]

Just got back from our last morning at the parks, at Magic Kingdom! We woke up with the plans of rope dropping and got to our bus stop around 7:10 (it was the Aruba bus stop) it was pretty packed. within 10 minutes we saw 2 Animal Kingdom buses come by and everybody was starting to get ancy. We talked to a family next to us and they said they've been waiting since around for almost 45 minutes for a magic kingdom bus. About 7:30 we saw another animal kingdom bus. Somebody came up to the bus driver and asked for an ETA for a Magic Kingdom bus. The bus driver then decided since he was completely empty that he'd change from the animal kingdom to MK! He told us that it was probably the fact that the MK buses kept filling up before reaching Aruba. I'm very thankful for that bus driver lol
When we entered MK we noticed everything was in Halloween decorations, I guess it's never too early for Halloween?

We reached the entrance for Fantasy Land at about 7:53 (I took a picture at the exact time) The park opened at 8:00. we planned on going straight to 7 dwarves and so did everybody else lol. Thankfully we got there and waited only about 20 minutes Then we decided to get on it's a small world, which honestly was a mistake but it was walk on so not the worst. After this, we decided to go to Jungle Cruise. The wait time was 40 minutes but it only took 20 minutes. Now it was about 9:30 at this point. My sister and I planned on going to POTC after this but POTC and splash was down at the moment. We decided to go try the grey stuff cupcakes a gaston's. Super good! After eating those pirates had JUST reopened so we RUSHED across the park to get there lol. Pirates was about a 10-minute wait, and we were off of it by 10:30. We walked by to see if Splash was opened yet and they were not, so we rode Thunder Mountain. Thunder Mountain wait was posted at 35 but it only took about 20 minutes. When we got off we walked past SM again (we were desperate) and said "aw man I think they're still closed" and some random guy said "yea but they're gonna reopen in like 2 minutes" and based on that random stranger's comment we decided to wait lol. He was right! It opened about 15 minutes later and we basically walked on (it was about a 15-minute wait). We were off Splash by 11:15.

I hate to say I but we really lucked out with Splash breaking down lol We had a 12:20 reservation for skipper's canteen and we walked over there when they opened (11:30) and just asked if they could get us in any sooner and they could! So we had an earlier lunch and then decided to gift shop on main st a bit and head out I noticed the crowds seem a lot lighter today even though we expected them to be more intense! We may go back tonight or just head back to Disney Springs, we're unsure

 

[anjuan]

Today was our first day at the parks in 6 years. We walked from the Dolphin to the Boardwalk bus station around 6:45 and the bus came at 6:52. We were some of the first at the parks. We decided to rope drop 7 DMT. They started walking us part way about 7:55 and then slowly walked us the rest of the way to the ride. Was off the ride around 8:10 then went to Space Mountain and was off that by 8:35. The other rides we went on in order were People Mover, then Splash Mountain was shut down so we went to BTMRR, stopped for churros, then Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Hall of Presidents, Haunted Mansion and had lunch at Skipper Canteen at noon. Then we took the bus back to the Boardwalk and the ferry pulled up right as we got to the dock. We got on board and it pretty much started raining right away. I thought it was a pretty productive morning! Tonight we're going to AK since it's open until 8pm.

Edited to add we didn't wait more than 25 minutes for anything.

 

[bbn1122]

Here now, today is our first day of the trip. Got boarding pass 61 for ROTR. Now heading to the skyliner to rope drop HS.

Congrats!! Have a fun day. My family will be there in two weeks, hoping to get a ROTR boarding pass.

 

[Caboosey]

Has the service where they will send packages to your resort room or even hold them at the front of the park for you returned yet? I'm going for the 50th and want to purchase lots of merch as we arrive to MK in the morning and not haul it around all day. I guess I could also rent a locker for the day if those services are not available.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Has the service where they will send packages to your resort room or even hold them at the front of the park for you returned yet? I'm going for the 50th and want to purchase lots of merch as we arrive to MK in the morning and not haul it around all day. I guess I could also rent a locker for the day if those services are not available.

No. This service has not been reinstated
Nor has a restart date been announced.

 

[KM82]

*long post - tried to give as much detail as I could. This thread helped me so much when we were in the planning stages*

Yesterday was MK. We decided to sleep in a bit, knowing we would be missing the advantage of rope drop. We decided we were ok with that, and knew we wouldn’t likely do everything we wanted.

We arrived at MK at 10:30 and headed to Pirates, which was a 5min wait at most. We had mobile ordered CHH for 11am before we left. We had our food by 11:05 and were able to snag DS’s favorite booth upstairs. Then we headed to the People Mover, which was ~10 min wait. It stopped while we were inside space mtn and the ride stopped and the lights came on (our lights, not SM lights). We did eventually move again and were probably stopped less than 5 min.

BTMR is DS’s favorite ride so we headed there next. We were in line at 12:20. Posted wait of 35 min. We were off at 12:40, but the line was back to the bridge when we got off.

Next stop was Aloha Isle for a Kakamora float and then the Hall of Presidents before heading to ride Space Mountain. We got in line at 2:15. Posted 55 min, lines app said 26 but updated to 39 while we were still in the outside line. We were off the ride at 2:56. Caught a cavalcade on the way back to BTMR

Back to BTMR, in line at 3:58, had a 15 min wait. We had a 4:54 dinner reservation and then headed back to the hotel. The thunder and lightning started during our bus ride back.

It was a good day, even with the later start. Mask compliance seems decent, but there are definitely people who have decided the rules don’t apply to them and there are lots of noses and chin diapers out there. We’ve been able to put DS between us in line and create a buffer between parties if needed, but definitely something to be aware of.

 

[DeeCeeSW]

Beautiful family! BTMRR is my favorite too!

*long post - tried to give as much detail as I could. This thread helped me so much when we were in the planning stages*

Yesterday was MK. We decided to sleep in a bit, knowing we would be missing the advantage of rope drop. We decided we were ok with that, and knew we wouldn’t likely do everything we wanted.

We arrived at MK at 10:30 and headed to Pirates, which was a 5min wait at most. We had mobile ordered CHH for 11am before we left. We had our food by 11:05 and were able to snag DS’s favorite booth upstairs. Then we headed to the People Mover, which was ~10 min wait. It stopped while we were inside space mtn and the ride stopped and the lights came on (our lights, not SM lights). We did eventually move again and were probably stopped less than 5 min.

BTMR is DS’s favorite ride so we headed there next. We were in line at 12:20. Posted wait of 35 min. We were off at 12:40, but the line was back to the bridge when we got off.

Next stop was Aloha Isle for a Kakamora float and then the Hall of Presidents before heading to ride Space Mountain. We got in line at 2:15. Posted 55 min, lines app said 26 but updated to 39 while we were still in the outside line. We were off the ride at 2:56. Caught a cavalcade on the way back to BTMR

Back to BTMR, in line at 3:58, had a 15 min wait. We had a 4:54 dinner reservation and then headed back to the hotel. The thunder and lightning started during our bus ride back.

It was a good day, even with the later start. Mask compliance seems decent, but there are definitely people who have decided the rules don’t apply to them and there are lots of noses and chin diapers out there. We’ve been able to put DS between us in line and create a buffer between parties if needed, but definitely something to be aware of.
View attachment 595404View attachment 595405

 

[KM82]

Beautiful family! BTMRR is my favorite too!

Aww thanks! I forgot how much you can sweat standing in place in Florida in August. We come every year for his birthday, but I swear I mentally block that part out every time!

 

[faceofsam]

Hi folks! I have a trip planned at the end of August (August 27th-September 3rd) I'm really hoping the crowds will have calmed down by then. I'm curious if people have taken uber/lyft from their hotel to the parks to avoid the waits and crowding for the busses, and if so how it went?

 

[Sugarshock]

Hi folks! I have a trip planned at the end of August (August 27th-September 3rd) I'm really hoping the crowds will have calmed down by then. I'm curious if people have taken uber/lyft from their hotel to the parks to avoid the waits and crowding for the busses, and if so how it went?

I often do this! It works really well for all but MK, in my opinion. With MK, you’re dropped off at the TTC and still need to take a monorail or ferry. I like sleeping in on vacation so I don’t do rope drop, but an hour or two after I’ve never had trouble finding a driver!

 

[cindianne320]

What is the hand sanitizer situation like? I was last there in April, and while I know SD is non-existent, I was wondering if they are still keeping the sanitizer stations filled before/after the rides.

 

[Chaitali]

I often do this! It works really well for all but MK, in my opinion. With MK, you’re dropped off at the TTC and still need to take a monorail or ferry. I like sleeping in on vacation so I don’t do rope drop, but an hour or two after I’ve never had trouble finding a driver!

Yep, we used lyft earlier in the week too. I agree it doesn’t make sense for the magic kingdom usually and we were able to walk to Epcot and Hollywood studios. But we used it for animal kingdom and it worked great. We also used it to go to a breakfast reservation at the contemporary and walked from there to magic kingdom. We never had to wait more than 7 minutes for a car.