Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[figmentfinesse]

As of now, yes. I’ve been here since Aug 10 and have done all 4 Disney parks and all 3 Universal parks and there’s not much to plan. I kept an eye on the wait times leading up to my trip and put the ones with the highest waits to rope drop or hit at closing. That’s pretty much the extent of my planning. HS is def the busiest but we rode everything including Rise and Muppets and the Mickey Shorts Theatre by about 4 o clock. It’s been pretty great.

 

[502Girlie]

Just got back and I can say the only thing you may want to do is make your park reservations and some dinner reservations. We got most of what we wanted dinner wise and only made the reservations about 2 weeks out (last minute trip). I am usually a hyper planner but since there are no fast passes, it made it really easy. Wait times are very short and always less than what is posted. We still got to parks early, but honestly, lines were still short later in the day. s
Since parks are closing early, I definitely recommend some sort of dinner reservation at night unless you are ok with the quick service at your hotel or Disney Springs.

 

[NJMomto2]

Heard something interesting from a bartender today. I noticed there seemed to be staffing shortages and thought Disney reduced staff when they saw short lines for rides. The bartender said due to the increased unemployment checks, they cannot get employees to return to work!
Seems odd, I would think Disney could fire them then if they refuse and unemployment would end.

 

[yulilin3]

Heard something interesting from a bartender today. I noticed there seemed to be staffing shortages and thought Disney reduced staff when they saw short lines for rides. The bartender said due to the increased unemployment checks, they cannot get employees to return to work!
Seems odd, I would think Disney could fire them then if they refuse and unemployment would end.

The union managed to guarantee that cm stay furloughed without repercussions until the end of the year. Most cm that have decided to stay home is because of fear of the virus for themselves or people in their household.
There's no shortage of working cm though

 

[yulilin3]

I’m used to planning and over analyzing every aspect of our trip.

we making dinning reservations this Friday and I’ve looked at some recently touring plans..

but is there anything else I’m missing?Can we really just show up to the parks and go?

Merged you to the just bak thread where you can read reports from people.

 

[Sydney2977]

Heard something interesting from a bartender today. I noticed there seemed to be staffing shortages and thought Disney reduced staff when they saw short lines for rides. The bartender said due to the increased unemployment checks, they cannot get employees to return to work!
Seems odd, I would think Disney could fire them then if they refuse and unemployment would end.

This is the case in a lot of places, not just WDW. Understand thought that some people do have legitimate reasons to not return to work right now. DH and I both have co-workers who are in this situation due to themselves or a family member's health. There are still plenty of CM's that were happy to come back to work though- coming from someone I know who is a full time CM!

 

[Obliviate]

I just got back from a 10-day stay and I'd go again in a heartbeat. I gave most of my thoughts while I was there so I won't repeat myself, but I wanted to share a few pictures and some final remarks.

I am honestly lost for words thinking about what I felt during this trip. I am probably never going to experience anything like that again - a combination of low to no crowds, early park closures, time of the year, and nice weather made for some truly unforgettable moments. I encourage everyone to stick around a few minutes after close whenever possible. Here are some quick photos.

 

[only hope]

Heard something interesting from a bartender today. I noticed there seemed to be staffing shortages and thought Disney reduced staff when they saw short lines for rides. The bartender said due to the increased unemployment checks, they cannot get employees to return to work!
Seems odd, I would think Disney could fire them then if they refuse and unemployment would end.

The $600 ended at the end of July, so if that was true it’s not now. Maximum re-employment assistance in Fl (as Fl likes to call it) is $275/week- nowhere near a living wage. There’s probably cm getting less than that. I have a relative that works at a WDW bar and he has not been called back and has no idea when he will be.

 

[jvalic33]

Does anyone know if my mother could bring one of those little fold open chairs into the parks? She has a little metal and canvas one and while she is older, she can walk but has trouble standing around and waiting. Thank you for any input you might have...I'm looking especially at yulilin3 who I'm sure would know the answer to this one

 

[dunkindonut]

Went for 5 days and basically I have mixed feelings. It's nice there's not many crowds, but there are still decent wait times during the day. Being able to knock out most of MK within 2 hours was awesome but sort of boring. If you are a park hopper, you will probably not like the experience. I am a huge park hopper and basically only dedicating 5 hours a day to a park and then going back to the room was a weird experience. Bus situation is fine, but the gondola was not up and running multiple times when I was there. Having to take a bus to MK and back to your hotel is not a fun experience.

EPCOT was pretty crowded and social distancing was just difficult there. The park is pretty much half closed and so crowds have nowhere else to really go except for a few pavilions and the World Showcase. I personally question Disney's decision with Food and Wine Festival because it basically just seems like a reason to have no mask on. The crowds honestly were way more than you would think.

AK was the best, rode everything we wanted and crowds weren't bad.

DS imo is probably the most unsafe portion, lots of kids without masks or not following the rules. I do not recommend going to Disney Springs anytime soon for this reason.

Was it a good trip? Yeah, but I mean literally expect half of the things such as restaurants or shops to be closed. Also having to stand on the side to get a drink was sometimes just brutal. Sometimes there were no shaded places and you couldn't move and eat/drink obviously.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Does anyone know if my mother could bring one of those little fold open chairs into the parks? She has a little metal and canvas one and while she is older, she can walk but has trouble standing around and waiting. Thank you for any input you might have...I'm looking especially at yulilin3 who I'm sure would know the answer to this one

According to the Disney website, folding chairs are not permitted into the parks.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/park-rules/

There are some lines (Peter Pan) that have wheelchairs for guests to transfer into who are using scooters but I don't think they offer those in many lines.

 

[wombat_5606]

Does anyone know if my mother could bring one of those little fold open chairs into the parks? She has a little metal and canvas one and while she is older, she can walk but has trouble standing around and waiting. Thank you for any input you might have...I'm looking especially at yulilin3 who I'm sure would know the answer to this one

I have the same problem. I just use a cane and it helps me tremendously. It's not as good as being able to sit, but I couldn't do the parks without it.

 

[Turksmom]

Does anyone know if my mother could bring one of those little fold open chairs into the parks? She has a little metal and canvas one and while she is older, she can walk but has trouble standing around and waiting. Thank you for any input you might have...I'm looking especially at yulilin3 who I'm sure would know the answer to this one

Not sure about that, but the canes that have the little flip down seat are allowed.

 

[rnorwo1]

We did AK on a Sunday and did everything and then some - see my post a few pages back for details. Epcot would also be easy to make it through but opens much later. I would think about what time you want to be in the park, 8a vs 11a, and choose that way if the rides don't make the decision for you. It was annoying to wait till 11 to be in a park on our Epcot days, but we had the most fun there hands down this trip.

Thanks. I was just thinking about crowds, but the time is very important. I didn’t think of that, so I will be switching to AK. Thanks again!

 

[omniscientmommy]

We noticed that in the mornings when we went the wait times seemed high. We’re attempting to go this afternoon to avoid the morning rush. we still have 5 more days but dh is already very crabby and unhappy with the bed in the room.

 

[Best Aunt]

We noticed that in the mornings when we went the wait times seemed high. We’re attempting to go this afternoon to avoid the morning rush. we still have 5 more days but dh is already very crabby and unhappy with the bed in the room.

Not sure why he is unhappy with the bed, but pre-COVID people sometimes asked for one of those eggshell mattress pad things, if that might help. You can try asking housekeeping.

 

[alliecat726]

Has anyone been to La Cava (Mexico @ Epcot) since reopening? Wondering if they're serving chips & salsa/guac/cheese? No food (apps/snacks) on online menu, but wondering if they're just not showing it & still offering something (to anchor all that tequila, lol)... Headed down next month & were hoping to do a little Happy Hour there but prob won't if zero food. Just curious if anyone has been there recently & knows!

 

[yulilin3]

Does anyone know if my mother could bring one of those little fold open chairs into the parks? She has a little metal and canvas one and while she is older, she can walk but has trouble standing around and waiting. Thank you for any input you might have...I'm looking especially at yulilin3 who I'm sure would know the answer to this one

as others have posted foldable chairs are not allowed but the cane with the little seat is. How about renting a wheelchair or ECV?

 

[brockash]

Does anyone know if my mother could bring one of those little fold open chairs into the parks? She has a little metal and canvas one and while she is older, she can walk but has trouble standing around and waiting. Thank you for any input you might have...I'm looking especially at yulilin3 who I'm sure would know the answer to this one

My mom tried bringing one once, but a CM told her she couldn't have it out.

 

[alliecat726]

Has anyone been to La Cava (Mexico @ Epcot) since reopening? Wondering if they're serving chips & salsa/guac/cheese? No food (apps/snacks) on online menu, but wondering if they're just not showing it & still offering something (to anchor all that tequila, lol)... Headed down next month & were hoping to do a little Happy Hour there but prob won't if zero food. Just curious if anyone has been there recently & knows!

Well I found out that the bar (La Cava) is not allowing anyone to sit for drinks, regardless of/therefore no food, everything is take-out only, so guess it's a moot point! Off to Spice Road Table instead! : )