Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[cbvacation]

Just back from a 8/15-8/20 trip. Stayed at Pop Century. Overall we had an amazing trip. Had a few hiccups at the hotel (clogged air conditioner drain caused the room to flood in the corner by the fridge), which eventually required a room change. And it was HOT and humid, and no matter how much we were expecting that, it still could be painful at times.

Sunday 8/15 - Smooth arrival and short wait for DME. Passed time chatting with a couple getting married later in the week who met on the DCP. My daughter was also a former DCP cast member, so they shared stories about their programs. Received our room # while on route and received our room requests. Grocery delivery to our room was a bit slow (about an hour and a half) so that slowed us getting to MK a bit. A bus was waiting at the bus stop when we got there and we made it to MK around 6pm. Spent time just taking in Main Street and being very happy to be back. Mobile ordered from Sleepy Hollow (yum!). Rode Pirates and BTMR, then mobile ordered Dole Whips and took them to the Hub and waited for HEA. Rode Haunted Mansion then ended the night walking onto Splash Mountain. Got stuck on Splash for about 10 minutes at the top of the final drop. Beautiful view! All rides were less than 15 minutes waits. It was truly a magical day!

Monday 8/16- Did not get a boarding group for RotR at 7. In line for Skyliner at 7:30 and it started running at 7:45am. Started at RnR and held at the end of the street until 8:30am. Rode twice, then rode ToT once. Went to Oga’s for 10:10am reservation. Interesting. May do again at night. Shared a breakfast Ronto Wrap and headed back to Pop for a nap and to cool off. Got boarding group 87 at 1pm from hotel. Back to HS for Star Tours, RotR, Smugglers Run, dinner at Docking Bay 7, Toy Story Mania, and MMRR. Again, no significant lines today. The longest was Smugglers Run which was about 30 minutes.

Tuesday 8/17 - Animal Kingdom, arriving around 9:45am. Rode Dinosaur, EE x2, then headed to the Nomad Lounge when it opened at 11. Loved the lounge. The food and drinks were great and we were able to enjoy the character cavalcades from our table along the railing. Walked on to FoP, then back to hotel for a quick break, followed by a late lunch/early dinner at Beaches and Cream. Went to Hollywood Studios around 7 and rode TSMM, Slinky, and MMRR.

Weds, 8/18 - Got boarding group 21 for RotR at 7am. Dealt with room issues. Headed to HS and rode RotR. Very hot today, with “feels like” temp of 108. Explored Galaxies Edge and then hopped to Epcot for lunch at Via Napoli at 2:30pm. Back to room for break and dealing with more room issues. Moved rooms. Headed to Disney Springs for dinner at Frontera Concina. This was our first dinner there and it was fantastic! Best guacamole and margarita I’ve had in a long time!

Thursday, 8/19 - Arrived at MK around 8:35am and lined up for Adventureland. Rode Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, Space Mountain, PeopleMover, and then stopped by Gaston’s for a cinnamon roll. Back to Adventureland to try both types of spring rolls from the spring roll cart. Watched the Princess and the Goofy cavalcades. It was so nice to just step up to the curb, watch the cavalcade and then move on. So much less stressful than a full parade! Rode Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and watched Mickey’s Philharmagic. Left around 2pm. Pool time and nap at Pop, then dinner at The Edison at Disney Springs. Good dinner, great service and fun entertainment.

Friday 8/20 - Checked out and left luggage with Bell Services around 10:30, and headed to Epcot. Another very hot day. Enjoyed Food and Wine booths, especially Morocco and India. Continued our tour of the World Showcase. Rode Frozen, Soarin’, and Spaceship Earth. Headed back to Pop to beat the incoming storm (and be able to take the Skyliner before it was shut down). Headed out on the Magical Express at 5:30pm.

Overall thoughts: It was a great trip. The low crowds made the high heat more tolerable, and we really had no significant lines the entire trip - for rides, food, or transportation. Mobile ordering worked well for us. We will miss Magical Express on future trips. The room issue was frustrating, but moving to another room solved the problem. Mask usage was compliant with Disney policy most of the time, with the worst offenses in the Smugglers Run queue. RotR was amazing, as was walking onto FoP. The Skyliner is great when it is working and a pain when it is shut down for weather.

 

[quhawk]

Just returned home to Seattle, after visiting from 8/13 - 8/21 with wife, two daughers (15 and 13). First two days at Universal and last six at Coronado - Gran Destino Tower. I'm aware this is a Disney thread, but i'll add brief summary of Universal because many on here mix in the two. And honestly, the week before leaving, reading threads, I was seriously doubting our decision to press on with our trip. However, during the trip, my anxieties went away rather quickly.

Start with Universal, where the mask policy is far different than WDW. I bet maybe 30%-40% wear masks both outside and indoors. Indoors not enforced, so if that is a concern, you may not want to visit. I would put on the mask in high traffic areas (entry gates, Harry Potter world, Citiwalk). Express passes were very nice to have. The Hagrid's line queue took a bit to figure out, but easy to use after the fact.

Checked in to the Gran Destino Towers on Sunday night 8/15. Wow! That's really all I have to say. This portion of the property will most likely not remain a "Moderate" for long. The best hotel by far. Shouldn't be surprised since the NBA players were housed here in the bubble last summer.

Monday 8/16 - Hollywood Studios. Thank goodness by DD 15 got us a RotR boarding pass (GP58 approx 12:30pm). This was my very first time at HS. Really had little desire and since I grew up a Star Wars kid, had to do it. Only really mistake we made was take my two DD 15 and 13 on the single rider line at RR. probably waited longer than the 40 min standby. TT posted 40, but waited about 30min. I like the mobile ordering and utilized it at Launch Bay 7. Easy process and good food. RotR amazing! followed it up with Smuggler's Run and it was ok. Best part was being in the Falcon. After pool break, went back for our Olga's rez. Glad we tried it. If you haven't, do it. To me it's a one and done thing. Hit everything except for Slinky Dog and Muppets. Slinky Dog unusually long wait.

Tuesday 8/17 - Animal Kingdom. 49th b-day and our 19th anniversary, so my wife had Tshirts made. Great surprise! In AK at approximately 7:40 (park opened 8am) and went to FOP. posted wait 35 min but we were on the ride around 27-28min. After that hit all the other rides with no waits, came back to NRJ and 15 min wait (posted 30). We love Tusker House, food was good, but miss the buffet and understand why it's not operating. Festival of Lion King has an abridged show. The Monkey's and the cirque part were missing, and those were two of the best parts. Still great show. Headed back to GD around 4pm for pool/break. Entered MK around 7:45pm for Boo Bash. I knew it would be somewhat busier from 7-9pm, due to mix of crowds, and it tapered off after 9pm. longest wait was 7DMT which was around 25min. All others walk-on.

Wednesday 8/18 - Epcot. Slept in, and took UBER to Riviera so we could ride Skyliner. DW and DD13 hadn't been on Skyliner. My oldest hit it last March '20 during break from our volleyball tourney. Entered Epcot around 1pm at the International gate, and headed counterclockwise (France to Mexico). Frozen longest wait about 30min, but that probably added up to our entire wait time all day. The park surprisingly empty and easy to navigate. World Showcase started getting busier around 3pm, but by that time we were almost in Future World. Lunch at Coral Reef, which I haven't visited since I believe our '87 trip. Amazing. Of all the 3 sit downs (Tusker, Coral, Be our Guest), way cheaper and food best of all 3. Test Track had 45 min posted wait, so we did single riders, and walked on 2x. Had a fairly humorous interaction with a CM upon our second run.

Thursday 8/19 and Friday 8/20 - Magic Kingdom. Had to spend 2 days here, because to me, this is Disney World. I'm at the age where this was the only park on a few of my visits, one of two parks on a few others. Being there pulls out memories and smells, which unfortunately miss out on with masks. However, MK was somewhat disappointing, which I'll get to here shortly. I've also attached a photo. To those of you familiar with MK, it's the area between Small World and Peter Pan. High season OR Low Season, this is a chokepoint. This was taken at 11:39. I now believe Disney when they say they are limiting crowds. Sure, this week we picked b/c kids are back in school in most of the country, but I have never easily navigated this area. It was the same most of the day. My disappointment involves the FP+, or none now. This park is difficult to get as much done (to someone who knows this park inside/out). Lines were never ultra long, except for 7DMT (40-50); Jungle Cruise (30-50); Peter Pan (40-50....never understand this one). No FP spreads the crowds evenly, so you're always waiting. We're not the rope-drop type family, but in this case for this window of time, we need to be.
Hit BOG for lunch (great...but one and done for us) on Thurs, and cancelled Friday dinner b/c we didn't want to be tied to rez and hit what we can. We did the 3 mountain trifecta all 3 days, and on Friday pm, started at Splash at 8:06pm, and finished at Space at 8:59pm. girls love those 3. Sad to see Splash go. And we left as Galactic Hero's!! All of us hitting 999,999 on Buzz!

Masks. This is where I actually felt comfortable and my anxieties went away. Disney CMs did great job enforcing. The outdoor thing was lifted mid-trip, but I just put it on if in a crowed area, which was usually Main Street, and a few times around Buzz/Monsters Inc.
Sanitizer. Both Universal and Disney had plenty. If anything, this pandemic lets you realize how many things you actually touch at any given moment.

Great trip. Who knows, after 44 years of visits, it could be my last for a while, as our girls get older and it's tougher to get to Florida. But hopefully not. I encourage those of you on the fence, and I saw a post earlier, to sit back and do what's best for you and your family. There are risks to anything and everything we do on a daily basis. I would make your decision on your gut and intuition, and try to take all these posts (mine included) and formulate your own decision.

 

[Lsdolphin]

Just returned home to Seattle, after visiting from 8/13 - 8/21 with wife, two daughers (15 and 13). First two days at Universal and last six at Coronado - Gran Destino Tower. I'm aware this is a Disney thread, but i'll add brief summary of Universal because many on here mix in the two. And honestly, the week before leaving, reading threads, I was seriously doubting our decision to press on with our trip. However, during the trip, my anxieties went away rather quickly.

Start with Universal, where the mask policy is far different than WDW. I bet maybe 30%-40% wear masks both outside and indoors. Indoors not enforced, so if that is a concern, you may not want to visit. I would put on the mask in high traffic areas (entry gates, Harry Potter world, Citiwalk). Express passes were very nice to have. The Hagrid's line queue took a bit to figure out, but easy to use after the fact.

Checked in to the Gran Destino Towers on Sunday night 8/15. Wow! That's really all I have to say. This portion of the property will most likely not remain a "Moderate" for long. The best hotel by far. Shouldn't be surprised since the NBA players were housed here in the bubble last summer.

Monday 8/16 - Hollywood Studios. Thank goodness by DD 15 got us a RotR boarding pass (GP58 approx 12:30pm). This was my very first time at HS. Really had little desire and since I grew up a Star Wars kid, had to do it. Only really mistake we made was take my two DD 15 and 13 on the single rider line at RR. probably waited longer than the 40 min standby. TT posted 40, but waited about 30min. I like the mobile ordering and utilized it at Launch Bay 7. Easy process and good food. RotR amazing! followed it up with Smuggler's Run and it was ok. Best part was being in the Falcon. After pool break, went back for our Olga's rez. Glad we tried it. If you haven't, do it. To me it's a one and done thing. Hit everything except for Slinky Dog and Muppets. Slinky Dog unusually long wait.

Tuesday 8/17 - Animal Kingdom. 49th b-day and our 19th anniversary, so my wife had Tshirts made. Great surprise! In AK at approximately 7:40 (park opened 8am) and went to FOP. posted wait 35 min but we were on the ride around 27-28min. After that hit all the other rides with no waits, came back to NRJ and 15 min wait (posted 30). We love Tusker House, food was good, but miss the buffet and understand why it's not operating. Festival of Lion King has an abridged show. The Monkey's and the cirque part were missing, and those were two of the best parts. Still great show. Headed back to GD around 4pm for pool/break. Entered MK around 7:45pm for Boo Bash. I knew it would be somewhat busier from 7-9pm, due to mix of crowds, and it tapered off after 9pm. longest wait was 7DMT which was around 25min. All others walk-on.

Wednesday 8/18 - Epcot. Slept in, and took UBER to Riviera so we could ride Skyliner. DW and DD13 hadn't been on Skyliner. My oldest hit it last March '20 during break from our volleyball tourney. Entered Epcot around 1pm at the International gate, and headed counterclockwise (France to Mexico). Frozen longest wait about 30min, but that probably added up to our entire wait time all day. The park surprisingly empty and easy to navigate. World Showcase started getting busier around 3pm, but by that time we were almost in Future World. Lunch at Coral Reef, which I haven't visited since I believe our '87 trip. Amazing. Of all the 3 sit downs (Tusker, Coral, Be our Guest), way cheaper and food best of all 3. Test Track had 45 min posted wait, so we did single riders, and walked on 2x. Had a fairly humorous interaction with a CM upon our second run.

Thursday 8/19 and Friday 8/20 - Magic Kingdom. Had to spend 2 days here, because to me, this is Disney World. I'm at the age where this was the only park on a few of my visits, one of two parks on a few others. Being there pulls out memories and smells, which unfortunately miss out on with masks. However, MK was somewhat disappointing, which I'll get to here shortly. I've also attached a photo. To those of you familiar with MK, it's the area between Small World and Peter Pan. High season OR Low Season, this is a chokepoint. This was taken at 11:39. I now believe Disney when they say they are limiting crowds. Sure, this week we picked b/c kids are back in school in most of the country, but I have never easily navigated this area. It was the same most of the day. My disappointment involves the FP+, or none now. This park is difficult to get as much done (to someone who knows this park inside/out). Lines were never ultra long, except for 7DMT (40-50); Jungle Cruise (30-50); Peter Pan (40-50....never understand this one). No FP spreads the crowds evenly, so you're always waiting. We're not the rope-drop type family, but in this case for this window of time, we need to be.
Hit BOG for lunch (great...but one and done for us) on Thurs, and cancelled Friday dinner b/c we didn't want to be tied to rez and hit what we can. We did the 3 mountain trifecta all 3 days, and on Friday pm, started at Splash at 8:06pm, and finished at Space at 8:59pm. girls love those 3. Sad to see Splash go. And we left as Galactic Hero's!! All of us hitting 999,999 on Buzz!

Masks. This is where I actually felt comfortable and my anxieties went away. Disney CMs did great job enforcing. The outdoor thing was lifted mid-trip, but I just put it on if in a crowed area, which was usually Main Street, and a few times around Buzz/Monsters Inc.
Sanitizer. Both Universal and Disney had plenty. If anything, this pandemic lets you realize how many things you actually touch at any given moment.

Great trip. Who knows, after 44 years of visits, it could be my last for a while, as our girls get older and it's tougher to get to Florida. But hopefully not. I encourage those of you on the fence, and I saw a post earlier, to sit back and do what's best for you and your family. There are risks to anything and everything we do on a daily basis. I would make your decision on your gut and intuition, and try to take all these posts (mine included) and formulate your own decision.

When you took Uber to Riviera to catch the Skyliner didn’t you need a dining reservation to get past security gate?

 

[WEDWDW]

When you took Uber to Riviera to catch the Skyliner didn’t you need a dining reservation to get past security gate?

Or an alternative would be to take a Bus from GDT to DHS and Skyliner from there to Epcot.

 

[DisneyOma]

Good evening. I wanted to give a recap of my first full day today. I spent the early part of the day at AK and the afternoon in HS.

And, because I've been wondering (as many of you have) what constitutes "inside vs outside" on attractions for masks, I'll include mask requirements. (if someone wants me to start a post listing all the attractions with mask requirements for each, please let me know)

I am at the Dolphin and our bus arrives around 7 AM, went to the Swan, and then we were off. Arrived round 7.25

I went first to the Safari. After holding us outside briefly, they began to walk through que at 7.42. Note, that they allowed folks to bring their kids with strollers through the line, separated them off at the point it normally would join with fast pass, park their strollers, and then hop back in line. We loaded at 8. 1st safari with Chandler. No masks required. As a solo rider, I was seated with another single party

I then walked over to Everest which had a 5 minute wait time. I went to the single rider line, which loaded immediately. And our train left with tons empty rows. Off at 8.48. Note that you need to wear your Masks on Everest.

I walked by Kali (but didn't ride). It was 5 minutes and Didn't require masks.

Did the thru jungle trek. No Masks required. Entered 8.58

Walked over towards Pandora. Navi was 20. Accurate. About 23. Masks once past 2nd cast member at DAS/FP point

FOP. 55 minutes... About 50. Masks once enter air conditioning.

I then broke for lunch at Nomad Lounge where I sat outside. Funny, most folks chose inside the bar area. Yes, it was HOT and humid today, but the Nomad Lounge outside was comfortable.

I then did some Dinoland games (I only play the ball/cup thing - and won a Medium Size prize)

Left AK, headed back to my hotel where I rested and showered.

Headed to HS around 2:30. Was able to still get a ROTR Boarding Group - #159

I did a variety of rides and didn't watch the timing to be honest, but here's the mask info:

MMRR: masks required once you enter the building
(rode this twice, once when I entered the park and again before I exited the park. was 40 minutes around 2:45 -
down to 20 minutes around 5:30)
Toy Story Mania: masks required once you enter the official part of the que
Slinky: No masks required.
Alien Swirling Saucers: No Masks Required
Millennium Falcon: masks required once you enter the official part of the que
(Note: I did the single rider line and was immediately put on the ride as soon as I got there)

I still had 175 minutes after all this for my boarding group. I went to Baseline Taphouse for a snack to wait and WALKED IN and found a seat inside! Never have I ever done that.

AND to be honest: the storm clouds were coming in and I was tired so I left before my Boarding Group was called. Was back to my hotel, changed, and having a cocktail in Shula's when my boarding group was called around 7:05 PM.

How did you know when to put on a mask or not? Were there signs, CMs, etc? When we were there last week there were both, but now that outside queues are being mask free, are they posting more CMs inside?

 

[Leigh L]

Or an alternative would be to take a Bus from GDT to DHS and Skyliner from there to Epcot.

This is exactly what we've done at least twice, maybe three times. Great thing to do on a down day!

 

[Marvin1968]

Just got back and aside from feeling like I was walking on the surface of the sun it was a nice trip. The longest line we encountered was probably midway mania. We had a nothing over 70 minutes policy which really only took us out of sdmt but we were able to do everything else we wanted to except rotr..but we did smuggler's run, star toursx2 and built droids so that made up for it. Droid depot was crowded as was that main gift shop on mainstreet but everywhere else had wiggle room.
Was kind of surprised at some of the comments I heard people making in general. Like you have never heard a toddler cry at wdw before? Come on peeps look around lots of kids...you are going to run into cranky ones...you came in the summer! I was so hot I wanted to cry a few times. Plus I'd rather hear a crying kid then see another one passed out like we did in the navi river journey queue, poor babe. Ended up ok after some water and cool air but still scary. Wonder how often that happens? Saw an adult in epcot on the verge of passing out when security showed up to help.

Less serious note...is it me or is there a lack of unique merchandise? Trying to find shirts/hats that said animal kingdom was pretty tough.



We were one of the last seatings at the character breakfast at topilinos on Thursday. Even though adrs were tough to get the restaurant was no where near capacity when we were there. We were sat in the back, there was another family at the table next to us when we were seated but they were just finishing up. Even when both tables were occupied there was plenty of space to move about. The other half of our travel party had an earlier reservation and said they had space too. Both reservations were after 11 so if you go later there is definitely breathing room.

Had the same problem in Galaxy’s edge. Could not find a Galaxy’s edge T-shirt in any gift shop as well as other parks and Disney Springs. I looked everywhere.

 

[jbrinkm]

How did you know when to put on a mask or not? Were there signs, CMs, etc? When we were there last week there were both, but now that outside queues are being mask free, are they posting more CMs inside?

There were both (signs & CMs) at the point you need to put them on. After that, not much until the front. We thought compliance was pretty good last week overall, Space Mountain being the exception. Although they held a lot of the line at SM outside so less wait indoors - mostly walking through the queue.

 

[The13thLetter]

How did you know when to put on a mask or not? Were there signs, CMs, etc? When we were there last week there were both, but now that outside queues are being mask free, are they posting more CMs inside?

there are signs and cm’s at the points in rides, etc. where they are required from what we’ve seen so far (been here since saturday night).

 

[Mr. X]

How are crowds for fireworks at night are people packed in, any tips of good places to watch at each park?

Airport crowded?

Heading down on Sunday.

 

[BillFromCT]

Fingerprint scanning at AK this morning.

 

[cam8n]

Fireworks are definitely packed

 

[EveDallas]

Start with Universal, where the mask policy is far different than WDW. I bet maybe 30%-40% wear masks both outside and indoors. Indoors not enforced, so if that is a concern, you may not want to visit. I would put on the mask in high traffic areas (entry gates, Harry Potter world, Citiwalk). Express passes were very nice to have. The Hagrid's line queue took a bit to figure out, but easy to use after the fact.

As far as I know, masks are just recommended at Universal. So it's not really that they aren't being enforced, they're just not required in the first place.

 

[lovethattink]

Fingerprint scanning at AK this morning.

You can refuse finger scan. Years ago when my dad was in early stages of his dementia it was too confusing to him. So we refused it for him and they took a photo of him instead. It takes more time. First that initial discussion and photo. Then each time they check your pass and photo.

 

[orangecuse]

Animal Kingdom this morning-

Arrived at 8:15
Walked on to safari at 8:30- no wait and jeep was about half full when we left
Ate a snack at Tamu Tamu
Walked to Kali at 9 and walked straight on
Walked to Pandora
Husband did FoP at 9:30- wait was 25 minutes from entering queue to getting on ride. Pretty amazing
Kids and I did Navi and hilariously this line was equal to FoP. When does that ever happen?
Walked to Dinoland just after 10 and did two spins on the triceratops- they let us stay on because no one was waiting.
Did Dinosaur - walk on
Sat down at 11 at Dinobites and ate the strawberry shortcake ice cream sandwich.
back at Swolphin by 11:30

Crowds are super light at AK today and you can feel that in the walk ways.

MK later today so hopefully its just as nice!

 

[Carol_]

I say we all refuse the fingerprints because even before COVID, Gross!

 

[BillFromCT]

Fingerprint scanning at AK this morning.

No fingerprint at DHS.

 

[Steve678]

Here today 8/23, did Universal, well really Harry Potter World. We had early admission so got there right at 8:00, took Lyft from AKL, easy, easy. Crowds were really light for the first 2 hours, rides were basically walk-ons, after getting to them after going through the Castle and such. Mask compliance inside and outside was not enforced and I'd say maybe 20% inside wearing them, about 5% outside. No distancing at all. Lots of tiny, tiny babies there too. After about 11:00 people were packed in like sardines so we left. We did everything there we wanted to do an frankly, were not really impressed with Universal overall, but loved everything Harry Potter! It's pretty overcast today keeping the heat down some. Tomorrow is AK and then hopping to Epcot.

 

[cam8n]

No fingerprints at Epcot today

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

Good afternoon. I spent the morning back at HS. I was planning on trying for a boarding group this morning at 7 AM and then heading over later in the morning (and for lunch). I got Boarding Group #2....

SO I went ahead and made coffee, got dressed, and was waiting on the boat dock of Swan/Dolphin by 7:45. Boat arrived at 8:02. I could see people lined for security as we were pulling in..but by the time we docked and walked up was able to walk thru security and tap in. They held us at rope drop area and began walking us into MMRR at 8:34.

Before my boarding group was called at 10:30-ish, I was able to do all of Toy Story Land PLUS breakfast at Woody's. After RISE, I did Muppets, MMRR (again), the Mickey Vacation Short, and lunch at Prime Time. And then I left for the day.

One thing that was repeated often today was "If you're going into the air conditioning, put on your mask!" So that seems to be the guidelines for inside/outside at Hollywood Studios.