Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[trishadono]

We were at MK yesterday, Springs last night and agree it was crowded DD and I actually left MK mid-day to go swimming at the resort, because waits were so long and a lot of the lines were out in the sun. With the masks, it makes for a pretty miserable day
Honestly, my biggest issue yesterday was the lack of focus on keeping up with the line. We got stuck behind several groups of people who were too busy playing games, that they weren’t moving forward unless someone pointed out that they could move up the 10+ “please wait here” gaps
I would also like to reiterate that if you are staying on property, you won’t make “rope drop” using Disney transportation.

Depends on where you stay. CR and GF my Aug and OCt trips we made rope drop all parks.

However we did go early. Yes it is crowded too. LOL the pools save they day.

 

[ColoradoMom12]

We returned Thursday from 5 nights at Disney (10/10 thru 10/15). It was our first time since March, when we unintentionally ended up there for the official park closing. Fortunately we went into this trip knowing it would be nothing like our previous ones. This is a long post, but hopefully it’s helpful information.

My daughter and I both underestimated how problematic mask-wearing would be for us. We are diligent mask wearers; she wears one many hours a day while she’s at school and for gymnastics, and I wear a mask during most of the day and while I’m riding my bike. Our issue was the combination of heat and especially humidity. We live at very high altitude (6800 feet, which is more than a mile, above sea level). It gets hot here in the summer, but there is zero humidity so no amount of mask wearing at home could have prepared us for this experience. We both found we needed to take frequent mask breaks at the relaxation stations. We tried very hard to wear our masks in lines without removing them to drink water. It just wasn’t possible for either of us with so many of the lines outside in the direct sun. Our first day my daughter almost fainted in line for Frozen Ever After. After that, we pulled our masks down for quick drinks of water in lines as needed.

Typically at Disney we draw the line at anything with more than a 20 minute wait and try to use FastPass as much as possible (we had never been through the standby queue for many of the headliners). This trip we had to revisit what we considered our maximum limit for waits. We decided anything more than an hour was out of the question, especially with so many of the lines outside in the direct sun.

Unfortunately our rope-drop plans backfired on us twice. The first time was Tuesday at MK. The plan was to rope drop Splash and then head to BTMRR. When we arrived, Splash was down. We waited around for a while (a mistake) and then decided to jump into the line for BTMRR while we waited. By the time we were done, there was a really long line for Splash. The posted wait time was 40 minutes. We waited 55. After that we headed to IASW and waited almost 45 minutes in the sweltering heat. The line wrapped around outside to the stroller parking by the restrooms. After that, we decided to go back to our resort and swim. The heat/humidity plus mask situation was too much, and we were frustrated with the lines. The following day at MK was much more successful for us. The longest line we waited in was at rope drop for SDMT, and we only waited 35 minutes. We headed to Space after that and the wait was about the same.

The other time our rope drop plans backfired was at DHS. We were going to rope drop MMR. We were one of the first 20 cars in line for the parking lot. The line began moving around 9:15 (10:00 park opening). By the time we made it to MMR (9:35), we were told the queue was at capacity. Apparently to rope drop this one, staying at a resort within walking distance (or maybe the Skyliner is better) is necessary. Either that or they need to let people into the parking lot sooner. We headed over to Slinky Dog and were in line by 9:40. They began letting people onto the ride shortly thereafter. We aren’t huge Star Wars fans (aren’t interested in anything more than walking around the land for now) but felt happy for the family ahead of us when they got a boarding group at 10:00! It was at this time that the excitement ended, though, because Slinky Dog went down. We (again) made the mistake of waiting around in the line hoping it would be up and running shortly. My daughter went to ride the Aliens. I was kicked out of the line for Slinky Dog (CMs told those of still waiting that they didn’t know when the ride would be back up, and they essentially didn’t want us waiting around for it), and I went over to wait for my daughter who was just exiting from the Aliens. We needed a mask break at this point. At 11:00 we decided to get in line for MMR. The posted wait time was 90 minutes, but we really wanted to do it. We waited an hour and 20 minutes, which we ended up deciding was worth it. It was our first time experiencing MMR. We had fastpass for it the day that the parks closed in March and were sad we missed out then. So while this was a longer wait that we were willing to do for other things, we felt it was worth it for this one.

There were a lot of people during our trip, and lines stretched into the walkways, which made it seem more crowded than it probably actually was. We are diligent mask wearers and for the most part felt other people were as well. There were a few instances of non-masking wearing. Twice we got on rides and the family ahead of us decided to take off their masks— Living with the Land and Small World. We saw a few people walking around the parks eating and more than a few people with noses sticking out of their masks. There were many other people in lines who did what we did and pulled their masks down briefly for a sip of water. I saw a few people eating in lines, but thankfully we were distanced enough that I didn’t feel unsafe. The outside lines were less of a concern for me than waiting inside. For the most part, we felt like people were respectful of distancing in lines. On one occasion, the family behind us kept standing so close to us that I thought they wanted to join us. I was uncomfortable with it and finally asked them if they would like to switch places with us in the line. The answer was no, and they were more careful after that. In my opinion, Disney needs to re-think the “wait here” tape for large parties. It might help if they asked groups larger than 6 to split up and wait on two lines. I found when there was a large group in front of us, they ended up pretty close to our “wait here” tape. In these instances, I tried to leave some extra space between our parties. I explained to the family behind us what I was doing and offered them the chance to switch places with us (only one group took me up on the offer). By about our third day, I began paying attention as we were getting into line how many were in the group at the end of the queue. If it was a large group, we waited to the side for a smaller group (never waited more than about two minutes). Overall I felt comfortable with the Covid precautions that are in place and felt other people, for the most part, were respectful of wearing masks and distancing.

For the most part, we found that while the lines were long, they moved almost continuously (stopping entirely only for a cleaning cycle). Some of the lines looked frighteningly long (SDMT began at Ariel’s Grotto), but they actually weren’t such a long wait. We didn’t accomplish everything we usually do, but we weren’t expecting to. We weren’t really affected by the limited dining options (other than at our resort), but I had made ADRs for lunch every day. It’s not something I usually do, but I figured at the very least, we would need a break from our masks.

My final opinion is that park hours either need to be extended into the evening (when at least there isn’t any direct sun) or fastpass needs to be brought back in some way or another. We found it very difficult to wait in the direct sun during the hottest hours of the day while wearing masks. I also did not enjoy feeling like we needed to be at the parks for rope-drop every day in order to avoid long lines for the big attractions later in the day (our strategy was to rope drop one, head directly to a second, and pick a third for which we were willing to wait up to an hour). We’re morning people and have no problem getting up in order to make it to the park by 7 (which was when Animal Kingdom opened the day we were there), but it is exhausting to feel the need to do this every single day. Our preference is to start our morning in a more relaxed way. I felt like the only way we could accomplish things was to be there for rope drop every day. We have another trip planned at Thanksgiving and are re-thinking our strategy and what’s most important to us.

 

[brockash]

Here is another post re-iterating the suggestion to arrive at HS an hour early. I left the BWV Clown Pool area at 8:50am and arrived at HS just as they were opening the temperature check tents. The line was back to the furturest row of buses but moved quickly. I was thru the turnstiles and inside the queue for SDD by around 9:10. SDD started loading shotly after 9:15 and I was off the ride at 9:30. By the time I was off SDD, I couldn't see the end of its line but it appeared to be past the entrance to TSL. I moved to TSM which was a walk-on and I was off the ride at 9:45. I re-entered TSM and was off again at 10am. I left TSL and both the TSM and SDD lines were all the way out to the Little Mermaid entrance. At 10am the only ride I saw on MDE with an expected wait time under 30 miuntes was the Muppets. At 10:15 there was no longer a line to enter the temperature check or security areas.

This past Thurs at DHS; we got in line for mrr around 930 and the line for slinky quickly grew and they had them going through the old ariel show que...and it waa swisted/turning before you actually entered the ariel part of the que...I have no idea how long it actually took, but they eventually stopped letting ppl in the line because they were getting close to blocking the pathway back there completely. We got in the mmrr line right before they closed that line...but we were shocked to see the slinky line winding through the old ariel que...we didn't go near tsl until late afternoon.

 

[LizzyDragon]

In my opinion, Disney needs to re-think the “wait here” tape for large parties. It might help if they asked groups larger than 6 to split up and wait on two lines. I found when there was a large group in front of us, they ended up pretty close to our “wait here” tape. In these instances, I tried to leave some extra space between our parties. I explained to the family behind us what I was doing and offered them the chance to switch places with us (only one group took me up on the offer). By about our third day, I began paying attention as we were getting into line how many were in the group at the end of the queue. If it was a large group, we waited to the side for a smaller group (never waited more than about two minutes). Overall I felt comfortable with the Covid precautions that are in place and felt other people, for the most part, were respectful of wearing masks and distancing.

When I've been in line behind a large group, I just leave an empty marker space between me and the group. Hasn't caused any issues yet- others in line didn't care as it doesn't impact wait times. And that way, it gets you 8-10ish ft between parties instead of 2-3ft.

 

[Befferk]

When I've been in line behind a large group, I just leave an empty marker space between me and the group. Hasn't caused any issues yet- others in line didn't care as it doesn't impact wait times. And that way, it gets you 8-10ish ft between parties instead of 2-3ft.

This makes more sense than making groups split up.

 

[melmel]

are they transferring luggage still? If so - are they taking it from Bell Services in WL to my ROOM in Riviera or Bell Services in Riviera

We switched twice while we were there last week. Both times I dropped the luggage at bell service (it was on the way to the bus), but I would assume they'd also still pick up from your room. To get our luggage we had to call bell service to deliver, they said they can't deliver without you there. Not sure why the change, but it really didn't cause us any issue having to wait 10/15 mins after we got back to the room.

 

[ColoradoMom12]

This makes more sense than making groups split up.

Splitting up groups to aid with distancing was a strategy used for the summer gondola line at a ski resort where I live. Entire groups were able to sit together in the gondola, but they weren’t allowing any more than 4 people to wait on a line. I thought it was helpful, not just for the group behind the large party, but I‘ve also noticed that when lines “snake“ around, the distancing markers are set up to avoid having people going “this way” not standing in the snake directly next to people going “that way.” At least we were never told to “fill in all of the available space” once this time!

 

[Tess]

We returned Thursday from 5 nights at Disney (10/10 thru 10/15). It was our first time since March, when we unintentionally ended up there for the official park closing. Fortunately we went into this trip knowing it would be nothing like our previous ones. This is a long post, but hopefully it’s helpful information.

My daughter and I both underestimated how problematic mask-wearing would be for us. We are diligent mask wearers; she wears one many hours a day while she’s at school and for gymnastics, and I wear a mask during most of the day and while I’m riding my bike. Our issue was the combination of heat and especially humidity. We live at very high altitude (6800 feet, which is more than a mile, above sea level). It gets hot here in the summer, but there is zero humidity so no amount of mask wearing at home could have prepared us for this experience. We both found we needed to take frequent mask breaks at the relaxation stations. We tried very hard to wear our masks in lines without removing them to drink water. It just wasn’t possible for either of us with so many of the lines outside in the direct sun. Our first day my daughter almost fainted in line for Frozen Ever After. After that, we pulled our masks down for quick drinks of water in lines as needed.

Typically at Disney we draw the line at anything with more than a 20 minute wait and try to use FastPass as much as possible (we had never been through the standby queue for many of the headliners). This trip we had to revisit what we considered our maximum limit for waits. We decided anything more than an hour was out of the question, especially with so many of the lines outside in the direct sun.

Unfortunately our rope-drop plans backfired on us twice. The first time was Tuesday at MK. The plan was to rope drop Splash and then head to BTMRR. When we arrived, Splash was down. We waited around for a while (a mistake) and then decided to jump into the line for BTMRR while we waited. By the time we were done, there was a really long line for Splash. The posted wait time was 40 minutes. We waited 55. After that we headed to IASW and waited almost 45 minutes in the sweltering heat. The line wrapped around outside to the stroller parking by the restrooms. After that, we decided to go back to our resort and swim. The heat/humidity plus mask situation was too much, and we were frustrated with the lines. The following day at MK was much more successful for us. The longest line we waited in was at rope drop for SDMT, and we only waited 35 minutes. We headed to Space after that and the wait was about the same.

The other time our rope drop plans backfired was at DHS. We were going to rope drop MMR. We were one of the first 20 cars in line for the parking lot. The line began moving around 9:15 (10:00 park opening). By the time we made it to MMR (9:35), we were told the queue was at capacity. Apparently to rope drop this one, staying at a resort within walking distance (or maybe the Skyliner is better) is necessary. Either that or they need to let people into the parking lot sooner. We headed over to Slinky Dog and were in line by 9:40. They began letting people onto the ride shortly thereafter. We aren’t huge Star Wars fans (aren’t interested in anything more than walking around the land for now) but felt happy for the family ahead of us when they got a boarding group at 10:00! It was at this time that the excitement ended, though, because Slinky Dog went down. We (again) made the mistake of waiting around in the line hoping it would be up and running shortly. My daughter went to ride the Aliens. I was kicked out of the line for Slinky Dog (CMs told those of still waiting that they didn’t know when the ride would be back up, and they essentially didn’t want us waiting around for it), and I went over to wait for my daughter who was just exiting from the Aliens. We needed a mask break at this point. At 11:00 we decided to get in line for MMR. The posted wait time was 90 minutes, but we really wanted to do it. We waited an hour and 20 minutes, which we ended up deciding was worth it. It was our first time experiencing MMR. We had fastpass for it the day that the parks closed in March and were sad we missed out then. So while this was a longer wait that we were willing to do for other things, we felt it was worth it for this one.

There were a lot of people during our trip, and lines stretched into the walkways, which made it seem more crowded than it probably actually was. We are diligent mask wearers and for the most part felt other people were as well. There were a few instances of non-masking wearing. Twice we got on rides and the family ahead of us decided to take off their masks— Living with the Land and Small World. We saw a few people walking around the parks eating and more than a few people with noses sticking out of their masks. There were many other people in lines who did what we did and pulled their masks down briefly for a sip of water. I saw a few people eating in lines, but thankfully we were distanced enough that I didn’t feel unsafe. The outside lines were less of a concern for me than waiting inside. For the most part, we felt like people were respectful of distancing in lines. On one occasion, the family behind us kept standing so close to us that I thought they wanted to join us. I was uncomfortable with it and finally asked them if they would like to switch places with us in the line. The answer was no, and they were more careful after that. In my opinion, Disney needs to re-think the “wait here” tape for large parties. It might help if they asked groups larger than 6 to split up and wait on two lines. I found when there was a large group in front of us, they ended up pretty close to our “wait here” tape. In these instances, I tried to leave some extra space between our parties. I explained to the family behind us what I was doing and offered them the chance to switch places with us (only one group took me up on the offer). By about our third day, I began paying attention as we were getting into line how many were in the group at the end of the queue. If it was a large group, we waited to the side for a smaller group (never waited more than about two minutes). Overall I felt comfortable with the Covid precautions that are in place and felt other people, for the most part, were respectful of wearing masks and distancing.

For the most part, we found that while the lines were long, they moved almost continuously (stopping entirely only for a cleaning cycle). Some of the lines looked frighteningly long (SDMT began at Ariel’s Grotto), but they actually weren’t such a long wait. We didn’t accomplish everything we usually do, but we weren’t expecting to. We weren’t really affected by the limited dining options (other than at our resort), but I had made ADRs for lunch every day. It’s not something I usually do, but I figured at the very least, we would need a break from our masks.

My final opinion is that park hours either need to be extended into the evening (when at least there isn’t any direct sun) or fastpass needs to be brought back in some way or another. We found it very difficult to wait in the direct sun during the hottest hours of the day while wearing masks. I also did not enjoy feeling like we needed to be at the parks for rope-drop every day in order to avoid long lines for the big attractions later in the day (our strategy was to rope drop one, head directly to a second, and pick a third for which we were willing to wait up to an hour). We’re morning people and have no problem getting up in order to make it to the park by 7 (which was when Animal Kingdom opened the day we were there), but it is exhausting to feel the need to do this every single day. Our preference is to start our morning in a more relaxed way. I felt like the only way we could accomplish things was to be there for rope drop every day. We have another trip planned at Thanksgiving and are re-thinking our strategy and what’s most important to us.

Enjoyed your thoughts.

We were at Disney from 10/7-16/20. We have gone every year this same week since 2010 and the parks have never been busier. We have been going to Disney once or twice a year since 1993 and twice a year (May and October) since 2010. The crowds were huge and not as manageable without park hopping and fastpasses. Like you, we hoped this year we could rope drop(which was always our comfort zone) and perhaps hit our primary target with little wait and were hopeful the second ride or attraction would be minimal. We are experienced in park touring and have never waited more than 20 minutes for rides/attractions and are typically out of the parks by the time the wave hits (10:30 - 11:00 a.m.) for a park hop to Epcot for F&G or F&W and back to the resort thereafter for pool time. This year was a whole new experience.

Rope drop will maybe get you that first ride (providing your resort gets buses there or in the case of DHS when walking--you get up early and arrive early) with little wait for one ride. We were foiled by a really late bus route (we queued at 7:30 for the 8:00 a.m. bus which arrived at 8:20 a.m.) from YC/BC for our second AK day and ended up queued for FOP for over an hour. In hind sight, we should have gone the other way and waited for EE, Dino and Safari rather than wait in the horrendous queue. That said, on our prior AK day we rope dropped, got the first bus at 7:00 (8 opening) and hit FOP with no wait. Hit Safari, EE and Dino with no waits or minimal waits.

We have found that you are at the mercy of park opening, transportation and the increased crowds. While we were there our running joke was 25% my backside. Those parks are more crowded than any other year we have been there (weekends aside for F&W at Epcot). In all the years we have gone to Disney since 1993, the parks are as crowded as I have experienced since 2010 and there is less open, fewer CMs and fewer food options . I know at the resort we were searching for dinner options. Without park hopping, our go to at Epcot was not an option and the BW was fairly baron. Without Picabu at the Dolphin and limited options at the resort (how many times can you eat the same sandwich?), life was not the same.

Despite it all we enjoyed our time, but I am sure hoping that by May we have longer hours, park hopping and fastpasses.

 

[CarolynFH]

I have a split stay coming up from WL to Riviera - are they transferring luggage still? If so - are they taking it from Bell Services in WL to my ROOM in Riviera or Bell Services in Riviera.

Luggage transfers are always from Bell Services to Bell Services - they don't pick up or deliver to your room unless you're there. You can call from your room at WL and wait for them to pick up your luggage, or you can bring it down yourself. At Riviera you can pick it up directly from Bell Services, or you can call from your room and have them bring it up. Tips are appropriate at both ends.

 

[skatalite]

Not gonna lie, with the perceived "increase" in crowds and, more importantly, longer attraction lines, I'm growing concerned for our upcoming trip.

We will be in the WDW bubble Nov. 27 through Dec. 6. There will be 6 of us, including my 3- and 4-year-old daughters and also my parents, both of whom will use mobility scooters.

Does anyone have any information on how Disney is managing these longer lines for individuals in scooters?

 

[nkereina]

For those who used Uber to go to DHS, is there any advantage over getting dropped off at Speedway versus getting dropped off at Swan/Dolphin? Are they still permitting non-guest drop offs at Swan/Dolphin? I know a few weeks ago they weren’t verifying ADRs. Thanks!

 

[scrappinginontario]

Not gonna lie, with the perceived "increase" in crowds and, more importantly, longer attraction lines, I'm growing concerned for our upcoming trip.

We will be in the WDW bubble Nov. 27 through Dec. 6. There will be 6 of us, including my 3- and 4-year-old daughters and also my parents, both of whom will use mobility scooters.

Does anyone have any information on how Disney is managing these longer lines for individuals in scooters?

I’m not aware of any changes. Have your parents been to Disney in scooters before? Both my parents use scooters when we travel to Disney.

Some rides they go through the regular line then just transfer when we get to the ride. Other times they will use an alternate entrance (small world, Splash). These entrances are marked. Occasionally your parent will need to transfer to a Disney provided wheelchair if needed (Peter Pan) and you will push them through the regular line.

If anyone is aware of changes with how guests in scooters are experiencing attractions, please correct my answer. TIA!

 

[Turk February]

For those who used Uber to go to DHS, is there any advantage over getting dropped off at Speedway versus getting dropped off at Swan/Dolphin? Are they still permitting non-guest drop offs at Swan/Dolphin? I know a few weeks ago they weren’t verifying ADRs. Thanks!

No real advantage, they're both basically the same distance. We were dropped off at Speedway, bought a few big waters, and walked over to DHS.

 

[skatalite]

I’m not aware of any changes. Have your parents been to Disney in scooters before? Both my parents use scooters when we travel to Disney.

Some rides they go through the regular line then just transfer when we get to the ride. Other times they will use an alternate entrance (small world, Splash). These entrances are marked. Occasionally your parent will need to transfer to a Disney provided wheelchair if needed (Peter Pan) and you will push them through the regular line.

If anyone is aware of changes with how guests in scooters are experiencing attractions, please correct my answer. TIA!

This is all great information. Our last visit, 2017, only my dad was in a scooter but he didn't get on any rides. This time he's gotta get on some because his granddaughters asked him to This will be my mom's first time with a scooter.

Both my parents can stand and walk on their own, and normal activities like grocery shopping don't bother them. But prolonged walking and waiting definitely will pose serious discomfort for them.

 

[scrappinginontario]

This is all great information. Our last visit, 2017, only my dad was in a scooter but he didn't get on any rides. This time he's gotta get on some because his granddaughters asked him to This will be my mom's first time with a scooter.

Both my parents can stand and walk on their own, and normal activities like grocery shopping don't bother them. But prolonged walking and waiting definitely will pose serious discomfort for them.

This describes my patents too! They don’t normally use scooters but the only way for them (both in theirs late 70’s) to enjoy Disney is in scooters due to health challenges that would be exacerbated by the extra walking and standing a Disney trip involves.

 

[skatalite]

This describes my patents too! They don’t normally use scooters but the only way for them (both in theirs late 70’s) to enjoy Disney is in scooters due to health challenges that would be exacerbated by the extra walking and standing a Disney trip involves.

Yep! Describing my folks to a T.

Thanks again for all your information!

 

[Silas5]

Well, we just got back from an Oct. 11-17th trip. As others have posted, the unseasonably hot weather was not expected and made mask wearing more difficult. It was in the 90's everyday - so waiting in the long lines was nearly unbearable.

I did really like mobile ordering, but having to enter the gift card number every single time was not user friendly. I also wished that all the snack areas allowed mobile ordering - ie. Sleepy Hollow - waiting in the line there was hot as well.

Making it to the parks for rope drop with Disney Transportation - was impossible. They started the busses 45 minutes before the "posted" open times. So, if you were able to get on the first bus (good luck with that) you would still not get to the park until all the other people that were able to walk. The earliest you would get to the parks was 25-30 minutes after the unofficial opening. Our first day going to Magic Kingdom (10/13) we were waiting for the bus and when no bus arrived by 8:20-8:25 for an 8 am unofficial opening, we decided to order an Uber. The driver just dropped others off at the TTC and told us that would be our best bet - and it was. There were tons of cars lined up trying to get into the parking. I also had read from a previous post to take the bus from the TTC over to the park and that was a for sure win! One other item with regard to TS reservations at other resorts was that you basically had to Uber, at least back, to your resort because you couldn't catch a bus to the parks and catch another bus back to your resort.

If you are planning to do any shopping on main street on your way out - plan on waiting in lines! I would recommend shopping earlier in the day when there aren't lines.

The parks did seem super crowded, but I was mentally prepared for that. However, if you looked at the parking lots - it does look like they are only filling to 25% capacity. The part that makes it feel more crowded was that there are fewer things to do that pull people out of the ride lines (character meet and greets, shows, parades, places to eat) so, the lines are crowded and in many locations in the hot sun.

I do think increased park hours would have helped with the crowds and I still don't understand why there is never an increase in the HS park times. I agree with a previous poster that it would be much easier to stand in lines when the temps. are cooling off in the evenings or earlier mornings.

I hope everyone has fun trips regardless of the drawbacks! I love Disney and enjoyed my time at the parks anyway!! But, I won't go back till more things start back up (park hopper, fast pass, extra magic hours, and other things that draw people out of the ride lines).

 

[tuckymom]

We leave late next week and I'm both super excited and really nervous!

Thank you for the information!

 

[My3SonsSTX]

This is all great information. Our last visit, 2017, only my dad was in a scooter but he didn't get on any rides. This time he's gotta get on some because his granddaughters asked him to This will be my mom's first time with a scooter.

Both my parents can stand and walk on their own, and normal activities like grocery shopping don't bother them. But prolonged walking and waiting definitely will pose serious discomfort for them.

I have similar concerns and wonders. My mom will be using a scooter, so I'm curious how this is going to go. Plus, it's first time ever and only my second. I'd love to see some positives about how things are lately... feeling more worried than I'd like for going to WDW.

 

[brockash]

We just returned late last night...trip 10/12-10/17. I'm going to try to do a bit of a trip report. I'm going to share pros and cons so if you're not a fan of hearing about the cons; pls skip. Personally I find it helpful, but I know others don't like to hear it.

Flew SW - awesome as usual; loved empty middle seats and it's going to be rough when my crew has to go back to regular traveling lol. We landed at MCO a little early - yay... went and retrieved our luggage - def. miss not having to worry about that.

Got to ME line, not a bad line to checkin but longer than we've had in the past - they only had 1person working the checkin area. We were directed to AKL line and waited about 10 mins to board. Once we boarded we waited about 10 mins and left. We were 4th stop which I wasn't a fan of, but it was fine. We arrived, but room wasn't ready so we dropped our luggage off - very friendly bell services. We had a reservation at Beaches n cream so we quickly caught a bus to dhs and used skyliner to get to lunch. It was all smooth and lunch was great with great service. We then walked around a quiet boardwalk a bit and then headed back to resort because room was ready and we were going to meet my sister and her kids. Bell services quickly brought our luggage and was very polite....room was awesome - it was a 2 bedroom and very much like the 2 bedrooms we've stayed at at blt. Location was awesome as well.

AKL - Kidani village - Background we had originally booked ASSp, was moved/upgraded to AoA family suite and then eventually moved to AKL 2 bedroom. I really didn't have much interest in staying at AKL, but certainly wasn't going to pass up a 2 bedroom. It was an awesome upgrade and we were very grateful for it, however I'm going to be honest about our feelings of the resort. I also knew that we probably wouldn't ever pay to stay there because if we're paying delux prices we'd be choosing YC or CR, Poly etc. It was definitely nice to try something new, the animals were awesome and loved the room. Having said that we hated how far the resort was to everything other than AK and the no cs option was a real bummer- like honestly I'm not sure why they would open a resort without opening some kind of counter service place. I also felt the resort was just not big enough for the anount of ppl staying there. It was hard to find seats at the pool, there was often a line for the gift shop and place to fill your mug...the ppl. working the drink station/gift shop were not the nicest. It seemed impossible to get to the parks within the first 20 mins of parks opening, which basically meant you didn't make the real rope drop and you weren't getting on rides with a short wait. We finally gave in on Fri and ubered to CR to walk to MK. This worked out better, although it would have been better if we would have done it earlier - my fault as it was a last min decision.

Parks: By far the longest waits we've experienced since I was a kid and used to go during spring break. We've gone many many times in the last 15 years, but usually in late Aug./early Sept. We've also been a handful of times in May, June, July and late Sept. We have never waited in the kind of lines we waited in this past week. For ppl. who go often and only ride/see a handful of attractions and just take in the parks; this probably isn't such a big deal or for those who have only done Disney during really busy times and only a few times, again this probably won't be as much of a shock to the system, but for those who feel they use a good touring plan, utilized fastpasses, expect to hit every ride etc., this is a very different time. As much as I've tried to tour in a more slow going, relaxed mode, at heart I'm still a commando so this was an odd trip for sure. I'll be honest part of the reason we go back to Disney so often is because we know how to do it to our liking and enjoyment...it's a big part of what makes Disney enjoyable while other theme parks feels more like a chore to me to do for my kids. We are not used to waiting much more than 20 mins for anything and often have a 5-10 min. wait for rides, and that was just not possible this past week. Everything was at least 25-35 mins and many an hr+... in the hot blazing sun. There were just many periods of time that just weren't enjoyable. I will say for the most part, Disney seemed to be trying, running both sides of attractions etc., but it is what it is and I'm not sure what they could do to fix it at this point, other than open the rest of the shows/ppl mover etc...but I have no idea how they're going to increase capacity even with those things being open. On Fri. they completely blocked off the normal route to splash - you had to use yhe little river bypass area as they had blocked off the entire section in front of splash for the line...I had never seen that before.

I will say on our first mk day splash and mins train were both down at opening and Test track was down for quite a while on our epcot day as well and these things certainly didn't help. There were a handful of rides we never got to this trip which has never happened in the past. We actually went into the shops in the afternoon a couple times which we usually never do.

Bus service was really not bad, except for the fact that you had to be out at the bus stop no later than 1.5 hrs prior to park open to make it on the first bus. And buses from AKL can't get to the parks (other than AK) for the real park opening time if yhey don't start running them until 50-60 mins. before listed park opening,. I do feel this was more of an AKL issue though as we didn't seem to have that problem in Sept when we stayed at Polynesian.

Return magical express never showed up. We had a 430 pickup and were out there st 405...no bus. We watched this same thing happen on our arrival day to another party. They ended up calling them a shuttle. We talked to a me driver who was dropping off guests and he was awesome (Alvin) and actually called in our stuff and he ended up taking us to the airport. As I was boarding the me bus; I could hear the dispatcher telling him he's glad he called znd asked if he could also stop by boardwalk as there were a number of ppl waiting there as well for a never arriving me bus. Over the trip to the airport we often heard the dispatcher asking if anyone was near this resort or that resort because ppl needed picked up so I'm not sure what the issue is righr now with that.

Walmart delivery...wow what a nightmare. We won't use them again. We got a text at 405 saying our order was out and they'd b there by 416. We went out to the outside lobby area and waited, and waited and waited. Finally I start calling/chatting with them at 5 and all they could tell me was the driver got lost and returned the order. Driver never called,even though we asked them to when they were on their way...after lots of back and forth we confirmed the address for the 3rd tome- all was correct and they sent a new driver. At 6, we got a text from a driver saying they arrived and asking what apartment we were at....WTH???? Apparently doordash gps's the addresses and somehow it waa coming up at an apartment complex...at least this person called, but it was 630 before we got our order which messed up our plans this night.

Overall we're glad we went, but decided after the 2nd park day that our next trip would be resort only, which we've never done. We also decided to cancel an upcoming trip, just because we don't feel the cost is worth it right now. Definitely not saying we won't be back soon...we will most likely be back in March and plan to do parks again next Sept., but it just really wasn't that enjoyable this time all things considered. Still glad we went because we're crazy Disney ppl and had some nice times, but the lines and the heat were a lot.

We had pretty good success with food, but we knew to strategically order ahead of time and hit the I'm here button when you were getting ready to head there, not when you're there. I won't stay at a Disney resort with an open counter service place again though either.

Any specific questions I'm happy to answer.