Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[MomOTwins]

Yikes! Keep posting current experiences please. DS and I are going in 2 weeks, and watching the current posted wait times is scaring me! We are FP people, we haven’t waited more than 20 minutes in years! Fortunately the kid I’m taking is a watch TV at the resort type, so that’ll be ok, but I’m gonna feel frustrated and like I blew a lot of $$ on a giant cluster. Trying to keep positive, though!

You may actually want to look away a bit. This weekend through next week will probably be the busiest week post-Covid to date. park passes sold out across all parks on pretty much every day. Only getting worse from here.... Two weeks from now will likely be a bit better, actually.

 

[LovesBelle]

I've been following for a while and recall posts saying that weekends feel a lot more crowded in the parks. Is that still the case, or are weekdays starting to feel like weekends? Thanks for any input people have!

 

[ReginaMBK]

I've been following for a while and recall posts saying that weekends feel a lot more crowded in the parks. Is that still the case, or are weekdays starting to feel like weekends? Thanks for any input people have!

I just got back from a Thursday - Monday trip and there was little difference between the days right now.

 

[e_yerger]

I just got back from a Thursday - Monday trip and there was little difference between the days right now.

Do we think this is due to the spring break crowds, or more people traveling to WDW in general? Do we think weekdays will feel lighter after spring break season?

 

[MomOTwins]

Do we think this is due to the spring break crowds, or more people traveling to WDW in general? Do we think weekdays will feel lighter after spring break season?

I expect there may be a momentary lull between mid-April and Memorial Day, but truthfully, when you compare crowds now to 2020 school holiday weeks (e.g., Labor Day, Thanksgiving, even Christmas), the crowd levels now are so much higher now it can only be explained by people getting more comfortable with traveling, or at least more impatient too. I expect the vaccine, or people getting Covid and assuming they are protected with antibodies for a while (may or may not be the case), is a big part of that. That is only going to get worse over the summer as vaccination rates increase. International travel will also pick up as people are vaccinated overseas. I also expect we may be on the cusp of Disney expanding capacity above, potentially well above, 35% very soon.

So I expect a very very busy summer. And of course, we all know fall will be madness with the 50th anniversary.

 

[lovethattink]

Do we think this is due to the spring break crowds, or more people traveling to WDW in general? Do we think weekdays will feel lighter after spring break season?

Both

 

[hereforthechurros]

That would be so stupid to do....Not only are you taking a spot from someone who actually may want to be at Epcot, but you can't even go to the second park until 2pm anyway so if you're just tapping in at Epcot and leaving you're wasting over 1/2 a day you could be doing something somewhere else. I just don't get the point....

Disney people have very little chill. If there’s a work around they’ll find it. If they want to go, they’ll pay or do whatever to make it happen. I’ve seen people pay for an entire trip just to get a free AP magnet.

 

[brockash]

Thanks for the update. We’re heading to DHS on Sunday so good to hear about a recent experience with Spring Break crowds. When did your BG get called?

I'm pretty sure it was around 245...we were bg 105. I'm typing this while waiting in a huge line for skyliner at epcot closing. It consistently moves but it's still already been 20 mins and still can't even see the station lol.

 

[Thomasboys]

Are TT, Frozen, and Soarin all operating when the park opens early (before 11a)?

 

[WIll C]

I'm here now until Friday and crowds are decent sized. We were here in in 2019 both about the same time (Feb/Mar) and the week leading up to, and including, Christmas Day. Christmas was far busier, especially at MK. The previous winter was about the same as it is now. HS being a bit more crowded it seems. Epcot hasn't seemed that bad, even with the festival starting. This is all weekdays, however, not weekend days.

I'm staying at the Riviera and found my mornings the best at avoiding the crowds.

Monday at MK, I got on the first bus around 7:45am. We arrived at MK about 8am for a 9am park open. We were very close to the front of the temp checks and they held people for a few minutes. Once they started, shortly after 8am, we moved through the security screening to the taps and waited. I was a few people back from the front. People starting quickly filling in the lines all across the front. We held for a few more minutes and they let the flood in.
I was probably in the first hundred or so let in and made it to 7DMT in a few minutes. Most people were headed there. I walked on to that. Made my way to Peter Pan and walked on there. Pooh was closed so I went to Haunted Mansion but it was closed as well with a short line waiting for the opening.
I moved towards Big Thunder but I couldn't hear it running so I diverted to Pirates and walked on to that. Went out from there and did Jungle Cruise after about 10 minutes of a wait. When I got off, it was over 30. I went to Aladdin and spent a few minutes in line for that (it's my wife's favorite).
After that, I went to Haunted Mansion and it was a near walk on as well. It was now getting towards 10am.
The line for Peter Pan was now snaking through the Columbia Harbor House and near an hour.
I headed towards Tomorrowland and happened upon Pooh just opening after being closed for a while. Was 2nd in line and got to ride that.
At that point, 11am or so, the park had become fairly busy. Everything was a minimum of 30 minutes and climbing for the 2nd tier rides and an hour or more for others. I had other plans for the afternoon, so I had lunch and left.

Today, for Hollywood Studios, I had much the same morning luck with transit from Riviera. Skyliner to CBR was quick and we were lining up to get the line to HS, which was holding briefly. I got in in about 10 minutes and was crossing the parking entrance road a few minutes before 8am. I could see them holding the cars at the booths as I rode over. I got down and saw the long line waiting for the left side temp checks. As I came down the ramp, they opened the right side tents and I was redirected there towards the front. We waited a few minutes and got sent in right away to the park. I made my way down to get on MMRR while most people heading to Toy Story. They told us it was down but we could wait. I opted for that as I hadn't ridden it yet and was willing to wait (not a roller coaster fanatic, so SDD wasn't a draw). I waited maybe 10 mins but I was first in line and got to experience the ride finally.
Made my way back out to Toy Story. Rode the other two rides as the SDD queue started to stretch out to Docking Bay and then ate breakfast at Woody's. Heading to MFSR and got in the line for that which was approaching 45 minutes by then but I finally got to pilot so it was worth it.
I had missed the BG for RotR at 7am and waited around for the 1pm but it glitched out and I didn't get one then either. Not sure if things were slow as BGs were only around 60 or so when that came up and they might not of been handing them out. Wasn't too concerned and went over to Star Tours which was about 30 minutes. At that point, I was done and crowds were heavier. I headed back to the hotel around 2:30pm. Gideon's cookies were calling and I need to get to Disney Springs.

I'll see how AK goes in the morning.

 

[brockash]

So, I hear that no one can add park days on the phone, has anyone tried adding park hopper or days from inside the park?

I added a park day for my sister at guest services at Epcot 3 days ago.

 

[brockash]

Are TT, Frozen, and Soarin all operating when the park opens early (before 11a)?

Today, test track was down until around 1215ish. We diverted and walked onto Frozen at 1022. We then went to Soarin and I think they had just started loading ppl. as we got there (well before 11, but I don't think they opened as early as Frozen today.) Honestly, I'm guessing it all just depends on the day.

 

[brockash]

Yikes! Keep posting current experiences please. DS and I are going in 2 weeks, and watching the current posted wait times is scaring me! We are FP people, we haven’t waited more than 20 minutes in years! Fortunately the kid I’m taking is a watch TV at the resort type, so that’ll be ok, but I’m gonna feel frustrated and like I blew a lot of $$ on a giant cluster. Trying to keep positive, though!

I'm going to be honest with you from one fastpass person to the next. It's just not going to be the same. Like you, we almost never waited more than 20 mins for anything....we just knew how to work the system. It's just not possible anymore. We've now gone times since reopening (first week Sept., fall break and this week,) all 3 trips we've had to wait in lines we never dreamed we would. I'd say 30ish mins. has been about average for us...some walk ons that we just got lucky with; others waay longer (Space Mountain and ToT seemed really bad for us each time.) Good luck to you.

 

[Naomeri]

First day of vacation! Arrived at MCO from MN at about 6:30pm, got my bag from side A and schlepped it up and over to the DME and basically walked right onto a bus, and since I was the last passenger added, we left shortly after. Got my Room Ready text while on the bus, but I didn’t like my assigned room (wanted 4th floor, got 3rd) so I hit up the front desk at Pop and had no trouble switching, and even got an end room, so I’ve only got a neighbor on the one side, and stairs just around the corner (great for leaving the room, but I’ll stick with the elevator on the way back )

Super excited to spend my birthday in Magic Kingdom tomorrow, followed by dinner and cake at Beaches & Cream (and really happy that the Epcot hours got extended to 9 tomorrow so I can be 100% sure of a skyliner ride back to Pop afterward)

 

[ReginaMBK]

Do we think this is due to the spring break crowds, or more people traveling to WDW in general? Do we think weekdays will feel lighter after spring break season?

Hard to say. Spring break is definitely the culprit this month. But, that said, the majority of park-goers it seems are APHs. I'd guess the weekday crowds dip mid-April through mid-May, and then summer will pick up. Weekends will remain high. Plus, as more people get vaccinated, we'll see more people traveling in from around the country.

 

[Lurkerin]

These reports have helped so much! I thought I’d share our day for those still planning.

Tuesday, March 9- MK

We left our room at VGF at 8 and were on the monorail to MK by 8:09. Park had recently opened when we arrived, and we were quickly through the tapstiles. We headed straight to 7DMT and were in line by 8:21. It took a few minutes for the line to move, but once it started we just kept moving. We rode mine train and then went to Peter Pan for a quick 5 min wait. After that, we walked on to small world. Quick rapunzel restroom break/snack break then right on haunted mansion. We made our way to BTMRR and got in line at 9:45, off the ride at 10:05. That’s about when the short lines ended. We went to POTC next, and it took about an hour total for wait time and ride time.

*One interesting thing we noticed is that on boats (small world, splash, potc) they are only seating 1 or maybe 2 small parties per boat, very spaced out. But on the coasters like mine train and btmrr they fill the cars.

After potc we sat at a table outside Casey’s to wait for friends. My daughter just finished a volleyball tournament here in Orlando, and was meeting teammates.

They got in line for Space mtn at noon with a posted 75 min wait, but were off the ride at 12:45. Next, we walked back to btmrr for a 20 min wait to ride. We ordered pecos bill while in line at big thunder, and the food was ready when we got there. Finding a table was tough....but we found one outside.

The girls really wanted to ride splash mountain next. It has been down all morning, but was running with a posted wait time of 105 min. We got in line at 2:05 and I took a picture of our ride photo at 3:53. Again....only seating 1 party per boat. The line was so long, the girls went and rode btmrr and came back to us still outside in line.

We got ice cream next and sat by country bears to eat, and watched a couple cavalcades go by. Then we went to haunted mansion for a short wait of maybe 15 min?? Next was small world with close to a 45 min wait. We got off exactly at 6:10 and booked it to skipper canteen for our ADR. First time eating there- yummy and very quick!! We were done by 7:00 and headed back to space mountain. The girls rode twice with 15-20 min waits each time. We took pictures by the castle lit up at 7:50 pm, then said goodbye and walked the sad walk back down Main Street. It was a very quick wait for the monorail, and we were back in our room at vgf by 8:25.

a FUN but long 12 hour day!! More crowded than expected, but we still did a lot. Happy to answer any questions

We had very similar morning strategies on same day Tuesday 3/9 (which was at capacity). We have younger kids so spent more time on the slower rides .

We walked from CR at 7:45 and they started Scans at 8. We were probably a little ahead of you in 7DMT and Pan. Small World had not opened yet when we got off Pan. We went to BTMR and walked on and then went to POTC as Splash was not open at 8:40. Missed getting to that ride with the 2 hour down time. Chalked it up to our luck again. That ride is always being refurbed our down when we are there.

We met Grandparents at Buzz and it was 20 minutes. Then walked to Ariel, Barnstormer, and Dumbo. Dumbo was longest at 15. At that point we grabbed some pretzels for a mask break. Headed BTMR again for Grandparents first ride, posted at 40, but we were through in 25. And then to Carpets at 20. Then it was time for a Dole whip!

It was a hot afternoon so we waited in the mostly indoor Pan queue for Grand Parents first ride. posted at 50 lasted 40. Rode the Tea Cups at 10 minutes. And then pulled the cord on waiting on 7DMT as it was down to 50 minutes around 3pm and some clouds had moved in so it cooled off some. The queue started around Gaston's Tavern and moved around to the front very quickly. I would say 15-20 minutes to the front in our experience, plus a 10 minutes down time near 4pm. Cleaning? It took us about an hour including the cleaning.

We grabbed dinner and then rode Haunted Mansion at 15 minutes. I broke off with the oldest for a Space Mountain Wait of 45 and younger ones rode Ariel, Barnstormer and Dumbo again. Finished off the night with Aladdin's Carpet and Tiki room (of course). And a pass through gift shop and confectionary. Out the Park at 8:45. We crammed in a lot of magic!

 

[NashvilleMama]

Super excited to spend my birthday in Magic Kingdom tomorrow, followed by dinner and cake at Beaches & Cream (and really happy that the Epcot hours got extended to 9 tomorrow so I can be 100% sure of a skyliner ride back to Pop afterward)

happy birthday, birthday twin! It's mine, too! I'm jealous you're at the Mouse House for it!

 

[kathi]

If you are at MK for rope drop, which side of the "mountain" should you go around to get to the line for 7DMT?

 

[Disney and the Dude]

Did you have park reservations in advance or did you make them when you got there?

Parks Ressy's in advance (Like Batman, I always have a backup plan)

Sunday we woke up and packed up the room (we had some rooms issues at Poly so they moved us to a new Studio on the 3rd floor - DANG the views were great -- I'll see if I can add photos later) and had Bell Services grab our gear. We then had reservations for Kona Cafe. Wifey had Tonga Toast and I got the platter. Both were excellent. (tidbit- we had breakfast the next day at Capt Cooks -- the Tonga Toast there was NOT as good as Kona's but that's mostly because they make everything in advance at CC's) We hopped on a bus and headed to DAK. Another hugely BUSY day at DAK. The waits for everything were at least 60 min and stayed that or above (90+ for FOP) most of the time we were there. We both didn't feel like DAK was a good choice just based on crowd level. We waited 70 min (timed it - accurate) for Kil. Safari and basically got brunt out after that. We wanted to get DD a Raya plush so we took the train to Rafiki's and then came straight back. It was decided after that, that we would go play some games in Dinoland and then head back to the room to relax before dinner at Morimoto Asia. $20 and 1 plush later - we escaped the crowds and enjoyed some quiet time at the room. Morimoto was AMAZING. We got sushi, bao buns, pecking duck, and the spare ribs. Everything was absolutely perfect. This was our anniversary - so it couldn't have been at an any better time. I will say, I learned that I am NOT a Sake fan. We got the flight to try all sorts of different kinds and while I was floored that none of the Sake we tried had the signature alcohol "burn" - which is reallllly neat - the plain "flavor" of alcohol just isn't for me. The server was super nice and explained all the different types and how you can taste floral notes. Nope, just tastes like alcohol to me.

Monday was checkout day. I woke up early and grabbed BG 44 for ROTR. We headed to DS, got in line for Gideons at 9:45. We had our goodies in hand at 11:15 and our BG was called right at that time. We went to DHS - rode Rise - saw the huge crowds - and decided to go home.

Wifey and I are both nurses and vaccinated so crowds don't bother me in a "COVID" sense - more it was our anniversary and its hard to relax and enjoy that when there were people EVERYWHERE.

This was my first trip report... not going to lie I con

 

[czmom]

We had very similar morning strategies on same day Tuesday 3/9 (which was at capacity). We have younger kids so spent more time on the slower rides .

We walked from CR at 7:45 and they started Scans at 8. We were probably a little ahead of you in 7DMT and Pan. Small World had not opened yet when we got off Pan. We went to BTMR and walked on and then went to POTC as Splash was not open at 8:40. Missed getting to that ride with the 2 hour down time. Chalked it up to our luck again. That ride is always being refurbed our down when we are there.

We met Grandparents at Buzz and it was 20 minutes. Then walked to Ariel, Barnstormer, and Dumbo. Dumbo was longest at 15. At that point we grabbed some pretzels for a mask break. Headed BTMR again for Grandparents first ride, posted at 40, but we were through in 25. And then to Carpets at 20. Then it was time for a Dole whip!

It was a hot afternoon so we waited in the mostly indoor Pan queue for Grand Parents first ride. posted at 50 lasted 40. Rode the Tea Cups at 10 minutes. And then pulled the cord on waiting on 7DMT as it was down to 50 minutes around 3pm and some clouds had moved in so it cooled off some. The queue started around Gaston's Tavern and moved around to the front very quickly. I would say 15-20 minutes to the front in our experience, plus a 10 minutes down time near 4pm. Cleaning? It took us about an hour including the cleaning.

We grabbed dinner and then rode Haunted Mansion at 15 minutes. I broke off with the oldest for a Space Mountain Wait of 45 and younger ones rode Ariel, Barnstormer and Dumbo again. Finished off the night with Aladdin's Carpet and Tiki room (of course). And a pass through gift shop and confectionary. Out the Park at 8:45. We crammed in a lot of magic!

So MK was full on Tuesday? I really was surprised how crowded it was!